Discipleship

Great Commission Baptism and Infant Baptism Part 1

“Buried unto death in Christ, rise again to walk in newness of life.” – my pastor when I was baptized thirty-four years ago at the age of thirty-one.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Jesus Christ giving the Great Commission to His church in Matthew 28:19-20.

THE BEAUTIFUL PLAN – THE GREAT COMMISSION (MATTHEW 28:19-20)

Almost four years ago, on December 20, 2021, I had posted an article (Post #471) presenting the beautiful picture given to us by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20. In these two short verses, known as the Great Commission, Jesus instructs His church of their responsibilities in making disciples and thus in building His church to the end of the age. The picture is simple and elegant. First, the church is to proclaim the gospel “in Jesus’ name to all the nations” (Luke 24:47), “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Those who respond in repentance and faith are to be publicly baptized as a testimony of their faith and are then to join themselves to a local church to be taught all that Jesus commanded. And this same pattern of proclamation-unto-faith and then baptizing and then training in righteousness is to continue through the church until the Lord returns. This is the basic blueprint for how Jesus is going to build His church (Matt. 16:18). The purpose of Post #471 was to reveal that blueprint and then display the beauty of Jesus’ disciple-making plan in operation in a local church. (It might be helpful to read that post before reading this one.)

BAPTISM OF DISCIPLES AT THE CENTER

At the very center of this Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), this divine plan for making disciples of all the nations, is the command to baptize disciples. The risen Lord Jesus, to whom has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (28:18), commands His church to baptize disciples. This article will not take the time to explain the reason that Jesus commanded the baptism of disciples, but we will insist on the fact that Jesus commanded the baptism of disciples. The Lord of the church has told us to baptize (i.e., immerse) those who confess Jesus as Lord and our obedience to Jesus requires that we do so.

A DISTORTED APPROACH

Despite the unambiguous command in the Great Commission to immerse disciples, there are many in the Christian church who do not obey the Lord’s command regarding baptism but instead practice a man-made alternative. In this article (Post #719), I will critique one of these “other plans,” namely paedobaptism, which is more commonly known as infant baptism. We will see that ignoring the beautiful pattern that Jesus gave to His church in the Great Commission distorts the entire task of disciple-making. We will also see that an erroneous practice of baptism produces much confusion about salvation.

PAEDOBAPTISM (INFANT BAPTISM)

First, we consider the unbiblical way in which infant baptism (IB) is practiced. (NOTE: I will use the abbreviation “IB” when referring to infant baptism.) As we noted in Post #471, IB is a foundational practice in all Catholic churches and all Protestant denominations that descend from the Catholic Church. In this practice of IB, a minister of the church sprinkles a little bit of water on the head of an infant (or young child) being presented by its parents. After invoking the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the minister declares that the passive, unaware, and sometimes unconscious infant has now been “baptized” and is therefore a member of the church. All of this ceremony is done without the slightest participation by the infant and is done without any biblical warrant.

Now, regardless of how this practice of IB is justified by the church (and the ways of justifying the practice of IB vary widely between denominations and even within the same tradition or denomination), it should be observed that violence has been done to the Great Commission. The pattern for making disciples that Jesus gave His church in Matthew 28:19-20 was “Go and evangelize unto faith and salvation” followed by baptism followed by teaching by the church. But the pattern for the church that practices IB begins with something they call “baptism” and ignores or overlooks the critical starting point of the faith and salvation of the disciple. Having thus ignored Jesus’ prescribed pattern for making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20) and invented their own (Romans 10:3), the church is now also on their own for the other steps in the disciple-making process.

QUESTIONS RAISED BY IB IN THE CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 28:19

In Matthew 28:19, the risen Lord Jesus unambiguously commanded the baptism of disciples. But this command provokes significant questions for the church that “baptizes” (sprinkles) infants. For example, since Matthew 28:19 is explicitly about the baptism of disciples, we should ask the IB church, “Is the infant being presented for ‘baptism’ a disciple?” For if the infant is not a disciple, then, according to Matthew 28:19, this sprinkling-as-baptism ceremony is meaningless, for this is a ceremony which only baptizes disciples. But if, on the other hand, the infant is deemed to be a disciple by the IB church and is therefore eligible for “baptism” (sprinkling), we must ask, “How and when did they become a disciple?” Were they born as a disciple? If they were not born as a disciple, then the infant must have become a disciple between birth and their sprinkling ceremony, because, as we have already seen, Matthew 28:19 is only for the baptizing of disciples. What occurred between the infant’s birth and his sprinkling ceremony that changed him from not-disciple to disciple? There are other questions which could be mentioned here, but the main point is that the practice of IB raises many questions.

But as interesting as these questions are, of far greater significance are questions about how IB relates to salvation. In His Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, we have already seen Jesus presenting the church with her task which begins with the church going (“Go, therefore!”) and proclaiming the gospel message so that some will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved (Romans 10:13-15). Thus, Jesus begins with salvation. Then those who “call upon the Lord” are the disciples who are baptized, and those disciples are then taught obedience in the context of the church. And the church is to be engaged in this task until the end of the age. The Lord’s plan is simple and clear: proclamation results in salvation which is celebrated in baptism which is then worked out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13) in the local church. Go-Baptize-Teach-Repeat. By this means the Lord Jesus will build His church (Matthew 16:18).

Next time we will see how infant baptism confuses and distorts the New Testament’s clear teaching on salvation as contained in the Great Commission.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 10/10/2025 post #719

The emptiness of Islam

POST OVERVIEW. A few years ago, a friend and I visited a mosque and had a cordial conversation with the imam there and a few adherents. Here are my impressions of that meeting (from my journal entry of that day).

We arrived at the mosque a little before the time for prayer ended and so were able to simply spectate for a few minutes. I had never been in a mosque and so was ignorant of how the “services” were conducted. It seemed to mostly consist of individual, silent prayer and reflection, which makes me hesitate to call it a worship service. Each person seemed to go through their prayers independent of others. At some point, the prayer time was concluded and the Muslims spread out a long tablecloth on the floor near the window, set plates on the tablecloth and ladled out generous portions of Middle Eastern food. Then they gestured to my friend and me to sit down on the carpeted floor so that we could join them in the meal.

My friend had been to the mosque before and had engaged the Muslims in dialog about Islam and Christianity. Although I was surprised at their willingness to dialog, it seemed that they expected our discussion to again be about matters of our respective religions. So, after some preliminary pleasantries, our discussion turned to various features of Islam and Christianity, picking up where the conversation had ended last time. And even though we came from very different points of view, our dialog never became heated or hostile. In fact, the Muslims seemed genuinely curious about the things that they heard from us.

In the course of our discussion, I was struck by the poverty of the theology in Islam. When we asked about forgiveness of sins, we received the reply, “Allah is merciful.” How does a Muslim get to heaven? “Allah is merciful.” If a person has been a good Muslim, can they be assured they will go to heaven? “Allah is merciful.” If a person has definitely not been a good Muslim, will Allah punish them? “Allah is merciful.” As I thought about that response, it occurred to me that Allah must be arbitrary and unpredictable if he gives the same response to the good and the bad alike.

In fact, based on this experience, Islam and the instructions of the Koran seemed shallow, inconsistent and illogical. The teaching was clumsy and scattered and would only be accepted by someone who was willingly self-deceived or by a person who had never read the Bible or heard any biblical preaching and so was ignorant of what truth was. There was no beauty, no elegance, no glory. There were no answers to the most basic of challenges. Ask a basic question about some aspect of Islam and your question will usually be met with a blank stare. To question or to think about any word from the imam or the Koran was not encouraged.

And thus it is with all man-made, Satan-designed religions. The beliefs and practices of these systems are crafted to ensnare the unsuspecting and the gullible and to trap them in a religion that requires them to constantly work and perform while promising them nothing. Their “holy books” are clumsy and, in many places, simply ridiculous. There is no cohesive doctrine. There is no definition of sin; in fact, in most religions there is rarely a mention of sin. There is no hero. There is no fall of man. There is no salvation. There is no warning to repent. There is no hell, so there is no salvation. There is no urgency, no eternal rest, no truth, no justice. There are no miracles; there is no resurrection; there is no worship. There is no forgiveness. There is no sacrifice. There is no conclusion, no hope, no peace, no grace. There is no Law. There is no righteousness. There is no glory. There is no point!

Ah, but in God’s holy Word and in the beauty and power of the Lord Jesus Christ there are all of these things and so many more. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (Christ) they are yes” (2 Cor. 1:20).

Since we have all the glorious promises of God to proclaim (1 Peter 2:9) and since we have been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), let’s be bold to tell those who are still in darkness of the joy and the forgiveness and the peace that is available to all those who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 12/23/2024 #714

The disciple and his journal

THE DISCIPLINE OF JOURNALING

MAIN POINT: The discipline of journaling will contribute to the disciple’s spiritual growth.

This article is focused on the discipline of journaling. By “journaling,” I mean the capturing of notes and ideas from the disciple’s daily Bible reading (DBR) in a written record. The purpose of the discipline of journaling is to develop another means of spiritual growth. The power of journaling is that it allows the disciple to reap a harvest from the daily times in the Scriptures such that the effect is multiplied.

One of the principles of daily Bible reading (DBR) is that the disciple reads the entire Bible every year. By the repeated reading of the entire word of God, the disciple will be exposed to doctrine, parable, miracle, psalms, wisdom, history, priests, prophets, kings, creation, the Fall, judgment, redemption, salvation, folly, mercy, grace, Law, sacrifice, Jesus Christ, the devil, God, the Holy Spirit, heaven, Sheol, forgiveness, repentance, as well as all manner of human sin including pride, anger, lust, idolatry, malice, slander, murder, incest, lying, deceit, stealing, cheating, coveting, rebellion, defiance, hatred, homosexuality, greed and more. This means that, at the same time the disciple is consciously “working out their salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12), he is also encountering “the pure milk of the Word” on a daily basis and is thus “growing in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). The net effect is that the spiritual growth of the disciple is multiplied by these disciplines.

JOURNALING PRINCIPLES AND MECHANICS

The first principle of journaling is that it is done not as an obligation unto drudgery but is done as a delight unto growth. Journaling is an enjoyable option, not a burdensome duty. The disciple keeps his journal as a record of his times spent with the living God fellowshipping over the living Word. The Lord is speaking to you through His Word and you are trying to capture those moments for the joy that they bring. You do not have to keep a journal; rather, you get to keep a journal. It is your journal and so it is your tool to capture your thoughts about what you are reading in the Word. So enjoy your journaling!

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. There are a few general principles which help our journaling.

Journaling helps plant in your mind the daily reading which you have done. When you are reading the Word, your mind is engaged and the Spirit is showing you wonderful things from the Law (Psalm 119:18). The way that you keep these “wonderful things” in the mind (which is the active part of your thinking) after you stop reading is by recording those ideas in your journal. Your journal is thus a means of keeping some portion of your DBR in your active mind where it is still available for reflection and meditation.
Journaling is the means to take what you read and implant it into your life. As you read the Word, the Spirit will point out specific things that apply to you and to your life. For example, the Spirit may bring to your awareness a sin that is present in your life. By recording this experience in your journal, you bring that sin into the light and expose it to the possibility of repentance. The journal allows what the Spirit said to be captured so that it can lead to change.
By the discipline of journaling, you will personally own what you have labored to express. Journaling is a skill that is learned through consistent effort over time. Expressing the ideas you have gleaned from Scripture is a demanding task that, by itself, will bring about growth in your thinking and in your ability to communicate your ideas to others. In this sense, journaling is labor. It is hard work. But the fruit of this labor is abundant, not the least of which is that what you labor hard to express in your journal entry will become your firmly-held possession. You will not soon forget the ideas you have labored to journal well.

RECORD DATE AND THE SCRIPTURES READ. Each journal entry should include some basic information. Start by recording the date and then what Scriptures you read that day.

DAILY NUGGETS AND OTHER JOURNAL NOTES. The rest of the journal entry is pretty free form, but having a plan for what you are going to record facilitates the journaling.

DAILY NUGGETS. Something that impressed you from the passage. A doctrinal truth about God, Christ, man, etc. An “aha” moment. A particular scene and its significance. Reminders of your own salvation. Beautiful expressions from a psalm or a powerful word of prophecy. Write a paragraph (or two) about what impressed you and how you want to incorporate that into your life. Again, the “daily nugget” is where you capture in your journal what you experienced in your reading.
SCRIPTURES TO MEMORIZE. As you are reading, you will encounter passages that you want to memorize so that you can meditate on these verses later on. Note these passages in your journal. (I just write MEM in my journal and the Scripture reference.)
DOCTRINAL TRUTHS. Your journal is a great place to capture doctrinal passages that lay your theological foundation. Record these verses and then try to express the doctrine contained in them. Truths about God, Christ, man, sin, life in Christ, the future return of Jesus, etc.
COMMANDS AND EXHORTATIONS. Record in your journal those commands and instructions which impress you or arrest you. Since the disciple is obligated to obey Scriptural commands, he records in his journal those that make an impression on him to remind him to be obedient.
MISCELLANEOUS. Cross-references to other Scriptures. Passages for future study, either because of difficulty or interest. Word-studies in English, Hebrew or Greek. Points of personal application. And more.

DAILY NUGGETS FOR DIFFERENT GENRES. The Bible is made up of different types of literature. We refer to these as different genres. Because these genres communicate divine truth in different ways, they also are best read using slightly different lenses. In practice, this means that the disciple is looking for different “nuggets” in the Psalms than he is in the book of Judges. Why? Because Psalms expresses divine truth in poetry language and Judges is narrative history. Correspondingly, we ask different questions and we note different things as we go through different genres.

The following are some suggestions for what nuggets to look for in the different genres.

GENESIS. The first book of the Bible is almost a genre by itself because it introduces us to so many themes and foundational characters. While Genesis has the form of historical narrative, the unique subjects of Genesis require a different lens to discover different nuggets. Look for passages that establish the very foundation of everything: creation of the world, examples of God’s judgment, the origin of sin, the origin of the nations, the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob). Be alert for foreshadows of Christ. Pay attention to minor characters and plot twists.

EXODUS-DEUTERONOMY. Again, we are on the lookout for foreshadows of Christ and of things to come. The LORD destroys Egypt and Pharaoh and the children of Israel go free. The Law is given at Sinai. The tabernacle is built. The priests are given their duties according to the old covenant sacrificial system. Israel wanders for forty years in the wilderness. Israel is disobedient and faithless and the LORD is steadfast and true and faithful.

JOSHUA TO ESTHER – HISTORICAL NARRATIVE. These books chronicle the history of the twelve tribes of Israel from the time they enter the Promised Land until after their return from the exile in Babylon. Here we see the LORD’s faithfulness, that He is constantly calling Israel and Judah back from their rebellion and disobedience and is calling them back to the covenant they made at Sinai. In these books we look for foreshadows of Christ but we also see many examples of men and women who either choose to obey the LORD or who choose to rebel against Him. We see heroes to emulate and we see others who forsake the LORD and His commands and we do not want to be like them. The stories are fascinating and the characters are interesting. Look for obedience and disobedience from people just like you and me. Draw godly principles from the stories.

JOB. A complex book because we must constantly evaluate the dialog to see if it is true to the revealed Word. Job is primarily a theological dialog and debate about the nature of God and about how a sinner can ever be reconciled to a holy God. A fascinating book!

PSALMS. The psalms cover a great variety of subjects and display an amazing richness of expression. It is a book containing laments, praises, prayers, theological reflections and more, but in all the poetry of the Psalms there is a consistency of theology that agrees with the teaching of the rest of Scripture. Psalms are good to memorize because they stretch our brain. In my experience, enjoying the psalms is an acquired taste. I had probably been a believer for ten or fifteen years before I began to appreciate the depth and power of the psalms.

ISAIAH TO MALACHI – THE PROPHETS. The prophets are at once powerful and confusing. Powerful in that they tell of God’s might and His wrath and His judgment and His righteousness, and confusing because the prophets often speak in figurative terms or visions about events of the future. The prophets may write about Christ’s first coming and then, in the next verse, declare events of His coming in glory. The prophets pronounce judgments against the children of Israel for their disobedience, but they also make astonishing promises to those who will be followers of Jesus. All this means that reading prophecy requires skill that is gained through much time in these books. The reward is rich nuggets of Bible truth. Look for Christ and His church and look for evidence of God’s holiness and power.

GOSPELS. Drink deeply of these narrative stories about the life of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. As you read the gospels, you will be struck by the fact that Jesus is like no other. No one else who has walked this planet is like Him. Capture as many of the fascinating details as you can. Virgin birth. Sinless life. Atoning death. Glorious resurrection. Miracles and teaching and compassion and power that all point to His deity.

ACTS. The commissioned church goes out into the world. The question to ask when reading Acts is, “Is this (whatever this is) simply descriptive (just describing what happened) or is this prescriptive (meaning this is what should happen throughout the church age)?” Here we see evangelism, baptism, false teachers, Peter as a missionary, Paul as a missionary, what is true conversion, does the Law continue to be in effect, elders, church planting, persecution,

THE EPISTLES. The epistles are where the Bible places the doctrines and the commands and exhortations that define the life of a disciple of Jesus. Therefore, we read the epistles with an eye toward finding and understanding these doctrines and commands. In reading these, then, much of what we capture will be in these two categories.

REVELATION. The last book of the Bible is also the most difficult to understand. Nevertheless, even the inexperienced Bible-reader is indwelt with the Holy Spirit of the living God and is therefore able to understand these visions of the apocalypse. You will not understand everything, but you will understand something. So, journal what you see in the book and wait for the time when you will understand more.

SUMMARY

The main message about journaling is that it is an effective way to capture some of the details of your daily Bible reading. Part of the joy of reading the Scriptures is to sense that your grasp of the Word is becoming stronger over time. Journaling is one of the ways to increase the strength of your grip. The exercise of trying to express the thoughts and words of God in your own human words is a spiritual task. The more that you do this, the more satisfying and edifying the task will be.

I have tried to give some guidelines as a way to motivate your journaling. These guidelines are not rules but are just guardrails to keep you on the path. The best course of action is to begin capturing some of the ideas and insights that you receive while Bible reading in a journal and seek to do that on a consistent basis. The goal is to increase your love of the Scriptures by developing the discipline of journaling.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 5/25/2024 #703

Summary of 1 Thessalonians – doctrine and imperative

POST OVERVIEW. A summary of the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians giving the letter’s doctrinal teaching and its imperatives (instructions and commands). This emphasis on doctrine and imperative is a feature of the Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method for epistles, which I explain in greater detail in my upcoming book on discipleship (in late 2024).

INTRODUCTION. Recently some brothers and I completed a study of 1 Thessalonians. In our study, we employed the Discipleship Bible Study (DBS) method for epistles. The “DBS method for epistles” emphasizes the doctrinal teaching in the epistle and the epistle’s behavioral imperatives (commands, exhortations, instructions). Awareness of the doctrinal teaching of the epistles develops theological convictions and study of the behavioral imperatives yields conscious repentance and obedience.

DOCTRINAL TEACHING OF THE EPISTLE > > > THEOLOGICAL CONVICTIONS

BEHAVIORAL IMPERATIVES OF THE EPISTLE > > > REPENTANCE AND OBEDIENCE

The following are the key doctrines and imperatives from 1 Thessalonians.

KEY DOCTRINES FROM 1 THESSALONIANS

1:4. “your election.” DOCTRINE OF ELECTION states that, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), in eternity past, God has chosen / elected all the people that He will, in time and space, call to salvation, that He will justify by faith and that He will glorify in the resurrection on the last day. This election is entirely based on God’s sovereign will and is not conditioned on any merit, quality or action of the chosen (therefore is called “unconditional election”). By the use of His providence, God will certainly bring to justification every one of those He has elected in eternity past and He will raise them up in glory on the last day.

1:5. In Thessalonica, the gospel, which is God’s appointed means of calling sinners to repentance and faith, came to them “in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” Even Paul was amazed at how powerfully the gospel had worked in Thessalonica.

1:10. In this one verse there are actually four separate doctrinal truths. “wait for His Son from heaven.” The doctrine of the return of Jesus Christ in power and glory. “whom He raised from the dead.” The doctrine of the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus “rescues us from the wrath to come.” The doctrine of the wrath of God against sin (Rom. 1:18; etc.) and the doctrine that Jesus is our Savior and He rescues us from God’s judgment by His substitutionary death on the cross.

2:19. “in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming.” Here we discovery that when Jesus returns, His saints will be present with Him. This means that, at His coming, the saints are not still waiting for the Lord, but are with the Lord.

This is the first of several teaching points that Paul will make in this epistle about the return of Jesus, about the resurrection of the saints and about the day of the Lord. The epistles to the Thessalonians contain much important doctrine on these topics of the end times.

3:3-4. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that persecution for your faith is a normal part of the disciple’s life. (See 1 Peter 1:6-9; 4:12-19; 2 Tim. 3:12; Matt. 5:10-12; etc.)

3:13. Another verse about the saints when Jesus returns. “The coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” Once again, we see that Jesus’ saints will be with Him when He comes.

4:13-18. Clear doctrinal teaching about the resurrection of the saints, particularly about the order of events of the resurrection and about how the resurrection of the saints relates to the coming of the Lord Jesus. A GO-TO PASSAGE ON THE RESURRECTION AND ON THE RETURN OF CHRIST. [See the full teaching on this passage in my blog #700 on May 6, 2024, entitled “The order of the resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.”]

5:2-10. Paul’s teaching on “the day of the Lord.” In a sense, “the day of the Lord” and the resurrection are two sides of the same coin. Both of these relate to the return of Christ but each one relates to a different group. While the resurrection relates to believers being glorified when Jesus returns, “the day of the Lord” relates to the terror and judgment that comes upon the unrighteous when Jesus comes in judgment. Same event, but two different experiences.

Paul’s teaching on the day of the Lord:

The “day of the LORD” is a common theme among the Old Testament prophets. Therefore, Paul is not inventing a new term or a new idea but is building on what the Scripture has already revealed. Paul’s teaching is necessarily consistent with other scriptural teaching about the day of the LORD. (See Joel 1:14-15; 2:1-11, 30-31; Obadiah 15-21; Micah 5:10-15; Zeph. 1:7-18 (very clear!).)
5:2. The day of the Lord will come upon the unrighteous without warning and without mercy. (Matt. 24:37-41)
5:3. Sudden destruction, so there will be no time for rescue or escape. In fact, on the day of the Lord, the time for rescue has forever passed and the time of judgment has come. There is no hope on that day.
5:4-5. Believers are not in darkness but are sons of light and sons of day (Ephesians 5:8-9; Rom. 13:12-13), so we will not be caught unawares when the Lord returns.
5:9. “God has not destined us (believers) for wrath (1:10), but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The doctrinal truth is that everyone is heading for one of these two destinations. All those outside Christ are “destined for wrath.” All those in Christ are destined for salvation. It is incumbent upon every person to honestly assess which destination is his. If you are currently destined for wrath, then I urge you to immediately repent and bow the knee to the Lord Jesus.
5:10. Our Lord Jesus Christ died for us. Here Paul references the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, that Jesus died on the cross to atone for the sins of His people (2 Cor. 5:21; Romans 14:9).

IMPORTANT IMPERATIVES FROM 1 THESSALONIANS

2:11-12. “Walk in a manner worthy (of the God who call you into His own glory and kingdom).” Paul implicitly exhorts the Thessalonians to live their lives in a way that brings glory and honor to Christ. They have recently turned to God from idols (1:9) and now Paul is instructing them to live a new life consistent with their profession of faith in Christ. This, then, is a general call to obedient, holy living. (Specifics follow.)

4:1. We request and exhort you in the Lord that you excel still more (in your conducting yourselves in a manner that pleases God). (Intro to imperatives.)

4:3. Abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Peter 2:11; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:3-5) It is likely that the Thessalonians lived in a culture of pervasive sexual immorality. They were Gentiles and had been idol-worshippers (1:9) and had been complete strangers to the holy requirements of God’s Law (Eph. 4:17-19). Now Paul tells these new believers to abstain from sexual immorality. Cold turkey. Stop it! NOW! And this command applies to all professing disciples of Jesus today.

4:4. Although it is difficult to know specifically what Paul is saying here, the idea is clear. Exercise strict self-control over the desires of your physical body “in sanctification and honor” (4:4). Before these Gentiles had given themselves over to their lusts, but now in Christ, they must “possess their vessel in honor.” Sexual behavior is now controlled by Christ.

4:5. “Not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles.” Before it was completely acceptable, even expected, to behave in lustful passion, but now, as disciples of Jesus, not so. Also notice that, although these Thessalonians were from the uncircumcised, they are no longer Gentiles. Paul contrasts these uncircumcised Thessalonians with Gentiles. Why? Because now “there is neither Jew nor Greek, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Now, since Jesus has come, the primary identifier for all mankind is not Jew or Gentile but it is disciple of the Lord Jesus or perishing sinner. The Thessalonians are no longer Gentiles but they are now uncircumcised disciples of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, they no longer act in “lustful passion.”

4:9-10. Love one another. Love of the brethren. “Excel still more.” Learn what it means to love the brethren and then excel at that activity. Love one another! (John 13:34-35)

4:11-12. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business.” Here we must discover the essence of what Paul is teaching and then bring it into our 21^st century context. I think the idea is that the life of the disciple is not ostentatious and extravagant but is simple, orderly, and disciplined. The disciple does not spend his life in dissipation (1 Peter 4:3), indulging the flesh, but lives “a quiet life” of worship, witness, and prayer.

5:6, 8. Do not “sleep,” but be sober and alert. “Sleeping” here is to be understood figuratively, meaning do not wander through life like those who are sluggishly sleepwalking. Rather, live a life of purpose and vigor, staying “alert.” Be alert to sin’s temptations and flee. Be sober about the things that distract you from striving toward the goal of holiness. Do not love sleep (Proverbs 6:10), but rather buffet your body and make it your slave (1 Cor. 9:27). Deny the body’s cravings, especially if it obstructs your will. Your discipline and your will must control your body’s desires or you will be useless as a disciple. The Lord does not recruit sluggards into battle, but instead seeks out obedient soldiers.

5:12-13. “Appreciate those who diligently labor among you and have charge over you in the Lord and esteem them very highly in love.” (Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Peter 5:5, 6) Those who labor among the flock as teachers of the Word and shepherds of the flock should know that they are loved and appreciated. Make every effort to love your pastors and elders in tangible ways so that they can labor with joy and be encouraged in their labors.

5:15. “Never repay another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.” In classic Pauline fashion, the apostle tells us not to do one thing, but rather to do another. The unsaved man, when he is treated unfairly, seeks to fight back with evil. Revenge is the angry response of the pride of the flesh. But the disciple of Jesus seeks to give good for everyone, regardless of how he has been treated. The disciple accepts unjust treatment, whether intentional or unintentional, and continues to seek good for all concerned.

5:16-18. “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.” These three short verses have served me as “go-to” verses for obedience and as a strong defense against wrongful thinking. Whenever I sense that I am getting discouraged or depressed, I check my thinking and, more often than not, I find that I am discouraged because I am allowing my thoughts to dwell in a negative place. I also find that this “negative place” is a place of disobedience. I am thinking about something the Bible commands me not to think about or I am not thinking about those things that the Bible commands me to consider. Thus, I am being disobedient. To break this spell, I turn my mind to 1 Thess. 5:16-18 and begin to rejoice. I start to obey the command to rejoice. That usually dispatches the depression, but if that does not work, I will begin to fervently “pray without ceasing.” Obeying the Word, I rejoice, I pray and I give thanks for all the Lord has given me. This obedience will drive away the discouragement, which is the side-effect of poor and disobedient thinking.

5:22. “Abstain from every appearance of evil.” (1 Thess. 4:3) Appearances are important! The image that you project to others will determine the credibility of your witness. Matt. 5:16. Your personal holiness testifies to the legitimacy of the gospel. “Does Jesus really change people, or do people just sign up and then try to act nice?” The disciple must ask himself, “Does the life that I live before others attest to Jesus’ power to really save people from their sin?” What gospel does your behavior preach? Because you have come out of the closet as a witness for Jesus, people are evaluating your life and determining whether Jesus is worth following at all. This begins by abstaining from every appearance of evil.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 5/15/2024 #701

The discipline of the Lord as training (Heb. 12:5-11)

POST OVERVIEW. Thoughts about “the discipline of the Lord” in Hebrews 12:5-11 as mostly being about the Lord calling His servants to difficult assignments for the purpose of training those servants for their future good works.

In my experience, the most common teaching about Hebrews 12:5-11 and “the discipline of the Lord” is that this discipline concerns the Lord’s taking the believer “out to the woodshed” to “discipline” him so that he won’t make the same mistakes again. This teaching also usually includes the reminder that the Lord cannot “punish” those who are in Christ Jesus because all the believer’s sins have been punished in the death of Christ. But while the Lord cannot punish the believer’s sins, He can “discipline” them. So, the teaching goes, this is what the author of Hebrews is talking about here in Heb. 12:5-11. The purpose is punishment, but we call it “discipline.”

Let me briefly critique this teaching. While I appreciate that this teaching stands firm on the doctrine that the Lord cannot punish the sins of believers because their sins have all been punished in the death of Christ, I do not believe that the author is here simply using “discipline” as an acceptable synonym for the word “punishment.”

In fact, I do not believe punishment is in view at all as the author talks about “discipline.” The context of Heb. 12:1-11 is about faithfully persevering in your faith and being steadfast in the midst of testing. In 12:1, the author refers back to our great cloud of faithful witnesses (Hebrews 11), who persevered in faith despite anguish and testing and ill treatment and he exhorts us also to run with endurance the race set before us, no matter the difficulties encountered in our race. We are to imitate the example of our Lord Jesus (12:2) who victoriously endured the shame of the cross because of the joy set before Him. When we are tempted to grow weary and lose heart (12:3), we consider how Jesus endured the hostility of sinners. The repeated theme is endurance and perseverance. In spite of opposition, the disciple of Jesus continues to press forward (Phil. 3:13-14).

Therefore, when we read that we are “not to regard lightly the discipline of the Lord” (12:5), we must interpret this through the truth that, “those whom the Lord loves He disciplines” (12:6) and “God deals with you as with sons” (12:7). Those who have believed on Jesus Christ as Lord are now those whom the Lord loves. So the Lord relates to us primarily as those whom He loves. Our faith has given us the right to become children of God (John 1:12). And we are not prodigal children who are seeking our own will nor are we rebellious children needing constant correction (“discipline”), but we have become obedient children who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matt. 5:6). My point is that the child of God desires to please the Father. Our deepest longing is to be useful to the Master so that we will hear, both now in our soul and ultimately when we see Him face to face, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21). We can live with freedom and relate to God with joy because, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). In Christ, we are free and there is no fear of punishment (1 John 4:18).

So, if “the discipline of the Lord” is not about the believer’s correction or punishment, what is it about? The answer appears in the last verse in the passage, in 12:11. There we read that discipline is for training. “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

THE PURPOSE OF DISCIPLINE IS TRAINING

The discipline of the Lord is intended to train us so that we bear “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Thus we see that the purpose of discipline is training the disciple. In this sense, then, when He disciplines us, the Lord is acting more as a loving coach than as a correcting father. As the coach’s goal is to bring out the best in the athlete through rigorous training activity, so the Lord intends to help us bear more peaceful fruit of righteousness by bringing spiritual training activities into our lives. We are to be trained by the discipline of the Lord.

We know that our earthly fathers disciplined us “as seemed best to them” (12:10). Because they were mere flesh and blood, their efforts at training us and raising us were flawed and limited. By contrast, the Father of spirits is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth and is, therefore, perfect in His discipline. Not only that, but He “disciplines us for our good” (12:10). The Lord’s training is perfectly designed and perfectly carried out to discipline us for our good. The primary motive of the Lord’s discipline is our good.

If correction and punishment are not the intentions of the Lord’s discipline, then what exactly is this “discipline” that the Lord brings into our lives to train us? What are some examples? My definition of the discipline of the Lord is: “Those trials and difficulties that the Lord brings or allows into our lives to train us to become more useful to Him for His purposes.” Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Cor. 12:7-9 is an example of this discipline. The Lord sovereignly ordained that Satan would torment Paul to keep him from exalting himself.

A COUPLE OF PERSON INSTANCES OF THE LORD’S DISCIPLINE

In my own life, I would identify two instances of the Lord’s discipline. The first instance was when the Lord called me in my mid-forties to leave my quiet life of a bachelor and to marry a widow with three kids. This season in my life stretched me in so many ways and much of that stretching was painful and difficult, but the Lord used His discipline through the means of my marriage to make seismic changes in me and to sanctify me by decreasing so many of the sinful patterns and behaviors in my life.

The second instance was the job that He gave me when we moved to Charlotte. The job was definitely the Lord’s provision, but it was also a trial in many ways. I needed to learn how to submit to a boss that I did not respect and to work in a company that was very poorly run and to accept this relatively humble employment at the end of my career when my peers were reaching the peak of their careers. The Lord left me in that job for eleven years before releasing me. I now look back at that position and see that the Lord was using that to prepare me for other good works that He had planned for me in the future.

SUMMARY. The Lord’s purpose in bringing this discipline into our lives is to train us for the work that He has planned for us up ahead. He loves us and disciplines us for our good so that we can be useful to Him and so yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So we accept His discipline, and we endure and we persevere and we continue to glorify Him.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 1/20/2024 #689

Who is “most excellent Theophilus?” (Luke 1:3)

POST OVERVIEW. An investigation into how to correctly understand the identity of this person Luke calls “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3; also Acts 1:1).

AN OFFICIAL OF PROMINENCE?

Luke, the beloved physician and the author of both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, dedicates both of his divinely inspired books to “most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3). This prompts the question that I want to address, namely, “Who is this person Theophilus?” The common teaching that I have heard most often is that Theophilus was an official of some prominence and, from the context of Luke’s dedications, a personal acquaintance of the beloved physician. But before we agree with this idea that this description applies to an individual named Theophilus, we must first resolve a number of problems that are raised by this idea.

PURPOSE. The purpose of this article is to present the difficulties with the common teaching that Theophilus was “an individual official of some prominence” so that it becomes apparent that Luke is addressing his two great works to anyone and everyone who is a “lover of God” through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, Theophilus, the person addressed in Luke and Acts, is any and every believer.

THE DIFFICULTIES PRESENTED

Before stating the difficulties, let me make a few comments. First, the correct identity of Theophilus is not a major issue. I am writing this article more as an exercise in thinking biblically than as a matter of great importance. Second, these difficulties are not presented in any particular order. Some points may be “thornier” than others, but the fact that there are many difficulties with “Theophilus as a specific official” gives evidence that there is a genuine weakness with this interpretation. Third, there is some overlap between these points that I am making and this overlap may lead to a feeling of redundancy. I apologize in advance if it seems that I am making the same point multiple times. So, on to the difficulties.

THEOPHILUS IS UNKNOWN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Other than Luke 1:3 and Acts 1:1, there is no mention of this person in the New Testament. There is no record of him and no reference to him. Also, Luke gives no information about him to suggest he is a specific individual. Luke is an historian of the first rank and, when he is relating the events of his gospel or the events of Acts, he usually provides detailed descriptions of virtually every character in these stories. For example, note the descriptions of Barnabas (Acts 4:36), of Lydia (16:14), or of Apollos (18:24). Yet with Theophilus, Luke provides no information at all except to indicate that Theophilus “has been taught” (Luke 1:4) and is, therefore, a believer. Even the assumption that Theophilus is some sort of official is based solely on Luke’s appellation of “most excellent Theophilus.” The only thing we know about him for sure is that he is a believer in Jesus.

THE AUDACITY OF THE PARENTS. Theophilus is a Greek word that means “lover of God.” We can deduce that his parents were certainly Gentiles and not Jews since they gave their son a Greek name. Imagine the audacity of naming your son “lover of God.” If they were pagans, then you would need to wonder, “Lover of which god?” On the other hand, if they were God-fearing Greeks, they would never have had the nerve to name their son, “lover of Elohim.” What would their Jewish friends at the synagogue think of that? All this means that it is very unlikely that there was an official of some prominence who had the actual name Theophilus.

THE PROBLEM OF DATES. There is the problem of the timing of these events. Let’s assume that “most excellent Theophilus” was thirty-five years old when Luke began writing the gospel of Luke to him. Scholars believe Luke’s gospel was written around AD 60. That means that his parents named this “official of some prominence” “lover of God” around AD 25 (AD 60 minus 35 years old), which was two or three years before Jesus began His earthly ministry. Thus Theophilus’ parents could not have been believers in Jesus Christ when they named their son. We thus need to ask why a Greek couple living in AD 25 would name their son “lover of God?”

This “date problem” is related to the next problem.

THE ASSOCIATION/RELATIONSHIP PROBLEM. Luke was a physician (“the beloved physician” Col. 4:14), which I assume means he was a doctor of some sort. Based on what we read in Acts, he probably was from the city of Troas. Luke’s main “claim to fame” was his close friendship with the apostle Paul. He traveled with Paul on the apostle’s second and third missionary journeys. As far as we can tell, there was nothing else special about Luke as a person. This, however, raises some questions when we consider the personal relationship that needs to have existed between Luke and “most excellent Theophilus.”

Why would “an official of some prominence” befriend a random physician from the town of Troas?
For that matter, why would Luke, a simple physician from Troas, befriend some random “official of some prominence?” It just seems hard to imagine the circumstances of their meeting. Doctors and prominent officials rarely travel in the same circles today, and I suspect it was the same in the mid-first century.
When would Luke have had time to make the acquaintance with this Theophilus and then have had more time to establish a fairly close relationship with him? We have no reason to believe that Luke met Theophilus before he met and joined Paul as the apostle took the gospel to Europe (Acts 16). We can be confident that Luke did not meet Theophilus during his missionary journeys with Paul, for Luke would certainly have mentioned such a meeting in the book of Acts to give a connection to Theophilus. Therefore, Luke and Theophilus must have met and become close acquaintances AFTER the events of Acts 28. But this, too, seems difficult to imagine. How would their meeting come about and why would Luke feel he wanted to dedicate his books to him?
In the first century, people did not travel much and distances were much greater than they are today. Practically speaking, this means that Theophilus would have needed to be geographically near Luke. Daniel developed a relationship with Nebuchadnezzar because he was his advisor for fifty years or so and lived in the king’s court (Daniel 1-4). Paul was acquainted with Felix because Paul was his prisoner and they chatted from time to time (Acts 24). If it had not been for these God-ordained circumstances, Daniel would never have known Nebuchadnezzar and Paul and Felix would never have known one another. In the same way, Luke and Theophilus must have been located near one another. Was there a prominent official named Theophilus near Troas in AD 60-65 who wanted to get to know a believing physician? Seems unlikely.

ANOTHER POSSIBILITY TO CONSIDER

Perhaps no single one of these difficulties is enough to discredit the notion that Theophilus was a flesh-and-blood acquaintance of Luke, but the cumulative effect of all these questions suggests that, if there were another possible understanding of Luke’s intended audience for his gospel and for Acts, we should explore that possibility.

And there is another possibility that is so apparent that it might be overlooked. What if Theophilus was not the proper name of a little-known official in mid-first century Asia Minor who was acquainted with Luke the physician, but instead “theophilus” was the word that Luke chose to describe every one of his intended readers? In other words, what if Luke carefully researched all the details of his gospel and organized all the events of Acts so that every “lover of God,” every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, “may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Acts 1:4)? What if Luke’s intended audience was not one specific believer named Theophilus but was instead any and every believer who identifies himself as a “lover of God” through Jesus Christ? I believe this is the correct way to understand Luke’s dedications.

As we consider this second possibility, we notice that all the difficulties and problems associated with the first view disappear. If Luke is writing to all lovers of God everywhere, then we no longer need to search for an individual with a highly unusual name. The fact that Luke gives no personal information about “Theophilus” now makes perfect sense, because “theophilus” now includes the three thousand people on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and includes Samaritans (Acts 8), an Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), Cornelius and his family (Acts 10), Lydia and the jailer (Acts 16), barbarians, Scythians, slaves and freemen (Col. 3:11), Paul and Peter and the rest of the apostles, and the hundreds of millions of lovers of God who have been taught (Luke 1:4) about Jesus and who have believed since Christ rose from the dead in AD 30. We now understand that theophilus is not a proper name but is rather a description of every disciple of Jesus whom the Lord will raise up on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 11:24).

CONCLUSION

After considering the difficulties presented by the view that “Theophilus” (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1) was the name of a specific individual who lived in the mid-first century, and after investigating the other possibility that “theophilus” (translated “lover of God”) was the way Luke described any and every believer who would read his gospel or the book of Acts, we have concluded that Luke addressed his great works to all believers in the Lord Jesus. If you are a lover of God through faith in the Lord Jesus, Luke wrote his gospel and Acts for you “so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:4).

Soli Deo gloria rmb 12/22/2023 #685

Debating the contents of the Bible with an atheist

POST OVERVIEW. A tactic for the follower of Jesus to use when debating with an atheist the alleged inconsistencies or contradictions in the Bible.

Ben Shapiro, a committed Jewish person, was debating the issue of biblical slavery with a committed atheist. The atheist seemed to be getting the best of Mr. Shapiro, as he was quoting passages from the Old Testament that suggested either that the God of the Bible condoned slavery or that God contradicted Himself by saying one thing in one passage that seemed to be at odds with something else, which He had said in a different passage. Shapiro argued that God would occasionally accommodate a practice that existed at the time by giving instructions and guidelines about that practice to mitigate the damage (which is close to what a believer would argue about some of these thorny passages in the Old Testament).

It was obvious that both men were brilliant and were extremely skilled in this sort of debate, but perhaps because his opponent had a British accent and Shapiro was American, it seemed that the Brit’s arguments were superior.

But how should a disciple of Jesus address these kind of questions from an atheist? What do we do when an atheist brings up these difficult passages from the Bible?

PRINCIPLE: If the Bible is the subject of debate, the atheist’s denial of the existence of God spells doom to their every argument.

Let me explain.

In this debate with Ben Shapiro, the atheist cited the example of Deut. 21 where women of conquered nations could be taken as wives after they had been cleansed of all their uncleanness and had mourned their family for a month. But in Numbers 31, it was only the virgins of Midian who were allowed to live. (The text implies that these virgins could become wives of the Israelite men.) The atheist argued that it seemed arbitrary and contradictory that, in one situation, any woman, virgin or nonvirgin, could be spared if she were attractive, but in another situation, it was only the virgins that could be spared.

THE TACTIC PRESENTED

Whether these were the exact passages that the atheist chose and whether or not his argument was a strong one is irrelevant to the tactic I am proposing. It is the fact that the atheist is arguing from the Bible that gives the believer all the ammunition that he needs to end the debate.

Here is the dialog I would use.

BELIEVER: “So, you are saying that what the Bible says here in these passages seems to be arbitrary and/or contradictory, is that right?” (NOTE: Try to use your opponent’s own words here when you are introducing your point.)

ATHEIST: “Yes, that’s right.”

BELIEVER: “And, at least as far as we can understand it, this presents at least a logical problem and may constitute a moral problem. Would you agree with that?”

ATHEIST: “I would agree with that.”

BELIEVER: “I think I see your point. (PAUSE) I notice that you have been quoting from the Bible. In your opinion, who wrote the Bible?”

Now the atheist is in an impossible position. At this point, he has one of two choices. He either must acknowledge that the Bible was written entirely by men independent of any help or inspiration from God, which would be an answer consistent with his atheistic worldview, or he must concede that God inspired the Bible and is therefore responsible for its contents, an answer that would deny and demolish his atheism.

Without the time to think about the implications of this answer, the atheist will almost certainly opt for a reply like,

ATHEIST: “Well, the Bible was written by ordinary Jewish men a long time ago.” Something like that.

BELIEVER: “So, if I understand you correctly, your opinion is that God did not inspire the writing of the Bible. In fact, you would say that the Bible came into being independent of God. Is that correct?”

ATHEIST: “Yes, of course.”

CHECKMATE.

BELIEVER: “Well, if God was not the author of the Bible, then He also did not write the passages that confuse you. God cannot be held responsible for something He did not write. In fact, if God did not write the Bible, then He really should not be a part of any conversation about the Bible. If God did not inspire the Bible, then any difficulties you have with what the Bible says do not involve God at all but involve whoever it was that wrote the passages that confuse you. Bringing up these passages from the Bible, which, according to you, were written by some unknown Jewish men a long time ago, is really a futile exercise. Because what point could we possibly be making – if, in fact, God did not write the Bible.” (PAUSE)

BELIEVER: “I, on the other hand, am of the opinion that the Bible is breathed out by the God of our Lord Jesus Christ and that every word of this book is true BECAUSE it is God-breathed. My inability to understand every detail of this book from the mind of God does not mean that the book is somehow flawed. It simply means that God’s thoughts are higher than my thoughts.

“So, you have no point in debating the contents of the Bible, because any perceived difficulties are simply the flawed writings of ordinary men, and I believe that all the contents of the Bible are true and without error. It seems to me that our debate is over.”

Soli Deo gloria rmb 12/14/2023 #683

Isaiah Series 01: Understanding Isaiah’s role as prophet

POST OVERVIEW. The first post in “The Isaiah Series,” a series of devotional studies based on selected passages from Isaiah 41-66. Each devotional study will seek to reveal the beauty and the power of Isaiah’s prophecy and will interpret the meaning of the passage so that the disciple of Jesus is encouraged.

This study will serve both as a preamble for the series and as a description the role of the prophet in biblical prophecy.

This post inaugurates what I hope to be a series of devotional studies covering the writings of Isaiah from chapter 41 through the end of the book in chapter 66.

THE ROLE OF THE PROPHET IN BIBLICAL PROPHECY

The prophecy of Isaiah is some of the finest prose ever penned in terms of its rhetorical quality. The imagery Isaiah evokes and the mystery and power of the LORD that he conveys are breathtaking. But Isaiah is not the focus of his book. In fact, for all the accolades that could be heaped on this man, Isaiah’s personal characteristics and his own thoughts and opinions disappear and are rendered inoperative as the LORD’s voice thunders forth His divine truth. For all his literary talent, Isaiah the prophet was merely the human conduit through whom the LORD spoke His message. The son of Amoz became a chosen instrument, an amanuensis appointed to precisely record the words dictated to him by the Spirit of the living God. For we know that “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16), and if God breathes out the Word, then His scribe must merely record what he hears. We also know that the Old Testament prophets often did not understand what they themselves wrote but obediently wrote God’s Word as they received it, knowing that God would use His Word for His glory (1 Peter 1:10-12). Finally we know that God’s Word is sure because it is not made up by an act of human will but was written by “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:19-21).

And so it is that when we read the powerful words of Isaiah’s prophecy, we read not the mere musings of a Hebrew man who lived in the 8^th century before Christ, but we read the words of the eternal God. Through His chosen instrument the infinite God infinitely condescends to communicate His truth to His people. The goal of these studies is to understand the message of the LORD in these passages so that we may be edified and we may glorify the LORD with our lives.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 12/4/2023 #680

Discipleship in terms of holiness, obedience, and usefulness

POST OVERVIEW. A post considering how holiness, obedience, and usefulness develop in the disciple’s life. Usefulness requires maturity. Why Christ was supremely “useful.”

In the past few months, I have been thinking a lot about discipleship and how we, as disciples of the Lord Jesus, can be more effective in our growth toward Christlikeness. My plan is to gather these thoughts together in the next several months and publish a book on personal discipleship targeted at those individuals who desire to invest themselves in others so that others may grow in practical righteousness. The pattern is expressed by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:2: “And the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

HOLINESS, OBEDIENCE, AND USEFULNESS

One of the ideas that I have developed is the concept that our growth in increasing Christlikeness can be classified as growth in Holiness, Obedience, and Usefulness.

In thinking about these terms, we would say that Holiness and Obedience are aspects of our discipleship that we are “working out with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). That is, the disciple can work on these independently of others and the progress the disciple makes largely depends on how much effort the disciple expends. It is the disciple’s goal and his responsibility to grow in his personal Holiness and his personal Obedience. It should also be noticed that this growth in Holiness and Obedience is done by the disciple and for the disciple. No one else benefits directly from this growth.

Usefulness, by contrast, can only be done for others. It is impossible for the disciple to be useful without some reference to other people. The best way for the disciple of Jesus to be useful is to do God-honoring, Christ-exalting works for others. By definition, Usefulness involves the disciple intentionally serving one or more people.

WHEN COMES USEFULNESS?

In this context, we also observe that, for every disciple of Jesus, growth in Holiness and Obedience continues from the moment of salvation until the disciple’s last breath and requires considerable focus and effort. In practice, this means that, especially in the early years of the disciple’s walk with Christ, his efforts are concentrated in the areas of Holiness and Obedience, and his Usefulness to others is necessarily limited. In other words, the usual pattern of growth for the disciple is for him to reach a level of maturity in Holiness and Obedience before he becomes useful to the Master (2 Tim. 2:21). Our Usefulness is (typically) delayed because we must first put to death our flesh and the deeds of the old man. One way this has been expressed is that God does not greatly use dirty vessels. Those who are greatly used by the Lord are usually those who have labored to present themselves to Him as a “living and holy sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1).

CONSIDER JESUS

What we have described so far is the situation with every disciple of Jesus. Disciples must wrestle with and strive to overcome their inherent fallenness and sinfulness before they enter into their Usefulness.

But consider the contrast between any disciple of Jesus and the Lord Jesus Himself. While every disciple must expend great time and energy to continue their fight against sin and their striving toward Holiness and Obedience, Jesus does not need to spend even one moment or expend one calorie of effort growing in His personal Holiness and Obedience, for He has been perfect in these from eternity past. As God, Jesus is perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3) and as the Son of God, Jesus perfectly obeys the Father at all times (John 8:29).

Thus, what we see in Jesus’ earthly ministry is that all His words and actions are entirely devoted to the works the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4). Because He is already perfect in Holiness and Obedience, all His time and effort are poured out in Usefulness to others in works which glorify the Father who sent Him.

A STRATEGY TO INCREASE OUR USEFULNESS

Since it seems that the disciple must first make some measure of progress in Holiness and Obedience before he is prepared for Usefulness, it occurs to me that we as disciples of Jesus should strive to pour all the energy and effort we can muster into personal Holiness and Obedience so that, as early as possible in our walk with the Lord, we can operate in the realm of Usefulness. Let us then, as quickly as possible, cast off the rags of the old man, and lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us serve with Usefulness and produce thirty, sixty, a hundredfold.

Soli Deo gloria rmb 11/10/2023 #678

A soldier in active service (2 Timothy 2:4)

POST OVERVIEW. A devotional study of 2 Timothy 4:2.

No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. – 2 Timothy 2:4 (NASB)

SOLDIER. Paul’s instructions in this verse are directed very narrowly to a specific kind of person. The exhortation that follows is first of all exclusively for soldiers. Only soldiers are being addressed. If you are not a soldier, this verse does not concern you. In Paul’s mind, the world is made up of soldiers and not-soldiers. Here he is writing to soldiers.

What is a soldier? What does Paul have in mind? The definition of soldier here would need to connect with the preceding verse where Paul tells Timothy to “suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2:3). A good soldier, then, is a disciple of Jesus who willingly suffers hardship for Jesus’ sake. “Suffering hardship” means consistently making choices according to the instructions and the intentions of the soldier’s commanding officer in disregard of any consequent personal pain , loss, dishonor, or sacrifice. The good soldier of Christ Jesus does not seek hardship, but neither does the good soldier avoid it. Rather, the presence or absence of hardship has been removed from the good soldier’s consideration.

So in this verse Paul is addressing those who are soldiers according to these terms. Are you a good soldier of Christ Jesus? What is your attitude toward voluntary hardship? Is your obedience to the Lord conditioned by what it will cost you? Only good soldiers need to read on.

But actually there does exist another group of disciples whom we could call “the not-yet soldiers.” These are those disciples who long to be “good soldiers,” who long to shed the rags of timidity and to discard the false safety of compromises and small disobediences and instead to put on the mantle of a soldier and charge out into the mission where your only concern is obedience to the King. If you have a burning desire to become a good soldier, then let Paul’s words fan your desire into a flame (Psalm 37:4; 2 Tim. 1:6).

We have spent some time defining a (good) soldier of Christ Jesus (2:3) because we need to determine if 2 Tim. 2:4 is written for us. Paul is not writing to all believers here, because not all believers are “good soldiers” according to this definition. Paul would desire that all disciples were soldiers, but the reality is that all are not, so Paul makes his first “cut.”

A SOLDIER IN ACTIVE SERVICE. But now Paul introduces another qualification to further narrow the funnel. As Paul knows that, among disciples, there are soldiers and there are not-soldiers, so also there are soldiers in active service and there are soldiers not in active service. So all “not-soldiers” have been excluded and now all soldiers not in active service are cut from the team.

What does it mean “to be in active service?” In a military sense, a soldier in active service is one who has been trained and equipped to be useful as a soldier and who has subsequently been deployed by his commanding office to accomplish a specific mission. His identity as a soldier compels him to be in active service and impels him toward the front lines. He lives for a mission. This is a military soldier in active service.

What, then, is Paul’s message or instruction when he speaks to Timothy as a soldier of Christ Jesus? What is the image that comes to mind for the disciple of Jesus who longs to be a soldier “in active service?” It turns out that the analogy between soldier and disciple works very well. Like the soldier, the disciple is aware that he has been deployed by his commanding officer, the Lord Jesus Christ, to accomplish the specific mission of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20). His identity as a disciple of Jesus compels him to be conscious of his Commander’s mission and impels him to proclaim Jesus to the world as His witness (Acts 1:8). The disciple lives for the gospel. For the disciple in active service, Christ is his life (Phil. 1:21; Col. 3:4). He longs to be useful to the Master, prepared for any good work (2 Tim. 2:21).

DOES NOT ENTANGLE HIMSELF IN THE AFFAIRS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. Now we come to the heart of the verse and to the vital instruction that Paul is going to give to Timothy and to all disciple-soldiers in active service. Paul’s words are at once an exhortation and a warning. “Soldier, never entangle yourself in civilian affairs.”

IDENTITY. You are not a civilian, you are a soldier. Therefore, you are to live the life of a soldier, which is a life of discipline, self-control, rigor, and training.

The affairs of civilian life will dull your preparedness and distract you from your mission. Once you have tasted the ease, comfort, luxury, and safety that are part of the everyday life of a civilian, your zeal for pleasing the Master as a soldier who is dangerous to the enemy will begin to erode. The danger of everyday life is that you begin to resent the hardship of the soldier’s life. When the Commander calls you to a new mission, He finds that you are no longer eager to follow orders that involve hardship or risk. Ease and luxury and, most dangerous of all, safety begin to be values, and duty and suffering for our King gradually lose their appeal.

The life of a soldier is a life stripped down to the bare essentials. “But godliness is actually a means of great gain. If we have food and covering, with these we will be content” (1 Tim. 6:6, 8). The life of a disciple is a simple life. “Make it your ambition is to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands” (1 Thess. 4:11). As disciples of Jesus, we do not want to be “led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). As the disciple grows better equipped and more useful to the Master, the complications of his life are willingly sloughed off and discarded as unnecessary weight.

PLEASE THE ONE WHO ENLISTED HIM AS A SOLDIER. The soldier’s purpose is to “please the one who enlisted him as a soldier” (2:4). Getting involved in the entanglements of everyday life will cause you to lose sight of your purpose, to question your purpose, and to compromise your purpose. The sweetness of pleasing the Master by being dangerous to the domain of darkness gradually loses its satisfaction.

The soldier needs to remember the words of Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”