Free to Serve

Review of "Politics for Christians"

My review of Francis Beckwith's book, Politics for Christians, can be found here. In a nutshell, he makes a good case for faith-based arguments deserving a seat at the table but he is awfully fuzzy about what the "faith" actually is.

69 Years and Ephesians 5:25

George and Martha Camp were married 69 years. She died last week and her service is at MVBC today at 1pm. George and Martha grew up in Dallas, Georgia. They went to school with one another since they were seven years old. They started dating at seventeen. They had a long life together which included raising two sons, Ron and Alan, who are both married and have children of their own. 

George had a long and distinguished career with the United States Postal Service. He managed many people, had a great deal of authority and, by all accounts, executed it well. But I'm convinced that he stored up more treasure in heaven these past fifteen years as he faithfully cared for Martha who suffered with Alzheimer's. He met her everyday. Always for lunch. Sometimes for breakfast and dinner and the time in between. He said he loved her and talked to her and touched her and prayed with her even when she could no longer understand him. Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

From what I'm told, Martha gave her life to Christ and her family. George worked hard and loved hard for the glory of God. Pray for a man who has lost the wife of his youth. Praise the LORD who does all things well. May the young men and women in our congregation be helped by examples like this.

Sunday Reflections

--It is always great to end the morning service with a baptism. It is even better when the morning sermon is on the new birth from John 3. There are quite a few visitors wondering what it means to be born again, wondering what it means to have eternal life, wondering what they need to do. This is the exact kind of thing we need to be talking about regularly.

--Great lunch on Sunday with some folks who have visiting the church. We had them over with a couple who have been members for a while. It was good conversation and one of them said what I hear a lot: MVBC is a very friendly church. I'm so thankful for this. I've experienced it personally. I know that we desperately want others to see our joy, and I think it comes out every day.

--Four times a year we have a Church in Conference. This is our members meeting. We had a number of members come out to hear about the proposed constitution and to vote on membership matters. God is adding people to the church. This is a stunning privilege and a sobering responsibility.

Sunday Sermon Outline, John 3:1-21

A Living Faith: Be Born Again

In order to have a living faith you must be born again.

A Personal Conversation

    --Nicodemus is a religious man who thinks he can see (3:1-2) 

    --Jesus tells Nicodemus he must be born again (3:3)

    --Nicodemus thinks radical change is impossible (3:4)

    --Jesus teaches radical change is a work of the Spirit (3:5-8)

    --Jesus tells Nicodemus to believe (3:9-15)

    --Jesus tells Nicodemus of God's love (3:16-21)

The New Birth

    --The new birth is a radical work

-We cannot think our way into the kingdom of God

-We cannot feel our way into the kingdom of God

-We cannot be raised into the kingdom of God

    --The new birth is a powerful work

-It changes our lives

-It changes our hearts

    --The new birth is a faith-producing work

-What must I do to be saved?

-How can I know I'm a Christian?

-Why should I share the Gospel?

-Why teach on the new birth?

Marks of a Messenger

Mack Stiles will be here in August to speak on the exclusivity of Christ. He has recently come out with a book entitled, Marks of a Messenger. There is a good review here. His book is both an introduction to evangelism and an introduction to the gospel. For those who have never shared their faith and for those looking to be reminded that the Christian life is a life of bearing testimony to what God has done through Jesus Christ, Mack's book is a must read.

It just takes one generation . . .

. . . to lose the Gospel.

Judges 2:10-11, "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who know neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals."

It's been said that the generation that assumes the Gospel is followed by a generation that loses the Gospel. That is what happened here. The generation gathered to their fathers was the generation of Joshua. They enjoyed the LORD. God provided for them. He gave them a land. He gave them hope. But somewhere along the way they forgot to tell their children. They forgot to impress into their children's hearts what it means to serve the living God. The next generation, seeing no compelling reason to serve the LORD, turned away from him.

With this in mind, four prayers: (1) Pray for parents. Pray that in the midst of the the fullness of life, parents don't forget to expose their children to God's Word. (2) Pray for God's Spirit to move. You can teach the Bible but only God can change hearts. (3) Pray our children's ministry. What a privilege to partner with parents to bring up the next generation to love the Lord. (4) Pray for every adult. Pray that we would not assume the Gospel, but would treasure it and fight for it for the glory of God.

Sunday Reflections

Morning

--Saturday night I sent out an outline of the sermon. I'm wondering if you thought that was helpful. If you did, let me know and I'll try to continue doing it. I'd love to have it out earlier but the reality is I don't typically have it done until Saturday.

--There is always so much that could be said about a text that isn't. In this case, Psalm 69, cited in John 2:17, does more than speak of a king with a zeal for the temple. It speaks of a king who will suffer. So when the disciples remembered Psalm 69 as Jesus was clearing out the Temple, I wonder if seeds were being planted about what the Coming King would be like. "For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face." Those word were first prayed by King David. After Jesus' death and resurrection the disciples knew it applied to King Jesus.

--Sermon introductions are an opportunity to prepare people for the text without presuming they are naturally interested in the passage. I began this sermon by noting that men are less likely to go to church than women. One reason: because pastors present a domesticated Jesus instead of the zealous warrior he is. It has been my experience that when the Gospel is faithfully and unapologetically preached, men and women of all ages come to hear.

Afternoon

--I had a great membership interview Sunday afternoon with a young lady who went to the latest Knowing MVBC. Lots of new members about to be voted on. Each has a unique testimony. Each will be a unique blessing to the church. Thank God for the people that He is bringing and adding to our number.

Evening

--So many things to pray about during the Sunday evening service! I'm always encouraged by the singing and the prayers, and the devotional. Pat Knowles spoke from Psalm 69:9. He gave us several points of application regarding how to be zealous for God. 1) Claim Christ--model His behavior. 2) Have a daily passion for His Word. 3) Pray for the church and her leaders. 4) Pray the church would be a house of prayer. 5) Persevere in this world by keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus. 

--We ended the day by meeting in the fellowship hall for homemade ice cream. Nice.

Sunday Sermon Outline, John 2:12-25

Jesus is zealous for the holiness of God (2:12-17)

    Understand the holiness of God

    Value the holiness of God

    Be zealous for the holiness of God

Jesus is zealous for the people of God (2:18-22)

    His zeal is displayed in His mission

To save us

To defend us

To make us holy 

How will we respond?

    Skepticism? (2:18, 20)

    Flattery? (2:23-25)

    Faith? (2:17)  

"Sink or Swim, I Go to Him" -- Spurgeon on the Gospel

Nineteenth-century pastor Charles Spurgeon's autobiography is full to the brim with reflections on how the gospel changed his life. In this passage, Spurgeon explains the gospel and his need for it every single day. There are moments when Satan tempts us to doubt our salvation. There are moments when we beat ourselves up for our sin. There are moments when we forget we have received pardon. But if we have truly been pardoned by God, "sink or swim," as Spurgeon put it, we will "go to Him."

I have always considered, with Luther and Calvin, that the sum and substance of the gospel lies in the word Substitution--Christ standing in the stead of man. If I understand the gospel, it is this: I deserve to be lost for ever; the only reason why I should not be damned is, that Christ was punished in my stead, and there is no need to execute a sentence twice for sin. On the other hand, I know I cannot enter Heaven unless I have a perfect righteousness; I am absolutely certain I shall never have one of my own, for I find I sin every day, but then Christ had a perfect righteousness, and He said, "There, poor sinner, take My garment, and put it on; you shall stand before God as if you were Christ, and I will stand before God as if I had been the sinner; I will suffer in the sinner's stead, and you shall be rewarded for works which you did not do, but which I did for you." I find it very convenient every day to come to Christ as a sinner, as I came at the first. "You are no saint," says the devil. Well, if I am not, I am a sinner, and Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Sink or swim, I go to Him; other hope I have none. By looking to Him, I received all the faith which inspired me with confidence in His grace; and the word that first drew my soul--"Look unto Me"--still rings its clarion note in my ears. There I once found conversion, and there I shall ever find rest and renewal (94).

Constitution Questions

This past Sunday about forty of us gathered to think about the proposed Constitution recently introduced by our Deacons. There were many great questions. I want to repeat three of them here and give a quick answer. I hope you will join us for the next discussion. It is planned for Thursday, July 29, at 7pm.

(1) Why do so many Southern Baptist churches seem to be moving in the direction of plural elder leadership?

The person who asked this question is exactly right. There is a trend among SBC churches toward plural elders in one church. In a sense, SBC churches are actually behind the curve. Conservative Baptists, located predominately in the NW, have had elders for years. It is important to remember, though, that elders are not foreign to SBC churches. William B. Johnson, the first president of the Southern Baptist Convention, advocated plural eldership in the early part of the nineteenth century. As the century progressed, we saw two alarming trends. First, a trend away from Scripture. Many American bible students adopted a critical approach to Scripture that did not take divine inspiration seriously. As a result, what the Bible said became less and less important. Second, a trend toward efficiency. The CEO + board of directors model that existed in the corporate world became the model in the church with the pastor as the CEO and the deacons as the board of directors. That model stuck throughout the twentieth century. Toward the end of the twentieth century there was a recovery of the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture. It had been lost in too many churches and Southern Baptist institutions. When it was found, there was a recommitment to Scripture. We began paying more and more attention to what the Bible said. What did we find? New Testament churches were overseen by more than one elder! Pastors began to write about it, preach on it, and advocate it. This is still going on and explains, at least in part, why we see a return to the elder model in so many Southern Baptist churches today.

(2) Is elder leadership consistent with the doctrine of the priesthood of believers? 

This question is rooted in a right appreciation for congregationalism. Congregationalism is a model of church leadership where the congregation, under Christ, is its own final authority. The congregation is made up of believers. Those believers have real authority since they make up the congregation. The person who asked this question wonders how you can have elders in leadership while preserving congregationalism. I think the best answer to this question comes from the Apostle Peter. He lays out the priesthood of believers in 1 Peter 1:5, "you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood." So a local church is, in a sense, full of priests! But then Peter goes on to explain how even these "priests" have leaders in a local church. 1 Peter 5:1-3, "To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who will also share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." So there we have it! In one book of the Bible we have the doctrine of the priesthood of believers and the doctrine of the plurality of elders. Both are present in the local church. Both are part of the Word of God. They shouldn't be separated.

(3) Have you thought about a formal program of elder training? 

I don't have anything against a formal program, I haven't given it as much thought as I should. I've chosen instead to teach on the qualifications of an elder, model what it looks like to be an elder (as best I can) and keep an eye out in the church for the men who--without a view to being "promoted"--are quietly modeling this kind of Christian life. It's a more organic method. If I were pressed, I might add that every sermon and every gathering is a form of elder training. Those men who are carefully listening to the Word, carefully modeling the Word, and in turn pouring the Word into the lives of others are the men we ought to recognize as elders.