A Joyful Walk in the Spirit

Hebrews 12:2 Let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Hebrews 9:11-28 Jesus is Better

This message was a prelude to the saints of Community Baptist taking the Lord's Supper. 

Heb 9:11-14 Christ has appeared.

Heb 9:15-22 Christ is the Mediator of the New Covenant.

Heb 9:23-28 Christ is a better sacrifice. 

Hebrews 4:1-13, Promise and Warning

1. The Promise Stands as does the warning (1 – 3)
2. The Promise is Rest in Christ (4 – 11)
3. Nothing is Hidden from God (12 – 13)

 

Holy People - not holy places

Holy People, not holy places

In John 4, Jesus went to Samaria to meet the woman at the well. The following conversation is foundational to the topic at hand.

John 4:19-24 (HCSB) “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” ​Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

A major point of all religions other than the one true one is that they have sacred places they must meet for worship. YHWH had met with the ancient Hebrews in the tabernacle. Their males went to Jerusalem three times a year to meet with God. Pagans built temples and altars at which they had to worship. In Acts 19 we see the pagan temple of Artemis (or Diana, depending on your translation) – the place was important.

In the passage from John 4, Jesus continues to introduce His kingdom by pointing out contrasts between it and what was being made obsolete. “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” This statement would have shocked both Jew and Samaritan, whose religions were based on sacred places. The kingdom of Christ is not of this world (John 18:36) and His people are to worship anywhere and anytime, as long we worship Him in spirit and truth. This is what YHWH desires – not ritual discipline to be at the temple at the right time.

During the ministry of Jesus and His apostles, we read of them engaging Jews in the Jewish synagogue (a system of worship developed outside of the canon of Scripture) but not worshiping with the Jews. When the saints met for worship, there is no record in Scripture of special places they were to meet. There are records of what they did and Who they worshiped.

We read in the Psalms how the people of Israel sang about meeting in the house of God. We read in the New Covenant passages how we are the house of God. Certainly, Christ’s cryptic words “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again,” refer immediately to His bodily resurrection. But the Apostles of the New Testament also understood Christ’s bodily “temple” in a metaphysical sense as a transcendent type of the corporate body of the elect who, as Christ’s spiritual “body” or “temple,” were “raised up together” and “made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:6) Thus James describes the salvation of Jews and Gentiles as the rebuilding of “the tabernacle of David” (Acts 15:16); Peter refers to the regenerated church as “living stones … built up a spiritual house” (1 Pet 2:5); and Paul, as we have seen in Ephesians, depicts the present state of the church as a “building fitly framed together” which constitutes the “holy temple of the Lord.” (Eph 2:21)

The first ten verses of Hebrews 9 details how the tabernacle was a symbol for that present time, when ritual offerings which could not perfect the worshipers’ conscience were made. Verse 10 sums it up: “They are physical regulations and only deal with food, drink, and various washings imposed until the time of restoration.” Physical things relate to earth-bound religions. The time of restoration refers to the coming of the kingdom that was inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Verse 11 declares Jesus the high priest of the good things that have come – the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation). The tabernacle in the wilderness was a sacred meeting place for the Hebrew people. Later they would sing about worshiping God in His house – the temple they had built. Another sacred place. Each child of God being a living stone, being built up into a spiritual house has no attachment to any geography. The places God’s redeemed meet to worship Him is not important; having the people He has redeemed worship Him in spirit and truth is.

The spiritual is always greater than the temporal. Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and those whose main focus is on temporal things are enemies of the cross of Christ (Phil. 3:18 & 19). The point is that whether we have large barns that satisfy our soul or put our treasures into grandiose buildings for saints to gather in, having our focus on earthly things is damaging to our souls. If we have been given much, we ought to give much; whether it’s money, time, love, or fellowship. This is how we use temporal wealth – to aid those who are hurting, not build grandiose buildings to impress people.

Phil 3:13-15, 20-21 (HCSB) Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. …  our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject everything to Himself. 

My Gay Conundrum

My Gay Conundrum

(This was written around 2008)

In many ways, I am a curmudgeon, refusing to cooperate with the culture on a host of issues. The push for euphemistic terms in all aspects of society particularly gripes me – from “sanitation engineers” to “gays”; I see no reason to go along with the subtle, evil scheme to redefine the terms that describe life.

Having said that, here’s my “Gay Conundrum”:

In 1999, I bought a used Ford Escort station wagon; it was purple (very much like the one in the picture). While my car was a deep, rich shade of purple – opposed to a light, soft shade – many in my circle of family and friends had fun telling me my car was “gay”. One brother in Christ gleefully called this car (upon which were several bumper stickers witnessing for Jesus) my “LAMBDA mobile” (look up LAMBDA on the Internet if the significance of this term is lost on you).

In 2000, my employer was laying people off. A VP, with whom I was friends and related to in Christ Jesus, told me how he was pressured to “protect” homosexuals during the layoff as he was to do so with historically protected minorities. He joked that his best protection against being laid-off was to declare himself “gay”. I told him that I embraced the “gay” label – with the explicit acknowledgment that my use of the term hadn’t fallen into the Humpty Dumpty redefinition process. Coupled with my driving a purple car, how could I lose? At any rate, he and I both survived the RIF. I gaily drove on in my purple chariot, not offended by the comments of friends and family who made fun of my car. Dark purple, as any student of ancient history knows, was a sign of royalty and honor. And that little purple Escort wagon was the best car I had owned. And it had a luggage rack on the top!

Until the summer of 2006. A young woman, driving her first car, blissfully ran through a red light and smashed into the driver’s side rear of my beloved car, rendering it “uneconomically repairable” – with increasingly debilitating electrical failures.

As news of this tragedy spread, my dear friend who labeled my car “LAMBDA-mobile” told me I should file a “hate-crime” report with the police and the homosexual activist crowd. Certainly, this blatant attack on the public declaration of my gayness was a hate crime!

Here’s the rub: I do not subscribe to the Orwellian view of “hate crimes”. A.) What are non-hate crimes to be called? “Love crimes”? B.) Motive should not be a constituent of the crime, but a consideration in the punishment. “Hate crimes” is a PC accommodation of Orwell’s infamous “thought crimes”. (If you have not read George Orwell’s 1984, correct this deficiency at once!)

So here I sit: a gay man whose LAMBDA-mobile was taken away too early. What’s a gay man to do? Sadly, my replacement car is a non-descript but tasteful silver – not “gay” at all. Has my identity been stripped from me? Has the “hate-crime” committed against me taken that away? No – a thousand times no! A man is not defined by his car. He is defined by his motorcycle!

Just kidding about that last part (although my dear wife of more than 30 years would agree that I spend too much time with my motorcycle).

I am struck by the insanity of defining crimes by attempting to see into the perpetrator’s mind and make his mental state a crime unto itself. Does one man’s hate for another make the taking of life or property any worse? In our post-modern culture, where the only truth is that perceived to be truth by hearer, it’s nigh impossible to convince any authority that facts matter more than perceptions. This is the fundamental reason so many churches are awash in false teaching and why education is a train wreck. People have lost the ability to think, the schools have not been teaching children to critically examine anything. This environment cannot help but give birth to “zero tolerance” policies that criminalize boys who “shoot” one another with their fingers or a banana.

Co-opting the word “gay” to mean homosexual is another symptom of this mindset. People taking offense at anything they would rather not hear is another. All these things – hate-crimes, “gay” conversations, zero-tolerance, thin-skinned offended folk – are the outworking of a post-modern mindset where meaning is assigned by the receiver of the information and no moral absolutes exist. This brings me to an interesting quote I saw on the Internet recently – with no idea who said it. But it pulls all this gay conundrum of mine into perspective and brings it full circle.

To be offended by what someone else says is your own choice, as you don’t have to care about what other people think, and nothing has actually happened to you.

Information merely passed from their [sic] mind to yours.

In other words, you actually want to stop certain information from being communicated. You must believe that you have some sort of right to dictate not only what people can and can’t communicate, but they can and can’t think.

To be offended is to take the first step in being a totalitarian megalomaniac.

If any of us were honest, we would admit to holding to one or more ideas that fit into that ugly picture painted in the quote above. The recent hub-bub about florists and pizza parlors that refuse to service homosexual weddings shows how many “conservatives” have fallen into this unfortunate world of political correctness. These well-meaning people have drawn their line of support for these businesses based on religious expression and the freedom we have in that arena. They ignore the fundamental rights being trampled on – freedom of association and ownership of private property. 20 or 30 years ago countless businesses had signs displayed notifying patrons of the store owner’s right to refuse service to anyone. The market taught them which policies were beneficial. Now, “conservatives” ignore the Constitutional issues, agreeing that government ought to enforce “antidiscrimination” – meaning businesses cannot refuse service to anyone. The government should not discriminate – they are funded by everyone. Privately owned businesses are free to discriminate (even though we have laws that forbid it); yet the only discrimination allowed in this new version of Wonderland is against those who are accused of having historical advantages – either real or imagined. Facts don’t matter. The inferred or assumed injury is judged by how serious or outrageous it sounds, not by the facts of the matter.

When it’s all said and done, I am not as gay as I was 10 years ago. This world has lost its mind and I’m weary of it. But in the larger scope of eternity, that’s a good thing – for all who are truly in Christ, this world is not our home. The trials and craziness we experience here serve mainly to remind us of the Fall and how serious sin is – that which infects us and that which we do. So the message for my fellow saints is simple – fix your eyes on that which is unseen, remember His words, from John 14:13 (ESV) “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” And that’s really good news for all those who are in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 3 - Jesus is Better

From 1 September. 

Here's a snippet from the message:

As the faithful son over all of God's house, Jesus is superior to Moses – but not contrary to Him. As Moses is a type of Christ, so was the Exodus a type which foretells the redemption we have in Christ. In Luke 9:31 the death of Jesus is called an exodus; He is, according to 1 Cor 5:7, the true Passover; in 1 Pet 1:19 Jesus is the lamb without spot or blemish. Jesus was in Acts 7:38 the One who gave Israel living oracles in the wilderness; their baptism into Christ is the anti-type of Israel's passage through the Red Sea (1 Cor 10:1); our spiritual feeding on Christ in the Lord's Supper is the anti-type of Israel's nourishment by manna and water from the rock (1 Cor 10:3). Christ, the living Rock, was their guide through the wilderness (1 Cor 10:4); the heavenly rest that awaits the saints is the counterpart of the earthly Canaan rest of Israel (Heb 4). This typology was pressed on early Christians, telling them and us that Israel's rebellion and punishment in the wilderness was preserved for our instruction (1 Cor 10:6); Jude applies this to Christians from the fact that “the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” (Jude 5)

 

Teaching and Preaching – According to Paul

 

Teaching and Preaching – According to Paul

1.      1. Teaching. In the Bible, teaching is consistently that equipping activity which happens within the community of faith. Teaching is what is required of elders. In each passage, “teach” is a translation of G1320 διδάσκαλος didaskalos (d̮iy-d̮a'-ska-los) n. 1. a teacher, an instructor. 2. (figuratively, with reverence) mentor (or even “master,” as in a voluntary choice with mutual care and consideration) or G1321 διδάσκω didasko (d̮iy-d̮a'-skō) v. to teach. Exceptions are noted below. Here’s how Paul uses those words:

1Cor 4:17 This is why I have sent Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

1Cor 12:28,29 And God has placed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, next miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, managing, various kinds of languages. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all do miracles?

1Cor 14:6 But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in other languages, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

1Cor 14:19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than 10,000 words in another language. (G2727 κατηχέω katecheo (kat-ee-che'-ō) v.1. to sound down into the ears. 2. (by implication) to indoctrinate (“catechize”) or (genitive case) to apprise of.)

1Cor 14:26 What then is the conclusion, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation. All things must be done for edification. (G1322 διδαχή didache (d̮iy-d̮a-chee') n. instruction (the act or the matter). [from G1321]

Rom 6:17 But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to. ((G1322 διδαχή didache (d̮iy-d̮a-chee') n. instruction (the act or the matter). [from G1321])

Rom 12:7 if service, in service; if teaching (G1322 διδαχή didache (d̮iy-d̮a-chee') n. instruction (the act or the matter). [from G1321]), in teaching;

Gal 6:6 The one who is taught the message must share all his good things with the teacher. (G2727 κατηχέω katecheo (kat-ee-che'-ō) v.1. to sound down into the ears. 2. (by implication) to indoctrinate (“catechize”) or (genitive case) to apprise of.)

Eph 4:11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,

Col 1:28 We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Col 3:16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God.

1Tim 2:12 I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to be silent.

1Tim 3:2 An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher,

1Tim 4:6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. (G1319 διδασκαλία didaskalia (diy-d̮a-ska-liy'-a) n. instruction (the function or the information.)

1Tim 4:11 Command and teach these things.

1Tim 4:13 Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. (G1319 διδασκαλία didaskalia (diy-d̮a-ska-liy'-a) n. instruction (the function or the information.)

1Tim 4:16 Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (G1319 διδασκαλία didaskalia (diy-d̮a-ska-liy'-a) n. instruction (the function or the information.)

1Tim 5:17 The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. (G1319 διδασκαλία didaskalia (diy-d̮a-ska-liy'-a) n. instruction (the function or the information.)

1Tim 6:1-3 All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching (G1319) will not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved. Teach and encourage these things. If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching (G1319) of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness,

2Tim 1:11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher,

2Tim 1:13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (G3056 λόγος logos (lo'-ğos) n.)

2Tim 2:2 And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 

2Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. (G3718 ὀρθοτομέω orthotomeo (or-tho-to-me'-ō) v. 1. to make a straight cut or slice. 2. (figuratively) to rightly dissect (the divine message); (i.e. discern and explain).)

2Tim 2:24 The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, (G1317 διδακτικός didaktikos (diy-d̮ak-tiy-kos') adj. instructive (“didactic”).)

2Tim 3:10 But you have followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, and endurance, (G1319)

2Tim 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, (G1319).

2Tim 4:2,3 Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. (G1322 διδαχή didache (d̮iy-d̮a-chee') n.instruction (the act or the matter). [from G1321])

Titus 1:9 holding to the faithful message as taught (G1322), so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching (G1319) and to refute those who contradict it.

Titus 2:1 But you must say the things that are consistent with sound teaching. (G1319)

Titus 2:7 in everything. Make yourself an example of good works with integrity and dignity in your teaching. (G1319)

Titus 2:10 or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything. (G1319)

Heb 5:12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.

 

2.      2. Preaching. Preaching, in the Pauline letters, consistently portrays that gospel ministry that takes place outside the community of faith. “Preach” is a translation of G2784 κηρύσσω kerusso (kee-rïs'-sō) v. 1. to proclaim or announce; to herald (as a public crier). 2. (especially, of the gospel) to proclaim or announce divine truth or (G2097 εὐαγγελίζω euaggelizo (ev-an-ğe-liy'-zō) v. 1. to bring good news. 2. “evangelize.” 3. (especially) to proclaim the good news of redemption through Jesus (i.e. the gospel). Exceptions are shown below. Here’s how Paul used those words:

Rom 1:15 So I am eager to preach the good news to you also who are in Rome.

Rom 10:14, 15 But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!

1Cor 1:21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. (G2782 κήρυγμα kerugma (kee-rïg'-ma) n. 1. a proclamation (especially of the gospel). 2. (by implication) the gospel itself. [from G2784])

1Cor 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.

1Cor 9:14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel. (G2605 καταγγέλλω kataggello (kat-an-ğel'-lō) v. to proclaim, promulgate.)

1Cor 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

1Cor 9:18 What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my authority in the gospel.

1Cor 9:27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

2Cor 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silvanus and Timothy — did not become “Yes and no”; on the contrary, a final “Yes” has come in Him.

2Cor 2:12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, the Lord opened a door for me.

2Cor 11:4 For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly! 

2Cor 11:7 Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

Gal 1:8, 9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

Gal 1:11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought.

Gal 1:16 to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.

Gal 2:2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles — but privately to those recognized as leaders — so that I might not be running, or have run the race, in vain. (G394 ἀνατίθεμαι anatithemai (a-na-tiy'-the-mai) v. to set forth (for oneself), i.e propound, declare)

Gal 4:13 you know that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a physical illness.

Phil 1:15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and strife, but others out of good will.

Col 1:28 We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (G2605 καταγγέλλω kataggello (kat-an-ğel'-lō) v. to proclaim, promulgate.)

1Thess 2:9 For you remember our labor and hardship, brothers. Working night and day so that we would not burden any of you, we preached God’s gospel to you. 

1Tim 3:16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 

1Tim 5:17 The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.  (G3056 λόγος logos (lo'-ğos) n.)

2Tim 1:11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher, (G2783 κήρυξ kerux (kee'-rïx) n. 1. a proclaimer, a herald. one who announces or declares. 2. (especially, of the gospel) a proclaimer of divine truth.

 

I am not saying that elders never preach, merely pointing out that the tradition we have learned (teaching is merely to inform, preaching aims to reach the heart), is not biblical. Good teaching is much more than information, it pierces the hearts of the saints, applying properly the Scriptures being taught. This is what is required of elders, this is what builds us up in our faith. What takes place in most congregations at the 11 o’clock hour is teaching – perhaps with some preaching to the unconverted mixed in. Preaching is primarily done in world, to the world. We need to reform to the Scripture.