Animal Illustration

Matthew 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Jesus uses four animals in this illustration. Two animals describe people categories and the other two are used to describe personal attributes and actions. The sheep are God's elect and Christ's servants and the wolves are the predatory servants of Satan. The serpents and doves are used to describe how the sheep are to act.

Neither the serpent nor the dove by itself is a good example. It is no good to be subtle as a snake (Gen 3:1) with no direction. It is no good to be harmless like a dove with no zeal (Hos 7:11). However, when combined we find wisdom.

A wise snake without love is a tyrant.

A harmless dove without wisdom is a coward.

The dove without backbone hides from every danger, flies from every conflict and hides from every opposition.

But a harmless servant of Christ, who wisely walks through this world, sees and understands the times and what is going on with a Biblical mind, renewed and transformed by the Spirit and the word will glorify Christ - for they will be Christ like.

Touchdowns and Justice

This play was pretty bad, but I'm sure the refs did the best they could, but their best wasn't good enough. I listened to a sports talk radio show on my way to work the next day and there was outrage, OUTRAGE I say. They quoted the rule book line by line and rule by rule explaining how bad the call was. They were outraged at the injustice done.

I've been thinking about this all week, not so much from a Packers perspective (as I am a Giants fan when it comes to the NFC) but from the perspective that  humans yearn for justice and things being set right. Where does that come from? Certainly not a evolutionary process. The strong survive, right? Who cares about justice when the point is to pass your genes along? Where did all the outrage come from over a clear breaking of the rules and injustice going unpunished?

God has created man with the knowledge of God and natural laws written in their hearts. Man yearns for justice because they are made in the image of a just God. This football game doesn't amount to much and I'm not making more of it than it is - but think about the stir it caused and why.

Also think about how these same people will apply situational ethics to moral issues. They will say "you have your truth, I have mine" when it comes to the moral law. Why not apply that same ethic to football? If there is no right and wrong, then why isn't a touchdown?

Is God less concerned with right and wrong with His rules than you are with the NFL's? So when the NFL has a rule and it is violated we say injustice. But when God has a rule and it is violated we say "to each his own."

God is a God of justice and He will set things right.
God is a God of laws and He will punish the evildoer and breaker of the law.
And people know it.

What is worship?

Worship isn't a question of whether, but of who. God created man to worship and every human will worship something, even if their god hangs over their belt (Philippians 3:19). What is worship? Is it the singing? is it the preaching? Is it life? Worship is giving homage and due reverence to God, starting in the heart, then it is  manifested in outward expression. Where did I get that? Glad you asked. In both Hebrew and Greek the word translated basically means to bow down, or kneel down or do homage, at least, so says Brown-Driver-Briggs and Thayer for those who care for such information.

But when you read the Scripture, it’s clear that worship is more than the outward movements.

• Exodus 34:8  And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
• Nehemiah 8:6  And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
• Matthew 2:11  And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
• Matthew28:9  And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
• Revelation 19:4  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia
• Revelation  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
• Revelation  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Note that they fell down and they worshiped. Bowing down was part of the worship process here, but it was not the actual worship. Something happened first that caused them to fall down. They first prostrated themselves inwardly and this affected their outward expression of praise. It was the recognition that they were in the presence of a Holy God and they worshiped Him in the beauty of Holiness. It is adoration, homage, reverence, submission to God.

Preaching or singing or praying is not, of itself, true worship. I’ve heard a lot of Christ-less preaching that was not worship, it was moralism because it did not bring me to God in Christ. You can sing your little heart out, but be thinking about how awesome you sound. Who is it you are lifting up again? You can be a Baptist and amen when the preacher smacks the pulpit and not even be thinking about what he said. My dad was preaching once and illustrated the absurdity of a false doctrine by saying something like "let's say I said the moon is made of cheese" and someone shouted AMEN! I have more confidence that the man was not listening and felt it was his turn to say "amen" rather than supporting the likelihood of lunar Limburger. Point being, going through the motion of preaching or listening isn't worship either.

Vines says..."it is not confined to praise; broadly it may be regarded as the direct acknowledgment to God, of His nature, attributes, ways and claims, whether by the outgoing of the heart in praise and thanksgiving or by deed done in such acknowledgment."

Much of what is described as "worship" is sentimentality.

 Jonathan Edwards in “Religious Affections” said “As there is no true religion where there is nothing else but affection [feelings/experiences], so there is no true religion where there is no religious affections.”

Understanding worship is very important, as it is required of man to worship. I believe that God has given man a desire to worship, we were created to worship - but in our fallen state men are drawn to worship idols (Romans 1). The first four commandments regulate the proper worship of God. Men will either worship the true God or they will worship idols. God is worshiped in Spirit and in truth, but God is also not mocked. If you sow to the flesh in worship, you will reap its rewards.

Have you read part 1? Click these words and you can.

Sing, Sing, Sing

I was lurking in a Baptist internet forum, as I am wont to do, and I was very interested in a topic on worship and singing, which has lead me to our present post. I don't usually post on the forum because I'm not very good at it. I have a tendency to come off harder than I intend to be, bringing more heat than that light - which I admit, repent of and am working on. I think it all started when I was a child...wait, what was I saying? Oh yes, singing.

Singing is for both instruction and for the worship of God and it is a sign that one is full of the Holy Spirit. A Spirit filled believer is going to be singing to God. In the worship of God, we are to sing both to God and each other.

Col 3:16-17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

We teach and admonishing one another, signing for the benefit of the saints, and we sing with grace to the Lord. Not only singing, but everything we do be done unto the Lord. Singing isn’t an ornamental aspect of the church, - it is a required part of the worship of God.

Eph 5:18-19  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Songs we sing should be theological, they should be instructive, they should make us think, not just tap our toes, but can make us tap our toes. That is how awesome God is. He gave us the gift of music so we can love Him and enjoy Him as we worship Him. Think about it, God didn't have to invent three part harmony, He didn't have to invent sound and have our ears and brains receiving the sound as pleasing, but He did because He is good. Combine the good gift of sound with the good gift of music and instruments with the blessed gift of Christ honoring lyrics and you have a wonderful opportunity to worship God.

Those that have been given the talent to sing should do so for the people of God. Yes, sing unto the Lord, but sing for us, help us worship God with you. Please, lift up your hearts unto the Lord. Hymn writers write out in poetic form what we wish we could say on our own.

Eph 5:18-19  And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Songs we sing should be theological, they should be instructive, they should make us think, not just tap our toes, but can make us tap our toes. That is how awesome God is. He gave us the gift of music so we can love Him and enjoy Him as we worship Him. Think about it, God didn't have to invent three part harmony, He didn't have to invent sound and have our ears and brains receiving the sound as pleasing, but He did because He is good. Combine the good gift of sound with the good gift of music and instruments with the blessed gift of Christ honoring lyrics and you have a wonderful opportunity to worship God.

Those that have been given the talent to sing should do so for the people of God. Yes, sing unto the Lord, but sing for us, help us worship God with you. Please, lift up your hearts unto the Lord. Hymn writers write out in poetic form what we wish we could say on our own.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

I feel that. I know that. I wish I wrote that. When I sing his words, I think of our Saviour. With great skill, Brother Watts penned how God's children feel. Though I don't have the ability to express my feelings in such beautiful verse, the hymn writers do and help us worship God.

More to come.

Grace & peace,
DP

Objections to the Ten Commandments

Typical Objections to the Ten Commandments and Christians by Richard C. Barcellos.

Some good thoughts on the the law and the Christian.  

Jeremiah prophesies that Christians have the law that God wrote on stone tablets, the Ten Commandments, written on their hearts by the Spirit of God sent by the Son of God (Jer. 31:33; 2 Cor. 3:3). The Spirit of God also causes us to delight in God’s law and obey it (Ezek. 36:27, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”). The New Testament gives us the way in which the Ten Commandments are to be applied by Christians. Though this seems clear and is, by far, the majority view of the Christian church throughout her history, some disagree. To be fair to those who may disagree, we must admit that some statements of the New Testament make this issue difficult to understand (Rom. 6:14, for example). In light of this, let us consider four typical objections and interact with them.

Read more here.

Grace & Peace - Doug