Category Archives: salvation

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Can you tell the difference between sheep and goats? Does it matter on Sundays?

I trust you experienced a rewarding Easter celebration with your faith-family. I know Michele and I did.

You may recall earlier posts containing excerpts from Marsden’s, An Infinite Fountain of Light: Jonathan Edwards for the Twenty-First Century. It’s amazing how current Edwards’s approach is even though his 18th century context and style of ministry is so different from ours.

One lasting effect of Edwards’s thinking and writing is his well-known, “A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections.” I first read it as part of my required reading in the mid- to late 80’s when I studied the church in America at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Marsden writes, “Edwards spent almost his whole life wrestling with the question of how to tell the difference between authentic Christian experience and its imitations: self-delusion and hypocrisy” (p. 104). He describes Edwards’s understanding of “affections” as,

“the sort of love for a person that brings joy unspeakable. True affections for Edwards include the joy and delight–at the heart of his theology–of experiencing the beauty of perfect love” (p. 106).

Okay, let me stop and say that my ministry for over 30 years has been in the context of two, Bible Church kind of churches. I half-jokingly say to our folks, “We’re a Bible Church which means we don’t feel anything.” It’s true; we don’t feel much and rarely do we let it show on our faces on a given Sunday morning. So, this makes it difficult to know if my listeners are experiencing authentic Christianity.

Edwards asked how we know the sheep from the goats.

He begins with indicators that don’t prove anything:

“high emotional experiences, preoccupation with religious things, readiness to quote Scripture, great self-confidence in one’s own spirituality, and other traits that can be found among hypocrites as well as among some genuine Christians” (p. 107).

As you can see, counterfeit Christianity exists. But Scriptures often provide ample opportunity for us to challenge the kind of faith our listeners have. One way is to continually ask if their faith-journey includes a dose of “joy and delight” and the “beauty of [God’s] perfect love.”

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we address both sheep and goats each Sunday.

Randal

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An Unexpected Source for Learning how the Cross Gives Life

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Some Cross-Eyed Readings

A few years ago my youngest daughter and her husband bought me a copy of, The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions. In the prayer, Love Lustres At Calvary, I came across an unexpected tutorial in how to move from the cross of Christ to the benefits His death provides.

I find that these kind of examples help me connect text to Christ to some element of salvation contained in the text.

In that prayer there are 18 “that I might” statements. In general they’re like: Christ died “that I might” experience some benefit of His death.

Here are a few of them to give you a sense of what this move might sound like:

“Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy,

cast off that I might be brought in,

trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend,

surrendered to hell’s worst that I might attain heaven’s best,

stripped that I might be closed,

wounded that I might be healed,

athirst that I might drink,

tormented that I might be comforted…” (pp. 76-77)

I have found that this kind of formula helps me know what to look for in a preaching portion. The text contains some link to Christ-crucified and that link moves me to a “that I might…” statement of an element of salvation.

Watch your congregants’s faces reflect their gratitude to God for providing His Son. The author of the prayer states,

“All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished; Help me to adore thee by lips and life.” (p. 77)

Not only do cross-eyed readings like this illicit faith-first response to the text, but they also urge our listeners to love God more.

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we perform cross-eyed readings each Sunday.

Randal

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What An Odd Way to Preach the Gospel: Jesus’s Strongest Instruction, “Be perfect…”

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Feeling the heavy weight of the command, “Be perfect…,” seems like anything but Good News!

If you have had or will have the privilege to preach through Matthew’s version of Jesus’s famous, Sermon on the Mount, brace yourself for having to explain His strongest instruction. It’s the last verse of chapter 5:

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Wow! No pressure there, right?!

Years ago I stumbled upon a commentary on Peter’s epistle–his name is Kelly, I think. I will never forget reading his take on New Testament commands. He referred to them as something like the Gospel in imperative form.

I am sure other authors have said similar things. And seemingly everybody quotes Augustine on similar matters. But this really has stuck with me through the years. And it is such a helpful preaching angle for our congregants.

I am enjoying reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s two volumes on the Sermon of the Mount. His understanding of this was also helpful. He calls Jesus’s command in Matthew 5:48 the best compliment Jesus could give His followers.

Isn’t that a great way to put it?

Can you see the Gospel in such a command?

So, when preaching any command, I am always thinking about how the command portrays some aspect of the nature of our salvation or transformation-in-Christ. And in the case of being perfect?

Along with telling our listeners how impossible it is–and depending on our theology, there is a sense that it is impossible on earth–tell them the great news that Jesus came to create followers who can obey His strongest instruction. If you can strike that wonderful balance or paradox, you will do justice both to our sinful selves and Christ’s marvelous power to save.

And you might notice that this prevents our parishioners from leaving church as good moralists, trying harder in their own efforts to be perfect Christians.

And while you explain how that is possible, our Lord will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. Do you have your preaching portion for Sunday? Does that preaching portion contain any imperatives? Can you see the Gospel in that imperative form?

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Helping Your Hearers Be Truly Happy: What I’m Learning From Reading Jonathan Edwards’s Earliest Sermons

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One goal of preaching is to create the ultimate happiness.

I confess that I did not expect happiness to be an emphasis in Edwards’s Puritanical preaching. I was wrong.

You might recall that Kimnach’s first recorded sermon of Edwards is, Christian Happiness. His second one is, The Value Of Salvation, based on Matthew 16:26 (“For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul…?”).

In the opening doctrinal section, Edwards teaches that “all worldly good things shall have an end” and describes all who treasure those things “as to make them their happiness [emphasis added]” (p. 313, Kimnach). Edwards mentions how a person “hugs them never so close” (p. 313, and “to hug and make a god of” on p. 320).

The following pages show Edwards piling on all the reasons why it makes no sense to hold the things of the world too tightly. But what caught my eye was when Edwards says,

“it is the goodness of God that he has not appointed these things for our portion [for all eternity]” (p. 318).

Then, in keeping with his text, Edwards states that salvation includes the deliverance from great misery, “because so great happiness is to be enjoyed in the salvation of the soul [emphasis added]” (p. 320). Did you catch the contrast?

Delivered from great misery to experience great happiness.

And this becomes Edwards’s emphasis. Nearing the end of the sermon he writes, “The salvation of the soul is of inestimable worth…because the happiness that will be enjoyed by every saved soul will be inestimable [emphasis added]” (p. 322).

Edwards has made me evaluate my preaching, especially my portrayal of the benefits of salvation. I probably emphasize deliverance from great misery over experiencing great happiness. But what would you expect from a small “f” fundamentalist? (*smile*)

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as we proclaim all the happinesses associated with walking with Him each day.

Randal

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How Did He Think Like That?!?!: What I’m Learning From Reading the Early Sermons of Jonathan Edwards

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Christian Happiness, a sermon based on Isaiah 3:10, may be Edwards’s earliest sermon on record. The verse reads,

“Say unto the righteous, it shall be well with them: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.” (emphasis added)

The sermon begins with,

“Reasonable beings, while they act as such, naturally choose those things which they are convinced are best for them, and will certainly do those things which they know they had better do than leave undone.” (p. 296, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 10)

In typical Edwards fashion, he methodically unloads his logic on his listeners (two propositions of “doctrine,” five inferences of “use,” and two exhortations). Surely, every listeners is convinced that it’s in their best interest to be righteous!

But what caught my attention was the fourth inference:

“Hence learn the great goodness of God in joining so great happiness to our duty.” (p. 303)

How did Edwards think of this? What got him to this inference? And is it important for you and me that we figure this out?

Edwards thinks that there can be no happiness in this life if that happiness does not include doing the things righteous people do.

He states as Gospel fact:

“…the thing required of us shall not only be easy but a pleasure and delight, even in the very doing of it. How much the goodness of God shines forth even in his commands!” (p. 304)

Imagine a God–Edwards refers to Him as “a master of extraordinary goodness”–who only desires our happiness and out of His goodness commands “us to do those things that will make us so” (p. 304)!

Well, not only do we imagine our God like that, we praise Him because He is like that. And we evaluate whether our attitude towards doing the will of God–“a pleasure and delight”–reflects that reality.

May that kind of deep thinking be a part of our weekly preparation and result in God receiving glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Add Another Facet of Saving Faith

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Throughout the Gospels and, also other Old and New Testament narrative sections, look for phrases that add to your congregants’ understanding of saving faith. These phrases provide an opportunity to explore what saving faith is and what it does. Like a cut diamond, saving faith and genuine Christianity contain many facets.

For instance, in Luke 20:27-40 Sadducees approach Jesus to ask Him about what life is like “in the resurrection” (a concept they don’t believe in). In the middle of Jesus’ answer, He states, “but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead…” (v. 35).

That phrase is one way to describe a genuine Believer or follower of Christ. This is what genuine saving faith creates: a person who is “considered worthy to attain to that age…” Saving faith takes people “of this age” (v. 34) and transforms them into those “considered worthy to attain to that age…”

It is tempting to spend the majority of sermon time on Jesus’ cryptic description of life in the resurrection. It demands much attention because any exposition has to come to grips with the revelation Jesus provides in vv. 35-36. Jesus corrects the Sadducees’ understanding. He wants them to know that “the dead are raised” (v. 37) and that God is “not the God of the dead, but of the living…” (v. 38).

Leave room, though, to answer the question Jesus doesn’t answer: How does a person become “considered worthy to attain to…the resurrection from the dead…”? That question inevitably delves into what saving faith is and does.

Before Sunday, see if your preaching portion contains any phrases that explain a facet of genuine faith and Christianity. Over time, the cumulative effect of this kind of exegesis will help limit the number of surprises at the Judgment.

Preach well so God receives glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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Preaching the Theology of Gabriel’s, Annunciation, and Mary’s, Magnificat

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One of the things that makes preaching at Christmas time difficult for me is that the early sections of Luke’s Gospel contain a mixture of narrative and poetry. Whenever genres converge, hermeneutics gets a bit messy. In this case, while the narrative highlights the birth of our Lord, Gabriel’s speech and Mary’s song contain the theology. So much of our salvation is unpacked in these narratives: all the magnificent titles (“Son of the Most High” in Luke 1:32) and all the descriptions of what Jesus came to do (“he will reign…” Luke 1:33). Mary’s Magnificat contains eight “he has” sayings which tell what God has done in bringing Jesus to Mary and our world (Luke 1:46-55).

One of the key applications is to follow Mary’s faith. She says in Luke 1:38 “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And in the Magnificat? Believers say the same things that Mary said. Of course, in order to say the same things Mary said, we have to experience the same thing Mary experienced. Not the giving birth to Jesus part, of course. But the dying with Jesus part (“I am crucified with Christ…”). Certainly “the humble estate” part (cf. Luke 1:48, 52) and “those who fear him” part (cf. Luke 1:50). Like Mary, Christians magnify the Lord. We praise Him because of His greatness and for all the reasons given in her famous song. So, instead of asking professing Believers, Do you have a Magnificat?, it might be more accurate to ask them if they are experiencing the grace and mercy of God that causes one to sing such a song.

Luke’s careful research into the life of Jesus is designed to help us be sure our faith is well-placed and well-executed. Anyone that has placed genuine trust in Jesus has experienced what Mary said. Their well-executed faith includes the consistent desire and capacity to “magnify the Lord” (cf. Luke 1:46).

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Preaching Jesus’ Gospel in the Gospels

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If you read some of my earlier blogs covering the book of Isaiah or Joshua, you may have noticed that my approach has been different in Luke’s Gospel. Because many preaching portions in Luke are straightforward, I’ve been trying to point out hermeneutical issues that can be applied to many sermons on many Texts. One of those issues is explaining why salvation by faith includes obedience. Or, to put it another way, why does Jesus require obedience when we’re saved by faith?

For instance, in Luke 8:21 Jesus teaches, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” That sure sounds like obedience is a condition for salvation. Jesus doesn’t explain His insistence on obedience. I believe this is another example of needing to add theological thinking to our exegesis/exposition.

Throughout the Gospels, I find myself getting uncomfortable with Jesus’ discipleship demands. I anticipate the reaction of some of my listeners who can’t reconcile anything that even smells like works in a saved-by-faith system. Of course, that’s a sign that they misunderstand saving faith and the Gospel. That’s why we need to continually explain the theology of Jesus in a Text like Luke 8:21. Whenever you encounter Jesus’ discipleship demands (or the many imperatives in the NT epistles, for that matter), plan on taking a moment to explain why salvation by faith includes obedience. It’s a great opportunity to explain how salvation includes new desires and capacities that prove that the presence of LifePlus. I came up with the following summary/explanation: When Jesus died for sinners, sinners who die with Jesus die to sin. I’m sure you can think of other ways to put it, but the important thing is actually putting it out there so we can better understand the Gospel and be sure we’re living it out. Evidently, Jesus didn’t want any confusion about who’s in and who’s not in the Kingdom of God.

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Two Ways to Cultivate Good Soil with Each Sermon

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Luke 8:4-15 contains Jesus’ parable of the four soils. It explains what happens every Sunday during the teaching time. Every congregant, including us pastors, are represented by one of the parable’s four scenarios. You know that the parable is designed to move us all in the direction of being the good soil. Here are two ways to do that.

First, attack the second and third scenarios head-on. In the second scenario in v. 13, “they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.” Each Sunday we’re preaching to parishioners experiencing trying times. We serve them well by urging them to continue to believe. In the third scenario, “as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (v. 14). We serve them well by urging them away from these dreadful distractions. In each case we’re attempting to preserve faith which, in turn, buys time for fruit to emerge and grow.

Second, each sermon is an opportunity to encourage everyone to find themselves in the good soil depicted in v. 15, “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Notice, again, the time element involved. Over time, due to ongoing faith and obedience, fruit appears. You may have realized that there is never a time in this life when any listener ever escapes the temptations of the second and third scenario. That means no listeners, ourselves included, can ever say, “I’ve moved into the category of the good soil for good.” No, that will depend on how we hear and respond to God’s Word each Sunday. 

Since preaching this parable last month, I have been more aware of it being played out each Sunday. This, in turn, guides me in the study and during the sermon.

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Two Angles in which to Explore Offensive Commandments

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I just recently completed preaching through Isaiah. Before beginning another through-the-Book study, I am spending several weekends on God and the Life He Gives. The short series will highlight key characteristics of God and also key aspects of living the Christian life. A proper study of the Christian life involves studying the God who grants it. At times, we struggle with God’s kind of life because we do not understand Him and His character.

Take, for instance, God’s difficult instructions to Hagar in Genesis 16:9. Why would God tell Hagar to return and submit to a woman, Sarai, who was dealing harshly with her (cf. Genesis 16:6). What kind of God would instruct a female servant to return to an abusive mistress? The answer is a God who has determined to save the powerless and afflicted. This concept applies equally to instructions in 1 Peter 2:13-14. See also 1 Peter 2:18 and 1 Peter 3:1. God is a God who saves those who depend on Him or rely on Him alone.

Another angle on this is to ask what it is about the nature of our salvation that would warrant such an instruction. In this case of Hagar submitting to Sarai, salvation, by nature, involves being delivered in the midst of a terrible environment (as opposed to being delivered out of a terrible situation). Saving faith involves dependence upon God, the opposite of taking matters into one’s own hand (in this case, taking matters into her own hands would be Hagar not returning and submitting to Sarai).

You might find yourself in conversations where someone asks, “Should so-and-so submit to that?!?” In other words, the particular circumstance seemingly cancels out the biblical instruction. Before you attempt to answer that specific scenario, try taking the person through these two angles: (1)What is it about God that He would require such actions? (2) What is it about the nature of salvation that would require such actions?