How Important is Knowledge?

Note that I am referring to the average Joe believer and not the one called into the ministry who must utilize all the tools of the trade and prepare himself by studying.  Knowledge is usually a byproduct and not a goal to see how smart one can become; there is little correlation between education and spiritual maturity or growth.  If there was I would certainly be rated a great believer, simply by virtue of my knowledge.  Knowledge must be accompanied by wisdom and understanding.  "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction--because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty (Mal. 2:7).

Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and in increasing knowledge results in increased pain"  (Eccl. 1:18).  The meaning of what Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is required" applies in that the more we know, the more responsible we are, especially in our sinning and ministry.  The goal, Hosea says, is to "go on to know the LORD"  It is better to know the Author than to know the Bible, no matter how vital this is.  But don't get the fallacious impression that ignorance is bliss!  "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Ps. 111:10).

1 Cor. 8:1 says that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." God hates arrogance and conceit.  We overestimate our place in the body and our importance when we know a lot and don't relate to the less informed.  We may think of them as a poor specimen because they aren't as clued in as we are and it may be a source of pride.  We are not to reject knowledge per se, but it is not the goal, it is the means to an end, and not the end itself.  We must always ask ourselves, "Why do I need to know this?"  For instance, I don't learn Greek, because I can't justify it, even though it would be a source of pride and I could brag.  I asked a friend of mine why he was taking this course and he really hadn't thought about it--it seemed to satisfy idle curiosity it seemed.

Hos. 4:6 warns the priest that has rejected knowledge (it comes with the territory). And "since they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD" God will not answer their prayers and let Himself be found by them.  For some brethren, it is more pleasing to God that they serve in a soup kitchen or charity than take a theology course to think they are "educated" and "informed" (i.e., a person should know his gift and how  God uses him in the body).  People erroneously think that "knowledge is power" and this only applies to the right kind used wisely and of spiritual knowledge, otherwise it puffs up (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1).

The man of God knows who God wants him to hearken to and submit to.  There are many courses over the internet, for instance, and one must exercise caution and discretion.   I like the prayer warrior who replied that he didn't have theology on prayer, he just prayed!  Another teacher said, "I don't need another book on prayer, I just need to pray, and I won't find the time, I must make time!  Most of us know enough, we just aren't applying enough.  The proverb that "curiosity killed the cat" has some validity, in that one may get too enamored with the intellectual side of Christianity and lose its main focus, which is seeking God and doing His will which will glorify Him.

Some people are converted to the program and not to Christ--and this is another danger.  If one is too intellectual and not practical, he may be in love with the idea of God, rather than God.  God is not looking for some genius to discover His truths (I have been told that I'm the brains behind the program and I don't take this as a compliment, because God is looking for a man after His own heart--it is no accolade to be smart in some one's eyes, but to be able to be a spiritual or spiritual leader is another thing)--He's looking for an open mind, willing spirit, and needy heart to search the Scriptures ("Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life," according to Prov. 4:23; cf. Prov. 23:7)  The question is whether a person's heart is in the right place, not how smart he is.

We want to know what God showed you in the Scriptures, not what the experts say:  Jesus was contrasted to the Pharisees who quoted the authorities and never footnoted His sermons, but said, " You have heard it said, but I say unto you."  "No man ever spoke like Jesus," cf. Matt. 7:29.  To be called a scholar is more of an insult than a compliment because he doesn't have first-hand knowledge of the Lord, but only knows what he has read in books.  "Of making many books, there is no end, and much study wearies the body" (Eccl. 12:12).

It is so refreshing to talk to a believer who doesn't read any book but the Bible,  in contrast to him.  We need believers with more than a second-hand knowledge of the Lord.  There is knowledge we all can commend: the knowledge of the Lord, which must be contrasted with knowledge about the Lord.  This comes from our daily walk in the Spirit.  Experience, indeed, is the best teacher, and we should always need someone who has been there and done that or has gone through the school of hard knocks, as it were.

To sum up in a sentence:  the gift of knowledge is a gift and we should try to be like them who have been filled with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, not emphasizing and elevating knowledge, but not despising or rejecting it either--it has a place--we are to love God with all our mind, too.  Soli Deo Gloria!

What is the Essence of Worship?

Caveat:  Only worship the LORD your God, for He alone is worthy, that even goes for angels who stand in the presence of God and represent or speak for Him.  "At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the LORD of hosts."  Worship is called that because of His "worth-ship."  We worship God for who He is and what He has wrought.

The typical believer thinks that he simply goes to church to "worship" God and hopes to get something out of it.  This couldn't be further from the truth, biblically speaking, that is.  We don't go to worship we are to worship with our bodies, our time, our talents, our resources, our opportunities, our money, our speech or testimony, our demeanor or attitude, our relationships, our vocations and vacations or witness.  Our whole life is a devotion to God.  "Present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God...."  Worship is a prostration of ourselves unto God, valuing and recognizing his "worth-ship" (the origin of the English word).  We "bow" to God ("worship and bow down," says Ps. 95:6). Whenever we give God His "due" we are worshiping and humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord--"God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Worship must be lively or "in the Spirit" and not "lukewarm, nonchalant, disinterested, or casual  (this refers to Mark 7, Matt. 15 and Isa. 29:13 which says, "Because these people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote." Jesus said, "But in vain do they worship me.")--we take God seriously and not treat Him in a flippant or frivolous manner.  Don't be a fraud at worship, but sincere.

Indeed, some are more demonstrative and some are by nature stoical or inhibited, but God wants us to learn to worship God, nevertheless--feelings are not wrong, but worship is more than emotionalism, just as much it is more than intellectualism.   "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name, worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness"  (Ps. 29:2).  ("Bless the LORD, O my soul, all that is within me bless His holy name, says Ps. 103:1.  Jesus said that those who worship God must "worship in spirit and in truth," according to John 4:24.  

That means that accuracy and right teaching are important to God as well as how excited we get. Speaking of excitement:  Ps. 100:4 says, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courts with joy."  Ps. 47:1 says: "Clap your hands all ye peoples, shout to God with the voice of triumph."  Likewise Ps. 89:15 says:  "Blessed are the people who hear the festal shout," or "Blessed are the people who hear the joyful call to worship!"  or "Blessed are the people who have learned to acclaim You."

Worship is a celebration and meant to be happy and a "sacrifice of thanksgiving."  "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me," says Ps. 50:23.  All worship glorifies God and whenever we do something to the glory of God it is a sacrifice to God, in fact, "whatever you do, do to the glory of God,"  1 Cor. 10:31.  God hates "solemn assemblies" and "religious feasts" (Amos 5:21).

 We offer our daily activities to glorify and honor our Maker and they are the worship we are called to do, just as the pastor giving his sermon is doing what God has called him to do in life (another example is the bricklayer seeing himself as building a temple for God, not just making money or laying bricks).  I've heard it said that we don't "go to church, we are the church."  It is the same in worship, there is corporate worship as the body assembles and we are not to neglect this, but we are to worship God individually (our private walk with the Lord), too and I don't mean like the farmer who says he can give God His due in the cornfield.

 The biggest misconception concerning worship is that one can listen to someone sing and that is worship per se.  "Sing to the LORD a new song {not listen]."   Worship is not passive, au contraire, it is very active and so active you would call it a sacrifice unto God.  Yes, it's sacrificial and going to cost you (you might have to give up something, and I don't mean for Lent)   We don't receive, we give--only God is worthy of worship and in today's society there are many idols people worship, such as fame, fortune, power, success,  and money even though we don't worship "idols" like the Israelites did.

There is no "one-size-fits-all" worship and some are traditionalists by nature and don't like new, untried activity.   God wants us to always give Him the credit and not think it ours.  The motto of the Reformation was Sola Deo Gloria or to God alone be the glory! The more we exalt God the better and we should be like John who said, "He must increase, I must decrease."  The whole idea is to get our eyes off ourselves and on our triune God.   As we get older we get set in our ways, but this is not ideal--we should be young at heart and relate to the youth, even then, and reach out to them--the older are to mentor the younger in the Lord.  Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is Preaching?

Sometimes we are preached at and know it, other times we think we have been preached to and really only given a facsimile or similitude of a sermon. Note that preaching is not the same as teaching and they are separate gifts, though often the same person has both; one may find the two distinguishable, but not separable.  A report, a lecture, a story, a testimony (though these may include preaching), is not a sermon, and preaching requires exhortation and implies some kind of response or application.  We don't listen to sermons to get info as the main objective, or to get informed; but transformed, if you will.   We go to school to get informed and prepared.  That is, preaching should aim to be edifying to the spirit and to encourage, exhort, or convict.

 A real preacher afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted--no one is uninfluenced and there is no neutral opinion or unmoved listener. He never loses track of keeping the main thing the main thing, which is the preaching of Christ, and Christ crucified (the gospel message--the Great Commission).  We don't need to get the scoop, the lowdown, the skinny, or the latest news when we are given a sermon, unless it is only incidental as a digression, or to mention in passing or parenthetically, as it were, as an aside to make a point; such as using an anecdote for an illustration as  a teaching technique.

Some preachers are big on quoting the authorities like the Pharisees were and don't have more than a second-hand knowledge of the Lord.  It is one thing to go to the commentaries and share something interesting, and quite another to get an original message from God speaking to you personally.  The commentaries are not inspired and we need to learn to depend on the Bible and not secondary sources for our authority. They really want to hear what the Lord showed the preacher in the Word personally more than what the Keil and Delitzsch Commentary says.   The point about sermons is that they need not just be interesting, but change lives, i.e., have an impact!  The purpose of the Bible is not to increase our knowledge, but to change our lives.  Don't "wow" them with your scholarship!

Some preachers give you the feeling that you have just been in a class lecture and not a church meeting.  People need to learn to seek the Word of the Lord while it is available because according to Amos 8:11 the time will come when people will seek the Word of the Lord and not find it.  We need great expositors of the Word who have a literary mind and can interpret Scripture as well and an explanation of the Word never goes out of style.  The man with a message will never go out of vogue, but the man of learning may go out of style and out of demand.  ("They will go to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, but they will not find it," Amos 8:12b).

 It is not a compliment to call someone a gentleman and a scholar; that's what the Pharisees were, and Jesus despised them--they didn't "know the Scriptures, nor the power of God," (Cf. Matt. 22:29) though they had studied them all their life and had even been teachers.   The scholar is not an original, but only quotes authorities and dares not say anything new that may not have been heard before or break new territory--he plays it safe.  We need preachers who will dare to stand alone and be a Daniel, and not be people-pleasers, who are just concerned about the people's opinions or trying to be popular.

 In summation, preaching is a spiritual, not an intellectual endeavor-there is no special advantage to someone just because he is intelligent, educated, or wise, but sensitivity to the Spirit and the anointing is what matters most.  The flock doesn't need a lecture, they need a savior and not a report, but someone to believe in that has the gift to preach-there are too many preachers not called into the ministry. They need to be leaders who have learned to follow first and aren't control freaks, but willing to let God be God and not play God.  They are not to exalt themselves or lord it over the flock, but to be examples and instruments of God's grace and truth.  "Don't take my word for it; check it out for yourselves in the Word like the noble Bereans, who searched out the Scriptures to see if these things were so.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Is God Doing His Best?

Some people think they are doing God a favor by "helping" Him out and doing Him a favor by what they do.  God doesn't need our aid to accomplish His purposes; He only has decreed the means to His ends and it is a privilege to be used by Him, not God that is privileged by our aid.  God doesn't need us in the slightest and can accomplish His will regardless--to say that He needs us is to deny His self-existence or His self-sustaining ability--He requires no outside aid to exist--God is dependent on no one. 

 Of course, some look at the lost and say that God is trying to save everyone and only doing His best--which means that God is a failure because not everyone is going to be saved.  ("As many as were appointed unto eternal life believed," says Acts 13:48.)  The doctrine of election is further delineated in Romans 11:7 saying, "The elect obtained unto it, and the rest were hardened."  Peter says, "They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do" in 1 Pet. 2:8.  There are encouraging words to the elect:  "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ," says 1 Thess. 5:9.  However, regarding the reprobate, Jude says, "For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation."

God achieves what He sets out to do and "accomplishes all His good purpose" (Isa. 46:10).  God takes no pleasure in the ultimate destiny of the wicked ("For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live," says Ezek. 18:32).  You might think of a judge that has to execute the guilty person but hates doing it.

God is a God of mercy and love, but also of justice and in some cases, justice must be served.  God owes mercy to no one or it would not be mercy, but justice.  God could have decided to save no one and He would still be God.  Yes, everything is going according to plan A and there is no plan B as a backup--God will not fail!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Hymn by Isaac Watts

Alas! and did my Savior bleed?
  And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
  For such a worm as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done
  He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity!  grace unknown!
  And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide
  And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
  For man the creature's sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face
  While his dear cross appears;
Dissolve, my heart, in thankfulness,
  And melt, mine eyes, to tears.

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
  The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away--
  'Tis all that I can do.

              Isaac Watts (1707, public domain)

What Is Fellowship?

When believers get together, what should be the topic of conversation?  (Jesus, as much as possible!) Is it real fellowship when they just talk sports or the weather or news events?  [N.B. I am not referring to fellowship with the Father and the Son, but fellow brethren.] Genuine fellowship (from the Greek word koinonia which means having something in common: Christians have Christ, a mission, ministries, purposes, the Bible, etc. in common)  which is two fellows in the same ship, as it were facetiously, is when honesty, authenticity, and real sharing takes place in the name of the Lord ("For when two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them," reads Matthew 18:20).  Sometimes it involves confession or empathizing and/or sympathizing.   Consoling each other as an example is fellowship (we are comforted so that we can comfort others--2 Cor. 1:20), but that can even take place even among nonbelievers in a technical sense. 

There is fellowship, and then there is fellowship.  What we ought to have in common is not the weather or our team, but our Lord.  Is the Spirit of the Lord present is all that matters, and if you have discernment in the Spirit you should be able to tell if the Holy Spirit shows up or is a "no-show" to your fellowship.  Sometimes all it takes is the mention of His name because He is not far from each of us and is in us already.

But we stifle the Spirit and hamper His free expression and quench His presence by our conversation--we need to be sensitive to what is pleasing in His sight (cf. Psa. 19:14).  The Spirit does not lie, exaggerate, jest, or tease, etc., but is full of love and that is the key to His presence in essence--Christians love the brethren, and His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are the Sons of God.  The believers will know if they had fellowship, but an outsider would not be able to judge or discern, for he is unaware of spiritual things and blind spiritually.

There is no limit as to how far we can go into the realm of the Spirit if we but open the door and be willing to confess Him before man and be open and free in our spirit ("Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,' says 2 Cor. 3:17). When we are having fellowship, we are equal in God's eyes and there is neither Greek nor barbarian, slave nor free,  male nor female, etc.  Rank has its privileges, but not in Christ--we kiss our social position goodbye.  There is often a so-called esprit de corps of the Holy Spirit, you might say.   The possibilities are limitless and sometimes even ecstasy and euphoria are possible, as well as the other extreme end of the spectrum which is grief--some people don't feel they are really friends till they have cried together, not laughed together.

In summation, we must differentiate between surface-level chitchat and real genuine fellowship, which is not a given, even among believers--they may be out of fellowship with God.  We must put Christ into it or be inspired or led by Him in our conversation.  We share our walk and can relate to each other as to how we are doing, which is also key; but NB:   There is no fellowship (in my interpretation of Scripture) with an unbeliever:  "For what does light have in common with darkness?  What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"  (2 Cor. 6:14-15).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Why Live Today?

The problem with most people is that they don't know that the principle from Scripture (cf. Deut. 33:25) says that "as your days are, so shall your strength be."  We can get depressed by 3 states of mind:  dwelling on the past, misinterpreting the present, anticipating the future.  The well-known verse from Psalm 118:24  says, "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us be glad, and rejoice in it."  Tomorrow does not belong to you and is not guaranteed by God--He wants you to live each day to the fullest and "boast not [ourselves] of tomorrow" [cf. Prov. 27:1] for "tomorrow does not yet belong to us."

Each day when we arise we should gratefully thank God for a new day and new opportunity to walk with Him, asking Him if He might come that day.  Matthew Henry said that we should live each day as if it were our last.  We should always be prepared for our death, which can come at any time, and live each day as if it could be our last--and I mean to "occupy, purify, watch, and worship, (conduct main business as usual)" not to sell out and stop our affairs like quitting our jobs, and so forth.  The hedonist philosophy to "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die" is evil and presumptuous on God's mercy and grace (cf. Isa. 22:13; 1 Cor. 15:32).

 A real famous local pastor on TV in my youth used to start each sermon with the verse quoted above and it inspired me to be patient and live in the present:  "This is the day that the LORD has made...."  That verse is also the way many a church service is begun by tradition or custom. ( Focus on the now and you will be happier--God will take care of your tomorrows.  God will give the grace you need when the time comes.) Each day is a new beginning and a new chance to walk with our Lord, and we should be thankful as a state of mind for this opportunity.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We Faithful to Our Church?

The issue we must face sooner or later in our walk is, "Are we to remain faithful to our church, as opposed to our Lord and our personal faith?"  Here's a case in point:  After many years and many ties to a church,  one finds out that he doesn't agree with the church dogma and it is a compromise on his faith to cooperate, where he doesn't feel he can grow in Christ according to his faith, even though he may have the opportunity to serve in that church--what is most important?

To cite an example:  My grandmother, God bless her soul, stayed faithful to one church for most of her 96 years, seeing the coming and going of countless pastors, programs, and opportunities.  I don't know whether she knew it or not, but the church had become quite liberal, theologically speaking, and I don't think she realized it (she may have felt she was just too old to start over in another church and thought maybe she could influence them more than they her).

In my own walk, I am glad I'm not where I was when I was young and knew nothing of doctrine.  It seems like I was at a different stage at each church and God had a purpose for me being there, but then called me out to move on in a spiritual promotion, as I matured. Thank God I'm still not going to the Lutheran church of my youth where I would probably be a somebody by now, but the church would be nowhere.

The issue is whether one should be in a church where he can serve, or where one can grow.  One deserves accolades for faithfulness, but not if he disregards principle or his faith to do it--his primary concern should be to grow in the Lord, his priority in service.   I believe that, if you seek to grow, the serving will come naturally, and we shouldn't tend to promote ourselves or to presume on God that he has to put us into service--He will call us in is timing. 

In the early church, there was no alternate church to go to if one disagreed, for example; one had to stick it out through thick and thin.   We recall the carnal Corinthians who split into factions, and Paul labeled that a fruit of the flesh.  Sectarianism ("I am of Paul, I am of Peter, I am of Apollos, etc.) is a sin and not in God's original design for the local church.  The Bible does teach the local body's autonomy and independence from other churches, and the individual responsibility of the believer for his own faith--he cannot say that the church told him so, and pass the buck, so to speak.

It is good to downplay denomination quarrels and not be so dogmatic about doctrines that divide--we should seek unity and not division--avoiding the Bible-club mentality.  We all need to under authority and be accountable so that we don't go off on our own tangent and get flakey. The key to doing this is to remain in fellowship with other believers and know the basic doctrines of the Scriptures as a grounding in the truth to stabilize ourselves.

We don't want to leave a fellowship for petty differences or for minor doctrines (don't major on the minors), but leave room for some disagreement--we can disagree, without being disagreeable; just don't be divisive, argumentative, or quarrelsome in the body and known as a trouble maker--keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace as Eph. 4:3 exhorts.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Is There Political Theology?

I mean, is there a political litmus test of orthodoxy in theology?   Do our political "opinions" influence our theology?  Now, to be sure, we hold opinions, but convictions hold us.  There is something you believe, and then there is something you will die for.  For instance, in the Civil War, or the War between the States, families were often set against each other, brother against brother, and so forth.  This was such a strong political influence that people were willing to die for it and many volunteered for the war--the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry that was the first to volunteer when Pres. Lincoln called for regiments.  It should be obvious that our regional upbringing and background have a lot to do with what kind of politics we have--not many Minnesotans joined the South.

There were sincere people on both sides that believed in the same God, read the same Bible, and even belonged to the same church denomination who opposed each other.  God wasn't concerned about what so-called side they were on but the condition of their heart and whether they loved Him and their neighbors, to be specific.  He isn't going to ask us, "What side were you on in the War?" but "Did you love Me during the War?"

 It is unfortunate that in today's evangelical churches that stress is made on conservative politics, as if all Christians should be conservatives, to their definition.  You cannot put God in a box and label Him, how does one know what party God would be a member of?  Wouldn't that have to be a perfect party, since God is holy?  It is not the question asked, "Are you a Democrat or Republican? but "If you are a Democrat or Republican, do you love Republicans or Democrats?"

With all the bitterness and backbiting, and slander, libel, and insults, I really wonder if this is the case.  The point is, is that there are sincere believers on both sides, and it is just like a ballgame, in which we believe that God doesn't take sides in any way that we can figure out, but must leave the outcome to the providence of God. 

It is wrong to call a movement the "Evangelical Right" implying that this is the orthodox position and that there is a consensus here to be conservative among Christians.  Do you know that a lot of African-American Christian voters are Democrats and they are just as sincere in their faith as the White majority who vote Republican?   There ought to be a separation of church and state in the sense that churches ought to stay out of politics and stay with the main thing--the Great Commission, which is the only program they are to be converted to.  "Keep the main thing the main thing!"  I don't go to church to get propaganda about a pastor's political leanings.

 Let me apply the Bible as I see fit and leave room for disagreement in the body:  Remember Augustine's famous dictum, "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity." We are not to hate (and showing disrespect and dishonor is a form of it) our leaders who we elected in the providence of God is to be hypocritical to our faith--we should be trusting in God and praying for all in authority, even honoring the king, no matter who he is and how much we disagree.  Soli Deo Gloria!

God Reaching Down to Us

Christianity may be summed up in grace or God reaching down to us (condescending) and acting on our behalf in doing for us what we didn't deserve--this is unique in Christianity.  All other religions are based on works because man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation (cf. John 6:28-29) and are summed up in man's effort to gain the approbation or approval of God by his good deeds, rituals, morality, etc.   You might say man's vain effort in reaching out to please God.

The Christian life is about seeking God and His presence and face in our daily walk.  But this does not take place apart from grace:  we didn't find Him; He found us.  Pascal said that he would not have sought God, had He first found Him.  Paul said that "there is none that seeks God" in Rom. 3.  God's chief quarrel with man, says John Stott, is that he doesn't seek.  God is no man's debtor and if we seek we will find. 

The miracle is that He is found by those who were not looking:  "I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me" (Isa. 65:1). Many people are looking for the benefits, not the Benefactor.   Actually, according to R. C. Sproul, the search for God begins at conversion, it doesn't end there. Jonathan Edwards said that seeking God is the main business of the Christian.   When we say we found God, we really mean He found us.  We begin our search for God at salvation because only in the Spirit can we know Him and be aware of Him.   Soli Deo Gloria!