Post Election Fallout

Whenever you turn on the news, you get multiple assessments of our nation's and world's problems ad nauseam. Depending on which pundits, networks, or politicians you listen to, the explanations of the reasons for all the turmoil go on and on. In my latest book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell, I attempt to give Hell's perspective. Assuming you take seriously what Scripture teaches, this volume should offer some insight into what is happening all around us. Consider a few basic observations.

     First, people are not the enemy. Spiritual forces are at work to destroy humanity. Jesus pointed out that Satan's agenda is to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan's goal specifically is to destroy the work of God, and to create as much misery in the process as he possibly can. Satan's attacks are against people, all of whom are created in the image of God. If you are a living breathing human being, you are a target.

   Second, life is a massive battle-field where Satan is attempting to destroy God's work, God's people, and humanity in general. When you look at the sources of all your troubles, they are all rooted in the spiritual dimension. Consider what is driving the turmoil and misery you observe. Instead of pointing at a person (or a political party) to affix blame, consider the true source.

     Third, the real problem for each person is the presence of sin in the human heart. That is the foot-hold of Satan in each of us. And that is what Jesus came to deliver us from. Until we see this clearly, we will continue to swirl around in the circumstances created by Satan.

     Until we see life from God's perspective, we are simply spinning our wheels as the old saying goes. Learn more in my new book, Lectures from the Gates of Hell. You can get it on sale at DrJerrySutton.com, or your local bookstore.

Jesus Came to Be Ruler

"'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'" Matthew 2:6 

Image Courtesy of Flickr User Waiting for the Word

The wise men of ancient Israel were commanded to assemble at King Herod's palace. Magi from the east had come to him previously asking, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?" Herod demanded to know where the Messiah was to be born. They answered him by citing Micah 5:2 and 2 Samuel 5:2 which declared "And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel." Needless to say, Herod was threatened by the potential competition. Yet we have recorded 800 years earlier that God had foreordained this very event.

So what does this passage teach us about why Jesus came? He came to be a ruler, but not a self-serving ruler of Herod's ilk. He would be a shepherd to God's people. From Heaven's perspective, He came to be in charge and be in control. In His incarnational ministry, many responded to His leadership and Lordship. In foretelling this unique coming, David had penned generations earlier the testimony of the Lord who had declared, "But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of The Lord: He said to Me,'You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’" (Psalm 2:6-7). Here is the Son who is king.

The word "ruler" used by Matthew is translated variously as governor, leader, or one who has the rule over. The extent of Jesus' rule extends ultimately to all places and all people. Revelation 11:5b tells us that, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." At the culmination of time, He will be the absolute ruler over the entire universe. Is it not wise, therefore, that we bow before Him now and acknowledge His authority to rule over us now? No wonder the first creed of the early church was, "Jesus is Lord!"

Run to Win

Photo by Juan-Carlos Lagares

Last week, I wrote about running the Virginia 10-Miler road race and shared some observations. I'd like to continue that stream of thought in today's blog. 

One of my favorite PhD seminars was the Life and Letters of Paul taught by Professor Jack MacGorman. Besides giving great attention to exegeting the Pauline literature, we also gave attention to the incredibly complex cultural context in which Paul penned his epistles. Paul, no doubt was a sports fan and as such alluded to athletic contests for illustrative purposes. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he alludes to running and boxing specifically, and sports in general. He refers to the competition and uses it as a metaphor and analogy for the Christian life and ministry.

Paul opens this passage by noting the obvious, "Do you not know that all who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?" Then, he begins to make application: "run that you may win... exercise self-control...run with an aim (with intentionality)... box without beating the air (make your punches count)...discipline your body (make it your slave)...." All this Paul says is for the dual purpose of receiving the imperishable wreath (God's reward for faithful service) at God's judgment in the future, and remaining qualified to serve in the present. Even as great as Paul was, he was constantly concerned that he might live in such a way that he would not be disqualified for ministry. 

So what does that say to you and me? Here are three insights.

1. Because life is like a race, we need to run (live) in such a way that we are winners.  We can strive for the things that pass away or the things that matter for eternity. Paul says opt for the latter. By the way, Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you."

2.  If we are going to be winners, we must exercise self-control. Embracing self-   discipline, having an attitude of deferred gratification, learning how to resist and run from temptation, and refusing to let human desires get out of control are all important components.

3.  Being intentional in our lives, working to accomplish things that benefit people and honor God are all important. By the way, from my perspective, Christians in general and ministers particularly have only two assignments: we prepare people for death, and we equip people for life. We should be intentional with both. So, what do you intend to do?

Here is the bottom line. Don't waste your life. Run to win!

Jesus Came to Build His Church

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18

This text is rooted in a play on words between "little stone" and "bedrock." Peter is the former and the truth of Who Jesus is constitutes the latter. Peter had just made the declaration, "You are the Christ the Son of the Living God." After Jesus' responsive affirmation of blessing--"Blessed are you Simon Bar Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you but My Father in Heaven"--Jesus makes His magnificent declaration. "I will build My church and the gates of Hell (Hades) will not prevail against it."  Here is another reason why Jesus came...to build His Church!

The Scripture is not saying that the Church will be built by or upon Peter, but rather it will be built upon the truth of what Peter proclaimed. Peter had confessed Jesus' true identity. He (Jesus) is the foundation upon which the Church will be built. In the words of F.F. Bruce, "what matters here is not the stature of the confessor, but the truth of the confession" (see The Hard Sayings of Jesus, p.143). Peter declares Who Jesus is, and  Jesus declares that He Himself will build His Church.

Notice in this passage that not only is Jesus' true identity revealed, but His work is likewise unveiled. He will build His Church. This is the first time the New Testament mentions the word, "Church." This word in the Greek text, comes from combining two smaller words, "to call" and "out of." The word "Church" literally means "the called out ones." All those who have heard God's invitation and responded constitute the "Church." 

Jesus goes on to describe the Church's invincibility, "and the gates of Hades (or Hell) will not prevail against." Though some see this as a straight forward declaration that Jesus will not allow the devil and his forces destroy the Church, I believe Jesus is actually pointing to another and equally true reality. Gates are for keeping people and possessions in, or people and possessions out. "Hades" is the normal word for death and the grave. Here, Jesus is declaring that not even the power of death will be able to halt the building of His Church. 

True, God's intention is to build the Church upon Jesus, but He will use people all through history as His instruments. Can He use you?

4 Ways to Redeem Your Time

Photo Courtesy of Zorro1968

"Dost thou love life? Then, do not squander time. For that's the stuff life is made of." -Ben Franklin 

So, how do we maximize our use of time? Understand that everyone has the same amount of time, 168 hours a week. The key is what you do with what you have. In order to use our time effectively, we must do four things:

1. Understand our purpose.
2. Determine our priorities.
3. Establish our plans that reflect our priorities in light God's will for our life.
4. Then let our plans determine how we use our time.

What we are trying to do is learn to seize control of our time and in turn our lives. The key here is planning. Some people object to planning. Consider these 3 objections and my responses.

1. Objection: It can limit my freedom if I predetermine my course of action (plan). 

Response: Seneca once wrote, "if you don't know which port you're headed to no wind is the right wind." And Lawrence Peter observed, "If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else." My point? It is better to have a plan which reflects what you want to accomplish than have no plan at all. If your attitude is that you do not want to limit your freedom, and as a result you are unwilling to plan, you are planning to fail. What is it that you want to accomplish?

2. Objection: I’m so busy putting out fires that I have no time for planning. It is as though they simply run from crisis to crisis. I know people who appear to work that way. 

Response: When events are out of control, this is the time when planning is most needed. The presence of repeated crises, may well be a key indicator that planning has been neglected.

3. Objection: There is simply no time to plan. 

Response: Here is a fact. If more time is given to planning, less time (in greater proportions) is required for execution. It is not that you cannot afford to plan. The fact is, you can't afford not to plan.

Bottom line: if we do not plan, we will not control events. If we do not control events, we will accomplish nothing, or we will make matters worse.

For more thoughts along these lines check out my first post on redeeming the time.

Time to Move

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Like so many other people, I have been greatly encouraged over the years by the work of Focus on the Family. This past week I read an article by one of their writers, John Barner entitled, "When Is It Time to Look for Another Place ofMinistry?" He begins by noting the present high turnover in today's church world which he describes as "alarming to say the least."  If his latest set of stats are accurate and the average minister is only staying about two years in one place, the trend is getting progressively worse.

Barner goes on to say that a variety of reasons can account for the extreme turnover rate. His initial explanations revolve around two observations. He suggests, first, that some pastors are simply not equipped to deal with conflict--hence, they leave--or, that pastors are looking to better their standard of living with its added influence and recognition. Hence, they leave. Barner then asks, should the trend and whatever motives are driving them be viewed as good, bad, or indifferent? After acknowledging that sometimes ministers are running from situations they should have stayed with, and therefore are running from what God intended for their good and their growth, he concedes rightly that there are legitimate reasons when moving is the right thing to do.

Barner's 3 reasons for moving on:

1.    When leaders in the church are unwilling to negotiate on important issues.

2.    When his family is adversely affected due to abusive and demanding tactics of ungodly opponents--this which should be considered absolutely unacceptable.

3.    If the church cannot or will not take care of the minister's financial needs.

My initial response is to "Amen" what Barner wrote and offer some additional observations and considerations.

1. Determine the purpose in the pastorate. Sometimes, a seminary student is serving a small congregation that has for years demonstrated unhealthy dynamics. Leaving there for any of the given reasons seems perfectly acceptable. Nevertheless, the question needs to be asked, "What is God's purpose in this place for the church and the minister?"

Years ago in my first pastorate I had a difficult situation arise with an obstinate leader. Dr. James Eaves gave me some advice: "Determine if this is a long term assignment from God for you. If yes, you'll need to use dynamite to remove the stump; if not, just plow around him knowing that your days there are numbered." Good advice.

Yet, I am very much aware that any great work for God may take years of commitment and the pastor or minister who is not invested in the long haul will very likely be perceived as a hireling rather than a shepherd. It is a risky decision to put down roots with a congregation. So, what can be done to maximize the potential long-term successful relationship between pastor and people?

2. Be thoroughly honest in the interview phase. Coupled with that, I encourage my students to draw up a "memorandum of understanding" with a new congregation which the entire church approves when the new pastor is called. This minimizes any misunderstandings. Sadly, I have seen search committees make promises to pastors they do not have the authority to keep. In the process of leaving a pastorate where I had served for over two decades, I received an interesting letter from a naive but well-meaning lady. In the midst of conflict, she wrote me and said, "when you came, we wanted a preacher, not a leader who would make changes." In a nutshell, here are seeds of misunderstanding planted years before that returned to bear some bitter fruit. Longer tenures in pastorates build stronger churches in the long haul. These start with clear understandings with the pastor and congregation on the front end.

In my next post I'll address this question: "When is it time to leave?"

Why Did Jesus Come? Part 3

Over the last several weeks, I have shared some of the reasons Jesus came to earth. You can check out parts 1 and 2 of this blog series here and here. We’ve focused on the small epistle of 1 John and highlighted the testimony of that ancient apostle relating the insights he penned for those early disciples of Jesus Christ. So, once again I ask the question,"why did Jesus come?" And once again, we listen to the responses of John. Here are three more reasons why the Son of God left the glory of Heaven and came to earth in the form of a human being.

1. Jesus came to be the Savior of the world (4:14). This verse tells us that the Father sent Him. The word "sent" is a perfect tense verb which depicts completed action with continuing results into the present.  It is interesting to note that the word "sent" has the same root as the Bible-word, "apostle" which denotes someone "sent with a message."

 Here, we learn again that Jesus was sent by the Father, not simply with a message, but also with a mission. He was sent to be the Savior of the world! The word "Savior" means one who rescues another from something perilous. Jesus came to rescue us from the penalty, power, and eventually the presence of sin.

Again, Scripture designates that Jesus is the Savior of the "world." By context, this word can only mean the people--lost people--of the world. Jesus is God's designated Savior for each person in the world. Either we come to God through Jesus or we do not come at all! This word "world" is the same word found in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world." John's argument is that Jesus is the Savior sufficient to save anyone and everyone who trusts in Him. So, John tells us that Jesus is the Savior of the world!

2. Jesus came as the reservoir of life (5:11). John tells us that "God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." This word tells us that God Himself gave something very important at a particular point in time, past time. He gave His son!

And God gave life, God's own life. This life resides in Jesus! His point? God's life is in Jesus. If we have Him, we have life! In fact, John goes on to explain,"He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."

Life resides in Jesus! He is the reservoir of God's life! When we receive Jesus, we receive the life that  is in Him! There is no other way to obtain God's life!

3. Jesus came as the giver of understanding (5:20). This word, "understanding" is "the faculty of knowing or discerning; it is the ability to reason correctly; it is used especially in Greek philosophy of syllogistic reasoning"( Rienecker 2:450). Yet, it is not just any kind of reasoning or understanding, it is the understanding of who God is. One more reason Jesus came was to help us understand by explaining who God is, to help us grasp what He thinks of us, and what He wants to do for us and in us. Jesus came so we might know the one true God!

These are three more reasons why Jesus came: to be the Savior of the world, to be the reservoir of life, and to give us a personal understanding of who God is! Take a look at my previous two blog posts Why Did Jesus Come Part 1 and Why Did Jesus Come Part 2 to see 6 other reasons Jesus came. 

Why Did Jesus Come? Part 2

Seven times in 1 John, we see the word, "manifested." That word means "to lighten, shine, appear,manifest, or to render apparent." It is the word which describes the phenomenon that “what was previously hidden has come to light.” That is, it is now perceivable.

In 1 John 3-4, we are told how Jesus "appeared" for three distinct reasons.

1. He appeared to "take away sins" (1John 3:5a). The word "take away" means to lift up, take away or to remove completely. It is the same word used by John the Baptist when he pointed to Jesus and declared, "behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

In 1 John, He takes away "sins," while in John, He takes away "sin." In short, Jesus came to take away both the principle of sin and the practice of sin. He did this by taking upon Himself our sins on the cross. Just as sacrificial lambs represented sinful people and took their punishment  becoming  their "substitute," so Jesus was our substitute to take away our sins and our consequent punishment. We can be both grateful and confident that Jesus can deliver exactly what He promised.

2. He appeared to destroy the works of the devil (1John 3:8b). The word for  "destroy" suggests "destruction by undoing or dissolving that which forms the bond of cohesion.” Verse 10 points out two characteristics of the devil's children. First, they do not practice righteousness. And second, they do not practice loving their brothers.

Sinful behavior and selfishness in relationships are characteristic of the devil's work. And Jesus came to destroy those dispositions instigated by the devil. Jesus wants us to be delivered from being identified with "our father the devil"( John 8:44). Another work of the devil is that "he blinds the minds of the unbelieving"( 2 Cor. 4:4). In every way, Jesus came to destroy the devil's work! That includes what the devil wants to do to us and in us! We need to pray as Jesus instructed us, "deliver us from the evil one" (Matt. 6:13).

3. Jesus also appeared so that we "might live through Him" (1John 4:9). When we receive Jesus Christ in simple child-like faith, the Bible teaches us that we are made alive with Christ. His life comes to live in us! We are made spiritually alive.

That is why Jesus declared in John 10:10, "The thief (the devil) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I (Jesus) came that they (all who by faith have entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ) may have life, and have it abundantly. Jesus makes it possible for us to receive His life to live in us! He gives us His quality of life now and the hope of eternal life forever with Him in Heaven!

So here are three more reasons why Jesus came: to take away our sins, destroy the devil 's work, and to give us His quality of life. Got Jesus? Anyone at any time in simple child-like faith can receive Him (John 1:12)!

Why Did Jesus Come? Part I

In the last 2 years I have have done a slow and methodical study through the New Testament asking the question,"Why did Jesus come to earth?" I came up with over 600 answers to this question from Scripture. The purpose of what is called the "Incarnation" is a lot more complex than most people think. In the short Epistle of 1 John for example, we find ten distinct reasons. Let me share the first three with you.

1. Jesus came to provide a remedy for our addiction to sin. Chapter 1, verse 7 states "but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."  Whether sin is an active rebellion or a passive indifference toward God is immaterial. It is the central fact of life that all of us have to contend with. And Jesus came and specifically went to the cross (hence the reference to His blood)  with the express intention of providing us a remedy for our sin. Sin is something from which we must be cleansed. It makes us dirty and Jesus can make us clean! Jesus came for the purpose of cleansing us from all our sin!

2. Jesus came to be our "Advocate." Chapter 2 verse 1 reads,  "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." The word "Advocate" means that He is our defense attorney, literally, one who comes along side of us. Jesus used this word to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of John.  Jesus is fulfilling that role at this very moment.

We can go to Him (that is prayer), confess our sins (this means admitting them) and He represents us before the Father. In 1:9, we are told, "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He always wins His case! And He is our Advocate! In His role as Advocate, He deals with the presence, power and penalty of our sins!

3.  Jesus is the "propitiation for our sins." The Apostle John adds, "and not for ours only, but for those of the whole world." The word "propitiation" is translated the  "atoning sacrifice" in one translation (NIV). It is the word used to describe the Mercy Seat in the Ark of the Covenant in the ancient Temple. God said when He saw the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, He would pass over and not bring judgment. God's Mercy Seat for our sins was the cross of Christ. Hence, He is the reason God forgives. Our sins were judged in Jesus on the cross. He is our "Propitiation!"

 Jesus was, to use a popular term, purpose-driven. In this passage, we discover that He came to cleanse from sin, be our Advocate when we sin, and be our substitute taking our punishment for the sins we have committed. What a great Savior! Next Tuesday we’ll dive into 3 more reasons Jesus came.