Labor and Economic Freedom

 Labor and Economic Freedom Dignified[1]

 

“When Christ was born, the country of his birth was occupied by the Romans, who, like the Greeks, had an extremely low view of physical work.  In their minds physical labor was only suitable for slaves and lower classes . . . The Christian view of labor and work as honourable and God-pleasing was another of the value clashes . . . it undermined slavery . . ..”

 

“It would be helpful if people today knew and appreciated that the current practice of compensating workers, undergirded the belief that it is unjust to deprive them of fair remuneration, would not be in place today were it not for the fact that Christianity held up the norm that ‘a worker deserves his wages’.” 

 

“One’s work and economic life have little or no dignity when one lacks the freedom and the right to own property. Both are rooted in two of the Ten Commandments . . . Just as God does not want people to be coerced in spiritual matters, so too he does not want them to be coerced in earthly matters, for instance, in their economic activities. There is not a single reference in either the Old or New Testament in which God denies economic freedom to people, as do fascism, socialism, and communism.”

 

“In reality, capitalism is only a synonym for free enterprise or free market . . . An economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector . . .  It does not coerce or compel individuals to make given economic transactions.  It permits individuals or companies to act voluntarily . . . The belief that the profit motive is evil and sinful does not come from the Bible.”

 

“[This system] based on economic freedom [affirms] that when people own their own property, they become animated and energetic rather than lethargic and dependent on others. Socialism could only work if human beings were totally sinless individuals.”

 

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[1] Schmidt, Alvin J., How Christianity Changed the World, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2001, Pages 194ff

The Sayings of the Wise - Part 29

The previous Saying warns the righteous not to throw their lot in with the wicked who levy injustice and crimes against the righteous.  This Saying warns the righteous not to gloat over the downfall of the wicked.^[1] Proverbs 24:17–18 (ESV) cautions the reader:

¹⁷ Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, ¹⁸ lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.

Notice the exhortation: “Do not rejoice” and [Do not] let your heart be glad. Ironically, the God who ordains the “fall” (implied in verse 16) is not pleased with those who might take delight in the consequence of the wicked. God Himself has “. . . no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11, ESV). “Yahweh would rather have us rejoice over rescues (cf. 24:11–12) and leave matters of judgment to him (see 24:19–20).^[2] The caution extends even to the heart. There should not be the slightest satisfaction in the demise of the wicked “seemingly from a more personal sense of self-righteous revenge.”^[3] The reasoning is stunning:

“lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.” (Proverbs 24:18, ESV)

The NIV reads, “or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.”  The NLT paraphrases the verse: “For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.” “The reason and also the purpose of the emphatic prohibition not to gloat is to avoid the necessary, negative consequence that if unheeded the wicked will get off the hook—at least temporally (see vv. 24:19–20) . . . The theological statement entails God’s moral sensibility against cruelty, coldness, smug arrogance, faithlessness and cynicism towards God’s image.”^[4] Dr. Waltke goes on to suggest that the Lord will not further pursue further ungodliness by pursing the very thing that is bringing it to pass. He demands justice, but His holiness demands that He not maintain a course that enables unrighteousness in His people.

We can legitimately hope that justice prevail (Romans 12:19) and even grant praise to God when justice does prevail.  But to harbor resentment and take great personal delight in the fall of the wicked is showing dishonor to God’s image bearers in this world. “It is the property of God to judge, and it is not to be taken lightly or personalized. God's judgment should strike a note of fear in the hearts of everyone (see Lev 19:17-18; Matt 5:44).”^[5]

I’ll give the final word to Matthew Henry: “There may be a holy joy in the destruction of God’s enemies, as it tends to the glory of God and the welfare of the church (Ps. 58:10); but in the ruin of our enemies, as such, we must by no means rejoice; on the contrary, we must weep even with them when they weep (as David, Ps. 35:13, 14), and that in sincerity, not so much as letting our hearts be secretly glad at their calamities.”^[6]

 

 

 

 

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^[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1177). Crossway Bibles.

^[2] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (p. 563). Zondervan.

^[3] Nielson, K. (2020). Proverbs for You (C. Laferton, Ed.; p. 187). The Good Book Company.

^[4] Waltke, B. K. (2005). The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31 (p. 284). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[5] 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

 ^[6] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1010). Hendrickson.

The Sayings of the Wise - Part 28

The Twenty-Seventh Saying involves the treatment of righteous people by the unrighteous or wicked. One of the expectations of those who are righteous is that God will protect them from wicked people.  A famous psalm that gave rise to Luther’s great hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God, is Psalm 46:

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way . . . The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” (Psalm 46:1–11, ESV)

Bible stories abound in showing God’s protection His people.  Israel’s voice reached the ears of the Almighty and He rescued them from Egypt.  They faced constant danger and threat of annihilation even to the point where the Persian empire was lawfully granted the right to wipe them up.  Except for Queen Esther and the sovereign mercy of God, that may have been their plight.  Except for Queen Esther and the sovereign mercy of God, that may have been their end.  One would expect that a good king, a kind king, and importantly an omnipotent king would protect and care for his subjects.  Psalm 91 gives us this comfort:

“Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.” (Psalm 91:9–10, ESV)

The Twenty-Seventh of the Thirty Sayings, gathered by Solomon, addresses this issue and is recorded in Proverbs 24:15–16 (ESV)

¹⁵ Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; ¹⁶ for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

It is a warning to those who might think it advantageous to join with the wicked against the “dwelling” of the righteous.  The home is his place of provision, rest and freedom. “A man’s home is his castle, “so to speak. The NASB translation carries the Hebrew a bit better in my opinion: “Do not destroy his resting place.” The home is symbolically and extrinsically linked to one’s well-being, his source of providence, his place of nourishment and rest.   Don’t violate that.

Derek Kidner points out that an “unscrupulous victory” is temporary. It “is never permanent: you are fighting against God.”^[1]  This Wise Man isn’t gullible.  He understands that sometimes the righteous do “fall”, even “seven times” (That’s Hebrew for “a lot”!)  The number”.  One might ask what the nature of that fall is.  Matthew Henry takes that “fall” even a fall into sin.^[2]  The phrase “seven times”, according to Bruce Waltke portrays an intensification through to completion, meaning, “The righteous don’t fall permanently. Life of the righteous does not pass without unmerited suffering. Indeed, it may appear to end in final ruin like the boxer knocked out for the count of ten of ten (i.e., its over) and like the proverbial cat that used up his “ninth life” (i.e., his last chance).” ^[3] But the encouragement is that he always rises.  The word “for” in verse 16 indicates a relationship between the fall of the righteous and the violence of the wicked. The wicked have been the cause of the fall. “The righteous may fall, but they rise again—not like the wicked, who are brought down for good (cf. 4:19; Jer. 6:15; 8:15; 20:11).^[4]

Everyone suffers injustice and personal attacks.  Everyone suffers.  But Proverb teaches us that when the wicked stumble they remain fallen. A huge question in our day is “why does God permit evil”? People ask that because it is obviously true. But the righteous see hope despite the evil.  The wicked cannot.  This begs the question, “who are the righteous?”  Beeson Divinity School professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, Allen P. Ross puts it this way:

“The basic meaning of ‘righteous’ has to do with conforming to the standard; in religious passages that standard is divine revelation. The righteous are people who have entered into covenant with God by faith and seek to live according to his word. The covenant that they have makes them the people of God—God knows them, and because God knows them, they shall never perish. They may do unrighteous things at times, but they know to find forgiveness because they want to do what is right.”[5]

Even though the righteous are often victims of the ruthless and unprincipled, they do not remain victims forever.  “Since the righteous rise after a violent and final fall, his recovering points to his resurrection from death.^[6]  God causes even these events to work together for their salvation (Heidelberg Catechism, Question 1). He that started a good work in them will continue until glorification (Philippians 1:6). The crucifixion of Christ seemed that a righteous man fell for the last time.  He did not.  God raised Jesus from the grave, He ascended back to Heaven where He reigns as a good and sovereign King over His subjects. The Righteous Man did not ultimately fall but rose again in triumphant victory.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 1:1–6, ESV) (Emphasis mine)

 

 

 

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^[1] Kidner, D. (1964). Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 17, p. 147). InterVarsity Press.

^[2] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1010). Hendrickson.

^[3] Waltke, B. K. (2005). The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31 (p. 283). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

^[4] Koptak, P. E. (2003). Proverbs (p. 563). Zondervan.

[5] Allen P. Ross, A Commentary on the Psalms: Volume I (1-41) (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2011), p193-194

^[6] Waltke, B. K. (2005). The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 15–31 (p. 283). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

The Sayings of the Wise - Part 27

This is the 26^th Saying of the 30 SAYINGS OF THE WISE.  I started this study back in 2016.  Part 1 explains why this is categorized this way and the basic structure.  A review of that Blog Post might be helpful.  I note in that post that “Solomon is generally thought to have authored the entire Book of Proverbs except for three sections: the Sayings of the Wise in Proverbs 22:17-24:34, Proverbs 30, and Proverbs 31. He may have collected and compiled the Sayings of the Wise, but it is generally agreed that he did not write them. We do not know who wrote them.”  The title Thirty Sayings comes from the text:

“Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge, for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips. That your trust may be in the Lord, I have made them known to you today, even to you. Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge, to make you know what is right and true, that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?” (Proverbs 22:17–21, ESV) (Emphasis mine).

After a long hiatus I want to pick up where I left off.  Today’s passage is found in Proverbs 24:13–14 (ESV),

¹³ My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. ¹⁴ Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Here the author is comparing the enjoyment of eating good honey as wisdom is to the soul. The health-giving properties of honey are analogous to godly wisdom. The Mayo Clinic writes,

“Honey contains mostly sugar, as well as a mix of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, iron, zinc and antioxidants. In addition to its use as a natural sweetener, honey is used as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antibacterial agent. People commonly use honey orally to treat coughs and topically to treat burns and promote wound healing.”[1]

Of course, the imperative “eat honey” is not the point.  The point is “know wisdom” because it is health-giving. More specifically the absorption of wisdom and application of wisdom provides a future and a hope. “The motivation is that wisdom will have a long future to it ("hope"—'aharit and tiqwah).”[2]  The consistent picture of wisdom is the result of not daring to choose any path that God would disapprove of.  Or even more precise, pleasing God in all our ways.  The “father” behind this proverb reminds his son that such wisdom leads to hope and a future.

Again, the reader needs to be reminded that the longevity of life promised in the Old Testament is clarified in the New Testament.  Long life and hope is described by Jesus as “eternal life”.  “It is a mistake, however, to view eternal life as simply an unending progression of years. A common New Testament word for “eternal” is aiónios, which carries the idea of quality as well as quantity. In fact, eternal life is not really associated with “years” at all, as it is independent of time. Eternal life can function outside of and beyond time, as well as within time.”[3]  Eternal life can be experienced now. It is linked, as Christ affirmed, with “knowing God”. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3, ESV). God in Christ is wisdom personified.  This is the Wisdom that proverbial literature points to.  Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God incarnate.  It is knowing Him that grants eternal life.  “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”^[4]  

To those who are “in Christ”; those who have placed their trust in Him as Savior and Lord, we read, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” (1 Corinthians 1:30, ESV).  Herein is the reality of life: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11–12, ESV)

 

 

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[1] https://cutt.ly/hAeQVeQ

[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

[3] https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-eternal-life.html

^[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Col 2:2–3). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

Seven Christian Truths That Will Not Change In 2022

 

1. Those who repent and believe the Gospel will be saved.  Acts 2:21 (ESV): “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

2.  God’s enabling grace will sanctify you. Ezekiel 36:27 (ESV): “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.“

3. God’s regenerating mercies will keep you persevering in faith. Jeremiah 32:40 (ESV): “And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.“

4.  God will sovereignly and providentially guarantee to you the greatest good, i.e., to be like Christ. Romans 8:28–29 (ESV): “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

5.  He will not abandon you. Hebrews 13:5–6 (ESV): “for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

6.  Nothing can separate you from His love. Romans 8:38–39 (ESV): “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

7. God will accomplish His redemptive purpose for your life. Jude 24 (ESV): “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy . . ..”

The End of the Bible Reading Program for 2021

For many of us who follow a read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year program, we have entered into the Revelation of Jesus Christ — the last of the New Testament canon.  William Hendrikson [1] reminds us that the Revelation is neither an entirely futuristic Book or a chronological Book:

“Every paragraph of this glorious prophecy is filled with significance, instruction and comfort for the seven churches of proconsular Asia. This book is an answer to the crying need of that particular day, and we must permit contemporaneous circumstances to shed their light on its symbols and predictions. True, this book has a message for today, but we shall never be able to understand ‘what the Spirit is saying to the churches’ of today unless we first of all study the specific needs and circumstances of the seven churches of ‘Asia’ as they existed in the first century AD.”

“A careful reading of the book of Revelation has made it clear that the book consists of seven sections, and that these seven sections run parallel to one another. Each of them spans the entire dispensation from the first to the second coming of Christ.”

“ Each section gives us a description of the entire gospel age, from the first to the second coming of Christ, and is rooted in Israel’s history under the old dispensation to which there are frequent references.”

“ Our division is as follows: 1. Christ in the midst of the seven golden lampstands (1–3). 2. The book with seven seals (4–7). 3. The seven trumpets of judgment (8–11). 4. The woman and the Man-child persecuted by the dragon and his helpers (the beast and the harlot) (12–14). 5. The seven bowls of wrath (15, 16). 5. The seven bowls of wrath (15, 16). 6. The fall of the great harlot and of the beasts (17–19). 7. The judgment upon the dragon (Satan) followed by the new heaven and earth, new Jerusalem (20–22).”

“ The Apocalypse is steeped in the thoughts and images of the Old Testament . . . Westcott and Hort give nearly four hundred references or allusions to the Old Testament, and an intensive study of any chapter of the Apocalypse soon reveals that this list of four hundred references is itself incomplete. It is on the basis of these sacred Scriptures [Old Testament] that we must interpret the Apocalypse.“

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1. Henrikson, William, More Than Conquerors, An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation, Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan, © 1940, 1967 

Seventeenth Century “Charismatic”

In reading Dr Michael Haykin’s book: THE REFORMERS AND PURITANS AS SPIRITUAL MENTORS, it would seem to me that had we lived in the days of John Owen, many of us would have regarded him as a “charismatic”.  He clearly believed and lived a form of experiential Christianity. Haykin quotes Owen from his work,  Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded:

 “Let us live in the constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, and virtue will proceed from him to repair all our decays, to renew a right spirit within us, and to cause us to abound in all duties of obedience.” 

And from A Discourse of the Work of the Holy Spirit in Prayer:

“ The soul is hereby raised and ravished, not into ecstasies or unaccountable raptures, not acted into motions above the power of its own understanding and will; but in all the faculties and affections of it, through the effectual workings of the Spirit of grace and the lively impressions of divine love, with intimations of the relations and kindness of God, is filled with rest, in “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Facing an accusation of being too subjective, Owen responds:

“I had rather be among them who, in the actings of their love and affection unto Christ, do fall into some irregularities and excesses in the manner of expressing it (provided their worship of him be neither superstitious nor idolatrous), than among those who, professing themselves to be Christians, do almost disavow their having any thoughts of or affection unto the person of Christ.” (Grace and Duty …)

Herein Owen slips into our thinking two guardians to such a spiritual pursuit: superstition and idolatry.  I am not certain what Owen means by superstition, but I suspect he points to an idea or activity that is pursued despite clear evidence to the contrary. I would think his Puritanism would clearly imply believing and acting in ways opposed to the clarity of God’s Word.  And secondly in pursuing such experiences as more important and “before God” than the glory of the Triune God Himself.  

This leads us to a Christian reality that some of called “charismatic with seatbelts” whereby the contemplation of the glory of Christ, may lead one to some excesses in thought and behaviour, but these are always strapped in by sola scriptura and fear of turning a “good thing into a God-thing.” (To paraphrase Timothy Keller). 

All this so-called experiential Christianity is the response of contemplating the glory of God, as taught in  2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV): 

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

We are ever in danger of seeking particular experiences that can be the result of some subjective experience that ultimately provides a fake feeling and can easily translate into extra-biblical or idolatrous exercises.