John MacArthur on Titus

One of the really cool things about my job is that I'm on the road a lot.  I'm an insurance adjuster so a couple days a week I'm in the car driving to different towns and farms, mostly rural locations. 

As I'm travelling I've taken to listening to Bible teaching CD's.  John MacArthur has preached and taught on the ENTIRE New Testament!  All those books are available for download from the Grace to You website for free.

Over the last few weeks I have been listening to the series on the letter to Titus.  This teaching series has been such a blessing to me.   I am so thankful for John's faithfulness to preach and teach the Word of God, regardless of how the Word conflicts with the culture today. 

Titus is a word to Pastors/Elders, and to those desiring that office.  It has also been a blessed and convicting word to me...and I praise and thank God for that.  I am SO looking forward to the remaining lessons  - I'm on #24 at the moment. 

Acts 13 - Some Thoughts

Acts 13: 36-52 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay; but He whom God raised did not undergo decay. “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
‘BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH;
         FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,
         A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.’”
      As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

      The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
“For so the Lord has commanded us,
         ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
         THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’”
      When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”


Currently, I am reading through Acts and I read chapter 13 last night. Firstly, I am amazed how I am “discovering” verses throughout the NT (I'm not much in the OT at this point) that highlight the sovereignty of God in Salvation. Verse 48 “...as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” - a clear statement if ever there was one! As I continue to think on these things, I am so encouraged, and greatly humbled, that I believe, and that inherent in my believing is the fact that I was appointed by God for eternal life in Christ Jesus. Knowing how great a sinner I am, I can only thank Him, and ask, “Why me?”.

This question leads into the other aspect I see here. Paul and Barnabas say to the Jews, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
“For so the Lord has commanded us,
         ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
         THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’” (emphasis mine).


The Jews rejected the word of God. Here, the NAS has it translated “since you repudiate it”. The ESV translates it “since you thrust is aside.” The NIV translates it as “Since you reject it”. The KJV translates it “but seeing ye put it from you”. Paul, in Romans 11, elaborates on the how's and why's of the Jews' rejection of the Gospel. Verse 1 says that God has not utterly rejected His people, as Paul himself is evidence of this. In verse 11, “Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.” And verse 25 and 26, “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.” (BTW, there's another “sovereignty of God” passage. “Until the full number of Gentiles has come in.”). There is still hope for Israel. But since they have rejected the word of God, the Lord has commanded Paul and Barnabas that the gospel be given to the Gentiles. Acts 11:18, another one of those “sovereignty of God” passages, states “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” And “the Gentiles” includes me.

Compare the response of the Gentiles with the response of the Jews in the Acts 13 passage: “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord.” “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.” The more I read this the more the Gentiles' response becomes my own. The Jews rejection brought the Gospel to the Gentiles. As Romans 11:30-32 says, "Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.”

And all this has taken place as a result of the sovereign plan of God that was put in place before the times of the ages began (Titus 1:1-3, Eph 1:4). It only seems fitting to conclude with Paul's Doxology in Romans 11:

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”

“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay him?”

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Al Mohler on "Athiests in the Pulpit - the Sad Charade of the Clergy Project"

A very sobering article Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary .  Not in the sense that there are those in leadership in the church who are professing atheism.  Don't get me wrong, that is terrible.  It was these paragraphs from the article that really opened my eyes:

"Dennett and LaScola made a very interesting and important observation in their research report. They acknowledged that defining an unbelieving pastor is actually quite difficult. Given the fact that so many liberal churches and denominations already believe so little, how is atheism really different? In the name of tolerance, the liberal denominations have embraced so much unbelief that atheism is a practical challenge.

In the words of Dennett and LaScola: “This counsel of tolerance creates a gentle fog that shrouds the question of belief in God in so much indeterminacy that if asked whether they believe in God, many people could sincerely say that they don’t know what they are being asked.”

 You can link to the rest of the article here.

  
"The greater danger to the church is a reduction in doctrine that leaves atheism hard to distinguish from belief. And the real forces to fear are those who would counsel such a reduction." ~ Al Mohler, from this article

The World Tilting Gospel by Dan Phillips - my brief thoughts.

I have been frequenting the blog Pyromaniacs almost daily for a few years now and it was there is discovered one of the blogs writers, Dan Phillips.  Off and on Dan had/has been promoting The World Tilting Gospel (TWTG) and I became curious about it.  After awhile I decided to purchase it and, boy am I glad that I did!

A few years ago I realized that I didn't know what the Gospel was.  Specifically, how to articulate it.  I didn't understand the various rich aspects of it.  Mine was a relatively surface understanding and, as I found out the more I looked into it, "surface" may have been an understatement!

I've been a Christian for years and over time just took for granted that I really knew the Gospel.  How could I be a Christian and NOT know it?!  I knew I was a forgiven sinner, that Jesus Christ had died for me and rose again.  I rested there.  However I started to take notice when I would hear phrases in sermons like, "We can do such-and-such because of what Jesus has done for us."  Or, "Because of what Jesus has done for us we are no longer this-or-that."  I realized that I had never really looked any deeper into the "WHAT" that Jesus "HAS DONE".  Dan Phillips has done just that in TWTG.

He shows from the Scriptures what the Fall did to humanity, the far-reaching effects of it.  How "bad", how sinful we really are, and how utterly hopeless we are to do anything about it.  On page 69, ..."sin not only makes us behave badly, it makes us think badly."  Further, "We may see things, but we do not see them as they are, do not know what they mean, do not rank priorities rightly.  We look at the world through distorted lenses."  It was this portion of the book, these paragraphs, that opened my eyes to my sin.  I had repented as best I knew how.  I believed that Jesus paid the penalty for my sin.  It just didn't "feel" like it.  When I read those words describing just how much sin has affected me I realized I had been wanting some feeling, some kind of comfort to confirm my repentance and forgiveness - my thinking was twisted!  I turned from this and read Romans 10:9 which says, "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." I now trust His Word and what it says to confirm my salvation, rather than waiting on a feeling.  There is a "settledness" now that I am trusting His Word, the sure foundation, which is far deeper and sturdier than any feeling.

There is a chapter called "The Quagmire of Muzzy Mysticism" which addresses the "Letting Christ live through us", or "Let go and let God" teaching that I had been taught in a Bible School I attended years ago.  I've struggled with this teaching and how it applies to my life for years but not known why.  That's all I will say on this as Phillips blows the lid off the whole thing!  It's really good!!!

What I have taken from this book is immense!  How great a salvation we have in Jesus Christ, how far-reaching the effects sin has on me, how awesome God is.  There is SO MUCH here!

All I can say is: Thank you, Dan Phillips, for writing this book, a book that is easily readable and understandable and so pertinent, so needed!, for the Body of Christ today.  Everyone who names the name of Jesus Christ today should dig into this treasure!

Prep and Delivery - The Sermon

I never realized how hard it is to write sermon. You read the Bible and pick a topic. You find out where the Bible talks about that topic, you gather all the Scriptures together, taking into account the context. You begin to see God's mind on that particular subject. If you know the original languages (I don't) and are well versed in interpreting the original languages (I'm not) there is an even greater nuance given to the topic. Then you search other authors, pastors, commentaries, etc., and see what they have to say on the topic. You then begin your draft.

You flesh out those areas that kind of hit you but you NEVER stray from the original intent of the author. As the sermon begins to take shape you realize that YOU are the one being taught. You never understood this topic in that way before. Your understanding is being challenged and then, as you submit to the Word of God, your understanding is being changed. This is just AMAZING! And this is all taking place right there at your table, or your desk, in your home, in your office, etc.

Then reality hits you. You have a choice to make. Will you actually preach this? Will you stand up there and tell people this. You know that what you have just learned, even though it's so cool and amazing, flies in the face of where our culture is at today. It flies in the face of what is being advocated by other pastors, other teachers in the church. As you think more and more about this you realize that maybe it would be easier to just trim it down a bit. Take off the “hard edges”, not wanting to offend your listeners. After all, these are nice people. Sure, they make mistakes. But who doesn't? Why not tell them something that will bring them comfort after a hard week of being out there “in the world”? You know, build them up, encourage them. If you do this what will they say to you? What will they do to you? The more you think about it the more you realize that you don't need THAT kind of trouble! What will you do?

Being a preacher of God's Word means you must have courage. You must have the courage to stand there and deliver the Word of God to people, to His chosen people, regardless of how hard it is or how it may offend. If you don't faithfully proclaim the truth of the Word of God then you are useless. It takes a lot of courage to remain faithful and do this.

I recently read a blog post from a pastor, who also teaches at a Bible school I once attended. He discusses homosexuality and what he sees in the gay people he knows and how the way they are appears to be in conflict with the most common reading of Romans 1. He says, “I know the right answer here is “don’t let your experience determine your interpretation”, but after meetings dozens of gay people who read their Bibles regularly, pray, and desperately want to honor God with their lives, I’m beginning to wonder if the standard interpretation might be wrong...”

Rather than teach what the Word of God says about homosexuality he is prepared to alter “the most common reading of Romans 1” because the gay people he knows “ are big hearted, and many of them pray, read their bible regularly, and are seeking God’s best for their lives.” Rather than proclaim the hard truth of the Word of God which reveals sin, and risk offense, he wonders if this interpretation might be wrong. What is so clear is now being muddled, confused and reinterpreted in order to "be loving" and not offend. 

The Apostle in Romans 1 says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...” The Apostle was not ashamed of the Gospel...and he pulled no punches when proclaiming the Word. Read his encounters with angry crowds in the Book of Acts to see the outcome of this.

It takes courage to be faithful and preach the Word of God.

*** Important ***

 A blog that I follow regularly called Hip and Thigh, written by Fred Butler recently had a post I have to link to here (Hip and Thigh - Geopolitics and the Bible).

There is a 3 part series called Geopolitics and the Bible that I've been listening to.  It's very interesting.  Check it out!

The Immediacy of Death

Today, actually less than 30 minutes ago, an incident took place at the end of my driveway. 

My girls called me and said there was a car parked at the end of the driveway and it looked like someone was laying on the ground.  I saw the car so I put on my shoes and went out.  Sure enough, there was a woman in hysterics with another woman holding her.  An older man was lying on the ground unconscious as another man was doing chest compressions while on the phone with a 911 operator. 

I went to the man's head and put my sweater under it - he was lying on my gravel driveway.  I told the guy doing chest compressions that I had a cold and shouldn't give him mouth to mouth.  We were going to switch, me do the compressions and he do mouth to mouth but we never did - he kept talking to the 911 person.  As I think about this now, what a dumb thing to even think.  Here's a guy lying on the ground unconscious, most likely dead, and I'm worried about passing on my cold to him.

Not very long after other vehicles stopped.  There was an off duty fireman and a lady who took over doing CPR.  You could hear the guys ribs breaking with the compressions.  During this whole time the man's wife is sobbing uncontrollably, begging him to breathe.  I then noticed a little girl.  She was their grand daughter, and she was with them in the vehicle when this whole thing started.  She was bravely trying to console her grandmother.  I felt useless, and totally and utterly powerless. 

I started to pray - what else could I do? - but I didn't know how to, I didn't know what to say  Was this guy saved?  If so, then his passing would not be a bad thing.  He would immediately be with his Lord and would be more alive than I was.  What if he was not saved?

If he was not saved then...what can be done?  There is no longer any hope for him.  Just like that.  So sudden.  That quickly.  Having a nap in the car and then...judgement.  God is your judge.  God is your enemy.  You appear before Him, not in robes washed white because of the forgiveness of sin that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, but in the filth and corruption of all your sin.  I looked in his unseeing eyes and wondered how to pray, what to say.  As with all things, he is in the hands of God.  And God is merciful, and God is just. 

The ambulances arrived and they did their work on him, hooking him up to the defibrillator and shocking him.  When they took him away he was still unconscious.  Will he regain consciousness?  If not, will he be welcomed into heaven?  Or is it too late for him?  How do you pray in a situation like this?