Sanam Doctrinam

I haven’t been part of the church for as many years as some, but I’ve come to believe that one of the greatest afflictions of the church of Jesus Christ today is the sin of spiritual apathy. We have remarkable access to biblical truth in Europe and the United States. There are some of us who absolutely revel in Bible teaching. For many of us, there is nothing we like better than a "good feeding" by a gifted teacher of God’s Word.
 
Praise God for good Bible teaching. We need it. There are multitudes of "dry wells"—preachers who offer people nothing to believe on Sunday mornings. Like milk mixed with melamine, their teachings are at best, non-nutritive, and at worst, destructive. We ought to love good teaching. At the same time, there has to be a place where teaching intersects with life. Truth is meant to transform, not to leave us merely more knowledgeable. Knowledge without application is half-baked. Like medicine left in a bottle, it offers no benefit unless applied. Every one of us is called to apply God’s Word in our lives. We are called to serve, to live a life of ministry to God and to others. This is the thought behind Romans 12:11. Today’s verse is not addressed to a select group in the church, but to all believers. It is not some kind of Christian cliché to say that every Christian is a minister. It’s biblical reality. No one—no one is excluded.
 
To get to biblical ministry, however, we have to overcome an enemy we read about in our verse today. It’s encapsulated in Paul’s admonition to not be lagging in diligence.
 
I think it’s safe to say there is not a single one of us who has not dealt with the issue of spiritual apathy. We can feel absolutely lifeless and uninspired and indolent in our approach to spiritual matters. Literally, what Paul says in today’s verse is not to be "lazy in diligence." The word has the idea of "lagging behind." It’s used of lazy people (Matthew 25:26) and of tedious things—things that might inspire laziness (Philippians 3:1) in Scripture.
 
The antidote Paul provides to laziness is "diligence." The word has the idea of eagerness, of doing things in a hurry. We read of this when the daughter of Herodias danced for King Herod in Mark 6:25. There the text says, "Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’" This might help us to see that Paul’s basically saying in Romans 12:11, "Don’t be lazy in your spiritual eagerness."
 
We might ask what spiritual laziness looks like. Most often, it evinces itself in the essentials of the Christian life. For example, we might see it in our attitude toward God’s Word: We don’t want to read, don’t want to study, don’t want to memorize, and don’t want to communicate it. That’s spiritual apathy. Perhaps we see it evidenced in our attitude toward prayer. Prayer becomes a hollow ritual without much meaning. Maybe apathy evidences itself in our attitude toward fellowship. Church becomes a weekly routine instead of a life-giving connection with other believers. Perhaps we find apathy emerging in our attitude toward evangelism in that we don’t feel any concern for those around us without Christ nor make any attempts to interact with them about His claims. Whatever form it takes, spiritual apathy—laziness—is a terrible hindrance to ministering in the name of Christ.
 
While I was in seminary, I heard a convicting parody of the old hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers." It goes like this:

Like a mighty tortoise,
Moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading,
Where we’ve always trod;
We are all divided
Many bodies we,
Very strong on doctrine,
Weak on charity.
 
Does that ever describe our spiritual condition!
 
What does the first part of Romans 12:11 tell us? I’d suggest it tells us that if we’re experiencing spiritual apathy, we can’t afford to treat it as innocuous. We’ve got to treat it like a life-threatening disease. If we’re to be effective ministers of Jesus Christ, which is something to which we’re all called, we’ve got to come to terms with spiritual apathy and its destructive influence in our lives. Spiritual sloth is an archenemy of biblical ministry.

I can’t say that I don’t care about the election (that would be completely un-American.)  I am proud to be an American.  Quite frankly I think if you are not, or you are embarrassed of our country, then go find a country you can be proud, and don’t let the door hit ya on the way out.  I am not saying I am proud of everything the US has become or allows, but generally I think the government as a whole (not necessarily individually) has a pretty good idea of what’s going on and we should trust that and remember they are mere men, and yes some are at it for gain, etc.

Why I don’t worry now and why I will not worry about two weeks from now, is because I believe very strongly in God’s sovereignty and in His Word.  Proverbs 21:1 Sums it up the best, I believe:

The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.

This is why at the end of the day, I will make an informed decision (to the best of my ability) and do my citizenly duty (which I believe we all should exercise) and in so doing, will not fret, because I am convinced that God knows what He is doing!

Fall is my favorite season. Last night was the first hard frost. The neighbor’s aspen trees have turned a vibrant yellow. The air is crisp, and the days are shorter. Best of all, better things are in store: Winter is coming! Some despise the cold days of winter, but I delight in them.
 
The changing seasons remind me of a great song and of today’s corresponding verse. You’re probably familiar with the words written by Thomas Chisholm, but they are worth revisiting:
 
Summer and winter
And springtime and harvest
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
 
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
 
It was surely important for Jeremiah to call to his mind (Lamentations 3:21) these thoughts about God’s faithfulness. I don’t think that we consider the historical context of verses nearly enough, and today’s verse is no exception. Today’s Scripture falls in a book of songs of sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Lamentations, by and large, is a book of mourning, not joy. It’s a book of brokenness. These verses in Lamentations 3 (perhaps the best known in the book) are a bright spot in an otherwise dark journey through the grief of an ancient prophet. What sort of faithfulness did Jeremiah have in mind? I’d suggest that the specific application of faithfulness Jeremiah had in mind was His covenant faithfulness to Israel. Jeremiah found solace and strength in knowing that God had not given up on His chosen people, Israel. Jeremiah knew that the devastation was not to be permanent, that there was a restoration coming.
 
With that historical background in mind, what significance for our own life can we glean from today’s passage?
 
I think it would go somewhere along these lines: In times of distress, remember what God has promised.
 
Of course, there are many promises in Scripture, but there is one that overshadows the others. That promise involves the glorious future those who have believed in Jesus Christ are guaranteed after death. Times of distress can endure for a long time, years, decades, even. But the promise of a glorious future with God is certified by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf. When we’re going through the hard times during which our personal Jerusalems are destroyed, it’s then that we can call to mind God’s faithfulness, and specifically His faithfulness to His promise that we will be with Him forever. While we don’t know all the details, Scripture is clear that the future for a believer in Jesus Christ will be wonderful. Let’s call this to mind, no matter the season.

Many of our Charismatic friends might throw the accusation that we discount the Holy Spirit and His role in the life of a Christian, because we do not focus in on Him that often in our preaching or in our prayers or in our “experiences.”

While I do believe, as a reaction to the Charismatic movement, we do tend to shy away from the topic; we also are attempting to approach the matter Scripturally and in displaying Him in this way, we see that He tends to take a more subtle and definitely a more inward (inside us) role.  In light of this, I believe our friends who are Charismatic have given an undue and unscriptural emphasis to Him and attributed roles to Him that are not His.

(Side note: There is a wide variety of “theological flavor” within the umbrella of Charismatic so I am tending to think of those who are true believers, yet have been distracted by experience, sometimes in an extreme way.  I am not trying to fight against a particular group or specific experience [i.e. Holy Spirit laughter], I am just using the term generally to speak of a wrong emphasis on the role of the Third Person of the Trinity.)

In short, Jesus promised us in John 16 that the Spirit would:  be our Helper; convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment; guide us (believers) in all truth; He will disclose what is from the the Son and the Father (this is submissive, is it not?)  Now certainly these are all vital and vibrant duties and we praise God for them!  But they are also “behind-the-scene” roles.

One of the most striking roles of the Holy Spirit is that of Our Deposit.  Ephesians 1:13-14 says,

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (NASB 95)

It says He is given as a pledge for our inheritance.  “Pledge” here means a deposit which guarantees.  We are given a “first installment” of what is to come and we have assurance because of it!  God has not left us without a hope and as a guarantee as a deposit, we have the Holy Spirit residing within us convicting us, enlightening us and comforting us!

Oh for that day when our faith shall be sight!  I do long for it and I long to worship the Triune God in all His majesty!  And I am grateful that while I’m here on earth awaiting my full redemption, our Lord has sent His Holy Spirit to reside within those whoa re truly His!

It is easy for me to point the finger.  Yes, I admit it.  It is easy for me to look at others and say, "At least, I am not as bad as that."

Consider the current "economic crisis."  Although I am no economist, I do understand the whole sub-prime-mortgage debacle.  It is easy for me to look at the "fat cats" and say, "Ah, they got what they deserve!"  After all Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, that this is how it will be in the end.  (By the way, I realize in context there is a laundry list, that all of us fall into from time to time, and I also understand that it is speaking of a lifestyle of such things and that the true Christian should not be characterized by such a lifestyle.)  The truth is from time to time, we have to plead guilty to being lovers of self and lovers of money.  I pray that I am not characterized by it, but I do need to confess it from time to time.

We have been catechizing our children (If you think this is simply a product of Rome, please click here.)  Our latest section is on the Ten Commandments (By the way I know Bill Mahr would find the fact that we catechize our children as extremely oppressive, but I don’t answer to him.)  In this section we have, obviously, been covering the idea that God 1.) does not want us to put any other gods before Him and 2.) does not want us to worship images that try to portray Him or His creation.  It has been interesting to see, how little minds think.  We have tried to prompt them to see that "idols" are much more than carved images.  In our post today, of course, we recognize that money can be what we ultimately love.

The whole problem begins with the fact, not that we can be lovers of money, but that we are intrinsically lovers of self.  We have a bent, even as true believers, to be looking out for number one.  But as believers God has given us a greater call.  He has called us to bring the message of the gospel to all (Matthew 28:18-20) and to love others more than self (Philippians 2:1-11).

Dr. Albert Mohler recently pointed out (click here for the mp3) that it could be that conservative, non-word-of-faith, Evangelicals could have bought in to the prosperity gospel through the "back door."  I believe this is largely true.  The Scriptures tell us to be content with food and clothing (1 Timothy 6:2.)  I have to admit, there are man times my "wanter" gets the best of me.  Am I living a content life?

I pray that God will continue to show me and convict me of these areas more and more, and that repentance will be my response.