I haven't blogged much because I've had a lot going on this last year. But God is good and a refuge for the weary soul.
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
George Matheson,
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Tuesday with Timothy # 19
1 Timothy 2:11-15 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
Paul is instructing Timothy in how the church needs to behave in God's house. Having first addressed men in general, Paul turns his attention to the women of the church in public worship. The women members of the church are not to be preachers, they are to listen and learn in subjection. Women cannot be preachers and women cannot be pastors. Not because women don’t have the ability to teach but because it is not their place in God’s designed order. It is not becoming and God did not create women to hold such a position in the church. For a woman to stand up and teach the congregation is to go against the command to learn in silence, the command to be in subjection, the command not usurp authority over the man. Twice Paul says that the woman is to be in silence. I don’t apologize if that offends you, but I hope that if it does offend you, that you would prayerfully consider why that would be the case? This is a hard saying for the modern ear, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
This passage also does not mean that a woman can never teach anything to anyone ever or that women can never teach Biblical things. Godly women will be teachers of good things and teach younger women in practical godliness (Titus 2:3-4). Women are to be teachers in the home, training their children in the Word of God. Woman are to be teachers in their circles of influence, where providence has placed them in their day to day lives. Women can be teachers of the ungodly in evangelism just to name a few. The women in John 4 left the well and told the men of the city about Jesus. We are all to instruct each other in the public singing of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). The arena of teaching to which Paul is instructing Timothy is not in world at large but rather the gathering of God's people in public worship. The reason why women are not to teach comes from the broader issue of women and the created order, but the prohibition against teaching is for the public worship service and how women ought to behave themselves in God's house. Paul's very clear instruction here is regarding public worship and women are not to be teachers. It cannot be more plainly stated.
Teachers of any sort in any context are given a measure of authority when they teach. Whether it be teaching in the home, on the job site, or in the lecture hall, the teacher will have authority from the platform they have been given to instruct others. I have had to train people in my job and I was given a measure of authority to instruct new employees in business practice. I did not have the power to hire or fire, or give raises or discipline. I did not even have the power to make up my own rules or way of doing things. I was commissioned to train the new hire in company practice. I did have the authority given by the company to say "this is how you must do your job". Teachers have an inherent authority because they have (or should have) mastered a subject. When Jesus was called “master" in Matthew 22:36, they were not referring to His Lordship but that is the word for teacher in that context. A teacher is one that has mastered a subject and has been given a platform to teach, and with that comes authority to speak and be heard on a topic.
When a church calls a person to be their teacher, they are calling an individual into an office and position of authority over those they instruct. Timothy has to rightly divide the Word of truth and pay attention to doctrine – his words carry weight because of the position he holds. As a teacher in God’s house, that office has authority because those that submit themselves to a church are submitting themselves to the teaching of the Word. Timothy does not have power to change the Word, but he stands before the people to declare what God has said and with that, comes the authority of a man of God that must be listened to. That is also why teachers will be held to a higher standard of by God.
Women usurp this authority given by God to the men of the church by teaching men in the church. For a woman to stand up and preach, she is taking an authority that God did not give to women and putting the men under her in subjection to her Words. Please notice, this is not a men versus women issue. The men in the congregation who are listening to God's Word are also under the authority of the Word preached, not just the women. All people who hear the Word are under its authority. But the tool (the preacher) is to be a man, not a woman. Women preachers usurp the created order by making the man subordinate to the woman's instruction. It is rebellion to have men sit at the feet of a woman to receive instruction from God's Word in God's house, and it shameful when it occurs. There are no two ways about this passage and we may disagree with Paul, but we cannot misunderstand him. Women are not to be set up as preachers or set themselves up as pastors in the church. Period. End of story. No women preachers. If you are thinking "what about Priscilla and Aquila teaching Apollos!" please re-read the second paragraph and try again. And while we are at it, Paul was not talking about Sunday School because there was no such thing as Sunday School. That is another topic for another day. When the church met, they met together, all assembled in one place for public worship so this is what I'm talking about as well - the gathered meeting of God's people for public worship.
Next time, we’ll see that it has nothing to do with knowledge or ability, value or worth. We live in a culture right now that literally doesn't understand what physically makes a man a man and a woman a woman, so I am not surprised that people do not understand or want to understand roles of men and women.
Paul is instructing Timothy in how the church needs to behave in God's house. Having first addressed men in general, Paul turns his attention to the women of the church in public worship. The women members of the church are not to be preachers, they are to listen and learn in subjection. Women cannot be preachers and women cannot be pastors. Not because women don’t have the ability to teach but because it is not their place in God’s designed order. It is not becoming and God did not create women to hold such a position in the church. For a woman to stand up and teach the congregation is to go against the command to learn in silence, the command to be in subjection, the command not usurp authority over the man. Twice Paul says that the woman is to be in silence. I don’t apologize if that offends you, but I hope that if it does offend you, that you would prayerfully consider why that would be the case? This is a hard saying for the modern ear, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
This passage also does not mean that a woman can never teach anything to anyone ever or that women can never teach Biblical things. Godly women will be teachers of good things and teach younger women in practical godliness (Titus 2:3-4). Women are to be teachers in the home, training their children in the Word of God. Woman are to be teachers in their circles of influence, where providence has placed them in their day to day lives. Women can be teachers of the ungodly in evangelism just to name a few. The women in John 4 left the well and told the men of the city about Jesus. We are all to instruct each other in the public singing of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). The arena of teaching to which Paul is instructing Timothy is not in world at large but rather the gathering of God's people in public worship. The reason why women are not to teach comes from the broader issue of women and the created order, but the prohibition against teaching is for the public worship service and how women ought to behave themselves in God's house. Paul's very clear instruction here is regarding public worship and women are not to be teachers. It cannot be more plainly stated.
Teachers of any sort in any context are given a measure of authority when they teach. Whether it be teaching in the home, on the job site, or in the lecture hall, the teacher will have authority from the platform they have been given to instruct others. I have had to train people in my job and I was given a measure of authority to instruct new employees in business practice. I did not have the power to hire or fire, or give raises or discipline. I did not even have the power to make up my own rules or way of doing things. I was commissioned to train the new hire in company practice. I did have the authority given by the company to say "this is how you must do your job". Teachers have an inherent authority because they have (or should have) mastered a subject. When Jesus was called “master" in Matthew 22:36, they were not referring to His Lordship but that is the word for teacher in that context. A teacher is one that has mastered a subject and has been given a platform to teach, and with that comes authority to speak and be heard on a topic.
When a church calls a person to be their teacher, they are calling an individual into an office and position of authority over those they instruct. Timothy has to rightly divide the Word of truth and pay attention to doctrine – his words carry weight because of the position he holds. As a teacher in God’s house, that office has authority because those that submit themselves to a church are submitting themselves to the teaching of the Word. Timothy does not have power to change the Word, but he stands before the people to declare what God has said and with that, comes the authority of a man of God that must be listened to. That is also why teachers will be held to a higher standard of by God.
Women usurp this authority given by God to the men of the church by teaching men in the church. For a woman to stand up and preach, she is taking an authority that God did not give to women and putting the men under her in subjection to her Words. Please notice, this is not a men versus women issue. The men in the congregation who are listening to God's Word are also under the authority of the Word preached, not just the women. All people who hear the Word are under its authority. But the tool (the preacher) is to be a man, not a woman. Women preachers usurp the created order by making the man subordinate to the woman's instruction. It is rebellion to have men sit at the feet of a woman to receive instruction from God's Word in God's house, and it shameful when it occurs. There are no two ways about this passage and we may disagree with Paul, but we cannot misunderstand him. Women are not to be set up as preachers or set themselves up as pastors in the church. Period. End of story. No women preachers. If you are thinking "what about Priscilla and Aquila teaching Apollos!" please re-read the second paragraph and try again. And while we are at it, Paul was not talking about Sunday School because there was no such thing as Sunday School. That is another topic for another day. When the church met, they met together, all assembled in one place for public worship so this is what I'm talking about as well - the gathered meeting of God's people for public worship.
Next time, we’ll see that it has nothing to do with knowledge or ability, value or worth. We live in a culture right now that literally doesn't understand what physically makes a man a man and a woman a woman, so I am not surprised that people do not understand or want to understand roles of men and women.
Monday, July 27, 2015
My Enemy
by
Edwin L. Sabin
An enemy I had, whose mien
I stoutly strove in vain to know;
For hard he dogged my steps, unseen,
Wherever I might go.
My plans he balked; my aims he foiled;
He blocked my every onward way.
When for some lofty goal I toiled,
He grimly said me nay.
"Come forth!" I cried, "Lay bare thy guise!
Thy wretched features I would see."
Yet always to my straining eyes
He dwelt in mystery.
Until one night I held him fast,
The veil from off his form did draw;
I gazed upon his face at last—
And, lo! myself I saw.
(Oh wretched man that I am....DPN)
Edwin L. Sabin
An enemy I had, whose mien
I stoutly strove in vain to know;
For hard he dogged my steps, unseen,
Wherever I might go.
My plans he balked; my aims he foiled;
He blocked my every onward way.
When for some lofty goal I toiled,
He grimly said me nay.
"Come forth!" I cried, "Lay bare thy guise!
Thy wretched features I would see."
Yet always to my straining eyes
He dwelt in mystery.
Until one night I held him fast,
The veil from off his form did draw;
I gazed upon his face at last—
And, lo! myself I saw.
(Oh wretched man that I am....DPN)
Monday, July 20, 2015
Neither Out Far Nor Deep
by Robert Frost
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be—
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be—
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?
Friday, July 17, 2015
Book Review - Passing Through: Pilgrim Life in the Wilderness by Jeremy Walker
Are you a Pilgrim? If
you are a Christian, the answer is yes, you are. Maybe the idea brings to the
American mind thoughts of the Mayflower, Thanksgiving, and funny hatted people
discovering a new world. Or, perhaps the idea of a person making their way to
some far off shrine as the grand object of their worship. Does the idea of a
pilgrim put you in mind of a ordinary man or woman, the mechanic, or
homeschooling mother? How about a 16 year old high school student trying to
decided which college to attend? Perhaps not because, as Jeremy Walker points
out in his newest book Passing Through: Pligrim life in the Wilderness, Christians don't think often enough as
our identity as travelers. This book is a good corrective to what may be
lacking in our times.
We, in the West, have
enjoyed the fruits of gospel revival of the past centuries, living in a culture
that was shaped by Christian men and women. That advantage is either dead or
dying and we are finding ourselves in the precarious position of learning to
living like our forefathers lived. We are, as the subtitle suggests, just
passing through; travelers on a journey home. This book addresses the reality
that this world is not our home - we are on a pilgrimage. We are in this world,
but not of this world.
The opening chapters
make sure we understand what it means to be a pilgrim and that we stay on the
path and don't fall into the ditch of isolationism or the ditch of worldliness.
To avoid being worldly, we are tempted to hide in the bunker and separate from
everyone and everything. But the opposite extreme is to take in as much as the
world as possible, disregarding our Lord's command for holiness. But the true
path of the is neither isolationism nor is it worldliness. Not taking for
granted that we even understand what the "world" is, Walker helpfully
defines his terms, making sure that we are all on the same page before moving
on to the next point.
From there, the focus
turns to understanding the world in which we really live in and our role in
that world as kingdom people. Loving the world means loving that which is
hostile to our Lord and our task as pilgrims is to be faithful and keep our
eyes on Christ and we navigate through this journey. We are ambassadors, living
in hostile territory and our message of peace and the terms of peace are enmity
to the human heart. This book helps us to get our mind around this reality and
to understand the world in which we are passing through.
This book is readable,
but it is not light. Each chapter follows the pattern of the subject being defined
and illustrated, then a spiritual framework is given, followed up by summary
thoughts, so each chapter's subject is thoroughly deal with. Full of pastoral
application I believe Christians who are unfamiliar with the idea of pilgrim
life or Christians who are not struggling with the thoughts of living in an
hostile, anti-Christian society, will be helped and encouraged.
Christians have a King, we have a citizenship
in Heaven, and we have a mission and this book helps us to get our bearings,
who we are, where we are, were we are going, and what we have to do.
You can buy the book HERE (among many other places).
My thanks to Cross Focused Reviews for the review copy.
Monday, July 13, 2015
Awake, my soul
Another tip of the hat to Barry Smith for sending this along. By the way, if you have any suggestions for topics to address or poems you enjoy let me know in the comments or email me. Help is always welcome!
Awake, my soul, to joyful lays,
And sing thy great Redeemer’s praise;
He justly claims a song from me -
His lovingkindness, O how free!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how free!
He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me notwithstanding all;
He saved me from my lost estate -
His lovingkindness, O how great!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how great!
Though numerous hosts of mighty foes,
Though earth and hell my way oppose,
He safely leads my soul along -
His lovingkindness, O how strong!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how strong!
When trouble, like a gloomy cloud,
Has gathered thick and thundered loud,
He near my soul has always stood -
His lovingkindness, O how good!
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness, O how good!
Often I feel my sinful heart
Prone from my Jesus to depart;
But though I have him oft forgot,
His lovingkindness changes not.
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness changes not.
Soon I shall pass the gloomy vale,
Soon all my mortal powers must fail;
O! may my last expiring breath
His lovingkindness sing in death.
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness sing in death.
Then let me mount and soar away
To the bright world of endless day;
And sing with raptures and surprise,
His lovingkindness in the skies.
Lovingkindness, lovingkindness,
His lovingkindness in the skies.
Words: Samuel Medley, in J. H. Meyer’s Collection of Hymns for Lady Huntingdon’s Chapel (London: 1782).
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