Sadly, this is the approach of many Christian pastors towards teaching Scripture.  Rather than use the actual words God chose, they instead teach the concepts, thus dumbing down what Scripture actually teaches.  On a recent White Horse Inn program (a Christian radio program), they played clips of interviews with Christian pastors, asking them about their use of the words justification, propitiation, and imputation.  Arguably, these are some of the most important words in the Bible, as they describe and help us to understand the great salvation that is ours in Christ Jesus.  Here are the pastors’ responses:

• I usually translate those terms into terms people can grab a little bit more easily.

• Those are churchy words and I try to avoid them.  We’re dealing with a culture that doesn’t want the show, they want authenticity.  I try to use culturally relevant illustrations because that’s what Jesus did.

• If they heard those words, my congregation would say, “What does that mean?”  I teach the concepts without using the big words.  I’m not into the religious language so much.

• The doctrine of imputation is not very important to my ministry.  I don’t use that term but do discuss the issue.  I have to bring it down to people’s level, how it fits into day to day life.

• If you asked my congregation about doctrine, it wouldn’t matter.  Apologetics don’t matter.

• I’m not going to talk about justification and all that Paul goes through and struggles with in Romans.  I want to know what is Jesus doing in your life now.

Reading these comments, it’s hard to know where to begin to discuss them; so much could be said!  First and foremost, however, is the absolute arrogance on display.  Consider that all Scripture is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).  That is to say, the God of the universe, the Creator of all things, chose the individual words that are recorded for us in Scripture.  Yet, these and many other pastors, in their “wisdom” have decided that these words are too “big”, too “churchy”, too “showy”, too “religious”.  Somehow, they have decided that they know better than God, and have figured out better words to use.  This is the height of arrogance.

Second, this assumes that believers, who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, would not understand and even be bored by the actual words that are in Scripture.  Again, somehow, these pastors have figured out “better” words to use to teach these concepts.  But God tells us that He will sanctify us in the truth, which is His word (John 17:17).  That, of course, means Scripture, which means we need to use the words God chose.  We need to conform to God and His word, not have Scripture conform to us.

Third, God says that Scripture (meaning the words God chose to write for us) is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)  This is the job of the pastor, to feed God’s sheep.  As part of that feeding, the pastor needs to instruct believers in the meaning of God’s word, and that requires introducing them to words that God used, like justification, propitiation, sanctification, and imputation.  It is through these very words that God teaches us, reproves us, corrects us, and trains us in righteousness.  It is this God ordained process by which we are made adequate and equipped for God’s work.

Thankfully, our schools do teach us new words, by which we grow in our knowledge and understanding.  Likewise, pastors should stick to the words God chose for us in His holy word.  God does not call us to be culturally relevant based on what the culture desires.  Ironically, we can only be culturally relevant if we have the true gospel, and the “big, churchy” words are the ones God gave us to help us understand His gospel.  If pastors will feed the sheep with God’s food, then God’s people can be a light that shines for His glory.

Next time we’ll look at some of these “big, churchy” words to examine their meaning.

I realized a while back, following a friend’s off-handed remark that her stomach is not her god, that I could not make the same claim. Call it a moment of awakening. I had to admit that my appetite had mastered me. It was calling the shots and I was bowing in submission to its demands. I had allowed it to become my god, all the while believing that I was living in freedom. Freedom from what? Freedom from the restraint of God’s word on gluttony. No, I didn’t consciously make this decision, and therein lies my point in part.  Hang with me while I get up in your business here.

Think about your daily routine. What can’t you live without? Oh, I know that you know you can live without your little pet habits, but really, what is it that has you on its leash? Is it caffeine? Is it your phone?  Is it that “one last try” at the lottery? Facebook? Pinterest? Does the god that holds your leash have a big blue sign that reads, “GOODWILL”, or a small one that entices, “Garage Sale”, or perhaps the mother lode…”MALL”? We give little thought to these seemingly harmless habits, enjoying our freedom to indulge here and there, and we don’t realize that we have become compelled to obey their urgings. Before long our freedom becomes slavery and (taking a lesson from Rex) destruction is on its heels.

What I’m learning through this awakening is that I have sold myself to my own urges. It’s ridiculous when you think of it. Who is in charge here anyway, the body that I simply walk around in, the sub consciousness that the world has programmed within me, or God? Have I abdicated control of my life to something so stupidly primal as my growling stomach? Do I run to appease its demands? Yes. Indeed I have, and I do. And I’ve been running flat out toward the busy street, oblivious to the danger. Like a dog off the leash. Or a fool.

As I think about poor Rex, I have to admit that my advanced intelligence does not elevate me far above his base impulse to escape his perceived restraint. Truth is: he had it good. Real good. And so do I. I serve a God who doesn’t keep me chained. I am completely free to seek either my own destruction, or His will. Like Rex at the end of a broken leash, I am free to leave the yard or wait faithfully for the one who will open the patio door, give me a bone, and scratch my ears.

There is beauty and mortal danger in that kind of freedom. When we choose to leave the yard untethered, doom awaits us just around the corner. When I think I’m choosing independence, I’m really only choosing a different brand of servitude and a different god to serve. When I tell myself that I’m under grace, I sacrifice my blood-bought freedom on the altar of my own impulses. When I blunder around unconsciously driven by blind impulses, I lock myself in the darkness of sinful ignorance.  Paul says it perfectly in 1 Corinthians 6:12. ‘“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both.'

“I will not be mastered by anything.” ANYTHING. Including my desire to shuck God’s loving restraint and run amok in the world like a heedless moron. (I speak to myself here. There are currently no morons reading this post!!)

I’m not telling you that I have this figured out, but what I promise you unequivocally is that if you ask the Lord to expose your household idols, He will do so in a way that is both gentle and merciless. He will not play second fiddle to the god of your perceived need for a bite of chocolate. He will leave you alone to obey your chosen master…and He will allow the consequences that follow. And though He is with you, you go it alone. Do you understand? The kind of freedom I’m looking for doesn’t end with me beneath the wheels of a minivan…or an 18-wheeler.

The kind of freedom I’m looking for is the freedom to become a slave to the One who loved me so much that He died to prevent me from becoming eternal road-kill. In my freedom, I will resist the urge to take off in wild abandon to serve other gods. Yes, I will still hear their calls from just beyond the fence, but I am not obligated to answer. Instead, I will press my nose against the door and watch for my Master’s approach, leash in hand. Together we will walk in freedom, but I will not leave the yard without Him. (I’m praying for an electric fence for the days of weakness and folly!)

‘But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.’  Joshua 24:15 (author’s editing)

Just recently as I was sitting in church, the Lord began to deal with me through the pastor’s words and before long my face was glowing as brightly as my burned feet had. I was radiating the indictment of an oversight…let’s call it what it was…sin. I was oblivious to the need to cover this particular area of my life with the preventive measures of prayer, humility, and supplication. And now I was well and truly singed. Has this ever happened to you? There I was going about my business completely unaware that an entire piece of my life was vulnerably exposed to temptation. And the temptation that started out as a deceptively pleasant warm-glow-within turned into a consumption that I didn’t notice until it began to hurt.    

So, what’s my advice? Well I’m not sure I have any. We can be diligent and careful and self-aware for only so long before those preventive measures begin to wear thin and before you know it we’re peeling in sheets. And let’s be honest. We’re not able to see every inch of exposure. Other people are much better at that but they usually don’t point it out until it’s too late. I love those two little words, “You’re burning” which are usually accompanied by a much-too-late poke in the now painfully blistered area of risk. I always wonder why they don’t warn you at the outset, “You’re going to burn…right there” and give you the opportunity to avoid the suffering ahead.

Anyway…my feet have recovered and now have the lovely summer bronze that tells of a beach having been walked, and I’ve applied proper treatment to that soul-scorch as well through confession and repentance. But despite the good outcome in both circumstances, I sincerely would have preferred to avoid the pain involved. So if you see me walking around foolishly blind to my own exposure, I invite you…I implore you…to point it out before I burn.

Overlooking the disrespectful tone, I was struck by the unintended Biblical truth of this statement: Jesus saved us, so we are free to invest in eternity.

Many of us know the frustration of struggling financially, working hard in our jobs yet falling further behind financially. Living paycheck-to-paycheck leaves no room for emergency expenses, leading many to borrow to cover the shortfall. We're so burdened by yesterday's obligations that we can't consider tomorrow's opportunities, and we lack the resources to invest in our future. 

This same pattern holds true in our relationship to God. Before we knew the Lord and were saved by our faith in Christ, we were living paycheck-to-paycheck, spirtually speaking. Like all unbelievers, we assumed we must earn our entrance into Heaven (if we gave any thought to our eternal destiny).

Our spiritual focus was the here and now, as we worked to atone for our sin and improve our "karma" by performing "good works" for God. Inevitably, we slipped up or gave into temptation, increasing our "debt" and setting back our spiritual progress.

This hand-to-mouth approach of earning spiritual credit could never give us an assurance of salvation, because each day brought new failures, more guilt and an ever-present fear we would come up short on our judgment day. Investing in eternity was never a consideration, since we were too busy paying off our debts.

Now, consider how the Lord changed our spiritual finances. By living a sinless life and dying on the cross in our place, Jesus has completed all the work required to save us from the penalty of our sins.

As Paul wrote:

Rom. 4:4  Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
Rom. 4:5  But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness
 

Our debt before God has been paid in full by the work of Christ on our behalf. Since our debt has been paid, we are no longer required to pay it ourselves.

Imagine if a rich relative offered to pay all your bills and expenses - including all your future bills. How would such a gracious gift change your priorities in life? The time you previously used earning a living to pay those bills suddenly becomes available for other pursuits. 

LIkewise, when Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross, He freed us to pursue other spiritual goals.

Paul says:

1Cor. 6:20  For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
 

Biblically speaking, Christians are expected to use their days on earth to invest in a spiritual future. We do not perform our good works to obtain or secure our salvation; Christ has already completed the work of salvation on the cross.  Therefore, we are free to invest our time in glorfying the Lord with our bodies and building up others in the Church.

By these investments, we store up treasure for ourselves in Heaven. Paul instructed Timothy to teach this principle to the Church:

1Tim. 6:18  Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
1Tim. 6:19  storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
 

We must seek to become rich in good works, for by these works we store up for ourselves a good foundation. This foundation is our future life in eternity, the true life we should seek and build.

Because Jesus saved us, we can invest in our spiritual future. Let's invest together!
 

P.S. If you're interested in learning more about the Bible's teaching on investing for your spiritual future, please listen to parts 1 and 2 of The Love of Money, from our teaching series on the Sovereignty of God.

As we mentioned in an earlier article, it is never proper to interpret Scripture by "claiming" a verse is written to us personally. The notion of claiming a verse stems from the idea that the Bible is merely a collection of sayings or words of wisdom, and that these words have magical power to compel God according to our hopes or desires. Like incantations, the words themselves are believed to hold the power, and if we appropriate them for ourselves, the power to make them true will come as well.

To help illustrate how this is false, consider an everyday example. Let's assume a wife mailed her husband a Valentine's Day card with the words, "I love you." Unfortunately, the card was delivered by mistake to the next door neighbor's house. When your neighbor opened the card and read it, he immediately recognized that the card was intended for someone else.

Nevertheless, the neighbor decides to "claim" the words for himself, so the next time he sees the wife standing in her front yard, he walks up to her and leans close expecting a big kiss.  What do you think this woman would do in response?

As silly as this example may be, this is exactly what we do to God when we take His words out of context and attempt to misdirect them for our own purposes. God's word has power, of course, but the source of that power is found in God Himself. God will ensure that His word goes forth and does not fail, as Isaiah says:

Is. 55:11   So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
 

Notice where true power lies: in God's determination to see His word accomplish "WHAT I DESIRE."  This is the key point. God's word will accomplish what God wants it to accomplish.  It does not accomplish what we desire. It only accomplishes what God desires. This is the power of God's word.

Therefore, there is no basis for us to "claim" a verse of Scripture and expect it will have power in our life. For example, consider the following verse from Psalm 2:

Psa. 2:8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
 

Can we "claim" this verse? Can I decide that God is promising to give me the nations as an inheritance and the very earth as my possession? No, because the psalmist wasn't talking about me. Psalm 2 is addressed to Jesus. The psalmist was describing what God the Father has promised to do for His Son, Jesus. Jesus will receive the nations as an inheritance and will possess the entire earth.This verse does not apply to us, and so we can't claim that it does.

Proper interpretation of Scripture requires that we make careful observation of who is speaking and who is being addressed by the text. Only then can we arrive at a proper interpretation and application. 

The notion of claiming Scripture for ourselves also gives rise to silly, illogical and unhelpful interpretations of Scripture. For example, how would someone "claim" this verse:

2Tim. 4:13 When you come bring the cloak which I left at  Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.
 

Turning to the verses you cited, let's look at Jeremiah 29:11 in context:

Jer. 29:10  “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My  good word to you, to bring you back to this place.
Jer. 29:11 ‘For I know the  plans that I  have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for  welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a  hope.
Jer. 29:12 ‘Then you will  call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will  listen to you.
 

Obviously, the Lord is speaking to Israel in captivity in Babylon (as v.10 demonstrates clearly). To this group of exiled Jews, the Lord then says in v.11 that He has plans for them and His plans are not to bring Israel to its end. Rather, the Lord is working in Babylon for Israel's welfare and to give them a future hope. God is speaking words of encouragement through Jeremiah to Israel in captivity so Israel will not grow discouraged in their circumstances.

Finally, in v.12 the Lord promises Israel that one day they will call upon the Lord's name and pray to Him and He will listen to them again. This prophecy is ultimately fulfilled in the days of Tribulation when Israel is restored at the Second Coming of Christ.  (If you are interested in learning more about this restoration of Israel, we recommend you study our Revelation course.)

So can we take the message of Jeremiah 29:11 personally? Remember, God is speaking concerning a specific audience with a specific purpose here, and we must understand and respect that audience and purpose. In the case of Jeremiah 29:11, God says He has good intentions for Israel in their captivity, and He will ultimately bring about Israel's restoration at the Lord's return. 

Since we are not Israel in captivity in Babylon, we cannot interpret these verse to say anything specifically about Gentile Christians today. Nevertheless, these verses still have value for Christians in the way they can teach us concerning Israel and help us gain an appreciation for God's plan for Israel (see 2Tim 3:16), but the context doesn't allow us to interpret the verse as if speaking about us personally.

A better question to ask is can we find the principles of Jeremiah 29:11 (i.e., that the Lord has good intentions for Israel and Israel can rest in that hope) expressed to Gentile Christians elsewhere in the Bible?  In this case, the answer is yes. Other Scripture repeats this principle and applies it to Christians.

You cited one example in Romans 8:28, but we can also see it in Romans 8:31, Rom 8:38-39, Phil 1:6, Phil 4:11-16, and many more. These verses teach and support the same concept but apply them specifically to Gentile Christians. Jeremiah 29:11, however, is not a proof text to support this conclusion for Gentiles.

Isaiah 43 is another good example of this same principle. The words spoken in that chapter are directed at Israel only, so we cannot appropriate them for our own purposes assuming the Lord will automatically honor our desires. Nevertheless, many (but not all) of the principles in that chapter can be found repeated for Christians elsewhere in the Bible.

If we get "lazy" and misappropriate Scripture and make false interpretations, we risk making very wrong conclusions and teaching others to expect wrong things.  For example, consider 2Chr 7:14:

2Chr. 7:14  and My people  who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
 

I've seen bumper stickers featuring this verse accented with patriotic American flags. The intended interpretation is obvious: if America would heed these instructions, God has promised to heal our land.  This is simply wrong.  The verse is speaking only to Israel, as part of the God's covenant with Israel. 

No where in Scripture does God promise to heal any other nation under any circumstances. God does not have a covenant with the United States. Only Israel receives such a promise, which will be fulfilled at Christ's Second Coming. Bumper sticker theology should not replace proper Biblical scholarship. 

Finally, yes we are grafted into the promises of Israel, but remember the full context of Paul's analogy in Romans 11. We are the unnatural branches grafted into the natural tree.  The promises are given to the natural (Israel), and the unnatural branches will benefit from them as well, but the benefit is purely spiritual. Through the promises of Israel, we receive opportunity for salvation and to know the Lord and learn His word. On the other hand, we do not gain the right to have all that Israel was promised.

The promises to Israel stand apart from anything the Gentiles expect to receive. Consider the analogy of the wife of the President. When he enters office, he will receive many perks and privileges that go with his office.  His wife will also enjoy many of those same perks, but she is not the President. She can't expect to be treated like the President and she doesn't have the same privileges. She simply benefits by association.

Likewise, the Church is blessed by its connection to Israel through our faith in the promises of God, but we are not Israel and never will be Israel. Therefore, we cannot look upon promises spoken directly to that nation and assume each detail is true for Christians or us personally, unless those principles are repeated to the church specifically in other Scripture.

• Christianity – “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”  (Matthew 7:12)
• Confucianism – “Do not do to others what you would not like yourself.  Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.”  (Analects 12:2)
• Hinduism – “This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you.”  (Mahabharata 5,1517)
• Islam – “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.”  (Sunnah)
• Judaism – “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman.  This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.”  (Talmud, Shabbat 3id)
• Taoism – “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.”  (Tai Shang Kan Yin P’ien)
• Zoroastrianism – “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself.”  (Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5)

The goal of making these comparisons is to say, “See, Jesus is providing nothing new; other religions said this before Christ.”  It’s true that some of these religions indeed stated what we know as the “Golden Rule” prior to Christ coming to earth (of course, God said the same in the Law). 

Ironically, this fact actually proves the truth of Christianity.  If all of these religions were able to come up independently with basically the same Golden Rule, it begs the question how that’s possible.  Scripture gives us the answer.

In Romans 2:12-16, we read:

“For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”
 

Paul is not saying here that Gentiles obeyed the Law of Moses perfectly.  The point here is that all humanity has the Law written in their hearts.  We all know instinctively what we should do.  Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves sums up the entire Law.

While God put this in writing for Israel, He also put it on everyone’s heart, so all would be without excuse when it comes to the knowledge of sin.  The fact that most world religions have the Golden Rule plainly demonstrates what is stated here in Romans 2. Therefore, this proves the truth of Christianity by confirming what Scripture teaches.

Of course, what these religions do not teach is that if one does not obey the golden rule perfectly (i.e., failing to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength), the wrath of a just God is what awaits all of us.  And, no one - absolutely no one - obeys perfectly. 

There is an exception:  only in Christ do we find the one who obeyed the Law perfectly, who loved God with all of His heart, soul, mind and strength, and who loved His neighbor as He loved Himself.  Other religions may have some truth of what we ought to do, but only Christ provides the solution for what we could not do.

So, when you don’t obey the golden rule, remember that if you are in Christ, He has obeyed it.  And if you are in Christ, then your name is written in the book of life.  Then, we can say with Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord Always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

Taught at Oak Hill Bible Church in Austin, Texas, on Easter 2012.

In my Easter Sunday message, I taught on the mystery of propitiation, the Bible's word for Christ's sacrificial atonement on our behalf. Propitiation is a weighty concept, but Easter is the perfect day of the year to contemplate Christ's death in our place and His righteousness appropriated by us through faith. 

Over the years, I've fielded many questions about God's grace and Christ's propitiation, and so I decided to address a couple of those questions in my Easter message. First, I tackled the question of how Christ's death could substitute for our own. Why was God willing to accept His Son's death in place of our own, and how does Christ's willingness to go to the cross spare us from Hell?

Secondly, I explored why Christ wasn't required to spend an eternity in Hell. If He was a substitute for us, why did Jesus spend only three days in the grave?

I hope you agree these are important questions, and I can assure you the answers are worth our time and attention in study of Scripture. I pray you will take time to listen to my Easter 2012 message and share it with your family and friends. Propitiation is at the center of our Gospel, and it glorifies God every time we hear it preached.

Thank you for your continuing support for our teaching ministry, and may the Lord bless your devotion to His holy word.

Two verbs that are commonly used in Spanish but have the same nominal meaning are “ser” and “estar”.  Both of them mean “to be”, so you can imagine how much use these verbs get.  For example, think about how often you say, “I am…”, “I was…”, etc.  So, knowing how each verb is used is pretty important.

“Ser” is used when one is speaking about something permanent, or lasting.  For example, your name is permanent; I’ll always be Brian (well, until we get to heaven, where we’ll all be given a new name; Revelation 2:17) .  Also, your gender is permanent; I’ll always be a man.  (Despite some people surgically changing their gender, they are still a man or woman, as the case may be; God decides this, not us.)  “Estar” is used when one is speaking about something temporary, or referring to location.  For example, “I’m happy”, or “I’m in my house right now”.

As I was learning the difference between these two verbs, I thought about our relationship to Christ.  Which verb would I use in Spanish to say, “I’m a Christian”?  About this same time, I heard a teaching about Matthew 5, Jesus’ sermon on the mount and the beatitudes (which means “blessings”).

The good news is that “ser” would be used when we say we are a Christian, because it describes a permanent condition (“Yo soy Cristiano”).  We are Christians because of what God does:  He gives us new and eternal life, faith to believe the gospel, and love for Him.  This never changes, it is now who we are.  Just as a leopard cannot change its spots, we cannot change who we are.  We are either sinners, which is by nature, or we are Christians by the grace of God.

Likewise, in the beatitudes in Matthew 5, Jesus is describing who Christians are.  Many people misinterpret the beatitudes as things we must do, and if we do them, we receive the blessings.  Jesus describes these blessings as follows:

•    3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
•    4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
•    5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
•    6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
•    7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
•    8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
•    9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
•    10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
•    11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-11)

The people Jesus describes here are those who have been saved.  For example, to be poor in spirit means that you know have nothing to offer God, that you are lacking and are in need.  Such a person needs Christ, and only Christians know they need Christ.  Therefore, a Christian can say, “Yo soy pobre de espiritu.”  Of course, this applies to all of the blessings Christ mentions.

What’s really amazing is that Jesus says that Christians are blessed.  It’s a permanent condition.  It’s not based on our being poor in spirit, or mourning, or being gentle.  These are simply adjectives that describe Christians.  Indeed, it’s the exact opposite of a works based view.  We are not blessed by making our heart pure, for only Christ has a pure heart.  Listen to what Psalm 24 says:

“3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
And who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob.
                         Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates,
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
That the King of glory may come in!
8 Who is the King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.”
 

This psalm makes clear that the King of glory is the one who has a pure heart, the Lord strong and mighty!  We are made pure in heart by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, a permanent condition.  Therefore, I can say, “Yo soy puro de corazon”, and “Todos ustedes son puros de corazon” (you all are pure in heart; or, as we say in Texas, “ya’ll are pure in heart”).

One day, we’ll all speak the same language again, and I won’t have to struggle with Spanish.  Until that day, Jesus tells us to rejoice and be glad, because we are blessed.  So, rejoice in your permanently blessed condition.  ¡A Dios sea la Gloria!
 

We were on spring break last week and spent some time at the beach (Thanks Alabama!). On day three of our trip I was sitting contentedly with my toes in the sand when it occurred to me that I hadn’t lifted one burden that I’d left at home. Hadn’t mulled over one decision. Hadn’t gnawed on one worry. For three days I had been blissfully free and unaware…of life, of duty, of expectation. I was at rest in the security of a God who was rolling each wave to shore in a perfectly uninterrupted concerto of sound and light, enjoying the dance of an ocean breeze. It simply had not occurred to me to recall one detail of my ordinary life. I didn’t consciously turn it all over to God, I just plain forgot about it as the miles ticked off under our wheels and the salt breeze began to tantalize. When I remembered all I had left back home, I didn’t care. I was on the beach. All those concerns were at my desk. And God was over all. (Insert a sigh, and the sound of waves here.)

Today, I’m that man that James describes being tossed and blown this way and that by a stiff wind. I just can’t seem to catch a break – or a breath. What happened? When did life begin again? Why did I pick it up, mull it over and gnaw the bone? The same God who handled the pause in my life is surely capable of handling the momentum that is now dragging me out to sea. Right?

Who shut the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt?” (Job 38:8-11)  

This is the God I need right now. I need the God who empowered His son to say “Peace! Be still!” and the wind and the waves obeyed Him. Oh me of little faith. Why am I so afraid?  I’m afraid because I’m trying to swim against a rip-tide instead of allowing myself to relax and float to the surface. I’m being drowned by my own effort to stay on top of the waves that would swamp me. I simply can’t trust that it’s possibly true that I’m allowed to do NOTHING, and God will do everything.

Right now as I pray, “Lord! Help my unbelief!”, I’m going to roll up my pants-legs, wriggle off my shoes, slip on my shades and a wide brimmed hat, and I’m going to go lay flat out on my patio and do absolutely nothing. God said I could trust Him to hold the tide at bay, and that it’s OK to float sometimes. I don’t see any walking on water in my near future, but this much I can do in faith. You too?

We commend you for your stand for Biblical truth, and from what you described, it seems you are following a Biblically-appropriate process in addressing your concerns with your pastor.  Since we don't know your pastor personally, we cannot presume to judge his thoughts or motives in this situation. Therefore, we can respond to your letter by addressing the Biblical issues at hand. Specifically, we can offer our thoughts on how to understand this situation in light of Scripture and possible next steps in working with your pastor.

First, the Bible is abundantly clear about the role of women teaching in the church. Our website articles give a full exposition of the related Scriptures. To summarize, a woman must always exercise teaching under the headship and authority of men within the church. If a woman is granted the opportunity to teach men, her teaching must be approved by male leaders and her submission to male authority must be clearly evident to the church even as she teaches (e.g., a man in authority present during the teaching event, etc.).

Secondly, we strongly advised church leaders against permitting women to teach in large public gatherings that include men, because such a situation inevitably leads to misunderstandings concerning male headship in the church and potentially to more serious abuses of Biblical authority down the road.  At the very least, women teaching men publicly can create misperceptions concerning the leadership's view of women in the church.

We believe your situation is a good illustration of the pitfalls of permitting woman to teach from the pulpit. Based on your pastor's decision to permit a woman to preach, you (and presumably others) have come to the view that your pastor does not respect the Biblical principle of male headship. Regardless of whether or not your view is accurate, the perception he created is still damaging to the church.

Unfortunately, we cannot advise you whether to stay at your church or seek fellowship elsewhere, because such a decision is between you and the Holy Spirit.  The Lord will lead you as He desires. In the meantime, we can assure you that your concerns are valid, and your pastor's response to your concerns did seem to sidestep the real issue. Perhaps your pastor simply dismissed Scriptures that challenges his decisions, but again we cannot judge his motives or reasons.

If you choose to confront your pastor a second time, we recommend you take the following steps. First, ask your husband to take the lead in pursuing this issue with the church leadership. Ironically, you risk violating the very principle you advocate (i.e., male headship in the church) if you take the lead in this challenge to your pastor's decision. Instead, your husband should provide spiritual cover for you by leading in the discussion.

Secondly, your conversations with the pastor should focus on his interpretation of specific Scripture. Rather than conducting a general conversation in which he casually dismisses scripture as "figurative," ask him to carefully and thoroughly exegete the text of 1Tim 2 and 1Cor 14, which contain specific prohibitions to women teaching men.  Our ministry has given its best effort to interpret those same passages and made them available on our website, so you may compare his answer (if any) to ours as a reference.

If he can't adequately explain his decisions in light of these Scriptures, then you might conclude he is not a man who is guided by the counsel of Scripture. On the other hand, if he does offer a reasonable justification from Scripture for permitting women to preach, then you could ask him to explain how he intends to conform to the Biblical requirement for male headship in the course of permitting women to preach in the church. As we described in our articles, respecting male headship in the church while permitting women to teach men is theoretically possible, but it a delicate balance requiring careful planning and execution.
 

Your situation is one other married Christian women face, though few confide in others for fear of being judged. Know you are not alone in this struggle.

To begin, let's look at the scriptures that relate to the relationship of a wife to her husband:

Eph. 5:15  Therefore  be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise,
Eph. 5:16   making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
Eph. 5:17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Eph. 5:18 And  do not get drunk with wine,  for that is  dissipation, but be  filled with the Spirit,
Eph. 5:19  speaking to  one another in  psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
Eph. 5:20  always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to   God, even the Father;
Eph. 5:21   and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
Eph. 5:22  Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
Eph. 5:23 For  the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the  head of the church, He Himself  being the Savior of the body.
Eph. 5:24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Eph. 5:25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her;
Eph. 5:26  that He might sanctify her, having  cleansed her by the  washing of water with  the word,
Eph. 5:27 that He might  present to Himself the church  in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be  holy and blameless.
Eph. 5:28 So husbands ought also to  love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself;
Eph. 5:29 for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,
Eph. 5:30 because we are members of His  body.
Eph. 5:31  FOR THIS CAUSE A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, AND SHALL CLEAVE TO HIS WIFE; AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.
Eph. 5:32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.
Eph. 5:33 Nevertheless let each individual among you also  love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see to it that she   respect her husband.

Paul gives guidelines to the church on how to behave knowing the days are evil. The church needs to follow what is right, and Paul outlines for the church the specific behaviors to adopt in their relationships to ensure they are doing what is right.

In verse 21 Paul says that Christians should be subject to one another. This means giving regard for one another, and not putting our own needs above another's. Simply put, we are to love others more than we love ourselves. Then Paul moves to discussing the most intimate earthly relationship we can experience: marriage.

In verse 21 he speaks specifically to the wife. Paul says the wife is to be subject to her own husband. Paul adds "…as we are to the Lord." To give an example of the marriage relationship, Paul draws a comparison to the Church's relationship to Christ. A wife is not commanded to love her husband; she is commanded to be subject to him.

Wives are to follow the husbands direction in every facet of life. By following her husband, the wife shows love to her husband. Remember, love is not described in Scripture as an emotion; it is an action. Paul's final verse ends by telling the wife to respect her husband. This is the purist sign of love: respect and obedience. Again, Scripture doesn't imply it will be easy to obey, but it is something we can do with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Moving in the direction of obedience and subjection to our husbands can begin in small ways. We start in ways the Spirit leads. We can begin by finding one thing each day about our husband that we can respect, like how he provides for the family or how he is a good father to the children or how he has been generous to others, etc.

By looking for a small starting point in respecting her husband, a wife can move in the direction of obedience and love by rely on the Holy Spirit to give  herstrength in this process. When our struggle to show respect or subject to his authority wanes, we should pray that the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see something else we can respect in our husband and begin the process again.

Paul follows this same pattern of teaching again in the book of Colossians chapter 3.

Col. 3:12  And so, as those who have been  chosen of God, holy and beloved,  put on a  heart of compassion, kindness,  humility, gentleness and   patience;
Col. 3:13  bearing with one another, and  forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone;  just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Col. 3:14  And beyond all these things put on love, which is   the perfect bond of  unity.
Col. 3:15  And let  the peace of Christ  rule in your hearts, to which  indeed you were called in one body; and  be thankful.
Col. 3:16  Let the word of  Christ richly dwell within you,  with all wisdom  teaching and admonishing one another  with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,  singing  with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Col. 3:17  And  whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,  giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Col. 3:18   Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Col. 3:19  Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them.
 

Paul begins with the same example of how the Church should conduct itself now that we have come to faith. Then he moves to the more specific calling of individuals in the Body and what each group is called to do in Christ. In v.12 Paul gives a comprehensive description of how we are to treat one other in the faith.

Notice he specifically says we should "put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Perhaps you sensed the truth of this verse when you said you knew love is more than a feeling. The Bible affirms this view. We can't put on a feeling, but we can put on the actions that Paul listed.

We are called to act in love even when we don't feel loving. This choice brings unity to the Body of Christ and to our marriages. Paul gives a precise description of Christian love in vs.12-13, then Paul moves to giving specific directions for the more intimate relationship of marriage. 

Again, he begins with the wife first in v.18 saying, "Be subject to your husbands…" with the clarifier, "…as is fitting in the Lord." Paul is saying a wife should be subject to her husband without doing anything that would go against the Lord. So as long as the husband is not asking the wife to sin, then she is to be subject to the husband.

Notice in both of these passages that Paul admonishes the husbands also to love their wives. More time is given to the man's responsibilities than to the wife's, in keeping with the man's greater responsibility in maintaining a strong relationship in the Church and in the family. But the wife has her role as well.

Finally, 1Peter 3 gives direction to wives, but to understand chapter 3, we must drop back into 1Peter 1 briefly: 

1Pet. 1:17  And if you address as Father the One who  impartially  judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves  in fear during the time of your  stay upon earth;
1Pet. 1:18  knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your  futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
1Pet. 1:19  but with precious blood, as of a  lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
 

Peter taught that because we call God our Father, then we must conduct ourselves in fear during our time on earth. By our fear of God, we gain the courage to do all that Peter teaches in the rest of his letter. Peter's third chapter then providing specific calls of behavior in submitting ourselves to all forms of earthly authority. Peter reminds us that these earthly forms of authority as always from God.

Peter begins in chapter 3 with a discussion of slaves. It is important to note this, because when Paul moves to discussing wives in 1Peter 3:1, he says "In the same way…"  Peter told the servants and slaves of that day to be subject to their masters, whether they are treated fairly or not. This kind of obedient behavior became the slave's way to stand apart from the non-believing slaves of their day.

Peter uses Christ's obedience as our example to follow in the way Jesus was mistreated though innocent. He did not defend Himself; He submitted. Christ is the example of how we are to behave in subjection to authority.

Then Peter transitions to wives by saying they are to follow the same example. They obey and respect their husbands - not because the husband is always deserving of honor but because Christ's submission teaches us to obey despite mistreatment, because it honors the Lord.

Now let's look at what Peter addresses to wives specifically.

1Pet. 3:1  In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be  won without a word by the behavior of their wives,
1Pet. 3:2  as they observe your chaste and  respectful behavior.
1Pet. 3:3  And let not your adornment be merely external — braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
1Pet. 3:4  but let it be  the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
1Pet. 3:5  For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands.
1Pet. 3:6  Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham,  calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right   without being frightened by any fear.
 

Again, wives are told to be submissive to husbands, and it does not depend on whether the husband deserves it. Peter emphasizes that a woman's beauty is determined not by what she does externally but by what is in the heart, that is a gentle and quiet spirit as we see in v.4. Peter says this is precious in the sight of God.

Such internal submission and obedience is how we please God, and the Lord will judge wives by how we met His expectations in honoring our husbands.

Peter ends this section with a wonderful example from the story of Sarah. Sarah obeyed Abraham, even calling him Lord, Peter says. Keep in mind that Abraham is not portrayed in Scripture as perfect, especially in his dealing with his wife Sarah.

Peter's point is that Sarah still obeyed her less-than-perfect husband, and therefore she is seen in Scripture as a woman who did what was right in the sight of God.  Amazing!

You have a husband that is from the Lord. You want to be the wife God has called you to be in His Word, therefore you need to turn to the Holy Spirit to find the strength to submit and obey your husband, which is what you are called to do in your service to Christ and it is how you will be measured by God in your judgment.

We cannot promise you that in the end you will come to feel love for your husband, especially the emotional, romantic love you desire. You may at least reach a point of respectful admiration or brotherly love by God's grace. In either case, love will only come because you committed to obeying the Lord by submitting to your husband and respecting his authority. In the meantime, you can rest in the knowledge that you are worshipping your Lord and pleasing Him by your obedience.

In many cases where there are intimacy problems in a marriage, the marriage is lacking in good communication. If the couple is not communicating well, problems will go unresolved, and over time they can become barriers to intimacy. If communication in the marriage has broken down, then we recommend seeking professional help from a Christian counselor skilled in working through these issues. Counseling is often little more than communication education. Perhaps your church can help guide you in this area in helping you find someone who can counsel with the scriptures as their guide.

We believe you can work on becoming a more obedient and submissive wife while ministering to others, but the final answer is only something that you and the Lord can know. Seek His will on that question.

Our desire and prayer is that the importance of becoming the kind of a wife God has called you to be in His word will be your motivator for worship and in your family relationships. See this situation as a test God has graciously given you, and as James taught:

James 1:2   Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter  various trials,
James 1:3  knowing that  the testing of your faith produces   endurance.
James 1:4  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:5  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

We believe the best answer comes from Dr. Thomas Constable, who explains:
 

"In Psalms 82:2-7 the Psalmists says that Israel's judges were perverting justice. God called them to practice righteous justice. The essence of proper judging was making sure that the defenseless got justice. Israel's judges, who should have been the wisest of the people, were ignorant of the importance of fair judgment and the consequences of unfair judging. Consequently law and order, the foundations of life on earth, were unstable.

"In vs.6-7 God warned the unjust judges that they would suffer judgment themselves for their injustice. God had appointed them as "gods" (i.e., individuals with power by God's authority). He had made them His "sons" in the sense they were His representatives on earth (see 2 Sam. 7:14). Nevertheless because they had not behaved as God, who judges justly, they would die as mere men without honor as God's sons. They would die as all the other Israelites would. ("Men" and "rulers" (v. 7) is a merism that signifies all mortals.)

"Jesus' accusers charged Him with blasphemy when He claimed to be the Son of God (John 10:33). In replying to their accusation Jesus quoted Psalm 82:6 to remind them that God called Israel's judges His sons. His point was that it was not inappropriate for Him to call Himself the Son of God. Jesus, of course, is God's ultimate Judge of all humankind, so it was especially appropriate for Him to call Himself the Son of God."

(Taken from Constables Notes on Psalms, page 157)

The regulations in Scripture against eating pork are found in the Mosaic Law, given to the nation of Israel by Moses as part of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was only binding on Israel. It was intended to set Israel apart from the Gentile world. Isaiah was speaking to Israel in 66:17, so God's admonishment was directed to Jews who were willingly violating the Old Covenant law.

Today, believers in Jesus Christ are saved by the grace found in the New Covenant, and as Paul taught, believers are not bound by the regulations of the Law found in the Old Covenant:

Rom. 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Rom. 7:4  Therefore, my brethren, you also were  made to die  to the Law  through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Rom. 7:6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in  newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

Col. 2:16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day —
Col. 2:17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
 

Therefore, Gentiles and those who believe in Jesus Christ are free to consume pork or anything God has made. It is not a sin, because the restrictions found in the Old Covenant apply only to Israel apart from the grace of the New Covenant.

For more information on this issue, we invite you to read the following articles on the believer's relationship to the Law of Moses.

On Law and Liberty

Old Testament Law

I think that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while because it is so perfectly true of so much of my life. Picture a race car painted up shiny, engine roaring, tires squealing, and when the smoke clears it’s still sitting at the starting line. The wheels have driven a hundred miles – at a hundred miles an hour – but the car has gone nowhere.

Maybe this will step on your toes, but I think there are a lot of us generating a lot of smoke. We talk a good talk. We dress the part. We’re very very busy. But we’re not really getting anywhere that matters.  Many of us believe that the smoke is the point, but the smoke just makes us loose sight of the finish line.

If I could give you a peek at my desk calendar, or a time-lapse film of my daily life, you would be amazed by how much time I spend spinning my wheels at a hundred miles an hour. You would be even more amazed at how much smoke I can generate! But at the sad end of the day, if you could crawl into my head, you would see that I haven’t really gained any ground. I’m still sitting at the starting line. The light is green. My engine is running. My paint is shiny. My tires are spinning. But it’s all for show. I’ve been working very hard at making sure I look like a race car, rather than making sure I’m going the distance.

OK. That’s a lot of metaphor, but here’s the bottom line. We’re supposed to be getting somewhere, and that somewhere is established by God. Our finish line looks like holiness. Our track looks like obedience, and service, and active love, and forgiveness, and sacrifice. So why doesn’t my calendar reflect those as my goals for today, tomorrow and tomorrow’s tomorrows? Why do I spend my time in vain pursuits to keep up my image? Why do I chase the wind of worldly success? Why do I seek the praise of men? Because I’ve lost sight of the finish line. I’m trying to drive my Master’s car on my own course, and bless His name, He’s not letting me get anywhere in that fruitless effort. I’m just spinning my wheels and generating smoke.

So, maybe it’s time to let the rubber cool a bit. To sit and let the smoke clear. To get the finish line well in sight. To align myself with it. And then to start again with better results. Maybe then, when I hold the measuring stick against the starting line and my distance down the track, it will measure in something more than inches.

On your mark… get set…
 

Anyway…today I noticed that I was holding his hand, but he wasn’t holding mine. I asked him what was up, and he insisted that yes, he was holding my hand too. Funny our difference of perspective: I really had a grip on him, but he was just kind of resting. It made me flash back to when he was a toddler. Rather than just rest in my grip then, he would actively try to yank free, fascinated by everything he saw.

I used to loop my little finger over the back of his hand just to get a bit of added assurance for when he wanted adventure that led him straight into danger. I told my son this morning, “This is what we do to God all day long. We let go, then grab hold. Let go, grab hold. Let go, grab hold”, and we made a silly game of it until I really did have to let go to turn on the heater. But the thing about God is that He never lets go. He never has to. Not even to adjust the heat. 

Okay, so this could go several directions. Like, thank goodness we can rest and the Lord never lets go. Or, too bad we do so much resting and not enough hanging on. And, how sad that we so often want to twist ourselves out of His grip to go off on our own and straight into the lion’s mouth.  I guess the bottom line is the same in every scenario. God. Never. Lets. Go. Never. Ever. Ever.

I don’t know what that does for you today, but for me it is nothing short of miraculous grace. I am that toddler most days desperate for my own way, charting the path of my own destruction, heedless to the dangers around me. Careless with my own well-being. Self-determined. Self-willed. Self-destructive. And yet, my God never lets go.

I am desperate for that truth today. I am determined to hang on, but when I notice that I have been resting, I will hasten to tighten my hold. I will choose to be restrained by His grip, trusting that it is only this which prevents my total self-destruction. Gracious Father! Get a good grip and hang on tight!

Being the sensible guy that I am (no editorial comments, Steve!), I have learned to curb my tongue when it comes to uttering that particular prayer.  I'm like a child at the dinner table when the spinach is being passed around: "Patience?  No, thank you, Lord.  I'm full."

On the other hand, I usually seem to have an appetite for more wisdom.  As it is with desert, my response to wisdom has usually been "May I have more, please?"
 

Consider it all joy
 

My congregation has been studying the book of James for the past few weeks and given some recent circumstances in my life, his words took on greater meaning for me.

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  (James 1:2-5)
 

I definitely liked James’ advice about asking G-d for wisdom and that has been my recent prayer: "May I have more please, Lord?"

But trials?  Consider them joy?  Was James nuts?

We might be tempted to think so but let’s consider this from a slightly different perspective. In 2006 Americans paid $17.6 billion for something similar.  People willingly parted with their hard-earned dollars (a lot of them!) for… physical fitness training.  They paid to be tested and trained for greater physical strength and endurance.  And they liked it!

Just as we go to the gym and get physical fitness training to increase our strength and endurance, G-d provides us with spiritual fitness training to increase our strength and endurance. Sometimes He has us "bench press" for patience.  Other times He might have us doing "curls" for kindness or perhaps He wants us to "flex" our forbearance.  When it comes to spiritual endurance, however, James tells us that the proper exercise is the testing of our faith.

James also ties our faith to wisdom declaring, "If anyone lacks wisdom, he should ask of G-d," and Solomon says in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

How little did I realize that along with an answer to my prayer for wisdom I would also be getting a large portion of the fear of the Lord and an extra helping of faith.
 

Surgery
 

In December, my daughter, Alex, had surgery to correct a problem with her inner ear.  While all surgery carries a certain level of risk, my wife's side of the family has a history of major problems with general anesthesia including cardiac arrest and death on the operating table.  Thank G-d they have all been successfully revived and later recovered but I was more than a little worried with my little girl facing such risk.

In that situation I was forced to face a truth that most (especially men!) find highly uncomfortable:  I could do absolutely nothing to help or protect my youngest child.  Her life was entirely out of my hands.

For a guy like me who wants to help with everything and be "Mr. Fixit", this was a very frightening and humbling experience.  It forced me out of my normal "I'll call upon G-d as backup if I can't handle the situation" mindset and into the reality of "apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).  My daughter’s life has always been in the Lord's hands, not mine and this circumstance bluntly reminded me of that fact.  If I can paraphrase Matthew 6:27: "Who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his daughter's life?"

On the day of Alex's surgery, as the nurses wheeled her out of my sight into the operating room, G-d brought me to the point where I had to face the fact that He has the power of life and death and I did not.  To stand face to face with that realization before the sovereign G-d of the universe is a humbling and fearful place to be.  But the fear of the Lord is only the beginning of wisdom.

As He brought me to that realization, G-d also placed some questions upon my heart:

Do you trust Me?
Does your faith in Me extend to the life of your daughter?
Does your love for Me go that far?

<Gulp>

Yes, Lord.  I trust You.

Through that circumstance, the Lord increased my faith and drew me closer to Him than I had been in a long time.  I was joyful at the nearness of His presence and at the healing He performed in my daughter.  She is doing well and continues her recovery after the surgery.  Praise His Name!

As G-d served up that bit of faith and I found that it was good, I thought to myself, "May I have more, please?"

Whoops!

I had forgotten that the testing of our faith builds endurance.  Apparently, my endurance training wasn’t finished yet.

This week, my wife also had to have surgery and as I was brought back to that humbling place of fearful reverence before G-d, I felt the same questions upon my heart:

Do you trust Me?
Does your faith in Me extend to the life of your precious bride?
Does your love for me extend that far?

<Gulp> (again)

Yes, Lord.  I trust You.

This time, however, I found it easier to trust Him.  It was not quite as frightening because I knew G-d in a way that I hadn’t known Him before.  As Solomon said, "the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Like repeatedly running a mile builds our endurance physically, repeatedly having our faith in G-d tested and drawing near to Him builds our endurance spiritually.  Maybe James was right and we should consider such testing pure joy.

Having tasted and seen that the LORD is good (Psalm 34:8), I find myself (cautiously!) thinking again,

"May I have more, please?"

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It is never appropriate to assume that any particular Biblical promise is addressed to us individually. The vast majority of Biblical promises are made to specific individual or groups (usually Israel) and are not applicable to all believers. For example, the promise in Malachi 4 was not a promise delivered to a Christian today.  Malachi 4 is speaking concerning unbelieving Jewish people living in the time of Tribulation.

In Malachi 4, we find the follow prophecy:

Mal. 4:5  “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
Mal. 4:6 “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a  curse.”

The prophecy in Malachi (repeated in Luke 1:17) is a promise speaking to Israel concerning the days of Tribulation. The timing for this promise is said to be "before the great and terrible day of the Lord." This phrase is a reference to the time of Tribulation, a time of retribution and judgment promised for the Jewish people and for the world. Prior to Tribulation, Malachi says the prophet Elijah will return to preach to Israel, and that preaching will result in the hearts of children returning to the fathers and the fathers to the children.

In this context, the phrase "children" is a reference to the descendants of Israel and the phrase "fathers" is a reference to the Jewish patriarchs and prophets. Specifically, Malachi is promising that Elijah's return will result in Israel returning to observing the the Biblical traditions of orthodox Judaism and to following the example of the "fathers of Israel" in their observance of Jewish Law. Elijah's call to return to the Law will lead the nation of Israel to a revival during the first part of Tribulation.

God's purpose in this revival will be to encourage many in Israel to join in worship at the newly reconstructed Jewish temple during Tribulation.  You can learn more about this purpose in our ongoing Revelation study, specifically in Lesson 11.

God delivers promises to specific people or groups, and so we cannot "claim" a promise in Scripture for ourselves. The Bible never instructs us to engage in such a practice, and there is no mechanism given in Scripture by which we can redirect God's promises to ourselves and apart from His intentions. The concept of "claiming" promises that were originally given to other people is an invention of false teachers, and sadly it has become a part of modern Christian culture.

In reality, God's promises cannot be appropriate for our own desires. Instead, the context of Scripture must guide our interpretation and application of any Scripture, including our application of God's promises. His promises are only applicable to the audience(s) He intended by His word. Only when we find clear intent in Scripture that a promise was intended to apply to all believers universally (as when Christ promised that all believers will receive the Holy Spirit) can we then assume that the promise is ours as well. In the case of Malachi 4, however, the intended audience for God's promise was Israel during Tribulation.

On the other hand, if you believe God has indicated to you personally in some manner that He intends to restore your family or heal a broken relationship, then you can trust in that assurance, for the Lord will do as He has said. If such a work of restoration does happen in your life, you should give God the glory but you should not claim that this work of God was a fulfillment of His promises in Malachi 4.

Since you raised the question of how salvation works, we want to begin our answer with a clear and concise explanation of the salvation God has made available to men. According to Scripture, salvation from the penalty for sin is made possible by our faith in the work of Christ, Who atoned for our sin by His death on the cross in our place. All that God requires as payment for our sin was accomplished by Jesus on the cross.

Therefore, our personal works play no part in our salvation.  We can add nothing to the accomplishments of Christ on the cross, and therefore only by faith in His work may we be saved. Our faith is in the sufficiency of Christ's work and the truth of His claims to be the Son of God, and our faith takes the place of relying on our personal works of righteousness. This is the heart of the Gospel.

If you believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of God, and that His death and resurrection is proof of His claims, then the Bible commands you to confess this belief and receive water baptism as a sign of your faith. Having made this confession, the Bible says you will be saved. The word of God leaves no doubt or question concerning this outcome. The moment of your faith is the moment of your salvation…by faith you have already been saved! Consider the following statements from Scripture:

Rom. 10:9  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

Eph. 2:4 But God, being  rich in mercy, because of  His great love with which He loved us,
Eph. 2:5 even when we were  dead  in our transgressions, made us alive together  with Christ ( by grace you have been saved),
Eph. 2:6 and  raised us up with Him, and  seated us with Him in  the heavenly places in  Christ Jesus,
Eph. 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing  riches of His grace in  kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Eph. 1:13 In  Him, you also, after listening to  the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Eph. 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of  God’s own possession,  to the praise of His glory.
 

The Bible testifies that those who confess faith in Christ receive a downpayment on their eternal inheritance, which is the Holy Spirit taking up residence in our hearts. This downpayment is God's pledge to us that the work He has begun through our faith He promises He will bring to completion in the day of our resurrection, as Paul says:

Phil. 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
 

Regarding your concerns of not being saved, rest assured that such doubts and feelings are normal for Christians. The enemy delights to bring doubts to our mind and to cause us to wonder if we are "good enough." The irony is that we aren't good enough to be saved! We never were. We don't merit the salvation we have received, and we can never allow ourselves to think that we "deserved" God's grace. Grace, by definition, is not deserved or earned.

Furthermore, our faith is a gift of God. It did not depend on our own resolve or determination to believe. The Bible says our belief is a gift from God, as Paul explains:

Eph. 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph. 2:9  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
 

Finally, John wrote to those who have the Spirit and know the truth of the Gospel to address this very doubt of whether we are truly saved.  He said:

1John 3:23  This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
1John 3:24  The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.  We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

1John 4:4  You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
1John 4:5  They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.
1John 4:6  We are from God; he who knows God listens to us;  he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
1John 4:7  Beloved, let us  love one another, for love is from God; and  everyone who loves is born of God and  knows God.
1John 4:8  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1John 4:13  By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
1John 4:14  We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
1John 4:15  Whoever confesses that  Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
 

John wrote to assure the church that we can know for certain we are God's children by our post-salvation experiences, especially by our awareness that the Spirit has come to dwell in us through the changes we witness in our life. Among other changes, John mentions that we will enjoy fellowship with other believers, we will feel separated from the world of unbelievers, we will begin to love one another with God's sacrificial love, and we will grow to abide in Christ (i.e., depend on Him and follow Him).

More than all else, John says we have assurance of salvation simply by the certainty of our confession. Whoever confesses (i.e., gives a truthful testimony) that Jesus is the Son of God is saved, John reiterates.

In our experience, only Christians spend time worrying about whether they are truly saved. Unbelievers aren't troubled by thoughts or worries of not having salvation in Christ, because they are unfamiliar with God's grace and therefore they cannot know what they do not have.  In a sense, only those who have come to know the grace of God will worry over the prospect of not having it. For many Christians, these concerns simply testify to a relationship with Christ.

The process of maturing in our walk of faith is a process of moving beyond these doubts and questions and taking hold of our salvation and pursuing maturity in our witness and understanding of God.  The writer of Hebrews says:

Heb. 6:17  In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise  the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,
Heb. 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of  the hope set before us.
 

God has sworn by His own name that His purposes and promises are unchangeable, so that we who have been saved would have confidence to take hold of the hope set before us. Having taken hold of that hope, we will be encouraged to walk in faith not looking back in doubt.  This is the upward call of Christ, as Paul calls it:

Phil. 3:12  Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
Phil. 3:13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
Phil. 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
 

So based on your confession of faith in your letter to us, we encourage you to take heart that you know the Lord and that your worries are natural and shared by many Christians at various times.  Your worries testify to the Spirit working in your heart convicting you of sin and preparing you for a life of holiness in serving the Lord. Move beyond your doubts and begin to ask how you can better serve the Lord Who saved you.  Glory be to God!
 

Recently, we've received feedback from listeners that our slides and handouts are causing problems for those who desire to print our materials on paper for distribution to students. Most of our Revelation handouts use a black background, which looks best when projected on a screen yet consumes large amounts of black ink when printed on paper. Since I teach Revelation with an overhead projector, the black background produces a pleasing look, but we never considered the effect of our color choice on the cost to print. Based on the feedback from our listeners though, we've made an adjustment.

Starting today, all our Revelation lessons offer both a Student's version and a Teacher's version of the slides. The student version retains the black backgrounds best suited to projection on a screen, while the teacher's version removes the black background to allow for economical printing. We hope this solution offers you the best of both worlds, and we appreciate the feedback.

We welcome other suggestions on how to make our materials better. Our ministry exists to teach God's word and to support and encourage other teachers in their ministry in the word. May the Lord continue to magnify these efforts to His glory!