Is God Merciful Or Just?
We tend to think that a God who has a fierce sense of justice and hates evil (Ps. 7:11) is not likely to be a very merciful God, (Lam. 3:22-23). For most us, our natural inclination is to equate the abhorrence and punishment of evil with harshness and cruelty, (Matt. 25:24).

The same assumption is also true in reverse. We tend to think that a God who has abundant compassion for the guilty and pities the villain (Jonah 4:11; Luke 23:42-43), cannot, at the same time, be a God who is utterly uncompromising in his judgment of man's sins, (Ecc. 12:14; Heb. 4:13).

Thus, whether we realize it or not, many of us end up confused by a distorted 'either/or' view of God's character. We either think that he is a God who is merciful or that he is a God who is just. We assume he must be one or the other, or at least mostly one or the other. Yet, the truth is, our God is both perfectly merciful and absolutely just. He is supremely compassionate toward the guilty, and yet dreadfully severe toward the same, (Rom. 11:22). He is not a God who is only one of these things, but a God who is both, holding them in seamless harmony within the perfections of his own indivisible character, (Rom. 3:26). The God of justice is the God of mercy. 

The Blessed Ministries of His Mercy & Justice
This dual affirmation of God's character as being both merciful and just should yield two great ministries upon the souls of men:

1. The astounding wonders of God's mercy should fill our hearts with all comfort and hope—even in our failures—because we know that he is "a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love," (Neh. 9:17).
   
   
2. At the same time, the Lord's impartial devotion to justice should humble us to the dust, instill a holy and reverent fear in our hearts, and empty us of every illusion of safety when we are walking in sinful rebellion against his holy law, (Col. 3:6; I Cor. 6:9-10; I Jn. 1:6).

Some who prize themselves as being of the very serious sort of Christian may tend to emphasize God's justice over his mercy. Others who style themselves as being of the very loving sort of Christian may tend to emphasize God's mercy over his justice. But true spiritual maturity as a child of God involves a deepening recognition and appreciation for both of these wonderful attributes of the Lord. The elevation of one attribute over-against the other does not promote maturity, but rather deformity. It mars the portrait of God that has been set forth in holy Scripture.

The Effect of An 'Either/Or' Mentality
To behold the Lord as the God of justice, while forgetting his tender mercy, will not lead your soul to embrace the comfort of his love for you in Christ—an everlasting love that has been given apart from all works or merits of your own, (Matt. 11:28). Instead of embracing the wonder of your adoption in Christ (Rom. 8:15), you will stand aloof at a cold distance from God, weary of drawing too close, lest his holy anger break out against you, (Isaiah 57:15-19).

Likewise, to behold the Lord as the God of mercy, while forgetting his holy and unyielding justice, will lead your soul to approach him with presumption, to think little of the offense of your sins, and to forget the unspeakable preciousness of Christ's blood, without which your soul would have no hope of rescue, (Psalm 50:17-23; Rom. 2:4).

Without a sober sense of God's justice against sin, the wonder of the gospel quickly fades and Christianity becomes a very lackluster religion. After all, it is not really that incredible to be "saved" from a wrathless God whom we had no reason to fear to begin with. Our awe, admiration, and gratitude toward God for our salvation will be directly proportional to our understanding of the justice we deserved for our rebellion.

Likewise, without a deep personal embrace of God's mercy for sinners, guilt, shame, and fear will overwhelm the conscientious soul to despair. For each new day we fall short yet again. Thus, each new day we add fresh offense to God's glory, and enlarge the condemnation we deserve. There can be no comfort for the sinner who has a sense of his guilt and the justice it deserves, but who has not yet beheld the mercy of God which is offered in the bleeding wounds of Jesus Christ.

Both God's justice and God's mercy must be held together in unity for the Christian to have a proper view of God and a proper perspective on the life we are called to live before him. And the wonder of it all is that there is no better place to see the unity of these two divine attributes, and our own need to embrace them, than in the cross of Jesus Christ.

The Cross: A Picture of God's Mercy or God's Justice?
Let's stop and ask a question: Was the cross a picture of God's mercy or God's justice? Does it reveal God's wrath against sin or does it reveal God's compassion for sinners? The answer, as you may have already guessed, is both. At the cross—the central event of redemptive history—the mercy of God and the justice of God are both displayed with a beauty that shall be admired for all eternity, (Rev. 5:12).

It was there, at the cross, that the God of all justice poured out his wrath and punishment against sin, (Isa. 53:10). Yet, it was also there that the God of all mercy took that wrath upon himself in order to save sinners, (Isa. 53:5). The God of justice is the God of mercy. He is so holy that his eyes cannot bear to look upon evil, (Hab. 1:13). Yet he is so loving that he takes no delight in the death of the wicked but would rather see them spared, (Ezek. 33:11).

This wonderful collision and perfect union of all the various attributes of God's holy character in the person and work of Christ is what Paul meant when he said in II Corinthians 4:6,


It is in the bleeding wounds of Jesus Christ where the justice of God is satisfied and where the mercy of God is displayed.

For some, the idea of being a formal member of a local church body makes good sense right away. After finding a church they believe to be faithful in upholding the Christian faith, they are eager to join. For others, however, past experiences have instilled some hesitation and suspicion about formal membership. Unfortunately, at times church membership has been wrongly used in ways that were more hurtful than helpful. For this reason, the very practice itself has been significantly called into question and needs some thoughtful explanation to help us see it in the right light.

     We should note, right out of the gate, that there is no explicit command in the New Testament for formal church membership. Nevertheless, it would be wrong to assume on this basis that the Bible does not heartily endorse it. Before we take a look at what the Bible does say, let’s consider a hypothetical scenario that will help us start thinking well about the subject as a whole.

     For a person who right now says—“I believe the Bible and desire to live in submission to every word that God has given us therein, but I do not believe in Church membership”—I wonder how you would respond to a phone call from a Pastor or Elder at a church in Albania, Estonia, Patagonia or maybe just a different local church down the street, who asked you why you have not been present in their worship gatherings, or tithing in their offering? As the conversation continued, let’s imagine that the person also begins to confront you on your lack of care for the fellow members of their church who have been facing significant needs. How would you respond? Is their confrontation biblically justified? If not, why not?

     You may be surprised by the question altogether, indeed it seems a little far-fetched. But, nevertheless, it helps us see something very important. After all, doesn’t the Bible say that Christians are called to “Obey [their] leaders and submit to them…”? What grounds would you have to make any argument against such a confrontation by the church leader? If your original argument is that church membership is not biblical, and that the Bible only speaks of membership in terms of our universal place in the Body of Christ, then would not those verses which refer to the role of pastors and elders have to be understood in terms of universal application as well? Briefly processing this scenario helps us see the need for thinking more deeply about the subject. With this in mind, let’s consider some of the following biblical principles about church membership.

Principle 1: God always describes his church in terms of distinct membership, & this includes distinct local membership.
     Some of the most common biblical metaphors for the Church depict her as: Members of a Body, Members of a Flock, and Members of a Household. Each of these pictures describe the local church as a specified group that is clearly recognized and distinguished from non-group members. However, this distinction is often improperly limited to the universal church and thereby the argument is made that formal membership at the local level is unbiblical. Yet, such a view cannot rightly square with a closer look at the Scriptures. For just one example, when Paul says in his greeting to the Corinthians, “To the church of God that is in Corinth…”—is he suggesting that any person who is not part of the church at Corinth is not part of “the church of God”? Of course not! Instead he is simply distinguishing a specific group of local believers who have formally identified themselves as members of that particular local church.

Principle 2: God’s design for the roles of spiritual leaders & followers require distinct local membership.
     The calling of all spiritual leaders is to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight…” The calling of all Christians is to “obey your leaders and submit to them.” In both cases, we see a clear teaching that the responsibility of both parties is limited and particularized. Leaders are not responsible for—nor do they have authority over—every person who is a Christian. Spiritual leaders are, however, responsible for “the flock of God that is among [them]”—a distinct, formally recognized body of people.

     Likewise, the responsibility of individual Christians is to obey “your leaders”—the use of the possessive pronoun “your” clearly communicates a formally recognized relationship to the particular spiritual leaders of a particular local church. The plain fact is, if you have not placed yourself under their authority as a formally recognized member of the local flock which God has called them to “shepherd”, they may be men you look up to but they have not become “your leaders”. To use the words of Scripture, they are not truly spiritual leaders “over you” because you have never formally placed yourself ‘under them’.

Principle 3: Christians are called to be actively identified with & caring for the needs of a distinct local body of believers.

     In our hypothetical scenario above, one of the things the spiritual leader was confronting you about was your lack of personal care for the struggling believers within his local context. After all, the Bible clearly says that we are to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. So, while we all know and affirm that God’s people have a universal debt of love to others, is it accurate to say that you are sinning by not fulfilling every “one another” passage for every other Christian in the world? Of course not. The term “one another” is to be understood within the context of a visible and distinct membership within the local church, not the global church. This is the meaning Paul had in view when he communicated his desire that, “members” within the local church at Corinth, may have a deeply authentic “care for one another.” So much so that, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

(Follow this link to read an article titled, "You Weren't Made To Do This Alone" which briefly looks at all of the "one another" passages of the New Testament)

     The three principles identified above are by no means exhaustive of the Biblical teaching on this subject. There are numerous other passages in both the Old and New Testaments which affirm the important place of formal membership within the life of the local church. Exactly how membership is to be approached is left open for each church to determine for themselves, but it is clear that a formal commitment by both the spiritual leaders and spiritual followers is part of God’s good design for our progress and joy in Christ. Without this, it is far less likely that leaders will be in a position to provide the depth of spiritual care and accountability that God’s Word clearly teaches every Christian needs. Furthermore, the kind of God-glorifying mutual care that Christians are to be displaying toward “one another” will no doubt be hindered if their connection to “one another” is loose, ill-defined, and informal.

     Based on these convictions, we believe that no matter where God calls your family to worship him long-term—whether at Covenant Grace, or another faithful local church—becoming a committed member will be a catalyst for your continued spiritual maturity in Christ.

There is a view of God’s grace that essentially says, ‘effort is the enemy’. Such a view usually arises from a desire to oppose the errors of legalism which teach that man must earn or maintain—at least in some measure—his or her standing before God by their own performance. Of course, it is right to oppose such a view and to do so strongly. We have only to read the words of the apostle Paul to hear the cutting voice of the Holy Spirit against those who would distort the message of the gospel: “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed,” (Gal. 1:9). Clearly, promoting works-righteousness is a great offense in the sight of God.
 
However, two things need to be observed, lest we allow our fervent opposition to one error to propel us off the cliff-edge of another. First, in the verse quoted above, we know from the context that Paul is opposing the specific gospel-distortion of justification by works (or legalism). However, notice that his wording includes all misrepresentations of the true gospel. He does not say, “If anyone is preaching legalism…let him be accursed.” He says, “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received…” This means that any misrepresentations of the gospel are a grievous and accursed thing in the sight of God.

Second, this also means that inasmuch as teaching people to look for God’s approval based on their own performance is sinful (not to mention devoid of any hope of salvation), it is equally heinous and sinful to teach people to presume upon God’s grace and essentially treat the gospel as divine permission to be lazy. It is certainly true that Christians are waiting for the future glory of heaven with hope and expectation. But we are not meant to be dozing around in heaven’s waiting room, as it were. We are not to be found with our hands folded, shuffling about in our night gown, glibly sipping a soothing cup of chamomile as we wait for the kingdom to come. Don’t believe me? Consider the following verses: Luke 21:34-36; Acts 20:29-31; I Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 3:12-15; I Thessalonians 5:4-6; Titus 3:1; Titus 3:8; Titus 3:14; II Peter 1:5.

If you didn’t already, I encourage you to actually stop and read over the verses just referenced. Even in this small sample it is undeniably clear that God calls his children—who are saved by grace alone—to be fervently and strenuously devoted to seek after God with the full investment of our heart (Jer. 29:13), to enthusiastically strive after holiness (Heb. 12:14), and to serve the Lord as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1), even when such service requires great personal cost, (I Pet. 4:16-19). In the words of II Corinthians 5:14-15:

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Believing that any portion of our personal effort earns God’s approval/blessing is absolutely contrary to grace and should be emphatically opposed, (Gal. 2:16). True Christian salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, (Eph. 2:8-9). May God grant that we should never be moved from this one and only sure foundation, (Acts 4:12)!

But teaching and believing in a ‘grace’ that produces very meager, halfhearted, and embarassingly unresilient effort is also contrary to the true grace of God, (Phil. 2:12-13). How unworthy and unglorious must the Christian God be to yield such a bountiful harvest of stagnancy and indifference in the hearts, minds, and lives of those who say they believe in him! Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, this should not be so!

Should we who have been graciously saved from God’s wrath by the infinitely precious blood of Jesus Christ say back unto God that he asks too much of us by calling us to be fervent and unwavering in seeking his face, (I Pet. 1:15-19)? Should we be easily defeated and give up because the gate is narrow and the road is hard, (Matt. 7:13-14)? Should our hearts be like the soil that yielded no everlasting fruit because the thorns and thistles of this world choked it out, (Matt. 13:22)?

What is more astounding still is that absolutely everything God requires of us—absolutely everything he calls us to pursue, to persevere in, and to be zealous for—are things which are for our own blessing (John 15:11; Deut. 10:13)! God’s pervasive and unapologetic command for the Christian’s effort is for the Christian’s own blessing! God’s command to seek his face is not an arduous list of tedious things to be done to appease an arbitrary and fickle god, they are invitations to freely receive the fullness of life, (Jn. 10:10); to take our share of the spiritual riches and blessings which belong to us in Christ, (Isa. 55:1-2)! They are commands to be blessed by God by receiving the bounty of his hand, (Acts 17:24-25).

Effort is not the Christian's enemy, but slothfulness is. 

“Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord,” (Rom. 12:11).

Effort is not the Christian's enemy, but lukewarmth is. 

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth,” (Rev. 3:16). 

Effort is not the Christian's enemy, but sluggishness is.

“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises,” (Heb. 6:11-12). 

May the Holy Spirit so work in our hearts that we learn to say with God’s people the world over:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me,” (Gal. 2:20).

In humility before God, may we draw near to him praying:
 

O Lord, let our hearts be wholly true to you, our God and our Father! Teach us more and more to walk in your holy statutes and to keep your righteous commandments. May the love of Christ compel us to seek you with all our heart each new day, and bless us with the spiritual hunger that testifies to our being true children of God. Amen. (Adapted into a prayer from I Kings 8:61). 

No one who has spent there all trusting, pursuing, enjoying, and serving the Lord Jesus Christ ever requested a refund, (Rev. 4:10-11). He is worthy of all that we could ever offer and more, (Rev. 5:13-14)! True life, true rest, true joy, and true peace belong to those who hunger and thirst after God.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” (Matt. 5:6). 

     The Greek word for “one another” is “ἀλλήλων”. Coincidentally, (which is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek word for a Calvinist to employ), this word is pronounced “all-a-lone.” Its phonetic pronunciation provides us with a helpful realization of what the Christian life is like when we try to live out our faith without being a connected member of a local church. Instead of giving and receiving all of the blessings listed below which help us to be encouraged and supported in our spiritual walk, we end up forsaking those blessings because we are attempting to live out our faith “all alone,” rather than in the meaningful—though sometimes messy—committed spiritual relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ that God has ordained for our good.

     Take a few minutes to review the passages below and consider all that God calls us to both give and receive in our Christian relationships. As you read, prayerfully consider where you are doing well at embodying these commands, and where you need God’s grace to help you grow to be more like Christ.

• Love One Another
John 13:34-35 15:12, 17; Romans 12:10; 13:8; 14:13; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:22; 4:8; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 8, 11-12; 2 John 1:5

• Serve One Another
Galatians 5:13; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 4:10

• Accept One Another
Romans 15:7

• Strengthen One Another
Romans 14:19

• Help & Encourage One Another
Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25; Romans 14:19; 15:14 Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 5:11

• Care For One Another
Galatians 6:2, 10; 1 Corinthians 12:25; 2 Corinthians 13:11

• Forgive One Another
Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13

• Submit To One Another
Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5

• Commit To One Another & Die To Yourself For One Another
1 John 3:16

• Be United & Have Fellowship With One Another
1 John 1:7

• Honor One Another
Romans 12:10

• Be Patient With One Another
Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 3:13

• Have Care For the Needs of One Another
Philippians 2:4

• Be Accountable To One Another
Ephesians 5:21

• Confess To & Pray For One Another
James 5:16

• Live In Harmony With One Another
Romans 12:16

• Do Not Be Conceited Toward One Another
Romans 13:8; Philippians 2:3

• Do Not Pass Judgments On One Another
Romans 14:13

• Do Not Slander One Another
James 4:11

• Instruct One Another
Romans 15:14

• Greet One Another
Romans 16:16; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Corinthians 16:20

• Admonish One Another
Colossians 3:16

• Spur One Another On Toward Love & Good Deeds
Hebrews 10:24

• Worship With One Another
Hebrews 10:25

• Agree With One Another
Philippians 4:2; 2 Corinthians 13:11

• Be Concerned For One Another
Hebrews 10:24

• Be Humble Toward One Another In Love
Ephesians 4:2; 1 Peter 5:5

• Be Compassionate Toward One Another
Ephesians 4:32

• Do Not Hurt One Another
Galatians 5: 14-15

• Do Not Anger One Another
Galatians 5:26

• Do Not Lie To One Another
Colossians 3:9

• Do Not Grumble About One Another
James 5:9

• Do Not Be Partial With One Another
Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3-4

• Be At Peace With One Another
Romans 12:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:13

• Spiritually Encourage One Another
Ephesians 5:19

• Be of the Same Mind With One Another
Romans 12:16; 15:5 Phil 2:2; 1 Corinthians 1:10

• Be Kind To One Another
Ephesians 4:32

• Carry One Another’s Burdens
Galatians 6:2

• Show Hospitality To One Another
1 Peter 4:9

In Romans 3:19-30 the Apostle Paul delivers one of the greatest expositions of the gospel in all of Scripture. He teaches us that salvation for sinners is a gift of God's grace, received by faith in Christ alone,  and not grounded in any works of our own. But do you know what he goes on to say next? It is a truth almost forgotten (or perhaps willfully neglected?) by modern Christendom. Paul says,

"Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law," (Rom. 3:31).

The Spirit of God, speaking through the Apostle Paul says, "we"—those trusting in Christ—"uphold"—or strive to conform to and obey—"the law".

It is true that the first major function of the law in the Christian's salvation is articulated in Romans 3:20:

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God's] sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin."

“…comes knowledge of sin” means that the law's first ministry is to expose our guilt and reveal our need; it rightfully condemns us as sinful in the sight of the holy God. But the gracious ministry of the law for the sinner is not completely summed up in this work alone. For the Christian who is resting in the perfect law-keeping of Christ as their saving righteousness, that same law which formerly condemned us and plead for our repentance, now guides us as we walk by the Spirit in our sanctification.

What makes Christian salvation such an amazing and glorious gift is not merely that God forgives undeserving sinners, but also that he promises to restore them from their sinful corruptions. His grace not only spares his people from wrath, but also sanctifies his people from their sinful inclinations. The very Spirit who authored the law, now graciously applies its continuing ministry to the hearts, minds, and lives of the redeemed as he completes his promised work of making them more and more like Christ, (Col. 3:10).

Beloved, we are justified by faith in Christ's perfect law-keeping & atoning sacrifice, and without this there is no hope of redemption! But as the redeemed of God, we do not "overthrow the law by this ‘faith’...on the contrary, we uphold the law," (Rom. 3:31). Grace never means lawlessness; neither does it mean loose affiliation to generalities about moral goodness. To be like Christ means to keep the moral law of God from the heart; Christlikeness is law-likeness. Jesus alone is the law’s perfect embodiment and fulfillment; he said so himself, (Matt. 5:17).

The law could never save, but then again, it was never meant to, (Gal. 3:21-22). Rather, the law holds the righteousness of God next to the wretchedness of fallen man, and thereby shows fallen man who he truly is, beckoning him to repent and turn to Christ for salvation. But what standard should a fallen man seek to live by once the Spirit has graciously wrought redemption upon his soul? Should he aim for something other than, or less than God’s perfect standard of moral righteousness as it has been published in the law? Maybe such a question helps us begin to resonate more deeply with the middle phrase of Paul’s statement from Romans 3:31, “By no means!" The law which once condemned the sinner, now guides the Christian. All those who truly trust in and follow the saving law-keeper, Jesus Christ, will likewise learn more and more to keep the good law of the one they have come to love, (Jn. 14:15, 21).

There is a deep hunger in the souls of God’s people to not only know in our minds, but to experience in our hearts the reality of the words captured by the psalmist so many centuries ago:


To know, to experience, and to enjoy a right relationship with God is the supreme treasure of the universe, (Matt. 13:44-46). There is no higher joy, no deeper satisfaction, nor a greater gift that can be given than to be welcomed as redeemed sons and daughters into the presence of the Almighty God.
     
This perfect and unhindered fellowship with God is the hope that fills our hearts as we look toward eternity where we will know this gift in its fullest measure, (Rev. 21:3). And while the fullness of this joy is reserved solely for glory, we dare not forget that we have been given a deposit of this priceless treasure even now, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, (Eph. 1:13-14). It is the Spirit of God within us that stirs our hearts to yearn for God and to cry out to him, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15-17). And it is the Spirit of God who works within our hearts to draw us together in corporate worship where we collectively bless God’s name and rejoice in his works, as he continues to provide his perfect sovereign care for our souls, (I Cor. 1:9). There is something beautiful and profound about the public gathering of God’s people in worship that simply cannot be duplicated or superseded by any other means.

In this article, I want us to see the overall progression of our worship service as a unified whole. I thought it would be helpful as we dive into this series to explain how our worship services are structured from the view at 10,000 feet. In effect, the questions we are asking and answering are: Is there a big picture to our Lord’s Day worship? If so, what is it?
     
I am hopeful that taking this approach from the start of this series will help us better understand and appreciate the comprehensive ministry that God provides for his blood-bought children as they gather in his name on the Lord’s Day each week. While there are some minor variations or additions to our Order of Worship from time to time as is suitable to the occasion (i.e. particular prayers, public testimony, membership reception, baptism, etc.), the following is the general progression which we endeavor to abide by. If you have a recent bulletin from one our worship services, it may be helpful to pull it out so that you can observe the structure and flow that is described below.

1. We Are Called Into God’s Presence

This aspect of our worship service is captured by the Call To Worship
     
The Call To Worship marks the formal beginning of our worship service. This call is the voice of God speaking through the Scriptures to his beloved people, beckoning them into his glorious presence for worship. Through this call, we are implored to re-center our hearts, minds, and lives upon the God for whom we exist. Out of the busyness of life, the struggle of conflict, the anxiety of concern, the distraction of responsibilities, and the demands of deadlines we are called to set all things in their proper place; and this means that God is to be absolutely first in our hearts and that everything else must bend the knee to his supremacy. It is from the very midst of the challenges of living a life of faith in a fallen world that God calls his people every Lord’s Day to step out of the darkness of worldly concerns and into the light of his glorious presence.

2. We Respond To God’s Call Through Prayer

This aspect of our worship service is captured by the Prayer of Invocation.
     
Having been summoned to worship by God through his Word, we immediately respond to God’s call through prayer. The Prayer of Invocation is our corporate response of glad-obedience to God’s beckoning voice. Through this opening prayer, we humble our hearts before our great and mighty God, we acknowledge ourselves to be his chosen people who are gathered in his name to give him glory, and we request his special presence to abide with us as we endeavor to worship him in Spirit and truth.

3. We Marvel At God’s Majesty

This aspect of our worship service is captured by the Opening Doxology and Songs of Renewal.
     
As fallen creatures, we are prone to self-obsession. Yet, Christianity is not ultimately about the salvation of mankind, but rather the glory of God, (Rom. 9:22-23). Our salvation is a means through which God both reveals his indescribable majesty to the cosmos and invites us––his redeemed people––into the everlasting enjoyment of his own majestic self, (Jn. 17:3). For this reason, our worship service does not immediately turn to man or his need, but rather turns needful man to his God. From the dawn of our worship we endeavor to fix our eyes on the One “from whom and through whom and for whom all things exist,” declaring together, “To him be glory forever! Amen.” (Rom. 11:36). Our singing of the Opening Doxology and Songs of Renewal are intended to exalt the infinite perfections and incalculable glories of our holy, Triune God in our hearts and minds.

4. We Acknowledge & Repent of Our Sins 

This aspect of our worship service is captured by our Confession of Sin.
     
It is only in the light of God’s holiness that we see the depth of our own need for forgiveness and mercy. Thus, having kept God at the center––and not ourselves––we now more soberly and humbly recognize our sin and guilt before him. Guilt is not a feeling, but a violation. Mankind is guilty before God because of his violation of God’s holy Law. This is why our Confession of Sin is always accompanied by a passage of holy Scripture. As a portion of the perfect Word of God is read and briefly applied to our lives, we are invited to see afresh the precious, yet somber truth that “all”—including ourselves—“have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23).
     
Our Confession of Sin is a simultaneous acknowledgement that we are supremely unworthy of God’s blessing in our sins, and yet, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sinner-saving God is nevertheless supremely willing and able to save the unworthy who come to him through Christ, (Heb. 7:25). Through prayer, we admit our guilt and turn from our sins unto God. We confess and repent of all known sins which we have committed with our head, heart, or hands. Acknowledging the truth of the gospel afresh, we refuse to prop ourselves up with the false illusions that our own merits could ever be the basis of salvation. By faith, we turn away from ourselves and wholly rely on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ who willingly offered himself in our place as the only sufficient saving-substitute.

5. We Receive God’s Mercy As Offered In Christ

This aspect of our worship service is captured by our Assurance of God’s Forgiveness.
     
The God against whom we have all sinned and from whom we are owed nothing but righteous judgment, has freely and abundantly granted us what we could never earn, which is his saving grace in Christ. We are reminded through the trustworthy testimony of Holy Scripture that God has accomplished all that is necessary to ransom, forgive, cleanse, justify, sanctify, and glorify the guilty people whom he has chosen unto himself forevermore, (I Cor. 1:30). Through the authoritative and judicial declaration of his Word, our God reminds us that we who stood guilty and condemned now stand righteous and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, (Jn. 1:29).

6. We Rest & Rejoice In God’s Grace

This aspect of our worship service is captured by our Song of Redemption.
     
Having humbly confessed our sin and received the unchangeable testimony of Holy Scripture concerning our forgiveness, we respond in reverent praise to the God of our salvation, (Ps. 96:2). In this Song of Redemption, we always have a crystal clear gospel-focus. This is because we are praising the name of our great Deliverer, even while we are also reminding our own hearts of the depths of love which he has given to us in our deliverance.

At this point in our worship service, at least three things should be very clear to all who are gathered:

1. We believe that our Almighty Creator God is worthy of all honor, praise, dominion, majesty, power, devotion, and sacrifice. 
2. We believe that all have sinned and fallen short of his glory and are justly deserving of his judgment and wrath for their sin. 
3. And we believe that only those who come to God by faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, are saved from the penalty of their sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

     
Having re-established this firm foundation upon which our holy faith is built—the gospel!—we now transition to receiving the grace of God’s sanctifying discipleship of our hearts and minds, as well as his Lordship over every aspect of our lives.

7. We Joyfully Submit To God’s Holy Will

This aspect of our worship service is captured by our Confession of Faith or Reading of Holy Scripture as well as our Receiving of Tithes & Offerings.
     
As God’s beloved children, we gladly submit our hearts to our Father’s Lordship and most willingly receive his Word as truth, (Jn. 17:17). This is an outward sign of our justification and adoption into the household of God by grace, (Eph. 5:1). We demonstrate our joyful submission to God’s revealed will by confessing our faith and/or reading portions of God’s holy Word. Each of these are biblically-based practices that are associated with the Christian’s devotion to God, (I Tim. 1:15; 3:16; 4:13). Likewise, they are also ways that we humbly recognize that our “foolish hearts were” formerly “darkened” in sin, and must now continue to be “renewed” by the Spirit of Truth as we learn to live the Christian life, (Rom. 1:21; 12:1-2). Regardless of what passage is read, or what truths are confessed from the historic Creeds and Reformed Confessions of our faith, as God’s children we gladly receive our Father’s will as the governing mandate for our lives.
     
An additional aspect of our trusting-submission to our heavenly Father is the obedience of tithing. You will notice that we do not receive an offering in our service until after the foundational truths of the gospel have been carefully relaid. This is very intentional. Our relationship with God is not based on anything we offer to him, but rather what he has freely offered to us in Christ. Yet, as Christians, we learn more and more to live all of life by faith, walking in trusting-obedience to our Father. Giving God at least ten percent of all that he graciously provides to us is a beautiful act of obedience and worship in which God’s children show their thanksgiving for God’s generous provision as well as their trust in the Father’s unfailing faithfulness.

8. We Prepare Our Hearts To Receive God’s Wisdom

This aspect of our worship service is captured by our Song of Reflection.
     
The preaching of God’s Word is the most prominent means by which God has ordained his kingdom to go forth in our hearts and in this world. For this reason, we take time to prayerfully quiet our hearts before the time of the sermon, asking that––despite the deficiencies and weaknesses of both the human listeners and preacher––God the Holy Spirit will work in great power to encourage the souls of the saints as the Word is preached, (I Cor. 2:10). Like all of the songs of praise that we sing, this song is based on the truths of God’s Word. However, this song is typically more reflective in nature. We do this intentionally with the hope that our praises will be mingled with humble prayers, as we ask God to grant us soft and receptive hearts before his holy Word.

9. We Are Spiritually Nourished By God’s Word Verbally Proclaimed

This aspect of our worship service is captured by the Preaching of God’s Word.
     
The one who preaches God’s Word is a fellow sinner saved by grace alone with no special merit or power of his own (II Pet. 1:1). It is not the unique talents of any person, but rather the promised work of the Holy Spirit that makes the public proclamation of God’s Word a highly effective, soul-fortifying ministry for the people of God, (I Cor. 3:7). Through this most-important ministry of the church, God provides a spiritual feast of rich fare for the spiritually hungry; he causes his beloved people to be nourished and built up to greater maturity in their faith, (Deut. 8:3). As we humbly receive God’s Word each and every Lord’s Day, we receive the spiritual equipping that we need to walk faithfully before God throughout our everyday lives, (Eph. 4:12). The chief means by which God provides for the spiritual needs of his beloved people is through the faithful proclamation of his holy Word, (Isa. 55:10-11).

10. We Are Spiritually Nourished By God’s Word Visually Proclaimed

This aspect of our worship service is captured by the Administration of the Sacraments.
     
Likewise, the sacraments of the New Covenant are blessed sermons in themselves. Through the distinct visible elements which God has assigned to each, Christ and his glorious work are proclaimed visibly and powerfully for the people of God to receive by faith. It is a sad reality that the sacraments of the New Covenant are often treated as a mere memorial; a powerless picture which is nice enough in itself, but not really effectual for the believer. Such a view is wholly contrary to the teaching of God’s Word, (I Cor. 10:16; Rom. 6:3-4). Just as the Spirit works mightily through the verbal proclamation of the Word of God from the pulpit, so too the Spirit works mightily through the visual proclamation of Christ which is shown forth wherever the sacraments are rightly administered. The souls of the saints are no less built up by participating in the Lord’s Supper than by hearing a faithful sermon. God the Spirit has been pleased to promise to accomplish his gracious and edifying work through each.

11. We Respond In Faith To God’s Truth

This aspect of our worship service is captured by our Song of Response.
     
Having received the teaching of God’s Word, as well as all of God’s other gracious ministries to us throughout the worship service as a whole, we respond to God in submissive-faith. With voices of praise, we rest in all that has been accomplished for us and offered to us in Christ, and we happily receive all that God requires of us as his beloved children. We do so knowing that “his commandments are not burdensome,” but rather for our good and for his own glory, (I Jn. 5:3).

Our closing song generally has the quality of a rallying cry. We aim for the lyrics to capture the dual truths of God’s promises to his people as well as God’s calling for his people. Our intention is that the closing song that we sing as a unified body in Christ will remind us that the Christian life is only lived by complete and total dependence upon our Savior, (Jn. 15:4). In essence, as we close our service we sing unto God that by faith and through his grace alone, we will endeavor to live as becomes the children of God, (I Jn. 3:3).

12. We Are Re-Commissioned With God’s Blessing

This aspect of our worship service is captured by the Benediction.

Our worship service begins with a Call To Worship, summoning us out of our worldly cares and concerns and into God’s presence. It closes, however, with God’s Benediction––which means his blessing. This blessing from our Father in heaven is meant to encourage and strengthen us as we are re-commissioned to live as his ambassadors and missionaries throughout this world, (II Cor. 5:20-21). As both precious children and faithful servants of God, our Father sends us forth in his power and with his truth, to gather a rich spiritual harvest among every neighborhood and every nation of his world, (Matt. 28:18-20). This blessing of God’s is far more than kind words which make for a tidy conclusion to our gatherings. Much more, they are spiritual words of truth concerning God’s promises to be present with his people as they walk by faith and not by sight as his witnesses in this world, (II Cor. 4:16-18; Matt. 28:20). 

From the Call To Worship to the Benediction, our God is ministering to and richly blessing his beloved people who have assembled to worship him by faith. He knows our needs, and he provides abundantly for all of them as we focus not on ourselves, but on the glory of his name, (Ps. 37:4). Let us rejoice in the privilege of public worship; let us not forsake it; and let us come with all eagerness into the presence of our matchless King where “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore” are found, (Ps. 16:11).

It is a well known truth that we are significantly shaped by the companions we keep—either for good or for harm. We may like to think of ourselves as influencers, but we are also people who can be easily influenced. The pressures of the relationships we enter into will undoubtedly have a hand in shaping our own thoughts, values, and beliefs. It is for this reason that Proverbs 13:20 warn us to be thoughtful about the people we choose to spend our time with saying,

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Poorly chosen friendships are a catalyst to disasters of many kinds. One example of this comes to us in II Samuel 13 where we read about David’s son Amnon. Now, before any “friendships” even enter the picture, we are told that Amnon was already struggling with strong temptations. He was full of sexual lust, and of a most vile sort. But as yet, Amnon’s lust was impotent; he had no way to carry it out, no way to fulfill the evil he desired. In fact, the text tells us that “it seemed impossible to Amnon” to accomplish the sin he desired, (II Samuel 13:2). This description is especially important to notice. It indicates that, if left alone, Amnon would very likely have continued to face this sinful temptation for a time, but having no way to act it out, eventually the temptation would have subsided and he would have moved on with his life. But that is not what happened and the very next words in the text tells us exactly why:

“But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab...And Jonadab was a very crafty man.” (II Sam. 13:3).

This was a fatal friendship whose influence would lead to devastating effects. The text goes on to tell us that what formerly “seemed impossible to Amnon” was no great riddle to Jonadab. Being “a very crafty man”—that is, a man skilled in accomplishing wickedness—Jonadab provided Amnon with a “crafty” plan for how he could obtain the satisfaction of his illicit sexual desires. And having been influenced by his “friend” for the worse, Amnon went on to execute this plan to perfection by deceiving his father (v6), dismissing his servants (v9), and then raping his half-sister (v14). It is a tragic story that should fill our hearts with righteous anger and grief.

But it is precisely at the moment that we want to turn away from this story that we need to pay closer attention. This wicked behavior by Amnon did not come out of nowhere. What brought the evil of Amnon’s heart to a greater external expression was the influence of the person whom he called his “friend”.

It is worth stopping to think: What if Amnon had kept friendships with godly companions instead? What would they have said when he told them about his secret lust? They would have told him that such a thing is evil and must not be done; they would have discouraged him from entertaining such thoughts any longer; they would have confronted him and done all that they could to keep him from indulging in such devilish things. But instead, Amnon kept company with “outrageous fools” like Jonadab and thereby became an “outrageous fool” himself, (II Samuel 13:13).

Moreover, Amnon’s sin did not only result in the sexual abuse of his half-sister—not that I am saying this is a small matter in any respect. Nevertheless, if we read the rest of the story we soon learn that Amnon’s sin also resulted in the ruin of his own life, the ruin of his brother Absalom’s life, a tragic bereavement for King David who effectively lost two sons that day, and ultimately this wicked action became part of the seedbed for the future division of the entire nation.  

You may be thinking just now, “Well, surely that is an exceptional case. It is not as though this sort of thing still happens today.” But is this an exceptional case? How many marriages have ended in adultery because of fatal friendships? How many prison cells are filled with sons and daughters because of fatal friendships? How many middle school students and high school students are right now making decisions that will affect the rest of their earthly lives because of fatal friendships? How many “Amnon’s” will take the sinister advice of their ‘friend’ “Jonadab” this very day?

Dear ones, the lesson I intend to draw out for us from this text is simple: We must be careful of the company we choose to keep. It is not a matter of ‘if’ our companions will influence us but rather ‘how’ they will influence us—either for the better or for the worse. And for those of us who are parents, we must exercise our loving influence and authority over the company we allow our children to keep as well. As we saw in our text, Amnon was already struggling with sin all by himself (II Sam. 13:1-2). He did not need a “friend” for that to be true. But because the “friend” he chose was a wicked influence, take careful note of what happened. Jonadab’s influence on Amnon gave greater strength to the wicked desires already present in Amnon’s heart. This fatal friendship fanned sin into flame by increasing its persuasion and power in the heart. The same will be true for you and for your children.

As the Apostle Paul has said,

“Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals,” (I Cor. 15:33).

Therefore, let us heed the counsel of God’s holy Word. We must be careful of the company that we keep. We must strive to surround ourselves with those who will point our souls to the Lord and remind us of the truth. May God grant us the grace to seek out faithful friends who encourage us to flourish in Christ, rather than fatal friends who will only lead us to rebellion and ruin. 

Beloved,

Together, as one body in Christ, we will be receiving the Lord's Supper during our morning worship service this Lord’s Day. As your Pastor, I want to encourage you to prepare your heart to participate in this sacred meal.

“Do this in remembrance of me…” (I Cor. 11:24).

Through the Lord’s Supper, the saving work of Jesus Christ is visibly portrayed before our very eyes. Jesus assigned the bread to represent his body and the wine to represent his blood. Each of these elements are symbols of the work which Jesus accomplished for us in order to bring us—guilty sinners—into the saving grace of the New Covenant, (Matt. 26:26-28).

As we receive the elements together by faith, we are reminded through them that Jesus willingly laid down his life as a sacrifice for the sins of his people. Through the divinely appointed symbolism of the bread and the wine we remember that:

• Just as the bread is broken into pieces in order to be distributed for the nourishment of many, so Jesus’ body was broken for us (Lk. 22:19).
• Just as wine cannot be poured out for drink unless the choice fruit is first crushed, so through the agony of the cross Jesus’ blood was poured out for us (Mk. 14:24).
• “[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds [we] have been healed,” (I Pet. 2:24). 

The Bible tells us that the manner in which we approach the Lord’s Supper is very important, and not something that we should treat haphazardly.

In I Corinthians 11:27-29 we find these words:

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

According to the Word of God, the approach of every professing Christian to the table of the Lord is to be marked by earnest self-examination. This is not an examination of our merits, as if we are seeking to discover if we have done enough good things to earn a place at this feast. May it never be! Self-righteousness has no seat at this heavenly table. All who have been invited, and for whom this feast has been mercifully prepared, are unworthy of the invitation they have received. We draw near not by any merit of our own, but by the merits of Another—the Lord Jesus Christ.

The examination of our hearts to which we are called is not an attempt to discover our own worthiness to draw near, but rather a summons to soberly renew our sinful hearts before our God and Father in heaven. Self-examination means humbling ourselves before the Lord, acknowledging our guilt to him, turning away from all known sins, renewing our soul’s rest in his promised grace, and re-centering our minds and lives upon the glory of the Almighty King. As you prepare your own heart to come to the Lord’s Supper this Lord’s Day—as well as the hearts of any of your communing children—you may be aided by considering the following questions (or others like them):

1. Am I truly trusting in Jesus Christ as my only righteousness before God and the only source of forgiveness for all my many sins? 
2. Am I truly submitting to God as the Sovereign of my life—receiving the whole counsel of his Word as the rule of my conduct?
3. Am I truly walking in Christian love toward my brethren in the body of Christ? Am I harboring any unforgiveness or bitterness?
4. Am I truly walking in repentance of all the things which God’s Word forbids and condemns in my life?

Like the crook of a faithful shepherd, such questions point our straying hearts back to the green pastures and still waters of God’s wisdom for our lives. The very process of thoughtfully reflecting on these things will naturally help prepare a Christian’s heart to more greatly treasure what the Lord’s Supper represents. This is because a time of prayerful and repentant preparation always freshly exposes how deeply we need the sacrificial work of Jesus to atone for our sins.

If our heart is in a posture of pride or resistance toward the will of the Lord, it is best that we do not yet come to the table, but first deal with these sins. To come to the table of the Lord in unbelief, pride, or unrepentance, is to come in an “unworthy manner.” However, if our heart is in a posture of humble repentance and trusting submission to the will of the Lord, this table welcomes the sinful and needy believer with open arms. For this heavenly feast is a God-given reminder to the repentant sinner’s soul that although you and I fall short in every way, Jesus has willingly taken our place and done for us what we could never have done for ourselves.

• Jesus has lived a life of perfect obedience in our place—because of this we who believe are counted righteous, (Jer. 23:6).
• Jesus has offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins upon the cross—because of this we who believe are declared forgiven, (Isa. 53:4-6).
• These gifts of salvation are granted not by anything we do to earn them, but as a free gift of God that is received by faith alone, (Eph. 2:8-9).

“As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup”—that is, every time we receive the Lord’s Supper together as members of the local church—“you proclaim his death until he comes.” (I Cor. 11:26). What we are proclaiming when we come forward to the table and subsequently receive the elements of bread and wine together with our fellow saints is not merely that we believe the gospel is true. As a Christian church we certainly believe that! But our declaration during the Lord’s Supper is far more powerful and personal—and this is why our participation in this sacrament (or abstention from it) is no light matter, (I Cor. 11:27).

Through our participation in the Lord’s Supper we are proclaiming that we believe the gospel is true for us! We are declaring that Jesus Christ is not merely the Lamb of God who takes away sins, but that he is the atoning-sacrifice whom God has provided to take away our sins, (Jn. 1:29)! By personally participating in the Lord’s Supper as a member of the local body of Christ, we are not merely proclaiming that Jesus is a Savior, but that he is our Savior, our hope, our Righteousness, our Peace, our Redeemer, and our everlasting Lord! Everyone who eats this bread and drinks this cup is declaring that they believe that,


However, just as bread that is uneaten can provide no benefit to the body, so the gospel of Jesus Christ unreceived can provide no benefit to the soul. Eating the physical bread and drinking the physical cup of the Lord’s Supper are important acts of Christian obedience. But these acts must always be undertaken by a sincere faith in the heart that lays hold of the spiritual realities to which these physical elements point. Righteousness before God is not obtained by rote ritual, but through genuine faith in the One to whom this ritual powerfully directs our souls. May we truly behold the glory of the Lamb in the Supper of his saving grace as we gather this Lord’s Day. And may we come to this meal with hearts prepared to feast on the bread and wine of Jesus’ saving work with sincere faith.

Your servant in the Lord,
Pastor Tom

While I was in seminary, I was given an assignment to write a commentary on the book of Jonah. This commentary was to be based on a thorough study of the original Hebrew text. To be honest, when I first received this assignment I was not very enthusiastic. I assumed that I already knew the book of Jonah fairly well and that my study would yield only minimal fruit. Thankfully, I was wildly mistaken. Whatever I thought I knew about the book of Jonah proved to be extremely shallow in comparison to the depth of riches that I discovered. In fact, there is no other book of the Bible that I have had the privilege to study in depth that has produced a greater impact upon my heart and life.

Below is a link to a PDF of the commentary that I wrote. I am happy to make it available to the members of Covenant Grace for anyone who may find it to be a helpful aid in their personal study. A few brief comments will enable readers to make the most of the journey.

First, this commentary was written about seven years ago now. While the Word of God does not change and never shall, the Word of God does continue to change us. I would like to think that I have continued to grow in my own understanding of God's Word and in my ability to articulate Christian truth. With this being said, I would ask for a charitable reading wherever my youth and shortcomings as a student of the Bible are apparent.  

Second, some of the requirements for my seminary project are not features of a typical commentary. One example includes the requirement to parse all of the verbs present in the text. While this step is essential to any thorough study of the Bible, this portion of the commentary will, perhaps, not prove very useful to the average reader. It may be best to simply scroll past these portions.

Third, the Table of Contents is hyperlinked for ease of navigation. On the Table of Contents page, you can click to the title of whichever section you desire to navigate to and you will be relocated to that portion of the document.

Fourth, and finally, my hope is that anyone who ventures to read through this commentary will find their heart stirred up to Christ and to his glory. The whole purpose of this work, and of making it available now, is not so that we might grow in knowledge alone. But rather, most of all, that we might grow closer to God and that our own hearts and lives may more and more reflect his perfectly holy and merciful character.

May God be honored by the feeble offerings of his lowly servant,

Rev. Tom Brown

Let me be clear from the outset that this brief post does not intend to discuss the full scope of ordination for pastors. In fact, I am not really going to delve into the depths of that subject at all. My goal is simply to raise one important angle of reflection on the value of ordination, and the need for a renewed sense of who, and who is not, authorized to serve as a trustworthy guide for the covenant people of God in Christ.

The Pervasive Problem of the Self-Proclaimed Podcast Pundit
First, let's consider our present situation as a society. If you were to open your Facebook feed, or to log onto YouTube, etc. there is no shortage of people ready to tell you what the Bible means, what Christianity is all about, how you should live your life, and why everyone else is wrong. To be sure, lots of people do have wrong understandings of Christianity. But how on earth are we supposed to know who is telling the truth?

The deafening noise of private opinion has been dramatically amplified in recent years. We live in a time where a person's ability to afford a microphone, a camera, and an internet connection has been mistaken for a person's worthiness to stand as an authoritative spiritual guide. In my view, that is a mistake. And I think that if you were to stop and think about it with me for a moment, you might become convinced that it is a mistake too.

Our Unapologetic Requirement For Credentials In Every Other Profession
I want to pose a simple series of questions that are meant to promote reflection and to illumine the primary point I hope to make.

• Would you go to a dentist who had never been trained? Imagine that a person simply read a few books about teeth and gums, and then decided that they felt called to be a dentist. So, they named themself a dentist, bought some dental instruments, and opened up their own shop. Would you call the office and set up an appointment?

• Would you buy a plane ticket for an airline that recruited its pilots with the following advertisement: "Come fly for us! No pilot's license required! No previous experience required! If you think you are a pilot, who are we to question you?" 

• Would you schedule a surgery for your child with a physician who had no formal training and had not been tested by any board? 

The obvious answer to all of these questions is: "No way!" We would not go to such a dentist, or fly on such a plane, or entrust our children to such surgeons. And the reason we would not do this is because the people involved in each of these cases have not been properly trained, tested, and externally authorized to operate in such a capacity.

Please understand, this is not a judgment of motive. The self-proclaimed dentist may have the very best of intentions. Likewise with the pilot and surgeon. But the inexperience, lack of proper education, and absence of any external testing prior to engaging in the field is sure to yield painful results.

Which Is More Important? Your Teeth Or Your Soul?
If we can see the need for education, training, and external approval in the care of our oral health, how much more should this be true for those whom we entrust with the care of our soul? We know that the care of our bodies requires the skill of trained personnel. We know that flying at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet is not something we should do with just anyone at the helm. For goodness sake, we don't even let untrained people work on our cars! Why, then, have we forgotten that the shepherding of our eternal souls is, likewise, not a haphazard endeavor?

To be sure, the care of the body is something to be valued and is important—for a time. But the care of the soul is of supreme value, and bears implications that shall echo down through eternity. For this reason, I want to argue for a renewed commitment among Christians to choose carefully whom they will listen to and submit to for spiritual guidance.

Choose Your Spiritual Guides Wisely
Passion can be attractive. Eloquence can be convincing. Having a polished media platform can suggest the illusion of knowledge, authority, and importance. But we must remember that what actually matters in the spiritual guidance of our souls is that the truth of God's Word is being properly set forth. Therefore, we should be committed to entrusting the primary care of our souls only to men who have been properly trained, tested, and externally authorized. That is, to men who have been legitimately ordained to the ministry.

Let me briefly note two things about what I just said, lest my goal be misunderstood.

1. First, the word primary above is important. My assertion of the value of ordination is not intended to negate or devalue the faithful ministries of laymen and laywomen all over the world who are serving under the spiritual authority of their local churches. The people who I believe should be called into question are the rogue self-proclaimed spiritual guides who are not operating under the authority of anyone but themselves.
   
   
2. Second, while the need for the legitimate ordination of church officers is clearly set forth in many places in God's Word, the exact process of how that might take place is not. This means we cannot be overly dogmatic about the how. While some processes may be more wise than others, I am not arguing here for a specific form of ordination. I am simply arguing for legitimate spiritual training, testing, and external authorization to regain its place as the norm and rule for who Christians accept as their spiritual guides. 

Conclusion
To be sure, Podcasts, YouTube channels, and the like can be used positively and provide wonderful ministry in the name of Christ. I have personally benefited from many and I praise God for access to them. But they also can be, and in far too many cases are, unhelpful guides for the true spiritual flourishing of the Church.

Let's turn down the volume of the self-proclaimed podcast pundits and turn up the volume on the duly ordained ministers who faithfully proclaim God's Word week in and week out from the sacred pulpits of the local churches they serve. There is much wisdom, safety, and spiritual blessing to be found in this ancient practice of the Church.

 I thank God for the gifts he has given to many saints throughout church history who have produced truthful, Scripture-based songs of reverent worship which have edified the hearts of God’s beloved people. One of my favorite hymns of all time is called “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”. The lyrics were originally written in 1774 by William Cowper. Each line reads like a miniature sermon containing powerful poetic expressions of the precious truths of our faith. If you are unfamiliar with this hymn, I encourage you to open your family’s Trinity Hymnal to #128 and read through it, or to search for the lyrics online. May God be pleased to raise up many more saints to serve him faithfully in this wonderful capacity!

     And yet, notwithstanding my deep appreciation for many man-made Christian songs from throughout church history, I want to help us consider one way that singing only man-made songs in public worship inevitably proves detrimental to the Church. That is to say, as we are learning to re-introduce the psalms into our public worship at Covenant Grace, I want to help us consider one particular reason that the inclusion of the psalms is of critical importance to the spiritual formation and maturity of God’s beloved people.

  While not intending to throw stones in any particular direction, it is no secret that most man-made Christian songs, (especially the more modern ones), tend to only express the “soft” side of Christian theology. They tell us of the wonders of God’s love and mercy, of the comforts we enjoy as his children, and of the hope which belongs to each of God’s people in Christ, etc. Perhaps right now you are beginning to feel a question form in the back of your mind: “What could possibly be wrong with that?!” Well, let me be very quick to comfort you and put that question to rest by saying that absolutely nothing is wrong with us singing about these wonderful truths of our faith! May we continue to sing them with great joy and fervor always! Indeed, the very song of heaven is “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” (Rev. 5:12). My point is not to suggest in any way that we should cease singing about these precious truths! Rather, my point is to help us recognize that we should also sing about much more than ONLY this small array of precious truths.

     Many hymns and modern songs—or at least the ones which are most commonly sung—tend to have no sharp edges, no cutting truths, no urgency concerning the condition of the lost or threatenings for those wandering in sin and unbelief. They do not remind us of God’s hatred of evil or of the just judgments of destruction which God has powerfully worked against the wicked throughout history. Furthermore, most hymns and modern songs do not openly exclude anyone from the blessings stated. Instead, they deceptively give the impression that anyone can join in and sing along, applying the comfort of the promises stated to themself regardless of the state of their soul before God. When you really stop and think about it, the truth is, there are a great many theological truths which are essentially absent from the man-made songs we tend to sing in modernity. And even where those truths are present, they are often stated in startlingly shallow terms with too heavy of a focus on our personal feelings (as opposed to truth) and on the fleeting things of this present life (as opposed to eternity).

     However, in contrast to this, when we read the psalms of Holy Scripture we find that the breadth and depth of theology expressed within them far exceeds that which is typical of man-made songs in our modern times. The psalms teach us to sing to our God throughout every season of life and in every emotion we face. They invite us to see God’s hand in all things and to express our hearts to him at all times—whether in seasons of joy or sorrow, victory or defeat, confidence or uncertainty. While containing deeply personal expressions of the whole spectrum of human experiences, the psalms nevertheless teach us how to lift up our eyes to God in the midst of these things. As we journey like pilgrims toward the Celestial City, the psalms consistently remind us of the true treasure Whom we should long for and seek. They do this by pointing out not a few of God’s characteristics, but rather by holding up the brilliant multi-faceted diamond of God’s ineffable glory into the light so that its refracting rays continually illumine the path before us with truth, hope, and purpose. Indeed, when you begin learning to sing the psalms there will even be occasions when you will actually feel downright uncomfortable with how openly and forcefully some aspects of God’s holy character are expressed. This is especially true when the psalms call us to publicly put to voice the realities of God’s righteous judgment against the wicked, or of the hideousness of sin in God’s sight, etc.
 
     I do not bring all of this up as a cheap straw man argument against the use of man-made songs. As I said earlier, I praise God for the gifts of faithful saints who have helped us offer truthful and reverent songs of praise to our Triune God. My reason for bringing this up is because I believe that this contrast between the typical content of man-made songs and the typical content of the inspired psalms of Holy Scripture has something important to teach us. In most circles of Christianity the psalms have been almost entirely removed from the singing aspects of public worship for quite some time. Snippets of inspirational portions may still be read or included in the lyrics to a song, but the full and robust content of the psalms has been decidedly edited out of modern worship. I think this has had a significantly negative impact on the spiritual health of the Church, and that there is an important lesson for us to learn from this mistake.

  In my opinion, here is that important lesson:

 Think about it for a moment. What happens to a boat that is out on the open seas without an anchor? A boat that is not tethered to an anchor will inevitably drift. The crashing of the waves and the pull of the current will inescapably begin to cause that boat to conform to their pressures. The anchor is what allows the boat to have a fixed point of security and strength to resist those pressures. An anchored boat will still face the same crashing waves and the current will still tug and pull at its hull. But the heavy anchor which has been sunk down to the depths of the seabed will successfully keep that boat from being at the mercy of those pressures and drifting off course. 
     I believe the inspired psalms of Holy Scripture are such an anchor for the Church. Without the strong anchor of the inspired psalms to tether us to the whole scope of biblical truths—even the uncomfortable truths—the theology of the Church’s songs will go adrift from the pressure of the currents of this fallen world that continually bombard us, as well as from the remaining corruptions within our own sinful hearts. By God’s wise design, the psalms give us the foundational pattern upon which all our musical expressions of worship are to be reverently based. And when we neglect to remember our rich heritage in the psalms, we are a like a boat without an anchor. We are untethered from the fixed point which God has given to hold us fast in the way of truth, and are, instead, set adrift into the murky and unstable seas of fickle human preferences.
     Beloved, we need the psalms to be included in our corporate worship because they help us learn how to praise God according to the full scope of our relationship to him, and his to us. They help us enjoy, adore, and honor all of who our God is, rather than praising him only for a select few of his more palatable attributes. They teach us to interpret the unfolding events and circumstances of life according to the realities of God’s omnipresence, God’s indomitable sovereignty, God’s covenant faithfulness, and God’s intimate providence. And in this way, the psalms serve to promote spiritual maturity among us, to help us see and understand all of life according to who our God is, and to prevent us from allowing the powerful currents of our own times or of our own preferences to pull us too far adrift.
     This Lord’s Day we will be introducing Psalm 9. There are many lines in this inspired psalm that would almost certainly never be chosen for inclusion in most modern Christian songs. That is because they contain pointed biblical truths which the pressures of this world would rather silence. For example, one of the inspired lines that we will sing back to our God this Lord’s Day says:

The fact that singing words like these will feel strange to many of us, and perhaps even uncomfortable to our sensibilities, is not a sign that something is wrong with God’s holy and inspired Word. Rather, it is a sign that we have indeed been untethered from the anchor for far too long, and that a serious drift has most assuredly taken place. By faith, let us begin the journey back to the center of Christian worship. Let us endeavor to return to the place wherein we are overjoyed to praise and adore our God not merely for a narrow selection of his attributes and works, but for the full scope of who he is, what he has done, and what he promises still to do for his people in Christ. I, for one, look forward to growing in spiritual maturity with you as we learn to praise our God according to the inspired psalms which the Holy Spirit has ordained for our progress and joy in the faith.

Your servant for Christ’s sake,

Pastor Tom

 When you love someone, you want to show that person your love in the particular ways that most please them. Your concern is not centered on how you most prefer to express your love, but rather on how the other person most prefers to receive your love. When our focus is on striving to demonstrate our love in the specific ways that we know will most strongly bless the other person, the genuineness of our care for them is far more greatly confirmed. As an example of this, consider the difference between receiving a generic birthday card containing only a signature, and receiving a handwritten letter that is filled with many expressions that reveal the history, depth, and intimacy of your relationship with that person. A card with a signature is still a very kind gesture, and may even be very appropriate at times, but even if you are not “a letter person” you can readily discern the difference.

This is a basic truth which we have all experienced in our varied human relationships. We understand the difference between cheap, generic, and self-focused expressions of love, and sacrificial, particularized, and others-focused expressions of love. However, this reality should also be true of how we approach our relationship with God—especially when it comes to expressing our love for God in public worship. The expressions of love for God which are offered by Christians in their local churches on the Lord’s Day should not be concerned with satisfying our personal preferences, but rather with demonstrating our genuine love for God in the ways which he has told us in his Word bring him most pleasure, honor, and glory.

Throughout history, our forefathers in the faith have called this truth The Regulative Principle of Worship. While there are complexities to this principle, the heart of it is simple: Believers should endeavor to worship God according to the teaching of his Word. That is to say, when we ask the question, “How should God be worshiped?” the one and only source to which we should turn for the answer is the Bible. Why? Because if our burden is to show God love in the way he most prefers rather than to use worship to satisfy ourselves, then we must dig into God’s Word to see what he has taught us.

Anyone who has read through the Scriptures cannot help but notice how seriously God takes the details of public worship. We need only consider the meticulous descriptions concerning the precise fabrics to be employed for the priest’s garments or the exact types of spices required for the particular recipe of incense in order to see that God cares about the details of public worship. Moreover, we need only read about the cavalier and irreverent approach to worship which Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took in order to see that God holds this issue in the highest tier, (Num. 10).

While there are many important considerations when it comes to the elements and order of public worship, there is a particular element which I want to draw your attention to now: singing psalms. When Paul describes New Covenant worship services in his letters to both the Ephesians and Colossians he reminds them that they should:


If we break this verse down to its most fundamental core we learn that the public worship services of God’s people should (at least) include:

1. Reading, Teaching, and Preaching of the Word of God
2. Congregational Singing of Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
3. Various Prayers of Thanksgiving to God

It is the middle bit that we want to especially consider now. We have just seen that God’s Word clearly teaches us that part of our public worship is to include the singing of the inspired “psalms” of holy Scripture, (see also Eph. 5:19). However, there are two primary errors concerning this biblical teaching which have prevailed in our modern times.

The first is the error of exclusive psalmody. This error, though (usually) stemming from a good impulse to be sure that we are only singing the truth in worship, wrongly over-restricts which songs are to be sung in public worship to the psalms only. This is, however, an incorrect conclusion that does not consider the Bible’s full counsel on the subject. Yet, there is a second and far more prevalent error which more immediately applies to us: the error of exclusive hymnody. That is, the choice of Christians not to sing the psalms of holy Scripture at all but rather to only sing man-made songs. We need to understand that this second error is equally unbiblical to the first, even though it is less offensive to most modern sensibilities, (Deut. 12:31).

Much more could and should be said about the inclusion of man-made songs in public worship, how they should be carefully selected, etc. However, we will reserve that discussion for another occasion. My aim in the final remarks of this short article are focused on two other points of interest.

First, I want to let you know as the congregation of Covenant Grace that out of an endeavor to be more faithful to our God and his Word, we will begin introducing the psalms into our times of singing in corporate worship. Being that this will be new for many of us, we will endeavor at first to choose psalms which have been set to familiar tunes. For example, this Lord’s Day we will be singing a version of Psalm 3 which has been set to the tune of Amazing Grace. The familiarity of the tune will assist us in joyfully lifting our voices to God together as we take this new step. Let me also say that it is okay if we struggle together through this endeavor. We are all learning and growing in grace, and our holy and merciful God does not require us to be expert singers, only to offer him genuine love as we gladly endeavor to worship him according to his Word.

Second and finally, I want to briefly introduce us to just a few of the wonderful benefits which we will enjoy as we learn to sing the inspired psalms given to us by our all-wise God. As we learn to sing the psalms together you will notice:

• Greater familiarity with the inspired Word of God
• A much wider breadth of theology in our songs
• A much greater depth of conviction concerning the truth even as we sing to our God
• Vivid, and even at times, uncomfortable clarity concerning the dreadful state of the wicked
• Strong assurance of the blessed standing and future hope of all true believers in Christ
• Unity with the Church of all ages and nations as we sing the same inspired songs back to our glorious Lord
• Confidence that our worship is pleasing to God because it is worship which endeavors to conform to his Word

 
I look forward to growing in this area of our worship together with you. May God be pleased and may God be praised as we strive to show our sincere love to him in the ways in which he has told us are most pleasing in his sight. Soli deo Gloria!

Your servant in Christ,
Rev. Tom Brown

When the justice of God against the wicked is described in holy Scripture, it can be very hard for us to wrap our minds around. We are sometimes tempted to wonder, "Could such things truly be the decree of a holy and loving God?" I think it is safe to say that all thoughtful persons have felt this doubt well up in their hearts. However, this very struggle, and the many questions which arise from it, are precisely the things which God himself speaks to in Ezekiel 14:22-23. As he foretells the destruction of Jerusalem that is soon to come, God says through Ezekiel:


In this passage God says that he will not make a full end of the wicked in the land, but rather leave a few survivors. The stated reason that he will leave these survivors is that they might be a living testimony to the righteousness of the judgment of God. In other words, when people see how wickedly these survivors continue to live before the face of God (i.e. “their ways and deeds”), his wrath against them will be unequivocally proven to be perfectly holy and just, and the doubting questions of men's hearts who look on at the destruction will be sufficiently laid to rest, (.i.e. “they will console you”).

I personally find it very helpful that God not only acknowledges the struggle we all face in grappling with the severity of his wrath, but that he also condescends to provide an answer to steady our hearts through the doubts we face. Above all, what we learn through this passage is that the reason we struggle to accept the severity of God's justice against the wicked is because we fail to recognize the true depth of evil that dwells in men's hearts. If we saw the evil for what it truly is, then we would see the justice of God as something wholly pure, deserved, and proper. Instead of shrieking at the justice dispensed we would begin to shriek at the abomination of the sins committed. And instead of wondering why God has sometimes acted so severely against others, we will be humbled to the dust as we begin to wonder as to why he has not (yet) dispensed that same justice against ourselves.

For the non-Christian, the reason such fearful justice against your sin has not yet come is because God is patient, and has mercifully left time for you to repent and turn to his Son, the only Savior of sinners. The day of wrath is coming, and soon. The fact that it has not come yet is a testimony of God’s kindness and mercy toward you.

However, for the Christian, the reason such justice will never come is because it has already fallen upon the Lord Jesus Christ in our place. At the cross, all the wrath of God, against all the sins God's chosen people, was already poured out upon the Lamb of God who shed his blood for our redemption. For the Christian, we can truly say that our sinful souls now enjoy “peace with God”, (Rom. 5:1). This is because the Lord Jesus Christ has “made peace" for us, "by the blood of his cross.,” (Col. 1:20).

May we see with greater clarity the perfect holiness of God’s fierce justice against all wickedness. And may such clarity cause our souls to tremble before him.

Yet, may we also come to see with greater clarity the astounding mercy of God that is freely offered to sinners in the gospel of his Son, Jesus Christ. And may such clarity cause us to sincerely repent and cling only to Christ by faith. 

Jesus frequently spoke of people who would follow him for a time, but when things became difficult, would turn away from him. He spoke of people who would be ashamed of his Words, deny him before men, and rather have the accolades of this world than the approval of God. Jesus did not speak of these things as imaginary temptations which his people may someday face. They were not empty illustrations intended only to heighten the impact of his rhetoric. Jesus spoke of these things as part and parcel of the daily and ongoing battle of truly following Christ in the midst of this fallen world.

Just as surely as there can be no Christianity without Christ, there can also be no Christianity without cost. The reason that taking up our cross and dying to ourselves is such a hard thing to do is because you actually have to take up your cross and die to yourself to do it. Willpower and determination will not be sufficient for such a task. Only by faith in God as God—as the one who is worthy of all devotion and trust, all sacrifice and obedience, all honor and praise—will we find the strength to lose this life so that we might find it. Only by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit will we suffer the loss of all things and count them as rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Grit will not get the job done, we must walk by faith as we traverse the treacherous valley of the shadow of death.

The declaration of these truths will not fill up church buildings or win any popularity contests. But they will sober and strengthen the true Church so that she might be steadfast and immovable in the days of trial ahead. The real question we have to answer is this: Is Jesus worthy of your suffering or is he is not? If he is not, then your faith is worthless and should be forsaken. But if he is, then your faith is more precious than gold and all else should be forsaken for Christ.

Empty me of vanity
In both it's fatal forms
That through success I might win you
Or by floundering make you scorn

Tis’ neither through stern resolve
Nor by lackadaisical plight
That you make the rebel your son,
And turn the calloused contrite

By your grace alone I stand
In a righteousness unwrought by me
It cannot be lost by deeds or thoughts
Tis’ priceless, yet given for free

My pride would have me earn your love
And self-focus would have me doubt
Both these would keep me in the grave
But grace shall bring me out

The Lord has blessed me with six beautiful children: Lagodian, Judah, Noah, Isabella, Analisa, and Isaiah. At the time of writing, they span from age twenty to just four months old. Each of them have many wonderful qualities that make them unique from one another. But there is a particular aspect in which they are all essentially the same. This aspect in which they are essentially the same is not stemming from the fact that they are all part of the same immediate family, but rather because they are part of the same human family—they too are descendants of Adam (the first man) by birth. Being descendants of Adam brings with it a certain kind of inheritance, but not the kind you hope for. As the descendants of Adam, my children (and all other natural born people) have inherited Adam’s sinful and corrupt nature. That is to say, my children have been born as sinners who are hostile to God, deserving of his wrath, and in need of salvation, (Ps. 51:5).

No one “wants” to believe this is true about their precious children. Like the proverbial ostrich who buries its head in the sand, many parents refuse to accept this reality despite the fact that their children continue to prove that it is true each and every day. Isn’t it amazing that, as parents, we have to spend untold amounts of time trying to teach our children how to do the things that are right, but we never had to spend a single moment teaching them how to do the things that are wrong? No one had to teach their children how to lie, or how to be selfish, or how to covet, etc. Our lives testify that even from conception, these kinds of sinful behaviors were already bound up within each of us, and that is because the Bible’s teaching is true, (Prov. 22:15). As descendants from Adam, we have inherited his corruption and guilt such that being sinful is not merely something we do on occasion, but rather something that we are at our very core. This is why the world is full of brokenness and evil; and this is why the whole world stands in need of the salvation that only Jesus Christ provides.

Just a moment ago I mentioned a short list of sins that no one has to teach their children how to commit because these things come natural to the offspring of Adam. Many more examples could be included in that list, but there is a particular type of sin I now want to draw your attention to: Being wise in our own eyes. My wife and I see this sin in our children all the time! It seems that no matter what mom and dad say, how they say it, or when they say it, the instinctive response of children is to question their parents authority and to believe that they (the child) knows better. While some children are more boisterous about this than others, the condition is universal. There is within us a baseline disposition of distrust in the authority of others (even without cause) and a baseline disposition of over-confidence in our own ideas and opinions.

This pervasive problem comes right from the Garden of Eden. It is the very sin which Adam committed against God in paradise, and it is the very sin which we continue to commit against God today as Adam’s offspring. When God gave Adam a good and holy commandment to follow in the Garden, what did Adam believe in his heart? Simply put: Adam believed that he knew better than God. And having given into this temptation to believe that he knew better than God, Adam went on to reject God’s wisdom and authority in preference to his own opinions.

Haven’t our own lives shown that you and I are just like our first father? How have you responded to God’s good and holy commandments when they have been applied to your life? Haven’t you believed that you knew better and therefore ignored God’s authority in preference to your own private opinions? Friend, this is not only a sin we see in our children, but a sin we continue to see in ourselves as well. And this is why the book of Proverbs cries out to the world saying:

“Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.”
Proverbs 3:7

In the foolishness of our sinful hearts, we have actually convinced ourselves that we know better than God. We see this most clearly in our refusal to “fear the LORD and turn away from” everything that God’s Word tells us is “evil.” That is to say, we see this most clearly in our unwillingness to simply trust and obey God’s good and holy commandments. Instead, we pick and choose in our obedience to God, don’t we? To some commandments we say: “Yes! Surely this is good and right and to be obeyed by all people at all times!” Examples of these are: Murder, Theft, Lying, etc. And yet, with other commandments we say, “Well, that commandment may have had its place for a time, but I don’t feel convicted about it.” Examples of these are: The Sabbath, Images of God, Tithing, Public Worship, etc.

Pay close attention here. On what basis were both of the above decisions made? On what grounds do we approve of some of God’s commandments and on what grounds do we dismiss others? Take careful note that both that which was approved and that which was ignored were both judged not on the basis of their source—who is God—but rather on the basis of our own private feelings and opinions. If we say a law of God is good, it because we think it to be so in our own hearts and minds. And if we say a law of God is no longer binding or necessary to be obeyed, it is because we think it to be so in our own hearts and minds. In either case, we are doing the very thing which Adam did in the Garden and the very thing which Proverbs 3:7 exhorts us against: We are thinking that we know better than God.

Tragically, this way of thinking has become the dominant practice of the Church in our age. What is worse, the Church today is so comfortable relating to God’s Word in this high-handed way that people actually think this is right and that those who endeavor to take all of God’s good and holy moral commandments seriously are the ones who are out of step with Christianity. Beloved, it is clear that we stand in need of the wisdom of Proverbs 3:7. We have become very wise in our own eyes and by such arrogance toward the Word of the Lord we have truly “become fools,” (Rom. 1:22). Like the younger brother in the parable of The Prodigal Sons, we have forsaken the true treasure for a false treasure and it has left us empty. We need to wake up from the mire of the pig filth in which we have wallowed for too long and return home to our Father’s wise and loving embrace.

Ceasing to be wise in your own eyes means removing yourself and your feelings from the judgment seat of your life and giving God his rightful throne once more. It means that we do not stand over God’s Word as its judges, but rather we humble ourselves beneath God’s Word as humble subjects and servants of our Lord. This is what Proverbs 3:7 implies by telling us to stop “being wise in our own eyes” but instead “fear the LORD”. The wisdom which governs our life should not be our own, but that which has come down to us from heaven in God’s holy and inerrant Word.

There are two key things that we need to understand about the authority of the Bible:


For the person who is no longer “being wise in their own eyes,” all of God’s good and holy commandments have an essential place in their Christian faith—not just some of them. Wherever the Word of God speaks into my life—regardless of cultural norms, personal feelings, or individual preferences—that Word has the ultimate authority to shape my beliefs and control my behavior. Whatever the Bible tells me is good and right for my life, I receive as the authoritative standard for my faith and practice. Whatever the Bible tells me is sinful and wrong for my life, I receive as the authoritative standard for my faith and practice. And wherever the Word of God contradicts my own ideas or inclinations I learn to humbly say by faith: “God is wise and I am foolish; God is right and I am wrong; God is good and my heart is untrustworthy and wicked; God’s ways are best and therefore, the best thing I can do is trust him and obey him with with my whole heart and life.”

The very next verse, Proverbs 3:8, tells us the promised outcome for those who cease being wise in their own eyes and submissively place their trust in God:

“It will be healing to your flesh,
   and refreshment to your bones.”

These words from Jesus deserve serious contemplation by Christians today:

“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets," (Luke 6:26).

There you have it. Being a faithful witness for Jesus Christ is inherently offensive. The only way to be unoffensive is to be unfaithful to God. This means that when you are doing it right, people will dislike you, malign you, misrepresent you, tell others that you are unloving or arrogant, and invent all kinds of unsubstantiated reasons why you are wrong. When this happens, beloved, take heart and remember that they did the same thing to Jesus and his Apostles.

Of course, this does not mean that Christians get a pass on being unduly incendiary, harsh, or judgmental, etc. Not at all. Such behavior is unbecoming of a Christian and is worthy of strong rebuke. But it does mean that the only way to personally associate with Christianity and avoid being rejected by the world is to misrepresent Christianity like the "false prophets" misrepresented God in the days of old. God is not embarrassed of any part of his holy and inerrant Word and neither should we be. True love, as defined by Christ himself, will not cease to speak the truth in love even at great personal cost.

“And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Acts 10:42-43

In Psalm 77, Asaph is facing a dark and grievous hour of life. It is a time where the light seems to have gone out in his heart, and all his circumstances appear hopeless (v1-3). In this desperate state, Asaph has two choices:

1. He can allow present appearances to control his perspective of God and evaporate his faith.


2. He can choose to judge his current situation not by his present fickle feelings, but rather by God's proven faithfulness in times past.


It is this second option which the psalmist chooses to pursue, and because of this Spirit-empowered choice, his soul finds renewed courage and fresh strength to endure the hardships which he faces. Rather than sinking into despair, his faith in God causes his soul to rise up from the grave of unbelief and to ride upon the mountains of confidence in his heavenly Father.

It is good for our souls to "remember the deeds of the LORD" (v11) and to "ponder all [his] work," (v12). A nearsighted faith is a faith which is easily deceived and assailed. But a faith which "makes a diligent search" (v6) to "meditate upon the mighty deeds" (v12) of our "holy God" (v13) is a faith which will not falter in the fight.

In v16 the Asaph mockingly speaks of the Red Sea by saying,

“When the waters saw you, O God,
   when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
   indeed, the deep trembled.”

What is the psalmist capturing here? He is reminding himself (and us!) that it is not we who should be afraid our enemies, but our enemies who should be afraid of our God. Even the mightiest obstacles and most ferocious enemies are no match for the surpassing power of our Almighty God.

Finally, Asaph remembers how the unconquerable LORD of all "led his people like a flock”, through the wilderness, (v20). That is to say, that our Good Shepherd shall never fail to watch over the people of his love. Whether, in God’s holy providence, we find ourselves basking in the lush green meadows or wearily traversing the valley of the shadow of death, at all times we must remember this truth: Our loving, faithful, and mighty Shepherd is with us, even when “his footprints are unseen” by our feeble senses, (v19).

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
Exodus 20:8

Our Father in heaven calls his people to "remember the Sabbath day" and "to keep it holy," (Ex. 20:8). In God’s wisdom, he teaches us to set aside unto him one whole day each week as a time where we refrain from all worldly employment, commerce, recreations, chore lists, etc. It is a time when we do not work ourselves, nor do we require work of others—regardless of their willingness to do it. Instead of these normal daily activities which we are free to engage in the other six days of the week, the Lord calls his people to obediently honor his name by engaging in public and private worship, by times of prayer and meditation upon Scripture, by fellowship among the saints, and by acts of mercy toward those in need.

From the beginning of the world until the resurrection of Christ, this holy Sabbath to the Lord was observed on the last day of the week in anticipation of Christ’s future coming. However, since the resurrection of Christ, the Sabbath is now observed on the first day of the week as we joyfully remember that Christ has come and has won salvation for his people as their mighty champion (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 16:1-2). Some people have a hard time understanding how the proper day of Sabbath observance could change. However, this change is not unlike other Christ-centered changes which we see take place in the Bible as God’s eternal plan of redemption has unfolded. Just as the covenant sign of circumcision continues today but has become properly applied through baptism, and just as the covenant meal of Passover continues today but is now properly remembered through the Lord’s Supper, so the day on which God’s people keep the Sabbath has also been modified in order to properly reflect its relationship to Jesus Christ. Jesus has always been the defining center in which all of these things find their true meaning.

In Revelation 1:10 the Apostle John calls the Christian Sabbath by the helpful title, “the Lord’s Day”. This is not only because it is the day on which Jesus rose from the grave, but also because it is the day on which the people of the Lord are called to show their love to God by devoting themselves to his glory in an even more special way than they do on the other days of the week. The Lord’s Day should be the one weekly commitment that all other aspects of our lives must bend the knee to. Why? Because remembering the Sabbath and keeping it holy is one of the most clear ways in all of Scripture that our God has told his people he is to be honored and worshiped by them.

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
I John 5:3

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
II Corinthians 4:6

In biblical parlance, God refers to the unfolding of human history with the metaphor of a sunrise, (Matt. 4:16; 11:11; Jn. 1:4-5, 7-8; 5:35-36; 8:12; II Pet. 1:19-21, etc.). This picture implies that in the days of the Old Covenant, the horizon began to show the faint light of a new day. This light shining into the darkness climbed heavenward more and more as the centuries unfolded. Nevertheless, it was not until the days of Christ's incarnation that the dawning light of God's self-revelation reached its full height. In the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ we behold the brilliance of the noonday sun pouring out all its glorious beams in full strength.

This reality has much to teach us about how to properly read and interpret the Bible. One basic truth is that we are in the best position to interpret the Old Testament clearly and properly when we interpret it according to the New Testament. In other words, we do not use the shadows (Old Testament) to judge the light (New Testament), but rather we use the light (New Testament) to properly see and understand the shadows (Old Testament).

This simply means that we must strive to interpret all things by use of the fullness of light which God has provided in his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the measure of all things (i.e. the cornerstone; Eph. 2:20). Jesus is the centerpiece of God’s self-revelation and the defining center of redemptive history, (II Cor. 4:6). Christ is the light whose instruction shines brilliantly backward upon the days of shadow and anticipation (Old Testament) and thus enables us to more fully and properly see their original and unchanging divine intention, (Jn. 5:39; Ps. 118:22-23; Rev. 19:10).

Much error results when this rule of biblical interpretation is disregarded.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
John 5:39

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him,” (II Samuel 10:12).

There are many reasons that Joab is not a man whom we might typically think of as a model for godliness. The pages of holy Scripture reveal that his character was often unbecoming of a believer. However, despite his other shortcomings, in this verse Joab helpfully demonstrates what it looks like for a person to simultaneously affirm God’s absolute sovereignty while also doing all that they can within their human responsibility to work toward the end they believe to be best.

Joab knew that the outcome of the battle was already determined in God’s sight and that nothing he could do would change God’s eternal sovereign decree. However, Joab also knew that there was still breath in his lungs and a sword in his hand to fight for the cause of righteousness. Therefore, he determined in his heart that until God’s sovereign will was revealed, he would do all that was in his power to be faithful in his service. Joab determined that if it was God’s will that he should die in this battle, he would die expending all his might to courageously defend the people of God.

In other words, Joab’s view of God’s sovereignty did not paralyze his sense of human responsibility, but rather more firmly empowered it. Such should be the case with all who rightly recognize God’s sovereignty. God’s unchangeable plan does not negate our calling to be found faithful in fulfilling our varied responsibilities until the end.

How might we apply this to ourselves? There are many ways but here is one: evangelism. We do not know if it is God's will that the person we have been praying for and hoping to reach with the gospel will be saved. That depends on God's unchanging sovereign plan. But whether or not God has sovereignly chosen that person from before the foundation of the world or not, our responsibility as servants of the Lord does not change. So long as we have breath in our lungs and the sword of truth in our hands, we must continue to share that truth in hope and be found faithfully proclaiming Christ to the world until God's foreordained outcome of the battle is finally revealed.

Therefore, in the right sense of application, we too can say,

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him,” (II Samuel 10:12).

Knowing that God has a perfect, eternal, and unchangeable plan that is already determined does not remove our responsibility to be found faithfully working toward holy ends. We do not know if God will give us the victory in the varied battles we face, but whether by life or by death, our calling is to honor and serve him until the end. 

My Father in Heaven,

O Lord, what sorrow and fear filled my heart yesterday. How my soul felt bludgeoned under the crushing blows of Satan’s accusations, taunts, and criticisms! I feel myself to be greatly insufficient for the work of ministry to which I am called. My best efforts are so far short of the mark that I am most easily deceived into crippling insecurity and paralyzing fear of failure.

Yet this is my hope and the path by which you shall enable me to persevere—that the strength of every ministry and minister is entirely in you, O great Spirit of God! It is all true! I am feeble, foolish, and full of faults. I am weak and impotent to truly affect the souls of men. I lack knowledge and stand in tremendous need of continued growth. Yet this I call to mind and therefore find hope to stand: None of these deficiencies in me create any deficiency in you!

The power of gospel ministry resides not in man but in God! Not in the learnedness of the preacher but in the power of the Spirit! Not in the eloquence of the delivery but in the Word of God which he delivers! Not in the love of the pastor for his flock but in the love of Christ for his beloved Church, whom he has chosen unto himself before all worlds and ransomed in time through his own precious blood.

Therefore, flinch not, my soul, from the holy service to which you have been called! Flee not from the field of battle! Do not desert your post due to the impotence of your own power. In the face of all your fears do this: Fix your eyes upon the Champion of your salvation and Captain of your soul! Look to the one who has loved not his life, even unto death, in obedience to God, and who has caused the grave itself to quit the field for dread. Take up, now, O weak and feeble soul, the helmet of salvation upon thy head. Clasp ‘round you the breastplate of righteousness which has been irrevocably bequeathed to you in Christ. Keep in hand the two-edged Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of truth. Cling always to the shield of faith by which the Almighty shall enable you to extinguish every fiery dart of the evil one. And upon thy feet, let the shoes of salvation ever lead you onward in the forward march of the gospel until kingdom come.

For you, O LORD, are forever worthy and able, though I myself am neither.
Amen.

My aim is simple: I want to encourage you to read the Bible daily.

Let’s just say that you decide to accept the challenge. You will have to know from the outset that it won’t be easy. Throughout this coming year—if not even right now as you read these very words—your commitment to set aside focused time to draw near to God each day will be perpetually attacked. A ruthless siege will be laid against you by what Jesus called “the cares of the world”—i.e. our children’s education, broken sinks, flat tires, vacation plans, marital conflict, grocery shopping, stress at the office, fatigue, friendly invitations, stomach bugs, raking leaves, disappointment, the expectations of others, exciting opportunities, and all kinds of other normal events of life in a fallen world. We will all have to navigate these things; no one gets to avoid them or the threat that they bring to our fidelity to God. In the midst of the frantic pace of daily life it will not merely be easy to lose the right perspective about the importance of God’s Word, it will be a fight not to.

Jesus told us that “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few,” (Matt. 7:14). Throughout this year, you will be repeatedly tempted to believe that all of the other demands of life are more pressing and more important (at least in the moment) than your time in God’s Word. You will be mercilessly tempted to find loopholes and invent excuses to avoid what Jesus called ‘going into our room, shutting the door, and meeting with our Father in secret,’ (Matt. 6:6). You will be encouraged by your own sinful heart to become an expert at justifying your neglect of meaningfully pursuing God. Satan himself will even whisper lies into your ears such as these: “There is no verse that says you must read the Bible daily.”

Against the onslaught that you and I will face, I hold up the only Sword that can slay our sin and deliver us (Eph. 6:17). I offer nothing but simple statements of truth which have been drawn from the Word of God itself. I believe that the children of God will hear in these statements the voice of their wise and loving heavenly Father calling out to them. And that through his counsel, we will find both the perspective and motivation that we need to persevere in our daily pursuit of God.

The seed of the Word—as it is nourished and watered by the Spirit of grace—is the principle means by which God produces a harvest of godliness in the lives of his children (Matt 13:23). According to the Spirit of God speaking in holy Scripture:

• The Word of God is able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ, (II Tim 3:15).
• The Word of God is the only sure foundation which shall endure the trials of life, (Matt. 7:24-25).
• The Word of God is of greater necessity to us than bread for the body, (Deut 8:3).
• The Word of God is more precious and desirable than even the greatest earthly wealth, (Ps. 19:10). 
• The Word of God has manifold uses that greatly profit the souls of all who receive it, (II Tim. 3:16).
• The Word of God gives hope to the guilty who repent, (Ps. 130:5).
• The Word of God revives the soul, (Ps. 19:7). 
• The Word of God makes wise the simple, (Ps. 19:7).
• The Word of God enlightens us to all moral purity and righteousness, (Ps. 19:8).
• The Word of God warns us of dangers and directs us to blessing and peace, (Ps. 19:11).
• The Word of God fully equips us for faithful service in every good work, (II Tim. 3:17). 
• The Word of God always accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent, (Isa. 55:10-11).
• In every part, the Word of God points us to Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (Jn. 5:39; Col. 2:3).

Through the ministry of the Word, the souls of God’s people are ‘washed’ from corruption (Eph 5:26), ‘nourished’ toward maturity (I Pet 2:2), ‘renewed’ in perspective (Rom 12:2), and ‘sanctified’ in truth (John 17:17). From the public preaching of God’s Word each Lord’s Day (I Tim. 4:13), to the discipleship provided by husbands and parents in the home (Deut. 6:6-7; Eph. 6:4), to private devotions in the secret place with our Father (Matt. 6:6)—the Word of God will “never return void,” (Isa 55:11).

Sadly, it is true that a person can love the Bible without loving God. But it is not true that a person can love God without loving the Bible, (Jn. 8:47). “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me,” says the Lord Jesus (John 10:27). The “voice” of our God and Savior is “heard” through his holy Word. His beloved sheep “follow [him]” by heeding what he has spoken to them therein.

There may be a lot of things you do not have time for in 2023. But the Bible is not one of them.

We are all prone to be like Martha, “anxious and troubled about many things,” (Lk 10:41). And this is why we too need to hear Jesus’ counsel to her harried and distracted heart: “But one thing is necessary,” he told her. Mary, her sister, took a different approach. By choosing instead to seat herself at the feet of the Messiah even in the midst of the busyness of life, Jesus praised her by saying that “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Will the same be able to be said of you and I at the close of this New Year?

(Whole Bible In One Year)

This reading plan will guide you book by book through the entire Bible in one year with daily readings from the Old and New Testaments. This plan is relatively simple, straightforward, and provides a good entry-level quantity of reading that most Christians will find realistic and accessible.

(Whole Bible In One Year)

For those of you who struggle with with the rigidity of assigned daily readings, but still desire the help of a guided approach to reading through the whole Bible in one year, this monthly reading plan may be a great fit. Rather than assigning specific readings for each day, this plan has broken the sixty-six books of the Bible into the twelve months of the year, assigning particular books to particular months. By doing this, the reader can determine for themself how much they read on which days, allowing more freedom for the variations of life. If you have a particularly busy day, perhaps you will only read a chapter or two, but then on other days where you have more time you may choose to read more. The goal is to complete the assigned books within the assigned month rather than on specific days.

(OT Once + NT & Psalms Twice In One Year)

This time-tested approach is based on the bible reading plan created by the Scottish Pastor Robert Murray M'Cheyne (1813-1843). Like the daily reading plan outlined above, this plan also provides assigned daily readings from the Old and New Testaments that guide the reader through the entire Bible in one year. However, in addition to one complete reading of the Bible, this plan also leads readers through the New Testament and Psalms a second time. As a result, this plan requires a bit more quantity of reading each day. This is the most robust plan of those included in this list, but will be rewarding for those who are able to keep up with the heavier pace.

(Reading the Whole Bible At Your Own Pace)

Maybe you are someone who feels too much pressure by the timeline's associated with the other daily and monthly plans. For some people, the time-factor can be a stress rather than a help. If that sounds like your personality, this approach may be the one best suited for you.

The Personal Pace Reading Plan provides a chart that covers every chapter of the Bible. However, readings are not assigned to any particular dates. Instead, this plan allows the reader to entirely set their own pace as they journey through the whole Bible while still being able to chart their progress and keep track of which books they have already read and have yet to read. The only caution with this plan is that it requires a higher measure of self-discipline in order to make sure we are not under-nourishing our soul by trying to survive on occasional nibbles rather than regular meals.

Two other approaches which are worth mentioning are the Chronological Reading Plan and the Two-Year Reading Plan. The names of each of these plans speak for themselves, however a few additional points are noted below.

Two-Year Reading Plan
If you are someone who prefers a slower pace of reading, the two year plan may be a good fit for you. The amount of reading will be much less than some other plans while still providing a helpful guide through the whole of the Scriptures.

Chronological Reading Plan
On the other hand, the Chronological Plan may also be a great option for someone who is familiar with the Bible and has read through it several times, but perhaps would like to focus in on understanding the overall progression of redemptive history.

As Christians who have been raised up in Christ to newness of life, we long to live for the glory of the Lord. Deep down in our born again souls there is a spiritual desire to faithfully serve God’s purposes and bring honor to his name with our lives. But sadly, because of our remaining corruptions of sin, this desire is not the only thing rumbling around in our hearts. We also carry with us many fears, doubts, temptations, and insecurities. This array of spiritual challenges can take many forms, but they all work by the same essential principle: They turn our eyes away from God and place our focus and attention on something else.

• Fear takes our eyes off of God by telling us there is something bigger and stronger than God.
• Doubt takes our eyes off of God by telling us God will not come through for us so we need to rely on something else. 
• Temptation takes our eyes off of God by telling us there is something more satisfying than God. 
• Insecurity takes our eyes off of God by telling us that it is all up to us.

In each case, our desire to obediently serve the Lord with our lives is stifled because our focus on the Lord is supplanted by a focus on something else. As I was reading the Bible this morning I saw this very truth in the life of Moses and I recognized my own struggles in his. 

In Exodus 3:7-10 God announced to Moses the calling he had on his life. As Moses shuffled along, tending his flocks as an obscure Midianite shepherd, God spoke to him and told him that he would be sent to Egypt in order to confront the most mighty ruler on earth at that time. The Great I AM told the lowly Moses that he was calling him to “bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt,” (Ex. 3:10).

Moses’ response reveals how self-focused and self-relying insecurity immediately began to cripple his heart from obedience to God’s calling. His first words back to God were these: “Who am I that I should go…?” (v11).

Do you notice the word that is repeated twice in the beginning of Moses’ reply? It is the first person pronoun “I”. Moses was afraid and deeply insecure about how he could ever possibly fulfill God’s calling on his life. He knew that he was not enough for such a task. He knew that he did not have the wisdom or strength or goodness or determination, or any other quality that would be needed in order to fulfill God’s purpose for him. As is so often true for ourselves, Moses’ insecurities caused his eyes to be turned away from God and onto himself. The result was that Moses was hobbled in his calling to serve the Lord.
So what was God’s reply to Moses? God’s first words back to Moses were these: “But I will be with you…” (v12).

Moses’ eyes had been turned upon himself, and as a result, he was crippled by fearful insecurity (a truth further observed throughout the rest of Exodus 3-4). And God’s answer was not to tell Moses how strong or wise or capable Moses is, but rather to turn Moses’ eyes back upon the LORD his God. God’s answer to our crippling insecurities is always himself. We will never have the confidence to faithfully follow God’s calling on our lives so long as we are focused on ourselves. The greatest question we must continually ask in the face of our insecurities is not, “Who am I?” or “How am I going to do this?” But rather, “Who is my God? Who is this God who has both called me to serve him in this way and promised to be with me as I obey his will?”

And this is exactly how the story in Exodus 3 flows. Before God revealed Moses’ calling in Exodus 3:7-10, he first revealed glorious truths about himself to Moses through the burning bush in Exodus 3:1-6.  

You will recall that the characteristic which Moses found most intriguing about the burning bush was the fact that although the bush burned, it did not burn up (v3). This reality was not an arbitrary detail or a frivolous parlor trick. This theophany was a purposeful illustration intended to reveal God’s eternal self-existence and independence.

In the ancient world, fire was an integral part of daily life. As a husband and father, it is doubtless that Moses had spent countless hours gathering fire wood to cook and to keep his family warm. Every other fire which Moses had ever seen depended on fuel to sustain its life. Without fuel, or the burning up of the bush, the fire could not continue to exist. So why was this fire different?

This fire was different because it was being used as a picture of the one true God. Through this illustrative image Yahweh was revealing to Moses that he is the eternal God who requires nothing outside of himself for his existence. He was showing Moses that he is the God who needs nothing, depends on nothing, can be stifled or stopped by nothing, and who has the omnipotent power within himself to accomplish all his holy will.

In other words, before God issued Moses’ calling (v7-10), he first revealed the unique glory of the One who calls (v1-6). He was showing Moses that this call does not depend on the strength or wisdom of the called for its fulfillment, but rather on the inexhaustible strength and wisdom of the Caller himself—and that Caller is the eternal, unchangeable, and omnipotent God, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth.

God has a purpose for your life, dear Christian. You too have a calling from the Lord. We all share the universal callings of the Christian life, but we also have unique callings within our marriages, our families, our workplaces and communities. It is easy to feel afraid and hide from the calling of God on our lives because that calling is always greater than we are. If we look to ourselves we will be crippled by insecurity. But the answer to Moses’ fears and insecurities is the same answer that you and I still need today.

If we would be faithful to the Lord and overcome the crippling fears that keep us from speaking up for Christ, or that imprison us in fruitless anxiety and doubt, then we need to ask God to help us do just one critical thing. We need to ask God to help us take our eyes off of ourselves and our problems, and place them back upon the Almighty God. We need to warm our fearful hearts by the soul-strengthening fires of the burning bush on Mt. Sinai. We need to stop asking, “Who am I that I should go…?” and instead remember the words of God, “But I will be with you…”

And what does it really mean that God will be with us as we serve him with godly sincerity in our callings? It means that those who stand in the service of Christ will be upheld, defended, and empowered by the inexhaustible might of the everlasting God. It means that those who stand for Christ are never standing alone.

With humble faith let us learn to say,


Let us walk with the same faith-fueled confidence as the author of these psalms, because the same God who has been with his people of old, is the same God who is with his people today, (Lk. 1:74-75).