Hannah’s Glorious Faith

“Then they … brought the boy to Eli. And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the Lord.’ …” (1 Samuel 1:25-28 NASB)

It had been several years since Hannah had poured out her broken heart to God at Shiloh when she worshipped with bitterness in her soul. She had seen many months and years go by with no success conceiving a child; she surely wondered at the Lord’s dealings with her. ‘Why’ had to be a constant cry from her heart. “Lord, why have You withheld from me the defining blessing desired by almost all married women, the one gift I wish above all else in this world, a child of my own.”

What was God doing in Hannah’s life back in those days? Why did He make her wait for so long? If it had always been part of His great plan to give her the child she so very much wanted, and then more children besides, why didn’t He just grant her conception without subjecting her to the compounded heartache and pain of those years when she felt like an utter failure? Why does God make any of His children wait to the point of heart pain, often waiting for years before He grants our ordained desires in His ordained time? Is He unkind? Are we mere puppets in a cosmic drama? Does Jesus truly care about our weariness and frustration?

As He dealt with Hannah, so He may deal with any one of us who are His. Our Lord is glorified by the faith of His people, faith that He gives to us in the first place and faith that He strengthens over the course of time and experience. He is glorified by John’s long and faithful life of witness and suffering for the gospel; He is glorified by Simon Peter, who was led to a martyr’s death after many years of faithfulness. God is glorified as Hannah prays and weeps and waits and keeps on trusting and lays hold on God by vows made and vows kept.

He is also glorified when we follow hard after Him and refuse to relent until we have found Him and, like Jacob near dawn, refuse to let Him go until He blesses us. Indeed, when our faith seems thin and weak and so very small, He is pleased and He is glorified by the tear-filled eye that keeps on looking to Him and by the heart that keeps on hoping and believing in Him who cannot fail—who will not fail and who will answer our cries with His grace.

A sapling is nourished by nutrients from beneath; so the faith of God’s beloved people is made strong and stronger still by powers often unseen. Summer heat, winter cold, drought, and flood all test the growing tree and all our trying seasons make us more of what He intends for us to be and to become—until we, at length, stand tall and strong ‘by grace through faith.’

Through trial true faith grows and we become much more than we were before. Through those long seasons faith grows and we become more trusting of Him, the One who planted us by the mighty river of His unfailing sovereign grace for His glory. Many marvel at Hannah’s persevering faith. Let us marvel at Him who gave it and then nourished it and, at last, rewarded it over and again all because of everlasting love. –TSA

Mighty Man, Impressive Woman

It takes more than wealth to make a man noble; some rich men are very small characters, after all. Boaz was a man of wealth and influence in the region called Ephrathah and in the town of Bethlehem. He was also a man of measurable depth, evident faith and honorable character. He could recognize virtue in others; he was a businessman, knowing how to exercise and delegate authority.

When this important man came from Bethlehem to observe the progress of the barley harvest in his nearby fields he noticed an unfamiliar figure and asked the supervisor in charge who she might be. The report of this ranking servant was a good one. She was the foreigner who had returned with Naomi from Moab where all three of her men-folk had died during the course of their time there. Ruth, young and strong and likely beautiful, was no pampered wallflower waiting to be served and fed by others, least of all by her beloved Naomi. She was an eager, energetic, diligent worker from what the supervisor of the reapers told Boaz. She had worked all day except for a brief rest in the field-shelter.

We can imagine Ruth’s pulse quickening as Boaz, the owner of the field, approached. He spoke gently to one who might have been terrified by a commanding tone. He assured her that she could continue to glean in his fields and be unafraid; he had strictly commanded his young men not to touch her, which tells us that otherwise she might have expected to be ‘fair game’ to the workers. For even then it seems that some Jewish men (rather unlike Boaz) thought little of taking inappropriate advantage of female goyim, Gentiles, who were of somewhat less-than-human status. When Ruth became thirsty she was to drink from the water provided on-site for Boaz’s workers. Having no sense of entitlement and possibly expecting hostility instead of kindness, this foreigner was surprised and thankful. Her response was humility and appreciation.

It was more than hard-working diligence that made Ruth impressive. Everything Boaz had heard proved that this young Moabite woman was extraordinary. When she expressed thankful surprise at his kindness, he explained to her the why of it.

“And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge" (Ruth 2:11-12 NKJV).

Boaz was more than a successful businessman; Ruth was more than an industrious woman. This tale of God’s great love for His people should teach us to value what is valuable and to appreciate unexpected kindness. –TSA

About Ten Years

“And they lived there about ten years.” (Ruth 1:4c)

What a difference ten years made. As they began Naomi was happily married and the mother of two grown sons; at the end of those years she was a childless widow facing a bleak future.

We all live in a world where a nice little family story can quickly become a tragic tale of sorrow and struggle. In a moment hard times can descend and drive away every memory of ease and peace and comfort. Prosperity has often become a faint memory in only a few short days. The world being what it is, we must beware of finding our comfort in princes or presidents or economic good times—they all eventually change on us. God’s people must brace themselves against this uncertain world where famine and death and trouble come. But how?

“Trust in the Lord,” “Delight yourself in the Lord,” “Rest in the Lord,” and “Wait on the Lord” (Psalm 37). He alone must be our ultimate trust, our chief delight, our soul’s peace and our hope for the future.

Anyone who has lived for very long has experienced disappointment when hopes and dreams seemed to be dashed and destroyed forever. Thanks be unto God that our pains and disappointments are not ultimate. Neither are they permanent. Yet, we cannot always think or see or believe beyond the present darkness that overwhelms.

Naomi felt that her world had ended. The life she had known was now over. All alone, the whole world had tumbled down around her. Reflecting on those last ten years, she must have wept. Feelings of utter loss must have crashed over her soul like a flood.

Something amazing and wonderful may begin with a season of devastating loss, as it did in Naomi’s life. Unknown to her, the covenant-keeping God of Israel in whom she trusted was, even then, working all things for her good. But she could not see any of that at the moment. If the next ten years were anything like the last ten, how could she bear to live at all? –TSA

To Win the More

What is our goal, our aim, our wish? What do we hope to accomplish in living? If it is to win the current argument, we have a terribly small goal. If it is to secure the respect we think we deserve, we are intent on something vaporous. If our interest is to be honored by men, it is an unworthy one. If we wish for others to be charmed and dazzled by our rhetoric and awed by our intellect, then our wish is mere vanity. All such things fully achieved truly amount to nothing.

We have all been, at some time or another, acquainted with someone who intended for us to know just how superior he was. Revealing more insecurity than greatness, he trumpeted his accomplishments and boasted of how high he had climbed the ladder of this world. Any freedom or advantage he has is used to advance and promote himself, whatever the cost. He will step on you if it becomes necessary to get his way, to achieve his goal—which is self-advancement.

Seldom do we meet people with the opposite determination, to represent themselves as smaller than we think, as less noteworthy, not seeking honor, and more interested in us than in anything they might gain from us. Have you made yourself a servant to someone that you might win him, the person? That was Paul’s goal—to win men and women! That should be our goal, as well: to win people! Not win them for ourselves and to ourselves—but to win them to Christ and for Christ by the gospel!

A free man volunteers to become your slave that he might win you! What he wants is for you to know and love Jesus Christ. He wants you to become rich forever. He wants you to share in the costly but free favors of saving grace, as you believe the good news that Jesus died for you and that He was raised from the dead as your sin’s Conqueror. This slave freely serves you so that you will know he loves you and that he wants, not what is yours, but you—so that Christ may have you as His own and so that you may have the Lord Jesus as your very own. Can we honestly say, “I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more” (1 Corinthians 9:19 NKJV)? –TSA

Truly, Love Builds Up

When Paul came to Athens “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). Imagine the impact on a person’s mind, to believe that an almost infinite number of gods, deities, and spirits exist—and that they either make you prosper for appeasing them or pay dearly if you offend. Then imagine, having believed all of those things just yesterday, and then hearing the gospel preached by Paul or Peter or Titus or Barnabas and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Indeed, many people were saved out of rampant idolatry, snatched from the swirling currents of demonic occultism. If we think they came to Christ and instantly became sound in their knowledge of God and truth and life, we should rethink that.

If we had believed in many gods throughout our lives and had seen idol figures almost everywhere we looked, supposedly good ones and notoriously sinister ones, the lingering effects of that would be hard to shake. While our modern culture does not acknowledge a pantheon of deities, it is overrun with superstition of all sorts. My dear grandmother was a precious believer in Jesus, as sincere and earnest as they ever come. But she continued to think of certain things in a superstitious way; on some level many still do. A broken mirror meant ‘seven years bad luck’ and I forget what was supposed to happen if you walked beneath a standing ladder—whatever it was, it wasn’t good. In times long past and even now, many who sincerely and truly come to trust in Jesus may have no easy time shaking free of their past way of thinking, no matter how utterly silly some of it is or how entirely inconsistent with faith in the Almighty God. Their faith is real, yet some of their thinking continues to be very inconsistent with their faith.

Some of the Corinthian Christians were more knowledgeable than others who worshipped with them. Knowledge informs beliefs. Beliefs have consequences. If one believes, is absolutely clear on the fact, that there is one God and only one and that idols are not gods at all—that will instruct a person’s conscience. He will think and live under the influence of what he believes is true. Some of the Corinthian believers were crystal clear on these things. To them Paul wrote:

“…We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

Paul’s next few words may catch us a bit off-guard. Remember, he is not speaking of men in general, but referring to Christians in the Corinthian church. Having just stated beliefs that most of us think of as kindergarten stuff, the ABC’s of the gospel: “there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one;” and, “there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ,” Paul then says something surprising about some Corinthian church members, Christians:

“However not all men have this knowledge…” (1 Corinthians 8:7a)

What? Does he mean that there are some Christians who do not fully grasp that there is one and only one God and that idols are not actual gods at all? Yes; that is what he was saying. Paul was telling the Corinthian church that some among their number were weak in conscience because they were lacking in true knowledge, not understanding certain truths, even some basic ones. And not understanding those truths and their implications, they could not yet be directed in their consciences by truths they did not understand.

But can anyone be a real Christian, a truly saved person, if he does not know—fully understand—that “there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one;” and, “there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ”? We might write-off such people as unsaved, as unbelievers. Paul regarded them as weak, not as enemies of the gospel and without Christ. Was he content to leave weak brothers and sisters in ignorance and weakness? Not at all; that is why we have the epistles in our New Testaments. Paul and others wrote to teach and clarify and rebuke and strengthen.

We could adopt this attitude toward those who are weak in knowledge and, therefore, stunted in their spiritual maturity, as well. We could love them as brothers and sisters “for whom Christ died” and seek their advancement in the Way. We could be patient and kind and considerate of them, for Christ’s sake and theirs. What if they are, after all, His precious sheep—bought and paid for? –TSA

Great Knowledge & Great Love

Knowledge and love may peacefully occupy the same heart. But one or the other will always take the lead. We must be sure that love is in the driver’s seat. True knowledge is necessary for us to live a fruitful Christian life. Once we know the truth, we must still “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Knowledge is better than ignorance. “It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge” (Proverbs 19:2). Yet we must have more than bare knowledge; love must tincture and flavor everything if we are to please Christ. Love must drive us and our knowledge of truth forward.

When love leads it builds up, edifies, fortifies. Untempered knowledge is not so good a leader as love is. When knowledge leads the way, and our ‘knowledge’ may be inaccurate much of the time, it brings us to arrogance. Even thinking that we know more than others, we become puffed up with an honorable sort of pride (that’s how we think of it). And it happens almost instantly.

We know something someone else doesn’t and we become proud of ourselves for knowing it. We well remember a time when we, too, were ignorant. Ah, but now we ‘know’ and it feels really good to be right, even if we happen to be wrong about being right. Indeed, we could all wish that ignorance made us as humble as knowledge makes us arrogant, but it doesn’t. Truly, “If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).

Knowledgeable Christians, well taught in the Word, learn to apply the truths of the Bible. Their knowledge is not academic; they actually begin to live in light of what God has revealed in His Word. Their goal is to please the Lord and the Bible gives them the true way of thinking and living. But, at some point, a robust Bible-believer may become amazed (even appalled) that others who also believe have learned so little from the Word. They say they believe, but they still think like worldly people. They are superstitious instead of biblically spiritual. They are strong in legalism and judgmentalism, yet weak in their commitment to the word of grace and to gospel-driven godliness. And while these criticisms may be valid enough, they are too often laced with the poison of sinful pride.

Great love, not great knowledge, is the mark of Jesus’ disciples. It is true: some genuine Christians are woefully under-taught and unlearned, therefore, they believe far too little of what they should believe. “Not all men have this knowledge” that you have. And some, who ought already to be capable teachers of the Word, need to be taught again the first principles of the faith (see Hebrews 5:12). Still, we must not permit the knowledge we possess to make us unloving, which it tends to do. Knowledgeable believers, having been privileged to hear and learn and know the truth, must be careful not to regard those who are weak in gospel knowledge as unbelievers or as purely pathetic and unworthy of a second thought.

The Apostle teaches that we must not be unconcerned for a weak brother “for whom Christ died.” Knowledge may make us confident of the truth and bold in the exercise of our liberties, even too bold. But love will make us kinder and less likely to insist on having and using our every liberty in every situation. It was love that provoked Paul’s readiness to do without his liberty: “if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:13). To have insisted on his liberty at the expense of a weak brother’s conscience being, possibly, mortally wounded would have meant sinning against Christ. Does love for Christ, regard for His atoning death, or love for the people for whom He died have any such effect on us?

It sure is easy to let a little knowledge make us arrogant and obnoxious and unloving. It seems that all we need to know is just a little more than we used to know and we become proud of ourselves; we may then begin to think that others are shamefully ignorant and much less serious Christians than are we. It is true, “knowledge puffs up.” Love must drive us. Love must carry us and our knowledge forward and onward, everywhere we go, for “love builds up!” –TSA

Tell No One

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.” (Mark 8:29-30 NKJV).

Many people think the Lord would have them (always and in every circumstance) to tell others about Him, to make it unmistakably clear that Jesus is the Christ, mankind’s only Redeemer, a sinner’s one true hope. However, after confirming the truthful confession of Simon Peter about His identity, our Lord very specifically ordered His disciples to “tell no one about Him.” There are moments when the Lord is most pleased for His faithful servants to “tell no one about Him.”

It was a timing thing. It still is. As the Preacher of old wrote, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Likewise, when Jesus commanded His disciples to “tell no one about Him,” it was not a perpetual order; rather, it was a time-sensitive command. The time was not then ripe for Him to be broadly announced as Messiah, so our Lord told His disciples, for the moment, to keep that information under their proverbial hat. When the time was right, He would give them another command “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” But for the moment, Jesus wisely restricted their preaching, knowing the times.

We might think that since the command to preach Christ to the nations has now been given we are showing disloyalty to the cause of the Lord Jesus if we ever determine that some particular moment is just not the best time to speak of Him to another person. Yet, the Scriptures in many places commend wisdom and discretion. Jesus picked His spots and so should we. There were times when He would perform miracles, one after another. On other occasions, He limited His mighty works greatly.

He found the situation at His hometown of Nazareth hostile and unwelcoming, where most of the people were neither believing nor even mildly receptive of Him and His message: “And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6a). When the it says “He could there do no mighty work,” it has no reference to Jesus’ power or ability; it has to do with the fact that He decided that such faithless people could only misinterpret and despise such great works. He decided not to do many great works there among them. In mercy, He did heal a few sick people.

Surely the message about Jesus is most precious, more precious than perfect pearls. If we think of the gospel as precious and worthy, then we will listen to our Lord Jesus and refrain from casting the lovely message of His love and grace under the filthy feet of filthy swine who only despise precious things. There are some who account themselves unworthy of eternal life by refusing to hear and obey the message of the cross (cf. Acts 13:46). A faithful evangelist does not cast the precious pearls of gospel truth under the feet of vicious, raging swine.

At times and in some circumstances, faithfulness to Christ Jesus will require us to “tell no one about Him.” On some other occasion it may be perfectly right to tell those very same people about the Lord Jesus. Effective evangelism is thoughtful. Effective evangelism strikes its blow when the iron is glowing hot. –TSA

Rejected & Killed

To a first century Jew, the very thought that Israel’s long-awaited Messiah would ever “be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed”—that would truly have been unthinkable, the very opposite of every expectation. The illustrious Person designated by Yahweh Elohim to be King over all Israel, whose kingdom’s reach would extend to the very ends of earth, when He appeared He would be recognized and welcomed and loved and honored and served—that was the nigh-universal belief. However, the reality was to be far different.

Walking northward toward Caesarea Philippi from the Galilee, Jesus asked His chosen men about the general public’s thinking, “Who do men say that I am?” Public opinion was that Jesus was probably one of the old prophets returned, possibly Elijah or Jeremiah. They knew He was unusual and that He must have been sent from God, but they did not recognize Jesus as Messiah, the true King of Israel. The disciples, however, had another understanding. They knew Him to be the Christ, Messiah, the Son of the living God (see Mark 8; Matthew 16).

Jesus confirmed the disciples’ understanding of His identity: the Christ, Messiah, the Lord’s Anointed. How did they come to a right understanding about Him, while the elders of Israel and other leading religious figures, priests and scribes, all rejected Jesus as Messiah and conspired to have Him killed? Was the disciples’ understanding mere prejudice based on affection and admiration? Were they simply too impressed with Him to have a smaller opinion? Who was right, the religious elite or the fishermen and tax collectors? According to Jesus, the disciples were right. He explained how they came to right conclusions about Him.

Hearing Simon Peter’s confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” “Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). These men had been taught the truth about Jesus and it was Jesus’ “Father who is in heaven” who had made them understand that the Nazarene was and is Christ, the King, the Son of the living God.

But the King must die. And He well knew it before He ever came into this world by taking to Himself true humanity through the womb of the Virgin. After the disciples had acknowledged Him as Christ, as true Deity, and after they had been solidly confirmed in their understanding, Jesus then began to speak to them plainly of His death.

What a boulder of a truth and hardly one that they could have expected or anticipated! A stunning revelation it was. How could it be, that Messiah will be rejected and killed? —by every right He should be welcomed, adored and enthroned. The thought was utterly foreign to every mind—except Jesus’ mind. In fact, Simon Peter, the recent chief confessor of our faith, found His words about His impending rejection and death so unthinkable and incredible that he actually began to reprimand Him for saying such things. Simon did not yet understand God’s purpose that Jesus’ had to die to bear away the sins of His people. He would later understand it well and powerfully preach this gospel of a crucified, risen, enthroned Messiah. –TSA

Seeing More Clearly

Some things happen instantly in one event and they’re done. Many of us think of spiritual enlightenment as a momentary experience, as in “I once was blind, but now I see.” Yet for many of us Newton’s lyric is an abbreviation of our fuller experience. It tells the truth of what has happened within us and to us, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Many of us experienced something rather like what happened to the blind man of Bethsaida.

Jesus “came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, ‘I see men like trees, walking.’ Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly” (Mark 8:22-26 NKJV).

It is common, at least in some circles, for some people to think that others are not truly saved because their particular experience does not exactly mirror their own. Some precious Christians have been tormented by friends and relatives who doubt the reality of their salvation because they cannot recall the date of their conversion or specify the moment of their new birth. For some Christians it seems more complicated and they simply cannot pinpoint the different parts of their conversion experience; that does not mean they are not true Christians. Indeed, some have a Damascus Road moment, while others have a Bethsaida Road experience—in fact, the Damascus Road and Bethsaida Road experiences are more alike than we might, at first, think.

Saul’s Damascus Road experience was a step by step event in his life. He saw a bright light, fell to the ground, as he was blinded by brilliance; he saw nothing for a period of days until the Lord Jesus sent Ananias to him and then there fell from his eyes something like scales. Saul’s experience began in an instant but it was not over in an instant. Over a period of days the Lord used those things to transform his life and He gave him his marching orders as an apostle.

The blind man from Bethsaida instantly got some vision; he was a blind man no more. His darkness disappeared in a moment. Light broke in and his utter blindness gave way to some sight—it was true sight, but it was not clear vision. He saw things. He did see something, whereas before he saw nothing. At first nothing was truly clear. He could see men, but they looked more like trees that walked than like men. It took another touch of Jesus’ hands with another powerful and wonderful work of grace to help him to see clearly.

Having been once blind to the things of God, receiving our first glimpse of Christ is a precious gift. But we may not see things so clearly at first. If we remember well our early days as believers, we know that we saw many things we had never seen before. But many things were rather fuzzy—unclear. We needed the Lord’s further help so that we could see things accurately, as they truly were and are. We still need that. If we now have received the faculty of spiritual sight, we need more and more to behold Jesus and understand the truth as revealed in Him. –TSA

Inviting Disaster

When some prominent man in ministry falls into scandalous sin and becomes a shame to himself and an example of ministerial failure, skeptical people may quickly respond ‘I told you; they’re all a bunch of phonies.’ And is it any wonder that such an opinion would be held? It seems that ‘the Christian ministry’ is often plagued with such men (and now women). But how is that possible? How do such characters find any place, much less prominent places, in ‘the Christian ministry?’

Anything man can touch he can pollute. In some instances corruption seems to be an awkward intrusion, but in others it seems virtually invited. Without doubt it is a major factor promoting corruption when men can enter ‘the Christian ministry’ and then remain in positions of trust without meaningful accountability to anyone for their doctrine or manner of life. Unbiblical religious hierarchies can become massive monstrosities and hiding places for filthy men in priestly garb, all ordained and truly unfit to administer CPR to a dying rat. It is painful to see situations where “the people of the Lord” have little or no power to oust wicked men who have “crept in unnoticed;” and where those who do have some authority refuse to do what is right. And we wonder that some saints find it preferable to just stay home!

The fact that men are ‘in the ministry’ does not mean that they are men of God or even true believers. “And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there” (1 Samuel 1:3). “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:12 NKJV). It cannot be put much plainer than that. They were priests. They did not know the Lord. They were priests ‘in the ministry’ of the covenant God of Israel, sons of a priest who honored his sons more than he honored his God. They served themselves, regarded the worship of God as unimportant, and were notoriously immoral. Sound familiar? Wickedness may follow a millennia-old pattern.

If only God’s people would insist on applying the biblical standards for the men who serve in the church’s offices as pastors and deacons, the only way wicked men could get in and stay in the ministry would be by hook and crook, by lying, cheating and sneaking in. Churches that will not insist on following the Bible’s prescription for a healthy ministry are inviting disaster. And it is disaster when the true ministry of the gospel is lost.

There is a mainline church in a nearby town, less than an hour’s drive from my home; its minister is an admitted apostate who denies every distinctive of the biblical gospel, mocking true, gospel-believing Christians who attempt to be true to God and His Word. The ‘church’ there is thrilled with him and his Christ-denying ways. In this case, the corruption is cheered by the people, not as in the days of Eli’s sons when “the people of the Lord” were grieved by the priest’s abuses. Some assemblies who have the name ‘Christian’ are truly mislabeled.

The words of Jeremiah seem very fitting: “An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it” (Jeremiah 5:30-31 NASB)? –TSA

Our Little Window of Time

Every last one of us has an appointment with death, just as we had an appointment with birth. Every day we live is one that was ordained for us, a day God fashioned for us and that He always intended for us to live. You are alive today because God always intended it so. “…And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Ps 139:16).

Thinking about his life and God’s intimate involvement with all of it, the psalmist was certain that his life was no accident of some mindless Fate. He was sure that his tiny existence that began in his mother’s womb was part of Yahweh’s great plan for His seemingly infinite creation. Although small as a particle of dust and seemingly as insignificant, his life mattered to God.

Before any of them actually arrive in time, “the days fashioned” for us existed in God’s mind. All of our days from birth to death were ordained, intended for us. Beyond anything we can imagine or control Almighty God’s plan is at work, unfolding through what we call history. We are living tomorrow’s history today; what we do (and leave undone) becomes part of the story. The story is being written and we who know God and His love must do all the good we can—however little it may seem in our eyes.

Time will come when time will be done—until then, there is a window of opportunity during which we may work the works of God. We work His works by believing—by grace believing in “Him whom God has sent” (Jn 6:28). Believing and seeking to please Jesus, we find joy in doing His will and substantial measures of misery in everything else. Our doing flows from our believing. If we live despising what is and grieving over what is not, we squander “the days fashioned” for us and give them one at a time to the devil’s sly servant, Demon Despair. Every day thus given away is time unredeemed (Eph 5:15) and life lost.

The works of God cry out to be done; where are workers who will live out their faith? Cups of cool water must yet be given and received; thirsty people are fainting. Kind deeds must still surprise an unkind world in which sin has soured so many poor souls. Relationships must yet be valued and nurtured, for loneliness kills men and women deader than bullets and bombs. True words must still be spoken in love so that our brothers will be strengthened for another day’s service to the King. Gospel words must yet be lifted up so that hopeless and condemned souls may find, as we once found, eternal life and peace with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. –TSA

The Weber City Auction

The first auction I remember attending was when I was a little boy. It was in Weber City, Virginia and the building is still there almost fifty years later; in fact, I drove by there earlier today. When I go toward Gate City I almost always take mental note of the old auction house, but I never notice it on the way back.

The auctioneer blaring his voice into a microphone that he seemed to have swallowed, there were escalating bids here, there and everywhere for whatever it was he was selling. Going once, going twice…Sold! Then it all would start over again with the next item. Quite the entertainment to a small boy who lived by the river on a rural road; attending the Weber City auction was better than going to town on Saturday morning.

The only rule dad imposed on me was to not scratch my nose or ear or anything else while inside the auction house. He didn’t want to have to pay for whatever I might have bid on by scratching something. He and Mom bought a piece or two of furniture during one of our few visits there, but mostly we went to have something to do.

The best day was when Dad bought for me a medium sized cardboard box full of cast off toys, including a mechanical robot man with gears and gears and gears of different colors behind a clear plastic exterior. That was a great day. But it only lasted a little while, that best day.

The worst day was about a week later when I didn’t stop playing with the noisy mechanical robot toy after Dad’s third or fourth warning and in a quick moment he picked up the amazing robot man thing and threw it with some force into the cardboard box and busted it. It landed with a ringing clatter and never worked again. Right away he was sorry; but he could never apologize for anything so he let me feel like it was me that broke it—my fault. Of course, I should have stopped playing with it when he told me to stop. But I was a kid with a new toy, after all.

Anytime I remember the Weber City auction, I recall that mechanical robot toy and dad breaking it in the cardboard box as I sat on the floor in the doorway of the hall closet.

If there is a lesson here it might be this: all dads need to remember that their kids may very well remember things long after they’re gone. If dads mess up and in an angry fit break their kid’s amazing mechanical robot toy that came in a cardboard box of junk, they should apologize for losing control and doing something they really shouldn’t have—a little like the excited, engrossed kid who wouldn’t stop playing with the mechanical robotic toy thing when he should have.

Dads are sometimes overgrown, misbehaving boys. Take a breath and think. Your kids are watching all the time. And sometimes the woman who gave them birth is watching, too; it never hurts to impress her any time you can. –TSA

Right Verse, Wrong Chapter

Long ago in a county not far away a Baptist church sprang up. Anyone could tell it was a growing concern from all the cigarette butts on the ground near the back door. Between Sunday School and the worship service, a cloud of white smoke would rise as the saints lit-up all at once.

One family of five attended and seemed very happy to be part of the church. Of the three children, the youngest was a boy about ten. He was constantly misbehaving, often sticking his face in the midst of various women’s chests and hugging them, and the parents routinely did nothing to teach him better. After many incidents of such totally unacceptable behavior, his parents were taken aside by the pastor and one of the leading men and asked to do their duty as parents and regain control of their son. The parents reacted badly, at least as badly as their son.

The boy’s father was startled that anyone would be so bold as to point out the elephant in the room, but the wife was enraged out of her mind. Her claws shot out and she gave the men a good cussing and told them that her precious little son’s behavior was none of their **** business. The men insisted that the boy’s behavior must be reined in and corrected if the family intended to continue attending the services. It was their duty to discipline their son and their duty to seek the good of the church. She told the men to go somewhere besides heaven and that her family would come to church as they pleased and that nobody had better say a word to their son. Ah, yes; life among the saints!

Right away the church acted to apply basic church discipline to this situation. Mama changed everybody’s mind and they never attended again. The man did like many men do. He stood with his hands in his pockets and every now and then said, “That’s right” and “You tell ‘em, Honey,” as his wife ran her filthy mouth. They did send the church a silly letter threatening legal action and made a few unfriendly phone calls to the pastor and a few others. Needless to say, the man and woman refused to submit to any sort of church discipline; and that was that.

As part of the church’s attempt to deal with the matter biblically, Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:15-20 were followed to the best of the church’s ability. This Scripture reference was recorded in the Minutes of the congregational meeting. But it was recorded incorrectly; an innocent mistake. The right verse was referenced but from the wrong chapter. So instead of Matthew 18 the church record referred to Matthew 17:15-ff, which begins, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic…” Everyone had to suppress themselves. Some of us ‘lost it.’

It might not have been the spiritual thing to do, finding humor in such a mistake, but it was hard not to at least smile.

As fitting as that Scripture might have been, it was not actually used to justify the church discipline. After all, it was not the boy’s fault that he had ungodly parents that refused to obey the truth and to teach him well. Almost needless to say, that whole family reaped the fruit of rebellion against God’s truth. No one was happy to see things happen as they did, yet no one was terribly surprised when all three of their children soon rebelled beyond all control. Another family ruined through pure folly. –TSA

Deception Hurts Worse

They say the truth hurts; sometimes it hurts a lot. Ah, but deceptions hurt so much worse. Falsehood impersonates truth and some heart is misled and carries on with confidence in something untrue or, at least, not to be depended on.

Surely, we do ourselves a great favor to remember often that this is indeed a fallen world. Adam’s Fall in Eden (and our Fall with him) followed closely upon the serpentine utterance of deceptive words and lying promises. And ever since, “the wicked…go astray from birth, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3). Truth has become a casualty in this world, suffering daily a thousand wounds at the hands of smiling ‘friends.’

“Remove far from me falsehood and lying” (Proverbs 30:8a ESV). These words are from the only prayer recorded in the Book of Proverbs. This is the first of two things asked for; the second request is for material adequacy in life, as he asks God to sufficiently supply enough of life’s good things, but not too much—and there is such a thing as too much (see Proverbs 30:8b-9).

The first desire of that wise man was that God would not permit him to traffic in falsehood (outright untruth or truth set forth in untrue colors) or lying (willing deception by false words or unfaithful dealing). He would not become a liar by any definition. Having prayed for virtue, he also asks for Heaven’s protection from those who might victimize him by deception or lying. And this request was put ahead of his asking for food, clothing, housing, health, riches or any other earthly prosperity. First and above all he wishes to be preserved from deception and lies, even from their near vicinity—he wants those things to be far away from him and no part of his life.

Almost always after deception, sooner or later, the truth becomes evident; the deceived person cannot help feeling that he played the fool or was played for one. Sometimes the fault is ours for being foolishly unsuspecting; we rightly blame ourselves for being insufficiently wary in this fallen world.

Then we may misjudge people at times, believing them trustworthy when they are not. Often we trust too quickly, too much, too unreservedly. Some twice-burned children still play with fire. As hurtful as ‘getting burned’ can be, it seems too cynical and hopeless a way to live to never trust anyone for anything. But it truly is a fallen world and it is a long way down from the high-wire on which we stand when we trust. It is a high-wire act of sorts, how to navigate whether and just how much we may safely trust even the people we should be able to trust implicitly. Beneath the high-wire, is there a net? I don’t see one. The more we trust, the higher the wire and the farther we may fall. Broken trust, broken bones, broken hopes, broken hearts.

Unkindness and Deception are partners. Unkindness gives aid to Deception, as a strong breeze lifts the sails and drives a ship forward. Deception declares that Unkindness is never unkind. Unkindness says Deception is very often misquoted and more often misunderstood. These two always travel together with Unkindness leading the way.

For citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, love for truth in word and deed is the Shibboleth—and we can pronounce it correctly. There is no place for Unkindness and Deception in our tents or in our streets; let them be slaughtered at the fords of the Jordan. If we let these enemies live, then no one will be safe, “but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13 ESV).

“Speaking the truth in love” is and always will be the hallmark of a citizen of Zion. Surely deceptions and lies burn like acid on a true saint’s tongue. In this way let us live, “…having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25 ESV). “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). And so we pray with him who prayed before us, “Keep deception and lies far from me” (Proverbs 30:8a NASB). –TSA

Squandered Potential

Several years ago word worked its way around to me that a man I much admired and appreciated remarked that I needed to quit messing around and finish Bible College and then go on to Seminary, that I was wasting my potential. I wanted to do that, actually; but providence surely ordered otherwise, as other responsibilities made that not an option.

Reflecting on the last three decades, I suppose in terms of a religious career the man was right. (I do indeed wish that I had acquired the biblical languages and others wish I had acquired a few advanced classes in ‘tact.’) No doubt, some potential was squandered while I messed around attempting to shepherd a small assembly and seeking to become a competent Bible expositor.

Over the years, it could be that the critic wasted more potential than I. Career-wise, no. He earned a handsome living, raised a handsome family, and no doubt has a handsome annuity laid up for many years. But as far as I know he never reformed a single church; never left even one congregation with a solid biblical theology upon which to build their future. Instead of becoming a theologian-shepherd-mentor-evangelist, over time he became just another company man, loyal to denomination and traditional, tasteless, middle-of-the-road-ness. It seems that he now mostly labors to keep deep-thinking, theologically-minded preaching men out of the pastorates of churches within his circle of influence. That helps guarantee that those churches will remain as weak as ever, overly-traditional, and stuck in the same mud they have been stuck in for years—and painfully ineffective for Christ. As for potential squandered, God knows and the last day will reveal.

As for any remaining potential we might have to pour into the service of Jesus Christ, let us not waste another micron of it. Don’t waste your potential. But understand this if you miss everything else: faithfulness to the Lord Jesus and faithfulness to the truth of His Word is success. So be kind and be faithful. That will be our potential realized. –TSA

Jonah's Gourd & My Maple Tree

Neither Jonah nor I had anything to do with our respective botanical delights; he took pleasure in his gourd and I take pleasure in my Maple. Jonah's gourd was raised up quickly and it met a wormy demise. When it withered, he despaired of life because his comfort (derived from the shade-giving plant) was taken away. I mostly just really like our tree. I seldom sit in its shade, but I really love to look at it.

Two years ago, April 7, 2007, our part of the sunny South was hard-hit by a killer-freeze. Within two days our large Japanese Maple's leaves rattled like dry rustlers in a strong wind. It looked like the thing had died. In July it began to fight its way back, but with several very dead limbs. It was pitiful looking. It made me want to cry, but I didn't.

Last year the tree fought through. Springtime arrived and the 50-year-old tree leafed out, still showing much evidence of the previous year's trouble. In later March I had the opportunity of preaching to a Kingsport congregation whose pastor was away for the day. The weather forecast was an ominous one: a hard freeze within a day or two. Two years in a row, it would be. I distinctly remember asking that congregation on Sunday evening, if they had no pressing concerns of their own, to "pray for my tree." The hard freeze didn't happen and the tree seemed to flourish a little through the year. That was an answer to prayer.

Today is April 8, 2009. Sometime toward the end of last week the forecast for our area concerning last night was for another hard freeze, down in the lower twenties. Once more our Maple tree was in full leaf, tender and fragile. When I saw that forecast I began to pray for our tree, asking God to please surprise the meterological prognosticators and be merciful to us in this matter and let the freeze that was predicted pass us by.

Immediately I thought of Jonah and his gourd. I braced myself a little, but continued to pray about my tree. It is God's tree, after all. But I do like it. And then I thought about our ailing economy and the many people in our region whose livlihoods depend on the survival of their trees and vines and the many tender blooms already showing on them. So I began to include these factors in my praying, which had been rather one-tree-oriented for a while.

Last evening around 7:00 PM I checked the weather forecast. My eyes welled up and my heart breathed a smile and a sigh. The feared freeze just might not happen, it said. I just knew that my Lord had heard the prayer of my heart. I was deeply grateful this morning to look out the door when I let the dog out; everything is still green and unburnt by the threatened hard freeze that did not happen.

God is so kind to hear and answer a prayer about something as unnecessary as a Maple tree. I have no doubt that many people (believers and maybe even some unbelievers) were praying about their crops and orchards and gardens. This divine relenting concerning the hard freeze that seemed a sure thing only a couple days ago may seem like a simple coincidence to some. But it was an answer to my prayer! The living God heard my heart and He has encouraged me. It may sound like arrogance, to think that God sees and cares about the likes of me and my feelings about a fragile tree, but He does. I am so thankful this morning.

Every day God is good to us, even on days when our trees and crops freeze and die. But how happy we should be, how full of praise from our hearts, when His tender love for us is put on display by thriving crops and living blossoms that will soon bear fruit, Lord willing.

Had my tree frozen solid and had God not been willing to lift the freeze, would my heart have despaired? I don't know. Maybe for a few minutes I would have reminded myself of distressed Jonah. But I want a hopeful faith like that of Habbakuk:

"Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls — Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills" (3:17-19 NKJV).

You Won't Meet God at "The Shack"

A Casual Critique of a Potentially Hazardous Cultural Phenomenon
By Timothy Adkins (March 30, 2009)

Some months ago while wandering through the mall in our hometown, waiting on my daughter (seems I do that quite a lot—I’m sure I’ll miss it one day in the not too distant future), I was browsing the “Inspirational” aisle of a bookstore. I wasn’t looking for anything specific, just passing the time (as there usually isn’t much of value in that section of most bookstores, just so much superficial nonsense). An eager employee seized the opportunity to recommend “The Shack,” a recent title by William Paul Young that has taken some people and even some churches by storm. (As usual, I’m about a year behind the rest of the world.)

The bookstore guy sounded breathless from discovery. “It’s so good!” he said. He then half-apologized for disturbing my meandering and then informed me that anyone he found in that part of the store looking as if they might be open to a recommendation, he told them about “The Shack.” The intonations of his voice were those of a devotee; having been deeply moved, he wanted others to experience what he had.

I had heard about the book before. After that day several people, one and then another, asked if I had read it. I was told that churches were buying cases to give out. Startled to see a copy on a relative’s end-table, I noticed one of the blurbs from the front cover: a reviewer suggesting that “The Shack” could do for our generation what “The Pilgrim’s Progress” did for Bunyan’s. Appreciating the value of allegory to communicate spiritual truths, I thought, “Hmm.” But then I dismissed the matter again for another couple of weeks.

Friends mentioned it again, saying (although neither had read it, nor did they intend to) the book was dangerous and harmful to souls according to some voices they highly regarded. The very next day I dropped in at our town’s Library when someone from the circulation desk was putting out a copy of “The Shack.” I thought I would look at it. I decided to read it with as much openness as possible, determined to give the writer every benefit of the doubt. So I began; within a few days I finished. Along the way I scribbled notes and page numbers, hoping the content would improve and my concerns would be resolved as the book resolved some of the issues it raised. It only grew worse.

Having now read “The Shack,” I feel sure that its charm will fizzle, but not until many more books are sold, a movie is made, and a bunch of money along with it. Some will talk about it from now on, as if it dropped out of the sky on angel-wings. It didn’t. One thing is clear—those who applaud “The Shack” either do not understand the gospel or do not believe it. The book takes about eighty pages to introduce “God” and then proceeds to define Deity in terms completely at variance with the message of the Bible. There is some attempt to explain God, the Trinity. The result is a mangled mess, with some truths intermingled with much error.

The book is written as a sort of ‘true fiction’ (fiction as a vehicle for a true message). It is written in a mostly accessible style. The content unfolds along an emotional storyline, so readers become concerned about the characters involved in an unfolding tragedy that is the canvas for the book’s God-encounter. Certainly, allegory may be used to communicate good, even great things, as in Bunyan’s classic work about a sinner’s journey from utter lostness and condemnation to his ultimate entrance into the very presence of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But such is not the case with “The Shack.”

Regardless of its popularity, readable style, and captivating plot, “The Shack” simply lacks theological soundness. If only it were about fishing for lake trout or some other harmless thing. The sort of biblical integrity necessary to make it an enduring work is absent. Having read it for myself, I am saddened that many people will swallow, whole, the unsound message of “The Shack.” Instead of helping people find God, “The Shack” will ultimately promote idolatry. Instead of coming to know the true and living God as He declares Himself in Christ, Shack readers will re-imagine God as they wish Him/Her to be—outright idolatry.

“The Shack” is a collection of monumental doctrinal problems (if the Bible is our standard for true doctrine). Shack’s God is a Papa, is a Mama, is a big, lovable, snuggly Softie, as warm as marshmallow roasted over glowing campfire; the divine “It” morphs into whatever He/She needs to become so as to accommodate the person being dealt with—after all, Shack’s God is all about us. Absolute holiness and other divine attributes are studiously downplayed and the Bible doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone is entirely absent. Shack’s Jesus is a greasy-fingered, likable fellow who had to live by faith during His days on earth, a grievous perversion of the Kenosis (See Philippians 2:7)! Shack’s Holy Spirit is an ethereal, delicate, semi-humanized vapor of a personality with a Far-Eastern (Hindu), feminine flavor.

Shack’s Trinity is not biblically recognizable, with the eternal Persons of Deity subsisting without any authority within the Divine Self (See 1 Corinthians 11:3). An original circle of relationship, without need or purpose for authority, defines Shack’s God. Further, the Bible’s doctrine of election is caricatured as God choosing which of His children He will send to hell.

A glaring heresy staining “The Shack,” making it more fit for the fireplace than the bookshelf, is its unbiblical teaching of universal reconciliation. Shack’s Jesus scoffs at the idea that people need to become Christians in order to enter a right relationship with God. All people are already reconciled to Shack’s God through Shack’s Jesus, whatever their religious ideas might be—so true faith in the actual Son of God proclaimed in the biblical gospel is completely unnecessary. While not all have yet found the way to “relationship,” the implication is that, since all are already reconciled, all will eventually come to “relationship” because they are already, in fact, God’s children. In “The Shack,” God the Creator morphs into God the Father/God the Mother/God the Whatever, without any necessity for sinners to exercise faith in God the Son through the regenerating power of God the Spirit.

Shack’s God is always pleased with people because, being omniscient and knowing the fallibilities of mankind, He/She has no expectations of people and places no demands on their lives—the law of God (say, the Ten Commandments) amounts to rules designed by people to control other people. As to sovereignty, Shack’s God does not purpose the bad things that happen, but makes the best use of whatever does happen.

To preserve the notion of infinite Goodness, infinite knowledge and infinite power are removed from consideration. Shack’s God is Self-limiting, which is necessary to preserve the writer’s concept of human free will; he realizes that if God were infinitely infinite and unlimitedly so, His ultimate will would fully comprehend all things, good and bad, as part of His eternal decree. And we simply can’t have that, can we?

Is it any wonder that celebrities and cultural icons would love “The Shack?” It is New-Agey-Religion with God, Jesus, and the Spirit—without the seeming narrowness often associated with biblical Christianity. Narrowness like: “…there is one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” and “…No one comes to the Father except through Me (Jesus),” and “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” Why let the Bible get in the way of a good time?

Any person with the slightest interest in the truth of the gospel or in the well-being of his own soul (or anyone else’s) should not waste time on “The Shack.” If you do read it, know what you’re getting into. It offers a lightweight (often blasphemous) take on God, making little of sin, and redefining the gospel as much as it redefines God. It denies every person’s need for salvation through faith in Jesus; in fact, salvation is re-conceptualized in this book as something other than a sinner being rescued from the condemnation, penalty, and power of his sin by the grace of God in Christ. The church of Jesus Christ (See Matthew 16:13-18) is seen as more of a problem than a blessing.

Shack’s God is no more God than my little strawberry blonde dog is God. Like the Baals, Dagon, Aaron’s Golden Calf, Pleasure, Accomplishment, beloved Bank Accounts, and other Earthly Delusions, Shack’s God is an imaginary, manageable god-concept molded by each individual. To receive and believe the message of “The Shack” is to embrace a false conception of God and to worship an idol, not the true and living God who has revealed Himself, His will, and His message of salvation in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, as set forth in the Scriptures and preached to mankind in the gospel. –TSA

The Man in the Iron Cage

The Character and Condition of an Apostate

In Bunyan’s classic allegory of Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, one of the most striking and horrifying sights is the man confined in the iron cage of despair. His hopeless, miserable, irrevocable condition is set before Christian to warn against the damning sins that lead to apostasy and, at last, to hell. Here one should learn to keep watch over his own soul and to make his calling and election sure, lest he prove reprobate, false, and deceived. While it is not possible for a true child of God to apostatize, it certainly is possible for one who thinks he is a true child of God to do so.

Apostasy is not a concept with which most modern evangelical Christians are at all familiar. In this day it seems that every profession of faith in Jesus is regarded genuine and soul-saving, as long as it is sincere. Sincerity and tears sway us into thinking that any person who professes to know and love Jesus actually does savingly know and love Him. Should such a sincere person turn out to be a hypocrite who ultimately turns away from Christ and the gospel in his heart, that person is still thought to be sure for heaven because of a twisted understanding of ‘eternal security.’

The apostate man in Bunyan, forever bound in the iron cage of despair until he is cast into everlasting flames, is certainly an allegorical man. It is one in ten thousand (if that many) who will ever admit to his own apostasy (or even understand it for what it is) as the man in Bunyan’s story. Most apostates equivocate, split doctrinal hairs, and continue to present themselves as true Christians, only believers with areas of struggle and difficulty; they are, in fact, aliens to the life of God, have never loved Jesus Christ, nor were they ever regenerated by the Spirit-power of saving grace. They heard the gospel declared in the Spirit’s power and experienced something spiritually real, and then trifled with it. They took holy truths into their hands and treated them as playthings. Their pretended love for Christ was always counterfeit; yet one more deception of themselves and others.

Many Christians have no concept that apostasy is real, even though it is evident all around us. Many whom the people of God have regarded as ‘carnal Christians’ are certainly apostates. They once thought themselves sure for heaven and made a good show of it; but secretly their hearts are so hardened against Christ that they cannot repent. These will never be saved. Hear the man describe himself and the sins that sealed his soul up to despair and eternal loss.

“I am now a man of despair, and am shut up in it, as in this iron cage. I cannot get out; Oh now I cannot!” “…I left off to watch and be sober: I laid the reins upon the neck of my lusts; I sinned against the light of the word, and the goodness of God; I have grieved the Spirit, and he is gone; I tempted the devil, and he is come to me; I have provoked God to anger, and he has left me: I have so hardened my heart, that I cannot repent.” “…I have crucified him to myself afresh; I have despised his person; I have despised his righteousness; I have counted his blood an unholy thing; I have done despite to the spirit of grace: therefore I have shut myself out of all the promises and there now remains to me nothing but threatenings, dreadful threatenings, faithful threatenings of certain judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour me as an adversary.”

The reason for any person’s apostasy is his own sin and wickedness of heart and willful rejection of the gospel and its promises. We must never blame divine sovereignty for anyone’s apostasy. It was out of the rich goodness of God that the apostate once perceived enlightenment through the preaching of the gospel. It was from God’s goodness that he tasted the powers of the age to come and received the clear light of the gospel and got a certain taste of the good Word of God.

What a testimony to the necessity of regenerating grace the apostate person is! No matter how many sweet favors are ours through the goodness of God, our wicked hearts would cast them all back into the face of God apart from regenerating grace! It is the wretched sin of the sinner that damns him and seals him up to lasting hopelessness. Be sure of this: every apostate, like a madman, drives headlong to hell trampling underfoot the eternal Son of God, regarding Jesus’ blood as worthless as dung.

While there may be sadness and despair in the heart of an apostate, there is never repentance. Repentance flees where there is no humility, no sorrow for sin, and no turning to Christ. Matters are so much the worse because of the tremendous privileges the apostate person enjoyed, but then ultimately despised and refused the Savior of men.

Christian asked the caged man why: “For what did you bring yourself into this condition?” His reply is chilling. “…For the lusts, pleasures, and profits of this world; in the enjoyment of which I did then promise myself much delight: but now every one of those things also bite me, and gnaw me like a burning worm.” Thinking of his own conversion and knowing the tenderness of Jesus, Christian wonders at the man; why he does not simply change his mind and turn? The man answers: “God hath denied me repentance. His word gives me no encouragement to believe; yea, himself hath shut me up in this iron cage: nor can all the men in the world let me out. Oh eternity! eternity! how shall I grapple with the misery that I must meet with in eternity?” How strange this is to the modern evangelical’s ears; but it represents a spiritual truth too quickly and too easily dismissed in this time by those who profess to be wise, yet who know nothing as they ought to know it.

This man in the iron cage had Bunyan’s knowledge of Scripture to fill his mouth with a true report of his soul’s condition. Most apostates walking about in this world continue to play out the scene, as if nothing is amiss and their hope of heaven remains sure. The reality is that there are far more people than we realize, people with whom we brush elbows day by day, who are sealed up in the sins they love. They cannot repent. Their coming misery is yet to be comprehended, for only eternity will measure their bloodguilt, they who have trampled underfoot God’s Darling Son and done despite to the Spirit of grace.

The apostate’s misery is a dreadful warning to every true saint. True saints keep watch over their souls; to live in disobedience to God’s Word while holding a Christian profession is to tempt God and to run the risk of personal apostasy. True saints live in love with Jesus and more and more despise their sins. True saints are aware that they could as easily have been deceived; they “make their calling and election sure” by a constant appeal to the unfailing promises of the gospel. They realize that they are only “accepted in the Beloved.” The redeemed take refuge in Jesus alone. To us His blood is most precious, because only by His cross do we have the sure hope of heaven. True saints trust not their own hearts, deceitful as they are; but they do trust the heart of their Savior who takes away their despair, replacing it with everlasting hope and joy for the journey. -TSA

Where His Glory Dwells

“Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells.” (Psalm 26:8)

“…He dwells between the cherubim…” (Psalm 99:1b)

“… you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:22)


Soon after the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, God gave to Moses instructions to build a portable worship structure, the Tent of Meeting (the Tabernacle). It was made of materials available to the Israelites as they traversed the desert, animal skins, desert wood, gold, silver, and such things. When they moved from place to place, they packed up the Tent and carried it to the next camp, as they were led by the movement of the glory cloud. This visible cloud of Yahweh’s presence was later called the Shekinah (‘residence’); this cloud of glory, residing above the Mercy Seat “between the cherubim,” evidenced His immediate presence with His people wherever they went (See Exodus 40:34-38).

The portable structure was called the Tent of Meeting because Yahweh met with His people there. He had delivered them from Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea on dry land, drowning their pursuers. God gave the Ten Commandments at Sinai and there Moses received instructions about how the people of God should go about worshipping the Lord. Israel could actually see evidence of the nearness of God when they saw the Shekinah descended upon the Tent, resting above the Mercy Seat behind the inner Veil.

The Mercy Seat was the pure gold, cherubim-covered propitiatory where the blood of reconciliation was sprinkled each year. It is written, “…the Lord of Hosts…dwells between the cherubim” (2 Samuel 6:2). There Yahweh communed with His people on the basis of Christ’s atonement, prefigured under prescribed forms. The sacrifices and religious services performed there prefigured Christ, and especially His actual working out redemption and reconciliation by His death at the cross many centuries later.

During the daytime, the glory cloud appeared overhead. Israel lived for forty years in the desert and that cloud of Yahweh’s presence protected them from the burning sun each day. At night when deserts become so miserably cold, the glory cloud became a fire over them: shade by day and heat by night. The Lord met Israel’s needs by being with them. As it was then, so it is now; He still meets the needs of His people by His nearness to us throughout life’s journeys.

The Temple was not yet built in the time of David. He desired to build a beautiful house for the glory of the Lord, but that task would fall to his son Solomon. David erected a Tabernacle, a Tent, to house “the ark of the covenant” (the golden box that held the tablets containing the covenant, the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a pot of the Manna that sustained Israel for forty years in the desert). The Davidic Tabernacle may not have been quite like the one carried through the wilderness, but this Tent was certainly in David’s mind as he wrote many of the inspired Psalms. This Tent housing the Ark of the Covenant was the focal point of Yahweh worship during David’s reign.

As he wrote, “I have loved the habitation of Your house” and “the house of the Lord” and “the secret place of His tent,” David surely thought of the place where Yahweh was loved and worshipped. He loved the Tent because it was the place of Yahweh’s near presence, where the Ark and its Mercy Seat were. Forgiveness of sins and peace with God were so eloquently declared at this place. The glory of Yahweh dwelt there.


So, where is God’s house now? Where does the glory of the Lord dwell at the present time? At a church building on the corner, down the street? Where does God now evidence His glorious presence? Which place is ‘the’ place? Which house does the Lord God Almighty now inhabit? The answer of the New Testament is clear. The house of God is not a place; it is a people.

The habitation of God, where His glory now dwells, is the blood-bought church of the Lord Jesus. Jesus came and fulfilled all of the Old Testament types and shadows by His life and death and resurrection; the house of God that was established in earthly Jerusalem was one of those figures, a picture of a far greater reality, one that would fill heaven and earth in the end. In Christ all who believe the gospel are now built together into God’s household. The house of God is a family headquartered in heaven, in the very throne room of God Himself.

Whenever born again members of Christ’s redeemed church meet together as one people, whether a handful of saints or a massive congregation, there is the glorious habitation of God. This is God’s house. There the glory now dwells.

How amazing and how humbling it should be for each redeemed child of God to realize that, since the work of Christ was finished on the cross, the living God has been pleased for His glory to dwell in the gathered churches of the redeemed. Individually, we are indwelt by God’s Spirit. But in an astounding display of love, our God is now pleased for His glory to uniquely ‘reside’ upon and within the assemblies of the redeemed—in local, visible expressions of the one household of faith.

When the people of God gather together in true churches for worship, instruction, and fellowship, something wonderful occurs. When the living Christ brings together His redeemed people to make of them worshipping assemblies, the glory of God dwells among them. And it is especially so when they are gathered in one place, in one accord. He lives among them and causes His Name to be exalted before their eyes and before the eyes of some who, as yet, know Him not. He makes the united worship of His people to multiply; here is a case of something amounting to so much more than the total of its parts—multiplication, not addition. Five loaves and two small fish; multiplication!

What a gift to individual believers a genuine gospel-believing church is! It is God’s habitation, His house, His family. This is where His glory now dwells, in those who join together in loving and serving Jesus the Christ. David loved the place where God’s glory formerly dwelt. That house was a house of figures and types. Do we love the new place where the glory of the Lord now dwells—the living churches of Jesus our Lord, where He walks among the golden lamp-stands and holds the messengers of His gospel in His right hand? –TSA

If God Should Repay

No Thumbs, No Big Toes
Judges 1:5-7

After Joshua’s death, Israel was led by a series of leaders called judges; thus, we have the Book of Judges to tell their history. There was no permanent successor to Joshua and no monarchy at the time. For many years, as they settled into the Promised Land, Israel would wax and wane. They seemed to trust in the Lord for periods of time and to walk in His ways. But they would eventually forsake Him through various forms of idolatrous disobedience.

After some extended period of suffering because of sin (and it always seems to bring suffering in the end), the people would finally turn and cry to the Lord. Then, in mercy and love, He would raise up a deliverer to rescue Israel from the trial that had been sent upon them. After a time the cycle would replay itself with new details. The Judges were Israel’s deliverers.

When we think of a ‘king’ we probably imagine a glorious, robed, richly jeweled ruler over an impressive, expansive realm. But many ancient kings were more like regional strong-men who would lead their forces in ruthless raid campaigns on neighboring ‘kingdoms,’ and the rest of the time defend their own.

When the tribe of Judah began to possess the land promised to them by God’s covenant, they conquered one particular king known as Adoni-bezek, which means ‘the lord of Bezek.’ The Israelites had killed some ten thousand men in battle at Bezek, an ancient town in the region that became Judea. What a bloody mess it was, primitive warfare being as it was—nothing sterile about it! Everything was personal, eye to eye business. They pursued the “king” of Bezek who had retreated into the town. Pressing on, they thoroughly defeated the ‘Bezekian’ forces and when the head man attempted to slip away, he was captured.

Utterly defeated, Adoni-Bezek experienced one of the appalling cruelties of primitive warfare. He had often inflicted the very same cruelty on scores of other once-powerful men and now it would happen to him. Imagine a muscular figure approaching with a jagged hatchet—to cut off your thumbs and your big toes. Whack, scream! Again! Again! Again! I imagine that he slipped into an unconscious state for a time, only to revive to horror.

No more would Adoni-Bezek present a threat. Never again would he wield a sword. Thumb-less, he was incapable of gripping anything well. Big toes missing, the once proud ruler would never again confidently strut as vain men often do. He would struggle to walk at all. The lord of Bezek, once ruler of the place, was reduced to begging and scrounging about for scraps. Freshly humiliated, his haunting words drip bitter irony. The Scriptures tell us his thoughts.

“Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. And Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me." Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died” (Judges 1:6-7 NKJV).

What words! “…as I have done, so God has repaid me.” Adoni-Bezek had been successful in life. He conquered kingdoms and humiliated their most noble citizens, cutting off the thumbs and big toes of the kings of conquered realms. They were made to grovel under his regal table in the very depths of degradation. Instead of reclining at table as men, they would scramble like animals for scraps, every morsel tinged with gall, every swallow mingled with misery.

This was major payback. That is how Adoni-Bezek saw it. He considered this as God giving him his due. Because of his own unspeakable cruelty to those he had defeated and abased, now it was his turn—and God Almighty was seeing to it.

How do those words strike you, “…as I have done, so God has repaid me”? Are they not fearful to consider? If God should repay, what would become of us? Have we ever been cruel in success? Might He visit cruelty on us? Have we been thankless and proud in prosperity? Might He take His gifts and give them to someone more faithful and appreciative? Have we taken glory for ourselves when it belonged to the Lord? What if he poured out upon us the dishonor we deserve? What if God should repay? What if God should repay!

How long was the journey to Jerusalem? Was he caged like an animal or forced to walk the whole way barefooted on wounded feet, stumbling and falling and bleeding as he went? How long did he live in Jerusalem after arriving there, months, years, decades? The City of Peace held no peace for him, just scraps and degradation; a humiliated mascot, an object of disgust. At last, he died. There was no funeral oration, no fond remembrance, no monument erected to honor his life. He just died, alone and humiliated to the end.

What if God should repay? If we ever reap a full harvest of what we have sown, what will that mean? Do we truly want our deserving or His grace? If grace ever comes, surely we will want to cease from cruelty! How could we who receive mercy give out malice? We want to deny pride and cease from ingratitude. We have nothing good that we did not receive from our loving Lord; let us thank Him. He is worthy to be honored! What are we but mere men of flesh and frailty? We merit no goodness from Him, but the very reverse. What love He shows when He saves and forgives the likes of us! O’ that we might live as if we actually recognized it!

Our Deliverer, Christ Jesus, not only defeated our enemy and rescued us from the condemnation of our sins; He also changes our hearts. When we trust in Him who first loved us, we who are forgiven a mountain of sin learn to love Jesus with a mountain of love. We receive soul peace and free forgiveness when we receive Him as our Savior and Lord, by faith.

David wrote, “Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O Lord” (Psalm 25:7 NKJV). We all have been such sinners. Every day God does not repay us according to what we deserve is another day of mercy. –TSA