Three Ways to “Help”

"Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly
entertained angels."¹ - Hebrews 13:1-1

In his devotional Strength for Today, for January 14th, MacArthur suggested three ways believers can demonstrate their love for those around them:

“First, you can simply “be there” as a friend to encourage the other person when he is in trouble.” - This is an expression speaking directly of the "brotherly love" that we have been talking about.  It could take many particular forms, depending on the specific person we are talking (the one receiving the help).  As such, we must be sensitive to mould it to the needs of the individual we have in view.  But that does not mean that the meaning of what we are doing changes one whit.  We are still doing the same thing, in essence, as directed by God's Word.  The difference is not one of interpretation, but one of application. 

That is a key thing in our understanding.  That is why we, as conservatives and fundamental, Reformed people "fight" over these things and seek to stand strong for the authority and the inspiration and the other foundational matters concerning the Bible.  Unless the Bible is, indeed, the revealed, spoken Word of God, we are on our own, making it up as we go along.

Maybe that's why it seems like that to so many unredeemed people that are looking on from the bleachers...perhaps if we took a stand, went back and examined just what the Bible says about itself, and were willing to allow it speak for itself and then affirmed what God already said, taking the place He has assigned to us, instead of seeking to be revealers ourselves, we might see a better result!

“…by giving direct help.” - Direct help must follow encouragement, and it must follow encouragement that given Biblically and from a heart that is seeking to serve and glorify God.  Remember, our goal is not ONLY to meet the need of the person we are helping.  That is a significant goal, surely.  But the overarching goal of the glory of God and lifting up the Name of the Lord Jesus must be served here as well.  In fact, that goal must come first, meaning that there will be times when the second goal is sacrificed on the alter of the first!
How hard is that?  It also means that there will be times we will give, when we will do in order to glorify God when we normally would not - because the glory of God is at stake and we are His servants and our well being comes second (third in this case!).  Remember that we tools that God uses to accomplish the task of accomplishing His purposes in the world. 

Some will argue that God will never ask us to give that beyond which we are able.  That is almost certainly NOT true.  All throughout the Bible ask His people to give that which they, at least from their perspective, could never recover.  Sometimes God saw to it that they got it back, sometimes they never did (until glory that is!).  Sacrificial giving is a hallmark of the faith - not just to the Church as an institution - but in secret and in the matter of hospitable, "brotherly love" matters as well.  God and the testimony of the Gospel seeks to be advanced and the "non-verbal means of our conduct among those around us is perhaps THE major witness to the truth what our lips say to those to whom God sends us.

“…through prayer.”. - I have come to believe that the Bible is not so much talking about long and eloquent, wordy prayers as the simple matter of  "remembering" those who around us or who are working for the Lord.  The word used means "mention".  We get our word "mnemonic" from it.  It means to remember or to keep thinking about again and again.  It is in the imperative voice and is, thus a command.  It is not talking about the idea of rote memory, mechanical memorization.  Galatians 2:10 uses the word to talk about "remembering the poor" and Rev. 18:5 uses the word to talk about God remembering the sins of Babylon the great at the time of the end.  Paul says that he "remembers without ceasing" the Thessalonians work on his behalf.  So this is not just recalling a memory verse.  It is remembering and responding, mentioning, doing something as a result. 

In this case, we remember and we pray.  Actually, there is nothing greater that we can do, is there?  Contrary to the colloquial perception of what prayer is, a comforting, but basically useless activity that has for its' aim the benefit of prayer much more than the actual accomplishment of any heavenly intercession.  How sad and again, how directly attributable to the view that the Bible is really a human book and man is really the be all and end all of things and that God is really about seeing to it that he is happy and contented.
it is little wonder that man's view of God and His desire for the world is twisted an skewed today...But there is hope and it is wrapped up in a return to the Bible and a simple commitment to Biblical truth!  If we will be return to reading and believing what God has said and doing what He has commanded - naive as it sounds, He will accomplish His purpose and do what He has set out do in our lives and the lives of those around us.  It really isn't up to us - and thankfully so!

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

It’s Not Up To Us…

"Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly
entertained angels."¹ - Hebrews 13:1-1

“Because we too are human beings, God makes it possible for us to empathize with others who might be enduring hardship”. - Empathy is/should be one of the key component involved in hospitality.  Empathy has been defined by Webster as "the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it.  It is, it claims, the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner and extends to the capacity for for actually acting on this feeling.  It comes from the Greek “empatheia”, literally, a passion, from “empathēs” emotional, from em- + pathos feelings, emotion — more at pathos.  It first appeared in the English language about 1850 or so which is not say that this was the first time that the emotion appeared in the English speaking people!

It is interesting that Hospitality is a universally observed thing in human experience.  It is not a mater that is seen only within the Christian community.   All religious traditions emphasize hospitality.  Even the irreligious recognize the need for empathy and taking in and caring for the stranger and for the needy.  This is not a Christian thing.  The Christian part of the matter is not in the doing of the deed, but in the why of the doing!

The example the writer to Hebrews builds on the concept cited in verse 1, that of brotherly love continuing...Verse three takes it even further when it extends the idea to prisoners.  The "prisoners" in view are not those in prison for crimes against humanity, but those in prison for their faith.  They are those being persecuted, as is made clear in the text.  This is not to say that we ought not be knd to thsose in prison because of criminal activity, but this text does not commission that activity.

“To obtain money to free a fellow believer, some early Christians even sold themselves into slavery.” - The social circumstances were very, very different at the time being addressed in this letter than they are now and we must recognize and acknowledge that as we read it.  It is foolish to try and "reimagine" or reinterpret this text and bring the actual meaning of the text forward to modern circumstances to try and understand it.  Doing so bends it completely out of shape and makes it absolutely un-understandable.  The result will be that end up with some abomination that little resembles what God intended and communicated to the writer of Hebrews.

Sadly, that is what we see in much of the church today.  In our rush to make the Scripture "relevant" to modern audiences, we have forgotten the difference between interpretation and application.  In our rush to seen attractive to those around us and gather an audience, building and not driving away, we have so obscured the meaning of the Bible, and the process by we obtain that meaning, that we can make it mean virtually anything we wish.  Obviously, that makes man the authority and not God in the matter of "revelation" these days - a contradiction of the gravest sorts and sadly one that will be discovered in lives of man until the stand before their Creator at the last day!
The "freedom" here is freedom from chains of persecution, not for some crime committed.  The suffering was the suffering of persecution at the hands of the government, "official" persecutors.  We are, it seems, drawing closer and closer to that kind of persecution today as those in authority express their distaste for faith more and more openly.

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

What Is Hospitality?

“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” ¹   Hebrews 13:2

1 Thess. 5:15 - The "all" in this verse is one of those words in the NT that gives Bible teachers fits.  It takes it's meaning from the context around it.  It can mean all of a certain group, or all, universally.  One must look at the surrounding verses to decide what the "all" is that is being spoken of.  Paul has discussed how the pastors are to serve the people and how the people are to respond to the pastors (vv. 12,13). In these verses, he presents how the people are to treat each other in the fellowship of the church. The “unruly,” namely those out of line, must be warned and taught to get back in line. The “fainthearted,” those in fear and doubt, must be encouraged and made bold. The “weak,” those without spiritual and moral strength, must be held up firmly. Patience, forgiveness and acts of goodness must prevail between all the people. 

Now, inherent in all of this counsel is the truth the Pastor (and that is Paul's audience here) is that he is dealing with the visible church.  There is no indication that he is dealing ONLY with those who know Christ.  Timothy is counselled, for instance to do "the work of an evangelist", certainly not something done on folks already believers.  This is a part of what makes dealing with words used like "all" so difficult. 

Further, the "all" in a context like this one (5:5) is plural and is likely a reference to the church at large and not a reference to any singular believer either personally or in concept.  Paul is saying that Timothy is have the good of himself and the whole church in his mind when he ministers, and not any single believer; good advice to say the least.

“…includes even your enemies.” - This is surely true.  In order to follow after the example of Christ, we must be willing to show hospitality to those who hate us.  Christ surely did!  If the NT shows us anything it shows us that!  He came among those who despised Him and He showed them "hospitaility" and brought them God's love - that is what we are to do as well!

“…because our actions may even influence someone toward salvation.” - Of course, a second goal is to bring believers, wayward believers to the place of exercising a stronger and more vibrant experience of their faith in their Lord.  One's walk with Christ and witness is not limited to the unredeemed, and we must remember that.  Living out our lives, representing our Lord Jesus Christ MUST bear in mind the effect that it will have on these two groups and how God would us in drawing them to Himself.

“…we can never know how significant…” - Ideally, "helpful ought not be a consideration, from the point of view that we ought to be willing to be as helpful to all as possibly can be at any time.  Of course, that is almost never the case, but since we are talking about ideals here, let's go ahead and talk about the ideal!  What we wnat to see here, and what is manifest elsewhere in the the Bible is that we want to be careful to remember that many times (and the recorded illustrations in the Bible are just that - illustrations that lead us to consider that God does things in our lives as well. 

Think of that truth, as the writer to Hebrews calls us to do!  There are times when, for the sake of blessing, or for the sake of testing, God sends angels among men!  As conservatives, we tend to reject the very idea of the miraculous, at least in the "Charismatic" kind of way.  Ye the Bible makes it clear that God often does just these kind of things.

“…the third was the Lord Himself.” - I've often wondered if this, as it did in the OT,  does not occassionally happen.  The only reason I can think of for it not to be that it was so in the OT for a specific reason - to point to the coming Messiah and direct men and their thoughts to His coming ministry.  That purpose cannot, naturally, be accomplished should God visit men today.  That is not to say that God could not or would visit men literally, but His purpose would surely need to be very different, though we would argue that it would need to be every bit as real and definate (and as demonstrable to all men).

Matt. 25:40 - This the key to understanding the concept of "hospitality".   This specifically refers, in particular to other disciples. Some would apply this to national Israel; others to needy people in general. But here Christ is specifically commending “those on His right” (v. 34) for the way they received His emissaries.  This is a similar passage to Matthew 18:15 that does not speak of actual little children either.  

4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

This too speaks not of literal children, but children in the sense described in vv. 3, 4 (those who have humbled themselves like children), i.e., true believers.  So what is in view were Christ’s disciples (10:42; 12:48, 49; 18:14), not the poor and needy in general. The judgment of the nations depends on how they respond to Christians and to the gospel (10:40–42), not only because it is through the testimony of Christians that the Gentiles can hear and believe (Rom. 10:14), but also because Christ identifies with His people. Their suffering is His suffering, and compassion shown to them is compassion shown to Him.

It is interesting to note that the three groups are referred to in vv. 31–46: sheep, goats, and My brethren. At the very least, thus we must conclude that these “brethren” are believers in Jesus Christ.  There is no way that this verse it talking about children.

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[1]  This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

We Must Love The Brethren

“Let love of the brethren continue.” ¹   Hebrews 13:1

“The importance of brotherly love extends well beyond the walls of your local church”.  -  One might surely argue that the real significance of brotherly love does demonstrate itself until one is beyond the walls of the local assembly and outside of the "official" confines and definitions of the institutional church.  A real argument can and should be made that if bortherly love does not control and color, really color one's behavior; making a discernable difference in our conduct and behavior toward the brethren, then something is dreadfully wrong in our lives.

“John 13:35”  -  With the citation here, we are given an evidence of the presence of Salvation.  We must be careful, however, not to understand this to say that unless this love is present that salvation is NOT present.  It surely does argue that the absence of love for the brethren would make an argument that salvation is cast in doubt.  Christ is saying that love of the brethren is characteristic of believers that are walking in obedience to God.  But what this passage is saying is that the love of the brethren present in our lives tells those around us that we ARE believers, NOT vice-versa as some may argue.  "Love" in this passage is not the brotherly love mentioned elsewhere, but is "agaph" or pure Christian love, of the type that God demonstrates toward us and that we are commanded to show toward Christ.  What is significant here is that love for others here is the distinguishing characteristic, not of salvation, but of discipleship.

It is interesting to think for a moment about the "new" aspect of this commandment.  There is nothing new about the command to love, since Lev. 19:18 teaches to “love your neighbor as yourself.” The new element is the change from “neighbor” to “one another” and the change from “as yourself” to “as I have loved you.” Christian love has Christ’s sacrificial love as its model, and the community of believers as the primary (though by no means exclusive) place in which it is expressed.  It is a far more difficult task - thank God that we have a far greater provision enabling us to do so in the Spirit of God!

“…the measuring stick by which the world can determine if our Christian profession is genuine.”  -  As believers, we know that we will be subject to intense scrutiny and careful evaluation.  Further, we know that this evaluation will come, Biblically, from a hostile point of view, as these are unsaved people and they, by nature are haters of God and all He stands for.  Whether that comes out in active opposition or passive aggression, it is there none-the-less.  The Bible tells us that it will be so and we are both forewarned and forearmed.
Because this is true, we must assume at least two things.  First, that it is a normal thing, a natural thing, a part of the created order.  You and I, as redeemed people stood in exactly the same position when unredeemed. 

Secondly, because it is that normal and expect thing; God has  called and enabled us to stand and be prepared for a proper witness to the lost in the face of that hostility.  A part of that witness is that the unsaved watch how we love and treat each other.

“…what a delight it is…”  -  That same delight, only to a greater degree is experienced by our Heavenly Father as we love one another.  The idea that we can give God pleasure or delight is a profound and magnificent one!  We know that God is unchangeable.  We know further that He needs nothing from man, He is lacking nothing and requires no input from man to make Him complete or fulfill Him.

Yet, it is true that His people can make Him glad.  We can bring Him joy and we can cause Him to rejoice.  What an immensely gratifying concept that is first of all, and what a tremendously sobering idea it is secondly. 

What a joy to God's children to bring Him pleasure.  With all that He has done for us, with all that has provided for us and all of that in the face of our fallen humanness - our natural response must be one of great joy and gratitude!

But, in light of the nature of God, of His holiness and righteous nature, of His great purity, especially in contrast to our own lack of those qualities, how sobering it is that we are enabled to approach Him! This is the God of the universe, the holy one of universe, the One Who holds heaven and earth in His hands, and we can stand in His presence and make offering to Him and do those things that bring Him pleasure!  What a joy!  Among those things is loving the brethren. 

“Ps. 133:1”  -  "Behold" is a marker used to liven narrative, to draw attention to what is being said and call attention to some detail.  "Good" is a moral reference speaking of the moral opposite of evil.  It can be translated anywhere from good, to generous, to festive, to beautiful, to pleasing, all of which have the mentioned moral overtones as opposed to evil.  It is morally good, not not just experientially good.  "Pleasant" is an adjective that speaks of the quality of being favorable or acceptable.  It could also, in some contexts speak of something that is beautiful or attractive when it speaks of the appearance of an object.  "Dwell together" is a combination of a verb (an infinitive) meaning "to live"and a noun referring to a state of oneness or unity.

"Good" and "Pleasant" are preceded by what's called an "adverbial interrogative".  It is a marker of a question.  In this case, the question is a rhetorical one - that is, answer is not intended to not elicit an actual response from the reader - the answer is suggested by the very act of asking.  The answer to the question is that it is immeasurably good and immeasurably pleasant!  Actually - there is no real answer!  The question is intended to stimulate thought more than a real answer.

“God is both pleased and glorified…”  -  If we could summarize the goal of the Christian life in a few words - these would be the words!  Please Him and glorify Him!  This ought to be our aim an the focus of our lives - the loci of all that we do.

“If you do not have such commitment, it is fair to question your relationship to God (1 John 3:17).”  -  As we have said, it is not so much that this is that which MUST be present or we are not born again, as it is that which give evidence that the Spirit is at work in us.  The verse that is cited gives some insight  into just what we mean here.  1 John 3:17 (NKJV)

17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

The brother in view is one who has the ability to meet need first of all.  Secondly, the verse tells us that he perceives a brother in need and deliberately "shuts up" his heart from him.  The verb is in the subjunctive which, in this context would suggest such a deliberate action, a choice on his part.  We're not talking about someone who simply overlooks need or is not actively seeking for n eeds to meet.  This is someone who is calloused and deliberately uncaring.  It is this person that John says in whom "the love of God" does not "abide".

The "Love of God' is much the same as we have discussed before.  "How does" is another adverbial adverbial interogative, a different word, but with the same effect.  It asks the question "how" or "in what fashion".  "Abide" in the Greek word for staying or remaining.  It is in the present indicative and gives the picture of something already present (namely, the love of God) that won't stay.   The point here is that there is real question as to whether it was ever really present!  Refusing to help a fellow believer when you can, John reasons, reveals that you don’t really love him. And if you don’t love him, God’s love can’t be in your heart, which proves that you don’t belong to Him.

1 John 3:18-19:  18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

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[1]  This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Fervently & Continually!

“Let love of the brethren continue.”¹ - Hebrews 13:1

“22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, ²³ having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, - Your "soul" is, for Peter, your inner self, the immaterial part of man. Peter, as well as the rest of the Bible authors, makes no formal difference between the soul and the spirit of man. They are simply aspect of his immaterial side.

He says those to whom he was writing "have purified your souls in obeying the truth...". "Purify" speaks of being ritually or ceremonially cleansed, a reference to the OT rituals conducted in the Temple, now fulfilled in Christ. Now that those who are in Christ have believed they are "purified once and for all. The word implies the moral virtue that was attached to the worthy OT offering.

It is a participle, picturing the verbs action but putting in the place of a noun in the sentence. They are "the purified ones". It is worth noting that it Perfect tense as well as plural also. Peter is speaking their entire group, not intending that anyone be able to separate themselve and make themselves an exception. Further, as always, we are reminded careful, that the basis of all of this is the past, in the Work of Christ, finished once and for all and, more directly, the outworking of that accomplishment in their lives - their love for each other.

They "Obeyed the Truth through the Spirit". This, of course is a reference to salvation by grace and to all that followed. The "Truth" is athe Truth of the Gospel as revealed in the Word of God and the Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God. What is interesting here (not the only interesting thing surely!) is that we have "purified ourselves" in a "sincere love of the brethren".

Sincere means genuine or without hypocrisy. Romans 12:9: Paul uses it when he tells us to "let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.". In 2 Corinthians 6:5-6 Paul uses the word: "...⁵ in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; ⁶ by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,..." He uses it in 1Ti 1:5 & 2Ti 1:5 to refer to a "sincere faith". James uses the word in James the word in James 3:17 to speak of a "Wisdom that is from above" and then goes on describe its' characteristics.

"Love of the brethren" is the noun form of the word of which we have been speaking, here in its noun form. Early Greek used this word to speak of love for an actual blood brother or sister, no small indicator of just what kind of tie we are talking about when we see it applied to the Christian fellowship. It is not a mere acknowlegement of logical or organizational tie. It is a real and intimate tie that has deep and personal, essential meaning.

Sadly, this is where many believers fall short. We allow these ties to fall down. We allow the love for the brethren to cool and fall into almost mere aquaintence levels. This is not what God intended and is not the way the Church was designed to work - there is little wondeer that it has fallen into disrepair!

This is borne out, by the way, by the word "fervently" at the end of verse 22 in 1 Peter 1. The most common translation of this word is "continuously" or "without ceasing". Though it is not a word that is used often, it is used a couple times, This is the word that used in Acts 12:5 as the Church prayed for Peter's release from prison in Acts 12:5. It is used in Acts 22:44 (translated "earnestly") when Jesus was praying the Garden. the Septuagint uses it to translate Jonah 3:8: "But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from ^fthe violence that is in his hands.".

Peter sums up with the reason why all of this is so: "Having been born again..." As with so much in the Christian life, all of this is rooted in the truth, the fact that we are, first of all, believers. That fundamental fact MUST have implications, and one of those must be that our behavior is altered - in this case, it is our behavior toward one another - we must love one another fervently, continually!

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Growing or Shriveling?

“Let love of the brethren continue.”¹ - Hebrews 13:1

“Love of other believers…” - "Love" is the famous Biblical word "Philadelphos" meaning love for a fellow believer, and speaks of the nature of the love; formally, a brotherly love or brotherly kindness. It is a combination of two different Greek words, Philos (Love) and Adelphos (brother), hence the translation. It speaks more the nature of the affection that one has to other believers than it does to one for whom one has affection. It is in the nominative case as the subject of the sentence.

As such, we must take care how we translate it and take care not to split this into two parts. This is not "love of the brethren", it is "brotherly love". That may seem like a small difference, but it is a significant one and, more importantly, it is a Biblical one. It does not speak to who we love, but to the way in which we love the ones we do love!

“…a natural outflow of the Christian life…” - By this we mean that this kind/degree of loving of other believers is a natural expression of being a Christian. We have said before, and the Bible is very clear, that Christians live and behave as Christians. This is, the Bible proclaims, inescapable. All believers demonstrate the truth of the presence and reality of Christianity in their lives. There is no such thing as a believer that gives no evidence of the presence of that salvation. One of the evidences of that salvation is love for the brethren and that evidence, the writer to Hebrews says, ought to continue!

“…it became very natural and exciting to love other Christians and to want to be around them.” - This is one of the truly sad things in the Church today - we have lost the lustre and joy of our fascination with each other. We no longer really like being with each other. We come to church for a number of reasons, but in many ways, we'd really rather be at home! It is almost as if church is a bother to us. That joy was wonderful, but it faded over the years.

“…must be nurtured or it will not grow…” - By "Nurtured" we mean not only that it must be kept up, but that it must be worked on and increased so that it matures and grows as with any other part of our Christian life. No part of our relationship with God can remain static.We be both seeking and submitting to He and to His Word on a continuing basis or, as MacArthur clear reminds us we will not only not grow, we not grow, we regress, or shrivel!

“…it may actually shrivel.” - The danger of losing or falling back from loving the brethren is a very real danger. The fervency with which we love the Church when we come to Christ is an amzing thing, and by church, I don't mean the institution or the organic church as a whole, I mean the people of the church. When we are young in the Lord we love each other as young lovers do, we almost can't get enough of each other. But as time goes by, if we allow it, that love cools, an the danger is that we drift apart and we occupy ourselves with other things that are of interest to us, to oursleves, and not to the entire group at large. Thus that love cools and we fall away. Oh, we are not enemies by any means, at least, we ought not be! But neither are we the intnse lovers of each other in the sense that Hebrews 13:1 says we ought to be!

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Put Up – Or Shut Up!

“Let love of the brethren continue.”¹ - Hebrews 13:1

“…most of all from those who say they belong to God’s family.”  Where do we begin with this statement? I suppose that we must begin by saying that Dr. MacArthur is exactly and completely correct! The unredeemed are absolutely and fully unable to draw any conclusion, in and of themselves, as to what God is like. They do not have "the apparatus" so to speak, being unsaved and not possessing the Spirit of God, thus unable to communicate with Him, understand His Word, etc. All they are able to do is observe those who profess to know Christ and see what they portray as Christ in the world and draw conclusions. This is what God intended.

For many unsaved people, the life of the Christian is the most profound sermon they will hear for a long time before they hear any real significant content from God's Word. This is the critical matter that must be considered when we think of this issue. This is, indeed, the great danger in the whole idea of becoming "user friendly" and the doctrine of accommodating ourselves to the world with the "intention" of winning them. They never come because they never the need to come! They never perceive the need to come because they never see any difference in those who, supposedly, have already come!

“They read us a great deal more than they read the Bible.”  And this is not surpising. Being who they are, they are not yet under the compulsion, the conviction of God's Spirit to be involved in His Word. Thus, many times, they are not being instructed by the Spirit of God as what tuth is and ar left ot their own imaginations to draw conclusions. You and I might be able to disect the intricacies of good behavior from bad, right actions from wrong. But what chance have they? They are prisoner of their own nature and their eyes and ears are the prisoners of th eenemies of their sould, Satan that old liars from the beginning!

“…is inadequate by itself to influence the world toward Christ’s gospel.”  Simply believing what is right, and sitting in churchc or at home in our rightness is not going to win the world. Having right opinions and right outlooks on life and the affairs of the world is not sufficient if we do not live those opinions out before the world into God has interjected us! This is the entire reason God has allowed us to remain here after we become His children. He is entirely able to take us home once are born again, but He does not, He leaves us to walk here, among the unsaved. He does this that we might live as redeemed people, NOT that we might think as redeemed people.

Of course, thinking as redeemed people is obviously an essentially part of livng and acting like Christians, and I don't mean to imply anything different. What I mean is, and what MacArthur means (I believe), is that thinking as Christian is not suffient. That is not why we're here. We must live and act as believers beause, at lease in part, that is the part of the Christian experience that the unsaved world will see. That is the part they will witness.

Yes, the content of what we tell them is essential and it is crucial tht what we say to them be 100% consistent with the Biblical truth. We must communicat the Gospel and no less to the unsaved world around us. But if that occurs in the context of a life lived just like the life to whom we are speaking...then the one to whom we are speaking WILL conclude that we are an hypocrite and dismiss what we say. It will simply be just another opinion at best and chalked up to falsehood and more typical religious deception at worst. For the unredeemed, at that point in thier lives, in many ways, the life out of which the Gospel is spoken carries as much punch as the Gospel itself.Of course, this is not to say that cannot and has not overcome Gospel witness iven out of a bad testimony, or that a bad life cannot give way to a good testimony. Of course it can - God is in the business, many times of doing that very thing. But that is not what we are talking about here and now. From the front-end of the matter we MUST approach this thing from a serious perspective and demand of ourselves, and frankly from others, that their lives demonstrate the truth of the Gospel that they have embraced and that they proclaim.

If they are not willing to do so,they they had better simply shut their mouths...for they are doing more harm then good!

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Humility – The Mark of Genuine Christianity

“Walk … with all humility”¹ Ephesians 4:2

A legitimate issue, often left out of discussions is the addressing of side issues “instead of the central issue, which is pride.”  In fact, the vast majority of secular socultions never touch on the major issue of pride at all! The do indeed only deal with the preiferal issues, the manifestations of pride and seek to "solve the problems" by addressing those periferal matters instead of taking on the problem "head on" so to speak. The main reason, I believe, for this is that the world sees pride, not as a negative, detrimetal problem, but as virtue.

Surely, they understand that it can be taken to "a fault" and that one can go "too far" with and be consummed with pride. But by and large they see pride, a positive self image or whatever way you wish to state the concept, as a good and desireable quality.

As I watched the football games this past weekends I was over come with the sheer arrogance of the players. They all acted as if they were God's gift to the game. The strutted and blew their own horn, calling attention to themselves after each time they did anything at all. I couldn't help but remember the "old days" when men, often far better, did things in a far quieter way!

It is simply a truth that the issues which face us cannot be addressed adequately unless we address the root problem. That problem is our view of self, our pride. Just as one cannot redo one's basement and expect it to be a ceterpiece for one's home until one takes care of the water seeping in from all sides, so one must address root issues!

“…a basic ingredient for all spiritual blessing.”  The problem is that, once again, no one has told us what it is and they certainly don't want to get all involved with defining for us what it involves and asking to be it and coform to it as a prime and foundational aspect of our lives. What we are told is all of the various aspects or manifestations of pride, and urged to forsake them, but we are never, as we have said already, in this modern time, told of the of pride in self per se! If they are not warned concerning the true issue, then how can they be properly urged concerning the opposite - humlity? If that basic ingredient is missing, then then entire process is flawed, undermined and doomed to failure.

“When pride comes, then comes dishonor”  "Dishonor" is shame or disgrace namely a state of dishonor and ignominy (infamy) and so have low status and public disgrace, with associated feelings of shame. It can also refer to an insult, in other words, a verbal communication of scorn and slander. Note that there is a one-to-one relationship here. Where there is pride there is dishonor or shame. Likewise, where there is humility, there is wisodom. It is good to note that this is all from Solomon, someone who, without need for saying, knows wisdom when he sees it!

“…but with the humble is wisdom…”  "Humble" is a Hebrew word meaning modest, i.e., pertaining to a lack of pretentiousness. Translated that means a lack of focus on or concern with self. Note also the contrative "but that separates the two phrases. That makes these two adversative. It sets them against one another. They cannot coexist. Either one is prideful, reaping shame; or one is humble and reaps wisdom. Proverbs 15:33 backs this idea up.

“Too often we forget how important humility is.”  I think it true that for many, they never really knew, especially in this day and age when self and self-image is put forth as the highest good. If indeed that is true, then humility MUST be almost an evil! It must then be useless and even harmful in everyday life. For the Biblical believer, concerned with what God thinks about issues, this is unacceptable.

“Did you know that pride was the first sin ever committed?”  We might also note that it the root of every subsequent sin. Pride, or the love of self, lies at the root of all sin that is committed. We sin because love self and want to please our own flesh more than we want to please the Father; at least some portion of the time.

“I will make myself…”  These two words summarizse the attitude of the prideful person. There is first the objective of the thing, that is the self. Then there is the "making" or accomplishment of the thing. The two together focus the entire attention of the phrase on the doer and NOT on God.

"Make myself like" - is a combination of a verb and a preposition. The preposition is one that indiccates direction toward a thing or object. The verb means to resemble, compare or be like; to copy. The intention of Satan was to make himself a "copy" of God. That intention is repeated in all men who exercise sin as well. They seek to exercise for themselves the authority that is God's alone. This is the province of God and God alone - thus the charge of foolishness and sin.

“…all sin is defiance of God.”  And that means ALL. Even inadvertant sin is defiance of God. It may not be deliberate defiance, but it is defiance nevertheless. The sooner that we come to grips with this truth, the better off we'll be be and the better able we'll be to diagnose the problems of our sin-life and follow after Christ in obedience. It is only when we call things what they truly are that we can move ahead and be what God wants us to be.

“It is impossible to be saved without humility.”  This is a startling statement! But it is just another way of saying that anyone who wishes to become a child of God must submit themselves to what the Word says about they, their sinful nature, their destiny, and their need for a Savior and their inability to save themselves. All of that flies in the face of pride, destroys it utterly, is something they cannot make themselves, and requires humility.

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Chosen and Called

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”¹   Ephesians 4:1

“The position” - Our "position" or "standing" is a reference to the footing that believers enjoy having had their sins and thus the offense to God's holiness satisfied by means of the finished work of Christ.  Christ walked in holiness and perfectly fulfilled the Law of God, then gave himself a perfect sacrifice, successfully and completely fulfilling in every regard the requirements of God's Law.  The stature or standing that the Law, successfully achieved, would convey is what is in view.  It is that righteousness that is imputed to us by means of grace through faith.  That "Calling" is that to which we are called.

“Saints by calling” - This phrase from 1 Corinthians 1:2 - "Saints" is actually an adjective.  It fulfills the place of a noun in the sentence and thus is accorded the word "ones" as in "Holy Ones" or "Saints".  However, the adjectival or descriptive idea remains.  These are "Holy Ones"  To be "holy" is to dedicated to God pure, perfect or worthy of God.  "By calling" is likewise an adjective.  Both words are in the Dative  or instrumental case.  The dative refers to the person or thing to which something is given or for whom something is done.  Those who were redeemed were called ones, called to to be holy, saints before God.

“…to make certain” - The only Biblical way to make certain is to examine one's life and to make certain that there are the evidences present the Bible says will be present when one is redeemed.  This is what the Lord told us.  Redeemed people, children of God live like children of God!  It is inescapable.

2 Peter 1:10 - Making a calling and election sure means to be reliable or firm; verified or trustworthy, that is, pertaining to what is known with certainty.  This expresses the bull’s-eye Peter has been shooting at in vv. 5–9. Though God is “sure” who His elect are and has given them an eternally secure salvation the Christian might not always have assurance of his salvation. Security is the Holy Spirit revealed fact that salvation is forever. Assurance is one’s confidence that he possesses that eternal salvation. In other words, the believer who pursues the spiritual qualities mentioned above guarantees to himself by spiritual fruit that he was called (cf. v. 3; Rom. 8:30; 1 Pet. 2:21) and chosen (cf. 1 Pet. 1:2) by God to salvation. never stumble. As the Christian pursues the qualities enumerated by Peter (vv. 5–7) and sees that his life is useful and fruitful (v. 8), he will not stumble into doubt, despair, fear, or questioning, but enjoy assurance that he is saved.

“…a high calling…” - It is "high" in the sense that it is lifted up, a superior calling to all other pursuits that men can pursue.

Who called us? - Surprisingly, this question is often shoved aside.  But it a legitimate, even essential question that MUST be answered if we are to make sense of the "calling" issue.  Arminian friends would sweep this question aside as unimportant.  They would assert that what IS important is that we ANSWER the call by responding with our will.  But the point of the of the matter is that the that calling begins the process and initiates the matter of coming to the Lord.

“But if” - These two statements summarize the differences between the two views.  Arminianism is essentially put forth in the first view - becoming saved is essentially a matter of human choice - entirely and completely resistible.  In the second view, it a matter of the choice of God, selected by the liberty of the of the individual, but a matter of the movement of from beginning to end nevertheless.

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[1]  This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Worthy Walking

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”¹   Ephesians 4:1

“Walking is often used in Scripture as a symbol of the Christian life.”  This particular word for "walking" in the NT  is a compound word that literally means "to walk around".  It is a combination of two words - the generic word for walk and a conjunction meaning "around".  This makes it the perfect analogy for the Christian life.  Living as a Christian is a matter of walking, and that walk is neither a static matter, nor is it a predictable matter.  It is a matter of  walking with one's eyes open and adjusting to the changes and alterations of the terrain as it unfolds around you.

“Let your lifestyle be worthy of the calling to which you are called.”  This "lifestyle" is a "walk" that is adapted to all of the changes and challenges with which we are presented.  What is of concern is the manner of this "walk".  Paul is urging that this walk be of such a quality as to bring honor to Christ and to the Name we bear.  Actually, the issue is the calling to which we are called; we have little chance of living up to the Name by which we are called!

“…you must devote yourself to be strengthened with the power of the Holy Spirit…”  And this is neither easy nor casual nor  accomplished by short and simple steps.  It only occurs, ONLY by means of dedicated application of the means that God provided for us to be enabled to grow and be enabled to accomplish these goals, as MacArthur lays out for us in his discussion of Ephesians 3 here.

“We’ll never do it by just knowing the theology and then trying really hard.”  Zeal and dedication are the key.  It is not enough to simply know the truth, we must seek to the truth in the power of God's Spirit for His sake in His Name's sake.  It may seem like a small difference, but it is not, it is a very, very large one.

“You must commit every day and every moment to the Lord, trusting in His strength.”  God will not, in the lives of His children, be compartmentalized.  We cannot assign one part of life to God and other parts of life to, well, other parts of life and still expect God to fully bless us.  It simply will not happen.  We must dedicate ourselves fully to God if we expect God to fully commit blessing to us.

“Besides, why would you want to live on your own power when you can live by the power of God?”  This, of course, is a great question - the $1000 question!  When stated in this fashion the answer is obvious!  No one!  Why would we wish to live by our own means when we can live by the means of a great and more powerful, richer and dramatically more able source for life?  No one in their right mind would do so.  In fact - only someone who already predisposed against God would choose to do so!  It really does become a simple question of what resources are best of our Christian walk and when looked at from this perspective - the answer to that question is very simple - we must throw ourselves after the pursuit of God and live to please Him and Him only, living by His enablement and His power alone.

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[1]  This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

Humility Our Only Response

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”   Ephesians 4:1

“He didn’t beg for money, though, but for people to follow Christ”.  I'm not certain that "beg" is the best translation of the word here.  Parakalew is the same word that is used of what the Spirit of God does in our lives in ministry.  He comes alongside to help us.  He urges us, He encourages, He perhaps beseeches, but I am not certain at all that begging is not a stretch.  Perhaps it is simply that the word "beg" has a negative connotation in our minds, but I think we are better with the way that the more literal translations have given the verse to us.  I don't think that Paul is begging them, rather that he is urging them in the strongest terms.  He is indeed "pleading with them", but in the sense that a preacher or a prophet would plead, not in the sense that a beggar would do so.  I don't believe this to be matter of ego or a case of being unwilling to humble self.  I just don't believe the word goes there.

“Paul pleaded with many people”.  But the word used in this passage is a different Greek word than that which is used in Ephesians 4:1.  This word does indeed mean to implore or beg.  It is never used of the Spirit's ministry.  It is, on the other hand, used of our prayers to God, seeking blessing from Him.  The idea contained here is a totally different idea from a totally different word and it is not fair to tie the two words together. 

Further, Paul is speaking, on the one hand, to an unbeliever, concerning his salvation; and on the other, to a group of redeemed forlks, concerning their King.  That makes a big difference.

“I urge you therefore, brethren…”  This is, indeed a use of the same word as was used in Ephesians 4:1.  We would simply note that there is more of a sense of strong exhortation here than there is a sense of begging.

“We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God”.  Though this passage carries with it the sense of grief and a clear atmosphere of begging, we would note that it is not the same word as is used in Ephesians 4:1, but rather the word used in Acts 26 in reference to Paul before Agrippa.  In the matter concerning the Corinthians Paul was surely not hesitant to beg the them to submit themselves to God.

“When Paul was committed to some principle of divine truth, he implored people to respond. He didn’t approach the ministry with detachment or indifference.”  The above aside, there is no question that our approach to the presentation of the Gospel must, simply must be one that is one of passion and enthusiasm.  It must be one that is not a matter of ritual and matter of fact dryness and every-day course.  We must communicate the reality of what God has done in our lives and be sure that those to whom God has lead us and given us the privilege of bearing witness clearly see that God is both real and One to be reckoned with.  We cannot, as the world does, leave it with them as a matter of opinion, up to them. 

“…walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”  Again we note that this is written to believers.  Paul called to the redeemed as well as to the lost.  You and I need this call as often as the unredeemed do.  Surely it is a different call, with very different content to be sure, but we need it none-the-less.  It is all to easy to put things on autopilot.  We need God to startle us and to jar us into self-examination and being certain that the passion for Christ that ought to be there, really IS there!

“Because when you don’t walk worthy, God is not glorified in your life, you are not fully blessed, the church cannot fully function, and therefore the world cannot see Jesus Christ for who He is.”  This four-part chain is really a cycle.  God is glorified - I am blessed - the church functions - Christ (God) is seen to be Who He truly is and thus God is glorified. and that strats the chain over again.  All of that cycle rests upon the "working worthy" that Paul mentions.  Now we have to remember that this is not an idolated verse or we end up with a works salvation and a works sanctification.  We are able to "walk worthy" because we are redeemed and God has effected a change in us.  Our nature is different.  We were inextricably chained to sin and dishonoring God; now we are not.  Now we desire to please Him.

That in turn rests on the redemption that was accomplished, finished completely at the Cross of Calvary.  All of this was developed fully, doctrinally in chapters 1-3 of Ephesians.  That's what the "Therefore" in 4:1 is there for.  It ties the doctrine of Chapters 1-3 to the practical application of Chapters 4-6.  But we cannot forget the truths of chapters 1-3 are always there holding up these practical applications as their foundation.

And so the cycle takes its' course and we glorify God, are blessed, the organic church functions as God intended, and there world sees Christ for Who He really is and thus gives glory to God.  If we do not "walk worthily" - that chain breaks down.

“…it is our desire to be like Christ that compels us toward righteousness.”  Calvinists are, many times, accused of preaching a Christianity that divorces spiritual hard work from Christian Living.  We get accused of saying that spirituality somehow comes automatically and other silly things.  Actually, nothing is further from the truth. 

What we are guilty of is teaching that spirituality is not a matter of our own merit or goodness, now or ever.  However, we must work hard and put the time and the effort in in order to produce the "effect" of spirituality.  It does not produce itself.  The Word of God is very clear that we must pursue God and that this is matter of hard and diligent, continual work on the part of the believer.  What the Calvinist is very careful to continually keep at center in his vision is that too is a result of the work of the Spirit of God alone and not of his own effort.

So while it is our desire to be like Christ that compels us toward righteousness, as Dr. MacArthur has very ably taught elsewhere, that very desire is, itself, a function of redemption that has been built into us by the work of God.  We are doing what God has enabled us to do and must be careful to remember and also keep that in the front of our minds, lest, sadly, as many of our Baptist friends and brethren have, we become prideful and even arrogant in the accomplishment of spirituality.  What we have done is done because, and only because of the gracious and merciful work of a loving Lord.  Humility can be the only response.

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments. Quotes from MacArthur’s Devotional are in boldface.

God’s View & Priority Must Be My View & Priority

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” - Ephesians 4:1¹

MacArthur begins by asking a wonderfully penetrating question: “If Paul was a prisoner of Rome. Why then did he call himself “the prisoner of the Lord”?  The sovereignty of God is a matter that involves itself in all of the affairs of life.   Paul clearly understood that the affairs of men were under the control of the hand of God Who rules all things.  Hence the control that men exerted over his affairs was but secondary.  He saw that it was the God of heaven that stood in full control, final control over all of the affairs of his life. 

This is very reminiscent of the Lord Jesus and His interaction with Pilate in John 19:10-11: 10:

Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above...” 

This is the truth that ruled our Lord's life and it is the principle that must rule our own.

He goes on suggests, speaking of the things that happening life, that we ought to asking: “What does this mean, God?” and “How does this affect You?”  This is exactly the opposite of what both our nature and our culture tells us that our first questions ought to be.  They tell us that those questions ought to be concerning self and the effect that things will have on me and my experience in the world.  That is important certainly but it is not most significant.  Most significant, as well as a huge "tell" concerning the level of our spirituality and the place we are at in our walk in the Lord, is how we view things in terms, first, of the affect upon God and His reputation and standing before men.  This is immensely different than what is normal for most men.

Dr. MacArthur tells us that all too we think only on the earthly level.  Or perhaps it is not "only" but first, with the first obscuring or eclipsing the more significant matter of God's point of view.  Either way, the effect is the same.  God takes second place and that is unacceptable.

Further, he says that we ought to sure to focus on asking “What is God trying to teach me? How can I glorify Him in this?” As we have noted, this is not an easy task, nor is it an easy habit as it, because of our natures, easily slides from our fingers and we fall back into our old fleshly ways.  This is why we hold that this takes both constant effort and attention and constant prayer that god will enable and encourage us, reminding and empowering us to be sure that our focus is where it ought to be - on upholding and uplift His magnificent Name.

He has come up with one of the best definitions of Christian maturity I’ve head: “Automatically seeing things in light of the divine perspective.”  We will agree with MacArthur with this definition (Of course, it is not the only possible definition - but it suits from this point of view).  The emphasis here would be on the word "automatically".  This does not mean without effort, but rather it means that this maturity comes as a result of pursuit of God via the study of His Word, meditation of what is found there and the illumination and application of that information by His Spirit over time. 

What it is important to understand as we have said, is that is not simply something that "happens", but rather it is something that MUST be developed, cultivated and, as a result, the the response built in the believer becomes an automatic consideration of God's desire and glory first, before the consideration one's own wants and desires.

He underscores that “…the only right way for Christians to live”.  It is not indelicate to use the word "only" here.  There are not multiple ways to live that are acceptable to God.  We MUST live dedicated to God's glory, anything less is, by definition, unacceptable to Him and ought to unacceptable to us as His servants.  We do not live in a multiple choice system.

There was a reason for his imprisonment.  MacArthur cites Philippians 1:12-14  and uses it to speak of the truth that things that men perceive as "evil" occurrences are often really "good" things from Gods' POV.  This is not a new idea - reaching as far back as Joseph in Egypt.  Joseph told his brothers after his father's death and they feared retribution in Genesis 50:19-20: "19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."  This is precisely the kind of reaction, interpretation we are referring to.

We note his use of the phrase “…wasn’t preoccupied…”.  The word preoccupy by definition comes from two pieces - "prœ", meaning before, and "occupo", meaning to seize.  It means "to take possession before another; as, to preoccupy a country or land not before occupied.  It can also mean to prepossess; to occupy by anticipation or prejudices.   Men are naturally preoccupied with sin and with self.  That is a function of the fall that is present in all men.  It is only redemption and the outworking of the Spirit's work in our pursuit of Christ that can break the bondage to sin and can destroy that "preoccupation" in us!

God causes all things to work together for good  It is this assurance that allows us stand, calm and quiet, even when, as Joseph and Paul, we are prisoners of men, in the worst of circumstances, because we know that God is ultimately in control, working all things out for His Own glory, and for the best interests of the individual in question.

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[1] This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.

Doctrine Before Duty

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.”   Ephesians 4:1

This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.

It is interesting to see the parallel between the ideas of a law and a doctrine.  A Law is simply the secular world's parallel to religious doctrine.  Now, of course, it is not a one-to-one relationship in the way of a parallel.  There are indeed some differences, but the comparison serves.  Particularly in the realm in which we are speaking at this point - authority decrees and those under authority must obey.

“Paul understood that, so he always taught doctrine before duty…” - Blind obedience is always an insufficient basis for erecting a paradigm.  In fact, the Law is not the paradigm upon which God raised His own paradigm was it?  It was only a part of it.  The "Law" part of the paradigm in God's plan was only a portion of the plan, and a portion that rested firmly on the should of our Lord Jesus.  It was He Who would come and fulfill that Law, fulfill it perfectly and then raise that offering to God on our behalf, communicating that righteousness to us by means of imputation so that we might stand beside Him before the Father fully justified where we would not have before.

“Therefore” in Ephesians 4:1 links the doctrine of chapters 1–3 to the duty of chapters 4–6.” - There is always a "link" between doctrine and action.  But the link must always and carefully be held to work in the direction that this link runs.  doctrine first, then action.  The Roman Catholic church has erected that link backwards - works first, then some manner of doctrine and that arrangement does not work - the result is a failed system and lost souls.  We must fist some to the knowledge of truth and then, and only then can we live rightly before God.

“…duty always flows out of doctrine.” - And this is a matter of both ability and "want to". Before we are reborn we neither wish to server God nor are we able to serve God. The same dynamic holds true after we are redeemed. As we come to better know the truth of God our character becomes molded to the character of Christ and we become more and more able to serve Him and more and more willing to do so.

“Right living is based on right principles.” - How could we serve him rightly unless we know how to do so rightly?  If the Word of God is the "manual" for Christian living in the world, so to speak; then how can we serve God vigorously and effectively in that world unless we know what it says?  If holiness and personal righteous is key to walking God's daily blessing then how can we receive that blessing unless we are willing and seeking that blessing both continually and with all our energy?  How can we succeed in the Christian life unless we know the principle upon which that Christian Life is built upon?  Of course, the answer is that we cannot.

“We have not ceased to pray for you” - This is one of those "slap yourself in the head" things.  The NT is filled with these kinds of statements.  Paul (and other NT authors) continually prayed for their people to be filled with knowledge of God's will and other similar ideas.  The reason, at least from one angle, given what we have been talking about, is obvious.  They need to know God's mind and desire so that they could obey and serve Him in the place they were in!  That is exactly what Paul tells the Colossians in Col. 1:10.  They needed to "know" so they could "walk". 

I came across a blog the other day was a discussion of Catherine of Sienna and other Medieval ascetics.  She is entertained today and a "great mystic" and followed as one of the great figures in church history.  Her writing are read and devoured by many and many consider her to have heard from God in a powerful way. 

The problem is that she likely never read the Word of God for herself, women, even nuns, weren't allowed at that time.  She was a bulimic and an extreme ascetic who eventually starved herself to death to, in her mind, do penance for the sins of the church.  All she "knew" of God she got from "visions" and was within the Roman Catholic framework of the 14th Century. 

I mention this because this is the other side of the coin.  This is what happens when men don't know.  They make up spirituality.  We see it today in the dogs that call themselves teachers, but who are really devouring the church in the Prosperity field.  They are making it up as they go.  Paul said that Duty arise from out of knowledge, duty out of doctrine.

Many of our Baptist friends don't get off either - they go to the opposite side - to legalism and duty with doctrine.  You must use the KJV or you'll end in Judgment!  Those and other similar things are troublesome aren't they?  The Reformers had it right.  Luther said it best - Unless you convince from the Word of God concerning the matter, then I must refuse you.  Doctrine before practice.  As we think about our worthy walk, let’s avoid emotionalism and legalism, and instead focus on living what we learn from a thorough and personal study of God’s Word.

Joseph – A Just Man

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. (Matthew 1:19)

What does it mean that Joseph was a "Just man"?  The phrase"a just..." appears 12 times in the Scripture (OT & NT).  It is applies not only to just men, but to "just Judges" (Psalm 7:11); "just causes" (Psalm 17:17); yielding a "just weight" (Proverbs 11:1);

The phrase “a just man” is a Hebraism suggesting that he was a true believer in God who had thereby been declared righteous, and who carefully obeyed the law (see Gen. 6:9).  Hebrews 2:2 speaks of a "just reward".  Isaiah 45:21 calls God a "Just God", only one of His great Names in Isaiah. 

Eccles. 7:15 speaks of the "just man" who perishes in his righteousness alongside of the wicked man who prolongs life in his wickedness.   Solomon begged God to give instruction to the "just man" in Proverbs 9:9, arguing that he will be still wiser and he that will increase in learning because that fear of the Lord was the beginning of all wisdom.   Noah, John the Baptist and Cornelius are all men who are labeled "just men in the Bible.  so Joseph travels in very good company!

"Just" is the very word used later in the NT to speak of the righteous of Christ communicated to us by grace through faith.  there is every reason to think that Joseph is the very epitome of an OT saint, a justified man, standing righteous before his God in pattern of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Job and others.

Stoning was the legal prescription for this sort of adultery (Deut. 22:23, 24). Joseph’s righteousness meant he was also merciful; thus he did not intend to make Mary “a public example.”

“Was Minded to put her away privately…” -

The idea that there was a rigid set of laws that left no room for discretion is a fallacy.  There were surely laws and requirements.  But as Joseph demonstrates, there was also room for a "just man" to do as his heart and his mind directed him without violating that Law. 

We also need to address the issue of Divorce at this point in our thinking.  The Law allows for divorce the instance of unfaithfulness, the breaking of the covenant.  Note that Joseph's righteousness is nonnect to the practical action of not putting her away.  This is an import and obvious  thing, once we notice it!  As with believers to day, our theological righteousness, our justification must always be seen to work itself out into practical terms as Joseph's did here.  Joseph’s “righteousness” consists either in that he follows the appropriate halakah and divorces his bride, or in that he does not want to shame Mary the suspected adulteress by subjecting her to a trial for adultery—thus in his kindness and gentleness. 

Though he is an OT saint, we can see that he, in a manner of speak, shows for the character of Christ!  He is meek and gentle of spirit!  It is interesting that there is no evidence that Joseph felt anger, resentment, or bitterness. He had been shamed (if what he assumed had been true), but his concern was not for his own shame but for Mary’s. He was not wanting to disgrace her by public exposure of her supposed sin. Because he loved her so deeply he determined simply to put her away secretly.

Oh that you and, as believers, might show that depth of character and manifest that clearly the character of Christ in our every day life!

God’s Standards Over My Standards

This year I am often using MacArthur’s devotional “Strength for Today” as a starting point for my comments.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called.” - EPHESIANS 4:1^[2]

MacArthur begins his January 1st devotional by saying “Just as organizations have rules their members must follow, God has standards Christians must live by.  When someone is part of a group, he or she is obligated to follow its laws or standards.” 

The images that the Word of God uses are interesting.  They are not all, at times, politically correct, or even people friendly.  The Greek word used for prisoner is used of one who is bound, often in chains, but often in any kind of bondage.  It is not a friendly kind of word.  To use this word of our relationship with God is not something that modern man would do, yet Paul readily does it. 

Of course, he is speaking of the fact that he is in bondage to men on account his testimony of God to them.  But yet, he clearly says that his bondage is to the Lord and not to them.  His trust is in the God Who holds all things in His hand.  Bondage to men is incidental (speaking broadly of course) in Paul's mind; or at the very least is secondary.  God is in control of all that happens to him. 

A bit later he says “Most of us want to be part of a group because with belonging comes acceptance. This desire to conform can be quite strong, sometimes dangerously so.”  This is not a popular idea in our culture.  Personal liberty and the freedom to do as we please, even at the expense of the greater good is often seen as the "summum bonum" and is pursued with great vigor in modern society.  I will have what I want and that is all that there is to it!  Self satisfaction and achievement is the goal of many lives.  When the conflict between this and the laws of society occurs, there is often consternation and confusion.  In some areas the line is clear, but in others, it is becoming increasingly blurred. 

Morality and ethics is one of those areas.  As we erase lines in the area of moral truth, the definition of what is right and what is wrong disappears.  With it, the structure of society disappears. Sadly, we see this occurring, more and more rapidly in our society.

He speaks of the “desire to conform” and says it “can be quite strong, sometimes dangerously so.”  It can be so strong, that without proper guidance and anchor, namely, the Word of God.  The illusion, cherished by unredeemed man, that his own perception of what is good and what is not will carry him trough to an acceptable conclusion to life is a fairy tale.  Men pursue that dream vigorously, some more vigorously than others and exert pressure on those around them to embrace their truth as fact when it is not so.  This is dangerous in a wealth of ways.

Society doesn't work the way man wishes it would work.  People don't work the way they wish they would.  Economies don't function the way economist and politicians would like them to.  Nature won't knuckle under and obey popular political ideas.  You get the idea.  The world that God made, man and beast included, does what God designed (that's right, I said "designed") it to do whether or not it does so willingly or not. 

The only question is whether or not men will recognize God's Lordship openly and bow their knee in life, or wait to do so in death and as a function of judgment. 

Addressing the reason for their compromise He says: “lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God”.  He clearly points out the reason that underlies all of the gobblety-gook that stands over why men do such things by citing John 12:42-43:

42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.^[2]

They put the praise (or, in this case, the disdain) of men over above the praise of God.  What an indictment!  It is, at the same time terrible and universal!  It is something that we all fall prey to, to one degree or another.  Thus it is something that we all must, MUST guard against. 

Speaking of the modern church, MacArthur some people think belonging to the church is different though. They want the blessings, rights, and privileges of being a child of God, but they’re unwilling to conform to biblical standards. Some think that God is willing to take anyone and everyone that He can get.  They feel like He is either desperate and that He has no standards.  All one needs to do is have the impulse to be religious and that is good enough for the doddering old fool.  As he goes on to say, they are self-interested, as they are in all things, and want benefit, with no expenditure.  They want to reap from God, without any effort on their part.

MacArthur concludes “…but they’re unwilling to conform to biblical standards.”  This is little more than the attitude that has been present in the unredeemed all throughout history.  I will be what I want to be and God has nothing to say about it.  He will take me as I am.  I will be the determiner of how I come to Him and He will like it!  He will take my offering!  Oh, wait!  that's a quote from Cain!  Never mind!

It is well that MacArthur reminds us of 2 Thess. 3:6 and the need to keep apart from unruly brethren.  Note that in that verse Paul specifically underscores that the standard for behavior is the Word, the "Tradition which you received from us." 

There are rules.  They are God's rules - His standards and they must stand over ours - that's why they are called standards!
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[1]   All Devotional Quotes are from MacArthur, J. (1997). Strength for today. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

[2]   NKJV