Tithes and Offerings

December 5, 2021 in Bible - OT - Malachi, Giving, Meditations

Malachi 3:8, 10 

8“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings… 10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 

Recently, several people have asked how we collect tithes and offerings at Trinity Church. Apparently we aren’t doing a very good job of advertising! So for those who aren’t aware, we have a box labeled “Tithes and Offerings” that sits out in the foyer and in which you can put your giving – though you can also give online. Some of you may also be unaware that during our Lord’s Day worship, we bring these tithes and offerings forward as part of our worship. Each Sunday we sing a song of praise and thanksgiving for the Lord’s blessings while the man offering our prayer of thanksgiving brings the tithes and offerings forward and places them on the floor in front of the communion table. 

The reason we do this is that the Scriptures have much to say about wealth because true faith reveals itself in the way we handle our wealth. Consider three things the Scriptures teach us about wealth. First, they insist that wealth is a blessing and a gift from God. So in our text today, the Lord promises to pour out His blessing on those who honor Him with their wealth. And Solomon reminds us,“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Pr 10:22). While others may strive to add sorrow to your wealth, God doesn’t. Abraham, Jacob, Job, David, Joseph of Arimethea, Philemon – all these were righteous men who were also wealthy. So Paul instructs Timothy, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Tim 6:18). Wealth is a blessing and a gift from God.

Second, while wealth itself is not a problem, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. So, in our text, the Israelites’ love of money made them guilty of robbing God. And in our Lord’s parable of the sower, the seed that is sown among thorns and choked out describes those who “hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Mk 4:19). Hence, Jesus warned that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mk 10:25). And Paul warned Timothy that “those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:9-10). The love of money is a dangerous snare.

Third, the Scriptures teach that a central way we affirm that wealth is a gift from God and that the love of it is a dangerous snare is by being open-handed with our wealth. Such generosity reveals itself in tithes and offerings. First, tithes. Our tithe is ten percent of our increase in wealth that we return to the Lord as tribute. The tithe affirms that God has given us our wealth and that all we have belongs to Him. “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,” God commands through Malachi. Bring your tithe into the very house of God, the church of God. Why? To testify that God is your Lord and that He has given you your vocational work as your divine calling. The tithe testifies that your daily labor is not a distraction from God’s service but one of the principal ways that you serve Him. The tithe is part of your worship of God and reveals that you live for love of Him not for love of money.

Above and beyond these tithes are offerings – gifts of generosity that we offer to those in need, to worthy institutions, to family and friends. The righteous man is known for His generosity. As Psalm 112 attests:

1Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who delights greatly in His commandments. 2His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever. 4Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion. (Ps 112:1–5)

A good man deals graciously and lends; he is gracious and full of compassion. So what of you? Have you given thanks for the wealth you have received? Have you been careful to shun the love of money? And have you been open-handed with your wealth – faithfully giving your tithes to the Lord and regularly looking for opportunities to bless others with your wealth? Reminded that God has given us richly all things to enjoy and to share, let us confess that we often fail to pay tribute to God with our tithes, that we are often close-fisted rather than open-handed with our wealth, and that our hearts are often tempted by the deceitfulness of riches. And, as you are able, let us kneel together as we confess our sins to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

The Living Stone

November 28, 2021 in Bible - NT - 1 Peter, Meditations, Singing

1 Peter 2:4–5 (NKJV) 

4 Coming to [Jesus] as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the time of year when we recall both God’s promise to our fathers that one day He would send a Son of Adam to rescue us from sin and death and God’s promise to us that one day that Son shall return in glory to vindicate all who trust in Him. It is this Son who is the subject of Peter’s epistle. He is the One who was in the beginning with the Father, full of grace and truth; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her; who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; and who rose again from the dead on the third day and ascended up into heaven. Jesus is the object of our faith.

Peter describes Him in our text as a living stone, the foundation stone of God’s Holy City Jerusalem and the cornerstone of God’s Temple. This stone, Peter tells us, was rejected indeed by men – rather than bowing before Him in worship and praise, we crucified Him. So deep is our depravity as human beings that we rejected the One who would deliver us, killed the physician who would heal us, trampled the shepherd who would lead us, and betrayed the king who would rule over us.

Yet it is this stone, Peter tells us, that was chosen by God and precious. The One we crucified rose again from the dead. He is the Living Stone chosen by God to build up a Temple, a spiritual house, to the glory of God’s Name and to establish a universal priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices to the Lord. So how does He build this Temple? Establish this priesthood? As the Living Stone, Jesus builds God’s Temple out of living stones; He sends forth His Spirit and imparts His resurrection life to men and women and children who are, by nature, spiritually dead. He causes our hearts of stone to live, to beat again in love of God and neighbor, that we might become living stones, members of a spiritual house, and priests of God Most High.

So why has God enlivened our stony hearts? Why is He constructing a spiritual Temple from us naturally lifeless stones? Why is He establishing a holy priesthood from us sinful men and women? Peter gives us the answer – to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In other words, God has enlivened us that we might worship Him. Listen to the 9th verse of this same chapter:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

God has chosen us in order that we might proclaim His praises, declare His wonders, and extol His excellencies before all nations. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “God is seeking people to worship Him.”

This Advent our sermons focus once again on Jesus in the Psalms. As we consider the psalms, I would remind you why God has given them to us in the first place – they are meant to be sung. God saved you that you might proclaim His praises, that you might offer up spiritual sacrifices, that you might offer up the fruit of your lips to God. Singing praise to God is not optional – it is the reason God delivered you from your sin. So sing; don’t be self-conscious. Sing; don’t make excuses. Sing; don’t deprive the assembly of your voice. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth!

As we gather in the Lord’s presence to praise Him, therefore, let us lift up our voices with joy remembering that God has saved us so that we might praise Him. Let us not mumble; let us not be silent in coldness of heart; let us not complain or grumble at God’s ordering our affairs. He saved us that we might offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So reminded that we were saved to sing His praises, let us confess that we have often failed to praise the Lord as we ought and that our country has increasingly turned away from God to idols – and let us kneel as we confess our sin together. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

For the Life of the World

November 7, 2021 in Bible - OT - Nehemiah, Meditations

Nehemiah 4:14

14And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” 

Last week our exhortation was derived from a talk I gave at the CREC Council in Monroe, Louisiana. The Presiding Minister of Council Virgil Hurt asked various men to speak on the theme Fight the Good Fight from Paul’s command to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith…” (1 Tim 6:12). As God’s people we are called to fight against the enemies of God and of His people – the world, the flesh, and the devil – throughout our lives. 

I was asked to speak on the topic, “Why to fight?” I derived the heart of my answer from Nehemiah’s exhortation to the people of Israel in our text today. Nehemiah declared, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” Nehemiah’s exhortation helps us answer the question, “Why to fight?” by directing us to the greatest commandment in the law. And what is the greatest commandment? It is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and the second is like it, to love our neighbor as ourselves. Nehemiah exhorts us to fight the good fight for  love of God and love of neighbor.

So today let us consider what it means to fight for love of neighbor. Nehemiah urged our fathers to “fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” We fight because those around us are worth defending – they are ours – our brethren, our sons, our daughters, our wives, our houses. But in fighting for ours, we also ultimately fight for others. 

Perhaps some of you are aware of the Acton Institute, a think-tank devoted to mere Christianity and to the free market. You may recall that some years ago we went through a video series they published entitled, For the Life of the World, which answers the question, “What is our salvation for?” And the answer is, of course, for the life of the world. We fight for the love of neighbor; hence, we fight for the life of the world. The world is lost, enslaved to sin, blinded by Satan. And so, apart from Christ, the world is a dark and doleful place. And “we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another” (Tit 3:3). But God, in His kindness, saved us from our lost estate. When we were His enemies, Christ died for us and gave Himself for us so that He might reconcile us to God. And so “we are now ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). 

Why do we fight? We fight that our neighbors may escape the snare of the devil having been held captive by him to do his will. We fight that we may demonstrate to our neighbors the beauty of the Gospel and the glory of self-sacrifice, the glory of our God who sent His only begotten Son into the world to destroy the works of the devil in order that He might rescue all the nations from sin and death and fear. And we fight because we know that we shall ultimately win. God has promised Jesus the nations as His inheritance and the ends of the earth as His possession. 

So what of you? When you speak truthfully, live uprightly, give generously, pray openly, weep compassionately, work thankfully are you remembering to do it all for love of neighbor and not promotion of self or love of self? Have you remembered what your salvation is for – that God has saved you that you might shine like stars in the world, displaying the glory of our God even as our Lord Jesus did? Reminded of our call to fight the good fight of faith for love of our neighbors, let us confess that we have often failed to love them and have loved ourselves instead. And as you are able, let us kneel as we confess our sins to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

For Love of God

October 31, 2021 in Bible - OT - Nehemiah, Meditations

Nehemiah 4:14 

14And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” 

This past week Chase and I had the privilege of attending the stated meetings for Knox Presbytery and for the CREC Council in Monroe, Louisiana. It was a joy to see old friends and to make new ones. Among the other business, the Presiding Minister of Council Virgil Hurt asked various men to speak on the theme Fight the Good Fight from Paul’s command to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of faith…” (1 Tim 6:12). As God’s people we are called to fight against the enemies of God and of His people – the world, the flesh, and the devil – throughout our lives. All the talks are available online for those interested. 

I was asked to speak on the topic, “Why to fight?” I derived the heart of my answer from Nehemiah’s exhortation to the people of Israel in our text today. Nehemiah declared, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” Nehemiah’s exhortation helps us answer the question, “Why to fight?” by directing us to the greatest commandment in the law. What is the greatest commandment? It is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and the second is like it, to love our neighbor as ourselves. And Nehemiah exhorts us to fight the good fight for love of God and love of neighbor.

So today let us consider what it means to fight for love of God. “Remember the Lord,” Nehemiah urges us, “great and awesome.” Biblical fighting glories in God, not in self; serves God, not self; extols the greatness of God, not self.

23Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord. (Jer 9:23-24)

So why fight? Well, we do not fight to show how great and awesome we are; how brave we are; we do not fight to extol our own greatness. No! We fight to extol the greatness of our God; a God who created heaven and earth by the Word of His mouth in the space of six days and all very good; a God who gave His Son for us to rescue us from sin and death when we were yet His enemies. We fight to extol the greatness of our Savior, who went to the Cross, despising the shame, for us. He is worthy and so we fight. As Paul reminded the Corinthians:

14For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. (2 Cor 5:14–15)

We do not live for ourselves but for the Lord who died for us and rose again; and we do not fight for ourselves, but for the Lord who died for us and rose again. Why should we be willing to stand for truth in an age of compromise? To defend the innocent from being murdered in their mothers’ wombs? To protect the guiltless from the cancel culture mob? To speak against government overreach and intrusion into our historic rights and liberties? To preach Christ and the necessity of faith in Him for peace with God? To walk in the light of sexual faithfulness when our broader culture wallows in filth? To be generous and open-handed with all that which God has given us? To be examples of loyalty in an age of betrayal? Patterns of kindness in the face of cruelty? Why fight in these ways and others? Because we are such good people? No! Because the Lord is such a great God.

So what of you? Have you remembered the Lord, great and awesome? Meditated on the greatness of His love for us and so fought the good fight of faith? Or have you been afraid of God’s enemies, cowered in the face of persecution or death or shame or humiliation or defeat? To ask these questions is to answer them. Many a time we have failed to fight the good fight of faith. So let us turn to the Lord, seek His forgiveness, and ask of Him strength and power to fight the good fight of faith that we may display His glory in the world. And as you are able, let us kneel as we confess our sins to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

The Fear of Persecution

October 10, 2021 in Bible - NT - Philippians, Fear, Meditations

Philippians 1:27–28 

27Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 

Jesus warns in Revelation 20 that “the cowardly” will not inherit the kingdom of God but will instead be cast into the lake that burns with fire. As we meditated on His warning, we said that cowardice is shown whenever we turn away from a good purpose in the face of opposition because of fear. And we have begun to explore the different types of fear that make us cowardly. Today let us consider the fear of persecution.

The Philippian church was facing opposition and threats from adversaries. The word that Paul uses to describe these people is the same word that Peter uses elsewhere to describe Satan himself: “Be sober, be vigilant;” Peter writes, “because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet 5:8). So these folks who raged against the church in Philippi were acting like Satan himself, seeking to devour and destroy God’s lambs.

But though these adversaries endeavored to intimidate and threaten the Christians in Philippi, Paul commands them to be “not in any way terrified.” First, they are not to be terrified. The word means “to be fearful as the result of being intimidated—‘to be afraid, to be scared, to be intimidated’ (Louw-Nida, 1:316). Our natural response to intimidation, especially to intimidation by those who have power or influence, is fear. But Paul instructs them not to be terrified. Rather, they are to “stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel…” They were to serve the Lord together with unity of heart and mind and action; to stand strong and not cower in the face of this intimidation. 

Second, they are not to be terrified in any way. In nothing, not in anything. Nullo. Don’t be terrified when they drag your name through the mud. Don’t be terrified when they threaten your family. Don’t be terrified when they burn your home. Don’t be terrified when they arrest you. Don’t be terrified when they sentence you to death. Don’t be terrified in any way. 

So why shouldn’t we be terrified in any way by our adversaries? Paul writes, “which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.” When we refuse to be intimidated by opposition, when we refuse to be terrified in any way by our adversaries, we testify that our adversaries are doomed to be judged by God and that we shall be saved by Him. We notify the world, “God is on our side so we are not afraid.”

So Peter wrote to other Christians who were suffering persecution:

13And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 

We are not to be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. God promises to bless all those who suffer for righteousness’ sake. Hence, it is far better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

So what of you? Are you afraid of your adversaries? Or you afraid of those who rage against God and against His Christ? Is your fear causing you to distance yourself from Jesus and from His people? To be ashamed of the Gospel? To be silent when you need to speak? To speak when you need to be silent? Mine often is. And so reminded that we are not to be terrified in any way by Christ’s adversaries, let us confess that we are often terrified in many ways. And, as you are able, let us kneel as we confess our fear to the Lord.  

The Fear of Man

October 3, 2021 in Bible - OT - Isaiah, Fear, Meditations

Isaiah 51:12–13 

12“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass? 13And you forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth; You have feared continually every day Because of the fury of the oppressor, When he has prepared to destroy. And where is the fury of the oppressor? 

Jesus warns in Revelation 20 that “the cowardly” will not inherit the kingdom of God but will instead be cast into the lake that burns with fire. As we meditated on His warning, we said that cowardice is shown whenever we turn away from a good purpose in the face of opposition because of fear. And we have begun to explore the different types of fear that make us cowardly. Last week we examined the fear of death; this week, the fear of man. 

In Isaiah’s day there was much to fear. All Judah had been overrun by the Assyrians and the city of Jerusalem had only been delivered when God sent an angel and slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. While the Assyrians had now departed, the country was still suffering. Judah was weak, exposed to the competing influences of Egypt in the south and Babylon to the north. There was much to fear.

In our day there is much to fear as well. Eroding trust. Government overreach. New variants of Covid. Loss of employment. Inflation. Political turmoil. The rise of China. The corruption of the Church. The criticism of friends and family. The advancement of the LGBTQ agenda. The erosion of our historic liberties. The breakdown of the family. There is much to fear.

But in our text today, God reminded our fathers and reminds us that when there is much to fear from men we are to saturate ourselves with the fear of God. We are to meditate on the goodness and greatness of God. First, we are to meditate on His goodness. The Lord says through Isaiah, “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die, And of the son of a man who will be made like grass?” The Lord is our Comforter and our Redeemer. In Christ, He has delivered us from our sin, reconciled us to Himself, and granted us access into His very presence through the blood of Jesus. At any and all times we have access to Him who loved us and gave His Son to die for us and who will, with Jesus, freely give us all things. So why are we afraid of a man who will die, and a son of men who will wither like grass?

Second, when we are tempted to fear man, we are to mediate on the greatness of God. “Who are you that you should be afraid Of a man who will die…? 13And you forget the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens And laid the foundations of the earth?” The power of man is as nothing compared with the power of God. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all. And since we are in the hands of Almighty God, need we be afraid of a man who will die? Does He fear the plots and schemes and actions of the wicked? No! Therefore, we need not fear. 

The way to fight the fear of man, therefore, is by feeding our souls on the greatness and the goodness of God. God is great – His power is beyond anything that any man can do to us. And God is good – He promises to work all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Hence, we need not fear man. Jesus reminded the disciples:

28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 

So what of you? Have you feared man? Have you neglected to meditate on the greatness and goodness of God? I have. So reminded of the greatness and the goodness of our God and of our calling to shun the fear of man, let us confess our fear to the Lord. And as you are able, let us kneel before the Lord as we confess. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

The Fear of Death

September 26, 2021 in Bible - NT - Hebrews, Fear, Meditations

Hebrews 2:14–15 

14Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

Last week we saw that Jesus warned “the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars” that they would be cast into the lake that burns with fire. It is that first category that we studied last week – the cowardly. We said that cowardice is shown whenever we turn away from a good purpose in the face of opposition because of fear. 

So today I want to explore one of the types of fear that drives us to be cowardly – the fear of death. Ever since Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the garden, death has been a part of human existence. While there have been a couple who have escaped its sting – Enoch and Elijah – most have faced the horrors of death. David cried out:

3The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. 4Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!” (Ps 116:3-4)

Likewise, our Lord Jesus faced death. In the words of our text today, He partook of flesh and blood, He became incarnate, and then gave Himself over to death in order that He might conquer death. He sacrificed His life “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Death had been the devil’s tool to keep the nations in darkness and ignorance. So Jesus broke the power of death in order that He might release mankind from the fear of death. Jesus died and rose again so that we might live in sure and certain hope of the resurrection. Jesus died and rose again so that we might proclaim, “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor 15:55). Jesus died and rose again so that we might not be afraid of death.

Brothers and sisters, this is a message our culture desperately needs to hear, is it not? Family, friends, and neighbors are living in fear of death. The Covid pandemic has exposed this fear. Many have no hope beyond this life; others have vague notions of life after death; many Christians have lost sight of the Christian hope of the resurrection. The fear of death has prompted some to use the power of the state to curtail our liberties; it has prompted others to surrender these liberties. Jesus has come to free us from such bondage by freeing us from the fear of death. Death has no hold on us for our Lord Jesus has gone before us and broken death’s jaws. He has risen triumphant from the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection, the guarantee that we too shall rise.

So what of you? Have you meditated deeply on the sure and certain hope of the resurrection? Remember that death is still an enemy. Death would try to frighten and debilitate us. But, brothers and sisters, death is a defeated foe. Christ is Risen! (He is Risen, indeed!) So let us remind one another of this hope, let us speak of it to our children, our friends and our family. Let us share with others the reason for the hope that is in us. Or have you been afraid? Afraid of their censure? Afraid of criticism? Afraid of shame? For the fear of death is not the only type of fear.

Reminded that Jesus has died and risen again in order to destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and to deliver us who through fear of death were all our lifetimes subject to bondage, let us confess that we often permit such fear to dominate our lives and govern our actions. Let us pray that He would make us a fearless people. And, as you are able, let us kneel together as we confess our sins to the Lord. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

The Sin of Cowardice

September 19, 2021 in Bible - NT - Revelation, Fear, Meditations

Revelation 21:6–8 

6Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 7He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” 

In our passage today, the Lord Jesus holds out eternal life for those who worship and serve Him despite the opposition of the world and eternal death for those who worship other gods or live unrighteously. The list that our Lord gives of those excluded from life include “the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars.” It is that first category that I want to draw to our attention today – the cowardly.

Webster defines “the cowardly” as those “wanting courage to face danger; timid; timorous; fearful; pusillanimous.” While we typically associate cowardice with the battlefield, cowardice is shown whenever we turn away from a good purpose in the face of opposition because of fear. 

First, we are cowardly when we turn away from a good purpose. It is not cowardice to face opposition for doing something evil and then to turn back – that is repentance. No, cowardice is the turning away from a good purpose – it is to fail to ask forgiveness from your spouse because you’re afraid of shame; to fail to confess your secret porn habit to your parents because you’re afraid to get in trouble; to fail to defend your wife from harm because you’re afraid to get hurt; to fail to confront your friend because you’re afraid you might lose her friendship; to agree to speak lies because you’re afraid you might lose your job; to watch a movie you shouldn’t because you’re afraid your friends might not think you’re cool. The cowardly turn away from a good purpose.

Second, cowardice reveals itself in the face of opposition. Anyone can be brave when there are no threats. It is when threats arise, when opposition is present, that our true character is revealed. We set ourselves to a good purpose but then face criticism or persecution or threats or a mob or financial duress. At that moment, at the moment of opposition, we discover who whether we are courageous or cowardly – for the cowardly retreat in the face of opposition.

Finally, the cowardly turn away from a good purpose because of fear. Fear of man; fear of shame; fear of death; fear of failure; fear of loneliness; fear of fame. The specific type of fear varies; but it is fear that motivates and drives the cowardly man.

C.S. Lewis in his book The Screwtape Letters has the demon Screwtape explaining to his nephew why God likely created “a dangerous world – a world in which moral issues really come to the point. [God] sees,” Screwtape writes, “as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky” (148-149). Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.

Hence, our Lord pronounces His woe upon the cowardly – those who turn back in the face of risk; who turn away from the faith, turn away from virtue, turn away from honesty when the cost of such things is too high. So what of you? Are you cowardly? Have you turned back from a good purpose in the face of opposition because of fear? I have. So ought we not to seek the face of God and to confess our sin, asking Him to pour out His Spirit upon us that we live without fear? “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim 1:7). So let us confess our cowardice to the Lord this morning – and, as you are able, let us kneel as we confess our sins. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.

Reading the Word of God

September 5, 2021 in Bible - NT - Revelation, Lord's Day, Meditations, Word of God, Worship

Revelation 1:1–3 

1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 

It is always dangerous to introduce things into the worship of the Triune God that have no grounding in Sacred Scripture. The reason is that we human beings are corrupt and prone to idolatry. We drink iniquity like water. We find ways to subvert the worship of the true and living God and to replace pure worship with the traditions of men.

And so it is always good to ask questions of our service of worship. Are the things we are doing reflective of the patterns and principles laid out in the Word of God? Have we introduced certain practices simply because we think they are good ideas or because they faithfully reflect biblical principles?

The text in Revelation today addresses one of these practices. It helps us understand why the Church has historically included the reading of Scripture in the service of worship. For if we look carefully at the words in verse 3 we find this practice mentioned:

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.”

John pronounces his blessing both on the reader of the biblical text and on the hearers. In other words, the Apostle John expected that the Word of God would be read in the public assembly of God’s people. 

Knowing that our practice of reading the Word of God aloud each Lord’s Day is biblical requires us to ask another set of questions. For it is not enough to read the Word of God aloud and to hear its vibrational tones in our ear drums. We must read in a particular way and we must hear in a particular way.

First, how ought we to read the Word of God? The answer, quite simply, is that the Word of God should be read as though it were the Word of God – divinely powerful and authoritative, living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing as far as the joints and marrow, separating light from darkness, and wisdom from folly. The Word of God should be read as though we believe it.

Second, how ought we to listen to the Word of God? We ought to listen so as to be transformed by it. Notice that the blessing in the passage is pronounced not on the one who notices the general hum of the passage in his otherwise preoccupied mind, but on the one who hears and keeps the things revealed in it. We should listen to the Word of God in order to be transformed by it.

So what of you? Those who read for us, are you considering the passage carefully as you prepare, paying attention to meaning and tone? You who hear, are you using each Lord’s Day as an opportunity to train your ears to listen attentively to the Word of God? Are you training your ears, and the ears of your children, to listen with care – allowing our Lord to speak and transform us for His glory? Are you listening carefully, that God may break up your fallow ground and teach you to live in fear of Him all your days? Or are you treating the reading of the Word as simply one more activity to check off in worship so that you can get to the donuts? 

Reminded of our calling to read and listen to the Word of God in faith, let us acknowledge that we often fail to read His Word and to give heed to it as we ought. We are often distracted and inattentive. And as we confess our sin to the Lord, let us kneel as we are able. We will have a time of silent confession followed by the corporate confession found in your bulletin.