Category Archives: Christian Living and Practice

We Are Butlers Not Chefs

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“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21

It has become fashionable today for preachers and teachers to construct their sermons based loosely on a passage of Scripture. I say loosely because the main ingredient is not normally sound exegesis of the text under consideration but rather is much more often an amalgam of hobby-horse theology and whatever the preacher wants to say to the congregation.  This trend is to be expected for a couple of reasons.

First of all, many pastors have abandoned any belief in the inspiration of the Scriptures. These individuals have succumbed to the siren song of biblical criticism run amok and have adopted a view of the Scriptures as a collection of not too accurate narrative histories of a deceived people.

Second, when inspiration is jettisoned the inerrancy of the Scriptures must follow. If the Bible is a collection of fanciful stories and not at all God’s message to mankind then it cannot possibly be without error.

Third, if the Scriptures are not inspired and thus not inerrant, then they cannot hold any degree of authority over a person’s life. People are thus justified in cherry-picking what they will accept and will not accept.  The end result is they really don’t accept any authority beyond themselves.

The Apostle Peter reminds us in the passage above that we are not the originators of the truths we preach. The Bible is God’s Word to His creation and as such we have the high honor and responsibility to accurately convey God’s message to all people.  In this sense we are butlers of the Word of God faithfully serving Him and not chefs who are free to concoct our own recipes based on what we think is true from the Bible.

Confession and Repentance? Yes!

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“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3

There is a spurious teaching today that appears to be gaining adherents.  It is the teaching that Christians don’t need to confess and repent of their sins because all a believer’s sins – past, present, future – are forgiven at the moment of salvation.  To confess sins after that point is an affront to God.  Is this what the Bible teaches?

Unfortunately for those who hold this view the answer is a resounding no. Salvation does not mean you receive a “get out of jail free” card when it comes to post-conversion sin. While it is true that God in Christ has forgiven us our sins in a judicial sense, it is not true that we no longer need to confess and repent of our sins.  Let’s unpack this issue.

It appears that supporters of the no confession, no repentance necessary post-conversion position confuse standing with relationship.  In other words they are guilty of misconstruing our justification and adoption as sons and daughters with our sanctification and fellowship in Christ.  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) stands along side of admonitions to not “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30).  There is a visible tension in the Scriptures which holds that we are no longer slaves to sin or under sin’s power (Romans 6) while simultaneously acknowledging that Christians will sin and this causes God’s discipline (Hebrews 12).

Perhaps the most cited passage in this context is 1 John.  In this epistle John tells believers that they must confess and repent of their sins.  Note again that John wrote to believers telling them that they must not succumb to the belief that they were “children of the light” when their lives demonstrated sinful behavior.  “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” John’s first epistle is a clear statement against the no confession/no repentance necessary teaching.

Finally let us consider Jesus’ words that He offered as instruction to His disciples of every age: “Pray then (daily) in this way . . . give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors . . .” (Matthew 6:9, 11-12).

Brothers and sisters do not think that your daily thoughts, words, and actions do not matter to the Father.  Remember to take captive every thought, word, and deed to the obedience of Christ.

PAWNS OR KNIGHTS?

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“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Are you useful or are you being used?  Have you considered these questions in a spiritual context?  Paul’s statement to the Corinthian believers informs us that we are being used for either God’s Kingdom or for our enemy’s purposes against God’s Kingdom. There is no middle ground. Jesus explained this situation by saying that we are either for Him or against Him.

The New Testament in many places encourages readers to evaluate themselves in light of Jesus’ teaching.  Many people fail to do this and therefore become useful pawns of the enemy.  Sadly these misinformed people often think themselves to be knights for God. But again Jesus reminds us that the spiritual fruit produced by our actions is the true test of whether or not we are in Christ. Rotten fruit is proof you are not.

Instead of being used as a pawn, submit yourselves to God, be led by the Holy Spirit, put on the full armor of God and be the soldier for Christ God means you to be.

BE REAL WITH JESUS

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After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

Mark 3:5 NAS

The scene of this healing was in the synagogue.  It is interesting that it took place there but certainly not a coincidence.  One of the sub-plots was Jesus pointing out the stark unbelief of the religious leaders.  Alas, this was only one of many lessons of the Master that were lost on His audience.

When Jesus came to the synagogue that day He immediately saw the man with a withered hand.  The Scribes and Pharisees knew the man with the withered hand was there as well and were watching Jesus to see if He would violate their burdensome laws associated with the Sabbath.

Desiring to teach them all about the compassion of God, Jesus called the man to come forward and to stretch out his hand.  Here we find the moment of truth and the point of this event.  Would the man stretch out his good hand as if nothing was wrong with him?  Would he try to hide his embarrassment in spite of the fact he was known by all present as having this deformity?

To the man’s credit he trusted Jesus for the healing.  Jesus’ question to the gathered assembly, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” was intended to enable them to understand God’s compassion for our struggles.  He was asking them to be real with Him; to place the welfare of God’s creation above their self-contrived rules.

Sadly they missed it.  Today, make it a point to both accept and extend compassion.  God wants to make you whole and complete.  But He also wants us to understand that He expects us to be compassionate toward people.  The reality of the Christian life is to be “real” with Jesus.

Trust Him today for your own healing and see the wonderful works He will do through you to touch other lives.

JESUS OR MORE BARNS?

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And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.’

Luke 12:16-18 NAS

Summing up this parable Jesus said we should give our wealth to the poor and needy before allowing our possessions to rule our thoughts and actions.  His teaching that we should not be consumed with thoughts of how we will maintain and build our bank accounts, 401K’s, and mutual funds is a clarion call to focus on the imperatives of the Christian life.

We are to be watchmen waiting for the Master – “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.”Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks” (Luke 12:35-36)

If the things of this world get in the way of us seeing the important things of the Kingdom, then Jesus says we are to get rid of them.  We don’t need more barns, we need all of Jesus!