Paul told Timothy that he must endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And this is an exhortation that we need to hear regularly.

It is far too easy for us to forget that we are at war. Scripture makes this point often. But it can still surprise us. The kingdom of God has not yet been consummated. So, we still live in the time of Christ’s advance and the world’s resistance. It is easy to forget this point when you live in such a blessed community. So don’t make the mistake that is often made by very good high school football teams. They crush the competition without much of a fight. And this is great for what it is worth, but good coaches start to get nervous. He knows that what the boys really need is to face an opponent who is taller, stronger, and faster than them.

Here’s the application. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that implementing the principles of Scripture in your life is going to be easy. “Ah, but we’re postmillennialists,” you say. Yes, and that is wonderful. But the advances we make in postmillennialism are much more like the advances we made in the D-day invasion than they are the advances one makes down a lazy river.

We are in a war. You are a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And that means you must endure hardship. You must suffer distress, pain, and loss. 

But, as you endure hard things, remember that they are not pointless. You suffer as a soldier in the kingdom of God. And that kingdom is coming in power on earth as it is in heaven. As the Puritans would say, “The way down is the way up, to bear the cross is to wear the crown.”

Jared Longshore – October 22, 2023

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“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13)

Here, Paul exhorts the whole church to act like men, explaining that he means: be watchful and alert, steadfast in the faith, and strong. It is the glory of men to be strong, to stand firm, and to be watchful – little boys naturally love pretending to be soldiers and guards. But here the whole church is called to emulate that glory. How does that work?

Elsewhere, the Bible says that it is an abomination for men to dress like women or for women dress like men, specifically wearing the gear or weapons of men (Dt. 22:5). Women are not to act like or be treated like men in law enforcement, military combat, or other martial arts. Related, the law forbade Israel from boiling a baby goat in its own mother’s milk: what God created to give life should not become an instrument for taking life. Except for emergency situations like Jael and Sisera, women should not be death-dealers, since they are life-givers. This is a woman’s glory. The Bible also says that it is shameful for a woman to have her head shaved like a man, and it is conversely shameful for a man to have long hair like a woman – even nature teaches that her longer hair is given for a glory and a covering (1 Cor. 11:14-15). 

Nevertheless, God exhorts the whole church to be watchful, steadfast, and strong: to act like men. God requires churches to have this masculine tone. When men take responsibility for their families and the needs around them, when sin and difficulties are addressed thoughtfully and with courage, when men are alert and physically, intellectually, and spiritually fit and strong, the whole church is greatly blessed and follows that lead.   

We live in a land given over to sexual confusion calculated to destroy the glory of male and female, because those distinct glories reflect the glory of the Maker whose image we bear. Crossdressing, transsexuality, homosexuality, and every form of gender bending in fashion and in the church is meant to blunt the potency of the glory of being made male and female. So, in this moment, act like men: be strong and firm and alert as men and women.   

Toby Sumpter – October 22, 2023

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There are three English words that are often used synonymously, but which nevertheless describe three very different things. They are coveting, jealousy, and envy. Hopefully the distinction between these is well known to you, but even if it is, to write the same thing to you is no trouble to me and safe to you, so it bears repeating. 

To covet is to look at your neighbor’s possession and say, “I want that.” He pulls into the driveway with the brand new truck, and your 2008 Honda Odyssey suddenly seems pretty drab. Or you go over to her house and she’s remodeled the kitchen and it just looks so great, and you want it. Coveting is basic discontentedness.

To be jealous is to look at your own possession and say, “Neighbor, you may not have this.” In many instances this is not wrong. In fact, it is required and godly. Exodus 34:14 says “For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous is a jealous God.” There are things that you have that it is not right for others to possess: your spouse, your children, time that you owe to your family and calling, and so on. Jealousy can be misplaced, but overall it is a good thing.

But envy is the subtlest of the bunch. Envy looks at the goods of another and says, “I want you to not have that.” Coveting is an honest and almost humble sin in that it tacitly acknowledges inferiority, but envy is vain and petty. You can envy someone on Instagram you’ve never met and also your best friend. Envy would tear down the world in order to be an inch taller than everyone else. It’s like a sneaky mix of pride and malice. It’s a vice no one boasts about, but no one is free from its pull. 

This vice currently has our nation by the throat and is dragging us down to the pit. Let it have no place among the people of God.

Joshua Edgren – October 22, 2023

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Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one, jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Matthew 5:17-20

Christians need to stop apologizing for God’s law. There is only one standard of morality, and that is the standard set down in Scripture. This standard is not arbitrary, but instead reflects the nature and character of God. The moral standards given at Mount Sinai were not modified and softened in the New Testament. Many Christians give in to this sort of thinking and spend their time back pedaling and making excuses when our modern world calls God’s requirements harsh or antiquated. They give into a lie rather than standing on God’s truth. 

Jesus clearly states that the law will never pass away. That is because the law is not list of rules that God thought up. No, it is consistent with the person and nature of God, the one with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Therefore, His moral precepts which flow from His being cannot change. In the sermon on the Mount Jesus will walk through the ten commandments one by one teaching how they not only still apply, but they apply much deeper than outward actions alone, they apply all the way down to the heart. 

The law teaches us how we are to love God and how to love our neighbor. But more than that it shows us how we fall short, it shows us the sin in our lives, and it drives us to the only place where sin can be removed, Christ. A weak view of the law will lead to a weak view of Christ’s sacrifice. And when you do not appeal to the law when encouraging your brother, or your coworker, or your enemy, you are avoiding the very tool that God gave to bring us all down to our knees before Christ. So, give your neighbor the law, defend the law in the public square, teach law to your children, meditate on it in your heart like the psalmist. For the law is not only good, it is glorious for it turns our eyes to Christ. 

Zach Browning – October 22, 2023

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The reputation of King Saul precedes him. He was the first king of Israel and although they had high expectations for him, he failed. Looking back, it seemed like he couldn’t do anything right, but he did do one thing right; Saul forbade witchcraft, he outlawed it. We know from Leviticus 20 that witchcraft was supposed to be outlawed so Saul outlawing witchcraft was a good thing. In other words, witchcraft was the only sin Saul hated enough to prosecute.

But again, Saul turned out to be a huge disappointment because only a short time after taking a stand against witchcraft, he fell into the one sin he hated most. In 1 Sam 28 Saul goes and participates in witchcraft with the witch of endor. If you had told Saul just a short time earlier that he was going to end up committing the sin of witchcraft you probably would’ve lost your head. But now, Saul had become what he hated. 

The lesson here isn’t that you can’t hate sin. Or that if you hate sin you will inevitably become that sin. No, hating sin is good, Psalm 119:104 says “I hate every evil way.” We are supposed to hate sin.

But your hatred of sin is to be mixed with gratitude. When you are provoked by corrupt politicians, bad parents, disobedient children, recognize that if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit preserving and persevering you, that would be you. This is what drives us to pray with David “Lord take not your Holy Spirit from me.” We see clearly that before Saul could sink to the depths of witchcraft scripture says that the Spirit of God departed from him.

So does your hatred of sin drive you into a fit of gratitude that He has given you the Holy Spirit and has promised to persevere you to the end, or does it just leave you seething and angry? You have been given the priceless gift of the Holy Spirit so let your frustrations with the world drive you to be dependent on Him; and to be dependent on Him is to be in the Word, be always in prayer, and confess your sins.

Jeremiah Jasso – October 15, 2023

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