Jesus Is Worth It!

My family was blessed to have the Gibson family in our home yesterday and this morning.  AJ has been a true friend and it has been a rich blessing to watch and hear how the Lord has been molding and shaping him in His image.  The Lord has blessed AJ with an amazing wife and three beautiful children!  Together they have been serving in the Lord's vineyard for a number of years in Monterrey, Mexico.  They have a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are committed to giving of themselves to take this priceless message by means of word and deed to the nations, and they are now serving with To Every Tribe Ministries (TETM), which appears to be an excellent fit. 

I love the vision statement of TETM, which is rooted in Romans 15:20-21:

To Every Tribe exists to spread a passion for the supremacy of God
    among unreached peoples throughout the earth.

Here are two endorsements worth considering:

I have been acquainted with David Sitton since 1989, when we co-operated together in the Institute Of Tribal Studies at the U.S. Center for World Mission in Pasadena, California.  I have followed David's ministry of church planting in Papua New Guinea as well as his Tribal Seminar teaching and authoring of important mission resources since then.  I highly recommend him and his endeavors for the reaching of the unreached.

Don Richardson, Missionary Statesman and best selling author,
(Peace Child; Lords of the Earth, Eternity in their Hearts)

All I have read and heard and watched inclines me to rejoice over the vision and theology and mission of David Sitton.  I thank God for his Christ-exalting, God-centered, Bible-based courage to focus his life and ministry on the unreached tribal peoples.  Like no one else I know, David Sitton puts his body where his mouth is. The risks are high; the reward is overwhelming.  I commend To Every Tribe Ministries for your support and involvement.  May the Lord of glory spread his fame through all who partner with this ministry to make a name for Jesus among the nations.

Dr. John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision,
Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN

Now, please take a few minutes to watch this introductory video and browse through the ministry websiteTo Every Tribe Ministries.

The Early Church on the Sanctity of Human Life

This evening, Mr. Michael Howell (minister of Pastoral Care at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Montgomery, AL), preached an excellent message on "The Sanctity of Human Life and the Early Church."  In this message he shared a few quotes from the writings of some of the early Apologists.  Here's one quote from Athenagoras that stood out to me.

A PLEA FOR THE CHRISTIANS by Athenagoras the Athenian  [Translated by the Rev. B. P. Pratten.]

CHAP. XXXV.--THE CHRISTIANS CONDEMN AND DETEST ALL CRUELTY.
What man of sound mind, therefore, will affirm, while such is our character, that we are murderers? For we cannot eat human flesh till we have killed some one. The former charge, therefore, being false, if any one should ask them in regard to the second, whether they have seen what they assert, not one of them would be so barefaced as to say that he had. And yet we have slaves, some more and some fewer, by whom we could not help being seen; but even of these, not one has been found to invent even such things against us. For when they know that we cannot endure even to see a man put to death, though justly; who of them can accuse us of murder or cannibalism? Who does not reckon among the things of greatest interest the contests of gladiators and wild beasts, especially those which are given by you? But we, deeming that to see a man put to death is much the same as killing him, have abjured such spectacles. How, then, when we do not even look on, lest we should contract guilt and pollution, can we put people to death? And when we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God's care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it. But we are in all things always alike and the same, submitting ourselves to reason, and not ruling over it.

Crossway Book Giveaway @ WOSFT

I have added a button to the sidebar highlighting a great book giveaway that will be carried on throughout 2010 at Working out Salvation with Fear and Trembling.  Here is a list of books slated to be given away during the first 6 months of this year.  I encourage you to check this out. Click on the banner below for details.

January – Raised with Christ: How the Ressurection Changes Everything by Adrian Warnock

February – Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus by D. A. Carson

March – Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll and Gary Breshears

April – What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage by Paul  David Tripp

May – Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels by Tullian Tchividjian

June – Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Reviewer by Grant Horner

The Obedience of Discipleship

The call of God in Christ comes with a divine power which does not need to wait upon accidental human circumstances; it can create the response it demands.  And that response must be one of unconditional obedience, even to the point of sacrificing the means of livelihood and the closest natural ties, as many of St Mark's contemporaries must have known from experience (cf. [Mk] 10:28ff and Matt. 10:37-38 // Luke 14:26-27).  The call is always to 'go after' Jesus in the path of discipleship (cf. [Mk] 3:13, 8:34, 10:52) and in this particular case the special vocation to which the converts were called was that of assisting Jesus in 'catching' men, i.e. drawing them out of the waters of this world into the net of the eschatological life of the age to come.  We are to see that that was - and is - part of the vocation of all converts, even if all are not called, as these four were, to devote themselves exclusively and 'professionally' to it.

(D.E. Nineham, Saint Mark. Westminster Pelican Commentaries. Reprint ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, [1978], 71)

Pastoral Counseling Begins in the Pulpit

The January edition of New Horizons (published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church) includes an excellent article titled "The Therapy of the Word" by Carl Trueman.  Years ago, I was taught that pastoral counseling begins in the pulpit.  I've recognized this to be true and do my best to keep this in mind whenever I preach.  Trueman asks a question I believe needs to be considered by the modern church:

...95 percent of the problems addressed by counseling should actually be addressed and solved by simply proclaiming the perennial Word of God.  Is it perhaps the case that fewer people would need counseling if more people actually listened prayerfully to what their pastors were telling them from the pulpit every Sunday morning? (emphasis mine)

Keep in mind, the emphasis here is not on the pastor but on the Word of God!  However, this does imply that Christian counseling is a pastoral function, right?

I agree with Trueman that there is a definite place for counseling outside of the pulpit.  That said, we need to remember that pastoral counseling begins in the pulpit, and that all out-of-pulpit counseling ought to direct the counselee(s) back to the ministry of the Word from the pulpit.

Noteworthy: Around the Blogoshpere (part 2)

Here are a few more highlights:

1. A Hebrew inscription dating from the 10th century BC (the period of King David's reign) has recently been desciphered (read here). (HT: Prof. Darrell Bock @ Bock's Blog)
   
2. Anthony Selvaggio reviewed Andreas Köstenberger's A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters (Zondervan, 2009).
3. It appears that John Goldingay (Fuller Theological Seminary) will be writing the Old Testament counter-part to the popular Wright series The New Testament For Everyone.  The first two volumes available are on Genesis (vol. 1: 1-16; vol. 2: 17-50). (HT: Nijay Gupta)
4. Nijay has also been busy interviewing a couple of commentators:  Gordon Fee on Galatians & Craig Keener on Romans - part 1 and part 2.
5. Pete Enns pointed out a very interesting short video of NT Wright commenting on the issue of myth history and theological interpretation of Genesis 1-3.  The video is posted at BioLogos.
6. A couple of weeks ago, Rod Decker (@NT Resources Blog) posted a selection of quotations from John Nolland, Andrew T. Lincoln and R. T. France on the subject of writing commentaries.  This is a MUST READ for everyone who makes use of commentaries.  (I'm adding a permanent link to this in the header of this blog.)

Noteworthy: Around the Blogoshpere

Thought I'd highlight a few recent items that I found informative.

1. Alan Knox's post at The Assembling of the Church, "The First Interpreters," is thought-provoking.
2. This looks interesting (although shrouded in controversy, I'm sure that this conference would be informative): Wheaton's 2010 Theology Conference will take place April 16-17, in honor of and in dialogue with NT Wright, including a great line-up of speakers including Richard Hays, Kevin Vanhoozer, Sylvia Keesmaat, Marianne Meye Thompson, Markus Bockmuehl and, of course, Wright himself. http://www.wheaton.edu/Theology/theo_conf/index.html
3. Here's an online guide to OT Chronologies. (HT: JohnFH @ Ancient Hebrew Poetry).
   

Discipleship Means Joy

We can only achieve perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when his command, his call to absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety.  Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets his yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way.  The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it.  But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy, and the burden is light. 'His commandments are not grievous' (I John 5.3).  The commandment of Jesus is not a sort of spiritual shock treatment.  Jesus asks nothing of us without giving us the strength to perform it.  His commandment never seeks to destroy life, but to foster, strengthen and heal it. [From the Introduction to Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship (New York: The MacMillan Co., 1959), 31.]

The Keystone in the Life and Ministry of Jesus: Baptism

Here's another quote that has been helpful in understanding the ministry of Jesus in Mark's Gospel. 

Mark 1:9-11 (ESV)
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

James R. Edwards, in his fine commentary on the Gospel of Mark, remarks that,

The baptism is the keystone in the life and ministry of Jesus. The empowerment by the Spirit to be God’s Servant, and the declaration from heaven, “‘You are my Son,’” enable Jesus not only to speak and act for God but as God. This is demonstrated by his forgiveness of sins (2:5), acceptance of sinners (2:15), calling of tax collectors into discipleship (2:13), true intent of the Sabbath (2:28) and challenge to the Jewish religious establishment as represent in the oral tradition (7:1ff), the temple (11:12ff), and the Sanhedrin (14:61ff). It is not coincidental that when Jesus is later confronted by the Sanhedrin asking, “By what authority do you do these things?” he drives his questioners back to his baptism (11:27-33). What Jesus does as God’s servant ultimately has meaning only because of who he is as God’s Son. (The Gospel According to Mark. Pillar New Testament Commentary, p. 38)

Interesting, Jesus' baptism is not about what he does, but rather about what the Father and Spirit say and do.  The Father declares his love and discloses their relationship.  The Spirit fills and equips Jesus for service.

That this event is the keystone to the life and ministry of Jesus is also indicated by the fact that the apostles seek for a replacement for Judas among those who were witnesses of Jesus' earthly ministry "beginning from the baptism of John" (Acts 1:21-22; cf. Edwards, p. 34).

Mark on Radical Discipleship

This past November I began reading through the Gospel of Mark in preparation for preaching through this book.  I had recently been asked to serve as pulpit supply in a small rural church in southeast Alabama.  As I've been studying this Gospel I've become convinced that Mark's aim in writing and organizing his materialS centers around the theme of discipleship.

Mark begins his gospel account by introducing the reader to John the Baptist (the baptizer) who is not only the prophesied forerunner of Jesus, but also a proto-disciple, if you will.  John prepares the way for the coming of Jesus, the Son of God, who paves the way for all who will follow him.

Here are a few quotes that have helped guide my thinking as I've been studying Mark's Gospel.

First, in his book, Christ’s Call to Discipleship, James Montgomery Boice identifies five characteristics of a disciple: Obedience (“follow me”), Repentance (confess & forsake sin), Submission (under authority of another), Commitment (Christ is Savior & Lord), and Perseverance (salvation is past, present, and future). He concludes by writing, “All this is to say that discipleship is not simply a door to be entered but a path to be followed and that the disciple proves the validity of his discipleship by following that path to the very end” (p. 22).

Also, in his massive (and extremely useful) An Introduction to the New Testament, David deSilva develops the theme of Jesus' messiahship and the call to discipleship in Mark's Gospel.  He writes,

He [Mark] preached the gospel of the suffering, self-giving Messiah, and demanded that all the traditions about Jesus as a wonder-worker be read in that light. He also called the church to the radical, self-sacrificing discipleship that matched the pattern of the Messiah the church claimed. (p. 194)

Finally, deSilva comments that, "One major emphasis in Mark is indeed that the shape of discipleship must necessarily follow the pattern of the rejected and executed Messiah" (p. 196).

This concept of radical discipleship has been a challenging, and much needed, theme for me. I'm still trying to take it in and process it.  Suffering and self-sacrificing, the adjectives used to describe radical discipleship, have been difficult to process.  They cut to the quick, they pierce the heart.

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.