theologer

While I'm still discussing Bryan Chapell's book "Redeeming the Expository Sermon" (see post two days ago for details) I wanted to mention one other thing he wrote about that struck a chord with me.

He presses for a bit about the importance grace in preaching; and again how easy it is to fall into a pattern of teaching works-based salvation without realizing it. Then he has a list of the things an expository sermon should teach. Among which is "Grace compelling holiness."

The quote that really gets my attention is this, "In Christ-centered preaching, the rules of Christian obedience do not change; the reasons do."

Think about that.

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace. . ." - 1 Peter 8-10

A person motivated by grace loves his neighbor because he is loved no matter what he does, he knows it is impossible to lose the love of the Lord. Therefore he does not love his neighbor out of fear that the Lord will take away His hand of blessing (as I often do), but rather, out of love.

If I understand grace I will not go pray for that dirty beggar because I must, but because I can. Because God loved me, I will choose to love him, rather than doing it out of guilt.

Gosh I want to understand this, and it will likely be a life-long struggle, but I just cant get it deeper than my skin. I know it in my head, but it doesn't ever sink in. I want to be a good steward of your grace, but in order to really do that, I need to really believe it.

Lord help me to be compelled to love; compelled to obedience, not out of guilt, but out of my understanding of your love and grace for me. Help me to understand.

"But he said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'" - Luke 11:28

One of my brothers in law is here staying with us for the weekend. He'll be heading home today but he's an interesting guy to talk with as he's in the last semester of his seminary education. He's also lived overseas for a couple of years doing ministry and will likely go back.

I was talking with Him this morning about some of the blogs I read and how many people I read who are educated in the original languages or carry seriously interpretive Bibles to church on Sunday mornings and scrutinize everything the pastors say. I don't mean this in a bad way, being educated and not taking everything your pastor says at face value is not a bad thing. My comment was how I wasn't sure I would want to preach to these people feeling like they would pick apart my every argument.

His response was something along the lines of how it doesn't matter if you can preach to those people or not. There are people out there who are much more interested in the academia than they are in being able to preach and relate Christ. You need to worry yourself with the latter.

I thought this an interesting argument. The field in which I work is filled with several seminary educated people but our discussions are never about theology or scripture or these things at all. Rather we're always discussing what so and so needs to hear before they'll likely turn to the Lord, or about broken relationships, or disfunction in our churches and how we address such issues.

Then I get on a plane and I go to seminary in the summer for a few weeks at a time and I'm surrounded by people who care much more about a specific interpretation of one verse, or how great of professors they've had etc...

The field is just a different world than the academic campus. I guess I'm glad I get the best of both worlds. I just want to make sure I'm hearing the word of the Lord and spending my time keeping it rather than scrutinizing it. Seeking the Lord and loving Him and following His commands needs to have precedence in my life over my head knowledge. Both are important, but the Love and obedience need to come first.

"There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil." - Job 1:1

In learning about this verse I heard "the fear of God" defined as reverence which leads to obedience. Then I looked a little further down and saw verse 5, "And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually."

I want a fear of the Lord that leads me to reverent obedience. I want to seek the Lord and revere Him enough to ask for forgiveness for the sins of even my children.

Do you fear the Lord? Like really fear Him? Do you rise early in the morning and pray for your family? I know many an older man that swears the only reason they made it in the long run was their willingness to rise and seek the Lord.

Just for reference here the word is, yir'ah {yir-aw'}: respect, reverence, piety, revered.