The Pastors' Blog https://www.treasurecoastpca.org Fri, 29 Mar 2024 03:49:09 -0400 http://churchplantmedia.com/ Just Do It https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/just-do-it https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/just-do-it#comments Tue, 11 Oct 2022 13:12:19 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/just-do-it

     Imagine you are visiting the home of a new neighbor. As you enter the kitchen, you see a wall of shelves filled with books. The books bear titles like 100 Unforgettable Thai Dishes, or Easy Slow-Coooker Recipes, or Favorite Dishes from Top Chefs. What would you conclude about your neighbor? That she enjoys cooking, right? And so you point to the books and ask, “Which is the best recipe you've made?” Imagine your surprise if she replied, “Oh, those? I've never made any of them. I just like to read them!”

     Why our imagined neighbor seems a little foolish in this story is because we know that recipes have a purpose. They're not like short stories or news articles that we read for enjoyment or information. Their purpose is to instruct our actions – to guide our behavior. The point is not to read them, it's to do them.

     And that's the point of Scripture as well. This is our final entry in a series of blog posts on how to read and hear God's Word in a way that is effective – a way that produces the results God intends. The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 90 asks, “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” We began by looking at the meaning of the question – particularly that word effectual. Then we looked at each phrase of the catechism's answer in turn: “That the word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts...” And now we reach the final phrase. If we expect God's Word to work the way he wants it to, we have to “practice it in our lives.” To fail that is the same as reading a cookbook and wondering why you're still hungry.

     The Scripture is filled with verses reminding us of the importance of putting into practice what we read. James (in James 1:22-25) says the person who only hears God's Word but doesn't do it is like a man who looks in the mirror, sees his reflection, and does nothing about it. Like checking your teeth and seeing a big piece of green lettuce but just leaving it there. Jesus (in Luke 6:47-49) says that the person who does not put into practice the Word of God that he hears is like a man building a house on a foundation of sand. When the rains come, the house will collapse. He had the knowledge, but he didn't act on it.

     For me, one of the more interesting verses on this topic is in the book of Hebrews. The author criticizes his readers for not yet growing mature in their understanding of God and his Word. They are, he says, still drinking milk (the simplest truths of the faith), though they should by this time be eating solid food (understanding the deeper and more difficult doctrines). How does one go from immature knowledge to mature knowledge? Our first thought might be to study more. Read more. Memorize more. But that's not the answer the author of Hebrews gives. In Hebrews 5:14 we read, “Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” What makes us ready to learn more? Practicing what we have already learned.

     In this way, our life of discipleship is much like any other skill. One does not learn an instrument by sitting down and reading about all the scales and notes and how to play them. You have to actually play the instrument, getting the basics down before moving on. Athletes don't prepare for a game by only studying plays and strategies. They get on the field and practice. Christian, your knowledge will be of no benefit to you if you are not acting on what you know.

     That's not always an easy or obvious thing. Some parts of God's Word are clear in how to apply them. Other parts need wisdom, understanding, and guidance. Which is why our reading of God's Word is not a solitary activity. We can and should read alone. But we should also read in community. We should hear and discuss God's Word with others who will help us practice what we read so that the promise of Jesus in John 13:17 is true of us all: “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

 

 

 

]]>

     Imagine you are visiting the home of a new neighbor. As you enter the kitchen, you see a wall of shelves filled with books. The books bear titles like 100 Unforgettable Thai Dishes, or Easy Slow-Coooker Recipes, or Favorite Dishes from Top Chefs. What would you conclude about your neighbor? That she enjoys cooking, right? And so you point to the books and ask, “Which is the best recipe you've made?” Imagine your surprise if she replied, “Oh, those? I've never made any of them. I just like to read them!”

     Why our imagined neighbor seems a little foolish in this story is because we know that recipes have a purpose. They're not like short stories or news articles that we read for enjoyment or information. Their purpose is to instruct our actions – to guide our behavior. The point is not to read them, it's to do them.

     And that's the point of Scripture as well. This is our final entry in a series of blog posts on how to read and hear God's Word in a way that is effective – a way that produces the results God intends. The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 90 asks, “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” We began by looking at the meaning of the question – particularly that word effectual. Then we looked at each phrase of the catechism's answer in turn: “That the word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts...” And now we reach the final phrase. If we expect God's Word to work the way he wants it to, we have to “practice it in our lives.” To fail that is the same as reading a cookbook and wondering why you're still hungry.

     The Scripture is filled with verses reminding us of the importance of putting into practice what we read. James (in James 1:22-25) says the person who only hears God's Word but doesn't do it is like a man who looks in the mirror, sees his reflection, and does nothing about it. Like checking your teeth and seeing a big piece of green lettuce but just leaving it there. Jesus (in Luke 6:47-49) says that the person who does not put into practice the Word of God that he hears is like a man building a house on a foundation of sand. When the rains come, the house will collapse. He had the knowledge, but he didn't act on it.

     For me, one of the more interesting verses on this topic is in the book of Hebrews. The author criticizes his readers for not yet growing mature in their understanding of God and his Word. They are, he says, still drinking milk (the simplest truths of the faith), though they should by this time be eating solid food (understanding the deeper and more difficult doctrines). How does one go from immature knowledge to mature knowledge? Our first thought might be to study more. Read more. Memorize more. But that's not the answer the author of Hebrews gives. In Hebrews 5:14 we read, “Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” What makes us ready to learn more? Practicing what we have already learned.

     In this way, our life of discipleship is much like any other skill. One does not learn an instrument by sitting down and reading about all the scales and notes and how to play them. You have to actually play the instrument, getting the basics down before moving on. Athletes don't prepare for a game by only studying plays and strategies. They get on the field and practice. Christian, your knowledge will be of no benefit to you if you are not acting on what you know.

     That's not always an easy or obvious thing. Some parts of God's Word are clear in how to apply them. Other parts need wisdom, understanding, and guidance. Which is why our reading of God's Word is not a solitary activity. We can and should read alone. But we should also read in community. We should hear and discuss God's Word with others who will help us practice what we read so that the promise of Jesus in John 13:17 is true of us all: “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

 

 

 

]]>
Keeping the Word With You https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/keeping-the-word-with-you https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/keeping-the-word-with-you#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2022 09:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/keeping-the-word-with-you       A friend of mine years ago used to always carry a Leatherman multi-tool everywhere he went. It was a knife, scissors, ruler, wrench, screwdriver and more all in one tool the size of a large pack of gum. He suggested I should carry one, too. I told him I didn't really think I regularly needed those tools enough to carry them around. “That's what I thought, too,” he said, “until I had one with me. Then suddenly I found myself using it every day.” You'd be surprised, he explained, how often you or someone around you needs a tool that you are then quickly able to supply. But you wouldn't know that if you didn't have it with you.

     This is part seven in an eight part series looking at the Westminster Shorter Catechism's question 90, which asks how we are to read and hear God's Word in a way that doesn't just go in one ear and out the other.  In a way that doesn't just build up information without producing a better life.  We want to hear God's Word in a way that is "effectual" (part one of the series).  The catechism says that if we want the Word of God to have the right effect in our lives, we have to hear and read it with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.  In this post, we'll look at that next to last requirement.

     The Catechism, following Scripture, tells us that a part of proper hearing of God's Word is not leaving the Word behind when we're done reading or listening. Instead, we should “lay it up in our hearts,” in other words, memorize it so we can carry it with us. And when we memorize God's Word, we usually find, much like my friend did, that we are able to make much more use of it than we imagined.

     One school year my ministry team on the mission field decided that we would together memorize the book of 1 Peter. The whole book. Not just the easy parts, the familiar parts, or the popular parts. Even the confusing and less-used parts. And as the year drew to a close, we were sharing with each other how often we were able to use those verses in our ministry. We shared about times when someone asked us a question about the Bible, or sought advise about a problem with their family, or voiced an objection to the gospel in an evangelistic conversation, and time and again we discovered that the words of 1 Peter had come to mind and helped us respond in just the right way, remarkable even the verses we had never thought about before we memorized them. We now had the tool on our belt, and we had never realized how much we had been needing it. (In case you're wondering, no, I don't still have it all memorized, but I can recall most of with very little prompting, which is still amazingly useful!)

     It's important to note that we should be active in this process - laying up God's Word in our hearts and not just assuming it will happen without our effort.  So instead of pointing you to why the Bible encourages us to say “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11), I'll assume that you desire this. Allow me to share a few ideas on how to lay up God's Word in your heart. I'm guessing you have already memorized a few (or more than a few) verses. Perhaps you've grown frustrated because memorizing isn't easy for you.

     One suggestion for those who don't memorize easily is to not aim for memorization. Instead, try reading repeatedly, and allow some of what you've read to stick with you over time. One technique I recommend is to choose a passage of Scripture that's not too long – three to five chapters – and read it once through. Then read it again later that day or the next day. Then again the next day. Do this for a whole month, reading the same section over and over once or twice a day and you will find that many parts of it will be stuck in your memory for years to come.  I would recommend something like Philippians, James, John 13-17, Isaiah 40-43, or Psalms 21-25 for starters.

     Some people have found the "eraser method" very helpful. Write a verse or series of verses on a card. The next day, erase a few words and learn to read it with your memory supplying the missing words. Later on, erase some more words and read it again. Keep going until you can say the whole thing.

     Put index cards or printouts of verses where you'll see them often – the bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, the handles of your stroller, the top of your computer screen. Each time you see it, make a habit of reading the verse once out loud, then closing your eyes and reciting as much of it as you can.

     You could try what my team did years ago - memorize with other people.  Every week when we met together, we would take turns saying our verses.  Accountability helps!

     For those who find memorization easier, or for the particularly ambitious, try memorizing whole paragraphs or chapters instead of verses. Isaiah 55, Romans 8, Psalm 139 – or maybe all of 1 Peter! – are good ones to start with.

     And one final word of encouragement from Jesus himself. If you commit to the work of storing God's Word in your heart, you have a helper in that process. In John 14:26 he promises, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

 

]]>
      A friend of mine years ago used to always carry a Leatherman multi-tool everywhere he went. It was a knife, scissors, ruler, wrench, screwdriver and more all in one tool the size of a large pack of gum. He suggested I should carry one, too. I told him I didn't really think I regularly needed those tools enough to carry them around. “That's what I thought, too,” he said, “until I had one with me. Then suddenly I found myself using it every day.” You'd be surprised, he explained, how often you or someone around you needs a tool that you are then quickly able to supply. But you wouldn't know that if you didn't have it with you.

     This is part seven in an eight part series looking at the Westminster Shorter Catechism's question 90, which asks how we are to read and hear God's Word in a way that doesn't just go in one ear and out the other.  In a way that doesn't just build up information without producing a better life.  We want to hear God's Word in a way that is "effectual" (part one of the series).  The catechism says that if we want the Word of God to have the right effect in our lives, we have to hear and read it with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.  In this post, we'll look at that next to last requirement.

     The Catechism, following Scripture, tells us that a part of proper hearing of God's Word is not leaving the Word behind when we're done reading or listening. Instead, we should “lay it up in our hearts,” in other words, memorize it so we can carry it with us. And when we memorize God's Word, we usually find, much like my friend did, that we are able to make much more use of it than we imagined.

     One school year my ministry team on the mission field decided that we would together memorize the book of 1 Peter. The whole book. Not just the easy parts, the familiar parts, or the popular parts. Even the confusing and less-used parts. And as the year drew to a close, we were sharing with each other how often we were able to use those verses in our ministry. We shared about times when someone asked us a question about the Bible, or sought advise about a problem with their family, or voiced an objection to the gospel in an evangelistic conversation, and time and again we discovered that the words of 1 Peter had come to mind and helped us respond in just the right way, remarkable even the verses we had never thought about before we memorized them. We now had the tool on our belt, and we had never realized how much we had been needing it. (In case you're wondering, no, I don't still have it all memorized, but I can recall most of with very little prompting, which is still amazingly useful!)

     It's important to note that we should be active in this process - laying up God's Word in our hearts and not just assuming it will happen without our effort.  So instead of pointing you to why the Bible encourages us to say “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11), I'll assume that you desire this. Allow me to share a few ideas on how to lay up God's Word in your heart. I'm guessing you have already memorized a few (or more than a few) verses. Perhaps you've grown frustrated because memorizing isn't easy for you.

     One suggestion for those who don't memorize easily is to not aim for memorization. Instead, try reading repeatedly, and allow some of what you've read to stick with you over time. One technique I recommend is to choose a passage of Scripture that's not too long – three to five chapters – and read it once through. Then read it again later that day or the next day. Then again the next day. Do this for a whole month, reading the same section over and over once or twice a day and you will find that many parts of it will be stuck in your memory for years to come.  I would recommend something like Philippians, James, John 13-17, Isaiah 40-43, or Psalms 21-25 for starters.

     Some people have found the "eraser method" very helpful. Write a verse or series of verses on a card. The next day, erase a few words and learn to read it with your memory supplying the missing words. Later on, erase some more words and read it again. Keep going until you can say the whole thing.

     Put index cards or printouts of verses where you'll see them often – the bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, the handles of your stroller, the top of your computer screen. Each time you see it, make a habit of reading the verse once out loud, then closing your eyes and reciting as much of it as you can.

     You could try what my team did years ago - memorize with other people.  Every week when we met together, we would take turns saying our verses.  Accountability helps!

     For those who find memorization easier, or for the particularly ambitious, try memorizing whole paragraphs or chapters instead of verses. Isaiah 55, Romans 8, Psalm 139 – or maybe all of 1 Peter! – are good ones to start with.

     And one final word of encouragement from Jesus himself. If you commit to the work of storing God's Word in your heart, you have a helper in that process. In John 14:26 he promises, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

 

]]>
Preferring the Word https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/preferring https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/preferring#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2022 16:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/preferring  

     This article is in a series on how Scripture instructs us to receive God's Word. It's best to start here, explaining the Westminster Shorter Catechism question 90 - “How should the Word be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” Each subsequent article examines a part of the answer. “That the Word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

     The things we love don't have to be forced on us. We receive them joyfully and even chase after them. I eat vegetables because I have to. I don't go out of my way to make it happen. But I will find any excuse to eat a Papa John's pepperoni, pineapple, and onion pizza (yes, pineapple). We pursue what we love. That's the bottom line.  

     And when the Westminster Catechism seeks to answer the question of how we should approach the Word of God in order to receive it in a way that actually benefits us, one of the answers it gives is that we should receive the Word with love. What does it mean to hear or read something with love? Perhaps it would help to consider the opposite.

     In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul is warning of the sad end of those who reject the gospel of God. He says “they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” It's not just the hearing that saves us, it's accepting what we hear and welcoming it, responding to it, acting on it. Those who hear the truth and do not love it will instead reject it. Not because of how they feel, but because of what they choose.

     Perhaps part of the confusion is that when we hear the word “love” we think of strong feelings. In Biblical usage, the word 'love' is sometimes used to indicate strong preference. In Malachi 1:2-3 God says he loved Jacob and hated Esau, but not because God had strong feelings against Esau. Rather, God favored Jacob and blessed him greatly compared to how he blessed Esau. Or when Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters but must love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24), or that to follow him we must hate our family (Luke 14:26). Jesus is not speaking of strong feelings for and against these things. He is speaking of strong preference – choosing one over the other.

     Now back to our question – how do we receive the Word of God with love? In John 3:19-20 we read, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” When confronted with God's Word (the light), our choices reflect whether or not we love the light. Do we respond to it, move towards it, seek it out? Or do we avoid it, tolerate it, hide from it?

     We may not always desire God's Word. We are not always like the Psalmist who says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day... How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:97, 103). But even if we are not feeling the feelings of love, we can express the preference that love shows. We can be like the Psalmist in Psalm 19:9-10 who says, “the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold.” Though we don't feel the desire, we can recognize the worth. Like when I would prefer a nice pizza but know that my health needs and my love for my family might mean I need to recognize the beauty and goodness of a salad for lunch (can you tell I'm writing this at lunch time?).

     So receive the Word of God with love. To do this, choose God's Word and trust it, treat it as the wise and life-giving Word that it is. Choose it over other forms of wisdom. Welcome its correction in your life. Decide that if you do not yet see the beauty in it, the problem might be with your understanding and not with the Word itself.

     Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-6)

     What would it look like to bring this attitude to our hearing and reading of the God's Word?

 

 

 

]]>
 

     This article is in a series on how Scripture instructs us to receive God's Word. It's best to start here, explaining the Westminster Shorter Catechism question 90 - “How should the Word be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” Each subsequent article examines a part of the answer. “That the Word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

     The things we love don't have to be forced on us. We receive them joyfully and even chase after them. I eat vegetables because I have to. I don't go out of my way to make it happen. But I will find any excuse to eat a Papa John's pepperoni, pineapple, and onion pizza (yes, pineapple). We pursue what we love. That's the bottom line.  

     And when the Westminster Catechism seeks to answer the question of how we should approach the Word of God in order to receive it in a way that actually benefits us, one of the answers it gives is that we should receive the Word with love. What does it mean to hear or read something with love? Perhaps it would help to consider the opposite.

     In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul is warning of the sad end of those who reject the gospel of God. He says “they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” It's not just the hearing that saves us, it's accepting what we hear and welcoming it, responding to it, acting on it. Those who hear the truth and do not love it will instead reject it. Not because of how they feel, but because of what they choose.

     Perhaps part of the confusion is that when we hear the word “love” we think of strong feelings. In Biblical usage, the word 'love' is sometimes used to indicate strong preference. In Malachi 1:2-3 God says he loved Jacob and hated Esau, but not because God had strong feelings against Esau. Rather, God favored Jacob and blessed him greatly compared to how he blessed Esau. Or when Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters but must love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24), or that to follow him we must hate our family (Luke 14:26). Jesus is not speaking of strong feelings for and against these things. He is speaking of strong preference – choosing one over the other.

     Now back to our question – how do we receive the Word of God with love? In John 3:19-20 we read, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” When confronted with God's Word (the light), our choices reflect whether or not we love the light. Do we respond to it, move towards it, seek it out? Or do we avoid it, tolerate it, hide from it?

     We may not always desire God's Word. We are not always like the Psalmist who says, “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day... How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:97, 103). But even if we are not feeling the feelings of love, we can express the preference that love shows. We can be like the Psalmist in Psalm 19:9-10 who says, “the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold.” Though we don't feel the desire, we can recognize the worth. Like when I would prefer a nice pizza but know that my health needs and my love for my family might mean I need to recognize the beauty and goodness of a salad for lunch (can you tell I'm writing this at lunch time?).

     So receive the Word of God with love. To do this, choose God's Word and trust it, treat it as the wise and life-giving Word that it is. Choose it over other forms of wisdom. Welcome its correction in your life. Decide that if you do not yet see the beauty in it, the problem might be with your understanding and not with the Word itself.

     Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-6)

     What would it look like to bring this attitude to our hearing and reading of the God's Word?

 

 

 

]]>
Assuming Truth https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/assuming-truth https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/assuming-truth#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2022 06:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/assuming-truth  

 

     I have always been a bit of a skeptic. I'm not just talking about matters of faith – I am skeptical about anything a politician says, any “amazing” event captured on video, any “unbelievable” trick or discovery. I tend to start from a position of doubt and questioning. And of course, skepticism can be healthy, it has its place in our lives. We should not be quick to believe every claim that people make, otherwise people can take advantage of us and do us harm.

     But we should not let our skepticism take control. There's a time to question and a time to accept answers. There's a time to doubt and a time to believe. The same skepticism that chases away the snake-oil salesman should not keep us from receiving life-saving medical treatment.

     As we continue to study what the Westminster Shorter Catechism has to say about how we read and hear the Word of God, we reach the fourth characteristic of effective hearing. The question posed at the beginning was “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” Remember, we're not just talking about casual hearing. We're talking about the kind of hearing that produces results. The catechism summarizes the answer of Scripture, saying “That the Word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith...”

     We must receive the Word of God with faith. In short, that means we must believe the truth of what we hear from God's Word. An example of this is in Hebrews 4:2, “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” The “them” described in this verse is the people of Israel, standing just outside the promised land. Having sent spies in to explore the land, they heard the report that the land was good and fertile and beautiful. But it was also occupied by hostile people. Two of the twelve spies tried to persuade the people that, because God had promised them this land, they could be confident that they would be able to take it. But the people didn't believe the promises of God. So the good news they heard was of no benefit to them, because they didn't believe it (read the whole story in Numbers 13-14).

     The Bible makes some amazing claims about reality. It contains bold promises from the eternal God to his faithful people. Promises he expects us to act on and respond to. Promises around which we are to order our lives. God will avenge and punish evil, therefore love your enemies. God will provide for all your needs, therefore be generous. God has gifted you for service in the church, therefore connect with others and find ways to minister. Jesus will return to renew and restore all things, therefore do not seek your happiness and security in things that will pass away. If we hear these promises and instructions without faith – that is, without believing their truth – then we will not act on them. If we do not act on them, we will not benefit from them.

     Such faith-less hearing is not new. Remember the serpent in the Garden of Eden? When tempting Eve, the serpent questioned the truth of God's Word (Genesis 3:1-5). The serpent called Eve to doubt what the Word said and to instead make her own judgment about what was good and true. The serpent suggested she receive the Word of God without faith that what it said was true. You might not even realize it when you are listening without faith. Ask yourself, “Am I arguing with or criticizing the Word of God when I read or hear it?” “Am I looking for the problems or possible objections?”

     One of the challenges to hearing with faith is that there are many messages in our life that we must receive with skepticism. What we learn in school, what we hear on the news, what we are told in advertising, and many other words we hear should be listened to critically. We should listen with an ear to analyze and evaluate and perhaps reject. But not so with God's Word. His Word comes to as loving instruction from a Father to his children. And it comes as the authoritative Word from our loving Creator and all-wise King.

     For those who have settled in our hearts that the Bible is the Word of God, our skepticism needs to give way to faith. Faith indeed partners with diligence and prudence and careful reading, recognizing that we don't always understand the Word correctly. But in those situations, the skepticism is directed at our own understanding and not at the Word of God. What we read and what we hear, we receive with faith that it is God's Word for our good and for his glory. When we receive it in such a way, with faith, it will be of great benefit, producing the blessing which God intended.

 

 

]]>
 

 

     I have always been a bit of a skeptic. I'm not just talking about matters of faith – I am skeptical about anything a politician says, any “amazing” event captured on video, any “unbelievable” trick or discovery. I tend to start from a position of doubt and questioning. And of course, skepticism can be healthy, it has its place in our lives. We should not be quick to believe every claim that people make, otherwise people can take advantage of us and do us harm.

     But we should not let our skepticism take control. There's a time to question and a time to accept answers. There's a time to doubt and a time to believe. The same skepticism that chases away the snake-oil salesman should not keep us from receiving life-saving medical treatment.

     As we continue to study what the Westminster Shorter Catechism has to say about how we read and hear the Word of God, we reach the fourth characteristic of effective hearing. The question posed at the beginning was “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” Remember, we're not just talking about casual hearing. We're talking about the kind of hearing that produces results. The catechism summarizes the answer of Scripture, saying “That the Word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith...”

     We must receive the Word of God with faith. In short, that means we must believe the truth of what we hear from God's Word. An example of this is in Hebrews 4:2, “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” The “them” described in this verse is the people of Israel, standing just outside the promised land. Having sent spies in to explore the land, they heard the report that the land was good and fertile and beautiful. But it was also occupied by hostile people. Two of the twelve spies tried to persuade the people that, because God had promised them this land, they could be confident that they would be able to take it. But the people didn't believe the promises of God. So the good news they heard was of no benefit to them, because they didn't believe it (read the whole story in Numbers 13-14).

     The Bible makes some amazing claims about reality. It contains bold promises from the eternal God to his faithful people. Promises he expects us to act on and respond to. Promises around which we are to order our lives. God will avenge and punish evil, therefore love your enemies. God will provide for all your needs, therefore be generous. God has gifted you for service in the church, therefore connect with others and find ways to minister. Jesus will return to renew and restore all things, therefore do not seek your happiness and security in things that will pass away. If we hear these promises and instructions without faith – that is, without believing their truth – then we will not act on them. If we do not act on them, we will not benefit from them.

     Such faith-less hearing is not new. Remember the serpent in the Garden of Eden? When tempting Eve, the serpent questioned the truth of God's Word (Genesis 3:1-5). The serpent called Eve to doubt what the Word said and to instead make her own judgment about what was good and true. The serpent suggested she receive the Word of God without faith that what it said was true. You might not even realize it when you are listening without faith. Ask yourself, “Am I arguing with or criticizing the Word of God when I read or hear it?” “Am I looking for the problems or possible objections?”

     One of the challenges to hearing with faith is that there are many messages in our life that we must receive with skepticism. What we learn in school, what we hear on the news, what we are told in advertising, and many other words we hear should be listened to critically. We should listen with an ear to analyze and evaluate and perhaps reject. But not so with God's Word. His Word comes to as loving instruction from a Father to his children. And it comes as the authoritative Word from our loving Creator and all-wise King.

     For those who have settled in our hearts that the Bible is the Word of God, our skepticism needs to give way to faith. Faith indeed partners with diligence and prudence and careful reading, recognizing that we don't always understand the Word correctly. But in those situations, the skepticism is directed at our own understanding and not at the Word of God. What we read and what we hear, we receive with faith that it is God's Word for our good and for his glory. When we receive it in such a way, with faith, it will be of great benefit, producing the blessing which God intended.

 

 

]]>
Help Me, Please! https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/help-me-please https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/help-me-please#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2022 11:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/help-me-please  

     I'm really bad at asking for help. Now is not the time or place to diagnose why I am that way – a combination of my wiring and my past – but it has been a recurring issue all my life. I remember once on a mission trip as I was stubbornly carrying my suitcase, my guitar case, my drum case, and my computer bag, our team leader forced us all to stop. He said, “Rob, we're not going another step until you let someone help you.” I know that, in my own heart, there's pride at work, as well as shame, fear of rejection, and a host of other things that stop me from simply saying, “I can't do this on my own. I need help.”

     As we are studying what it takes to hear and read God's Word in a way that produces the results God wants for us, we've already seen that it takes some work. The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us, “That the Word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence (see this post), preparation (read more here), and prayer...” Prayer is not just a formal habit that we participate in because it's what we're supposed to do before we eat, before we sleep, before we worship, etc. Prayer (as the Catechism says elsewhere) “is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will.” And when we approach God's Word, whether in a sermon, a quiet time, a Bible Study, or whenever, our desire is to understand it rightly. But if we are going to understand God's Word, we need help.

     Understanding God's Word is, in a sense, like mind-reading. You read minds every day, believe it or not. Every time someone speaks to you, every time you read something someone has written, you are learning something that is on their mind. But how do we read the mind of God? Is it enough to just read the words of the Bible? Yes and no. The challenge is that we can misunderstand what we read. You can read the words, put the sentences together and comprehend a story. But you may do all that and still miss what it is saying. So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:11 “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

     If we are to understand the thoughts of God expressed in his Word, we need God himself to make those thoughts clear to us. Not because the words themselves are inherently confusing, but because of a fault in us. Second Corinthians 4:4 expresses it this way: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” We begin blinded and unable to see, but there is a solution for that- look down a few verses at 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

     To summarize, then, if we are to understand the thoughts of God that he has put into his Word, we need him to make us able to see and understand. This is why the Psalmist prays in Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

     So, if our time spent receiving God's Word is to have the right effect, we must approach it asking for help. We must pray, expressing our desire to God that he make us diligent and faithful hearers. We must pray that he would give us ears to hear and eyes to see. We pray because we can't do it on our own.

     If I may recommend some things to pray for the next time you are preparing to receive God's Word, here are some ideas:

-Pray that God would make you quick to listen and slow to speak.

-Pray that you would be humble to change – your ideas, your values, your plans, etc. – in light of God's Word.

-Pray that you would not only understand what his Word teaches, but that you would rejoice in it, beholding “the wondrous things” of his Word.

-Pray that the Spirit would guide you in the proper application, that you may glorify God.

     There are many other things you could pray for as you read God's Word, but with these things in mind, perhaps we are better prepared to ask for the help we need.

 

]]>
 

     I'm really bad at asking for help. Now is not the time or place to diagnose why I am that way – a combination of my wiring and my past – but it has been a recurring issue all my life. I remember once on a mission trip as I was stubbornly carrying my suitcase, my guitar case, my drum case, and my computer bag, our team leader forced us all to stop. He said, “Rob, we're not going another step until you let someone help you.” I know that, in my own heart, there's pride at work, as well as shame, fear of rejection, and a host of other things that stop me from simply saying, “I can't do this on my own. I need help.”

     As we are studying what it takes to hear and read God's Word in a way that produces the results God wants for us, we've already seen that it takes some work. The Westminster Shorter Catechism tells us, “That the Word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence (see this post), preparation (read more here), and prayer...” Prayer is not just a formal habit that we participate in because it's what we're supposed to do before we eat, before we sleep, before we worship, etc. Prayer (as the Catechism says elsewhere) “is an offering up of our desires unto God for things agreeable to his will.” And when we approach God's Word, whether in a sermon, a quiet time, a Bible Study, or whenever, our desire is to understand it rightly. But if we are going to understand God's Word, we need help.

     Understanding God's Word is, in a sense, like mind-reading. You read minds every day, believe it or not. Every time someone speaks to you, every time you read something someone has written, you are learning something that is on their mind. But how do we read the mind of God? Is it enough to just read the words of the Bible? Yes and no. The challenge is that we can misunderstand what we read. You can read the words, put the sentences together and comprehend a story. But you may do all that and still miss what it is saying. So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:11 “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

     If we are to understand the thoughts of God expressed in his Word, we need God himself to make those thoughts clear to us. Not because the words themselves are inherently confusing, but because of a fault in us. Second Corinthians 4:4 expresses it this way: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” We begin blinded and unable to see, but there is a solution for that- look down a few verses at 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

     To summarize, then, if we are to understand the thoughts of God that he has put into his Word, we need him to make us able to see and understand. This is why the Psalmist prays in Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

     So, if our time spent receiving God's Word is to have the right effect, we must approach it asking for help. We must pray, expressing our desire to God that he make us diligent and faithful hearers. We must pray that he would give us ears to hear and eyes to see. We pray because we can't do it on our own.

     If I may recommend some things to pray for the next time you are preparing to receive God's Word, here are some ideas:

-Pray that God would make you quick to listen and slow to speak.

-Pray that you would be humble to change – your ideas, your values, your plans, etc. – in light of God's Word.

-Pray that you would not only understand what his Word teaches, but that you would rejoice in it, beholding “the wondrous things” of his Word.

-Pray that the Spirit would guide you in the proper application, that you may glorify God.

     There are many other things you could pray for as you read God's Word, but with these things in mind, perhaps we are better prepared to ask for the help we need.

 

]]>
Are You Ready to Hear? https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/are-you-ready-to-hear https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/are-you-ready-to-hear#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2022 14:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/are-you-ready-to-hear  

     I can almost hear the sound even today: three loud beeps over my high school's intercom system. They were loud enough, distinct enough, and annoying enough that they pierced through every other sound, even band practice! It was how they let you know that someone was about to make an announcement. The beeps were annoying but necessary. If you begin speaking and people aren't ready to listen, then they won't hear you. The beeps essentially told everyone at my high school, “Stop talking! Put down your instruments! Put away your pencils! Get ready to listen!”

     We're exploring in this series of posts what the Westminster Shorter Catechism says about how we should read and hear God's Word. Part of the mystery of how God works is that, even though (as the Catechism says in answer to question 89) “The Spirit of God makes the reading and especially the preaching of the word...effectual,” yet there are obligations on our part if the Spirit is to make the Word effectual in our lives. That's what prompts Question 90 – “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?

     In our first post, we discussed the significance of that word “effectual.” God's Word is given with a purpose, and we want it to be effectual – to accomplish its purpose in our lives.

     In our second post, we looked at the first of seven things the catechism says should be present if our hearing and reading is to work. We saw that we must be diligent, not being casual and not giving up but rather working hard to hear rightly and to understand.

     In this post, we'll discuss the second item on the catechism's list: “That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with... preparation.” How do we prepare to read or hear God's Word?  Let's think of it from the other direction – What are things that hinder our ability to effectively receive God's Word? What makes our private reading or public listening go in one ear and out the other? Two things come to mind – physical obstacles and spiritual obstacles.

     Preparing the physical environment involves minimizing distractions, creating a place where you can focus your attention on the Word you are receiving. This might mean silencing a phone or other potential distraction, setting aside other tasks, and maybe even reconsidering where and when you are reading. On Sunday morning, perhaps it would help to wrap up conversations a few minutes earlier, finding a seat and giving your mind time to calm down before the worship service begins. It might mean having a pen and some paper nearby to jot down notes, thoughts, or questions to help you read diligently.

     As part of our physical preparation, I would recommend silence – not just from distractions, but from your own words and thoughts. Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 reminds us that “to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. Don't rush to conclusions about what you are hearing. Pause, be silent, and allow God's Word to speak first.

     In addition to preparing our physical environment to help us hear better, we can also prepare our spiritual context. Peter addresses this in 1 Peter 2:1-2 when he urges Christians to “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” Preparing spiritually involves a great deal of heart preparation. If you are approaching the Word of God with a distracted and sinful heart, you are unprepared to hear the Word. Remember what Jesus said to do if you are about to worship and suddenly remember that someone has something against you? First go and be reconciled, then come back to worship (Matthew 5:23-24). Though Jesus was talking about worship, the same applies to our reading and hearing of his Word. Part of preparing includes dealing with personal sin and offenses, keeping short accounts so that our sin does not hinder our hearing.

     Preparing to hear God's Word is necessary because, without sounding too obvious, it is the Word of God. Preparing ourselves to hear it rightly gives God's Word the honor and respect it deserves. When we prepare, we are acknowledging that these words are important and meaningful, they are not to be taken lightly. We are willing to do everything in our power to be able to hear and respond.

     But as our next entry will show, it is not our power that makes us ultimately able to hear.

 

 

]]>
 

     I can almost hear the sound even today: three loud beeps over my high school's intercom system. They were loud enough, distinct enough, and annoying enough that they pierced through every other sound, even band practice! It was how they let you know that someone was about to make an announcement. The beeps were annoying but necessary. If you begin speaking and people aren't ready to listen, then they won't hear you. The beeps essentially told everyone at my high school, “Stop talking! Put down your instruments! Put away your pencils! Get ready to listen!”

     We're exploring in this series of posts what the Westminster Shorter Catechism says about how we should read and hear God's Word. Part of the mystery of how God works is that, even though (as the Catechism says in answer to question 89) “The Spirit of God makes the reading and especially the preaching of the word...effectual,” yet there are obligations on our part if the Spirit is to make the Word effectual in our lives. That's what prompts Question 90 – “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?

     In our first post, we discussed the significance of that word “effectual.” God's Word is given with a purpose, and we want it to be effectual – to accomplish its purpose in our lives.

     In our second post, we looked at the first of seven things the catechism says should be present if our hearing and reading is to work. We saw that we must be diligent, not being casual and not giving up but rather working hard to hear rightly and to understand.

     In this post, we'll discuss the second item on the catechism's list: “That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with... preparation.” How do we prepare to read or hear God's Word?  Let's think of it from the other direction – What are things that hinder our ability to effectively receive God's Word? What makes our private reading or public listening go in one ear and out the other? Two things come to mind – physical obstacles and spiritual obstacles.

     Preparing the physical environment involves minimizing distractions, creating a place where you can focus your attention on the Word you are receiving. This might mean silencing a phone or other potential distraction, setting aside other tasks, and maybe even reconsidering where and when you are reading. On Sunday morning, perhaps it would help to wrap up conversations a few minutes earlier, finding a seat and giving your mind time to calm down before the worship service begins. It might mean having a pen and some paper nearby to jot down notes, thoughts, or questions to help you read diligently.

     As part of our physical preparation, I would recommend silence – not just from distractions, but from your own words and thoughts. Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 reminds us that “to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. Don't rush to conclusions about what you are hearing. Pause, be silent, and allow God's Word to speak first.

     In addition to preparing our physical environment to help us hear better, we can also prepare our spiritual context. Peter addresses this in 1 Peter 2:1-2 when he urges Christians to “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.” Preparing spiritually involves a great deal of heart preparation. If you are approaching the Word of God with a distracted and sinful heart, you are unprepared to hear the Word. Remember what Jesus said to do if you are about to worship and suddenly remember that someone has something against you? First go and be reconciled, then come back to worship (Matthew 5:23-24). Though Jesus was talking about worship, the same applies to our reading and hearing of his Word. Part of preparing includes dealing with personal sin and offenses, keeping short accounts so that our sin does not hinder our hearing.

     Preparing to hear God's Word is necessary because, without sounding too obvious, it is the Word of God. Preparing ourselves to hear it rightly gives God's Word the honor and respect it deserves. When we prepare, we are acknowledging that these words are important and meaningful, they are not to be taken lightly. We are willing to do everything in our power to be able to hear and respond.

     But as our next entry will show, it is not our power that makes us ultimately able to hear.

 

 

]]>
Working Hard at Hearing https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/working-hard-at-hearing https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/working-hard-at-hearing#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2022 15:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/working-hard-at-hearing  **This blog post is number 2 in a series. To read part one, click here.**

     One of my favorite stand-up comedians, Brian Regan, does a joke about how ridiculous it is to put off going to the eye doctor. “How can 'instantly improve vision' not be at the top of your to-do list?” he asks. Like many comedians, his humor points to an important truth: Sometimes we are not diligent about things that are very important.

     This series of posts is unpacking the Westminster Shorter Catechism's answer to the question “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” Each post will examine one of the seven things the catechism puts forward as important in helping us to read and hear God's Word in a way that is effectual – in a way that produces the intended results. The catechism's answer begins: “That the word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence...”

     As our comedian friend has noted, when something is important, it is worth our diligence. So how do we read and hear the Word of God with diligence? My quick search for a definition tells me that diligence is “having careful and persistent work or effort.” I would suggest the opposite of that is to be casual, passive, and occasional. How effective do you think an exercise routine would be if someone only applied it once or twice a month? Would you expect to see real changes in their health? Would you expect someone to learn an instrument who only picks it up when they feel like it and plays around for a few minutes? No, we don't expect results from such 'efforts' because they lack the consistency and commitment that it takes to get results.

     Why would we expect anything different from our exposure to God's Word? The person who sits in worship to hear a sermon while her mind is running through plans for the week. The daily Bible reader who rushes to finish his assigned passage so he can check it off his to-do list. The commuter who listens to an audio Bible in the car while also scrolling through text messages at stoplights. We are not surprised when the Word doesn't take root and bear fruit after being heard in this way.

     But what about the person who attentively listens to the whole sermon and then forgets it after they leave the building because “it didn't speak to me?” Or the daily Bible reader who carefully and slowly reads a chapter, then moves on because “nothing really stood out?” Are they showing diligence in their hearing and reading?

     Consider, by way of contrast, the famous Bereans of Acts 17:10-12 “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed.” The Bereans heard Paul and Silas preaching. And they knew that the preaching of the word was meant to be the beginning of something, not the end. They followed-up, they examined, they eagerly pursued understanding. And what was the result? The Word was effectual – many of them believed. Or consider the righteous man in Psalm 1:2 “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  And what does the next verse say is the result of that diligence?  "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers."  In short, their reading is effectual, it accomplishes its purpose.  

     Such readers and hearers are not passively expecting that the word of God will arrive pre-chewed, processed and ready. They understand that, for the Word of God to produce the results we want, we have to demonstrate “careful and persistent work or effort,” in other words, diligence. We have to read and re-read.  Think.  Study.  Learn.  All that diligence is based on our trust that, if God's Word is not producing fruit in our lives, it's not the Word of God that has failed. Rather, we confess that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Because we believe that is true, we are diligent in our reading and hearing until it produces results.

     As we looked at in our previous post, such human efforts don't negate the power of God's Word to do its appointed work.  Rather, our diligence is one of the God-ordained means for his Word to take effect.  So none of this talk of diligence and effort is intended to produce guilt or condemnation - far from it!.  It should instead challenge us and urge us on. God's Word is living and powerful. It will produce the fruit of salvation and godliness. Don't give up on it. Hear it with all the diligence it takes to see the effects.  

]]>
 **This blog post is number 2 in a series. To read part one, click here.**

     One of my favorite stand-up comedians, Brian Regan, does a joke about how ridiculous it is to put off going to the eye doctor. “How can 'instantly improve vision' not be at the top of your to-do list?” he asks. Like many comedians, his humor points to an important truth: Sometimes we are not diligent about things that are very important.

     This series of posts is unpacking the Westminster Shorter Catechism's answer to the question “How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” Each post will examine one of the seven things the catechism puts forward as important in helping us to read and hear God's Word in a way that is effectual – in a way that produces the intended results. The catechism's answer begins: “That the word may become effectual to salvation we must attend thereunto with diligence...”

     As our comedian friend has noted, when something is important, it is worth our diligence. So how do we read and hear the Word of God with diligence? My quick search for a definition tells me that diligence is “having careful and persistent work or effort.” I would suggest the opposite of that is to be casual, passive, and occasional. How effective do you think an exercise routine would be if someone only applied it once or twice a month? Would you expect to see real changes in their health? Would you expect someone to learn an instrument who only picks it up when they feel like it and plays around for a few minutes? No, we don't expect results from such 'efforts' because they lack the consistency and commitment that it takes to get results.

     Why would we expect anything different from our exposure to God's Word? The person who sits in worship to hear a sermon while her mind is running through plans for the week. The daily Bible reader who rushes to finish his assigned passage so he can check it off his to-do list. The commuter who listens to an audio Bible in the car while also scrolling through text messages at stoplights. We are not surprised when the Word doesn't take root and bear fruit after being heard in this way.

     But what about the person who attentively listens to the whole sermon and then forgets it after they leave the building because “it didn't speak to me?” Or the daily Bible reader who carefully and slowly reads a chapter, then moves on because “nothing really stood out?” Are they showing diligence in their hearing and reading?

     Consider, by way of contrast, the famous Bereans of Acts 17:10-12 “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed.” The Bereans heard Paul and Silas preaching. And they knew that the preaching of the word was meant to be the beginning of something, not the end. They followed-up, they examined, they eagerly pursued understanding. And what was the result? The Word was effectual – many of them believed. Or consider the righteous man in Psalm 1:2 “his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  And what does the next verse say is the result of that diligence?  "He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers."  In short, their reading is effectual, it accomplishes its purpose.  

     Such readers and hearers are not passively expecting that the word of God will arrive pre-chewed, processed and ready. They understand that, for the Word of God to produce the results we want, we have to demonstrate “careful and persistent work or effort,” in other words, diligence. We have to read and re-read.  Think.  Study.  Learn.  All that diligence is based on our trust that, if God's Word is not producing fruit in our lives, it's not the Word of God that has failed. Rather, we confess that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Because we believe that is true, we are diligent in our reading and hearing until it produces results.

     As we looked at in our previous post, such human efforts don't negate the power of God's Word to do its appointed work.  Rather, our diligence is one of the God-ordained means for his Word to take effect.  So none of this talk of diligence and effort is intended to produce guilt or condemnation - far from it!.  It should instead challenge us and urge us on. God's Word is living and powerful. It will produce the fruit of salvation and godliness. Don't give up on it. Hear it with all the diligence it takes to see the effects.  

]]>
Hearing Rightly https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/hearing-rightly https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/hearing-rightly#comments Mon, 01 Aug 2022 15:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/hearing-rightly  

     There is a scene in a superhero movie my son was watching where a character suddenly receives the power of super hearing. Wouldn't that be great? To be able to hear conversations a mile away? To listen to a music concert in another city? Not so fast. What the movie showed was how overwhelming and difficult it would be. Imagine hearing every conversation in the city all at the same time. Imagine hearing every animal, every car, every single sound around you loudly and at once. What the character in the movie learned was that too much input can be painful. And if we're going to be able to function, we need to learn how to focus on the right sounds. Just hearing is not enough. We hear plenty of things every day. We need to hear the right things and hear them in a way that actually helps us.

     Question 90 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks “How is the Word [of God] to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” The question explores the problem facing our super-powered listener in the illustration above. We may hear (and read) the Word of God regularly. We hear it preached, we see verses on our calendar, we read it on our lunch break, we receive a word of scriptural encouragement from a friend. But is hearing enough? The question works on the assumption that simply hearing is not enough (and to that you may add reading). We have to hear in a way that the word we hear is effectual. Effectual means accomplishing its purpose or goal.  

     When you see that word 'effectual,' think of Isaiah 55:10-11, one of my favorite passages in Scripture: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Or think of the parable of the four soils. The same seed (the Word) landed on different soils, but on only one soil does it result in fruit.

     Ultimately, it is God who makes his Word effectual. But he gives us responsibility to live in such a way that the word is effectual in our lives. Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” God caused the Corinthian church to grow, but he called Paul and Apollos to be faithful in their tasks, which God then used to bring about growth. If God's Word is to be effectual in our life, if it is to bear fruit, we have a responsibility to hear it in a certain way.

     This is one reason that two people attending the same good worship service and hearing the same Biblical sermon might come away very differently. One may complain, “I wasn't fed by that preaching,” and the other may be strengthened and discipled for loving obedience to Jesus. Perhaps (not always, but perhaps) the first person was hearing, but not hearing effectively.

     The next few blog posts will explore the Westminster Catechism's answer to question 90. How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation? The answer given is this: "That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives." Join me as we consider in turn each of these biblically-informed conditions that prepare our hearts to hear the Word of God, not just as one more sound amid the great cacophony of our day, but as the lamp to our feet and light to our path that it is intended to be.

]]>
 

     There is a scene in a superhero movie my son was watching where a character suddenly receives the power of super hearing. Wouldn't that be great? To be able to hear conversations a mile away? To listen to a music concert in another city? Not so fast. What the movie showed was how overwhelming and difficult it would be. Imagine hearing every conversation in the city all at the same time. Imagine hearing every animal, every car, every single sound around you loudly and at once. What the character in the movie learned was that too much input can be painful. And if we're going to be able to function, we need to learn how to focus on the right sounds. Just hearing is not enough. We hear plenty of things every day. We need to hear the right things and hear them in a way that actually helps us.

     Question 90 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks “How is the Word [of God] to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation?” The question explores the problem facing our super-powered listener in the illustration above. We may hear (and read) the Word of God regularly. We hear it preached, we see verses on our calendar, we read it on our lunch break, we receive a word of scriptural encouragement from a friend. But is hearing enough? The question works on the assumption that simply hearing is not enough (and to that you may add reading). We have to hear in a way that the word we hear is effectual. Effectual means accomplishing its purpose or goal.  

     When you see that word 'effectual,' think of Isaiah 55:10-11, one of my favorite passages in Scripture: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Or think of the parable of the four soils. The same seed (the Word) landed on different soils, but on only one soil does it result in fruit.

     Ultimately, it is God who makes his Word effectual. But he gives us responsibility to live in such a way that the word is effectual in our lives. Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” God caused the Corinthian church to grow, but he called Paul and Apollos to be faithful in their tasks, which God then used to bring about growth. If God's Word is to be effectual in our life, if it is to bear fruit, we have a responsibility to hear it in a certain way.

     This is one reason that two people attending the same good worship service and hearing the same Biblical sermon might come away very differently. One may complain, “I wasn't fed by that preaching,” and the other may be strengthened and discipled for loving obedience to Jesus. Perhaps (not always, but perhaps) the first person was hearing, but not hearing effectively.

     The next few blog posts will explore the Westminster Catechism's answer to question 90. How is the Word to be read and heard that it may become effectual to salvation? The answer given is this: "That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives." Join me as we consider in turn each of these biblically-informed conditions that prepare our hearts to hear the Word of God, not just as one more sound amid the great cacophony of our day, but as the lamp to our feet and light to our path that it is intended to be.

]]>
Putting the "P" in TCPC https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/putting-the--p--in-tcpc https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/putting-the--p--in-tcpc#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2022 10:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/putting-the--p--in-tcpc      One of your pastors will be out of town this week, putting into practice one of the important convictions we hold as a church - connectedness. As a church, we believe that Scripture calls us to be connected to other churches. And that connection is not just casual and informal. We're informally connected to other churches around us in the Treasure Coast area to partner in ministries together, to fellowship together, to be encouraged by one another and learn from one another. But the kind of connection we see Scripture pointing us to is one that involves more than that. It's what puts the "P" in TCPC. It's why we are Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church.  

     One of the guiding principles of presbyterianism is that churches are not meant to be independent. The 15 PCA churches in our area send representatives every quarter to meet together and support one another (we call this gathering the presbytery). If a church is wishing to hire a pastor, the elders gathered from other churches help ensure that the new pastor is doctrinally sound and gifted to serve that church (see 1 Timothy 4:14 for an example of this). We cooperate to support mission work in our communites and abroad. We oversee the workings of each church to ensure that each flock is being well-cared for.  We support ministries at local universities and we team up to support (financially and in other practical ways) the planting of new churches in our area.

     And once a year, the churches in our denomination send representatives to a national gathering that we call the General Assembly. At that gathering we worship with one voice. We hear reports from ministries all over the country. We conduct business regarding the college and seminary our denomination supports, the mission work we support, the church planting we support, and much more. We hear rulings on judicial cases that affect our churches. We learn of helpful resources for ministry and discipleship.  And, just as the gathered elders did in Acts 15, we debate and decide on doctrinal issues that have been brought forward by the local churches and presbyteries.

     With nearly 2,000 representatives from different churches in the room, we are seldom 100% on the same page regarding every detail. So there is debate, discussion, and even strong disagreement at times. But here is the beautiful and encouraging thing: everyone in the room is passionate about God, his Word, and his glory. Our disagreements stem from how we read and understand God's word, but every last one of us is committed to finding truth in what God has spoken and in applying that truth in a loving way to the churches under our care.  Much of our disagreements are over the 0.1% of things we see differently.  But in 99.9% of things, we are united.  And that doesn't always get the attention it deserves.

     So pray for your pastor as he represents TCPC at our General Assembly this week. Pray that he would be encouraged and that he would be wise in how he votes. Pray that the church would be strengthened and in one Spirit. Pray that our church - and the whole body of Christ - would grow stronger and healthier as a result.  This is an essential part of who we are as a church - we are connected in a real and vital way to many other churches, and it is worth the time and expense of having our church physically represented when those churches gather together and seek to better serve the body of Christ.

     You can follow the livestream of the General Assembly by clicking here.

]]>
     One of your pastors will be out of town this week, putting into practice one of the important convictions we hold as a church - connectedness. As a church, we believe that Scripture calls us to be connected to other churches. And that connection is not just casual and informal. We're informally connected to other churches around us in the Treasure Coast area to partner in ministries together, to fellowship together, to be encouraged by one another and learn from one another. But the kind of connection we see Scripture pointing us to is one that involves more than that. It's what puts the "P" in TCPC. It's why we are Treasure Coast Presbyterian Church.  

     One of the guiding principles of presbyterianism is that churches are not meant to be independent. The 15 PCA churches in our area send representatives every quarter to meet together and support one another (we call this gathering the presbytery). If a church is wishing to hire a pastor, the elders gathered from other churches help ensure that the new pastor is doctrinally sound and gifted to serve that church (see 1 Timothy 4:14 for an example of this). We cooperate to support mission work in our communites and abroad. We oversee the workings of each church to ensure that each flock is being well-cared for.  We support ministries at local universities and we team up to support (financially and in other practical ways) the planting of new churches in our area.

     And once a year, the churches in our denomination send representatives to a national gathering that we call the General Assembly. At that gathering we worship with one voice. We hear reports from ministries all over the country. We conduct business regarding the college and seminary our denomination supports, the mission work we support, the church planting we support, and much more. We hear rulings on judicial cases that affect our churches. We learn of helpful resources for ministry and discipleship.  And, just as the gathered elders did in Acts 15, we debate and decide on doctrinal issues that have been brought forward by the local churches and presbyteries.

     With nearly 2,000 representatives from different churches in the room, we are seldom 100% on the same page regarding every detail. So there is debate, discussion, and even strong disagreement at times. But here is the beautiful and encouraging thing: everyone in the room is passionate about God, his Word, and his glory. Our disagreements stem from how we read and understand God's word, but every last one of us is committed to finding truth in what God has spoken and in applying that truth in a loving way to the churches under our care.  Much of our disagreements are over the 0.1% of things we see differently.  But in 99.9% of things, we are united.  And that doesn't always get the attention it deserves.

     So pray for your pastor as he represents TCPC at our General Assembly this week. Pray that he would be encouraged and that he would be wise in how he votes. Pray that the church would be strengthened and in one Spirit. Pray that our church - and the whole body of Christ - would grow stronger and healthier as a result.  This is an essential part of who we are as a church - we are connected in a real and vital way to many other churches, and it is worth the time and expense of having our church physically represented when those churches gather together and seek to better serve the body of Christ.

     You can follow the livestream of the General Assembly by clicking here.

]]>
The Problem with Preaching the Gospel to Yourself https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/the-problem-with-preaching-the-gospel-to-yourself https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/the-problem-with-preaching-the-gospel-to-yourself#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2022 17:00:00 -0400 https://www.treasurecoastpca.org/blog/post/the-problem-with-preaching-the-gospel-to-yourself      A number of years ago, in certain circles in the church, a teaching series called "Sonship" became influential. (Disclaimer: Sonship has wonderful, solid, biblical content that I recommend to people. Don't read anything that follows as being a critique of Sonship.)
     The gist of Sonship as I remember it was that many Christians need to re-orient how they understand their relationship to God, moving away from a rules-based (and therefore performance-based) relationship and instead embrace the Biblical language of being adopted children of God. This makes our relationship to him more solidly grace-based. As someone who was raised with a rules-based understanding of the Christian life, this teaching was immensely helpful. A familiar phrase that Sonship helped popularize was "preach the gospel to yourself."
     I'm sure you've heard it at some point. We are quick to proclaim the grace of God in forgiving sinners, but slow to live as if our sins have been forgiven. Even those who regularly preach and proclaim the gospel to the lost may discover that they find it easier to apply God's grace to other people than to themselves. So you need to preach the gospel to yourself- regularly, faithfully, consistently. Don't let negative self-talk, unchecked emotions, or scars from your past determine who you are. I love the idea of preaching the gospel to yourself.
     But there is one problem that I've noticed over the years. I don't listen to myself very well. And I don't just mean in this one area. I mean, I tell myself to eat healthy, but then somehow I still end up in the Dunkin Donuts drive through more often than I should. I tell myself that in marriage I should concern myself with putting my wife's needs before my own, but then I still end up bitter when I'm not treated the way I think I deserve. I tell myself I need at least 6 (but really 8) hours of sleep a night, but still end up scrolling through news, emails, and word games on my phone just 5 hours before I need to wake up. I don't know about you, but I don't listen to myself very well.
     So while I commend the practice of preaching the gospel to ourselves, I feel the need to add the caveat that it's not going to be enough. If the message of the gospel is going to permeate my deeply-entrenched, self-destructive ways of thinking and living, it's going to need to come at me from many directions, not just the mirror. That's just one of the reasons we need the church. We are made to live and grow in Christian community. In our community group this week, we were studying the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 and discussing the idea that making disciples is the work of everyone in the church - not just "professional" ministers. We looked at Ephesians 4:11-16, and I was particularly struck by the last two verses: "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
     Picture that - everyone in the church, lovingly speaking truth to each other. The body of Christ building itself up. You need to hear the gospel - not just from yourself, not just in a sermon, you need to hear it from your friends, your neighbors, the person who prays during Bible study, the person you meet for coffee. You need for them to remind you of the truths you are slow to hear, and you need to lovingly call them to hear the biblical good news that they are not believing. Paul told the Christians in Rome that he was eager to preach the gospel to them (Romans 1:15). Because it is not only the lost who need to hear the gospel. Everyone needs it - the gospel is not just about salvation from sin, it is the good news of God's victory over all things - over everything in the world and in your life that falls short of the perfect kingdom he has called us to prepare for.
     So preach the gospel to yourself, yes. Preach it to the lost, of course. But also preach it to your brothers and sisters. And make every effort to put yourself in a community of people that will faithfully, lovingly, boldly preach the gospel to you. Because you need to hear it as often as you can.

]]>
     A number of years ago, in certain circles in the church, a teaching series called "Sonship" became influential. (Disclaimer: Sonship has wonderful, solid, biblical content that I recommend to people. Don't read anything that follows as being a critique of Sonship.)
     The gist of Sonship as I remember it was that many Christians need to re-orient how they understand their relationship to God, moving away from a rules-based (and therefore performance-based) relationship and instead embrace the Biblical language of being adopted children of God. This makes our relationship to him more solidly grace-based. As someone who was raised with a rules-based understanding of the Christian life, this teaching was immensely helpful. A familiar phrase that Sonship helped popularize was "preach the gospel to yourself."
     I'm sure you've heard it at some point. We are quick to proclaim the grace of God in forgiving sinners, but slow to live as if our sins have been forgiven. Even those who regularly preach and proclaim the gospel to the lost may discover that they find it easier to apply God's grace to other people than to themselves. So you need to preach the gospel to yourself- regularly, faithfully, consistently. Don't let negative self-talk, unchecked emotions, or scars from your past determine who you are. I love the idea of preaching the gospel to yourself.
     But there is one problem that I've noticed over the years. I don't listen to myself very well. And I don't just mean in this one area. I mean, I tell myself to eat healthy, but then somehow I still end up in the Dunkin Donuts drive through more often than I should. I tell myself that in marriage I should concern myself with putting my wife's needs before my own, but then I still end up bitter when I'm not treated the way I think I deserve. I tell myself I need at least 6 (but really 8) hours of sleep a night, but still end up scrolling through news, emails, and word games on my phone just 5 hours before I need to wake up. I don't know about you, but I don't listen to myself very well.
     So while I commend the practice of preaching the gospel to ourselves, I feel the need to add the caveat that it's not going to be enough. If the message of the gospel is going to permeate my deeply-entrenched, self-destructive ways of thinking and living, it's going to need to come at me from many directions, not just the mirror. That's just one of the reasons we need the church. We are made to live and grow in Christian community. In our community group this week, we were studying the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 and discussing the idea that making disciples is the work of everyone in the church - not just "professional" ministers. We looked at Ephesians 4:11-16, and I was particularly struck by the last two verses: "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
     Picture that - everyone in the church, lovingly speaking truth to each other. The body of Christ building itself up. You need to hear the gospel - not just from yourself, not just in a sermon, you need to hear it from your friends, your neighbors, the person who prays during Bible study, the person you meet for coffee. You need for them to remind you of the truths you are slow to hear, and you need to lovingly call them to hear the biblical good news that they are not believing. Paul told the Christians in Rome that he was eager to preach the gospel to them (Romans 1:15). Because it is not only the lost who need to hear the gospel. Everyone needs it - the gospel is not just about salvation from sin, it is the good news of God's victory over all things - over everything in the world and in your life that falls short of the perfect kingdom he has called us to prepare for.
     So preach the gospel to yourself, yes. Preach it to the lost, of course. But also preach it to your brothers and sisters. And make every effort to put yourself in a community of people that will faithfully, lovingly, boldly preach the gospel to you. Because you need to hear it as often as you can.

]]>