Bible

Puritan Manliness

/ davidsschrock

A man who loves God’s Word is one of God’s choicest servants.  In fact, only those who regularly meditate on God’s word can be called manly men, as defined by the Bible.

On that subject, Baptist pastor I.D.E. Thomas writes of the Puritans as exemplars of this kind of word-centered manliness.

These men [the Puritans] brought to their work a manliness and a thoroughness that one meets all too rarely in current evangelical theology.  They were men of the stamp of Samuel Rutherford, who in order to spend his time in prayer and study, would commonly rise about three in the morning.  Or John Preston, who was so indulgent in study that he begrudged the very hours he had to sleep!  To counteract this, ‘he would let the bed clothes [read: blankets] hang down, that in the night they might fall off, and so the cold awaken him” (A Puritan Golden Treasury, p. 8).

May God grant the church and the world such men, who like David rose early and stayed up late pondering God (Ps 5:3; cf. Ps 1:2; 55:16-18), so that in the heat of the day they would have strength to stand.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

If You Want to Reap Joy, Plan for Peace

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

[This article was originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune]

Anxiety, misery, and bitterness are feelings that no one wants, but that many have.   If we pause to assess our lives and our world, we quickly discover scads of broken promises, shattered dreams, and hurtful relationships. These things rob our joy and eviscerate our peace.

The Bible addresses such things. Proverbs 12:20 says, “Deceit is in the heart of the those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.”  Those pithy words are short but full of practical wisdom.  First, God warns us to live a life of truth, because falsehood is the onramp to the highway of evil.

Next, God gives seasonal instruction.  Those who desire a harvest of joy, must plant peace.  And as any good gardener knows, planting requires planning.  Here is the lesson: Lasting joy is not spontaneous.  Sometimes it feels that way, but such joy is like a puff of smoke on a cold morning.  It lasts for a moment and disappears.

The joy described in the Bible is different.  It is joy abundant and everlasting.  As Psalm 16:11 says about God, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

How can the Bible make such an unqualified statement about joy?  Because God has been planning peace from eternity past (1 Peter 1:19-20).  Indeed, Scripture describes Jesus as God’s peacemaker.  By his sacrifice on the cross, he paid the penalty for sin reconciling believers to God.

Thus, when the Bible instructs us to plan for peace, it shows us that God has already offered peace, and biblically-speaking, your joy depends on your peace with God.  Today, you can find that peace whenever you look in faith to Christ’s cross, and by planning your peace with Christ, you are guaranteed joy that overcomes any anxiety, misery, or bitterness.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

From Jubal to the Jukebox to Jesus: You Were Made to Sing

/ davidsschrock

[This article was originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune]

You were created to sing. But you already knew that because you are likely already listening to something, if only the jingle that is stuck in your head. Whatever your preference, music is a defining element in our lives. It’s always been this way. Before the invasion of rock, the invention of rap or the instrumentation of classical, people were making instruments and song.

In Genesis 4, when Adam’s children began to multiply, Moses says that Jubal “was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.” Within two verses, Scripture records its first song, the “Song of the Sword.” Six millennia before Carrie Underwood took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights, songs about sex and violence were already on the jukebox.

However, Scripture does not simply recount the lustful lyrics of Lamech. It redeems the whole enterprise of song. While mankind, made in God’s image, sings, only those who know God’s redeeming love can sing the eternal song (Revelation 5:9-10).

Indeed, one of God’s greatest gifts is music, and the whole world enjoys it. However, God gives us more than music. For those who have ears to hear, God himself sings a song of redemption. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

What a song that must be! God serenading those who have believed in the saving love of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Of all songs, his is the Song of Songs. It fills the heart with joy, satisfying us with God’s eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11). Better than sex, drugs and rock and roll, God’s song promises freedom, love and life in Jesus. And better still — God’s song doesn’t wear out and he will sing it to anyone who asks.

 

Legal Gospel-Centered Literature in China

/ davidsschrock

Michael Haykin gives an encouraging report on a developing missions opportunity in China.  It is called the Robert Morrison Project, and it is working to produce gospel-centered, Reformed literature in China–a country known for its antagonism towards Christianity.  Here are some of the statistics:

About the year 2003 it became possible to legally publish some forms of Christian literature in the People’s Republic of China. Ten years ago, legal Christian publishing was barely on the radar screen, but today the situation is far different. The demographic and publishing statistics are staggering:

    • In the year 1800, 90% of the Christians in the world lived in North America and Europe. Today, about 60% of Christians live in the so-called “two-thirds world” (Africa, Asia, the Middle East). However, Christian publishing in general, and Reformed publishing in particular, has made a weak transition at best to these new regions. The center of gravity for Reformed publishing is still the English-speaking world.
    • The church in China is 80 to 100 million in size and continues to grow at a rapid rate.
    • China’s adult literacy rate, between 2003 and 2008, is reckoned to stand at 93%.
    • There are 167,000 bookstores in China.
    • 6.3 billion domestically-published books were sold in China in 2007.
    • On average, the Chinese read 5 books a year and 1.7 magazines and 7.4 newspapers per month.
    • Over the past ten years, more than 200 Christian bookstores have opened throughout China.
    • Currently, the total number of Christian books in legal circulation in China is approximately 600, using a broad definition of “Christian.” About 50 to 60 new titles are being added each year.
    • Of that 600, only about 25 or 30 have a Reformed theme.
    • Many of the 600 titles now in print were published by one of the nine China-based Christian publishers that have emerged in the past ten years.

The goal of this ministry is to take Banner of Truth, Evangelical Press, and other Reformed classics–a genre that is most likely to receive rights for publication in China–and to translate them and distribute them in the near future.  The cost is not cheap, but the investment is priceless.  Imagine the 80-100 million Chinese Christians reading Jonathan Edwards Religious Affections, John Bunyan’s The Pilgrims Progress, or even John Calvin’s Institutes.

This is prayerful, hopeful opportunity to feed the malnourished church in China with great Christian truth–something that may seem small now, but in time may grow to produce voluminous fruit.  You can read his whole article here: The Emergence of Legal Christian Publishing in China and you can learn how to get involved here Robert Morrison Project.

Until the whole earth hears, dss

The Genre of Genesis: A Soap Opera Under The Sovereignty of God

/ davidsschrock

One of the most helpful things I have learned in the last few years about reading Scripture is the importance of determining the literary genre 0f any portion of Scripture.  For instance, to read Daniel’s apocalyptic visions with Pauline precision is to wind up with an overly literal reading, missing the ‘visual effect’ of the apocalyptic genre.  Likewise, reading Proverbs like laws etched in stone, puts too much weight on a literary form that is meant to convey probabilities that have reasonable exceptions, not laws of the universe.  So reading Scripture with an attentiveness to genre is helpful in avoiding misreadings, and there are many good–short and long–works on this subject.  For a whole Bible that treats the subject see The Literary Study Bible.

This week, as I was reading Genesis, the thought occurred: What kind of genre is this book, especially chapters 12-50?  It is certainly narrative in its structure.  Authors like Bruce Waltke and Jim Hamilton has shown in their recent works many literary devices, chiasms and the like.  It is historical, in that it conveys information of people, places, and events in a factual manner and in a linear fashion.  Moreover, it will develop mini biographies and include historical genealogies, all for the purpose of unfolding God’s plan of redemption and his covenantal commitments.  Still, it is also a colorful book of characters and stories that, while true, capture the imagination and draw out the readers imagination like any good story book.   So which is it?

It is certainly a combination of them all, but perhaps a modern analogy might be helpful.  Could it be said that God’s sovereign workings in Genesis are carried out in the midst of a twisting, turing Soap Opera.  Until, this week, I wouldn’t have said it that way, but in reading it again this week, that category certainly commends itself for understanding all that is going on, so long as it is always coupled with God’s inscrutable (and yet sometimes invisible) sovereignty.

Interestingly, based on the less than authoritative definition provided by wikipedia.com, Genesis would definitely fall into this category.  Here is there brief description of what we know as soap operas:

The main characteristics that define soap operas are “an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations”.[3] Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. “Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as ‘chance meetings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, deus ex machina endings.'”

That about sums Genesis up, doesn’t it?  I think so.  It makes the book less pristine and more personal.  It touches the heart of the matter, that God has saved a people from sin, often times through the very act or acts of sin: “What you meant for evil,” Joseph said to his brothers, “God meant for good” (Gen 50:20).  Part of God’s glorious work of salvation is his ability to save people trapped in sin, in ways that soap opera writers could never script.  Likewise, such a view of Genesis encourages belief that when things in life get really, really messy, God still knows how to untie the Gordian knot, and even if it takes 13 years, as in Joseph’s case, or longer as in the case of Abraham (see Heb 11), He will make all things right in the end.  Therefore we await the reckoning!

It is amazing how God has worked in redemptive history–often in ways that do not commend repeating–in order to bring about his plan of salvation.  God is a merciful and patient God, and one proof is that he was able to bring through sinners like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as sinless Son who will one day liberate us from the soap operas of this life.  That is good news.

Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

dss

Reading Genesis 1-11

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

Today I preached Genesis 1-11: “In the Beginning: Creation, Corruption, and Christ.”  I love this section of Scripture because it is pregnant with so many themes that are developed in the rest of the Bible.  For instance, you can see the whole pattern of Creation-Fall-Redemption-New Creation if you pay careful attention to the literary structures of the passage. The Gospel of Genesis by Warren Gage is an excellent resource to help outline these themes.  So is Bruce Waltke’s illuminating outline below (An Old Testament Theology [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007], 307-08).

What Gage and Waltke show is how Genesis 1-11 teaches us to read the rest of the Bible.  The explicit metanarrative in Scripture moves from Creation to New Creation, falling with sin, rising with Christ.  Notice how in the outline below that Noah and Abraham come as Christ-figures who anticipate the greater rest (Matt 11:28) and the fulfillment of all the promises (2 Cor 1:20).

Creation: Genesis 1:1 – 6:8

A Creation out of chaotic water with divine blessing (1:1-2:3)

B Sin involving nakedness, seeing/covering nakedness; curse (2:4-3:24)

C Division of humanity into the people of God and the enemies of God (3:15-4:16)

D No descendents of sinful of murdered younger, righteous Abel (4:8)

E Descendents of sinful Cain: builds a city (4:17-24)

F Descendents of chosen son Seth: ten generations to Noah (5:1-32)

G Downfall: unlawful unions – men & women / marriage (6:1-4)

H Brief introduction to a faithful savior: Noah (6:5-8)

Re-Creation: Genesis 6:9-11:32

A’ Creation out of chaotic water with divine blessing (6:9-9:19)

B’ Sin involving nakedness, seeing/covering nakedness; curse (9:20-23)

C’ Division of humanity into the people of God and the enemies of God (9:24-27)

D’ Descendents of younger, righteous Japheth (10:1-5)

E’ Descendents of sinful son Ham: builds multiple cities (10:6-20)

F’ Descendents of chosen son Shem: ten generations to Terah (10:21-32)

G’ Downfall: unlawful union – men / government (11:1-9)

H’ Brief introduction to a faithful savior, Abram (11:27-32)

Our God is worthy of infinite praise for he is patient with sinners and perfect in his wisdom to bring salvation in his Son from eternity past to eternity future.  With Paul we sing:  “Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”  Genesis 1-11 is an astounding passage that flickers with the light of God, light that will only grow brighter as the Scriptures continue until the light of the world comes to dwell with man (John 1:1-14).

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Creation by the Numbers

/ davidsschrock

Today many in our church and all over the world began their yearly Bible reading plan.  I did.  And one of the features found in Genesis 1 is the fact that God made plants (v. 12) and animals (v. 21), “according to their own kinds.”  While scientists, Bible scholars, and Christians apologists have argued for the origin of the species, the Bible is clear that God is the originator of all life.  He spoke the world into existence (Gen 1; Psalm 33:6), and no matter how long that process took, it is clear that he is the Creative Genius behind it all.  (Personally, I hold to a Young Earth position due to the disbelief that death existed before sin, which is clearly dated in Genesis 3, about 6,000 years ago).

Yet, in this brief post, my point is not to argue the age of the earth or the meaning of yom (‘day’) in Genesis 1, but rather to marvel at the endless fecundity of God’s creation.  Today I came across Wikipedia’s entry on “Species.”  In it is a list of all the plants and animals in the world.  In a word, it is astonishing!  Consider the sheer numbers of life-forms on the earth, all created by God.

The total number of species (estimated): 7–100 millions (identified and unidentified), including:

Of the identified eukaryote species we have:[14]

It has taken thousands of people over hundreds of years to amass this list, a list of all the creatures God created and their offspring.

In truth, Elihu declare in Job 34:14-15, “If he [that is God] should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust.”   Thus, according to the Bible all the species owe their existence to God, and it is worth meditating on the estimated numbers above.  While these numbers are not exact due to the difficulties of subdividing species, they do represent this singular facet of God: He is unfathomably creative and prolific in the production of his creation.  If it is true that no sparrow falls to the ground a part from his knowledge (Matt 10:29), then it coheres that no life is born apart from God’s germinating spirit and no life ends apart from his sovereign decree.

He is the Supreme Creator, the God of the Nations, and the one who has made man in his image to rule over creation.  Moreover, when man failed to rule over the earth uprightly (cf. Ecc 7:29), God sent his Son to become a man, to perfectly rule over all the species that God created.  I am doubtful that each of these ‘species’ was created in the Genesis account, it seems more likely that the ‘kinds’ in Genesis 1 were higher up in the taxonomic hierarchy (maybe genus or family), but it is certain that God created in the beginning an expanding myriad of plants and animals, represented in the list above.  These life-forms had the capacity for incredible replication and speciation.  While many fight over Genesis 1 for good reason, we shouldn’t miss the forest for the trees: God is the glorious creator of all the earth, who has fashioned a world that is filled with life, fecundity, beauty, symmetry, wisdom, and so much more.  And even though this in a world overrun with sin, disease, and death, his incredible creation is evident.  How much better will the New Creation be when sin will be eradicated and mankind will finally rule over a perfect creation with Christ on the throne.

As we begin the year, may we worship the Triune Creator and look at creation as a hymn book of praise for our infinitely wise Creator.  As Revelation 4:11 sings, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by you will they existed and were created.”  Upwards of 100 million of them!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

So

Teach the Bible Through in a Year: Tips and Tools

/ davidsschrock / 2 Comments

If you have or if you would think about teaching through the whole Bible in 2011 or in any year, let me encourage you to think about a couple things that I learned as I taught through the whole Bible in 2010.

Tips
First, if you are a rookie pastor or just entering a church, WAIT!  I did this in my first year and I would not recommend it for others.  There are many things that demand attention especially in the first year of ministry and this one took up more time each week than I thought it would.  With that said, I have benefitted much from teaching through the Bible this year in a way that I believe will bear fruit in the life of my ministry in the years to come.

Second, and this goes along with number 1, if you are going to teach through the whole Bible, let me encourage you to make sure that you have been reading and teaching the Bible through for a number of years.  It is a good rule of thumb, to avoid teaching something that you have not done personally, i.e. if you have never read through the Bible in a year, it would be unwise to try to teach through it.  Moreover, this point is  important because at some point, or at many points, you will rely on the accumulated knowledge of the Bible that only builds up over many years of Bible saturation.

Personally, as I taught through the Scriptures this year, there were many times when I was dependent on previous Bible reading to provide explanation and fill in details of the text.  My schedule did not permit me to study every book like I had first intended and/or desired, so there was much I were many times I was going from memory–from seminary, personal Bible reading, books, or messages I have heard.  But this is the beauty of Bible overview, more than intricate exposition.  You help focus on the big picture, showing the unity of the Scriptures–a unity that I argued was to be found in Christ (cf Eph 1:10).

Third, set a pace for the year.  If you are going to teach through the Bible make sure those you are teaching are reading with you.  This will motivate you and they will better be able to follow your teaching.  To say it another way: Aim to keep pace with a Bible reading plan.  In 2011, we used the plan laid out by Denny Burk.

Fourth, don’t get bogged down with the details.  This is hard, especially for detailed-oriented teachers.  Aim to cover the big idea, themes, and ways in which the book fits into the larger categories of biblical theology.  Don’t spend your time on source criticism, who wrote 2 Peter, or when Daniel was written.  I would touch on these things, but believing the Scriptures to be God’s word, I focused on what was in the text more than what was behind the text.  In this way, I would encourage you to focus on biblical theology more than scholarly disputes–though sometimes you cannot avoid the latter (e..g is Genesis 1 a myth? [no]; was Paul the originator of Christianity? [no], and things like that should be addressed).

Fifth, create space in your teaching schedule to go over.  I took two weeks on Genesis, Exodus, John, Paul.  The first two books were planned to go two weeks, the second two were not.  Having space in the schedule helped alleviate the stress of ‘fitting it all in.’

Sixth, use outlines and information from other sources to help you, but just make sure you give credit where credit is due.  In my notes, I aimed to footnote the places where  I was directly dependent on the ESV Study Bible or some other place.  (See reflections at The Gospel Coalition on preachers and plagiarism).

Seventh, let the Scripture be your guide.  Fill your notes (if you use them) and your teaching with Bible references and Scripture quotation.  My goal on Wednesday nights was always to read as much from the Bible as possible to prove my points.  I aimed to synthesize the main points and to show from the text how I made that point. Spending time in commentaries and theologies did not help this, only reading the Bible did.

With that said, let me confess: Some weeks as I taught, I would read lots of background material and biblical-theological commentary.  Other weeks I wouldn’t.  In preparation, the text always needed to be central and more often than not it was, but sometimes, I must admit, I spent too much time in the books and too little in the Bible.  The result was a less-stimulating personal understanding of the book.  So, for anyone going into it I would recommend finding a handful of shorter reflections on each book–maybe just one or two reliable resources–and then spend most of the time in the Scripture itself.  Make up your own outline if possible and ask God to help make the book come alive for you.

Eighth, pray!  It was only by the grace of God that I finished the course this year.  Many prayed for me and when I grew tired in some weeks, it was petitions for grace that were answered with time and thoughts to present God’s Word to God’s people.

Tools
If you are going to read or teach through the Bible in 2011, or in any year, let me recommend these resources.

First, the ESV Study Bible was a necessary resource that I relied on every week to give background information and to help me outline each book.  Zondervan’s Introduction to the Old Testament (Dillard and Longman) and Introduction to the New Testament (Carson and Moo) would also be excellent aids.  They supply a great deal of background information and will help field textual questions and scholarly disputes.

Second, I would urge you to consider Jim Hamilton’s biblical theology: The Glory of God in Salvation Through Judgment. Hamilton’s book pays keen attention to the literary structures of the individual authors while holding together two-fold unity that runs through the Bible–salvation and judgment.  Hamilton also highlights many important theological themes that emerge throughout the pages of Scripture.  I didn’t have this book when I started this study, but I wish I had.  The articles in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology would also be helpful, but I honestly did not avail myself of these like I could have.

Third, as I prepared, I often listened to Mark Dever’s overview sermons.  They were edifying and regularly pointed me to Christ-centered interpretations of the texts.  These sermons were collected into his two books: The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made and The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept. You could read these books, but I would recommend listening to them as you walk, run, workout, or drive.  I found that having a different medium to ‘hear’ the message of Christ was helpful.  It ministered to my soul and it allowed me to ‘hear’ how someone else presented the big picture of each book.  In addition to Dever, The Gospel Coalition’s website has a number of other pastor-teachers who have given book overviews.

Finally, if you have not read Graeme Goldsworthy and his approach to reading/interpreting the Scriptures, I would urge caution, or at least patience, before teaching through the whole Bible.  This may seem like an overstatement–for how could one man’s interpretive strategy be so important?  But I would suggest that he, more than anyone else I have read, aims to show the gospel of Jesus Christ from all the Scriptures.  In this way, he has provided modern teachers with an interpretive method that flows from Luke 24 itself.  His works include his Trilogy (The Gospel & Kingdom, The Gospel in Revelation, and The Gospel & Wisdom), According to Plan, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christians Scripture, and Christ-Centered Hermeneutics. In my preparation for teaching through the Bible in 2011, these 4 books proved to be necessary prerequisites for me to read through the whole Bible and see how each epoch, genre, and author pointed to Christ as the Spirit inspired them.  Again this might be a little overstated, but Goldsworthy has been formative for my understanding of putting the Bible together, something that proved to be necessary before starting this biblical tour in 2010.

Overall, I would highly recommend reading through and/or teaching through the Scriptures so that you might see and show how all things are summed up in Christ.  It is amazing to watch the story unfold and to see how every story whispers his name, to borrow Sally-Lloyd Jones‘ turn of phrase. In the process of teaching this series in 2011, my faith was strengthened by reading the Scriptures this year and beholding Christ, and my heart was gripped with gratitude for God’s grace in helping me read and teach through the Bible in 2010.  Even more, I was grateful for the faithfulness of the church members who joined me each Wednesday night, hungry to learn more about Christ and his word.  It was a precious group who joined together each night to hear God’s word and to go deep and LONG into the Scriptures.  I praise God for them.

Next year, I will be doing something a little different–see here–but I pray that God will continue to help us read the whole counsel of God with eyes open to see Christ and hearts burning like the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Through the Bible in 2010: Evidence of God’s Grace

/ davidsschrock

How important is Bible reading and interpretation?

Consider this: On the day that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead–arguably the most significant day in world history–Jesus spent 1/8, maybe 1/6, of the day interpreting Scripture to two wayward disciples on the way to Emmaus.  Over the course of a few hours, Jesus showed these disciples how all the Scriptures should be interpreted in the light of himself.  As he walked with the two runaway followers (Luke 24), he walked them through the Old Testament.  Beginning with Moses, he explained how he fulfilled the types, promises, and prefigurations found throughout the Old Testament (Luke 24:27).  In a word: All Scripture points to Jesus (John 5:39). The effect was to replace the disciple’s doubt and disappointment with burning hearts ignited by the Word of Christ and for the Christ of the Word.

Luke 24, from which this blog gets its name, is a powerful testimony for the importance of Christ-centered Bible interpretation and Bible reading.

This year, following our Savior’s example, I led our Wednesday night Bible study through the Scriptures with eyes towards Christ.  Last week, by God’s grace, we finished our year-long journey.  It was amazing to see how faithful God was to help us walk through the Scriptures in one year.  With the exception of 1-2 Chronicles and Lamentations, we surveyed every book in the Bible and how each book helps us know and love Christ.

For me, this course of study was rewarding and I would recommend it to anyone who pastors, teaches a Sunday School class, or leads a small group.  Those who attended were grateful for the 30,000 foot exposition of the Scriptures, and I was greatly stretched to better understand how all the books of the Bible point to Christ (Eph 1:10). Make no mistake, it was challenging and I grew weary in the process.  In fact, as I look back I realize that I probably bit off more than I could chew, but God was faithful and gave me time and grace to prepare lessons each week.  By his grace, we made it through the whole Bible. Here are the notes from the New Testament.  You can find all the handouts here.

Gospels-Acts
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom (September 22, 2010)
Mark: Seeing the Christ of the Cross (September 29, 2010)
Luke: The Messiah Must Go To Mount Zion (October 6, 2010)
Acts: Taking the Gospel From Zion to Zimbabwe (October 13, 2010)
John: Jesus, The Son of God, The Messiah of Israel, and The Savior of the World (October 20 & 27, 2010)

The Letters and Revelation
Paul (1): The Apostle to the Gentiles (November 3 & 10, 2010)
Paul (2): The Prison Epistles and Philemon (November 17, 2010) — compiled by David Crater
Hebrews: Believe and Draw Near, For Jesus Christ is Greater Still (December 8, 2010)
General Epistles: James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude (December 15, 2010)
Revelation: The Revelation of Jesus Christ (December 22, 2010)

Tomorrow, I will post a few thoughts on tips and tools for anyone who has thought or is thinking about teaching through the Bible in a year.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: A Better Investment Than Gold

/ davidsschrock

[Preparing for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, I wrote an article for our church’s monthly newsletter on a gospel-motivated vision for giving to the work of Jesus Christ in spreading his fame throughout the earth.  Needless to say, giving to the kingdom of God is an investment worth more than the weight of gold, but one that is only empowered by the work of God in our hearts].

But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly?
For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you (1 Chron 29:14).

Before Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gates, and Buffet stood a philanthropist whose greatest desire was to build a temple for God (2 Samuel 7).  Speaking of his desire, King David says in Psalm 27, “One thing have I asked of the Lord that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” Truly, David was a man after God’s own heart, and it is evident in the way he dedicated himself to the Lord’s work.

Though God denied David’s desire to be the temple’s foreman, he ordained David to be the developer who raised the financial capital needed to build God’s house. 1 Chronicles recounts how David collected supplies for the house. 1 Chronicles 22 even lists the amounts: 4,000 tons of gold equaling 53 billion dollars today; 36,000 tons of silver, equaling 8.9 billion dollars today, plus bronze and iron ‘beyond weighing’ (22:14).  Needless to say, compared to King David, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Gates, and Buffet together would find themselves on the light side of the scale.  In addition to the amount King David collected, he also contributed his own personal wealth–Over 110 tons of gold and more than 260 tons of silver (1 Chron 29:3-4).

Yet, notice what David thought about his giving.  His motivation was not that of a debtor paying off his pledge, nor that of a duty-bound king.  It was not even the tax-incentivized contribution of the modern American.  Rather, David gave as a beloved son (2 Sam 7:14).  Overwhelmed by the grace of God, he marveled at the fact that God would allow him to bring such an offering.  His rich contribution humbled him because he recognized the real Giver of the gift (cf. 1 Cor 4:7).  In short, David gave a only a fraction of all that God had given him, yet he gave willingly because he reckoned all that he owned as God’s.  Hear his words in Psalm 24:1-2, “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”

The apostle Paul had the same sentiment.  Speaking of the Macedonian’s generosity, he wrote, “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor 9:11).  Paul’s point is that for Christians, we ought to be motivated by God’s superabundant supply and to give accordingly—always for the praise of God’s great name (see 2 Cor 9:6-15).

The point is not that large gifts merit God’s favor (see Luke 21:1-4), but rather that meditation on God’s favor, moves us to give largely.  God’s goal in giving is our eternal joy and freedom from the empty promises that money makes: You can gain the whole world and forfeit your soul: Material possession doesn’t equate to happiness or eternal security.  Thus, God always works in the hearts of his people to make freewill offerings, motivated by the largeness of his love (see Exodus 35:29).  David is such an example.

So was Lottie Moon.  Compelled by the love of God, Lottie gave the ultimate gift—her own life—to the Chinese people whom see loved.  From an aristocratic family in Virginia, she died of starvation in Asia.  She invested her life and beckoned others to give their to the only cause that lasts forever–the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Why?  Because like David, she knew the faithfulness and love of God in Jesus Christ.  Thus her service was delightful, not dutiful.  She gladly sacrificed so that others might know the glorious God of grace.  This December as we take up an offering for Lottie Moon missions, might we like David and Lottie, be motivated by the joy-producing gospel to give to the work of the Great Commission.

May God increase our joy and liberate our hearts as we give unto him, “a cheerful gift!”
Pastor David