What Is Worship?

Whitney said, “Worship is focusing on and responding to God.”[1]I agree with him but think that I would state it in a different way. My favorite text of scripture is Exodus chapter 34 because the Lord has used this passage to help me understand all of scripture, especially the incarnation of his Word in Jesus Christ. 

The Lord God told Moses to cut out two stone tablets like the former ones that Moses broke and bring them up to the top of Mount Sinai, there presenting himself to the Lord. (Ex 34:1-2)

“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Ex 34:5-7) 

Seeing the glory of God and hearing the Word of God caused Moses to bow low toward the earth and worship, after which Moses prayed to the Lord. (Ex 34:8-9) 

Therefore, worship is a response to seeing the glory of God, and or hearing about God. I read from both the Old Testament and the New Testament every morning which causes me to respond in the worship of God: Father and Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. This is followed by a prayer of confession, thanksgiving and supplication. In order to improve in this discipline, I must persevere in it and I can only do that by the will of the Father in Jesus Christ guided by his Spirit. Many people call the singing of songs at the beginning of the church service worship. I find this curious, because we go from a time of chatting with one another to songs called worship. It seems to me since worship is a response to seeing the glory of God and or hearing about God from his inspired Word, shouldn’t the service begin with the reading and exposition of Scripture and not the other way around?

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[1]Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life,2^nded. (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2014), 103.

The Need to Please

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor 10:31-11:1) 

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (Gal 1:6-10)

In the first passage it appears that Paul is saying that he is a pleaser of men but in the second passage he is saying that he is not a pleaser of men. Why is Paul calling himself a pleaser of men in his letter to the Corinthians but in his letter to the Galatians he is saying the he is not a pleaser of men? The great commission is to make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Triune God, and teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded. (Mt. 28:18-20)

All that Jesus command can be summed up in what has been calledThe Great Commandment: “And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22:37-40)

Everything that we do as Christians should be guided by these two principles. We must seek the glory of God and the best for our neighbor. One should ask before doing anything at all, “Is what I’m about to do for the glory of God and is it the best for my neighbor?” I believe that this is what Paul was referring to in 1 Cor 9:21 when he said that he is under the law of Christ.

In the great commandment the love of God supersedes the love of one’s neighbor. Likewise, in these two Pauline epistles the glory of God supersedes the pleasing of men. For good reason, one cannot truly love one’s neighbor if one does not first love God with all of his heart, soul and mind; remember, man was created in the image of God. (Gn 1:27) 

In the context of 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1 the best thing that Paul could do was please all men in all things because doing so both glorified God and sought the best for his neighbor leading to their salvation. However, in the context of Gal 1:6-10 the best thing that Paul could do was revile those who preached a different gospel. He did so for the same reason he was a pleaser of men in the 1 Corinthian passage because doing so both glorified God and sought the best for his neighbor leading to their salvation.

Should we be pleasers of men? Well, it depends on the situation. If doing so seeks the glory of God and our neighbors’ best interest; yes, being a pleaser of men is the best course of action. However, if being a man pleaser does not glorify God and seek the best for our neighbor it is best that we are not pleasers of men. There are two great rules by which we should judge every situation: “The first is the glory of God, and the second is the welfare of our fellow men.”[1]

I confess that meditating on and writing about these two passages has convicted me. Fear of not being liked by men causes me to not seek what most glorifies God or is best for my neighbor. I often seek what brings me glory to the detriment of my neighbor. I do not share the gospel in many situations because I don’t want men to be mad at me. I also, do not seek to please men if it cost me something. Lord willing, may we all seek the glory of God and the welfare of our neighbors in all things leading to their salvation.

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[1]William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: A Complete Bible Commentary in One Volume,4^thed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., 1995), 1784.

Evangelism and Discipleship

The defining mission of the church is to make disciples of all the nations, initiate the new disciples into fellowship through the ordinance of baptism in the name of the Triune God and teach them to observe all that Jesus commanded the first disciples; doing so by the power of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, Matthew 28:18-20 has been called the great commission because Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and on earth (Mt 28:18) commissioned his disciples to do just that. There is an utterance of this great commission at the end of each gospel account and the beginning of Acts. (cf. Mk 16:15, Lk 24:46-48, Jn 20:21, and Acts 1:8) Why? Because evangelism and discipleship are the church’s purpose for existing.

For this reason, evangelism and discipleship cannot be separated. They are wholly dependent on one another. Jesus did not commission his disciples at the beginning of his ministry, but at the conclusion, and before his ascension. However, He did send them out on practice evangelism trips as part of their training. In Matthew chapter 10 the Lord sent the twelve out on a training exercise to the lost sheep of Israel. Instructing them how they are to do evangelism and warning them of the difficulties. He was instructing them in order to commission them for the ministry of evangelism and discipleship to all nations. 

Evangelism is how disciples are made, but evangelism is always preceded by discipleship because it is the mature disciple who learns to multiply and go make disciples.[1]With that being said, Evangelism is the intentional act of going out into the world to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Discipleship is the act of being taught. Besides the English word disciple, another way that the Greek word μαθητής mathētēs can be translated is pupil. A disciple is a learner. A person who follows teaching.[2]There are many disciples (pupils) in the world, but the type of discipleship that I am talking about is becoming a pupil of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Why is Discipleship Important in the Life of the Church and the Believer?

There are both personal and interpersonal Spiritual disciplines. The personal disciplines are those which are done by the disciple in solitude: worshiping God, reading the bible, fasting, praying and journaling. The interpersonal disciplines are those done with other believers: worshiping God, reading and studying scripture, hearing the word preached and participating in the Lord’s supper.[3]The purpose of practicing Spiritual disciplines is godliness.[4]Whitney defined godliness “as both closeness to Christ and conformity to Christ, a conformity that’s both inward and outward, a growing conformity to both the heart of Christ and the life of Christ.”[5]This is true of discipleship. Jesus said, “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master.” (Mt 10:25a, NASB) Therefore, the goal of discipleship is to become like our teacher and Lord Jesus Christ. So, discipleship is being a pupil and pupils are taught by a teacher. Our teacher is the word of God, but we need one another to be discipled and held accountable this is how discipleship is important in the life of the church and the individual.

Do you believe that whoever will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved?[6]If you answered no, I dare say that you are not yourself saved, but if you answered yes, I have a few questions to ask you. “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?” These questions were pinned by the apostle Paul in Romans 10:14-15a. Then in vs. 17 he said, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

Why is Evangelism Important in the life of the Church and the Believer?

My all-time favorite book is “All of Grace” by C. H. Spurgeon. In the chapter, “What is Faith?” he gives this answer: “Faith is made up of three things: knowledge, belief, and trust. Knowledge comes first.”[7]In order for a person to have faith they must first have knowledge. This is the reason that the apostle Paul said, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17, NASB) Then they must believe what they heard but that is not enough. Faith goes beyond belief; faith grabs hold of the object of belief to trusting that it can do what you hope it will do. Jesus promised eternal life to all who believe in Him; therefore, faith in Jesus Christ, “Calling on the name of the Lord,” is trusting that He will save you on the day of judgment. Therefore, in order to trust, they must believe, but in order to believe they must be told. 

The word gospel means good news.[8]News must be heard or read. By hearing or reading one gains knowledge. Preaching is the means by which the news of the gospel goes forth. It is commanding men in the name of Jesus to repent and believe the Gospel; however, they cannot do that except by the grace of God.[9]We can all preach the gospel publicly on a street corner or privately in a one-on-one conversation knowing that this is the way to give knowledge about the Gospel to lost people, but we cannot make anyone believe the gospel or trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that they may call on Him, that is the work of the Spirit. It is the chief business of every believer and the church to do evangelism[10]in order to give lost people knowledge of the gospel which is the first step in saving faith. God has given to the church and individual Christians the privileged of accomplishing the first step in the process of saving faith. Now, is that just awesome or what?

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[1]Dave Earley and David Wheeler, Evangelism Is…How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), viii.

[2]Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (1996), s.v. “disciple.”

[3]Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual disciplines for the Christian Life(Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2014), 5.

[4]Cf. 1 Tm 4:7.

[5]Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual disciplines for the Christian Life(Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2014), 9.

[6]Cf. Rom 10:13.

[7]C. H. Spurgeon, All of Grace(New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1983), 59.

[8]C. H. Spurgeon, The Soulwinner(New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1995), 13.

[9]Ibid, 145.

[10]Ibid, 7.

Suffering and Death in the ICU

Suffering: The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.¹ Death: The end of the life of a person.² Intensive Care Unit: A department of a hospital in which patients who are dangerously ill are kept under constant observation.³

These past 5 days are an example of what my work has been like for the past 21 years: I worked 4, 12 ½ hour shifts. I took care of 10 persons, all of whom suffered but some greater than others. A woman 10 years younger than I suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack); a woman suffered greatly in the intensive care unit for over a month then died; a woman went into cardio-pulmonary arrest outside the hospital, was resuscitated at the scene but has no cognitive brain function; 2 men suffered coronary artery bypass surgery; a man greatly debilitated and in much pain; 2 elderly people with dementia in pain from fractures; and a woman learned that she has kidney failure. 

For the past 21 years I have been a witness to unspeakable human suffering and death, but that’s not all; I inflicted much suffering to suffering people in a vain attempt to keep them from death. I assure you that the curse is as strong today as it was when Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden, but the curse is not permanent if you trust in Christ. 

The curse (suffering and death) are a result of sin. (Gn 3) Sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4) The cause of sin is temptation which comes from three sources: Satan, the world, and the flesh. (Mt 4:3, Jam 1:15, & Mk 4:19) Jesus defeated all of these in his incarnation: The law, Satan, the world, the flesh, sin, and the curse (suffering and death). Jesus was tempted by Satan, the world, and the flesh but never sinned. (Mt. 4:1-10 ) He took upon himself the condemnation for our sin; He suffered and died as a criminal in our place. On the third day Jesus defeated death and rose from the grave. Witnessed by the apostles risen from the dead. (1 Cor. 15:3-5) Jesus Christ is Lord, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. (Mt. 28:18 ) He ascended to heaven and is promised to return. (Acts 1:9-11 ) When Jesus returns all the dead will rise. Those who heard his voice and followed his word will go into eternal life in the new heaven and new earth; (Mt 25:31-46)  “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4, NASB) 

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¹ “Suffering | Definition of Suffering in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” 2019. Oxford Dictionaries | English. Oxford Dictionaries. Accessed January 2. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/suffering.

² “Death | Definition of Death in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” 2019. Oxford Dictionaries | English. Oxford Dictionaries. Accessed January 2. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/death.

³ “Intensive Care Unit | Definition of Intensive Care Unit in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries | English. Accessed January 2, 2019. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/intensive_care_unit.