Psalm 119:17-19~Help for Pilgrims

     

Psalm 119:17-19 reminds us that the grace of God is essential for obedience to his Word and understanding of his Word. The Psalmist understands that he is weak and blind. He knows that God’s Word requires much of him. He knows that God’s Word is often shrouded in darkness. The meaning and the application of it can be hard to discern. He knows the human heart is like a rock unable to receive the seed of the Word. He knows that we are fallen, weak men who need God’s strength to help us obey.  Therefore he begins this third section of Psalm 119 with a plea for help.

He asks God to deal bountifully with him. This word is used in several other Psalms to express God’s great kindness (Psalm 13:6, 116:7, 142:7). The psalmist is asking the Lord to open up the treasures of his grace and pour out his goodness upon him. The psalmist is a servant of the Lord. But what does he ask God to do for him? He wants God to be kind to him by helping him walk according to God’s Word. What a great prayer!  Oh, Lord show me your grace so that I might obey your commandments. The Psalmist understands that grace, God's unmerited kindness, precedes obedience. If he is going to live and keep the Word, grace must come first. 

Next the psalmist cries out to God for understanding of his Word. The phrase translated “wondrous things” means something that is surpassing in its greatness, but at times hard to understand. God’s Word is wonderful and filled with treasure beyond all the wealth of this world. But it can be difficult to grasp. There are passages that we must think about a long time before we come to understand them. Sometimes we understand what a passage means, but are not sure how it impacts our lives.  The psalmist knows that he is blind. He needs God to remove the scales so that he can understand and obey. Verse 18 is a great little prayer to recite prior to reading God’s Word or hearing the Word preached.

Finally the psalmist asks God to unveil his Word because he is as stranger in this world.  He, like all Christians, is passing through looking for that final house whose builder is God.  It is the nature of man to find himself too at home in the world. He forgets eternity and his own immortality. He becomes too entangled in the affairs of this earth and the end becomes blurry. An older author described this as putting anchors down in the world. We become tied to this world by a thousand ropes. While Christians can and should enjoy the many gifts God gives in this life, our eyes should not lose sight of the final destination. Calvin says we are to “aspire after the place we are invited.” We are to long for our heavenly home. But why does this lead the psalmist to pray that God would not hide his commandments from him? What is the connection between being a stranger in this world and seeing God's commands rightly?

Any stranger in a foreign land needs maps and brochures to keep him from straying and to bring him safely back home. God’s Word furnishes us with a map for navigating this world. We are strangers, but the Word can give us direction. It tells what to believe and not to believe. It provides us with a picture of sin and death. It reminds us of God’s purposes for this world and how it can be used to his glory. But it also reminds us that our final home is not here, but there.  The Word provides comfort when we grieve in this fallen world by pointing us to the next world.  Finally, the Word draws our eyes forward to the new Heavens and Earth when we will swim in the glory of God, when all things will be made new, when all pain, death, and sorrow will be eliminated, when our old bodies will put on incorruption, and when we shall Christ as He is.  He prays Psalm 119:19 because God’s Word provides direction, comfort, and vision for wandering pilgrims, like us. 

The key point of these three verses is that we need the grace of God to obey his Word, to understand his Word, and to use his word to guide us in this world. 

Other Posts on Psalm 119
Psalm 119:2-4
Psalm 119:7
Psalm 119:9
Psalm 119:11
Psalm 119:13
Psalm 119:14
Psalm 119:15-16

Psalm 119:15-16~Study, Remember, Obey

Psalm 119:9-16 ends with four ways the psalmist will “take heed to God’s Word” (vs. 9). He will meditate on it, contemplate it (fix my eyes-ESV), delight in it, and will not forget it (Psalm 119:15-16).  These last two verses show that the psalmist takes seriously his own need to focus on and retain God’s Word. 

Those things which we find most delightful are those things that we roll over and over in our minds. When a young man is courting a lady she is never far from his thoughts, even if he is not speaking of her.  So it should be with God’s Word. When there is delight in God's Word (Psalm 119:14) we meditate upon that Word. When we recognize our need to “keep our way pure” (Psalm 119:11) we ponder and contemplate the Word of God day and night. Though a different word is used, this verse expresses the same idea as Psalm 1:2. Meditation and contemplation means there is serious study of God’s Word and a daily attempt to obey God’s Word. The Psalmist says he will contemplate God's ways, which means how the Lord would have him live. Psalm 119:15 weaves together the intellectual focus on God’s Word and the practical walking in God’s Word.

But meditation and contemplation are not all. The psalmist goes on to repeat that he delights in God’s Word. This has been said once already (vs. 14). But it is repeated for effect. Delighting in God’s Word is one of the proofs that we have meditated on it properly. If study does not lead to delight we have missed something. Even when our sin is exposed in the reading of God’s Word we should rejoice. God is showing us our faults and seeking to form us into the character of his Son.

Finally the psalmist says that he will not forget God’s Word. Like delight the psalmist repeats a previous idea. In verse 11 he says he hides God's Word. Here he says something similar. God’s Word should not be a seed thrown on stony ground that is snatched away by birds. It should take deep root in our hearts, minds, and lives. How many of us are content with a shallow understanding of God’s Word? How many of us are content with reading of God’s Word but not the planting of God’s Word? The psalmist isn’t. He wanted the law of God woven into his thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Here are several points to remember from Psalm 119:15-16.

We need time to meditate on the Word of God. Reading is good, but not good enough.  We need to taste the word over and over. We need to take passages and go deeper with them, asking more and more questions of them, thinking through how the Word applies to us. Our hearts, though renewed, are often reluctant to take time with God’s Word. We are busy people. But if God’s Word is to fill our minds and direct our ways then we must resolve to do more than just read. We cannot meditate every time we read God’s Word. But there should be times where we slow down and spend time savoring God’s Word. This is a great activity for Sunday afternoons. Take a passage, several chapters, or even a short book of the Bible and spend some time with it. Take some notes on it. Pray through it. Read it out loud instead of silently. 

Delighting in God’s Word is a sign of maturity in one's walk with God. All Christians should read the Word. But mature Christians delight in it. If God’s Word is dry, dull, or dead to us then something is wrong. Leaders, such as fathers and pastors, especially must have a deep delight in the words of God. They must set an example for their homes and churches of men who love God’s Word and find it sweeter than honey and more profitable than the riches of this world.  This does not mean that every time we read God’s Word we will feel lightening from Heaven, just like every time I kiss my wife it will not be like lightening from Heaven. But our joy and delight in God’s Word should go deeper and deeper.

Finally Psalm 119:9-16 is focused on hiding or not forgetting God’s Word. The Psalmist ends by saying, "I will not forget your word." Many of us are like buckets with holes in the bottom. God’s Word goes in and then goes out. We must learn to keep God’s Word in minds and in our hearts. We do this by systematic memorization of it, regular meditation on it, singing it, and diligent obedience to it.

To sum up Psalm 119:9-16 we could say, When we delight in God's Word and know that it is necessary for holiness we will take the time and energy necessary to study it, remember it, and seek new ways to obey it. 

Other Posts on Psalm 119
Psalm 119:2-4
Psalm 119:7
Psalm 119:9
Psalm 119:11
Psalm 119:13
Psalm 119:14

Psalm 119:14~The Treasure of Obedience

The heart of man is drawn to the riches of this world. Many of us spend large amounts of time and energy acquiring and keeping our wealth. Even those of us who are not wealthy will let our lives be dominated by the desire for wealth or jealousy over those who have it. I grew up in rural Mississippi among some of the poorest folks in this country. Money and how they could get more was the dominant theme of their lives. I have also seen those making six or seven figures worry without end about their money. Do they have it invested wisely? How can I get more? How can I keep more? We believe money will bring happiness, thus we pursue it with all our might.

But for the psalmist all the riches in the world cannot compare to the gold that is mined from the law of God (Psalm 119:14).  He rejoices in the law of God as if God had given him all the wealth in the whole world.  The word “way” is a synonym for the how one lives or his conduct. The psalmist is not just delighting in reading God's law. The pot of gold is not his daily quiet time. True riches are found when he learns to walk in God's ways. Obedience to God's word is what he really longs for. Obedience is his treasure. 

For many of us obedience to God’s Word is a duty. It is like punching the time clock at work or stopping at a red light. Do this or we will get in trouble. But we should aim higher than an obedience which comes from duty. Our goal should be an obedience which comes from delight.  Obedience should be a want to, not a have to. A love for God and his Word and a belief that only in obedience is there true joy should drive us to walk in the way of His commandments.

Why doesn't obedience to God's Word delight us more than riches?

We love our sin. This is the most obvious reason the joy of God’s Word is blunted. Many of us want our sin and the Bible at the same time. But it does not work that way. We cannot simultaneously love God’s Word and love our sin. Are you clinging to a sin that might be keeping you from loving obedience? 

We love the world. We treasure this world more than the next. We horde things that rust, die, and rot instead of treasure in heaven. We account for every dime and nickel. Does the world have your devotion, affection, and loyalty instead of God's Word? Watching your life would men know that you love obedience to God's Word more than your stuff? 

We are distracted and busy. We do not settle down to think on and consider God’s Word. We do not take time to examine our lives and see if we are obeying. We flit from thing to thing. Days will go by, maybe weeks, and we have seriously thought about our walk with God. Obedience requires a deliberate disciplined life where God's Word and how to apply it to our lives is meditated on (Psalm 1:2). Could it be that you do not rejoice in obedience to God's Word because your life is whirlwind? Could it be that you have traded a flurry of activity for the riches of God's Word? 

What gets our blood pumping more, a six figure income or obedience to the Word? Is God's Word our delight? Do we long for it more than riches? Does obedience to it bring us joy?  If not, we need to repent and work and pray for the day when we rejoice more over obedience than a raise or bonus. 

Other Posts on Psalm 119
Psalm 119:2-4
Psalm 119:7
Psalm 119:9
Psalm 119:11
Psalm 119:13

Psalm 119:13~Bible Shaped Speech

The psalmist has memorized God’s Word (Psalm 119:11) and he prays to God to teach him the word (Psalm 119:12). But he is not content with memorization and understanding. He must declare the law of God (Psalm 119:13).  One commentator thinks this refers to speaking to himself God's Word. Most commentators think this refers to telling others the judgments of God. Either way, the Word of God does not remain in his heart, but overflows into his speech.  Jesus says that our speech reveals our hearts (Matthew 15:18-19). God’s Word has filled up the psalmist’s heart. He has stockpiled God's Word.  So God’s Word is what comes out of his mouth.

The psalmist is not declaring his opinion or his idea, but the very words of God.  Our own thoughts are of little consequence. The question at the bottom of all questions is what does God think? That is why the declaration of God’s Word to those around us is essential.  Our words are to reflect God’s statutes. His interpretation of events, actions, emotions, and thoughts is to be our interpretation of them. Too often we see things through our eyes instead of through God’s Word. 

The world is often what shapes our words instead of God’s Word. The movies we watch and the songs we listen to mold our hearts so that we think and feel as the world does. If we find ourselves unable to converse easily about things like sin, salvation, redemption, Christ, the Church, grace, etc. then we should go back to verses 11-12 and begin internalizing God’s Word. If the language of the Bible is foreign to you then it has not taken root in your heart yet. 

But often we know God’s Word and still refuse to declare it.  We might refuse to declare God’s Word because we are cowards. We keep God’s Word in our hearts so no one will think the less of us or make fun of us. We want to be thought of as respectable and cool. Therefore we are quiet and God's Word is left at our desk and never brought into the workplace, the dining room, the living room, the park, or the family reunion. We might refuse to declare God’s Word because we do not want to look “holier than thou.” This is a legitimate problem. But God does not give us the option of being silent. We must learn to declare God’s Word without being pompous or proud. There are probably other reasons we do not talk about God’s Word as we ought to.

Our speech reflects our hearts. If God’s Word is not on our tongue then it might be because it is not in our hearts. Or it might be in there, but instead of glorying in it we are ashamed of it.

Other Posts on Psalm 119
Psalm 119:2-4
Psalm 119:7
Psalm 119:9
Psalm 119:11

Psalm 119:11~Stockpiling God's Word

Psalm 119:11 has long been a key verse for memorizing Scripture. The psalmist says he hides God's Word in his heart. By memorizing the Word he wages war against sin. The ESV translates hidden as "stored up." The psalmist stockpiles God's Word like a crazed end of the worlder stockpiles food. He has verses to fight fear. He has verses to fight anger. He has verses to remind him to be holy. He has verses to remind him of God's character. If the enemy confounds him, he runs to God's Word to find verses so he is not defeated again. By hiding up God's Word, he is like a well equipped soldier, prepared to enter battle.  

However, this verse does not simply mean that we should memorize Scripture. “Heart” in the Old Testament encompasses the entire life of a man, not just the mind. God’s Word is to be internalized by us. It is to become part of who we are. It is to flow through our veins.  We should memorize particular verses and passages. But we should also become familiar with all of God’s Word. We should read it over and over again until it becomes “deeply seated in our hearts” (John Calvin). We grow in obedience to God’s Word so that we are able to discern good and evil.  We talk about God’s Word with other Christians. We listen carefully to sermons and teaching by our pastors and elders. The goal is not memorization. Memorization is the means. The goal is a life governed by the Word of God.

This verse teaches us that Old Testament saints were supposed to have God’s Word in their hearts. Many Christians believe the OT was focused on the outward rituals, such as washings and sacrifices, while the New Testament is now focused on the internal. Our passage here, as well as many others, cuts down this idea. The OT saints were expected to love God from their heart. Psalm 37:31 says that the righteous man has the law of God in his heart. There are differences between the OT and the NT, but focus on the heart is not one of them.

If we drink deeply of God’s Word sin will find it difficult to take root in our hearts and lives. We should want the soil of hearts to be hard to sin and soft to the Word and righteousness. We cannot expect to avoid sin if we do not know God’s Word. God’s Word defines sin, tells us how ugly it is, and gives us strategies to put it to death in our lives. If we do not have God’s Word in our minds and in our bones then we will be easily deceived by Satan and drawn into all kinds of traps, snares, and pits.  If we do not have God’s Word on our tongues then our words will reflect the world and her priorities. If we do not have God’s Word in our hearts then our emotions and feelings will lead us astray. God’s Word is our primary weapon in our fight against sin.

The application of this verse is simple: Read, study, memorize, pray, sing, and obey the Scriptures with the aim that your entire life, heart, mind, emotions, and will, are shaped by God's Word.  Make sure you well stocked in your fight against sin. 

Other Posts on Psalm 119
Psalm 119:2-4
Psalm 119:7
Psalm 119:9

Psalm 119:7~Study Should Lead to Praise

What is the end of studying God's Word? Where should it lead us? Naturally, we respond that studying God's word should lead us to Christ. But what then? What is the goal of coming to Christ? Is the end our holiness? But that is not right either. We should never walk around trumpeting our own holiness. The goal of our salvation is not our own glory. The termination point of all our lives is God. Studying his word is no different. The study of God's word should lead to God. More precisely it should lead to praise or God. Time spent over Scripture should end in praise given to the Author of that Scripture.  The Psalmist makes this connection several times in Psalm 119.  

Psalm 119:7  I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. 

Psalm 119:62  At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. 

Psalm 119:164  Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules. 

Psalm 119:171  My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me your statutes. 

Psalm 119:175  Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me.

As the Psalmist ponders God's word he ends with praise. All those laws, all those commands, all those passages about sacrifice and entrails end with him lifting his voice in thanksgiving to the Lord. In the darkness of midnight he praises God for His rules. Seven times a day, the number of perfection or completeness, he praises the Lord for his mighty word.  The proper study of God’s word will lead to the praise of God. But we do not always get there. Many times our study of God's word becomes an exercise in drudgery, a box to check before we get to Facebook, work, or the kids. Instead of ending our study with praise we end it with a thank goodness that is over. Why?

First, we forget God's word is personal. We have to be careful here. God's word is not a love letter written by a smitten man to his lady. Nor is it a book where we can go and find answers for each individual problem in our lives. It is not a moralistic grab-bag for 21st century Christians. But it is book written by a personal God to his people to address their most pressing needs. It was and remains God's living, infallible, word to His people. It does not become alive. It is alive, full of the Spirit. When we read the Spirit breathed word we encounter God directly. 

But too often we study God's word like we study a map or the Constitution. There is no person who is making the Constitution come alive for us. A map may some exciting parts, but we would never describe it as breathing. Or we study the word so we can judge the world around us. We study it so we can win theological debates or evangelize better. If we teach or preach, we might study God’s Word so we can teach or preach well. While some of these aims of studying are good, none are primary. The Psalmist's great concern is his relationship to God.  His primary aim in learning God’s judgments, precepts, and statutes is personal. He is not asking questions in the third person: Am I obeying God’s Word rightly? Is my heart in line with God’s Word? He is asking those types of questions, but in the 2nd person. Have I transgressed Your word? Are my beliefs about this world, sin, and redemption shaped by Your word? For the psalmist the Word of God is a word from God to him.  When we read God's word this way it ends in praise. We praise him for his wisdom and power. We praise him for the forgiveness or our sins promised in that word. We praise him for freedom we find in his word. If God is in our reading of Scripture then he will be the one we praise when we are done. 

The second reason our study of God's Word does not end in praise is that we are lazy. We read God's word in a casual, sloppy manner. Over a recent break my father in law and I built a table. This took hard work. We planned. We took numerous trips to the hardware store. We spent money. We measured, cut, and sanded and sanded and sanded. We put on several coats of stain and polyurethane. It took us several days. But when we were done, what a delight it was to sit at that table with my family. When we dig into and work at God's word we get rewarded. The greatest joys in life usually come from the hardest work. But when it comes to God's word we expect great treasure to come easily. We want to clock in a few sleepy eyed minutes and get struck by Holy Spirit lightening. We don't chew on it. We don't memorize. We don’t seek to apply it in various ways. We don’t ask the Scriptures hard questions and then try to find the answers.  We don't take verses and roll them over time after time. We might read it, but the hard study of it is foreign to us.

When God’s Word is a treasure to be dug out, water to a thirsty man, then the final outcome of our study will be praise. As we learn God’s Word, believe God’s promises, marvel at his character and works, confess our transgressions of his law, seek to obey it with our whole heart, we will find that the praise of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comes naturally. 

When you finish reading, studying, meditating on your passage for the day, pull out something to praise the Lord about. Don't stop at reading. Push on to thanking him. Only then has the word done it's deepest work. 

Give Me a Fire and a Hammer: The Scriptures in Worship

"Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jer. 23:29)

One of the weaknesses in modern worship is the inadequate treatment of Scripture in the worship service. Despite Protestants paying lip service to the Bible and talking about the Bible the role the Scriptures have in worship is surprisingly minimal. We are like the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:29-30. We decorate the Bible, write papers about it, extol it over other books, but don't read it or obey it. This neglect is seen in our worship services, which are largely void of Scripture, except for the sermon text. For all the faults of our fathers in the faith, they made sure the service was filled with the Bible. Almost all churches read at least one section from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament every week. Many read three or four sections, depending upon the church tradition. The Westminster Directory for Public Worship suggests a chapter from the Old and from the New Testament every week with a Psalm as well.

Besides reading of the Scriptures, there were two other ways the Bible permeated the worship services of our ancestors. First, the psalms were sung. In this way the church was memorizing key parts of Scripture. Second, the prayers from the pulpit were filled with Scripture. So even when the congregants were listening to the prayers, they were hearing God's Word.

At Christ Church we try to fill our service with God's Word. We have two Scripture readings, one section from the Old Testament and one section from the New Testament. It would be great to add more, but for now that is sufficient. Besides this we also sing psalms. Many of these we have memorized. The elders fill their prayers with Scriptures, praying God's Word back to him and teaching God's people in the meantime. There are numerous other places where Scripture is read as well. We have a call to worship that is Scripture. We have a call to confession, which is Scripture. We have a promise of forgiveness following the confession of our sins, which is taken from Scripture. Finally, we have a commission and benediction at the end of the service that is also Scripture. Here is how the Scriptures were used this past Sunday.

Call to Worship: Psalm 149
Call to Confession: Romans 6:12-14
Response to Call to Confession: Psalm 32:5
Confession of Sin: Adapted from Daniel 9
Promise of Forgiveness: Romans 6:20-23
Old Testament Reading: I Chronicles 17:1-15
New Testament Reading: Luke 1:26-33
Commission: Isaiah 49:6
Benediction: Psalm 115:14-15
We also sang Psalm 1.

An Italics Mini-Rant

There is no perfect translation of the Scriptures. However, some are better than others. In my study I use the King James Version, English Standard Version and the New King James Version, as well the Hebrew and Greek. I am most fond of the NKJV for preaching. One reason is that it leaves in italics. Italics in the Biblical text tell you that the word is not found in the original Hebrew or Greek. Normally this is simply filling in the blanks. For example, I opened the Bible at random and found Acts 20:1

And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia (NKJV). 

You can see here that "himself" and "them" make sense in context even though they are not actually in the text. Does it really matter if those two words are italicized? I think it does and here is why. Look at these two versions of I Chronicles 17:25

For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build him a house. Therefore your servant has found it in his heart to pray before you. (NKJV) 

For you, my God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a house for him. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray before you. (ESV)

It is the last phrase that interests me. You can see that the NKJV has indicated by italics where they inserted a phrase to make the text clear. The ESV has not. Therefore if someone reads the ESV they will assume the word "courage" is in the text when it is not. Now I think that can be implied from the text, but it would still be nice of the ESV let us know they were supplying the word. That way the reader can judge for themselves the accuracy of the supplied word. 

Here is one more example from the New Testament, Hebrews 9:18:

Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood (NKJV). 

Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood (ESV). 

"Covenant" makes sense in the context of Hebrews 9. However, as a reader I would like to know that the translators supplied it. Will it make a big difference? No. But it will help me trust that the translators are letting me know when they put words in. Italics are a kindness to the reader. Also here is another reason why pastors should be able to get around in the original languages, if not read them fluently.

A Call to Battle

Deuteronomy 31:6 "He will never leave you nor forsake you."
Joshua 1:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
I Chronicles 28:20 "He will not leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

What is interesting about these quotes is that they come all come at a time of great transition in the Israel's history. In the first two, Israel has been wandering in the wilderness and is now coming to the edge of the promise land. Moses promises the people that God will not leave them. Then God himself promises Joshua that he will not leave them.

In I Chronicles David is passing the torch to Solomon. He reminds Solomon that God will not abandon him, especially as he seeks to build the Temple.

Finally, in Hebrews the shadows are passing away. The Temple, the sacrifices, the priesthood are all about to be gone. For the readers of Hebrews there is a great temptation to go back to the shadows and abandon Christ. The writer of Hebrews is urging his readers to not shrink back. Why? God will be with them.

These quotes are not there to put on a poster with a sunset so that we might have warm and fuzzy feelings in our hearts. These verses are there to remind us to press forward. To keep conquering those who oppose the Kingdom as Joshua did. To keep building the house of God as Solomon did. To toss off everything that would keep us from pressing forward to Christ, as the writer of Hebrews urged his readers. These verses are not a sentimental call to ponder God's presence. These verses are a call to battle, a battle we are assured to win because the King of Kings is with us.

Book Review: Fundamentalism and the Word of God

"Fundamentalism" and the Word of God by J.I. Packer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent introduction to some of the more liberal arguments leveled against Scripture. He keeps his eye on the ball and refuses to allow liberal scholars to get away with shifting the topic under debate. He emphasizes the authority of Scripture throughout the book. His sections on the connection between reason and faith are some of the best in the book. He shows how we are to think faithfully, not attempt to reason outside of our faith. Some of the language is dated. For example, he uses "Biblical Theology" in a way it is no longer normally used. He does a good job critiquing certain aspects of Fundamentalism without throwing it out entirely. The book does not answer all questions, but it is a good starting point for those who want a more in depth analysis of the liberal attack on Scripture.

View all my reviews

Systematic Theology and I John 4:2

Does doctrinal precision have a place in the life of the church? Shouldn't citing the Bible, chapter and verse, be enough? This is another way of asking, "Do systematic theology and confessions have a place in the life of the church?" There has been a reaction against systematics in recent theological discussion. There is a "back to the Bible" movement that we are seeing. In many ways this is understandable and good. Whenever man creates a system there is always the danger that his system will trump what God's Word says. We need men to stand up and say, "I am not sure the Scriptures actually teach that." But when that man stands up and does that there is a subtle, but deadly assumption, that the man has no systematic theology. We think, "Here is a man who is just using the Bible without any creed or confession." But this is false assumption. Just like every church has a liturgy, every man has a systematic theology.

I want to use I John 4:2 as an example of why systematic theology and confessions are not just necessary, but inevitable.

Here is I John 4:1-3

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

In this passage John tells his readers to make sure they do not suck down every bit of theology they hear because there are false prophets who bring false doctrine. Therefore teaching must be tested. John gives them a very specific test: Do these teachers confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh?

If we ask someone do they believe that Jesus Christ came in the flesh and they say, "Yes" is that enough? Have they fulfilled what John requires of true teacher? Is that as far as the testing needs to go? The answer is, "No." A Mormon could agree with that bare statement. So could a Muslim on some level. A liberal Christian who believes that Jesus was a just a good moral example might agree with this. In fact if you paraphrased it, "Did a man named Jesus Christ live on earth 2,000 years ago" millions of people could answer in the affirmative and not be confessing what John is saying.

There must be follow up discussion. There must be a systematic discussion of who Jesus was, what it means that he came, and what it means that he came in the flesh.

Was he truly God? Was he truly man? Did he come from God? Was he created? Is he the Christ, that is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament and come to fruition in the New? Was he just a good man, a great prophet, a great moral example? One could even ask, especially in light John's teaching, did he come to offer Himself as a sacrifice for man's sins? For John the terms Jesus, Christ, flesh, and even came all have specific meaning that can only be filled out by using other texts of Scripture.

That is what systematic theology and confessions do. They take a topic like "Jesus" gather all the Biblical data on the subject and try to give what the Scriptures say about that topic. These systematic theologies and confessions are not God's Word. They are not a substitute for reading and studying the Bible. They must be tested against God's Word.  But they are good, necessary, and inevitable. Anyone who rejects them and claims to be just using the "Bible" still has a systematic theology. Their's is just not written down anywhere. It is floating around in their heads.

A Thin Thread

Was Adam created 20,000 to 100,000 years ago? Does the Biblical record actually allow for this? It is claimed by some that there are large gaps in the genealogical records. Is this true? I looked at two important genealogical records in the Bible: Adam to Noah and then Shem to Abraham. (There is very little debate about the timeline following Abraham so if we are going to find thousands of years worth of gaps we will find them prior to Abraham.) I will look at other genealogical records later, but I think these prove my point.

There are three places where we find the genealogical record from Adam to Shem. Here they are:

Genesis 5 (Adam to Shem) Adam Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalalel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem, Ham, Japeth

I Chron 1:1-4 (Adam to Shem) Adam Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalalel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem, Ham, Japeth

Luke 3:36-38 (Adam to Shem) Adam Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalalel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem

One can see that all three of these line up exactly with one another. There are no gaps, no exceptions, no spaces, nothing to indicate anything other than a straightforward list of men who lived one following the other.

Also Jude 1:14 says, "It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones."

Initial Thoughts on the Age of the Earth

I have been doing some study on the age of the earth. I am just beginning to scratch the surface of the research out there. I have my assumptions about its age. These assumptions come from a straight forward reading of Genesis 1-3 and related texts. However, I know many evangelicals disagree on this point.  Here are some of my initial thoughts on this subject. These are a bit random but they put fences around my further exploration of the topic.

The three books I have used so far have been Jim Jordan's Creation in Six Days, Douglas Kelly's Creation and Change, and Henry Morris' The Genesis Record. I have also read some articles that deal with this including Kline and Waltke. I read some of Philip Johnson a long time ago. I have also read various secular men who are working to refute or at least modify the prevailing views of evolution.

First, the Biblical chronology from Adam to us is a few thousand years. Even if we put gaps in the genealogies (and it must be proven they exist), we cannot get thousands (much less millions) more years. If you look at Genesis 5, 11, and other genealogies, such as Luke 3, it is clear that they are intended to be pretty straight forward accounts of who was born to whom. For example, compare Genesis 5:1-24 with I Chronicles 1:1-3, Luke 3:36-38, and Jude 1:14. All of these show that Enoch was the seventh generation after Adam. There may be gaps (and there may not be) but these gaps are not thousands of years. Thus from Adam to us will be around 6,000 years maybe a bit  more. If thousands or millions of more years are to found they must be found earlier than Adam. One cannot posit an old earth (unless by old-earth one means 10,000 years or less!) from the Biblical chronology post-Adam. In other words, from the day six creation of Adam to us is not very long.

Second, the Bible treats the creation account as history. It assumes a literal Adam and Eve with a literal fall in the garden that happened exactly as the Genesis account says it does. Christ assumes the creation account is accurate in Matthew 19:3-9. Paul assumes the creation account in I Corinthians 11:8-9 and I Timothy 2:13-14. Henry Morris has an extensive list of New Testament allusions and quotations to Genesis. Not all of these are from the first few chapters of Genesis. But the list proves that New Testament treated Genesis as real history.

Third, Adam was created from the dust of the earth. He did not evolve. Eve was created from his side. She did not evolve either. There is nothing in the Genesis text to point to the animals evolving either. Theistic evolution is compromise of highest order.

Fourth, death came with Adam's sin. There was no death prior to Adam's sin. This is clear in the New Testament passages which refer to Adam (Romans 5:12-21 and I Corinthians 15:21-22). The phrase, "It was good" throughout Genesis 1 could point to this as well. To say there was death prior to Adam is to undo the fabric of Scripture.

Fifth, the concept of evolution necessarily involves death. I understand this is simplistic. But evolution means organisms that do not adapt die. For evolution to be a part of the creation week there must be death. But death does not come until Genesis 3. What about plants? Did they die prior to Adam's sin? There is no reason to assume that to be the case. It would appear there is a difference between plants and animals in this regard. Plants could be eaten prior to the fall and may be eaten in the New Heavens and Earth (Isaiah 11:6-9, 65:25). (These passages in Isaiah probably involve some type of symbolism. But even if that is the case the symbol is one of peace. Thus eating straw implies peace, not death.) Another thought is eating a plant does not require it dying. Eating an animal usually does.

Sixth, God created all things from nothing (See Jeremiah 32:1, Acts 4:24, Colossians 1:16-17, and Hebrews 11:3). Matter is not eternal (See II Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:1). Only God is. There was a time when there was only God.

Seventh, there is no reason to pit literary form against literal chronology. The Bible often punctuates historical narratives with literary structures. For example, the entire book of Genesis is structured by the idea of generations (See Genesis 2:4, 5:1, 6:9, etc.). Does this literary device make the story non-chronological or unhistorical? Does a chiasm in I Kings make it unhistorical and non-chronological? My point here is that to argue for a literary/poetic reading of Genesis 1 does not have to lead one away from a 24-hour, six day creation. It must be proven that the literary structure denies a 24-hour, six day creation.

Sexual Purity for Singles: The Armory

There are no quick and easy methods for keeping your heart and mind pure before marriage.  In this fallen world we must wake up each day and fight the battle again. And our weapons do not change. They are same as they have always been; communion with God and with his people.

The first weapon is the reading, study, and memorization of God’s Word. You are probably sick of hearing about this. But God's Word is the weapon he has given us to defeat Satan, his allies, the world, and the sin our own hearts. It is the tool Jesus used when he was tempted. It is the tool we should use as well. Battles require weapons, not good intentions. You can have a great desire to win the battle, but if you show up on the battlefield in your pajamas your intentions are irrelevant. You will get slaughtered. You have to prepare to fight. Your first line of defense is the Scripture. Don’t leave your sword on the shelf. Don’t let your sword become dull. Read God's Word. Memorize it. Study it. Pray it. Sing it. Filling yourself up with God's Word will help drive sin out of your heart. 

Second, we must develop healthy prayer lives. We should regularly take our requests to our faithful High Priest, who will give us the aid we need to fight the battles. Remember the passage in Ephesians on the armor of God ends with a call to prayer (Ephesians 6:10-20).  Prayer is often one of the last things we turn to because it doesn’t seem powerful. But this only shows our lack of faith.  If God is real and his Son is real and the Spirit is real then prayer is a great weapon in our battle for sexual sanctification. 

Third, we should have regular fellowship with God’s people. Worship is, of course, the primary way we do this. You cannot expect to have victory over sexual sin if you are not worshiping weekly with God’s people. But go beyond that. Keep company with those who are chasing after the same goals as you. Hang out with holy people even if they are not as cool as the unholy ones.  Brothers in arms are good to have when you are fighting temptation. Sisters who are watching their hearts and minds are good companions on the road of sanctification.

            

Fourth, be accountable. This is not the same thing as the fellowship of number three. Build a relationship with someone of the same sex who is more mature (usually older) than you. Make this a relationship where the hard questions are asked. Ladies this is not just for men.  Do you have someone that keeps you accountable? Do you have someone who will ask you whether you are flirting? Do you have someone who will ask you about your sexual purity? Do you have someone who will warn you if you are getting too close to a guy? Men, who asks you the hard questions? Who asks you about your thought life, about what you do in the shower, or about how you treat women at work? If the answer is “No one” or “I am not sure” then you are in danger. 

Three Quotes on the Power of God's Word

Sola Scriptura

For concerning the divine and holy mysteries of the Faith, not even a casual statement must be delivered without the Holy Scriptures; nor must we be drawn aside by mere plausibility and artifices of speech. Even to me, who tell thee these things, give not absolute credence, unless thou receive the proof of the things which I announce from the Divine Scriptures. For this salvation which we believe depends not on ingenious reasoning, but on demonstration of the Holy Scriptures. Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem

When the Word is Preached God is Heard

It is certain that if we come to church we shall not hear only a mortal man speaking but we shall feel (even by His secret power), that God is speaking to our souls, that He is the teacher. He so touches us that the human voice enters us and so profits us that we are refreshed and nourished by it. God calls us to Him as if we had His mouth open and we saw Him there in person. John Calvin

Learning to Speak Bible

Speaking Bible does not come naturally; it is a foreign language. We have to learn to name the world Christianly, and we do this chiefly in worship. Worship is language class…But we do not learn foreign languages by listening to someone talk about the language. Teaching is essential, but so is drill, repetition, dry rote. Worship is training in godly habits, habits of speech as well as godly habits of conduct. If biblical language is to become the idiom of the Church’s speech, Christians must not only listen to but also say and sing and recite the Scriptures in worship.  Many evangelicals object to repetition in worship because they consider it “dry rote.” Jesus did, of course, warn against “vain repetition,” but repetition itself is unavoidable, and Christian worship needs a great deal more dry rote. That is precisely what we need in order to learn a new and alien language.

            This perspective underscores the wisdom of the tradition of structured liturgy, with fixed ordinary [order of service] of spoken and sung Scripture.  Traditional liturgies with their “boring” and “hidebound” recitation of the Psalms, creeds, and rote prayers, drill converts in their new language.  Worshipers are made part of the culture of the Church, and, more importantly, that culture is made part of the worshiper.   Peter Leithart

A Word Shaped Life

           

Reading, hearing, believing and obeying Scripture is the sum of the Christian life. Why? Because it is in the Holy Scriptures that we meet Christ and learn to become like Christ.  If a man is to be truly Christian then he must be a man of the Bible. The Bible will shape how he thinks, feels, and acts. This means we reject rationalism and emotionalism as foundations for truth. It also means that we seek to bring our actions in accord with God’s Word

            We are not emotionalists. That means we do not believe the Bible simply when we experience something emotionally. Most people today believe something to be true only if they feel it is true. True worship is worship which makes us feel a certain way.  Many Christians approach the Scriptures, both the reading and preaching of them, the same way. If I experience a good feeling when I read the Bible then what I read spoke to me. Otherwise it did not. Christians are to believe and obey the Bible whether or not we feel it to be true.  Truth precedes and shapes our emotions. If our feelings object to certain truths in the Scriptures, we need to change our feelings, not reject or change the Scriptures. This is not to reject emotion, but rather to say that our emotions are sinful and need to governed by God’s Word.

            We are not rationalists. That means we do not subject all of life to reason. There is nothing reasonable about God becoming man. The Trinity is not rational.  A virgin bearing a child does not make sense to us. There are many things in Scripture which are not rational. In the 1700’s men began to place God’s Word underneath reason.  All of the sudden miracles were explained away and eventually Jesus became less than God. This also led to the modern rejection of the Sacraments, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. To the modern mind these just do not make sense.  As those who believe the Bible we must make reason bend to the Bible, not vice-versa.  This does not mean that we do not use our mind. We are to honor God with our mind. But that means our mind must always be shaped by the Word.

            Finally, not only must our mind and our emotions be shaped by God’s Word, but our actions must be also. Often the things we do and why we do them are influenced by the world more than by Scripture. This world could be the home we grew up in, the books we read, the friends we hang out with or the movies we watch.  Usually the influence from these various worlds lurks beneath the surface. We do not recognize that our actions flow from the corrupted river of the world. Holy Scripture splashes us with cold water reminding us when we are living like the world instead growing up into Christ. We should constantly be asking, "Am I walking in the ways of God?" The only way we know the answer to that question is by studying God’s Word.

            All of life is to be subject to the Word. We are a people who live under authority.  The key is to read and then re-read the Scriptures. But this is not enough. We all come with our own bias, our own set of glasses, which can cause us to misunderstand what the Bible is teaching. That means we must learn to read the Bible with other believers in a church community and especially to give heed to the preached word. It is from the pulpit that our assumptions about God’s Word are often most forcefully challenged. 

Differences in Bible Translations

Recently, someone asked me about different Bible translations and why some have words that the others do not. Here is a short answer. 

There are three primary reasons for the differences between translations. (KJV=King James Version, ESV=English Standard Version, NKJV=New King James Version, and NIV= New International Version.) 

First, some of the words in KJV have changed their meaning over time. These older words are often updated. For example, the KJV will use the word "conversation" to mean someone's whole life, not just their speech. You can see this in Philippians 1:27. The NKJV says, "Conduct," where the KJV says, "conversation." When the KJV was written conversation meant someone's entire way of living. Now it means just our speech. This is just a matter of updating the Bible as words in our culture change meaning.

Second, different translations translate words different ways. For example, in Acts 2:27 the word is literally "Hades." It is not hell or grave. The ESV and the NKJV translate it as Hades. The KJV translates it as hell and the NIV as grave.  Whenever you take a word from one language and translate it into English you have to decide which English word best fits the word in that other language. This accounts for a lot of differences in Bible translations. Another example is Matthew 13:4. In the NIV the sower scatters. In the ESV, KJV, and NKJV the sower sows the seed. 

Third, different translations use a different set of manuscripts. Manuscripts are all the old copies of the Bible, especially the New Testament, that we have. We have thousands of them. These manuscripts do not always agree with one another. These manuscripts were copied by hand so there are some mistakes in them. Men have sat down and tried to decide which manuscripts are best. This is a difficult and messy task. Those who translated the KJV and the NKJV use one set of manuscripts, while those who translated the ESV and the NIV used another. This explains why when you read Ephesians 5:30 in the KJV you will find the phrase, "of his flesh and of his bones." But in the ESV it is missing. 

These are the three main reasons you see differences in translations. 

I would recommend using either the English Standard Version or the New King James Version. They are both good translations and easy to read. I use mainly the NKJV because I think they use the better manuscripts. But I always reference the ESV in my studies and I keep a KJV on hand to compare with these two translations. There are places where the ESV is plainly inferior to the old KJV and NKJV. I am not as high on the ESV as some other people are. 

I would not recommend the NIV. It was not a great translation to begin with and they continue to make it more politically correct. 

Duties of a Christian Woman

God, in his wisdom and grace, restricts our lives. The principles of discipleship never change, but the way those principles work themselves out in our daily lives do change.  A fifty-five year old auto mechanic in Texas will work out his discipleship different than a twenty-seven year old Christian business executive in New York City. They will both grow in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). However, that fruit will look different in different contexts. So it is with men and women. Our sex restricts us in certain ways, most obviously in the bearing of the children, but in other ways as well.  A woman cannot be a pastor. Why? The Lord decided she would be female.  This is not cruelty on God’s part. It is his grace and mercy.  We can either delight in the restrictions or rebel. 

The normal center for a Christian woman to work out her discipleship to Christ is the home. This does not mean four walls. It means sons and daughters and budgets and menus and child-birth and hospitality and education and scraped knees and prayer with the children and gardens and term papers and soup and movies. A vast majority of the Scriptural commands given specifically to women in the Bible are about the home. A woman therefore is to grow into conformity to Jesus by cheerfully obeying the commands he has given to her in Scripture concerning her specific calling as a woman.  Here are many of the specific commands given to women.

1.   She is to fear the Lord, be discreet, chaste, modest, known for good works, trusting in God, having a gentle and quiet spirit, and not a busybody or idle. ( Proverbs 31:30, I Timothy 2:9-10, I Timothy 5:9-15, Titus 2:3-5, I Peter 3:1-6)

2.   She is to love, respect and submit to her husband and be his helpmeet in his vocation. (Genesis 2:18, Proverbs 31:11-12, Ephesians 5:22 & 33, Titus 2:4, I Peter 3:1-6)

3.   She is to bear children, love children, and raise them to be disciples of Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:28, 9:1, I Timothy 2:15, 5:10 & 14, Titus 2:4)

4.   She is to keep and manage/rule the home. (Proverbs 14:1, 31:10-31, I Timothy 5:14, Titus 2:5)

5.   She is to show hospitality to the people of God. (I Timothy 5:10)

6.   She is to care for the poor, afflicted, and strangers outside of her home. (Proverbs 31:20, I Timothy 5:10) This means that a woman cannot be entirely family centered. To do so would be to contradict the Scriptures.

7.   The older women should be teaching the younger women. (Titus 2:3)

All of this seems plain enough when one reads the Bible. But men love to make the plain obscure and the straight crooked. Here is what a Christian woman should aim to look like. If a Christian woman does not have these things as her goal, then she is playing the wrong game. 

Of course, there is more a Christian woman should be doing, such as prayer, attending worship, etc. But she should not be striving to do less than what is listed. 

The Binding of Satan

Revelation 20:1-3 is the great text on the millennium where Satan is bound for one thousand years by an angel.  Many Christians believe this will occur at some future time when Christ returns to set up his kingdom. But does a future binding of Satan fit with the rest of Scripture? Could the binding of Satan have already occurred?   Here is some Biblical evidence which suggests the binding of Satan is in the past.

Jesus specifically says that he has come to bind the strong man in Matthew 12:24-30. He uses the exact same word that John uses in Revelation 20:2. The word “bind” is common in the New Testament. But in Matthew it is used alongside Satan just like it is in Revelation 20. This makes the connection with Revelation 20 stronger. Mark 3:22-27 says something similar. Luke 11:17-23 does not use the word “bind.” Yet the passage is clear that Jesus is here to plunder Satan and his kingdom.

Jesus regularly casts out demons, which is a sign of his dominion over Satan. The demons cannot resist him.  A similar idea is seen when his disciples go out in Luke 10:18, where Jesus says he saw Satan fall like lightening. In Acts the Apostles cast out demons. (Acts 5:16, 8:7, and 19:12) Satan's power was broken with the coming of Christ.

John says in at least two places that the ruler of this world is judged. (John 11:31 and 16:11) In 11:31 he also adds that the ruler of this world will be cast out and then speaks of Christ’s death on the cross.

Jesus tells Paul that he was chosen to deliver people from the power of Satan to God. (Acts 26:17-18)

The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus came to destroy him who has the power of death, that is the devil. (Hebrews 2:14)

John specifically says that Satan is bound so that he will no longer deceive the nations. (Revelation 20:3) The preaching of the gospel to the nations in Acts and the uniting of Jew and Gentile indicates that this is already occurring. We are not waiting on some future event where the nations’ eyes will be opened. Their eyes are being opened now.

The Devil tempts Jesus by offering him the kingdoms of the world. Jesus does not dispute Satan’s claim. He does not say, “No, Satan the world really belongs to me.”  (Matthew 4:8-9). In Matthew 4, it appears that the nations do belong to Satan. However, by the end of Matthew Jesus is claiming authority over the nations. (Matthew 28:18-20) Something has shifted from Matthew 4 to Matthew 28. Paul picks up on this idea in Colossians when he says that Christ by his death has, “disarmed principalities and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15)

But What About…

                Some will object that Satan still has power and therefore cannot have been bound. I Peter 5:8 comes to mind. But a careful reader will notice that in many places where the Devil is mentioned the Christian is commanded to resist him. And if we resist him, he will flee (Ephesians 6:11, James 4:7, I Peter 5:8-9) The average, everyday Christian can resist the Prince of Darkness.  The question is not does the Devil still have some power. He clearly does. But does he have the power he did before Jesus came.  The answer is no. He no longer keeps the nations in chains as he did before. Yes, he still seeks to devour and destroy, but he no longer rules.

                Another verse that could be used as an objection would be I John 5:19. John says that the “whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” I may address this verse at a later date. But for now just note that “world” for John has a wide range of meanings. So in I John 5:4-5 he says that we have overcome the world by faith.  Do not assume that what John means here is that all the nations and people in the nations are still ruled by Satan.

                The New Testament teaches that Satan has some power, but since Christ’s death that power has been greatly reduced so that the individual Christian can resist him and the nations can no longer be deceived by him.