Prayer, Faith, and Work

Posted on September 3, 2015 by parklinscomb

The above combination are a powerful team of spiritual actions. They are at the center of every great, every miraculous, and every victorious event in the Bible. Chances are that you may already know this, and may be asking why I am dedicating a whole bulletin article to it. I’ll tell you why: we may know about these things, but my observation is that we don’t practice them so well.

You see, we live in a culture that is strongly secular, entertainment oriented, very self/science-reliant, and not at all inclined to 1) give God credit for what happens, 2) seek his blessing for our needs, 3) operate on faith, 4) or get involved in things that aren’t “fun”. The outcome in our individual and sometimes our congregational lives is, in a nutshell, a sad lapse of prayer, faith, and work. The purpose of this brief encouragement is to put these three really important Christian missions back into the forefront of our lives as followers of Jesus.

Prayer—This facet of Christian victory and accomplishment must be mentioned first, because it is not just an empty obligation; this is the point at which God enters into the equation for success. It is in prayer that we petition the God of the universe, the God who is bigger than any giant we may face, more powerful than any foe, and the God with whom nothing is impossible—calling on Him to come to our aid. It is in prayer that we seek His empowerment, His help His blessing, and His protection. It is in God that we find the true key to a favorable outcome—not our abilities, our ideas, our research, our money, our technology, our IQ, or any other man-oriented thing. When we forget or neglect to pray, we leave out the indispensable power for maximum success and victory. Prayer is powerful because it calls upon the favor of the God who created the universe from nothing, parted the red Sea, held the sun still in the sky for a whole day, and redeemed our souls—none of them small tasks. Victory is always assured, when God is in the mix; and the faith-filled prayer of His faithful people brings Him into the equation.

Faith—And speaking of faith-filled prayer, faith is a critical factor in our praying. When I speak of faith here, I’m not talking about a vague feeling of optimism that something good could happen. Too often, I fear, our prayers are little more than last ditch efforts, hoping that maybe something good might come of it. But a faith-filled prayer is much more; Jesus defines it this way in Mark 11:24, 

“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” 

This faith is something that prompts us to action (more on this later), to prepare and act as if what we say we believe has already happened. Isn’t this the path to Abraham inheriting the promises? God’s call and promise to Abraham was in Ur, but it required going to Canaan and waiting in faith until God’s time. Hannah, in deep and continual sorrow about being childless, prayed in faith and afterward “…ate, and her face was no longer sad,” as if God had granted her prayer. God dried up the Jordan for Israel—as soon as the priests put their feet in the swollen river. Peter walked on water—after he got out of the safety of the boat. It is not unusual for God to expect us to act in faith in relation to what we’re asking in prayer.

Work—Although God could accomplish everything on His own, He allows and expects us to do what we can. He knows how good the spiritual exercise is for us—much like our parents knew that chores were good for our physical well being, for building character, for benefitting the whole family, and for skill development. God will do what He does, but we must do what we can do. It amazes me sometimes that we think that evangelism could get done without ever personally telling anyone the Gospel…that our children can learn the truth of the Scriptures without us teaching them…that the church can be friendly without me greeting a single visitor…that Gospel meetings can be successful without me asking someone to come with me…that the sick could be encouraged without my visit…that the weak could come back to Christ without my attempt to win them back…etc. We need to do what we can do and let God do what He can do. 

These three godly elements—together—are truly powerful keys to success as individual disciples and as a congregation of disciples. Are they all a robust part of your spiritual life, or are you trying limp along without one or more of these components of prayer, faith, and work? Put them all to work and let’s just see what extraordinary things God does for and with us!

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Christian Leadership, Part 3

Posted on August 31, 2015 by parklinscomb

The last two posts we’ve been considering the Bible’s teaching about leadership. These considerations are different from worldly, secular exercises of leadership. It begins with the motivations of service, the knowledge of how to follow, and and the Christian attitude of humility. It goes on to lead from the front, lead by example, and finds ways to not just correct but to coax and encourage. But there’s more…

For example, Christian leadership self-sacrificially considers the needs of others weaker than itself, especially when mere human tastes, personal desires, and traditions are at stake. Worldly leadership tends to think only about itself and seldom thinks about how easily tripped-up, mixed-up, or overcome weaker folks might be—children, newer Christians, outsiders, or others without Biblical knowledge. Both 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 15 teach a kind of leadership that practices self-denial, when it comes to matters of opinion, in favor of the weaker brother. In these passages Paul called on more mature men (leaders) to refrain from what they wanted to do, eat meat or drink wine, if it caused a weaker brother to stumble. Jesus’ own life, of course, provides us with the perfect example of it—a life of self-sacrifice on behalf of those who were confused, tempted, fallen, and in need of grace and instruction. Christian leaders, in matters of opinion and judgment, consider the good of the weaker brethren.

Christian leadership teaches, corrects, and interacts (with great patience and instruction). Leadership, being the exercise of influence in the lives of others, naturally is a great deal about instruction—not just about letting the world watch me (as if I were the center of everyone’s attention). Worldly leadership merely commands imperially; it has no interest in changing the other person’s life for the better, but rather is interested in having the other person comply to his desires. Such “leadership” in the church doesn’t result in real change, only in getting one’s way. Christian leadership, however, uses the teachings of Jesus Himself (Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””), correcting (the pointing out of what is being lived wrong and teaching of what is right—2 Tim. 3:16), and interaction (showing the other person how through example and “hands on” demonstrations). And Christian leadership does it with great patience—because, of course, nobody “gets it” the first time, or…sometimes not even the 100th time. Christian leaders actively instruct.

Christian leadership is willing to stand alone with God. One of the harsh realities of Christian or godly leadership is that there will be times in which the world (and sometimes even brethren) will disagree with the Lord about teachings/doctrine/truth. In such circumstances it is tempting to “go along to get along”, “go with the flow”, call it an opinion, and “follow the popular trend”. But the Lord’s kingdom has never been a democracy; it has always been a monarchy with leaders below the throne who are charged with carrying out the will of the King of kings. And sometimes that means standing alone. The prophets of the Old Testament often did, Jesus often did, and the apostles died for the unpopular truth about sin, righteousness, truth, and the way of salvation (Jesus and His cross). Christian leaders must, too.

Christian leadership isn’t easy, it isn’t intuitive, and it runs counter to what we have seen among most leaders in our lives—but it is critically important to the health and well being of the Lord’s church. In Jeremiah 23:1ff we find the LORD taking to task the foolish and selfish leaders of Israel (priests, princes, and prophets), whose actions had led Judah to its destruction—which helps us understand that God does hold leaders (of every variety) to account for his leadership. What kind of leader are you?

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Christian Leadership, Part 2

Posted on August 29, 2015 by parklinscomb

In my last post I began a short series on Christian leadership. Again, this isn’t a prelude to the process of appointing elders, which is usually one of the only times we visit the topic; but it about general Christian leadership issues. And while the vast majority of us are not elders, the majority of us are or will be in some sort of leadership position at some point of our lives—whether in our family, in church, in a work environment, among friends, or even in the arena of politics. And when we are, we want to be Christian leaders.

Last post we talked about the Christian motivation, the Christian need to know how to follow, and the Christian attitude of humility. But there’s more to Christian leadership.

Christian leadership leads from the front; that is, it gets involved in the activity at hand. Worldly leadership leads from lofty corner offices, far from the battle line, giving orders while sipping tea. They are the “order-givers”, not the doers of the project at hand; the very reason many seek to be leaders (they don’t have to get their hands dirty). Jesus never led that way; Christian leaders influence others by encouraging them as they work side by side. A good illustration of this facet godly leadership is Nehemiah:

Nehemiah 5:15, 16 “But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people…even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.”

Lead from the front!

Christian leadership also encourages, motivates, cheers, coaxes, and uplifts others to higher ground. This is not to say that Christian leadership doesn’t correct; it does and I’ll mention it in the next article. The emphasis here, however, is how the Christian leader realizes that there is a need for positive encouragement and motivation. Worldly leadership tends to operate mostly in “quality control” mode: looking only for flaws and seldom offering a pat on the back. But the apostle Paul, for instance, almost always started his letters with words of thanksgiving and encouragement—even when they were followed later with correction. Sometimes encouragement includes correction, especially when it is done kindly, gently, hopefully, lovingly, patiently, and thoughtfully. Christian leadership realizes that followers need to be told more than what they’re doing wrong, but also what they’re doing right. Such leadership can motivate followers to follow happily, work enthusiastically, live joyfully, surmount obstacles victoriously, sacrifice gladly, and succeed.

Christian leadership sets the example. This aspect of Christian leadership is similar in some ways to leading from the front, but it is also different, too. Worldly leaders are happy to receive the benefits leadership: authority, honors, etc., but usually not so anxious to be examples, role models, to their followers—“Do as I say do, not as I do;” criticizing workers for a poor work ethic, while they themselves arrive late and leave early; or “I never asked to be anyone’s role model!” Christian leaders, on the other hand, understand both the power and obligation of example. They encourage others to work, and then roll their sleeves up do it, too. They encourage others to sacrifice, often after already having sacrificed. They (for example, teachers) point out the right path, and then walk it themselves. Jesus Himself practiced this sort of leadership, and great leaders of the early church followed, (e.g., Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1) “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” Strong Christian leadership sets the example in its own life.

Christian leadership isn’t “natural”. It takes a conscious effort to follow the Lord and a conscious refusal to take the worldly, self-serving path of “lording” and the law of the jungle. Follow Jesus and lead, wherever you lead, God’s way.

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Christian Leadership, Part 1

Posted on August 27, 2015 by parklinscomb

Thoughts on leadership for every Christian…

The question of leadership seems to be as old as Adam and Eve: Who’s going to take the lead? It has been a source of strife for mankind down through history: the relationship between Jacob and Esau, in the wilderness among the Israelites and even within Moses’ family, amongst the tribes of Israel, within Gideon’s family, between King Saul and David, between Solomon and his brothers, between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, right down to the jockeying for position among the apostles.

Leadership is certainly not a bad thing to aspire to, though; it’s God’s own idea. God has established civil authority (e.g., Romans 13:1), home authority (e.g., Genesis 3:16), and authority in the church (e.g., Ephesians 1:21-23 and 1 Timothy 3:1ff). The catch is that God will call every leader—civil, domestic, or religious—to account for his or her leadership (Heb. 13:17), so it needs to be exercised correctly. But how is it done correctly?

Sadly, the way that authority is usually exercised is not the way God wants, but the easiest way that “works”. As a result the only examples many of us have had for leadership are badly flawed: corporate examples, selfish examples, abusive examples, manipulative examples, and worse. That is, until we learned about the Lord.

So, for a few posts I’d like to use this space to talk about good Christian leadership—not elder qualifications, but good Christian leadership principles. Thus, it will be applicable to pretty much every Christian.

Let’s start with the essence of leadership. Leadership is influence. Do you have influence over anyone in this world? Then you are in some sense leading. See, I told you it would apply to you.

Now, there are, of course, different sorts of leadership and motivations. Worldly leaders are usually motivated by simply wanting the privileges, the glory, the honor, and the ability to “call the shots”—getting to be the “lead dog” rather than taking orders from others. And they often exercise that influence with money, force, threats, lies, or other forms of manipulation—the list of tools for “lording it over others” is long.

But Jesus drew a sharp contrast between worldly leadership and godly leadership, Mark 10:42-45 “Calling [the apostles] to Himself, Jesus *said to them, ‘You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’” There’s a difference in both motivation and substance in Christian leadership. Let’s take a look at what some of those differences are.

Jesus says it begins with the simple motivation of service (Mk. 10:42ff), seeking the best interests of others. This is a drastic contrast to the self-centered motivation of worldly leadership; it truly turns the worldly norm of leadership upside down. When the Christian assumes leadership of any kind (politics, church, home, or friendship), he needs to be motivated like Jesus, Who did not come to be served, but to serve. This motivation naturally leads (no pun intended) in influencing men Christ’s unique way. The rest of this article—and the following ones—will be talking about what this means and how the disciple of Jesus is expected to lead with the best interests of others at heart.

One of the first things to understand about Christian leadership is that it first follows. That sentence may seem a little odd or awkward—you might want to read it over again—but what I’m trying to get at is that good Christian leaders must first understand the concept of following. They must follow God first and foremost, above all others. If you don’t learn this, you do not need to lead. Think about it: Jesus submitted to the Father (Philippians 2:5ff and Hebrews 5:8), the apostles could bind and loose only what the Lord Himself had already bound and loosed (Matthew 18:18), the church (and her elders) must submit to the head of the church, Jesus (Ephesians 1:21-23), etc. Not learning how to submit and follow is the first step toward tyranny, autocracy, and cultism (in religion). Christian leadership understands that nobody has the right to declare right, justice, and judgment but God. When worldly leaders forget this (and they usually do), you end up with sinful laws or judgments that legalize or allow things that are immoral and wrong. So also with churches and homes. All good Christian leaders must first learn how to truly submit to and follow the Lord.

And lastly, for this installment, Christian leadership is humble. Humility isn’t about poor self-esteem; it’s about not thinking more of ourselves than we ought (Rom. 12:3) and a willingness to serve in every occasion. When the apostles were arguing over who’d wash everyone else’s feet, Jesus demonstrated (John 13) practical, everyday humility. Paul (please read Philippians 2:1-11) encourages every disciple to be humble servants by pointing to Christ’s own humility, that although He was/is equal to God, there was no service beneath Him for our benefit—not even the pain, humiliation, and death of a cross. When worldly leaders refuse to get their hands dirty, Christian leaders humbly serve, even when the service is “beneath their station in life”.

Is your motivation right? Have you learned how to follow? Are you willing to serve others with their best interests at heart? Yes? Then you’re on your way to good Christian leadership. No? You’ve got something to work on. Remember, “…leaders…will give an account…” (Hebrews 13:17).

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God’s Rescue Will Be God’s Way

Posted on August 3, 2015 by parklinscomb

Psalm 119 is a great paean of praise for God’s eternal, righteous, and inerrant word; and the longest psalm in the Bible at 176 verses. But it is much more than just an exercise in how many ways you can praise God’s word. There’s real substance here, and one of the substantial themes of Psalm 119 is that God will rescue those who keep His word.

On the surface this might seem like a generic promise of God’s blessings on the obedient. But there’s much more here than that. For example…

Psalms 119:58-61 “I sought Your favor with all my heart; Be gracious to me according to Your word. I considered my ways And turned my feet to Your testimonies. I hastened and did not delay To keep Your commandments. The cords of the wicked have encircled me, But I have not forgotten Your law.”

One of the most likely times in life to abandon God’s way is when enemies and oppressors surround us. Sadly we revert rather quickly to worldly thinking, but the psalmist is pointing out the fact that he has not forgotten God’s commands; he had done what God wanted even in the midst of trouble; and that is the basis of his plea and his hope for God’s rescue.

Or consider this part of Psalm 119…

Psalms 119:165-168 “Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble. I hope for Your salvation, O LORD, And do Your commandments. My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly. I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, For all my ways are before You.”

There are many more similar passages in Psalm 119 that I could cite, but I’d like to make this practical point: God’s rescue must always be God’s way—not ours. Consider some of the more famous rescues from God…

  • By an ark and a global flood. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • By 10 Plagues. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • By a walk on dry ground over the Red Sea. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • By holding up a staff over Moses’ head. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • With only 300 soldiers against thousands. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • By getting thrown in a fiery furnace. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • By getting thrown into a lions den. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?
  • Through a cross and a tomb. Why? Does it matter? Do you want to be rescued?

While it is true that occasionally God has discipline in mind, when He says “No” to a prayer for rescue, there is another possibility that we often pretend “just couldn’t be”—sometimes we are messing up God’s rescue by being disobedient. God’s rescue demands that we do what God has said we should do.

Let me illustrate: To be rescued by a helicopter, you often wear a harness that you need to put on properly and safely secure—you can’t just grab onto their cable like action heroes in the movies (even if it is cool). Rescue from cancer often involves surgery or radiation or chemo or a combination of them—you can’t just take a mild anti-cancer pill and wake up cured (don’t we wish?). Financial rescue usually involves unpleasant long term life-style changes—you can’t depend on a cheery, rich uncle to bail you out (ah, if only…). There are things that are necessary to do to be rescued.

In everyday life we often ask God for rescue from messes we find ourselves in; and then we lie, or we cheat, or we hide from it, or we put off doing something about it, or we do something else ungodly. And then we still expect God to rescue us, and are disappointed when He doesn’t.

Do we really want rescue? Follow His directions, do His commands, obey His precepts, follow His way. That’s what made the psalmist expect God would rescue him.

It works this way in the spiritual realm, too. God gave His Son to die for sinful mankind, because (to make a long story short) mankind simply cannot redeem themselves. Moreover, God has given us what we must do to take advantage of His gracious provision in our deep need: believe in Jesus as God’s Son, Savior, and Lord (John 3:16); repent of sinful living and resolve to follow Jesus (Acts 2:38); confess before others that Jesus is God’s Son (Romans 10:9,10); and obey the Lord in water baptism (immersion) in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and reception of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Yet, many still try to redeem themselves with good works, “earn” their way to Heaven. Still others preach a “sinner’s prayer”, others a “born again experience”, and still others seek God’s rescue by “being a spiritual person” (a phrase that can be individually defined). They’ll expect rescue, but will be disappointed. You see, God’s rescue is always on God’s terms, not ours. God has said so.

Do we really want rescue? Follow His directions, do His commands, obey His precepts, follow His way. Get rescued God’s way, because God’s rescue is on God’s terms, not ours.

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How NOT to Understand the Bible

Posted on July 31, 2015 by parklinscomb

In my last post I wrote about the common sense principles for interpreting Scripture. At this point, I thought I’d focus on poor ways to understand God’s words. These are approaches to Scriptures that really exist, and are used by some—but not for the purpose of understanding what the Lord had to say, as much as their ways of interpreting the Bible in a more “favorable” (to what they want the Bible to say) way.

“Love Letters”. This approach to interpretation sees the books, especially the letters of the New Testament, as love letters to the churches. When viewed in this way, the commands turn into suggestions, proposals, or counsel. From this perspective, there’s nothing with hard edges in the New Testament, nothing that demands anything of us, no pressure, no lines in the sand, no expectations. They are “love letters” that coax us, appeal to us, and seek to woo us; but in the end would never judge or condemn us. Of course, anyone who’s ever read the following would have a hard time finding anything but hard edges.

  • Galatians 1:8, 9 “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!”
  • Matthew 7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
  • John 3:3-5 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus *said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’”
  • 1 Corinthians 16:22 “If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.”
  • James 2:14-20 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

And there are many, many more. The Scripture is a gift of love from our heavenly Father, but we should never mistake it for a mere love letter.

“Occasional letters”. This strategy for understanding the Bible attempts a more academic means of interpretation by calling the New Testament letter (and all the other books of the Bible) “occasional”. What they mean is that the books of the Bible were written on a particular occasion, to a particular people, at a particular time in history, living in a particular society, with particular problems, for a particular reason—and essentially, have no real application to modern mankind. This makes the Bible merely a curiosity, a history book full of stories and teachings that have no meaning to us at all. While it is true that the books, especially the letters were written to address the problems and circumstances of people in the first century, it is not true that the commands, examples, rebukes, exhortations, etc. have no application to modern men. Paul teaches us, (1 Corinthians 10:11) “Now these things happened to them [Old Testament people] as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Men’s sins, weaknesses, situations, and problems haven’t changed since the creation; and God’s solutions remain just as valid, just as fresh, just as applicable as the day that Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, and John spoke or wrote them.

“The writers were primitive, naive, and culturally biased.” This attempt to interpret (or reinterpret) the Bible comes from an arrogant assumption that modern men are more intelligent, more sophisticated, less gullible, and more advanced than men of the ancient world. The world of the ancients was like the childhood of mankind, while we are today more like the adults of our species. According to this approach to Scripture there are things that may have applied then, but don’t apply now—things like gender roles, sexual morality, and even stories about creation and miracles. Their smug reasoning goes that mankind needed its fairy tales and artificial boundaries back then, but that our mature age needs no more such myths and boundaries now. But increasing knowledge has only helped validate the “fairy tales” of creation, the flood, and the beginning of history; the problem of mankind really hasn’t changed—sin; the solution remains the same—Christ; the holy nature of God and His Son Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever—Hebrews 13:8; and God’s truth is eternally valid—not subject a calendar or a “maturing” mankind seeking more moral leeway.

“Scripture may be treated like a cafeteria.” This method of interpretation is a popular one that that allows any individual reader of Scripture to determine which books, which passages, which verses, and which words are inspired and which are not—on the basis of what “I feel”. In this sort of reading of Scripture, each person’s reading is individually, uniquely understood, and we can make the Bible say pretty much anything we want. The problem is, of course, that this is not a valid way to understand anyone or anything. As in the case of a foolish child who hears a parent say, “You may not go to the store,” and interprets it to mean, “You may go to the store” (because the child felt that the word “not” wasn’t really authoritative); there will be punishment. It is the sum of God’s word that is the truth (Psalm 119:160), not just some.

“Truth doesn’t matter.” This manner of reading the Bible reduces Scripture to mere “interesting reading”. It comes from the modern notion that absolute truth doesn’t exist, and it is why you might occasionally hear, “That is his truth, but it’s not my truth.” This is a deep deception; it is an obvious deception; and it comes directly from the bowels of Hell. Truth does exist, it comes from God (whether scientific, spiritual, or otherwise), it is singular (there are not multiple truths about the same thing), and it does matter both here and in eternity.

“Details don’t matter.” Lastly, for now, there are those who want to interpret the Bible in only the broadest strokes; as long as you’re somewhere close, it’s OK. But is it really good enough if you sent someone to buy groceries that they come back having bought a car? After all, they bought something; close enough, right? Obviously, “close enough” isn’t a good interpretative approach. The details of specific commands matter. When you’re following map directions, it does matter whether you take I-93 or I-95, go north or south, or turn right or left—simply making some sort of turn down some road won’t get you where you want to go. When you’re baking a cake, it does matter whether you use salt or sugar, even if they’re both white and granular. And it matters to God whether we’re sprinkled or immersed, whether we sing or play music, whether we use bread and wine or steak and coffee, whether we confess Jesus or Zeus. It isn’t true that “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe something.”

There is no more important information in the world that that which we find in the Bible. Let’s not try to find ways around its truth, but read it to discover exactly what it is that our gracious Creator wants to tell us.

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How to Understand the Bible…

Posted on July 30, 2015 by parklinscomb

The Bible is the information source for the Christian faith. As the word of God it reveals God’s eternal truth to us about spiritual reality. It is the basis on which Christian unity can be found, but when some religious leaders are asked why there are divisions despite using the same book, the answer is usually, “It’s all a matter of interpretation.”

But is it true that people can’t understand language the same? And if so, why in the world are you even reading this article? No, understanding the Bible, just like understanding the newspaper, a text book, a novel, or even an ordinary conversation isn’t rocket science. We do it all the time. In this short space, let me list a few of the most important tools we use everyday to understand signs, contracts, and everyday chats.

Context. Understanding words, sentences, and phrases always depend a lot on the context of a conversation or the situation. So also with understanding the Bible. If you want to understand a verse, you need to know what came before and what came after. Some of the biggest mistakes men make in Bible interpretation come from not paying attention to context.

Background history. This is part of the context principle, and it can be very important to understanding Scripture. For instance, to understand the Gospel stories that include Samaritans it’s important to know the history between the Jews and Samaritans, full of  prejudice and resentment. To understand why the Roman governor Pilate caved-in to Jewish pressure to crucify Jesus, it’s useful to know the political history between them (the career ruining mistakes Pilate had made, that the Jews held over his head).

Understanding metaphors. Metaphors are powerful ways of getting across important teachings and meanings. To understand the parable of the sower, for example, the reader needs to understand a little about ancient farming methods. To understand Daniel and Revelation, it’s useful to know what horns, beasts, and certain numbers meant to middle-eastern people of the day.

Type of literature. Different sorts of literature are interpreted differently. No one reads a newspaper like poetry. No one reads a letter like you’d read a proverb. Each kind of literature is supposed to be read differently. Poetry uses symbols and metaphors to communicate ideas. History is understood as what literally happened. Law is understood as what is expected of us. Read God’s word according to its literary kind.

Let the Bible interpret itself. Here’s one of the easiest but most overlooked principles of Biblical interpretation; if you read the whole book, it often explains itself. God, the real author of the Bible, knows better than anyone what He means—so, let Him interpret His own words. Misunderstandings are bound to occur if we stop reading too soon.

Harmony. This is related to letting the Bible interpret itself. All of the Bible is God’s word, and to really understand what the Lord is saying we must consider the sum of the Bible and not be satisfied with just some of it. Critics of the Bible, who are so are quick to allege contradictions, try to make their cases by majoring on some verses rather than the sum of God’s word. Some Bible teachers emphasize one set of scriptures, while ignoring passages related to the same subject; doing so gives only a partial story. This is especially important on the subject of salvation. Harmonize passages that speak about the same things, get the whole story, and understand what God is saying.

Direct command. Such statements leave “no ifs, ands, or buts” to the hearers. These are absolute expectations, not soft suggestions. When God gives one of these, the hearer is expected to simply obey. Consequences follow for failure to comply. Context will, of course, come into play, so that we’ll know who has been commanded and who is therefore expected to obey. But understanding the Bible alike means understanding the expectations of a direct command.

Approved examples. These can teach and command, also, by providing Bible-endorsed actions or precedents by godly men and women. We “watch” and follow these examples, knowing that they are deeds or practices approved by God, leading to eternal life.

Necessary inference. It’s a fancy name, but the explanation is not so complicated. When, for example, the Lord said, “Go…,” He included or inferred that those who go should also raise the support to travel (by whatever means are available), evangelize (through preaching, teaching, brochures, newspapers, door-knocking, etc.), and support their families.

Silence. Although silence doesn’t always teach, it does especially when a specific command is being given. When God specifically commanded a cappella singing, for instance, His silence on all other sorts of music in worship eliminated all the other varieties of music. So also with bread and wine for the Lord’s Supper (eliminating steak and water), preaching the Word in worship (eliminating politics), and being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (eliminating Buddha or Mohammed).

The fancy name for all this is “hermeneutics” and you might think from the name that it’s tough, academic stuff; but it is something we do everyday. You can understand the Bible, and we can all understand the Bible alike. Let’s use our common sense and the principles above and come to know the Lord better.

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Israel and Peaceful Coexistence

Posted on July 3, 2015 by parklinscomb

Peaceful coexistence was doubtlessly an enticing concept to the Israelites. Since shortly after leaving Egypt they had been at war. They had fought their way through the wilderness and then, after crossing the Jordan, they had fought a war of complete destruction against the great fortified Canaanite cities, subduing the Promised Land. But the complete victory wasn’t yet won. After the land was divided amongst the tribes, the “mop up” operations remained and would now be led by the leaders of the various tribes. One caveat though, the Canaanites wouldn’t be completely defeated all at once: (Exodus 23:29, 30) “I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.” In other words, it would take a few years—a couple more generations of war.

To a war-weary nation, this probably became discouraging. Enough blood, violence, struggle, and war! No one seemed to have the stomach for more war, and peaceful coexistence became more appealing as the years passed by.

The Bible doesn’t say, but I suspect that on the Canaanite side of the equation tolerance became the supreme virtue. Those Israelites who didn’t embrace this supreme virtue were probably quickly labeled hypocrites. If the Canaanites had owned cars, they probably would have put “coexist” bumper stickers on them . And when Israelites expressed disapproval of their sinful practices, they probably retorted, “Don’t judge me!”

Whether any of these really happened or not, peaceful coexistence had its effect. The Israelites began to think, “The Canaanites don’t seem to be terrible people. So what if they worship a different god? And we needn’t get involved in their corrupted practices—we can keep their customs at arm’s length. Besides, they make good slaves.”

The Bible does say in the book of Judges that tribe after tribe began to neglect the tearing down of the Canaanites’ altars. They neglected to drive the rest of the Canaanites out of the Promised Land. And some Israelites seem to have actually negotiated peace with them.

But peaceful coexistence came with a price: “‘…and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you,’” (Judges 2:2, 3). And thorns and snares are exactly what the Canaanites became to Israel. The Canaanites and their pagan religion corrupted the people  both morally and religiously. In the end Israel ended up in cruel Assyrian and Babylonian exiles—all because of war-weariness and a willingness to settle for peaceful coexistence.

Our warning? We must not become war-weary. By this I don’t mean that we need to go literally take up arms, nor do we go around picking fights, but there are two arenas of battle that we must not abandon in our Christian walk.

The first is the battle we have with the “old man of sin”. God has in mind for us to completely drive out the old man of sin in our lives. There is no place for lust, envy, covetousness, hate, rebellion, or pride in the heart of the Christian, let alone outward sins such as fornication, theft, deception, murder, insolence, or high-handedness! But sometimes after having accomplished a basic victory over the capital sins of our lives, we also become weary of war against the flesh, become slack and satisfied with “peaceful coexistence” with our harmless little sins or vices. Perhaps we even think that they might be useful, like the Canaanites made good slave labor. But like the Canaanites, our harmless little sins always become spiritual thorns and snares.

The other arena of battle is with the world around us. The inspired apostle Paul often used battle metaphors as he spoke about Christians living in the world, not the least of which was the imperative to “stand firm!”—no less than 7 times. When battles were fought in the ancient world, the urgent command in battle was always to “stand firm”—don’t let the enemy break the line, don’t turn and run, hold your ground! To the battle-fatigued disciple, who may be weary about standing up against the world, who may be tired of being being called intolerant, who may be worn out from correcting false teachings, who are bushed from being the “bad guy” all the time, the command still remains “stand firm!” We need to continue to refuse peaceful coexistence with the immorality and false religion of the world.

One end result of becoming war-weary—as it was with Israel—is corruption and compromise with God’s enemies. I have seen war-weary brothers abandon the great virtues of courage, strength, perseverance, and holding the line against the enemy; embracing instead indiscrete tolerance, non-judgment, and coexistence—hardening their hearts toward clear Biblical teachings and conforming to the world rather than being transformed by the Lord and in turn transforming the world.

The other end result is—exile. Israel was exiled from her Promised Land for her disobedience to Assyrian and Babylon. The sort of exile that we face for our disobedience is not the kind that takes us out our country, it is something much worse, separation from God and our own Promised Land eternally.

Be a spiritual warrior. Don’t grow weary of the battle!

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Of Heroes and Dads

Posted on June 20, 2015 by parklinscomb

While it is true that in youth I admired lots of heroes—Davy Crocket, Mickey Mantle, Wilt Chamberlain, Don Meredith, and the Beatles—there was always one constant hero from toddler, to teen, to adult. I’m speaking about my dad, and I’d like to tell you a bit about him. Not to brag (although I’m proud of him), and not to lionize him (I’m sure he’d appreciate it, though he’d never have looked for it), but to make a point at the end.

Dad himself enjoyed having a father for only the first 12 or 13 years of his life, his dad died at about that age. But somehow dad knew the essentials of meaningful fatherhood, practiced them, and passed them on.

Dad was a serious New Testament Christian and a church leader, who knew the wisdom of dragging me along with him as he served and I watched. He (and mom) knew intuitively the importance of all of us being at church every time the doors were open—Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, Gospel Meetings, workdays, church picnics, teen events, and “zone meetings”. Just speaking for myself, I’m sure he and mom wondered if it was doing any good sometimes…but it did.

Dad was a man of integrity, despite the temptations and trials he faced in his career, in family finances, and sometimes in church leadership. He lived-out privately what he appeared to be in church. And he didn’t shield us from reality too much, when hard times came; instead, he with mom explained the situation and pointed out what was right, what was faithful, and assured us that God would take care of things, if we’d do what’s right. Romans 8:28 became a favorite passage to everyone in the family—“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose,”—and still is down to the present day.

While dad’s time was sometimes limited because of the nature of his work, when he was available, he was available—not “checked-out” to relax. We “rassled”, he tickled, he taught me how to play baseball, and he came to as many games as his work allowed. Later as a teen he took me hunting every deer season (several weekends each season), where we could rough-it and “be manly men”. He often told me that he loved me; and his deeds never belied his words, even when he was angry.

Dad knew how to hold the line on right and wrong, and didn’t let us bulldoze him with “everybody’s doing it” arguments, pouts, or nagging. If it meant we weren’t his friends, he was OK with that for now, knowing that it would change. We knew where the lines were, knew they were in granite, and knew there’d be unpleasant justice to pay for crossing them.

Dad was a wonderful listening ear with great spiritual advice and psychological insight that would make a PhD psychologist envious.

Dad told us serious and funny stories of his childhood, which made him “real”. And he told us as much as we were ready to hear about his time defending our country, which helped make us patriotic.

Dad was an unashamed rock-geek (a geologist by education and career) and although I resisted his enthusiasm as a kid on the outside, I absorbed more at his feet about geology than I ever learned in the college course I took later.

Dad died 18 years ago, but when I “get stuck” for the right thing to do, I often find myself wondering what dad would do. He’s still my hero.

And we need more heroes. I am not, of course, talking about the caped crusader sort. I’m talking about everyday heroes, whose influence and legacy live on long after they have passed from this earth: dads. They are the ones we need the most, but seem to be missing too often.

If you’re a father, be a dad. It’s not the easiest road to take, but heroes never travel the easy road—that’s what makes them heroic. Villains in the form of career tracks, materialism, “what-about-me-ism”, tragedy, discouragement, marital challenges, and the pursuit of short-term happiness will surely ambush and try to kill the hero, but heroes always rise to the challenge and overcome.

So be an everyday hero; be a dad and wear the “badge” with honor. It will be, without any doubt, one of the most meaningful roads you’ll ever travel.

To all the dad’s out there: Happy Father’s Day and “Soldier on” you everyday heroes!

Park Linscomb

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Do any of these bother you?

Posted on May 29, 2015 by parklinscomb

Mark Twain famously said, “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” While Mark Twain (Samuel Clements) seems to have not been overly religious, he spoke a profound truth—that, for instance, sometimes we spend too much time trying to figure out the difficult passages out of the book of Revelation, and too little time obeying the verses that are easy to “get”,  ones that ought to bring us all to sober attention.

Here’s a few plain verses that are heavy with warning and meaning to anyone who cares anything at all about his soul…

  • John 14:6 “Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
  • Matthew 7:13, 14 ““Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
  • Galatians 1:8, 9 “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!”
  • Matthew 7:21-23 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
  • John 8:24 ““Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.””
  • James 2:14 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”
  • Luke 13:3 ““I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
  • Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
  • Mark 16:15, 16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
  • Matthew 6:14, 15 ““For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
  • James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”
  • Revelation 22:18, 19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
  • 1 John 4:20 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”

Do any of these bother you?

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