Verse of the Day

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Five Words You Must Understand (series), Part Twenty-two, “Continue ye in My love.” (John 15:9)

Sermon Series:  Five Words You Must Understand

1 Corinthians 14:19
Yet in the church I had rather speak
five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also,
than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Part Twenty-two: John 15:9
“Continue ye in My love.”


Introduction:

On the old Daniels and Webster program on ROCK107 we often heard from one Walter Nepasky.  He would begin his commentary in his very recognizable “Coal Cracker” dialect with either, “I'm Walter Nepasky and today I wanna talk about tree tings.”, or “Hi. My name is Walter Nepasky. How ya doin’? Today I want to talk to you about tree tings.”

What if we had a modern Christian radio station —The Rock of Ages 316 — with a program that began, “Hi, I’m Paul of Tarsus, and today I want to talk about five words.”

The Apostle Paul wrote: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.[1]

Paul follows up his introduction on The Rock of Ages 316 with his personal example — an extreme preference framed as a mathematical proportion: 5 versus 10,000. This is Paul’s “druthers”!  This is when 5 is better than 10,000!

If Paul were here, and you could pin him down to a literal selection of five words, what do you think he would choose?  “Gimme Five Paul!”

Before we get to a selection from the list of five word Scripture passages that might be in Paul’s “in box” we should also consider how Charles Haddon Spurgeon went even beyond Paul, perhaps due to “spiritual inflation” in the intervening centuries!

“But the seed, though very small, was a living thing. There is a great difference between a mustard seed and a piece of wax of the same size. Life slumbers in that seed. What life is we cannot tell. Even if you take a microscope you cannot spy it out. It is a mystery, but it is essential to a seed. The Gospel has a something in it not readily discoverable by the philosophical inquirer, if, indeed, he can perceive it at all. Take a maxim of Socrates or of Plato, and inquire whether a nation or a tribe has ever been transformed by it from barbarism to culture. A maxim of a philosopher may have measurably influenced a person in some right direction, but who has ever heard of a someone's whole character being transformed by any observation of Confucius or Socrates? I confess I never have. Human teachings are barren. But within the Gospel, with all its triteness and simplicity, there is a divine life and that life makes all the difference. The human can never rival the divine, for it lacks the life-fire. It is better to preach five words of God's Word than five million words of human wisdom. Human words may seem to be the wiser and the more attractive, but there is no heavenly life in them. Within God's Word, however simple it may be, there dwells an omnipotence like that of God from whose lips it came.”[2]

Note: The five word statements from Scripture selected may not actually be five word statements in  either the Hebrew or Greek originals, nor are they necessarily complete sentences or verses in English language translations from the Hebrew and Greek, including the King James Version  which is the source translation for the statements.  Nevertheless, they were selected for the fundamental truths and span of doctrine that they present.  The current list of 36 examples is not intended to be comprehensive, and may easily be expanded or consolidated.

The 36 selections are categorized under the following four headings:
The Person of Christ — The Redeemer
The Work of Christ (as Prophet, Priest and King) — Redemption Accomplished
The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied
The Return of Christ — Redemption Revealed

Now for one of the possible selections from Paul’s “in box”:

The five word statement to be considered on this occasion, “Continue ye in My love,” falls under the third of these four headings, The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied.

Outline:

I. “My love” — What should we to understand about the words “My love”?
II. “In” — How does one get “in” Christ’s love?
III. “Continue ye” — Why are we commanded to “continue” in Christ’s love?

Transition:

Seven Discourses in John’s Gospel:
1. The New Birth (3:1–36)
2. The Water of Life (4:1–42)
3. The Divine Son (5:17–47)
4. The Bread of Life (6:35–58)
5. The Life-Giving Spirit (7:16–52)
6. The Light of the World (8:12–59)
7. The Good Shepherd (10:1–18)

What about the Upper Room Discourse: 13-17? (Note: Some would limit it to 14-17)

Compare these 5 chapters to the 5 chapters of 1 John.

The words we are to consider may be seen as in the very center of this Upper Room Discourse.

I. “My love” — What should we to understand about the words “My love”?

See the words that precede these in this verse, “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.”

John 17:23-26 — 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25  O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

This is about Christ’s love, the love of Christ for His people.

If you are a child of God, this is about the love of Christ for you.

What is the love of Christ? What does He mean when He says, “My love”?

Where may we see the love of Christ?

I highly recommend The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, by D. A. Carson on this subject.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul?

II. “In” — How does one get “in” Christ’s love?

This is a relationship.

This is not about the purging, which is confused in this translation by the substitution of a synonym, a common flaw in the KJV translation and others.

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” (15:1-3)

To be “in His love” is to be “in Him” and vice versa.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (15:4-7)

This is an eternal personal relationship that cannot be severed.

Romans 8:35-39 — 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul?

III. “Continue ye” — Why are we commanded to “continue” in Christ’s love?

The confusing translation issue here and elsewhere in John’s writings (the Johannine corpus) is due to the variety of synonyms employed by the King James Version translators and others where none are found in the original language.

See the next verse, along with verses 12, 14 and 17.

Regardless of how this is translated — hopefully with consistency — the issue is one of perseverance. This Scriptural doctrine has been addressed in the The Canons of Dort in a manner that excels any other treatment in the history of the Church. In “The Fifth Head of Doctrine,” titled “The Perseverance of the Saints,” we come to the final two articles:[3]

“FIFTH HEAD: ARTICLE 14. And as it has pleased God, by the preaching of the gospel, to begin this work of grace in us, so He preserves, continues, and perfects it by the hearing and reading of His Word, by meditation thereon, and by the exhortations, threatenings, and promises thereof, and by the use of the sacraments.

FIFTH HEAD: ARTICLE 15. The carnal mind is unable to comprehend this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and the certainty thereof, which God has most abundantly revealed in His Word, for the glory of His Name and the consolation of pious souls, and which He impresses upon the hearts of the believers. Satan abhors it, the world ridicules it, the ignorant and hypocritical abuse it, and the heretics oppose it. But the bride of Christ has always most tenderly loved and constantly defended it as an inestimable treasure; and God, against whom neither counsel nor strength can prevail, will dispose her so to continue to the end. Now to this one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever. Amen.”

At this point we might well ask how this is to be done? Or, what should we then do? Or, how should we then live?

1. Faith — Abide by persevering in faith.

Believe in His love for you.

Don’t doubt His love for you.

2. Hope — Abide by persevering in hope.

It is not true that “Love cures all ills.”

That is, unless you are referring to His love for you.

3. Love — Abide by persevering in love.

Love Him for loving you.
Love Him for Who He is.
Love what He loves.

“..love one another, as I have loved you” (15:12)

“…love one another.” (15:17)

Conclusion:

1 What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

2 When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
when I was sinking down, sinking down;
when I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

3 To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing,
to God and to the Lamb, I will sing;
to God and to the Lamb who is the great I AM -
while millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
while millions join the theme, I will sing.

4 And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on;
and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be,
and through eternity, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
and through eternity I’ll sing on.[4]

[Sermon preached 12 JUL 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]




End Notes:

[1] 1 Corinthians 14:19.

[2] Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Mustard Seed: A Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher” (Lk. 13:18-19), Sermon No. 2110, delivered 20 OCT 1889, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, U.K.; in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 35 (1889), pp. 565ff.; in Charles H. Spurgeon, The Parables of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003), pg. 707; and on The Spurgeon Archive at http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2110.htm [accessed 23 DEC 2014].

[3] The Synod of Dordrecht (13 NOV 1618—9 MAY 1619); on The Hall of Church History at http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/dort.htm [accessed 18 JUL 2015].

[4] Anonymous. American folk hymn dated 1811. The original had two additional verses. See Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Wondrous_Love_Is_This [accessed 18 JUL 2015].

Friday, July 10, 2015

The Study of the Scriptures - Session 11: Wednesday, 8 July 2015 at Faith Baptist Fellowship Church Lake Ariel, PA

The Study of the Scriptures
Session 11, Wednesday 8 July 2015
Faith Baptist Fellowship Church
Lake Ariel, PA

Review Sessions 1-10

The notes from the previous sessions have been posted to the Wayside Gospel Chapel blog at  http://waysidegospelchapel.blogspot.com/search/label/Scripture%20Study%20Seminar.

The Means God Uses: The Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the Church

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)

1. Placing trust in God: The ability of God and the sufficiency of the Scriptures — Coming to the Scriptures with Faith

2. Putting man in his place: The inability of fallen man and an understanding of the responses of the creature to the revelation of God — Coming to the Scriptures with Humility

3. The Unity of the Word of God: the First, Progressive, and Full Mention Principles of Interpretation — Coming to the Scriptures with Hope

4. The Diversity of the Contexts within the Canon of Scripture — Coming to the Scriptures with Respect

5. The Humiliation of Incarnational Hermeneutics — Coming to the Scriptures with Caution

6. Putting the Scriptures in their Place: The Historical Perspective in Bible Study — Coming to the Scriptures with Perspective

7. Familiarity Breeds Contempt — Coming to the Scriptures without Presumption

8. Texts and Translations — Coming to the Scriptures with Thanksgiving

9. Three Issues With Unfulfilled Prophecies — Coming to the Scriptures with Consistency

10. Lex Rex: or Slow Down, Simplify, and Separate — Coming to the Scriptures with Simplicity

B.L.U.F. — “An acronym for "Bottom Line Up Front" that is frequently used in informal military correspondence and internal/informal corporate e-mails to cover the main points of an e-mail so the reader can quickly understand what the e-mail is saying before reading the whole, lengthy e-mail.” Source: Urban Dictionary at http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=BLUF [accessed 8 JUL 2015].

The End Game right out of the Huddle

The Last Thing is the First Thing

Philippians 2:9-11 — 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is more about this in the book of Revelation, but that will be considered later.

I. Prayer — Praying the Scriptures

Learning a simple lesson the hard way —

Matthew 10:28-31 — 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (pp. Luke 12:4-7)

“Let the words of Scripture become the words of our prayers.”
“You can use any passage of Scripture to pray through.”
Donald S. Whitney, Praying the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015).

Some passages are easy. Don Whitney focuses on the Psalms.

1. Consider the Psalms, especially when they are written in the first person. You don’t have to change a word. Or do you?

What about Psalm 1? Psalm 23? Psalm 32? Psalm 51?

Let’s also consider the opposite. What would be the most difficult passages to turn into prayers?
Where would we struggle at translating the Scriptures into personal prayers?

“Let the words of Scripture become the words of our prayers.”
“You can use any passage of Scripture to pray through.”
Donald S. Whitney, Praying the Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015).

What about other passages of Scripture besides the Psalms?

2. Consider Praying the Reproofs and Chastenings — 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 12:5-11

Is praying, “Lord, reprove me” something like asking Him for patience (James 1:2-7)?

Who has prayed, “Lord, chasten me, prove me?”

3. Consider Turning the Curses into Prayers — Isaiah 6:9-10 and Acts 28:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16; Romans 11:7-10

Isaiah 6:8-13 — 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, 12 And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

Matthew 13:10-17 (and parallels in Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10; Jn. 12:39-40) — 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Acts 28:25-28 — 25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 28 Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.

2 Cor. 3:13-15 — 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

Romans 11:7-10 — 7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

How can such curses be turned into prayers? Take it personally. Personalize it. Do what C. S. Lewis did in The Screwtape Letters. Turn it around.

By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand;
Lord, may I not just hear, but give me understanding of what I hear!
and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Lord, may I not just see, but enable me to perceive what I see!
For this people's heart is waxed gross,
Lord, may my heart be responsive to you and your Word!
and their ears are dull of hearing,
Dear Lord, keep me from ever becoming dull of hearing!
and their eyes they have closed;
Thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes! Lord, may I never close them to You and your truth!
lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
Keep me ever seeing with my eyes, Lord, and deliver me from the spiritual blindness of sin!
and hear with their ears,
Keep me ever hearing, Lord, and deliver me from spiritual deafness!
and should understand with their heart,
Lord, continue enabling my heart to understand Your Word and your will for me!
and should be converted,
Lord, may conversion be a way of life for me until glory. Please keep turning me and conforming me to the image of Your Son!
and I should heal them.
Lord, heal me, and I shall be healed. May your healing of me never stop until I am in glory with you! Heal me Lord!

4. Consider Praying the Warning passages in Hebrews

How shall we escape? (2:3)

Harden not your hearts! (3:8, 15)

Ye are dull of hearing! (5:11)

It is impossible…to renew them again unto repentance! (6:4-6)

There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins…It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (10:26-31)

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person…(12:15-16)

Take it personally. Personalize it. Don’t turn it around. Turn yourself around.

Preacher, now you have left off preaching, and strayed into meddling!

“Where are the Warning Passages?
First we must determine which passages from Hebrews may rightly be termed “warning passages.” Below is a comparison of five scholars’ definitions of the limits of the “warning passages”:[1]
Bruce [2]
Lane [3]
Mugridge [4]
Grudem [5]
McKnight [6]
2:1-4
2:1-4
2:1-4
2:1-4
2:1-4
3:7-19
3:7-19
3:12-4:2, 11-13
3:6-4:13
3:7-4:13
5:11-14
5:11-6:12
6:4-8
6:4-6
5:11-6:12
10:26-31
10:19-39
10:26-31
10:26-31
10:19-39
----------
12:14-29
12:13b-17, 25-29
12:25
12:1-29”

“Footnotes

[1] Examples of disagreement could be multiplied.  No two scholars appear to agree exactly on this issue.

[2] See the his list of “admonitions” in F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews: Revised (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), pages vii - x.  There is no explicit “admonition” in chapter 12.

[3] From the analysis of W. L. Lane, Hebrews 1-8 (Dallas: Word, 1991).

[4] See A. Mugridge, “Warnings in the Epistle to the Hebrews” in RTR 46 (1987), page 74.

[5] Cf. W. Grudem, “Perseverance of the Saints: A Case Study from Hebrews 6:4-6 and the Other Warning Passages in Hebrews” in T. Schreiner and B. Ware (eds.), The Grace of God, The Bondage of the Will Volume 1 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), especially page 134.

[6] From S. McKnight, “The Warning Passages of Hebrews: A Formal Analysis and Theological Conclusions” in Trinity Journal 13ns (1992), especially page 22.

Source: Lee Gatiss, “The Function of the Warning Passages in the Structure and Argument of Hebrews,” on The Theologian at http://www.theologian.org.uk/bible/hebrews-warnings.html [accessed 8 JUL 2015].”

II. Song — Singing the Scriptures

Ephesians 5:17-21 — 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Colossians 3:12-17 — 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Now, I am neither a mystic, nor the son of a mystic, but that does not rule out experiences with God of intense and personal worship, nor should it. After all, people sing in the shower don’t they, and how many of them can carry a tune in a bushel basket? Where do you think that the great hymn writers to whom we owe so much got started?

Jeremiah 15:16 — Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

What about when you do not feel at all like singing?

Revelation 10:8-10 — 8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Open your hymnals a find a hymn that would be appropriate when you have been devastated by loss — when you have lost a loved one, a child, a spouse? Are there any there? I know that there is at least one. But you would have to know the story, and there won’t be many more at all.

Psalm 73:15-16 — 15 If I say, I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against the generation of thy children. 16 When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me;

Psalm 78:64 — Their priests fell by the sword; and their widows made no lamentation.

Ezekiel 26:13 — And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.

Psalm 137 — 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. 2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. 3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? 5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. 6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof. 8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Can God give you songs in the night? In the valleys of life? In the valley of the shadow of death?

Psalm 130:1 - Out of the depths (de profundis) have I cried unto thee, O LORD.

Westminster Speaks: “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?” by Carl R. Trueman

“Some years ago I wrote a little article, `What Can Miserable Christians Sing?'  I dashed it off in about 30 minutes one afternoon, and yet I have received more positive letters and emails about that one little piece than anything else I have ever written.  It seemed to strike a chord.

My thesis was very simple: there is nothing in the typical book of hymns or praise songs that a woman who has miscarried a baby, or a parent who has just lost a child to cancer, can sing with honesty and integrity on a Sunday.
The desperation and heartache of such moments are things which we instinctively feel have no place in a religion where we are called on to rejoice in the Lord always.  Yet there is a praise book which taps such emotions and gives the broken-hearted honest words with which to express their deepest sorrows to God.
It's called the book of Psalms; and its recovery as a source of public praise in the Christian church can only help the church overcome its innate triumphalism and make room for the poor and the weak; that is the very people that Paul alludes to in 1 Corinthians which are the normal kind of church member.

And today I find the article has once again returned to my inbox; this time cited by my friend, the well-known British journalist, John Macleod.  Who would have thought that a 30 minute editorial would have such an apparently long life?”

Carl R. Trueman, “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?” (25 MAY 2010), on Westminster Theology Seminary at http://www.wts.edu/resources/westminsterspeaks/2010/05/25/What_Can_Miserable_Christians_Sing.html [accessed 8 JUL 2015]. This was originally published as a London Times article at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article7133779.ece [accessed 8 JUL 2015].
Note: Subscription required. This has since been reprinted in Carl R. Trueman, The Wages of Spin: Critical Writings on Historical and Contemporary Evangelicalism (Christian Focus: 2004) pp. 158-160; and is available online: Carl Trueman, “What Can Miserable Christians Sing?” (13 AUG 2007), on Tolle Lege at https://tollelege.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/what-can-miserable-christians-sing-by-carl-r-trueman/ [accessed 8 JUL 2015].

III. Worship — Trembling at the Scriptures

You are not done yet.

This is not an academic exercise.

Can we truly say that we “get it” or that we understand it, if we are not caused to tremble at it?

Isaiah 66:1-5 — 1 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not. 5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

What is the “bottom line?”
What is the “end game?”
Is it not worship?

Revelation 4:10-11 — 10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 5:8-14 — 8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

That is the “bottom line,” the “end game.” Does it not solicit prayer, inspire songs in the heart, and leave us trembling?

Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria,

John T. “Jack” Jeffery
Pastor, Wayside Gospel Chapel
Greentown, PA

8 JUL 2015

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Pastor's Sermon Notes: Five Words You Must Understand (series), Part Twenty-one, “Go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

Sermon Series:  Five Words You Must Understand

1 Corinthians 14:19
Yet in the church I had rather speak
five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also,
than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.

Part Twenty-one: John 8:11
“Go, and sin no more.”


Introduction:

On the old Daniels and Webster program on ROCK107 we often heard from one Walter Nepasky.  He would begin his commentary with either, “I'm Walter Nepasky and today I wanna talk about three things.”, or “Hi. My name is Walter Nepasky. How you doin'? Today I want to talk to you about tree tings.”

What if we had a modern Christian radio station —The Rock of Ages 316 — with a program that began, “Hi, I’m Paul of Tarsus, and today I want to talk about five words.”

The Apostle Paul wrote: Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.[1]

Paul follows up his introduction on The Rock of Ages 316 with his personal example — an extreme preference framed as a mathematical proportion: 5 versus 10,000. This is Paul’s “druthers”!  This is when 5 is better than 10,000!

If Paul were here, and you could pin him down to a literal selection of five words, what do you think he would choose?  “Gimme Five Paul!”

Before we get to a selected list of five word Scripture passages that might be in Paul’s “in box” we should also consider how Charles Haddon Spurgeon went even beyond Paul, perhaps due to “spiritual inflation” in the intervening centuries!

“But the seed, though very small, was a living thing. There is a great difference between a mustard seed and a piece of wax of the same size. Life slumbers in that seed. What life is we cannot tell. Even if you take a microscope you cannot spy it out. It is a mystery, but it is essential to a seed. The Gospel has a something in it not readily discoverable by the philosophical inquirer, if, indeed, he can perceive it at all. Take a maxim of Socrates or of Plato, and inquire whether a nation or a tribe has ever been transformed by it from barbarism to culture. A maxim of a philosopher may have measurably influenced a person in some right direction, but who has ever heard of a someone's whole character being transformed by any observation of Confucius or Socrates? I confess I never have. Human teachings are barren. But within the Gospel, with all its triteness and simplicity, there is a divine life and that life makes all the difference. The human can never rival the divine, for it lacks the life-fire. It is better to preach five words of God's Word than five million words of human wisdom. Human words may seem to be the wiser and the more attractive, but there is no heavenly life in them. Within God's Word, however simple it may be, there dwells an omnipotence like that of God from whose lips it came.”[2]

Now for some possibilities from Paul’s “in box.”

Note: The five word statements from Scripture selected may not actually be five word statements in  either the Hebrew or Greek originals, nor are they necessarily complete sentences or verses in English language translations from the Hebrew and Greek, including the King James Version  which is the source translation for the statements.  Nevertheless, they were selected for the fundamental truths and span of doctrine that they present.  The current list of 36 examples is not intended to be comprehensive, and may easily be expanded or consolidated.

The 36 selections are categorized under the following four headings:
The Person of Christ — The Redeemer
The Work of Christ (as Prophet, Priest and King) — Redemption Accomplished
The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied
The Return of Christ — Redemption Revealed

The five word statement to be considered on this occasion, “Go, and sin no more,” falls under the third of these four headings, The Salvation of Christ — Redemption Applied.

Administrative matters —

1. There is a textual issue with this narrative, the Johannine Pericope, otherwise known as the Pericope Adulterae. The statement is found as part of a narrative whose textual pedigree is the source of sharp division. Mention must be made of the textual issue, that it is recognized, and has been considered. If anyone has issues with the fact that this will be preached as Scripture, as the Word of God, we can discuss that afterwards.

2. There is also a textual issue with these words that shows up in translations reading “from now on” (NASB, ESV, HCSB, NET), or “from henceforth” (ASV).

3. There are theological issue with these words.

Outline:

I. The Contradiction of the Claim of the Gospel
II. The Rending of the Reality of the Gospel
III. The Dilution of the Demand of the Gospel

Transition:

One of the quotes of the day that I collected during my unit’s deployment to Iraq ten years ago is,
“Go do great things!”
— Captain Robert Beaudry, the Battalion Maintenance Officer (BMO) at the end of each Maintenance meeting for Task Force Saber in Ramadi, Iraq during OIF 2005-2006.

Let us pick up where we left off last Lord’s Day with the woman standing before Christ after her accusers had put distance between them and the Lord. She had answered his two questions with a simple statement. The next thing she heard from him was the five word statement we considered last time, “Neither do I condemn thee.”

She must have felt rooted to that spot where she was standing.

What was she thinking? What would you be thinking at this point?
What was she expecting? Would she be numb, frozen, paralyzed with fear and emotion?
Would she be wondering, “Now what? What next? What do I do now? Where do I go from here?”

We don’t know the answers to these questions, but the Scriptures confront us with this historical reality, with this tremendous human drama, and so we must enter into it.

Perhaps we can agree that whatever she was feeling in the turmoil of emotions over what had just happened to her, she probably did not anticipate either the previous five word statement from Christ, or this one.

What she now hears from Christ are five more words following hard on the heels of “Neither do I condemn thee.” She hears the Lord add, “Go, and sin no more.”

In these five words are two commands, one positive and one negative.
The indicative in the previous five words is followed by these two imperatives.
That indicative affirming justification calls for faith. These commands of sanctification call for repentance.

Romans 5 related to the word of justification that she had just heard from Christ.
Now she hears a word of sanctification that relates directly to the Apostle Paul’s teaching in Romans 6.
Romans 8:1 related directly to the word of justification and non-condemnation.
Now Romans 8:2 lines right up with the word of sanctification here.

It may good for us to consider the following questions at this point:
What would the aftermath look like?
What will her testimony be?
What was she to do?

I mentioned during the introduction that there is a textual issue with these words that shows up in translations reading “from now on” (NASB, ESV, HCSB, NET), or “from henceforth” (ASV). In a moment in time everything has changed for her. From this moment on nothing can ever be the same again. From now on she will have the words of Christ ringing in her ears, echoing in her mind, written on her heart, causing her to tremble in awe, and to weep in gratitude. From now on she must serve the Master who has commanded her. The answer to the three questions just asked must take this into consideration.

I also mentioned that there are theological issues with these words. These issues involve common errors encountered regarding the doctrine of sanctification that would color how some understand this five word statement. These errors must be avoided in any consideration of the answers to the three questions asked previously.

I. The Contradiction of the Claim of the Gospel

She was told by Christ: “Go, and sin no more.”

She did not got to an Adulterers Anonymous meeting, and stand up and say, “Hi, my name is Sarah, and I am an adulteress!”

That she cannot be. Neither should any child of God buy into speaking of themselves in such a way. To do so contradicts the assessment of those who are Christ’s in the Word of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 — 9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

“The proper response to mercy received on account of past sins is purity in the future.”[3]

What would be the impact of these five words?
What do these words mean?
 “Go, and sin no more.”

John Murray, “Definitive Sanctification,” in Select Lectures in Systematic Theology, Vol. 2 of Collected Writings of John Murray, 4 vols. (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1977), pp. 277-293.[4]

On this see also:

Sinclair B. Ferguson, “The Reformed View,” in Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification, ed. Donald L Alexander (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), pp. 47-60.

Anthony A Hoekema, “The Reformed Perspective,” in Five Views on Sanctification, by Melvin E. Dieter, Anthony A. Hoekema, Stanley M. Horton, J. Robertson McQuilkin, and John F. Walvoord (Grand Rapids: Academie Books, 1987), pp. 72-75.

Benjamin B. Warfield, “A Review of Lewis Sperry Chafer's “He That Is Spiritual”,” Princeton Theological Review 17 (April, 1919), pp. 322-327; on Monergism at http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/warfield/warfield_chaferreview.html [accessed 30 DEC 2013].

II. The Rending of the Reality of the Gospel

This is what she heard: “Go, and sin no more.”

Some would come away with the teaching of sinless perfectionism. Would they be wrong?
What is she went away and sinned again?

1 John 1:5-2:2 — 5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.  1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Perhaps the best publications available to counter such an error are the following:

Harry A. Ironside, Holiness the False and the True (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1912); available as free dowloadable PDF on Wholesome Words at http://www.wholesomewords.org/etexts/ironside/holiness.pdf [accessed 4 JUL 2015]; and on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/HarryIronsideBooks [accessed 14 FEB 2014].

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (London: James Clarke & Co., n.d.; 1952 reprint of 1879 ed. of 1877 orig.); on Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ryle/holiness.html [accessed 4 JUL 2015].

Benjamin B. Warfield, Studies in Perfectionism (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958); also included in The Works of Benjamin B. Warfield, 10 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1932; 2003 reprint), Vol. VIII: Perfectionism, Volume II.

On this work by Warfield see especially the following:

Fred G. Zaspel, The Theology of B. B. Warfield: A Systematic Summary (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), pp. 456-505, s.v. “Perfectionism and the Doctrine of Sanctification.”

Jim Elliff, “Review of Studies in Perfectionism by Benjamin Warfield” (2013), on Christian Communicators  Worldwide at http://www.ccwtoday.org/article/review-of-studies-in-perfectionism-by-benjamin-warfield/ [accessed 4 JUL 2015].

III. The Dilution of the Demand of the Gospel

“Go, and sin no more.”

Others would water them down, or dilute them to fit their perception of reality.
“Go, and try not to sin anymore.”
“Go, and do your best not to sin anymore.”
“Go, and give holy living your best shot.”
“Go, and start reducing the amount of sin in your life.”
“Go, and stop committing adultery. I know that you will still sin, but you have to put that one sin pattern behind you.”

This is precisely what the Lord Jesus Christ cannot say. This is part of the problem with the NIV’s interpretive paraphrase or dynamic equivalent: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”[5]

This is exactly what He did not say to this woman or to us. Nor is it what he said to the man he healed on the Sabbath by the pool of Bethesda in John 5.

John 5:1-14 — 1 After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 11 He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk. 12 Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk? 13 And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

What does this mean for us?
What are we to do?
What if we sin?

Romans 6 — 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. 20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. 22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Conclusion:

Psalm  85 — 1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. 3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. 4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. 5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. 8 I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. 9 Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. 10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. 12 Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. 13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Isaiah 55:6-7 — 6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

[Sermon preached 5 JUL 2015 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]



End Notes:

[1] 1 Corinthians 14:19.

[2] Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Mustard Seed: A Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher” (Lk. 13:18-19), Sermon No. 2110, delivered 20 OCT 1889, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, U.K.; in Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 35 (1889), pp. 565ff.; in Charles H. Spurgeon, The Parables of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003), pg. 707; and on The Spurgeon Archive at http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2110.htm [accessed 23 DEC 2014].

[3] D. A. Carson, The Gospel according to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), pg. 337.

[4] Previously published in Calvin Theological Journal 2:1 (APR 1967).  On The Highway at http://www.the-highway.com/definitive-sanctification_Murray.html [accessed 19 FEB 2014].

[5] Another issue with this translation is addressed by Carson: “niv’s leave your life of sin establishes the point directly, even if the expression almost paints the woman as an habitual whore (though the Greek bears no such overtones).” Carson, op. cit., pg. 337.