Why, What, & How

Ezra 6:21 (NIV) says, “So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate [the Passover], together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel.” This verse tells us that the Israelites, in order to seek the LORD, had separated themselves from the unclean practices of the Gentiles.

The way some preachers present the Gospel, you could think that the only distinction between believers and unbelievers is to be found in the heart, where, of course, it cannot be found by human eyes. But this verse in Ezra states plainly, what can also be found throughout the whole of Scripture, that there must also be a distinction in practice. In other exhortations, I have endeavored to clarify and illustrate this basic principle – “The attitude of the heart affects the action of the hand” (as I put it), or “Theology flows out your fingertips” (as Pastor Douglas Wilson puts it), or “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (as our Lord Jesus Christ puts it: Matthew 15:19).

So, between those who are the people of God and those who are not, distinctions must be maintained not only in the why but also in the what (not only in the heart but also in the practice). The afore-mentioned preachers, even though their preaching may not always clearly yield this perception, will generally concede this truth, at least, to some extent; although, I still doubt that such concession is as comprehensive as it ought to be. But even less is the extent to which they will concede the following: that there also needs to be a noticeable distinction in the how (the way that we do what we do). We must have Christian reasons for what we do; we must do Christian things; and we must do them the Christian way.

From the New International Version of Deuteronomy 12, we observe the following: In verses 2 and 3, the Holy Spirit inspires Moses to command the people to destroy everything associated with heathen worship upon conquering the promised land. Then, in verse 4, he says, “You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.” (emphasis mine) So with that, let’s begin an investigation of the Holy Scriptures for evidences of this principle of distinction, specifically as it applies to worship.

Seeker-Sensitive Ark-Bearing

The first part of 1 Chronicles 13, by quoting some highlights, can be summarized as follows: “David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, ‘If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our brothers …. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, ….’ The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people. … They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. … When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he did there before God.” (verses 1-4, 7, 9-10, NIV) Then in chapter 15, we read, “[David] prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, ‘No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.’ … [David] called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: ….” He summoned their chiefs and “said to them, ‘You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke our in anger against us. We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way.’” (verses 1-2, 4, 11-13, NIV, my emphasis added)

When preparing this exhortation, I was intrigued to observe that, in I Chronicles 13, we are told specifically that “David conferred with each of his officers” (v. 1) about bringing up the ark of the covenant and that “The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people” (v. 4). Before noticing that, I had thought of pretending to read the passage something like this, “David desired to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. So he ordered that a poll be taken of those people within a particular demographic range to determine the most popular and effective way to transport a sacred covenantal ark. The results of that study showed that most people between the ages of 15 and 55 felt most inspired and motivated whenever they observed a covenantal ark traveling on a cart being pulled by a team of oxen. … And, as you know, the results were tragic.”

The idea being, of course, to ultimately show that God was not displeased with just what was done, even with the supposed good intentions, but how it was being done –- that the focus of our worship should be more than what we’re doing or why, but also how. And even though the irreverence with its consequence was most clearly exhibited by one individual, the corporate body still bore responsibility. But there is no need to misread the text; for the actual Scripture Itself seems to hint already at the correlation between disaster and seeker-sensitive ark-bearing.

You Are What You Believe

Have you ever observed the following interesting comparisons and contrasts about some of your friends and acquaintances? You have some who, as you have acutely observed from time to time, seem to have some unusual theological perspectives, yet they appear to have a very Godly home, a great desire for the truth of God's Word, a bountiful love for the things of God, and a healthy appreciation of God's world. Then you know others whose theology much more closely aligns with your own, and yet their walk with God seems ... well, ... let's just say that you have some concerns about the direction in which some of their current trends may be taking them.

Hhmmm.... It's pretty easy to see what I'm getting at, isn't it? Now don't start running through all your reasons for ignoring the obvious. Don't tell me about how "Life's more complicated than that," or "It's the attitude of the heart that matters," or "God cares about the motivation behind my friends' behaviors more than the behaviors themselves," or that "Only eternity will show who was pleasing God and who wasn't."

Ignoring obvious truths usually coincides with also subscribing to pragmatic alternative falsehoods. Such falsehoods might be summed up in statements like "Unity means not focusing on those areas of disagreement with my brother," or "If it's not an absolute worthy of becoming a test of fellowship, then it's not worth arguing over," and other such similarities to the world's perspective on tolerance.

Are you willing to sacrifice your marriage, your children, your congregation, or your country for the sake of avoiding argument? What if your Christian brother is right and you're wrong about a particular doctrine? If you really love truth, shouldn't you be gratefully desirous of what he could teach you? If you really love your brother, shouldn't you be desiring greatly that he would benefit from what you could teach him? If you are convinced of what you believe, then a poor argument from your brother should only solidify your convictions. But if your beliefs currently stand upon a weak foundation, well then ... perhaps that's really why you're avoiding debate.

Just in case the big point here is in danger of getting missed, let me state plainly: What you believe affects what you do. What you do affects what you and those around you become. What you become – what you are – has everything to do with the whole purpose for which God created you.

words

words –
air ascends, across the vocal strings, past the lips –
light
words again –
world
more words –
life

Word –
Breath descends, across the ages, past the chasm –
Light of the world
Word –
world consists in Him
Word –
Life eternal
“The Word became flesh”

2-26-08

What Love's Got to Do with It

.......Two young women, both sisters in their early twenties, were reuniting during summer break after a couple very busy years at their separate colleges. They met at their favorite hometown bakery and coffee shop. The oldest arrived before her sister, who walked in ten minutes later, wearing dyed blonde hair with very dark roots, dark purple lipstick, a black halter top with a picture of a skeleton hanging on a cross, a miniskirt, leather boots, and jewelry in places that her older sister knew hadn’t been pierced a few years ago. Trying to not look shocked, the elder cheered, hugged, chatted, ordered food, and sat down with her sister before addressing what couldn’t be completely ignored.
.......“So what’s with the new look?”
.......“What do you think?” asked the younger.
.......“Um, … well, … I’m not sure what to think.”
.......The younger sister chuckled and then said, “It’s part of my seeking deeper service to the Lord.” Apparently not noticing or simply disregarding her sister’s half-cocked eyebrows, she continued, “As you might recall, I’m heavily involved with the campus ministry to the inner city. So we dress in a way to blend in with those to whom we’re witnessing; we don’t want to scare them off by dressing like FBI agents or whatever. This way, we earn their respect and hopefully a chance to show them the love of Christ.”
.......“Oh, I see,” the elder replied, “you want them to know how much you love them and how much Christ loves them, and this is accomplished by dressing like them.”
.......“Well, not just that, –” the younger started to say, but her sister interrupted.
.......“Is that how we’ve known that Grandma loves us? When we walk into her house, do we often catch her dancing around the kitchen to Beyonce? Does she prove her love by announcing how much she couldn’t believe what happened on the latest episode of Bridezilla? When’s the last time you saw Grandma in hip huggers or a halter top?”
.......While the younger sister laughed, the older continued, “Sure, she may ask us what we’re listening to, or what we’ve been watching. She has even cautioned us about some of the latest styles. And that is actually how she loved us – by caring about us, discussing our interests, warning us, … not by being like us. She also loves us by allowing herself to be interrupted by us any moment of the day, fixing us something to eat even if we say we don’t need it, praying for us, sending cards and packages to us at college, faithfully setting before us an example of grace, temperance, and modesty.
.......“How did Mother Theresa show love for the impoverished? How did Christ show love for Legion? What is more likely to get the attention of a biker gang? – A 220-pound Christian guy with tattoos, a leather vest, and a Harley, who offers to buy ‘em a drink? Or a 150-pound Christian guy in khakis and a button-up shirt, who offers to buy ‘em a drink? Do you think people cannot recognize love just because it comes in a moderately-dressed package?”

The Lord's Table

In some Christian circles, “communion” is more commonly referred to as “the Lord’s table.” This latter expression, I think, can be quite useful in helping us to better understand a number of very important Scriptural principles and their necessary applications. The reason for this is that we all know what a table is, we all have had dinner around a table, but we are not as familiar with the definition for communion. How many times in the past week or the past month or the past year have you used the word “communion” in your everyday conversation? And of those times, how many times did you use the word in reference to something other than a periodic church ritual where people partake of a pinch of bread and an ounce or so of some grape beverage?

Sadly, however, the nature of the Lord’s table even may be less understood than it was fifty-plus years ago since families seem less likely to have frequent meals together in the dining room in the absence of a distracting television. Interestingly, we do see more and more consistency between our current culture’s approach to meals with family around their table and our current church’s approach to meals with the Lord’s family around his table. How often do the individual family members just grab a bite or two whenever they can and take it with them to their bedroom, downstairs in the den, in the car, or next to the computer? And how often do you hear it promoted from the pulpit for each individual to worship “as each one chooses”? How often have you been concerned about those who call themselves believers but are not faithful to attend church? Have you ever observed a lack of ... connectedness, comradeship, or perhaps a better word would be … communion among believers in a local church?

So as we begin our discourse about the nature and efficacy of the Lord’s table, you may need to use your imagination when comparing it to your own table. Better yet, may I provoke you “unto love and to good works,” – specifically, in this case, the good work of regularly eating with your family around the dining table in your home – and “not forsaking the assembling of [yourselves] together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

No Discord at the Table

Throughout the Holy Scriptures, we can observe an association between expressions of gladness and moments of feasting. The two naturally go together. Conversely, animosity and isolation go together. How long do you think it would take the members of a family who are bearing grudges against one another to start making excuses as to why they “will not be eating around the table tonight”?

When there’s been a rŏw in the Rauch house right before dinner time, we do not ask the Lord’s blessing or take a bite of food until reconciliation has taken place. Several times, we have been called to the table and sat down, then Dad has to repent of some sin against another family member or I, as the head of household, have to require confession and forgiveness to be expressed among the children for some recent discord.

When the church gathers to worship the Lord and partake of the Lord’s table, the Head of such table also desires and requires an attitude of fellowship and glad harmony amongst those who expect to share of Him. Proverbs 6:19 lists, as one of seven abominations unto the LORD, the man “that soweth discord among brethren.” Then Christ says, in Matthew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

So our coming to the table, eating, and drinking, expecting to be sustained and satisfied, is a declaration that we have “a conscience void of offence toward God and toward men” (Acts 24:16). How many of us are telling lies at the table? How many of us should be fasting instead of feasting, at least until we have been reconciled to our brother or even our Father? Perhaps this is why so many churches have communion only rarely.

Smoky Mirrors

James 1:23-24 states, “If any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” The implication seems to be a man with apparent blemishes looks in a mirror, has no problem with what he sees, and thus contentedly walks away with no intention of addressing the blemishes. How can he be so comfortable with himself looking like that?

The value of a mirror is simply in showing us what we look like; it does not at all show us what we should look like. The value of a model, pattern, or standard, on the other hand, is to show us what something should look like (which is why the term “supermodel” is a lie); but a model does not show us what we actually look like. Scriptural preaching should involve both.

The evangelical preacher should hold up the standard for the church to see. Good exegesis should help Christ’s Bride to see precisely what the Groom desires regarding the Bride’s physical appearance, wedding gown style, jewelry, health, manner, disposition, and lifestyle. The preacher should hold up a mirror almost simultaneously, very graciously pointing out the areas which are inconsistent with the standard. In practical terms, the preacher should combine exposition of what God’s law has required for thousands of years with a competent understanding of the church’s state and condition today, especially as distinguished from contemporary culture.

Many preachers can be found who do a bit of one or the other, but less common are those who do both simultaneously and do it well. Some complain about how bad things are and give us many statistics from George Barna’s polling research, but they provide us with poor instruction as to what we should effectively do about it. Others love to openly share their perspectives in a Bible study, where “what it means to you is good for you. Just don’t try to tell me what to do.” No wonder a hearer of the Word can go away and easily forget what he looks like. Perhaps no one has told him what he should look like.

Evidence of the Testator's Death

Within his last will and testament, a man has provided specific directions regarding what is to be done, upon the event of his death, with those particular things and persons for which he was responsible during his life. Now the beneficiaries should not be surprised that, when the estate is to be settled, the executor might require evidence of the testator’s decease.

The LORD says, within the writings of Jeremiah (31:31-34), “Behold, … I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, … not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers …, which they broke. But this shall be the covenant that I will make …, says the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. … I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” The Hebrew writer recalls these words before he goes on to write (in 9:16-22) that “where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator lives. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood … and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.’ Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. … And without shedding of blood is no remission.”

Every time we partake of and pass the communion cup, we are acknowledging our assent to the Lord’s proclamation that “This cup is the new testament in [His] blood, which is shed for [us]” (in Luke 22:20), for by partaking, we “do show the Lord’s death till He come” (I Corinthians 11:26). When we partake of and pass the cup, we thereby testify that the Testator has died. When we pass the cup, we “do show the Lord’s death” to one another, testifying, “He did die. Look here! This is His blood.” When we partake of the cup, we testify that the new testament is therefore in effect – specifically that God’s law is written in our hearts, He is our God, we are His people, our iniquities are forgiven, and our sins will be remembered no more by Him.

Frozen Banana Delight

The other night my wife tried an old trick. “Want some ice cream?” she said, and then she offered us some frozen pureed banana with some raw cocoa topping. As I said, the bananas were frozen and pureed such that its consistency and appearance greatly resembled that of soft homemade ice cream. But it tasted like … well, … frozen pureed bananas. – Go figure.

The idea, I guess, is to encourage us to eat more healthy food and less junk food. In spite of what we’re being told by the health conscious around us, we still remember having often enjoyed hamburgers, chicken, pizza, and, of course, ice cream. So now we’re being offered healthy alternatives in the form of soy patties, soy nuggets, fruit pizza, and Rice Dream. Since our taste buds are so accustomed to desiring and enjoying the foods that are not so healthy, we try to trick them by telling the ears and eyes that we are about to enjoy some ice cream, … “healthy” ice cream.

But this is an old trick. The church has been doing it for years now. We know that many are not very excited about what we have to offer, even though it’s better for ya. So we say, “Want some fun? Want some entertainment? – Look! We can give you pop music, and we can show you videos during worship!”

But there’s a problem with this approach in both applications. When we call fruit “pizza,” we are confessing that pizza is more desirable than fruit; and when we call worship “contemporary” or “seeker-friendly,” we are confessing that the world knows how to worship better than we do. As a pastor of mine (Douglas Wilson) has said: “Anything the world can do, the Church can do five years later and worse.”

Who are we kiddin’? Can we no longer recognize truth, beauty, and goodness?

Discipline to Listen

Have you, as a father, ever found yourself quite uninterested in what your little children have to share with you? Certainly there are moments when our children surprise us by recognizing the Wendy’s restaurant sign when they’re only two-years-old. Or they make us laugh by climbing into the snack cabinet. Or they stump us by asking “How did my baby brother get inside Mommy’s belly?” But then there are those moments when they boast about how they would’ve fought off that T-Rex if he had come into their town, or they begin telling you the story that never ends, or perhaps they want to explain the rules of subtraction to you. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep from yawning or to raise one’s eyelids in an expression of supposed interest.

But the Holy Spirit makes clear through the Scriptures that earthly fathers are to behave like our heavenly Father. This principle can be seen in passages like the following: “As a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee,” – Deuteronomy 8:5; and “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him,” – Psalm 103:13.

We also have heard from many a modern pulpit of I Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” – and Psalm 34:15 – “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.” We’ve been told that God cares about the little things as well as the big things.

Sometimes it is a challenge to be truly interested in our children’s particular observations, about which our own excitement waned years ago. But our heavenly Father “understandest [our] thought afar off” (Psalm 139:2) and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts “as the heavens are higher than the earth” (Isaiah 55:9). Our generation gap doesn’t even compare with the gap between the heavens and the earth. So the only way we’re really going to convince our children that God listens even to our own boring prayers is by faithfully giving them eye contact, a listening ear, and time.

On the Sabbath...

If you believe that Jesus violated the Sabbath, then with what company does that put you? Didn't the Pharisees also vehemently make this claim? ... Hhmmm ....

Lawlessness -- Good or Bad?

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style, –
In the air, there’s a feeling of Christmas –
Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile,
And on every street corner, you hear … Silver Bells….”

It’s a Currier-&-Ives or Thomas Kinkade sort of town. Not a Norman Rockwell sort of town – no cops, no stop signs, no lists of rules anywhere, no law books, … because there’s no need of them. Everybody does what they’re supposed to do. Everything’s beautiful… until …

One day, a guy takes a cobblestone from Kinkade’s cottage, takes his brother into a field, and bashes his head. The snow of perfect texture and temperature is now blood-red around the fallen body. This throws the town for a loop. Nothing is done to the murderer … because there is no precedent, no law, no authority with which the townsfolk might bring about justice. The murderer still enjoys his wonderful life in this wonderful community.

But obviously something must be done to discourage such behavior. So the townsfolk come up with their first law: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” (Gen. 9:6) Of course, many of the folk don’t need the law written on paper because it is already written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is a part of their divine nature, you might say; goodness just flows out of them, that is, out of their hearts where the good, divine law resides. As Christ put it, “from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts,” desires, and actions: “All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23). The law written on paper or stone then serves as a witness against the defiled ones, showing them the nature of God, “so that they are without excuse” when they do “that which is against nature” (Romans 1:20, 26).

Perhaps this will help us begin to understand how “that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers …, whoremongers, …, menstealers, liars, …” and so on – I Timothy 1:8-11.

Twist and Shout

“Twist and Shout!” There used to be a good bit of that in some of the churches with which I was familiar as a child – twistin’ the Scriptures and shoutin’ for 1-2 hours. There may not be quite as much shoutin’ nowadays, but some of ‘em are still “doin’ the twist.”

Ya know how it goes … yer standin’ at the edge of a cliff, prayin’, “Lord, Yer Word says that You’ll give Yer angels charge over me, to bear me up, lest I go dashin’ my foot against a stone, and if I’m abidin’ in Christ, then what applies to Him applies to me, right? So now I’m claimin’ Yer Word and trustin’ in them mighty angels to bear me up – all fer Yer glory! – as I throw myself down off this here rocky cliff. … And I, uh, … I …, I praise Ya now fer what Yer gonna’ do. And I …, I …, well, huh, I think I fergot to leave a tract for that waitress back at the donut shop. I’d better go take care o’ that first.” Y’all know how it is …; I’m sure y’all can relate ….

But now wait! That does sound just a mite bit familiar …. Oh, yes; now I remember: Jesus Christ was faced with a similar temptation, wasn’t He? But what was it He said? Oh, that’s right – “It is also written, …,” Matthew 4:7. He didn’t say, “Yeah, right, Satan, like I’m gonna fall for that.” He didn’t directly accuse the Accuser of taking the verse out of context. Christ didn’t even deny the verse’s application to Himself. He refused to apply one Scriptural passage in such a way that would require express disobedience to another passage.

Sadly, many church members’ perspective of balance is too much like that drunk, of which Martin Luther speaks, who, upon falling off the left side of a horse, climbs back atop the horse with the determination to achieve balance by, next time, falling off the right side of the horse.

Teach Them to Teach

Two old warriors. Brothers. Scars from many battles – some they fought together, some not; but often on the side of victory in either case. They each have wisdom to share and swords which have become most precious to them.

One warrior’s advice to his son amounts to little more than “I’ve fought and won many battles. I hope you’ve learned something from me. With God’s help, I made it and you can, too.” Then he mounts his sword on the wall as a trophy.

The other warrior says, “Son, ‘I’ve fought a good fight; I’ve finished my course.’ Now take this sword. Remember how I’ve trained you with it. Keep it always with you. – Never, for even a moment, put it aside. – Continue practicing with it daily. It may look dull and feel clumsy to you now, but with much use, it will shine brighter and it will make you stronger, faster, smarter.” Then the warrior adds this very important final instruction: “Be also sure to pass this sword on to your own son, teaching and training him to use it skillfully. And when you’ve come to the end of your course, tell your son all that I’ve just told you.”
* * * * *

I suppose many have been tempted to place a favorite Biblical instruction of theirs under the label of The Eleventh Commandment. If I were to yield to such a temptation, I’d want to cast my vote for those words from the passage in Deuteronomy 6: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.” And I think I’d have a good argument, too. It’s written in the form of a commandment (“Thou shalt teach …thy children”). Better yet, this mandate is given very shortly after the second generation out of Egypt have just been reminded of the first Ten Commandments. It is preceded even more immediately by the first and greatest commandment; and it is being told to the generation whose parents did not keep the commandments. Then we soon discover in Judges what happens when, after Joshua’s generation, this commandment is not heeded “and there [arises] another generation after them, which [knows] not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10)

In short, “Here are the commandments; do them, and teach them to your children. – Then teach your children to teach the commandments to their children. Teach them to teach.” – The Eleventh Commandment? Maybe not, but you’d better do it!