Discipleship

With Genuine Repentance Comes Pardon: John Calvin on How to Seek and Grant Forgiveness

/ davidsschrock

alex-shute-b7QwXDDEwv8-unsplashThen Peter came up and said to him,
“Lord, how often will my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times,
but seventy-seven times.
– Matthew 18:21–22 –

What happens when someone asks for forgiveness, but all outward signs indicate anything but a willing spirit? Is the offended party obligated to grant forgiveness the moment the offender says, “Will you forgive me,” or does it depend? If forgiveness depends on repentance, as Jesus says in Luke 17:3, just how much fruit is requisite for such repentance to be deemed genuine?

To put it into actual situations: Does the offended child whose sibling is forced to say “I’m sorry” have to mechanically say, “I forgive you”? Or to take it one step further, does the parent need to discipline the hesitating child for not offering forgiveness immediately?

What about the Christian family of a victim of violent crime, do they need to automatically grant forgiveness when the judge forces the criminal to issue an apology? Or are they permitted to consider the sincerity of the apology? Equally, should Christians forgive terrorists, who go to their deaths spewing hatred against their victims?

Or more basically, when pastors mediate conflict in the church, what is the proper response to a church member whose longstanding self-justification is suddenly reversed? Does the offended party need to issue an immediate grant of forgiveness? Or does the newfound repentance need time to settle? Equally, if the member will not forgive when repentance is genuine, what must be done then?

Fortunately, we are not the first generation to wrestle through such questions. And most recently, I came across an incredibly illuminating passage from John Calvin on Jesus’s teachings on forgiveness and repentance. Ever pastoral, Calvin provides some important qualifications for offering forgiveness, granting forgiveness, and even withholding forgiveness until repentance is deemed genuine.

Strikingly, Calvin does not suffer from our modern captivity to making others feel affirmed. Instead, he affirms the need to offer forgiveness to any and all who ask. But wisely, he also cautions Christians from mistakenly granting forgiveness prematurely. In his comments on Jesus’s teaching on forgiveness, he rightly urges Christians to extend grace in the same way they received grace. But also, he holds the line on repentance, stressing the importance of making sure repentance is genuine.

Having recently thought quite a bit about this very point, I offer six reflections on Calvin’s views on forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation. I have added his full comment at the bottom. Continue reading →

A Consolation in the Curse: Reading Genesis 3:16b as Good News

/ davidsschrock

silhouette of newly wedded couple

Somewhere below the rim of the Grand Canyon, at some time during the week I spent rafting there last summer, I heard an interpretation of Genesis 3:16 that didn’t sound right. Sitting down each evening to discuss the age of the earth, the creation of all things, and the text Genesis, Bill Barrick (professor emeritus at Master’s Seminary) made the off-hand comment at some point that “The curse upon the woman in Genesis 3:16 was good, actually.”

What?!?

If you are like me, the idea of calling a curse ‘good’ is on par with calling the blessing of marriage ‘evil.’ In our modern world, defining marriage as being between one man and woman has been called evil, because it is hateful to the LGBT+ community and anyone else who doesn’t feel committed to a Christian view of sexuality. For years now, we who live in America have been in a struggle to define good and evil. Proclaiming themselves to be wise, the world has become enslaved to one folly after another. And so, as Christians, we are on guard for any interpretation that might confuse the categories of good and evil. And rightly so!

Hearing this new interpretation of a familiar passage (Genesis 3:16), therefore, was confusing and not a little shocking! And yet, the more that I have looked at this verse, the more I am convinced that Dr. Barrick is correct: Genesis 3:16b is a gracious consolation granted to the woman. Instead of reading this verse as one that enjoins opposition, competition, or even enmity at the heart of marriage, it seems better to see God’s word to the woman as a genuine kindness. Marriage is not a common curse, but a common grace.

This is what I argued in my sermon on Sunday, and in what follows, I want to show from Scripture why Genesis 3:16b is best rendered positively, not negatively. That is to say, while most interpreters offer a negative reading of the verse—either stating that God subordinated the woman to the man at this point (egalitarianism) or that he exacerbated the fallen condition of men and women (complementarianism)—I will be arguing from a generally complementarian position that this verse should be read positively as God granting protection to the woman, even after she rejected and ignored the protection of the man when she encountered the serpent (Gen. 3:1–6).[1]

My position does not deny the way that men can abuse their authority and use their strength to harm those under their charge; nor will it deny that women can refuse to submit to their husbands or embrace the all-wise autonomy offered by the serpent. Both of those realities threaten marriage today. Nevertheless, as I will attempt to show, the nature of marriage after the fall is a place of consolation, protection, and natural goodness. Instead of being a place of natural conflict, should be seen as a place of natural comfort. Yes, sin still destroys the world and every marriage it ensnares, but importantly the nature of marriage is one of common grace. And that is what is at stake in this question of interpretation.

To maintain the goodness of marriage as an institution requires seeing the woman’s desire for her husband as an intrinsic good, as well as the man’s responsibility to rule over her. Today, such a reading is difficult to accept—not only because it flies in the face of a century of feminist ideology, but also because translations like the ESV suggest a negative reading of Genesis 3:16. Put differently, if we are going to rightly understand the consolation of God’s word to the woman in this verse, we must go back to the passage and to see what is there. And in particular, we need to see how a proper reading of Genesis 3:16 depends upon a proper interpretation of Genesis 4:7.

In what follows, then, my aim is to demonstrate why a positive reading of Genesis 3:16 is the best option, based on a comparison of Genesis 3:16 and Genesis 4:7. As multiple authors have attested, how one reads Genesis 4:7 will be determinative for our reading of Genesis 3:16. Knowing that, I will spend a great deal of time addressing the latter text, showing why “desire” (tesuqah) and “rule” (mashal), the two overlapping words, are best seen positively in Genesis 4:7, not negatively. From there, we can see how the dominoes fall. If Genesis 4:7 is positive not negative, then it follows that Genesis 3:16b is also positive, which best corresponds to the literary structure of Genesis 3:14–19 and the emerging theology of marriage as an institution of common grace.

So, that’s my argument, and it will proceed in four parts.

  1. I will show three common positions related to Genesis 3:16b.[2]
  2. I will consider how Genesis 4:7 should be read as a “sin offering” provided by God not some personification of “sin” crouching at the door waiting. From this, I will show how the words “desire” and “rule” are good in Genesis 4:7.
  3. I will introduce two authors who provide a positive reading.
  4. I will outline the text itself and attempt to provide a better reading.
  5. I will explain the cash value of this reading.

Continue reading →

A Dangerous Calling (pt. 4): Embracing Obscurity and Seeking a Received Ministry

/ davidsschrock / 2 Comments
young shepherd leading herd

So far, in this practical exposition of 1 Kings 1–2, I have made four points concerning seeking the kingdom of God righteously and serving the Lord wisely. Those four points include

  1. We should not seek positions in ministry; we should seek the righteousness to receive such a place of service. Instead, . . .
  2. We should abide by the word, and wait for an invitation to serve.
  3. When kingdom-seekers exalt themselves, their ambition follows a discernible pattern.
  4. When you see false ‘kings’ exalting themselves, humble yourself and seek the true King.

And now, I want to consider a fifth point, namely, that

5. Until the Lord calls us to serve him, we should embrace obscurity and wait upon the Lord.

More completely, we should serve the Lord where he plants us and beware of pining for something larger, greater, or more visible. Instead, we should master the imperatives of the Bible, be mastered by the truths of the Bible, and grow in a knowledge of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, there is no better way to prepare for ministry than humbly submitting to the Lord and learning to wait on him. This is something we all must learn, as the Lord matures us in Christ and prepares us for ministry. Continue reading →

Of Weddings and Witnessing: The Evangelistic Pressure to Stay Positive in a Negative World

/ davidsschrock

wedding reception

For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

– 2 Corinthians 7:8–9 –

In a world without sin, sermons on marriage would not be needed.

In fact, without sin, pastors might not be needed either. Or at least, they would not be needed to condemn sin, preach repentance, or offer grace. They might be needed to organize the worship of God in Christ—for God, the almighty, good, and glorious Creator would still be praised. Or, they might be needed to study the history of God’s world and to report their findings.

But, in a world without sin, heralds of the gospel would not be called to preach Christ crucified for wicked sinners, for there would be no sin. Nor would such pastors have the task of identifying idols and destroying every false idea that stands against Christ. Instead, they could just be unswervingly cheerful.

Tragically, in a world overrun with sin, many preachers have taken this path. Famously, when Larry King asked Joel Osteen about the eternal condition of Jews, Muslims, and other unbelievers, Osteen said he didn’t like to talk about sin, only about love and what the Bible says about Jesus.

Yet, what does the Bible say about Jesus? And what does Jesus say about sin? Quite a bit, actually.

The whole reason the Son of God became man was to climb the hill of Calvary and put an end to sin and death. Jesus’s whole ministry consisted of preaching about the kingdom of God and calling sinners to repent (Mark 1:14–15). Thus, it is a misnomer to speak of Christ’s love without addressing man’s sin (cf. 1 John 4:10). Unless we address the wrath of God, we cannot understand his grace or preach his gospel. Continue reading →

So You Want to Start a Church: Four Words to Impassioned Church Planters

/ davidsschrock

ian-schneider-TamMbr4okv4-unsplashNow Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, . . .
– Acts 15:37–39 –

In my computer files, I have a folder titled “New Covenant Baptist.” And within its contents, I have a handful of articles, agendas, and ideas dating back to April and May 2015. In those uncertain months, I gathered with a handful of earnest Christians who had just decided to leave the church where I pastored.

For nearly six years I served as the senior pastor of a church in small town Indiana. But for reasons I have shared elsewhere, my doctrinal convictions did not find a happy home in that assembly of the saints. Moreover, as I look back, there were elements of my ministerial passions that did not make my service a good fit. Almost a decade later, I am grateful for the time I spent at that church, and for the relationships the emerged from that season. All the same, I recognize that their new pastor is a much better fit.

This is how ministry goes and how churches grow.

Just as God planted a garden in Eden, so he plants churches all over the world, and in these churches, he guards and grows his saints. Sometimes, those branches abide in Christ and in a specific local church for generations. But sometimes, he uproots the Christian and grafts him or her into another garden (i.e., another local church). This is true for members, as well as pastors. And it is all part of God’s wise plan to mature his saints.

When Sharp Disagreements Lead to Church Plants

At the same time, this seasonal change is not always as easy as seeds blown on the wind,  finding fertile soil, and beginning to bear fruit. No, as the story of Paul and Barnabas illustrates (Acts 15:36–41), there are often painful separations that divide genuine believers. And in 2015, that is what happened. And in response, a handful of earnest Christians began to meet and pray and talk about the need for starting a new church—one that, in their mind, would be better and more biblical.

At that time, those of earnest Christian were looking for a church that could not be found in the town we lived. And so we began asking the Lord if we should start a new church, and along the way we asked other questions, too. Are there churches in our area that preach the gospel? That practice biblical membership? That have a plurality of elders? Are there churches that would help us plant, or, would this be a solitary effort? And most importantly, what are we, under God, hoping to create? And, what makes this church different?

Looking at my notes, we didn’t ask two critical questions: How would this church impact other local churches? And how might our recent departure from another church misshape the planting of this church? More on that below.

More introspectively and missionally, we sought to take an honest look at what was motivating us. And so we discussed things like sources of influence, books/ministries that shaped our thoughts, and the priorities that would shape this church. In short, we began to consider the possibility of covenanting together to plant a church in, what we believed at the time, was an area bereft of faithful churches. Whether our assessment was correct or not, the Lord clearly had other intentions, and within a couple months, we did not start a new church.

Nevertheless, I believe there are at least four lessons that can be learned from our consideration of starting a church at a time. When pain fueled our passion for a new church, it caused us to miss a number of critical aspects of church planting. And so, I share those here for those considering a church plant that comes on the heels of a sharp disagreement. Continue reading →

A Dangerous Calling (pt. 3): Humble Yourself and Seek the True King

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

timothy-eberly-wnrxQGBhbh8-unsplash

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
— Psalm 37:7 —

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
— Matthew 6:33 —

When I was in college, ministry became an idol. I had come to faith when I was 17, at a time when the kings of the court (Magic, Bird, Jordan, et al) were my gods. In college, those kings were replaced by the King of Kings, and Matthew 6:33 became my guiding light. To this day, seeking first Christ, his kingdom, and his righteousness, is the theme of my song. And yet to seek him truly, the Lord had to crucify many layers of ambition in my own heart. To various degrees, he had to do such work during my twenties, my thirties, and still today.

Encouragingly, I have learned along the way that God does this with all his saints. For Moses it was 40 years in the wilderness; before him Joseph rotted in a jail cell for thirteen years before his service as vice-regent in Egypt; for David it was years being chased by Saul that prepared him for the throne; and for the other Saul it was fourteen years before he began his missionary work. All in all, there is a pattern in Scripture of men waiting years before arriving at their appointed place. Just the same in the church, many fruitful saints have gone through years of barrenness, pruning, or pain before God planted them in the place of their greatest fruitfulness. And why would we think God has changed his methods with us?

So, when I come to the subject of seeking ministry, I am not unbiased. I have seen how God uses decades of obscure service to prepare men for faithfulness in the light. Equally, he has thwarted the vain efforts of earnest Christians in order to prepare saints the ministry that God wanted to give them.

And thus, in Scripture and church history, there is ample evidence for the way the Lord uses time to replace ungodly motivations for ministry with godly ones. In my own life this is certainly true, and I have seen it up close in the lives of others, too. But for today, I want to return to Adonijah and another lesson we can learn from his life. For review, here are the first three lessons, outlined in two parts of this series (one and two).

  1. We should not seek positions in ministry; we should seek the righteousness to receive such a place of service. Instead, . . .
  2. We should abide by the word, and wait for an invitation to serve.
  3. When kingdom-seekers exalt themselves, their ambition follows a discernible pattern.

And now, here is a fourth lesson that relates to those who see others exalting themselves falsely.

  1. When you see false ‘kings’ exalting themselves, humble yourself and seek the true King.

Continue reading →

Forgive One Another: A Simple Introduction to a Challenging Command

/ davidsschrock / 3 Comments
winding road warning sign near the forest

Forgive. One. Another.

Those three words are easy to say; less easy to understand; and sometimes nearly impossible to practice. Truly, for as simple as forgiveness should be, seeking and receiving forgiveness is often the things that brings us to our knees.

Who knew that sins forgiven in heaven could be so difficult to forgive on earth?

Yet, that is often the case. Forgiveness is often a misunderstood doctrine, as well as a misapplied practice. Therefore, Christians who seek forgiveness, demand forgiveness, or seek to help others forgive, often find that the Christian practice of peace-making is more difficult than they might first imagine.

In response, genuine believers may grow frustrated—with themselves, with others, with God, or with the church. How can the cross of Christ not have its full effect? It seems so simple.

And yet, I might offer a different perspective. Continue reading →

Who is in Charge? Two Competing Visions of Church Authority

/ davidsschrock

pexels-photo-272254.jpeg

In recent years and hours, lots of discussion has been given to the subject of authority. Who has authority to close the Southern border? Who has authority to mandate vaccines? Who has authority to teach children about the birds and the bees? Who has authority to close churches or constrict their practices? And in the church, who has authority to rule the congregation (1 Tim. 5:17). Is it the congregation? The elders? One elder? The most vocal or influential members? Or some combination?

Who has authority?

Of all the books I have read on the subject, the one that is most promising (I’m still reading it) is David Innes’ book, Christ and the Kingdom of Men: Foundations for Political Life. In a section on understanding differing spheres of authority, Innes describes authority in the church. He writes,

[C]hurch government has its authority from Christ. The apostles of Christ appointed the original elders in the first churches. The apostle Paul instructed his legate Titus to “appoint elders in every town” (Titus 1:5). They are ministers of Christ who must give an account to Christ (Heb. 13:17). In the first centuries of the Christian church, civil governments were pagan, as they are today in many lands where Christ has gathered his people, and so they could not have had an organizing or overseeing role in the formation of the churches. (32)

Underscoring the source of church authority coming from Christ, Innes turns to the way churches should not receive their authority from the state. “Over many centuries, churches have had to resist civil authorities’ attempts to exert control over church leadership” (32). Indeed, in our day this is a lesson we have had to relearn. As Western civilization has rejected Christ, other gods have filled the void. And we have already seen how the god of statism is rising to power.

At the same time, however, challenges between church and state are not the only place we have a conflict in authority. We also find difficulty in understanding how the church and the self are to be related. Interestingly, Innes includes the “individual person” in his list of spheres. He explains,

It is odd to think of each individual person as a sphere of authority, but there is a God-given authority that one has over oneself. God’s creation mandate for everyone without distinction of rank or role to exercise dominion in vice-regency communicated God’s moral expectation that people would govern themselves and their personal affairs in righteousness. Self-government at this level is the moral responsibility of every human being and thus the moral right of every adult. (30)

While we mostly think about authority at the level of institutions (e.g., family, church, state), self-governance, or what Scripture labels “self-control,” is a sphere of sovereignty. God has given each image-bearer a body, and those bodies can be used as instruments of righteousness or wickedness (Rom. 6:12–23), and thus we must learn to glorify God with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:20). Such glorification certainly includes sexual purity (1 Cor. 6:12–20), but it would also include the way we use our tongues (James 3), minds (Rom. 8:7; 12:1–2), shoulders (Ezek. 34:21), and fingers (see all the bodily features of sin in Romans 3:10–19). Long story short, we must learn to govern ourselves and to say no to the sinful impulses that rise up within us (James 1:13–15). Yet, this is exactly where the modern church is struggling. Continue reading →

Willingly and Truthfully: How a Pastor Demonstrates His Love

/ davidsschrock

herd of sheep on focus photography

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, . . .
– 2 John 1 –

In 2 John 1, the Beloved Apostle declares his love for the church. This love is for the church (“the elect lady”), as well as for her members (“her children”), and it sets the tone for his whole letter. As John expresses it, his love motivates him to write, and his love leads him to warn the church against false teachers. Indeed, such is the love of a pastor. Love that is biblical must lead others to the truth. And any love devoid of truth is not truly loving.

Throughout the New Testament love and truth are joined as one. For example, Paul says that love always rejoices in the truth (1 Cor. 13:4). Likewise, John’s love for the church moves him to rejoice when God’s children are walking in truth (2 John 4). The author of Hebrews urges us to spur one another on towards love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24–25)—good deeds defined by the truth of Scripture. And even Jesus is identified as the one who is fullness of grace and truth (John 1:14, 17), or, as these two words come from the Hebrew pair hesed (lovingkindness) and emet (truth/faithfulness), he is full of love and truth. Just as John highlights in 2 John 3 reads, “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.

In short, those leading the church are to love the people of God in truth. Yet, to echo Pilate: What is truth? Or, for that is matter: What is love? In this blogpost, I will begin to explore that question: What does it mean for a pastor to demonstrate love?

Love Must Truth

In our modern age, love is defined by unbounded affirmation and the willingness to celebrate self-expression, whatever that expression may be. Accordingly, those who love in truth, or attempt to love others with the truth, may not be well-received. They may be hated!

For those catechized by the world and its therapeutic ideas of self-esteem, challenging someone may be received as harsh or even hateful. And more, any pastor who dares to disciple a church or a church member in ways that the recipient does not esteem acceptable may easily be assigned as unloving or even unsafe. In such a world, the truths of God’s Word do not change, but appreciation for them do. And thus, Christians face the difficulty of returning to the old paths.

In generations gone by, generations forged by Christian convictions, correction was received, if not pursued; authority was respected; and love was evidenced by service, sacrifice, and selflessness. Today, vestigial remains of true love remain, but not without careful attention to what love actually is and isn’t. And if this is true in general; it is especially true for pastors.

How do pastors love God’s church? What should congregations expect of those who lead them? And what does Scripture say about the pastor and his responsibility to love the flock? Those questions could easily invite a book on the subject, The Pastor and His Love perhaps. Yet, short of that project, let me offer two answers. And in the days to come, as the Lord allow, I’ll add more. Continue reading →

A Dangerous Calling (pt. 2): Five Steps to Self-Promotion

/ davidsschrock / 2 Comments

gray and white concrete staircase

Throughout the Bible we find a divide between wisdom and folly, righteousness and sin, givers and takers, children of God and children of the devil. As Jesus said, he did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matt. 10:34–35). And that sword not only divides humanity, which provides the context of his words in Matthew’s Gospel, it is also a sword that judges the thoughts and intentions of men. Indeed, God’s Word does more than declare behavior right and wrong; it does surgery on the heart, exposing why we do what we do.

In the Bible, and in the church, few things are more difficult to discern than motivations for ministry. For truly, as many good motivations as there are, there are also bad motivations. There is ambition that is godly and ambition that is anything but godly. And in every child of God who serves faithfully, there will be both impulses.

Just consider the Apostle Peter, who could confess Jesus as the Christ at the same time that he would deny him his cross (see Matt. 16:13–23). Indeed, at one time or another, all the disciples had a mixture of true and false ambitions, which is why Jesus had to correct their views on greatness (Mark 10:42–45). Truly, we are fickle creatures. And the best of men is both taught by God and tempted by the devil. Again, read Matthew 16.

So, knowing that, we should always be open to examining our motivations for ministries, and that is what this series is about. It aims to address false ambitions and to set a course towards true ambitions for ministry.

In Part 1, I offered two lessons from the life of Adonijah.

  1. We should not seek positions in ministry; we should seek the righteousness to receive such a place of service.
  2. We should abide by the word, and wait for an invitation to serve.

And now, in Part 2, I will suggest a third lesson from Adonijah’s life:

  1. When kingdom-seekers exalt themselves, their ambition follows a discernible pattern.

This pattern consists of five actions that Adonijah pursued in his attempt to be king in Israel. And, as the story goes, he nearly succeeded. What ultimately prevented him from claiming the throne illicitly is that genuine servants of God stood to oppose him. His false ambitions were thwarted because the ambitions of others were rooted in God’s Word.

Sadly, this sort of conflict continues today.

In truth, only when righteous men and women stand against falsehood will truth prevail. Yet, this is exactly why it is vital to learn the pattern of those who exalt themselves. For in ministry, when good works are pursued with bad motives, it can be very difficult to discern. Often, the falsehood of good works takes years, even decades, to discern. Yet, Scripture does give us light, if we are willing to look. And that is what we find in Adonijah’s play for David’s throne. Continue reading →