Demolition of St. John’s Gothic Arches Church; image by Shutterstock.com.
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The church in America is embarrassed by its own identity. We’ve tried really hard, for a long time, to make ourselves cool, relatable, down to earth, funny, casual, and experts on all the social issues of the day assuming these things will reach people for Jesus. In the process, we have become our own worst enemy, pandering to the culture for likeability’s sake with little effectiveness in saving people from hell—if we even believe in such a place anymore. We’ve made the salvation of culture greater than the salvation of people, and in the process there’s not much left that looks like historic Christianity in America.
Worse yet, without realizing it, the kind of “Christianity” that we’ve created is being swallowed up by a culture that will only allow its existence on its terms. It’s already happening. Whatever passes for Christianity in the public square today is patently not Christianity, while the masses are taught to assume differently. The only kind of “Christianity” that is forbidden is that which maintains that Christianity has any standard of adherence. Whatever semblance there is left of true Christianity in America has a short shelf life until the culture has accomplished a complete remake of the church into its own confused image.
How did we get here? And, more importantly, how do we preserve what’s left of the Christian faith in America?
A Bad Marriage
The joining of the church and the world in America has been years in the making. The American churchgoer was trained to view the church as having the sole purpose of making people happy, commonly labeled as moralistic therapeutic deism. Whatever struggle we face in life (and how wearisome this pastoral fixation on “struggle” has become), whatever hardship, abuse, pain, sorrow, suffering, we were told, should not be happening. God was offered as a cosmic grandpa in the sky with a big band aid so that we would never have any scrapes or bruises.
Christian ministry became a utopian endeavor. All classic soteriological and churchy language was replaced with the pastor’s own verbiage as an emotional therapist. Gone was the emphasis on sin and the need for salvation. In fact, we were told that such a message that confronts sin and calls for repentance and faith in Jesus was too oppressive to achieve real happiness.
The goal of the American pulpit was niceness, to be non-offensive, with the most winsome forms of conversational speech that would make people feel safe and non-threatened. The result was (and still is today) Sunday worship that became nothing other than a giant therapy session to feed what the Bible often calls evil desire.
The church of the present is now so practiced in trying to make people happy that there is no way of stopping the flood of utopian ideals that are breaking down our church doors from the culture. The church is now the victim of its own hypocrisy. The “best life now” mindset the church facilitated created a vacuum for the culture’s new utopian vision to find a home.
We now find ourselves married to the world. Achieving happiness on the world’s terms, however, is an all-consuming business. Our problems are now far more complicated than they once were. Little did we know the flood what would come in when we starting accepting things like divorce (who talks about that anymore?), sex scandals, worldly worship. And who is ever acquainted with church discipline?
The remaking a Christianity without standards has been a deadly project. Now we are faced with culture demanding that happiness equates with the freedom to marry the same sex, the freedom to identify with whatever gender one decides, and freedom to obliterate distinctions between men and women. Further, intersectionality and critical race theory demand full submission and are required be a core tenant of our message if we are to have acceptance or recognition, at all, in the broader culture. We are told not to expect any to come through our doors unless we submit to the newest theories of oppression.
The culture now has proposed a list of demands that are not presented as options for the church. The world’s project has invaded the church and the message is clear: You will bow down at the altar of our newly defined norms or you will not be welcome anymore as a church in this nation. That’s right around the corner, if not already here.
Not surprisingly, the church is now invaded with a plethora of leading evangelical elites who have suddenly become expert social justice activists; a new brand of Pharisee fills the church who now stands in judgement over historic Christianity as he waves the culture’s new morality in the face of Christianity’s classic creation norms. The Christianity of our day is full of teachers attempting to fuse Christianity with the larger utopian project of solving all of the world’s injustices on their terms. The result is a new brand of American church, wedded together with the theology of wokeness. It’s a really bad union.
The Forgotten Antithesis
For any progress to be made toward recovering historic Christianity in America, there must be reacquaintance with the Bible’s teaching on the antithesis between the church and the world. We need to feel the stunning pain of James’ warning:
Do you not know that friendship with the world is hatred of God? (James 4:4)
Consider Jesus’ words:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)
Jesus spoke of the world has having an “appointed” disgust, and hostility for the believer. Because I have chosen you, said Jesus, therefore, you are hated. This is a categorical separation that defines the relationship. The fruit of God’s election and union with Christ is the rewarded hatred of the world.
It was for this reason that Jesus gave a lot of time explaining why the world hated him:
For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” (John 7:5-7)
Jesus told the truth about sin. Jesus spoke the law of God when it came to the clear moral sins of the day. He spoke, with great authority, about the terrible predicament people are in because sin before a holy God, and that people had to repent and believe in him to avoid dying in their sins. All of this had a goal, of course, that people would receive forgiveness and mercy.
The Christian church in America today is now fearful to speak this way. This language is fast to be legislated against as hate speech. But our silence has helped to obliterate Jesus’ ordained antithesis. We are now simply reaping the consequences of our unholy union. This divine separation is the forgotten antithesis of the American church.
Breaking the Unholy Union
What is needed most in the American church is repentance of our worldliness and failure to hear the Bible’s call to separate from the world. “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues (Rev. 18:4).” How do we best accomplish this Biblical separation?
First, we must appreciate that Jesus said his followers are not greater than him. In John 15, when Jesus explained the hatred of the world, he said, “Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.” This was concluded with Jesus saying their hatred fulfilled what was written in their law, “they hated me without a cause.” Christians, by and large, have rejected the identity Jesus assigned to them through this ordained antithesis. American Christians need a fresh appreciation of our righteous, separate identity in Christ. It’s the greatest privilege to receive the opposition of the world; it showcases our union with Christ. It was for this reason the apostles rejoiced when beaten for their faith, recognizing that Jesus counted them worthy to suffer for his name sake.
Second, we need a proper fear of God again in the church. Jesus had a message for compromisers in his kingdom, and it went like this:
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26)
If someone claiming to be a Christian is accepted by the world, or never spoken against, or never brings offense, or refuses to stand for the truth, while simultaneously tolerating ideas and practices that are against God’s law, such a person is not a Christian. We have to be willing to say this. Strongly. Any progress toward the church being the church (as the axiom goes), begins with a proper fear of who we follow, recognizing that true Christianity fears him who can kill the body and soul in hell.
Third, we have to be willing to speak the whole truth. The world hated Jesus for testifying that the world’s deeds are evil. This is our responsibility too. Jesus explained to his disciples that truth speaking fulfills Christian witness:
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.” (Joh 15:22)
Part of the purpose of speaking the truth is to vindicate the righteous judgement of God (2 Thess. 1:5ff). The partisan divide of our day trains people to speak only the “sins” of the other side. Christians have to be willing to tell the whole truth as God defines right and wrong, with an ability to stand outside the world’s divide, remembering that God’s purposes are being accomplished in the earth through the spoken truth.
Further, our goal in speaking the truth is not condemnation, but rather that people would come to the know the gospel of the forgiveness of sins. Paul wanted to go to Rome to preach the gospel to Nero. Our greatest enemies should be the object of our concern, that they might be set free in the truth of the gospel as we have. To tell them the truth about sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come (the expressed mission of the Holy Spirit) should have the aim for people to be forgiven of their sins. It is this kind of truth telling that accomplishes our separation from the world and fulfills the purpose for which Jesus left us here.
The best way for us to refuse the culture’s incitement to submission will be accomplished when we remember that Jesus called his church to be separate, in every way, by refusing to love the world.
Thisarticlewas originally published atagradio.organd was first featured at Beautiful Christian Life on February 4, 2021.
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In our current environment, if you want to cause offense, then all you have to do is read Colossians 3:18-4:1 regarding our roles in family and society:
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. Masters, treat your bondservantsjustly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Paul’s exhortations in Colossians are in our day like a door slammed in the face. Mention wives submitting, kids obeying, and servants serving, and people get angry. Indeed, few passages in Scripture are more dismissed, disparaged, and explained away than this one.
One writer on this text said, “male authority over women is pagan, anti-gospel; it cannot be redeemed; it can only be aborted.”[1] Others deride Paul as a misogynist who upholds an unjust patriarchy. Still others posit that this passage is not from Paul’s hand, but it is a later addition. However, the most common way to ignore these demands is to label them as ancient cultural accommodation that is irrelevant to us as modern people.
Yet, even as these verses make us uncomfortable, the fact remains that they belong to Holy Scripture, which God inspired for our training in righteousness. Thus, the question stands: Will we heed God’s word or replace it with human opinion? As we will see, the wisdom Paul displays in these directives gives us both the liberty to live in gratitude and the loving comfort of our true master, Jesus Christ.
The Practicality of Living Out Heavenly Realities Here and Now
This passage is in the larger section of Colossians where Paul is laying out how we set our minds on the things above and then pursue these heavenly realities here and now. Seeking the things above is not some escapist technique where we meditate in a cave, but it is rather the active changing of our clothes. It is the stripping off the old man with its evil ways of anger, greed and lying; and it is the donning of the new man, Christ, with its rich threads of patience, compassion, and, above all, love. And Paul wraps up our new outfit by calling us to do everything—whatever we say or do—with gratitude to God:
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col. 3:17)
Yet, this universal exhortation, “do everything,” is a bit ambiguous. How do we do all things with gratitude? This is so global as we struggle on how to work it out in the practical, everyday realities of life, so Paul gives us some particulars. He lays out some specific ways we can do everything with gratitude to God. And for these specifics, Paul gives us what was common in his day, namely a domestic (or household) code.
Now, these domestic codes had a long and respectable history within the classical Greek moral philosophers, Roman stoic thinkers, and even Jewish scholars. And these domestic codes were addressed to men as the master, father, and husband of the household.
Understanding the Greco-Roman World
Domestic codes laid out for the man, as the paterfamilia who had total authority, how to manage his household in a moral and honorable way. Thus, the regular topics included duties such as honoring the gods, raising children, dealing with servants, being a husband, and being active in local politics. Yet, where the responsibilities deal with the individual, the goal of the domestic code was larger.
In the Greco-Roman world, a common belief was that the family or household was a microcosm of the society and state as a whole. The health of the household reflected directly on the well-being of the state. Thus, the man being a good father was not just about the individual but also covered the communal.
This is why Greeks and Romans were skeptical of religions that attracted the allegiance of women or servants, destabilized the family and therefore also the state. This was also true for converts to Judaism. For Greeks and Romans, the family had to worship the Roman gods of paterfamilias.
When a family member or servant would convert to worshipping the Lord alone, this meant the convert would forsake the family gods, which was equivalent to repudiating both family and state. Conversion to Judaism was seen as a scandal, a social disruption that could be met with hostility and persecution, and conversion to Christ would have been the same. It is similar today when someone comes to Christ from Islam. The family can and may disown you.
The Importance of Living Honorably before Outsiders
Thus, Jewish teachers would use the domestic code to show that they were not a threat to society, as they too managed the household well. And Paul uses this domestic code in a similar way. The neighbors of the Colossians would be wondering if this church—these Christians—were some weird and dangerous cult that needed to be squashed.
Even today, the government has a list of dangerous and suspicious religious groups. We don’t want the church on that list. Thus, Paul’s concern here is that believers live honorably before outsiders according to natural law. He is interested in the well-being of the church and the name of Christ, even though today we tend to think primarily in terms of individual rights and feelings such as, “I don’t want to have to submit.”
Paul, though, has his mind first on the corporate good—for the church and even for the state. Paul is using wisdom to outline our duties in natural law within the family and society, which will be good for the church and with an eye to heaven. These duties explain how we seek the things above.
Wives Submitting to Their Husbands
Paul begins with the marriage relationship:
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (Col. 3:18)
Right out of the gate, Paul does something different from the normal domestic codes by addressing the wives. The Greek and Roman codes were only addressed to the men, but Paul speaks to the wives as valuable moral agents.
It is important to note that he is speaking to married women—Paul’s words here don’t apply to single or unmarried women. Thus, women do not submit to men in general as only the wife submits to her husband. Next, the wives are called to submit themselves—this is something they do. Paul doesn’t tell the husbands to make their wives submit; no, the wife submits herself.
But what does submit mean? Well, at the most basic level, it means to put yourself under authority, to be under one who has responsibility for you. So, the wife being under the husband’s authority connects to the created order in Genesis 1. It means God will hold the husband primarily responsible for the marriage. Yet, submission is always suited to the particular relationship.
When an enemy submits to the victorious kings, this may be coercive, but no such harshness is implied here. Rather, in a close relationship between equals, submission has the sense of holding one another accountable. In Ephesians, Paul tells the saints to submit to one another. In Corinthians he writes,
And the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. (1 Cor. 14:32)
Thus, Paul is making the point that wives are accountable to their husbands. And we find the prime example of submission in Christ Jesus. Jesus submitted himself to the Father—even to death on the cross. On the final day, Christ Jesus will put all things under his feet, to offer it all to God, and he will submit to the Father (Heb. 2:7-8).
Clearly, there is nothing abusive or harsh with Jesus submitting to the Father. Rather, this was the perfect harmony of will; it was the Son serving the Father in love to please him. It was the Son putting the Father before himself. For the wife to image Christ Jesus in this way is a beautiful and noble calling. Yet, note the nuance Paul adds: “as is proper or fitting in the Lord” (Col. 3:18). This has two implications.
First, it is proper and right for the wife to submit. This pleases God. Second, it limits the wife’s submission to ways that are proper. There are improper ways of wifely submission, which the wife should not do. The wife should not be improper in the Lord to her husband. This propriety begs the question. What is proper?
And this is the brilliant wisdom of Paul in that he says no more. In the common domestic codes, details could be listed for the wife, such as staying indoors, how she dressed, what she could do, and so on. Yet, Paul is silent about such matters; and in such silence, there is freedom. And this freedom allows for cultural and personal diversity.
What is proper submission? Well, in wisdom you have to figure it out—there is no one way. Paul doesn’t impose the structures of Greek or Jewish marriage on us. So also, we should not color in this submission with the hues of Victorian or 1950 views on marriage. While there is nothing particularly good or bad about such historical expressions of marriage, we are not bound to them. Rather, what is proper in the Lord will vary within Christian wisdom from one time and place to another.
As a couple, the husband and wife will figure out what this submission looks like, and the norms of society will influence this for good or ill. Yet, within this freedom, the wife should have a willingness and openness to be accountable to her husband.
The wife should acknowledge the good created order of God, where the Lord holds the husband accountable as head. And she should have this willing spirit first for the Lord and secondly for her husband. Besides, where wives are called to submit, husbands are called to make this submission easy and delightful, as they must love their wives.
Husbands Loving Their Wives Next, Paul addresses husbands:
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. (Col. 3:19)
The word “harsh” here refers to being angry or feeling bitter towards one’s wife. A better translation would be, “Husbands love your wives and don’t get angry with them.” The one husband-vice Paul highlights here is anger: Don’t get angry with your wife; don’t harbor an attitude of animosity against her; rather, love her. Here again, a difference stands out from the common domestic codes.
For the Greeks and Romans, husbands were called to care for their wives, to make sure they were honorable and even kind to them. But this kindness was often self-serving: if you are nice, your life will be easier. In fact, Greek husbands often raised kids with their wife, but they loved a mistress on the side. Yet, Paul forbids such infidelity and tells men to love their wives. And such love restricts and completely reshapes their authority.
For the love of which Paul is writing here links back to love being the bond of perfection that unites those sweet virtues of humility, compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience. Such love seeks the good of the wife first. It doesn’t lord its will over the wife—my way or the highway—but wants to please the wife, to do what she wants to do. If the wife’s submission echoes Christ’s, then the husband’s love reverberates with the Father’s love. And our heavenly Father’s love is so profound and perfect that submitting to it is a joy, a security, the best place ever.
The husband’s love should be like a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold day; something that the wife cannot wait to get under. Paul preserves the created order of the husband being the head, but the freedom and love of Christ permeates the marriage relationship so that it can be wisely proper and beautiful—no matter the time or cultural setting.
Children Obeying Their Parents
Of course, marriage is only one part of the domestic code, so Paul next moves on to the parent-child relationship:
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (Col. 3:20)
Again, as Paul echoes the Fifth Commandment, he is clearly advocating for natural law and the created order, but a few things stand out here. First, he says, “parents,” not just dads. The mother has authority, too. Second, he tells children this pleases the Lord. Within the heavenly mindedness of Christ, kids obey first to please the Lord. They follow their parents’ orders to please the Lord who saved them; this is their primary motive. Finally, Paul says obey in everything!
Wait a minute. Everything? This is too much—surely there needs to be an exception clause. What if your dad told you to murder someone? Or your mom demanded you to worship another god? You can’t obey these orders. True, this “everything” doesn’t include following a parental command to sin. In fact, many Christians converted to Christ in direct disobedience to their pagan parents.
Then why say everything? Well, this gets at our orientation—our first inclination. You see, if we start out with exceptions, then we become prone to making excuses for why we don’t need to obey. We multiply exceptions as a way to justify a disobedient spirit.
Because their dad was grumpy or their mom got angry, children might think that they don’t need to heed or listen when their parents are like this. But this is a wrong spirit. Paul says “in everything” so that kids are oriented towards obedience—it should be their first inclination, their primary motive to obey their parents no matter what and do it unto the Lord.
Limits and Restrictions of Fathers’ Authority
Moreover, even though Paul doesn’t give kids an exception clause, he does tell dads to be careful. Note that he doesn’t say parents or mothers and fathers. Paul speaks to the dads to limit and restrict their authority:
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. (Col. 3:21)
Provoke has the sense of starting a war, acting in a harsh or hostile way that provokes the other to push back, fight back, or rebel. Particularly, Paul’s admonition “do not provoke” is to prevent discouragement in children where they lose heart and become dispirited. The picture that comes to mind is where the dad has such high standards that the kids can never meet them.
Perhaps the dad never says, “Good job,” “I’m proud of you,” or “Wow! Well done.” Instead, the dad always critiques, pointing out how the girl could have done better or the boy made a mistake. Because the child can never please dad, she gives up. Why bother trying if you always fail?
So, Paul tells dads not to provoke their kids to rebel—don’t discourage them from even trying to obey. Don’t give your kids, as is often expressed today, “daddy issues.” In doing this, Paul protects the kids from abusive treatment from their dads. Even though our efforts to please our heavenly Father are always rather pathetic, the Father still looks upon us in Christ and says, “Well done. I love you.” May we as fathers encourage our sons and daughters onward towards faith and wisdom with the same gentleness and love.
Obedience and Respect as First and Foremost in Social and Economic Relationships
There is one more category of relationship that Paul covers in this domestic code: servant and master. Now, thankfully slavery and all the evils that come along with it are no longer part of our country. But, as a man of his day, Paul assumed the reality of slavery and addressed it. Furthermore, the word for slave or servant here could cover all sorts of different servants.
The master/servant relationship has one foot in the household and the other in society. And since Paul doesn’t mention hired-hand or day-laborer, servant/master here can represent all social and economic relations of inferior and superior. Thus, the principles here apply to boss/employee, student/teacher and other such relationships. Paul begins in the same way he did with children— “Obey in everything”:
Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. (Col. 3:22)
Again, this directive is oriented towards obedience and respect as first and foremost. Clearly, there are exceptions as many of the slaves who were members of the church were there in direct disobedience to their pagan masters, but our inclination ought to be towards obedience and not for excuses to disregard. Note the character of this service. It is not to be by the way of eye-service as people-pleasers. When your boss is looking, in order to get in brownie-points, you work well. But when the boss isn’t looking, you drag your feet, cut corners, and do shoddy work.
We know well what this looks like. We go into a store or sit down in a restaurant, and the server seems to care little about us. They make us wait, show no interest in us, act like we are a bother to them, and have no quality in their work. This is not how we are to do our jobs. Rather, with sincerity of heart, we are to work heartily, “fearing the Lord” (Col. 3:22).
The fear of the Lord again highlights Paul’s wisdom theme. We work knowing that God is watching, and he holds us accountable (e.g., Psalm 139). Sincerity from the soul should characterize our work. With excellence and sincerity, we do our jobs unto the Lord for his good pleasure. Yet, it is all too easy for our minds naturally to go to our working conditions and how poor they may be. Especially for servants in the first century, the job could be rather miserable because of one’s boss, co-workers, or the labor itself.
Working in Environments That Take Advantage of Our Efforts
Our work places can be environments that do not reward excellence but take advantage of it. We put in overtime but don’t get paid for it. We go the extra mile, but it is ignored for promotion. We’re honest, and our boss punishes us for it. When working well is pointless, why bother? Well, this is where being heavenly minded really makes a practical difference.
As Paul says, we are to work heartily for the Lord and not for men (Col. 3:23), knowing that we will receive from the Lord the reward of our inheritance. The image here is of a paycheck. We may not get paid from our earthly boss, but Christ will pay us with a heavenly inheritance. Of course, merit is not a factor here, as Christ’s righteousness grants us heaven as a gift. Yet, heaven is often used in Scripture as a reward from God for our toilsome earthly service. It expresses the Father’s pleasure and happiness in our good service.
Our excellent work may go unpaid, be despised, or taken advantage of by our earthly master, but no matter; our true Lord is watching. Jesus has a paycheck for us in the amount of the eternal riches of glory. For a slave who didn’t get paid, this would be an enormous comfort and encouragement. Paul, though, balances this reward with a warning,
The wrongdoer will be paid back and there is no partiality. (Col. 3:25)
To be a rebellious and lazy worker does not please God. And even though we may blame our shoddy work on our bad boss or evil co-workers, these excuses will not stand before God who shows no partiality. Paul encourages us with our heavenly reward, and he warns us with the seriousness of the final judgment.
The Limits and Restrictions of Superiors
Of course, as before, Paul balances his exhortation to servants by addressing the masters. He tells the servants to obey, but he limits and restricts the authority of master from any hint of abuse:
Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. (Col. 4:1)
The Greek word for “fairly” in Colossians 4:1 can also be translated “equally.” Servants are to be treated as equals created in the image of God. In the hierarchal Roman world, this is stark: Master, treat your slaves equally. This shows that equality in Adam and in Christ does not necessarily undo all relationships of superior and inferior. This is also a high standard for bosses and masters. We all need to treat people equally, fairly, and justly, without showing favoritism.
The Lord doesn’t show favoritism, so neither should we. The controlling motive for these superiors is that they too have a master in heaven. Christ is their master in glory looking down on them. They may be the master of the house, but they are servants in Christ’s body, the church. This puts the masters on the same footing with the servants in verse 24—they are all serving Christ. By putting the bosses under Christ, everything he said to the servants applies also to the masters. Even though the earthly order continues, the heavenly mindedness has remade how we operate in this age.
The Purpose of Authority in Light of Heaven—Service in Love
In fact, if you note the different parties addressed here, one party gets mentioned three times—the man. The man is both husband, father, and master. And Paul directs the man in all three roles, which is quite counter-cultural. For Rome, paterfamilias had near absolute authority. The paterfamilias was unassailable.
Yet, Paul addresses the head of the household, and he aligns his authority as being the chief servant. The man loves his wife, doesn’t provoke his children, and treats his servants fairly—and he does it as the servant of Christ. In light of heaven, authority is not so much about power, but it is about service in love.
And being a servant of Christ applies to all of us. This is why the section of the servant is so much longer than the others, because it is true of all of us. And it is this heavenly mindedness of having eyes upon Christ that makes our service, submission, and obedience filled with gratitude.
Serving Christ Who Served Us unto Death
For we serve Jesus Christ who served us even unto death. Jesus submitted to the Father to be crucified for our sins. Christ obeyed the law that nailed him to that cursed piece of lumber. Jesus loved you more than his own life and bore the wrath of God on your behalf. With sincerity and devotion, Jesus was humbled through his life surrounded by hostile sinners. In order to fulfill justice and for the joy set before him, Jesus endured this most heinous injustice in his own flesh. If Jesus suffered injustice for his heavenly reward, so it is our honor to image our Lord in this regard.
Paul relieves what we suffer by calling those with authority to serve in love, even though Jesus had no such relief. Moreover, we serve Christ with the assurance of his love to forgive us and keep us for our heavenly reward. It is important to remember that these duties are worked out in the realm of wisdom. We will make honest mistakes and commit sin. Yet, with Christ there is the rock-solid assurance of grace and mercy to never let us go.
Every new day, decisions are before us, but new every morning is Christ’s tender mercy and steadfast love. May we serve Christ now with gratitude and wisdom and eyes looking to heaven; because we know that nothing can separate us from his love, and our heavenly inheritance is all of grace.
This article is adapted from asermon on Colossians 3:18-4:1preached by Pastor Keele at Escondido Orthodox Presbyterian Church on November 18, 2018, and was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on February 18, 2019.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
On a recent trip to Israel, I had the privilege of walking where Jesus walked. Our group also explored sites and locations of important places and events in the Old Testament. After spending a couple of days in the Jordan River Valley, we headed west toward Jerusalem. We read through the Psalms of Ascents (Pss. 120-134) as we followed the path Israelite pilgrims took on their yearly visit to the temple. On the way, we stopped at the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
This valley was one of the main routes travelers took to Jerusalem. It’s a deep rock canyon, and because it is deep, it is dark. While we were there, a Bedouin shepherd watched over his sheep frolicking on a nearby hillside, their bleats echoing across the canyon. A sixth-century monastery was built right into the canyon walls at the site where it is believed Elijah was fed by ravens. The Valley of the Shadow of Death is so named because travelers were at risk from the thieves and bandits hiding in the shadowy darkness. Wild animals lurked in the shadows as well. It was this road that Jesus likely referred to in the parable about the Good Samaritan.
The Valleys of Life
The phrase “valley of the shadow of death” also occurs in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (v. 4). Psalm 23 is a psalm of confidence in God’s care for his people. Just as a shepherd meets the needs of his sheep, the Lord provides for us.
In this psalm, David used the phrase “valley of the shadow of death” metaphorically, yet metaphors are often based on real things. For the Israelite familiar with traveling through a dangerous valley such as the Valley of the Shadow of Death, it likely helped them identify with the metaphor. They knew what it was like to journey through the darkness, wondering when something or someone would jump out at them from the shadows. To be reminded that God watches over his people would have given them confidence in all their valleys—real or figurative.
While we don’t travel through dark valleys in a physical sense, we understand it in a metaphorical sense. Our dark valleys today might look like physical suffering and chronic pain. We might experience loss and sorrow. We might face persecution in our work or culture. We might go through emotional valleys of doubt, despair, or fear. We might experience temptations to sin from within and without. In all of these valleys, it can feel like we are all alone.
Psalm 23 reminds us that it is God who leads us through the valleys. No valley we face is unexpected. They are placed before us by a sovereign God— for our good and his glory. Sometimes he calls us to walk through those valleys, like the Israelite called to sacrifice at the temple each year. And like the Israelite pilgrim, we can be certain that communion and worship with God will be the reward for our journey. Here are two good things to remember when you walk through the valleys of life:
1. Whatever the valley, God is our shepherd and promises to be with us.
This passage describes the shepherd’s rod and staff as a comfort: “I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” A shepherd was known to carry a staff to use in keeping and guarding his sheep. As our shepherd, God also comforts us with his rod and staff.
He uses his rod to rule. A shepherd used his rod to rule over the sheep. He told them where to go; he was their master who led them from one grazing hill to another. Likewise, God is our ruler; he reigns over all things. He governs our life. He determines where we go. He is the one we look to for guidance and wisdom. When we go through dark valleys, he is the one leading us. As our shepherd, he can be trusted to bring us to the other side.
He uses his rod to count. A shepherd often used his rod to count his sheep as they walked by him. Our Father chose us in Christ to be a part of his flock, and he knows each of us by name. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me” (John 10:14). When we wander from God, he goes to whatever lengths necessary to bring us back to him: “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” (Matt. 18:12). When we walk through dark valleys, we can rest assured that our shepherd never loses one of his sheep.
He uses his rod to guide. A shepherd used the crook of his rod to pull back sheep when they wandered from the flock. He also used it to chastise them. When they were slow or distracted, he used the rod to prod them. So the Lord does with us. As the writer to Hebrews 12:5-6 said, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Sometimes our dark valleys are places where the Lord brings us for purposes of training or discipline. We can trust that he does so out of love.
He uses his rod to protect. The shepherd also used his rod to protect his sheep from wild animals. God protects us from evil. Some valleys are so dark that it seems as though God has forgotten us. It can be tempting to doubt his love and goodness. We can be confident that our shepherd will never leave us or forsake us. There is nothing and no one that can keep us from his love. He will keep us from all evil (see Rom. 8:38-39).
2. Jesus walked through the valley of the shadow of death before us.
All of Scripture points to and is fulfilled in Christ, including Psalm 23. He is the son of David promised in Ezekiel 34, the shepherd who would rule over, provide for, and protect his sheep. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep (John 10:11).
We can rest assured that our Savior knows the way through whatever valley we walk. He knows what it is to feel the shadows of death creep over him. He knows what it is to face evil, temptation, enemies, and emotional turmoil. As Spurgeon wrote, “As surely as this Word of God is true, your Lord has felt the chill of the death-shade. There is no gloom of spirit, apart from the sin of it, into which Jesus has not fallen! There is no trouble of soul, or turmoil of heart which is free from sin, which the Lord has not known.”[1] Our Savior journeyed through the valley, sacrificed his life on the altar for our sins, and conquered death when he rose from the grave.
Psalm 23 is a comforting psalm, reminding us that we don’t walk through the valleys of life on our own. We have a Good Shepherd who went before us and even now leads us, guides us, and protects us.
This article is adapted from "When You Go through the Valley" atChristward Collective, a conversation of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, and was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on June 21, 2018.
Photo Credit: The Daughters of Zelophehad, as in Numbers 27:1-11; illustration from The Bible and Its Story Taught by One Thousand Picture Lessons; edited by Charles F. Horne and Julius A. Bewer, 1908; image from Wikimedia Commons.
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Have you ever heard of the five daughters of Zelophehad? Perhaps I can jog your memory: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. No? Well, it's probably not a surprise. These women are mentioned several times in the book of Numbers—not the most popular Old Testament book—and they just aren't as famous as Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Yet, I find their story to be one that is an example of the traits of a Christian woman: The daughters of Zelophehad are courageous and bold, they desire the things of the Lord, and they are humble. We learn of their story in Numbers 27:
Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, "Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father's brothers." (Num. 27:1-4)
The daughters of Zelophehad courageously stood before the leaders of their people for a just request—to have an inheritance among God’s people.
First, I would like to highlight the courage these women demonstrated. The text states that the daughters of Zelophehad stood before the leaders of their people: they came before not just Moses and Eleazar the prophet and priest of the people of God but all the chiefs of the clans as well. These were the men who led God's people, acted as judges in arguments, and made judicial decisions. This was an auspicious group of people, and these women stepped up to the challenge of speaking before this governing body. These women spoke their mind before this court, and God would bless their courage.
Second, they desired that their family should have a possession in the promised land, and they stated the reasons why their request was a just one. Christian women are to seek what is good and right. In this case, these women wanted their family to be included in the people of God, and they expressed this in an articulate fashion, marshaling the pertinent arguments.
Third, the daughters of Zelophehad were humble. Just because they were courageous and bold in making their claim known does not mean they lacked humility. They went about lodging their concern/complaint in the correct way, going before those who were responsible for upholding right government. They did not spread discontent among the people of God by complaining to their neighbor about their situation; instead, they showed respect and humility in coming before the leadership of God's people, submitting to them.
The boldness and humility of the daughters of Zelophehad challenge the stereotype that godly women are supposed to stay in the background.
Is this narrative of the five sisters at odds with any stereotypes of Christian women you may have encountered? These women spoke before a court, presenting arguments to defend their case and calling for justice. They were bold and articulate and yet humble in their delivery, as they stated their case. Perhaps a timid, soft-spoken woman who doesn't make her needs and desires known, or doesn't speak up publicly about her concerns, is what comes to mind as the stereotypical Christian woman—a woman who constantly stays in the background, going along with whatever is decided by others.
Yet, the boldness and courage of the daughters of Zelophehad and their desire to have a place among God's people are blessed by God, and the sisters' complaint instigates new legislation that will protect others in their situation:
Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, "The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father's brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.'” (Num. 27:5-8)
The actions of the daughters of Zelophehad were blessed by God, as well as blessing others in their same situation.
God immediately recognizes the validity and "rightness" of the daughters' claim and provides for them and for others in their situation (see also Josh. 17:3-4). Because they spoke up, not only they but also others would be blessed. The chiefs of the people and Moses and Eleazar had a blind spot, they hadn’t seen this important need, but God used these courageous and bold women who longed to be part of God's people to bring it to light. May we encourage all our Christian women, younger and older, to have the boldness and courage to speak for what is right and to desire what is good for the people of God, and to do so with humility, for this is what God blesses.
This article is adapted from “Boldness and Courage to Speak What Is Right” in BCL's May 2022 Newsletter and was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on January 24, 2023.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
No matter how godly any of us are in this life, we all fall short of keeping God’s law perfectly. Here are eight godly men of the Bible who still needed a Savior—Jesus Christ our Lord.
1. Adam
Adam was made in righteousness and holiness, but he also had a free will that could choose to obey or disobey God. Sadly, Adam chose poorly. He listened to his wife Eve and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden him to do. Because of Adam’s transgression, every person is guilty before God, since Adam represented all humanity. Additionally, everyone has a corrupt human nature, because all humans are descendants of Adam who fell into a sinful state of being.
Still, Adam had faith that God would provide a savior as promised in Genesis 3:15. He demonstrated this faith by naming his wife Eve, which means “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20).
2. Noah
Noah was a righteous man living amidst a corrupt world. The Bible tells us, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Noah alone found favor in God’s sight. He obeyed God by building the ark and preserving God’s creatures from destruction in the flood. Yet, after the floods subsided, Noah became so inebriated one night that his son Ham walked into his tent and saw him naked. Ham then told his brothers about it. Noah subsequently cursed Ham’s son Canaan. Sin, whether it is of a minor or grievous nature, always leaves destruction in its path.
Noah’s never-failing faith was shown in his blessing of Shem and Japheth (Gen. 9:26–27).
3. Abraham
Abraham is praised for his faith in both the Old and New Testaments. Abrahambelieved God’s promise that that all the nations would be blessed through him: “And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). The Apostle Paul also points to this scripture verse about Abraham’s faith in Romans 4:3. Still, Abraham lied twice about his wife being his sister in order to escape being harmed, once to Pharaoh (Gen. 12:10–13) and then again to King Abimelech (Gen. 20:2).
Abraham demonstrated his faith that God would keep his promise when he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, his only son by Sarah, upon God’s command.Thankfully, God spared Isaac and provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice (Gen. 22:1–18).
4. Moses
Moses faithfully represented God before Pharaoh and guided God’s people out of the land of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He received God’s commands on Mount Sinai and gave them to the people so that they would follow the Lord in all things. Yet, Moses got angry in the wilderness and struck the rock at Meribah to bring forth water, instead of speaking to it as God commanded. For this disobedience, God barred Moses from entering the Promised Land. Still, Moses kept his faith in God.
No other mere human in the Bible had a relationship with God like Moses did. Moses and God would regularly converse in the tent of meeting: “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exod. 33:11).
5. David
David loved God. He was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). God chose David to be king over all of Israel, but first David had to go through numerous battles and hardships on his way to the throne. David was a mighty warrior and a loyal servant to Israel's first king, Saul. Yet, after David had ruled over Israel for some time, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. He also had Uriah killed to cover up his sin. David’s first child by Bathsheba died because of his transgressions.
David had great faith in God. His many acts of bravery, including the slaying of Goliath in Israel’s battle against the Philistines, demonstrated his trust in God (1 Sam. 17). David loved God so much that he also wanted to build a temple for God’s ark, but God gave that responsibility to David’s second son by Bathsheba, Solomon.
6. Solomon
Solomon also loved God as his father David did. After Solomon became king of Israel, he had a dream in which God asked Solomon what he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God’s people, and this was pleasing to God (1 Kings 3:3–14). God gave Solomon not only great wisdom but also riches and honor. Solomon also had the honor of building God’s temple. Yet, he acquired 700 wives and 300 concubines over the years, and eventually Solomon's wives "turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father” (1 Kings 11:4).
God showed mercy to Solomon. Even though he sinned against the Lord in going after other gods, Solomon was allowed to rule over Israel all the days of his life because of God’s promise to David (1 Kings 11:34).
7. Peter
Peter was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles. When Jesus called to Peter one day when he was fishing, Peter left his nets and followed Jesus. Peter first confessed that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” in Matthew 16:16. Peter was known to be brash and impulsive, but he loved Jesus with great devotion and was one of the three disciples present at the transfiguration, along with John and James (Matt. 17:1–8). Peter declared that he would never leave Jesus (Matt. 26:33); but later, out of fear for his life, he denied three times that he even knew Jesus.
Peter wept bitterly over his denial of Jesus, but Jesus forgave him. Peter went on to become a bold preacher for Christ, giving the first public sermon at Pentecost where thousands were filled with the Holy Spirit and confessed faith in Christ as their savior (Acts 2:14–41).
8. Paul
Paul was a distinguished Pharisee who zealously persecuted Christians until Jesus appeared to him one day on the road to Damascus. Christians were shocked to see Paul begin preaching that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel and the world. Paul suffered much for his faith in Christ, but he also did much to spread the gospel throughout Israel and Asia Minor. Even though Paul’s worst sins are recorded as occurring before he became a Christian, he also admitted to continuing struggle against sin as a believer (Rom. 7:18–25).
God used Paul’s zeal and advanced education to spread the gospel and teach millions of people over the centuries since Jesus’ resurrection about the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. We can learn from Paul that becoming a Christian doesn’t mean we will never sin; rather, the Christian life is a battle between the Spirit and flesh that will continue until we die and are freed from our mortal bodies. Believers will receive new bodies that can never be corrupted, just like the resurrected body of their savior Christ (1 Cor. 15:12–28).
The only truly good man who ever lived on the earth is Jesus, the God-man. If any of us had to depend on our own works for a right standing before God, we would all be condemned. The Bible tells us: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Thankfully, Jesus was made man to keep God’s law perfectly and be the perfect atoning sacrifice for all sinners who put their faith in him alone, which comes by God’s grace alone:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12–13)
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In the 1970s a professor by the name of Albert Mehrabian proposed his famous 7-38-55 rule of communication. When we communicate our likes and dislikes, the listener’s acceptance of our communication will depend 7 percent on our words, 38 percent on our tone of voice, and 55 percent on our facial expressions and body language.
If I say, “I love pickled herring,” and my voice is slow and monotone and my face looks like a pickled herring, then, despite my words, you won’t put pickled herring out on the table next time we have breakfast together—unless you have a mischievous streak. And if I hear you tell me that you “have no problem with me” with an upbeat voice, but your arms are crossed and you are making overly intense eye contact, then I won’t be convinced.
Texting is less demanding than face-to-face communication.
This means that face-to-face communication is costly, because I know that you are weighing not just my words but also the tone of my voice and my body language. I am going to get an immediate—possibly uncomfortable—response from you. Is this why we prefer less demanding forms of communication? Like a phone call—or even a text?
On the flip side, with face-to-face communication there is far less room for misunderstanding. Even if I don’t get my words exactly right, my tone of voice and expressions will fill in the gap, clarify, or even correct my inadequate or poorly chosen words. Then again, maybe I don’t want you to hear my tone of voice or to see my body language. Perhaps it would say too much...
Texting is especially open to causing misunderstanding.
So although communicating by telephone may be less costly—because you are not seeing and weighing my expressions—it is also more open to misunderstanding. And communicating by email or text is the least costly form of communication: I don’t have to open up my expressions or even my tone of voice to your scrutiny. But I am now 93 percent open to being misunderstood. You have only my bare words, unqualified, unenhanced, and uncorrected by my non-verbal communication.
Now how is this going to work out in a society that is increasingly isolationist and wary of face-to-face contact and where even phoning someone is becoming rare? Research shows that phone apps are only the fifth most used app on smartphones, and I am told that Millennials dislike being called and prefer only text. In fact, they consider it a little rude to be called without prior warning via text!
The LORD has something to say about speaking in the book of Proverbs. His words, written some three thousand years ago, still apply whether we are speaking, writing letters, writing emails or texts, or posting on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
The Bible has a lot to say about the power of speech.
First, consider the Bible’s teaching on the power of speech.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Gen 1:3)
When God speaks, light and galaxies and teaming life burst into existence. His words are that powerful. And a word from Jesus could kill a fig tree, calm a storm, and raise a rotting corpse to life.
And our words, like those of our heavenly Father whose image we bear, have power to them. They can’t create ex nihilo, but they can build up and tear down. They can create and destroy. They can bring a torrent of good or evil. James tells us that just as a tiny spark can set ablaze a great forest, so too can the tongue set the whole course of a person’s life on fire.
Our words can do tremendous good or harm.
Very powerful things can do tremendous good or tremendous harm, and so they need to be tamed and controlled and directed in the right way. Proverbs addresses the tongue in the same way it addresses everything, by looking first at the heart.
The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. (Prov. 10:11)
When a person has a righteous heart, then their mouth is a “fountain of life.” Their words transform what is saline and dead into something fresh and teaming with life. This makes me think of Ezekiel’s river, flowing east out of God’s Temple, and raising abundant life wherever it goes:
“And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”” (Ezek. 47:12)
If you want your words to do good, then you have to ensure that the source is good.
Yet, as Proverbs 10:11 tells us, from a wicked heart the mouth wreaks violence and death. The quality of your words depends on the quality of your heart. That’s because your words come out of your heart. If you want your words to do good, then you have to ensure that the source is good. That’s why Jesus said to the Pharisees,
“You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” (Matt. 12:34-35)
Proverbs 10:19-21 builds on this principle:
When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for lack of sense.
And Proverbs 10:31-32:
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.
Note that when the righteous speak, their words are as valuable as choice silver, and nourishing. When wicked fools speak, their words are worthless and deadening.
The wicked must always be the center of attention.
Do you want to speak well? You can study elocution, voice projection, gestures, and rhetoric. But if your heart is wrong you will just speak deathly rubbish, eloquently. Heed also the warning about many words in Proverbs 10:19. There is an inverse relationship between quantity and quality of speech. This again goes back to the heart.
The wicked must always be the center of attention. If their wicked hearts can’t provide those few good and well-chosen words, then they will try to make up for it with the word count. The good and wise see the situation, see exactly what needs to be said, and say it concisely and without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. The words of the wise are gems:
There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. (Prov. 20:15).
Proverbs 12:18 says the same thing with different metaphors:
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
We have all felt the stab and sting of another’s words. And we have all stabbed and stung others, and most often those nearest to us. This brings us back to the 7-38-55 rule.
If reckless words pierce, then the reckless words of a harsh phone call will pierce more deeply, because there is no body language to qualify the words. Perhaps there’s a tear in the speaker’s eye, showing that their harsh words come from sadness or hurt. But you will never know if you are on the phone.
The wise are very cautious with their words.
At least with the phone call, there is tone of voice to help carry the true meaning of the words. Harsh words by text or email can do the most damage, because even tone of voice is lost. Texting may be least costly for the communicator, but it is most open to misinterpretation and misunderstanding and the hurt that arises from that. You can’t see the face. You can’t hear the voice. You have only the cold words on the screen—bare, bald, and biting. Our reckless words by text tear others most deeply.
Thus, the wise are very cautious with their words:
From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (Prov. 13:2-3)
By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,
but the lips of the wise will preserve them. (Prov. 14:3)
And that is why we must take so much care, especially in conflict. With a few careless words conflict so quickly rages out of control. Thus, Proverbs urges, in conflict, to speak gentle and wise words that please the Lord and bring healing, rather than gushing harsh and foolish words that anger the Lord and crush those around us:
A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (Prov. 15:1-4; see also 29:20,22.)
These are the kinds of words we should want to speak:
The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious
and adds persuasiveness to his lips.
Gracious words are like a honeycomb,
sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Prov. 16:23-24)
Communication is difficult. The paradox of our age is that the more cheap, instant, abundant, and impersonal our communication is, the more liable it is to hurt and wound. It costs nothing in time and effort to send a text, but it can cost us dearly in relationships shattered.
May we speak words of love, light, and life.
When Jesus spoke, “All spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth” (Luke 4:22). He spoke such words because he spoke from a heart of perfect wisdom and love. May we conform our hearts to the heart of Christ by repenting of careless and cutting communication—and by submitting to him and filling our hearts with his word:
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. (Ps. 119:11)
May our “speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that [we] may know how [we] ought to answer each person.” (Col. 4:6). May we address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19). May we not let any “corrupting talk come out of [our] mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29).
From Christ-like hearts may we speak words of love, light, and life.
This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on February 27, 2019.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
A hurdle many Christians cannot seem to get over is accepting and embracing the doctrine of election, or predestination. By nature, we don’t like the fact that God is the one who does the choosing. We want to be the masters of our fate and the captains of our soul. Yet Paul seems to make the case very clearly in Ephesians 1:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ.” (Eph. 1:3–5; emphasis added)
What brings Paul to doxology is distasteful to many. R.C. Sproul accurately describes the feeling of most people towards the concept:
The very word predestination has an ominous ring to it. It is linked to the despairing notion of fatalism and somehow suggests that within its pale we are reduced to meaningless puppets. The word conjures up visions of a diabolical deity who plays capricious games with our lives.[1]
Yes, this is a hard truth to come to terms with, but such a fatalistic view tragically eclipses the beauty of God’s work for undeserving and incapable sinners like you and me. To help us grapple with and grow to love this essential aspect of the gospel, consider the following three points about election.
1. Election is a biblical doctrine.
First, the doctrine is biblical. This should seem evident enough, as it is clearly spelled out in the section of Ephesians 1 quoted earlier. Nor is this the only place we run up against the concept in Scripture. Just a few verses later on Paul will say—even more bluntly—that we have been “predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph. 1:11). In Romans 8:29-30 we read,
For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he predestined, these he also called; whom he called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified.”
These are places in which these theological terms are used explicitly, but if we broaden our radar to also pick up allusions to and themes of choosing, predetermining, and electing, the list gets longer.
There are some out there who have a false notion of predestination and election, namely, that it was the invention of some ancient French madman named John Calvin. No doubt, Calvin would mourn the fact that history has dubbed this doctrine “Calvinism,” as though it somehow belonged more to him than to God.
Others who are more informed would recognize that the idea of election is not strictly Calvinist and is in fact a scriptural concept. Indeed, Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, and so-called Calvinists all hold to different nuances of predestination. But even then, the most common view is not the biblical one; that is, while God does choose some to salvation, He does so based on “foreseen faith.” This view states that God was able to look down the halls of time and see everyone who would, if presented the opportunity, respond to the gospel in faith. Those who would respond in faith God elects to everlasting life. This effectively makes our choice the foundation for God’s. It would put us over and above God.
2. Election is a big doctrine.
To those who would argue for that view, I would respond by saying it does not square with the rest of the biblical data regarding who God is, and that those who hold to it don’t understand the second thing about election: it is a big doctrine. By that I mean several things.
It is big in the sense that there is a lot at stake with election—like salvation! But the doctrine also deals with a big topic: the sovereignty of God. Or, to put it another way, election is a big deal because it deals with the bigness of God.
The Westminster Confession of Faith gives us a great description of what God’s sovereignty is all about:
God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass.” (WCF 3.1)
This sweeping statement accurately captures the bigness of God, all in reference to predestination, or foreordination. First, in terms of time: “from all eternity”—there was never a moment that God wasn’t in control. Second, in terms of necessity: “freely”—no one forces God to do anything. Third, in terms of permanence: “unchangeably”—nothing can thwart God’s plan or cause it to take a detour. Fourth, in terms of scope: “whatsoever comes to pass”—in other words, if it happened, it’s because God ordained it to happen.
You see, if we lose God’s bigness, we lose God. If God is not sovereign, he is not God at all. If something can be decided or determined apart from, outside of, or before God, then that means that there is something out there that is greater than God. And if something is greater than God, then God isn’t God at all. Think about it: why would you want to choose salvation in Jesus for yourself, when it would mean putting your eternal destiny in the hands of a God who doesn’t even have a say in your temporal decisions?
Of course, the main concern for people is that if we “give” God his sovereignty, then we are giving away our own freedom. But this is a false dilemma. Loraine Boettner writes,
The true solution of this difficult question respecting the sovereignty of God and the freedom of man, is not to be found in the denial of either, but rather in such reconciliation as gives full weight to each, yet which assigns a preeminence to the divine sovereignty corresponding to the infinite exaltation of the Creator above the sinful creature.[2]
It is the very same God who has ordained “whatsoever comes to pass” who has also ordained our freedom! We can both be free, me and God. He’s just freer. As a father and a child are both free, yet the father’s freedom outweighs the child’s, so too does God give his creatures freedom out of and yet also within his own freedom.
3. Election is a beautiful doctrine.
This brings us to the third thing regarding predestination and election. Not only is it a biblical doctrine and a big doctrine, but it is also a beautiful doctrine. It can so often be caricatured as nothing more than a cold and lifeless calculus. But what does Paul say in Ephesians 1? That it was in love he predestined us (Eph. 1:4-5)! Thus, it has been said that election is based on affection. It is God’s love for us that causes him to ordain us to everlasting life. This is a beautiful truth, and it should move us to praise as it does Paul:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (Eph.1:3)
When properly understood, election teaches us not just about how great God is, but how good he is:
God’s love is the fountainhead of the gospel. God’s Son did not come into the world to persuade the Father to love or to win His love for us; He came as the gift of the Father’s love to us.[3]
He is a sovereign God, and yet also a saving God. Some people might tend to pit John’s “God is love” (1 John 4:16) against Paul’s predestination. But they go hand in hand. If God were not love, we would be lost. Yet while we were still sinners, God loved us—God chose us.
This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life under the title “3 Points about the Doctrine of Election Every Christian Needs to Know” on November 22, 2019.
