Pay Attention!

About to begin a series of homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, St. John Chrys­ostom warns his congregation to pay careful attention.

We are on the point of entering (if God permits it) a city of gold, and more precious than any gold. Let us mark her foundations, and her gates of sapphire and pearl—for we have an excellent guide in Matthew. His is the gate through which we shall now enter, and we need to be very diligent. For if he sees anyone not paying attention, he throws him out of the city.Yes, for the city is most royal and glorious—not like the cities among us, where there’s a marketplace and royal courts, for there everything is the court of the King. So let us open the gates of our mind. Let us open our ears, and—with great trembling—as we are about to set foot on the threshold, let us worship the King who is in it.

–St. John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on Matthew, 17

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/catholicbookblogger/2015/01/05/church-fathers-day-168-st-john-chrysostom-advises-us-to-pay-careful-attention-to-scripture/#ixzz3NxbWQAvn

What To Do With Your Bible

Well, here are 14 ideas (actually commands from the Bible itself)

1. Read it. Nehemiah 8:8. And may I suggest that it be read slowly, carefully, prayerfully, in large portions, repeatedly, reverently and with a willing spirit to follow its precepts.

2. Believe it. Romans 10:8. Because it is the Word of faith. It has been given to increase our faith in God and His working in the Universe.

3. Receive it. James 1:21. Here it is the engrafted word that is to be received as the soil received the seed, or the tree receives the graft. Taking the Word of God in our heart life, allowing it to grow and bear its own fruit in motives and actions.

4. Taste it. Proverbs 19:10. For it is the good Word of God. Some seem to be afraid of the Bible for fear it will require them to do something they do not wish to do. Be not afraid; it is good and right in all its requirements.

5. Eat it. Jeremiah 15:16. This process suggests that we not merely taste but actually live by it, as Jesus said, “Ye shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4.

6. Hold it fast. Titus 1:9. It is a faithful word. All its promises are true; all its history is true; and its statements are truth. Therefore we are to rest our faith upon it.

7. Hold it forth. Philippians 2:16. Because it is the Word of Life. All who come under its beneficent rays feel its life giving power.

Rightly Dividing

Copied from Searching For Grace. Click on the cartoon to see it bigger.

Unfortunately, this is just too close to the truth for many Bible teachers.

Content Rich & Compassion Saturated

A great need in all forms of Christian communication today, whether witnessing, preaching, writing, or teaching, is the ability...

"...to communicate a content-rich message in a compassion-saturated relationship. "

(Dane Ortlund, quoting Randy Newman, at Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology)

O Lord, teach us and form us to do this, to be like this, to live this!

Fire Your Gun!

“Many Christians treat the Bible like a gun collector.  Holding it studying it & admiring it but never going to war & firing it”

      -From Mark Driscoll’s Twitter Feed

Not Many of You Should Presume to Be Teachers - Or Bloggers?

A profound warning to me and my fellow bloggers from CT Magazine - Not Many of You Should Presume to Be Bloggers:

Throughout the history of public theological debate, there was one constant—those debates only took place between a few select people—Moses, Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and so on—who gained respect through a lifetime of scholarship.

But the invention of social media, like blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, created a radical departure in communication. In pre-2004 Christianity (that is, Christianity before Facebook was invented), only a small group of Christian leaders and teachers had access to the printing press—but today everyone has WordPress. In pre-2004 Christianity it was difficult to become a published author, but today everyone is surrounded by dozens of "Publish" buttons.

Every time we log into Facebook it asks us, "What's on your mind?" Twitter wants to know, "What's happening?" When controversies large and small erupt, there are devices in every direction begging us to not just take a side, but to declare our position on the largest publishing platform ever constructed by humanity.

What few of us realize is that when we press those "Publish," "Post," "Comment," and "Send" buttons, we are making the shift away from merely "believing" truth and stepping into the arena of publishing that belief. In doing so we are effectively assuming a position of leadership and teaching that prior to 2004 was not available to us.

 James warned us, "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly" (James 3:1, NIV1984). James goes on to graphically portray the incredible power that our tongues have both to praise and to curse especially in the context of teaching. He then says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life." (James 3:13). Solomon echoes similar wisdom, "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent" (Prov. 17:28).

I would ask everyone to click on  the tab at the top of this blog and read the page entitled "You Have A Right to Know." I am scared by the responsibility of publishing on the subjects of Theology, the Gospel, and Biblical truth, and beg for your prayers. I am not going to stop, but I know I desperately need Jesus!
 

Secret Ingredient

 From:  Iron Preacher - The Sacred Sandwich

Antidote for Astounding Ignorance

Are Christians really this ignorant? Apparently we are, according to these George Barna statistics quoted at The Constructive Curmudgeon: Not Loving God with all our Mind :

"Although a core teaching of the Christian faith is the divinity and perfection of Jesus Christ, tens of millions of Christians do not accept that teaching. More than one-fifth (22%) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17% agreeing somewhat. Holding the opposing view were 9% who disagreed somewhat and 46% who disagreed strongly. Six percent did not have an opinion on this matter.

Much like their perceptions of Satan, most Christians do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force, either. Overall, 38% strongly agreed and 20% agreed somewhat that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.” Just one-third of Christians disagreed that the Holy Spirit is not a living force (9% disagreed somewhat, 25% disagreed strongly) while 9% were not sure."

What should be our attitude regarding this astounding revelation of ignorance. I agree with John Schroeder, who writes:

"What I find most fascinating is that there are many, many people out there that will look at those statistics and damn such people for eternity. Yet, if we sum up these statistics what we learn is that a large portion of the church has little or no theological understanding. So I look at such statistics and conclude that the church is doing a lousy job of teaching its members.

But more than that, if we do pronounce such people as damned, it seems to me we send them away when a better response would be to draw them in and try to teach them.

It seems to be that when Christ was among us, He did not spend His time amongst that that already had all the answers - the Pharisees and their ilk, but rather with those that were searching for the right answers. What's more, when Jesus was amongst us, He saved His condemning words for those that did have all the answers.'

Dogma and Drama

“We are constantly assured that the churches are empty because preachers insist too much upon doctrine — ‘dull dogma,’ as people call it. The fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for dullness. The Christian faith is the most exciting drama that ever staggered the imagination of man — and the dogma is the drama. . . . This is the dogma we find so dull — this terrifying drama which God is the victim and the hero. If this is dull, then what, in Heaven’s name, is worthy to be called exciting? The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused Him of being a bore — on the contrary; they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certifying Him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended Him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.”

~ Dorothy Sayers, quoted by Michael Horton in The Gospel-Driven Life (Grand Rapids, Mi.; Baker Books, 2009), 63-64.

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Preaching Christ All The Time

“Faith is not built by preaching introspectively (constantly challenging people to question whether they have faith); faith is not built by preaching moralistically (which has exactly the opposite effect of focusing attention on the self rather than on Christ, in whom our faith is placed); faith is not built by joining the culture wars and taking potshots at what is wrong with our culture. Faith is built by careful, thorough exposition of the person, character, and work of Christ…

.... And the reason for this dispirited condition is that the pulpit is largely silent about Christ. He is mentioned only as an afterthought or appendage to a sermon; in many churches, he is never proclaimed as the central point of a sermon, and surely not on a regular, weekly basis.”

—T. David Gordon, Why Johnny Can’t Preach: The Media Have Shaped the Messengers (P&R 2009) pp. 75—76, 88—89.

Hat Tip: Preaching Christ « Miscellanies.

The Gift of Teaching: Do I Have It?

Mars Hill Church and Mark Driscoll have been posting a series at The Resurgence website on spiritual gifts. Here is what they said about the spiritual gift of teaching, and how to tell if you have the gift. - Spiritual Gifts: Teaching:

Do You Have This Gift?

• Do you enjoy studying and researching?
• Do you enjoy imparting biblical truth to others?
• Do others come to you for insight into Scripture?
• When you teach, do people "get it"?
• When you see someone confused in their understanding of the Bible do you feel a responsibility to speak to them about it?
• Do you enjoy speaking to various sizes of groups about biblical issues you have strong convictions about?

So, a question to all my friends out there in blogger and facebook cyberspace: What do you think? Do I have it?

Dangers in Leading Small Group Bible Studies

There was an interesting discussion this week at Christians in Context on Steering the Right Course in Small Group Bible Studies

On the one hand, many (if not most) small group Bible studies become simply poolings of ignorance, with everyone, if they contribute at all, simply "sharing" what the passage "means to me." Both knowledge of and practice of sound hermeneutics are often notably absent. On the other hand, people in small groups who have theological training and knowledge can dominate and stifle discussion and interaction, and/or confuse everyone else with interjections of technical terminology and concepts foreign to the average Christian. I have often bitten my lips to keep from over-dominating a group while so wishing to correct obvious error.

How do we prevent this from happening, so that knowledgeable teachers can teach and everyone can join in discussion? A lot of prayer is needed of course - both in the group and before the meetings.

One important thing to remember is to stay focused on the Biblical text and what it says and keep the group so focused. To the text, to the text, always to the text. Use your theological knowledge to look at the text, use you life experience to look at the text, but do not stray from the text. If a leader can provide background information to the passage in question, and then ask questions that consistently call the participants back to the text and what it actually says in its context, as opposed to what they wish it said or various possible philosophical and emotional rabbit trails, perhaps the Word can do its work in us with as little human interference as possible.

Worth Repeating

I like the article by Chuck Colson in Christianity Today entitled Doctrine Bears Repeating

As one reporter noted, even when Christians know correct doctrine, they are afraid of speaking the truth for fear of offending others. What right have I to impose my beliefs on others? is a thought that shapes too many of us believers.

This is why J. I. Packer, on his 80th birthday, said that the greatest challenge of evangelicalism is to re-catechize our churches. More than ever, Christians need to be able to speak intelligently and courageously about the hope that lies within.

Personal faith is of course vital, but it is not sufficient. And yes, doctrine has often been taught so that it comes across as dry and dusty. But as Dorothy Sayers noted, once we grasp what Christian doctrines teach, "The Dogma is the Drama."

This is only an excerpt - the whole thing is good.

Love Corrects the Abuse of Doctrine

Found a new blog this week by a guy named Michael Kelly called Forward Progress and liked this post on The Abuse of Doctrine (and I agree with it).

It seems like the study of doctrine in Christian circles is pretty polarizing. There are those churches who major on doctrinal issues, using classic Christian terminology and stressing the importance of knowing these key issues to faith; issues like justification, sanctification, predestination, foreknowledge - you know the drill.

Then there are those churches who would argue that kind of study does little to further real life change in the people. The people need something practical, something that’s going to help them hang onto their marriage, get through the recession, and parent their children. So they lean toward this “application oriented” strategy of teaching and preaching.

I think there’s a balance in the middle to be found, where one feeds the other and vice versa, but I also see how a group of people might find the study of doctrine antiquated, boring, and useless. And it’s because of the classic abuse of doctrine.

We have the tendency to use doctrine as nothing more than an arguing tool. We use it to be “right” in conversations, as a mark of spiritual superiority, or as a means of furthering our own arrogance which is already considerable enough.

In short, the fact that doctrine is falling out of favor in a lot of circles is because in a lot of circles doctrine has been abused.

It’s not supposed to be like that. Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:5 that “the goal of our instruction is love…”

Love. That’s the end of doctrine. Anything else is abusive.

Hat Tip: Vitamin Z

Eisegesis

If you are not reading the daily posts at Theological Word of the Day I think you are missing something good. From last Thursday - Eisegesis.

Eisegesis [ahy’-suh-jee‘-sis]

(Greek eis-, “into” + Greek hegeisthai, “to guide”)

The interpretive fallacy of reading into (eis-) the text of Scripture a preconceived theology in order to make it fit with what those presumptions require. Eisegesis is to be contrasted with exegesis which involves the arrival of meaning from or out of (ex-) the biblical text, without the presumption of meaning dictating the results.

What a concise definition of one of the most common maladies in Bible study and preaching today., as well as the prescription for its cure!

The Healthy Teaching Pyramid

Remember those posters of the food group pyramid on your old elementary school wall? Lionel Windsor at The Sola Panel has adapted that idea to The healthy teaching pyramid

However, the healthy eating pyramid has given me an idea for helping Christians to understand and assess their own ‘diet’ of Christian teaching (e.g. sermons, small groups, one-to-one, with your children, etc.). I admit this is a rather corny idea and a blatant rip-off of the healthy eating pyramid, but hopefully that makes it memorable!

Interesting concept. Follow the link for the whole discussion.

More Fascinating Than Me (Or You)

Preach from the Bible, and from the Bible only. Again, does this need to be said? One thing's for sure. The Bible is fascinating, disturbing, offensive, sweet, alarming, comforting, stretching, shocking, controversial, caressing, strengthening. No way are you and I that interesting. Let's put the Bible front and center and let it be itself and do its thing, whatever the impact. Submerging the Bible for the sake of our cool personas isn't really cool at all. It's a way of avoiding risk, chickening out.

Ray Ortland, Quoted by Jared Wilson at The Thinklings.

The Ezra Call (Part Four)

One of my favorite Bible passages, and one I have long considered my “life verse,” is Ezra 7:10. Ezra dedicated his life "to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel." In this article I am putting forth a challenge to you, my reader, to accept an Ezra call on your life. Here are links to Parts One and Two and Three.

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The third part of Ezra's call was to teach the Word.

In 1st Corinthians 12:9, Paul asked the rhetorical question “are all teachers?” In context, the obvious answer is no. Everyone does not have the spiritual gift of teaching or hold the office of teacher. If this is so, then of what relevance to those not called to be teachers is Ezra’s commitment to teach the Word?

I have found it helpful to draw a parallel to the ministry and office of evangelist. All believers are not called to the office of evangelist. All Christians do not have the ministry of and evangelist. Yet all are called to evangelize within the sphere of influence God has given us; our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

In a similar manner, we can see that all of us are called to teach. All believers are not called to the office of a teacher. All Christians do not have the ministry of teaching. Yet all of us are called to teach within the sphere of influence God has given us; our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Parents need to be able to teach their children (Deut. 6:4-9). Husbands need to be able to teach their wives (Eph. 5:26, 28). All of us must be ready to give an answer as to what and why we believe (1 Peter 3:15). There is someone who is looking to you for answers.

Every believer can and should be able to disciple a new believer, if only his or her own children, in the basics of the Christian faith and life. You need to know how to lead someone to salvation, to teach them about baptism, and to guide them into being filled with and walking in the power of the Spirit. You will never be able to do this for others unless you understand the Scriptures yourself (“To Know”) and have experienced these foundations for yourself (“To Do”). Only then can you convey these truths to others (“To Teach”). This is what the author of Hebrews was referring to when he complained to his readers that they should be ready to teach, but still needed the basic milk of the Word (Hebrews 5:11-14).

So my question to you is: Will you accept an Ezra call? Are you willing to pay any price to be a person who , knows, does and teaches the Bible with both accuracy and passion? I think that is a calling He is wanting all of us to seek.

The Ezra Call (Part Three)

One of my favorite Bible passages, and one I have long considered my “life verse,” is Ezra 7:10. Ezra dedicated his life "to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel." In this article I am putting forth a challenge to you, my reader, to accept an Ezra call on your life. Here are links to Parts One and Two.

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The second part of Ezra;s call was to not just know but also do the Word. Ezra determined from the beginning to obey every command of God he found in the Scriptures. He was on guard against the greatest temptation of a Bible teacher: the tendency to look for words to teach others, while never hearing the word for yourself.

James used the illustration of someone who looks at his reflection in a mirror, sees all his grooming deficiencies, but then walks away without combing his hair or washing his face (James 1:22-25). This foolish person learns the truth about himself, but does nothing, and forgets the truth he has learned. In the same way, if we learn truth about our condition from the Scriptures, but take no action, we will fall back from the level of truth to which we have risen. He who is not faithful in little, will lose the little he has gained. Is it any wonder that James also says that not many should be teachers, because those who teach will be held to a higher standard (James 3:1)?

Knowledge of the Scriptures can never be an end in itself. It is a necessary prerequisite, but not sufficient alone. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for thinking that memorization and study of the Law sufficed and substituted for personal knowledge of God. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40 ESV). Knowledge of the Word is a means to greater ends: obedience to God and the knowledge of the Holy One.

Always remember that belief and obedience are inseparable, and that we are called to the “obedience that comes from faith” (Romans 1:5, 16:26). The good soil in Jesus’ parable of the Sower represented the listeners who “hear the message and retain it in a good and obedient heart, and they persist until they bear fruit” (Luke 8:15 GNB).

(Part Four will post tomorrow)

The Ezra Call (Part Two)

One of my favorite Bible passages, and one I have long considered my “life verse,” is Ezra 7:10. Ezra dedicated his life "to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel." In this article I am putting forth a challenge to you, my reader, to accept an Ezra call on your life.

For Part One look here.
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The first part of Ezra's life call was a commitment to know the Bible.

From the very beginning, the necessity to learn and know the Law of God had been held before the people of Israel. “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deut. 6:9 ESV). Joshua know it to be the key to his success and to the prosperity of his life’s work. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8 ESV) The Psalmist knew that hiding the Word in his heart was the way to wisdom (Ps. 119:99-100) and right living (Ps. 119:9-11, 105), and he found great joy in God’s Word (Ps. 119:92,111).

As Paul neared the end of his life, facing a perhaps imminent martyrdom, he felt it necessary and urgent to remind his younger protege, Timothy, of this same truth (2 Tim. 2:15, 3:15-17). Timothy had come to salvation through the knowledge of the Bible, and could only be equipped for success in his life by growing in that knowledge. Paul encouraged him to learn the Word so as to be fully equipped and prepared for life and service.

When Eve was tempted in the garden, Satan began by asking her “has God really said...?” The Devil began by questioning the Word of God. When Jesus was tempted, he responded by standing on the Word; “It is written....” Jesus succeeded where Adam and Eve had failed. But what if he had not known the Scriptures?

In every city where he founded a church, Paul was committed to proclaim “the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27). We need to be equally as dedicated that we each as individuals become grounded in God’s whole counsel, the Holy Scriptures.

(Part Three will post tomorrow)