What If...?"

Our sermon series has been traversing by exposition the book of 1 Timothy.  Our message this past Sunday was in chapter 4 verses 12-16.  A powerful list of leadership qualities was presented that I am unable to hold in, and compelled to share as a challenge to all.  Firstly, leadership is communicated by Paul to Timothy as a matter of character and conduct.  This is striking because when we speak of leaders these are rarely if ever presented at the front of our natural proclivities toward the subject.  In the main we are interested in strength, great natural talent, good communication skills, adeptness in motivational techniques, a natural persuasive personality, a skill set and knowledge base second to none in the field of specialization and the like.  If we look at Paul's list of qualifications we see a stark contrast to what our first instincts would tell us.

"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in the word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."


I realize these items are from Paul to Timothy for the example he is to be for the church, but how about applying that for a list of traits to those looked at in job interviews?  What if the first area of investigation was into the speech of the prospective leader?  What if, for prospective leaders in all walks of life the expectation was for one who was an example to others in love?  What if, leaders were expected to be examples in spirit?  What if there was an expectation of faith in those who would lead?  What if the standard across the board for those who would lead others was purity?  Before even looking to diplomas, years of experience, ability, etc., these character issues were held under scrutiny?  What kind of difference would that make?  Next up, following the character traits, Paul addresses the conduct:

"Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine.  Continue in them..."


Note two things especially here, first that one who possesses the character traits remains a work in progress and progress should be evident, and second that there is a continuing process of self-evaluation and personal work being done.  There is no room for lethargy or complacency.  There is an expectation of living out exactly what is being taught and a continued process of change and growth toward a more perfect outworking of those character traits previously listed.

Two final notes:
1) There is no doubt that absent the power of the Holy Spirit such character qualities would not really exist.  If we believe the Word then we understand that no man lives according to the purpose of their existence and even if some of the qualities listed were present in observance they could not be held with truly good motivation.  We cannot begin down a path of Truth until we have been made a new creation.  Theologically speaking, regeneration must precede true progress relative to lifestyle.  Heart change is required, and that is a work of the Holy Spirit.

2) Pride and boasting is completely discounted.  Embedded in this list and exhortation is the prior understanding that continued mistakes, asking for forgiveness, prayer and change of behavior will be expected.  How could one stand up and say they have arrived and all should follow them because of their perfect example when there is an expectation of a noticeable evidence of progress?  Leaders who possess the character traits can and should be followed, as they will no doubt have a grave sense of humility, understand better than anyone else how far they have yet to go to fulfill the expected requirement in these areas (perfection) and be completely reliant on the power of the Holy Spirit and not on any ability within.

What if these principles were expected and exhibited, with a continued desire to strive after them with abandon for all in leadership?  Thank God for common grace, and for the realization that we can all strive for such quality of character regardless of any temporal distinctive.

Truth Be Told

I'm coming to the close of my personal daily devotions in 1 John, 2 John and 3 John and wanted to post some of the common themes that emerged as prominent in my mind as I have been studying and meditating on these letters in the last few months.  There are three that are foremost in my thinking, and all three gained that place of prominence in my mind because of several verses in particular, although the themes were common throughout.

Theme number one: Jesus is Lord and Christ, the Son of God.

"We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."  1 John 4:13-15

"Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."  1 John 5:5

The Gospel of Christ according to John also provides much textual support of the connection between the man Jesus and the link to Christ, Lord and God ("My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  I and the Father are one." John 10:29-30, for example).

Theme number two: We know love and truth because we know the Son.

"...because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:  Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love." 2 John 2-3

"It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth.  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 3-4

"But you have an annointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.  I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ...Dear friends, if our  hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God, and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands, and do what pleases him.  And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us."  1 John 2:20-22a; 3:21-23

Theme number three: Resist false teaching that opposes the love and truth known through the Son.

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." 1 John 4:1-3

"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.  Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work." 2 John 9-11

"Dear friends, do not imitate what is evil but what is good.  Anyone who does what is good is from God.  Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God."  3 John 11

It would do all who call on the name of Christ to think carefully on these and spend some time reinforcing these truths each day as we live each day knowing truth and love because of the work of the Holy Spirit who shined the light of truth in our hearts so that we might know Jesus as both Lord and Christ and empowers us to study the Word of Truth to show ourselves approved and recognize deception and false teaching.  God doesn't need us to defend Him as He was and is and ever will be God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit regardless any earthly circumstance, but there are those who will seek to lead others away from the Truth and so we can be about lifting up Love and Truth as it is only legitimate - through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

A Practical Application

The last post dealt with a general scenario about what was clear and explicit in scripture being extended to a similar position in which the Bible was granted to be silent.  Nice discussion so far as hypothetical general scenarios go.  Now, perhaps a specific case study that is actively and sometimes contentiously debated to put into practice what we have as yet handled just theoretically.

1 Timothy 3:2,4 and 12 says the following: "Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife...He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect...," and "A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must handle his children and household well."  This is a clear and explicit establishment of men in the position of overseer (elder, bishop) and deacon in church leadership.  The Bible, however, is silent on the issue of women in the same position of leadership.  By silent we mean that we do not read explicitly worded anywhere in scripture something like "the overseer who is a woman must be the wife of but one husband, faithful to her children and husband;" nor do we read something like "only men are allowed to be elder or deacon, women shall not be allowed in positions of elder or deacon."  So what are we to believe about women as elder or deacon.  Well we look through the Bible and find the general principle of loving God, serving God and effective leadership to be a good thing.  We also find the general principle of working together in the church as a body, each with their own part to make the whole body function.  We also find the general principle of spiritual gifts, of individuals being called to specific gifts and functioning within those gifts.  We find principles of love and grace toward one another.  We look to churches thoughout the nation and see with ever-increasing regularity embracing women in positions of elder and deacon.  Therefore, since the Bible is silent on women as elder and deacon, and since we see many general principles and our observation of church operation today, we fix our position that God is pleased when capable, and responsible adults serve joyfully in positions of leadership in the local church.  We therefore endorse and celebrate women in the position of elder and deacon.  We further purpose to defend this position against all who would draw some line of non-compromise on an issue in which the Bible is silent and which encompasses so many general qualities otherwise stated to be good throughout scripture, and to encourage those holding to such hardline positions to see the danger in their uncompromising belief.


What do you think about this position?  Totally agree?  Any problems?

Think about it carefully and then scroll down for my take, and let me know your thoughts.



















Suppose you ask me to play chess.  I've never played chess before, but I like your company and have always wanted to learn.  You bring out your board (made of etched glass), your pieces (a nice hand carved ebony and ivory set) and your rule book and spend hours teaching me the rules, the spaces on the board the vernacular of the game, the pieces names, their strengths and weaknesses and how they move around the board, and how the end result can be a win or draw and what compromises either outcome.  I thank you for your time and ask you to come to my house the next day to play our first game.  You arrive at my house and i'm excited to see you express how ready I am to play and lead you into my living room where I have everything set up.  You take a look around and ask me what's going on.  I tell you I don't know what you mean, I have the board and pieces ready to go.  You point out that I have the gameboard for SORRY! set out with sixteen "good" Lego Star Wars figures and sixteen "bad" Lego Star Wars figures scattered all over the board.  And so naturally I ask you what the problem is, you told me explicitly what chess was (board, pieces, goal of the game, rules) but I noted that generally speaking games are fun, that there are lots of different kinds of games, that games are meant for two people to have a good time and since you never told me that a SORRY! board and Lego Star Wars pieces couldn't be used, obviously this is just legitimate an arrangement as what you went over with me yesterday.

The principle is very simple.  If a single set of explicit standards or arrangements are presented, implicit in that explicit establishment is the understanding that one need not exhaustively reject all other possible arrangements.  The fact that it is established in the Bible that the office of elder and deacon are set out for men (of but one wife, who handles his family well and children show him proper respect, etc.) implicitly leaves out all other arrangements.  One doesn't even have to spend time saying - "The Bible condemns women in all places of such leadership."  It is obvious and explicit as well as implied that the only arrangement for church leadership established by God through the revealed Word is men, not women.  The arrangement simply should not be recognized.

Now, having established men who are husbands of one wife, and who manages his family well, and meets the other requirements for either elder or deacon; one can ask questions about what qualities a married man that handles his family well might bring to church leadership that God felt important in the local body; about how that structure agrees with other arrangements throughout scripture; about how that arrangement should impact other members of the body and how it should augment our worship of God who set those established framework in place.  In short, we should not look at general principles and what we observe around us as common practice to see what arrangements that are not clearly and explicitly established we can incorporate into what is clear and explicit.  Rather, we should read what is clear and explicit, endorse and celebrate that which is clear and explicit and spend our time meditating on why God established it in that clear and explicit manner.  To do otherwise is to run the risk of endorsing and celebrating that which is in direct opposition to what was clearly and explicitly established by God; to stand on dangerous ground.

Dangerous Territory

I have been in a discussion on another blog site for a few days and a theme has developed that I felt important enough to address on its own.  Here is how the thinking is presented without reference to a specific topic so we can concentrate on the framing of the position and not the details of the issue.

"I read explicitly the words of the Bible on topic X, but the Bible does not make any explicit statements about a corollary topic X'.  Since the Bible is silent on topic X' I look at the world around me.  Contemporary culture says that topic X' should be viewed equitably with topic X.  Based on the observations I have made in the culture surrounding me in my every day life I conclude that topic X' is acceptable Biblically and further determine that I should accept and celebrate topic X' and treat it as equitable with topic X."

Is this a logical, proper and reasonable way for sincere Christians to think in areas where the Bible does not explicitly state anything regarding a specific topic?  I would say this is very dangerous territory and that this line of thinking is logical is not proper and is not reasonable for sincere Christians.

The line of thinking is logical because it begins with a proposition, states the assumptions and forms a conclusion.  That is all that is required to make a logical argument.  The conclusion is either true or false based on the myriad rules of logic that govern such matters.  So, the line of thinking is at least logical in that sense.  More on this point later.

The line of thinking is not, however, proper or reasonable and I will only present one reason below as it should be the only reason necessary.

God is Holy.

Is it really as simple as that?  Yes, I believe it is.  Think of the assumption made in the logic developed in the position.  If there is no explicit wording in the Bible for a position (X' in our faceless example) then we look to contemporary culture and the observations we make there to determine what is Biblically acceptable.  Did you catch that - look to contemporary culture to determine what is Biblically acceptable.  What is the danger there?  It seems obvious - the popular majority of contemporary culture will in the main behave contrary to God's will.  Granting that the law of God is written on the heart of man such that all recognize moral categories and non-Christians can do good things, this is not the requirement of the Christian.  God did not call us to be good.  Be holy, be perfect, be conformed to the likeness of Christ, live worthy of the calling to which you have been called - these are the requirements for disciples of Christ.  Even more striking is the dangerous ground on which one stands by using this reasoning, at it is similar to Pascal's wager: what if you are wrong?  Since you don't know because the Bible does not explicitly cover topic X' if one looks to contemporary culture and celebrates topic X' and deems it equitable Biblically with topic X and is wrong, what is been done is a profaning of that which is sacred.  Holding such a viewpoint is the trivialize the Holiness of God in that we are willing to make extensions of God based on the world around us which we are certain is fallen and by and large is still fighting against God.

If the mistake is made and the person is a disciple of Christ, whose sins have been atoned for by acceptance of Christ at the atoning sacrifice for sins then His blood will cover that sin as well.  But how are we to live our lives as believers?  The knowledge of what was done on our behalf and the resultant love we have for our Lord and Savior should drive us to desire to glorify God in every way and not tread on such dangerous ground, clearly placing ourselves in the terrible position of endorsing and celebrating that which is against God's will.  This should be reason enough to decry such an approach.

Bookends of Worship

I work in structural steel fabrication and so on my desk are bookends made of sections of large thickness angle. We have similar angle bookends elsewhere in the office, on opposite ends of catalogs and code reference materials.  These bookends are weighty objects that bound a group of books so that they remain in order and upright.  Without solid bookends, the grouping will fall apart.

In reading through the book of 1 John I noticed some powerful bookends that are worth looking at carefully.  The book begins with the following:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life - the life was manifested, and we have seen, and we bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father was manifested to us - that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

And ends with the following:

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.  Amen.

If we look at these two statements we see some striking ideas.  First that there is one thing that is true.  Second that our choice is between two things that are known.  Third that our confidence and love is bound by two poles.

There is one thing that is true, and that one thing is God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).  Truth is often defined in terms of correspondence; that truth is that which corresponds to reality.  In the opening lines of 1 John we have a description on what has been since the beginning and which has been seen, that has been heard, that has been touched.  We do not believe in something imagined in the minds of men with no physical manifestation in based in reality.  We believe in something manifested physically in our time and space and history - Jesus the Christ.  We remember that the child was born, the Son was given.  He, the Word of Life, walked among us and was seen, heard and touched.  He was crucified, died and was buried having been touched.  He rose again and appeared to many witnesses, for forty days walking, eating, talking and being touched.  The Son of God was handled.  Idols were fashioned by men as objects of worship, and remain today, being fashioned by men in the factories of our minds - oftentimes as the works of our hands.  We are told at the beginning of 1 John to follow the truth of what man has handled that was given by God, and likewise are told at the end of 1 John to not follow the lie of what man has handled that is fashioned by his own hand.  Do follow that which is true, do not follow that which is a lie.  These are the two poles that bind our love - the positive pole of the truth and the life, the love of God in which we abide and find our redemption; that Jesus is Lord and Christ - and the negative pole of lies and death, that we can be God and fashion for ourselves the objects of our worship.  There is but one way to life everlasting, and it does not flow through the hands of men.  Our love and confidence is in that which is testified to in heaven by the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit and on earth by the Spirit, the water and the blood.  This Jesus is both Lord and Christ and we have life if we abide in Him.

The challenge is to take up the truth and abide in Christ daily, not in ourselves - in so doing we will know what love is, we will be confident in that which we know that has been revealed to us, we can be faithful to do all things as unto the Lord and glorify Him in all things which is our act of worship (in all things all day long) in living in accordance with the purpose for which we were created and brings true meaning in our lives.

Beginning the New Year in Love

It seems only fitting to begin the year by writing of the Love of God.  Appropriate in the first place because I have been studying through 1 John for some time and am now reading through the whole book daily to soak in things I may not have seen in a verse by verse study.  Secondly, it is fitting because God has so chosen to bless my wife and I with our fifth child (due late May or early June 2012).  Children are such a blessing, and I say without hesitation that I have learned more about God's Love for me through parenthood and the love I have for each of my children.

Having said that, and with love as the backdrop for kicking off 2012, let me begin by getting right into 1 John and talk about the bookends of chapter 4- God is love.  In verse 8 of chapter 4, John writes, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."  Verse 16b states just as explicitly, "God is love."  Between these bookends is the description and explanation of these bookends.  First, in verse 10 we are told what love is - namely, "not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."  So we see that love IS sacrifice.  God is love, because God is sacrifice.  God is three in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the Son is an atoning sacrifice once for all.  Therefore God is love.  How do we know this apart from the words in some book that is thousands of years old?  Verse 9, "God showed his love among us:  He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him."  God is love, and He demonstrates that love among us in time and space as a part of human history forever recorded and attested by Biblical and extra-biblical sources alike.

Love is inextricably tied to sacrifice.  We only know what love is because Christ Jesus laid down his life for us (Chapter 3 verse 16).  So any talk we may have about love that is devoid of an acknowledgment of sacrifice is no love at all.  It may well be a good description of temporary happiness, of physical pleasure or the promise thereof, of getting or being able to use something for one's own ends, but it will not be love.  So, what do we make of things like "irreconcilable differences" as a reason for divorce?  The only conclusion is that there was no love in the first place.  This is a very difficult statement to hear, but think it through.  If the only way we know love is through a demonstration of sacrifice, if we are told clearly that love is God sending His Son to be an atoning sacrifice for the sins of man, and that because we know this concerning love we ought to love one another just the same (chapter 4 verse 11) then there logically can be no differences that rise to the level of being irreconcilable.  Jesus Himself taught that divorce was the result of a refusal to forgive, a point at which one party was no longer willing to sacrifice for another.

Apart from the example of marriage, we are also instructed to love our brother in the same way God loved us and demonstrated that love.  We are told in scripture that the world will know His people by the love we have for one another.  We must not misunderstand the gravity of the word love as it applies to our relationships.  Loving God and loving one another.  In chapter 4 and 19-21 we see that the demonstration that we love the God we cannot see with our eyes is by how we love those we can see and interact with physically each and every day.  If we do not love one another - through sacrifice - we do not truly know what love is or love God.

There are two points that are critical in my mind that should serve as a challenge to us all in the new year.  First, we must not, we can not, attempt to separate sacrifice from love.  We must not try, as some have done, to present love as a tacit or celebration of anything and everything under the sun as if love is tantamount to acceptance of all behavior, that all is OK since the goal of man is to be happy in how we each choose to live our lives.  If love itself is God's sending of His Son to die as atonement for our sins, and if we only know love because of the demonstration of Christ's sacrifice for our sins through crucifixion, then we dare not be so cavalier with our understanding and universal application of the term.  Second, we must strive to continually reaffirm our love for God by preaching to ourselves the Gospel and to love one another by sacrificing of ourselves for the sake of the Gospel and by preaching it to others through our words and deeds.  Perhaps if we all as believers set out to accomplish this in 2012, the year will be marked with an increased awareness that the Church is set apart from the world and its members are easily seen as markedly different in that they love one another and therefore love their God and can then successfully preach to others the love of God available to all.

Happy New Year, and may it be one of great love for God an one another.