The Cross - Part 2

I think the place to begin our thinking and meditation on the cross and its power and impact on our lives is to remember that it was at that place and time that Almighty God Himself bore the penalty of sin on our behalf. We say it was a “substitutionary” death because He died in our place.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:9 that his chief aim was to have the righteousness of God credited to him rather than be found in the rags of his own righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God.

How did we make the jump from a substitutionary death to righteousness? The answer is the cross, for as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

When Adam sinned in the garden that day, he dragged the whole human race down with him. All of mankind was in Adam at the moment of his rebellion and we have all “seconded” the motion of rebellion by our own actions and deeds once we actually arrived in person in this world. God then is confronted by a whole race of creatures who are in revolt against Him. The just retribution for this treason is death. But God, because of His great love for us and to demonstrate the glory of His grace, sent Christ to die for us while we were still sinners and rebels. The sentence of death was on our heads, and “He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the cross…” (1 Peter 2:24) He was our substitute.

Having taken our sin upon Himself there, He not only grants forgiveness, but amazingly credits us with His perfect righteousness so that when God looks at our record, He sees the righteousness of Christ. That is why Paul said that he wants to be found in Him, not with his own righteousness, but with the righteousness of God. (Philippians 3:9)

Does everyone automatically have this forgiveness and replaced righteousness? No, God tells us that we must repent of our sins and believe the Good News; receive Christ; believe in Him; accept the free gift.
Our right understanding of the cross then is foundational to the victory and power of the cross in our lives. The key, which we will look at in subsequent articles, is that of being “in Him”. You see it in Philippians 3:9 and again in 2 Corinthians 5:21 which was quoted earlier.

The Cross -- Part 1

The cross of Christ is central, not only to human history, but also to our successful living of the Christian life. It is this thought, begun over the recent Easter season, that provoked my thinking for this series.

Paul wrote in Philippians 3:10, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” He also wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined not to know anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Jesus told us in John 12:24-25, “Most assuredly, I say to you,  unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Obviously from these passages and many more that we will examine, Christ’s death on the cross is central and key in all areas of the Christian’s life and experience.

There are two issues which are intertwined in my thinking. The first has to do with the truth that we were in Christ when He died and there is resulting victory and power in the resurrection life we share with Him. The second thread of thought has to do with the fact that in order to keep our life and bring forth fruit for God, we are to take up our cross daily and die to self and live for Christ. I’m going to be trying to think through and meditate on how these two concepts might be related. You may have some comments you want to add to the mix. Feel free to do so.
I’m not able to write my articles every single day so if you decide you want to follow this study, you’ll have to be patient with me and check back frequently to see how the study is proceeding. You can also set up your browser for RSS feeds that will allow you to know when I’ve posted the next installment.

There's more to come, but in the meantime--

I'm still working through some things I want to write related to the cross and its centrality in our lives. There is the challenge and motivation given by the Apostle Paul to be able to apply the truth of our death with Christ and resurrection with Him.

So that is what I'm working on and thus the delays in the posting here on Faithful Men.

In the mean time I'd like to refer you to my wife's blog over at She Is Blessed: Loving Your Children - Part 2. She challenges all parents of young children with the importance of shielding them from the details of tragedies such as the Virginia Tech shootings. Obviously there comes a point when they have to be aware of the reality of sin and tragedy, but some of these things instill fear in children and we know that God has not given us the spirit of fear. I also refer you to Tim's blog.

Have a great day in the Lord.

Risking our Lives

In teaching my Sunday School class from the book of John, I was struck by a particular statement that Jesus made in John 12:24-25. He said this: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Those are pretty strong words, aren’t they?

In Mark 8:34, 35 He says something similar: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Over the next several weeks I encourage you to join me in thinking this through. Do we believe these are statements of absolute truthfulness? If so, why do we continually risk losing it all by trying to hold on to this life so tightly? What are the implications for us as men in the various roles we have in following this admonition? What are the implications in our homes with our wife and children as we apply this in those particular roles?

I would love some feedback on this topic. If you have some thoughts, let's hear them.

Have a wonderful celebration of Christ’s triumphant resurrection tomorrow as you meet together to worship Him.

Sexual Purity

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a series of messages on purity given by Josh Harris. He is the man that several years ago wrote the book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”. Since that time he has become senior pastor at Covenant Life Church in the Washington D.C. area. This is an excellent series for each of us to listen to because it lifts up the importance of sexual purity and magnifies God’s view of marriage. The messages, especially the first three or four, are straight forward and mince no words in the teaching that God created us as sexual beings and set the standards for living pure lives within the boundaries God has designed. I don’t know if I have ever heard this clear of instruction from the Word of God on this topic. I recommend the series for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of God’s intentions for our purity.

The series is in 6 parts and for now at least can be found and downloaded free of charge from the Covenant Life website here:

www.covlife.org/sermons

A Father's Love

One of the things I’m trying to do as I meditate on various passages of Scripture is to think through how it applies to the various roles I have as a man. Besides admonitions to me generally as a man, I consider how it affects me as a husband and then as a father.

If you’ve been following the previous posts you know that we have been thinking together about agape love. Peter had told us to add various traits to our faith with the pinnacle trait being love. We’ve thought a little bit together about this kind of love expressed toward our wife. I now want to think a little bit about what it means for a father to have this kind of love.

Love is patient. It bears long. It is mild and slow in seeking to get even. How are we doing in this area as a father? There’s a fine balance. We are to be patient and to bear long, but we are responsible to give our children the right kind of discipline and that usually means responding in a timely way to their poor behavior or disobedience.

Love is kind. We know what kindness is. Are we kind to our children? What about when they have been disobedient? God disciplines us with kindness. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to bear or doesn’t hurt. We need to treat our children with kindness and respect.

Love does not envy. It is not zealous and angry over some benefit, characteristic or skill the other person has. Are we being a good example in this area in our home?

Love does not puff itself up. A loving man will not act in a puffed up way toward his children. It’s not right first of all, and secondly, we don’t want to be the wrong kind of example for our children.

Love does not boast of ones abilities or extol his own virtues.

Love is not rude. It is not unbecoming and crude. As we relate to our children, we must behave in a way that is appropriate and becoming of a Christian. No rude or crude treatment of our children should be a part of our lives.

Love does not seek its own way. How hard is this one? We are supposed to be the leaders in our homes. We are to be the head. Doesn’t that mean we should seek our own way? The leadership we have should be a godly selfless leadership. This should be true as it relates to our children. We have the position where we could dictate virtually every decision in the family. However, love does not seek its own way. It’s ok to let the children have their way once in a while. I’m not talking about giving in to their misbehavior. I’m suggesting that if the kids want to go to McDonalds but you would rather have a Burger King, it doesn’t hurt to submit your will to theirs.

Love is not irritable. It is not easily stirred to anger nor is it easily riled up. Even though the behavior of my wife or children may be such that would rile up or stir up a natural man, these same events occurring in the life of a loving man will not rile him up.

Love is not resentful. It does not think evil of the other person or what the other person has done. Discipline and punishment should not come from a resentful heart or motive.

Loving our Wife, Continued

I’m still thinking about the importance of agape love in a marriage relationship especially as it relates to the husband’s role. As I read 1 Corinthians 13, my attention is focused on 9 concepts. I may come back and visit these in more detail in the future, but for now a short comment about each one will suffice.

Love is patient. It bears long. It is mild and slow in seeking to get even. So it’s important to ask myself how I am doing in this area. Do I carry grudges? Do I try to make sure everything is evened out? Hopefully not.

Love is kind. We know what kindness is. Am I kind to my wife? …all the time?

Love does not envy. It is not zealous and angry over some benefit, characteristic or skill the other person has. Are we being a good example in this area in our home?

Love does not puff itself up. A loving man will not bear himself in a cocky, arrogant way. He will not act and behave as though the whole world revolves around him. How are we doing guys?

Love does not boast of ones abilities or extol his own virtues.

Love is not rude. It is not unbecoming and crude. This is an area where we men have to be careful. We are not women and it is inappropriate to try to develop the softness of character that a woman has. However, there is no excuse for being rude or crude. Even though men are hardened and tough, we need to be able to treat our wife and family with kind politeness.

Love does not seek its own way. How hard is this one? We are supposed to be the leaders in our homes. We are to be the head. Doesn’t that mean we should seek our own way? The leadership we have should be a godly selfless leadership. We don’t need to get our own way unless our way is a godly way in contrast to a sinful or worldly way our wife might choose. But really, how often does that happen? God humbled Himself and took the position of a servant. This is God’s expectation for us as well.

Love is not irritable. It is not easily stirred to anger nor is it easily riled up. Even though the behavior of my wife or children may be such that would rile up or stir up a natural man, these same events occurring in the life of a loving man will not rile him up.

Love is not resentful. It does not think evil of the other person or what the other person has done. Colossians 3:19 tells us that we are to love our wife and not to be bitter or exasperated toward her.

Take some time to read and reread these basic 9 characteristics of godly, biblical love. How does your level of love stack up against the standard? If you’re like me, it doesn’t come close to being what God would like it to be. And yet, this is what Peter told us we should be diligent in adding our life.

Loving our Wife with God's Love

As I’ve been studying the traits listed in 2 Peter 1:5-8, I’ve come to the last one in the list which is agape love. We men have a tendency to skip over details in the attempt to finish a project. The same thing happens in our study of the Word. Therefore, in order to avoid that tendency, I began to think through what’s involved in adding and increasing this kind of love in my life as it relates to my role as a husband. Scripture of course is not silent on this issue, so follow along as I work through this a little bit.

Ephesians 5:25-28 says the following: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.”

The word “love” in these verses is agape – the kind of selfless, giving love that God has for us. This love does not flow from feelings and emotion, although both may be present. Rather, this is the kind of love that gives without expecting anything in return.

A husband, then, is to love his wife in exactly the same way that Christ loved the church. What Christ did out of love for the church was to give Himself for her. Similarly, we husbands should give of ourselves for our wife. Christ of course gave His life and there is a sense in which we need to be willing to give our life to protect our wife. But probably more difficult than this is the fact that we are to be giving ourselves for our wife all of the time. This means that there will be sacrifice. We will not be able to do all of the things we would do if we were single. Not only will we give up some of the things we would rather do, love does this without becoming bitter or resentful in the process. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love does not seek its own interests. Rather it gives itself for the interests of others.

Continuing in Ephesians, Paul explains the purpose for the self sacrifice—“that He might present her to himself a glorious church …that she should be holy and without blemish.” While we can’t provide ourselves as an atonement for our wife, our goal should be similar. As the head of our wife, we are to love her by helping her to grow in her faith and relationship with Christ. Our efforts should be focused on increasing her holiness and godliness through loving ministry of the Word to her.

If you’re like me, an immediate reaction to this thought is, “How am I supposed to do that when I’m not so sure of my own holiness and godliness?” That thought should bring us to the motivation to become the man God wants us to be in our own relationship with Him so that we will then have the resources to help our wife in her spiritual walk. What a tremendous this responsibility this is. When we say, “I do” on our wedding day, we are taking on this commitment.

The unfortunate thing is that we do not seem to be getting this message across to the young men we are raising in our churches and we do not seem to be teaching our young women to be looking for this desire and characteristic to be present and growing in the life of the men they date.

It would be interesting to get an online discussion going on this topic and the implications for dating and courtship in our society.

Adding Love

The pinnacle of attributes or characteristics to be added to our faith is love. Each one of these traits is built on the preceding ones. Last time we saw that brotherly love was added to the mix. Now, built upon that we have agape love. It is an interesting study to investigate these two kinds of love – brotherly love and agape love – to see what they have in common and how they differ. (William Dicks does a good job of comparing the two on his blog here.) Vine distinguishes them by saying that phileo more nearly represents tender affection. Agape love is one that values and esteems. It is an unselfish love, ready to serve. Vine also says that agape “is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations.”

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 13 that we can have a lot of good attributes and do many admirable things, but if love is missing we are but a sounding brass or clanging cymbal. We may have all kinds of faith, but without love we are nothing and we are profited nothing.

Perhaps then we can see why Peter would put love at the very top of the list. Without all of these traits and love as the pinnacle, Peter says we are shortsighted, even to blindness. (2 Peter 1:9)

My question to us as faithful men then is how do we add this to all of the rest. What steps can we concretely and diligently take to develop this characteristic?

1 John 4:7 (NKJV)7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

First and foremost then is the need to be born of God. We cannot be faithful men and have this kind of love if we have not been born again through the Spirit of God.

If we are born again, then we have experienced the love of God first hand and should be able to communicate that love to others. What steps can we take to develop the kind of love we should have? We just need to practice. God gives us opportunities every day with our families and coworkers and people we meet along the way to practice loving those who may not deserve it. If Vine is correct that this love is not based upon our feelings, we should not wait until it feels right to demonstrate love. We need to just practice. Practice sacrificing your time and energy for someone else just because it is right and good to do so.

May God help us as we practice the diligence of adding this kind of love into our lives.

Brotherly Love - Our Wife

Brotherly love (kindness) and our spouse. Now there’s a topic for you. If we are to add brotherly kindness to our lives, it must fit in somehow with our interaction with those around us and that certainly would include our wife. Brotherly love in the Greek is philadelphia. The kind of love involved here is different from agape love in that it is more like tender affection. It is even used of the love the Father has for the Son in John 3:35. The interesting thing is that this word is never used in a command for us to love God in this way. Brotherly love conveys the thought of cherishing the object of love above everything else and is characterized by constancy. (Thoughts taken from Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.)

So in thinking this through it seems to me that we should exhibit this kind of love toward our wife. We promised to love and cherish her above all others when we said our vows on our wedding day, but how easy it is to get into a selfish mode of living. Other passages we have looked at speak of kindness and giving preference toward one another. Have you ever thought how much easier it is to give preference to co-workers and to be polite and considerate of them more so than it is to have these same characteristics toward our own wife? If you think about it, shouldn’t it actually be the other way around.

May God help us as we diligently add brotherly kindness to our lives, especially toward our wife.

Adding Brotherly Kindness

I’m continuing my series through 2 Peter 1:5-8.

According to 2 Peter 1:7 we are to provide brotherly love for (or in) our godliness. In other words, our piety is not to be such that separates us and isolates us from our brothers in Christ, but is to provide the foundation for brotherly kindness. Sometimes piety takes on a holier-than-thou attitude which tends to drive a wedge between Christians. How different true piety is from this sort of individualistic false piety.

Romans 12:10 gives us some idea of what’s involved in brotherly love. This passage tells us to “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” What this tells me is that brotherly love is more than just being friendly. It involves kindness and giving preference toward one another. I Peter 3:8 adds to that by telling us to have compassion, tender hearted and courteous. I Peter 1:22 adds that we should love one another with a pure heart.

Writing about brotherly kindness seems difficult to me because it seems like such an obvious thing to understand. What is there to explain? However, I think we men have difficulty with this. On the one hand we may develop a camaraderie that is kind of a macho guy thing, but lacks depth and courtesy and honesty. On the other hand we may not have developed any sort of brotherly relationship with other men and are attempting to go it alone. What God wants from us is a relationship that is deep, honest, courteous and having some component of tenderness and affection to it.
What’s a challenge to me in this passage is the fact that we are to be diligent in adding to our faith these various dimensions. How then does one go about adding brotherly love? If you have any thoughts or insight, I would enjoy hearing them.

Adding Godliness

According to 2 Peter 1:6, the next characteristic we are to provide in our faith is godliness. I had originally thought this word meant that our aim was to become like God as much as possible. The word actually means pious or devout. It has to do with a godward attitude that does what is well pleasing to Him. It involves the practice of the reverent disciplines which might be called religious duties. This would include such things as praying, meditation on the Word and participating in the worship and ordinances of the church. This kind of piety also includes a reverent respect for God's created order -- such areas as marriage, family, government and creation.

In 1 Timothy 4:7, the Apostle Paul tells us to reject profane and old wives fables and to exercise toward godliness. In elaborating on this point he writes in the next verse, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

It seems to me that this is an especially important point for those of us who desire to be faithful men. We men normally hold up physical strength as an ideal to be pursued. But even if that goal is achieved it is effective only for the length of this physical life. Usually our strength dissipates well before the end of our physical life. But in this passage we learn that godliness profits now and in the life that is to come. Doesn’t that have something to say about our priorities in life? Just as it takes exercise to increase our physical strength and endurance it takes exercise to increase and improve our godliness. If godliness consists of the religious duties and spiritual practices mentioned above, then to exercise ourselves toward godliness means to work at and make priorities out of such disciplines.

Paul elaborates on this in chapter 6 when he says that godliness with contentment is great gain. We are so easily distracted by what the world holds up as necessary for success and gain in life. Here again the real answer is basic and simple – godliness with contentment. We are to be content with such things as we have. Another component then of exercising toward godliness would be to develop the practice of thankfulness and contentment.
As we look forward to the year 2007, let’s focus on priorities and resolutions that fall in line with God’s will for us. Let’s be diligent in our pursuit of godliness.

Adding Self Control

Continuing our series on 2 Peter 1:5-7 we look at self-control.

The word for self-control is "encratic". The root "crat" is the same as that in autocrat or democrat. It means rule or power. The "en" at the beginning implies inward. Therefore someone who is self-controlled is someone who has the power to rule inwardly. A self-controlled man has power over his passions, appetites and desires. He has dominion over himself. This is the kind of self-control an athlete would have in training and preparation for his event. I Corinthians 9:25 says that everyone who competes for the prize is self-controlled in all things. The athlete in the natural sphere trains for a perishable prize, but we an imperishable one. As Christian men, we should be as self-controlled in our quest for the eternal prize as is an Olympic athlete is in his quest.

Scripture also teaches us that temperance or self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit. That's encouraging to me because it tells me that I don't have to come up with this characteristic on my own. It is a product of the Spirit of God at work in my life. It also tells me that self-control is in opposition to the deeds of the flesh listed in Galatians 5:18 where such things as adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness are listed. These are the natural results of the flesh being in control. When the Spirit is in control, these are replaced by the fruits of the Spirit. The final fruit listed in verse 23 is self-control.
In Acts 24:25 Paul testifying before Felix reasoned about righteousness, self control and the judgment to come. God expects us to live a righteous life. Such a life is very much a life of self control. We are to be ruling over our passions and natural instincts. That’s what makes us men and not animals. All of this is related to the fact that there is a judgment to come when each one of us will give an account of ourselves before God.

Adding Knowledge

The next thing we are to add is knowledge.
This month I'm meditating on what it means to add "knowledge" to the virtue which I am to supply in my faith. Last month we learned that virtue is a visible, observable righteousness, not just an inward goodness. When it comes to the word knowledge, it seems almost too simple to spend time on. However, there has been a great deal of philosophical debate over the years as to what true knowledge is. Knowledge as it is used in the New Testament includes the following ideas: to understand completely, verified , observable knowing. It implies a relationship between the thing known and the knower. Kittel says it is an obedient and grateful acknowledgement of the deeds and demands of God. He also says it develops in the life of the Christian as lasting obedience and reflection
With these thoughts in mind then, what is involved in the diligence of providing our faith with knowledge that has been added to virtue? First it seems to me we need to develop the desire for knowledge. Paul said in Philippians 3:10 that he wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. He said this after he said that he counted all things as loss that he might know Him. Secondly we must spend time in His word. God has revealed Himself through His living Word and it is there that we get to know Him truly. Jesus said in John 17:17, "Thy word is truth." Knowledge of the kind spoken of in scripture is knowledge of the truth. God's Word provides that truth for knowing. As faithful men we must make it our priority to provide our faith with knowledge. If this has not been one of your goals, why not make a commitment to move in that direction today.

Adding Virtue

The first thing we are to provide in our faith then is virtue. But what is virtue? Doing some digging into what this means, I discovered that the word implies moral goodness or excellence. It is the characteristic of being outstanding morally – being eminent. It implies the working of divine power in a person. John MacArthur describes it this way, “…the God-given ability to perform heroic deeds. It also came to mean that quality of life which made someone stand out as excellent. It never meant cloistered virtue, or virtue of attitude, but virtue which is demonstrated in life. Peter is here writing of moral energy, the power that performs deeds of excellence.”
Why would moral goodness or excellence be the first trait that should be provided to our faith? It seems to me that without such virtue, our faith appears worthless. As James tells us, "faith without works is dead." What good is faith if there is no virtue in the life? Also, virtue provides a better soil in which faith can flourish. By this I mean that as a Christian, our faith is better able to produce its normal results when the life is not hindered and distracted by moral failures and weakness. If we are to be diligent in adding virtue to our faith, that means that during each day as we are out and about interacting in our world, we need to make sure that virtue is at the top of our list. When we are at work, we should be virtuous in all we do. When we are at home, our wife and kids ought to be able to see that virtue is outstanding in our life. It should show up in the attitudes we display when helping with the dishes, interacting with the children or making financial decisions. Do we have the courage to turn off the TV when the programs are not characterized by virtue? How can we add virtue to our faith? We do this by learning to be obedient to the Word of God and His Spirit. As we read and understand God's Word, the Spirit shows us where we are failing to live up to who we are as Christians. As He reveals these things to us, we need to repent and take steps to change our behavior or attitudes. In this way we are adding virtue to our lives. As we learn to live this way, we will become increasingly sensitive to areas where virtue may not have its proper place in our lives.

Adding to our Faith

It dawned on me that my last post on perseverance was the latest in a series, but the series started in my other blog. In order to bring some consistency to all of this, I’m going to repost the first parts of this series here.
I’ve been meditating recently on 2 Peter 1:5-7. My goal is to post what God teaches me through this passage. The verses read this way in the NKJV. “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”
The first thing I’m challenged with is the requirement of diligence. According to an online dictionary, diligence is the earnest and persistent application to an undertaking, steady effort, attentive care and heedfulness. According to 2 Peter 1:5-8 we are to give diligence to add to our faith. This tells me that it will not take place "automatically". Of necessity there will be effort required and that effort will have to be earnest and persistent. In other words we are not to begin the task and then let it just fizzle out. It is something we are to give our attention to so that we achieve the desired results.
What is it then that we are supposed to be doing? We are to add various characteristics to our life and this passage implies a step-wise sequence. To "add" in this case means "to supply". We are to add or supply these traits in our faith. When we are asked to supply something, it is important to take the responsibility to follow through. If someone asks us to supply the pop for a picnic, we need to think through how many people are going to be there, what flavors might be needed and whether we will need to bring ice and glasses. It doesn’t do any good to think that through if we don’t go to the store and actually buy the stuff we need for the picnic. And then buying it doesn’t do any good if we don’t bring it so the people can enjoy it. In the same way we are to supply our faith with certain things. We need to be diligent about examining our life and providing these characteristics in the appropriate measure as they are needed. In addition, there is a specific sequence here and so it is important that we pay attention to the significance of that sequence. I’ll try to follow through in subsequent postings as I work my way through this passage.

Some thoughts on patience

In 2 Peter 1:5, 6, Peter gives us characteristics which we are to diligently add to our faith. First we are to add virtue and to virtue knowledge. To knowledge we are to add self-control and to self-control perseverance. As I am studying through these characteristics, I wanted to take some extra time to delve into the meaning of perseverance.

Perseverance is a translation of the word “hupomone”, which means to remain under. The person who is persevering or enduring is remaining under some circumstance or pressure and he is doing so in such a way that his spirit is not crushed by the circumstances. Perseverance can be the result of remaining under the pressures which God brings directly in the form of discipline. Hebrews 12:7 “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons.” Perseverance can also be the result of enduring the pressures inflicted by the world and its system of evil and persecution. Either way we are to remain confident and strong in spite of the pressures.

In the passage under consideration, Peter instructs us to be diligent to add this trait to the others that are being added to our faith. Diligence means that we will focus our attention on and work toward accomplishing this goal of adding endurance to our faith. Endurance is gained primarily by practice. In order to be diligent in adding it to our faith, we will have to go through various trials and be diligent about taking those trials patiently.

What does the New Testament teach us about endurance? James 1:3 tells us that the trying of our faith produces patience. Similarly, Romans 5:3 tells us that tribulation works patience and patience brings experience and experience hope. This is why James says that those who endure are to be counted blessed. (James 5:11) It is also why he tells us to count it all joy when we come under the various pressures because we know that these trials will produce endurance in us. Perseverance/patience/endurance is a tremendous goal to reach for. Trials bring joy because we know the result will be good.

The word “experience” in Romans 5:3 is an interesting one which would take an entire study of its own. In essence it means proof or evidence. So the patience that comes from tribulation brings about the kind of experience that proves the genuine nature of our Christian life. Experience is not the flimsy, superficial feeling-oriented concept that we have today. It is the documentation of our Christian faith. Tribulation brings about patience which gives rise to the documentation of our genuine faith which then provides hope. Someone has said that hope looks to the future while endurance helps us get there. You don’t get there if you don’t endure. We will see hope in close proximity to endurance throughout this study.

Patient endurance is required of all Christians. The passage under consideration tells us to be diligent in adding it to our faith. Peter also tells us in I Peter 2:20 that when we do good and suffer, it is commendable before God to take it patiently. Paul tells Timothy in I Timothy 6:11 that patience is one of the things a man of God is to pursue having fled from youthful lusts and other evils. In 2 Tim 3:10 we find that Paul commends Timothy for having followed his example in the area of patience among other things. An older man who would be a good example to the young men around him must have patience as one of his personal characteristics. (Titus 2:2) Patience is one of the attributes that commended Paul as a minister. (2 Cor 6:4)

The kind of patience or endurance spoken of here is not the simple patience that we normally think of when we say we might need some patience when the car ahead of us is moving too slowly or something like that. Patience is the enduring of a trial whether that trial is directly from the hand of God for our discipline or is being applied by the world and its system in opposition to God and His people. We are strengthened by God Himself so that we might endure. (Col 1:11) It is a goal to be sought after, not avoided. According to James in chapter 5 we are not to grumble against one another while enduring the trials. So rather than grumbling and complaining as we often do when going through hardships, we are to be joyful and accept the trial without complaint. That’s a tough assignment.

God shows his pleasure in this kind of endurance when he commends the Ephesian church in Revelation 2. He says in verse 2, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.”

Being able to endure trials with endurance and patience is helpful in providing the support and encouragement needed by others coming after us who may face the same or similar trials. (2 Cor 1:6-7)

As I mentioned earlier, there is a strong connection between patience and hope. We already looked at the fact that patience produces the proof in our lives which gives us hope. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians he said he remembered their “patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Patience helps produce hope and hope also strengthens patience. When we have a sure hope, we wait for it more patiently like the farmer does for his harvest. (James 5:7-10) Even though the word is different, Hebrews 6:11 says that “we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” In other words through our patience we demonstrate the full assurance of the hope we have. Romans 15:4 tells us that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope.

One of the things that is most interesting to me is the close connection with endurance and the final reward. Heb 10:36 tells us, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” He goes on to say in verse 38 that the just shall live by faith, but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him. In speaking in an “end time” context, Jesus tells us that His followers will be hated by all for His name’s sake. He then adds, “By your patience possess your souls.” In the same kind of “end time” context Matt 24:13 says that he that endures to the end will be saved. 2 Timothy 2:12 tells us that if we endure, we will reign with him.

Our pastor, in preaching on 2 Corinthians 4 called our attention to verse 8 which tells us that though we are hard pressed on every side, we are not crushed. Then in verse 16 we see the evidence of perseverance. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

In a message during prayer meeting he spoke from 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4. It was interesting to see the connection with what we are studying here. Paul boasted of the Thessalonians for “your patience and faith in all your persecutions.” He goes on to say in verse 5 that this is a “manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer.”

Patience or endurance then is to be the hallmark of the Christian life. It is the pattern of life that results in God’s approval of our lives. We are told to run with patience the race that is set before us. Jesus said that the seed that fell on good ground are those who heard the word and keep it and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8;15) This is the characteristic of a true believer. Love endures all things. As our lives are marked by the love of God, they will also be marked by the kind of endurance that only comes from the power of God at work in us for His glory.

Worship that Pleases God

Another reason worship must be according to truth is that man’s methods, while sometimes having the appearance of wisdom, do not work. See Colossians 2:20-23. “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” Only the worship that God has commanded pleases Him and accomplishes in us the transformation God expects.Many times, well meaning people teach that we should avoid certain foods or practices and in that cultural setting the admonitions may be very wise. Over time, the culture may change or the setting may change and people hang on to the practice without knowing the history or the intention. Eventually the practice becomes entrenched in the church and people begin to think that this man-made “rule” is actually a biblical one. A doctrine of man has begun to be accepted as though it were a doctrine of God. But, according to Colossians 2, as well-meaning as this rule may have been, it is of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. Only the Spirit of God along with the proper application of the Word of God can produce the growth in holiness God requires.

Worship According to Truth

The forms and patterns of worship often result in changes in belief and teaching. Teaching should begin with the truth of the Word of God and that is what should govern practice, but sometimes it happens the other way around. What we may adopt in our worship pattern without Scriptural sanction may in the future cause the people to believe false teachings derived from that practice. In verse 11 of Mathew 15 Jesus tells the people that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes from the heart. Where would the people get the idea that what we ate defiles us religiously? Jesus had just been challenged on the behavior of His disciples in that they did not wash their hands before eating bread as the tradition of the elders dictated. The fact that this tradition had become entrenched caused the teaching to be understood that a person could be religiously defiled by what went into their mouth. This in turn resulted in their not being as concerned as they should have been with the heart where the real problem was located. The point of this portion of the discussion is that in order for worship to be according to truth, it must not add to what God has said He wants in our worship. Doing so puts us at risk of disobedience and potentially introducing false teaching into the church.

Fear in worship?

Leviticus 9 and 10 tell the interesting story of Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu. These men decided to offer fire and incense before the Lord, but the Lord was not pleased and destroyed them. The interesting thing here is that Leviticus 10:1 tells us that they offered fire and incense which the Lord had not commanded. Sometimes in our minds we don’t read what it actually says. It does not say that God had told them not to offer a particular way but they went ahead and did it anyway. What they did was to offer something which the Lord had not commanded. In Exodus 30:9, the priests were told they were not to offer strange incense on the altar. Perhaps that is what they did wrong. But they offered in a way and an offering of fire which came from a source not approved by God. This should cause us to do some serious thinking about our worship of God. Do we invent methods and rituals and assume that God is pleased because our motives are right even though it may be an offering that He did not command? This seems a lot like what Cain did as well. Cain offered the fruit of the ground and God did not accept it from Him. Cain, instead of getting his act together and offering what God required, got angry. But what about us? We don’t have the luxury of God’s immediate approval or rejection of our offerings and worship. Therefore we must be careful to study His Word so that we are sure to be doing things His way. Many people seem to imply that in this day and age it doesn’t matter. But listen to this New Testament passage in Hebrews 12:28,29 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.” Our worship is to done acceptably in reverence and godly fear. Why reverence and godly fear? Because our God is a consuming fire. Even though under the new covenant we can boldly approach the throne of grace, we are yet to have an appropriate level of reverence and godly fear. It seems to me therefore that we should be exceptionally cautious about adding components to our worship which God has not explicitly or implicitly specified in scripture. In addition, we should be cautious about conducting worship in a way that reflects our culture more closely than the revealed will of God.