The importance of the authority of the Word of God

 I am convinced, with a greater degree of certainty each day, that we have lost in our practical lives the doctrine of Sola Scriptura.  We actually have lots of paths to understanding authority.  Most of us are more influenced far more by our own individualism than we are by the Word of God.  We live under the authority of our own understanding than we do under the fear of the Lord and listening to the Scriptures He has left for us.  We are far more interested in the authority of what our close friends and family say than we are in the authority of Scripture.  We are far more concerned their values and making sure we are not falling short than we are understanding the value that God places on various aspects of our lives.  We are far too connected to cultural values and understanding than we are to the Biblical account of things.  We worry too much about what our friends and neighbors will think and say.  We sometimes are fearful of losing chances to proclaim the Word of God to them and so we do not mention it at all so as not to put them off.  

The idea of the sufficiency of the Scriptures for the role of sole authority and practice has been left behind practically.  Most of us of course would never say that we follow what the Pope says, but instead we have replaced the Pope with self, and family, and culture.  These become our guiding factors instead of the Word of the Lord.  

I wonder what would happen if we lived under the authority of the Scriptures in an intentional way.  Would it impact how we use our time?   Would it change how we spend our money?  Would it adjust how we view other people?   Would it correct our poor behaviors?   And if it is not doing these things on a daily basis, perhaps we should consider that the Word of God is not our true authority and ask ourselves, "What is?"

A New Year

 It is a new year!  I think that we sometimes celebrate weird things in weird ways.  After all, we count birthdays up from 1 and the longer they go the less we want to see them.  However, after celebrating my birthday this year and being one year older, I celebrate the new year and do not associate it with age.  We celebrate the transition between December 31 and January 1 with a dropping ball and fireworks.  And yet the passing of January 1 into January 2 or any day thereafter is essentially a meaningless passing.  When the clock hits midnight we begin a new day and have all sorts of goals that many set for how they will do better in certain areas in the coming year.  Why not start that on December 31?  Why not earlier?  Why do we struggle to keep our resolutions beyond the 4th of 5th?  We celebrate weird things in weird ways. 

The Jews had a new year too.  They celebrated it because the celebration marked the greatest redemptive act in their history.  It was to be 14 days before Passover.  It was to mark the time of the leaving of Egypt because of the greatness of their God.  I wonder what would happen if we marked and celebrated our new years based on the work that God had done for us.  Now that would be something worth remembering and celebrating.  

So, what has God done for you?  What is it that God has worked in your life in the last year?   Mark time this year by what God is doing in your life.  Count the days from what God has done and anticipate what God will do!

Ends and Beginnings

 One year is drawing to an end.  Another year is beginning.  So often we focus on either one or the other aspects of this.  Either we focus on the year we had (we typically do this when it was a good year) or we focus on the year to come (because we are so eager to get out of the year we just had).  We either look backward or forward.  I have found something interesting as I have taken up the habit of walking and now been walking regularly for a few years now.  I am not sure how well it applies, but I guess I will leave that for the reader to decide.  

When walking, you cannot look too far ahead, and you cannot look backward.  Both options are a recipe for disaster.  If you are looking too far down the sidewalk or the road you will miss what is right in front of you.  This often leads to tripping.  If you are not watching the ground you are walking on you tend to trip.  Sometimes it is the edge of a sidewalk block that is slightly raised.  Sometimes it is subtle curve or change in the pavement that trips you up, but if you do not see it, you will trip.  

When walking you cannot look behind you either.  Every time I look behind I wind up steering myself off to the side that I am looking toward.  So if I look over my left shoulder at something behind me, I tend to start walking to the left.  I cannot walk in a straight line without looking at where I am going.  But again, this does not mean I just have to look forward all the time.  In fact, the best place for me to look for safety (especially now that it is winter) is directly in front of me, where my feet will step next.   

It is almost like we are not supposed to worry about what is to come too much, and not fret over what we have left behind too much.  Biblical balance seems to have gratitude for the past and leave the future to God, but to fix our behaviors on what is happening now.  To behave in this moment in the way God has called us to behave.  To think and say in this moment what I am supposed to think and say.  To leave the rest to God!

Christ is Coming!

 Today we lit the first advent candle as part of our worship service.  The preparation of our hearts and minds as we approach the Christmas celebration is critically important.  I think that we do not take the time to prepare and because we do not take time to prepare, we forget.  After all, what we tend to remember we tend to prepare for.  We do not remember the quick trip to the grocery store for a loaf of bread for more than a day or two.  We do not remember the weekly trip to the grocery store much more than a week or two.  But we might remember the trip to the grocery store that we did to prepare for our 3 week vacation.  Or the trip to the grocery store to prepare for the holidays.  Because it is in the preparation for something that memory is created.  I remember the proposal I gave to my wife because I prepared for it.  I could not tell you what our fourth date was.  We just enjoyed it, there was no preparation for it. 

When it comes to Christmas, we so often simply let it happen to us.  We do not prepare.  We do not consider what the Bible says about the narrative.  And so to remind us today to prepare, let me simply state that the whole story of Scripture is focused in on the story of the coming of Christ to earth.  The OT looks forward to it and the NT looks back on it.  The life of Christ is the central theme of the gospel.  What He did for us in His life and death and resurrection is the central work for all who believe.  We NEED Jesus.  And so remind yourselves this year to prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ more than you prepare to celebrate with your families.  Make the celebration with your families center on the work of Christ and not just your own personal traditions.  Prepare to celebrate Christmas by preparing to remember that it is all about Jesus.

God is Sovereign

 I have noticed a trend as I have observed the people of God in my role as pastor.  The trend is this - when things go our way we are quick to thank God for His sovereignty, but when things do not go our way, we are very hesitant to mention the sovereignty of God.  For instance.  We in the US had an election recently.  Those who voted for Trump were quick to praise God for His sovereignty over all things.  I would imagine that those that did not (in our neck of the woods a minority) are not in this moment praising God for His sovereignty.  In my own life I notice that when test results came back good I was quick to praise God but when they came back poorly, or even inconclusively, I was much slower to praise God.  I wonder what this reveals about us.  Perhaps it is that we really think we are in charge and we are telling God what He can use His power to do.  When He does what we want - we praise.  When He does that which we did not want - we withhold our praise.  This says much more about us than it does about God.

The Scriptures are clear.  God is in control of all things.  He does all things for His own good pleasure, glory, and will.  And we are here to recognize the benefit for us in all that He does.  No matter our perspective on it - God is good.  We need to praise Him without regard for how we feel about what He has done.  May God help us to praise Him in all things, at all times and for all the things He has done.

An absence of disputable matters

 I was reminded recently that sometimes we place way too much emphasis on any one particular area - an area that is not clearly defined in the Bible - and we demand that all those around us comply.  Some examples of this (and I will probably get in trouble for some of these) are:

King James only, or any Bible translation only discussion

Music discussions

End times discussions

Church carpet color discussions

What programs a church should have discussions

etc.

Now for each of these categories (and all those like it) there are people who come down on different sides and there is no clear direction in the Bible that answers all of the questions on the various sides.  Of course the Bible speaks in principles to all of the discussions, but it does not clearly define right and wrong.  But try telling that to the people on the various sides of the debates.  Take the "wrong" side (depending on who you are talking to) and it is like you are questioning the virgin birth or substitutionary atonement (both of which the Bible DOES speak clearly on).  It is as if in our own minds there are not actually any disputable matters.  

We should be reminded that if we are dogmatic in everything to the same degree then realistically we have made ourselves the standard of judgment and not the Word of God.  And any time that happens we are in grave danger.  May God help us to hold to the Truth of His Word and give us the grace to allow others to hold different views in the areas where God allows different views and may He give us the wisdom to know what goes where!

Authority and Obedience

 There are a lot of things that can be said, have been said, and are being said about the world in which we live.  There are a lot of ways to consider and look at how people are thinking and what ideas are important for the church in the midst of a world like ours.  I think sometimes it is good to get back to the basics.  There are two concepts that are really two sides of the same concept that are critical for us to understand.  

The first side of the coin is authority.  God has authority over our lives.  He has this authority for a number of reasons.  He created us - therefore He has the right to do with us as He pleases.  His character - his goodness and grace and justice and holiness and the all the rest earn Him our respect and confirm His authority.  He demands it - He calls us to recognize who He is and acknowledge Him as the one in charge.  God is our authority. 

The second side of the coin is obedience.  This is the demanded response of the creation to the authority of God.  Creation is to obey God.  God's character demands our obedience.  His law demands our obedience.  We obey God because we recognize that God is the authority and we are to follow Him.  

The trouble in our world is that we have made ourselves the authority.  This totally upends the plan and purposes of God in our lives.  We were made to obey, not to be in charge.  And so when we do what we want to do we are missing the point of what we were created for.  We need to bring back these two concepts in our every day lives.  We need to recognize the authority of God and we need to obey this God who created us.