Tag: God

Stand in awe

On By rcannata7In God's Word, WorshipLeave a comment

“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” (Psalm 33:8–9, ESV)

What kind of images come to mind when we think of the words awe and fear? If God where to appear before you at this very moment, what would be your reaction?

The root of the word for fear in Psalm 33 is “yare” and can represent emotional fear, the anticipation of evil without the emotional element, and reverence and awe.

The first time this verbal form is used in the old testament is in Gen 20:8 when Abraham had journeyed to the Negeb and claimed to Abimelech the Sarah was his sister and he takes her. God would then appear to Abimelech in a dream and told him he was a dead man because he had taken a woman who was another man’s wife. Abimelech woke from his sleep and called his men and explained what had happened and it says they were very much “yare” (afraid).

The same verbal use is found in Ex 14:10 when the Egyptian army is marching on Israel and as Pharaoh drew near, the text says that the people “yare” (feared) greatly.

The psalms like to use parallelism where the second line repeats the thought of the first line but in different words.

So let’s take a look at the word “awe”. The first time this verbal form is used in scripture is in the book of Job. In Job 41:25 God is challenging Job and is speaking of the Leviathan and during this speech says:

“When he raises himself up, the mighty are (“gur”) afraid; at the crashing they are beside themselves. Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail, nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.” (Job 41:25–26, ESV)

“Gur” like “yare” can also mean to be afraid, feared, intimidated, terrified, anxious, and to revere or stand in awe.

In the context of Psalm 33, the complete idea ends with “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm”, where the writer in verses 6-7 boasts how the Lord made the heavens and by the breath of His mouth all their host.

To me, this seems to point towards great respect and reverence of the Lord in verses 8-9. The kind of awe that you get when you see some of the splendor of God’s creation in the mountains, the oceans, and the wonder of the heavens. I do think that there is still a small element of fear in the sense of knowing who God is and what he can do and that our lives are held in His hands.

Later in Psalm 33 it says:

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Psalm 33:18–19, ESV)

In this section “Yare” is coupled with “hesed” which is translated as steadfast love, and drives home that hope (mehahalim) which is to trust, to wait, and to be patient on the Lord to deliver our souls from death.

Currently with all that is going on around us, hope and trust in God’s steadfast love (hesed) can keep or eyes fixed on the end goal – Gods salvation in Jesus Christ, and not on the chaos that is going on all around us.

In 1 Peter 5, Peter writes these words for his readers, may we hold fast to them and stand firm:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:6–11, ESV)

Because we did not seek him…

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord, the God of Israel. And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord.” (1 Chronicles 15:12–15, ESV)

Today I was doing my daily readings of scripture and came across this verse that caught my attention. But before we dig into it, we need to look at the background of this story.

In 1 Sam 4, the Philistines captured the Ark of God, but everywhere they took it disaster happened, for scripture tells us that the Lord was heavy against the cities where they took the Ark. The Philistines returned the Ark to Israel where it ends up at Beth-shemesh. Here it is ministered to by the Levites. Then the men of Kriiath-jearim came and took the ark to the house of Abinadab and consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord where it stayed for over 20 years. In that period Saul rises to become King, followed by David.

In 2 Sam 5, David defeats the Philistines through inquiry of the Lord. But now he hastily decides to go and bring up the Ark of God from its current location to the city of David. So David gathers all the chosen men of Israel, builds a new cart, then places the ark on the cart which is driven by Aminadab’s sons Uzzah and Ahio.

Nowhere do we see David inquiring the Lord regarding the movement of the Ark, but he just decides to do this. There is no preparation mentioned to sanctify those who would minister to the ark, which is considered the place of God’s presence. A God who describes himself as a consuming fire. To enter God’s presence in the tabernacle required great preparation to ensure that the person entering in was sanctified less God’s holy presence consume them.

The result is that when the ox stumbles Uzzah reaches out and touches the ark and dies. Uzzah had not consecrated himself in preparation for the movement of the ark, and God’s holiness consumes Uzzah for he is most likely unclean in God’s presence.

So, the second time they decide to move the ark, David understands his failure and the people consecrate themselves for the movement of the ark according to the word of the Lord recorded by Moses. This time it is successfully brought to Jerusalem.

I pondered, what can we understand from this story? In Isaiah 55 it says:

““Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:6–9, ESV)

We do not know God’s thoughts; we certainly don’t know His ways, so how do we seek Him out so He can be found? Only through the study of God’s words, and prayer! The big problem, do we ever really slow down and seek the Lord in genuine deep prayer, or spend quality time reading and meditating on His words?

For the preacher or teacher of God’s word, do we really seek him out to know what he desires us to teach? One thing that I have noticed in the study of scripture is that God usually does not reveal details about His purposes very far in advance. So how are we to believe that he gives us details for a whole year when we are to seek Him daily? He may, but I would be wondering if this is the Spirit or my flesh?

How about in our personal lives? Do we start the day asking the Lord to guide us through the day and that His will be done? If we are Christ’s workmanship as described in Ephesians 2:10, how are we to walk in them if we don’t ask Him what we are to be doing? Seems to me when David did not inquire of the Lord disaster followed.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

 If Jesus, God in the flesh, spent every morning seeking the fathers will, how much more should we be seeking the Lord in prayer? Seriously reflecting on what Jesus taught to His disciples, passed down to us in the gospels:

““And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:7–10, ESV)

All of this, a complete upward focus on the father should be reflected on before we ever get to the second part of the prayer:

“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:11–13, ESV)

By the way, did you catch all the plural pronouns in this prayer? This is not about me, its about us as the body of Christ. It is God’s provision, God’s forgiveness, and God’s protection of the community that we are to seek.

The Father knows what you need before you even ask. So I believe an outward focus is what he truly desires. I feel that we spend to much time with a laundry list of requests (my desires) for God that we never really turn our gaze upward. Think about that the next time you pray – do you start with a quick hi to God then jump into your list, or do you bathe yourself in His presence and at the end place your requests (he already knows) at His feet.

I like the way Augustine put it in his exposition of the psalms:

“It is one thing to seek some favor from the Lord, quite another to seek the Lord himself.… Do not seek any extraneous thing from the Lord, but seek the Lord himself. He will hearken to you, and even while you are still speaking he will say, “Here I am.” Expositions of the Psalms 34.9.[1]

So, I leave you with this selection from psalm 105 to meditate on this day:

“Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones!” (Psalm 105:1–6, ESV)

[1] Blaising, C. A., & Hardin, C. S. (Eds.). (2008). Psalms 1–50 (p. 260). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Did God actually say…

On By rcannata7In Biblical Literacy, God's Word3 Comments

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”” (Genesis 3:1–3, ESV)

I did a search of churches in my area. There were not as many as I expected but still quite a few. A sadness overtook to me as I listened to the exerts of sermons from these churches and most of them did not start with God’s word. Many of them used a small verse as a point in their story just to tie it to God but then jumped into pithy stories, humor, dramatic statements, sociology, psychology, and motivational garble to tickle the ears of the audience.

Do not get me wrong, some of these are probably descent churches with pastors that really desire people to know God but are going down a path that is very dangerous.

John MacArthur, a person in our generation who has held up the word of God continually through his life made this comment in an interview:

“These people, like the liberals, deny the clear teaching of Scripture. And I’m convinced that the reason they deny it is not because it can’t be understood, not because it’s unclear, but because they don’t like what it clearly says. And that takes you back to John 3, “Men love darkness rather than light.” The light is there, they hate the light, they run from the light. The issue is not that Scripture is not clear, it is crystal clear.” (John MacArthur)

Many pastors today have succumbed to the lie, “did God actually say? Instead of listening and preaching the scriptures, we have replace the Bible with psychology and sociology and created the seeker friendly church where the message preached is designed to give people what they want to hear and hide the truth of God’s word behind smoke and mirrors.

But the whisper is not just happening in the pulpit, we cannot blame just our leaders for our biblical illiteracy, we also must take the blame. Yes, the serpent is still more crafty and uses many tools to distract us from the Lord and His word.

When the word of God is not our center, then what is the balance of our priorities in life? How much time do we spend watching television over reading and studying and memorizing God’s word? What about social networking (Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc.) does it take more time than we spend reading God’s word? The list can go on, but the point is this – do you really consider the Word of God and spending time with the one who holds eternity in His hands important, or does the idols of this world draw you away? Dr. Kenneth Berding from Biola University made this observation in an article he wrote back in 2014…

Every time I teach a class called Biblical Interpretation & Spiritual Formation, I ask my students why it is that so few people in this generation are really zealous about the things of God. I can’t remember a time when I’ve asked that question when someone hasn’t mentioned distractions. Social networking, texting, television, video games and places dedicated to amusement (“amusement” parks, for example) pull our attention away from God’s Word. These fun and interesting activities occupy time that we could spend reading, studying and memorizing the Bible and they distract our thoughts during time we could spend meditating on God’s Word throughout the day. When we walk from one meeting to another, are our thoughts naturally moving to Scripture and prayer? As we leave a college class session, are we thinking on the things of God that we have learned from the Bible? Or do we immediately check to see whether someone has messaged us? (Berding, 1914)

I ask this simple question about our gathering together, and our personal time…what is the center of our attention, God’s Word or the world. In an article by Alex Dodson of the Watchman radio hour he notes:

The proclamation of the Word of God has taken a back seat in many evangelical churches today. The great pulpits of the past no longer exist. Even the large pulpit bibles that used to be on every pulpit don’t have a place in modern evangelical church sanctuaries. The pulpit has been put aside to make room for the worship team. When the preacher comes to speak, he usually has a small lectern that is put there for him to lay his Bible or notes on and then removed quickly as soon as he is finished to make room for the worship leaders. The great preaching of the Word of previous generations is missing from most modern day evangelical churches. So, people who tremble at the Word of God are scarce today. (Dodson, n.d.)

Is history repeating, are we like the ancient Israelites who worshiped God with their lips but had hearts that were far away?

May we pay heed to what the prophet Isaiah wrote to that generation…

“Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1–2, ESV)

“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8, ESV)

I leave the reader with this excerpt from a sermon delivered  by CH Spurgeon on March 16th 1890 which are still relevant today:

The Psalmist, in this psalm (psalm 19), has compared the Word of God to the sun. The sun in the heavens is everything to the natural world; and the Word of God in the heart is everything in the spiritual world. The world would be dark, and dead, and fruitless, without the sun; and what would the mind of the Christian be without the illuminating influence of the Word of God? If thou despisest holy Scripture, thou art like to one that despises the sun. It would seem that thou art blind, and worse than blind; for even those without sight enjoy the warmth of the sun. How depraved art thou if thou canst perceive no heavenly lustre about the Book of God! The Word of the Lord makes our day, it makes our spring, it makes our summer, it prepares and ripens all our fruit. Without the Word of God we should be in the outer darkness of spiritual death. I have not time this morning to sum up the blessings which are showered upon us through the sun’s light, heat, and other influences. So is it with the perfect law of the Lord; when it comes in the power of the Spirit of God upon the soul, it brings unnumbered blessings: blessings more than we ourselves are able to discern.

References

Berding, D. K. (1914). The Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy. Retrieved from magazine.biola.edu: http://magazine.biola.edu/article/14-spring/the-crisis-of-biblical-illiteracy/

Dodson, A. (n.d.). A Missing Element in Modern Evangelical Worship: People Who Tremble at the Word of God. Retrieved from http://www.oneplace.com: https://www.oneplace.com/ministries/watchman-radio-hour/read/articles/a-missing-element-in-modern-evangelical-worship-people-who-tremble-at-the-word-of-god-12289.html

Spurgeon, C. H. (1890). The Warnings and the Rewards of the Word of God. In The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (Vol. 36, p. 157). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

Wanderer

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

In todays crazy world and the isolation we face everyday the greatest threat I feel to my Christian walk is the danger of wandering from God’s word. There are so many distractions and temptations when we are isolated, and yet truly we are not really alone. In todays world we have many ways to connect with people and encourage one another, but still those are but a moment and what must we do to keep moving forward in our relationship with the Lord in the alone times.

Psalm 119 is such a rich and powerful Psalm and really draws our focus into what is truly important in our daily struggle – Gods Words!

If I where to just take each of the sections which follow the Hebrew alphabet and just think on the beginning of each section. What can you take away from it? This is also an amazing Psalm because it was structured in the original Hebrew for easy memorization using each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

  • Aleph – Blessed are those whose way is blameless
  • Beth – How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
  • Gimmel – Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
  • Daleth – My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!
  • He – Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
  • Vav – Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.

The word of God is so rich for our lives, each day we must spend time in His word and seek the many ways it enriches our lives.

Prayer is the other important element of our lives that is truly needed. I am not just talking about a quick passing prayer but a devoted time of communing with the King of the Universe.

In Psalm 46:8 and 10, both have elements that we can get from spending quality time with the Lord.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.……“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

The original Hebrew word for “Be Stil”l is harpu and is from the verb RFH רפה meaning “to let go, to release”. A more literal translation of harpu would be “cause yourselves to let go”.

This is a time to release and let go of all you are holding onto and allow God to wash over you and bring renewal into your life.

Billy Graham in his Answers blog said this on Jan 5 2012:

Make prayer part of your daily life. When problems arise — pray. When doubts come — pray. When people say things that hurt you — pray. When you feel yourself getting down — pray. When you’re tempted — pray. When you are burdened for others — pray. And pray with joy in your heart, and with thanksgiving. The Bible says, “Pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

When we are isolated we also have a great deal more time, so get into His Word, and spend time communing with the one who is never away and always present, it is then that we can find our firm foundation and not wander from His commands.

 

 

Repent!

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”” (Acts 17:30–31, ESV)

I write this blog on the first day of Passover 2020. There is so much going on in the world and still fear has its grips on so many. The Plagues of the bible where to bring humility to the people of Egypt and bring about the redemption of God’s people. The unfortunate thing for the people in Egypt is that they continued to refuse to turn to the God of Israel and sought out their own Gods. The result was the plague of death. But in the end the people of God where led out of Egypt and saw God’s mighty act of redemption. Israel has continued to celebrate the deliverance of the Israelite people from the last plague – death. I continue to ponder what God is doing in all of this, but one thing is sure, we are not in control and we must turn to him, finding our faith in the redemption that His Son has borne for us on the cross again at Passover.

I started the day doing a chapter in a course I am taking called Jesus as Rabbi, The Jewish Context of the Life of Jesus. (Offered through Logos Bible Software). The chapter that I was looking at today was on Sin and salvation, which also means that repentance comes into the picture.

Early in this section I was covering the idea of Sacrifice. This again takes us back to Egypt and the many sacrifices that were being performed by the Egyptians to their Gods. The author of the course then made this comment:

“But when they were taken into the wilderness, God changed that and He reduced their sacrifices to a bare minimum. If God wanted to teach them about a single sacrifice—once for all time—this was a good way of doing it. He said, “Well, just have one morning sacrifice, one evening sacrifice.” There [were] a few others, but they were mainly food, and it’s just once a year you have the annual Day of Atonement—the one sacrifice that takes away sin. They’re starting to learn there’s going to be one sacrifice for sin.”[1]

Early on God was teaching His people that there was eventually going to be one sacrifice for sin. The Hebrews had a good deal of baggage when they came out of Egypt, and maybe that included how they viewed sin. But in the rest of the story God is trying to bring them to a more perfect understanding which unfolds in the New Covenant writings.

At the very beginning of the Gospel of John it records John the Baptist seeing Jesus and declaring  “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world![2]So sin is addressed right at the beginning with another message that we get from the other gospels – Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come.

Dr. Brewer pointed out that it was not the Passover lamb that took away sin, that was a celebration of God delivering his people from death and then their redemption from Egypt. It was the goat on the day of atonement that took away the sin of all the people. A young goat is also called a lamb. So, sin is addressed right in the beginning of Jesus ministry, so what where people to do?

People are told to repent. But even on the day of Atonement sins where not just automatically cleared because the sacrifice happened, there were two other things that needed to be part of the process – repentance and the forgiving of others.

In the Yoma, which is the fifth tractate of the “Order of Festivals” and is mostly concerned with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is says this:

“He who says, ‘I will sin and I’ll repent, [then] I’ll sin again and I’ll repent [again]’—he is not enabled to repent. [If he says:] ‘I will sin and the Day of Atonement will atone’—the Day of Atonement will not atone.”[3]

If you set out to sin knowing that the day of atonement is coming then it’s not real repentance. I would say that the same applies today – If we sin with the idea that the blood of Jesus will just cover it, then have we truly repented? True repentance comes when we truly want to avoid sin in the first place. That does not mean we won’t sin, but it becomes a matter of where the heart is.

The second part of the idea is the forgiveness of others. This fits well with the great commands of Christ – Love God and Love others. The Jewish people understood this well, as also in the Yoma it says:

“Transgressions between a man and God—the Day of Atonement atones. Transgressions between a man and his fellow—the Day of Atonement does not atone until he seeks pardon from his fellow.”[4]

In these troubled days, let us truly seek God to grant us repentance that leads to life, and if we have anyone that we need to seek forgiveness from then seek them out (Virtually right now) because God desires all people everywhere to repent!

[1] Instone-Brewer, D. (2016). NT390 Jesus as Rabbi: The Jewish Context of the Life of Jesus. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 1:29). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[3] Instone-Brewer, D. (2016). NT390 Jesus as Rabbi: The Jewish Context of the Life of Jesus. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[4] Instone-Brewer, D. (2016). NT390 Jesus as Rabbi: The Jewish Context of the Life of Jesus. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Quenching the Spirit – Part 2

On By rcannata7In UncategorizedLeave a comment

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22, ESV)

In what ways might we quench the Spirit of God?

First, what does it mean to quench the Spirit? The Theological Dictionary of the NT, Abridged says this:

This word means “to quench,” passive “to go out”; b. “to suck dry” (“dry up”); c. “to die”; d. “to steam”; and e. in a transferred sense “to still,” “damp down,” “restrain,” or intransitively “to rest,” “abate,” “die down.”[2]…In the LXX (some 45 times) the term is used literally for the quenching of fire or burning objects, figuratively for light or lamps going out, and in a transferred sense for the extinguishing of anger or stilling of emotions…the admonition not to quench the Spirit has reference to the restraint of his manifestations in charisms[3]

Jesus had some teaching that could reveal some light on this subject…

““You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13–16, ESV)

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:7–15, ESV)

The Spirit is often described as light and that light shines in the dark places to reveal and convict the world of sin. Today I have heard many preachers redefine our sins to make them more palatable. We can’t redefine what God has called sin, we are then dimming or quenching the light of the Spirit when we don’t stand for the principles that God has given us in His word.

Many of the songs we hear in the Christian music industry seems to focus on me or us. But the Spirit always exalts Christ and points us towards Christ. I have noticed that when we sing songs that exalt the Lord or the Father the worship just seems so much better. J.I. Packer said it well

“…think of it this way. It is as if the Spirit stands behind us, throwing light over our shoulder on to Jesus who stands facing us. The Spirit’s message to us is never, ‘Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me,’ but always, ‘Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him and taste his gift of joy and peace.”

When we put our focus on ourselves and not on Christ then we quench the light that the Spirit can give through our lives to others. We must remember the commands of our Lord – Love others and Love God!

Where is your focus this day, in a world with so much uncertainty?

Listen to Him!

On By rcannata7In Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” (John 15:10, ESV)

I was reading through the book of John and stopped on this verse. As I pondered over it, it struck me that it had a very subtle idea in the text. We are to obey Jesus’s commandments just as Jesus kept His Fathers commandments. In the past I usually tossed this verse up to the fact that Jesus is God, so therefore he is referring to God’s commandments. Lately I am not as sure of this. I asked myself, what are the commands of the Christ? What kind of things do we see in the gospels? Then we have Acts and the rest of the apostolic writings, what do they reveal to us?

Let’s first dive into Acts 15, this is a pivotal point in the book of Acts in regards to how the early assemblies of believers would deal with the gentile issue and the law.

“When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”” (Acts 15:4–5, ESV)

The problem then was that Jewish believers in the Christ were trying to insist that gentiles convert Judaism by getting circumcised and then keeping the Law of Moses. But in the end, it was decided through a quote from Amos that gentiles were to adhere to 4 things so that it would be well. Not to save them, but to allow them to have fellowship with the circumcised. But was that just a starting point, and then they would follow the law of Moses? I am not so sure of this anymore. After reading and praying carefully through the writings of Paul, keeping in mind the context of second temple writings, I am not fully convinced.

But before I get to Paul, are there other subtle clues in the gospels to consider? What about the transfiguration of Jesus that James, John, and Peter witnessed? What can we take away from that encounter that impacted Peter so much that he would later write about it in his own letter?

“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”” (Matthew 17:1–5, ESV)

Jesus is with Moses and Elijah who represent both the Law and the Prophets in the Scriptures. They hear a voice from heaven say that this is my beloved son…LISTEN TO HIM. They fall on their face and when they look up Jesus is alone. Later the writer of Hebrews would tell us that in the past God spoke to us through the prophets but now He is speaking to us through His Son. He would then go on to show that Jesus is greater than the angels, and then the Jesus is greater than Moses.

I also noticed something else that is very subtle in the gospels. Jesus changes one of the foundational laws given in the law of Moses. To get the full impact of this let’s first take a look at what Jesus teaches a certain lawyer that had come to Jesus to put Him to the test.

“And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”” (Matthew 22:35–40, ESV)

So, Jesus tells the Lawyer that the great commandment is to Love the Lord your God…and then to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands depend all the law and prophets. Now look at what Jesus is teaching his disciples in John 15, part of a long teaching that Jesus gave before he went to the cross.

““This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12–14, ESV)

Instead of loving your neighbor as yourself, which is very man focused, Jesus tells them that this is His commandment to love one another as I have loved you. This changes the whole focus of the command from man to Jesus. He is now the center of this command. He is the focus and our love should reflect to others the way has loved us…sacrificially. What is even more compelling is the fact that Jesus changed the command. That is definitely something to think about. It is also important to note that it ends with “You are my Friends IF you do what I command you”

Before I could move on though, I had to then think about what Jesus meant in Matthew…

““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished……“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17–18, 20, ESV)

Let’s get some context here. Jesus is speaking to his disciples with crowds also gathered around as he teaches what we would label the sermon on the mount. Right before he dives in to give us principles that take the law and drive it down to our heart, he tells them that he has come to fulfill them. He also notes that until heaven and earth pass away not one iota or dot will change until all things are accomplished. That is interesting considering that he changes one of those commands in the writings of John.

Let’s first look at that word fulfill. Many have tried to use this to support going one direction or another. I really like the Theological Dictionary of the NT’s definition:

In Mt. 5:17 (b) the idea is not simply that of validating the law as distinct from abolishing it. The goal of Jesus’ mission is fulfilment. He does not simply affirm the law and the prophets but actualizes the will of God that is declared in them from the standpoint of both promise and demand.(1)

When you join this with what Jesus taught on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection:

“And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25–27, ESV)

They all point to Him; He is the focus of it all. So, could the words on the cross that Jesus spoke right before He died be what He meant on the mount when He said “until all things are accomplished? John, the only disciple that was at the cross when Jesus died records it as such:

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:28–30, ESV)

There are arguments on both sides of the fence on this, but the idea behind the Greek word used for finished is tetelestai. In the LXX this word has such senses as goal, result, conclusion, or accomplished.(1) So if all the law and the prophets point to him and he has accomplished all the demands and requirements of the law, I would think that finished is related to “until all is accomplished”.

After Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven, the disciples began to meet together daily with many of those coming to believe in the Christ, one of the things that occupied their time was that they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. I would have loved to be around then. Can you imagine the excitement, the passion, the loyalty that they had to following Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit? Why did Luke tell us the apostles teaching and not the teaching of the law, or the study of the Scripture which all Jewish people of the time held in the highest esteem.

Moving through the book of Acts there are things we could dive into but we eventually come to Acts 15 and to the ministry that Paul has to the gentiles. As I discussed earlier in this post the problem that was in view was that Jewish believers were wanting the gentile believers to convert to Judaism and follow the law of Moses on top of believing in the Christ.

So, I have looked at and pondered a fair amount of text, there is so much more that can be said but I don’t want to write a book. I don’t want to leave though without saying that the principles found in the law of Moses are still of value. But that value must be found in the light of the Christ and the teachings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I finish with this idea from Romans with collaborates that love, as Christ loved, is ultimately part of the primary commands that we are to obey today. Paul uses a familiar phrase, but we know that ultimately Jesus moves it’s focus to him. He is the focal point of all things.

 “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” (Romans 13:8–10, ESV)

As I ponder all these things, I am sure I will revisit this subject in the near future.

Shalom

[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 869). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

No Ordinary Worm

On By rcannata7In God's WordLeave a comment

“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.” (Psalm 22:6, ESV)

Recently a friend of mine told me about a sermon he had heard on this passage in Psalm 22, he said that the Hebrew term used here for worm was not the normal word used for worm but had another meaning that I should look into. So the following is just a musing of what I have found so far…..

Psalm 22 is considered a Messianic Psalm, it is from this Psalm that Jesus quoted from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”

A person that was familiar with scripture would have recognized these words and possibly have pondered through the meaning of this Psalm in light of all that was happening both at that moment and most likely in the days that would follow.

Of particular interest is this statement in the Psalm “But I am a worm and not a man”. The word for worm in this verse is the Hebrew word “tola’at”. In most of the Bible dictionaries where I looked it up the word could be used as we see here “worm”, but it is also a word that is used to describe the color crimson or scarlet. How is it that this word could have both these meanings?

If you do a word search for the places this is used, you will find it used as a scarlet yarn that was used in the crafting of the High Priest’s garments to be worn for ministering in the Holy Place, the curtains and other fabrics of the tabernacle, it was also used in the coverings of things inside of the tabernacle.

It is thought that the word is a reference to the worm or grub know as (coccus ilicis or Kermes illicis) or more commonly called the crimson worm. The Encyclopedia Britannica has this as a definition…

 A species of scale insect in the family Kermesidae (order Homoptera), the common name of which also represents the red dye that is obtained from the dried bodies of these insects. The dye was often part of the tribute paid to conquering Roman armies, and, in the Middle Ages, landlords accepted it as payment for rent. The oldest known red dyestuff, resembling but inferior in color to cochineal, it was used by the early Egyptians.

Some commentaries on this passage refer to this worm and how it was used in the making of crimson dyes in the Mediterranean area. What most of the commentaries miss though is the fascinating life cycle of this bug.

The male coccus ilicis has wings and is able to fly. Though I have yet to verify the information, in my research I heard a presentation that said that the male hovers over the female during mating but never actually touches the female.

The female will only give birth one time and begins the journey by climbing onto a particular type of oak tree, or wooden post where she attaches herself permanently.

She then creates a hard-outer shell to protect the eggs she lays under her.

When the eggs hatch the babies feed on the flesh of the living mother who is now providing them life.

After a few days the mother dies and at that moment a scarlet liquid leaks out and colors the baby worms and the wood of the tree that it is on. This covering of red dye stains the babies for life.

Three days after the death of the mother, her body shrinks up into a heart like shape that is waxy and turns white. It has the look of wool and flakes off and looks like snow falling from the tree.

If the mother is harvested during the 3 days, the crushing of her body produces the dye that was used for the yarn and fabrics in the middle east and most likely the same process was used in the materials of the Tabernacle. The wax could also be harvested and was used to make shellac.

So, it has been suggested and it is hard to ignore the connections of the symbolism that is represented here. Let’s break it down….

  • Flying male hovering over the female to impregnate her.
    • Luke 1:35 – “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”
  • The female climbing onto a tree voluntarily knowing that she would die.
    • Jesus died on a wooden cross that he voluntarily allowed Himself to be nailed.
    • John 10:16–18 “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
  • The female worm secretes a hard shell to protect her offspring.
    • John 17:12 – “While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”
  • The larvae stay alive by eating the flesh of their living mother.
    • John 6:51 – “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.””
  • The larvae are permanently colored red by the death of the mother.
    • Eph 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ”
    • Heb 12:24 – “and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
  • After the death of the mother she turns white and has the texture of wool and flakes off and falls to the ground like snow.
    • Mark 9:2-3 “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”
    • Isaiah 1:18 ““Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

It is interesting to note that in Isaiah the word used for crimson is the same root used in the word worm in Psalm 22.

Is this coincidence? Maybe we are reading into the passage more than what is really there? Or maybe, our God is so infinitely majestic and powerful that he gave unique symbolism throughout His Creation to point us to the work of His Son. I will let you decide, but it is all very interesting.

Enlightening the Eyes

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedienceLeave a comment

“the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;” (Psalm 19:8b, ESV)

The day that I am writing this is in the time of the counting of the Omer and in just a short while, we will have arrived at Shavuot, the day that it is believed that God gave the commandments from Mt Sinai to the people of Israel.

It is wonderful that the part of Psalm 19 that I am looking at today is focused on “the commandment of the Lord”.

What does this word commandment really convey to us? What does it mean that it is pure, and how does it enlighten the eyes?

The Hebrew word for commandment here is “mitzvah” and if we were to look at a handful of verses where the word is used, you should get a fairly good idea of what it conveys….

““Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.” (Deuteronomy 6:1–2, ESV)

“Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.” (Deuteronomy 8:5–6, ESV)

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:11–14, ESV)

“Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.” (Judges 2:17, ESV)

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;” (Proverbs 2:1–2, ESV)

“My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,” (Proverbs 6:20–23, ESV)

At a top level, the word seems to be pretty strait forward. It is used in the sense of a father’s instruction to his son, or a king to his servants, and when we put it in perspective of the words of Jesus, that the Kingdom of God is at hand, then we see a structure for a culture where we are ruled by God’s instruction and in that, he desires that we walk in obedience to those instructions. What is very important to see, especially in light of Deut 30:11-14 is that they are not very difficult for us, and it would seem that the Lord provides all the means and ability to accomplish His instruction. If you continue to pour through the many verses that contain this word you will also notice that God desires to bless those who walk in obedience to His commands, and yet as in the Garden of Eden, rebellion against his instruction brings forth discipline. Again, the perfect model of a father-son relationship.[1]

So, what does it mean that God’s instructions are pure? The Hebrew word here is “bar” and at it’s root has the sense of being pure, radiant, bright, and clean. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament speaks of the Arabic variation of the word having the sense of reverent, dutiful, devoted, kind, charitable, virtuous, and good. It also mentions that in Akkadian the verb form has the meaning of “to glitter” and as an adjective, the word means pure, as in a pure metal with no contaminates. Looking through the Psalms and Proverbs the adjective also has the sense of something pure or a quality of moral purity.[1]

The next word to consider is the word “enlightening” which has at its root the Hebrew word “or” which is the same word used for light. This word has variations that are translated as shine, give light, brighten, Glorious, shining brighter and brighter, and simply give light. The word can also mean “to become light”.

Finally, we must think about the word for “eyes”. It is the Hebrew word “ayin” and I really like what the Theological Wordbook provides as an opening to its explanation of this word…

More than the eye itself is implied by this word. Occasionally it represents the whole process of seeing and by extension, of understanding and obedience (Jer 5:21). However, in the ot it is the ear which is generally used in this figurative way. The eye is used to express knowledge, character, attitude, inclination, opinion, passion, and response. The eye is a good barometer of the inner thoughts of man.[1]

So, a good way to think about this verse is that God’s instruction is so perfect and pure that as we gaze upon its beauty, it will give us understanding, help us walk a life of obedience, it has an impact on our character, attitude, inclination, passions and ultimately, if the eye is a good barometer of the inner thoughts of a man, then God’s instructions should reveal when our thoughts are not where they need to be and bring us to a place of repentance.

Let us gaze diligently at the beauty of God’s instruction and let it transform our lives into lives that are full of understanding, and a desire to walk in humble obedience to our God.

[1] Schultz, C. (1999). 1612 עִין. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 662). Chicago: Moody Press.

Bible Study, The Gospel, Salvation and Discipleship

On By rcannata7In God's Word, Walk of obedience1 Comment

What is Bible Study? Why do believers struggle with Bible Study, or in-depth study of the word in a small group setting? How is this related to the Gospel and Salvation? I continue to examine my thoughts on this subject and maybe I can be of some encouragement along the way.

Let’s start with a simple definition of our western idea of Study from a standard dictionary…

“Study is the devotion of time and attention to acquiring knowledge on a subject.”

So, if we were to apply this definition to the study of the Bible, we would have something like Bible Study is the devotion of time and attention to the Bible to acquire knowledge on the subject. Essentially, we relate the study of the Bible to the same category as going to school to study a subject so we can fill ourselves with lots of facts and eventually have mastery of the subject in hand.

How would someone in a a Jewish world view the study of the Bible? They would consider study as the highest form of worship.  Most study of the scripture was also done in community or in family. Why? Most likely because it was part of their core understanding of what God desired as laid out in Deut 6:4-9…

““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4–9, ESV)

At myjewishlearning.com there is a short article that is an excerpt from a book by Rabbi Harold Kushner which speaks of it this way…

“Jews worship God through study. The central moments of a Sabbath morning service are dedicated to reading aloud not merely a brief passage from the Bible but several chapters of the Torah, so that in the course of the year, the entire Five Books of Moses will have been studied aloud…….Why this emphasis on study? One of my seminary professors used to say, “When I pray, I speak to God. When I study Torah, I keep quiet and let God speak to me.” ……By immersing ourselves in Torah, we transport ourselves back to Sinai, to the presence of God…..When we exercise our minds and consciences by studying God’s word on how a person should live, when we occupy our thoughts with questions of how to carry out God’s will rather than with matters of finance, fashion, or sports, we feel that we are developing our uniquely human aspect.”[5]

Maybe part of the problem is that the study of the words of God is no longer based on a biblical model and that we look at learning the Bible as an activity that the church needs to do for our children just like school. We are just to busy to have to bother with teaching our children the word of God. Sure, we have recognized this problem, but instead of returning to a biblical model, we develop nice western techniques or programs to try and remedy the problem with more fact learning and fancy ways of motivation with something that is labeled new and shiny. Why don’t we just challenge the body to live out what scripture teaches and hold each other accountable to it.

As I mentioned in a previous blog,  I still wonder if 2 Timothy 3:1-7 is playing out more and more in our culture today?

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:1–7, ESV)

To me, it sure does sound a lot like our culture today. Lots of learning, lots of knowledge, but what is the “knowledge of the truth” that people can’t arrive at? Could it be related to what Jesus prayed in His high priestly prayer in John 17?

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, ESV)

The word here for know is “ginosko” and is a very broad term. In general use, it is a word that could mean intelligent comprehension and also emphasizes understanding. It is also a word that means the act of embracing every part of ourselves in seeing, hearing, and the investigation of people as well as things. It was also a term of intimacy to the level of sexual intercourse. Knowledge of God also meant an acknowledgement of his grace, power, and demand, not just as an intellectual exercise but in action and relationship. John uses the word in such a way as to drive us towards a deep personal relationship with the Father and the Son.

What distracts people from the deep relationship with the Father and son? I have heard many reasons and excuses and even blame, but could it be driven by what Paul said, that people would be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”? I think about how much time people are willing to devote to pleasure and then give God about 5 minutes in the morning, a few hours on the weekend, and maybe some thought in the evening. Yet, we can play a video game all night long, watch hours and hours of sporting shows, binge watch a favorite series on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime, or anything else but find pleasure in God. I am not saying that those things are bad, but that our proportion of time devoted to them vs. God is out of balance.

These problems are not just something of modern culture, even Paul had to encourage Timothy in his day…

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:12–17, ESV)

Then right after this amazing verse about the importance of Scripture in his life Paul says this…

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1–5, ESV)

This is why discipleship, a command given by Jesus to his followers, is so important. But even this simple command has been blurred. Discipleship seems to now be a much broader idea that brings together the Gospel message and Salvation as a major part of the process. But is that what we see in scripture? I do believe that all these things can happen very close together, but they are usually separate parts and functions of the body of Christ.

So, let’s take a few moments to just look at a ideas that bring these pieces together. First let’s think about the Gospel. In its simplest form it is essentially good news. But what is that good news. I really like the concluding definition found in the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary…

The gospel in the NT can be summarized as the message about the kingdom of God established in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, who is enthroned as Lord of all. This good news describes events to which all Scripture points and declares that all principalities and powers are defeated once and for all by Jesus the Messiah. Finally, all of humanity will be judged according to their reception or rejection of this good news.[1]

This is an excellent high-level definition of what the Gospel is, and the final sentence that humanity will be judged against their reception or rejection of this good news is vital to our understanding of Discipleship. Also note that the good news is found in the scriptures.

That brings us to the next piece of the puzzle, what does it mean for a person to be saved? Let’s start with a simple definition, I really like this synopsis from the Lexham Theological Wordbook…

In both Testaments, then, salvation deals with deliverance from danger and a restoration to wholeness and prosperity. It involves victory from forces that threaten wholeness and prosperity, such as enemies and sickness. The NT emphasizes the work of Jesus as the one who saves people from sin and death, but it is clear that salvation is holistic and involves the well-being of the whole person.[2]

Paul was a master at this process and even modified his message to the audience he was communicating with…

Consequently, the meaning of salvation tends to vary depending on how the problem is perceived. For example, if the threat is a guilty verdict on the day of judgment, then salvation entails forgiveness and justification. Where Paul describes people being enslaved to sin, the idea of salvation involves redemption or ransom. If the emphasis is on alienation from God, then reconciliation or adoption is the relevant sense of salvation. When the problem is impurity or defilement, a person is saved by being sanctified.[3]

So, when it comes to the gospel and to salvation, I think what Paul says in Romans 10 brings it all together…

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. [4]

There are those who are sent out to preach the good news of the Kingdom and of Jesus and his work at the cross. It is the word that is spoken that God uses to reveal His Son to the hearts of those who hear the message. They then have a choice to either accept or reject that message. This is not a magic prayer or incantation, it is a genuine well thought out desire to believe the message of scripture and devote ones self to a life of submission to our King. Those who accept the message are the ones that we are called to make disciples of. We disciple the person that has committed to a life of following Jesus. This could be done by the same person, or it may be that God uses many different people to accomplish these things…

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:5–9, ESV)

So, how is all this related to the study of scripture?

Mark Dever in his Discipleship book (Part of the 9Marks of a healthy church series) said this about Bible study in light of Discipleship…

“God’s Word is the seed that ultimately bears fruit, even if we don’t see it in the short term. Sow the word now. Sow with your spouse and kids, sow with other members of the church. And trust that God’s word does not return void”

Discipleship is the process of transmitting the knowledge (this is not intellectual) of God and His word through every moment in life. It’s a dynamic relationship that applies Deut 6:6-7 in our families which includes the family of God.

Scripture seems to play a role in all of the process we have examined above. The word of God goes forth and is heralded, then that Good News is either accepted or rejected. Finally those who have chosen to follow Jesus are discipled by mature believers that can help them move towards a life that mimics that of our Lord.

Paul and his relationship to Timothy is a great example of this discipleship relationship. I imagine that Paul taught Timothy both by example, and also by teaching him as they walked, lied down, and rose up each day. Timothy would have also been present on the Sabbath with Paul as they would discuss and wrestle with scripture and its understanding in the light of Jesus the messiah with the community.

I personally think discipleship is best accomplished in a small group setting, Jesus provided the example, he lived the life of a teacher who made disciples that have gone out and changed the world.

Scripture is the character and will of God. Jesus was scripture embodied and lived out before us, and discipleship is moving people to follow that example.

Let’s not let the study of the breathed-out words of God become an institutional exercise that becomes a burden in our lives, but instead let us find delight in the fellowship of His word both in personal meditation, but more so in community and individual discipling.

[1] Mathis, D. (2003). Gospel. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 673). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

[2] Hamme, J. T. (2014). Salvation. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[3] Morrison, M. D. (2016). Salvation. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ro 10:14–17). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

[5]Kushner, Harold. “Torah Study as Worship.” My Jewish Learning, http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/torah-study-as-worship/.