Buchenwald

It was not the appearance in the buildings, per se, which made them sinister. Their plain simplistic design wouldn’t misplace them from any other camp or summer lakeside retreat. The clock above the gate could be from an episode to some show like “Hey Dude” and the forest in which this place was situated was no different than the other charming woods through which Heidi and I have gone running.

What made this place sinister was the memory of what took place some 60 years ago.
We walked “Karakho” in silence, but my mind was full of sounds – the groaning and whimpering, the shouting, the angry tongues of Nazis and their monstrous use of the German language – the occasional gunshot, the whipping, the savagery, the barking and beating, thrashing with sticks of brier. I imagined the SS as foaming at the mouth, like beasts, red in the face, coming down on hopeless prey. I imagined the terror one might feel when approaching that simple clock tower above the gate, and to see the cast iron inscription wrought from the bars: “to each his own” – a theme to the most hellish place.

And when we entered and looked out across the flattened field of ashen rubble (where the lines of prison barracks stood at one time) I could see the scores of prisoners assembling and working, disintegrating into the emaciated husks of what should have been a human being. (Maybe that worsened the problem, they no longer looked like humans – “I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?”)

To the right was a smokestack, simple, basic, like a chimney one might find in the hills of a small, old fashioned mining town in Cornwall. But what made this one turn my stomach sick was the idea of black smoke belching into the sky, stinking up the camp with the barbecue of human flesh.
A crematorium. A dainty, though effective, little cottage of a building standing as one of the only remaining structures on the flattened field. We went in through its little gate and followed the path to the only room open for admittance.

Inside.
The white tiles were so clean. They climbed up the walls and shinned with sanitation. They grew up in the center of the room into a man-sized table – all of it made in the same white tile look of hygiene. A single red carnation lay at rest on the slant of this tiled operation table, and a greening copper faucet reached up at the head. In the far corner there stood a display of menacing instruments. O God, why are there knives that look like this. Are they a sick pleasure? The engineering of torturous fascination.

I tried to imagine what drove the SS to do such things. What makes one so indifferent they can participate in that monstrosity and return to their family for dinner and wine and play time with the kids. I felt their anger as I walked through. I felt my self trying to enter into their minds and the horrific hatred made my heart pump sharp, made my cheeks burn red.

Outside I felt the fear and lack of hope, the hollow faithless. What was it like to be a prisoner in this place? Looking out at the tall slender trees of the woods. Weimar is not far away. The most sophisticated city of Germany, home of Bach, Goethe, and Schiller. It’s just over the hill, and rampant barbarity here in the trees. Not a single prisoner escaped though I am sure plenty tried. Their demise would always be marked with a gunshot in the middle of the night. If I were one of them I might ask “why?” – At least until I just didn’t care any more, until the routine of dying had ground down my senses so far that I was no longer concerned with explanations or understanding but only consumed with the hunger in my stomach. Food. The testimonies printed on plaques on the walls always spoke of food. Images of bread would replace my philosophies.

A Jewish Proverb came to mind and continued to resound as I walked through the camp.
“Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back.” (Prov 24:11)

I kept asking, “Where were the Christians in all of this?” Why is there a steeple in the cute village just over the hill.

I guess it’d be better to think about today. “Where are the Christians now?”

The Deceived Bible Student

 

James 1:22

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

I need to be honest with you – it is far too easy for me to be strictly academic about my faith. It is too easy for me to peruse the scriptures only to increase my knowledge therein, and not to improve my life thereby.

I think, sadly, there are many Christians who so consistently study the word, and God’s character through their Bible study, that they convince both others and themselves that they’re actually quite devoted.

They have lots of words, they have lots of quick references for counseling and correction, they’ve taken lots of classes, they’ve heard or given lots of sermons. No doubt they ENJOY reading God’s word. In fact, they mostly likely translate this enjoyment as praise for God – as they take a great deal of pleasure in learning about the complex details of the Bible, they fancy this attitude of pleasure and intrigue as worshipful.

… but are they doers?

Note this: If you read only to read; if you study only to increase knowledge; if you are instructed in the ways to walk but do not walk, then you are nothing more than “deceived.”

Look at the verse, James 1:22. Those who merely listen, are “deceived.” The Best pastors among us, who uncover the intricacies of the Bible, who even expound upon its practical applications, might actually be men who, though they speak a great deal of truth, are themselves utterly deceived if they do not DO.

Science textbooks are written to be studied, philosophers write to be studied, some novelists hope their works will be analyzed– but God did not present His Word to the world only that it might be studied. No, God’s agenda is that the listener be changed.

Am I discouraging you from studying? Not at all. I don’t think there is enough studying, but sadly there is even less DOING. We should not read the Word only to learn it, we should read it seeking how we might be changed by it. So, it would not at all be inappropriate to begin our Bible studies with this request, “God, I want to change today, I want to live as you want me to live, and become what you’ve called me to be, so show me in this passage today not merely what I must know, but also what I must do.

The thing that challenges me most is the fact that I listen far more than I do. I love my studies, I love the books, I love uncovering the new scriptures I did not previously know, and all of this I always mistook as devotion to God. Little did I know that my increases of knowledge may have been nothing more than mere deception if I didn’t do.

J.C. Ryle

This guy wrote his books back when the English language was still spoken – back when well-constructed syntax and wide vocabulary were both standard and beautiful. In my opinion, Ryle’s style of writing alone is so vivid that his works are all an easy, pleasurable read.

But more importantly, Ryle presents and expounds upon practical christian living in ways that cut under our veneer of piety, fakeness, and ease of faith. It’s hard to read a paragraph or two without feeling some kind of deep conviction or inspiration.

He reminds us how God has called us to live and does so in the best of language.

At times his allusions and illustrations are lost in his own cultural context (the late 1800s), but, nonetheless, it’s shocking how much the issues we face as Christians have not really changed all that much. We like to believe we have progressed, we’re sophisticated, improved, and scientific, yet writers like Ryle, who communicate with us from centuries past, humiliate these thoughts.

There’s nothing fluffy here, no claptrap, no equivocation for the equivocator; nothing packaged cutely for the comfy reader who’d like to look at a sweet little book and smile at its cleverness. These are honest words, sometimes brutally, and they will call you to change, show you how to change, and inform you of the consequences. 

So, if you enjoy well-written prose and are looking for something frank that will resonate with your life and soul in every paragraph then I recommend Ryle.

The Biblical Husband

A long time ago, a friend asked that I put together a study on what the Bible says about the husband’s role. Well, here is it. It’s brief, there’s so much more that others would say, and, quite frankly, I write from having absolutely ZERO experience – so, here it is, thought it might encourage some of you

To begin… 

When was marriage created, and why?

Genesis 2:18
The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

I know you’re very aware of this verse, but what I find very interesting is that this is the first instance where God says his creation is “not good” – before this, he was very pleased with it all. So when did things stop being “good”?

What is “not good” is man’s loneliness and lack of companionship, which actually seems odd, doesn’t it? Adam, because he had not yet sinned, had unobstructed access to God, unhindered intimacy, yet still God essentially says, “There is a need in man that I will not, or choose not to meet, and will therefore give him companionship outside of myself because it is not good for him to be alone (with me only).”

Controversial, but I don’t think it cheapens God, I think, rather, it shows God’s intention for men and women to have intimacy with one another, and I think he recognizes that we have needs which he has chosen not to meet in the relationship we have with him. Or, in another sense, God meets our need through providing us with companionship in a spouse.

Furthermore, because Eve was taken from Adam’s flesh, it is for this reason “that a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, so that they will become one flesh.”

So far, marriage happens when the two become one flesh (this imagery is sexual, half her genes and half his genes become one child. This is not to say they are not one flesh until they have a child, it’s just using the concept to explain how deep the intimacy is) – the only requirement given so far is that the man would leave his father and mother. In the Hebrew world, this was understood to mean that a man was not qualified for marriage until he was financially stable enough on his own that he could actually make this move and exist independently from his father and mother, while also sustaining a wife.

God would like that we be married, I think. However, I think it would be sad if someone took this for granted. There is a sense of entitlement, and Matt, who has lots of experience, tells me that entitlement is the cause of a lot of marital conflict. 

The husband might think he is entitled to a wife, that she exists just for his benefit and then he might expect things from her so that she fits HIS definition of a wife, however the husband is supposed to help his wife become the Biblical definition of wife. (I’ll get into that later).

The wife is a gift:
Proverbs 18:22
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives  favor from the Lord.

Proverbs 19:14
Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:10
How rare to find a wife of valor, Her worth is far beyond rubies.

A wife is always a gift and blessing, but there is also a kind that is unbearable:

Proverbs 19:13
A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

Proverbs 21:9
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

Proverbs 21:19
Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.

~
You know how people speak of the Proverbs 31 woman? Both the woman of Proverbs and the Man of this next Psalm are described in an acrostic poem of the Hebrew Alphabet. There could be a parallel in that, but really it’s just a very popular literary style for languages that passed information through oral tradition.

Either way I’d suggest this as a pattern after which men should live their lives as well – the themes clearly parallel with the Proverbs 31 woman too:

Psalm 112
1Praise the LORD. 
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, 
who finds great delight in his commands.
2 His children will be mighty in the land; 
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house, 
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, 
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends
freely, 
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 Surely he will never be shaken; 
a righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He will have no fear of bad news; 
his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is secure, he will have no fear; 
in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, 
his righteousness endures forever; 
his horn [d] will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, 
he will gnash his teeth and waste away; 
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

- He is a man who fears God, cares about justice and charity, and enjoys the Word.

So, now to get to the question, what is the Biblical Role of the husband?

Ephesians 5
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Submit is “hupotasso” in Greek
Hupo – under
Tasso – arrange

“To arrange oneself under”.
Though it was a military term used in the context of arranging troops under a commanding officer it was also used in a non-military sense to communicate a voluntary attitude of “giving in”, or assuming responsibility, or carrying a burden, or cooperating.

Essentially it means that we need to put others first and be humble enough to allow others to direct us. The same word is used in the next verse

22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is
the head of the church, his body, of which he is the
Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also
wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

That the husband is given this role is extremely terrifying to me. If he’s screwy, then he’s not only ruining his own path but also the path of the woman he is supposed to love. 

He IS the leader however, which means he needs to be sure he’s closer to God than he’s ever thought he was. That God is entrusting a woman to his leadership should scare him a little bit – the immensity of the task should drive him to his knees in an even more obsequious dependence on Christ. He cannot only be a well-studied Christian who admires God for His complexities and beautiful characteristics, he must also become better at imitating him. 

That God would entrust anyone to me, should he ever bless me with a wife, is a humbling task for which I will never be qualified unless I do it through his strength. On top of that, I’d have to seriously ask myself, “Honestly, am I someone who should be followed?” If no, I need rethink the whole thing and seek a radical transformation of my own attitudes and Christian practice. This might seem really daunting, and it’s because the task is. But at the same time, the husband will never be perfect. He only needs to be perfecting. God strengthens us to live as we need to. The good husband, though he might be discouraged by his failure in his task can be encouraged by God’s grace and sanctification in his life.

Also understand that she will naturally question his authority and have the inclination to NOT submit to his leadership.

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,  “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;  with pain you will give birth to children.  Your desire will be for your husband,  and he will rule over you.”

What does it mean that she would “desire her husband”? Is it sexual? I think it’s laconic, as Jewish literature almost always is, and the meanings are deep and multiple – this word CAN be sexual, but I think it’s also intended to parallel with a use that comes in the next chapter:

Genesis 4:6-7
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it DESIRES to have you, but you must master it.”

The Hebrew word is identical and is used only one other time in Song of Songs to describe romantic longing.

Sin desires to control us but we must master it. The wife will desire – be naturally inclined – to control
her husband (and also have sexual desire for him – double meaning) but he is the leader. 

The husband also needs to understand that this will be a real sin issue in the life of his wife, and he needs to be gentle with her, and understanding, and still needs to stand in patience and kindness when she opposes him. Paul explains love quite clearly, and it is telling that the first thing he writes of Love is that is it “long-suffering” – 1 Cor 13 – the husband ought to examine this whole “Love passage” in relation to his own attitudes as often as possible in order to see whether or not he does love his wife, to see if he is leading her with the kind of character that is characteristic of love. Is he patient, is he kind, is he rude, self-seeking, vengeful, or keeping a record of wrongs? How is he loving his wife, then?

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 

This is a passage, as Paul explains in 32, that is actually a mystery discussing Christ and the church. Some then say we are not supposed to apply this to marriage as marriage is only the illustration Paul is using here to describe the church’s relationship with Christ. However, his concluding thought in verse 33 seems to be enough to suggest that there IS a double meaning throughout the whole illustration. This passage is to be taken both ways, One as an outline of marriage, Two as an illustration of our relation to Christ, and the illustrations play off one another in order that we can better understand what is meant. 

So, the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. It would be prudent then to study the Gospels and the New Testament to know exactly how Christ has loved the church and sacrificed himself for her – and for the husband to then ask himself if his love for his wife is as equally selfless – even though she might not deserve it, no, ESPECIALLY if she doesn’t deserve it. In view of our sins, have we ever deserved Christ’s sacrifice? 

26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 

Here’s where the task actually scares me the most. The husband is now involved in the sanctifying process of his wife. He is called to sanctify her in the same way that Christ sanctifies the church. How has this sanctification happened? There are many ways through which we are sanctified, but here, specifically, the one addressed is a washing with water “through the word”

To be honest, this is where I kind of think about myself, “I have no right to presume I can do this… I constantly drop the ball in my own sanctification and if married I would be responsible for the sanctification of a woman as well?”

Since sanctification happens by the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Thess 2:13 and 1 Peter 1:2), and by the
power of the Word (Heb 4:12, Eph 5:26) the husband needs to, himself, seek out sanctification in his own life more ardently, and then humbly accept the task of aiding the Spirit in sanctifying his wife and leading her in her spirituality through scripture. Notice here that Christ does it through a washing with the word. The husband needs to seek an extensive understanding and knowledge of scripture so that he can help guide her to be more scriptural. I don’t think this means he is to harangue her with scriptures to make her change, instead he should teach her in the same way that all who teach are supposed to teach: with gentleness (2 Timothy 2:24-26) hoping that God will do the work. Also, realize, there will be lots of times when the wife will teach the husband in ways that no minister, friend, or theologian ever could. 

28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body.

The husband, on a power trip, might abuse her submission to him, he might demand her obedience, he might claim he is the leader and he might do all of this only for his own selfish gain. He might say he is sanctifying his wife in making her more submissive to him, when in actuality, his desire is not to make her more Christ-like or godly, but instead to abuse her “godliness” for his own convenience. It is GOOD that the wife would be more kind to him, more helpful, more humble, more loving, more sexually intimate, but does he want her to be these things so it is better for him, or so that she becomes more like Christ? His highest calling as a husband is to sanctify her and love her – his calling is not to take from her what he wants. Therefore, as the husband sanctifies the wife, it is out of love for HER, it is out of care for HER, he feeds her, and looks on her with the same exact concern and love that Christ has in relation to the church. If you want to know just what kind of selfless, self-sacrificing, considerate love he had, read John 15 – This is the way the husband is to interact with his wife.

He does not sanctify her for his own gain – in the same way, he should not lead her in the opposite
direction. He should not inspire her to sin for his own gain, nor should he do things that he knows exasperate her, anger her, or frustrate her if it is for his own entertainment or pleasure or if he is trying to manipulate her or to twist her into something he wants. He should ask, “What does God want?” The husband is to find this out and do his best to remove his own selfish ambitions in helping her become what God wants – in truth, this is BETTER FOR THE HUSBAND. “He who loves his wife loves himself” - that is, He who loves her in the way Christ loves, loves himself. There is no better way for the husband to increase his pleasure as a husband, than to selflessly help his wife become the kind of biblical woman and wife she needs to be.

A few weeks ago I heard a sermon at a wedding and the minister said something that I thought was brilliant. “The best gifts you can give to one another as man and wife are not in backrubs, or long walks, or cute dates, or candle-lit dinners, or sweet thoughtful notes, the best gift you can give to your spouse is that you would become more sanctified unto Christ.” 

In other words, there is no better gift a man can give his wife than to become a better man.

31″For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

~
What about sexuality?

Proverbs 5
15 Drink water from your own cistern, 
running water from your own well.
16 Should your springs overflow in the streets, 
your streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone, 
never to be shared with strangers.
18 May your fountain be blessed, 
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer— 
may her breasts satisfy you always, 
may you ever be captivated by her love.
20 Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? 
Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife?
21 For a man’s ways are in full view of the LORD, 
and he examines all his paths.

Hebrews 13:4
4Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Passionate sexuality between man and wife, glorifies God. Note: God invented orgasms. So I say, explore and have a lot of fun, but stick to your own cistern. When trying to define the limits of what a husband is allowed to be doing with other women – befriending them, flirting with them, spending time with them – his wife will instruct him on what she is comfortable with. And since his relationship with his wife is the MOST important human relationship – more so than his relationship to his parents, children, pastors, friends, students – he should be willing to make sacrifices in lesser relationships in order to protect his most important relationship. 

1 Corinthians 7
1Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good for a man not to marry. 2But since there is so much
immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

The husband is to become a student of his wife’s sexuality, he is to draw out her fantasies, and give his body to her as she wants it. So should she do the same for him. But at the same time, there needs to be caution here. Her body is his, but so is his body hers, they have desires for one another that the other should try to fulfill. His body is hers, a gift to her, so instead of seeking out how his own sexual desires can be met, he should think foremost about how he can meet hers – how can he make his body a gift to her? In the same way, she should think foremost of his sexual desires. If each is looking for ways to sexually fulfill the other, instead of ways to take sexually from the other, both will be fulfilled. But this takes a lot of selflessness.

However, there should be some caution. They should not be doing things to one another’s bodies that either of them are not comfortable with. Sexuality is a beautiful thing in marriage, extremely special, that can draw the man and wife together in their whole marriage in ways that do not happen in other non-sexual relationships or friendships. It makes them one flesh. At the same time, understand that many marriages are hurt due to sexual reasons. Through pressure, and manipulation in sexuality, some husbands have lost their sense of safety with their wife, and some women have been uncomfortable and hurt by their husbands, and then develop a bad taste for the intimacy, and reject it – if the man or wife cannot trust their spouse completely in this most intimate setting, how might that tarnish their relationship as a whole? So there needs to be selflessness in sexuality just as there is in the whole relationship.

The husband CAN look at the scriptures and gripe, saying, “The wife is supposed to be a good wife, and give me her body, and is not to deprive me of sexuality. Doesn’t she know Satan is tempting me?” But why does he say this? Only for his own sexual gratification? Or because he wants to see her sanctified and become the wife God wants her to be? See how there are two different motivations there? The Biblical Husband wants foremost that his wife would be godly.

The standard of self-sacrifice that the husband is meant to meet is the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It’s a tall order.

Final random thought: it’s interesting that the reason he gives for “depriving one another” is in order to devote to prayer. Understand that there are times in marriage where prayer will be so necessary that it is needed to postpone the distraction of sexuality in order that both man and wife can pursue more intimacy with God. But then again, Paul assumes there is a weak self-control so this needs to be temporary.

That’s all I can really think of, really, on the husband’s role in marriage. I know this has been brief, but I hope it was helpful, and I hope we can have a discussion on it so that we’ll both have a better understanding.

Hope you were blessed,
Ben

How do I change when I really don’t want to?

A high school student recently asked me a very difficult question. Sitting in the back row of the group he raised his hand and with a perplexed but concerned expression on his face he asked, “How do we do the right thing when the emotions and desires inside us are so overwhelming that it doesn’t even seem possible to resist sin?”

Of course, we can hastily answer this question from the scriptures, tossing out several verses, might even recommend boundaries, but after the student asked me that question, and after I answered, I realized that in my own life I am very much in that same boat, asking and answering that question, while still pandering to those same sinful circumstances. The desire to do well is seemingly dwarfed, overrun, and overwhelmed by the desire to do wrong.

We must, of course, begin with Christ, and salvation, and grace and mercy – but I don’t even know if we can fully appreciate that graceful salvation (and probably never will until heaven) if we can’t recognize how much we’re overrun by sin, and how serious that sin is. If we even want to be justified before God, and saved by his mercy, then we must beat our breast as did the tax collector, recognize how honestly we deserve the wrath of God, and then humbly beg God for his mercy. For in that Luke passage, Jesus says it is only such a person who can walk away justified – only those who humble themselves and realize their unworthiness, who realize their extensive need. (Luke 18:9-14) If we are smug, complacent, and comfortable are we justified? (Look up the passage).

I bring this up because I think sometimes we get very nonchalant about sin, and in so doing become flippant with the grace of God. “Oh, well, Christianity is all about Grace, and God is gracious, and I’m forgiven, and so I can’t beat myself up.” All of that is true and theologically beautiful – but such a statement shouldn’t be said in defensiveness, it shouldn’t be said complacently, it shouldn’t be a doctrine that makes us COMFORTABLE with our sin… No. Such grace should be talked about with tears and weeping, and a deep sense of gratitude towards God. Otherwise we may have taken his grace for granted, in which case we may have not taken it at all.

Grace cannot be a license to sin. Grace cannot make us comfortable in our sin. Rather, the offense of sin ought to stir up within us a contrite heart, not a comfortable heart, and out of appreciation for grace (if we really believe that grace is so great) then we should seek to honor that grace with our lives, to give up the sin which grace covered.

So, maybe we DO want to change, maybe we DO want to resist sin, but what can we do about sin that overwhelms us and dwarfs our desire to walk rightly? Quick answer: This is something that can take weeks and weeks of studies (and many volumes have been written) but here’s where it begins: In the heart.

Solomon writes that “the heart is the wellspring of life”, and that it must therefore be guarded above all else (Pr 4:23).

Christ says that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander,” and fill in the blank with whatever pet sin. (Matt. 15:19) Has my heart been brimming with these sinful temptations over the years, untouched and uncleaned to such and extent that it is now so encrusted with habitual sins that any attempt to do the right thing is futile? If for years I have trained my flesh, heart, and body to submit to instant gratification, won’t it then become very difficult to retrain it?

It is from the heart that life flows and that which fills that heart brims over into actions, therefore we must ask, “What are we filling our hearts with? What are we letting sit in our hearts?”

In chapter 7 of Proverbs, Solomon explains to his son how to resist the attractive lure of the whore (in other words, how to resist lust).

His recommendation:

“Keep my words

And store them up WITHIN YOU.

Keep my commands and you will live;

Guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.

Bind them on your finger;

WRITE THEM ON THE TABLET OF YOUR HEART.

Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

And call understanding your kinsman;

THEY WILL KEEP YOU FROM THE ADULTERESS,

FROM THE WAYWARD WIFE WITH HER

SEDUCTIVE WORDS.”

So, how to be kept away from a temptation like lust? We begin by filling our hearts with that which is the opposite of the sin; fill our hearts and thoughts with the righteous words of scripture and the wisdom of the godly life.

If my heart and mind are bent towards constant prayer and the repetition of scriptures then it is these things that will spill out into my life rather than sin.

So how do I resist when long habits have let my thoughts and heart run rampant with overwhelmingly sinful desires? I must begin by repairing what’s been left in disarray. I must begin by taking those thoughts captive, arresting them, and making them obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5). I must counter them with thoughts of his grace, and with memorized scriptures that call for godly living. For then I am relying on him, and his word, and his strength rather than my own human efforts and boundaries.

This is the advice God gave to you and me to generate change. Please pray that I would do this and I pray that you will.

Concerning the Word of God

I received a very moving email recently from a friend of mine and in it was a series of questions that made me wonder just how misunderstood I’ve possibly become. There are things I have said that probably muddle a lot of what I actually believe, and thanks to my friend I really had to step back and retrace the basics. I’m sitting up sleeplessly in the small guest bedroom of a German farm, writing, typing, reading, and feverishly flipping through pages because I feel overwhelmingly compelled to answer these simple questions: why do I write about the Bible? Why this book?

Aside from the fact that the Bible is, for me, the most tangible way that I can hear from God there are two main reasons that I continue to come back to it again and again.

Something I’ve noticed, especially recently, is how transient life can be. For instance, I’ve never been in a stable relationship, friends are here and there, the places I call home shift within months, and for me there are very few things that remain constant.

One of them is the word of God.

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord our God stands forever.” 

Matthew 24:35, Mark 8:38, Luke 21:33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Psalm 119:160 “All your words are true; all your words are eternal.”

This is why I need it, why I crave it.

I believe the word of God is worth teaching and worth reading and I give it this preference because I know it will always be there – it will never change or cease to be what it is. In the same way I believe it also retains all the characteristics that make it perfect and that it will continue in the same way throughout eternity.

For example, the Scriptures will always be these things:

-flawless Psalm 12:6 / 18:30 / Proverbs 30:5-6

-right and trustworthy Psalm 33:4 / 2 Samuel 7:28

-above all things Psalm 138:2 

Scripture always is, and is always these things.

Unfortunately, I think there may be an attitude, sometimes, in the way other people and I approach scripture and that is to treat it as an archaic, or boring text. Once it’s been over, it’s over, as soon as we’ve heard certain truths it’s not long before we treat them as unnecessary and trite.

In response to this problem:

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

In the sense that it is “living and active” I do not believe it changes or that it is inconsistent, I merely believe it can always be fresh. It is impossible for me to ever exhaust the scriptures of their usefulness, or to mitigate the impact they can have upon my life. Should I pick a book, say a small one like Jude, and read it for a year, making careful examinations of the language and the cultural context, dissecting the themes verse by verse, and should I also take my Bible to quiet places and meditate upon the verses for hours until God has impressed upon me every detail I think I could find from that book, I could return to Jude a year after and the book would challenge me again.

I could memorize the entire text, and this would still not exhaust its ability to affect and teach me. 

Scripture, no matter how many times it has been read, it will never lose its edge. And if I am interested in refining my character, I believe there is no better means to accomplish this than reading and studying the word. It can cut into my soul deeper than any mentor, pastor, psychologist or author; it is ALWAYS a fresh tool which can be used to improve myself.

Knowing that, how could I ever not love this book? Why would I choose any other book as the most important text to communicate to others? 

~

Before going on, there is a slight matter of opinion that I want to admit (take it or leave it).

Returning to something I mentioned earlier, there are two theological topics I want to address – I think they’re important even though they are a little arbitrary.

1) Scripture will never change, however the way we understand it can change

Example:

Acts 1:8

“… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I believe the span of history affects the way we understand this verse. What do you suppose a 1stcentury Jew would think when reading “the ends of the earth” – would that mean the expanse of the Roman Empire, maybe the Parthian Empire? What about Luther? He most certainly read this verse during his lifetime – would he think of Germany, or China or some place in Africa as the “end of the earth”? And what about today? As a 21st century Californian, I understand “the ends of the earth” in a manner that even Luke, the author, and other 1st century Jews could never even fathom. 

But this doesn’t mean Scripture has changed, only the way that we understand it. Which means I believe God’s Word (which is eternal) was written in such a way that it would accommodate any period of history. 

On another little side note, I do believe that the further our history separates us from the original audience, the more we lose the ‘nuance’ of Scripture – we lose its idioms and wit, its poetry and puns. That’s why it is necessary to study the original audience and language as best as we can.

CAN SCRIPTURE EVER BECOME OBSOLETE?

Yes, but ONLY in those specific instances where Scripture itself says so. I know that sounds really controversial, but let me explain (it’s not really all that scary)

Christ made a “New Covenant”

Hebrews 8:13

“By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.”

Hebrews 10:1-2,10

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship… [In the New Covenant] we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus once for all.”

In that sense, the Old Covenant is satisfied by elements of the New and therefore we are not required to follow what was written in the Old. It becomes obsolete in those very specific instances which are outlined in the New Testament. Therefore, Scripture will tell us when other portions of Scripture become obsolete.

Animal Sacrifice: Leviticus 1-5 and Hebrews 10:1-10

Circumcision: Genesis 17:10 and Galatians 5

Sabbath: Exodus 20:8 and Colossians 2:16-17 / Hebrews Ch. 3-4

Unclean food: Leviticus 11 and Acts 10:9-15 

Regardless of our changing understanding, and regardless of these instances where the New Covenant “satisfies” elements of the older Covenant, Scripture does not change, it does not alter. It is steady, and all scripture, whether it has been fulfilled and satisfied by the person of Christ or not, is always necessary and purposeful. 

Romans 15:4

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Even if it is the Old Testament, or a bit of material that has been called “obsolete,” Scripture still gives hope. It still reveals the heart and desires of God, and because of this, I am interested. No matter what Scriptures we are reading, we can always learn more about Him, and the words give us direct access to the God who has created us, loves us, and saved us.

~

There is another “reason”, aside from the stability of Scripture that I write about it, and that is the effect of Scripture. It is because of what Scripture does to me that I am passionately seduced by it.

There are two passages on the point that I’d like to share (well, three actually, but for the sake of space I’ll just give the reference to the third) and then I’ll give you a load of bullet points if you want to look up some others.

Hebrews 5:12-14

“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

I believe that if I lack discernment or if I am confused in how I should act, or if I am even completely ignorant of a flaw in my character, the constant study into the depth of God’s word will train me to see what is right and wrong. It will give me a clearer mind and heart when I don’t know what should be done.

2 Timothy 2:16-17

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

I crave what comes from God’s mouth just as a man would crave every word and sentence written in a letter from the woman he loves. It is God-breathed; it is not stirred up by the interpretation or dreams of the writers, and for that reason I’m in love with it. Its uses are clearly marked and they all intrigue me; Scripture will flesh out my character and prepare me to live the life that Christ lived. If I read it, it will inspire me to be kind where I have been rude, to give where I have often drawn back my hand, to comfort when I was previously indifferent, and to repent from sins that have entangled me in sadness for too long.

I guess I’ll just type out the third… it’s really good.

Psalm 19:7-11

  “The law of the Lord is perfect,

       reviving the soul.

   The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,

        making wise the simple.

   The precepts of the Lord are right,

        giving joy to the heart.

   The commands of the Lord are radiant,

       giving light to the eyes.

   The fear of the Lord is pure,

          enduring forever.

   The ordinances of the Lord are sure

        and altogether righteous.

   They are more precious than gold;

      than much pure gold.

   They are sweeter than honey,

       than honey from the comb.

   By them your servant is warned;

       In keeping them there is great reward.

Other effects and characteristics:

-They can generate spiritual longing in the listener/reader – Luke 24:32

-The Scriptures produce faith – Romans 15:4

-Ignorance of the scriptures causes error – Matthew 22:29 (Mark 12:24)

-The Scriptures can cause salvation – 2 Timothy 3:15

-By listening we can learn to fear God – Deuteronomy 31:12

-We have the word very close to us, it’s not distant or inaccessible – Deuteronomy 30:14

-Scriptures are not the idle, impotent words we often make them out to be, they are our life – Deuteronomy 32:47

-They teach us to revere God when we don’t – Deuteronomy 4:10

-The gospel comes with power, the Holy Spirit, and deep conviction – 1 Thessalonians 1:5

-When we obey it, the love of God is completed in us – 1 John 2:5

-It gives freedom – James 1:24-25

-His word sustains all things – Hebrews 1:3

-It should dwell in us richly if we are to teach or admonish others – Colossians 3:16

-It can cleanse us – Ephesians 5:26

-It is how we keep our way pure Psalm 119:9

-It will keep us from sin Psalm 119:11

-… actually, I recommend reading all of Psalm 119 for 176 verses worth of insights into the value of God’s word.

So why do I continue to write of it to people? Why do I continue to read it myself?

Because it gives direct access to the person and character of God and its effect upon those who listen is endless and powerful, something that I desperately need and desire.

Concerning those who teach the Word

(And this is where things become more difficult for me, like, I constantly feel unworthily, like I should shut up my mouth and not talk about these things further)

John 1:1,14

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

The Word is likened to God – is likened to Christ, and I believe it ought to be approached in the same manner one approaches God. He is a friend and king, a refiner and savior, a lover and father. We should treat his words the same way that we would treat letters sent to us from such people… well, except it’s God, not just a mesh of human characters.

I want to read it with respect, but with passion as well. I want to teach it with sensitivity and accuracy. I believe it is a matter of God’s heart that his word be dealt with in exactness. (Deuteronomy 28:58-59, Exodus 19:7, 24:3-8, Deuteronomy 8:8+3, 17:18-19, 29:29, 32:45-47, Example of exactness: Galatians 3:16)

To be honest, there have been times where I have play too fast and far too loose with the word of God and I think this is dangerous and hasty.

2 Timothy 2:2

“And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

Why is this so necessary? Because screwy people can distort the word of God; look at this:

1 Timothy 6:3-5

“If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree with the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”

I sometimes wonder if this is all I am. Do I just seek controversy? I will admit that there were times in my life when I did. But I am also being honest when I say that I NOW want to teach the Word, and when the Word no longer lines up with what I’ve learned in traditional theologies, then yes, there will be controversy. But still, it haunts me, worries me, and I will admit that I am very afraid. I often doubt my own thinking, and speak too soon only to regret the words I have said. Or I’ve worded studies with convoluted language, or with poor structure and then my message is quickly misunderstood and taken for something false.

I don’t want to stir up things like envy, or strife, or evil suspicions – I don’t want to waste anyone’s time with anger and sour emotions – but I do think there is a point when the word must be honestly told to the people and if there is a gaping disconnect between the practice of Christian traditions and the teachings of scripture, then there will be friction.

If you want to know the passages of scripture that haunt me most then read 2 Peter 1:12-21 and 2:1-22

In these passages it is made explicitly clear that Scripture does not come about by the author’s own interpretation. It is not from man, it is from God, and therefore, those who teach it should not bend it and twist it in order to fit their own opinions or interpretations. I should not take something that is only MY OPINION and then say “This is the Biblical standard” and flower it with a few verses here and there just to make it seem legit.

So I’m burdened by questions that arise from these passages in 2 Peter.

Have I introduced destructive heresies?

Have I disputed whether truth is truth?

Do I make up stories to deceive people into my opinions?

Do I despise authority and run headlong into corrupt desires?

Am I too bold? Am I arrogant?

Do I revel in excessive pleasure?

Are my eyes full of adultery?

Do I seduce unstable women?

Do I promise freedom when in truth I am setting traps for those who have only just escaped error?

Have I turned from the basic message of the Gospel?

Am I caught up in secret and shameful ways? (2 Corinthians 4:2)

Do I use deception and distortion?

These questions often come to my mind and sometimes I feel I have slipped too much in horrible ways. If these are the characteristics of a false teacher, I want nothing to do with them. I want to be a man of God. I want to be a faithful one to whom doctrines can be entrusted.

If I resemble one of these twisted men, then I am a cancer and plague to the church. I cause the opposite effect of what is caused by true teachers.

Ephesians 4:11-15

“It was [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

THEN WE WILL NO LONGER BE INFANTS, TOSSED BACK AND FORTH BY THE WAVES, AND BLOWN HERE AND THERE BY EVERY WIND OF TEACHING and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

This idea has convicted me recently.

These people are gifted to give good teachings to the church and thus prepare the church. As a member of the Church, I am also in need of such teachings, I am someone who needs to LISTEN because they are intended for me as well.

There is a need for stable truths that Christians can cling to, and sometimes I wonder if I am just a rogue, pulling out rotten doctrines because of my own ignorance, and my own wind blown inconsistency. It is the task of a teacher to prepare people for good works, to equip them, and to provide them with sound teaching… and what if I am just a renegade? What if I am tossed back and forth by the waves and I don’t even know it? What if I’m dragging others out to sea?

Recently I’ve had to admit how necessary it is for me to be taught by others, to pool knowledge, and to seek wise council. The word of God is too important to be entrusted to one thinker. I should learn from those who have been gifted by God with more intelligence, more Spirit, more eloquence, more knowledge and more education. They teach the Church, and being a member of the Church, I need their teaching.

Listening to the insights, corrections, rebukes and wisdom of the wise is possibly the most consistent theme of Proverbs. (10:8, 10:14, 10:17, 11:14, 12:1, 12:15, 13:1, 13:13, 13:18, 13:20, 15:5, 15:12, 15:14, 16:20, 17:10, 18:2, 18:15, 19:8, 19:16, 19:27, 20:18, 20:30, 22:17-21, 23:9, 23:12, 24:5-6, 27:5, 27:6, 27:17, 29:1, 29:15, 29:18-19)

 

27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.

However, though we need wise council, we must always side with the word of God. We cannot break from it, not even for the sake of what we believe to be wise council or stable traditions. Paul wrote in the utmost extreme order in his exhortation to Timothy:

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom I give you this charge: Preach the word”

Simple, direct, unconfused, and given in a tone so grave I dare not question the need to “Preach the Word.”

So, yes, I must seek wise council, I must listen to gifted teachers – I am learning this – BUT only insofar as they communicate ideas that do not disagree with God’s word. As with the Bereans in Acts 17, when “they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Test teachers, test advice, compare them to the Scriptures.

Also, in his 1^st letter, John wrote that we should “not believe every spirit,” but that we should “test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

How do we know what is right?

Galatians 1:7-9

“… Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned.”

1 John 4:2-3,6

“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist… We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of falsehood.”

So, measure everyone against what has been written.

To whom should I listen to more? To those who have written the words of God, or to those who teach the word of God? I should listen to BOTH, but the former always trumps the latter.

Also, there is another point concerning false teachers that might be more terrifying than any I have thus far addressed.

In Acts 20, as Paul is giving his last farewell message to Ephesus. He warns: “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard…” (20:29-31)

All this talk about false teachers and here is what scares me most:

What is a false teacher? Lets define them as this: “A nonbeliever or extremely twisted believer teaching doctrines that distort the truth and draw people away from God.”

Practically speaking, this means a nonbeliever can walk into one of our churches, he can learn our Christian language and behaviors and can thus emulate all our traditions. He can do this to such perfect simulation that he can even rise through the ranks (though he is a nonbeliever “wolf”) to the position of pastor. If he has properly maneuvered through a theological factory (a seminary or a collection of Theological books and commentaries) and is told exactly what he is to say, this nonbeliever can even become the seemingly legitimate teacher of a church. This is why Scripture has addressed false teachers, because they can happen, they do happen, and how are we to know better if we are not taught concerning them?

Paul also writes about this in 2 Corinthians 11 and we begin to realize that these are not outwardly sleazy men or thinly veiled wolves. They are not the types you can so easily identify, but rather, Paul recognizes them as “super-apostles”, men who “masquerade as apostles of Christ.” These are the types of whom we would probably say “If ANYONE was a Christian, it is this pastor right here!!!”     (2 Corinthians 11:3-6,13-15)

This is the reason why I do not merely want to be the product of a theological factory. I do not want to learn traditions only to regurgitate them to the people. A nonbeliever can do such things and can then be given the name “Super-Apostle”.

I want to teach what God has said.

Furthermore, if I just soak up and spit out the traditions that have been canonized into the Western mind of theology, have I actually sought the word of God? Do I teach Calvinism, or the Bible? What about Piper, Hinn, Mac, Shedd, Erasamus, Jakes, Kierkegaard, Maimonides, Spurgeon, Edwards, Augustine, Bonhoeffer, Luther, or should I teach Peter and Paul? I believe that if we are so terrified of “new interpretations” concerning Scripture that we most readily cling to historical doctrines, then we can sometimes accidentally nullify the word of God. Just because something has always been taught doesn’t mean we can stop examining whether or not it is true.

Mark 7:6-13

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

      ‘These people honor me with their lips,

         but their hearts are far from me.

      They worship me in vain;

        Their teachings are but rules taught by men.’

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”

And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

How many traditions have been passed along for so long that we unwittingly set aside the commands of God to hang on to them as is they are the truths?

You think the Rabbis weren’t experts in the Scriptures? Did they not have them completely memorized? Didn‘t they pour over them day and night, and discuss them as they walked on their way? So what’s the problem? Oral Taditions and the Oral Law (what has now been recorded in the Mishnah and Gemara) had proliferated to such an extent, that it could blind scholars from what was actually being said in the Scriptures. Were these Oral Laws always bad? I wouldn’t say so. We have examples of Christ quoting them and teaching similar ideas and I believe the Talmud is loaded with wise council if one intends to properly understand the Jewish Old Testament, however, the Talmud, as with all traditions, should never overwhelm the Scriptures so much it nullifies them.

Here in Mark, we have an instance of a tradition which SOUNDS SPIRITUAL replacing a Biblical behavior. The tradition has the appearance of piety but it lacks any real value – “Sorry mom and dad, I may have given you this money to help you in your old age, but I am going to give it to God instead” – this, in fact, destroys what is Biblical.

How many of our current beliefs and practices are only traditions? We will never know until we start to seek the word of God.

I do not want to be so impressed with doctrines that “have always been there” that I blindly trust them. It also happened that when I began searching the Scriptures on my own that I lost faith in various traditions such as cessationism, dispensationalism, and other teachings concerning “bad company”, boundaries, sexuality and Christian holiness. I find that many “truths” I accepted simply because everyone accepted them ended up missing a critical element; they either lacked Biblical support or they relied more on fancy arguments strung together from fragments of previous traditions.

I’m still open to correction on every point, I just want to see clear scriptures on each matter.

Historical doctrines and theologies exist as a kind of wise council, and for this they are very useful and I would go so far as to say it is good to seek them out. However, wise council can never contradict scripture, the moment it does, it ceases to be wise and becomes deception. Furthermore, a ‘traditional view’ should never be so admired that it is taken as Biblical and put on the same plane as scripture.

No one was ever called to preach the traditions, on the contrary, Timothy was called to Preach the Word.

To summarize:

We need the word. It is our most tangible access to the voice of God, the last most trustworthy thing in existence, and its impact upon our lives is unmatched. This is why we must study it, this is why pastors must teach it, and why it should become the standard by which we compare all advice and preaching. I believe that anyone reading this should also be questioning me, asking “Is this actually what God has said?” and if you find a contrary answer, please tell me so I will stop making so many mistakes!