John MacArthur
Those who are familiar with my ministry know that I am committed to expository preaching. It is my
unshakable conviction that the proclamation of God’s Word should always be the heart and the focus
of the church’s ministry (2 Tim. 4:2). And proper biblical preaching should be systematic, expositional,
theological, and God-centered.

Such preaching is in short supply these days. There are plenty of gifted communicators in the modern
evangelical movement, but today’s sermons tend to be short, shallow, topical homilies that massage
people’s egos and focus on fairly insipid subjects like human relationships, "successful" living,
emotional issues, and other practical but worldly—and not definitively biblical—themes. These
messages are lightweight and without substance, cheap and synthetic, leaving little more than an
ephemeral impression on the minds of the hearers.

Some time ago I hosted a discussion at the Expositors’ Institute, an annual small-group colloquium on
preaching held at our church. In preparation for that seminar, I took a yellow legal pad and a pen and
began listing the negative effects of the superficial brand of preaching that is so rife in modern
evangelicalism.

I initially thought I might be able to identify about ten, but in the end I had jotted down a list of sixtyone
devastating consequences. I’ve distilled them to fifteen by combining and eliminating all but the
most crucial ones. I offer them as a warning against superficial, marginally biblical preaching—both to
those who stand behind the pulpit and to those who sit in the pew.

1. It usurps the authority of God over the soul. Whether a preacher boldly proclaims the Word of
God or not is ultimately a question of authority. Who has the right to speak to the church? The
preacher or God? Whenever anything is substituted for the preaching of the Word, God’s authority is
usurped. What a prideful thing to do! In fact, it is hard to conceive of anything more insolent that could
be done by a man who is called by God to preach.

2. It removes the lordship of Christ from His church. Who is the Head of the church? Is Christ
really the dominant teaching authority in the church? If so, then why are there so many churches
where His Word is not being faithfully proclaimed? When we look at contemporary ministry, we see
programs and methods that are the fruit of human invention, the offspring of opinion polls and
neighborhood surveys, and other pragmatic artifices. Church-growth experts have in essence wrested
control of the church’s agenda from her true Head, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Puritan forefathers
resisted the imposition of government-imposed liturgies for precisely this reason: They saw it as a
direct attack on the headship of Christ over His own church. Modern preachers who neglect the Word
of God have yielded the ground those men fought and sometimes died for. When Jesus Christ is
exalted among His people, His power is manifest in the church. When the church is commandeered
by compromisers who want to appease the culture, the gospel is minimized, true power is lost,
artificial energy must be manufactured, and superficiality takes the place of truth.

3. It hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. What is the instrument the Spirit uses to do His work? The
Word of God. He uses the Word as the instrument of regeneration (1 Pet. 1:23; Jas. 1:18). He also
uses it as the means of sanctification (John 17:17). In fact, it is the only tool He uses (Eph. 6:17). So
when preachers neglect God’s Word, they undermine the work of the Holy Spirit, producing shallow
conversions and spiritually lame Christians—if not utterly spurious ones.

4. It demonstrates appalling pride and a lack of submission. In the modern approach to
"ministry," the Word of God is deliberately downplayed, the reproach of Christ is quietly repudiated,
the offense of the gospel is carefully eliminated, and "worship" is purposely tailored to fit the
preferences of unbelievers. That is nothing but a refusal to submit to the biblical mandate for the
church. The effrontery of ministers who pursue such a course is, to me, frightening.

5. It severs the preacher personally from the regular sanctifying grace of Scripture. The
greatest personal benefit that I get from preaching is the work that the Spirit of God does on my own
soul as I study and prepare for two expository messages each Lord’s Day. Week by week the duty of
careful exposition keeps my own heart focused and fixed on the Scriptures, and the Word of God
nourishes me while I prepare to feed my flock. So I am personally blessed and spiritually
strengthened through the enterprise. If for no other reason, I would never abandon biblical preaching.
The enemy of our souls is after preachers in particular, and the sanctifying grace of the Word of God
is critical to our protection.

6. It clouds the true depth and transcendence of our message and therefore cripples both
corporate and personal worship. What passes for preaching in some churches today is literally no
more profound than what preachers in our fathers’ generation were teaching in the five-minute
children’s sermon they gave before dismissing the kids. That’s no exaggeration. It is often that
simplistic, if not utterly inane. There is nothing deep about it. Such an approach makes it impossible
for true worship to take place, because worship is a transcendent experience. Worship should take us
above the mundane and simplistic. So the only way true worship can occur is if we first come to grips
with the depth of spiritual truth. Our people can only rise high in worship in the same proportion to
which we have taken them deep into the profound truths of the Word. There is no way they can have
lofty thoughts of God unless we have plunged them into the depths of God’s self-revelation. But
preaching today is neither profound nor transcendent. It doesn’t go down, and it doesn’t go up. It
merely aims to entertain.

By the way, true worship is not something that can be stimulated artificially. A bigger, louder band and
more sentimental music might do more to stir people’s emotions. But that is not genuine worship.
True worship is a response from the heart to God’s truth (John 4:23). You can actually worship
without music if you have seen the glories and the depth of what the Bible teaches.

7. It prevents the preacher from fully developing the mind of Christ. Pastors are supposed to be
under-shepherds of Christ. Too many modern preachers are so bent on understanding the culture
that they develop the mind of the culture and not the mind of Christ. They start to think like the world,
and not like the Savior. Frankly, the nuances of worldly culture are virtually irrelevant to me. I want to
know the mind of Christ and bring that to bear on the culture, no matter what culture I may be
ministering to. If I’m going to stand up in a pulpit and be a representative of Jesus Christ, I want to
know how He thinks—and that must be my message to His people too. The only way to know and
proclaim the mind of Christ is by being faithful to study and preach His Word. What happens to
preachers who obsess about cultural "relevancy" is that they become worldly, not godly.

8. It depreciates by example the spiritual duty and priority of personal Bible study. Is personal
Bible study important? Of course. But what example does the preacher set when he neglects the
Bible in his own preaching? Why would people think they need to study the Bible if the preacher
doesn’t do serious study himself in the preparation of his sermons? There is now a movement among
some in ministry to trim, as much as possible, all explicit references to the Bible from the
sermon—and above all, don’t ever ask your people to turn to a specific Bible passage because that
kind of thing makes "seekers" uncomfortable. Some churches actively discourage their people from
bringing Bibles to church lest the sight of so many Bibles intimidate the "seekers." As if it were
dangerous to give your people the impression that the Bible might be important!

9. It prevents the preacher from being the voice of God on every issue of his time. Jeremiah 8:9
says, "The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the
word of the Lord; so what wisdom do they have?" When I speak, I want to be God’s messenger. I’m
not interested in exegeting what some psychologist or business guru or college professor has to say
about an issue. My people don’t need my opinion; they need to hear what God has to say. If we
preach as Scripture commands us, there should be no ambiguity about whose message is coming
from the pulpit.

10. It breeds a congregation that is as weak and indifferent to the glory of God as their pastor
is. Such preaching fosters people who are consumed with their own well-being. When you tell people
that the church’s primary ministry is to fix for them whatever is wrong in this life—to meet their needs,
to help them cope with their worldly disappointments, and so on—the message you are sending is
that their mundane problems are more important than the glory of God and the majesty of Christ.
Again, that sabotages true worship.

11. It robs people of their only true source of help. People who sit under superficial preaching
become dependent on the cleverness and the creativity of the speaker. When preachers punctuate
their sermons with laser lights and smoke, video clips and live drama, the message they send is that
there isn’t a prayer the people in the pew could ever extract such profound material on their own.
Such gimmicks create a kind of dispensing mechanism that people can’t use to serve themselves. So
they become spiritual couch potatoes who just come in to be entertained, and whatever superficial
spiritual content they get from the preacher’s weekly performance is all they will get. They have no
particular interest in the Bible because the sermons they hear don’t cultivate that. They are wowed by
the preacher’s creativity and manipulated by the music, and that becomes their whole perspective on
spirituality.

12. It encourages people to become indifferent to the Word of God and divine authority.
Predictably, in a church where the preaching of Scripture is neglected, it becomes impossible to get
people to submit to the authority of Scripture. The preacher who always aims at meeting felt needs
and strokes the conceit of worldly people has no platform from which to confront the man who wants
to divorce his wife without cause. The man will say, "You don’t understand what I feel. I came here
because you promised to meet my felt needs. And I’m telling you, I don’t feel like I want to live with
this woman anymore." You can’t inject biblical authority into that. You certainly wouldn’t have an easy
time pursuing church discipline. That is the monster that superficial preaching creates. But if you are
going to try to deal with sin and apply any kind of authoritative principle to keep the church pure, you
must be preaching the Word.

13. It lies to people about what they really need. In Jeremiah 8:11, God condemns the prophets
who treated people’s wounds superficially. That verse applies powerfully to the preachers who
populate so many prominent evangelical pulpits today. They omit the hard truths about sin and
judgment. They tone down the offensive parts of Christ’s message. They lie to people about what
they really need, promising them "fulfillment" and earthly well-being when what people really need is
an exalted vision of Christ and a true understanding of the splendor of God’s holiness.

14. It strips the pulpit of power. "The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged
sword" (Heb. 4:12). Everything else is impotent, giving merely an illusion of power. Human
strategy is not more important than Scripture. The showman’s ability to lure people in should not
impress us more than the Bible’s ability to transform lives.

15. It puts the responsibility on the preacher to change people with his cleverness. Preachers
who pursue the modern approach to ministry must think they have the power to change people. That,
too, is a frightening expression of pride. We preachers can’t save people, and we can’t sanctify them.
We can’t change people with our insights, our cleverness, by entertaining them or by appealing to
their human whims and wishes and ambitions. There’s only One who can change sinners. That’s
God, and He does it by His Spirit through the Word.

So pastors must preach the Word, even though it is currently out of fashion to do so (2 Tim. 4:2). That
is the only way their ministry can ever truly be fruitful. Moreover, it assures that they will be fruitful in
ministry, because God’s Word never returns to Him void; it always accomplishes that for which He
sends it and prospers in what He sends it to do (Isa. 55:11).

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        As one examines the relationship between God and the people of Israel it is obvious that it is a relationship filled with ups and downs. With a cursory reading of the Old Testament one can see the cycles of obedience and disobedience with the Israelites and the cycles of blessing and punishment from the hand of God. It is my intent in this paper to show that by observing and imitating God’s dealings with Israel the Christian parent will have the instruction and model of God-honoring parenting. There is much detail that the parameters of this paper will not allow but hopefully will give some food for thought.

        Although God always does right it is evident that Israel, at least up to this point in human history, has not been the ideal “child.” Hence one could question the parenting skills of God with Israel and conclude that His methods aren’t ideal. But, knowing that God is perfect in all his ways and knowing that his relationship with Israel ultimately is not about modeling Christian parenting but about accomplishing the plan of redemption within the human race, we believe that there remains great value in observing God’s relationship with Israel and applying the lessons one can learn to Christian parenting.

        In Hebrews 12:5-8 the author directly refers to God in the context of parenting: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” This passage, along with other references to God as “Father” and obedience to him, confirms that it is not out of bounds to consider the value of imitating God’s dealings with his people as a pattern for Christian parenting. To accomplish this we would like to examine the behavior of God as seen in the Old Testament dealings with Israel and extrapolate principles that will assist us in our parenting efforts.

God is the Authority

                It may be unnecessary to establish the truth that God is the ultimate authority in the universe because it is so obvious but for the sake of creating a useful principle for parenting we will do so. In Genesis 1:1 is says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Being the creator of the universe, the progenitor of mankind, God holds inherent authority over every aspect of his creation. Everything is His. Nothing that exists is outside of his intrinsic authority. In Matthew 28 Jesus said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Who gave that authority to Jesus but God the Father?

                Throughout Old Testament history we read of God’s authority over mankind, especially Israel. Exodus 20:2-3 says, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”You shall have no other gods before me.”  In saying, “who brought you out of the land of Egypt” God was establishing His authority over the people of Israel.  He is the one who was responsible for their existence and sustenance so he had the right to rule over them.

                In like manner the Christian parent is given authority over their offspring. The parents are the ones, under God’s providence, that are responsible for bringing their children into existence and so by nature have God given authority over their children. This authority is not earned as respect is earned but is intrinsic to being a parent. This authority over their children is presumed by God when instructions to parents are found in scripture.  It is with this authority that parents must move forward in their parenting efforts to raise godly children.

God Instructs

                All of scripture is essentially God’s instruction to His people. Psalm 119 speaks specifically of all the ways that the word of God is beneficial for instruction. In Psalms 19:7-8, for example, we see this explicit truth that God instructs his people: “the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” The purpose of God’s word is to give simple people wisdom and to bring light to spiritually darkened eyes.

        God gave specific instruction to the Israelites on many occasions. Starting with instruction to Abram while still living in Ur and continuing throughout the entire Old Testament history of Israel God gave explicit and clear instructions to his people. God’s instructions included everything from living arrangements, to diet, to parenting, to government, to worship, and to relationships. There is no area of life that God did not give instruction to the people of Israel.

        This must be the model for Christian parenting. In Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6, not to mention numerous other references, parents are commanded to give clear biblical instruction to their children. The popular notion that some parents embrace to allow their children to grow up in an “unfettered” environment without clear objective instruction so they won’t be biased in any direction is blatantly unbiblical. Our children are gifts from God to be indoctrinated with the truths of God’s word. As God instructed the people of Israel so parents are to instruct their children.

        Additionally, parental instruction must be gospel-saturated instruction. To instruct our children in biblical morals is a good thing but to neglect the all important instruction of the gospel is to miss the entire point. We should teach our children to be kind, honest, faithful, and loving, but to miss the point that these qualities flow out of a life regenerated by the Holy Spirit is to instruct in moralism which condemns the soul as much as any other “ism.” In Ephesians 6:4 Paul writes, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. “ “Of the Lord” is the key phrase here. Discipline and instruction in good deeds is good but not saving. Our instruction must be “of the Lord” and of his gospel. In the Old Testament Temple worship the Lord’s instruction to the people of Israel was gospel centered as well when thinking of all the types in temple worship from the brazen altar, to the table of shew bread, to the golden lamp stand, and to the Ark of the Covenant, which included the Mercy Seat.

God is Just

                Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” One of the manifest character qualities of God as seen in the Old Testament is his justice. He is never unjust. He may apply mercy to a situation but he is never unjust. He treats people equally just. Job 34:19 “…who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?” R.C. Sproul writes, “God’s justice is never divorced from His righteousness. He never condemns the innocent. He never clears the guilty. He never punishes with undue severity. He never fails to reward righteousness. His justice is perfect justice.”[1]

                Perfect justice is something that is impossible for the Christian parent to attain to for the simple reason that we are fallen sinners. But God’s perfect justice is the target and model for every Christian parent. To pursue parental justice is critical for child development and an understanding of the nature of God. In Old Testament history the justice of God prevailed over every circumstance Israel found herself in. When Israel sinned God disciplined unto correction. When Israel was obedient God blessed. God was perfectly just in Israel’s history. There were even times when God extended mercy (which is never deserved!), which parents should also imitate.

                As Christian parents it is important to recognize the justice of God towards Israel and apply justice to the lives of the children He has given us. When our children obey we should bless them with some appropriate reward. When they disobey we should discipline them with an appropriate means. God’s discipline of Israel was always in proportion to their disobedience. Their years in Babylonian captivity were directly related to the number of years that they neglected the Sabbath. Christian parents should strive for justice in the means of discipline applied to any given transgression; and on occasion apply mercy to open the door to discussing the mercy of God for his people, as in Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?  He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.”

 God Restores and Reconciles

                The verse just quoted from Micah is an example of God’s restoration of the people of Judah.

Even though the people of Judah had rebelled against the Lord and deserved to be sent into Babylonian captivity (which later happened) God, through Micah, speaks of his immutable commitment to his covenant promises and demonstrates his character as one who restores and reconciles his covenant people.  

                Imitating God on this level is one of the most powerful and instructive means in raising God-centered, gospel-embracing children. The gospel is a story about God who restores and reconciles his people to himself. Romans 5:10 says this clearly, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” In Christian parenting God gives abundant opportunity for parents to demonstrate what restoration and reconciliation mean. There is no lack of illustration of this truth in Old Testament history.

God is Loving

                The love of God demonstrated to the people of God in the Old Testament is ubiquitous. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 beautifully describes this truth, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers (emphasis mine).” God simply loves Israel. No strings attached.

                What a fantastic model for Christian parenting. To love our children simply because we have chosen to love them and not because they are smart, or good, or better than the neighbor kids is potent and God-like. It is a picture of God’s electing grace in salvation.

Conclusion        

                The character of God as revealed in his dealings with the people of Israel is helpful for the Christian parent seeking to train their children to love God. This paper has just scratched the surface of what could be discovered. God’s consistency, mercy, and patience could also be explored for great value. It is part of the nature of God that his revealed character is instructive to his people. May God grant us His mercy, as He did to the people of Israel on many occasions, as we endeavor to raise our children for the glory of God.

 Pastor John Schubert

At the end of the book of Genesis, we see the great patriarch of Israel - Jacob (Israel) - blessing his sons. Chapter 49 documents the words that Jacob speaks over his sons, one by one. It is odd to us at more than a few points, because in blessing his sons he says things like, "'Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company'" (vv 5-6a). This isn't what we think of when we consider the word blessing, is it?

Immediately after the blessing section, however, we see the key for understanding what we have just read - and it's something that, if we are alert, might well give us cause to examine ourselves:

"All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him." (v 28)

 

It is natural to look at the actions of many of the people in Scripture and point out their flaws. (In fact, come to think of it, it's natural to look at the actions of those around us today and do the same thing!) We have an interest in not examining ourselves, don't we? At least, our flesh (sin nature) has an interest in avoiding serious and honest self-examination. Yet we get the idea that serious and honest self-examination are actually vital to our spiritual health:

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (2 Corinthians 13.5)

 

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called...." (Ephesians 4.1)

 

Based on the verse at the end of Genesis 49, we should ask ourselves the question, "If I were to receive what is suitable to me, what would it be?" In other words, would we receive words that encourage us because we have lived in a manner worthy of the calling of Christ, or would it be said of us, "O my glory, be not joined in their company?" What is the blessing that would be suitable to you?

At base, what is suitable to each of us without exception is the condemnation of hell for our wicked rebellion against the perfect and holy God. It is only ever in Christ, and Christ alone - clinging to Him in faith and repentance (turning from our sins) - that we have salvation. And the glorious promise in our salvation is the process of sanctification, by which we are made more and more like Jesus in the way we live. THis is what we're called to examine.

The book of Ephesians - in which we find the preceding exhortation - gives us a fantastic guide for such self-examination. The first three chapters are filled with magnificent theological truths that form the foundation for biblical self-examination. Because of the theological realities of Who God is, we find our grounding for how we are to live, which is why the last three chapters are filled with exhortations and admonishions for biblical living, including relational health.

I would invite you to make use of the PDF below, which is a walk-through Ephesians look at where you are spiritually. By prayer-full, honest self-examination illuminated by the Holy Spirit, you will have a much clearer understanding of where you need to plead with God to advance your sancitfication. With a more pointed focus for worshiping God in all of life, may you be encouraged in your walk with Him, and may His glory be advanced in His Church!

Click on the link below for the PDF:

Ephesians Evaluation Worksheet

Rather, marriage is something that God has instituted in this life as something that can only exist in lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, as a means of displaying His magnificence to the world! Consider the following texts of Scripture:

“Therefore [because woman was made of man] a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.’” (Genesis 2.24-25, ESV)

 

“‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 5.31-32, ESV)

“… do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6.9-11, ESV)

Marriage is sacred, and an indescribably powerful vehicle for communicating the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, as with all things sacred, it is under attack. Those of us living in the United States of America, though, have an extremely privileged position in that there are legal channels available through which we can engage our legislators on these issues. And the time to act regarding this bill is running out, so please contact your legislators today to advocate for marriage. They need to hear from you. Everything you need to do this - which takes about 2 minutes - is available at the Family Policy Institute of Washington.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so important that the Apostle Paul wrote, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached ot you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1.8-9, ESV). In biblical terms - to boil it down - that's about as serious a thing as the Apostle could have said!

Only one Gospel has been given for us to either believe (and be saved) or disbelieve (and remain under God's wrath), because there is only One Name under heaven by which we must be saved: Jesus Christ (Acts 4.12)! Unfortunately, it becomes so easy to assume the Gospel, because we've heard it so many times. It becomes "routine," and therefore it becomes ignored, overlooked, and minimized in favor of "deeper things."

But there are no deeper things, because - according to God - we never get past the Gospel! Listen to what God says through the pen of the Apostle once again: "Now I would remind you, brothers, of the Gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to teh word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." (1 Corinthians 15.1-4, ESV). That is the Gospel, and it has been said that the key to not overlooking or minimizing it is to "preach it to yourself every day." (One of my favorite ways to do that, by the way, is revisiting the video we have posted on our front page, which you can watch here: Life in 6 Words: G.O.S.P.E.L.)

The work of missions is the work of the Gospel. In fact, without the Gospel, there is no missions. But the scary thing is that today the Gospel is at risk in missions! Pastor Paul Washer, long-time missionary and founder of Heartcry Missionary Society, shared in the most recent edition of Heartcry Magazine a quote from Walter Chantry's book, Today's Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic? May it encourage you to stay the course of the true Gospel:

"Those who believe in God's Word have been grasping at the same superficial solutions that liberalism has adopted. Relevance, respectability (whether intellectual or social), and especially unity have become the aims of God's people with the hope that these will revitalize a weakened church. 'If only all Bible-believing people join together, the world will sit up and listen,' thinks the church. Let's merge our mission boards to pool our funds and our personnel. Let's join giant evangelistic projects. If every evangelical joins in a common organization, we can have greater depth of evangelism. Thus organizational unity becomes the aim of gospel churches. Having accepted the theory that unity is all-important for world evangelism, both the church and the individual must lower their estimate of the value of truth. In a large congress on evangelism we could not insist on a truth of God's Word that would offend any brother evangelical. Thus we must find the lowest common denominator to which all born-again Christians hold. The rest of the Bible will be labeled 'unessential' for missions. After all, unity (among Christians) is more essential than doctrinal preciseness. It is just for this reason that mission societies have been unwilling carefully to examine the root problem in preaching. Mission boards are hesitant to answer the question, 'What is the gospel?' Thoroughly to answer that would condemn what many of their own missionaries preach. It would destroy the mission society, which is a federation of churches who have differing answers to that question. To adopt the position of one church would be to lose the support of five others. The whole system built on unity and generality would crumble. The local church may not get too specific about truth either. It may affect its harmony with the denomination or association. To define the gospel carefully will bring conflict with the organizations working with teenagers. It will prompt irritating problems with mission boards and embarrassing disagreement with missionaries supported for years. It may condemn the whole Sunday School programme. Giving too much attention to the content of the Gospel will mean friction with other evangelicals. And unity is the key to success."

 Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ESV

It is clear that all the New Testament writers and Jesus recognized the need for spiritual transformation in the lives of all believers. In John 17 Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified (the process of becoming holy), which means he knew all believers were in a process and in need of change.  The New Testament writers were all writing to address needed change not only in local churches but also in the lives of their readers. This was the purpose of their writing.

The biblical idea of transformation or sanctification is clearly seen throughout scripture and especially in the New Testament. As Christians we are called to be changed and to become holy (Lev. 20:26; Jn. 17:17; Eph. 1:4; 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 Pet. 1:15). The question is, “What is our standard of change?” or what is our target? What does it mean to become holy?

The Standard

In Leviticus 11:44 it says, “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:14-16 says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Both of these references communicate that our standard of holiness is God. 

What is God’s holiness?

The primary meaning of the word holy is “separate” and “transcendent.”[1] As applied to God He is separate from us in his essence. In Psalm 50 the psalmist speaks of the separateness of God. He speaks of God being the Mighty One who summons the earth, the one who is perfect in beauty, who has a devouring fire before him and a mighty tempest around him. In verse 21 God asks, “you thought that I was one like yourself?” He is separate and different from us. He is transcendent beyond our limits of understanding. He is above and beyond us.  He is separated from the rest.

God’s holiness is not another attribute in a long list of divine attributes. It encompasses all his attributes. His love is a holy love, his justice is a holy justice, his anger is a holy anger, his knowledge is a holy knowledge.[2] All of his attributes are distinctly separate and transcendent, they are holy.

Is God’s holiness something that we should pursue for ourselves?

When the Bible speaks of anything other than God that is holy it is clear that those things are not holy in themselves. They are holy because they have been sanctified by God for God’s purposes.[3] Only God is intrinsically holy (2 Sam. 2:2) and only God can sanctify or transform something from the mundane into the holy. In the experience of the Christian this is the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5; Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Cor. 3:18). And yet his work is done in cooperation with each believer.

The scriptures clearly teach that personal holiness is of God but needs personal exertion and work as well as faith.[4] Paul fought the good fight, pressed on, ran with purpose, and disciplined his body (1 Cor. 9:26; Phil. 3:12). The pursuit of holiness is not a “let go and let God” proposition but an active participation in the process of sanctification. We are commanded to put off the old self and put on the new. We are commanded to love one another. We are commanded to be just. We are commanded to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. All of these commands are commands to grow in holiness. Our love should be different than the world’s love. Our justice should be separate from the world’s justice. Our knowledge should be a holy sanctified knowledge.

The biblical call to holiness is a call to Christ-likeness. Many times Jesus challenged his disciples to “follow me.” This is nothing less than imitating Jesus. The writer of Hebrews (6:12; 13:7) tells his readers to imitate the faith of their leaders. Assuming their leaders met the biblical qualifications of leadership they would be imitating Christ. In 3 John 11 the apostle tells his readers to imitate what is good because anyone who does what is good is from God.

The reason that Jesus and the New Testament writers commanded believers to be Christ-like is because it is not natural for us. It is unnatural. Our tendency is towards sin and worldliness. We naturally fit in well with the world and with sinners but holiness for the believer is similar to God’s holiness in that we are to be separate and different than the world. In a sense, as God is separate from his creation so we are to be separate from the world. Being Christ-like is being separate from the world. 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” In 2 Corinthians 6:17 Paul quotes Isaiah when he wrote, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord.”

Applying our understanding of God’s holiness to discipleship

It seems obvious that the demonstration of God’s holiness in scripture was a public affair. Is God holy in private? Scripture indicates he is (Is. 57:15). But the demonstration and transforming power of his holiness is generally seen in community. When scripture speaks of God’s holiness or there is a demonstration of God’s holiness in some way it is seen in the context of community. For example, the holiness of God demonstrated in his revealed word was delivered to the people of Israel in the Old Testament and to the church in the New Testament. The purpose of this demonstration was the spiritual transformation of God’s people. The demonstration of his holiness in the pillar of fire and cloud was witnessed by his people in the wilderness. This also was for the purpose of transformation. The holiness of Jesus was witnessed by the disciples for the purpose of transformation. In Romans 12:1-2 we see that Paul bases his call for spiritual transformation on the revealed mercies (revealed holiness) of God. When the holiness of God is revealed it seems it is always done so in the context of community for the purpose of transformation.

By extrapolation, and very important in the work of sanctification, spiritual transformation is done within the community of faith (Hebrews 3:13; and the many “one-another’s” of the NT). We are not saying that a personal relationship with God is not important but that we believe the sanctification in the life of individual believers is essentially done in community. It is the mutual responsibility of the family of faith to encourage spiritual growth in holiness of every believer (1 Cor. 5). The only way anyone knows they are lacking in love is when it is demonstrated publicly. The only way anyone knows that they are lacking in patience, service, harmony, kindness, hospitality, etc. is when this is demonstrated publicly. From there the community of faith rallies around the wanting believer to encourage them towards holiness (Heb. 3:13). This is impossible outside of the family of faith.

The elders of the local church are also an important part of this process and are called to shepherd the flock of God (Acts 20:28) towards Christ-likeness. The spiritual leaders of the local church are to be acquainted with the transforming power of the holiness of God so that they can lead the community of faith.  These are all activities done in community (1 Thess. 4:7; 2 Tim. 1:9).

At Sun Valley Church we believe in the transforming power of the holiness of God as revealed in scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” Since scripture is God-breathed and God is utterly holy then scripture is “profitable as a standard of intellectual and moral perfection for anyone who would be a ‘man of God.’”[5]

In John 17:17 Jesus said, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Thus, our ministries, which are designed for spiritual transformation, must be based on the revelation of the holiness of God in the Holy Bible.

Our leaders must be constantly reminded of the centrality of scripture in their ministry and relationships. The holiness of God is the standard and scripture is the revelation of that standard. The leaders at Sun Valley Church must be in relationship with other believers so that the affect the holiness of God has had on them can in turn affect others. Our job as spiritual leaders at Sun Valley Church is to unveil the holiness of God to our people at every opportunity to encourage the transformation that comes only from being confronted with that which is infinitely separate.

1 John 2:6 Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

Does Bible translation matter all that much? People seem to make such a fuss over that question. After all, aren't the NIV, ESV, KJV, NASB, CEB, NLT, and others basically saying the same thing?

It depends.

Consider what we (Sun Valley Church, and the historical Church by-and-large) believe about the Bible:

"THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We teach that the Bible is God's written revelation to man, and thus the 66 books of the Bible given to us by the Holy Spirit con­stitute the plenary (inspired equally in all parts) Word of God (1 Corinthians 2:7‑14; 2 Peter 1:20‑21).

We teach that the Word of God is an objective, propositional rev­elation (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 2:13), verbally inspired in every word (2 Timothy 3:16), absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God‑breathed. We teach the literal, grammatical‑historical interpretation of Scripture which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present cre­ation in six literal days (Genesis 1:31; Exodus 31:17).

We teach that the Bible constitutes the only infallible rule of faith and practice (Matthew 5:18; 24:35;John 10:35; 16:12‑13; 17:17; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15‑17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20‑21).

We teach that God spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship. The Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God's Word to man (2 Peter 1:20‑21) without error in the whole or in the part (Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16)...."

If it's true that God wrote down exactly what He meant to say when He penned the Bible through human authors in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, then the question stands for English Bible translators, How important is it to accurately translate these words into English, preserving as much of the precise wording while keeping it readable?

As you can probably see, it's crucial. This is why Sun Valley Church sticks with the English Standard Version of the Bible (you can check out their translation philosophy here). It's accurate and readable. Another highly commendable version is the New American Standard Bible, which is widely accepted as the most literal English version available. Moving down the line in translation to versions that are decent is the New International Version. This is arguably the most popluar and widely-used English translation of the Bible.

However, an updated version of the NIV has been released, and has gone the route of gender neutralization (no more gender-exclusive language, such as the word "men" to refer to humanity, or "sons of God" to refer to believers generally). Is this a big deal? Well, that depends on whether or not God knew about the up-and-coming changes in language that made it unpopular and politically incorrect to be gender exclusive in one's writing. The question essentially boils down to this: Did God mean what He wrote for all time and give us the tools to discern His meaning, or not?

Here is a link to a helpful and insightful article by Mary Kassian, a leading author and speaker on biblical womanhood; I highly commend it to you: 10 Reasons Why the New NIV is Bad for Women. May we ever seek to be discerning as we pursue the one true God!

image obtained from http://www.whnt.com/

Have you ever run into those people who claim to feel something but prove that they don't by their words or actions? You know the ones I mean - the ones who say they love their wives but then batter them after a hard day at the office. Or the ones who say that you are valuable but then seem unable to remember when they're supposed to meet you for lunch. Or the ones who say they'll pay you back but then never write a check? We all know people like that - and we have all been people like that to some degree.

Those type of people are not new; they've been around for millenia. We read about them in history, and sometimes their stories are rather instructive for us today. One such account is found in 2 Kings 17. Read these starkly contrasting words:

"And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.... [They] feared the LORD but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away. To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the LORD, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the LORD commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel.... So these nations feared the LORD and also served their carved images." vv 24, 33-34, 41a

When the Assyrian king re-populated Samaria after the fall of 11 tribes from Israel, the people are reported to have feared Yahweh, the one true God, Whom the Hebrews worshiped and for Whom the Israelites were supposed to have been ambassadors. But in the very next breath they are said to not have feared Him, because they did not follow Him. Then, concluding the chapter, they are said to both fear Him and serve their false gods.

What's the deal? Was the author of 2 Kings a bit overtired when he wrote this section of Scripture, failing to keep his story straight? I mean, did they or did they not fear Him?!

Or is it possible that there is a fear that isn't really fear at all? These superstitious peoples who repopulated Samaria did indeed fear the one true God - just as they feared their false gods. That is, they wanted to appease Him and make Him happy and didn't want Him to be mad at them and punish them. But the author lets us in on a little secret, revealed by the contrasting words he pens: These people didn't really fear God at all, because true, worshipful fear of the one true God demands knowledge of Him, followed by obedient response. They could not fear Him, for they did not know Him.

Remember what Solomon wrote in Proverbs? "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (Proverbs 9.10, ESV). These people went wrong in the same way the Israelites went wrong: They claimed to know and fear Yahweh, but denied this fear by their idol worship.

The things is, we are still the same radically sinful people that these nations were, and we still have this same proneness to wander away after idols. So join me in examining our hearts, asking the difficult question of the Holy Spirit: In what ways do I say I know, love, and fear You and then deny You? What things do I treasure more than You throughout my life?

Asking such questions of God with a heart of sincerity set on obedience to His answer is delightful to God, and will without doubt be answered. In fact, that is the type of prayer that He cannot NOT answer (see 1 John 5.13-15).

What's YOUR fear factor?

image obtained from http://www.mylot.com/w/image/705449.aspx

Wurmbrand reflects:

"Reading the Bible in a solitary cell, from memory, I am struck by the extent to which suffering pervades it. It begins with the catastrophe of mankind's expulsion from paradise, and it concludes with the majority of mankind entering hell. Why do even saints have to suffer? Is suffering God's only educational method? Why does evil exist? Why have Christians suffered for decades in Communist jails?

"After dedicating forty years of his life to missionary work among the Australian aborigines, a pastor fell sick. He suffered greatly as he was being transported on primitive roads to the city and was barely able to breathe. He asked his family to sing and to read to him from the Bible. Finally he said, 'Stop praising! I have serve Him my whole life and He does not care for me.' He took the Bible from his wife's hand and threw it into the bush. He could find no answer to the problem of suffering.

"The only answer that I believe should be given is not to ask the question. Jesus, when he was on the cross, asked God why He had forsaken even His only begotten Son. His question is followed only by a question mark. All that is revealed to us is that the question exists and that we can live with it.

"A sufferer once came to a pastor and asked him many questions. The pastor answered, 'Kneel here in church and ask Jesus for the answers.' The man replied, 'Do you really think I will hear a voice from heaven?' 'No,' said the pastor, 'but by keeping quiet in prayer for several hours before God, you will realize that you can go along without answers to all your problems. This would have been Jesus' answer, and it will quiet you.' You do not need more than His peace, which passes all understanding. You do not need both peace and understanding, for understanding presupposes qualifications that most of us do not have."

What is your attitude toward the sufferings you endure, or toward the sufferings of others? As we approach September 11th, many people are asking the question afresh, and the truth remains the same, and is summarized well in the seventh question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647):

Q: What are the decrees of God?

A: The decrees of God are, His eternal purpose, according to the counsel of His will, whereby for His own glory, He hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.

What we are given to know is our purpose, which is to glorify God. How are you glorifying Him, and encouraging others in this delight?