The Simple Pastor
By Phil Whittall, church planter, blogger & book reviewer
RT @lukedvd: Hope his resignation from the England manager job will allow @JoelVirgo to focus on his church duties #nomorehairdye 16 hrs ago
“Let me be clear once more: the editors of the Greek New Testaments killed Junia. They killed her by silencing her into non-existence. They murdered that innocent woman by erasing her from the footnotes.”
So the argument goes that for 60 years of so there was some sort of plot to get rid of Junias by giving her a man’s name (albeit a highly unusual one). So I thought I’d have a look at the commentaries that line my shelves to see what they said. Now I don’t actually have a vast set of commentaries on Romans, in fact due to the oddities by which I gained my books it’s a poorer showing than for many smaller books. But I found the results interesting so here they are discussing Romans 16:7:
Despite all his trials and his present situation in chains, Paul was filled with joy (Php 1:5 and spent much time rejoicing Php 1:18; Php 2:17; Php 3:1; Php 4: 4 & 10) and expected the Philippians to be too. Php 1:25-26; Php 2:18; Php 3: 2-3; Php 4:4
Finally – if your Christ is the destroyer but He has become your Saviour, if Christ is Lord over everything and He cares for you, if you are stained by sin but you have been made whiter than the snow and Christ is your righteousness, if you do not how to live but Christ has become your example, if you were dead and now are alive because Christ has become your life, do you think you should be happy or sad?
That Jesus is Lord really is good news, it was never designed to just forgive you but to change everything, it was not intended to change what you do a couple of times a week on Sunday mornings or Friday nights. It was designed to fill you with joy and alter your destiny, your priorities, your hopes, dreams, heart, mind, body and soul. Which in case you’ve forgotten is how the Bible has always described we should love God.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to churches where the congregation sings as if God really doesn’t exist but whatever church background you come from let me ask you this, can you really rejoice without smiling?
Joy and rejoicing is however more than praise and worship but not less than. Rejoicing and joy affect our anxiety levels, they reduce them, they affect our confidence levels, they raise them. Rejoicing and joy help you appreciate that in Christ you lack no good thing, that He has lavished his gifts of grace upon you.
Celebration is a gift and in the gifts God has given us there is much to celebrate. How would you celebrate amazing news? Well we should celebrate like this in the church. Your praise and your life should be marked by joy; inexpressible but overflowing joy.
So a final question, is your relationship with Christ marked by joy and rejoicing?
So let’s pray – I know I need God to help me in probably all six areas, maybe there’s an area in particular that you need God to help you with or you’ve not thought about before. Let’s come to him and ask Him to make Christ all for us.
This is the natural consequence of really grasping that Jesus is Lord in the way that Paul grasped it. As Paul says in Php 1:21-26, to live meant serving Christ. At what age or stage in life do you think you should start living like that?
The correct answer by the way is ‘now’.
One of the fundamental flaws in evangelicalism over the last 50 years is that we have asked people to respond to Jesus on the basis of sins forgiven and not on the basis of Jesus as Lord. As Dallas Willard says,
“Not having made converts disciples, it is impossible for us to teach them how to live as Christ lived and taught. That was not part of the package, not what they converted to. When confronted with the example and teachings of Christ, the response today is less one of rebellion or rejection than of puzzlement: How do we relate to these? What have they to do with us?”
Jesus calls disciples so Paul is not raising the bar any higher than Jesus set it. If you doubt that consider Jesus here in Luke 14:33. This is pretty much Jesus’ standard line to those who would be his followers. Which is why Dietrich Bonhoeffer says that, ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’
Then look at the sort of things that happens when we trust in Christ with our life – he guards our hearts and minds (Php 4:7), he meets our needs (Php 4:19), he transforms you (Php 3:21), he calls you heavenward (Php 3:14). For the disciple Christ is our life, He is what we are living for and while this calls for sacrifice if our eyes (like the rich young ruler) are on what we have to give up we will never see what we have to gain.
Christ is not someone you believe things about, He is someone you follow. So are you following? In what areas of life might Christ be asking you to follow Him?
Let’s return to Php 2:1-6, Paul is clear that because Christ is Lord and because He is our saviour and our righteousness He also serves as our example. Our energies must be devoted to be like Christ, in mind, in word, in deed and he encourages us to do this by reminding us of the benefits we have received from Christ.
Look again closely at Php 2:1-6 and we see that through our being in Christ we receive encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, compassion. We are nurtured, cared for, strengthened and equipped and we should then be like-minded that being that sort of person is the best choice.
And it is that example that is both challenging and essential. ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition and vain conceit.’ Let me be honest this has been the hardest thing for me to live out. Just after I graduated from the University of Nottingham, I along with some friends were invited back by the CU to take part in their houseparty in the welsh hills at Cefn Lea. The speaker that year probably gave some of the most life-shaping and defining talks I’ve ever heard. The impact of which shaped me for years to come. He captured us students as we listened to him talk of what it meant to live for Christ.
I would be lying to you if I didn’t want that same impact to happen this weekend. But is that for God’s glory or mine? Do I want to be known as an inspirational speaker or do I want to be known as someone inspired by Christ. And this I think maybe some of what Paul is hinting at in Php 1:15. Not everyone preaching Christ is doing it for the glory of God but to be known, to be heard, to be praised and to be praised higher than others.
Honestly, I guess this is all still mixed up for me – there’s a part of me that wants to be known and praised and talked about – it’s vain conceit and it’s selfish ambition. So I have to confess my sin before God and say, you know what I can’t even talk about selfish ambition and vain conceit without selfish ambition and vain conceit so how desperate is my need for Christ to lift this up and use it, and help me Jesus be a servant to have your attitude, to not somehow consider equality with you something to be grasped.
In what area of this list do you need to follow Christ’s example? How can you be more like-minded?
Paul is really clear (Php 3:7-10) that righteousness comes only from faith in Christ. And in Php 1:11 Paul prays that the believers would be full of the fruit of this righteousness. When we place faith in Christ we are accorded new rights, new status, new identity and a new righteousness. This didn’t come through you getting up early to pray or reading through the Bible in a year or taking part in a grill a Christian event, it comes through your faith in what Christ did for you, you who were unable to fulfil the perfect requirements of God’s holiness.
Until you own the truth that you cannot be righteous by your own efforts it’s hard to fully grasp the fact the Christ is your righteousness. By faith in Christ we are placed in Christ so that when we stand before the Father it is not our sin that He sees but Christ’s righteousness. We are hidden in him.
Terry Virgo explained it this way. Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob but he loved Esau. When Jacob wanted his father’s blessing and his brother’s birthright he hid himself in the son that his father loved. He hid himself in Esau to gain what rightfully was Esau’s. We are hid in the Son that God loves, we are clothed in Him so we gain what is his – not in deception this time but in grace. Christ is your righteousness.
That new status however means a changed life, because I am free I should live free, because I am a citizen of heaven by His grace I should live as if I were one, the fruit of righteousness should flow out from me. But that righteousness is not my own, those privileges were not what I was owed but what I was given. On what basis am I citizen of heaven? On the basis of what Christ has done alone. You are not your own you were bought at a price (1 Cor 6:20), so we say with Paul, “to live is Christ.”
Paul said this knowing of Christ was of ‘surpassing worth’? Is there anything else that surpasses knowing Christ to you? Is it career, boyfriend, girlfriend, having a good time, travel, experiences? How is this thing of surpassing worth evidenced in your life? Talk about it, dream about it this weekend. How can we encourage each other to live in such a way that Christ really is of surpassing worth to me?
It was God’s plan to exalt Christ and proclaim Him Lord, to establish the government of His kingdom on the shoulders of His messiah. Php 1:28 says that the way Christians exhibit grace under pressure will be a sign that they are being saved and their oppressors will be judged and condemned and in Php 3:17-21 repeats that some will be destroyed. Christ is both destroyer and saviour. Jesus himself said to fear God in Mat 10:28.
It is frankly an unpalatable and unwelcome truth in today’s culture that not everyone will have an happy ending. That it would somehow be unfair of God to judge people too harshly and that should surely mean overlooking most of their sins.
Paul says some live as enemies of the cross, for some their destiny is destruction. Their sinfulness will be what condemns them and they will have lived for themselves and therefore already had their reward. The just and reasonable consequence of a chosen life without Christ is life without Christ.
Several reasons present themselves as to why we minimise this: firstly we do not think our sin is as serious as God does and secondly therefore that our need for a saviour is not as great as God thinks it is. We overestimate our abilities and underestimate the danger.
For Christians this adds a dimension that is often lost in our relationship with God and Paul calls ‘fear and trembling’. We remember that the salvation we find in Christ is a work of God, even the faith needed to trust him is a gift from God (Eph 2:9) and we see that here in Php 1:6 – that it is God who began a good work in you and it is God who will complete it and in Php 2:13 that God who works in you to will and to act. Without God we are lost utterly so the right response is to mix the intimacy we can enjoy with the Father with awe – we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. With reverence and awe that the God of the universe would save you, would love you, would rescue you, would redeem you – that while you were still a sinner Christ died for you. We don’t work hard to get to heaven but we make every effort because heaven came and got us.
Francis Chan talks of reminding himself before he prays of who God is in His might and power and that changing how he prays. In your relationship with God, is there room for awe and reverence, is there fear and trembling? What would that look like? How would it shape your prayers?
“Christ is our Lord. This for Paul is the good news, this is His gospel – the good news is that Jesus is Lord, that He sits at the right hand of the father (Php 2:9) and that everything is being brought under His control in His new kingdom (Php 3:20-21.)
You might be wondering whether I’ve missed something from that statement of the Gospel, what happened to the cross? Where are mentions of sin and repentance and the forgiveness of sins? And I will be very clear about this –they are not the whole Gospel. They are the result of the Gospel. How so?
Tom Schreiner puts it like this:
“Since Jesus is the Christ, the exalted Lord over all, the Son of God, the Prophet and the Servant of the Lord, he is to be preached and proclaimed to all. Because Jesus is the universal Lord, salvation is available only through him. He will judge the living and the dead on the last day. Hence people receive forgiveness of sins by believing in and trusting in Jesus Christ the Lord.”
For Paul Christ is Lord because God raised him from the dead and so it all hinged on the resurrection, but the need for forgiveness and salvation is a response to the news that Jesus is Lord. If God truly has appointed this Jesus to rule and reign over all things, if this Christ is going to put right what has gone wrong then there really is only one way to be right with God and that is through faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross.
It’s important to get this right because it has massive implications for the way we respond to and live out our Christian lives, but we’ll come to that. But let’s look at the hymn to the Lordship of Christ (Php 2:6-11). This is probably one of the earliest hymns of the early church that we know of.
This is Paul’s reminder to the Philippians that above all else there is Christ. The hymn works in two parts with first the humiliation of Christ and ends with His exaltation. It’s a statement of belief in the deity of Christ – that in his very nature Jesus is divine, yet is fused with humility – there is no power struggle in the Trinity, the Son serves the father and brings him glory through His service.
Paul here states Christ’s divinity and his humanity as well as his humility. He was God and He was a servant and one willing to be obedient to death on a cross and because of His self-sacrifice and because of His total and perfect obedience God did not let his body see decay but raised him to life and exalted Him – made His name greater than all other names and put all things under His control and all this brings the Father glory.
Everything else flows out from this simple fact – Jesus is Lord.
The Lordship of Christ is an easy thing to say and a harder thing to put into practice. So if I were to ask you this question, ‘Is Jesus your Lord?’ Assuming you say, ‘yes’ what evidence would you give to support that answer? How is the Lordship of Christ put into effect in your life? Because it must, right?”
Anyway, I don’t normally blog my talks but I thought that here I’d make an exception and post some of the stuff on Philippians (lightly edited for blog format). Please critique and comment. Below is my introduction to how I approached it and the letter itself.
“Philippi was probably the first church to be established in mainland Europe and was founded amidst a flurry of activity and controversy which you can read about in Acts 16. By the end of the first week Lydia, a wealthy merchant, had been converted and baptised. The gospel had come to the upper classes.
Soon after an annoyed Paul frees a slave girl from demonic oppression. The gospel had come to the lowest classes. This caused an uproar and after a beating Paul & Silas were thrown in jail. After their singing caused an earthquake (sort of), Paul leads the jailer and his family to Christ and baptises them. The gospel had come to the middle classes. And then they leave.
However the Philippians had really taken Paul to heart, they loved him and were hugely committed to his cause giving sacrificially of themselves and their money. Paul praises them to the church in Corinth as an example of generosity and unlike in almost all his other personal letters, Philippians contains very little rebuke and is full of warmth and affection. This is a letter to a church that Paul loved and to a church that loved Paul. It is easily Paul’s letter of joy and as such it should be read with warmth, affection and should encourage, build you up and stir love for Christ in your hearts.
This is more remarkable when you consider the circumstances Paul found himself in as he wrote this letter. He was likely in prison in Rome and had been for some time, his trial was imminent and there was the real possibility of death. Paul’s joy and trust in Christ becomes even more compelling.
It is a Christ-centred letter with some of the most famous verses about Christ in them: ‘to live is Christ and to die is gain’, ‘at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…’, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus…’, ‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection…’. We’ll examine the work of God in Christ.
Philippians is also a letter to a church and the church is the bride of Christ and his agent, his new community, his colony here on earth. We’ll look at the work of God in the church.
Of course the church is made up of individuals, disciples of Christ and it contains a vast treasury of riches for the believer: ‘whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praise worthy, think about such things’. We’ll finish with something personal and practical as we look at the work of God in the Christian.“
It’s not a long book (79 pages) and asks an interesting question, ‘what crucified Jesus?’ as opposed to the more natural, ‘who crucified Jesus?’ Rivkin works on the historicity of the event of the gospel not from the gospels themselves but by creating a framework from the writings of Josephus. He basis the historicity of Jesus not on the contentious passages referring to him but to one that isn’t challenged when Josephus mentions the execution of James the brother of Jesus.
Then using various references to other events around the time of Jesus he builds a convincing picture of the times. A ruthless governor in Pilate, a high priest in Caiaphas who made compromises to protect his people, zealots who made Judaea a restless province, a fervent atmosphere where charismatic preachers like John the Baptist emerge to great support from the people and consternation from the authorities. The fate of these preachers and leaders is almost always the same – death. Not on religious grounds but on political ones. Rome will brook no challenge. As long as the religion is not messed with the leaders render unto Caesar, as long as they do they are free to render unto God.
Rivkin then describes what he calls ‘a charismatic of charismatics’, an anointed inspirational figure who because of his popularity, because of the crowds, because of the support, because of the inherent challenge to one called ‘Lord’ the fate that awaits would almost certainly be the cross. Interestingly, the similarities as well as the differences put the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees as more complex than Jesus = good; Pharisees = bad.
So Rivkin accords the first three gospels with historical value (he rejects any real historical value to the gospel of John) and sees the picture they paint of Jesus as authentic. Where the stories differ is (unsurprisingly) at the resurrection. For Rivkin, the cry of ‘My God why have you forsaken me?’ was to be taken at face value. Jesus realised the kingdom had not come, his mission had failed, God had abandoned him.
As for the resurrection, well like the Pharisees Jesus believed the resurrection was inevitable for the righteous and his followers did too. So when Jesus died, well of course they saw Jesus alive again and how faithless for any to doubt it. It seems it was a consequence of people who really believed it. So the disciples didn’t die for something they knew was a lie, they died for something they really believed was true, they were deluded.
The point of all this though is to examine the causes of the death of Jesus and Rivkin puts the blame squarely with Rome. People died not because of religion but because of politics. The Sanhedrin wasn’t a religious council but a political tool used by Caiaphas in working with the governor. As our creeds state, Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate. Jews and Christians can disagree about the resurrection but that should not lead to anti-semitism, that was because Christians blamed Jews for the death of Jesus but really Rome is to blame. The case is made easier with a rejection of John’s gospel.
On the whole there is much to learn from this, the case for the historical Jesus through the framework of the writings of Josephus is probably a useful apologetic to those that doubt the gospels (synoptics anyway) and the insights into how the Pharisees tackled Jesus as they tested his claims to be a messiah is very helpful. Ultimately the differences on the resurrection mean that the usefulness extends only so far.
“People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God’s Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.”
- Francis Chan, Crazy Love
Any more?
Take the test on the BBC here
Anyway at the end of each day’s reading is a short thought for reflection. I’ve just been reading about Moses’ angst in challenging Pharaoh and his stubborn heart to God (Exodus 4-8) and the thought ends with this, which struck me on all sorts of levels.
“If we are to be successful in this life, then we must regard this as a central truth: there are no detours around God’s will, and anything short of total obedience in disobedience. ‘For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight’ (Eph 1:4)”
How often do I seek detours around His will? It would be easier for me not to preach the challenges of the Word, to gloss over sin, to hope for the best rather than pray on my knees. It would be easier for me to follow the pattern of this world than to consider the alternatives. So much easier, yet Jesus remains our great example who in His prayer said ‘not my will but yours’ and who taught us in our prayers to pray ‘thy will be done’.
Holy and blameless eh? Can I be either of those things by following my own choices, making my own calls? The answer, as anyone who knows me can testify, is a resounding no. No I’m not holy or blameless. Faults can be found. Fortunately for me, my blamelessness depends on my standing in Christ and not my own merit. Fortunately for me, the cross and resurrection applied to my life turns me from unrighteous to righteous in His sight. Grace has gripped my life.
So as another day ends, I reflect on the things I’ve done well and the things I’ve done poorly and ask for forgiveness. Tomorrow Lord, let your will be done.
Job, like Abraham, is held up as an example that God thinks being rich is OK. If being rich in and of itself were bad then why would God bless Job? It’s a reasonable argument but the Bible also tells us that wealth is dangerous – wealth can deceive you (Mk 4:19). God it seems is putting dangerous goods into Job’s hands. It’s a bit like giving my baby son Noah the spoon while I’m feeding him. He could get it in his mouth or he could spray mushed carrot all over the room. It’s a dangerous move.
But God didn’t seem to have any such doubts because he knew the character and heart of the men in question. Job reveals the reason for such confidence in chapter 31. Job recognises that all he has came from God in the first place (Job 31:15). Job understands that generosity to the poor is the responsibility of the rich (Job 31:16-22) and perhaps most importantly Job doesn’t trust in gold or riches (Job 31:24-25) he trusts in God. God trusts Job because Job trusts God. God knows that when he gives great riches to Job it won’t pull him away, make him selfish and proud and Job won’t take from God what he is due (trust and faith) and give it instead to gold and money.
So, if you’re rich or God blesses you with greater riches (and remember that if you reading this then from a global perspective you are rich) don’t trust in it, don’t forget who to thank and don’t forget to be generous. Of course understanding what generous is, will help.
In my daily readings I’m in the Book of Job and a fair bit of the discussion relates to wealth. Job is introduced as a phenomenally wealthy man (Job 1:3) he was a millionaire (maybe even billionaire) of his day. His wealth was a blessing from God (Job 1:10) and its removal was seen as evidence of sin. Job’s friends argue that Job’s misfortune can only be as a result of his sin and pride.
In reply Job argues that things are not so clear cut. He is innocent and now poor and in distress while many wicked men sleep easy with their ill-gotten riches. Wealth isn’t the obvious sign of God’s favour that you might think. So wealth could be a sign of blessing (Abraham, Job, Solomon) or it could not, so how do you tell? Clearly, not by looking at the wealth but by looking elsewhere for the fruit of the character and the integrity of their actions.
Yet it was the description of greed in Job 20:20 that caught my eye:
“Greedy people want everything and are never satisfied. But when nothing remains for them to grab, they will be nothing.”
In the ESV it says the greedy person ‘knew no contentment in his belly’. Deep in the gut, the one who lusts after stuff, who chases after money, who hungers continually for more, will never be satisfied. There is no enough for such people.
Today on the news I listened to the tragic story of Joan Cunnane, 77, from Stockport. A shopaholic she was found dead under a pile of unopened purchases. Crushed to death, alone in a house of things she bought but never opened. It was one of the most tragic news stories I heard. Greed crushes the soul to death, under the weight of never fulfilled desires the spirit dies. We need rescuing and salvation from greed.
So what satisifies me? What I earn? What I achieve? What I own? What I experience? When will that ever be enough? Proverbs 19:23 tells us that knowing God, fearing the Lord is the place where my soul can be satisfied, because there lies life – everything else ultimately is death to us without God, it is rotten. We should consider it rubbish, Paul argues (Php 3:8).
So, I hope I can make it a constant refrain in my heart to set my gaze upon the one who can truly satisfy, for that will be enough for me.
So here are a few reasons I hope my son turns out like this hero and a few ways in which I hope he differs.
Here is one (maybe two) reasons how I hope my son Noah differs from the biblical one:
We’re all flawed in different ways and my son will have his own, he will sadly prove to be a sinner just like the rest of us and be in need of a saviour. My hope is that I’ll be of some use in making a good introduction between the two of them.
This is the time of year when we pledge ourselves to reading more of the Bible. Me included. I’m going for Cover to Cover Complete: One Year Chronological Reading Plan as I’ve never read the Bible chronologically. So we’ll see how I get on.
For other Bible reading plans try these links
Tim Chester has a new weekly plan for groups
Justin Taylor links to several plans you could try
TSK links to this online version
Matt Hosier encourages you to try this year too
You’ll see the list from the Josh Harris link made it on to my powerpoint presentation. It’s interesting how helpful people have found it to have something to visualise, helps them stay with the theme.
Total Church is a provocative book and there’s much to commend it. There is much in common with the values of Newfrontiers the church family I belong to. This is a gospel centred book from The Crowded House church in Sheffield. They believe in extending the kingdom through church planting. They believe in caring for the poor and including them into the gospel community and in multi generational churches. They believe in the sufficiency of the gospel to bring people to maturity.
Interestingly they believe in reshaping the life of church around homes and building community rather than another building project. And as a church group that has come out of the conservative evangelical mould there is no place for the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit or signs and wonders so there are a few differences. But their central thesis that teaching, discipleship, pastoral care, evangelism and involvement in society is best done by a local church that understands community is spot on. We don’t just share knowledge we share our lives, we share ourselves. This is well worth reading to reshape church away from meetings and programme towards community and mission.
Flipping heck, it’s taken me nearly a week to complete this, where does the time go? I’m too busy posting comments on other people’s blogs, that’s my problem.
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| Let’s Go |
I’ve just read They Like Jesus But Not The Church and I’m going to have do some experiments. Kimball’s theory based on a number of out-of-church experiences and conversations is that people are open to knowing more about Jesus but that more often than not the church gets in the way. Hard to argue with that really.
It’s hard to say what principles you might apply from the Bible to the issue of nuclear power generation, but I guess the biggest cause for concern is the longevity of the nuclear waste and the shortness of our attention spans. Nuclear waste lasts way beyond the lifespan of the longest civilisation, so we’re probably being a tad over confident in our future predictions and that has to make you a bit nervous.
So to go nuke or not? Better in a power station than in a missile anyway…
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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