Pride or Humility

"The knowledge you learn at school may grow pride; the knowledge you learn at church should grow humility."

 

By Mark Dever

Application of a sermon is better than criticism of a sermon

"You will never stand before God and provide a review of my sermons. Instead, you will stand before [Christ] and give a review of your own life."

By Mark Dever

Are you kidding me?

Does anyone else think it is weird that people are making a lot of money writing books on what church should be like? There are hundreds of books titled, Mission Driven Church, or Gospel Centered Church, or even Gospel and Mission Centered Church. I wonder what the apostles or early church fathers would have thought about such books. They would probably think (wait, I am sure they would know) it's pretty ridiculous that we have to remind pastors, church leaders, and other believers that church is supposed to be about people and the Word of God.

Matthew 29:18-20 says,

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus is saying he has all authority and he is commanding his followers to go out into the world making disciples and teaching them all that he has commanded. Of course the church is to be missional. Of course the church is to be centered on the Word of God. How would you make disciples without the Word?

Somehow people have gotten in their heads that church is to be about them individually and that it is to take care of all their needs. The church is to be like a butler to the one who complains the loudest. I'm sorry but when I read the Word I don't see that. In fact, those who quarrel and continually make divisions in the church are called immature fleshly Christians (1 Cor. 1-3).

Paul said to the Corinthians that he "decided to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2). Paul was all about the Word of God. We also know that Paul was all about people. After all, who did he write his letters to? He wrote them to people (individuals and groups). He was encouraging them in the Word and helping them know how to live in community with one another. If Paul didn't care about people then we would be missing a lot of letters in the New Testament. In 1 Thessalonians Paul says he was "like a father with his children", he was loving on them and teaching them how to walk in a way worthy of the God.

Even in the Old Testament we see that the Word and community are extremely important. God created a people group of his own that would be light in the world. He then gave this community of believers his Word that they might know how to live the way he desired them to.

My prayer is that we would put down these books that keep telling us to either be misisonal or be word-centered and that we would pick up the Word of God and just do what it says. I think it's pretty clear. If you really try and read the Bible without adding all your silly and often unbiblical pre-suppositions then you will come to an awesome understanding on what the Church is to truly be like.

The Pastor’s Priority

This is an excerpt from chapter 13 titled The Pastor's Compassion for People from John MacArthur's book: Pastoral Care. It addresses the question of a Pastor's priorities. I know this is quite lengthy, you may want to print it out and read, but I do believe it is something that Christian's need to understand. Please take the time to read it and then reflect on what your view of your pastor is.

 

Five categories summarize his special responsibility in the area of developing compassion.

1. Leading by example. It is easy to confuse the pastor's general responsibility of showing compassion with his leadership responsibility of providing an example of compassion for his flock to follow. First Peter 5:3 stresses the importance of leading by example rather than by "lording it over" the sheep. First Timothy 4:12 lists love as a specific virtue to be modeled by the pastor. Scripture teaches that a pastor
must be compassionate and that he
must model compassion.

Being compassionate precedes the modeling aspect both in time and in importance. In the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus noted that the Samaritan "felt compassion" first, then he "took care" of the wounded traveler (see. Luke 10:30–37). Like the Lord Jesus, the shepherd must be a man with deep compassion for those in need. Only then can he set the right example.

The Old Testament is full of passages that make compassion a prom-inent (and communicable) attribute of God. Outstanding among these is the Lord's own statement in Exod. 34:6: "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness and truth." Jonah quotes this passage in objecting to God's compassionate demonstration of forgiveness toward Ninevah (Jon. 4:2). The Servant, Messiah, in Isaiah has similar character: "A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish" (Isa. 42:3). In fact, throughout the Old Testament God reveals His deep concern for the downtrodden—particularly the widow, the orphan, and the poor. Society denied full privileges to these, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation of all sorts. God's legislative provisions woven into the fabric of Old Testament social prescriptions demonstrate His compassion for them. The New Testament assigns the church the same responsibility toward the downtrodden. The obligation stands side by side with that of personal purity: "This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27).

Long before government and secular public agencies assumed responsibility for hospitals, orphanages, facilities for the poor, and other such social services, the church and its pastors blazed a trail of compassion. In both America and England, the earliest Sunday schools focused upon educating children, particularly in reading. They wanted to provide instruction to poor working children on their only free day of the week. Naturally, teachers used the Bible as their textbook, because evangelism and indoctrination were in many instances the primary objectives.

A pastor with a heart for people will show special compassion for the lost. The Bible teaches two eternal destinies. Failure to have compassion for the unregenerate is either to disbelieve the eternal existence of a person or to be uncaring. Over a century ago Murray referred to "the missionary problem," by which he referred to a lack of compassion for those without Christ. In the mind of Christ was a clear picture of what the world is and needs, so He felt compassion for the lost and gave His life a ransom for many. A congregation cannot respond adequately to the Great Commission if its pastor is cold or indifferent toward the needs of a lost world.

A reawakening of one expression of compassion has come only recently. That is interest in meeting the needs of the disabled. The renewal of this avenue of concern has come with the trend to provide services at home or through outpatient services to this group of the population. Before this, many who had more serious physical and developmental disabilities remained in institutions away from the public eye. Their current visibility has aroused the church's interest in serving this deserving segment of society. This is good, for churches of all places should provide services to people who for one reason or another have handicaps. (Pastor, build that ramp!) John MacArthur, Jr., a pastor much concerned for this group, stresses the shepherd's exemplary role in ministering to this largely ignored group: "If a pastor is not completely committed, and if he isn't modeling his concern, it is going to be very difficult to get the people to minister to this population.… The pastor has to care about special populations because it is right to care."

In his exposé of modern faith healers, Mayhue reminds the pastor that compassion is a quality originating in the heart of God: "Compassion cannot remain optional for Christians if we are to be like God. Someone once defined compassion as 'your pain in my heart, which moves me to deeds of comfort and mercy on your behalf.' That's healing ministry at the core—when we serve the suffering with God's compassion."

Being an example of compassion is not optional for the undershepherd. He must care for the lambs entrusted to him and watch them grow, especially the weaker ones. Simply being an example just for the sake of being an example is not enough. Jefferson underscores the importance of the pastor following another example whose motivation was true, heartfelt compassion:

Would you know, then, the work of a shepherd? Look at Jesus of Nazareth, that great Shepherd of the sheep, who stands before us forever the perfect pattern of shepherdhood, the flawless example for all who are entrusted with the care of souls. "I am the Good Pastor", he says, "I watch, I guard, I guide, I heal, I rescue, I feed. I love from the beginning, and I love to the end. Follow me!"

2. Leading by administration. In many respects, the office of deacon originated to meet certain human needs. The frequent question is, "What portion of a pastor's time should he devote to meeting physical needs?" The question Scripture addresses throughout is, "What kinds of needs is a pastor to address?" That depends. The person Paul has in mind in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 models a sort of care based on example and instruction, particularly the latter. Titus 1:9 gives the most qualified character trait: "Holding fast the faithful word … that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict."

The books of 1 and 2 Timothy focus on this instructive aspect of the pastor's role. This focus does not absolve the pastor from caring for people's physical needs. It merely prioritizes his focus. It also speaks clearly to the mentality that argues that the pastor is primarily a caretaker of people's physical needs. Mind you, he is not above this, but his time and energy will limit what he can do in light of his primary focus, as illustrated in Acts 6:1–7. In this passage, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, were put in charge of the task of compassionate care. The contemporary church, much like the early church, has erroneously taken the responsibility of nurturing care for the people of God from under the leadership of deacons and has reassigned it to the pastor. Historically, people have professionalized the expression of the Christian love commanded of all Christians by expecting the pastor do it all. In turn, they have delegated the pastor's primary role of teaching and administering the Word to others. Pastors must be caring people, but all the saints should do the work of the ministry. This is the lesson of Acts 6 for today's church.

Pastors who prefer to spend time caring for people's physical needs may be depriving the deacons of assuming their God-given function. If they feel led to focus on such needs instead of teaching the Word, perhaps they unapologetically should step out of their role as pastors-teachers and live out their goals as helpers, people of deep compassion for physical needs. This would open up pastoral slots for others to preach and teach the Word. Christians need the teaching of God's Word at all costs. This must not be neglected.

Churches who prefer having a pastor spend most of his time doing visitation and counseling should consider finding a person specifically for these tasks. Churches with greater needs in such areas cannot afford to neglect the needs, but neither churches nor pastors should tolerate a situation where the pastor selected to minister the Word of God exchanges his functions with the deacons or the church membership. By biblical definition, the pastor-teacher is not a deacon; he should not "neglect the Word of God and prayer in order to serve tables" (Acts 6:2). He can through proper administration see that his deacons serve the tables, however.

Pastors and churches who subscribe to the biblical pattern can expect the same outcome as that of the Acts experience: "And the Word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase greatly" (Acts 6:7).

3. Leading by nurture of the flock. The passages that list the qualifications of an elder also focus upon the interactive and relational character of his role in the church. In the 1 Timothy 3 passage, "gentle" and "uncontentious" (v. 3) are two such qualities, but the rhetorical question, "How will he take care of the church of God?" is perhaps the most specific quality. The words "take care of" (v. 5) have strong pastoral and nurturing overtones, and the larger analogy to the care of his own family is an even more revealing characteristic.

These qualities point to an obvious trait of pastoral ministry: without implying that the pastor must be what is popularly termed "a people person," they do suggest that a pastor must have "a heart for people," properly defined.

A shepherd's heart for people is not always clearly visible, particularly if identified and measured by standards other than those of Scripture. Those who watch a pastor who has difficulty interacting with people might conclude that he is not a people person or does not have a heart for people. From this they may extrapolate that this individual is not called to the gospel ministry. Hasty generalizations of this sort are unfortunate. Some pastors naturally have gregarious and likeable personalities. Others have come from very communicative families where they learned the skill of interacting with people early on. However, some need time to develop in this area, and still others will always express their affection for their sheep in a reserved manner. These communicative skills must not be the criteria for measuring a pastor's heart for people.

When attempting to measure the heart of a pastor, one should guard against quick judgments based on only superficial evidence. Many a pastor with a deep heart may not do well at
demonstrating his compassion, but within him is a full commitment to give his life for the sheep. On the other side, many who make great displays in words lack the heartfelt realities of compassion. Talk is cheap. One cannot always judge a book by its cover. What is inside is what counts.

What about the shepherd's heart for those outside God's church? Paul prioritizes, first to the household of God, then to unbelievers around him who do not know Christ: "Let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Gal. 6:10). When asked by a lawyer, "Who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29), Jesus answered the lawyer's real question, "Whom should I love enough to show compassion and care for?" Jesus' answer indicted the religious leaders (priests and Levites, the pastors of the day), those who should have been exemplary shepherds (recall Zechariah). Even a Samaritan would take care of a beaten and robbed man! When Jesus inquired of the lawyer, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor?" the lawyer correctly (perhaps reluctantly) responded, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Jesus then pressed beyond the issue and responded, "go and do the same" (Luke 10:36–37). To deny compassion to a needy neighbor is to contradict the very significance of the term. Then again, to redefine the gospel in the face of overwhelming social need is to distort and diminish man's greatest need.

4. Leading by cultivating maturity. Paul and his fellow missionaries had a heart for people, yet their priority was the people's need for the ministry of the Word. Put slightly differently, they practiced love for their people best by giving them what they needed most—biblical teaching. It does not mean that they did no deaconly work. It does mean that the deaconly needs did not override the primary need. One of the passages that best captures the essence of a shepherd's nurture for his flock is 1 Thess. 2:1–12. After a prolonged discussion of the motives with which Paul did not come to the Thessalonian church, the beloved apostle selected more intimate terms characterized by parental metaphors: "But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children" (1 Thess. 2:7). And again after several more expressions of their pastoral interest: "… just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children" (1 Thess. 2:11, emphasis added).

Paul reminds the believers that he could have approached them with grand displays of his apostolic authority, but this would not have befitted the love that he had for them.
Individual attention as well as
gentle coaxing and nurturing are evident in this passage. To be sure, this posture varied, but who can dispute the fact that this is the ideal. The ideal for what? Paul lays bare his intent in verse 12: "so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1 Thess. 2:12).

He follows with his ultimate goal, which is to give direction to a worthy walk through "the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe" (v. 13). The pastor's instrument of nurture is God's Word reinforced by personal example. This and this alone is adequate food for the sheep's growth. Paul is consistent on this point.

Once again, this does not mean that the pastor can be insensitive to physical needs. In fact, the pastor should model a concern (albeit spiritually prioritized) for the needy (e.g., people with disabilities, both physical and mental). In so doing, he will be following the example of his Creator as well as explicit biblical commands. Yet even here he must see their spiritual needs as the end of his endeavors. These are everyone's greatest needs.

5. Leading by guarding from harm. In Acts 20, a context that builds on the shepherd image, the apostle Paul adds another dimension to the shepherding task. Not only does a loving, caring pastor feed Christ's sheep the Word of God, he also guards them (but himself first!) against spiritual predators. These will enter both from outside the fold and, sadly, from within. These wolves will consume the flock rather than feed them. The analogy is telling. The shepherd does not nurture the flock for what he can get from them in the same way that wolves do—this is the essence of the true shepherd's heart. Paul's reasoning is a challenge: The Ephesian elders were to be watchful shepherds, because Paul did not sleep on his shepherd's watch for three solid years. He demonstrated that his ministry was sincere by the tears he shed for them. Paul then gave back his post to God, the Chief Shepherd, who will complete the shepherding. Paul knew where his responsibility began and ended. He could shepherd compassionately, but he could let go when it was time to.

Heart Sacrifice Trumps A Dead Animal Sacrifice Every Time

After I read Psalm 50 this morning I just could not stop thinking about it.

Verses 1-6 speak of the power, beauty, judgment, and righteousness of God. It says things like:

"The Lord, speaks and summons the earth form the rising of the sun to its setting. (v.1)

"the perfection of beauty" (v.2)

"The heavens declare his righteousness" (v. 6)

But starting in verse 7 God rebukes his people and he rebukes them because they have forgotten him. Verse 22 says, "Mark this, then, you who forget God." Israel had been performing its regular sacrifices but they were doing them out of habit and had forgotten the real reason which was to show humility and contrition of the heart. Many times we today fall into rituals/habits. The problem is that rituals can give us a feeling or a sense of being right with God when in all actuality we may be committing terrible sins. This of course is what we see with the Pharisees in the New Testament. They had become so engrossed with the rituals and symbols of Israel they had forgotten all about God and what he truly desired of them. God tells them in verse 9, "I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds." We must never forget that our worship or sacrifices never adds anything to God. He is perfect and holy and he already owns everything.

From verses 17-20 we see a description of those who have forgotten God. I am not going to debate whether or not these are actually "Christians" but we can agree that these people are living within a community of believers and their actions given no evidence of a love or relationship to God. They have forgotten the fact that God is a righteous God who will judge them and that God will not be mocked by their lifestyles (Gal 6:7).

They hate discipline

Forget God's Word

No respect is given to God's Word

No conviction of sin (pleased with thieves and adulterers, they live however they desire)

The tongue remains unbridled causing great destruction

Disrespect in the family occurs

In verse 23 (as well as in v. 14) we see what God really desires. "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" God wants our hearts. In Psalm 51 David after he has committed adultery says, "for you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (v. 16-17).

Have you forgotten God? Are you living a life of habit, just doing Christian things but no longer out of a true growing love for God? Or maybe you are going to church and you think that because you are associated with other believers God will surely let you into his kingdom. Think about where you are and how you have been living. I know this Psalm made me think; I must make sure I never grow complacent in my walk with God so I just go through the actions without actually worshipping God out of a humble heart.