Submission and Disagreement

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

In Sunday’s sermon, we looked at Hebrews 13:17, which reads in the NIV:

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

In discussing this verse, I said, “Submission only comes into play when there is a disagreement.”

Several of you have asked (respectfully and submissively!) if this is correct, particularly considering that God the Son submits to God the Father. Surely there is no disagreement between them!

This is an excellent point, and many thanks for the input. I’ll correct my statement briefly next Sunday; here let me elaborate on the idea more fully than will be possible in the sermon. Consider first the nature of God the Son’s submission to God the Father: (more…)

Why Read the Prophets?

“Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.” Isaiah 1:4

Those are some of the opening words of the book of Isaiah. I read them this morning, along with the rest of Isaiah chapters 1, 7, and 8, following the chronological ordering of the Bible Unity Reading Plan. Because Israel’s prophets wrote about 30 percent of the Old Testament and almost all of them lived and wrote between the years of 750BC and 515BC, those of us following this plan will be reading mainly from the prophets for the next three months.

There are passages in the prophets that most Christians know and love: Those we read every Christmas, such as Isaiah 9 and 11; the song of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53; the promise of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31. These are pearls in the midst of . . .

Of what? We’re tempted to say, “in the midst of the less interesting parts of these books.” Or even to say, “in the midst of the less important parts of these books.” For the prophets devote a great deal of time to condemnation of Israel and Judah (such as Isaiah 1:4 above) and then also a great deal of time condemning the nations surrounding them. This can be . . . dare we say, tiresome? (more…)

The Opposite of Disobedience

(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)

What is the opposite of disobedience?

The obvious answer is “obedience.” But that is not the biblical answer. And understanding why this logical answer is not biblical is key to living the Christian life.

Consider Psalm 1, which begins by describing the righteous man in negative terms:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

The righteous man does not act like or listen to the advice of those opposed to God, nor does he join them in mocking God. That is, he does not disobey God.

The psalmist then contrasts that negative description of the righteous man with a positive description. If the opposite of disobedience were obedience, we might expect a direct contrast with “does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,” perhaps something like: “But he walks in the law of the Lord.” This would create a nice parallel with the first verse; furthermore, it would be a true statement. Indeed, Psalm 119 opens with similar words: “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the LORD.”

But instead of that truth, Psalm 1:2 goes deeper, displaying the root of the matter:

but his delight is in the law of the LORD.

The opposite of disobedience is not obedience. The opposite of disobedience is delight.

Why? There are at least four biblical reasons: (more…)

When I Don’t Desire God

[Our small group just completed a several month study of John Piper’s book, When I Don’t Desire God. My study guide to this book is now available online (Word document, pdf). Here are my introductory paragraphs – Coty]

God created mankind for a purpose: To bring glory to His Name (Isaiah 43:7). How do we glorify Him? For over twenty years, John Piper has argued that the Bible teaches that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” That is, we glorify God when we can say with the psalmist, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). We show that God is great and precious and trustworthy and beautiful when we live and act and feel in ways that magnify His value compared to the value of the world around us. This is our calling. This is our reason for existence.

Yet we don’t wake up spontaneously each day feeling that God is great and marvelous. Quite the contrary. Most mornings we wake up feeling groggy and cranky, acting self-centered and self-absorbed. If we depend on our spontaneous feelings, most of us will spontaneously act like this world is all that is important, that our time and our comfort and our success are the overarching values in life.

So how do naturally self-centered persons live a life of joy in God? (more…)

Elijah and the Priests of Baal

As part of my devotions this morning from the Bible Unity Reading Plan, I read the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal from 1 Kings 18. The king of Israel is apostate, worshiping false gods, the Baals and the Asherim. The people – though they were chosen as special to the Lord a thousand years previously, and though their very name, Israel, was given by God (see verse 31) – are “limping between two opinions” (verse 21); not really knowing who is mighty, they are trying to cover all bases by worshiping both Yahweh, the Lord God of Israel, and the local Canaanite deities.

So Elijah tells them this makes no sense. Either Yahweh is God or He is not. If He is God, follow Him; if Baal is god, follow him (verse 21). Yahweh’s claims are exclusive: “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that Yahweh is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:39). He won’t share the pantheon with other supposed gods.

Elijah therefore sets up a contest on Mt Carmel between Yahweh and Baal through their representatives: Himself on the one hand and the 450 priests of Baal on the other. Both build altars, kill bulls, and prepare the bulls to be burned as a sacrifice, but neither is to set the wood of the altar on fire. “And the God who answers by fire, He is God” (verse 24). Interestingly enough, the priests of Baal are amenable to this. Do they really believe Baal will answer? Or do they anticipate that neither offering will be burned, and they will win simply by force of numbers? (more…)

Church Membership and the SBC

An encouraging vote took place this week in Indianapolis at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. Before telling you about it, some background:

We gladly cooperate with the SBC through sending a proportion of our offerings – at present, five percent – to local, state, national, and international efforts to spread the Gospel. We ourselves were beneficiaries of this cooperation among independent churches, receiving in our first years about $25,000 in grants through the SBC, as well as practical help on a number of issues. I am particularly pleased that our giving supports the International Mission Board of the SBC – one of the very best mission agencies, which over the last 25 years has refocused its efforts on church planting among unreached people groups – and seminaries such as Southeastern here in North Carolina and Southern in Louisville, which are now staffed by dedicated biblical scholars committed to raising up the next generation of expository preachers. (more…)

How Do I Respond to God?

In the sermon text for this coming Sunday, God says that missionaries will bring “all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD” (Isaiah 66:20 NAS). In this context, the grain offering is a particularly powerful symbol. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will have time to bring out the rich imagery of this offering on Sunday. So here is an excerpt from a sermon I preached ten years ago on this offering. You can see the entire sermon – about twice as long – here. May we present ourselves – all of ourselves – as this type of offering, holy and acceptable to God – Coty

How should we respond to God’s love? The grain offering described in Leviticus 2 pictures our proper response beautifully.

In this offering, God shows us that we should respond to His love by offering our entire lives back to him. And He shows that a life holy and acceptable to God is not the result of our naturally sweet disposition; there should be no self-glorification, no pride in our status before God. Instead, a life offered to God needs to be characterized by prayer, infused with the Holy Spirit, and based on the promises of God

This is the picture of the grain offering. Let’s look at now in greater detail. (more…)

He Gave Pastors and Teachers

This Sunday we will begin a six-part sermon series entitled “He Gave Pastors and Teachers,” examining the role of pastors and teachers in building up the body of Christ through the local church. The title comes from Ephesians 4:11-14, which says, in part:

He gave the . . . pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 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.

Note that God gives pastors and teachers to the church. They are His gifts, His presents, tokens of His love for the church.

In what sense is this true? Why are pastors and teachers so important? What is their task? How do they help the church? (more…)

Responding to Natural Disasters

On May 2, Tropical Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, leaving tens of thousands dead. Many more lost their homes and all their possessions. Today survivors remain in grave danger in the absence of shelter, clean water, and food.

Ten days later, a huge earthquake shook Sichuan Province in China, again leaving tens of thousands dead and many more homeless. In addition to lack of clean water and exposure to the elements, the aftereffects of the quake continue to threaten residents; dozens of would-be rescuers have died as buildings collapsed around them.

Yesterday morning, an aircraft laden with relief supplies worth over a million dollars took off from the Charlotte airport, bound for China. The supplies, purchased by donations to Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, include material for temporary shelters, water filtration systems, blankets, and medical supplies. I had the privilege of attending a gathering of local pastors prior to takeoff. I encourage you to give to these efforts, as we have done.

Why? Some might say, “Many, many others around the world give to help those who have suffered from natural disasters. Christians are the only ones who will give to spread the Gospel. Therefore, all our efforts should focus on the Gospel.”

What is wrong with this argument? (more…)

Clean and Unclean

Last Sunday’s sermon dealt in part with the Law, the Torah, as a revelation of God’s character. Some in the congregation wondered how certain parts of the law, particularly the dietary laws, serve in this role. Ten years ago I was preaching through Leviticus at Community Bible Church in Williamstown, MA. Several of those sermons might be helpful: The overview, the sermon on the dietary laws and other issues of cleanness, and the first and second sermons on the “holiness code”. This week’s devotion is an excerpt – about 40% – of the sermon on cleanness and uncleanness. May we all see God’s character revealed in all His Word, and respond with wonder, awe, and love for the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Note that I preached this sermon on November 29, 1998, shortly after returning from a four-week trip to several African countries. – Coty

It’s a pleasure to be back after my long trip to Africa.

Whenever I return after a long trip, I am treated to a series of performances at home. Over the course of nearly a month, all of my six children develop new skills or new games that they want to share. So, last Wednesday evening about 6:15, the four youngest boys were presenting a show. The make-up was particularly interesting. All had some black marks on their faces, but the boy playing the Wild Man was the most extreme: dressed only in underwear and a loincloth, the Wild Man was covered from waist to hair with black face crayon. About 6:30, suddenly realizing that we had only twenty minutes to prepare for the Thanksgiving Eve service, I announced, “The show has to end in one minute. We’ve got to clean up and leave for the church by 6:50!” The Wild Man looked at me and said, “Can’t I go like this?”

Now, Community Bible Church has no dress code. Looking around this morning, I see some of us dressed in suits while others are dressed quite casually. But I think more than a few eyes would have turned had the Wild Man walked into church that evening.

Why did we tell the Wild Man to clean his face and arms and torso? Why shouldn’t my sons come to church dressed in loincloths? (more…)