"Preach the Word" -Paul

The search for one's call in life is a great adventure that encompasses a vast spectrum of emotions, situations, thoughts, and feelings.  For me that search has been just that.  I have been excited.  I have been scared.  I have been in situations that seem to confirm that calling and some that make me question it.  Thoughts daily pervade my mind about that which I believe I have been called.  And then I have feelings of certainty while uncertainty has its moments all too often.  There have been many prayers and conversations about what God has called me to, vocationally speaking.  There are certain things all Christians are called to but He calls certain people out to do His ministry full time.  I believe I am one of those whom God has called out to do His work in full time ministry.

I have heard many stories of guys who had this one time in their life where God spoke to them and that was it.  For me it has been quite different.  God has slowly changed my heart and guided my thoughts towards what He is calling me to.  Many times when I have prayed about what God is calling me to do I have heard three specific words written to a young pastor.  This young pastor goes by the name of Timothy and his spiritual mentor and leader was a guy we know as Paul.  In Paul's second letter to the young pastor he writes these words in chapter four: "preach the word."  Paul's command is so simple yet so weighty.  I keep coming back to those words.  "Preach the word."

I have Oswald Chambers' devotional book My Utmost for His Highest.  The other morning before work I picked it up and read the days message, which I recently discovered was last months message for the same day but God knows what He is doing.  The title of June 28th is "Apprehended by God."  On this day's devotional Chambers is talking about being called out by God.  He mentions the very thing I have already talked about.  He says, "Every Christian must testify, but when it comes to the call to preach, there must be an agonizing grip of God's hand on you, your life is in the grip of God for that one thing."  I think God is tightening His grip.  I have been asked multiple times lately about what I plan to do after seminary and my response has been, "I don't really know yet."  I don't believe it's vital that I know exactly what that is right now but I would like to begin to have an idea soon.  My call to the ministry is no longer the question.  The question is now, "What does God want me to do in the ministry?" 

I find myself thinking about the church quite frequently.  I think about what needs to be changed most often.  Any honest and discerning Christian can tell you that the Church needs a makeover, bad.  As I have asked that question myself there have been a few reoccurring thoughts or ideas on what I might end up doing.  But the one I find my thoughts occupied by the most is starting a church.  I see much in the church that needs to be changed, instituted, and just taken out altogether such as:

1. Worship: the American Church's view of worship for the most part, has been so skewed and warped.  We think worship is music.  We are told that worship is a lifestyle but I see little to no evidence of people living that out.  What does it really look like?  
2. Church Discipline: I have never seen a Church that exercises true discipline.
3. Evangelism: we need to throw out our idea that evangelism is inviting people to church and realize that we as the body of Christ are the Church and the people around us should see the glory of God in us.  I stole that from David Platt.

These are just a few of the things that have occupied my thoughts at one time or another.  I know there are churches out there that do all of these things listed above effectively but they are a rare breed.  The church today is so far from the church of Acts.  I will not be one to say that we cannot go back the way the church was in Acts and the first century.  But if God is in fact calling me out to start a church I want to do my best in figuring out what all of these facets of the church should look like.  I won't fix all the problems of the church but the church has great room to improve and I want to help it.  As I look at the bride of Christ, I see a tired and weary one.  I want to do my best by the grace of God to help her look her best when her King returns to take her home.  

Called to Think

"You shall love the Lord your God... with all your mind." Matthew 22:37

"...they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." Acts 17:11

"...but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." Romans 12:2

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus..." Philippians 2:5

"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Colossians 3:2

"Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything." 2 Timothy 2:7

The old saying goes, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."  There is definite truth in that quote.  God has given us all a mind that He wants us to use.  As Jesus said in Matthew 22:37 we are to love the Lord with all of our minds as well as our heart and soul.  All the verses listed above place a great importance on the mind yet we see it as the least important of the three ways we are to love God.  If Jesus said we are to love Him with our whole mind then why don’t we?  Most Christians do not exercise the mind to its fullest capability.  The human mind is capable of attaining great sums of knowledge and wisdom as we see with Solomon in 1 Kings 4:29.  While the mind is in fact limited, as is all creation, I believe that it is the least limited of all creation.  God has granted to us a great gift that He intends for us to use for His glory.

There needs to be more emphasis on the mind in the church today and it needs to begin with its relationship with salvation.  Salvation is not a change occurring only in the heart and in the soul, but it is a change in the mind just the same.  Paul tells us in Romans to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rom 12:2).  That renewal happens through constant thinking and meditation on the Word of God, by which the Holy Spirit changes our thoughts.  John MacArthur says, "The renewed mind is one saturated with and controlled by the Word of God."  The renewed mind has a new focus and a new goal by setting its mind on things above (Col 3:2).  It thinks critically about life’s questions and situations, and is given understanding from the Lord (2 Tim 2:7).  Maybe it is just me but where is this in the church today?  Why is the mind overlooked and ignored?  Why are we not challenged to think like a Christian, or primarily like Jesus?

When was the last time you heard a sermon on thinking like Jesus?  It's always love like Jesus or act like Jesus.  I believe if we think like Jesus did we will love and act like he did.  Jesus did not sit back and say to the Pharisees, “Let’s not argue over doctrine.  Let’s just love me.”  Most often in the context of religious discussion Jesus would respond with, “For it is written.”  He responded to them with Scripture because He had the definition of a “renewed mind,” although it needed no renewing.  He corrected their misunderstandings and misinterpretations with truth.  He never dodged a theological conversation.  Why do we?  I would have to say it is because we do not have a renewed mind to think with and confidently defend the Scriptures.  

Too many people get caught up in the mindset of "let's just love Jesus and not argue over doctrine."  Love is surely not to be overlooked.  But constant arguing over doctrine will not accomplish much either.  As love is not to be overlooked, so it is with doctrine.  Doctrine matters!  To better understand doctrine, we need to think critically for ourselves, examine what we believe and stand upon it with our own two feet.  If we rely solely on someone else's teaching we will never be able to defend our beliefs with any confidence.  As I said in my other blog I believe it takes thinking, learning, and talking to develop what one believes.  Thinking allows the mind to process the knowledge already known about the subject at hand and begin to formulate ideas.  Learning allows us to discover whether our thinking is correct or incorrect.  And talking allows us to see what other people believe on a subject and put our knowledge to the test by making a defense of that which we have learned about and now believe or maybe disbelieve.

Me? A Theologian?

The title "theologian" is a title that is highly misunderstood by most people today.  Most people think of somebody who has those three special letters following their name.  A theologian is usually assumed to be an older, wiser, and a more learned individual than they.  Herman Witsius (pronounced "V-itsius), a famed Dutch pastor and theologian, wrote an essay in 1675 entitled, "On the Character of a True Theologian." I was assigned to read it for my theology class at school.  Witsius showed me what a true theologian is.  And it is not what we think of one as.  This is his definition: “One who is imbued with a substantial knowledge of divine things derived from the teaching of God Himself.”  Imbued is quite a powerful and challenging word in this context.  Imbue means to permeate, to spread throughout.  I surely could be filled with much more knowledge of God and His word than I am.  He goes on to say that a theologian also lives out that which he knows.  I believe this is the most important step in the process of becoming a theologian.  As James says we are to be doers of the Word, not only hearers of the Word.  What good is it if we simply learn what to do but never do it?  A boy can be taught how to hit a baseball but he will never do so unless he swings the bat himself. 

 All Christians are called to be theologians; students of the Word who not only learn what the Bible says but also apply it in their daily lives out of love for the Father and Son.  I think the word “theologian” scares people too.  It can be intimidating.  People think that they will never reach the status of “theologian” in their lifetime.  They believe you have to go to school and get a masters degree and those three special letters.  But according to Witsius's definition, you don't have to have a masters or doctorate in theology to be a theologian.  A theologian is a humble, diligent, and willing student of the Word.  

That is my prayer for us all; that we would seek to be theologians "rightly handling the word of truth," like Apollos in Acts 18, who was "an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures."  Don't let this title scare you.  Run after it.  But let us be careful not to attain this for ourselves but for the glory God, giving thanks to Him for His gift of knowledge and understanding.

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."  Philippians 4:23

For His Glory

We have been put here on this earth for one purpose: to display the glory of God to the world.  There are many mediums by which we can do this but in the end that is our sole purpose as followers of Christ.  God's glory has become a greater focus in my life recently.  I owe part of this to a man by the name of John Piper.  There are those who might shake their heads and say, "There goes another Piper fanatic," but I believe he is one of the great theologians of our time who will be mentioned along side many great names who have come to pass.  John Piper knows what God's glory is and has helped me see the greater picture of it through his sermons and books.  Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 10 has stuck with me since this past spring.  It is a reoccurring theme that I cannot ignore or forget.  Why?  Because as I said, it is out purpose in life.  Piper said at Passion'06, the universe was created to display the greatness of the glory of God's grace.  I agree wholeheartedly with him.

Doing all that we do for the glory of God is probably one of the most difficult things we can attempt to do here on earth because we will fail daily at it.  My biggest struggle with this is a selfish one.  When we seek to do this we have to get down to the grit of our lives that don't glorify Him.  Most people would simply say, "It's not a big deal."  How wrong is that answer.  God's glory is the biggest deal.  Everything we do either points to it or from it.  Many people would view this as being a fundamentalist but would anyone dare say that glorifying God is being fundamental?  I think not.  Jesus glorified God in all that He did.  Why shouldn't we?  "Well Jesus was God in the flesh.  It could not have been as hard for Him."  Once again I beg to differ.  Although Jesus was God in the flesh, He was a man nonetheless.  He had bumps and bruises; he probably skinned His knees up as a boy running through town.  He prayed in the garden that God would take the cup from Him but submitted to the Father's will and said, "Not my will, but yours be done."  He felt every flogging, every thorn in His brow, and every splinter in His back.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  We can never reach perfection here on earth but we are called to be perfect despite our imperfections.  To be perfect would be to glorify God in all that you do.  

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." I don't believe Paul leaves much room for interpretation for us. "Do all for the glory of God."