Food for Thought

Before I actually get into typing up this blog post, I wanted to say "Thank you" to my dear brother, Cody Kelton.  He gave me permission to use a question he posted on Facebook in this post.  There are not enough kind words in the English language to express my feelings for him, so I want to simply say, "Thank you, Cody.  I love you."

And now, on to the post:

Cody wrote:  "It appears that God says [the Hebrews] can eat any animal they want, and then later He appears to change His mind and tells them they cannot, in fact, eat all of those animals... So what does this mean?"

 Cody wrote a much longer post than this, and I have removed these two sentences from the concluding section of a passage that was several paragraphs in length, so there is some material missing from the overall thought that went into this point.  In way of paraphrasing, the actual point was that at the flood you have eight people and a bunch of animals in an ark.  God tells Noah how many of each animal to save, the Bible making clear that this is a distinction between the clean and the unclean (God tells Noah save seven pairs of everything clean but only one pair of everything unclean).  After the flood God changes the food law, allowing men to eat animals as well as plants (prior to that God said man could eat every green thing) and thus sets us a system where all food is permitted.  But, then later, God restricts what the Hebrew people could eat.  So from this comes the above question.

I already wrote a brief response to Cody (so if you are one of his or my Facebook friends and have already read that post, you have my apologies, some of this will be repetitious), but I would like to write a more developed response because his question got me thinking about the whole issue of the food laws and how modern Christians should regard to those laws.  My views on the matter are not cutting edge or new, and I'm not going to tell people to empty all the bacon out of the fridge, but I think there are some theological and Christological implications in the food laws that are worth considering.  On the whole I think that the food laws point to the greatness of God's grace, they set up a system whereby men might understand their uncleanness before God, and they served as a very real divider between the people of God and those outside of his covenants.  If all of these points are understood, and if we can see that Scripture indicates these points are correct, then we are drawn to the redemption offered by Christ as he is the door by which we enter into the grace of God, the one who cleanses us from all unrighteousness, and the one who joins us as a people and reconciles us to God.

I think the following passages of Scripture are relevant to this study: Genesis 9:3-6, Leviticus 1:3, 10; 11 (focusing on verses 24, 27, 36, 39, 43, 44-47), Numbers 23:19, Malachi 3:6, Mark 7:19, Acts 10, Romans 7:7-10 (8-25 is good also, but 7-10 is the focus), Galatians 2:11-21; 3:19-26, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, and James 1:17.  There are probably other verses that we could include in this list, but the argument I want to follow touches on all of these verses, and so with these I hope I can lay out my point sufficiently.  Some of these verses I use only to illustrate the same point from multiple writers, so as to make that point (hopefully) clearer.  (We could, along with these verses bring in 1 Corinthians 8 and go even further in examining how the Christian should react to food in general.)

Where do we begin then?  Well, we can begin with what Cody stated he already knew at the intro to his letter: God does not change his mind.  We see this in Numbers 23:19, Malachi 3:6, and James 1:17.  Each of these verses is clear, God does not change his mind.  What he has stated is true, and will be true.  We could add to this other verses, such as Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  The point being that while Scripture says that God is grieved over a thing, or that God relents, or we see an instance where God says one thing, but then says because of an act of faith he will not actually do what he has said, we are also told, in no uncertain terms, that God does not change his mind.  Thus, if all of Scripture is true, we are left with situations that require us to exercise some additional thought, so that we can see how it can be that God has remained consistent when he gives changing requirements or does not bring about a promised judgment.  So then, how can it be that God has not changed his mind in regards to the human diet, but we see at least 3 different dietary commands in the Bible?  And what does all of this have to do with Christ?

Here we need to begin with understanding the purpose of the law.  We see in Leviticus 11:44-47 that the purpose of the food laws is to mark the Israelites as holy.  Holiness means that which is separate, that which is set apart.  In terms of human holiness we understand this as meaning that we are set apart to and for God.  When we speak of God's holiness it is an expression of his uniqueness, his transcendence over all of creation.  He is more holy than anything else, better, above, separate in a good way.  Because God is holy, his people are also to be holy, and one of their marks of separation was to be their food.

Thus we read in Leviticus 11:24, 27, 36, 39, and 43 that to touch the carcass of an unclean animal would render the one who touched it unclean.  Not only were the Israelites forbidden to eat the unclean, they were forbidden to have contact with the unclean.  To be separate, to be holy, meant to have no contact with that which was considered unclean.  So the food law given to the Israelites showed them how they were to be uniquely holy before God by telling them what they could and could not eat.  No other nation could claim to have this law, to have this knowledge; holiness was given to those in covenant with God, not to those outside the covenant.

This unique covenant relationship was established not through Noah or Adam, but through Abraham.  Abraham was the first Hebrew, and he was originally an Aramean.  God did not establish a special covenant relationship with Noah and his sons, instead he gave them a general command as regards the food they ate: do not eat meat with the blood in it, everything else is fine. (Genesis 9:3-6)  But, when it came to Abraham, God established a special relationship, giving rules for that covenant so that Abraham and his children would be able to always say that they were called by God to a special relationship that no one else could have.  But, if God had given the dietary restrictions to Abraham, then Ishmael could have passed those laws down to his children (just as God did bless Ishmael because of Abraham, even if Ishmael was not the son of the promise).  If God had given the dietary restrictions to Noah, then what would have set Israel apart in their diet?  In setting up a covenant with Israel, God made clear that he wanted a holy people who would be set apart from any other people, and so he did not give dietary restrictions to others because then the point of the restriction would have been lost: those who did not belong to the covenant would have had the same dietary restrictions as those who did belong to the covenant thus weakening a unique covenant sign that would set God's people apart from others.

But, at the same time, the purpose of the dietary law was to enforce the clean/unclean standard that God had already applied to himself upon his people.  If this seems an odd statement, then consider that Noah was told to save seven pairs of clean animals and one pair of unclean animals.  What would clean and unclean have meant to Noah?  Prior to his receiving the command that he could eat of the flesh of animals, it would have been unclean for Noah to eat any flesh at all, so the clean animals could not have indicated a dietary restriction for Noah.  However, considering what we see early on in Genesis, where Able is offering God a sacrifice from his flock, and reading that men began to call upon the name of the Lord, it is reasonable to assume that some form of ritualistic worship was common (or at least known) on earth during the time of Noah.  This assumption is further buttressed by the fact that Noah built an altar and made an offering to God of some of every clean animal when he and his family exited the ark.  Thus, for Noah, clean and unclean would have simply indicated those animals that were acceptable to use for offerings and sacrifices.  Now that same understanding, that there are some animals acceptable and some unacceptable, applies not only to sacrificial and religious events, but to the every day events of having dinner or burying a carcass from the fields.

Here we have our first, and I would argue incomplete, answer of why God gave Noah and Moses different food laws.  The food laws were part of the larger body of the Mosaic Law given to the Israelites.  This body of laws was given so that the Israelites would know what it meant  to be holy.  Only by following this law perfectly could anyone be holy.  Ergo, it did not make sense to give this law to all humans at the time of Noah because God was not establishing a special covenant relationship with all humans wherein he would show them how to be holy.  God, in his mercy, chose to reveal the requirements of holiness to the Israelites, in order to accomplish his purposes.

But, what purpose would God have in revealing the requirements of holiness to the Israelites?  In examination of this question I argue that we must now turn to the New Testament, where we find not only this answered, but also a more complete answer to the first question as to why God would give different food laws at different times.

The first section I want to look at is Acts 10, where we see Peter visiting a Gentile and we get a resolution to the differences brought about by the dietary laws as given above.  In Acts 10 Peter sees a vision from God in which he is told to take and eat from the unclean things set before him.  Peter gets this vision three times, and then end up visiting Cornelius and realizing that God is speaking about the Jews and Gentiles, calling the Gentiles clean.  Here we have some indication of the distinction that God set up by giving the dietary law in the first place.  The Gentiles were unclean not only because they were outside of the covenant of God and his people, but also because of what they ate (granted what they ate was directly related to the fact they had no relationship to God).  But, God, through Christ, was so merciful that not only could he draw back the covenant people to himself, he could go even further and draw those to himself who had no covenant relationship with him at all.  Cornelius was a God fearer, but he was not Jewish and does not seem to have taken any of the steps necessary to become a Jew, so he had no claim to a covenant relationship with God, but, through Christ, God set aside the limitations of the old covenant and its legal obligations and established a new covenant in which all men could come to God through faith.  The old laws of clean and unclean animals no longer served to divide people, but now showed the immeasurable power of God's grace.

The distinction between Jew and Gentile is made even clearer when we consider Paul's testimony in Galatians 2:11-14.  Here Paul recalls a time when he stood up to Peter because Peter was being a hypocrite.  Peter withdrew from Gentile believers because a group of men who came from James in Jerusalem.  Thus even in the early church the distinction between Jew and Gentile persisted, and it seems that this remained an issue of the clean versus the unclean.  Paul's complaint against Peter was that Peter was denying the gospel, living like a Gentile and telling the Gentiles that they had to live like Jews.  Thus unless they engaged in the steps necessary to become ritually clean, living like Jews, Gentiles were considered unclean by some Jewish Christians in Paul's time.  So the Law, as it became a part of Jewish culture, did exactly what it was supposed to in drawing a clear distinction between those who followed it and were considered clean, and those who did not and remained unclean.  Yet, as we complete the story by reading through to verse 21 we see that Christ set aside the law, because in and through Christ we have all died to the law, even if we did not know it originally, so that we can live in the righteousness of God.  So Christ set aside the distinction between Jew and Gentile, and part of the Gospel is that God has one people, all joined to him through Christ.

We can say then that God gave the Law to the Israelites in order to draw a distinction between them and those around them, but he also gave the Law in order to show the power of his mercy and grace in Christ.  The Israelites strained to reach perfection by punctiliously following a set of written rules and obligations, even going so far as to add to them to create barriers so they would not accidentally cross any forbidden lines.  But Gentiles were alienated from God, having no conception of God's holiness and no access to the law by which they might have been made aware of the righteousness of God.  Yet, in Christ, neither the Jew nor the Gentile can claim any advantage, for Christ made all equal, bringing the righteousness of God to those of us who could not attain it on our own, and were not aware of what righteousness really looked like in the first place.  The law makes the grace of God all the more amazing.

But there is more yet.  In order to understand God's purpose for the law, we must understand the law.  In order to understand the law, in general, we can turn to Galatians 3, Romans 7:7-25, or 1 Timothy 1:8-11.  What we see in Galatians 3:19-26 is that the law was given in order to imprison all things under sin, in order that we might believe in Christ.  Paul makes clear that the goal of the law was not to cause sin, but the law showed sin, and thereby gave sin power, but also pointed us to Christ.  This point is also demonstrated in Romans 7:7-10, in which we read that the law is not sin and is not evil, but that sin uses the law to condemn us and kill us, making our sins all the worse because now we sin not ignorantly, but knowing that what we do is wrong.  And, in case we missed it the first couple of times, Paul makes clear to Timothy that the law is laid down not for the righteous but for the unrighteous; the law is good because it applies to those who are law breakers, not the just.  So then, the law is there to reveal the sinfulness of humanity, so that in seeing our sinfulness we might be made fully aware of our need for a savior, and so we might come to place our faith in Christ for salvation.

What we see in understanding what Paul says about the Law is that the Law convicts us all.  And since we are all convicted under the Law, if we understood it rightly, we would understand what a need we have for a savior.  Consider what we read in Leviticus 1:3 and 10.  We see that God requires the burnt sacrifices brought to him to be without blemish.  God does not accept a sacrifice with blemish or defect.

When we think of this in relation to the food laws we see that anything that is unclean is automatically not fit for sacrifice.  God will not accept a perfect and unblemished pig as part of a burnt offering any more than he would accept a blind and lame goat.  And if God will not accept that which is unclean, then how can we ever be perfect offerings to him?  If the food law shows us how to distinguish between the clean and unclean animals, not only to know what we can eat but also to know what we can offer as part of our sacrifice, then we should know that anything that would be unclean as a matter of diet cannot be an acceptable offering to God.  And, if we read the law thoroughly and understand it rightly, we see that we are in need of perpetual cleansing.  If we are in need of perpetual cleaning, recognizing as Hebrews says that the blood of animals cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, then we know that we cannot procure righteousness on our own.  Thus understood the food laws served as a part of the greater Law in reminding those who attempted to be righteous that they could not achieve righteousness on their own, ultimately men would have to rely on some grace from God to perfect us because we could not perfect ourselves.  This then points us back to Christ, for God would have to provide a perfect sacrifice, an unblemished sacrifice, for the sins of humanity if we were to be made righteous and holy as God is, and as God calls us to be.

The Israelites should have understood through the food laws how uncleanness does not come from outside, but from inside.  Jesus in Mark 7:19 declares all food to be clean, saying that it is not what goes into the mouth that makes one unclean, but what comes out of the mouth.  The Jews were given the food laws so that they could understand how unclean they were internally, no so that they would hold that as unclean which is external.  If the food laws were given so as to set up a distinction between the Jews and Gentiles, shouldn't that have caused the Jews to reflect on how much more of a chasm existed between them and God?  Because we tend to focus on simply following rules we miss the fact that the Law of God exists also to challenge us to consider how his rules reveal our own unrighteousness.  Again, this makes the grace of God amazing, because we who are unclean internally can be called clean, not because of following laws, but because of faith.

The food laws served to distinguish God's people from those around them.  The food laws served to show the holiness of God so that his people would be reminded of what they were called to be.  But, understood through Christ, the food law shows the magnitude of God's mercy, that those who were unclean could be called clean through the blood of Christ.  Those who strived to be clean, knowing they were always unclean, always falling short of the Law, could find redemption in a perfect sacrifice.  God did not change his mind in changing what food should be eaten, but he wanted to reveal to us how wondrous his grace his, how holy he himself is, how unclean we are, and how we can draw near to him and be made righteous through his Son.

Thoughts on Genesis and Jesus

So, I know it has been a while since I've written anything, most of that is just because I haven't really felt like writing anything.  But, I wanted to share something I was talking about with my father.  In reading back through Genesis and considering how I would approach different passages to preach about them, I began to consider Genesis 3:17-19.  I thought about the curse that God placed on man, that the ground would only yield to hard labor.  And I thought about how that passage should be understood in relation to the Christ event.

While perhaps there is some modification of this passage in Genesis 8 where God says he will no longer curse the ground for man's evil disposition, yet we never see anything that indicates that the curse of work has been done away with.  (Here I wish to make some distinction between the curse of work and the blessing of work.  What I mean by the curse of work is not just that we must work for our food, man was always supposed to be a creature of work, but the fact that work would be toilsome, would require difficulty, and would be painful.  Work itself is a blessing from God, but the hardness of work, the pain that comes with work, these are aspects of the curse.)  So, throughout the rest of Scripture we see men who work the land, from planting fields to caring for flocks.  Jacob, in his reasons for leaving Laban, discusses the hardships of being a shepherd, and those who have worked the ground for farming or gardening know that while there can be joy in the results, the work is also hard and can be painful.  So, while God may not curse the ground (more likely he is discussing cataclysmic judgments like the flood) he has not rescinded the curse of labor.

Man must work for his food, and man only eats his food by the sweat of his brow.  So even Paul says that if a man will not work, then he shouldn't eat.  2 Thes. 3:10  Our command remains that we are to work to have something to give to others, and we are to work so we can eat with a clear conscience.  Even if we are not working, or cannot work, we are to be willing to work, if able.

But, what are we working for?  We work for food, with which we nourish our bodies, satisfy our appetites, and have energy to do more work.  We work so that we do not go hungry, so that we can be happy.  But all we can nourish with the results of our work is the flesh and blood body that breaks down with age and injury, and will not last long.  Beauty fades, strength passes, and health gives way to sickness in time.  Death is inevitable.

Yet, while we work for our bodies, consider what we read in Matthew 26, "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.'  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.'" (Matt 26:26-29)  Here Jesus and his disciples had gathered to partake of a meal, they had gathered to partake of the work of the sweat of their brows, and Jesus invites his disciples to go deeper.  Not only does Jesus want his disciples to partake of a meal, he wants them to partake of a meal that he will share with them again in heaven, a meal that celebrates the redemption of sins that he will purchase through his blood.  So the eating of bread becomes more than simply the reward for hard work, it becomes symbolic of the redemption that is offered through Jesus.


Here we see a beautiful contrast begin to develop.  Where the meal we are invited to partake of reminds us of the curse of work, the meaning of the meal points us to the grace of God.  What Paul says to us in Ephesians should be noted here: "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  (Ephesians 2:8-9)  So Jesus invites us to partake of bread, a reminder of the curse of work, but as he does so he changes the interpretation of the event, so that the bread becomes his body, and the wine becomes his blood, bringing to mind the salvation we have received, for which we have not worked.  So our labor becomes a reminder of that for which we have not labored.


Here I wish to spell out, in part, a way we might see this contrast: We have worked for our meal, but we have not worked for our salvation.  We come, reading in Genesis that by the sweat of our brow we will eat our bread, but finding that Jesus has invited us to a meal that we have not worked for at all.  Christ has done the work, being perfect in accordance with the Law of Moses, and now we are invited to eat at his table, where he will celebrate with us one day in Heaven.  Though we eat of earthly bread, we are brought to fellowship with heavenly hosts.  The contrast could not be more beautiful, or more meaningful: We come sweaty, we come exhausted, we come having labored for our bodies, and we find that Christ has labored for our souls.


While we have fed our bodies with the sweat of our brows, we need spiritual food for our souls.  And how can we labor for spiritual food?  God fed the Israelites with manna, but even that did not satisfy their souls, as they regularly failed to obey the Word of the Lord.  If manna from heaven is not sufficient to satisfy our souls, then what earthly food might we find that will accomplish this task?  Christ answers this for us as he reveals that only he is sufficient for our hunger.  We who were dead in sin desire the food of life, and his body is that food.  Yet we cannot labor for this food, because we can never do enough to deserve to draw near to that which is perfect, being imperfect ourselves, and so we become dependent on him to give us what we could not take for ourselves.


So, Genesis 3:17-19 becomes a passage that leads us to Christ by way of contrast.  We see in Genesis 3 why we need Christ.  We come from the dirt, and we labor in the dirt.  We feed ourselves through our labor, and when we eat our bread we should be reminded of the hardships of life.  Yet, earthly bread does not address spiritual concerns, and cannot satisfy the longings of the soul.  For this we need spiritual bread, and in Christ alone do we find that bread offered.  In Christ alone do we find that we are invited to a meal for which we have not labored, a meal which maybe we never even wanted, but a meal that is more important than any other we will ever eat: a meal prepared for those who have not labored but have found rest in the Son of God.

Re-reading

Today I spoke with my pastor, Robert Keats, about Genesis 1 and the book of John.  I told him I was re-reading Genesis and John and trying to ask myself questions to get more from the text.  In view of how John presents Christ, as the Light of the World, as the life that is the light of men, and as the incarnate Word of God, I told him I think there is more to the narrative of Genesis than I have been reading.  So my questions of the text were these:  What connection do the first words of creation have with what John tells us about Christ?  How does, "Let there be light" relate to the Christ event?

As I began to re-read and think about Genesis, I then found yet another question that grabbed my attention: why doesn't God say anything was "good" on day two of the creation account?  On the first day we see that God calls the light good.  On day three, God says both the dry land and the plant life created are good.  On days four, five, and six God says that the various acts of creation are each "good."  And finally, on day six, after God has created everything else, he says that all he created is "very good."  But, on day two, there is no statement that anything was good.

There may be nothing to this omission.  It may very well be that there is nothing to be learned from the simple omission of calling anything good on day two.  After all, on day six God calls everything, "very good" thus indicating that creation was exactly according to his plan and purpose.  And if everything was created according to God's purpose, then obviously, what happened on day two had to a good thing.  In any case, Scripture does not give a clear or definitive answer to this question.

If you choose to do a quick search on Google, you can find various answers that people have to why God didn't call the second day of creation good.  Answers range from the idea that the waters above the firmament were set in the sky as a punishment for men (the flood of Noah) and therefore it was not pleasing to God to have this punishment prepared, to the idea that the creation of the firmament and the setting up of the heavens created the realm that Satan would claim as his own.  Unfortunately none of the answers I read really took into account the testimony of Scripture.  For instance there is nothing saying that the waters in the flood came from the water above the "firmament."  Likewise, there is nothing saying that Satan had already taken his domain in the heavens being that as of Genesis 2 he had not yet tempted Eve and Adam had not yet allowed sin into the world.

I have my own theory on why God does not call day two of creation good.  My theory is that day two tells us about God separating creation from himself, setting up the firmament as that which separates creation (the waters below) from the throne room of God (the waters above).  Thus when we see in Revelation 4:6 that there is what appears to be a sea of glass in front of the throne of God, we are taken back to the primordial waters that covered the world, and we are reminded that God is enthroned above the heavens.  God is separated from creation, because of his own design, but he does not intend for things to remain that way.  By the end of Revelation, in chapter 21 we see that God intends to make a new creation, one that will not be separate from himself.  God does not call the second day of creation good because it represents an imperfect idea of what God will one day do, when he will join himself to creation, when there will be nothing that separates him from what his hands have made.  (I do not mean this in a pantheistic or panentheistic sense.)

Obviously, my theory is just that, a theory.  I can't prove my idea is correct.  If I am right, then what that shows us is that God intended, from the very beginning of creation, to bring all things into fellowship with himself.  Thus when we read about the separation of day two we read about an event that was necessary according to God's divine plan, but one which would one day be undone.  This tells us that it should be our aspiration to be brought back to God.  And it tells us that reconciliation with God goes beyond ourselves, it involves all of creation coming into fellowship with God.

But, my point is not to attempt to prove my interpretation of Genesis.  Instead, my point is that it is only through re-reading Scripture that we notice things like the second day not being called good.  We only notice the connections between the waters above and the glassy sea around the throne of God when we read through both Genesis and Revelation enough times that the ideas in each of them take root in our minds.  Yes, reading what others think about Scripture, or hearing someone else point out connections we may not notice in Scripture is useful.  But, we will only begin to see connections ourselves when we become devoted the text of Scripture, in whatever way we have access to that text.

Re-reading Scripture has great value, because it helps us to see connections we might otherwise never notice.  It also encourages us to ask questions, which can be useful to us and help us to get more out of Scripture, even if we cannot definitively answer the questions we ask.  If our goal is to become more like Christ, even as Peter says we are being transformed, and Paul says we ought to live, then there is no better method to becoming like Christ than to dive into his word.  There is no other way to know the mind of God than to give heed to what he has said.  While there may be times we feel as though we are gleaning nothing more from what we are reading, we must remember that God can use those moments to plant something in our minds that will help us later.  Re-reading Scripture is incredibly important to the Christian, and its values cannot be overstated.

Why International Missions isn't Foreign

Recently I had the privilege of teaching a lesson on international missions at my church here in Carrollton, Georgia.  The lesson itself was on missions going on in Thailand.  In many of the international missions lessons in local churches congregations learn about the demographics of the country, they hear about a few specific missionaries, and then they are told how they can pray for those missionaries specifically.  While there is nothing wrong with this method, and in fact there is a lot of very useful information to be learned from this method of teaching, I decided to take the lesson in a different direction.  My goal in the lesson was not simply that the congregation would learn facts about Thailand, but that they would understand that Thailand is not that different from Carrollton, and that international missions is not just something "over there," but that it affects us here at home, and what we do here at home affects international missions.

This post is a follow up to that lesson.  The fact is international missions ought not be some foreign concept or idea.  International missions should flow directly from home missions, from local missions, and from every Christian's personal mission in the world.  International missions is the spread of Christianity to every tribe, people, tongue, and nation, fulfilling the command of Christ to go and make disciples of all nations.  (Matthew 28:18-20)  Therefore, the mindset of international missions should be part of every Christian, as we strive to be faithful to what our Lord has called us to do.

There are two specific reasons I want to address as to what International missions is not foreign: people, and Scripture.  If we understand the reality of who we are serving, and who we have a mission to reach, we will understand that these are not just people who live thousands of miles away, but they are brothers and sisters, and no matter how far away family may be, family is not foreign.  Likewise, if we understand Scripture, then we will understand how what we are to minister is never foreign, it is the wonderful Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that all men might be reconciled to God, redeemed from sin and free to live to the glory of God.  The message is not foreign, and the people are not foreign, even if the culture is totally alien to us.

It may seem like a bit of a contradiction to say that the people are not foreign if the culture is foreign, but people are not just their culture.  Specifically, in terms of international missions, every person is exactly the same.  What I mean is that what Paul says about humans, he says about all of us, he makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian.  Paul says, "As it is written:

'None is righteous, no, not one;
   no one understands;
   no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
   no one does good,
   not even one.'
'Their throat is an open grave;
   they use their tongues to deceive.'
'The venom of asps is under their lips.'
   'Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.'
'Their feet are swift to shed blood;
   in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.'
   'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'

Every human has sinned.  No one fears God naturally.  Not one of us is innocent, and all of us are condemned before God, according to what Paul says here.  Therefore, when we go to minister to humans in any place, any time, and any culture, we are ministering to sinners.  Just as you, if you are a Christian, were a sinner who received the Gospel from someone who ministered to you, so they are sinners in need of ministers who will bring the gospel to them.  There is nothing foreign in sin, we who walk in the light know the ways of sin, because we walked in sin ourselves.

But, not only are people the same, Scripture is the same.  Yes, translation is an art and a science.  And yes, there may be challenges in bringing Scripture to different cultures.  Due to linguistic barriers and the lack of a written language, it may be very hard to explain Scripture or make it widely accessible to certain peoples.  But, despite these challenges, Scripture itself does not change.

The reason Scripture does not change is because God does not change.  Scripture is the personal revelation of a personal God.  Unless God changes, his revelation will not change, and God has said of himself that he does not change. (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6, James 1:17)  Therefore, in every culture we minister the same Scripture, the same message, and the same God, that all men may know of the Lord who made them and desires that they should come and fellowship with him.  This Gospel does not change, because it is the same to everyone, no matter who they are or where they are.

There are a lot of things that can be foreign in international missions, from language and culture, to location and climate.  But, the things that really matter, the needs of people and means of addressing those needs, do not change.  Every person needs to be reconciled to the God who made them, who requires worship from them.  And the only means of reconciliation is faith in Jesus Christ.  Therefore, international missions may involve going to foreign places, eating foreign food, learning foreign languages, and living under foreign shelters, but there should be nothing closer to home than the ministering of the gospel to those who desperately need to know of the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.

And be Thankful

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." - Colossians 3:14-16 (ESV)

From what we see in the above passage we note that there are three things Paul called the church to: put on love, let the peace of Christ reign, and be thankful.  Of course these are not three distinct events, they are, in fact, very closely tied together.  How can we love without the peace of Christ unifying us as a body?  How can we be thankful if we are not bound to God or to others through love?  In fact, the very idea of being one body is the reason we (Christians) ought to love one another.

Think about it like this: love unites.  Anger, hatred, fear, distaste, and discomfort all divide.  Those things which stand opposed to love do not bring the body of Christ together, they divide us.  We cannot be ruled by the peace of Christ because we are too worried about whether the man sitting across from us is dangerous, or we want to get away from the smelly bag lady who sat next to us in the pew.  More than that, we are not thankful to God for bringing this brother or sister into our lives, instead we sit in judgment of them, when God shed the blood of Christ to win them.

But, being thankless not only separates us from our relationship with God, it also separates us from those around us, and it separates them from us.  When we do not thank those who do good things for us, we insult them.  We insult them because we do not acknowledge the time, the care, or the resources they put into doing good for us.  We act as though we are deserving of that which we have received, as though somehow we earned some good gift that was given to us.

In my last post I noted that every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of Lights. (James 1:17)  But, James really begins that thought earlier, and the context around James 1:17 is important.  In James 1:16 he says, "Do not be deceived my beloved brothers."  My point being that James urges us to think about what he is saying more deeply than just saying, "okay."  James really intends for us to understand that every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from God.  When one of your co-workers did a favor for you, making sure you wouldn't be too overburdened, that was a gift from God.  When one of your friends called you up and asked if you wanted a coffee, just so they could spend time with you, that was from God.  Every good gift, every perfect gift, all of them, come from God.

It is so important to grasp this because it relates directly to what Paul says about being thankful.  If every good gift comes from God, then when you disregard a favor, or when you belittle the work of someone who sacrificed for you, then you are insulting the kindness of God.  Likewise, when you make light of someone trying to do good for you, even if it does not accomplish exactly what you wanted, it is not simply a slight to that person, it is an insult to God, because he is the one who gave you the gift.  Such an attitude shows that you have not put on love, you are not living in the peace of Christ, and you are not thankful to God.  Such an attitude shows that you have taken for granted the good things you have been given, as though you deserved them, when it is most pertinent to remember that those good things are a gift, and you have not earned any of them at all.

In addition to what being thankless says about your own life, it is also harmful to others.  When you disregard the good things people do for you, or try to do for you, it places them in a position of inferiority.  Instead of you showing appreciation for their kindness, now they have become mere tools, and if they perform well you give them no praise, for that was all that was expected of a good tool.  This is not love for your fellow man.  To be thankless is an insult to those who show love and respect for you.

But, there is one more point worth making: being thankless is a little demonstration of hell on earth.  What I mean by this is, if James is true, that every good gift is from God, then in hell there will be no good gifts.  There will be no friends, because there will be no kindness, because God will not motivate goodness or gentleness among those from whom he separates.  So, when we are thankless, we are demonstrating to those who would do good things for us a little taste of hell.  We are demonstrating the real sin that lives within every one of us when we do not thank people, or God, for the good things we receive, and, in hell, that sin will be given free reign, because there will be no common grace from God to keep it reigned in.

There is simply no excuse for Christians to forget to be thankful.  We, above all people, have received great and wonderful gifts that we do not deserve.  We who have trusted in the death of Christ and his resurrection as the payment for our sin, and the means of reconciliation with God, have been given a promise of eternal life with the Lord.  Every good gift we receive after that ought to refresh our spirits in memory of that which we have received and make us sing the praises of God, that not only did he redeem us from hell, but he also saw fit to give us more gifts on top of that.  Every generous hand, from every person, should invoke in us a deep and abiding thankfulness, for we know that our God is the one who has given this to us.  In short, we should have no problem fulfilling this command from the Holy Spirit, through Paul, "And be thankful."

Happy Thanksgiving

I find myself in an odd situation today.  I am surrounded by family, I have a beautiful wife, I have eaten my fill, and I have all the blessings that come from living in middle class America.  I know that I will have a bed to sleep on tonight, I have clothes to wear and even a cellphone and a car in case I have an emergency and need to contact someone or go somewhere.  In addition to this, I have a wonderful church family, I have brothers and sisters in Louisville and Savannah, and I know that there are many people who love me.  In all of this, how could anyone not be thankful?

Yet, at the same time, I find myself in the same place as many Americans today: I am unemployed, my financial resources are taxed, and I'm not sure when that situation will change.  In addition to this I, like many others, have an advanced degree, and feel a specific calling on my life that I would like to accomplish, and that I have dedicated years to fulfilling.  Even though I have been the beneficiary of the wonderful generosity of family, so that I have a place to live, there is a distinct enjoyment missing.  An enjoyment that comes from working and providing for my family.  This situation is frustrating, and the reality of it cannot be escaped.

 In thinking about these two situations I am forced to conclude that being thankful really is about what perspective we choose to have in life.  We can look at what we want, what we have not yet accomplished, what we have lost or our ills and pains, and we can conclude that life is not as good as we would like.  Or, we can choose to look at what we have received and what we have, and we can be appreciative for life itself.

The second mindset, the one that looks at life with appreciation, is the one to which the Christian is called.  As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:7, "What do you have that you did not receive?  If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"  The point being that everything we have, from life, to love, to wealth, to family, all of it is a gift to us from God.  In addition to this we can add salvation, hope, enjoyment, and any number of other blessings.  For the Christian, we are called to be humble, acknowledging that God has given us great blessings, but that also then means we must be thankful, because in acknowledging that we have received blessing, what else can we do but be thankful to the one who has given those blessings to us?

So, on Thanksgiving, and on every day, let us consider what attitude we will have in ourselves, whether being thankful, or holding life in contempt.  And, as we are challenged to be thankful for all the many blessings we have received, let us remember who we are thanking.  Being thankful necessarily assumes being thankful to someone or something.  So, let us give God the glory, both for what we have received, and because he is the one who gives us these things.  Let us always remember what James says, "For every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

Let us be humble enough to appreciate the good gifts we have been given.  As I said to a friend not too long ago, when I was in Virginia I saw beautiful sights from the tops of mountains.  I saw valleys of green laid out before me and watched as below me hawks flew in search for prey.  Such wonderful sights remind me that I do not know what the future holds, whether I will stand on mountain tops and look across open valleys, or walk on the sea shore and hear the roar of the ocean.  But, I know there is still beauty in the world, even if I am in the midst of gray and dreary day.

So, I will be thankful for what I have seen, knowing that those beautiful days brought me to where I am now.  I will be thankful for today, knowing that where I am now must yield to the hope of what I will see tomorrow.  So, let us always give thanks to the Father of Lights.  Let us worship him who gives to us perfect gifts.

Isaiah 6:1-8

Recently (a couple of weeks ago) my pastor asked me to read this section of Scripture and lead the congregation in prayer as part of our worship service.  Reading this passage, and the sermon of that day, both changed the way I have looked at sin since.  I wanted to address this passage of Scripture and share a few of the things that really impacted me.  A couple of the points come from the Hebrew in this passage, so I beg your leave to discuss those, and I ask that you trust what I'm going to say.  Alternatively, I hope that my reading of this passage might encourage you to do some research on the passage yourself, that you may be challenged and transformed by the Word of God.

First, the English of this passage:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  Above him stood the seraphim.  Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.  And one called to another and said:

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  And I said: "Woe is me!  For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"  Then I said, "Here am I!  Send me."


The first thing that struck me was the declaration made by the Seraphim: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!"  (A better rendition might note that he is called the Lord of armies, but that's a secondary point.)  The reason this declaration struck me is because of the triple repeated, "Holy!"  In the original Hebrew and Greek there was no punctuation.  No exclamation marks, no periods, no commas, no way to separate or accentuate a word other than either its placement in the idea, or a play on its form, or a repetition of the word itself.  Thus, when we see a repeated word or term it is there for one specific reason: emphasis.

For the Seraphim to call God "holy" three times indicates a serious emphatic statement.  It would be like standing in the midst of a courtroom and suddenly the bailiff picks up a bull horn and screams as loud as he can that the judge is honorable and just.  If you miss the implication, it is because you choose to ignore that which has been screamed at you.

God is holy!  He is utterly, indescribably holy!  His holiness is to be shouted, it is declared by those beings which are in his presence day and night.  This is the first and most important descriptor of God.  His holiness defines his other attributes, because it puts them in proper perspective.

God's holiness is his transcendence above and beyond this world.  He is like nothing in this world, utterly distinct and incomparable.  It is for this reason that Scripture says of God, "Who is like the Lord?" (Psalm 40:5; Psalm 89:6; Isaiah 40:18, 25; 46:5)  And here, you have heavenly beings, flying above the throne of God, which is itself a high and loft throne, and they are declaring this holiness, over and over again, yelling it loudly to one another.  That's how important it is that we get that God is holy, the seraphim yell not to creation, but to one another, even though they dwell in the presence of God.

This point only began to really come home to me when I began to consider the rest of God's attributes in relation to this holiness.  Think about it this way: God demonstrates his power so that we can understand that his power is beyond what we can comprehend, it is holy.  God works great and wondrous miracles so that we can understand that if God is able to do things which amaze us, how much greater are his works which we can not fathom!  His holiness, his indescribable nature, is declared by comparison with that which we can understand.  Likewise of any of God's attributes, his anger, his patience, his justice, and particularly his love.  We cannot really comprehend any of these attributes of God, because his holiness puts them beyond our grasp.  We can witness a declaration of his love or justice, but that only gives us a glimpse into the reality that we cannot fully grasp, because God is beyond us.

But, here's what blows me away more than anything else, what made me really begin to consider the beauty of God's holiness: he does not do his great works for himself!  What I mean is that God is holy, by his very nature, and there is nothing that adds to or takes away from this holiness.  Thus, when God shows his glory through his great works, he does not add anything to himself, but simply shows us, mere humans, how wonderful he is, out of a great love for us.  Remember, God has seraphim declaring his holiness, he already knows his holiness, he does not need us to praise him, but he gives us the opportunity to praise him for our good, because he loves us.

God is the only being who deserves this praise, because his beauty is perfect.  So, for us to be able to praise God is a gift to us, because being able to praise God means that we are getting some glimpse of perfection, some participation in the amazing glory of the one who defines everything good and beautiful.  It's like getting an invite into the most amazing art gallery ever.  God is not changed or made more amazing by our worship, but we who witness his holiness are changed, because we experience that which is truly beautiful.  This is the situation Isaiah found himself in: ushered into the presence of glory, confronted with that which left him dumbfounded (literally) because of how wondrous it was.

God is holy, he is awesome, and he shows his holiness to us because of his love for us, but this is only the beginning of this passage.  Add to that the very beings who are declaring this: seraphim.  (In the Hebrew the "im" ending is simply a plural ending, hence some translations read "seraphs" as a valid plural form of the term, since the Hebrew "seraph" is the singular form.)  The word itself means "burning ones".  Thus, here are "burning ones," or beings whose own glory makes them appear to be on fire (or who really are made of fire), who are declaring how holy God is.  His glory is made manifest through comparison with their glory, because they are declaring his holiness, and not their own.

Then, Isaiah gives utterance to words that simply do not translate into the English with the same nuance which they have in Hebrew.  Isaiah looks to the Lord and says, "Woe is me! For I am [compelled to be silent, brought to silence, made silent, or undone, ruined, destroyed]."  (Everything within the brackets could be viable interpretations of this passage.)  Thus, when we read from Isaiah, "I am undone" what he is saying is, "I am brought to silence."  Here the idiom of silence represents the idea of death or total destruction.  This ties the statement in with the rest of what Isaiah says, "For I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips."

The idea of unclean lips goes far and beyond simply the words of the people, it goes to their lives, their very being.  Thus, as Christ declared, "For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)  For Isaiah, for his mouth to be silenced was a condemnation of his very life.  So, likewise, when Isaiah complains of the uncleanness of the lips of the people, he is condemning the way they live.  They are unclean in word and deed.  And he is one of those people, he is not innocent, he is not holy, he is not good.  I realized as I read those words what a condemnation that should be to me: though I might know how to say the right things, though I might appear to be a "good Christian" to the world, my heart ought to be condemned before God because of my sinfulness.  I am in the position of Isaiah, and I need to declare, "Woe is me!  I am compelled to be silent, I should be destroyed before my holy God!"

Yet Isaiah was not left there.  Here the Hebrew again plays on words and imagery: one of the burning ones takes a "glowing coal" and touches Isaiah's mouth with it.  One of those who is on fire takes a coal of fire and touches that which symbolizes Isaiah's wickedness, his lips, and declared Isaiah to be clean.  Imagine that scene for a minute, a flying being of fire holding a burning coal in his hand reaches out to you and touches your lips with a searing fire, and declares you to be clean.

Here the full imagery of the situation is brought out: Isaiah is not simply standing in the temple, he is standing in the middle of a sacrifice.  Remember, the temple was filled with smoke after God's holiness was declared.  Why would the temple be filled with smoke?  Because a sacrifice was taking place.  We know this because the smoke is not merely from the altar of incense, but there is a burning coal, which came from the altar, which means that a sacrifice was burning on the altar of God.

Here we tie into the imagery of Christ, because he is the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. (1 Peter 1:19-21)  He is the sacrifice that God accepted to quench his anger, which allows a guilty people to approach a holy God.  Isaiah was standing in the presence of the God who makes redemption for his saints, offering up a sacrifice to himself which we could not offer up.  And Isaiah was made a participant of that sacrifice.  A coal from the fire of God's sacrifice was taken and placed upon Isaiah's lips, so that he became a participant in this symbolic sacrifice that would one day be fulfilled in the death and suffering of the Messiah.

And look what happens to Isaiah because of his exposure to the sacrifice of Christ: the man who was brought to silence, who was compelled to recognize the sinfulness of his life before the holy God of the universe, suddenly has the courage to speak up and say to God, "Here I am, send me!"  Because Isaiah saw the holiness of God, he was brought low, he considered himself already dead.  But, because Christ died on his behalf and he was able to participate in that sacrifice, his words, the actions of his life, were made acceptable before God.  Isaiah was given a boldness to go from laying on his face to standing before the awesome God of all creation, all because of the sacrifice that God prepared for himself.

The more I studied this passage, just in preparation to read it at church, the more I was faced with the reality that I had lost sight of the holiness of God.  I had forgotten his glory, and I had forgotten that when I sin I am transgressing that holiness, that glory, that awesome and amazing attribute of God that cannot be fully understood here on earth, because it is the reflection of how utterly incomprehensible and beyond us God really is.  But, in addition to that, my sins made light of the sacrifice God prepared for himself.  Instead of allowing the coal from the altar of God to touch my lips, I would draw near to it, I would feign to touch it, and then I would go back again into the secret realms of my heart, and I would not let myself be singed by the purifying fire of God.

For this reason, for the last two weeks, I have been continually thinking to myself, "Would it glorify God for me to do that?  Would it glorify God for me to go there?  Would it glorify God for me to watch that, think that, or listen to that?"  The seraphim constantly declare God is holy, so how could I, who have enjoyed the benefits of the death of Christ, do anything less in my own life?  Do I really think God is that holy?  In being confronted with these questions I was forced to reconsider how I was living, so that I could be like Isaiah, transformed by my experience of seeing the holiness of God.

To be honest, for those who have read this far, I can only apologize.  There is something about being exposed to an experience that cannot quite be captured by simply writing about it.  Particularly when it is the Word of God that we are confronted with, there is an intrinsic and personal challenge that is hard to express to others.  I can only hope that you will be challenged by this section of Scripture as I was.  I can only hope that as you have read of my experience of going through this passage, you will be able to appreciate the imagery, the nuances, and the power of this passage more.  I hope you are challenged to think about the awesome holiness of God a little bit more, so that you can too can live a life changed by meeting the God of Isaiah, the God of the universe.

More Than Bread

While wondering through the desert Satan tempted Christ by appealing to his hunger.  Satan said to the Lord, "Turn these stones into bread and so you do not have to go hungry!"  It may not sound like much of a temptation, but the real point was to get Christ to rely upon himself, instead of trusting that the Father would provide for him what he needed.  Christ responded by quoting Scripture and standing against Satan saying, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God."  We have to eat to live, but if all we take in is bread, then while we may continue to exist, we are far from having full lives.

This was part of the problem that the church in Corinth dealt with.  Instead of taking in the Word of God, they were more concerned with the bread and wine of the Lord's table.  Paul condemns the church noting that some come and feast, and others are left to starve.  Instead of sharing love and compassion for one another they became selfish gluttons.  To partake of the Lord's supper is to share in Christ, to eat and drink of his memory and in obedience to his words, it is not just to fill our stomachs, but to live on the Word of God.

Christ promised his presence always, and proclaimed of himself that he is the bread of life.  Obviously there is metaphor involved in that statement.  Christ is not literally made of bread.  Likewise, as much as I respect those Catholics who take seriously the traditions that have been handed down, as a protestant and one who adheres to solo scriptura, I find nothing in Scripture that makes me think that the bread literally becomes the body of Christ and the wine becomes his blood in some metaphysical way.  But, despite the fact that the bread is not literally Christ, when we partake of the bread and the wine, we are joined to Christ in his presence, as we partake of the feast that he is preparing for us in heaven.

To eat of the Lord's Table is to partake of a heavenly feast.  Consider this: Christ began and ended his ministry with food and wine.  When his mother asked him to help with the situation at the wedding feast, Christ turned the water into wine.  When Christ gave his last instructions, before his death, to his apostles, he did it over a feast including bread and wine.  And, when Christ brings all things to completion, we will once again sit down to a feast with him, at the wedding supper of the Lamb.  When we eat of the bread and drink of the wine of the Lord's Table, we are participating in feasting with Christ, joining with him in faith to the Father, believing that one day we will eat at the wedding supper of his Son.

This is why Paul was so severe with the church in Corinth, and why he says that when we eat of the Lord's Table and fail to recognize the body of Christ, we eat and drink judgment on ourselves.  When we partake of the Lord's Table, if we do not recognize that we are eating a fellowship meal, a celebration of Christ and the feast that will join all believers together, then we are not acting in faith, but faithlessly.  We turn the admonition of Christ on its head: instead of living on the Word of God, we begin to treat the feast of Christ as nothing more than bread and wine.  Any church that treats the Lord's Supper lightly, not realizing the significance of what it means to partake of the body of Christ is asking for the same judgment that Paul says was already being poured out on the church at Corinth: weakness, sickness, and premature death.

It ought to be born in mind that death, weakness, and sickness, do not necessarily have to be upon individuals.  Those who sit in the congregation, who are ignorant of the reality of the Lord's Supper, while certainly responsible for failing to take seriously the Word of God, are not as accountable as those who teach them.  Thus as James says, "Not many of you should desire to be teachers, knowing that we who teach will be judged more strictly."  In this way, because those who teach from the pulpit have failed to properly teach the Word of God, and because those who sit in the congregation have failed to hold them accountable to what has been taught, everyone brings judgment upon themselves for their faithless living before God.  So, particularly in congregational churches, no one has excuse, and no individual can claim innocence if they have not been faithfully warning their brothers and sisters of the coming wrath of God.

Because Churches do not take seriously the Word of God in what it teaches about why we should do the things we do, the churches get weak.  The churches grow sick.  Eventually, those churches who fail to be faithful to God, who no longer reflect a healthy image of his body, die.  And no amount of man made emotion and passion can change what God has already said will be the judgment of those who take the Lord's Supper lightly.  But it does not have to be this way.

Our God is a God who forgives, who restores, who wounds and heals.  If we will turn back to him and seek him, then he has promised us blessing in Christ.  We, who are in Christ, do not need to fear that God will hold our sins against us, for we are already forgiven, covered by the blood of Christ.  If we seek to partake of the blood of Christ at his table, then we must be sure that we are covered in the blood when we are away from the table.

God is faithful to himself, and he will exalt himself through judgment, and through mercy.  Thus, we have great reason to pray to God for revival, if we are willing to embrace the discipline of God in our lives.  We do not need to continue to eat and drink judgment to ourselves.  If we will learn from the Word of God, and understand what it means to be a part of the body of God, then we have great reason to hope in God.  Our God is full of grace, and he speaks to us if we will be listen to his admonitions.

Let us eat of the Lord's Table with joy and with sobriety.  Let us recognize that what we do here prepares us for a feast we will share there.  But, let us also remember that when we eat and drink of the elements of the table, Christ is present with us, partaking with us as we are his body.  We eat and drink not simply in his memory, but also in his presence.  There is great reason to rejoice for those of us who rightly recognize the body of Christ when we come to the Lord's Table, so let us rejoice!

Wash and Wear Christians

One of the oldest arguments that baptists of all kinds have engaged in is the importance of believers' baptism.  If you are not from a baptist tradition, I'll try to explain the idea quickly, and then address the argument itself.  Basically the baptist tradition is that baptism is only for believers.  That means that baptists do not baptize infants, and, historically, have not accepted those who were baptized as infants as members of baptist churches.  Only those who are believers can submit to baptism, and therefore if someone was "baptized" as an infant, unless they undergo a real baptism, as a believer, they are not generally granted membership in baptist congregations.

There are exceptions to the statement that baptists do not allow membership to those who received only infant baptism (paedobaptists).  John Bunyan, for instance, advocated that paedobaptists should be allowed church membership, and that they should be allowed to come to the Lord's Table.  However, even in his day, there were those who argued against him.  More recently John Piper and Mark Dever argued about this point, with Piper taking Bunyan's side, and Dever taking what I am calling the historical baptist side.

I would like to make a point of clarification though.  I am not calling Dever's position the historical position because it predates the position of Piper, but only because it has been the position accepted by most baptists throughout history.  This is why most baptist ministers, at least until modern times, would "fence the table" when inviting people to participate in the Lord's Supper.  The "fence" could be put up with a statement as simple as, "We invite those of like faith and practice who are in good standing in their church..." wherein the "faith" is the Christian faith, and the "practice" is those who had received believer's baptism.  The "good standing in their church" indicated that the person was not under discipline, and therefore there was no question of that individuals standing before Christ.

This last point could be broken into a whole essay of its own, and I intend to address the point eventually, but for now it is sufficient to note that most early baptist churches (and most baptist churches up to the 1950's at least) practiced church discipline and took it very seriously.  It was in fact because of church discipline that this whole issue arose.

Why would church discipline cause baptist churches to need to discuss the question of membership of paedobaptists?  In part it was because of the Lord's Supper.  Most baptist churches held that there were effectively two (or three) ordinances of the church.  In the three ordinance division you have foot washing, baptism, and the Lord's Supper.  In the two ordinance division you can remove foot washing.  Most baptists today do not practice foot washing, nor was it ever the majority of baptists position that it should be practiced.

Ordinances for baptists are not a means of grace.  The acts of baptism and the Lord's Supper are spiritually significant and symbolic events.  In the case of baptism the believer is joined to the death of Christ, and his resurrection through baptism.  But, what baptists mean by that is that the believer who has been baptized has made a public demonstration of their need for cleansing, of which the baptism is only a symbolic demonstration.  The actual salvation of the individual happens at conversion, in which the person is sealed by the Holy Spirit and joined to Christ eternally.  Thus baptism (as commonly expressed and understood) is an outward sign of an internal reality, and an act of obedience to what Christ has commanded.

For baptists historically then the argument has been that those who refuse to be baptized after coming to faith are living in disobedience to Christ.  Because the individuals are living in disobedience to Christ they cannot be given church membership, nor should they be invited to the Lord's Table.  To invite someone who is living in disobedience to the Lord's Table to is make light of their sin, which is wrong.  Moreover, to invite someone to the Lord's Table who has refused to participate in one ordinance of the church then includes that person in another ordinance of the church, and thus would be to treat the person as a member, even though they do not meet the qualifications of membership.  Thus, those who cannot be members of the church, for a refusal to participate in the ordinances of the church, ought not to come to participate in that ordinance which is restricted to only members of the church.


To explain this position from Scripture, baptists take seriously the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11.  In verse 18 he says, "For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part."  This indicates that what Paul is about to say he says to the church, not individuals.  Thus when he says in verse 26, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes," this is not a command to individuals, but to the church.  Therefore it is those who are in the church who should eat the bread and drink from the cup.

Further, we read, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Corinthians 11:29)  This passage is not telling people that they must simply examine themselves, but that they must understand who they are in Christ.  Yes, an individual ought to examine himself to see if there is any unrepentant sin in his life, but what Paul calls us to here is a consideration of who the body of Christ is.  The body of Christ is to partake of the Lord's Table, and the body of Christ is the regenerate church here on earth.  The question then, for who can partake of the Lord's Supper, is one of who is a member of the regenerate church on earth.

This is where baptism enters the issue.  We have already seen that the Lord's Table is to be open to all members of the church.  But, baptism is generally recognized (by baptists) as the means by which one enters into the church.  Thus, if one has not been baptized, then they are not to be considered members of the church.  If they are not to be considered members of the church, then they are not to take of the Lord's Supper, and they are not subject to church discipline.

But, why should baptism be a required ordinance for church membership?  If, as baptists have historically professed, faith alone is the means of salvation, shouldn't the church accept all of those who profess faith in Christ, regardless of whether they have been baptized?  The answer to that question must be answered "no" if the historic argument is to stand.  But is the answer no?

Yes, the answer to the question is no.  Yes, all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.  Yes, we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8)  And yes, all those who are saved are part of the regenerate church here on earth.  But, no, the church should not simply accept those who profess faith in Christ as members with no reservations.

The reason for this is what James says, "Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:18)  The fact is that we, as humans, cannot judge perfectly the salvation of any person.  It may be that someone has been genuinely saved, though we cannot discern such from their lives.  But, we are called to judge the works of one another (ourselves included) and determine if those works line up with that which Scripture commands us.  Therefore, while we may wrongly exclude some from membership with the church because we cannot discern their salvation, we must labor to rightly discern the body, that we may know, as far as possible, that those who are members of the church do appear to be Christians.

Once again, this is where baptism enters the equation.  If baptism is a command of Christ (and baptists hold that it is, based on: Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:47, Romans 6:3, and many more passages besides) then those who refuse to be baptized are not simply refusing to undergo some specific event, they are refusing to submit in obedience to God.  Therefore, while these people may evidence many other signs of salvation, the fact that they persist in refusing to be baptized causes the baptist to look at them with some reservation, recognizing that the church should be wholly obedient to Christ, and not only obedient in some, or most ways.  Therefore, baptism becomes a necessary step for anyone to enter into church membership, because it is the sign that demonstrates that the person has indeed entered into the death of Christ, and risen with him.


The reason I have attempted to lay out this discussion is because unfortunately many baptists are losing their distinctiveness.  Most baptist churches have failed to seriously educate their members as to what the significance of baptism is, and why the Lord's Table is so important.  Most baptists would probably still say that they do not want to allow paedobaptists as members, but would they know why, from a biblical perspective?  Whether you agree with the argument or not, I hope that you understand now that baptism is not just a matter of one becoming a "wash and wear Christian" but it really is important.  Because it is so important we ought not neglect the discussion of baptism in our churches.

If you aren't aware, I am a historic baptist.  I was raised in the Southern Baptist tradition, and I have come to embrace that tradition as I think it is the most orthodox biblical position.  That does not mean that there aren't skeletons in the closet of Southern Baptists.  Our racial divisions and the long standing issue of slavery that lead to the formation of the Southern Baptist convention need to be dealt with.  The last generation of Southern Baptists made apology for how our tradition assisted in perpetuating slavery, but they were not able to overcome the racial divisions that still exist in most Southern Baptist churches.  But, despite the problems that exist within the Southern Baptist tradition, we must continue to hold to the importance of believers' baptism, and in order to do so we must understand the importance of the Lord's Table and church discipline, understanding which has been lacking in the last 50-60 years.

A Perfect Inheritance (part 3)

This is the last post on the topic of our perfect inheritance, based off of the sermon I preached on Sunday, 9/19/10.  In the last two posts I have attempted to demonstrate that Ephesians 1:3-14 calls us to praise God for all he has done, and has called us to recognize that we are adopted as sons of God, and so we should live according to this truth.  In this post I want to talk about one final aspect of our perfect inheritance, and that is the work of the Holy Spirit.  There is so much more that can be said about Ephesians 1:3-14.  The fact is this is an incredibly rich section of Scripture, but lest I tire you too much, or myself, this will be final post on it for now.

This post really is to make two points, those points have to do with what we read in Ephesians 1:13-14.  Paul writes, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."  The two points I want to address deal with the fact that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.  This is not a future tense promise of sealing, it is a present reality: we have already been sealed.

In the first and second posts I continually made the point that we are saved according to God's will.  Our salvation is not dependent on us and our continued work.  This final section proves that point concretely.  We have been sealed, and that which is sealed, according to what Paul says, is guaranteed.  How can that guarantee be violated then unless God himself is a liar about what he has sealed?  Basically, either God must be a liar, or he must be weak.

Certainly we would be complete fools to argue that God is a liar.  If God were a liar (such a blasphemous idea ought to be repugnant to our thoughts) then there would be no point in believing anything in Scripture.  What would be the point of trying to do anything to please God?  If God were a liar then everything we know of his character in Scripture and everything he tells us to do as pleasing to him could potentially be a lie.  In such a situation we may as well throw the bible away, because it would be useless to us.

But, God is not a liar.  Therefore Scripture is trustworthy, because it comes from him.  So, if God says we are sealed, then we are sealed.  If God says that our salvation is guaranteed, then it is guaranteed, there is no need to doubt that.  But, is God strong enough to make good on his guarantee?  That is, what if God has guaranteed our salvation, but he can't really secure it against our strength, or the strength of sin or whatever else?

If that were the case then we would be back to the first point, believing that God is a liar.  If God has said we have a guarantee of salvation, and we say, "But I could walk away from God!  His guarantee could become void!" then we are arguing the idea that God is in fact wrong in saying that our salvation is guaranteed.  In such a situation, God is once again a liar.  Therefore, because God has said we are sealed, and our salvation is guaranteed, it must be so.

Therefore we are sealed, and there is no disputing this is what Scripture says.  We accept this by faith then, and we ask the question, "What does our sealing mean?"  It means that we will one day receive our inheritance.  All of creation will one day be given over to Christ, and we will reign over it with him.  We will have perfect relationship and harmony with God, even as we are already perfect before him.  This inheritance will be ours, unquestionably.

But, it also means that one day we will be given to God.  The fact is that we are God's possession.  1 Corinthians 6:20 says we were bought with a price.  That which is bought is owned by the one who bought it.  We are God's and one day God will take full possession of us.

It is hard to explain why this is such a wonderful fact, but I'll endeavor to do so.  Because we have been bought by God, we are not slaves to anyone or anything else.  According to what Paul commands us in 1 Corinthians 7:23, we are not to become slaves, which means that we are not slaves now.  We were redeemed, purchased by God for himself, and that means we were set free from all our sinful limitations that at one time held us down.

We are possessed by God, so we are free to hope, free to rejoice, free to give him the glory for all that he has done.  We are promised that he will have us, and that reassures us that we will also receive all that he has promised us.  The promises given us belong to us because we belong to God.  And because we know that God will assuredly take possession of us, we do not have to fear that somehow we will lose that which he has promised us.

We are sealed to receive and inheritance, and as an inheritance to be received by God.  Our God, the maker of the heavens and the earth will not lose that of which he has taken possession.  There is nothing stronger than God, nothing that can from his hand that which he has grasped.  There is no one who can stand before God or be victorious over God.  And that means that we do not have to fear that we will ever lose that which has been given to us, we can praise God in good times and bad, knowing that our hope is sure, because of the awesome might of our God who holds us, even if we should fail to hold to him.

Give God the glory, praise him for his might.  Realize that you have been sealed, and what has been promised will be accomplished.  Let this sink into your life and change you.  Do not be afraid that you are going to go the wrong way, but remember, God will accomplish what he wants for you, because you are his possession.  Do this, as Paul says, "to the praise of his glory."

A Perfect Inheritance (Part 2)

I noted yesterday that God has provided a perfect inheritance for us in Christ.  Today I'd like to develop that a little more.  Not only has God provided a perfect inheritance for us, he has provided us with a means to receive that inheritance.  God has given us Christ, he has provided us with a perfect savior, redeeming us from the curse of the fall.  He has also given us sonship through Christ, providing the means by which we are able to receive that which he has prepared for us from before the foundation of the world.

In Ephesians 1:5 we read, "He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."  Our position before God is not dependent on our prayers or our works or our thoughts, they are dependent on God's determination.

Yes, we who are sons will pray to God, because we will want to speak with our Father, and to tell him of our troubles and ask him for his help.  Yes, we who are sons will seek to do the will of our Father, not because of our great debt to God, which we can never repay, but because we desire to please our Father and show him our love for him.  And yes, our thoughts will be upon the mercy of God, the goodness of God, everything good and noble and worthy of the Lord, because it is only normal and natural to think about that which is most important to us, which ought to be, and will be, God.  But, none of these things makes us sons of God through Christ, instead it is the will of God that brings us to himself through Christ that makes us his sons.  The Lord is responsible for our position before him, so that we cannot take credit for that which he has done.

But, consider that our position before God, being dependent on God, will never falter if we fail or fall.  God has already ordained that we are his sons through Christ, if we are indeed in Christ, so that it does not matter if we stumble and fall, he still calls us sons.  This is what Ephesians 1:4 & 7 tells us: "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him," and, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses."  We have this forgiveness now, not that we shall have it, but that already it is done.  Already we are holy and blameless before God, and continually so, because God's word does not change. We are not now holy only to be unholy tomorrow, we are not now forgiven so that tomorrow we will be condemned.  Our holiness and righteousness is not dependent on us, it is dependent on God alone, because it is what he has proclaimed.

Consider how this works in contrast with the choices of the Old Testament.  In Deuteronomy 11:26 we read Moses words to the People of Israel that he was setting before them blessing and curse.  In Deuteronomy 30 we can read how this blessing and curse would work out.  Deuteronomy 30:19 tells us that the blessing and curse can also be called life and death.  Moses tells the people to choose life that they and their children might live.  But, here, in Ephesians, notice that Paul does not call us to a choice, instead he tells us of the choice that God has made for us.

We are not a people who have to choose blessing or curse, our choice has been made for us.  If we are in Christ, if we are those whom God has called to him, predestining us to receive his Son, then blessing has been chosen for us.  It is not a matter of our will, so that our positions as sons before God depends on our continuous choosing.  God has spoken, he has declared what will be, so that our adoption is sure, our redemption is promised and is ours now, and will be ours eternally.  How wonderful it is to know that we can relax, we can trust in God, we can have faith in him, and we can enter into his rest, no longer striving but knowing that God holds us in his hands eternally.

Once we stop striving to save ourselves something more amazing comes into view.  We who have been adopted and have been forgiven also have been told what God wants.  We who have received the adoption of God through Christ have been told of God's amazing plan, to bring all things together in Christ at the end of all things.  This is a wonderful blessing because it means that we don't have to wonder at what God wants of us.  We don't have to worry about whether we will choose wrongly, because we know that our goal ought to be God's goal, and God will accomplish his goal, even if it seems we have butchered it.

What I mean is that we who have been redeemed and forgiven do not need to worry that we are not going to accomplish what God wants.  We ought not be lazy, because laziness is not pleasing to our Father.  We ought not be paralyzed by fear of making the wrong choice, because such a fear betrays a mistrust of the Lord.  We ought to be busy doing the work of him who sent us, even as he sent Christ, because it is wonderful and good work, and it is this work which provides us with fulfillment in life.  God's purpose for all of creation is to bring all things together under Christ, so what more meaningful lives can we live than lives that seek to bring everything we do under Christ today?

God has given us redemption through his Son, and he has given us purpose through Christ.  We know that what we do in this life, done with the purpose of bringing all things, our money, our thoughts, our work, our culture, and our friends and neighbors, all under Christ, will prove of eternal worth.  We may never see an ounce of movement, but we do not need to be discouraged, because the work is not ours, it is God's.  This is not the plan of men, it is the plan of God, and it will be accomplished.  The God we serve made the universe, saved us according to his will, and arranged all of history to his purposes; how then can history not end up where he has directed it, so that Christ is glorified and the Father receives all glory through him?

Because of all this there is one more thing we are able to rejoice in, and that is spoken of throughout this passage: we have an inheritance.  If all things will eventually be united in Christ, and we are now in Christ, then eventually all things will be united with us in him as well.  That means we who are in Christ will eventually receive all things.  I'm not speaking out of line here, I assure you.

Consider the promises made to the churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea.  We will be made pillars in the temple of God, in the new Jerusalem.  And we will sit down with Christ on his throne, even as he sat down with his Father on his throne.  When you consider that there is no temple in the new Jerusalem, for God himself will be our temple, then the promise takes on its full import.  We will be joined to God in a way that will be like being pillars in the midst of him, we will never leave from him or go out from him.  And we will reign with Christ over all creation.

Paul says that we will judge angels!  What is there left that is outside of our authority if we are in Christ then?  We will reign with him, we will dwell in the presence of God eternally, and even angels will be under our authority and judgment.  We who are in Christ, who stand forgiven and redeemed before God, who know the will of our Father, also have a great and wonderful (consider the real meaning of this word: full of wonder) inheritance in that we shall receive everything through Christ.

What do we have left that we should need then?  You do not have a place to rest your head tonight?  Don't worry, the whole of creation will be given to you, if you are faithful in Christ.  Do you hunger, are you thirsty?  Do what you can to eat what you need and drink so that you can be healthy, but remember, the point of life is not fine dining and expensive wine, it is to bring all things together under Christ, so that one day all things will be yours in Christ.  Look forward to your inheritance, not for your physical appetites and the satisfying of your lusts, but because God has given you his own presence, he has given you Christ, he has given you a perfect inheritance, and this is your hope.

Live a life worthy of this, seek wisdom now that you will know how to rightly administer the inheritance that is to come.  Give God the glory, praise him for all he has done.  And share the good news of what you have, so that your rejoicing may cause others to rejoice and add again to your joy in Christ.  What do you lack dear Christian?  This world is not your home, do not fall in love with it, because you have a better home coming, a better inheritance than you can even imagine.