August 25, 2024

One Evangelical Objection to the Creed

One objection against Baptists using the Creed comes from some Evangelicals’ personal experience of having said a creed before conversion.

Five Notes in Response:

*The saving Gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection is expressed in the Creed. That likely helped the person recognize the Gospel.

*One ought not reject Christian song in worship because a person sang before conversion. One ought not reject reading the Bible because one read it before salvation. Likewise, one ought not stop confessing truth about God because one read aloud that confession before conversion.

*Like sermons, creeds do not only have the purpose of offering the Gospel. They are also used for pedagogy and discipline. Pedagogy: They teach the basics of the Christian faith, from the Trinity to Christ to the Final Judgment to the Resurrection. Discipline: They repel heresy.

*Conversion is a sovereign act of divine grace that occurs instrumentally according to the proclamation of God’s Word, whether that comes through song, creed, sermon, or reading Scripture. Conversion is not an automatic event based on one human use of a means of Gospel proclamation.

*People often tell me they were glad for their exposure to the Gospel through a church’s use of the Creed. Let us praise God for their conversions! IMB missionaries tell me that affirmation of the Creed helps people see Baptists are not a cult. Praise God for credal orthodoxy!

Adding the Creed to the Baptist Faith and Message will have many positive functions, including helping Southern Baptists contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Let us praise God for the long history of Christian confession of the Gospel in the Creed!

July 26, 2024

Comfort in the Chaos

Let us focus on the need for healing in our church today. As a community, we have faced a crisis. And as individuals, every person is either facing a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading into a crisis. Many of your leaders, laity and clergy, consider the last two months among the most difficult we have faced in ministry.

It will help to take a deep dive into one verse, John 16:33. Right before this, Jesus told his disciples they were going to forsake him for a time. He noted, however, that he would never be alone, for God is always with him. In conclusion, the one Lord Jesus Christ said,

I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.

There are five major parts to this verse. Let’s take them one by one:

I. The Word’s Words

The eternal Word of God became flesh in Jesus Christ. This is the message of the beginning of the gospel of John. Jesus is “the Word.” He is “God,” but he is personally distinct, for he is also “with God.” The eternal Word is one with God the Father, possessing the fullness of the divine being in his person. He is also distinct from the Father, for he is a person by reason of his generation from the very bosom of the Father. He is the Word of God who assumed our humanity in his incarnation by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. 

Jesus is the Word of God, so when he speaks, his words are simply the very words of God. And the words in our focus verse today, John 16:33, conclude the last sermon he preached during his earthly ministry. They are, if you will, Christ’s final words to the church before his humiliating and atoning death on the cross, followed by his glorious resurrection from the dead, and then his enthronement at the right hand of the living God.

The concluding sermonic words of the incarnate Word are significant precisely because they are the last words he wants his people to hear before the surprising events which constitute the great mystery of the faith. What is that “mystery,” that mystery which his words unfolded? Pastor Mark often summarizes the great mystery for us during our celebration of the Lord’s Supper in a three-part movement:

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again!

Jesus said, “I have told you these things.” What did he tell them? He had begun his longest and last sermon, the so-called “Farewell Discourse,” which is found in John 14-16, with these comforting words: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms…. I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:1-2). And, now, he concludes this greatest of Trinitarian sermons with similar words, “I have told you these things, so that you may have peace.”

The words of the Word of God are intended to bring us peace. The Word of God does not mislead us. Yes, we will have trouble in this world. But! And this is the important point for our healing and comfort: We may have peace and victory in Christ.

II. Peace in Christ

Peace in Christ is the only true peace that there is. The Hebrew word, Shalom, which is behind the New Testament Greek term, Eirene, describes a life filled with wholeness. 

The pagan Greek idea of “peace” referred almost exclusively to “civil tranquility” and “a state of law and order that gives rise to the blessings of prosperity” (Silva, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, vol. 2, 111). 

By contrast, the Old Testament idea of “peace” means “safety or health,” “well-being,” or “complete, whole, perfect.” The Hebrew concept of peace points to the Lord as “the true source and giver of peace.” His peace comes with salvation. When we unite to Christ by faith, we have access to his perfect peace.

Also, it is wise to recall, that his peace is ultimately eschatological. The prophet Isaiah tells us to look toward the Messiah, who is “the Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:5-6). He will bring eternal peace with the perfection of his kingdom (Silva, vol. 2, 112-13). 

Christ’s kingdom came spiritually with his first coming: It appears wherever his people gather in faith to worship him as God. But his visible kingdom comes in its fullness only with his second coming. In the time in which we live now, in this “time between the times,” we are given the mission of announcing his kingdom to the world. We live in a time in which the kingdom of God is growing, but it is also a time in which the kingdom of this world is still in rebellion.

This is why we as a church are so focused on missions—Christ has given his church the responsibility to proclaim the kingdom of Jesus to a rebellious, lost, and condemned world. All sinners may find peace, but only if they will become one with Christ by exercising true faith.

Through the years, the Lord has impressed upon me that the best way I can help people who have lost a loved one is to pray. We must pray that we will trust in Jesus Christ, for Christ alone brings us “the peace that surpasses all understanding.” Paul said it like this:

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-6)

My brothers and sisters, when you have reached the end of your rope, and you need peace, then learn to pray to the one Lord Jesus Christ. When all other hopes have failed, pray to the One who can never fail. When all your plans have turned to ashes, pray to the One who can reconstitute life from death. When all other persons have proven to be untrustworthy, even treacherous, then turn to the One who is integrity in person. When all you can see is darkness and death, then turn to the One who is, by definition, both “light” and “life” itself, Jesus Christ. He promises you peace, perfect peace, unending peace, well-being, wholeness, completeness.

Many historians have called the 19th century London Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “the prince of preachers.” But Spurgeon himself called Jesus Christ, “the greatest of all preachers” and “the dearest of all teachers,” for Christ’s words have perfect power. And Christ has called us to know perfect peace through faith in him. What is peace in Christ like? Spurgeon described it like this:

Peace of the deepest, truest, most constant, most emphatic kind is only found in Jesus. Peace in all seasons, and in all difficulties; peace for ever: all this is in him, and in him only. Outside of him it is tossing to and fro, and question, and fog, and haze, and fear; but in him we dwell as in a sheepfold, where the sheep lie down and rest. In him we are we are in a home where all is love and comfort. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “Sweet Peace for Tried Believers”)

III. Troubles in the World

The Greek word translated as “suffering” in John 16:33 is thlipsis—There’s a tongue twister. It is used 45 times in the New Testament and was translated in the King James Version with the following English terms:

Thlipsis (Greek): tribulation (21x), affliction (17x), trouble (3x), anguish (1x), burdened (1x), to be afflicted with (1x). (Strong’s Concordance)

The root meaning of thlipsis is “pressure.” It describes the pressures coming from the circumstances which face every person in this fallen world. Jesus used it to describe those who hear the Word and receive it with joy but who fall away when persecution [or oppression] comes (Matt. 13:21). He also used it to describe “the great tribulation” at the end of time (Matt. 24:21). Jesus also used thlipsis to describe a woman’s labor pains (John 16:21). This is important: Paul reminded the early churches that “it is necessary to go through many hardships [or pressures] to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

I’ll be honest with you. I do not like this part of what Jesus said: “You will have suffering in this world.” The weakness of the human flesh in me cries out for creaturely comfort and ease. Ask Karen sometime what I am like when I get sick or, even worse, when I get a splinter. I hate to admit this, but she will tell you that you have never seen such a big baby in your life!

And Jesus? He pulls no punches with us: “You will suffer.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous martyr who suffered death through the direct command of Adolf Hitler, once wrote in his famous book, The Cost of Discipleship, about the necessity of the cross. Bonhoeffer described the cross as twofold: There is the cross of Christ; and there is the cross of the Christian.

First, Jesus told us that he came precisely so that he could carry his cross (Mark 8:31). When Peter tried to tell him that his cross was not the way to the Kingdom, Jesus rebuked Peter harshly for trying to avoid the inevitable will of God. Bonhoeffer responded, “Suffering and rejection sum up the whole cross of Jesus. To die on the cross means to die despised and rejected of men. Suffering and rejection are laid upon Jesus as a divine necessity, and every attempt to prevent it is the work of the devil, especially when it comes from his own disciples; for it is in fact an attempt to prevent Christ from being Christ.” (Cost of Discipleship, 96).

Second, Jesus calls every believer to carry his or her own cross. After rebuking Peter, Christ said, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35). Bonhoeffer responded, “The ‘must’ of suffering applies to his disciples no less than to himself. Just as Christ is Christ only in virtue of his suffering and rejection, so the disciple is a disciple only in so far as he shares his Lord’s suffering and rejection and crucifixion” (Cost of Discipleship, 96).

One translation from the German summarized this unassailable truth in this pithy way,

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die (Cost of Discipleship, 99).

I have written many essays on the sixteenth-century Anabaptists through the years, and I am completing a volume on Anabaptist Theology right now. Karen tells me her favorite essay I’ve ever written is on the cross-shaped spirituality of the Anabaptists. These blessed men and women of Europe suffered horribly due to persecution by the religious authorities who did not want them preaching the Word or practicing the Word in its fullness. The truth that helped the Anabaptists to withstand torture and death, and stay faithful to Jesus, was summarized in Latin as 

Per crucem ad lucem: “through the cross into the light.”

IV. Take Comfort and Courage

I think it is instructive how the various verbs used by Jesus in our focus verse, John 16:33, convey different moods. Note the correlation of three profound truths from these verbs: you will have trouble in this world; you may have peace in Christ; and you must be courageous.

A.  Indicative Mood – “you will have suffering in this world”
B.  Subjunctive Mood – “you may have peace in me”
C.  Imperative Mood – “you must have courage”

First, and this is the bad news: every person in this world has troubles. That is the baseline. There is no escaping the truth that life in this fallen creation is filled with trials, troubles, tribulations. Disappointment in this life is doubtless. Evil is inescapable. Pain is pervasive. Creation, Paul said, “groans” (Rom. 8:22). This is true for you, whatever your age, education, race, wealth, gender, or religion. It is true, whether you are a believer in Christ or an unbeliever. The Lord said, “You will have suffering in this world.” This is why Pastor Mark is so adamant that the so-called “health and wealth gospel” must be rejected as a false gospel.

Second, and this is the good news: Peace and victory are a possibility. But peace now and victory forever are possible only if you are “in Christ.” You may have peace, but only if you are united with Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit’s work of grace through personal faith.

Third, courage is required. If you are a believer, you must, indeed, you will, take comfort through your eschatological hope in the conquering of this world by Christ. The Greek word, tharseite, in John 16:33, means “courage” or “comfort.” It is a verb put in the imperative. Whatever your fear, he calls you to face it down and overcome it in him. Whatever your pain, he can walk you through it, for he has taken everything in his flesh, and he has won the victory over every trial, trouble, and temptation. You will have trouble in this world, but you must take courage and you must take comfort. You must overcome the world through the cross of Christ.

Personal Application 

Men, let’s talk for a moment. You have been hurt, but you are stronger than the pain. Let’s man up and embrace our crosses together. Let’s be like Jesus and, in great peace, receive all God has given us to suffer. Have you ever noticed how, in the Gospel accounts of his trial, Christ faced his cross with perfect peace? He did not cry or beg or run—He went up on that cross like a warrior. He overcame death by virtue of his virtuous life. Gird your loins, my brothers, and let us take up our crosses. The strength you need for your trial will come when you bring your soul in submission to Christ and embrace the cross that he has assigned for you. 

Women, let me talk to you for a moment. You have been disillusioned, but you are better than the illusions of this world. Whatever your disappointments, whatever the evil that has been dished out to you, be a woman of faith. Be bold, be strong, be courageous. Your real beauty is in placing your soul in submission to Christ and carrying his cross for you.

Every Christian man and every Christian woman wants to be better than we are. The cross Christ called you to bear is intended to perfect you, to make you fit for glory. An alternative band from Oxford, Radiohead, once gathered human hope into these lyrics, “I don’t care if it hurts. I want to have control. I want a perfect body. I want a perfect soul.” Know that Christ will gain control through your cross, as you surrender your life to him, and he promises you a perfected body and a perfected soul in him.

Children, let me talk to you for a moment. Whatever your fears, know that Christ has already faced every evil thing and overcome it. He is the light who shines in the darkness. He is the life who overcomes death itself. He is the Word who creates meaning out of the chaos. He is your comfort, your courage. Your hope is in submitting your soul to Christ and his cross for you.

V. Finally, Victory in Jesus

Where is the victory? The victory over evil in this world is found in every human heart that is submitting itself in faith to Jesus Christ. “You must have courage!” Christ says, “I have conquered the world.”

Do you realize that Christ was heading into the garden called Gethsemane when he prophesied his victory? Do you understand that his very words of victory were proclaimed immediately before he went to the hill called Golgotha, “the Skull”? 

Christ looked death in the face, and he knew that, because he is God as well as man, that he alone can overcome death. He knew he was going to die for the sins of the whole world. He knew he would face every temptation yet never succumb to sin. He faced the fight of his life, the fight of his cross, and he said, “I have overcome!” He did not say, “I hope to overcome.” He did not whimper, “I wonder if I can overcome!” No, he said with boldness, “I have overcome!” Christ’s victory was assured before he fought the battle that won the war for every believer. You cannot kill God! And Christ is both mortal man and eternal God! Death has been “swallowed up” in his victory!

Spurgeon spoke well that Christ at the cross “had really overcome the world. Its blandishments he had overcome. Its temptations he had overcome. Its terrors he had overcome. Its errors he had overcome. Everything in the world that had assailed him he had put to the rout. He was tempted in all points like as we are, but he remained without sin. He had overcome everything that had come to attack his holiness, his patience, his self-sacrifice; he had been victor at every point.”

Personal Application

Whatever the difficulties you personally face in this life. Whatever the difficulties this church communally faces in this life. Whatever the troubles you face in society, in church, and in the family, I know a man who has overcome them all, and his name is Jesus the Lord. 

Jesus Christ is the One with all authority and power. Jesus Christ has conquered the grave and hell itself. In him, I have no fear of death. Jesus Christ has conquered sin. In him, I have no fear of wrath. Jesus Christ has conquered every opponent of my soul and my body. In him, I have no fear of anything at all. 

Christ has overcome! Christ has conquered! Christ has the victory!

Do you need healing? Christ is your peace! Do you need salvation? Christ is your peace! Do you need hope and comfort and courage, enough to face every problem that could ever come at you? Christ is your peace!

With Horatio Spafford, who just received news that he had lost his family in a shipwreck, let us learn to sing of that peace which is perfect, of that peace which comes from the One who has taken death itself and overcome it. The first and last verses of his famous hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul,” are worthy of deep reflection when you need health in your soul, when you need the healing touch of the powerful Savior of all who believe in him. Christ wants to bring to you his peace through your faith in his death and his resurrection.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day, when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend,
“Even so, it is well with my soul.”

Whatever problem you face right now, please embrace this truth with your whole being: Christ is your courage for the cross. Christ is your conqueror for victory. Christ is your comfort in the chaos of this world.

Communal Application

Would you let me lead us in a church prayer? Would you join me in praying this prayer?

Lord, we ask you to continue walking with our church. We ask you to bring us healing from the hurt we have suffered. We ask you to preserve this, your flock, and us, your sheep, from further harm. We ask you to give the good shepherds of this flock wisdom about the spiritual opposition you said we would face. We ask you to continue guiding our pastoral staff and our lay leadership teams to discern the way forward for us in all things. We ask for you to preserve our unity. We ask for you, most of all, to bless us with your real presence to this covenanted congregation and to grant us supernatural guidance. We are yours, Lord. Heal us, preserve us, use us for your glory through our missionary calling. Give us your comfort in this chaos.

 

June 18, 2024

The Heart of the Matter is Your Heart

We use the phrase, “the heart of the matter,” to identify what is truly central. But what is the heart of the matter for every human being? From an eternal perspective, the heart of the matter for every human person, no matter their current situation, is the state of their own heart. The heart of the matter is the heart.

The “heart,” according to Scripture, refers not only to the central physical organ in our human body but to the center of a person’s psychical life. The heart refers to one’s emotions, will, and mind. The heart both determines and reflects upon the state of our moral relationship with God and with other people. Your heart is a big deal. 

The innermost purposes of your heart determine your spiritual state. Your heart can be for good, or it can be for evil. How do we know what the state of our heart is? Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart, too” (Matt 6:21). So, what do you want? 

Where is your heart? You can either have a heart which is “after God’s own heart,” like David (1 Sam 13:14). Or you can have a heart that seeks after idols, or false gods. We call for judgment upon ourselves when our hearts seek something other than the one true God (Ezek 14:1-8). 

God knows that our hearts are weak and prone to pride and to evil (Gen 6:5; 2 Chron 26:16). Our hearts become insensitive and hard when we turn away from him. This invites God to judge us (Ps 119:70; Zech 7:12). 

God gives us a conscience to remind our hearts that we are called to something better and that he will hold us to account in the final judgment (Rom 2:15-16). God is, moreover, merciful and wants to open our hearts to his free offer of salvation (Acts 16:14-15).

Please take a moment. and consider the state of your own heart. Are you right with God where it really counts, in your heart? Is there any tinge of rebellion against him? Are you beingswayed to trust in or desire something other than him? 

You know the wayward bent of your heart is true. But do not despair. You can ask God for his help. He truly wants to change your heart. Perhaps you might pray this prayer written by John Kettlewell:

I give you my heart, and I humbly pray that you would always keep it in your hands, since it is so unfaithful in loving what is good. When it is in my control, it is prone to follow all sorts of evils. Oh Father, keep my heart steadfast and unalterable in your ways. Let it not be inclined to any evil thing nor lean toward any of my former vanities. Keep my eyes from looking upon and my ears from listening to any sort of wickedness. Do not let my lips utter anything that is ungodly or my feet move even a step in any of the paths of death, but hold my whole spirit, soul, and body in a righteous fear of you. Keep me comfortable in the hope of your favor, through Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and only Savior. Amen. (Cloud of Witnesses, 95)

As we pray for God to cleanse our hearts, he will send his Holy Spirit to change our hearts and give us righteous purposes. If you will pray like David did, when he fell into great sin, God will hear you and change you. “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps 51:10).

Ultimately, the heart of the matter is your own heart. Will you ask him to change your heart to want him and his purposes for your life? He loves you and wants you to become a person after his own heart. He will forgive you and transform you. Just pray.

June 15, 2024

On Confessions and Creeds: Recent Writings and Presentations

During the past year, I have been asked repeatedly to address creeds and confessions in the Baptist tradition. The writings and presentations linked below may help you see the logic behind a recent proposal which has garnered widespread attention. 

Several leading pastoral theologians and academic theologians joined with me in May and June to propose and encourage the addition to the Baptist Faith and Message of an article containing the Nicene Creed. The concept has encouraged many people. 

Please join us in praying for the Southern Baptist Convention to make a clear statement of orthodox Christianity by adding the Nicene Creed in 2025. May Christ glorify himself through our common confession.

June 14, 2024

When Roman Catholics Get Something Right, Southern Baptists Should Say, “Amen”

My fellow Southern Baptists, there are times when we must lay aside old and oft overwrought prejudices. Despite their appeals to being the only real Baptists, we must refuse to give audience to the strident voices of those who play to fear and whisper of conspiracy and detect trends that draw you away from right action. 

Instead, we must learn to discern truth for ourselves. We must reject cynical and self-serving attempts to use our name for petty political power plays. We must speak clearly for ourselves, even if we speak the same truths as others who sometimes say things with which we don’t agree.

When the Roman Catholics get it right, and they do at least twice every day, we should stand with them. When the Roman Catholics speak necessary truths, then we must simply stand up and say, “Indeed.”

Now is one of those times when “we” Southern Baptists must take a public stand beside “them” Roman Catholics. 

We must all stand and speak together against any legislation which would force the radical transgender agenda upon our children. 

So, if you are fearful of saying the same thing as a Roman Catholic, as if the same confession somehow taints you, I ask you to examine the issue without fear, set aside your unnecessary qualms, and “gird yourself like a man.”

Let us rise up to speak the same truth with the Roman Catholics. I hope you will agree with me that, on this issue, “Cardinal Dolan is right. We must reject radical leftist attempts to force their views on our children. When Roman Catholics say something right, Southern Baptists should be able to and certainly must say with them, ‘Amen.’”

May 29, 2024

Article XIX: The Creed

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father. By him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he descended from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again, in accordance with the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again, in glory, to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom shall have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], and who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the Prophets. And in one holy universal and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins, and we look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

__________

We encourage the Messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in June 2024 to affirm the Nicene Creed. We encourage the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in June 2025 to include the Creed as an article in the Baptist Faith and Message. We are also happy to include the Apostles’ Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Chalcedonian Definition.

Matthew Barrett, Andrew Brown, Matthew Emerson, Stephen Lorance, Steven McKinion, Stephen Presley, Rhyne Putman, David Rathel, Luke Stamps, Malcolm Yarnell

Fear the Messiah

The disciples of Jesus were very concerned for their own place. In lust for power, they were no different than the religious leaders who sought to murder Jesus.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’”

But Jesus was more interested in changing their hearts than in securing their offices. So he showed them the way to true greatness. And he used as an example, not a politician, sportstar, actor, cleric, or professor. Instead,

“He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’”

Let that sink in for a moment, boys. A disciple of Jesus is not in the kingdom by place but by grace. If you are all about place it may say you have no grace.

Jesus told the disciples they required a fundamental change in heart. Let go this world’s lust for power; die to yourself.

“So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one such child in My name, receives Me.”

And to bring the point home, he told the guys how serious he, the Lord, is about this.

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depths of the sea.’”

The temptation of the minister to sin has particularly grave consequences.

If your heart is set on your power you will justify evil in your mind. You will start to treat his sheep like you own them. But you use their bodies at the price of your souls. You may not steal from God!

And the Great Shepherd loves his sheep! Oh, he loves with a tender love for his lambs but with a terrible love toward the wolves and hirelings who misuse them and steal from them.

God calls his true pastors to be humble and protect his sheep. Note: Proud men can only be wolves.

The message of the Messiah for the Judases among his disciples was this: If you set up theological systems that create a petty hierarchy for you and your hirelings so that you can abuse his sheep, it would be better if you had long removed from this world.

I weep for the lambs.

As a pastor who only wants to hear, “Well done thou good and faithful servant,” as I cling to his feet, I fear for my own soul. I want nothing to do with attempts to gain power. I have walked right up to that gate, seen the evil in my heart and been repelled from myself in shame.

Sometimes, people wonder why I preach with such prophetic passion against false pastors. Why do I refuse to participate in the crafting of these silly myths of power and manufacture these self-serving genealogies of privilege? Because I don’t want to face the wrath of Messiah.

The Messiah is a gentle Savior, the Lamb slain for his people from the foundation of the world. But the Messiah is also a growling Judge, the Lion of Judah who has seen hypocrites, false prophets, and petty messiahs, and warned us that he will judge such mindless mediocrities.

I have walked to the edge, seen the faults in my heart, heard his voice of warning, and cried out to him: “Lord, give me a new heart! Give me a boundless passionate love for you alone and a care to treat your sheep with your tenderness and to fight the wolves with your ferocity!”

Why do I take the strong stands that I do against wolves and hirelings? Why do I promote Trinitarian and Christological orthodoxy with such passion? Why do I promote the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian Formula?

Because he called me and I love him, and because I fear his wrath.

When I survey the lands and see the lambs laying here and there in their own blood, missing pieces of their bodies, broken by the wolves and falsely tended by hirelings who ran at the first sign of a fight, I weep for the lambs. Never ridicule survivors who walk away from faith.

I weep for the lambs, and I want to tend them back to health. I have a passion to fight the wolves who rend. I have a passion to honor the Lord and defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints.

Heretics, wolves, and hirelings should fear the Great Shepherd. The true pastors, the wise ones, both love and fear the Messiah.

May 19, 2024

Against the Arians

What makes the worst of all heresies, Arianism, so dangerous?

1. Above all and at their root, Arians dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ. They diminish the unity of his person, the truth of his deity, and/or the truth of his humanity, by weakening, dividing, or contradicting him.

2. They are deceptive and mislead the “simple,” in the words of Athanasius, by being “deceitful and cunning” and “hypocritical.”

3. They appeal to the carnal nature of the simple. They promise authority to those who want to rule and knowledge to those desiring intelligence.

4. They have the air of credibility, because they appeal to the often unseen yet deeply flawed structures of their human culture and philosophy.

5. They abuse the Lord Jesus by abusing the biblical text, imposing godless hierarchies and fanciful systems upon Holy Scripture.

6. They abuse the church of Jesus Christ by teaching others their deceptive piety. They are good at self-presentation. They manipulate so they can dominate.

7. Ultimately, they “go out from among us.” But they first rush, like Diotrephes, to disfellowship true believers.

Arianism, in all its godless and pernicious varieties, must find no place of rest among true Christians. The truth of the Nicene Creed, which upholds Scripture by summarizing the central mystery of the Christian faith, must be upheld against the deceptions of the heretics.



March 1, 2024

Yes, You Can Trust the Bible!

The Bible is God’s Word, and he speaks to us by it this very day. The Bible is perfect and trustworthy in every way. The Bible speaks with God’s own authority. The Bible is, therefore, sufficient to save you and to guide you to live well. The wise person will read the Bible, heed the Bible, and trust the Bible above everything, including our own speculations.

How did God convey his Word to the prophets and the apostles, such that we can trust it today? Different theories of inspiration have been offered, but conservative evangelicals like David Dockery and I hold to the “verbal plenary” view of inspiration.

This view grants the initiative in inspiration to the Holy Spirit as divine author. The human author, moreover, remains fully involved in the process of writing as a particular human being with distinct experiences shaped by a definite context using personal expression. Due to the supervising authority of the Holy Spirit, the writings retain the quality of inspiration. 

Proponents of this theory ascribe inspiration to the original autographs as written in their entirety, or plenarily, and not just to portions. This theory also affirms that the Spirit led the writers in their choice of certain words. The verbal aspect of verbal plenary inspiration honors the distinctive context, thoughts, and style of the writers. It also recognizes meaning occurs not merely with the choice of particular words but at the levels of sentence, genre, and purpose.

Like many others, I have been driven to a high doctrine of biblical inspiration because this is the teaching of Scripture about itself (2 Tim. 3:15-17; John 10:34-36; 2 Pet. 1:19-21). In addition, Christians often testify how they hear God’s voice palpably through the biblical text. I can attest that, sometimes against my own preferences, God speaks transformative truth to me in his Word. God’s Holy Spirit convicts me, instructs me, and renews my heart with hope every time I read Scripture.

Therefore, I have come to read God’s Word as often as possible. I open the Bible every day on my own in prayer. I use it regularly in congregational worship. I use it to witness to others, hoping to bring them to salvation or to enhance their walk with the Lord. I study it deeply for my mind and for my heart. I cannot get enough of the Bible, because I meet God in it. 

Would you join me in hearing God through his Spirit’s inspiration of his Word?

(This essay is adapted from Malcolm’s most recent book, God, the first volume of the Theology for Every Person series. The book releases publicly next week.)