Now, let’s make disciples, church! Go!

(HT: Nick)

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If your  Martin-Luther-quotes-that-make-you-say-”wow” collection is full, then you don’t need to keep reading.

Otherwise…

“Who can fully appreciate what this royal marriage means? Who can understand the riches of the glory of this grace? Here this rich and divine bridegroom Christ marries this poor, wicked harlot, redeems her from all her evil, and adorns her with all his goodness. Her sins cannot now destroy her, since they are laid upon Christ and swallowed up by him. And she has that righteousness in Christ, her husband, of which she may boast as of her own and which she can confidently display alongside her sins in the face of death and hell and say, ‘If I have sinned, yet my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned, and all his is mine and all mine is his,’ as the bride in the Song of Solomon (2:16) says, ‘My beloved is mine and I am his.’”

—Martin Luther, The Freedom of a Christian, 1520

God loves the collective rejoicing of His people in their salvation.

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In Old Testament times, during the time of Tabernacle and Temple worship, Yahweh appointed the Tribe of Levi to oversee the worship in the Temple. They were a tribe set apart for the purpose of worshiping God day and night, offering sacrifices, making music, and praying to the Lord. They were to represent God to the World around them, specifically as mediators of God’s blessings, so others can see who He is and join in worship.

Deuteronomy 10:8-9 captures the job description of the Levites:

At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today. That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as the LORD your God told them.

The priests represented God to the people by teaching his Word, giving instruction of worship, blessing them, and rebuking improper worship. Priests also represented the people, or Nation of Israel, to God. This was done through intercessory prayer and burning incense on behalf of the nation, leading worship, bearing the 12 tribes of Israel on their priestly garments, and sacrificing on behalf of the sins of individuals and the Nation as a whole.

1 Peter 2:9 explains the priestly identity for Christians under the New Covenant. The epistle declares that we are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

In short, we are blessed to be a blessing.

As mediators between God and people, we represent God to people by being conduits of love and grace; we are the body of Christ, so our actions should prove it. We are also charged to teach the Word, bring salvation to the ends of the earth, and bless. We also have the opportunity to represent people to God. We do this by making intercessory prayer, bearing people in God’s presence, and leading people to worship God.

So, how are you carrying out your role as a priest in the Kingdom?

Representing people to God: How often do you plead before the throne of Grace? Are you praying for the healing of the sick.? Are you praying for the unsaved? Are you praying for your pastors and elders?

Representing God to people: You are blessed to be a blessing. How are you blessing others with the truth of the Gospel? Do your words point others to Christ who do not know Him? Do they encourage believers towards holiness and godliness? Are you proclaiming Christ?  What about your actions? Are your actions demonstrating a life transformed by the Gospel? Are you representing God to others well through service and sacrifice?

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Mark Driscoll writes for the Washington Post, saying “the world is filled with boys who can shave”:

Rather than moving from boy to man by this succession of sociological transitions, we’ve created something called adolescence. It’s a third life stage in the middle between boy and man. We don’t know what to call them so we just call them guys. These are boys who can shave.

Today, adolescence starts somewhere in the teen years and continues indefinitely. There is no foreseeable end. The problem with adolescence is guys don’t know when they’re ever going to grow up and be men, and no pressure is exerted on them to do so.

Is it when you’re sixteen and you can drive, or eighteen when you can vote and join the military, or twenty-one when you can drink?

Is it when you graduate from college after you’ve worked on your undergrad degree for seven or eight years?

Is it when you get married? Is it when you have kids? Is it when you buy a house?

No one knows. So, we are left with indefinite adolescence and a Peter Pan Syndrome epidemic where men want to remain boys forever.

He then contrasts men in the world, cowards in the church, and the biblical man. This is an important article. Read the rest.

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This is the fourth, and last, post in a series of four.

In my first post, I stated that I’ve found at least five ways we can faithfully listen to a sermon in a way that seeks Christ, honors the word of God and blesses the sanctified believer. In my second post, I discussed the first two of these points. In my last post, I discussed the third and fourth point. Today, I’ll conclude this series by going over the fourth and final point:

4. Think about how the message is binding on your life

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

This may sound obvious, but it still deserves attention. The way most of us talk about application in preaching is whether, or how, the preacher applied the ideas of the text to the lives of his listeners. For example: as one listening to a sermon, I might consider if the preacher did a good job of explaining how the biblical text specifically applies to my life.

This is a dire necessity, of course, but it might be helpful–to the listener–to think of sermon application as more the act of the one hearing the message. Sure, the preacher can and must show the relevance and significance of a text for our lives, but only we, by the power of the Spirit of God, can actually apply the truth to our lives. Again, this takes an active engaging in the biblical truth being proclaimed. There can be a truly beautiful and organic dialogue taking place during the sermon event between God, preacher, and congregation all at the same time!

Truth be told, a lot of the time our complaints of a pastor’s sermons not being relevant enough actually indicate our laziness, not the preacher’s incompetence. In a time like ours when all kinds of authority are being called into question (perhaps rightly in some instances), we have to consciously work against all self-induced cynicism. It jades our reception of God’s word.

God is our authority, and he lovingly exercises that authority by his Word in the Church.

So, when we sit under the teaching of our pastors, we consider the words of the apostle Paul, remembering that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. We can ask ourselves, “What sin is this addressing in my life that I need to repent of?” “What kind of encouragement can I receive from this?” “What do I believe about God that needs to be corrected or reenforced by this text?” The possibilities for application multiply numerously as we think about it in this way.

Conclusion

Don’t waist your Sundays! It is rare enough that God’s people are gathered together corporately for the unified purpose of hearing God speak and so being built up and worshiping him. Why just go through the motions when we can anticipate God speaking to us through his Word and actively receive it with faith? I hope this series has been helpful! Feel free to offer critique or offer any additional thoughts you might have on the subject.

God bless.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

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This is the third post in a series of four.

In my first post, I stated that I’ve found at least five ways we can faithfully listen to a sermon in a way that seeks Christ, honors the word of God and blesses the sanctified believer. In my last post, I discussed the first two of these points. Today, let’s go over the next two:

3. Think about what is being said

How often do we sift through the words that are preached to weigh the biblical truths that are being taught?

Not everything that is said from a pulpit or stage in church should be taken ipso-facto. In the New Testament church, even the prophecies spoken in the church at Corinth were to be weighed (1 Cor. 14:29). We can actively engage the content of the message by asking questions such as: “Is this true?” “Do I concur? And if not, do I need to repent?” “How is this shown from the scriptural passage?” “Is there something I don’t understand about this?” “Is this argument coherent and sensible?” “Does this message exalt Christ or man?”

Part of the problem, I think, is that TV,music and other media has sadly conditioned us to listen passively, expecting to be entertained. We are hoping to be served well–all along getting our proverbial fix–by what we are hearing. Hearing a sermon takes a measure of concentration combined with faith, so that the information doesn’t just come to a standstill in our minds, but rather, it sinks into our hearts and changes us.

4. Pray for yourself

Sound self-centered? It’s not meant to be. Praying for yourself acknowledges that you humbly recognize your place: that through his word, it is God who speaks and it is we who listen.

Preaching is a mysterious and spiritual event, not just a physical one.  From beginning to end, the building up of the church that takes place during a sermon can only take place by the work of the Holy Spirit. The preacher does not just deliver information to those listening; he is speaking words that (in so far as they are faithful to the Biblical text he is speaking) are impingent upon people as God’s word.

Preaching is really an act of  worshipful submission for the Church. Think about it. This is why Paul can remind Timothy of his role as pastor by saying, “Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim. 4:11-12) What we need in order to submit is humility, a right consideration of ourselves and our place. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that my heart is not always in submission mode when I come to hear my pastor preach Sunday mornings. Though, it needs to be.

It helps if we pray  before–or even during–the sermon, submitting our hearts to God and his Word and asking that His Spirit would open our hearts and illumine the truths of Scripture being set before us.

(…to be continued…)

• Part 1
• Part 2

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This is the second post in a series of four.

In my last post, I stated that I’ve found at least five ways we can faithfully listen to a sermon in a way that seeks Christ, honors the word of God and blesses the sanctified believer. Today, I’ll discuss the first two:

1. Listen for the big idea

Not every sermon has a clear and concise theme statement that is repeated throughout, nor does every sermon need one. The basic concept is this: everyone who attempts to preach a sermon is talking about something—or rather some theme. Have you ever noticed that good preaching usually has some kind of unity to its message? Thus, it is helpful for us, when listening, to look for this united theme. A helpful way to get at the main theme of a sermon is to ask, What is my pastor saying? or What is the text talking about? then, What is he saying about what he is talking about?

For example: Is he talking about prayer? What is he saying about prayer, other than that we should do it?

Also, when listening for the big idea, it is of foremost importance to mindfully ask ourselves: What does this say about sin? What does this say about sin in my own life? These things considered, what does this say about my wonderful Savior?

After all, Christ and him crucified is always integral to Christian preaching (1 Corinthians 2:2).

2. Pray for the preacher

The act of preaching is very complex. A lot of things happen in sermon delivery both in the minds of the audience and the preachers. We listeners can often be naïve in considering how difficult the preachers task actually is. When listening to a sermon—or even preaching one—becomes routine, it is so easy to ignore how the sermon was prepared, and even how it is delivered.

Your pastors are concentrating on explicating a biblical passage and bringing it to bear on peoples lives in the midst of much unseen opposition. Things like stress, illness, discouragement, hostility from congregants, a sense of personal inadequacy while at the same time guarding against pride, or any fun conglomeration of psychological states that might be impinging upon your pastor as he strives to faithfully deliver a message from the Word of God, to build up the people of God.

Thus, the least we could do is pray for our brother-in-Christ, the preacher, who has been gifted by God with an enormous responsibility. Just as the apostle Paul asked that the Church would pray for him in his own efforts for the Gospel (Col. 4:3, 1 Thess. 5:25), we can pray that the pastor would have clarity of thought and word, personal conviction, and  a right understanding of his role and task. We pray also for the implementation of the message, the pastor’s growth in love for God and the congregation, and even boldness as he inevitably will come across truths that will not be received well.

In considering today’s two points: listening for the big idea and praying for the preacher, let us pray in humility and ask ourselves: Am I mindful of the big idea being preached? Am I allowing the gospel message to confront my sin and exalt my Savior? Do I pray for my preacher in a way that I would want someone to pray for me, if I were in his shoes? Do I love and encourage him as a brother?

(…to be continued…)

• Part 1

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All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Listening to a sermon… the faithful preaching of God’s word. Sounds important, right?

I’ve read many a book on how to preach a sermon in my formal theological education days. What I have not read is a book on how to listen to a sermon. An obviously important goal in a sermon preached is making sure that it is listened—and received. Ironically, that is what many people in our churches are unable to or unwilling to do.

This creates an inevitable problem: not only can there be a lot of bad preachers in our churches, but there can also be a lot of bad listeners. And if you think about it, there are far more listeners than there are preachers, aren’t there? In any given week, you will find more people that listen to sermons than you will find people that preach them.

In affirming this fact, John Calvin described the preaching event as being only half the role of the pastor/preacher. The event of preaching involves the whole worshiping church. The very action of the congregation in receiving that which is preached is not a passive one. The listening that goes on in the congregation during a sermon should be a “listening of faith.”

I’ve found that there are five ways that we can faithfully listen to a sermon in a way that seeks Christ, honors the word of God and blesses the sanctifying believer. I’ll go over each of them over the next few days.

In the meantime, let’s ask ourselves: How much care do I give to the faithful act of listening to a sermon? Am I positioned in a place of reverence? Am I mindful of the word of God preached?

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In seeking answers to these questions, what I found to be a very helpful piece is a little section in Jim Belcher’s new book, Deep Church; the section is called “The Quest for Mere Christianity”. In it, Belcher points out that in our quest for unity we must first agree on what binds Christians together. This is what John Stott calls the “unity of the Gospel.” It is the essential and central truths of the Gospel— the gospel-centered Orthodoxy that has been held by the church for ages past. In defining this orthodoxy, Belcher points to the Apostle’s, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. These creeds are the result Spirit-guided discernment and the expression of Scripture’s teaching. They draw their truths from God’s truth. We should too.

So how do we fight for unity and not compromise right truth?

There are two components to unity that Belcher says we must pursue:

• the peace of the church
• the purity of the church.

We tend to fragment into one or the other, don’t we? “We place doctrinal purity over unity, or we stress relational unity over sound doctrine” (p. 54). What’s needed is both. The Apostle Paul calls those who believe to live in this tension without compromising peace or purity. We have to be unified by the Gospel and for the Gospel. The whole reason Jesus prayed strenuously for our oneness was this: when the unbelieving world looks in, they will believe!(John 17:10-23) Unity is both apologetic and evangelistic. We are all working together as one man and one soul for the faith of the Gospel.

Many men I highly admire are taking the lead in this unity of the Gospel. When asked what brings many diverse pastors together in the Gospel Coalition, D. A. Carson replied, “We are coming to the common ground of the gospel. Before the cross, the ground is very flat. We are all broken people. We are never more than poor beggars telling other poor beggars where there’s bread. We rejoice in the grace of God in the Gospel.” This gets to the heart of what Paul longed to see in the Philippian church when he said, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

I hate to leave something like this in the abstract. We are either contributing to or dismantling the peace and purity of the church, all the time. From the way we might talk about people with differing theological or political views to the way we avoid people we may not see eye-to-eye with on a social or relational level. Of course, we should never shy from proclaiming biblical truths. With this in mind, love, kindness, and perhaps even friendship are always able to exist amidst theological differences. As Belcher comments, “Dialogue is always a good thing even with those outside the bounds of orthodoxy” (p. 53). For some specific ways that Jim Belcher has applied this concept to his congregation in Newport Beach check out pages 66-68 of  Deep Church.

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

John 17:20-23

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