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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 9:57:51 GMT -5
g3min.org/3-things-required-discipleship/
JOSH BUICE
Whoever said discipleship was easy was misinformed. Paul refers to the work of discipleship as a “struggle” in Colossians 2:1-3. The process of making disciples and discipling disciples is a difficult work, but it’s what Jesus has commissioned us to do. If we give ourselves to teaching athletics, building friendships, or doing service ministry (social work), but we don’t engage in the work of discipleship—we’ve missed our calling as a disciple of Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20). Mark Dever writes:
At the heart of Christianity is God’s desire for a people to display his character. They do this through their obedience to his Word in their relationships with him and with each other. Therefore he sent his Son to call out a people to follow him. And part of following the Son is calling still more people to follow the Son. [1]
As we examine the work of discipleship, there are many different component parts and aspects—but there are three elements that are central and necessary for true discipleship to happen.
Theology
You can build community around almost anything—from coffee to athletics. One foundational necessity for Christian discipleship is biblical theology. In order to lead people to a higher knowledge of God, such knowledge is built upon a firm foundation of the gospel.
This is where many small groups derail themselves in discipleship. They gather over food, have deep and rich conversations, build important relationships—but they don’t have strong teaching and what they do learn in those settings can often be shallow. That’s not the case for all small groups, but that ditch has certainly claimed a massive number of small groups through the years. Theology matters and it’s a necessity to build discipleship relationships on God’s Word in order to see people grow spiritually.
How many older men do you know who claim to have been saved for many years but don’t posses the theological capabilities to disciple someone in the faith? This is far more common than you might think—especially in the Baptist church.
Time
When you read the New Testament, you see that Jesus invested time in people’s lives. He intentionally spent time with disciples, taught them, prayed with them, prayed for them, and modeled a life of holiness before them. Discipleship is hard work because it requires a time investment.
Everyone begins each day with the same number of hours, it’s how those hours are spent that prevent biblical discipleship from taking place. That goes for individual Christians as well as for churches as a whole. In Acts 20:31, Paul described his ministry in Ephesus as consisting of “night and day.” How many churches do you know that seem to be too busy doing everything other than making disciples?
Willingness
It may seem like an obvious point, but true biblical discipleship requires a willingness on all parties involved. The one who is taking the lead in the process of discipleship as well as the one being discipled—everyone must be willing to engage in the process or it will not happen. Before people can learn anything, they must be willing to learn. Before people can follow Jesus, they must be willing to see His example from the pages of Scripture, hear His Word taught, and watch Christianity modeled in the lives of others.
This is why the church is a necessity. It doesn’t matter if you’re referencing one-to-one discipleship, small group discipleship—call it Sunday school, small groups, grace groups, connection groups, or whatever you like—there must be a willingness on all parties to get involved, learn, talk, pray, and put into action the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You can’t force people into discipleship. You can’t guilt trip people into discipleship. Anything less than a willingness to grow as a disciple of Jesus will lead to a broken model—one that may build friendships but may not end in genuine disciple making.
The work of discipleship is not one thing the church does—it’s what the church does. It requires theology, time, and willing people. Without theology—it’s friendship. Without time—it can’t work. Without willing people—it will never work.
Mark Dever, Discipling, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), Introduction.
Discipleship Rises and Falls with the Pulpit
What is a disciple? Many people claim to be Christians, but what exactly does that mean? The first time the title, "Christian" was used it was in the context of opposition and used in a derisive manner (Acts 11:26). What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? In…
The Meaning and Motives of Discipleship
Parenting is Discipleship
The work of parenting is tough. The labor is long and the discouragement is constant, but the joys of parenting outweigh all of it. I'm certain that all parents experience joys in their relationship with their children, but as a Christian parent we approach the work of parenting through a…
AUTHOR
3 Things Required for Discipleship
Josh Buice |
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 9:59:29 GMT -5
Discipleship Rises and Falls with the Pulpit
JOSH BUICE
What is a disciple? Many people claim to be Christians, but what exactly does that mean? The first time the title, “Christian” was used it was in the context of opposition and used in a derisive manner (Acts 11:26). What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? In short, to be a disciple or a follower of Christ means to be a person who learns from Him and seeks to obey Him. Mark Dever explains:
What is a disciple? A disciples is a follower. You can do that by following someone’s teaching from afar, like someone might say he follows the teaching and example of Gandhi. And being a disciple of Christ means at least that much. A disciple of Jesus follows in Jesus’s steps, doing as Jesus taught and lived. But it means more than that. Following Jesus first means that you have entered into a personal, saving relationship with him. You have been “united with Christ,” as the Bible puts it (Phil. 2:1, NIV). You have been united through the new covenant in his blood. Through his death and resurrection, all the guilt of sin that is yours becomes his, and all the righteousness that is his becomes yours. [1]
Discipleship Explained from the Pulpit
The pulpit is the best training ground for making disciples. Through a healthy and balanced preaching ministry, the subject of discipleship will be addressed in a careful way through biblical exposition. Unfortunately, many churches become unbalanced in their approach to preaching and teaching the Bible. Some churches are known for their evangelism and missions while other churches are known for their emphasis upon discipleship. Which one is correct? The answer is that neither approach is accurate. Both discipleship and missions are necessary in the life of the local church—like two wings on an airplane, and without one or the other the plane will go down.
As the Word of God is expounded on a weekly basis, the subject of discipleship will be covered in texts such as Matthew 28:18-20 and all through the book of Acts and the epistles. The work of the church is discipleship. Before one can engage in missions, a person must be a disciple of Jesus and learn how to make disciples as commissioned by Jesus. If you get the cart before the horse or if you head off down the trail without the horse—it will spell disaster in your mission. It’s essential to know what discipleship is before you move on to engage in making disciples.
Discipleship Modeled by Biblical Preaching
The way in which the Bible is handled on a week-by-week basis in the pulpit will go a long way in teaching the congregation how to read and study the Bible. It’s like a pastor who teaches a congregation to be zealous about missions, but he never goes out and shares the gospel outside of a classroom or pulpit setting. How much evangelism do you think his congregation will effectively engage in? The pastor who teaches his congregation to rightly handle the Bible and to study the Bible in the proper context through a literal, historical, and grammatical approach will never see his congregation follow that method if he doesn’t employ it in his preaching.
The reason so many Christians embrace a loose hermeneutic and an allegorical method of interpretation is because they have witnessed that type of preaching from the pulpit for so many years. If a father should not parent by saying to his son, “Do as I say and not as I do,” the pastor should not preach sermons by one method and expect the congregation to follow a different approach to Bible study. Preaching stands at the core of biblical discipleship.
Discipleship Happens Through Gospel Preaching
Discipleship is not centered on models, methods, marketing, and strategies. Disciples are made and strengthened through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Anyone can gather and engage in conversation about life, politics, parenting, and sports over coffee. Only through the gospel of Jesus Christ can true disciples be made and cultivated for the glory of God. How can we know about God’s expectation regarding holiness if people are merely talking about sports and the weather?
Today, the church is filled with hundreds of people who once upon a time called on Jesus’ name for salvation, but they’re not really interested in being a learner of Jesus. Instead, they want the benefits of Jesus without the rigors of being a student of Jesus. They want the joys of being a disciple without the work. John Calvin once said, “Something must be said about those who want to be called Christians but possess nothing of Christ except the title and appearance. They arrogantly glory in His holy name. But only those who have gained a true knowledge of Christ form the Word of the gospel have a relationship with Him.” [2]
Are you a true disciple of Jesus? Are you learning a proper discipleship model from the pulpit in your local church?
Mark Dever, Discipling, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), 35.
John Calvin, A Little Book on the Christian Life, (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2017), 11.
Discipleship: The Neglected Commission
We are right to teach the Great Commission of Jesus to His followers found in Matthew 28:18-20. It's essential for the church of Jesus to be active in the work of evangelism and missions. As a pastor, I've preached many sermons on the subject of personal evangelism and global missions. However,…
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 10:01:01 GMT -5
g3min.org/discipleship-neglected-commission/
Discipleship: The Neglected Commission
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JOSH BUICE
We are right to teach the Great Commission of Jesus to His followers found in Matthew 28:18-20. It’s essential for the church of Jesus to be active in the work of evangelism and missions. As a pastor, I’ve preached many sermons on the subject of personal evangelism and global missions. However, when was the last time you paused to consider the actual wording of the Great Commission?
There’s actually two components given by Jesus to His people in the Great Commission, and one is greatly neglected. One commission involves reaching unbelievers with the good news of Jesus, but the second commission involves teaching those who follow Christ in sound biblical doctrine. Just as both wings on any airplane are mandatory for flight, so are both aspects of the Great Commission to the mission of the Church. We can’t accomplish the Great Commission without faithful teaching.
Defining Discipleship
The very word disciple means learner. In order to be a disciple of Jesus, one has to be willing to learn about Jesus and from Jesus’ own teachings (Rom. 10:17). The evangelical church is filled with people who want to be busy doing things for Jesus, but at times those same people neglect learning. People in the church would often be more interested in reaching unbelievers in Zambia, Africa or the mountains of Ecuador with the gospel than they would to submit themselves to pastors and become learners of God’s Word. Therein is one of the critical errors of today’s evangelical church.
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20).
The word, “teaching” comes from the Greek term, “διδάσκω.” It means to impart instruction or instill knowledge. There are two important components to discipleship in the Christian life. One aspect involves disciples learning truth by receiving biblical teaching. As we look at the early Christians, we see immediately after Peter’s famous sermon at Pentecost, the new disciples were baptized. Immediately thereafter, they are found submitting themselves to the teaching ministry of the apostles (Acts 2:42).
The second aspect of discipleship involves followers of Jesus investing in the lives of others. Titus 2 provides a great model of the older training the younger. Jesus Himself took a small group of men and poured into them. It should be noted that His discipleship model was not merely pizza and video games. Jesus was a powerful preacher and teacher of God’s Word. The ministry model of Jesus was built upon far more than gimmicks and tricks. His ministry was not a man-centered humanitarian ministry—it was a gospel teaching ministry. Unless we want to be learners, we can’t be disciples. Unless we first learn, we can’t disciple others. Beware of the one who wants to teach others but has very little passion to be taught.
The First Mark of an Authentic Church
If we look at the early church, we see an imperfect group of Jesus followers who were learning how to worship, serve, love, reach, and teach through the gospel of Jesus Christ. The first and authentic mark of the church is that of true biblical preaching. If the church is not being built through faithful preaching and teaching, all other activities, ministries, and service will be in vain. Just as the early church was built upon sound biblical teaching, so should our modern day evangelical church as well.
Although we must emphasize a robust preaching and teaching ministry, we must not neglect faithful service. Andrew Davis, in his excellent book titled, An Infinite Journey: Growing Toward Christlikeness, writes:
The Church needs to reclaim a Bible-saturated, Spirit-drenched emphasis on both of these infinite journeys, learning that they are absolutely intertwined. It is impossible for the Church to make progress externally to the ends of the earth if there are no Christians mature enough to pay the price to go as missionaries and martyrs. And it is impossible to make genuine progress in sanctification if the people only read good Christian books and stay in classrooms, but refuse to get out into the world as witnesses. These journeys are mutually interdependent: without progress in one, there can be no progress made in the other. [1]
While we must avoid the false assumption that discipleship is more caught than taught, a church with a robust teaching and preaching ministry should likewise have mature believers who model what genuine discipleship looks like in action as well. Andrew Davis writes:
This one passage of Scripture has been the central motivation for more missionary sermons, books, strategies, and fruit than any other passage in the Bible. However, in an effort to An Infinite Journey Mapped Out “get people saved” (by which they mean justified, these converts having merely “prayed the sinner’s prayer”), they have neglected the fullness of Christ’s command. As I will argue in this book, the goal is for the Church to make mature disciples (learners) of Christ: disciples who are taught the fullness of his word and obedience to all of his commands. [2]
Could it be that the Great Commission is the neglected commission? Like two wings on an airplane, both elements of the Great Commission matter—reaching and teaching. The church that emphasizes reaching but neglects teaching has neglected the Great Commission altogether.
Andrew Davis, An Infinite Journey: Growing Toward Christlikeness, (Greenville, SC: Ambassador International, 2014), 24.
Ibid., 33-34.
That Is Not Evangelism
Any true church of Jesus Christ will be actively engaging the neighborhoods and the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus has given us a clear commission that we often refer to as "The Great Commission" in Matthew 28:18-20. Any group who calls themselves a church but refuses to…
Preaching the Trinity
The greatest and highest focus of anyone's mind is the thought of God. How a person thinks about God matters. If left to our own human reason, our understanding of God would be extremely shallow. By nature, we would know God exists. However, we can only come to know the details…
Money and Missions
On this Thanksgiving Day 2018, we have so much to be thankful for as redeemed children of God. As we consider how we should steward our blessings for God's glory, we all have choices to make in how we will use our freedom, our talents, our treasures, and our time.…
AUTHOR
Discipleship: The Neglected Commission
Josh Buice
Pastor Pray's Mill Baptist Church
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 10:03:01 GMT -5
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JOSH BUICE
The greatest and highest focus of anyone’s mind is the thought of God. How a person thinks about God matters. If left to our own human reason, our understanding of God would be extremely shallow. By nature, we would know God exists. However, we can only come to know the details of who God is through the revelatory lens of Scripture (1 Cor. 2:14). In a similar manner, if left to our own deficient human reason, we would have an inappropriate view of ourselves. That’s why God commissions preachers to preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:1-5). However, preaching the Word is not the end goal. Preaching the Word involves preaching the Trinity.
My assignment for the 2016 G3 Conference is: “The Calling to Preach a Triune God from a Trinitarian Book.” As I prepare my mind for this sermon, I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about Jesus’ expectations of us as revealed in the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 is one of the most memorized and quoted texts in the Bible. It’s often used to teach the importance of evangelism and missions. As I travel to conventions and conferences, I cannot recall one single sermon that was delivered through a trinitarian lens from the text known as the “Great Commission.”
I can recall lots of statistics (mostly negative) about evangelism efforts among evangelicals. I can recall passionate charges to live radically for Jesus. However, I can’t recall one time where a man opened his Bible to Matthew 28:18-20 and explained that our calling is to proclaim a triune God to rebels and then baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The overwhelming emphasis is typically placed on our need to go to the nations and Jesus’ substitutionary work on the cross.
Bruce Ware, in his book, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit writes, “The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most important distinguishing doctrines of the Christian faith and therefore is deserving of our careful study, passionate embrace, and thoughtful application.” [1] I agree with his statement, and that’s why it’s so shocking to consider that so few distinctively Trinitarian sermons are preached in our evangelical pulpits. In a day where pragmatics overshadows doctrinal fidelity, we should expect this – right? Sadly, yes we should expect it, but it doesn’t make it right. Furthermore, even among conservative evangelicals who pride themselves on doctrinal depth and expository preaching, it’s often the case that the sermons preached from their pulpits are focused on the person of Jesus or a generic God without clarification.
Fred Sanders writes, “Nothing we do as evangelicals makes sense if it is divorced from a strong experiential and doctrinal grasp of the coordinated work of Jesus and the Spirit, worked out against the horizon of the Father’s love. Personal evangelism, conversational prayer, devotional Bible study, authoritative preaching, world missions, and assurance of salvation all presuppose that life in the gospel is life in communion with the Trinity.” [2] You wouldn’t get that from most evangelical preaching on a weekly basis. We’ve chopped up and segmented the three Persons of the Trinity and turned our God into a dysfunctional deity in modern preaching.
If we’re preaching the gospel, we’re preaching the doctrine of the Trinity. As B.B. Warfield makes clear, “the nearest approach to a formal announcement of the doctrine of the Trinity which is recorded from Our Lord’s lips, or, perhaps we may say, which is to be found in the whole compass of the New Testament, has been preserved for us, not by John, but by one of the synoptists…It is embodied in the great commission which the resurrected Lord gave His disciples to be their ‘marching orders’ ‘even unto the end of the world’: ‘Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Mt. 28:19).” [3]
Not only should we preach with a distinctively Trinitarian accent, we should undergird all mission efforts, sermons, conferences, church planting efforts, and personal evangelism with the doctrine of the Trinity. Preaching a generic god to hopeless sinners is worthless. They get that each time the sun rises in the morning. The world needs to hear about a triumphant, sovereign, sinner saving, devil defeating, sin conquering, death destroying, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, righteous, loving, wrathful, triune God.
After sinful rebels bow to King Jesus, they are to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. At this point, the work of preaching is not complete. Now these people are to be taught the Scriptures through an intentional Trinitarian lens from a Trinitarian book – the Bible. Until Christ returns and sinners are reconciled before the personal presence of God – our preaching must prepare people to live for eternity with the triune God who has revealed Himself to us in the pages of the Bible.
Matthew 28:18-20 -And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (English Standard Version)
Bruce Ware, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance, (Crossway, Wheaton, 2001), 15.
Fred Sanders, The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, (Crossway, Wheaton, 2010), 9.
B.B. Warfield, The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, Vol. II, Biblical Doctrines, (Oxford University Press, New York, 1932), 153.
3 Reasons Why Preaching Is Not Casual
When you listen to a sermon, do you feel the weight upon the preacher's shoulders? Do you recognize that every sermon is designed to leave an indelible mark upon your soul and to shape you by God's Word? When you listen to a sermon preached, do you get the idea that…
Josh Buice |
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 10:04:58 GMT -5
g3min.org/3-reasons-preaching-not-casual/
JOSH BUICE
When you listen to a sermon, do you feel the weight upon the preacher’s shoulders? Do you recognize that every sermon is designed to leave an indelible mark upon your soul and to shape you by God’s Word? When you listen to a sermon preached, do you get the idea that the overall aim is to bring glory to God? Are you captivated by the drama of God’s redemptive story as you see God’s plan and your connection to the story? If not, perhaps you’ve never heard real preaching.
When J. I. Packer was a 22-year-old student in the years of 1948-1949, he heard Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach each Sunday evening in London. He said that he had “never heard such preaching.” According to Packer, it came to him “with the force of electric shock, bringing to at least one of his listeners more of a sense of God than any other man” he had known. [1]
Preaching Involves a Weighty Responsibility
When Paul charges Timothy to “preach the Word” in his final New Testament letter (2 Tim. 4:1-5), he was not talking about a casual conversational approach to the pulpit. One glance at Jesus’ preaching, John the Baptist’s preaching, and Paul’s preaching will prove that true biblical preaching is not casual. John Piper accurately summarizes the work of preaching by stating, “Preaching is God’s appointed means for the conversion of sinners, the awakening of the church, and the preservation of the saints. If preaching fails in its task, the consequences are infinitely terrible.” [2] In an interview on January 31, 1892, Charles Haddon Spurgeon was asked if he was ever nervous when he preached, and Spurgeon replied:
I tremble like an aspen leaf. And often, in coming down to this pulpit, have I felt my knees knock together – not that I am afraid of any one of my hearers, but I am thinking of that account which I must render to God, whether I speak His Word faithfully or not. On this service may hang the eternal destinies of many.
Every person who enters the sanctuary of the local church and sits down to hear the sermon will spend eternity in heaven or hell. We must never forget that preaching matters. Preaching has an impact upon eternal souls—for good or bad. It is the duty of the preacher to feed the flock of God. Too many preachers miss opportunities to feed God’s flock because they waste time seeking to entertain or motivate. Preaching cannot be casual because every preacher should recognize that every person in their congregation will be in eternity in just a short while. There is a stewardship that comes with preaching. Time is valuable. Souls are eternal. Eternity is forever. George Whitefield once described the type of preachers that he was praying for God to raise up:
And what manner of men will they be? Men mighty in the Scriptures, their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty and holiness of God, and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace. . . .They will be men who will preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes, and upon whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit, and who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives. [3]
Worship Is Not Casual
In many circles, preaching is something that comes after the worship takes place. Far too many Christians fail to recognize that preaching is worship. If we consider the goal in worship and how our aim is always the glory of God, how can that pursuit be casual? How do redeemed sinners pursue God in a mundane manner? The reason this happens in some circles is because the type of preaching the people are hearing is not bringing them into contact with the true image of God and His glory. A low view of God leads to a low view of worship. The result is a posture of worship that’s ultra casual.
One look at the preaching of Ezra in Nehemiah 8, Jesus in His earthly ministry, Peter at Pentecost, or Paul in his apostolic ministry will prove that preaching is not casual. The Jews listening to John the Baptist didn’t listen casually. The ground thundered when such men preached. The problem today is that the ground rarely shakes. Preaching is not like taking another at-bat as a baseball player. The risk as a baseball player is personal glory or the team’s glory, but in preaching it’s all about God’s glory. This should be at the forefront of every preacher’s mind each time he approaches the pulpit. Preaching is not casual because the glory of God is not casual. Too many sermons make the glory of God appear to be cheap. There seems to be no opportunity to behold the glory of God in many sermons.
God’s Drama is not Casual
How many times have you heard people claim that the Bible is boring? In some circles, people claim that the Bible is not relevant, so they use drama presentations in order to spice things up in their worship services. Is the drama of God’s redemptive plan boring? While it’s possible to preach a boring sermon, we must never lose sight of the fact that God’s drama is exhilarating. If preachers will preach the drama of the text in the way God intended, the drama team will no longer be needed in the weekly worship service.
What would your church say about the worship service next week if the additives were removed and people were expected to look earnestly into God’s Word to reflect upon His glory and witness His drama? Would true biblical preaching be enough? Alistair Begg has a noteworthy point that we would do well to consider as he writes:
One of the reasons for the disinterest in expository preaching is surely that so many attempts at it prove lifeless, dull, and even thoroughly boring. I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity of those who are capable of taking the powerful, life-changing text of Scripture and communicating it with all the passion of someone reading aloud from the Yellow Pages! [4]
The next time you worship with your gathered church—look for the thrill of God’s drama as the preacher unpacks the Word of God before you. Worship God with a proper and honoring posture. A true sense of God and His glory will not be a casual experience.
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 10:19:46 GMT -5
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How to Listen to a Sermon
Expository ListeningExpository PreachingLead ArticlePreachingSermons
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JOSH BUICE
One of the most woeful mistakes a church could make would be to teach the people that preaching is something that happens after worship. One of the fundamental truths necessary for a healthy church is embedded in this statement, preaching is worship. Albert Mohler has gone on record as stating, “Preaching is the first mark of the authentic church, the essential mark, the mark without which the other marks do not matter,” he said. “… Where this mark is not found, there is no church.” [1] That sentiment did not originate with Dr. Mohler. His position is clear, but he and others stand in a long line of men who have taught that very truth.
If preaching is the essential mark that validates an authentic church, much emphasis must be placed on preaching in the life of the church. With such a priority that rests upon preaching, the way in which a church listens, interacts, and cooperates with the preached Word is likewise extremely important. Like test-taking, most people have never been taught how to listen to a sermon. Listening to a sermon is often an assumed giftedness. You know what they say about assumptions, right? How should a person listen to a sermon? Is it merely listening that matters? Does posture matter? Should technological gadgets and tools be used during preaching? Is it proper to pray during a sermon? Learning to listen to a sermon properly will be a spiritual boost to your Christian life.
Listen with Expositional Ears
The best method of biblical preaching is undoubtedly expositional preaching. A consistent diet of verse-by-verse preaching is the best way to explain the Bible, teach the Bible, preach the Bible, and it likewise brings about the most consistent spiritual growth in the church. In order for people to grow while sitting under an expository preacher, they must learn to listen with expositional ears. That involves a heart that is inclined and willing to be taught through this method of preaching. J. I. Packer writes, “We complain today that ministers do not know how to preach; but is it not equally true that our congregations do not know how to hear?” [2]
If a church has been accustomed to topical preaching pulled from the latest newspaper headlines, it may take them a good season before they grow to accept and understand the importance of expositional preaching. In the end, a church can have a great expoistor in the pulpit, but if they’re unable to hear with expositional ears, the church will become stagnant and frustrated. Put forth good effort to support your pastor as he preaches expositionally and seek to listen accordingly because in doing so you will unify the church and grow in grace.
How can a church cultivate a community of expositional people? It begins with the pulpit, but the pew matters greatly in this equation. Are you talking with your friends in the church about the value of sequential expository preaching? Are you seeking to develop good habits and methods of learning during the expository sermon? Preaching matters, but if the people don’t have ears to hear, worship is not happening. Alistair Begg said, “When Ezra preached to the people in Nehemiah 8, the attitude with which the listeners came to hear him was crucial. We need to follow their example by committing ourselves to attend expectantly, listen carefully, and apply the Scriptures properly. Then we can leave the service with joyful hearts.” [3]
Look for the Main Point
Looking for the main point doesn’t involve looking all through the Bible during the sermon. The main point of the passage being preached should be the main point of the sermon. Listen carefully to your pastor’s sermon, and take time to carefully follow his movement through the text. Looking for the main point will keep you focused on the text and will cause your heart and mind to be connected in the midst of the sermon. Furthermore, it must be stated that looking for the main point of the sermon is not merely for the pastor who is preaching in the pulpit. The main point of the sermon is for everyone to search out and grasp. Although we should search through the text like Bereans, that exercise is not merely theological and the outcome should not turn us into Bible brats – ready and wiling to argue at the drop of a hat.
Apply the Sermon Personally
Not every preacher will be the same in the way he approaches application. Some preachers are immediately practical in their sermon delivery while others are far less practical in their stressing of the application. This is where is’t essential for every person who is listening to a sermon to apply the sermon to them personally. Important questions to ask during and after a sermon include:
What is God seeking to communicate to me?
Through this text, did God reveal sin in my life?
Through this text, did God encourage me in some way?
How does this text affect my devotion to God?
How does this text affect my worship of God?
This text is more than a story. What is God seeking to do in my life through this sermon?
Why am I uncomfortable? Could it be an indication of sin?
What does this text communicate about our church as a whole? How can I benefit our church through obedience to Christ?
What does this text reveal about my family? How can I communicate the truth to my family?
What are the immediate applications that require action today and the long range applications that will require action days, months, or years into the future?
It’s extremely important to approach the personal application of a sermon through prayer rather than a mere checklist of practical considerations. When praying through the personal application of a sermon, it can allow you to be honest with your anger, disunity, idolatry, materialism, or lack of contentment. A quick benediction followed by a race to the local buffet will not suffice. Most people expect the pastor to do all of the preaching and application for them, but when we put in the effort of genuine self-introspection and self-application it will pay high dividends spiritually.
Cautions to Consider
Don’t catch up on your annual Bible reading plan during the sermon. The preaching of a sermon is not the time nor the place to catch up on your Scripture reading. Flipping all through the Bible while the preacher is trying to preach the sermon is not the best method for taking in the truth of the sermon. When considering how to listen to a sermon, we must remember that listening matters. Trying to search out topics, catch up on Bible study, or researching out a theological point is not the best way to listen to a sermon. Preaching is a time of worship, not personal research hour.
Use technology carefully during the sermon (and please silence your phone). Regarding technology, be careful and be wise. It could likewise be said – be considerate. Is it ever appropriate to take a picture of the preacher or the entire congregation during the preaching of the sermon? Yes, there is a time and place for such occasions, but it’s likely not the typical Sunday worship service. If you would like to document the occasion or capture the scene, it would be best to do that early in the sermon as opposed to right in the middle of the preaching. It will not disrupt people nearly as much in the beginning as it will in the middle. However, live blogging and live tweeting sermons should be reserved for very selective occasions. For the typical Sunday sermon, live quoting and live tweeting your pastor’s sermon on social media is not the best way to take in the content of his preaching. Be careful when using technology devices during a sermon.
Stop trying to write every possible note down during the sermon. Trying to take notes on every point and seeking to write down every juicy quote from the pastor’s sermon is not only impossible, but it will impair your ability to listen. Jotting down a few notes and keeping your attention focused on the sermon is the best method. You can always go back and listen to a playback of the sermon later in order to get the exact quote or statement from your pastor’s sermon. This will enable you to remain focused and in a state of worship during the sermon.
Although I’m a preacher and I listen to a good number of sermons each week, I’m still learning how to listen to a sermon in the most efficient and effective way. Taking notes and examining the text along with the preacher is important, but it’s also not a seminary classroom or hermeneutics class. The worship of God is key, and we must approach the sermon with a heart of worship each week. Consider these helpful words by John Piper:
Skillful listening is a non-negotiable skill for everyone who enters a church building on Sunday or plays a sermon through headphones during the week. Scripture calls us not only to consider carefully what sermons we listen to, but also how we listen to those sermons. [4]
David Roach, “Preaching is first mark of a true church, Mohler tells seminarians”, Baptist Press, posted Monday, February 06, 2006.
J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990), 254.
Alistair Begg, Made For His Pleasure, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1996), 158.
John Piper, Take Care How You Listen: Sermons by John Piper on Receiving the Word, (Minneapolis: Desiring God Foundation, 2012) – Website.
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 10:36:59 GMT -5
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What If the Church Today Followed the Message of Ezra?
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JOSH BUICE
Elder-Preaching
As I grew up in an evangelical setting, specifically in a Southern Baptist Church, I would hear the preaching of pastors and evangelists thundering the need for revival. I can remember when the liberals had overtaken the SBC and infiltrated many other evangelical denominations. I have also heard many patriotic messages centered on the need for a revival in America. While revival is certainly needed today, the main emphasis must be centered primarily upon God’s church. How must the church be revived?
The Message of Ezra
While the Old Testament book known as Ezra is fairly short (only 10 chapters), it was originally combined with Nehemiah and separated into two individual books based on the focal point of the main characters in those two sections.
The book of Ezra contains a focus of revival and renewal of God’s people. Following a horrible scene of destruction, captivity, exile, and ruin—the people return home and begin the process of rebuilding their lives, their temple, and eventually—their wall.
The entire process would necessitate the sovereign will of God to complete it. The focus of the miraculous is typically fixed on the wall’s rebuilding in Nehemiah, but we must not look past the building of the temple too quickly. With all of the opposition and hardship faced by the people—it was nothing short of God’s sovereign power that brought the project to completion.
However, the means by which all of this took place was clearly based on the preaching of Ezra and his commitment to the Word of God. Ezra was no slouch. He was a man who had given himself to the Law of the LORD and was determined to obey the Word, practice the Word, and teach the Word to God’s people. It was this catalyst that caused the blessings of God to shine upon God’s people.
Ezra was not a politician. He was a preacher of God’s Word. His lineage can be traced back as far as Aaron (Ezra 7:5). In the very next verse, Ezra is described as “a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses” (7:6). Ezra was a wise man—fixed on one primary thing—the preaching of God’s Word. The success and satisfaction of God’s people was directly connected to the preaching of God’s Word. When the preaching is weak, superficial, and mixed with worldly ideologies you can expect the people to suffer. When the preaching is strong, courageous, and clearly delivered to the people—you can expect the people to be strong in the power of the Lord.
So it was in the days of Ezra. Preaching brought conviction of sin, repentance, and renewal. This is the cycle of real revival. There are no short cuts to true God initiated revival.
Common Mistakes
The church today lacks a full commitment to God’s Word. While the church and her leaders (pastors in local churches) today often talk about marketing, programs, and other ideologies as opposed to the need for true revival. The clear commitment to God’s Word has been abandoned. The principle of sola Scriptura has been replaced with a commitment to the culture. Denominations like the SBC, once saturated with liberal theology and rescued by God’s providence through a fierce commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture, are adopting worldly ideologies like critical race theory and intersectionality.
When you visit local churches across denominational lines, you will often see various gimmicks employed as vehicles of ministry in order to reach specific measurable marks of success. In some cases, there is a hyper-focus on music as the catalyst to growth and success. In other cases, it’s a false piety—often resulting in dead worship services and lifeless membership. Nevertheless, the church today needs to return to God’s Word. When the Word is central and thundered properly as it was in the days of Ezra—the people can expect to be confronted with sin and God’s work in the hearts of people will be accomplished—resulting in genuine repentance. This is the only way forward, but sadly, it’s the least popular.
Why is Ezra’s Message Needed Today?
The message of Ezra serves as a reminder of how God blesses his people through the right preaching of the Word. Hard preaching produces soft hearts and soft preaching produces hard hearts. Ezra’s preaching was hard—in the sense that it was not a shallow and politically savvy message.
We must never underestimate the power of the Word of God. True revival in individual hearts, whole churches, denominations, and revival that impacts whole nations comes through a firm commitment to the preaching of God’s Word. The answer is not in singing songs, holding concerts, designing programs, political strategies, or marketing schemes. The hope for God’s church today is centered on his authoritative and sufficient Word. Sometimes the work of the Word brings about slow and steady growth, however, at the end of the day when our success is examined by the Lord, we would rather have the fruit of God’s Word on that day—than the fruit of pragmatism or some worldly scheme.
May God raise up men like Ezra who refuse to compromise the pulpit with worldly ideologies. May their message thunder on today for the glory of God.
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 10:52:03 GMT -5
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God’s Word Is Not Broken
Sufficiency of Scripture
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JOSH BUICE
opened white book on brown wooden boards
Some of the most powerful words regarding the Bible are found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “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.” Needless to say, we live in a broken world. As Luther stated in his hymn, “A Mighty Fortress,” the Christian must approach life with the mindset that Luther puts on display in verse 3:
And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us
God’s truth, revealed to us specifically in the pages of Scripture, will triumph in the end.
The Sufficiency of Scripture: Knowing and Worshipping God
The Scriptures are sufficient to provide us the revelation of God, the diagnosis of man, and the hope of the gospel. Apart from the Scriptures, we only see the evidence of God. Although the general revelation of creation shines like a bright light in a dark world, it’s dim compared to the bright light of Scripture. It is through the special revelation of Scripture that we are introduced to who God is and come to know him as he has revealed himself to his creation in a personal way.
From the opening call to worship to the closing benediction, Scripture is to speak with clarity through the entire worship service.
This is why the church is to make the preaching of Scripture the central act of worship. From the opening call to worship to the closing benediction, Scripture is to speak with clarity through the entire worship service. It is through the primary ordinary means of grace that God’s preached Word drives us to worship, adore, and submit ourselves to God week-by-week.
As we come to know God, we turn to the Scriptures to see how God has called us to worship him. Therefore, when we look at the deficiencies of modern evangelicalism in the areas of worship, much of those controversies would be solved overnight if we had a resurgence on the doctrine of Scripture’s sufficiency.
Today, it’s not uncommon to hear of churches employing various methods such as:
*Having indoor fireworks in July
*Inviting Women to preach the Lord’s Day sermon
*Holding rock concerts by over zealous praise bands during worship services
*Replacing preaching with short snippy religious TED Talks
The question remains, what does God’s Word say about worship? Paul addressed Timothy in his second letter and directed his attention to the inerrancy and authority of Scripture (all Scripture is God breathed) in 2 Timothy 3:16, but then he moves on to point out the sufficiency of Scripture at the end of verse 16 and through verse 17. As Timothy served as the pastor of the church at Ephesus, Paul understood that he would need a firm commitment to the absolute sufficiency of Scripture in order to successfully pastor in such a wicked urbane city. That same lesson must be learned once more in our present age. Times may change, but God’s Word remains the same.
The Sufficiency of Scripture: Guarding the Church and Defending the Faith
In Acts 20, when Paul departed, he called the elders to meet with him prior to his departure. It was during the meeting that Paul provided a vivid warning regarding the wolves who would seek to destroy the church. Paul charged them to be ready.
By the time Timothy received this second letter the attacks were pounding the foundation of the church of Ephesus like a massive Tsunami tidal wave.
The heretics had come into the church.
The false teachers had started leading people astray.
The wolves had entered the church in sheep’s clothing.
Enemies of the cross were hindering the work of the gospel.
Timothy, a young and often timid man by nature, was being charged by Paul to remain steadfast in the faith while opposing the heretics. How was Timothy to stand firm in the trial? How was Timothy to pastor the church of Ephesus and stand against the heretics? How was Timothy to wage war on the false teachers? Paul made it abundantly clear, “Preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2).
What lessons can we learn from this exhortation? I believe it’s abundantly clear. We must not give an inch to the encroaching world around us. We must go forward in confidence that we have a sufficient Word that transcends culture and geographic boundary.
R. C. Sproul once said, “I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a technique, in anything and everything except where God has placed it: His Word.”
In an age of confusion on many different levels pertaining to social justice, we don’t need identity politics or critical race theory. We don’t need diversity, equity, and inclusion manuals. We don’t need intersectionality. We need the Word of God. Our culture is confused on matters of anthropology, but we don’t need sociologists or genealogists to direct our paths. Ultimately, we need the sufficient Word of God.
In a day when confusion abounds on matters of human sexuality, our hope is not found in psychologists or the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association. We need the Word of God!
We live in a broken world, but the Word of God is not broken.
We live in a broken world, but the Word of God is not broken. While it may profit us to see how the Hegelian dialectic is being used to deconstruct the world around us in order to create a “Third Way” forward, our ultimate weapon against such wicked schemes, devilish plans, and new world religions is the sufficient Word of God. R. C. Sproul once said, “I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible. Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a technique, in anything and everything except where God has placed it: His Word.”
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AUTHOR
opened white book on brown wooden boards
Josh Buice
Pastor Pray's Mill Baptist Church
Josh Buice is the founder and president of G3 Ministries and serves as the pastor of Pray's Mill Baptist Church on the westside of Atlanta. Additionally, he serves as Assistant Professor of Preaching at Grace Bible Theological Seminary. He enjoys theology, preaching, church history, and has a firm commitment to the local church. He also enjoys many sports and the outdoors including long distance running and high country hunting. He has been writing on Delivered by Grace since he was in seminary and it has expanded with a large readership through the years.
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Post by Admin on May 29, 2023 13:07:23 GMT -5
The Sunday Sermon Is Not a TED Talk
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JOSH BUICE
We live in a world full of ideas. With the highway of information technology, we can access information at any given moment of any given day from most places in the world using something as small as a smart phone device. With all of this information, curious minds are being filled on a constant basis with both simple and complex ideas that are being delivered at light speed—often with conflicting world views and philosophies.
The TED Talk has become a very popular information bank—owned by a nonprofit nonpartisan foundation designed to deliver information to people. According to TED, information is built upon the most important thing in the world—ideas. So, how is preaching a sermon different than delivering a TED Talk? TED Talks are approximately 18 minutes in length while sermons are often longer. It’s more than the length of the talk that distinguishes a Christian sermon from a TED Talk.
Preaching a Sermon Involves More Than Delivering Creative Ideas By Gifted Thinkers
Giving a TED Talk may not follow a specific cookie cutter pattern, but it does center on the goal of delivering ideas. Often TED Talks center on the opinions of people and charged by emotions. Such opinions are delivered with clarity, precision, and a bit of persuasion in order to change people’s understanding of that particular idea at the center of the talk. According Chris Anderson, “Ideas are the most powerful force shaping human culture.”
While ideas are certainly powerful, we must understand that preaching a sermon is different than merely delivering ideas to an audience. Preaching involves delivering truth (Rom. 1:16; John 17:17). The source of the truth is God’s Word, and preaching is the delivery of God’s truth rather than ideas that originated with the one giving the talk (or another figure from history). The goal of the sermon is to unpack a given text of Scripture and deliver God’s truth to the gathered audience—which in most cases consists of the assembled church.
According to the TED website, they search hard to find the most gifted speakers for their events:
At TED, we search year-round for presenters who will inform and inspire, surprise and delight. Our presenters run the world’s most admired companies and design its best-loved products; they invent world-changing devices and create ground-breaking media. They are trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses.
The reality is, most pastors do not meet those standards. God has often chosen those who are not wise and genius level to deliver the truth of the gospel. Paul wrote the following to the church at Corinth:
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).
The sermon isn’t a carefully crafted talk emerging from the expertise of the speaker. The sermon is a carefully crafted talk that should emerge from God’s Word and has one main goal of delivering the truth of the passage of Scripture to people with great care and precision. Because sermons are truth centered and not idea centered—sermons are driving at something much bigger which is the worship of God.
TED Talks Are Not Designed for Worshippers of God
The talks delivered at a TED event are not designed for the worship of God. They are often designed to give credit to the one delivering the persuasive ideas in the talk itself. Preaching a sermon is far different. The overall goal of a sermon is to point people to God—not the one delivering the sermon. In fact, when people hear a pastor who presents himself as the hero of all of his sermon illustrations and stories, they are often turned off by that type of narcissistic communication.
While TED Talks may not be designed for the speaker to be the focus of the talk as much as the speaker’s idea—sermons are different. The preacher has the goal of making God the focus of the sermon rather than ideas or even truths about God. While preachers deliver the truth, that truth is not generic or disconnected from God. The truth itself points people to God and this is how people worship God while a man stands on a platform each week and delivers a sermon. TED events are designed for people to gather information, but sermons are designed for people to worship. People gather information and ideas during sermons, but something more happens when the one listening begins to praise and glorify God.
In short, we must remember that preaching is worship. Whatever happens during a sermon including the delivery of ideas, truth, and much more—the entire event is centered on the goal of worship. In his excellent book Expository Exultation, John Piper writes:
As Paul proclaimed the unsearchable riches of Christ, and announced the good news of great joy, and heralded the reconciling message of the all-authoritative King, he saw that this kind of proclaiming, announcing, and heralding could not be discarded when this extraordinary people, under this extraordinary God, revealed in this extraordinary Book, gathered for worship. The riches of glory, the goodness of the news, the weight of the truth, and the authority behind it all did not become less because it was being spoken among this gathered people. If anything, it became more. [1]
When audiences gather for TED events, they listen to different talks from a wide variety of speakers who are delivering ideas from various different backgrounds and philosophies. The idea is to gain knowledge and become a better human. When the church gathers for the sermon, the people listen to the speech coming from God’s Word and the idea is far more than gaining knowledge and using ideas to become a better “you”—it’s to see and savor the glorious triune God who not only created the entire universe but saves guilty sinners.
When true preaching happens it leads to joyful worship. When the church worships God through his Word—it results in changed lives. Each week when the church gathers the people should be anxious to hear Christian preaching rather than an idea dump in form of a talk.
John Piper, Expository Exultation: Christian Preaching as Worship, (Wheaton: Desiring God Foundation, 2018), 70.
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The Sunday Sermon Is Not a TED Talk
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Post by Admin on May 30, 2023 12:18:45 GMT -5
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Real Christianity Results In Proper Listening, Speaking, and Anger
Quick to HearSlow to Speak
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JOSH BUICE
photo-boards-25QCezs8-oo-unsplash
James was an extraordinary leader who was not only humble but a man who truly walked in the footsteps of Christ. He was known as James the Just or James the Righteous. He was the half brother of our Lord Jesus Christ and served as the leader of the church at Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus.
According to the historical accounts of James, he was known for having knees like a camel due to his faithful prayer life. He was bold and willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. James was thrown down from the top of the Temple (about a 100 ft.) which did not kill him, so according to church tradition, the angry mob dragged him outside the city gate where they beat him to death with clubs.
This is a man who understood what it was like to be a true Christian. I want to learn from men like James. In his short epistle that is packed with pithy statements, he writes the following:
James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
It’s one thing to claim to be a follower of Jesus, but it’s quite a different thing to act like a Christian.
Consider the language of this powerful little verse. Arranged with parallelism, James delivers a punch with his proverbial statement. He’s obviously writing to Christians as noted by his use of the word “brother” and followed by the next phrase, “let every person” indicates that he’s not merely referencing leaders among the church. What follows is for every Christian within the church of Jesus Christ and should be examined carefully. It’s one thing to claim to be a follower of Jesus, but it’s quite a different thing to act like a Christian.
Quick to Hear: The Art of Listening
There is an art to listening. Many people appear to be listening when in reality they’re simply thinking of what they will say when the talking ceases. That’s really poor listening. Proper listening involves processing the information that’s being spoken with a desire to carefully consideration and respect of the individual who is speaking.
There is a need to recover the art of proper listening within the church today. This goes for normal conversation and the worship service as a whole. Listening to a sermon and listening to the singing (the actual words) is essential to a healthy church. However, as it pertains to conversations among friends, meetings, and confrontations—listening is essential to the pursuit of the truth and maintaining peace and unity among the body of Christ.
Due to the speed of information that comes our way through social media, we have become really poor listeners. Dopamine (a hormone in our brain) impacts us with specific reward and motivation functionality. Social media is designed to provide us with instant happiness in a short period of time through shallow information, likes, retweets, and follows. Cell phone companies create notification sounds and buzzes that create bursts of euphoria which communicates to the brain and encourages more usage for the pursuit of happiness and pleasure. In short, it’s like a drug, and like all other drugs—if not used properly it can adversely impact a person’s brain function. In this case, it hinders a person’s ability to focus on things that will not produce that instant high.
The command is for the Christian to be quick to hear, to listen, to engage the other party with a listening ear. The church must recover the art of listening.
We want information quickly and we don’t like waiting on people to speak. We have been conditioned to listen poorly. Our attention spans have become woefully short and that hinders our ability to listen with patience and respect. Notice how James phrases this command, “be quick to hear.” We all know what it’s like to be around someone who is quick to speak, quick to tweet, quick to respond with words, but what James commands here is the opposite. The command is for the Christian to be quick to hear, to listen, to engage the other party with a listening ear. The church must recover the art of listening.
Slow to Speak: The Discipline of Silence
The great temptation is to be quick to speak. James understood this reality because later in his letter he provides a sobering warning regarding the power of the unbridled tongue (James 3:5-6). In the opening section of his letter as he unpacks pure religion, he directs the brothers and sisters in Christ to be slow to speak.
I recall my father teaching me to drive. He as a fireman and paramedic for 36 years in our community. His advice was for me to drive slower rather than faster. He once said, “Son, always remember this simple lesson. A slow wreck is always better than a fast wreck.” As a fireman and paramedic, he had pulled plenty of people out of wrecked automobiles. He understood the devastating results of wrecking at a high rate of speed. A person is more likely to walk away from a slow wreck than a fast wreck.
When it comes to speaking, the same principle is true. A tongue that is moving at a high rate of speed will eventually wreck and the results will not be good. A sharp tongue and unbridled speech is characteristic of a fool. This is why James points the Christians in the opposite direction. James certainly understood what Jesus said about the tongue:
Matthew 12:36–37 – I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
With this in mind, we need to approach conversations, meetings, social media, and cases of church discipline with careful thought before we open our mouths. We will give an account of how we use our tongues—for good or evil. James likewise built his teaching off of the wise words of Solomon who provided the following exhortation:
Proverbs 17:28 – Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Beware of the person who is always setting blazes with the tongue—this person’s faith must be seriously questioned.
When a fool opens his mouth, he reveals his folly to everyone. However, it’s much more respectable to remain silent than to open your mouth and reveal your ignorance with unrestrained speech that harms others and creates division. Beware of the person who is always setting blazes with the tongue—this person’s faith must be seriously questioned.
Slow to Anger: The Restraint Necessary for the Christian
Anger is not sinful if used properly. A passionate displeasure for the things that God hates is not wrong, but to not restrain your anger is sinful (Eph 4:26-27). When we consider the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ was angry, but he did not sin—this proves that anger is not sinful (Matt 21:12-13). However, we must likewise remember that not one of us within our local church is Jesus. We must be very cautious in our displays of anger because of the power, passion, and destruction that anger can bring about if left unrestrained.
Beware of the person who refuses to control his or her temper. This person is a dangerous individual who should be avoided. The Scriptures place this person in the category of a fool.
James commands restraint. He says, “be slow to anger.” Once again, the guardrails must be set accordingly. A hot temper and outbursts of unrestrained passion can be destructive. Beware of the person who refuses to control his or her temper. This person is a dangerous individual who should be avoided. Jesus provided us with a sobering warning in his sermon in Matthew:
Matthew 5:22 – But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Certainly James was building upon the teachings of the Proverbs that teach this same principle. We find these words in Proverbs 14:29 “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” We all know what it’s like to be around a person who is quick tempered. Sometimes people excuse themselves by stating that they inherited a quick temper from a family member. The fact is, all of us inherited sin from Adam, but that’s no license to live in sin. We are to put off the old unsanctified person and put on the new person in Christ (Col 3:9; Eph 4:22-24).
In the Christian life, imagine how fruitful and healthy our local churches would be if we were all pursuing holiness and a life of self-discipline that resulted in being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Communication is key to all relationships in life. It involves listening, speaking, and emotion. In the Christian life, imagine how fruitful and healthy our local churches would be if we were all pursuing holiness and a life of self-discipline that resulted in being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Semper reformanda involves more than holding to reformed positions. It means we are to be always reforming in doctrine and life for the glory of God. The personalities of Hollywood and influences of social media glorify an unrestrained tongue and a hot temper, but the church needs to listen to the wisdom of James—a man who truly followed in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Josh Buice
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Post by Admin on Jun 1, 2023 18:35:58 GMT -5
Real Christianity Results In Proper Listening, Speaking, and Anger
Quick to Hear Slow to Speak
JOSH BUICE
James was an extraordinary leader who was not only humble but a man who truly walked in the footsteps of Christ. He was known as James the Just or James the Righteous. He was the half brother of our Lord Jesus Christ and served as the leader of the church at Jerusalem after the resurrection of Jesus.
According to the historical accounts of James, he was known for having knees like a camel due to his faithful prayer life. He was bold and willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. James was thrown down from the top of the Temple (about a 100 ft.) which did not kill him, so according to church tradition, the angry mob dragged him outside the city gate where they beat him to death with clubs.
This is a man who understood what it was like to be a true Christian. I want to learn from men like James. In his short epistle that is packed with pithy statements, he writes the following:
James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
It’s one thing to claim to be a follower of Jesus, but it’s quite a different thing to act like a Christian.
Consider the language of this powerful little verse. Arranged with parallelism, James delivers a punch with his proverbial statement. He’s obviously writing to Christians as noted by his use of the word “brother” and followed by the next phrase, “let every person” indicates that he’s not merely referencing leaders among the church. What follows is for every Christian within the church of Jesus Christ and should be examined carefully. It’s one thing to claim to be a follower of Jesus, but it’s quite a different thing to act like a Christian.
Quick to Hear: The Art of Listening
There is an art to listening. Many people appear to be listening when in reality they’re simply thinking of what they will say when the talking ceases. That’s really poor listening. Proper listening involves processing the information that’s being spoken with a desire to carefully consideration and respect of the individual who is speaking.
There is a need to recover the art of proper listening within the church today. This goes for normal conversation and the worship service as a whole. Listening to a sermon and listening to the singing (the actual words) is essential to a healthy church. However, as it pertains to conversations among friends, meetings, and confrontations—listening is essential to the pursuit of the truth and maintaining peace and unity among the body of Christ.
Due to the speed of information that comes our way through social media, we have become really poor listeners. Dopamine (a hormone in our brain) impacts us with specific reward and motivation functionality. Social media is designed to provide us with instant happiness in a short period of time through shallow information, likes, retweets, and follows. Cell phone companies create notification sounds and buzzes that create bursts of euphoria which communicates to the brain and encourages more usage for the pursuit of happiness and pleasure. In short, it’s like a drug, and like all other drugs—if not used properly it can adversely impact a person’s brain function. In this case, it hinders a person’s ability to focus on things that will not produce that instant high.
The command is for the Christian to be quick to hear, to listen, to engage the other party with a listening ear. The church must recover the art of listening.
We want information quickly and we don’t like waiting on people to speak. We have been conditioned to listen poorly. Our attention spans have become woefully short and that hinders our ability to listen with patience and respect. Notice how James phrases this command, “be quick to hear.” We all know what it’s like to be around someone who is quick to speak, quick to tweet, quick to respond with words, but what James commands here is the opposite. The command is for the Christian to be quick to hear, to listen, to engage the other party with a listening ear. The church must recover the art of listening.
Slow to Speak: The Discipline of Silence
The great temptation is to be quick to speak. James understood this reality because later in his letter he provides a sobering warning regarding the power of the unbridled tongue (James 3:5-6). In the opening section of his letter as he unpacks pure religion, he directs the brothers and sisters in Christ to be slow to speak.
I recall my father teaching me to drive. He as a fireman and paramedic for 36 years in our community. His advice was for me to drive slower rather than faster. He once said, “Son, always remember this simple lesson. A slow wreck is always better than a fast wreck.” As a fireman and paramedic, he had pulled plenty of people out of wrecked automobiles. He understood the devastating results of wrecking at a high rate of speed. A person is more likely to walk away from a slow wreck than a fast wreck.
When it comes to speaking, the same principle is true. A tongue that is moving at a high rate of speed will eventually wreck and the results will not be good. A sharp tongue and unbridled speech is characteristic of a fool. This is why James points the Christians in the opposite direction. James certainly understood what Jesus said about the tongue:
Matthew 12:36–37 – I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
With this in mind, we need to approach conversations, meetings, social media, and cases of church discipline with careful thought before we open our mouths. We will give an account of how we use our tongues—for good or evil. James likewise built his teaching off of the wise words of Solomon who provided the following exhortation:
Proverbs 17:28 – Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Beware of the person who is always setting blazes with the tongue—this person’s faith must be seriously questioned.
When a fool opens his mouth, he reveals his folly to everyone. However, it’s much more respectable to remain silent than to open your mouth and reveal your ignorance with unrestrained speech that harms others and creates division. Beware of the person who is always setting blazes with the tongue—this person’s faith must be seriously questioned.
Slow to Anger: The Restraint Necessary for the Christian
Anger is not sinful if used properly. A passionate displeasure for the things that God hates is not wrong, but to not restrain your anger is sinful (Eph 4:26-27). When we consider the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ was angry, but he did not sin—this proves that anger is not sinful (Matt 21:12-13). However, we must likewise remember that not one of us within our local church is Jesus. We must be very cautious in our displays of anger because of the power, passion, and destruction that anger can bring about if left unrestrained.
Beware of the person who refuses to control his or her temper. This person is a dangerous individual who should be avoided. The Scriptures place this person in the category of a fool.
James commands restraint. He says, “be slow to anger.” Once again, the guardrails must be set accordingly. A hot temper and outbursts of unrestrained passion can be destructive. Beware of the person who refuses to control his or her temper. This person is a dangerous individual who should be avoided. Jesus provided us with a sobering warning in his sermon in Matthew:
Matthew 5:22 – But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
Certainly James was building upon the teachings of the Proverbs that teach this same principle. We find these words in Proverbs 14:29 “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” We all know what it’s like to be around a person who is quick tempered. Sometimes people excuse themselves by stating that they inherited a quick temper from a family member. The fact is, all of us inherited sin from Adam, but that’s no license to live in sin. We are to put off the old unsanctified person and put on the new person in Christ (Col 3:9; Eph 4:22-24).
In the Christian life, imagine how fruitful and healthy our local churches would be if we were all pursuing holiness and a life of self-discipline that resulted in being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Communication is key to all relationships in life. It involves listening, speaking, and emotion. In the Christian life, imagine how fruitful and healthy our local churches would be if we were all pursuing holiness and a life of self-discipline that resulted in being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Semper reformanda involves more than holding to reformed positions. It means we are to be always reforming in doctrine and life for the glory of God. The personalities of Hollywood and influences of social media glorify an unrestrained tongue and a hot temper, but the church needs to listen to the wisdom of James—a man who truly followed in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Post by Admin on Jun 3, 2023 9:57:25 GMT -5
Unsound Teaching Produces Unsound Churches
JOSH BUICE
Molehills-Mountains-Discernment
The calling of the pastor is to lead the church through a faithful teaching ministry. His doctrine must be healthy or it will have a negative impact upon the entire church. This is why Paul instructs Titus to be certain that his teaching was sound, which is another way of saying it must be healthy.
Titus 2:1 – But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
The Contrast of the Faithful Pastor and the Unfaithful Heretics
Notice how Paul begins this verse. He writes, “But as for you.” This was a means of providing a vivid contrast to the evil enemies of the cross who were plaguing God’s people. The teaching of Titus must have a completely different aroma than the teaching of the heretics. People should be able to notice the difference without being confused.
This is critically important as we consider the preaching and teaching of faithful pastors. They must be so closely aligned with God’s Word and so consumed with the gospel that there is no mistaking their teaching with the false teaching of those who seek to lead people astray with false doctrine. Sound doctrine and false doctrine must be clearly distinguished from one another.
The Calling of the Pastor
The calling of the pastor is to the task of preaching and teaching holy Scripture. Notice that Paul didn’t call Titus to entertain the people. It should be further noted that Paul didn’t instruct Titus to engage in the work of psychology or sociology. The calling of Titus was to teach the Word of God and to appoint elders to that same task in the context of local churches across the island of Crete.
Paul says, “teach” which is the Greek term, “λαλέω” meaning to express oneself by speaking. It literally means to talk. When connected with sound doctrine, this places the contextual emphasis upon imparting knowledge in a formal sense of teaching. It was Martyn Lloyd-Jones who once said the following:
Preaching the Word is the primary task of the Church, the primary task of the leaders of the Church, the people who are set in this position of authority; and we must not allow anything to deflect us from this, however good the cause, however great the need.
Certainly the pastor wears many hats as it pertains to the work of shepherding. The most important task and the central calling of the pastor is to the preparation for and faithful teaching of God’s Word. The pastor can do a hundred things well, but if he fails in this one area, he is an unfit pastor who fails in his calling to the office of an elder.
The Message of the Pastor
The message of the pastor must be healthy. That’s the meaning of Paul’s word to Titus when he instructs him to deliver sound doctrine. Literally he’s saying, “teach with healthy teaching.” The word used by Paul for doctrine is “διδασκαλία” which came to be used in the New Testament, especially in the pastoral epistles, to mean the sum of the body of teaching by the apostles.
For that reason, we often say, “doctrine matters.” By way of contrast, Paul had warned Titus that the Cretans were known as liars. The heretics who were peddling a false gospel were not to be trusted because they had come into the community of the Christians insisting on salvation by grace plus law. In short, these two groups that were impacting the church on the island of Crete were teaching unsound doctrines.
The unadulterated Word of God is what the local church needs. Anything else will not fulfill the people and will lead to unrest, lawless behavior, and ultimately will be so dull that it will not penetrate the hearts of people and will be incapable of saving the soul (James 1:21; 1 Tim. 1:10; 2 Tim. 3:16). Unsound preaching leads to unsound living. Paul understood that Titus’ responsibility was to disciple elders who would disciple local churches.
As we consider the landscape of our evangelical culture today, we must avoid the popular trappings that entangle so many local church leaders and subsequently—entire churches. It was once a very popular trend to replace preaching with psychology. Today, the popular trend seems to be centered on replacing theology with sociology. What this does is place an emphasis on anthropology rather than theology. Such an unhealthy focus leads churches to become fixated upon man rather than God. This approach to the church today will result in division rather than unity and frustration rather than doxology.
Unsound teaching will produce unsound churches. It would do us well to remember that the world around us is constantly seeking to deform the church. We must be striving for ongoing reformation as we seek to honor God through biblically informed worship and a lifestyle that is consistent with a pursuit of holiness.
AUTHOR
Molehills-Mountains-Discernment
Josh Buice
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Post by Admin on Jun 3, 2023 13:36:33 GMT -5
Why You Should Fear God
JOSH BUICE
Fear-of-God
According to statistics, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness, affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older. That equates to 18.1% of the total population. When we consider the vast number of people who are plagued with fear, it’s amazing to consider that there are many different types of causes or sources to the anxiety. There is a phobia based anxiety and then a more general anxiety disorder as well. At the end of the day, millions of people in America are afraid of many different things, but we would be shocked to know how small the percentage of people is in America who actually fear God.
Why You Should Fear the Wrath of God
There are many people today who are living life in complete rejection of God’s presence and complete denial of his authority. Some claim to be agnostic while others embrace atheism. Still others live such lives as Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Catholics while rejecting the authority of God. Religion is not what shields people from God’s wrath. Countless numbers of people have gone to hell while being very much committed to religion.
Years ago, a wicked Pharaoh ruled Egypt and placed the Jews under brutal slave practices. God raised up a prophet named Moses to lead the people out of the land of Egypt. However, when Moses went before the wicked king to announce the plan and demands of God, the arrogant king responded by saying, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). It would not be long before the God of all creation made himself known to the arrogant and confused ruler. It would be a lesson he would never forget. We must not forget that Pharaoh was very much a religious man—but he refused to bow to the one true and living God.
In this life, we have many things that can cause us to fear. Such examples may include the fear of spiders, snakes, or violent storms. Still others fear disease and death itself. While there are things in this life that instill fear into the hearts of people, we must be reminded that we must fear God. Storms and snakes may damage your physical body, but it’s God who can damn your soul in hell for eternity. Listen to the words of Jesus:
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28).
If you have never turned to God by faith in Jesus Christ and repented of your rebellion and the violation of God’s law—you have a reason to fear God. Consider the fact that the very Creator of the entire universe—the sovereign ruler of the entire world has given us specific demands, yet as a rebel of his law you will be judged by him. Holy justice will be executed on your soul and there will be no plea bargain. In short, you should fear God. Jesus said, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).
Consider the terms used in Scripture to describe the place of damnation:
Matthew 5:22 – “hell fire”
Matthew 8:12 – “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 22:13 – “outer darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Luke 13:28 – “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Mark 9:44-48 – Three times the Bible mentions “worm dies not” and “fire is not quenched.”
Mark 9:47 – “hell fire”
Revelation 20:14 – “lake of fire”
Beyond specific references to hell, the Bible likewise uses other references in a more indirect manner to describe the judgment of God upon sinners. Such references include:
Pit (2 Pet. 2:4).
Falling into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31).
Second death (Rev. 20:14).
Blackness and darkness forever (Jude 13).
Why Christians Should Fear God Too
As a child of God, we have the wonderful joy of knowing that all of our sins have been atoned for in the death of Jesus on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24; John 3:16). As a result, we are no longer the enemies of God (Rom. 5:10). We are now adopted into the family of God and enjoy the privileges of sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8:15-17). However, even so, we too must fear God!
When we as God’s children fear God, it’s a different type of fear than an unbeliever who must fear the wrath of God. As the children of God, we learn that we fear God by reverencing his sovereign power, his benevolent love, his transcendent holiness, and his providential rule of the entire universe. Consider what God’s Word teaches about such fear:
Psalm 103:17 – But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children
Psalm 111:10 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 10:27 – The fear of the LORD prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Proverbs 14:26 – In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
Proverbs 14:27 – The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Although this is not an exhaustive list, it’s a good reminder of how we as God’s children should approach God with humble hearts and a proper fear that is genuine respect of who God is and what he has accomplished in the salvation of our soul. A proper fear of God leads to a proper worship of God. A proper fear and worship of God leads to a proper lifestyle that brings glory to God. Without a proper fear of God—we will be led down the path of pride and self-serving that doesn’t bring God glory.
Do you have a proper fear of God?
AUTHOR
Fear-of-God
Josh Buice
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Post by Admin on Jun 5, 2023 22:41:50 GMT -5
The Assurance of the Holy Spirit
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JOSH BUICE
Sermon-Review
Yesterday, I preached Romans 8:14 in our series through Romans. As we’ve noted already, the eighth chapter of Romans is a commentary on the ministry of the Holy Spirit and much of that ministry is centered upon the assurance of salvation. One of the great threats to joy and traps of discouragement in life is the lack of assurance that many people struggle with as they pass through this evil world. Some of that lack of assurance is because of struggles with sin and yet others are merely the ongoing attacks of the ancient enemy of God—the devil. In this one verse, we learn how to have assurance as believers.
Mortification of Sin Produces Assurance
Paul writes, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” The word translated led comes from the Greek term “ἄγω” which means,
“To direct the movement of an object from one place to another.” In Luke 4:40 the text says that people “brought” all those who had diseases and sicknesses to Jesus to be healed. This is the same word translated led in Romans 8:14. It implies movement. To be a Christian will involve movement and this movement known as sanctification involves waging war with sin.
Notice the connection between 13 and 14 as we see the connection language of “For” by Paul which is being used as a hinge. In other words, everyone who is led by the Spirit of God will be able to overcome sin and will be engaged in the mortification of sin. This is not something we can do on our own, but as we overcome sin, it’s yet another proof that we are being led by the Spirit and empowered to victory.
Progressive sanctification is the ongoing and progressive work of the holy Spirit changing from one degree to another—an ongoing spiritual growth that results in spiritual maturity—causing us to become more conformed to the image of Christ than the world. We see this language of sanctification and holiness all throughout the New Testament (1 Thess. 4:7-8; 1 Cor. 9:27; 1 John 4:4; Heb. 10:23). In other words, if you are not pursuing holiness and overcoming sin as a result of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, you don’t have a right to call yourself a Christian. In such a case, you should lack assurance.
The New Birth Produces Assurance
In all of our study of salvation, we must not forget that the work of salvation is a work of our triune God. As we study the Trinity, we must not forget that the Holy Spirit himself is God. He is no less God than the Son, nor is he less God than the Father. He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son—never created and will never cease to be God.In Job 33:4 – The Breath of Almighty
In Psalm 51:12 – The Generous Spirit
In Psalm 143:10 – The Good Spirit
In Psalm 51:11 – The Holy Spirit
In Isaiah 11 – The Spirit of Wisdom, counsel, might, understanding, knowledge, and fear.
In Hebrews 9:14 – The Eternal Spirit
In Hebrews 10 – The Spirit of Grace
In John 14 and 15 – The Comforter
In 1 Peter 4 – The Spirit of Glory
In Revelation 1 – The Seven-Fold Spirit
In Romans 8:9 – The Spirit of Christ
One of the great errors of many within religious circles – even many within evangelical circles – is to place a hyper-focus upon the Holy Spirit. When we read the New Testament, we find that his ministry is to lead us to Christ—not to himself. Therefore, the overarching ministry of the Spirit is to direct us to Christ in the pages of the Bible (2 Pet. 2:21) and to draw us by his work of conviction to a place of repentance and faith. We see this language of being called to salvation throughout the New Testament in verses such as:
called to fellowship with the Son (1 Cor. 1:9)
called to inherit a blessing (1 Pet. 3:9)
called to freedom (Gal. 5:13)
called to peace (1 Cor. 7:15)
called to holiness (1 Thess. 4:7)
called to a worthy walk (Eph. 4:1)
called to one hope (Eph. 4:4)
called to eternal life (1 Tim. 6:12)
The work of salvation is not a work of our human will. It’s a work of God’s saving grace. It is the work of the Spirit who causes us to be born again. After the new birth, we leave behind a life of slavery to sin and walk in obedience and submission to our new Master—Jesus Christ. We become slaves of righteousness. It’s the work of the Spirit to lead us and guide us to truth and to correct us of error.
As we live the life of a Christian, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and leading us, and the Spirit leads us to identify with God’s people in the church. Notice the language Paul uses in Romans 8:14, “sons of God.” That’s family language which implies that we are apart of God’s family. We have brothers and sisters in the faith—God is our Father—we are his sons and daughters. Therefore, we need one another and God never intended for anyone to journey alone. One of the evidences that you are a “son” or “daughter” of God is that you love the church! We are called to love the church, serve the church, forgive one another in the church, and encourage one another in the church.
Love the Church
Romans 12:10 – Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
1 Peter 1:22 – Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart
1 John 3:23 – And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
1 John 4:7 – Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Serve the Church
Galatians 5:13 – For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Forgive One Another
Ephesians 4:3 – eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Encourage One Another
Hebrews 10:24 – And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works
Are you plagued with fears and doubts regarding your salvation? Ask yourself a couple of very important questions as you examine your own soul. Do you have evidence that the Spirit of God is causing you to hate sin and to fight against it? Do you have a love for the church of Jesus Christ? If this is not true of you—you may simply have religion, but your religion apart from genuine faith in Jesus Christ is empty and vain.
If you’re not a Christian today—why not come to Jesus in repentance admitting that you’ve sinned against God and that you need his love and mercy and forgiveness through Christ? If you desire to be a Christian – it’s God who works in you such a desire. Respond to him – call upon the Lord even now. He loves to save sinners. Print Friendly, PDF & Email Related
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Post by Admin on Jun 7, 2023 20:22:19 GMT -5
4 Reasons Why You Should Never Join a Church that Does Not Practice Church Discipline
JOSH BUICE
Church-Discipline-Church
On a fairly regular basis, I have people who reach out to me for local church recommendations as they’re planning a big move across state lines. Sometimes I have connections to that area and sometimes I have no church that I could recommend. When I evaluate a church for recommendation, there are several key factors that play into the equation that will determine whether or not I could recommend it to my friends or network through G3—and one of those factors at the top of the list is biblical church discipline.
Christ Commanded the Practice of Church Discipline
The basis of church discipline is found not in theological textbooks or circles of serious minded evangelicals—but in the very words of Jesus to his Church. In Matthew 18:15-20, we find Jesus’ command to practice church discipline. That passage, which is sadly overlooked and neglected, is the foundation for how the church must confront sin. It was the basis for the apostles as they engaged in church discipline as they engaged in the planting and formation of local churches beyond the borders of Israel.
In Corinth, a man was engaged in sexual sin with his father’s wife (his step-mom), and Paul’s words to the church can be found in 1 Corinthians 5. Paul told the church at Corinth to “purge out” and to “deliver his soul to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved.”
In Thessalonica, the church needed to practice church discipline, and Paul wrote a letter to them that directed them in that very direction. In 2 Thessalonians 3, we find Paul’s instructions to refrain from keeping company with any brother (speaking of a church member) who refused to live in a Christ honoring manner. In other words, those who persist in sinful living, Paul said to refrain from having fellowship with them. He concluded by writing the following, “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:14-15).
Once again, we find these words in Titus 3:10, “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject.” The church must was called to practice church discipline, and Jesus’ command was the basis (notice the reference to the first and second admonition). Christ’s command became the firm foundation that provided direction on how each of these specific cases were addressed.
Throughout history, from the early days of the apostles and beyond—church discipline was a common practice. Gregory A. Wills, a professor of Church History and noted historian commented, “To an antebellum Baptist, a church without discipline would hardly have counted as a church.” [1] In each case, from the apostolic era to the antebellum era—Christ’s command was the basis for the practice of church discipline.
You Want a Church that Will Confront Your Sin
When joining a church, you want to be certain that the pastors who oversee the church and the members who make up the church take spiritual accountability seriously. A church that condones sin is a dangerous place for your soul. Not only your soul, but you must consider the spiritual wellbeing of your entire family (your spouse and children).
It’s not just about the sin of another person that you want to be sure is dealt with in the life of the church, but it’s your own sin—the sin that if left alone will spread like a cancer—that must be confronted, rebuked, and disciplined. For that reason, you need a church that will get in your business and rebuke you if you were to walk astray. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” In an age that chants Matthew 7:1 at any sign of rebuke or confrontation—we must remember that the most loving thing a church can do for you and your family is engage in the practice of biblical church discipline.
Beyond your sin and your friend’s sin within the church, you want a church that’s committed to disciplining church leaders who walk astray. You never want to be in a church that refuses to confront and rebuke pastors who abuse their positions and persist in sin (1 Tim. 5:19).
Church Discipline Helps Purify the Bride of Christ
The Church is depicted as the bride of Christ (Mark 2:19; Eph. 5:22-23). For a local church to ignore sinful behaviors among the members and refuse to engage in church discipline is to turn the bride of Christ into a shameful harlot in the eyes of the world.
Biblical church discipline is a means whereby the very bride of Christ is kept pure and without shame in the eyes of the world. The purity of Christ’s bride is a serious thing that we must regard as a priority—not just for the watching world—but for the glory of God. In the analogy that Paul is making about the husband’s care for his bride, he uses the relationship between Jesus and the Church. Notice the language of purity:
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5:25-27).
The bride of Christ should be presented to him without blemish and spot or any impurity. Just as the Jewish custom of washing the bride and presenting her to the groom clean and whole without spot or stained garments—so the Church must be presented to Christ in the same manner.
Without Church Discipline—It Is Not a True Church
We have all heard the excuses of unbelievers who point to the church as a bunch of hypocrites, and when we consider the fact that church discipline is rarely practiced in our day, such a statement should not be a surprise. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once made this very sobering statement, “And what calls itself a church which does not believe in discipline, and does not use it and apply it, is therefore not a true church.” Traditionally, throughout church history, scholars and theologians (and average church members) would evaluate the authenticity of a local church on the basis of three primary marks:
The right preaching of God’s Word
The right administration of the sacraments / ordinances
The practice of biblical church discipline
Therefore, the statement of Lloyd-Jones doesn’t seem to be such a radical statement when you consider the fact that church discipline was not only expected, but considered a necessity within the life of the local church in years past. Today, it’s quite possible to find entire cities without a church that practices biblical church discipline. It was J.L. Dagg who once remarked, “It has been remarked, that when discipline leaves a church, Christ goes with it.” [2]
We must come to the sobering reality that what many people call a church in our day is simply a country club in the name of Jesus rather than a local church. It may seem very strange to modern Christians, but the church should guard the front door of membership and put a high fence up around the Lord’s Supper table as well. A refusal to discipline members and to guard the Lord’s Supper table is one of the greatest tragedies in modern church history. May God give pastors today both wisdom and biblical conviction to lead their local churches according to the Bible—rather than church growth schemes that in turn lead to scandal.
Imagine the shock as local church pastors who refused to protect the bride of Christ and turned her into a local harlot are called to stand before the throne of King Jesus.
Gregory A. Wills, Democratic Religion: Freedom, Authority, and Church Discipline in the Baptist South 1785-1900, (Oxford University Press, New York, 2003), 12.
John Leadley Dagg, A Treatise on Church Order (Online Version – Accessed 11/9/19)
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