The Faithful Pastor

Our day is filled with the latest 'hip' person pretending to be a pastor.  As I look across the evangelical world of ministry I see a disturbing pattern of preachers digressing to the level of seeking worldly approval.  Pastor's are marketing themselves by the use of means that will attract the worlds attention.  Pastor's today are more prone to speak of drinking beer while they talk theology at the pub, advance the wearing of blue-jeans with holes in them or wearing Mickey Mouse T-shirts while they preach, using foul language in the pulpit, and there is the resounding emphasis upon sex; rather than the model that is exemplified by the apostle Paul.
Notice clearly what Paul emphasizes about his ministry in 2 Corinthians 6.  Paul says that he commends himself.  What are his commendations?  They are endurance, affliction, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger, purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, genuine love, and truthful speech.  Now here is a pastor worth sitting under.  There is no talk of drinking beer and using foul language in street-bum clothing to reach the world.  Here is a pastor who has died to self and is pouring out his all for the glory of Christ and the good of the local church.  This pastor has commendations that are worthy to be contemplated.  Here is a man who has walked a narrow road and knows the worth of the Savior that he follows.  Here is a pastor that a believing father would want his children to learn from.

The apostle Paul goes on to say that he is treated as an impostor, but he is true.  He is treated as one who is unknown, but he is known.  He is treated as one who is dying, but he is really living.  He is being punished, but he is not killed.   He is treated as sorrowful, but he is always rejoicing.  He is treated as poor, but he is really making people rich.  He is treated as one who has nothing, but yet he possesses everything.  Paul has opened his mouth and spoke to the church and he has held no love from them.  Here is a pastor who truly knows what it means to love the local church.  Paul loves them even when they do not show love in return.  Paul offers us a picture of the glorious gospel.

In verse 2 Corinthians 6:12 Paul explains that it is the heart of the people who are at fault for not having a relationship that is in unity.  Notice, Paul does not change to something else in order to make amends with them, but rather he proclaims the truth of what the problem is.  Paul reminds them that they are not  στεvοχωρεω  (confined, restrained, crushed) by him, but rather they are στενοχωρεω(confined, restrained, crushed) by their own σπλαγχνoν (bowels, heart, tender mercies, compassion).  The people of Corinth have affections for other things and as a result of their affections they have cut themselves off from the faithful pastor.  Paul speaks to them as little children and tells them that they must  πλατυνω (widen) their hearts.  The following text, 6:14-7:1 deals with ungodly alliances with the world. 

It looks obvious that Paul and his companions are pouring themselves out for the glory of God in the proclamation of the truth to a people who have affections for worldliness.  The result of biblical preaching in the midst of a group of people who are worldly is a division.  The remedy for the division is not in dress, trends, shock factors, nor any other scheme, but the remedy is found in the proclamation to repent.  The people must widen their hearts!  They have narrowed their hearts to truth by widening them to the world.  As John Calvin would say, "He means to say, that it is owing to their corrupt judgment, that the things that he utters are not relished by them". 

The world sorely needs a pastor like unto the apostle Paul who will love the unlovable, serve the ungrateful, care for the careless, and preach the truth to the hard of hearing.  It is God who will build His church and He does not need the latest marketing promotion to get it done. 

The Immutability of God

Immutability is defined as "God's freedom from all change, understood to emphasize God's changeless perfection and divine constancy".  The word that causes people difficulty in the Scripture is the word relent/repent.  When people get to a passage where it is said that God relents/repents they want to conclude that God changes his mind or he changes in some way or the other.  For example, in the book of Jonah God is said to relent/repent of the disaster that he was going to bring upon Nineveh (Jonah 3:10).  People will look at that passage and say that God changed His mind about what He said that He was going to do. 

One of the first rules of hermeneutics is that Scripture is to interpret Scripture.  In order to get a right understanding of Jonah 3:10 one would necessarily look to Jeremiah 18:7-8.  In Jeremiah it is explicitly clear that if God decrees to bring judgment upon a nation and that nation turns from its evil, then God will relent of the disaster that He intended to do.  Thus, in Jonah God is being perfectly consistent with His Word and there is absolutely no change in the mind of God.  Second, in the book of Malachi it is stated, "For I the LORD do not change" (3:6).  When a passage is difficult to understand it is of necessity to go to one that is clearly understood.  If the difficulty is to determine the way to define relent/repent then the interpreter can go to Malachi 3:6; Psa. 102:25-27; James 1:17; Psa. 33:11; Isa. 46:9-11; Num. 23:19; 1 Sam. 15:29; Rom. 11:29; and Heb. 13:8.  Knowing that Scripture cannot, has not, and will not contradict itself the interpreter is helped to see that whatever relent/repent means, it does not mean that God changed His mind.

Another problem that surfaces with people who believe that God can and does change His mind is the problem of misunderstanding the omniscience of God.  God's knowledge is perfect.  He knows eternity past, present, and future uno intuito, at once.  Since God's knowledge is perfect it would be a contradiction of His character to change His mind.  If He changed His mind He would have to change for the better or for the worse.  If He changed for the better then His previous decision would be inferior and we would be trusting in a God who is improving as He goes along.  If He changed to the worse, what type of being would He become?  What type of being would He be if He is improving or digressing?  He would necessarily not be as good as He can be at this moment or He is tainted with some level of evil.  These thoughts are utterly repulsive to the nature and being of the God of Scripture. 

Lastly, it is helpful to look at things from a different angle.  There are things that seem to change from our perspective, but perhaps to look through a new set of lenses will help.  The puritan Thomas Watson uses two different analogies.  First, he refers to the sun that hardens the clay and melts the wax.  A person could observe the effects of the sun upon the clay one day and on the next day observe the wax melting under the heat of the sun and conclude that the sun changed.  The change was not in the sun, but rather in the objects that were heated.  The other illustration that Watson uses is the example of the clouds passing in front of the sun.  One day it is bright and glorious outside and the next it is dull and dreary.  However, there is no change in the sun.  God has more than enough ability to have a variety of effects upon men without ever changing anything in who He is and what He does from eternity past. 

In contrast to the entire universe, that changes we are confronted in Scripture by  the God who never changes.  "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed, But you are the same, and your years will have no end" (Heb. 1:10-12).  The phrase "you are the same" comes from the Greek word "I AM".  God is the eternal I AM. 

Glory in the Church

The Lord has been reforming me for years and it has been an interesting journey along the way.  I can look back over the years of my life and see the progress that His sanctifying work has had upon me.  There certainly have been times in my life that I have been disturbed by the lack of people who are zealous for the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have allowed my views horizontally to affect my emotions.  This week has been different for me.  I am currently sitting in a city of 29 million people, the second largest city in the world (next to Tokyo).  Yesterday we passed out some 800 gospel tracts in the market and had numerous conversations with different people.  The people seem to have little to no concern about spiritual matters, but yet they all say they believe in God and certainly in Jesus Christ.  However, the churches are empty and the markets are full.  I found myself grieved in spirit, but not because of the situation of the people, but because I do not feel that God is getting the glory that He deserves. 

We have a wonderful Savior and He is worthy to be praised.  "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen" (Eph. 3:20-21).  There are countless thousands in the background of the picture who have never heard the gospel.  Literally millions in the city who do not give God the glory that He deserves.  Oh, that God's people would pray for God to receive the glory that He deserves.  The task of reaching Mexico City by the efforts of man is impossible, but with God all things are possible.  Please pray that idolatry would be destroyed and Christ would be exalted. 

Today (August 1st, 2011) we will go door to door sharing the gospel.  Pray that God will direct us to the right doors where the Holy Spirit is working and that today someone in Mexico will be raised from the dead and will give God the glory that He deserves. 

Commitment and Cost to Worship

"I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing." (2 Sam. 24:24b)

An unknown author defined commitment by saying, "The difference between involvement and commitment is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:  the chicken was involved - the pig was committed."  Commitment to the physical things of life is more obvious in our culture than commitment to the spiritual.  Men, in the flesh will go to serious extremes to fulfill temporal desires, but little evidence is seen in the American church for true commitment to the Lord.  Families will exhaust all strength, finances, and time for worldly pursuits, but when it comes to worship the minimum is all that is sought for.  Two observations will suffice for revealing the commitment that people will make to fulfill earthly pursuits and family objectives:

First, many thousands will commit to participate in an ironman event.  They will train to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles in less than 17 hours.  In order to accomplish such a task they will train countless hours every week for no less than a year just to be able to finish the event.  They will commit to serious eating habits, early morning hours of exercise, and even put numerous relationships on hold to accomplish their goal of finishing the ironman event.  They will train in extreme heat and frigid temperatures.  They will spend an incredible amount of money and exhaust an unbelievable amount of time.  The motive is self-accomplishment.  The desire to finish is self-will.  The joy is in the finishing.  Oh, that man would love God as much as he loves self.

Second, in a more applicable observation, to most Americans, commitment can easily be observed in the world of sports and entertainment.  Parents will commit their lives to fulfilling the goals that their children have or that they have for their children.  Parents will spend countless dollars for shoes, clothes, electronic gadgets, equipment, membership dues, gas, monthly phone bills, and certainly they must have the satellite TV.  Parents will sit on metal bleachers in 105 degree heat to see little Johnny hit a baseball with a metal bat.  Parents will work two jobs for countless hours to make sure that their kids have everything that all the other kids have.  Parents will work all day and drive all night to make sure the children get to whatever event is on the schedule and all with the underlying motive of commitment.  Parents are committed to prove their love by devotion to the physical.  Commitment levels go to the extreme for fleshly desires, but for the worship of the living God, commitment in the American family is at an all time low.   

Dearly beloved, let us learn from David at the end of his life.  David refuses to offer something to God that cost him nothing.  What does your worship cost?  What sacrifices are you making to give unto the Lord?  Is worship and service in the church something that is done only when it fits the ease of your schedule or do you sacrifice everything else for the sake of having Christ as the preeminent One?  When you show up for church this Sunday at your local church will you bring to Him a heart that is fully committed to Him?  Will you come to church with a heart that has sacrificed self, sports, entertainment, and they world?  What will it cost for you to worship?  The amount one is willing to pay is seen in the value of what is purchasing?  Oh, that God would have infinite value to your heart and you would give all in order to have Him in worship for the rest of your lives.

7 Fold Witness of Christ

John 5:31-47 masterfully proves the deity of Christ.  In the preceding verses Jesus has healed a man who was an invalid for 38 years.  He performed this healing upon the Sabbath and the Jews were extremely upset.  The Jews took great offense to work being done on the Sabbath and they wanted to kill Jesus for it.  The issue underneath the Sabbath breaking is what really drove their anger.  Jesus claimed to only do the work that His Father did.  The Jews understood His statement to mean that He was claiming equality with God (5:18). 

The tension in this conversation was really heating up.  Jesus is claiming equality with God and the Jews are plotting murder.  Jesus does not sidestep the situation, but rather in verses 5:19-30 Jesus tells them He does exactly what His Father says, that the Father loves the Son, that He will raise the dead just like His Father, that the Father has committed all judgment to Him, that if they do not honor the Son they show no honor for the Father, and that all men will give account to Him at the final judgment.  Wow!  Can you imagine what the Jews who heard Him speak must have been thinking?  Jesus does not stop there, but continues forward and gives the foundation for His position.

The Mosaic law required more than one witness to establish a matter, so Jesus brings seven (7) witnesses to the table to prove His position.

1) εάν εγώ μαρτύρω περί εμαυτού [If Jesus bears witness concerning Himself (alone), His testimony would not be true.  This does not mean He does not bear witness of Himself (8:18), but that He has others to back up His testimony.

2) άλλος εστίν ο μαρτύρων περί εμού [There is another who bears witness concerning Me.  The Holy Spirit is the other witness and functions as the internal witness to men's conscience.]

3) ιωάννην μεμαρτύρηκεν τη αλήθεια [John has borne witness to the truth.]

4) τα έργα α ποιώ μαρτυρεί περί εμού [The works I do bear witness concerning Me.]

5) ο πεμφας με πατήρ εκείνος μεμαρτύρηκεν περί εμού [The Father who sent me bears witness concerning Me.]

6) γραφάς . . . εκείναι εισίν αι μαρτυρουσαι περί εμού [The Scriptures . . . is they that bear witness concerning Me.]

7) Μούσης . . . περί γαρ εμού εκείνος έγραφεν [Moses . . . for he wrote about Me.]

What a glorious Savior we find in John chapter 5.  He clearly reveals Himself to be God in human flesh.  He does not back down from the religious crowd of the day.  He gives authoritative, accurate truth to validate His identity.  This chapter is worth some long and prosperous meditations.

Belief

In John 4:39-42 we find a progression of belief that is beneficial for our souls.  The woman of Samaria returns to town to μαρτυρουσης (testifying).  It is a direct result of the woman's testifying that many in the town επίστευσαν (believed).  The Greek word πιστεύω (believe) does not always mean saving belief.  In John 2:23 we find that many επίστευσαν (believed), but that belief was not a saving belief as verses 24-25 reveal.  Likewise, here in 4:39 the belief is not to the level of a saving belief.  They believe to the level that they are willing to go outside of the city and test what the woman has spoken.  In John 4:42 the crowd specifically says, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."  They had believed to one degree because of the woman's testimony, but now that have a personalized belief, because they have heard from the Master.

There is a marvelous transition found in these few verses that is necessary for all true believers.  We certainly may come to believe as a result of man's testimony, but each person must go to the Word of God and hear from the Lord and come to true saving belief.  Perhaps the following illustration may help.  I believed in the Grand Canyon when my father told me about it.  However, when my eyes looked upon the Canyon I then truly believed.  I believed in Jesus when my Sunday School teacher told me about Him, but when my ears heard Him speak from the Word and my eyes saw Him by faith through the Word, I truly believed.  Every person needs a personal faith based upon the revelation of Jesus Christ through His Word.  It is wonderful to believe upon Him, because He revealed himself in Scripture rather than to believe simply in what someone else has said. 

It is good for man to leave the hustle and the bustle of the city and go out of town for the purpose of being alone with Jesus at the well in the middle of the wilderness.  Sweet communion can be found when we find a place to meet with Him without the distractions of the world.   

I AM

In John 4:26 in the conversation with the woman at the well Jesus uses a title that is unmistakably divine.  The woman says that she knows the Messiah is coming who is called the Christ and that when He comes He will tell them all things.  Jesus responds to her statement by saying, "εγώ ειμί, ο λάλων σοι (I AM He, the One speaking to you)." John's gospel alone has at least 24 references to the 'I AM' phase.  The phrase is unmistakably divine and finds it roots in the OT.    God appears to Abraham as says, "I AM God Almighty" (Gen. 17:1).  God appears to Isaac and says, "I AM the God of your father Abraham" (Gen. 26:24).  God appears to Jacob and says, "I AM the God, the God of your father" (Gen. 46:3).  At the burning bush God appears to Moses and says, "I AM the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exo. 3:6). When Moses ask who he is to say sent him he hears this reply, "I AM WHO I AM". And He said, Say this to the people of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you" (Exo. 3:14).  Thus, the 'I AM' statement has divine roots to it and for someone to use this statement as an proclamation of who they are is remarkable. 

Can you imagine a person today identifying themselves as the 'I AM'?  This is exactly what Jesus does in His earthly ministry.  He boldly proclaims to the woman at the well that He is the 'I AM'.  The Word of God reveals Jesus to be the great 'I AM'.  Consider these claims: I Am the Christ (Jn. 4:26).  I AM the bread of life (Jn. 6:35).  I AM the bread that came down from heaven (Jn. 6:41).  I AM the light (Jn. 8:12).  Unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins (Jn. 8:24).   When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM (Jn. 8:28).  Before Abraham was, I AM (Jn. 8:58).  I AM the door of the sheep (Jn. 10:7).  I AM the good shepherd (Jn. 10:11).  I AM the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11:25).  I AM the way, and the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6).  I AM the true vine (Jn. 15:1).  I AM the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8).  I AM the first and the last (Rev. 1:17).  I AM He who searches the mind and the heart (Rev. 2:23).  I AM the root and the descendant of David the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16). 

The deity of Christ shines forth in the I AM statements of Scripture.  There are many more throughout the Word of God besides what I have listed here.  I come agree with the officers who came back and reported to the Pharisees, "No one ever spoke like this man!"  Many men hold different opinions about who Jesus really was, but it is for certain that Jesus has no doubts about His own identify.  He knew who He was and it is incumbent upon us to believe Him for who He claims to be.