Humility is Compatible with Certainty

Michael Kruger:

Christians believe that God has revealed himself clearly in his Word. Thus, when it comes to key historical questions (Who was Jesus? What did he say? What did he do?) or key theological questions (Who is God? What is Heaven? How does one get there?), Christians believe they have a basis on which they can claim certainty: God’s revelation. Indeed, to claim we don’t know the truth about such matters would be to deny God, and to deny his Word. (This doesn’t mean, of course, that Christians are certain about everything; but there can be certainty about these basic Christian truths).

Thus, for Christians, humility and uncertainty are not synonymous. One can be certain and humble at the same time. How? For this simple reason: Christians believe that they understand truth only because God has revealed it to them (1 Cor 1:26-30). In other words, Christians are humble because their understanding of truth is not based on their own intelligence, their own research, their own acumen. Rather, it is 100% dependent on the grace of God. Christian knowledge is a dependentknowledge. And that leads to humility (1 Cor 1:31). This obviously doesn’t mean all Christians are personally humble. But, it does mean they should be, and have adequate grounds to be.

John Frame:

Scripture says some negative things about doubt (Matt. 14:31, 21:21,28:17, Acts 10:20, 11:12, Rom. 14:23, Jas. 1:6). In Matt. 14:31 and Rom. 14:23, it is the opposite of faith and therefore a sin. Further, knowing God in Scripture often seems to have a sureness about it. . . . Note especially the “certainty” of Luke 1:4, the “proofs” of Acts 1:3, and the centurion’s words of Luke 23:47. . . . If the revelation of God to which we submit isinfallible, then it must serve as the criterion of all other knowledge. As such it is the standard of certitude and must be regarded as itself in some sense maximally certain.

G. K. Chesteron:

What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed.

Nowadays the part of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to assert—himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt—the Divine Reason. . . . The new skeptic is so humble that he doubts if he can even learn. . . . There is a real humility typical of our time; but it so happens that it’s practically a more poisonous humility than the wildest prostrations of the ascetic. . . .

The old humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which makes him stop working altogether. . . . We are on the road to producing a race of man too mentally modest to believe in the multiplication table. (Orthodoxy [reprint, San Francisco: Ignatius, 1995], 36-37.)

Now that is some Humble Certainty! (tcf)

High Places & Leadership

The high places however, were not removed.

I have been reading 2 Kings for focus and reflection. Most of the kings did evil in the sight of the Lord. There were some who honored the Lord in their reign with this exception - - they did not remove the 'high places'.

High places were syncretistic accommodation to evil. It is as though the king though God did not notice(?)! Today those high places would be assimilation of the cultural norms, always in conflict with God's word.

Incomplete obedience is disobedience. As I near the end of my days I do not want this epitaph to mark my leadership journey.

I recently had our Small Groups watch the DVD of Francis Schaeffer speaking at Coral Ridge Presbyterian in 1982. His focus and the title of his message is Christian Manifesto. That message could well be delivered today and be spot on. He speaks of tyranny. That is precisely what we have in our dear land - Judicial Tyranny.

He then ask the poignant question - where are the pastors? I ask that same question. I have traveled for the past 20 years speaking to pastors and churches about their Health & Effectiveness. The most common response to this is a 'we are sorta ok and after all we are not as bad as the guy down the street. What?

Soon enough we will all come to that juncture in our days when it will be written of us as it is of all those kings - - "and he rested with his fathers".

Have you removed the high places or is your leadership 'sorta ok'?

The Power of Purpose

What is Purpose?

1. The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal:

"And ever those, who would enjoyment gain, Must find it in the purpose they pursue" (Sarah Josepha Hale).

2. A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention.

3. Determination; resolution: He was a man of purpose.

4. The matter at hand; the point at issue. To intend or resolve to perform or accomplish.

Idioms: on purpose - Intentionally; deliberately.

Intentional well define purpose = good results.

Little or no purpose and definition = few or no results.

What role does Purpose play in the Health & Effectiveness of a local church ministry?

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17, ESV)

Pastor/Elder and people will be held accountable for transformation. The Pastor/Elder(s) is/are accountable for providing the process and resources necessary for transformation to take place. The congregation/people are accountable for being persuaded by the ones leading them and obeying, embracing and applying the resources provided.

**Principle: You cannot measure what you do not first define!

NT Purpose - Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:16-20, ESV)

When a local church embraces this purpose they ipso facto are submitting to the Lordship of Christ. The Scriptures by which Christ is made known to his people become the magna charta for ministry, not tradition, culture or previous practices typically expressed in the often repeated line - - “we have always done it this way”.

Leadership Selection – All persons serving in positions of leadership must meet the biblical profile (Acts 6; 1 Tim. 3 & Titus 1 for Deacons) and (1 Tim. 3 & Titus 1 for Elders). Do those holding such positions where you serve meet this standard?

Levels of Excellence – Our service in the church must meet the expectation expressed in the Shema in the OT (Deut. 6:4-9) and repeated in the NT (Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27). This is a clear and unambiguous unfolding of both purpose and excellence. This must be the standard for all who name the name of Christ and claim to follow and call him Lord.

Our people know vast portions of God’s word. They can quote it. They can debate other people about what the text says. But they have no idea how it all fits together. (Dr. Al Mohler, He is Not Silent, p. )

The following quote is from a man that is part of the New Covenant page on Facebook that I participate in.

My dad had read the Scriptures all of his adult life. He would quote to me entire chapters of the Bible. In all of my years in Christ I have yet to meet the person who could quote more scripture than my dad. Because he knew the Bible dad understood what was right and what was wrong to please or displease God. He lived a good moral life. He was a good father, husband and provider. He went to church and he brought his wife and seven kids to church. Everyone who knew him considered him to be a good man. I never heard him speak vulgar or use God’s name in vain. As I said, my dad read the Scriptures all of his adult life. He honestly believed he would be accepted by God because he lived a good life. But God didn’t reveal himself to my Dad until he was on his death bed and only then did all of his Bible reading open to him. At last he had learned of Christ. He was washed and cleansed and his guilt removed by the power of God. His sins were forgiven. The Spirit of God filled him with love for our heavenly Father and his Son. Dad is now in the arms of Jesus.

It is one thing to read of God’s love and his requirements and it is quite another thing to know God's love in the inner man and to obey Him with loving obedience born out of the new heart.

1 John 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.

1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Summary:

Scripture is designed to bring information, encouragement, equipping and transformation to God’s people. Transformation in Rom. 12:2 is a present passive imperative.

The following verses that make up this pericope (Rom. 12:1-8) make it clear that transformation is a reality that is accomplished primarily if not exclusively through our submission to and participation in ‘body life’ (cf. Bonhoeffer, Life Together).

When people do not know or have not embraced the purpose inherent and at the heart of the Great Commission they produce little or nothing of God’s intent for the church and they produce misery and discouragement for their shepherd.

Tragically it is my studied and well informed perspective based on 20+ years of wide exposure to hundreds/thousands of churches in America that these people are tragically and probably unregenerate.

They have not embraced the purpose.

They do not have a functional, measurable objective definition of a disciple. That being the case they have no metric to measure their transformation or lack of same because having one would shine the light of Truth on their real spiritual condition. No TRANSFORMATION means no REGENERATION. When a Pastor/Elder seeks to incorporate these essentials in ministry he is most often ‘thrown under the bus’ - - FIRED!

If he is a Faithful Shepherd, he must nevertheless honor God’s Word and do what God, not the people call him to do. (cf. John 6 – Jesus reduced the crowd from 5,000 to 12!)

Time Wounds All Heels!

Time marches on. Mortals cannot escape the relentless sequence of moments that make up our pilgrimage. The journey of life is 3 score and 10 and if by chance we are granted a little extra, that is pure grace.

I am now on that bonus portion. Today I used one of the first books I purchased for OT Survey at Cedarville - - an ASV 1901 Bible. The spine is beginning to crumble. I got out a role of Library Tape and 'patched' it back to wholeness (sorta). Just like my body (Cancer, Vitamin D, chrondroiton for the creaky joints, etc.) age is showing.

I am very thankful for what is in those years. Painful, sometimes very very long and spiritually dry, but always packed with Wisdom if you are listening and ready to learn and grow in grace. And, when the springs of God's freshness immerse you in His goodness all the sadness and arid dry times are gone!

My heirs will inherit the library (some 4,000 volumes). As my friend Kevin DeYoung says of them, old books are like old friends. I have a navy buddy, he lives in Tampa FL and we talk every day via cell phone. We have been friends for 53 years. What a cherished and valuable person. I was in his wedding. Our children swam in his pool with his. He and his wife visit Peggy & I when they travel.

So cherish those old friends and the old books as well. The binding wears out just like ours but the TRUTH they provide is timeless. God likes old - cf. Lev. 19:32. If He is OK with the wrinkles I surely am!

Dilly Dally and Changing Your Name

Today, February 20, 2012, the Southern Baptist Convention will announce at a meeting in Nashville the proposed 'new name' for the SBC. In light of the global execution of ministry that the SBC enjoys I believe this is a prudent and appropriate action. I affirm this initiative.

Having said that, I agonize over the issues of greater significance that the SBC REFUSES to address. Some of these are:

#1 - Truth telling about the true number of members (16.3 million claimed - - but on the best Sunday of the year there are not 7 million people gathered to worship).

#2 - The causal issues behind that attendance gap. This is driven by a seriously flawed doctrine of Soteriology. People are swept into membership that are simply not redeemed as evidenced by the total absence of progressive sanctification.

#3 - An almost paranoid focus on giving to the Cooperative Program. Failure to give is another indicator of people who are not submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Change the hearts and the contributions will rise dramatically.

#4 - An unrelenting refusal to embrace a Metric for effective ministry that measures transformation rather than mere activity.

So, we can "Dilly Dally" and change the name, % given to this program or that but until the Sovereign of the Ages brings us face to face with our sin, we repent and humble ourselves - - the name change will be just more "Dilly Dally". I welcome your responses to these thoughts.

Pastoral Integrity & Plagurism

Solomon told us there is nothing new under the sun. Using material created by someone else is a legitimate resource for writing articles or preparing sermons. When doing so it is only proper and ethical to display appropriate credit to the author/source. Failure to do so is both a moral and ethical breech.

With the availability of material on the internet the incidence of 'pirated' material has occurred with alarming frequency. The injunction "Thous shall not steal" is alive and well in God's universe. He is dishonored when people who claim to be Christian engage is this thievery with impunity.

Publications of such notoriety as the NY Times and the Boston Globe were wracked by this dubious practice in recent past. Not surprising. To see this same reprehensible evil manifest among Pastors is another matter.

Better to include copious footnotes and citations than to give the impression that you are the author when in fact you are not. Adopt the practice of including proper citations and links for all material not original copy from your hand. DO IT!

Finishing Well & DNF

4th of July. Ideal weather for a 10 K race. 800+ runners milling around mentally reviewing their strategy for the race. Nerves on edge. At this point you are ready or you are not. That simple.

A good friend says of running and winning - - it is not the will to win but the will to prepare to win that matters. Real wisdom.

The runners come to the starting line. Running protocol says that the participants line up according to ability. Those that run a 4:30 mile pace at the front, the plodders, who just hope to finish regardless of the mile time at the ‘back of the pack’.

A young stud, buffed and well tanned, positions himself at the very front of this collection of pulsating testosterone. He does multiple ‘sprint outs’, hoping that the crowd is observing and appreciating his self-affirmed athletic superiority.

BANG! The starter’s gun signals the start of the race. The front-liners seek to establish themselves at or near the lead. This stud is soon hundreds of yards in the lead. As he rounds the first corner he is all alone – for now.

At the 4 mile mark (a 10K is 6.2 miles) I notice the "meat wagon”, runners jargon for the EMT’s with their ambulance on the side of the road, lights flashing. They have a patient on a stretcher loading him up for a ride to the finish in anything less than glory. It is the ‘Stud’. He will receive a DNF = Did Not Finish.

(This runner was a Marine home on leave. He assumed that Marine Corps Training was adequate to succeed in a 10K race. Make sure you prepare for the rigors of your task)

I recorded the best 10 K time of my running career in this race. My time corresponded with my ability and training.

Only 3 in 10 OT Leaders finished well. Go to www.bobbyclinton.com and read his helpful articles on this subject. Many begin with great fan-fare. Few finish strong. The obstacles are many. The parable of the tortise and the hare applies. Serve and lead having prepared well. Stay the course. Measure the rhythms and challenges wisely. Be accountable. Surrender to the LORD of LORDS and King of Kings daily (Luke 9:23).

Watch this video. Make finishing well a top priority .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJolVkw5cOc