Sermon Notes: Surveying the Text 40: Jeremiah
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Surveying the Text 40: Jeremiah
The Covenant Home #8: Worldview Parenting
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
INTRODUCTION:
The task before us is always to think like Christians, and live like Christians, in everything we do. In more than just a few instances, this means swimming against the tide. Now having a Christian worldview does not mean sitting in your recliner while thinking great thoughts about high spiritual truths. Everything must come down to application. Now one of the great factors which shapes the thinking (or more often, the lack of it) in young people today is the entertainment they ingest. Virtually all Christian parents have to make decisions about social media, movies, music, and so on. But how will they make such decisions? By what standard?
THE TEXTS:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy— meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8).
“And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed” (Acts 19:18-20).
“But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 4:14).
THE PRINCIPLES:
In order to avoid this whole topic being a bad business from start to finish, there are certain things you must have.
Character—God has given you authority in the home. This was not done so that you would nervously avoid using it. When you make decisions for the household, it should be done without apology. If it requires apology, then why are you doing it? A submissive spirit toward God means that you must make authoritative decisions. You must have the character to wield submissive authority.
Courage—In many profound ways, we as Christians are at war with modernity, postmodernity, and their ratty little brood. This does not mean rejection of every feature of modem life, but it does mean taking a stand against all our idolatries. Doing this can be costly, and you will need the grace of God to strengthen you. “What will people think?” and all the rest of it.
Confidence—When you come to make these decisions, you must shake loose of the world’s propaganda about this, which is that parents are terminally unhip, and therefore unfit to pass judgment on such things. But parents know far more about the world than their kids do. The concept of cool is nothing but some sleight of hand propaganda designed to make parents ashamed of what they know.
Comprehensiveness—Your responsibility as a parent involves everything that is going on. Do not just ask if the item in question has any “bad words” in it. Do not be afraid to include aesthetic judgments, judgments about your child’s maturity, moral judgments about the protagonist, and so forth.
TEST CASE APPLICATIONS:
As mentioned above, everything must come down to application. This question of music is simply one area among many which calls for Christian parents to think. The other situations which come up must be dealt with in like fashion. Learn in one area, and then reason to others by analogy.
Avoid dumb distractions—the Christian world has no shortage of bogus information on this topic of rock and roll. For some, the backbeat is a matter of major concern. A generation ago there was great concern about what messages are being recorded backwards into the music. Leave it to Christians to be more concerned about gibberish backwards than wickedness frontwards.
Avoid legalisms—if you take a stand on something for reasons of piety, and the only reason you can give for it is “just because,” then you are teaching legalism. Legalism is rulemaking detached from the Word of God, regardless of your intentions. And a word to the young people—legalism is not to be defined as your parents making a decision that you are not wise enough to understand yet.
Avoid ignorance—do not make your decisions blind. If you take the trouble to sit down and go over the lyrics of the songs, the debate is frequently over at that point. “We will decide this question by asking your visiting grandmother to read the lyrics aloud to the family tonight at the dinner table.” Dissensions often occur because parents express vague doubts based on insufficient knowledge. They ask foggy questions instead of actually checking it out.
Avoid parental worldliness—there are sadly situations where parents are trying to live out a vicarious cool through their kids. This is deadly.
Avoid sanitized imitations—the evangelical subculture has no shortage of cheap imitations of whatever the world is currently doing. This problem is not solved by knock- offs. But don’t think this is unique to evangelicals. The secular world is full of knock-offs also.
Avoid reflex contempt for Christian contributions—Christian artists, writers, producers, and so on are often world class. Never turn up your nose just because someone is
fulfilling Phil. 4:8. Not all Christian work is dorky. But even if it is, you don’t have the option of falling into immoral to avoid the dorky. Who do you think you are?
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL:
Teach your kids. If music is part of your family’s life, and it should be, then it should be part of your conversation. Talk about the world in the light of Scripture, and do so regularly. Do it when you rise up, when you walk along the road, when you sit down to dinner. And as you do this, hold your kids accountable to learn. You do not want your kids to be arguing, “It is not that bad because . . .” Nor can you tolerate them saying something like, “Well, musical taste is up to the individual . . .” When something is manifestly wrong, if your kids cannot tell you what is wrong with it, that means they are unprotected. If you send them out into the woods for lunch, they should know what mushrooms to stay away from. Parents should insist on clarity of thought from them, and not excuses, rationalizations, or misty relativism.
Three Chains III: Shame
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Introduction
We have been considering fear, guilt, and shame, and we have come to treat the topic of shame separately.
The Text
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1–2).
Summary of the Text
The Old Testament saints in the previous chapter were witnesses in their lives to the faithfulness of God. But there is something in this expression which indicates that they are now, in some fashion, witnessing us. They have run their race, and they are now sitting in the stands, a great cloud of them, as we run the race that God has assigned to us. We are compassed around with a great cloud of witnesses. We need to stretch out, take off any encumbrances, which would include any entangling sin, and then run patiently. The expression patiently indicates that it is a long distance run, not a dash. As we do, we look to the finish line. That finish line is Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He was the first one to run the entire race, and He did it with His eye on the finish line, which was the joy set before Him. The joy and glory He has obtained was what made it possible for Him to hold the shame He had to endure in contempt. He despised the shame, considering it a trifle in the light of the joy that was coming.
Shame in the Sins of Others
Shame is not the same thing as guilt. It often accompanies guilt, but it is not the same thing. In addition, there are times when the sin of one person causes shame in another. This was the case with Tamar when her brother raped her (2 Sam. 13:13). This is the kind of emotion experienced by children who have been abused and violated, for example. This kind of shame occurs when you are sinned against. Another example would be when a lazy son causes his father shame (Prov. 10:5). Another kind of shame happens when you are despised by others because of a righteous stand you have taken. “Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: Let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; Shame hath covered my face” (Ps. 69:6–7). And in other situations, shame accompanies sins a person has committed himself. This would particularly be the case when the sin is generally despised, and is roundly condemned. A wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame (Prov. 13:5).
Shame in the Hand of God
“Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that rejoice at mine hurt: Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me” (Ps. 35:26). “But thou hast saved us from our enemies, And hast put them to shame that hated us” (Ps. 44:7).
God may bring them to destruction in this way, or He may bring His enemies to destruction by making them His friends. “Fill their faces with shame; That they may seek thy name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; Yea, let them be put to shame, and perish” (Ps. 83:16–17).
Never Ashamed
Jesus Christ was not ashamed as He enacted the gospel in and through His passion. That which Christ was not ashamed to go through, we must not be ashamed to be associated with. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Rom. 10:11).
This attitude is necessary because this is where the world is always going to push back. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God” (2 Tim. 1:8).
Glory and Shame
The antidote to shame is glory. True shame requires real glory. Spurious shame is going to be answered by a spurious glory, but of course it has to be a flawed answer. There is a tight connect in Scripture between the two categories of glory and shame. The sons of men are rebuked for turning God’s glory into shame (Ps. 4:2). God disciplines sinners by changing their glory into shame (Hos. 4:7). A debauched lifestyle uses shame for glory (Hab. 2:16). Paul rebukes false teachers, whose glory is their shame (Phil. 3:19).
This is what gives the cool shame its authority. The cool shame represents worldliness, which in its turn is a rival system of glory. When the devil tempted the Lord, one of the things He showed Him was all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
But Scripture gives us a striking contrast between the wise man and the fool. “The wise shall inherit glory: But shame shall be the promotion of fools” (Prov. 3:35).
There are two rival kingdoms in this world, and they have inverted systems of shame and glory. What they consider the ultimate disgrace we may embrace, and why? Because our understanding of glory is not theirs. Our understanding of glory has to do with a suffering servant exalted to the place that is above every name. Ours comes to the cross, and then to the crown. This is why, when the apostles were flogged, they were able to rejoice in it. “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41). It is an honor to be dishonored. It is a grace to be disgraced. And all this is only possible in and through the cross.
Gospel Presence VI: Gospel, Church, World
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Introduction
Our goal in this life, and our goal as a congregation, ought to be three-fold—we should want to get the gospel straight, we should want to get the church right, and we should want to get the world restored. Let’s walk through it in that order.
The Text
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:22-29).
Summary of the Text
As believers, we have not come to an earthly mountain, but rather to a heavenly one (v. 22). We have not only come to God, but also to all the saints, to all our fellow believers (v. 23). We have come to Jesus, and to the blood of sprinkling (v. 24). This is blood that speaks from Heaven, and we must not turn a deaf ear (v. 25). The voice we must not refuse is a voice that shakes Heaven, as well as earth (v. 26). God shakes everything down in order that the permanent things may remain (v. 27). This kingdom that we are receiving is one of those permanent things, and this is why our worship of God must be reverent and true (v. 28), for God is a consuming fire (v. 29).
Gospel: Blood That Speaks
The gospel, the good news, is objective and outside us. Our response to the gospel (repenting, believing, etc.) is not the gospel. It is the response to the gospel. The gospel was true and established before anyone here was born. The gospel is this message—Jesus Christ suffered, bled and died on the cross for the sins of His people. He was buried in the tomb, and on the third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, where He is seated in power and glory. From that high place, He intercedes with the Father for you. Jesus prays for you, and He pleads His case with the blood that speaks. That is gospel.
The gospel has two sides. The first is the person of Jesus, who He was. The second is the work of Jesus, what He did. He is the incarnate Deity, the second Person of the Trinity, one who became a man for our sake. He was fully God, and fully man, and He then went to the cross to die, be buried, and to rise. This is the gospel, this is the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Church: With Reverence and Fear
This gospel message is proclaimed in various ways. It is proclaimed (obviously) when an evangelist goes out and preaches this message to those who have not heard it, or who have not yet accepted it. He preaches it, and this is one of the central ways this message is declared. But there are others—and worshiping communities is another central one. We practice weekly communion in our worship, and what does the apostle say? He says that every time we eat the bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death. We do this until He comes again.
Now there is a point that must be emphasized particularly in our day. In our text it says that we must serve God (worship, latreuo) with reverence and godly fear. God teaches us what our demeanor in our church worship services must be like. It must not be breezy, casual, informal, or begun with an introit on the kazoo. That’s not a call to worship the Ancient of Days.
World: That Cannot be Moved
Human history is the result of God’s great process of shaking both Heaven and earth. He shakes us down in order to test and prove us. He wants the world to stand—He wants the kingdom He is giving us to remain. But the way He does this is by removing all the dross through fire (our God is a consuming fire, is He not?) and by establishing the silver He purifies so that it might remain.
The world is a great construction site, and there are scraps all over, and scaffolding that will be hauled away. At the center of it is a great city, a great kingdom. That kingdom is not synonymous with the world now, but at the end of the process the two will be synonyms. The kingdom will be the world, and the world will be the kingdom.
Do not lament for that which perishes. Nothing that God wants to have remain will ever falter. Nothing that God wants to have removed will be found worthy at the last. God’s methods of world transformation are not . . . tender. But they are good.
Conclusion
And so here is our conclusion. Hear the gospel, believe it, eat it, drink it, and proclaim it. Jesus is crucified and risen. Having received this gospel by faith, worship the God of Heaven in terms of it. Worship Him with reverence and godly fear. Worship Him as the Almighty Maker of Heaven and earth, and not as your skybuddy. And last, do this with the understanding that true gospel worship is a cosmos shaker, a battering ram, an earth-mover.
Run with Endurance
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Text
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:1-2)
Run the Race
The author of Hebrews here tells us that living the Christian life is like running a race. Scripture uses these kinds of athletic metaphors all the time to describe how we should compete with a single-minded focus on the prize.
1 Cor. 9:24-27, Gal. 5:7, 2 Tim. 4:7
The ultimate goal shapes our priorities, forces us to make sacrifices for that goal. In the end, single- mindedness will be rewarded.
Look to Christ
And Scripture says that this is the attitude that we are to have with our Christian life. We are to look towards Christ as our final destination. Everything else becomes secondary to that goal. And this single-mindedness for the faith will be rewarded with the ultimate reward. Christ is our example in this. This mental exercise of looking towards Christ and making everything second to him is what Scripture calls “faith” (Heb. 11:1). And the rest of Heb. 11 provides examples of men and women who did just that.
Run With Endurance
There are many ways that the Christian life can be compared to athletic competition. But the main point of comparison in this passage is the need for endurance. The main enemy for the athlete is not his opponent, but distraction from this single-mindedness.
What does weariness look like? Tired, no more energy to push on. It feels old. Distracted. You feel like you need a change of pace, something different. The Christian race slips to the back of your mind. It has become something that you still think is important, but it has become a very small part of your life – like oral hygiene.
We are tempted to think that this weariness, this distraction, is just the inevitable result of being in one place for a long time. It all gets old. But the author of Hebrews gives us an important insight into the real cause of these feelings. We must set aside the weights and sin, whose great strength is to ensnare.
Paul says to “take every thought captive” 2 Cor. 10:5. Too often we go the other way. We are held captive by our thoughts. We give our inner thoughts a pass, instead of confronting them. Is the floor of your mind a mess? What do you need to pick up and put away?
The Race Set Before You
You have a particular race set before you, where the temptations and challenges are custom suited to your particular needs. We are prone to think about getting past our current situation so that we can begin the real work of serving Christ. But you are already in the middle of your race.