Peace on Earth

We hear the Christmas refrain, "Peace on earth, and goodwill to men." In the coming of Jesus, there is the promise of Peace, of Shalom, of unity and harmony. And yet we know that Jesus was misunderstood and rejected. He was killed on the cross. And so we ask, "where is the peace?"

We understand that these present conflicts will be followed by eternal peace. Jesus has set the table for future peace by dealing a death blow to the devil, sin, and death. Though fatally injured, they are not yet dead, and so we feel the effects of this unholy trinity, and perhaps more fiercely, as the bull in the ring is more dangerous when injured.

So where do we find peace today? "We have peace with God though our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). Peace is found among Christians, expressed in "same mind,. same love,. same spirit,. same purpose" as they "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:2,5 paraphrased).

The irony is that Christian peace and harmony are hard-fought prizes. To gain peace, Jesus died. To share peace, Christians seek to tell of Christ to those who may not want to hear. To maintain or re-gain peace, believers "speak the truth in love," employing honesty and humility to un-cover and root out buried lusts and lies that interrupt Christian fellowship.

Peace and harmony, heavenly realities, can quickly become twisted to describe earthly travesties. We do not have peace when we do not speak the truth, and we have no harmony when there is not the flow and expression of love. Absence of conflict can just as well be a "cold war" as peace. Failure to confront can be an expression of "I don't care." 

There will always be a host of antagonisms and frustrations on earth. There will be none in heaven. In the communities of believers, heaven's outposts on earth, let there be "peace on earth, and goodwill to men."

A Church Full Not of Pastors but Priests

True church renewal will require a change of thinking and attitude about several different issues. We have spoken to a couple of these already. Let's review. The church building is not the church, and therefore we cannot allow a building to be our primary visibility in our community. The people of our community must see Christ, and they will only see Christ in the worship and service of Christians. I do not mean primarily worship and service that take place at the address of the church building. I mean worship and service that take place throughout the week. What happens at the church building should only promote and encourage week-long worship and service. Tragically, we often fall into a kind of thinking that when the worship service and church activities that take place in the church building are concluded, then the worship and service of the people cease. This cannot be.

Also, since not only the Temple has been replaced, but also Temple activities, then we cannot continue to use "sacrifices" as a way to appease God or gain His favor. The wonder of the Gospel is that Christ has completely appeased God, and that, in Christ, we have all the favor of God that we need or could ever want. Our efforts in worship and service are not performed in order to gain forgiveness or favor, but they are instead responses to what God has graciously done for us, and what He has promised to do for us.

Now we need to think about who it is that worships and serves. The Biblical answer is: priests. But the startling revolution that has taken place with Christ is that all followers of Christ are priests. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a priest, and you thus have the privileges and responsibilities of worship and service that were reserved for only Aaron and his sons in the Old Testament. Yes, the specific tasks have changed since there is now no central location and sacrifices are no longer offered. But that does not mean that worship and service have ceased. And you, believer and disciple, are a part of the priesthood.

We have to back up on our thinking about "full-time ministry." In our tradition, we usually think of pastors and missionaries. They are said to be "called" in a special sense, different from the way in which all Christians are called to follow Christ and serve him. One problem. This runs counter to the teaching of the New Testament on the priesthood of all believers. Let me instead say it this way: there is one calling for all Christians. There are different roles in which we may serve. But we are all priests, and "full-time" ministers are no more priests than are you.

One of the problems with this "full-time" phrase is that it implies that all other Christians are "part-time" priests. When would that be? When you are at the church building? That can't be. You are priests every day, and all the time. You are priests when you are with your families, and with your co-workers or fellow students. There is no time of the day when a priest is not a priest, just as there are no activities in which we engage that are not to be characterized by worship and service.

Now there are some particular qualifications for particular roles. Christians who serve as elders and deacons are subject to the character and skill qualifications spelled out in the Pastoral Epistles. But when a person is assigned to a role of pastor/elder, deacon or missionary, they are not all of a sudden elevated to the role of priest. They were priests all along, or else they were not Christians at all.

An implication of this is that pastors/elders, deacons, and missionaries should not be doing your priestly activities for you. When we do so, we are stealing aspects of your privilege and responsibility that are key aspects of your enjoyment of God and of your life that He has graced. The pastor should not pray your prayers for you, do your Bible study for you, worship God or fellowship with believers for you, witness to your neighbors for you, etc. He has a role, to teach God's Word and to provide loving spiritual oversight. But if he in any way inserts himself into your relationship as a priests, he is sinning in his role, and robbing you of your role.

This is a humbling statement for me. I've spent a long time in one place, doing whatever needs to be done. But often, "what needed to be done" needed to be done by a wide range of people, not an individual who desired to be indispensable and appreciated. I recognize that I, many times over, have done the easy thing: doing it myself, rather than leading individuals into the joy of priestly participation. I told you that this church renewal thing would be difficult. I'm afraid that it will be most difficult for me.

The painfully ironic point is that there is a special accountability for those who teach (James 3:1). But when a teacher behaves in a way that contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture (in this case, that all followers of Christ are priests, not just the pastor), then the teacher is actually guilty of false teaching. Perhaps he has not been guilty in what he has said. But we teach more loudly with our actions than with our words.

So, back to you, the priests. How will you worship and serve as a priest today? If I could use a template from the consecration of Aaron and his sons back in Exodus 29, I think we get some good starters to that question. Just remember, we are not re-establishing the old priesthood. But there are some points that carry over.

First, they were washed (Exodus 29:4). When Jesus washed the disciples feet (John 13), he distinguished two washings. Followers of Christ are already fundamentally clean by virtue of their relationship with him, the only, truly Righteous One. We are clean because of His cleanness. But there is also a maintenance washing, the washing of feet. Daily confession of sin and delighting in forgiveness is important preparation for priestly ministry. Again, this does not happen once. We benefit from checking ourselves in the mirror of the character of Christ over and over again.

Second, they were clothed in priestly garments (Exodus 29:5-6). And you must be clothed in Christ. This happens by faith in Christ, that you are covered and completed in him. It is not something that you do for yourself, but it is something that you need to remember and to think about. Note two things. First, being clothed in Christ means that your sins and your faults are covered. They are not invisible, but they are covered. So you need not wait to be perfect in order to serve. Priests are not former sinners. They are forgiven saints who are still sinners. Second, when you present yourself to your world, your are not presenting yourself so much as you are presenting Christ. You are not to win them with your words or your winsome personality, but with Christ and the character of Christ. Yes, this will include gracious words and personal warmth. But it is because you are clothed and covered with Christ.

Third, they were anointed with oil (Exodus 29:7). Priests are all those who make up the Body of Christ, and there are no members of the Body who have not received the Holy Spirit. We are to seek to be filled with this Spirit, to be oiled and greased by Him, that we can accomplish, not our work, but God's. Specifically ask God that He would so guide you by His Spirit that you would say what needs to be said, and that you would refrain from saying what should not be said. Ask the your attitude and your facial expressions would communicate what God wants, not what you feel. And remember, while this anointing was applied only to Aaron and his sons, every believer, young and old, male and female, without regard for race or education level or place in society - all minister by the Spirit as priests.

What a privilege, to live and interact with people as priests of the living God under the Headship of our loving Savior, our High Priest, Jesus Christ, and with the help and protection and enabling of His Spirit, who is with us at all times.

The Weakness of Words; The Power of the Word

It is no revelation that pastors talk a lot. And having been a pastor for quite a long time, I want to tell you, words are weak. You’ve discovered it yourself. You have tried to tell someone something. And chances are, they would not listen. It seems at times that the more you tell them, the less likely they are to listen.

We must come to the conclusion that our words are weak. We cannot shape the hearts of our hearers, whether friends, foes, or families, merely by our words. They are like water off a duck’s back. They are like darts off a brick wall. It often seems like spitting into the wind, upwind. 

This does not mean that we should not speak. The truth should be verbalized by parents and friends and pastors, at the right time, in the right way, with the right attitude. And we will make mistakes. But we must try. Because to withhold the truth is cruel and deadly, even though sharing the truth carries no guarantee that it will be received with either gratefulness or responsiveness.

And a good part of the reason that we go ahead and speak the truth against all odds is because of “the power of the Word.” God is truth, and, as the old “Battle Hymn” says, “His truth is marching on.” Every once in a while, the powerful wind of His word catches the limp sail of our weak words and carries them home, deep into the heart that seemed to be locked against any good influence.

When God wills for His Word to penetrate, there is no defense against it. The water off the ducks back now changes the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. Is there a free will? Yes, indeed, set free by God’s powerful Word from the stubbornness of ignorance and resistance, set free to hear and respond and love and live.

Walk in the Light

Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. (Isaiah 2:5)

The most obvious problem with this statement is that of darkness. Jacob-like people like you and I who have a reputation for deceit and who are self-deceived, find ourselves time and again opting for darkness instead of light. We've been called to the light. We've been exposed to the light. We've been privileged and graced to see the difference between darkness and light. Why choose darkness?

Is it because we forget the light of the Lord? Is there so much darkness around us, that the darkness begins to appear normal, and the light seems like a distant star, real but irrelevant? Or is it because we love the darkness. We love the old pleasures; the old securities; the old fellowships. Have we fallen for the false promises of the near world, because they are so good at making it all look too good to be true? Oh, Esau! We are not better than you, trading away transcendent privileges for instant oatmeal. 

The light of the Lord. Is it the light that the Lord gives, or the light that the Lord is? It is probably both, since God is light, and He has purposed to reveal Himself. But let's not run to becoming experts on God's view of things before we pause and view God. He is, in Himself, light. He is holy, of a different order and nature than anything else that we know. Everything truly is darkness compared to Him. And so to walk in the light of the Lord is to begin to understand how God stands in relation to every aspect of my life - my pursuits and my imaginations and my tedious tasks. What is there about any of these that either basks in the light, or hides in the shadows?

But God is also gracious in that He gives light. We can actually exercise a kind of wise discernment that distinguishes between the better vs. the lesser; the valuable vs. cheap; light vs. darkness. We can catch glimpses of glory shining through the shadows, renewing hope that our kids, our hearts, our reactions can actually reflect heaven's light. Or, on the other hand, we can be amazing foolish, and willfully so.

Come, you who have the heart of Jacob and the will of Esau. Come, you sinner, no worse than me. Come think about God for a while. Turn off the TV or shut down the computer, and let the Spirit lift your mind to catch an eternal perspective. Bow and be humbled before a high and holy God who does not find it strange to share Himself with us. 

Red Sea Rescue

There are numerous applications to God’s saving rescue in the church’s life and the Christian’s life from the account of the Red Sea Rescue of Israel in Exodus 14.

After the plagued power-struggle between God (Moses) and Pharoah, Israel has finally been released to go worship God in the wilderness. But the Egyptians have a change of mind.

“What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

We forget how the devil desires to rule over us. He enjoys, in a diabolical sort of way, our service to him. And we fail to realize that, apart from Christ, we are always serving the devil. There are only two to serve: Christ, or the devil. And if we are not serving the One, then we are serving the other. So even homes that seem moral and orderly are, unwittingly, serving the devil’s interests, though I do not doubt that, somehow, they also serve God’s general interests in society and culture. The dentist who does not serve Christ serves the devil. He may do fine (painless) work, and he may truly help people in the here-and-now and be a benefit to his community, but the devil has him right where he wants him. He is not serving Christ.

When Israel realizes their predicament, that they are pinned in no-man’s-land between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea, they complain. “Is not this what we said to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’”

And so we say to the preacher, “Mind your own business.” And so we say to God’s Word, “This doesn’t apply to me.” And so we say to the Holy Spirit, “Just this once, and I will ask forgiveness.” And so we say to Christ, “I do not account your death on the cross as being of equal value with my personal comfort and happiness.” And so we say to God, “Leave me alone!” Today, we want to serve ourselves, not realizing that, in doing so, we are serving the devil. At least the Israelites better understood their options.

Moses takes the matter to God, and since God already know what He will do (in fact, He already told Moses what He would do), He says, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.”

Just go forward. We think the path is obstructed. But just go forward. We fear our feet getting wet. But just go forward. We fear appearing foolish and stupid. But just go forward. I wonder how often I have lived, stopped in my tracks, waiting for God to move my feet for me, when, what He has promised is to create a path. Just go forward.

The people proceed on dry land through the Red Sea. Walls of water on the right and the left. Drowning Egyptian soldiers behind. Moses and God up ahead. “So the people feared the Lord, and the believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”

Perhaps the greatest rescue that God accomplishes is not in the defeat of the enemy and the creation of a path through the sea, but in the conversion of hard hearts. These stubborn people actually came to fear the Lord and to believe. What a miracle! No, I do not want to discount the other aspects of this deliverance. What power, shown in the most God-glorifying of ways!

We need a Red Sea Rescue today. The Church, and individual Christians, need protection from Satan’s molesting designs. We need deliverance from the sickening attitude that we are better off settling for the temporary security that the enemy provides. We need a push in the back and a kick in the butt to push forward. We need true fear of the Lord, and real faith in a rescuing God and in his servant Jesus.

May today be a “go forward” day.

The Thought of God

Reflections on “The Thought of God,” by Maurice Roberts. Banner of Truth, 1993. The book takes its title from the first article.

Often times at a funeral home, we will hear the explanation, perhaps to a grandchild, “Grandma is not here. She is gone to heaven. Only her body has been left behind.” Regardless of the sophistication, or lack thereof, of the truth prounounced, it reminds me of the point made powerfully in this reading, “The Thought of God.” When facing trouble, the Christian is really not completely here. He is, or, his attention is, directed to heaven. The problematic visibility does not describe the spiritual reality.

Roberts at one point calls it “intuitive,” at another, “instinctive.” Some men in our church have spoken of it as “our first reflex.” It is what Christians do. They turn to God. Their minds run to God. The are governed by “the thought of God.” In short, Christians pray.

Roberts uses a turn of phrase to communicate a beautiful truth: “godly men are not more ready to raise their minds to God in trouble than he is to hear and help them” (p.4). And this confidence is what makes turning to God an activity in which we can invest significant time and energy. God hears our prayers.


The other quote I choose is from pp. 6,7: “ Panic is the sinful failure to apply our knowledge of God to particular problems.” Could theology be any more practical than this? Does this not apply to issues weighing the mind even today? And, has “the Thought of God” ruled your heart and carried the day?

“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

So Teach Us to Number our Days

I’ve often heard, and probably said it myself, that we should live each day as though it were our last. Perhaps this would be a word of admonition in line with Ps 90:12
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
But I’m not sure it gets it quite right.

Yes, it is true that we do not know how many days we have here on earth. This may be our last. And certainly, if it were our last, then there are certain things that I would want to say to certain people.

But the other side of this truth is – we may have a great many days left on this earth. And if that is the case, then we should not live each day as though it were our last. If we did, we would only do those things which are most urgent. We would not plan. We would not strategize. We would begin no large projects. We would stretch for no large aspirations.

And so it seems that we have a two-sided lesson here. Our times are in God’s hands. We must be very careful not to leave unfinished business, especially in the sense of unforsaken and unconfessed sin, or in failing to offer forgiveness or seek reconciliation in bruised and broken relationships.

But we must also dare to begin endeavors which may take decades to complete. We must begin friendships that may not mature for years. We must invest in worthy projects much like a farmer would plant seed in the Spring. Do we have a guarantee that we will enjoy the harvest on this earth? No, but there is harvest in heaven even for projects only begun.

The Answer to our Hopes and Dreams

• We want to be safe and secure.
• We want our kids to succeed.
• We want to be comfortable, and happy.
• These are our hopes and dreams.

And the person, or institution, or philosophy that can deliver our hopes and dreams we could call “savior.”

But there is the problem. There is only One Savior. And the hopes and dreams he has personally pledged to deliver may or may not align with our self-chosen hopes and dreams.

Jesus’ last name isn’t “Christ.” The term “Christ” is a title. He is “the Messiah” (the Old Testament version of the very same concept as “Christ”). “Christ” and “Messiah” mean “Anointed One.” He is the only One authorized and able (anointed and appointed) to deliver our legitimate hopes and dreams.

When I submit to Christ, I allow him to dictate what are those legitimate hopes and dreams. They include such things as:
• Being put right with God
• Receiving forgiveness of sins
• Being adopted into God’s family
• Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit
These are hopes and dreams that we can live with, and for which we can commend to our children.

No Lonely Leadership

Titus: Paul, how could you leave me here in Crete, to pastor this church all alone?
Paul’s response: no, Titus – there is to be no lonely leadership

“This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—” (Titus 1:5 ESV)

Titus is to set things in order. Why? Because everything tends toward disorder, whether your garage, your closet, or your heart and life. But notice the difference. When you come to the back door, disorder in the mud room is obvious. What you don’t see is that the disorder in my soul, and your soul, is insidious. We can read the remainder of this little letter as Paul’s ordering instruction for a disorderly church.

Now I understand that, while there is great satisfaction to bringing order to segments of life – a desk, or a drawer – I understand that it is intimidating and threatening for someone else to say that they are going to restore order to something that touches your world. That seems invasive and intrusive.

But remember, we are talking about the ordering of a household of faith; our household; our community of believers. And some people are anxious for some order to take place. Others are saying, “what’s wrong with things the way they are?” But we must admit, that if the household is going to work properly, and help bring about the well-being of its members, then order is helpful; it’s healthy.

Paul wrote to Timothy in a similar vein in 1 Tim 3:15 – he talks of “how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and foundation of the truth.” So as the church is properly ordered, the truth is properly honored. And the truth works, so long as the truth is applied to our lives. It brings about change and growth in our spiritual lives, change and growth that we desperately need. But when there is lack of order, the truth lies unattended, out of place, and change and growth are lacking.

But you might argue that Baptist don’t do elders. Well, that’s an uncomfortable question. If the role of elders is Biblically mandated, why haven’t we done it? I think there are at least four reasons.

The first arises out of how we use our Bibles. We have favorite texts, and we ignore others. Everybody does. The Bible is a big book, and we can’t hold the whole thing in our heads all at once. And our key text for church leadership has been 1 Timothy 3, in which it talks about bishops, or overseers; and deacons. Not elders. Now in other texts, like Titus 1:5,7, the words “overseer” and “elder” are used interchangeably so that we conclude that they refer to the same office.

The other reason I think that Baptists have tended toward the pastor/deacon model is because of our historical emergence. Baptist churches proliferated in the U.S. in frontier and backwoods communities. There was rarely a ready pool of leadership from which to choose elders. In fact, not only would there be one leader, but a single, itinerant pastor might exercise a primary leadership role over several congregations.

But having had time to absorb the Biblical teaching, and to grow and mature beyond our historical roots, why have we still avoided this term “elder?” And I think the hard answer is “tradition.” Tradition trains our eyes and our minds so that we see what we are used to seeing, and we gloss over what does not fit. Tradition coaxes us to rationalize, saying that our deacons act like elders, or to compromise, saying that the specific offices do not matter. This leads to the fourth reason: sin – that is, an unwillingness to change in accordance with the Bible’s teaching.

So we aren’t taking a vote – we are trying to follow the Bible. And here is what Paul says: “Titus, I need you to restore order to this church, and you are to begin with the leadership. Appoint elders to the congregation.” Why? Because there is to be No Lonely Leadership.

The Old Testament gives a great foundation for this theme. In three passages: Exodus 18; Numbers 11; and Deuteronomy 1, we are given a backdrop for our thinking about elders.

Exodus 18:5-27
In Exodus 18:18, Jethro says to Moses in the face of his responsibilities with the people, “You are not able to do it alone.” It reminds us of what God says, recorded in Gen 2:18, “It is not good for man to be alone,” or of Elijah’s dejected words in 1 Kgs 18:22, “I alone am left.” And Jethro, a brand new believer, can clearly see that this is not a desirable situation.

What’s so bad about “lone leadership?” As Jethro said, “It’s bad for you, and it’s bad for the people.” No one person has the breadth of person and experience and resources to serve the needs of the people well.

So Exodus 18 teaches that capable men are to be chosen to come alongside Moses. In connection with what we will find in Numbers 11, these are men who are made capable by God’s Spirit. They are spiritual men. Their capability is not primarily in their reliance upon natural or physical resources, but in spiritual. They have specifically forsaken foolish “valiancies,” like “holding their liquor” (Is 5:22); or hitting home runs. Further, our understanding of this capability is enhanced by the next phrase: “men who fear God.” This could be a study on its own. But suffice it to say at this point that they are more intent on pleasing God than pleasing men.

Another couplet is used in Exodus 18 to describe the men who would be chosen as assisting elders: they are reliable men who hate unjust gain. They are “amen” men; men of whom you can say, “and it was so.” What you see is what you get. And these men have strong passions. They fear God. They hate unjust gain. I love these verses from Psalm 119: “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” (Psalms 119:36-37 ESV) They don’t seek to find their meaning for life – what makes life worth living – in stupid things.

Numbers 11:10-17, 24-30
In Numbers 11, the Spirit who has been given to Moses is given to seventy elders (vv. 25,29). It reminds us of Jesus sharing the Spirit with the disciples after the resurrection, by breathing on them (Jn 20:22). The point I want to make from this passage is in the prophecy of v.29: “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”
(Numbers 11:29 ESV). This prophecy was further detailed in Joel 2, where it says that both young and old, sons and daughters would prophecy. This has been fulfilled at Pentecost, and, in Christ, we are indeed all prophets, and priests, and kings.

That is why, when I see how the Bible talks about elder ministry in the church, I do not conclude that it is elder rule, or elder government. I still believe that there is a biblical basis for congregational involvement in the decision-making of the church. And one of the key reasons is that the Spirit of God is not possessed by the pastor alone, or by elders alone, but by all believers.

Deuteronomy 1:9-18
In Deuteronomy 1, the story is told once more. “Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’” (Deuteronomy 1:13 ESV). The wisdom mentioned should be that of a heavenly perspective on practical issues. Understanding means the ability to exercise discernment, to sort out difficult issues. Experienced means knowledgable, that is, knowledge gained from a life experience of walking with God. These terms are enhanced by another qualification: “no partiality.” Favoritism is not to be shown to insiders over outsiders, nor to the great over the small. “You shall not fear man” (v.17). I think Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in John 7 get at what is needed: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” (John 7:24 ESV)

We need to understand that the appointing of a council of elders is Biblical, even while we recognize that it is a bit counter-cultural. All around the country today, churches are being formed that are reflecting a very different trend. On the one hand, there is a great priority being placed on youthful leadership. The church seems convinced today that, in order to catch our culture, we have to be cool. And one thing is clear: old men are not cool.

Another pattern is that of staff leadership – not the men of the church, but a staff of men brought in to design and lead the pre-planned organization.

In all of this, there is still the constant pandering to the magnetic personality of the single leader – the one who, when he speaks, we will heed his words, and follow his lead. The Bible identifies that person as Jesus.

So in summary, what is the case for a multiple leadership of elders, properly qualified?

More sets of eyes to see beneath the surface of things, to avoid reactions based on deception and lies

A pool of wisdom, discernment and experience, since no one person can embody these in fullness, save Christ (and we are not claiming that even a group of elders measures up to Christ)

A representation of God’s Spirit – though neither the pastor alone, nor the elders together, have a monopoly on the Spirit. The Spirit has been given to all believers, and we remain thus firmly committed to congregational government, though with elder direction (group) as opposed to pastor (individual) direction.

These should be capable men who fear God; and reliable men who hate unjust gain – who serve together to avoid the perils of lonely leadership, so that the household of faith might prosper spiritually and grow.

Preach the Word!

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:16 ESV)

These same prophets are described earlier in Jeremiah as offering up “false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds” (14:14). This assures a future in which people will have nothing solid on which to stand (16:19); nothing of substance on which to build their faith.

The chief motivation of these false prophets must be the desire to give the people what they want. They desire the acclaim of the crowds, and the illusion of success that this brings. This may bring to the prophets the benefits of personal peace, power and prosperity. But the Bible so clearly warns against such behavior, both in the Old Testament (so often in Jeremiah) and in the New Testament (e.g., “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” (2Timothy 4:3 ESV).

Is it true that every preacher with a big crowd is a false prophet? No, thank the Lord, we cannot and will not make that claim. But should we be careful to examine why there is such public appeal – is it because he is giving people a taste of the crystal-clear water of the Word of God? Perhaps. But both Scripture and experience teach us that the crowds prefer the syrupy-sweet as opposed to the crystal-clear.

So what are we to do? In the general context of Jeremiah, there is an interesting phrase that gives the singular, suffering prophet some advice: “if you extract the precious from the worthless” (Jer 15:19). Preach the truth. Agree that there are shards of truth contained in the drivel of popular preaching. But let the truth shine in its proper context. Remove the sugar-coating.

Preach not to the response of crowds, but rather to the repentance of souls.

Mud Wrestling

My sermons are not pretty. The outlines are often fragmented and easily forgotten. The framework that is supposed to make clear the text is crooked and decrepit. The force of the argument is often lost in a preoccupation with a concept or an image.

As I spend my week in the text of Scripture, I feel like I’ve been mud wrestling. My insights are all smeared and gritty, and my notes are half-erased by the struggle and the search. By the time I enter the pulpit on Sunday, the page has surrendered to oblivion, and I am left to share my impressions and convictions.

You’ve got to admire the national preachers who can present their material so neat and tidy. They are a joy to listen to. They give you confidence that they have it all figured out, and they also give you assurance that, if you do these three things, you also will make significant progress. It’s why church can be fun, and Bible conferences can be entertaining.

I’m not buying it. The text isn’t that neat, and neither is the Christian life. The truth is, as we approach the text, we are a mess, and the text only exposes the mess for what it is. We seek to understand, to believe, to obey – and at the end of the day, there’s still mud in our eyes.

I could try and pretend. Forget it. Everyone knows that when you go to a mud wrestling event, it’s going to get ugly.