The Sayings of the Wise – Part 15

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER FOURTEEN

“Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.” (Proverbs 23:19–21, NIV)

 In Deuteronomy 21:18–21 (NIV), we read:

¹⁸ If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, ¹⁹ his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. ²⁰ They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” ²¹ Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.

Breaking the Fifth Commandment (““Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 5:16, NIV)) brought the violator to the knees of capital punishment.  This was indeed very serious. In this proverb there is a warning that “… combines fears of gluttony and laziness; the “drowsiness” may come from the wine or simply from love of sleep.”^[1]

“The "drunkard" (sobe'e-yayin) and the "glutton" (zolale basar) represent the epitome of the lack of discipline.”[2] The author prophecies that this kind of person will eventually come into poverty. Drinking, debauchery and laziness are symptoms though – symptoms of a lack of discipline, which itself is symptomatic of a deeper problem.  There is also the need for a different mentality from the “son” in the face of peer pressure.  

As Richard Baxter explains, “Gluttony is a sin so exceedingly contrary to the love of God: it is idolatry. It hath the heart which God should have . . . because that love, that care, that delight, that service and diligence which God should have, is given by the glutton to his belly and to his throat.”

The essence of the problem is to love food, to love alcohol and to love the attention of others. It is the breaking of the whole Law (“’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27, NIV)).   “Moderation and self-control are but the by-products of proper delight and joy in God, which is the work of the Spirit who shows us Jesus as our all-satisfying treasure” – Matt Wallace.

The solution, of course, is the Gospel.  The irresponsible son needs to see Jesus, who lived a life of self-control and perfect moderation, dying for the glutton and drunkard. That is what these sins deserve before God’s tribunal—death. As an idol, gluttony and drunkenness deserve to be cursed and removed from his holy presence. Though without sin, Jesus became the gluttonous/drunkard on the cross.  By faith in Jesus Christ, the undisciplined son becomes (no longer a gluttonous drunk) a child of God; and his sin is placed on Christ who forgives it all. Now his relationship is based on the reality of God’s approval; and he no longer needs the approval of men.

Also by God’s grace, the Christian is given the indwelling Spirit of God who provides the will and the ability to be self-disciplined. He is also enabled by the ongoing promises contained in God’s Word, e.g., “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” (Psalm 84:11, NIV)

“To persevere, the soul will need constant reliance on Jesus' gospel through deep community, daily feeding on the gospel, reliance on the Spirit’s work, preaching, and worship to keep the all satisfying splendor of God before our wandering appetites.” Matt Wallace.

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^[1] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (p. 548). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[2] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/IV. The Sayings of the Wise (22:17-24:34)/A. Thirty Precepts of the Sages (22:17-24:22), Book Version: 4.0.2

Becoming Secular Reformists - Part 3

In two previous blogs (Here and Here), I expressed concern over the ease in which Christ-motivated initiatives to address societal concerns can easily become secular enterprises.  I used what was once a Christ-driven mission called Alcoholics Anonymous as an example.  AA is currently a social program not far removed from any other self-help “religion”.

I once met with a group of concerned people regarding ministry to First Nations communities.  The unleashed brain storming soon arrived at a plan that involved everyone from including native spirituality to Roman Catholicism.  The participants were professing Christians, but their views were so inclusive and ecumenical I knew this wouldn’t work.

No, to keep Gospel-centered initiatives, Gospel-centered, I believe we need to:

#1. Refrain from unholy alliances.

#2.  Keep God’s holy character is the benchmark.

And thirdly,

#3.  Embrace evangelicalism to a fault.

Perhaps to some, to be “evangelical” is to belong to a certain denomination or subsect within Christendom. But it is more than that.  The word has its roots in the Greek word for Gospel, or “Good News”.  The Greek word (εὐαγγέλιον) starts with the formation of the word “good” plus “message”.  This Gospel message was exemplified by Christ and the Apostles.  In summary the message was simply:

 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2, NIV); and “When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:18–21, NIV) (Emphasis Mine).

Cultural reform was never that high water mark in the New Testament Church – it was “repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.”   We hear the plea of the Apostle Paul to his protégé Timothy, “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care . . .” (1 Timothy 6:20, NIV). 

Our first and primary duty as Christians is to proclaim salvation.  Social initiatives, cultural reform and collective justice are important, but if they eclipse the ambassadorial call of the Church (2 Corinthians 5:20), we fail.

Application

Let’s say that my Church opens up a soup kitchen!  It’s just a soup kitchen!  It’s just a fantastic humanitarian effort to feed the hungry!  No one would think anything untoward about a soup kitchen. But if that soup kitchen is designed in any way to provide spiritual reform, not secular reform, there has to be some standards in place.  I would argue that as a minimum, this soup kitchen should:

a. Be comprised of “born-again”, regenerated people, who are committed disciples of Christ.  The inclusion of nominal, liberal Christians or nonChristians will always erode the ministry to a secular status.

b. Be grounded in the Father’s love for the hungry.  This means the rhetoric, the metanarrative that is uppermost is that this is not our love or our compassion for the recipients; but it is God, the Father’s love and mercy. The story of the kitchen should point people to the Father and His provision of One who is the Bread of Life.  And to transition to the next point, it then provides the basis to say, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4, NIV)?

c. Thirdly, (and certainly not less important) seek above all the salvation of the lost.  As crass as it sounds, it makes no little good for satisfied, well-nourished people to go to Hell.  Or stated otherwise: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, [be well fed] yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul” (Matthew 16:26, NIV)?

Conclusion

To summarize a sermon by Mark Driscoll entitled “Resisting Idols Like Jesus”, Driscoll’s point was this:

We all define our own Hell. For some Hell is being poor; or being sick.  For others Hell is our unrighteous government, our immoral education, or our murderous health care system.  For others, Hell is being treated unfairly or unjustly. When these things become our Hell, then the advocacy groups that address these concerns become our savior.  The end result is that a good thing becomes a god-thing, which is a bad thing.

When spiritual reform (or better: Gospel transformation) is sought, cultural reform may follow in tow.  When cultural reform is sought, Gospel transformation will never happen.  That would be sad.  So, as Dr. James K.A. Smith correctly observed:

”. .  And when that happens, [insert your social concern] becomes something else altogether — an idol, a way to effectively naturalize the gospel, flattening it to a social amelioration[1] project in which the particularity of Jesus as the revelation of God becomes strangely absent."

 

 

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[1] improvement

Becoming Secular Reformists - Part 2

In a previous blog, I expressed concern over the ease in which Christ-motivated initiatives to address societal concerns can easily become secular enterprises.  I quoted Dr. James K.A. Smith who eloquently said it this way:

“What begins as a gospel-motivated concern for justice can turn into a naturalized fixation on justice in which God never appears.”

The question is, “How do we make sure that doesn’t happen?”  “How do we make sure that Gospel-driven missions stay Gospel-centered?” “How do we make sure that what is profoundly a Christian endeavor doesn’t become another social reform?”   Here are a few things that I’ve learned:

#1. Refrain from unholy alliances.

We should need to argue to comprehensively for those who know their Old Testament that the major problem that Israel had in all its history was succinctly described as syncretism. Paul wrote two letters in the New Testament whereby this was the underlying issues: Galatians and Colossians.  Even morally reputable, sound citizens can be concerned about causes like abortion, marriage, education, justice, etc., but recruited unsaved, unregenerate people in mutual collaboration will erode the Gospel passion and soon it will become a social program.

The addiction program we know as AA is a prime example.  The founders of AA were men that met Christ at the altar and we spiraled into helping other alcoholics.  They were clearly driven by Gospel love. Today AA is another social program.  Why?  Because the God who saves became “the god as you understand him”.

#2.  God’s holy character is the benchmark.

Our goal is to reflect godliness.  Stated otherwise we are to glorify God. Why do we promote fidelity in marriage?  If it is only to have a nice and happy marriage, any secular institution can help in that.  We promote a faithful, covenant-keeping marriage, because our God is a faithful, covenant-keeping God.  Even more specifically His covenant of redemption is mirrored for us in the act of marriage.  Therefore the goal of faithful marriages is not the marriage, but that our relationships would be conformed to the image and glory of God.  One of the concerns I have for the ministry known as “Focus on the Family” is that this is the wrong focus!  

We promote the value of life from conception to the grave because of a greater goal than the obvious.  We value human life because all human life is made in the image of God.  And even lives that where He image is eclipsed or marred are then concerns of ours that they might, through the Gospel be remade in the image of Christ.

“Anything contrary to the holiness of God is abhorrent and dishonoring to God because it violates his moral character (cf. Prov. 30:9). God cannot issue, and could never have issued, moral standards in contradiction to those he gave, not because God’s sovereignty is limited by anything or anyone other than himself, but only because God can never be other than he is. He can never cease to be God. And he can never be untrue to his unchanging moral character.”^[1]

When the cause starts to focus on anything less that godliness and the glory of God, it becomes idolatry.

To be continued ….

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^[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2536). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Becoming Secular Reformists - Part 1

The following paragraph captured my attention in Dr. James. K.A. Smith’s article[1] entitled ‘Naturalizing Shalom, Confessions of a Kuyperian Secularist’  (This was published in the Ezra Institute’s Spring publication of their helpful magazine, ‘Jubilee’.   Here is the paragraph:

"What begins as a gospel-motivated concern for justice can turn into a naturalized fixation on justice in which God never appears. And when that happens, “justice” becomes something else altogether — an idol, a way to effectively naturalize the gospel, flattening it to a social amelioration project in which the particularity of Jesus as the revelation of God becomes strangely absent."

Let me try to paraphrase Dr. Smith’s thoughtful statement: Our love for Christ can produce an interest in certain civil causes, but there is a danger that the obsession with the cause becomes more important than the initial incentive.  OK, let’s make is even simpler:  A person can, from great Gospel-centered incentive become concerned over the poor and the hungry.  In such a case, there is an ever-present danger that feeding the poor becomes the main thing and the Gospel is eclipsed.

Over the years many such good and healthy causes have come to the forefront.  Abortion has been and still is a major issue.  Christians have sought to address aboriginal issues in Canada.  Currently same-sex unions, the blurring of gender identification and currently public education concerns the Church in Canada to a huge degree. Dr. Smith’s warning should be our warning.  Let us not forget why we are concerned about these issues.  If we simply become advocates for better health care, better schooling and gender integrity we ultimately become secular reformists.

We are always in danger of doing good and helpful things (or to use Dr. Smith’s word: “ameliorative” things.) and that where it remains – or it flattens out.   In other words, you could say, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that things will get better;” or you could say, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, NIV).

When the ‘cause’ becomes the ‘end’, “God never appears”, but when the ‘cause’ becomes a means to the end – and God (and the Gospel) is the end, God is glorified.

So how do we do that?  I will address that in another post. 

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[1]http://d1nwfrzxhi18dp.cloudfront.net/uploads/resource_library/attachment/file/355/20170330_Jubilee19_Trailblazers.pdf

The Sayings of the Wise – Part 14

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER THIRTEEN

“Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” (Proverbs 23:17–18, NIV)

A heart that envies sinners is contrasted with a heart that fears the Lord.  The wise are “zealous” for the fear of the Lord.  “’Envy’ and ‘zeal’ are both derived from the same word (qanah) for an intense feeling of love and desire. Because this emotion is often expressed as jealousy, we can speak of being jealous of other persons (Prov. 24:1, 19) or jealous for God (23:17).”^[1]  

The key seems to be found in a person who with passion and intentionality is deeply desirous of “the fear of the Lord”. The question that is often raised is “what is the fear of the Lord”?   We often hear people explain the fear of the Lord as a respect or reverence. But the Bible uses the word fear at least 300 times in reference to God and uses words that convey far more intensity that “respect”.  The Hebrew word for “fear” is the word יִרְאָה [yirʾah /yir·aw/] ^[2] and it is often translated as dread, terror along with respect and reverence.  Greeks use the word φόβος [phobos /fob·os/]^[3]  which is also translated terror, dread, etc., along with reverence, as in Philippians 2:12 (NIV):

¹² Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. [Emphasis mine]

(You will note that the Greek word is the source of our English word, phobia!)

How do you express “terror” for the One you honor and love? “Luther distinguished between that and what he called filial fear, drawing from the Latin concept from which we get the idea of family. It refers to the fear that a child has for his father. In this regard, Luther is thinking of a child who has tremendous respect and love for his father or mother and who dearly wants to please them. He has a fear or an anxiety of offending the one he loves, not because he’s afraid of torture or even of punishment, but rather because he’s afraid of displeasing the one who is, in that child’s world, the source of security and love.”[4]

The issue of course is “worldliness”.  The things of this world become more and more attractive, but to those who have a godly fear of the Lord, the future looks better than the present.  The Proverbial point is this:  When we so deeply regard our Lord that we are scared stiff to displease Him, the successes and the accomplishments of wicked people will be nothing in our eyes.  Such a passion comes with a great promise: “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:18, NIV).  

“Instead of envying those who disregard God’s way, one should make pleasing the Lord one’s top priority (v. 17), because such a path embodies the true hope that there is a future for the godly (cf. 24:14, 20; Ps. 37:9–11, 34, 37–38).”^[5]

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^[1] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (p. 548). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

^[2] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

^[3] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

[4] http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-does-it-mean-fear-god/

^[5] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1174). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Sayings of the Wise – Part 13

THIRTY SAYINGS OF THE WISE

SAYING NUMBER TWELVE

“My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad indeed; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right.” (Proverbs 23:15–16, NIV)

Ask any parent what brings them the greatest joy and if they are worthy in their calling as parents it will have something to do with the success of their children.  From the little leaguer that hits a home-run, to the gargantuan fish on the line – parents love to see their children achieve. Godly parents receive the most joy, the most exhilaration when their children act in godliness.  Or stated in the words of the Apostle John: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4, NIV).

“The quatrain is arranged in a chiastic pattern, using "if your heart is wise" and "when your lips speak what is right" to bracket the verses.”[1]  So the inspired author notes that a “wise heart” will “speak what is right”.   If the child’s heart is wise then the heart of the parent rejoices.  To speak what is right is from the Hebrew word, מֵישָׁרִים [meyshar /may·shawr/]^[2]  which refers to direct, honest speech – speech that is not deceptive.

As Solomon had noted earlier: “… A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother” (Proverbs 10:1, NIV).   The Targum, the Aramaic paraphrase or interpretation of the Hebrew Bible, translates the latter clause of verse 16: “when my lips speak right things.”   If this interpretation is correct then the author is not just rejoicing in the congruent speech of the child but further that the child speaks what is right.  In other words, “speaking truth, truthfully”. 

Where can that truth be found?  John Gill writes, “When the heart is wise; things agreeably to right reason, to the Scriptures of truth, the oracles of God; to the law and to the testimony; to the Gospel of Christ, and the doctrines of it.”[3]  It then proves proportionally that when parents teach the truths of the Bible and the wonder of the Gospel to their children, it may in God’s grace, resound back to them with great joy when they hear their children communicate the great wonders of God’s Word. 

So we are left with a poignant question: As parents will your greatest joy come from seeing your child succeed in athletics or academics; or will it come from hearing them “speak what is right”? 

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[1] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Proverbs/Exposition of Proverbs/IV. The Sayings of the Wise (22:17-24:34)/A. Thirty Precepts of the Sages (22:17-24:22), Book Version: 4.0.2

^[2] Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.

[3] http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/proverbs-23-16.html

The ‘Cons’ and ‘Pro’ of Hank’s Defection

The departure of Hank Hanekraaff from evangelicalism to Easter Orthodoxy is now well documented, here and here.   I don’t normally address all these ups and downs in the Christian news, but The Bible Answer Man is a prominent and popular radio show in our area and therefore this is relevant. 

I have enjoyed Hank Hanekraaff’s program over the years but of recent, due to an awkward sympathy he expresses about the Roman Catholic Mass; his unusual attention to Mary, the mother of Jesus; and his anti-Calvinism, have alerted me to concerns that obviously come to a head today.  Hank’s book, The Apocalypse Code, could be one of the best books on biblical interpretation that I have ever read.  Sadly The Bible Answer Man, is going to have to answer to the Word of God for this defection.

Here are 2 things that sadden me about this (the cons):

1.  Hank inherited a stellar ministry (The Christian Research Institute).  This ministry founded by the late Dr. Walter Martin has been a true asset and resource to the Christian Church.  In this defection, Hank has dropped the ball.  He has failed to “… to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3, ESV).

2. Hank has not “moved” to another branch or denomination that upholds the Gospel ministry. This move of his will confuse the world, confuse the Church and mar the Gospel.  It is the Gospel that is at stake here, not Hank’s feeling of being “more in sync, spiritually”[1].  It doesn’t get any more complicated than this: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one . . . If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6–9, ESV).

Here is the one thing that I’m pleased about (the pro):

1. Hank is at least consistent.   He has not been quiet about his anti-Calvinistic beliefs.  Now there are Arminians (anti-Calvinists) who are beloved brothers and sisters in pursuit of God’s glory.  But they are, to my joy and delight, inconsistent Arminians.  Theologically, to be a consistent Arminian is to embrace the Vatican and points beyond.  The road to Rome is via Arminian theology.  Hank is at least consistent.  Essentially Roman Catholicism is the ‘Galatian Heresy’ wrapped in Vatican architecture.   The Eastern Orthodox Church embraces the same errors. 

Galatians 2:16 (ESV)

¹⁶ yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

“The Orthodox Church is a false expression of Christianity, much like the Roman Catholic Church, that is highly driven by graven images and denies the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and instead, trusts in meritorious works and a sacramental system for salvation.”[2]

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[1] http://www.wnd.com/2017/04/bible-answer-man-converts-to-greek-orthodox-church/

[2] http://pulpitandpen.org/2017/04/10/the-bible-answer-man-hank-hanegraaff-leaves-the-christian-faith/