4 Lessons from St. Patrick for Making Disciples the Irish Way

Editor: In our Family History Series we are seeking to understand how Christians of the past have pursued making disciples. We want to connect the church’s current efforts to make, mature and multiply disciples to its historical roots as well as encourage the church to learn from her rich past. So far in our series: 4 Simple Ways Fred Elliot Discipled His Children. —

“In becoming an Irishman, Patrick wedded his world to theirs, his faith to their life.” –Thomas Cahill

 When most of us think of Ireland, we think about green rolling hills and country sides covered in grass. What is not as widely known is that over one thousand years ago on this little island, was the birth of one of the most influential movements in the history of the Christian church. In fact, some scholars argue that the Celtic Christians contributed to preservation of western civilization.[1] Celtic Christianity stands out as one of most vibrant and colorful Christian traditions that the world has ever known.

The Life of Saint Patrick

Before you can fully understand Celtic Christianity, it is important to look at the life and ministry of Saint Patrick. His life is surrounded by mystery, superstition, and myth.  We have all heard of him, but few of us know very much about him. There is a holiday that bears his name and he is known as the man who drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity.

So who was Saint Patrick? Patrick was the founding leader of the Celtic Christian church and was personally responsible for baptizing over 100,000 people, ordaining hundreds of priests, driving paganism from the shores of Ireland, and starting a movement in Ireland that helped preserve Christianity during the Middle Ages.  As we shall see, the life and ministry of Saint Patrick reveal the great influence that he made upon Christianity and the world.

Patricius, better known as Patrick, was born in 389 a. d. in a Christian home in Britain during a time when England was undefended by the Roman Empire.  Irish raiders captured people in Britain and brought them back to Ireland as slaves.  At the age of sixteen, Irish barbarians demolished Patrick’s village and captured him.  They brought him to the east coast of Ireland and sold him into slavery.  During this time, Patrick would spend many hours in prayer talking with God.

Six years later, he received a message from the Lord saying, “Soon you will return to your homeland. . . . Come, and see your ship is waiting for you.”[2]  He escaped from his master, fled 200 miles, and boarded a ship of traders who set sail for France and eventually made his way back into Britain.  It was at this time that he received his call to evangelize Ireland.  He explained his call in the following way:

“I had a vision in my dreams of a man who seemed to come from Ireland. His name was Victoricius, and he carried countless letters, one of which he handed over to me. I read aloud where it began: ‘The voice of the Irish…We appeal to you holy servant boy, to come home and walk among us.’  I was deeply moved in heart and I could read no further, so I awoke.”[3]

This vision had a profound effect on Patrick and he immediately made plans to return to Ireland, the land of his previous captivity.

Tradition has it that Patrick was appointed bishop and apostle to the Irish in 432.  Patrick traveled the Irish country preaching the gospel. Paganism was the dominant religion when Patrick arrived. He faced most of his opposition from the druids who were highly educated and also practiced magic. They constantly tried to kill Patrick.  He writes, “Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity, but I fear none of these things because of the promise of heaven.”[4]

Patrick’s own writings tell a great deal about the man, his ministry, and his love for Ireland.  He mentions several times that his education was disrupted when he was taken captive at the age of sixteen. His writings tell that he was very self-conscious about his lack of education. He said, “I am unable to explain my mind to learned people.”  Although he did not receive the same education as other bishops, he did receive his call directly from the Lord.  Perhaps it was his lack of education that made him so successful in pagan Ireland. His great success demonstrates that he was able to relate to common people in a real and relative way. He had a great love for people and the Lord, which was manifested in every area of his life and ministry.

Part of Patrick’s ministry strategy was focused on Ireland’s tribal kings.  Patrick knew that if a king converted, his people would follow.  When kings would become converted they would often give their sons to Patrick to educate and train in the ways of the Lord. Thus, he persuaded many of them to enter into the ministry. Patrick’s mission was responsible for planting nearly 700 churches throughout Ireland.

As bishop of Ireland, he was instrumental in the conversion of thousands, ordaining hundreds of clergy, and establishing many churches and monasteries. Because of his ministry, Christianity spread through Ireland and into other parts of the British Isles.  Patrick’s mission was responsible for planting nearly 700 churches throughout Ireland.

The churches and monasteries that he was responsible for establishing became some of the most influential missionary centers in all of Europe. Missionaries went out from Ireland to spread the gospel throughout the world. It was the Irish monasteries that helped preserve the Christian faith during the dark ages.

Celtic Way of Discipleship

The missionary legacy of Saint Patrick continued long after his death through the Celtic Christian monastic movement. In the sixth and seventh centuries, Celtic Christianity spread throughout the British Isles like wild fire under the gifted leadership of men such as Columba who established monastic communities in Iona and Aidan in Lindsfarne. These monasteries were not places for monastic recluses, rather they became spiritual centers and discipleship training hubs that sent out missionaries throughout Western Europe. On Columba’s influence, early church historian Bede wrote that he, “converted the nation to the faith of Christ by his preaching and example.”

What made the Celtic way of discipleship especially successful was their commitment to making disciples not just converts by infusing evangelism and discipleship. This is an important lesson. Many churches today focus on evangelism at the expense of discipleship by seeking to win converts instead of making disciples.  The goal of evangelism is disciple making.  The Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28 is to make disciples who will follow Christ rather than simply win converts.  When Jesus said, “make disciples” the disciples understood it to mean more than simply getting someone to believe in Jesus and they interpreted it to mean that they should make out of others what Jesus made out of them.  There are four lessons that we can learn from the Celtic way of discipleship which we will look at in the following pages.

 1. Doing Ministry as a Team

The Celtic Christians did ministry as a team instead of individually. This means they didn’t go out and try to win the world by themselves, rather they went out as a team because the understood the power of numbers.  Each member of the Celtic missionary team played an important role in the whole of reaching the community. Author John Finney observes that the Celts believed in, “the importance of the team. A group of people can pray and think together.  They inspire and encourage each other.  The single entrepreneur is too easily prey to self doubt and loss of vision.”[5] The Celtic team approach to ministry and discipleship is an important alternative to the modern “lone ranger” mentality approach that is typical in so many Western churches and desperately needs to be recovered.  George Hunter says:

“In contrast to contemporary Christianity’s well know evangelism approaches of “Lone Ranger” one to one evangelism, or confrontational evangelism, or the public preaching crusade, (and in stark contrast to contemporary Christianity’s more dominant approach of not reaching out at all!), Celtic Christians usually evangelized as a team by relating to the people of a settlement; identifying with the people; engaging in friendship, conversation, ministry, and witness with the goal of raising up a church in measurable time.”[6]

2. A Holistic Faith

The Celtic Christians developed a holistic approach to discipleship that prepared people to live out their faith through a sense of depth, compassion, and power in mission. The Celtic believers were immersed in a holistic spirituality that had depth and meaning and enabled them to withstand difficult and hardship in their everyday lives. In other words, their faith wasn’t just theoretical, but practical and relevant to everyday life. Celtic Christians were not just hanging out in classroom, but living their faith in real world.

A major problem with much of North American discipleship is that it is one dimensional. Many Christians see themselves as either evangelical, sacramental, charismatic, etc. However, like a diamond the Christian faith has multiple dimensions. The Celtic Christians understood the complex nature of the faith and sought to bring together a faith encounter that encouraged spiritual growth on many levels. George Hunter says that they had a four-fold structure of experiences that deepened their faith.

1. You experienced voluntary periods of solitary isolation in a remote natural setting, i.e. a grove of trees near a stream where you can be alone with God.
2. You spent time with your “soul friend,” a peer with whom you were vulnerable and accountable; to whom you made confession; from whom you received absolution and penance; who both supported and challenged you.
3. You spent time with a small group.
4. You participated in the common life, meals, work, learning, biblical recitation, prayers and worship of the whole Christian community [7]

3. Missional Community

The Celtic Christians understood that mission takes place within the context of the Christian community. The Celtic Christians entered into the community they were trying to reach with the gospel. They would live, work, and eat among the people they were trying to reach. This is contrary to the way most modern Christians try to reach people. They went to where the people were, we usually expect people to come to us.

They knew that God created man to live in community with others. In the context of Christian community, spiritual seekers were able to explore the faith in real life settings. They were able to see the gospel message lived out before them. In this sense, Christian community is a living sacrament that demonstrates the eternal truths of Word of God.

Upon arrival, a guest would be given a soul friend, a small group, and a place for solitude.  A guest would also learn some Scripture; worship with the community; one or more members of the community would share the ministry of conversation and pray with and for the guest daily.  After some days, weeks, or months the guest would find themselves believing what the Christians in the community believe. They would then invite the seeker to commit their life to Christ and his will for their life, leading the new disciple in continued outreach ministry to other seekers.

4. Biblical Hospitality

The Celtic Christians understood and practiced biblical hospitality. The role of hospitality was central in the Celtic Christian ministry to seekers, visitors, refugees, and other guests who came into their sphere of influence.^_ Hospitality was an important part of the monastic community life and ministry.  They would invite seekers, pilgrims, refugees and others to be guests of the monastic community. They followed the Benedictine Rule that said, “All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”

Many Contemporary Christians and churches have lost touch with the Biblical hospitality. It is imperative that we relearn the gift of hospitality, especially in light of its important place in the Scriptures. The word hospitality literally means “love of strangers” and is found several times in the New Testament (Romans 12:13; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9). We are all called to offer the love of Christ to our guests and welcome them in such a way that they would be transform from strangers into friends.

Lessons for Today

The Celtic Christian movement offers several extraordinary insights into discipleship for the church of 21st century. We can learn a lot from the man, Saint Patrick. He is an example of how an individual can overcome tremendous obstacles with the Lord’s help. Patrick went back to the very land where he had been a slave to evangelize. It is like the story of Joseph who ended up saving his brothers who had sold him into slavery. What a powerful example of how God can use our past to minister to others. Many times the Lord will give you a burden to help bring salvation and healing to people from your past.

Even though he didn’t have a good education he didn’t let that stop him from letting God use him. We see that he was able to do great things for God despite his lack of worldly education. His calling came from God and that’s all that really mattered. When the Lord is in your life He will make a way for you. Patrick was used mightily by God to deliver the people of Ireland from paganism, slavery, and sin. He helped bring revival to a nation and to a continent. He stands as one of the great men of the Christian faith.

[1] Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization. New York: Doubleday Press, 1995.  See introduction.

[2] Liam de Paor, Saint Patrick's World: The Christian Culture of Ireland's Apostolic Age, Dublin: Four Courts. 1993. 99-100.

[3] Ibid, 100.

[4] Ibid,  97.

[5] Ibid, 53.

[6] George Hunter III, The Celtic Way of Evangelism. 47.  This section draws heavily from Hunter’s classic work.

[7] Ibid, 48.

—

Dr. Winfield Bevins is the Director of Asbury Seminary’s Church Planting Initiative. He frequently speaks at conferences and retreats on a variety of topics.  He has a doctorate from Southeastern Seminary. He has written several books, including Our Common Prayer: A Field Guide to the Book of Common Prayer. As an author, one of his passions is to help contemporary Christians connect to the historic roots of the Christian faith for spiritual formation. He and his wife Kay, have three girls Elizabeth, Anna Belle, and Caroline. Find out more at www.winfieldbevins.com. Twitter: @winfieldbevins

An Exchange Worth Making

Children often struggle with being fickle and indecisive when receiving or shopping for a gift. Those who’ve witnessed that awkward, anti-climactic moment when a child is clearly unimpressed by some gift they’ve just been given know the gut-wrenching desire that the unfortunate moment would pass quickly. One of the hallmarks of adolescence is an inability to discern the true, objective value of one thing in comparison to another. What glitters in the eyes of a child today becomes rubbish tomorrow. For children, the investment that originally secured the object for them is of little concern.

Christmas and birthdays are a prime time to observe this phenomenon. A child unwraps a gift like a tornado ripping through the aluminum siding of a mobile home, plays with it momentarily, and then drops it in hot pursuit of the next big thing.

Unaware that material goods offer only a fleeting, momentary satisfaction, children convince themselves that happiness will be found in the next best gift. They have not yet learned that discontentment produces only sadness and disappointment. The things of this world are surely passing away (1 Jn. 2:17).

A parent’s dismay at their child’s struggle with idolatry is short-lived, however, when they hear Paul say, “Such were some of you” (1 Cor. 6:11). We are not entirely unlike our little ones, as we’ll soon learn.

A History of Gift Exchange

As adults, we carry on a legacy of gift exchange that works in our hearts like an almost unstoppable force. The next big thing tempts us in much the same way that we see our children enticed by things that glitter. An example of this might be the ensuing fervor that occurs whenever the latest smartphone or luxury car hits the marketplace.

Many people today sit at the counseling table or in discipleship meetings brokenhearted over what amounts to the inability of their functional gods to make good on false promises (Deut. 4:28).

In biblical counseling, we refer to this as spiritual or circumstantial sadness and depression. It’s different from a sadness that’s rooted in biology, but it’s no less real. It doesn’t originate in the brain, as much as in the heart. In a materialistic culture, it’s all too common—even for those in the church.

Ruling desires of the heart not aligned with Scripture lead us into the restlessness of which Augustine warned: You made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its place of rest in you.[1] Humans were created for worship. Indeed, something or someone will always occupy the throne of man’s heart. For this and other reasons, we are instructed to guard our hearts—the wellspring of life (Prov. 4:23).

We fail to guard our hearts, however, when we seek wholeness in career, fulfillment in marriage, happiness in education, comfort in the praises of men, or ultimate rest in recreation. Instead, we risk further estrangement from the God who created us and who now offers us fullness of joy in relationship with him when we continue seeking to exchange what we cannot lose for what we cannot keep (Ps. 16:11).

God the Father is indeed the Giver of all good gifts, such as those listed above, but when we exchange the pleasure of knowing the Giver for the gratification of merely possessing the gift, we reveal the true condition of our heart.

We say, in effect, God may be good, but there must be something better.

A Gift Exchanged for a Curse

Our propensity toward dissatisfaction begins in the garden with Adam exchanging the unspeakable joy of covenant communion with God for the false hope of becoming like God (Gen. 3:5). The horror of Adam’s deception was that he was already like God. Adam was the unique recipient of God’s immortal image and was the pinnacle of God’s creation (Gen. 1:26).

The greatest gift given to Adam at the beginning of human history was not “free will,” but the privilege of being God’s image-bearing vice regent over all the earth. God had already loved Adam, but Adam would ask God, in effect, “How have you loved me?” (Mal. 1:2).

By exchanging the divine gift, that is, his covenantal relationship with God in the garden, what Adam received was not blessing but curse. Not higher freedom but slavery. Not life but death. Not the truth but a lie. Not a deeper faith but unbelief.

Adam believed, in a way similar to an immature child, that he would find in the creation something better than the good gift he already possessed in God. The fruit of this is that we inherit this tragedy from Adam—the curse of sin and death along with a fundamental nature that is altogether different from Adam’s original state (Gen. 2:17; Ps. 51:5).

We continue making Adam’s fatal exchange each time we reject God’s good gift of communion with him in favor of lustful desires for something better in the world. Like Adam, we attempt to seek in the creation what can only be found in God. Like fickle children, only sadness and disappointment await us when we seek to exchange this toy for that toy.

It was C.S. Lewis who wrote in “The Weight of Glory”:

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.[2]

A Biblical Exchange Policy

It used to be that stores would not exchange a gift without a receipt and certainly not after it had been opened or beyond thirty days. Store policies have changed over the years, so much so that shoppers are encouraged to read the fine print on any gift receipt. Shoppers are warned to not lose their receipt or attempt the return of items not purchased at the same store.

Thankfully, the story of the gospel, in both its diagnosis of man’s condition and prescription for redemption and restoration, has never been altered or amended.

This biblical exchange policy, though strict, is incredibly gracious to the returning customer (man) who offers an item (sin) that did not originate with the storeowner (God). Even more outlandish is that the customer seeks an item in exchange for their sin and sadness to which they can lay no claim—the righteousness of Christ and eternal life in him (Jn. 3:16).

The scandal of this policy is the storeowner’s perfect and just willingness to allow and even make provision for this outrageous exchange. Concerning this transaction, Paul writes:

“He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in [Christ]” —2 Corinthians 5:21 HCSB

Unlike children who are bound for eventual sadness and disappointment when the newness of something better wears off, those who receive the miracle of this Great Exchange will never tire of restored peace and fellowship with the author and finisher of their faith (Heb. 12:2).

To be sure, shadows of happiness and pleasure are evident in the world, but shadows do not fill the soul.Produced by that which moth and rust destroy, they leave the heart restless and empty (Matt. 6:19). By contrast, the “holiday at the sea” Lewis alluded to was secured by Jesus for Christians when he traded places with them on the cross.

Writing of this glorious truth, authors Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington write:

In this Great Exchange, we find ourselves arriving at God himself. . . . Far from being slaves, we are now God-esteemed sons of God and Christ-esteemed brothers of Christ. . . . What can this inheritance mean? What blessing can be excluded? What a reward, what grace, what a God, what a Christ, what a Gospel![3]

 An Exchange Worth Making

Much of what passes as clinical depression today is discovered to be situational rather than biological. Some significant percentage of those cases, once the layers are pulled back, are driven by unruly desires of the heart. Satisfaction and contentment in Christ alone have been exchanged for whatever fills the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 Jn. 2:16).

The good news is that despite our great folly when this is the case, God offers hope for prodigals who exchange their birthright for a bowl of soup or who spent their future inheritance on immediate pleasures only to find themselves wallowing in a pig’s pen.

As the Prodigal Son of Luke 15 learned, let us be convinced of our need for repentance and faith in the face of our own misguided exchanges and let us run with confidence back to our heavenly Father who waits for us and stands ready to exchange our soiled garments for a robe of righteousness and our earthly trinkets for eternal treasure.

[1] Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2005), 15.

[2] C.S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory Quotes,” goodreads, accessed August 24, 2015, https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1629232.

[3] Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington, The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007), 168-69.

— Joshua Waulk is the Founder and Executive Director of Baylight Counseling, a nonprofit biblical counseling ministry in Clearwater, Florida. He is married with four children, three of whom are adopted. Josh earned the MABC and is now pursuing the D.Min. in biblical counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is ACBC certified.

Worship in the Waiting

This is  hard to write. It's hard because I feel myself immediately pulled in two directions: discuss worship itself—like how we're all innately wired to worship and how we so frequently direct our worship to creation rather than the Creator—or instead just share some of my personal, sometimes painful, journey with worship. Today I'll choose the latter. God has used one of the things I hate most to teach me about true worship.

Waiting.

I've always hated waiting. My dad is one of those people who takes joy in finding a way around lines, discovering unused shortcuts or somehow increasing the efficiency of things. Both of my parents were brought up under the adage, "Time is money," so from an early age I gathered that waiting is a vice, not a virtue. Subtle "truths" that accompanied this mindset were that I shouldn't have to wait on things, and that it's up to me to change my circumstances to avoid waiting.

I happily embraced those “truths” and carried them with me into my adult life. I relied on myself and believed I was in control. I mistook God’s blessings in my life for evidence to support my own perceived self-sufficiency. But my merciful Father lovingly did what I needed most . . . he opened my eyes to the lies I was living in and wrecked me.

It didn't come at once like a tidal wave. Instead, it was a steady rain—with moments of breaking sunlight and others of blinding torrents.

I've had to wait in the seemingly mundane things like sitting in traffic or waiting for a delayed plane with three kids in tow or even just trying to carry laundry baskets upstairs behind an 18 month old. I’ve also experienced significant, desperate seasons of waiting. No matter what the circumstance, waiting always exposes my heart and desire for control and my true lack of it.

For Andrew and I the steadiest downpour in this season of waiting has come in the form of financial dependence.

God first began to reshape my view of money when he prompted me to quit my first full-time job out of grad school. I had placed so much value on my title and found so much of my self-worth in my accomplishments! God was tenderly peeling that away.

I worried about how we would pay our bills, but underneath that worry was dread. It scared me to death to let go of the control I thought I held. Could I really just depend on God? Wasn’t there a lot I should do to make things happen?

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. —Psalm 37:7

God exposed my wicked heart and unhealthy thinking about money. I used to turn to it for comfort. I believed we needed it to be okay. I believed we were more valuable if we could earn a lot of it. I was embarrassed when we didn’t have a lot of it. I was not generous with it. I looked to Jesus for more of it, focusing on what I wanted from his hand, instead of looking at his face and falling down in worship of him. So what did this Just, Holy, Righteous Creator of the universe do in response to my clear idolatry? He died for me. He took off my filthy, tattered, adulterous clothes and covered me in his robes of righteousness!

We saw the Lord provide in innumerable ways. I got to taste and see that he is good and that he keeps his promises. More of me was graciously being replaced by more of Jesus. It was God's mercy that allowed us to have to rely on him for our daily bread. All too often I returned again to my anemic self-reliance . . . only to be mercifully reminded of the riches of the glorious feast found in Jesus!

I slowly adapted to my new role and loved being home with little Eli. Then we found out he would be a big brother! We sat excitedly in the doctor's office, waiting to show Eli his baby brother or sister on the monitor screen. But they couldn't find a heart beat. We saw the tiny baby there, still and silent, and everything inside me screamed for control. We waited and prayed, but the next ultrasound confirmed it.

Miscarriage.

No control.

I went home to await the inevitable, carrying both a toddler and palpable grief.We were terrified the day it happened. I focused on the physical pain and questions about whether to go to the hospital, but what frightened me the most was the sense that something else was dying. I was dying to myself and my facade of control.

In that moment I felt at peace—unexplainable, permeating peace. Right in the middle of that torrential downpour. I was never alone and God was stirring worship in me, even in our suffering, by displaying his faithfulness and reminding me of his sovereignty.

We processed the loss of our child with time, talking, and lots of the gospel.

Life never stopped during our grief, though at times it seemed like it should. In the four years since then, we have welcomed two new babies. We’ve experienced new challenges. And we have many more examples of God asking us to wait. We’ve learned to see how loving “No” or “Not yet” can be.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. —Psalm 37:5

He has led me further out on the waters than I ever imagined, showing me each step of the way that he is good, that he can be trusted, and that he is for his own glory and my ultimate joy. As God mercifully sanctifies me, I have a deeper understanding of his character that helps me see just how finite and completely dependent I truly am. Knowing God in this way stirs up real worship.

Whatever it is that he is calling you to wait on—a job, a spouse, a child, your next electric bill—turn to Jesus and find much deeper fulfillment than those things alone could ever bring!

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. —Psalm 34:3-5

I can praise God for that little life that we lost and how he used it to increase my dependence on him, bringing me greater degrees of freedom. I can thank him for the pink disconnection notices and overdue bills, because he was showing me that I was running to the wrong things for peace and protection. God has been freeing me from fear. He has lovingly called me out from under the broken, hole-riddled umbrella of self-sufficiency I had been cowering under, to stand, face toward the sky, arms out, worshiping through the downpour.

—

Myra Dempsey lives in the Columbus, Ohio area with her husband, Andrew, and their 3 children, Eli (5), Esther (3) and Gideon (1). Myra works part-time as a Licensed Professional Counselor and School Psychology Assistant.  She blogs at dependentongrace.com, contributes to the blog for her home church, at vineyardgrace.org, and has been blessed to be the keynote speaker at the iAm conference in Powell, Ohio, an event for teen girls. She loves reading, writing, and talking about God’s glorious grace!

Adapted from dependentongrace.com.

The Gethsemane Dilemma

“The rise of individualism has been going on for centuries.” -Jean Twenge

We may be living in one of the most individualistic cultures in the history of the world. For example, in Western society, consider some of the main narratives that are being preached: “Be true to yourself,” “Take charge and follow your dreams,” “It’s my body and I can do what I want with it,” or “Be who you are and say what you feel.” And these are just the start.

Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that these storylines are gaining traction. Are these not some of the ideals that we should expect to encounter in an ever growing secular society? Probably so. However, what I want to discuss is how these storylines should not be thriving within Christianity. So with that in mind, I would like to briefly examine why modern-day individualism has no home in Christian communities.

The Gethsemane Dilemma

I have spent a lot of time recently reading through the works of the philosopher Paul K. Moser. Through interacting with Moser’s penetrating ideas, I have come to see that all Christians enter into Gethsemane to face a dilemma. If you are familiar with the story of Jesus in Gethsemane in Matthew 26 then hopefully you recognize the predicament that he encountered. Read the text and see if you can find it.

36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” -Matthew 26:36-46

The options that Jesus faced looked like this:

• The Individualistic/Self-Centered Option: “My will, my way.”
• The Submissive Option: “Father, your will, your way.”

Let’s call this the Gethsemane dilemma. Of course, most of us know what option Jesus chose. He chose the submissive option. He chose the path that lead to his suffering and death (Matt. 27:32-56). Now I don’t think it takes an expert exegete to recognize that this was not exactly the easiest decision for Jesus. In his Gospel, Luke notes that Jesus was sweating blood and in great anguish during his time in Gethsemane (Lk. 22:44). When Jesus choose the submissive option in Gethsemane, he choose facing the greatest suffering that any human had ever faced. Definitely not an easy choice to make. In Jesus’ humanity, he experienced overwhelming anxiety and fear when looking at the road that he had to journey.

However, let’s not quickly skip over the fact (just because we know the end of the story) that Jesus did in fact have a choice in Gethsemane. He could have abandoned ship or aborted mission and chose a different path. He could have taken matters into his own hands and struck down Judas and all of those who came out to arrest him (an advantage of being fully God). And yet, he didn’t. He chose to submit to his Father’s will and walk that dark and lonely road. The Gethsemane dilemma presented Jesus with a choice, as it does for both you and I today.

Entering into Gethsemane

It would be foolish to assume that 21st century Christians face the exact dilemma that Jesus faced in Gethsemane. It’s not likely you will be crucified and die for the sins of the world. Nevertheless, we must assume that we must enter into our own Gethsemane and face the Gethsemane dilemma each and every day. Here’s how.

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Is this not the Gethsemane dilemma simply restated in a different way? As followers of Jesus, we must enter into Gethsemane and choose either individualism or humble submission. There is no way around it and no loopholes.

Consider how the options might look today:

The Individualistic/Self-Centered Option

• “Be true to yourself.”
• “Take charge and follow your dreams.”
• “It’s my body and I can do what I want with it.”
• “Be who you are and say what you feel.”

The Submissive Option

• “My identity is founded in Christ and he is my solid rock.”
• “Father, lead me down the path that you would have me to go down and help me to bring you glory in all things.”
• “I belong both body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. (Heidelberg Catechism)”
• “God, everything that I am and everything that I have is yours to control.”

I know I’m painting with broad strokes, but my hope is to show that we all must enter into our own type of Gethsemane-like situation and make a decision. The submissive option is not the easy choice to make in 21st century America. It’s counter-cultural. However, we must never forget that we have a perfect Savior who modeled Gethsemane for us. Not only did Jesus show us the right path to take (Heb. 12:2), but he also took the darkest path for us so that we could have fellowship with his Father in Heaven.

In the age of autonomy, submission might seem difficult. Nevertheless, the gospel of Jesus Christ calls us forth into Gethsemane and demands a decision to be made We can choose to submit or decide to make our own path. The choice is ours. May we be a people that follows the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Matt Manry is the Assistant Pastor at Life Bible Church in Canton, Georgia. He is a student at Reformed Theological Seminary and Knox Theological Seminary. He also works on the editorial team for Credo Magazine and Gospel-Centered Discipleship. He blogs regularly at matthewwmanry.com.

The Original Jesus

Then a tiny streak of gold began to run along his white marble back—then it spread—then the color seemed to lick all over him as the flame licks all over a bit of paper—then, while his hindquarters were still obviously stone, the lion shook his mane and all the heavy, stone folds rippled into living hair. Then he opened a great red mouth, warm and living, and gave a prodigious yawn. . . .

Everywhere the statues were coming to life. The courtyard looked no longer like a museum; it looked more like a zoo. . . . And instead of the deadly silence the whole place rang with the sound of happy roarings, brayings, yelpings, barkings, squealings, cooings, neighings, stampings, shouts, hurrahs, songs and laughter.

—C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe[i]

This passage from C. S. Lewis’s epic Chronicles of Narnia series gives me chills every time I read it. Narnia, under a deep freeze as the result of the White Witch’s spell, was emerging from winter. Having defeated death at the Stone Table with a “deeper magic,” Aslan now rescued from death the creatures calcified into statues by the witch.

This image of breathing life into death easily calls to mind the spiritual rebirth we experienced as Christians when Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, invaded our lives. Prior to salvation, we didn’t think we were dead, but we were. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 that without Christ we existed as walking dead, spiritual corpses without any ability to please God. We walked with pleasure in the ways of our father Satan, and had no life within us. But Christ, through the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, breathed life into us. The same life-giving breath that formed life at the dawn of creation has now breathed new life into His fallen creatures.

This creation, redemption, and renewal are the story of Christianity. But I wonder if the church has lost this message in some ways. I’m not speaking about a turn to heresy or those who reject the exclusivity of Christ, but I’m speaking of a development among those of us who hold fast to the gospel. We are tempted to promote a kind of near-gospel that offers blueprints for personal renewal without an emphasis on repentance made possible by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

This Dr. Phil Jesus is attractive in a self-help society. Jesus as a self-help star who doesn’t renew us from the inside but offers a set of vague moral principles by which we can work our way to success. This Jesus is not the one who breathed life into dead creatures but the one who offers a serene pathway to your best life now.

At this point you might ask, “Doesn’t this Jesus offer life principles?” Or you may also ask, “Don’t Christian principles work at times for non-Christians who follow them?” The answer is yes. Christian doctrine holds that all truth is God’s truth. Theologians have long held that the world lives under a concept called “common grace.” This is God’s favor and providence over all of humanity, even those who have no faith in Christ. For instance, a businessman may run his business according to the book of Proverbs—wise and honest, with integrity and fairness—and yet may have never read that book. Along the way he has gleaned useful principles for life, whether from his upbringing, from his application of commonly held best practices, or by learning from wise teachers. And so he applies what can be found in the Bible without even reading the Bible. This is common grace.

Similarly, a husband and wife may enjoy a long, fruitful, intimate marriage and yet not be believers. They apply the things to their marriage that the Bible says makes marriages hold—fidelity, forgiveness, grace—and yet are as lost in their sin as anyone else. How does this happen? It is by God’s favor upon fallen creatures living in His world, under His domain, according to the way He ordered the world to work.

The Bible has good principles by which to live; it is the best collection of wisdom in the world, written by the One who created the world. So in this sense Christians should live by the Bible and be unashamed to declare that God’s way is the best way.

And yet in another sense, the Bible was not given to us by God primarily as a book of wisdom, though wisdom is contained in its pages. It’s not primarily a book of principles, though life principles can be found in its pages. It’s not primarily a self-help manual, though self-improvement can be found in its pages. The Bible is one, long, continuous story, woven through various authors and genres and thousands of years of history. It’s a story that begins with the world as it was intended to be, good and beautiful, perfect and innocent. It’s the story of who we are as humans, created by God in His image and for His glory. It’s the story of a tragic fall and a heroic rescue.

For most of my Christian life, I didn’t read the Bible this way. I’m grateful for the Bible teaching I received growing up, the gospel message proclaimed to me, the Bible verses I memorized, and the hymns we sang in church that have stuck to my soul as an adult. Growing up, much of the preaching I heard was essentially this—how Jesus could improve your life followed with five steps to do better in a particular area of your life.

I didn’t get this message from a liberal, mainline denominational church. I grew up in an ultraconservative church. The way we looked at the Bible was not as God’s unfolding revelation of Himself, the story of His work through time and history to redeem His people. We looked at the Bible as a sort of guidebook for life with a way to get to heaven in the end. It was better than Dr. Phil or Dr. Laura or even Dr. Dobson, mainly because its words were inspired by God and therefore perfect. What we missed, however, was the grand narrative. Thankfully I heard the salvific message of the gospel, but there was so much more of its riches and depth that I missed.

I’m afraid much of our preaching and teaching in the church is like this: merely good, practical, helpful messages by godly men but that could easily be preached at a corporate business seminar. I’m afraid many of our pulpits lack the kind of Christocentric, gospel-saturated, bloody-cross-infused preaching that reminds us daily that Jesus didn’t come primarily to slightly improve us, but to breathe new life into the walking dead.

A Righteous Man Reborn

This kind of proclamation animated Jesus’s ministry. This is why I think the most shocking story in the Gospels may not be His walking on water, feeding thousands with a little boy’s lunch, or even raising Lazarus from the dead. Those events proved that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the promised one prophesied by the prophets of old. But to me, the most surprising narrative is Jesus’s encounter with Nicodemus in John 3.

Nicodemus might have been the most admired religious figure in Israel. If you combined all of the warm vibes our culture holds for Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and Pope Francis, you’d have Nicodemus. He was described as “the teacher” in Israel (John 3:10). When people had spiritual questions, it was Nicodemus who gave the answers. If anyone had a lifeline to God, surely it was this revered teacher of the Scriptures.

And yet in John 3 we find Nicodemus, the learned scholar, teacher, and spiritual leader, asking questions of Jesus, the suddenly popular carpenter’s son from Nazareth. There was something in Jesus’s message of repentance that was different than anything Nicodemus had heard. And sure enough, when Nicodemus asked these questions Jesus confronted him not with esoteric religious philosophy, but with his yet-unseen personal spiritual crisis.

Jesus pointed his finger at Nicodemus and said, “You must be born again.” This doesn’t seem like much for us who live in the West. Ever since Jimmy Carter employed it in his quixotic presidential campaign, “born-again” language has been part of our modern vernacular.

But to Nicodemus these words were a cold dose of reality and kind of a shock. After all, if anyone needed to be reborn, it was probably those crooked tax collectors at the temple, the unrepentant adulterers, and definitely the Romans who occupied the land God promised to Israel. But Nicodemus? He didn’t think he needed rebirth.

Nicodemus was already reborn, or so he thought. He was spiritual, religious, virtuous, moral. But had Nicodemus been reading the Scriptures closely, or how they were meant to be read with a redemptive-historical focus, he would have seen that the narrative of the Old Testament revealed mankind’s dangerous paradox. Scripture reveals a moral law from God that demands perfection as well as mankind’s inability to perform that law because of our depraved condition. The prophets foretold a day when a Messiah would come and establish his kingdom. The features of this kingdom would be a call to repentance and the regeneration of the heart. Ezekiel said God would come in power not simply to rescue Israel from its oppressors, but primarily to give them a new heart (Ezek. 36:26).

Jesus saw past Nicodemus’s outward religiosity and into his sinful heart. He knew that what Nicodemus needed from Him was not just an updated reading on the Old Testament law, a few pointers on how to better serve his people, or a list of best spiritual practices. Nicodemus needed what those statues in Narnia needed. He needed the breath of life from God.

Despite his performance, his knowledge of Old Testament Scriptures, and his status as an admired spiritual guru, Nicodemus was no closer to the kingdom of God than Barabbas, that dangerous criminal being held in solitary confinement somewhere in Jerusalem. Nicodemus needed what everyone needs, the sovereign work of the Spirit of God breathing resurrection and life into what was once dead. Nicodemus could apply principle after principle—even principles found in the pages of Scripture—and still be no closer to the kingdom of God.

What separates genuine Christianity from every other attempt at reaching God is that it aims not for the moral self-improvement of sinners, but the resurrection of sinners to new life. This is not just a distinctive feature, it’s a whole new paradigm.

Jesus didn’t come to be a great teacher and motivator. The stories of Scripture are not merely for our inspiration and enlightenment. We are fallen creatures created to glorify God but willingly worshiping ourselves and our false gods. Unless there is a movement of the Spirit of God within us, we are hopeless and helpless in the world. This is why Paul, that learned Jew, said that if Christ did not rise from the dead, “we are of all men most miserable” (1 Cor. 15:19 KJV). He knew that the human condition is inherently corrupted. We cannot help ourselves, improve ourselves, or save ourselves. Only Christ in his power can save us.

[i] C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2002), 168.

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Daniel Darling is the Vice President for Communications for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC). For five years, Dan served as Senior Pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and is the author of several books, including Teen People of the Bible, Crash Course, iFaith, Real, and his latest, Activist Faith. He is a weekly contributor to Parse, the blog of Leadership Journal. His work has been featured in evangelical publications such as Relevant Magazine, Homelife, Focus on the Family, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, . Dan's op-eds have appeared on CNN.com's Belief Blog, Faithstreet, Washington Times, Time, Huffington Post and other newspapers and opinion sites. He has guest-posted on leading blogs such as Michael Hyatt, Jeff Goins, and Jon Acuff. He is a featured blogger for Crosswalk.com, Churchleaders.com, Covenant Eyes, and others.

Daniel Darling, The Original Jesus, Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, ©2015. Adapted by author. http://www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

6 Reasons Catechisms Make Truth Stick

Many Christians have a hard time knowing how to make "gospel" and "discipleship" stick in our personal lives and relationships. We're called to be disciples who make disciples, but how? In our desperate search to answer this profound question, we devote books, studies, podcasts, and resources to uncover how we live this out. In his short and powerful book The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ, Ray Ortlund champions one pivotal idea: "Gospel doctrine creates gospel culture." Ortlund concisely demonstrates that the Christian life is founded on the truths of our faith, which then become the lifeblood for our relationships. Therefore, our discipleship efforts and relationships must converge with the foundation of our faith. Thankfully, we've had many faithful men and women in our generation labor to help us. But in our search for fresh answers to this question sometimes we forget time tested resources.

What is a Catechism?

A catechism is a collection of theological questions and answers. They are meant for instruction and teaching. Although many evangelicals who are unfamiliar with catechisms might associate this practice with the Roman Catholic Church, many Protestant traditions have gospel rich catechisms waiting to be re-discovered Studying a catechism might seem dated, laborious, and overwhelming for many Christians today. This may be the likely reason they aren't a part of our regular worship and study of God. It's important to note here the various benefits of catechisms, and how easy it is to make them the "glue" for the gospel in our pursuit of a life of discipleship.

The catechisms are excellent tools to focus like a scope of a rifle. They give us clearer insight into who we are, who God is, how we respond, and how to live life with others. Because of the many faithful pastors who have gone before us, we have at our disposal a collection of confessional, rich, and succinct declarations of our God and our faith. They are devices for Christian use that make doctrine and culture gospel-centered. Here are six reasons why catechism make "gospel" and "discipleship" stick.

1. Putting Words to Beliefs

Oftentimes one of the pitfalls in explaining your doctrines to another person is trying to figure out how to put words to what you believe. That seems backwards, but out of fear of incorrectly describing or using too technical language, we often become complacent with "I don’t know." Certainly admitting what you don’t know is appropriate, but it should be our exception, not the norm. Catechisms "do the talking for us," helping us describe in succinct, clear, and assured words what we believe. Personally, this was a huge factor that drew me to using catechisms. Instead of having to create my own evangelistic tract or discipleship program, I could walk someone through a catechism like Q&A2 from the Heidelberg Catechism. In this question we learn the three necessities of the gospel: man's sin, Christ's redemption, and our response, with a slew of verses for support. As our culture grows more post-Christian by the day, we must hold fast our beliefs and have the appropriate language for them. Catechisms are not the source of truth but they can give us structure to speak about it.

2. Connecting Scripture to Doctrine

While the doctrines we hold should be based on the whole of Scripture, the great advantage of familiarizing ourselves with catechisms is that it gives us immediate and clear support for our beliefs from Scripture. This does wonders not only for our personal relationship with God's Word, but it helps us in apologetic and doctrinal discussions with those who ask us questions. For example, say a Catholic friend of yours asks you how many sacraments you believe in. You remember the Heidelberg Catechism question 68 is devoted to this subject. Not only does it give us the answer ("Two: holy baptism and the holy supper"), but it also gives us passages under this answer as Scriptural support (Matt. 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). Divorcing Scripture from our beliefs is dangerous practice; likewise, uniting these two as often as we can help us stay grounded in the Word and able to make a clear defense (1 Pt. 3:15) for our faith.

3. Helping Readers to Interpret

Few people want to spend the time going through a seminary-level hermeneutics class to learn principles for better Bible study. A great place to start in our search for better Bible interpretation is a catechism. Because of this connection to Scripture, we are aided greatly in how to summarize key Biblical texts. We start to see how Scripture not only supports, but relates to our thoughts. Associating ourselves with catechetical thinking will help us approach further Scripture reading with the same interpretative ideas.

4. Committing Truth to Memory

Catechisms exist not merely to serve as reference tools, but as our very own pre-written "flash cards" that will help us learn how to recite and retain what our beliefs are. The practice of Biblical memorization is neglected in our culture, but the catechisms revive the importance of firmly grasping our doctrines and their corresponding Scriptures. From personal experience, I will say that the more effort you put into memorizing of any kind, the easier memorizing Scripture becomes. Using catechisms for memorizing and thus retaining our knowledge of the faith will only propel us into better and quick Scripture memory.

5. Training Children to Study

As a child, I was never exposed to catechisms in my home. I also do not have any children of my own. It is obvious I cannot speak from practical experience in this regard. But I have watched parents wrestle with how to introduce the "weightier" truths of Scripture to their children. Catechisms are a time tested way to do that. For children, memorization is far easier (and thus probably more enjoyable, too!), but also these are excellent conversation starters for children. Naturally, I won't expect my 4-year-old to recite "penal substitutionary atonement" and its Scripture references, but with the help of many "kid-friendly" catechisms out there, such as Luther's Small Catechism, I look forward to helping my children learn the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and other essentials of the Christian faith. When our children have a question about something, catechisms invite gospel conversations into the household. Catechisms can and should become part of our family routine.

6. Teaching Disciples to Slow Down

In today's culture, anything that requires you to slow down is not worth your precious time. To us, "slow" is viewed as a negative word—our minds default to traffic, old desktop computers, and bad waiters! But the practices of meditation and reflection are critical to our understanding and study of God and his precepts. God is infinite, and, therefore, cannot ever be fully known. This is even more reason for us to take pause as often as possible instead of skimming over the rich theology found all around us. Using catechisms helps us take our foot off the gas and take time to consider the glorious, unsearchable riches of our God. As a side note, such an attitude can only help our prayer lives.

How to Study A Catechism

Some people will attempt to memorize an entire catechism; others will find it helpful to use them in a more devotional sense, focusing less on memorization and more on exploring the ideas themselves. There is no one right way to use a catechism; the only wrong way is to leave it unused. Do what works for you. The more we familiarize ourselves with the catechism, the easier meditating, praying, and memorizing the catechisms will get for us.

I highly recommend Kevin DeYoung's The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism to get acquainted with catechisms. DeYoung spends a lot of time providing commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, but his book more than anything outlines the kind of intimate, reflective, and dedicated approach we should take to unpacking catechisms.

Let us labor to use this "gospel glue" to help us stand firm in our faith, ground ourselves in the Word, compel us to unity with our brothers in discipleship, aid us in teaching our children and those we mentor, and awaken us to the rich truth of God himself.

Catechism Resources

There are multiple catechisms that prove fruitful to study. See below for a list of some catechism-based resources that can help beginner and advanced students alike:

• Luther's Shorter/Larger Catechism - Great for families and children
• Heidelberg Catechism - More devotional treatment of doctrine
• New City Catechism - Recently adapted from Reformation catechisms for families
• Westminster Shorter/Larger Catechism - More systematic treatment of doctrine
• Westminster Shorter Catechism Songs: Vol 1 - Holly Dutton (Westminster Catechism Q&As put to music and lyrics)
• Training Hearts, Teaching Minds - Starr Meade (Devotional on the Westminster Shorter Catechism)
• Comforting Hearts, Teaching Minds - Starr Meade (Devotional on the Heidelberg Catechism)
• The Good News We Almost Forgot - Kevin DeYoung

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Zach Barnhart (@zachbarnhart) currently serves as a church planting intern with Fellowship Church in Knoxville, Tennessee and is pursuing pastoral ministry. He is a college graduate from Middle Tennessee State University and lives in Knoxville with his wife, Hannah. He is a blogger, contributor to For The Church and Servants of Grace, and manages a devotional/podcast at Cultivated.

Buying Into Our Own Marginalization

Recently Q Ideas, the conference and TED-like Christian event, posted talks given by Rod Dreher, a conservative journalist for The American Conservative, and Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The two talks are titled, “The Benedict Option” and “The Prophetic Minority.” These two titles represent a wave of Evangelical rhetoric flooding social media timelines and trending topics. Moore and Dreher are proponents of framing the current American Evangelical experience as an “exile.” In an op-ed publishing by The Washington Post, Moore closes his piece by saying, “We see that we are strangers and exiles in American culture. We are on the wrong side of history, just like we started. We should have been all along.”

That same day, Dreher published a piece in Time and on his blog hosted by The American Conservative saying Christians “are going to have to learn how to live as exiles in our own country. Voting Republican is not going to save us, nor will falling back on exhausted, impotent culture war strategies. It is time for the Benedict Option: learning how to resist, in community, in a culture that sees us orthodox Christians as enemies.”

Language that hints at marginalization or exile from a white male is tough to stomach in the 21^st century. I recently heard the novelist Nick Hornby say he stopped writing white male protagonists in his latest book, Funny Girl, because, “I can’t figure out what their problems are anymore.” With a history of privilege, we lack humility and self-awareness when we buy into our own marginalization.We actually have no idea what that even means.

What is an Exile?

But perhaps on a deeper level, there is something sadly untrue about the marginalization rhetoric surfacing amidst the evangelical church. Maybe even deeper lies a misunderstanding of what the “exile” and the “sojourner” meant Biblically. Yes, Scripture (particularly in 1 Peter) identifies Christians as “sojourners” and “not of this world” with “citizenship in heaven.” But are events like the Supreme Court decision and losing culture wars what the Biblical authors had in mind when they used these terms?

My guess would be that if Paul were reading our history, he would not chalk up these moments as our identity as “exiles.” He would probably tell us this is life as a Christian. Jesus, Peter, Paul, and the early church never had anything go their way, nor did they have any hope in the political system to begin with because their beliefs were not predicated and assisted by a political system. It was based on an eternal kingdom that you could not see.

The exile language is Jewish language, belonging to the people of Israel first as a key identity piece that actually reminded them of their sin and disobedience to God (2 Kgs 17:7-23, Jer. 29:4). The word is used, depending on your translation, nearly 100 times in the Old Testament; it is used six times in the New Testament—only four of those times are they referring to Christians, half of which are found in Peter’s first letter.

Where Peter calls the Christians, “exiles” and “sojourners,” it is important to remember he was writing to the church in the Diaspora, or “the Dispersion,” which “originally described Jews or Jewish communities scattered throughout the world (see Isa 49:6; Psa 147:2; 2 Macc 1:27; John 7:35 and note).” This term—again, only used four times in the NT for Christians—is vague but refers to all believers everywhere who await the New Jerusalem as their final home. This is simply a spiritual term used for the broader family of God, which are those who claim Jesus as Lord and fall under the New Covenant. They are, like Israel, exiles in the spiritual sense, not the political.

We Were Always Exiles and Sojourners

Politically and nationally, I do not see evidence of how the culture wars have had an affect on the lives of most Christians everywhere. Yes, we are exiles who await the New Jerusalem, a time where Jesus returns to “make all things new.” Until then, we do, yes, wander the earth as people who are not fully home.

But as Americans we are quite well-off. Furthermore, as a white male pastor, I do not understand how we can apply this heavy word during a time of fantastic freedom and religious liberty. Every day of my life is—despite common suffering and troubles of life as a human being on earth—remarkably good and easy.

For the Christian in America, it seems absurd to claim marginalization politically or culturally. These arenas are still dominated by white men and offer a lot of freedom for Christians to practice worship and preach the gospel. Even though the political and cultural landscape is changing little has changed that will affect our ultimate and eternal mission as we await our new home.

We were wanderers and exiles 10 years ago, and 25 years ago, and 1,500 years ago. That is our spiritual identity and it always has been. As we see the waves of culture and politics go back and forth, we continue to serve the unseen kingdom—serving the poor, widow, and orphan, preaching the gospel, and remaining unstained by the world. That is what we have always done and that is what Christians will always do. Nothing has changed.

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Chris Nye (@chrisnye) is a pastor and a writer living in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Ali. His first book will be published by Moody next year.

4 Simple Ways Fred Elliot Discipled His Children

Editor: In our Family History Series we are seeking to understand how Christians of the past have pursued making disciples. We want to connect the church’s current efforts to make, mature and multiply disciples to its historical roots as well as encourage the church to learn from her rich past. This is the first in our series.

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“Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.” –Psalm 127:4

Fred Elliot isn’t a name I’ve heard thrown around . . . well ever. Despite being mentored by Harry Ironside, his legacy is largely unknown in our present day. However, his son, Jim Elliot, is perhaps the most well known missionary of the 20^th century. Because the saying is true that disciples aren’t born they’re made, it is difficult to understate the influence Fred had on Jim’s spiritual formation. Here are just four examples:

1. Authentically Living Coram Deo

Interestingly enough, Fred Elliot may or may not even have been able to define the term “Coram Deo,” a Latin term, meaning to live in the presence (literally “face”) of God, but all the same he lived it out. And this had a profound impact on the young Jim Elliot. Prior to marrying Elisabeth he wrote to her of his father:

“Betty, I blush to think of things I have said, as if I knew something about what Scripture teaches. I know nothing. My father’s religion is of a sort which I have seen nowhere else. His theology is wholly undeveloped, but so real and practical a thing that it shatters every ‘system’ of doctrine I have seen. He cannot define theism, but he knows God.”1

Jim was often viewed with suspicion by other students at Wheaton College for taking God’s Word at face value and living in obedience to a simple and literal interpretation of Scripture. A skeptic of human attempts to systematize and categorize biblical truth, Jim took the second part of 2 Timothy 2:9 which states, “the word of God is not bound,” to mean that God and his revelation in Scripture could never be contained by human classifications.

Too often we give the impression that assent to accurate theological teaching is indispensable to salvation. Don’t misunderstand me, while salvation is more than just “right belief” it is certainly not less. But believing “rightly” is not the same as “walking closely” (cf. 1 Jn. 2:3). Fred’s relationship with Christ left a profound impact on the young Jim not because he possessed a tidy, buttoned-up orthodoxy, but because he humbly submitted to the living God and aimed to walk closely with him. The Savior’s words sufficiently warn us of the danger of placing one’s study of God’s Word above one’s submission to the Word Made Flesh: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (Jn. 5:39-40). We must take care not to stuff our heads so full of content of Christ that our hearts lack contact with Christ.

It doesn’t take long for a young mind to come up with a theological question that stumps even the most well read of Christian fathers. Don’t lose heart, dad, let God’s grace melt your pride. Seek his face, live authentically in front of it, and teach your children out of the overflow of that relationship. A simple faith lived out sincerely in front of your children will likely leave a stronger impression than a complex theology devoid of an intimate relationship with the Savior.

2. Intentional Time Spent with His Children

Additionally, Fred carved time out of his schedule to spend with the young Jim Elliot and this too left a lasting impression on him. He wrote on his nineteenth birthday:

“My arrival at this point is not of my own efforts […] but by the quiet, unfelt guidance of a faithful mother and a father-preacher who has not spent so much time rearing other people’s children that he hasn’t had time for his own.”2

Anyone who’s ever tried to serve in any meaningful capacity in ministry knows just how demanding it can be. The to-do-list is never done. The temptation to sacrifice your own family for the sake of another family who is in need of pastoral help and discipleship is always present. Even the time with our families that we guard could potentially be interrupted by phone calls and emails if we are not careful. Even before the cell phone and email, pastors were neglecting their own families enough to warrant Jim mentioning it in his journal.

What measures do you take to guard time with your children? Whether you’re in vocational ministry, banking, accounting, medicine, law, or any other profession, what time do you make “sacred” for your family?

There will always be another email; there will always be something on the to-do-list that still needs to be done. Our children, on the other hand, will remember if dad took time to read to them, pray with them, and listen to them. Conversely, if our “quality time” consists of being physically present, but mentally engaged in answering emails on our phones, our sons and daughters will remember that as well.

3. Praying For His Children

Third, Fred Elliot was a man who prayed both with and for his children. “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,”3 he writes in one journal entry, going on to attribute his own affection of Christ to the prayers of his own father. Elsewhere he writes to Fred: “Nothing has had a more powerful influence on this life of mine than your prayers […] thank God you took the time—the value of such is inestimable.”4

He didn’t mince words. The single most effective action Fred took in training his son to follow Christ was praying for him. This shouldn’t be surprising when Christ himself, the only perfect person to ever walk this earth, models a life of unceasing prayer for us. Can we really expect to be effective in any of our attempts to make disciples out of our children if we aren’t constantly stopping to pray with and for them?

I know it’s not super flashy to say, “praying for your kids is important.” And then offer that as the most effective way of discipling them. We all prefer 15 new and improved methods of raising children that love Christ, but the simple fact is that God is a person to be related to and not a set of principles to be assented to. While it sounds so simple and dated to say, it does not mean it isn’t true or that it’s easy. Spending time with God and with our kids, praying to him, for them, and with them (as the Bible so intuitively outlines) is likely to pay off better dividends than jumping at the latest trending parenting method that will be forgotten in six months.

So, dad, live in the face of your God and invite your children to accompany you. It’s easiest to introduce them to the living God when you spend a lot of time living in his presence and praying to him.

4. Making The Gospel the Main Thing

Finally, Fred Elliot sought “to show [his children] the glory of Christ above all else, striving always to avoid legalisms or a list of ‘don’ts.’”5 What else could be more important than this?

I only had to wait nine months before my son, Knox, started walking. Then I quickly found myself saying the word “no” more than any other word. Not surprisingly, he wanted to do everything I told him not to. Why is it the fallen human race is so quick to point out everything that shouldn’t be instead of all the great things that are? The Christian life is nothing less than chasing after the glorious risen Christ. Yet, we all too easily can reduce it to a list of things to avoid or define ourselves by the things we are against.

We do well to follow Fred’s lead. Rather than put a spotlight on all the things that are lesser than Christ and discuss their inferiority, we simply exalt him and give him his due praise and our children will hopefully decide on their own that nothing else on this earth is worth their time.

Christ’s defeat of sin and death is proclaimed as Good News. If we continue to proclaim it as such to our children and show them why it is Good News, perhaps they will follow in our footsteps and live their own lives Coram Deo, investing in their children, and praying for the next generation. None of us will be perfect fathers, but, by God’s grace, we can be purposeful fathersand maybe some of our own sons will shake the gates of hell much like Jim Elliot did.

1 Elliot, Shadow of the Almighty, p. 90

2 Ibid. p. 39

3 Ibid. p. 32

4 Ibid. p. 42

5 Ibid. p. 25

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Sean Nolan (B.S. and M.A., Summit University) is the Family Life Pastor at Christ Fellowship Church in Fallston, MD. Prior to that he served at Terra Nova Church in Troy, NY for seven years and taught Hermeneutics to ninth and tenth graders. He is married to Hannah and is about to be a father for the second time. He occasionally blogs at Hardcore Grace.

Grounded on the Rock

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat agains that house, and it fell, and great was the all of it.” — Matthew 7:24-27

Have you ever experienced vertigo? I am fearful of heights, so I expect to feel some sort of disorientation whenever confronted with this fear. On several occasions I’ve lost my bearings and felt dizzy and didn’t know why. It came out of nowhere. It’s a weird feeling—you lose all sense of control, oftentimes wanting to lay down, but even then solace cannot be found. Sometimes people with vertigo live in a perpetual state of dizziness and motion sickness. I’m married to one. It’s not fun. Even my wife’s own driving can make her feel sick at times.

Sin is like vertigo: it disorients your life in such a way that you lose your sense of grounding. When the foundation of our lives moves away from being the Word of God—idols and false identities gladly take its place. We begin to lose control (and even that makes us frustrated). Our perception of people and the world around us begins to shift, thus causing us to misjudge and make assumptions. We fail to see things clearly. Sin is not just a transgression of God’s Law, it’s a redefining of it. Sin flips our world upside down.

Staying Grounded

In the book of Matthew, these themes of rocks, buildings, and foundations develop underneath the plot. Back in chapter four, Jesus stayed firm on the rock of God’s Word when put to the test by Satan. Instead of caving to Satan’s wishes and circumventing the will of God, Jesus remained steadfast in his commitment to the Father. Here in Matthew 7, Jesus shares a story, contrasting what life is like when you are anchored in him, and what life is like when you’re a fool. The difference isn’t the house, but rather the foundation underneath it. Either the house will be built on a foundation that can withstand the onslaught of storms, or it will be built on sand which shifts around making things unstable, leading to an inevitable disaster.

What many tend to forget is that this theme of “rock” returns in chapter sixteen when Peter makes a profound confession as to the identity of Jesus. While others continue to perpetuate misunderstanding by failing to see Jesus for who he really is, Peter gets it right. Rocky, which was Peter’s nickname, confesses that there is a solid foundation, and his name is Jesus.

While many different expositors argue over what this “rock” is—is it Jesus? Peter? His confession?—I tend to believe the answer is, “Yes” to all of these. It is Peter and his apostles in a sense (Eph. 2:20), and it has everything to do with Peter’s confession (because what basic truth is more foundational than the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God?). But it also has everything to do with Jesus himself who is, in fact, the cornerstone (Matt. 21:42; 1 Pt. 2:1-8), which is what “Rocky” confesses.

Exegetical debate and arguments aside, the fact remains: The Word of God, which gives testimony to the truth of Jesus’ identity, is the foundation that holds the Church in place. The Temple was built with large rocks on a large mountain in Jerusalem. And yet here is the true Temple, the fullness of God dwelling with man, walking among a people whose lives are built on sand. Jesus came to change the foundation so we could stay grounded.

What does it look like to be grounded?

If we as disciples who make disciple-making disciples wish to continue the ministry of being grounded in Christ—anchored deep within the gospel—we must commit ourselves to communion with God through various means. Here are some of those means:

• The Word of God and Prayer — This commitment is nothing new. It’s the tried and true practice that the apostles taught was of utmost importance (Acts 6:4). The question we must wrestle with is not, “Will you build a foundation?” but rather, “Which foundation will you build?” All men everywhere have a foundation, and either it is built upon the Word of God and prayer, or it is built on something else. To be grounded in Christ—to build one’s house upon the rock—is to commune with God through these two things. When we commit to the Word of God, we are committed to storing up God’s Word in our hearts so we refrain from sin (Ps. 119:11). When we spend time in prayer, we are utilizing the Spirit’s means to communing with God. These two things go together to form a heavy anchor that can keep you grounded when the storm comes.

• The Local Assembly — Solo Christianity is no way to build your house, nor is it a way to be an active part of The House (the Church). In fact, it is impossible. There is no such thing as solo Christianity. Which also means that one of the largest idols in America—independence—must be shattered and laid waste. Is it hard? Yes. Is it messy? You bet. Is it necessary? Absolutely. To be grounded in Christ, anchored deep within the gospel, is to be a part of his family. After all, your adoption wasn’t just to salvation—it was to the Church! And the Church welcomes you with open arms. The local assembly is a non-negotiable. I was told recently by someone whose been gone all summer camping (welcome to Michigan), “We’re having marriage issues, maybe it’s because we’ve not been in church much.” Bingo. Truthfully, that’s not the reason—there are plenty of them! But this could be one of them. When severed from the body, the hand doesn’t last long. Commune with God by communing with his people.

• Confession — To be grounded in Christ is to make constant confession. Peter gave his confession that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of the living God, and that confession, though admittedly still fuzzy to some degree, mattered most. We are confessional What I mean is, in order to be a Christian, you have to make this same confession that Peter made.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” —Romans 10:9-11

The key is knowing that this confession is perpetual in nature. We are always confessing this. We are always wanting to commune with God. How do we do it? How do we keep that foundation healthy? Confess. Often.

• Gospel-Centrality —Gospel-centrality is not a fad, nor is it a cute tagline. After all, the gospel is of “first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3). That’s what we mean by “centrality”—the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of God’s story climaxing in the person and work of Jesus, is first. It must be the It is never, “Will something be central in your life,” but rather, “What will be central?” For the person who wishes to stay grounded and commune with God in a real, passionate way, the gospel must be central.

Back to the vertigo. The reason our lives get out of whack and we fall into disorientation is because we aren’t grounded in the gospel. Like a boat tossed about without an anchor to be found, so is the man whose life has no anchor in Christ. Show me a person who is committed to these four aforementioned things, and I’ll show you a person whose life is built on the rock of Christ. There simply is no greater foundation for your house.

The next time you are feeling out of whack (e.g., you are impatient, you lack compassion, you can’t seem to forgive, or you struggle with bitterness and a sharp tongue), remember that your disorientation is a sure sign that the foundation is weak. This type of life is utter foolishness. The wind will come and destroy your house and nothing will be left. But to the person who commits his way to God (Prov. 3:5-6), your life will be sustained, not because you are clever and wise in and of yourself, but because you have communed with God in Christ, the rock of our salvation.

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Rev. Jason M. Garwood (M.Div., Th.D.) serves as Lead Pastor of Colwood Church in Caro, MI and author of Be Holy and The Fight for Joy. Jason and his wife Mary have three children, Elijah, Avery and Nathan. He blogs at www.jasongarwood.com. Connect with him on Twitter: @jasongarwood.

A New Covenant Meal for Mission

As we drive along the San Francisco Bay, the sunlight fights the pressing fog. When the city diminishes in the rearview, the fog slowly disappears. Sunlight at last. We skirt Sacramento then travel through unpopulated fields with soaring windmills beating like a metronome. We always knew we were getting close to Auburn, my mother’s hometown, when we left the fields and entered the ravine passing under the Foresthill Bridge. It soars over 700 feet. We make our way through town until we enter my grandma’s neighborhood. We crest the hill and below sits her small home situated comfortably in the right corner of the cul-da-sac. The two-hour drive feels like forever as a kid (now two hours seems like a short day trip), but all that mattered is that we arrived at grandma’s house.

We always loved to go there. In her front yard towered a maple tree with broad leaves. The tree reminds me of my grandmother who planted her family in Auburn and kept everyone together and rooted. She was a short but tough Hispanic immigrant who raised eight children in a small home and kept the family together when her husband died shortly after my birth in 1983. She provided everything the family needed. This was never more tangible than when she gathered her family around the table for a meal.

The Food Memory of a Family Meal

In her kitchen, she was in charge like a French chef in his Michelin starred restaurant. She loved you no doubt. You could feel it in the food. No one spends that much time preparing food that good if they don’t love you, but she wouldn't hesitate to bark orders or snap if you were trying to sneak a quick bite: “Out! Out! Out! Get out of my kitchen. It’s not ready.”

Not ready? If you could successfully get a bite of whatever was cooking on the stove it was like finding gold in the ravine. The only exception to that rule for me was when she made tripe. It “perfumed” the entire house and kept me out of the kitchen.

Inevitably during our stay, the entire family was invited to grandma’s. Late afternoon around the end of the work day family slowly started to arrive—first her children and grandchildren who lived within walking distances then the family who drove. If she cooked it, they would come. The women helped her set the table with food and plates and the men would sit outside with a cold beer watching the kids play under the maple tree. If it was summer, there might be a pool out front under the tree. It was the best of times.

These meals were like a family Eucharist and my grandmother was the priest blessing the wine and breaking the bread. We all waited patiently for our portion, our blessing. These meals were her way of keeping the family together and also her way of loving us. It was a tangible sign that you were in the family and that you were loved. You would be cared for. You belonged.

My grandmother passed away when I was in junior high, but my mother continues to make the Hispanic comfort foods her mother made. Just the smell coming from the kitchen as grandma’s roasted chile sauce simmers on the oven makes me feel safe and loved. This is where I belong. This is family.

A Meal of Grace

In the Gospel of Matthew, the apostle reports:

²⁶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.”

When I was young so much was made of not eating unworthily (a serious admonition of Paul no doubt) that I ate the Lord’s Supper like you might eat something you suspected was poisoned. Or how a young child might eat broccoli—hesitantly, face gnarled, knuckles white. These negative experiences branded my memory.

When the Lord commands the original Passover, he does so to create this type of ingrained memory for his people. The Passover was a tangible assault on the senses of the church. It recalled how God led them out of Egypt. How he spoiled the Egyptians for them. How he parted the Red Sea. How he redeemed them from slavery. In his wisdom, he did this by sitting families down around a table where all their senses were engaged in what was around them. If they obeyed the Lord, they would experience this every year for the rest of their life. I bet just the smell of the lamb cooking would invoke strong feelings of hope and love and mercy.

Sadly, Israel didn’t obey and didn’t keep the Passover every year. This was to their harm. It made their families fragile and vulnerable to worshipping other gods. They didn’t know the story of redemption, and so they didn’t know who they were or who their God was.

As Jesus arrives on the scene, he starts doing things that echo the stories of the Old Testament that tie into the story of redemption. He frees slaves from the bondage of sin. He heals the sick. He casts out demons. Jesus wilderness testing mirrors Israel’s own testing in the wilderness except where they failed he succeeds. How Jesus lives is intentional. He takes the threads of this old story of redemption and weaves his own life into the very fabric of the story. He shows everyone who watches that his life, death, resurrection, and ascension are a second Exodus, the greater story of redemption.

So is it any wonder that when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sets up his Passover that he does so around the table? He engages the senses. He pours out the good wine and breaks fresh bread. Have you ever been in the kitchen when the fresh bread comes right out of the oven? Have you ever cracked the crust and felt the warm air inside the bread hit your face? If you have, you won’t forget it. When Jesus calls us to his table, he calls us to remember while giving us something tangible and arresting that points us to a greater reality.

We must never forget that the Lord’s Supper is a place for sinners to receive something tangible. Are you harboring unrepentant sin in your heart? There’s no better place to repentant than the table. The table is one of grace and mercy and forgiveness Are you suffering or in pain or depressed? There’s no better place to find healing than the table. Are seeking Jesus Christ? Put your faith in him, be baptized, and eat freely at his table. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Enter his presence.

The Presence of God for Mission

My pastor Brian Habig made an interesting point about the Lord’s Supper in a sermon earlier this year. In the Old Testament, if you mishandled the ark of the covenant, the very presence of God among his people, you would be killed. As Matthew told us earlier, Jesus says the bread and wine are his body and blood. Paul later stresses the seriousness of eating unworthily with the threat of death. When we partake of the Eucharist, we experience the very presence of God. The body of our Lord sits in heaven ruling but through our union with Christ and the Spirit we now meet in the presence of the Lord to sense his love for us. With every drink and bite, we eat spiritually the body and blood of our Savior as John Calvin described it. This eating is a result of our faith and points to the true body and blood of Christ which was poured out for the many for the forgiveness of sins.

As we approach the table, our hearts should leap for joy as the eating and drinking itself creates in us an instinctual and tangible impression of the gospel for us. This joy is what I experienced every time my family gathered around my grandma’s table—I knew I belonged. The Eucharist should also remind us of Christ’s promise—“I will be with you always” (Matt. 28:20). We are re-fueled for mission in the very presence of God at his table. When the Lord commands the original Passover, he does so to create this type of ingrained memory for his people.

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Mathew B. Sims is the Editor-in-Chief at Exercise.com and has authored, edited, and contributed to several books including A Household Gospel, We Believe: Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms for Worship, A Guide for Advent, Make, Mature, Multiply, and A Guide for Holy Week. Mathew, LeAnn (his wife), and his daughters Claire, Maddy, and Adele live in Taylors, SC at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their Airdale Terrier. They attend Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA). Visit MathewBryanSims.com!

The Prophet Greater Than Moses

Words have no meaning apart from structure. Thus, the way in which we arrange our words are just as important as the words we use. The Gospel of Matthew illustrates this perfectly. The life and teachings of Jesus are intentionally pieced together in such a way that you are forced to consider who Jesus is and how he has come in fulfillment of Old Testament expectations. You immediately recognize that Jesus is the Son of David who will sit on the eternal throne (2 Sam. 7:12-16), he is the promised offspring of Abraham who will bless the nations (Gen. 12:1-3), and he is the prophet greater than Moses who will speak the words of God (Deut. 18:15-19). The first two are clearly stated in Matthew 1, but the latter is only evident when you pay attention to meticulous structuring of Matthew’s book. As you examine the narrative structure you soon discover that Jesus is the figure prophesied about by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15,

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—”

Matthew wants you to understand that Jesus is indeed the prophet like Moses sent by God to speak the truth, enact a new exodus, and set you free. By writing in the manner that he does Matthew leaves no ambiguity as to what the implication of this is for your life— you must listen to Jesus.

The Same As Moses . . .

Consider the similarities presented between Moses and Jesus. Jesus is sent by God to deliver his people (Matt. 1:21), pursued as an infant by a murderous serpent-like king (Matt. 2:16), and spared in Egypt through providential means (Matt. 2:13). Next Jesus comes out of Egypt, enters the wilderness for forty days of testing (Matt. 4:1-11), and then goes up on a mountain to deliver a new law (Matt. 5:1-7:27). Matthew also tells us that Jesus is known to miraculously feed large crowds of people in desolate, wilderness-like places (Matt. 14:13-21) and is spotted by his disciples on a mountain with his face shining like the sun (Matt. 17:1-8). Sound familiar?

If you’ve read the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures) you know this echoes Moses’ story almost exactly. Matthew, in the way he structures his narrative, is going to great lengths to show you that Jesus has come as the new Moses. Like Moses, Jesus came up out of Egypt, passed through the waters of baptism, entered the wilderness, and went up onto a mountain to give a new, authoritative teaching. As you note the parallels you realize that Jesus could be none other than the long-anticipated prophet.

. . . But Different Than Moses

Yet, as you read Matthew, you’ll notice that Jesus is a new and greater Moses. There’s a different quality to his person and work which supersedes that of Moses’:

• Whereas Moses was sent to deliver the nation of Israel out of physical slavery in Egypt, Jesus was sent to deliver people from all nations out of spiritual slavery to sin in their hearts (Matt. 1:21).
• Whereas Moses only spoke the words he received from God, Jesus came as the very Word of God who declared, “I say to you” (Matt. 5:21-22ff) and it simply was God’s words.
• Whereas Moses came as a recipient of the Law, Jesus came to fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17).
• Whereas Moses’ face shone with the reflection of the heavenly glory he had seen, Jesus’ shone like the sun with his own divine glory (Matt. 17:2).
• Whereas Moses mediated temporarily between God and man by the Law, Jesus mediates eternally between God and man by the shedding of his own blood (Matt. 27:51).

Jesus is truly the prophet greater than Moses. He is the new authoritative teacher who came to give us divine teaching, save us from our sins, enact a new exodus out of spiritual bondage, and establish a new and superior covenant between God and his people. The Gospel of Matthew is written in such a way to say, “Behold, your long-awaited prophet has arrived!”What are we supposed to do when that prophet comes? “You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you” (Acts 3:22).

Listening to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew immediately establishes who Jesus is through the structure of his book because he is going to fill the remainder of it with Jesus’ teachings and call you to unequivocally listen to him. “Listen” here isn’t merely hearing his words. It’s the kind of listening which hears, receives, and obeys the words spoken. It’s the quality of listening that transforms Jesus’ hearers into obedient disciples.

It’s imperative we understand the Moses-Jesus relationship and the command to listen to that prophet (Deut. 18:15; Matt. 17:5; Acts 3:22) because Jesus is going to say some radical words in the book of Matthew. He’s going to say the kind of things that “get all up in your business.” As a matter of fact, when Jesus arrives on the scene, he is going to give such countercultural and counterintuitive teachings that any would-be disciple might think twice about following him:

He’s going to teach that lust is the same as adultery (Matt. 5:27-30). He’s going to tell you not to be anxious about what you will eat or what you will drink or what you will wear (Matt. 6:25). He’s going to say that whoever loves father or mother or son or daughter more than him is not worthy of him (Matt. 10:37). He’s going to tell you that you must deny yourself and take up your cross if you desire to follow him (Matt. 16:24). He’s going to affirm that God designed marriage between one male and one female (Matt. 19:4-6). He’s even going to command you to join his mission by making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19).

Now would be a good time to honestly ask yourself, “Am I listening to Jesus?” Are you listening to his teachings with a soft heart that seeks the understanding of the Spirit and calls upon his power to help you obey? Or, perhaps more importantly, ask yourself, “Do I actually want to receive his words?” This is no small matter. You either accept the words from the prophet greater than Moses and experience life in them through his Spirit or reject him and his words and suffer eternal punishment.

As we read Matthew together this month, let’s invite the Spirit of God and the community of Christ to help us hear and obey the teachings of Jesus in such a way that his Word transforms us. May our time in Matthew strengthen our commitment to the prophet greater than Moses who has the authority to speak the Word of God into our lives and possesses the power to set our hearts free.

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Whitney Woollard has served in ministry alongside her husband Neal for over six years. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and just finished her Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary. She is passionate about equipping disciples to read and study God’s Word well resulting in maturing affections for Jesus and his gospel message. Neal and Whitney currently live in Portland, OR where they love serving the local church. Follow her on Twitter @whitneywoollard.

An Interview with Justin and Lindsey Holcomb, Authors of God Made All of Me

  It’s perhaps a parent’s greatest fear – that at some point his or her child will become a victim of sexual abuse. The statistics are alarming: Approximately one in five children will become victims by his or her 18th birthday. Authors Justin and Lindsey Holcomb have responded to parents’ concerns by writing God Made All of Me, a resource for moms, dads, and caregivers who want to protect and educate their children.

GCD: What prompted you to write God Made All of Me? What age range was it written for?

JUSTIN & LINDSEY: The book is for 2-8 year olds. We wrote it because we have two young children and know that parents need tools to help talk with their kids about their bodies and to help them understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touch. It allows families to build a first line of defense against sexual abuse in the safety of their own homes. Our goal is to help parents and caregivers in protecting their children from sexual abuse. Because private parts are private, there can be lots of questions, curiosity, or shame regarding them. For their protection, children need to know about private parts and understand that God made their body and made it special.

GCD: You were intentional about using the terms “appropriate” and “inappropriate,” when referring to kinds of touch, instead of the words “good” or “bad.” Why?

JUSTIN & LINDSEY: It is important to be clear with adults and children about the difference between touch that is appropriate and touch that is inappropriate. Experts discourage any use of the phrases “good touch” and “bad touch” for two main reasons. First, some sexual touch feels good and then children get confused wondering if it was good or bad. Second, children who have been taught “good touch” or  “bad touch” would be less likely to tell a trusted adult as they perceive they have done something bad.

To your child say something like: “Most of the time you like to be hugged, snuggled, tickled, and kissed, but sometimes you don’t and that’s OK. Let me know if anyone—family member, friend, or anyone else—touches you or talks to you in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

GCD: How did you approach talking about this issue with your own children?

JUSTIN & LINDSEY: We started by teaching them the proper names of their private parts at an early age and telling them that their bodies are strong, beautiful, and made by God. We read books to them from an early age on this topic and would talk about who can help them in the bathroom or bath and that it was OK for the doctor to check their private parts at appointments when mom or dad is present.

We would also roll play different scenarios to get them thinking what they would do if someone approached them and wanted to touch their private parts, show theirs, take pictures, etc. Play the “what if” game with them at the dinner table with different scenarios to see their thinking and problem solving skills. “If someone asked you to show them your private parts and promised to give you candy if you didn’t tell anyone what would you do?” Remind them that they can tell you anything and anytime without fear of getting into trouble.

We’ve also tried to instill a sense of control our kids have over their own bodies. We would tell them to say “no” or “stop” when they were all done being hugged, tickled, or wrestled. We encourage them to practice this with us so they feel confident saying it to others if the need arises. We also tell them they don’t have to hug or kiss a family member if they don’t want to and teach them how to express this without being rude. It is important to empower children to be in charge of their bodies instead of at the mercy of adults.

GCD: What are some practical things parents can do to protect their children from sexual abuse?

JUSTIN & LINDSEY: In our book, the last page is to parents and called, “9 Ways to Protect Your Children from Sexual Abuse.” Some of the key practical things parents can do are: teach proper names of private body parts, talk about touches, throw out the word “secret,” and identify whom to trust. You can read about all 9 here.

GCD: It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, but what should a mom or dad do if they suspect their child might have been the victim of sexual abuse?

JUSTIN & LINDSEY: You can call your local sexual assault crisis center and talk with a child advocate or hotline volunteer about your concerns. They will be able to point you to the proper authorities. Some areas would have you speak with a detective where other areas would have you talk to a victim witness advocate. Don’t ask probing questions that could instill fear in your child. Just assure them that you are so proud of them for telling you what happened and that you believe them and that your job is to keep them safe.

GCD: Tell us about GRACE. What does it offer to the church and families?

JUSTIN & LINDSEY: GRACE stands for “Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments” and the mission is to empower the Christian community through education and training to recognize, prevent, and respond to child abuse. We help educate churches and other faith based organizations how to protect vulnerable individuals from abuse and we help churches love and serve survivors of abuse who are in their midst.  Check out GRACE at www.netgrace.org.

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To keep up with Justin and Lindsey Holcomb, visit www.godmadeallofme.com. You can also follow Justin’s page on Facebook or follow them on Twitter (@justinholcomb and @lindseyholcomb).

A Beautifully Fractured Heart

I will never forget one time when I was sitting in my mentor’s living room explaining how mad I was that a boy hurt me. I didn’t care to reconcile with him because he treated me carelessly. She looked at me in loving boldness and said, “Chelsea, are you saying you don’t want to talk to this boy about how he disappointed you, or that you don’t want to talk to God about how he disappointed you?” Her words convicted my heart. I searched my heart and learned that my intention was not to run away from the boy, but to run away from my Father. My heart has experienced pain because of boys, friendships, and even family. Because our world is broken, we must constantly pursue restoration, but it’s hard to trust our Father with our pain and suffering. Plus from a very young age, we are trained to be strong, courageous, and protect ourselves from hurt. It’s a charming philosophy to preemptively guard our hearts from experiencing pain. This breaks down because protecting ourselves from hurt directly prevents God’s plan for restoration. We often believe the lie that being strong means we must condemn weakness, forsake pain, and ignore brokenness. This philosophy runs counter to the gospel and ignores the character of God.

Our culture preaches this distorted theory of brokenness and our hearts are hardened to what could be—that is, God’s holy intention for his children to be collectively known, saved, and redeemed with his all-encompassing affection for us. David writes,

Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. – Psalm 107:19-21

David clearly portrays an image of Christ as one who saves, heals, rescues, and loves. He reminds us of who we are and who God is. This passage is beautiful because it is a story of gospel power in community. Our humble acknowledgment of despair beckons surrender. It is only in this broken surrender that we experience Jesus.

Jesus hung vulnerable and exposed for the entire world to ridicule, yet silently he bore into deeper strength, devotion, and courage than any human being could grasp. This glorious mystery has been eternally inscribed on our hearts. The Holy Spirit retells this story in our lives. Will we risk humiliation, pain, and brokenness to search the mystery of God’s redemption in community?

Our hearts can’t be reconciled if we aren’t known.

We shield the place in our heart that holds our hurt, fear, and anger fiercely. When we expose these places, we may feel overwhelmed because the emotions there may be uncontrollable, unknown, and painful.

Our response is most often negligence, which (unknowingly) leaves us alone in despair. The gospel response would be inviting God into those places and praying, “Search me, God, and know my heart” (Ps. 139:23). This cry unifies our heart with the Holy Spirit then ushers us into community with fellow believers, which is God’s tangible gift of comfort and grace.

Our hearts can’t be reconciled if we aren’t cleansed by His blood.

To refuse pain is more than rejecting healing; it is ultimately rejecting the need for the cross. In the presence of Christ, our hearts are vulnerable to hope for reconciliation. Our hope is beautiful because it calls out for the cross. Dependence on God is so much deeper than admission of weakness; rather it’s an acknowledgement of worship. Our response to Jesus is a humble acknowledgement of how worthy his sacrifice was.

The Lord is rich in mercy, he is steadfast, and he delights to redeem. These are characteristics of his nature, which lead our eyes to Jesus, who was the incarnated hope of God’s children. The absence of need for help suggests an absence of worth for Christ (Gal. 2:21). When we choose to ignore this need, we choose to ignore his worth. This could likely be the most disparaging lie that Western culture believes.

However, we have reason to hope in the body of Christ. Community will flesh out honesty, brokenness, and even healing. Community is more than company to minimize loneliness; community is the coming together of Christ’s body. This means we must be unafraid to be known and dependent. Our mission is to walk, together as a body, towards the cross so that the world may see and declare that he is God.

Intimacy requires risk. It demands exposure to the weak and vulnerable places of our heart. I dread the continuous act of exposing my brokenness beckoning my need for counsel and prayer. I must choose trust, even when my flesh wants to hide in shame. Healing is the most humbling reminder of God’s gracious gift in dependence, both on him and among his body. I am forced to face my need for support, encouragement, and accountability. I am forced to trust God that he has provided me with a community that may disappoint me but will not abandon me. I have never felt closer to God then when I finally allowed him to touch my heart with his healing hand of grace. And the friend and mentor who challenged my source of disappointment has continued to trudge through the trenches and rejoice on the mountains. True community fights to resemble God’s image in dependence, faithfulness, and hope.

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Chelsea Vaughn has served a ministry she helped start in the DFW Metroplex since she graduated from college. She received her undergraduate degree at Dallas Baptist University in Communication Theory. She does freelance writing, editing, and speaking for various organizations and non-profits. She hopes to spend her life using her gift for communication to reach culture and communities with the love of Jesus.

3 Ways to Defeat Demonic Opposition

Have you ever stopped to wonder why life actually seems harder as a Christian? Perhaps you were baptized under the assumption that life would be easier as a Jesus-follower only to discover shortly thereafter it can be more difficult. Gone are the days of ease and carefree living; now you wrestle with an ongoing struggle of sorts. You experience unexplainable opposition, feel mounting pressure, and even “hear” an inner accuser that’s not like you. You just can’t shake the notion that ever since you chose to follow Jesus everything seems “off.”

Welcome to the War

It may be the tension you’re experiencing is demonic opposition. When you became a disciple of Jesus, you also became an enemy of Satan. You have a very real and very evil enemy who is out to devour you (1 Pt. 5:8). Even now there are demonic forces seeking to destroy your love for Jesus, your life, and your peace in him. They tempt you to doubt your identity in Christ and your assurance in God’s purposes, but they will not prevail. You can defeat this opposition by identifying with Christ in his victory over Satan and following his example in refuting demonic lies.

Jesus shows us in Matthew 4:1-11 (also see Mk. 1:12-13; Lk. 4:1-13) that discipleship 101 is learning how to overcome the enemy. This passage tells of an experience Jesus had alone in the wilderness when confronted by the devil. It’s unique among all other stories found in the synoptic Gospels in that we only have it because Jesus chose to recount it to his disciples (every other account comes from eyewitnesses).

Jesus saw this experience as so essential to his messianic ministry and the maturation of his disciples that he wanted his disciples to memorize and testify to it. They needed to know what he went through and how he came out victorious because they too would one day experience demonic opposition in the war against evil. This means if you’re a disciple of Jesus, Jesus thinks you need this story.

Peeling Back the Layers: How to Understand Matthew 4:1-11

Read Matthew 4:1-11 in its entirety to get reacquainted with the text. As you read, note the following points:

Context—It is crucially placed (also in Mark and Luke) between the baptismal revelation of Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 3:13-17) and the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (Matt. 4:12-17). Evidently, confronting evil is the first priority on the Messiah’s “to-do” list before he enters the public arena.

Translation—The English rendering of “tempted” doesn’t capture the full breadth of the Greek verb peirazo. Often in Scripture it means “to test,” specifically in order to reveal truth. Jesus is indeed being tempted by the devil to act against God’s will, but he’s also being tested by God to reveal what’s in his heart. In some mysterious fashion, satanic tempting and divine testing work in concert together.

Purpose—Even though this was Jesus’ first significant battle with evil and his circumstances seem horrific, all three Gospel writers go out of their way to make it clear that the whole event took place under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 4:1; Mk. 1:12; Lk. 4:1). This experience, though excruciatingly painful, was happening according to the sovereign purpose of God. 

Summary—At its heart, this story is intended to be an obvious recapitulation of Israel’s forty years of testing in the wilderness as God’s chosen Son who was to fulfill a divine calling (being a blessing to all the nations). The lessons Israel should have learned but failed to grasp were to depend on God’s Word rather than bread (Deut. 8:3), not to put God to the test (Deut. 6:16), and to make God the sole object of their worship (Deut. 6:13). It’s not random then that these are the exact three tests that we see in Jesus’ wilderness temptations!

In the same way, Yahweh led Israel into the wilderness to test their hearts to reveal the truth about their obedience and devotion to him (Deut. 8:2), so now another “Son of God” is being led into the wilderness for forty days to be tested by God and tempted by Satan in preparation for his divine calling. Will Jesus, as the beloved Son of God, fully obey the will of the Father or will he fail to overcome evil as every other son of God failed before him (think Adam in the garden, Israel in the wilderness, and even you today)?

Jesus Is Our Christus Victor: Identifying In Jesus’ Victory Over Satan

The history of failure and flawed fulfillment in Adam and Israel add to our own experience of failure and disobedience. These failures might make us skeptical regarding the Messiah’s odds of success. However, Matthew 4:1-11 portrays Jesus facing the tests we’ve all failed and being tempted where we’ve all conceded but, surprisingly, he doesn’t fail or compromise. Where we as humans have all stumbled and fallen, Jesus the true human resists and stands firm!

Look at Jesus’ Spirit-led response to satanic attack:

• When Jesus is tempted to doubt his identity as the beloved Son of God while suffering the hell of hunger (Matt. 4:3), he looks at the tempter and quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 (Matt. 4:4). He essentially says, “This does not define me. The words spoken by my Father, whom I trust with my life, define me. My love and loyalty to the Father is more real to me than my current condition, no matter how painful it is.”
• When Jesus is tempted to test the Father’s love and commitment to him as a means of proving his affection to the Son (Matt. 4:5-6), he looks at the tempter and quotes Deuteronomy 6:16 (Matt. 4:7). It’s as if he’s saying, “I will not test the Father and put him in my service. That’s not how this relationship works. I will trust my Father’s love and commitment to me regardless of my circumstances.”
• When Jesus is tempted to obtain the kingdoms of the world by taking a path other than that ordained by the Father (Matt. 4:8-9), he looks at the tempter and says, “Be gone, Satan!” and quotes Deuteronomy 6:13, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” This temptation is compromising the very heart of who Jesus is and what he came to do . . . and it infuriates him. He knows one day he will reign as King over all the world but the means by which he will do so has already been determined by the Father—it’s the path of the cross. He will worship and obey God even to the cross.

If you are in Christ, this story is good news! Jesus passed divine testing and defeated satanic tempting on your behalf—he is truly your Christus Victor. His representation of you didn’t begin on the cross, but in the wilderness. Here we witness Jesus defeating evil and showing himself to be the true Adam, the true Israel, the true Son of God, and the true human on your behalf.

The first step in defeating demonic opposition is knowing you have obtained victory over the enemy. Although you have repetitively failed divine testing and succumbed to demonic temptation, through your union with Christ, it’s as if you fully succeeded. You are declared the perfect son of God because of Jesus’ victory for you (first in the wilderness and then on the cross).

The outcome of the war you’re waging against demonic opposition has been determined for you by the true human, Jesus Christ. Be confident in battle, knowing that Satan and his demons are defeated. Because of Jesus you are victorious even when you feel defeated. The battles you are fighting today and the lies you are hearing from the enemy are not definitive of who you are. Your identity as a Christian is the same as Jesus’—victorious son of God.

Jesus Is Our Great Exemplar: Following Jesus’ Pattern to Defeat Demons

The war has been won but, until Jesus’ second coming, we still have battles to fight. Recognizing Christ’s victory over evil on our behalf is the first step in defeating demonic opposition. The second is following his example.

As noted above, Jesus thought his disciples needed to know this story because in it he modeled how to counter demonic attack. He quoted Scripture out loud, told Satan to be gone, and then allowed angels to strengthen him. This is an example for all Jesus-followers today: Quote Scripture out loud (in it’s proper context of course!), tell the demons to be gone, and then do something that strengthens you spiritually (worship, Bible reading, prayer, etc.).

Jesus’ particular temptations are a good place to make parallel applications for your life.

• When tempted to doubt your identity as the beloved child of God amidst your circumstances, quote Scripture out loud and affirm that your suffering, your insecurity, or your sin does not define you. The word of God, particularly as its expressed through the gospel, defines you. Your love and loyalty to the Father are more real and defining than your current situation, no matter how painful.
• When tempted to test the Father’s love and commitment to you, demanding he give you a sign of his affection, quote Scripture out loud and affirm that through Christ you have absolute assurance of God’s love for you. You know he is committed to you because he left the glories of heaven to come and die for you. The gospel leaves no room to doubt God’s affection for you.
• When tempted to take another path other than the one God has determined for you, quote Scripture out loud and affirm that you will trust the Father’s plan and purposes for your life even if they include suffering. Tell the harassing demonic voice to “be gone!” Reaffirm that God is the exclusive object of your worship regardless of what lies ahead.

This may not always be easy, but it is straightforward—we simply follow Jesus’ example. It doesn’t have to be weird or scary and it’s certainly not reserved for the spiritual giants. Learning to do spiritual warfare is basic discipleship. Allow me to illustrate this from my life.

Recently, I’ve experienced the worst and most frequent migraines I’ve ever had. The pain is isolating, frustrating, and defeating. While lying in excruciating pain in a darkened room I’ve heard (in my mind, not audible) an old familiar voice say, “If you are a son of God why do you have to suffer? If God really loved you shouldn’t he prove his affection by healing you?” Christian, that’s demonic. That’s not my voice nor God’s, it’s the voice of an enemy seeking to devour me while I’m vulnerable by tempting me to doubt my identity as a beloved child of God.

Although it would have been easy to test God, to “make” him prove his love through my healing, I couldn’t stop thinking about Jesus in the wilderness. There he was literally starving to death, yet he was unwilling to exercise his power to obtain food or test God because he trusted the Father fully. He trusted the Father on my behalf even as my own trust failed. And so, in my pain, I followed Jesus’ example and spoke out loud,

“My circumstances, no matter how painful, do not define me. God’s Word defines me. I am a child of God and his love and commitment to me is eternally certain because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I refuse to put my Father to the test. Be gone! I will only worship and serve God, even now in my pain.”

Afterwards I continued to rest and pray as I rode out the migraine with a newfound sense of confidence in God’s goodness. There was nothing weird or magical about it. I simply identified in Jesus’ victory then followed his example in the power of the Spirit to the glory of God.

Don’t allow demonic opposition to destroy your joy and peace in Christ. Learn to recognize voices that aren’t from the Spirit of God and then speak out God’s truth. Grow in your discipleship by daily identifying with Christ in his victory over evil and following his example in refuting lies.

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Whitney Woollard has served in ministry alongside her husband Neal for over six years. She holds an undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies from Moody Bible Institute and just finished her Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary. She is passionate about equipping disciples to read and study God’s Word well resulting in maturing affections for Jesus and his gospel message. Neal and Whitney currently live in Portland, OR where they love serving the local church. Follow her on Twitter @whitneywoollard.

Fear and Faith

I find Paul to be a wonderful example of a God-fearing man who had to learn to trust. He had to learn to be content (Philippians 4:11). Paul hadn’t arrived. He was tried by fire. He was tested, and his faith and trust in the Lord grew as a result. I share this because you and I so often hold the men and women in Scripture as our example for life. The example from Paul is one of learning—not of perfection. The valiant woman of Proverbs is another example of a biblical character we may elevate. She laughed at the unknowns in the days to come and found her security and strength in the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 31:25, 30). She is the quintessential biblical example of a strong and courageous woman. When I envision her, I imagine she is unruffled by uncertainty and ready to face any danger. Boy, do I wish I were like her! Thankfully, that is why she is considered an ideal. I, however, would characterize my everyday walk with the Lord quite differently. I am fearful, but I want to be bold and trusting. I am anxious, but I want to find confidence and rest in God. I imagine that the valiant woman, if walking the earth, wouldn’t be comfortable with the pedestal we’ve put her on. No one is perfect, and even the “ideal” woman needed to grow and learn.

Walk by Faith

Similarly, you and I are tried. We don’t become Christians and suddenly understand what it means to walk by faith. Like a baby, we may begin our journey by pushing off from our hands, then crawling, pulling up on the Word of truth, and failing and falling many times. And then one day we reach the point where we take that sure step of faith, and before we know it, we are wobbling toward a straight path. We aren’t born walking from our mother’s womb, and we aren’t born again trusting perfectly.

I’m not alone in this. Just the other day I received an email from a friend, requesting prayer because she was afraid to leave her daughter as she traveled across the state. Before that, and over the past several months, I’ve had the privilege of caring for women who have had miscarriages, and they fear having more or never getting pregnant again. I have a dear college-aged friend who shared that she was afraid she might not do well enough on a midterm to pass her college class; and my single girlfriend is praying that the Lord will bring her a husband—but the prospect seems dim, so she fears it just won’t happen. I could go on. And I imagine you resonate with similar temptations and circumstances.

We too often fear the past, the present, and the future. There is the fear of being who we are, so we try to please people. We, unlike the psalmist in Psalm 23, are afraid that the future is not as good as God says; will goodness and mercy really follow me all my days? (Psalm 23:6). There is the fear of other women, and—as a result—we compare ourselves to them and judge their actions and motives. We fear the future with anxious thoughts about our children not knowing the Lord when they get older or about our husband not returning from a trip. We don’t want our kids to die, so we fixate on death and forget who is really in control. And we wonder if we are good enough for anyone or anything.

I know this to be true firsthand. From trusting God for a husband to praying that I wouldn’t have another miscarriage, I’ve experienced the intense and debilitating temptation to fear. The fear I am referring to is by definition an expectation of harm; it is to be alarmed and apprehensive. When I am tempted to fear in this way, it is because my false sense of control has been altered by a circumstance. Or there are unknowns—what lies in the future—and I realize I have absolutely no control over what will happen. In many ways, our fears rest in seeking trust and security in ourselves. Within a matter of seconds I can bury my husband in my private thoughts; I’ve arranged the funeral and am now terrified as I try to figure out how to raise our two beautiful children by myself. These thoughts are imaginary; it hasn’t happened. It’s just my fear. During those times my mind isn’t meditating on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). I’ve noticed that my decision to play God never works out well for me. Can you relate? Regardless, I think you and I do this because we believe it’s easier to be in control. But when we realize we don’t reign supreme, that we don’t have sovereign authority over our lives, it can be terrifying.

A Remedy for Our Fears

There is, however, and thankfully, a remedy for all our fears. That remedy comes as a person, and the means through which He provides the comfort, along with the Holy Spirit, is through His Word. To fight our fears, we will look at God’s sovereignty and love and watch our fears dissipate as we apply God’s Word to our lives. The very thing we are holding on to (control) is, ironically, the thing we most need to let go of. As you and I come to understand that our God isn’t ruling as a tyrant but is lovingly guiding and instructing as a Father, we can loosen the tight grip on our lives that produces the bad fruit of fear. This isn’t “Let go and let God.” It’s “Let go, run hard toward your Savior, and learn to trust God.”

There is, however, a fear that we want to possess. It is a fear defined as an awestruck wonder of the holy God who condescended to become a man, died on a cross, and bore the entire wrath that you and I deserve so that we might now enter into His presence. We can enter His presence and receive grace. He can turn our weak and sinful fear into a fear of Him. That’s what He does; He turns coal into diamonds. We don’t have to be crippled by fear, because we have a God who holds the oceans in the hollow of His hand. He doesn’t promise that our lives will be easy (far from it), but He does promise to take care of us, His daughters, till the very end and for all of eternity. Ultimately we fight fear by trusting in the Lord and fearing Him.

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Trillia Newbell (@trillianewbell) is a wife, mom, and writer who loves Jesus. She is the author of United: Captured by God’s Vision for Diversity (Moody).

Excerpted from Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves copyright ©2015 by Trillia J. Newbell. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Gospel of Matthew Reading Plan

We’ve launched a series on The Gospel of Matthew for the month of August. Brad Watson, our executive director, encouraged our readers to read a chapter a day in the Gospel of Matthew. To help jumpstart your reading, we want to share our reading plan (below) and this helpful resource from the folks at The Bible Project (@JoinBibleProj):

• Mon, August 3rd—Mathew 1
• Tues, August 4th—Mathew 2
• Wed, August 5th—Matthew 3
• Thurs, August 6th—Matthew 4
• Fri, August 7th—Matthew 5
• Sat, August 8th—Matthew 6
• Sun, August 9th—Matthew 7
• Mon, August 10th—Matthew 8
• Tues, August 11th—Matthew 9
• Wed, August 12th—Matthew 10
• Thurs, August 13th—Matthew 11
• Fri, August 14th—Matthew 12
• Sat, August 15th—Matthew 13
• Sun, August 16th—Matthew 14
• Mon, August 17th—Matthew 15
• Tues, August 18th—Matthew 16
• Wed, August 19th—Matthew 17
• Thurs, August 20th—Matthew 18
• Fri, August 21st—Matthew 19
• Sat, August 22nd—Matthew 20
• Sun, August 23rd—Matthew 21
• Mon, August 24th—Matthew 22
• Tues, August 25th—Matthew 23
• Wed, August 26th—Matthew 24
• Thurs, August 27th—Matthew 25
• Fri, August 28th—Matthew 26
• Sat, August 29th—Matthew 27
• Sun, August 30th—Matthew 28

As Brad encouraged:

Read the Gospel of Matthew. One of the reasons Jesus’ life ends up feeling like a random collection of anecdotes and one liners is we rarely read through it all together. We may have done so in our early days of faith but have since neglected it. We invite you to spend August reading the Gospel of Matthew. Read a chapter a day. As you read, contemplate the passage. Here are some helpful questions:

• What is Jesus saying or doing?
• What does that say about his character?
• How are people reacting to him? How does that expose your reaction to Jesus? How would your friend who doesn’t believe in Jesus respond to this?
• How is Jesus proving to be the true humanity? The true Prophet? The true Priest? The true King?
• What is most challenging about Jesus?

Pray the Gospel of Mathew. Practice Lectio Divina, Read, Reflect, Respond, and Rest.

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Mathew B. Sims is the Editor-in-Chief at Exercise.com and has authored, edited, and contributed to several books including A Household Gospel, We Believe: Creeds, Confessions, & Catechisms for Worship, A Guide for Advent, Make, Mature, Multiply, and A Guide for Holy Week. Mathew, LeAnn (his wife), and his daughters Claire, Maddy, and Adele live in Taylors, SC at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains with their Airdale Terrier. They attend Downtown Presbyterian Church (PCA). Visit MathewBryanSims.com

9 Basic Reasons to Study Church History

For many, just the word “history” brings up bad memories from high school.  When I hear the word “history,” I think of random things such as Charlemagne, carpet-baggers, Huguenots, dates, times, presidents, and a bunch of things I forgot until we studied WWII (which was actually interesting). For most Christians, church history is the same way. We don’t really know much about it. We know a little about the Apostles in the book of Acts, then there is a bunch of stuff we think is weird and too “Catholic,” and then there is the Reformation, and here we are today with prosperity preachers and Joel Osteen.

So is church history important? Is it useful for discipleship? How much should we study it? My hope is to briefly sketch why I think church history is important for evangelicals today and is actually a gift from God to help us understand how to apply his Word. Why study church history?

1. Church history reminds us that we are part of a larger family of faith.

We have a tendency to think the church really began in our lifetime with cool pastors, conferences, and podcasts. Or, we have a tendency to think the church really began at the Reformation. We forget that there has always been a remnant. There has always been a true church. Jesus promised that the gates of Hades would not prevail against his church and the gates of Hades never have. People loved Jesus in the early church (Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, et. al.), in the middle ages (Thomas Aquinas, Anselm, et. al.), in the Reformation (Luther, Calvin, et. al.), in the early modern era (Edwards, Whitfield, Wesley, et. al.), and in the modern era (Machen, Henry, Barth, et. al.). On the one hand, church history protects us from thinking our denomination is right and everyone else is wrong (most of our denominations are less than 400 years old), and, on the other hand, it reminds us that we are part of a larger family of faith dating back more than 2,000 years.

2. Church history helps us rightly interpret the Bible.

God’s Word is meant to be interpreted within the community of faith. When an individual just runs away from the church and doesn’t listen to instruction from others, he usually starts a cult. We must interpret the Bible as we bounce ideas and interpretations off one another. And we don’t just bounce ideas off of those around us. We use the larger community of faith including the writings of Christian brothers and sisters who have passed away.

3. Church history helps us hold to correct doctrine.

Though God’s people may err in certain doctrinal matters, certain teachings like the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the resurrection, and the second coming are always held as truth by all true Christians. Church history helps us see what God’s people have always believed and what doctrines the majority of Christians have seen as essential. It helps us continue to pass on the “once-for-all-delivered-to-the-saints” gospel (Jude 1:3). There is a saying that, “new kinds of ‘christians’ are really just old kinds of heretics.” Knowing correct doctrine helps us guard against false teachers and religious sects today.

4. Church history helps us guard against reading our culture onto the biblical text.

Church history helps us see how other cultures have interpreted the Bible and see where some of our biases and prejudices pop up. For example, the topics of homosexuality and gender roles are rather controversial subjects today but almost completely agreed upon throughout most of church history. If we are teaching about these subjects in new ways, this should cause us to ask if we are reading our culture onto the Bible and making it say what we think is important today instead of what it actually says. Another example is that in America many Evangelicals think drinking alcohol is sinful. Seeing that this is a unique idea in post-prohibition America (and is not thought to be sinful in almost all other times and countries in church history) helps us put this issue in perspective.

5. Church history helps us see where we might be defending our traditions instead of the teachings of Scripture.

It is vitally important to know what the church has believed at each point in our history and why. That keeps us from “drinking the Kool-aid” and just doing what our denomination says. It is important for a Lutheran to know what Luther thought. It is important for a Presbyterian to know what Calvin thought. It is important for a Baptist to know about the radical reformation and English separatism. It is important for a Pentecostal to know about the Wesleyan holiness movement. It is important for an Episcopalian to know about the Anglican Church, the Reformation, and Thomas Cranmer. The list could go on and on. Knowing which historical actions caused certain beliefs is essential for challenging our views according to the Bible.

6. Church history helps us know how to address situations today.

I can’t think of any issues today that the church has not already dealt with in its past whether that be grace, politics, denominations, ethics, pastoral ministry, etc. The old adage, “Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it” is true of church history as well. By studying church history we can avoid stepping on landmines by seeing who has stepped on them before. We can copy what the past has done well and avoid some of the mistakes they made.

7. Church history brings humility.

If you hold a theological view or an interpretation of Scripture that almost nobody has ever held then you can know that 99% of the time you will almost certainly be wrong. The burden of proof is on the person who is holding a “new” view. This should humble us and keep us from thinking that everyone else was just too silly to see things like we see them today.

8. Church history helps us minister to others.

If I know the history of someone else’s ideas, denomination, or theology, it allows me to know how best to minister to them. It lets me know where they might be off and what issues they may misunderstand.

9. Church history is a reminder of God’s grace

Instead of looking like a bride we as God’s people have a history of looking more like a harlot. What is interesting to me is just how un-Christian so much of church history is. We have a history of shooting ourselves in the foot. However, just like Israel in the Old Testament, God loves his beautiful, messy, disobedient, lovely bride . . . the church. It is a reminder of how kind God has been to keep his promises despite our failures to be faithful to him. It is true that “if we are faithless he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2:13).

In all this we know that only God’s Word is perfect and history is our imperfect attempt to play that out. However, church history is a helpful guide and companion on our journey in the Christian life and it is God’s gift to help us be faithful.

Resources:

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley
• The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1 by Justo Gonzalez
• The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2 by Justo Gonzalez
• Historical Theology by Alister McGrath

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Zach Lee is Associate Home Groups Minister at The Village Church and is married to Katy.  Follow him on Twitter: @zacharytlee.

Loving and Seeking Justice for the Unborn

In our media-saturated culture, it’s unlikely you haven’t heard about the undercover Planned Parenthood videos released over the last several weeks. The Center for Medical Progress has released four videos and counting of Planned Parenthood executives discussing and admitting to trafficking body parts of aborted preborn children. In the middle of our society’s culture war over elective abortion and the surrounding industry, these types of exposé videos are common place. However, these video are unique because they’ve gone viral. As of today there were over 2.7 million views on the original video that included highlights of the Planned Parenthood leader casually discussing selling and marketing livers, lungs, and other body parts that she personally removed from preborn children during elective abortions. While the topic was trending on social media, like many other headlines of horrific acts of violence, our culture and even some Christians were uncertain how to react. Even though self-identifying Pro-Choice activists who generally support Planned Parenthood were displaying moral disgust, many Christians were still unable to biblically respond to the phenomenal atrocities exposed. Now many Christians (along with our Pro-Choice neighbors) had a “gut reaction” to such an ugly story, but ultimately many were still not sure how to respond or even what to think about this injustice and repulsive practice. This discomfort disabled Christians from even trying discuss the topic with their neighbors, which always proves to be more difficult than sharing an article or video on social media.

Personally, I was surprised to see Pro-Choicers who support legalized elective abortion and Planned Parenthood, disapprove of this secretive business of trafficking the body parts of aborted children. As a Christian and someone who is deeply committed to restoring justice for our preborn neighbors, my first reaction was to balk and point at the hypocrisy of others. I was looking down on these Pro-Choice advocates who for some reason see something wrong with THIS atrocity, but not the legalized, intentional taking of an innocent preborn human’s life. This immediate urge to condemn others is not just foolish because of Christ’s teaching on judging others (Matt. 7:1-5), but because I’m condemning those individuals for responding the way God designed them to. The unavoidable “gut reaction” that we have to such unjust practices and humans rights abuses reveals our humanity—created in the image of God. We are designed to be moral agents with an active conscience. This moral capacity to weigh and approve or disapprove of what happens in the world is a common grace give to us by our Creator.

These types of abuses and injustice abound in our world because of the Fall. However, the Fall has not just corrupted nature but humans as well. This means that humans now willingly practice injustice like elective abortions and human tissue trafficking, but also, the Fall has marred our consciences. The compass that distinguishes between right and wrong is distorted although never destroyed. The hypocrisy I want to accuse those who support elective abortion of, is actually proof that we are moral beings practicing although imperfectly an important task that resembles our Creator.

Paul explains in Romans 2:14-16 that even unbelievers have “the works of the law written on their hearts” and “their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” However, Paul also makes clear that the human conscience is not incorruptible. Earlier in Romans 1:28 Paul explains that because of rebellion against the truth God gives unbelievers “up to a debased mind.” In short, yes our consciences can be misinformed or misdirected, but all humans have a basic yearning for justice in this unjust world. Believers and unbelievers alike are acutely aware that, at the very least, things are not as they should be and have an undeniable built-in moral yearning.

A Thirst for Justice in a Moral Desert

This thirst for justice in the moral dessert of a Post-Genesis 3 world is not a new human phenomenon. We see David himself was in the same position. In Psalm 10, David cries out to the Lord because he witnessed appalling human rights abuse, unethical practices, and the failed judicial systems of his country.

In Psalm 10:2, David describes how he saw the wicked hotly pursue the poor, trying to catch the helpless in wickedly devised schemes. David describes how the wicked sit in ambush in the villages and in hiding places they murder the innocent (v. 8). He mourns that in his land the wicked look for ways to take advantage of the poor.  Some of these injustices we’re most sensitive to and broken over today are not just random crimes or accidents, but they have become systems that target certain demographics.

David then writes that the wicked “[lurk] like a lion so that he may seize the poor” (v. 9). Planned Parenthood and the entire abortion industry demonstrate this predatory mindset. These are business models built around selling a service that is deadly to the preborn and harmful to women. These newly released videos show Planned Parenthood acting like predators. Again, the image of verse 10 is appropriate when David writes, “The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.” The Psalmist is watching the wicked not only scheme and draw the helpless in his net, but violence always accompanies his schemes. Once the helpless are in his net, the wicked crushes them and they perish.

He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.

While there is room for Christians to discuss and work in other areas like environmental justice, the highest ethical concern in Scripture are attacks on the marginalized who are made in God’s image.

These attacks are wrong and unjust. Injustice didn't sit well with David and it shouldn’t sit well with us. The reason these systematic wrongdoings disturbed David so deeply and should affect us today is not just because God had commanded his people to do justice, but because our drive for justice comes from the very character of God whose image we are created in.

Justice as Central in Redemptive History

In Psalm 10:12-18 David reaffirms that justice is a central attribute of God. Also at crucial junctures in redemptive history, the Lord over and over again reveals himself as the God who executes justice. For instance, Moses delivers the Law from God to the people of Israel and says,

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

In another Psalm, David simply proclaims: “The Lord loves justice” (Ps. 37:28).  This simple premise is cosmically consequential since it is the very fuel of the gospel. The narrative of Scripture is driven by the fundamental premise that the Lord, the creator and redeemer, is a just God.

Accordingly, throughout the narrative of Scripture we see the Lord intervene in human history to restore social justice—in the Exodus when the Hebrews became a socially disenfranchised class in Egypt and in Judges the Lord reminds Israel, “I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land” (Jgs. 6:8-9).

The ultimate expression of God’s just character is in the person and work of Jesus Christ.Christ is the fulfillment of God’s Justice. When Isaiah was telling of the Messiah, he prophesizes that Christ “will bring justice to the nations” (Is. 42:1-4; Matt 12:18). At the heart of the gospel, Christ voluntarily receives injustice in order to fulfill God’s just verdict as Philip explains in Acts 8:32:

Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.

Because of our sin is against a holy and just God, we have earned eternal punishment. But God, being rich in mercy as well as justice, devised a plan before we even existed, not to set aside his justice but to fulfill it by practicing his mercy. So in place of sinners, Jesus Christ became human to receive the wrath of God on the cross that we deserved as rebels. However, Christ rose again, conquered death, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father so that now through the Holy Spirit those who have faith in Christ’s victorious work and repent do not receive eternal punishment for their transgressions against a just God.

God has done something epic about injustice. He absorbed the injustice of sin and evil at the cross. All history is shaped around this narrative because God loves justice.

Loving and Seeking Justice in Light of the Gospel

In order to love and seek justice in light of the gospel, the people of God need to mature in several areas.First, we must not think about those we disagree with as our political adversaries but recognize them as God’s image bearers who although misinformed can act on their sense of right and wrong. Also, we must think the way David did and have the moral certitude he did about social injustice. Public figures and blogs shouldn’t be our first stop to inform our consciences on social injustice. We must weigh everything with revealed truth and our moral consciences. Our response to wickedness should signal that our God is the source of justice. We need to hold our informed convictions boldly. For instance, intentionally causing an innocent human’s death is a moral wrong—no matter who does it or whether our government has sanctioned it. We should seek to understand the ethics of God revealed in Scripture to inform how we interpret our post-Fall world.

Second, like David we should look at injustice instead of averting our eyes from the ugly stories, the heartbroken victims, and the helpless. In order to do justice, we must be willing to endure the moral discomfort of looking into the brokenness.

Third, we need to fervently and genuinely pray for the injustice in our land to end. Psalm 10 is not just a song; it was a moment in which David was crying out to the Lord and pleading for God to protect the innocent and helpless in his land. Last, as we draw near to God, we must walk towards the victims. This walking must include a spatial nearness and also a prioritizing socially and politically. We should pray and work to end these atrocities and seek to restore justice in our land through the power of Jesus Christ our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30).

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John Seago (@JohnSeago) serves as the Legislative Director for Texas Right to Life. He leads the research, writing, and lobbying for state legislation on bioethical issues like abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, and patients rights. John graduated with a double major in History of Ideas and Biblical Studies from Southeastern College in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He studied Philosophy at University of Dallas for several years and is now earning his Master’s in Bioethics from Trinity International University. John lives in Austin, Texas with his wife Brandy and two children Nahum (5) and Sophia (3).

The Sucker’s Choice

Sometimes the choice to make a choice is the wrong choice. In the insightful book, Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler write about avoiding “the sucker’s choice.”

In short, “the sucker’s choice” is when we force an “EITHER...OR...” dilemma when it can be a “BOTH...AND...” opportunity. You may have heard someone say something like: “Either we can have fun OR we can have competition.” It implies that you can’t possibly find a way to have both fun AND competition. It sets up an unnecessary choice, aptly named: “the sucker’s choice.”

An example in youth ministry goes something like this: EITHER we prepare and deliver a message with non-Christian teenagers in mind OR we prepare and deliver a message with Christian teenagers in mind.

We don’t have to make that choice. I believe that there is a way to effectively preach to both audiences at the same time and with the same words. The solution is to preach the Gospel.

I remember a time in my life when I had the mindset that the Gospel message was only for those who didn’t know Christ. I thought that, in time, mature believers “graduated from the Gospel.” I was wrong.

The message of the Gospel is not something that is solely necessary at the beginning of a teenager’s faith journey; it is their faithful companion every step of the way. We never graduate from the truth of the Gospel rather we cling to itand allow it to bring about more and more change in our lives.

Repentance and faith in the message of the Gospel justifies us but it is also the Gospel, at work in us, which causes us to grow in faith, purity and maturity. While hard work and determination are a part of the Christian’s life, if they are not “in line with the Gospel” they will not sanctify, they will strangle.

The main problem, then, in the life of a Christian teenager is that they have not thought out or lived out the deep implications of the Gospel. They have restricted the work of the Gospel to the initial work of salvation (justification) and not allowed it to run rampant in their lives bringing about growth and gratitude (sanctification).

Paul makes it clear in Galatians that we are not justified by the Gospel and then sanctified apart from the Gospel through our own efforts. The Gospel is the way we grow.

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?—Galatians 3:1-3

Human nature is clearly seen in our attempts to control the source of our salvation with works-righteousness instead of fully trusting in Christ. The Gospel reminds us that we are now hidden in Christ and because of that we are both righteous and welcomed. Apart from Him we are hopelessly lacking and desperately trying to do something about that lack. Both believers and unbelievers need to hear this message...repeatedly!

Negative emotions and sinful behavior manifest in the life of a Christian teenager because at that exact moment something or someone other than Christ and his work has become more central to their existence and they’ve elevated that thing (good or bad) to an ultimate thing. The Bible calls this idolatry.

In other words, everyone has “saving faith” in something or someone. Everyone is looking to an accomplishment, an achievement, an experience or an individual to gain approval and acceptance...to justify their existence. Non-Christians do this because they haven’t had a grace awakening but Christians do this when they forget or don’t believe the Gospel.

The Christian way to drive out lesser love (idols) is to daily center our lives on our greatest affection. Thomas Chalmers says it this way: “We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our heart than to keep in our hearts the love of God.”

We are prone to sin when we believe a lie about the nature of God. As Tim Chester writes in his book, You Can Change, we forget that God is great, glorious, good and gracious. The Gospel is the most intimate and intensive reminder of who God is and what He has done. We need to be “Gospel- fluent” with students, with our families and with ourselves!

Whether Paul was dealing with marital issues in Ephesians 5, emphasizing the importance of generosity in 1 Corinthians 8, or confronting Peter’s hypocrisy and racism in Galatians 2, he never just addressed their behavior. He didn’t verbally bully or emotionally manipulate. He didn’t guilt or scare them into change.

He repeatedly points to Christ, he preaches the Gospel. He’s essentially says to them: you are not living as if the Gospel is true! Your heart does not resemble a heart that has been both captured and freed by the life and work of Jesus. And he’s saying this to believers! In fact much of Paul’s writings can be classified as preaching the Gospel to people who already knew it.

One final reason to avoid “the sucker’s choice” (I heard Tim Keller share on this once): Christian teenagers need to hear you talking to non-Christian teenagers and non-Christian teenagers need to hear you talking to Christian teenagers. Why?

Christian teenagers need to hear you talking to non-Christian teenagers about the Gospel because many of them don’t know how to do the same. As you preach the Gospel in a way that engages and answers the questions and objections of the irreligious, your Christian teenagers will be learning how to do the same! Those same students will also realize that youth group is a place to bring their non-Christian friends to get their questions answered.

On the other hand, non-Christian teenagers need to hear you talking to Christian teenagers about the Gospel because they need to have a sense of the community, the values, the priorities, the passion of a Christ like people and the REASON for all of those things. The reason is the Gospel. They also need to experience growing sense that they are on the outside of something that is beautiful...namely Jesus.

In Romans 1:15, Paul writes that he is “eager to preach the Gospel” and he’s writing to Christians! Friends, there’s no need to make the “sucker’s choice.” Preach the Gospel to the lost, preach the Gospel to the found.

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David (@DavidHertweck) has served the New York Assemblies of God as the director of youth ministry and Chi Alpha since February 2011. Prior to that he served as a youth pastor for 12 years in upstate New York. David is passionate about helping local church youth workers create and sustain disciple-making environments marked by Gospel Fluency, Spirit Dependency and Biblical Community. He has his MA in Transformational Leadership from Northeastern Seminary. David is the author of two books, Good Kids, Big Events and Matching T-Shirts: Changing the Conversation on Health in Youth Ministry (My Healthy Church) and The Word and the Spirit (GPH). David is married to Erin and they have three daughters: Lilia, Caraline and Madelaine. David loves his girls, his family, good music, good food, his Weber grill, his Taylor guitar, Liverpool Football Club, the Yankees and the Gospel.

Used with permission from the author. Excerpt from Good Kids, Big Events, & Matching T-shirts.

Being Misunderstood for the Kingdom

I learned very quickly that I had a choice. Either I could constantly invoke my inner attorney to give myself legal defense, or I could invite misunderstanding and let that be okay. Sure, there’s a tension and wisdom that tells us both responses may be done with a confident humility, but maybe one of these options is the better one? Ministry is challenging. Discipleship is messy. Doing life as a sinner with other sinners can be sinful. When our heart’s desires make tangible appearances through words and actions, bad things can happen. Blowback can and does occur. How should we respond to one another when misunderstanding occurs? How ought we as reconciled-to-God-in-Christ-now-justified-sinners deal with interpersonal conflict and sinful interaction? Thankfully, Jesus, the Second-Person of the Trinity, took on flesh and dwelt among us. He identified with us and exemplified in himself what it means to do ministry and invite misunderstanding.

STORIED CONFLICT

In Matthew 13, we find Jesus teaching about the kingdom of God in various parables. He tells of the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Weeds, the Mustard Seed and Leaven, the Hidden Treasure, Pearl of Great Value, the Net, and the Master of the House with Old and New Treasures. Each of these stories are likened to some aspect of the kingdom of God and are used by Jesus to explain himself and his ministry.

But that’s not all we find in this chapter. Matthew gives us a look into what is happening behind the scenes, as it were, and explains a bit more about the parables. In 13:10-17, there’s an excursus that involves only Jesus and his disciples. The crowds are not privileged to this particular conversation. “Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’” (Mat. 13:10). Conflict is on the horizon. What seems to be the problem?

SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM

Jesus responds to their question, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (13:11). Any information that disciples glean from Jesus’ parables is to participate in the secrets of the kingdom of God. In other words, the mysterion that Jesus explains can only be given through the Sovereign hand of God and divine revelation. The Apostle Paul shares the same thing, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (2 Cor. 2:14).

What Paul means (and I believe by implication it is the same thing Jesus believed) is not that you have to be a super Spirit-filled person in order to understanding this stuff, and if you say the right prayer, do the right thing, you’ll eventually figure it out. No—Paul means that any particular revelation of knowledge that pertains especially to the kingdom of God is only granted from above.

Men do not use logic and reason, then conclude God. Men cannot use logic and reason without God. God is the one who imparts wisdom and understanding. This is what Jesus is getting at with the secrets of the kingdom. It is not an issue of natural insight and basic rationale. It’s an issue of divine revelation. It is only for those, “It has been given.”

PUSHING IT FURTHER

Jesus goes on to say, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (v. 13). Don’t miss what Jesus is saying: There is a dividing line when it comes to the kingdom of heaven. What I am doing in my teaching is clearly laying out the lines of demarcation. There is no middle ground; in fact, there are only two ways to go about this—either you will understand because the Spirit makes you understand, or you will continue in your sin and constantly go about misunderstanding what I’m telling you.

Jesus pushes it further by creating the dividing line. Why did he do it? To start, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 6. Isaiah was to go and preach and Israel wasn’t going to listen. (Not the greatest ministry task. . . . Go and preach, and don’t get mad—they won’t listen anyway. Who wants that job?) Matthew makes it clear that Jesus is Isaiah—a prophet to a rebellious Israel.

The other reason Jesus creates the dividing line this way is because Jesus is okay with misunderstanding. Remember he didn’t come into the world to condemn the world, for the world was condemned already; Jesus came to save it (Jn. 3:17). By drawing the line, Jesus gave no ground for having a neutral position. You are either for him, or against him (Matt. 12:30). Either men will turn to Christ in repentance, or they with harden themselves and perpetuate misunderstanding.

VULNERABILITY IN COMMUNITY

We can learn much from this passage. I want to try and bring one aspect into focus, and it has everything to do with you. If you’ve been involved in ministry in any capacity, you know that misunderstanding abounds. The story I hinted at to start had to do with me being a pastor who has had his share of misunderstanding. In fact, in one Sunday I heard two things: 1) “I learn something every single week when you preach!” and 2) “We’re leaving because we don’t feel like we’re learning anything.”

How does that work? How can a pastor sit at someone’s bedside who is dying from cancer and be told the next day that he doesn’t care about people? Consider another paradox in ministry. How can a lay person who is passionately involved prayer about  many different issues be told by someone else that she has bitterness in her heart and seems rather uninvolved in ministry? What’s the deal with misunderstandings in community?

Discipleship is an invitation to be vulnerable. It invites misunderstanding and chooses to put that inner attorney out of a job. It’s being so comfortable in your justification that your messy sanctification doesn’t trip you up. The reality is, any amount of investment you make in someone else’s life will invoke misunderstanding. You reap what you sow. The deeper you get into someone’s life the messier it gets. And that’s okay.

Jesus was quite okay with being vulnerable and he built his ministry on misunderstanding. That’s how it was supposed to be. “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Is. 53:2). He wasn’t spectacular and outwardly special. He left his home in glory to take on flesh and serve his people. He taught with wisdom and compassion yet was treated foolishly and hated by many.

What makes this special for us in discipleship is knowing that we don’t have to defend our case, but can live our lives for the glory of God free from the chains of man-pleasing. We can be vulnerable and okay with misunderstanding. Why? Because Jesus was vulnerable and misunderstood—so much so, that he was crucified for you. The misunderstanding of Christ led to the salvation of men. So rest easy, and continue to run.

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Rev. Jason M. Garwood (M.Div., Th.D.) serves as Lead Pastor of Colwood Church in Caro, MI and author of Be Holy and The Fight for Joy. Jason and his wife Mary have three children, Elijah, Avery and Nathan. He blogs at www.jasongarwood.com. Connect with him on Twitter: @jasongarwood.