THE LOST VIRTUE OF SUBMISSION

So Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. "  (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

 . . . submitting to one another in the fear of God.  (Ephesians 5:21)

 We live in an age of rebellion.  While violent rebellion rages in many parts of the world, in our own country students rebel against teachers and against society in general, laborers rebel against employers, churches against pastors, children against parents, and wives against husbands.

We have to admit that our nation was born out of rebellion, and it has been part of our national psyche ever since.  This spirit of rebellion affects every area of our society, but its most devastating impact has been on the family.  To destroy the nation, Satan must destroy the family, and he is doing just that through a spirit of rebellion.

 A rebellious spirit opens the door of the heart to Satan’s influence, as it did in the life of King Saul.  Once Saul rebelled against God’s orders given through the prophet Samuel, Satan and his demons began to torment Saul and prompt him to do more evil.  At last, when Saul could no longer receive counsel from God, he turned to a witch for help.

Why does rebellion open the door to Satan?  Because Lucifer, Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12), rebelled against God and thus became the fallen, despicable creature who seeks to destroy all God has made.  He sniffs out the rebellious spirit wherever it may be found.  Every family is vulnerable when there is even one member who has a rebellious spirit.

The biblical shield against this attack of Satan is the virtue of submission.  In Ephesians 5 and 6 God, through the Apostle Paul, admonishes each member of the family to practice this virtue.  It is well to note that with each admonition to “submit” or “obey,” there is a corresponding admonition to the one God has entrusted with authority to submit to the Lord in practicing kindly, loving care for those under that authority.  Hence, when God says, “Wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:22), the husbands are admonished to “love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her . . .” (Ephesians 5:25-26a).  When God says, “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1), he also says, “And you fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

We must be careful here, and note that Satan will try to corrupt our thinking regarding these verses:  One admonition is not conditional on the other.  The wife’s submission to her husband does not depend upon the husband's obedience to the Lord in sacrificial love for his wife, nor is the husband’s obligation to love his wife as Christ loved the Church dependent upon the wife’s submission.  Likewise the children's obligation to obey and the parent's obligation to properly train, depend upon only one thing -- their relationship to the Lord.  Each member of the family is to be submissive to the Lord, obeying His directions for their God-given position in the family, regardless of what the other members may do.

Jesus, the Son of God Himself, is the model of a submissive spirit.  Every family member should meditate on Philippians 2:5-8 frequently:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.   (Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV)

 Let this mind be in each one of us! And let our families be bound together in the love of Christ!

Fond Ambitions?

Comedienne Lilly Tomlin once said: "All my life I always wanted to be somebody.  Now I realize I should have been more specific."

Ambition is generally viewed as a good thing.  After all, only deadbeats have no ambition.  But when our ambition is directed toward attaining what this sinful, fallen world thinks is valuable, we are headed for spiritual shipwreck.

I know whenever my desires turn inward, when I long for praise and recognition, perhaps even worldly riches.  I know because God reminds me of a verse from a hymn by one of the godliest pastors who ever graced this earth -- Henry F. Lyte  The hymn is "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken," and the last part of verse one, the part God brings to my mind, goes like this:

"Perish every fond ambition,

All I've sought, and hoped, and known;

Yet how rich is my condition,

God and heaven are still my own!"

I have to ask myself often: Who are you seeking to please?  Jesus said that the first and great commandment is, "You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30)  In that blessed relationship alone we find peace and joy and contentment. 

J. I. Packer tells of a Christian who understood that our relationship with God is everything: "I walked in the sunshine," he recalls, "with a scholar who had effectively forfeited his prospect of academic advancement by clashing with church dignitaries over the gospel of grace.  'But it doesn't matter,' he said at length, 'for I've known God and they haven't.'" (Knowing God, p. 20)

Do you want to be somebody?  Then be somebody who delights in God.  God will work "all things together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Henry Martyn's Lesson in Contentment

I was reading again in John Sargent's The Life and Letters of Henry Martyn, and I was moved by Martyn's self-examination of his contentment in the Lord. While on vacation in north Wales, he reflected on both the beauty of God's creation and on Martyn's own contentment at all times and in all circumstances.  The following is a portion of Martyn's journal entry for July 31, 1802:

"I met a poor Welch pedlar, with a bundle of hats on his back, who, on my inquiring the distance to Tan-y-Bwlch, told me he was going thither.  He went by the old road, which is two miles nearer.  It passes over the most dreary, uncultivated hills I ever saw, where there is scarcely any mark of human industry.  The road in most places is overgrown with grass.  The poor man had walked from Carnarvan that day, with an enormous bundle, and pointed with a sorrowfull look to his head; and indeed he did look very ill; he was however very cheerful:  what a difference between this man's temper and my own!  The difference was humbling to myself -- when shall I learn 'in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content?'"

Then on August 5 he wrote of the pleasant conclusion of his journey with a solemn reflection:

"My walk for ten miles was similar to that of the preceding evening, only still more beautiful, for the Dovey widened continually, and the opposite hills were covered with wood: at last the river fell into the sea, and the view was then fine indeed; the weather was serene, and the sea unruffled.  I felt little fatigue, and my thoughts were turned towards God.  But if I cannot be thankful to Him, and sensible of his presence in seasons of fatigue as well as in periods of enjoyment, how can I distinguish the working of the Spirit from the ebullitions of animal joy?"

How, indeed!  When we experience pleasant days and fair weather, we say, "The Lord has been good to us."  Was He not good to us in days of trial, trouble, and travail, and in stormy weather?  The godly Job responded to his wife in the midst of severe trials: "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10)

God has, indeed, greatly blessed America, including American Christians.  Yet we are among the least contented people on earth.  Health-and-wealth preachers draw huge crowds to their meetings and many thousands to their TV broadcasts.  Even more orthodox churches seek to meet the "felt needs" of our society, rather than exposing society's real need, the need for humble repentance and submission to the will of God as revealed in His Word!

Is What I'm Reading Really God's Word?

IS WHAT I’M READING REALLY GOD’S WORD?

 Despite the ever-increasing number of Bible translations in English, a large percentage of American Evangelicals have not read the Bible in its entirety even once. (And once is not enough!)

Not only has the plethora of Bible translations not increased knowledge of the Bible, these translations have actually hindered that knowledge. The confusion began with the translation theory espoused by Eugene A. Nida (1914-2011) called Dynamic Equivalence.  According to this theory, Bible translations do not need to convey the formal equivalence of the words in the original language, but rather the equivalent meaning of the entire verse or sentence in a modern context.  A Dynamic Equivalent translation does not have to account for every word in the original language, nor does it have to preserve the historical, cultural, social, or religious context of the original. 

This type of translation distances readers from the biblical setting and obscures the message as it was understood by the original audience.  Relieved of the constraints of formal linguistic equivalence in translating the Bible, the translators of such Bibles as the New International Version, Today's New International Version, the Good News Bible, The Message, the New Living Translation, Contemporary English Bible, and others, went beyond their own principles to insert human commentary into the translation itself!  The beloved 23rd Psalm demonstrates this egregious license taken by the "translators" of three popular versions.  Note how verse 5b is "translated" in the following versions:

"You welcome me as an honored guest"  (Good News Bible)
"You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil" (New Living Translation)
"You honor me as a guest"  (Contemporary English Version)

The original text simply reads, "You anoint my head with oil."  So why do these three translations have this business about the "honored guest"?  It is because some commentators believe that David leaves the "shepherd-sheep" imagery and moves to a picture of an oriental banquet where the honored guests would have their heads anointed with perfumed oil.  This interpretation is not universally accepted, however.  For example, commentator Leupold writes: "]I]t is not going too far to point out that all may still be strictly within the figure of the shepherd's activity if he is a faithful man. For, in the first place, the 'table' (shulchan), as dictionaries point out, was in days of old a large piece of leather on which food was set or, in this case, on which some supplementary reserve fodder might be spread by the shepherd on days when forage was scarce.  In like manner shepherds are still known to carry a little flask of oil to anoint the scratched face of the sheep that was obliged to seek its food among thorns and brambles." (Leupold, Psalms)  The main point here is that either point of view is an interpretation, not a translation.  But in the above versions, the translators give you the impression that they are conveying the Word of God.  They are not!  It is their interpretation!

And let's not imagine that the ubiquitous New International Version (NIV) has refrained from such interpretative license.  The NIV translators can't let the reader interpret what "seal" means in John 6:27 and Ephesians 1:13.

"On him [the Son of Man] God the Father has placed his seal of approval.  (John 6:27, NIV, TNIV) (The words in italics are the words the translators added by way of their interpretation.)

"Having believed, you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit . . ." (Eph. 1:13 NIV) (Again the italicized words imply an interpretation.  The original simply says, "you were sealed...")

By rendering "sealed" differently in these two passages, the translators are giving their interpretation that these verses do not mean the same thing.  That should be for the reader to decide from a faithful translation of the original words.

Another New Testament word that the NIV translators feel they must interpret for us is the Greek word sarx, which literally means "flesh."  In Paul's epistles, especially Romans 7 and 8 and Galatians 5, the NIV translates that one word as "sinful nature."  That is an interpretation, not a translation.  While most of those passages undoubtedly do refer to the sinful impulses of our bodily appetites, some passages may be referring simply to human (fleshly) effort, which cannot fulfill God's law.  The point is that the reader is not given the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of "flesh" in those passages; the "translators" have interpreted it for us!  We also need to recognize that the same word, sarx, is used in reference to  Jesus' human nature: "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14)  "The gospel of God...concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh..." (Romans 1:1b, 3 NASB) "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,..." Hebrews 2:14) and other passages. 

A simple concordance search of the word "flesh" will reveal that it is used in many different ways, some literal and some figurative.  Faithful translations like the KJV, NKJV, ESV, and NASB translate the word as it stands in the original and allow the reader to interpret it.  "Dynamic Equivalence" translations like the NIV, TNIV, GNB, CEV, and many others, do the interpreting for us--correctly or incorrectly--right in the text!   

So are we really reading the Bible when we read those so-called translations?  These hybrids between the Bible and commentary used to be called paraphrases, which indeed they are.  Now the same paraphrases are being peddled as the Bible. The father of Dynamic Equivalency, the late Eugene Nida, frankly admitted that he did not believe the average Christian was capable of understanding the Bible for himself or herself.  Therefore the scholars feel they have to expand on God's Word so we can understand its meaning.

Bible knowledge is pathetically weak among professing Christians in America, and I suspect in other “Christian” countries as well.  One reason, I believe, is what Leland Ryken calls the "destabilized text" of many modern translations. (Choosing a Bible: Understanding Bible Translation Differences) (See also Translating The Truth)  In their attempt to tell readers what the Bible means, Dynamic Equivalence translators have obscured what the Bible says.  Fortunately, there are good modern translations that strive to convey the Word of God in the very words of God.  The New King James Version updates the archaic language of the matchless King James Version, the New American Standard Bible is known for its faithful adherence to the tenses and nuances of the original, especially the Greek verb tenses in the New Testament, and the English Standard Version offers a flowing literary translation that seeks to account for each word in the original.

I for one would like to see an end to the dominance of the NIV and see Christians once again studying a faithful, accurate translation of the Bible.

Posted by Thomas L. Jones  

 

The Contagion of Holy Lives

Among the many godly people of the past who have profoundly influenced my life, three stand out for the contagious nature of their holiness.

David Brainerd was a missionary to the Indian tribes in the American colonies in the mid-1700s.  He was known for his intensely devoted prayer life.  He would regularly rise before dawn and kneel in the snow praying for his beloved Indians.  He suffered emotionally from depression and physically from tuberculosis.  His diaries are rich with his longings for a closer walk with Christ, for a holy life that would glorify Christ and win others to Him.  Brainerd's final entry in his diary just days before he died at age 29 reads:

"My soul was this day, at turns, sweetly set on God: I longed to be with him, that I might behold his glory.  I felt sweetly disposed to commit all to him, even my dearest friends, my dearest flock, my absent brother, and all my concerns for time and eternity.  O that his kingdom might come in the world; that they might all love and glorify him for what he is in himself; and that the blessed Redeemer might see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied!'  O come, Lord Jesus, come quickly! Amen."

When I returned from missionary service in Italy, a visited my beloved professor Dr. Eugene J. Petersen.  He commented that the seminary students he was currently teaching felt that Brainerd was wrong to take such poor care of his health, neglecting it to press on in his ministry to the Indians.  "What do you think, Tom?" Dr. Petersen asked.  I responded, "I'm not worried about there being too many David Brainerds!"  The professor smiled and nodded.

Over a half-century later, a godly young scholar named Henry Martyn discovered David Brainerd's diary, and according to Martyn's biographer, he "found his hero.  He who would know Martyn must ask what manner of man was that Brainerd who called out his depths of admiration." (Henry Martyn by Constance E. Padwick)  References to David Brainerd made their way into Henry Martyn's journals:

"I thought of David Brainerd, and ardently desired his devotedness to God and holy breathings of soul."

"Read David Brainerd today and yesterday, and find as usual my spirit greatly benefited by it.  I long to be like him; let me forget the world and be swallowed up in a desire to glorify God."

"Read Brainerd.  I feel my heart knit to this dear man, and really rejoice to think of meeting him in heaven."

Henry Martyn forsook a promising career in Cambridge University to serve nobly as a chaplain and missionary in India.  Martyn also suffered from tuberculosis, and shortly after delivering his Persian translation of the New Testament to the British Ambassador in Iran, who then gave it to the Shah, Henry Martyn went to his Lord at the age of 31.  According to Dr. Petersen, "One historian has said, 'There is no more heroic figure in 400 years of English history than Henry Martyn."

On to 1831.  The saintly Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne wrote in his diary on November 12:

"Reading H. Martyn's Memoirs.  Would I could imitate him, giving up father, mother, country, house, health, life, all for Christ.  And yet, what hinders?  Lord, purify me, and give me strength to dedicate myself, my all, to thee!"

It is reported that the very presence of McCheyne on the church platform, before he said a word, had the effect of bringing people to tears of repentance.  McCheyne suffered heart problems that had taken his godly brother, and Robert died at age twenty-nine.  His eulogy in an Edinburgh periodical included these remarks:

"Robert Murray McCheyne!  To dwell on his saintly character would be a pleasant theme . . . To know him was the best interpretation of many texts.  At least we have a clearer conception of what is meant by a 'hidden life,' and a 'living sacrifice,' and can better understand the sort of life which Enoch led, since we made the acquaintance of Robert McCheyne."

Brainerd to Martyn to McCheyne--what contagious holiness!  Oh, that their influence had been greater on me!  I have lived well over twice as long as any one of them did, yet my life falls so short of theirs.  Young people, look to real heroes.  Those who have and manifest the power of God in a holy life are the true super-heroes!

He Brought Us Out...That He Might Bring Us In

Deuteronomy 6:23 is rich with blessing for those who are seeking God's guidance and reassurance.

As God prepared Israel through hardships and trials for their "exodus" and eventual conquest of the land of promise, so He also prepares each of His children for His purpose for them before He brings them out and sets their potential before them.  But just as that generation who was led out of Egypt failed of the grace of God, failed to believe His promises and submit to His revealed will, we may also rebel and lose out on our greatest potential for life and ministry.

In Deuteronomy, Moses addresses the new generation that is about to enter the Promised Land.  He assures them that God did not bring them out of bondage just to abandon them to their own resources.  "Then He brought us out from there that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers."

God does not bring us out of the bondage of our old sinful life just to leave us to our own resources.  As the Apostle Paul wrote: (I am) confident of this very thing, that He would has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."  (Philippians 1:6)  Likewise, David could confidently proclaim, "The LORD will perfect that which concerns

me . . . " (Psalm 138:8)

Nor does the Lord direct our circumstances for no reason, or leave us to "chance."  When He moves us from one place or situation to another, it is for our good and His glory.  In His sovereignty, He uses even our less-than-wise choices and other people's wicked acts to accomplish His purposes.  "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  (Romans 8:28 NAS)

How to Call a Godly Pastor

Over the decades that I have been an ordained minister, I have watched many churches conduct pastoral searches. Too often the church's final choice turned out to be disappointing, or worse.

The basic problem is that churches rarely use biblical standards for evaluating a pastoral candidate.  There are many books, denominational guidelines, and checklists for pastoral searches, yet most of them neglect the clear instructions of the New Testament as to the kind of man God says should serve Him and the flock. 

There are four specific passages of Scripture that outline and explain the qualifications of a godly pastor.  Here they are, the most specific first: 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 20:28-32.  Through a careful observation of these passages, we can glean a list of biblical qualifications by which to evaluate a pastoral candidate:

• Husband of one wife (morally pure and faithful) (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:6)
• Good manager of his own household (1 Timothy 3:4; Titus 1:6)
• Temperate (1 Timothy 3:2)
• Prudent, sensible (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8)
• Respectable (1 Timothy 3:2)
• Hospitable (1 Timothy 3:2)
• Able to teach (good communicator of biblical truth) (1 Timothy 3:2b)
• Ministers according to God's will as revealed in Scripture (1 Peter 5:2; Titus 1:9)
• Able to defend the faith with sound doctrine Titus 1:9
• Not addicted to wine (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7)
• Not pugnacious or quick-tempered (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7)
• Not self-willed (Titus 1:7)
• Gentle (1 Timothy 3:3)
• Not contentious, argumentative (1 Timothy 3:3)
• Free from the love of money (1 Timothy 3:3; 1 Peter 5:2b)
• Not a new convert (1 Timothy 3:6)
• Good example to the congregation (1 Peter 5:3)
• Of good reputation outside the church (1 Timothy 3:7)
• Just, righteous (Titus 1:8)
• Holy, devout (Titus 1:8)
• Self-motivated, eager (1 Peter 5:2)
• Alert to spiritual danger (Acts 20:28, 31a)
• Compassionate  (Acts 20:31b)
• Overall--Above Reproach 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6

Since no one is perfect, a church might rank candidates as to the degree to which each demonstrates these characteristics.  For example, one candidate may exhibit more hospitality than another, yet be weaker as a teacher.  A candidate may be a bit fiesty, but he expounds the Word well and can defend the faith.  But please note: Certain qualifications are absolute--yes or no. For instance, if a candidate is not morally pure, faithful to his wife, he is not qualified for the pastorate. Also, if he is addicted to either money or wine, look elsewhere. 

Of course there are other factors to consider when calling a pastor, like his compatibility with the congregation and the local culture, his style of preaching, teaching, and other aspects of ministry. But the Scriptural qualifications listed above need to be settled first.  If a pastoral candidate is deficient in God's standards, how could he possibly be an effective pastor?