Try filling this in for a week.

At times this comic figure will make you laugh. And of course it’s a caricature – there’s no one in the world quite like this. But in most of us we’ll find some of these traits, if we look hard enough. And look we must, because the Sluggard is, in the end, a figure of tragedy. He’s pitiful, sad, pathetic.

Four characteristics of the Sluggard from Proverbs 26:13-16:

1. Sluggards make excuses (v. 13)
2. Sluggards rarely start a job (v. 14)
3. Sluggards never finish a job (v. 15)
4. Sluggards won’t listen (v. 16)

Listen here.

“The Lord’s Day is for visiting the sick. It is for welcoming strangers, especially internationals. It is for helping people worship in the nursing home. It is for hosting the homeless to dinner. It is for giving fatherly care to orphans. It is for taking time to counsel friends who need encouragement. It is a day for giving all the service to God that we are unable to give the rest of the week. In addition to giving us a good day for rest and worship, the Lord has also given us a great day for the gospel – not just for preaching it, but also practicing it through loving deeds of mercy.” (Luke, p. 252)

Charles Cranfield: “Paul is enjoining … a friendly and unselfconscious association both with ordinary unimportant people and with the outcasts of society that is free from any suggestion of patronizing or condescension … it is always a sign of the worldliness of the church then its ‘leaders’ no longer associate as readily and freely with humble people both inside and outside the church as with those who feel socially superior.” (Romans, ICC, p. 644.)

Epictetus: “If I were a nightingale, I would do what is proper for a nightingale; If I were a swan, I would do what is proper for a swan. In fact I am logicos, so I must praise God.”

Cranfield, Romans (ICC), p. 602.

Here are a few of the salient highlights:

• The standard depictions of “the New England Puritans” included “killjoy and prude.” But “New England’s Puritans were by no means allergic to fun.”
• On drinking, “While hard alcohol was frowned upon, beer and wine were celebrated as gifts from above.”
• On the other alleged Puritan taboo, “Another gift from above was sex, which New England Puritans liked just about as much as the rest of us (or more). They sought to channel sexual desire into the institution of marriage, but inside marriage they let their lusts run free.”
• This high view of sex combined with their high view of church authority to produce some interesting moments around the Lord’s Table: “New England’s Puritans disciplined church members who refused to have sex with their wives, including one James Mattock, excommunicated from his church in Boston in 1640 because he ‘denied conjugal fellowship unto his wife’ for two years.”
• In summary, “After the eating and drinking was done, plenty of Puritans thanked God for saving them from celibacy.”

HT: Joel Garver

False testimony, refusal to worship God, dishonouring your parents, joylessness, idolatry, murder, false accusations, adultery, lust, fear, anger, anxiety, being ashamed of Christ, violence, robbery, stealing, bitterness, astrology, blasphemy, wilfully distorting the teaching of Scripture, failure to bless those who curse you, failure to pray for your enemies, boasting, leading little children into sin, causing another Christian to stumble, neglecting to welcome other Christians, slander, failure to help orphans and widows in their distress, becoming polluted by the world, discord, sowing dissention, divisiveness, giving or receiving bribes, worldliness, refusal to discipline your children, despising the discipline of your parents, provoking your children to anger, not going to church, going to an idolatrous church, dressing indecently, dressing immodestly, lack of compassion, complaining, conceit, pride, lack of meekness, lack of contentedness, lovelessness, being double-tongued, engaging in foolish conversation, craftiness, speaking evil about God’s word, being quick to speak, corruption, tax evasion, despising correction, lack of courtesy, covetousness, cursing, taking on bad debts, arguing, unedifying debate and discussion, fraud, despising divinely-ordained authorities, failure to repay debts, impartiality to the poor, impartiality to the rich, lack of zeal for reading and studying and meditating upon God’s word, lack of commitment to the Church, seeking to please men rather than God, despising your neighbour, not resisting the devil, drunkenness, elevating to laws of men above the law of God, marital unfaithfulness, ingratitude, envy, making excuses for your sins, not hating evil, failure to abstain from the appearance of evil, rewarding evil with good, rewarding good with evil, wilfully misunderstanding God’s word, praying in order to impress people, fearing men, not fearing God, fighting, taking a brother to court, flattery for gain, not crucifying the flesh, not forgiving others, irresponsible gambling, giving to the poor in order to be seen by others, giving grudgingly, gluttony, denying that Jesus is the Christ, failing to give to a brother or sister in need, denying that God has come in the flesh, hardening your heart, seeking glory due to God alone, speaking evil, not seeking first the Kingdom of God, wilful failure to understand the will of God, using gifts for our glory rather than the benefit of others, pointless arguments, lukewarmness, preaching a false gospel, thinking that godliness is a means to financial gain, testing God, not tithing, hatred, greed, gossip, refusing instruction, stirring up mischief for others, setting your heart on things below rather than on things above, heartlessness, homosexual conduct, dishonesty, lack of hospitality, idleness, jealousy, impudence, coarse joking, unkindness, kidnapping, profaning the Lord’s Day, trusting in man rather than God, laziness, malice, grumbling, bad manners, teaching that marriage is bad, calling evil good, calling good evil, loving money, obstinacy, observing days and months and seasons and years, not keeping your word, oppressing widows or orphans, believing or teaching un-Christian ideas, denying that Jesus is the only way of salvation, loving pleasure rather than God, despising the poor, being a bad example to younger Christians, not honouring older Christians, withholding wages, prayerlessness, seeking preachers who teach false doctrine, seeking preachers who don’t challenge sin, preaching unbiblical doctrines or flattering words or human traditions, speaking the truth without love, doing anything good without love, leaving your toys all over your floor when your mum has told you to tidy them away, loving to be called “Rabbi”, rage, rape, not providing for your own family,  exalting yourself, trusting in wealth, not taking up your cross, wanting to be rich, rioting, selfishness, thinking you know what will happen tomorrow, divination, prostitution, fornication, allowing even a hint of sexual immorality, not being ashamed of your sin, refusing to confess your sin, slandering your neighbour in secret, claiming that you have not sinned, arson, stubbornness, wanton extravagance, pornography, evil thoughts, unbelief, witchcraft, contradicting the Bible, treachery, forgetting God’s commandments, twisting the truth, trying to earn favour with God, letting the sun go down while you are still angry, obeying your parents reluctantly or slowly or resentfully, refusing to suffer for Christ, suffering for Christ resentfully or grumpily or proudly, being ashamed of the testimony of Jesus, lack of enthusiasm for worship, excessive concern about your appearance, excessive lack of concern about your appearance, lying in bed when you should be praying, harbouring grudges, self-pity.

The Downhill Slide of Temptation

I’m in a situation where I realise I could sin if I wanted

I’m leaving open the possibility of sinning

Sin is starting to seem attractive and compelling

Sin is starting to seem increasingly attractive and compelling

Sin seems more attractive and compelling than godliness

I’ve finally done what I was being tempted to do

Four Scenarios

Read the following stories, and try to work out (1) What the person is being tempted to do; and (2) where they are on the downhill slide of temptation as the story progresses.

1. Late-night YouTube

I got home later than I’d expected on Saturday night, and I was pretty tired. I was about to go upstairs to bed, but I just checked my email, and a friend had sent me a link to a YouTube clip – he said it was really funny. It was. Really funny. Before I knew what had happened, I’d watched several more, and almost an hour had passed. I finally stumbled into bed, completely exhausted. When the alarm went off the next morning I slept right through it. My mum yelled up the stairs that it was time for church, but I just grunted back. There’s no point in going to church when you can’t keep your eyes open. And I’d probably be late anyway. Never mind – I’ll go next week.

2. Tax return temptation

I really need to finish that tax return. I’ve been putting it off for weeks, but John reminded me again today. He filled his in last week, and he was bragging as usual, all about how he never mentions all the cash-in-hand jobs he does at the weekends. The tax man never checks, John says. He’s probably right. They’ll never find out, especially if I don’t mouth off about it like John…

3. Keeping up with glamourous Jane

Jane was back at work again today. She looks very glamorous – all suntan and new hairstyle, fresh back from holiday. She’s actually not as pretty as everyone says she is – at least, not under all that make-up. Her hair does look nice, but you can do anything if you spend enough time and pay enough money. I’ll try out that new salon on Saturday – that’s where Jane goes, and they’ve got loads of new products in the window. My sister says I spend too long in the bathroom already, but who cares what she thinks…?

4. Kid chaos

It has been a very busy day, but I’ve finally got the kids back home. Time to get dinner ready. But all I can hear is the three of them shrieking and shouting in the lounge. That new game is certainly a big hit, but I wish they’d calm down. The noise is starting to make my head ache. I can feel myself getting more frustrated – none of them has offered to set the table, and none of them have taken their muddy shoes off, so all of them have trampled mud all over the floor again. Oh, I’ll just set the table myself. Hold on – what’s that smell? Oh no – now the baked beans have burned! Another shriek from the lounge, followed by a crash and more shouting. Right that’s it, I’ve had enough…

1. Foundations for handling money (Psalm 24:1-2)

• God is the Creator and he owns everything. God lacks nothing; God could give us anything; God has rights over everything; God knows the best way to handle everything.
• God is triune and he gives everything. Giving is receiving.

2. Caring for the poor (various passages, including many of these)

• Help for the poor is the responsibility of the church
• Help for the poor should be overseen locally
• Help for the poor is not just handouts

3. Tithing (Deuteronomy 12:8-14)

• A year in the life of Eli
• Tithing is a part of the normal life of faith
• The tithe is given to support celebration, the poor, and the provision of worship and teaching
• Tithes should be given to the local church
• Tithe as you receive
• Approximation is inevitable
• The Bible encourages generosity beyond the tithe

Click here to listen to all three sermons.

Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

Proverbs 17:27-28 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

James 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Proverbs 13:3 Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

Proverbs 17:27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 18:13 If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.

James 3:6-8 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

(1) “Inner peace”; “it just feels right.” This is hardly a reliable guide to right and wrong. Samson “felt right” abt Delilah; David “had peace” about Bathsheba.

(2) “A door has opened.” Again, the presence of an open door doesn’t mean that walking through it is the morally right thing to do. After all, one day Judas Iscariot was wondering what to do to raise a bit of extra cash, when suddenly a door opened for him to earn 30 pieces of silver.

The Christian way is to repent and seek forgiveness from the Lord and anyone else we have wronged. The pagan way is to push it to the back of your mind and let time take its merry course, hoping that a bit of emotional distance will do the trick.

The Christian way works; the pagan way does not. Tragically (not to say bizarrely) too many Christians take the route of paganism, neglecting their obligations to seek forgiveness from the Lord and to apologise to those we have wronged.

The pagan path to forgiveness is fundamentally idolatrous in relation to God, for it seeks to find in a created thing (the passage of time) what can only be found in the Creator – namely the forgiveness of sins.

The pagan path is also abusive in relation to other people, because it seeks to find in one part of the creation (again, the passage of time) what can only properly be found elsewhere (in the face of the person whom we have offended).

Abuse and idolatry are both bad ideas, so Christians need both to repent of their unrepentance towards God and also to seek forgiveness for failing to seek forgiveness from others.

Time is not the great healer; God is.

“And the magnificence of all true prayer – its nobility, its royalty, its absolute divinity – all stand in this, that it is the greatest kind of act and office that man, or angel, can ever enter on and perform. Earth is at its very best; and heaven is at its very highest, when men and angels magnify their office of prayer and of praise before the throne of God. I. The magnificence of God is the source and the measure of the magnificence of prayer.”

“Prayer is far too princely a life for most men. It is high, and they are low, and they cannot attain to it. True prayer is colossal work. There were giants in those days. Would you be one of this royal race? Would you stand in the lot of God’s princeliest elect at the end of your days? And would you be numbered with His Son and with His choicest saints? Then, pray. ‘Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’”

“Once you begin to think aright of Him Who is the Hearer of prayer; and Who waits, in all His magnificence, to be gracious to you – I absolutely defy you to live any longer the life you now live.”

Let’s start with an observation. It’s true that a remarkable number of Ministers suffer physical and mental illness as a result of the strains of their vocation. Can it really be true that these guys are lazy? Surely they have opposite problem – over-driven-ness rather than laziness.

Perhaps this is true in some cases. But the laziness which is most likely to be a temptation for Ministers is not necessarily a laziness of inactivity; it’s a laziness of misdirected and/or unproductive activity. It’s possible to scurry around from pillar to post doing all sorts of things that are good to do, all the while neglecting the really important things that must be done. For many Ministers, sermon prep is extremely hard work; while reading blogs (!) and journals, visiting parishioners and so on is often less so. Since Ministers don’t have a boss breathing down our neck or an office full of co-workers for comparison and competition, there’s no one to force us to get on with the tough tasks and leave to fun stuff to one side. Predictably, when the sermon deadline finally arrives on Sunday morning, the stress level rises somewhat. Lazy Ministers are not necessarily those who do nothing, but those who do the wrong things, or who do good things (like reading journals and visiting parishioners) in the wrong order.

Another thought: It’s worth noting the number of men and women in your congregation who do have a boss breathing down their neck or the relentless pressure of deadlines to contend with every day of the week. Personally, I know a number of people in this situation. These guys probably wouldn’t want their Minister to impose on himself the same ridiculous level of artificial pressure, but at the same time from the point of view of the Minister they are in some respects a good example to follow. Just a few days ago I spent several happy hours in the company of a man (not at Emmanuel) who is on the 5:45am train to work every morning of the week, and who manages to get home by about 7:30 or 8:00 pm to lead his family prayers, teach his kids the Bible and so on. While the pressure of his job would be a good thing to avoid, his dedication to it would be worth imitating. And lying in bed listening to “Thought for the Day” doesn’t count.

Finally, consider some of the biblical teaching about dedication to work, particularly (though not exclusively) the ministry of the gospel. Here are just a few texts to provoke reflection:

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Proverbs 31:13-15 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.

Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

2 Timothy 2:3-6 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

However, it is possible that Alexander Whyte has put his finger on another factor that may in some cases be a more significant feature of our ministerial conduct.

I would have all lazy Ministers drummed out of the assembly. I would have laziness held to be the one unpardonable sin in all our Ministers. We have plenty of time for all our work, did we husband our time and hoard it up aright, were we only sufficiently jealous of every man and every thing that comes to steal our time. Oh no – we cannot look seriously in one another’s faces and say it is want of time. It is want of intention. It is want of determination. It is want of method. It is want of conscience. It is want of heart. It is want of anything and everything but time.

One surprisingly common form of deceitfulness in such contexts is the selective appointment of witnesses intended to give a veneer of impartiality to a legal process that has all the integrity of a sack of damp sewage.

So, for example, Naboth:

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. And she wrote in the letters, ‘Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king.” Then take him out and stone him to death.’ (1 Kings 21:8-10)

David:

Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. (Psalm 27:12)

Stephen:

Then they secretly instigated men who said, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.’ (Acts 6:11-14)

Paul:

And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him… (Acts 24:1-2)

And, of course, Jesus:

For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands”.’ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. (Mk 14:56-59)

The Lord evidently takes a dim view of this sort of conniving:

If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deut 19:16-21)

1. It might seem at first glance like the quickest and easiest option,
2. but it damages you right from the moment you start,
3. and it’s completely destructive in the long term,
4. so you’ll certainly regret it afterwards.
5. You’ll find lots of fools saying it won’t do you any harm,
6. and they’ll probably laugh at you if you avoid it,
7. but wise people will certainly warn you against it,
8. and deep down, you’ve got a sneaking suspicion they’re right.
9. In fact, there is probably a law against it somewhere.
10. You’d realise the truth if you could think straight for more than about 10 seconds,
11. but the whole trouble is that once you get started it’s hard to think straight.
12. In fact, it becomes harder to think straight the longer you carry on,
13. so what you really need is someone from outside the situation to come alongside you and do some straight talking.
14. Once the straight talking begins, some of your friends will probably tell you there’s no point in changing now,
15. but they’re wrong.
16. If you stop, those friends probably won’t want to hang out with you so much,
17. despite the fact you’ll obviously be in better shape than before.
18. On the other hand, there’s a chance that you might be able persuade some of them to give up too,
19. in which case they’ll be grateful afterwards,
20. even though they might not thank you at the time.
21. If you stop, you’ll still be tempted to do other things that are just as stupid,
22. and you’ll probably suffer the after-effects for some time,
23. but at least the symptoms won’t get any worse;
24. in fact, you’ll almost certainly get gradually better,
25. and one day the damage will be put right for good.

To forget in this context is not simply to “not remember”. The people of Israel were guilty of much more than absent-mindedness.  Shcch often occurs in parallel with “forsake” (‘zb), as in 1 Sam 12:9-10, Isa 65:11; Lam 5:20. It’s not a lapse of memory; it’s a failure of commitment, a neglect of obligations.

We “forget” the LORD not when we can’t remember the way to church, but when we decide that something else is more important.

“I didn’t much like that song.”

“Why did they have to repeat it 6 times?”

“The sermon was a bit short.”

“The notices were very long.”

“And they used a strange version of the Bible.”

Of course different churches will do things differently. But let’s keep things in perspective. After all, you’re probably only there for a couple of Sundays at most. There are many issues that ought to be hammered out at length within our regular congregation, but which can safely be left to one side when we’re occasional visitors somewhere else. If you’re able to find a Protestant church where Jesus is worshipped, why wouldn’t you be delighted to worship with them?

To my mind, if you’re able to find an evangelical church anywhere near where you’re staying on holiday (like within an hour’s drive, if you have a car), then it would be great to go along. Even if you’re in a foreign country and don’t speak the language very well, wouldn’t it be a great gesture of fellowship in the gospel to join with them anyway? You’ll meet them on the last day; why not get to know them in advance?

• “God gave you a wife for a reason, and not just to clear up after you.”
• “If you’ve just got married, or if you’re getting married, you need to buy a table.”
• “You’re a bigoted male chauvinist pig. Right? And worst of all, you’re a Christian, male chauvinist, Bible-believing, fundamentalist, reformationally-minded pig. So there. That’s what the world thinks of this sermon.”
• “This Psalm is addressed to the men … if [your wife] is not flourishing then it’s your problem, and you need to address it – gracefully – not because there’s something wrong with her, but because there’s something profoundly wrong with you, that everyone else can see.”

Read the Bible. Lots. Bread down the silly, artificial divide between “academic reading” of the Bible and “devotional reading” of the Bible. Remember how little you know. Remember that Christian ministry is about people, not just preaching. Talk to little Christian children, and listen to old Christian ladies. Read Helmut Thielicke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians, James Jordan Through New Eyes, Peter Leithart’s A House for My Name and Calvin’s Institutes. While you’re at it, read all of these books too. And read lots of really old books (from the Reformation and Patristic eras). Don’t get caught up in faddish nonsense in worship. Pray through a Psalm every day, and teach them to your children (that way you’ll learn them yourself). Remember that even unbelievers have something to teach us sometimes. Find someone to teach you how to pray. Don’t church-hop. Remember that your wife needs to thrive, not just survive. Remember that the Lord lifts up the humble, and that you (like all of us) have a lot to be humble about.

At one level, this is a fairly amusing image. Imagine the scene: you’re beavering away in the garage, knocking together a set of shelves, and without thinking you blow the sawdust off the newly-sanded surface, only to have it fly up in your face. As you stagger around, half-blinded and cursing your stupidity, your neighbour happens to poke his head through the door. ‘Don’t worry – I’ll help,’ he calls cheerily, as he strides toward you, a huge log protruding from his face, knocking stuff all over the floor.

At the same time, it’s a sobering image. Jesus clearly thinks that such ludicrous hypocrisy is enough of a danger that we need to be warned about it.

It’s therefore worth trying to answer Jesus’ question: ‘Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?’

The answer is obvious, of course. We don’t see because we’re not looking, and we’re not looking because we can’t see. We’re so blinded by our sins that we scarcely think we’ve done anything wrong.

But the Lord isn’t blind to our sins, and he says we need to confess them to him.

Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is specially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, ‘By jove! I’m being humble,’ and almost immediately pride—pride at his own humility—will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother this new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt—and so on, through as many stages as you please.

You must therefore conceal from the patient the true end of Humility. Let him think of it not as self-forgetfulness but as a certain kind of opinion (namely, a low opinion) of his own talents and character … By this method thousands of humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools. And since what they are trying to believe may, in some cases, be manifest nonsense, they cannot succeed in believing it and we have the chance of keeping their minds endlessly revolving on themselves in an effort to achieve the impossible.

To anticipate the Enemy’s strategy, we must consider His aims. The Enemy wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another.

Sometimes it can be helpful to sit down and talk about it. Indeed, this is often the Christian’s first instinct – to try to do in the secular world what we are plainly instructed to do when disagreements arise within the church (cf. Matthew 18:15ff; Philippians 4:2ff).

However, don’t be surprised if this doesn’t work. Tragically, the same sinful blindness that provokes gossip and backbiting in the non-Christian world also prevents unbelievers seeing the folly of it. Any attempt by a Christian to discuss the issue rationally will probably just add fuel to the fire.

But there’s still something you can do. Listen to what Peter says to Christians surrounded by an oppressive, ungodly pagan culture:

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.  13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme,  14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.  15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. (1 Peter 2:11-15)

Godliness speaks louder than words.

In one sense, that’s a good thing. For since sin is inevitable, frustration about it is better than apathy.

However, let’s be careful that it’s our sin, not merely the painful consequences of sin, that we’re frustrated about. For example, it’s very easy to imagine that we’re grieving over our (sinful) grumpiness, when in fact we’re just (sinfully) irritated that we feel so grumpy. Grief over our sinful grumpiness would be understandable and godly, whereas irritation about how miserable our grumpiness makes us just adds to our sin.

Insightful, thought-provoking, and just a little bit frightening.

If a single lie requires further reinforcements, until a whole army of falsehoods has been assem­bled, some people are still prepared to continue the battle rather than give in and admit the truth.

Lying moulds our identity and influences our relationships. Most psychologists can tell us that this occurs in much deeper ways than we suspect. Dishonesty changes who we really want to be. It forces us to harden our hearts and embrace self-delusion and distortion, so that we can live more easily with our lie.

What could be more chilling than his reminder that there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed — that what we have whispered in private will be shouted from the housetops (Luke 12)? … We cannot radiate a public persona that professes virtue or calls for justice while doing something different in private … even if no one else knows our secret, we cannot escape it.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil… 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Notice that the Lord here also makes a positive demand of us. It’s not just that our words shouldn’t do damage; they should positively do good: only such words as are ‘good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.’

This is particularly important to remember when we are discussing the sins of other people. It’s sometimes necessary to discuss the sins of others – for example, parents talking about their children, or when we feel wronged and need to seek advice about responding to a difficult situation.

But Ephesians 4 reminds us that the goal of all such conversations should never be simply to get confirmation that we were in the right and that ‘they’ (whoever they are) were in the wrong.

Rather, our goal should be to do good to everyone, including the one who has wronged us. ‘Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up.’

Sometimes this gets mixed up with a tendency to make claims about the future – ‘I believe that x the Lord’s will for me,’ and so on. At this point, things get really messy.

Many responses focus on issues such as the sufficiency of Scripture, the distinction between God’s ‘preceptive will’ (what he commands us to do) and his ‘decretive will’ (what will actually happen), that fact that God gives us general directions but not exhaustive details, and the uncertainty and subjectivity of so-called ‘words of knowledge’.

But there’s another issue to bear in mind too. Any approach to decision-making that even claims to know what the future holds is not merely foolish; it’s wicked.

13Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit – 14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)

On the other hand, his previous 365 years were somewhat less spectacular. The short account of his life in Genesis 5 is surrounded by high achievers. Cain built a city (Gen 4:17); Adah came up with the smart idea of living in a tent (v. 20); Jubal seems to have been an accomplished musicial (v. 21); Tubal-cain became a famous metalworker (v. 22); and of course Noah built an ark and rescued all the animal life on the earth (Gen 6-8).

But Enoch did none of these things. As far as we know he never built a city, was never a great artist, never made great technological advances, never did anything spectacular at all.

He did, however, do the most important thing: ‘Enoch walked with God’ (Gen 5:22, 24).

For 365 years.

The page was divided into two columns. One column contained the text of Matthew 18:15-20, while the other gave ten principles apparently designed to spell out some of the contemporary implications of Jesus’ teaching. These are well worth thinking about, especially in a context where people are working closely with each other day by day. Here they are:

1. If you have a problem with me, come to me (privately).

2. If I have a problem with you, I’ll come to you (privately).

3. If someone has a problem with me and comes to you, send them to me. (I’ll do the same for you.)

4. If someone consistently will not come to me, say, ‘Let’s go and see him together. I am sure he will see us about this.’ (I’ll do the same for you.)

5. Be careful how you interpret me – I would rather do that myself. On matters that are unclear, do not feel pressured to interpret my feelings or thoughts. It is easy to misrepresent intentions.

6. I will be careful how I interpret you.

7. If it’s confidential, don’t tell. If you or anyone else comes to me in confidence, I won’t tell, unless (a) the person is going to harm themselves, (b) the person is going to harm someone else, (c) it involves a child who has been physically or sexually abused. I expect the same from you.

8. I do not read unsigned letters or notes.

9. I do not manipulate; I will not be manipulated; do not let others manipulate you. Do not let others try and manipulate me through you.

10. When in doubt, just say it. If I can answer it without misrepresenting something or breaking a confidence, I will.

People sometimes misunderstand what Jesus is saying here. They wrongly imagine that he is doing away with the category of law as such, and replacing it with love: ‘The Old Testament taught about law; Jesus taught about love.’

The problem with this ought to be obvious. The Bible commands us to love. Consequently, if commandments as a category are now to be abandoned, then by the same token love is lost as well. Listen to John Frame:

Scripture clearly makes love a command of God. That fact immediately rules out any opposition or antithesis between love and commandments in general. Any arguments directed against the keeping of commandments in general carry equal weight against the keeping of the love commandment specifically. But in an ethic governed by Scripture, such arguments carry no weight at all. (Frame, Doctrine of the Christian Life, pp. 194-195)

The relationship between law and love works equally the other way. Not only does the Bible command us to love; it also tells us that true love is necessarily expressed in obedience to God’s commands. For example:

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. (Deuteronomy 6:5-6)

Frame again: ‘Jesus says that those who love him will keep his commands’ (p. 195; cf. John 14; 1 John 2; 5; 2 John).

• Jesus says so (e.g. Mt 5:48)
• Witness to unbelievers  (e.g. 1 Pet 2:12)
• Example to other believers (e.g. 2 Th 3:9; Phil 3:17)
• Live up to our heavenly status (e.g. Phil 3:16)
• To ‘gain a better resurrection’ (Heb 11:35)
• Because one day everyone will see (1 Cor 3:13)
• To strengthen, preserve and enrich our relationships with others (e.g. Phil 4:2ff.)
• To fulfil our creation mandate (Gen 1:26; 2:16-17)
• To glorify the One who prepared good works for us to do, and who empowers us to do them (e.g. Eph 2:10)

Thx JP

They are boys … in their youthful folly and adolescent bravado … Rehoboam’s folly is a characteristic folly of a ‘boy,’ a young man who chooses advisors full of youthful pride, cockiness and crudity, the type of companion against whom Proverbs warns repeatedly (13:20; 28:7; cf. Ps. 119:63). (Leithart, 1 and 2 Kings, p. 92.)

Christian men must heed this warning, or we shall very likely repeat Rehoboam’s stupidity. Unless we pay careful attention to our godliness, it’s possible to still be boys in our early forties, being ‘men’ only in the sense that we’re now big enough to do damage. Boys will be boys; men must not be. But the example of Rehoboam and ‘the boys’ reminds us that this won’t happen automatically. No one ever drifted into maturity.

Well, the Bible teaches that everything Christians do is significant. Let’s start with 1 Corinthians 15:58:

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.

Here’s how we sometimes (instinctively?) read it:

Alright, everyone, stand firm, be steadfast, immovable, and always make sure you’re doing the Lord’s work, not that other ’secular’ stuff that you’re always fussing about. All that worldly work is pointless; only gospel-work has any real purpose.

But that’s not what the text says. Here’s a literal (if slightly wooden) translation:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, steadfast you must remain, and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord always, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

The crucial thing is that, for a Christian, there are not two sorts of work: ‘labour in the Lord’, and ‘labour not in the Lord’. Look carefully at the text. ‘In the Lord’ does not qualify ‘labour’, defining a subset of our tasks as significant. Rather, it explains why all our ‘labour is not in vain’. There’s only one sort of work: labour / work in the Lord. All our ‘labour’ is ‘in the Lord’, because we are ‘in the Lord’.

This is why Paul is able to say ‘abounding in the work of the Lord always.’ We’ve got to eat, and sleep, and wash the dishes, and answer emails, and stuff. Paul is not forbidding us from eating and drinking, insisting instead that we devote ourselves to some kind of super-spiritual ‘labour in the Lord’. Rather, he’s saying that all our labour is ‘labour in the Lord’, and therefore none of it is in vain. Like in 1 Cor 10:31, ‘whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’

So we should actually understand the text a bit more like this:

Alright, everyone, stand firm, be steadfast, immovable, knowning that every single thing you do is the Lord’s work, and therefore nothing is ever in vain.

Thus everything we do is significant. Though we haven’t yet articulated precisely how, we can say with confidence that everything matters.

You can have your thirst quenched unless you’re thirsty.

You can’t be comforted unless you’re in trouble.

You’ve got to die if you want to rise.

Troubles are a canvas for a painting of God’s power.

2 Corinthians 1:1-11. Fabulous. Switch on, sit back, drink it in.

It’s not just something you do (for yourself); it’s something you bestow (on others).

Why else would there be a Sabbath for the land and the animals in the OT?

Sabbath-rest is something the people of God should be ready to bestow on those whom they spend time with – unbelieving friends and family, for example – regardless of whether those people understand what’s going on. The OT people of God were commanded to grant rest to their animals (Ex 20:10), which presumably means that the animals got a day off work. The cows were not sent out into the fields just because they couldn’t understand the Bible study.

Let your family and friends share in the rest you enjoy on the Lord’s Day.

HT Toby Sumpter

When I become bitter or unforgiving toward others, I’m assuming that the sins of others are more serious than my sins against God. The cross transforms my perspective. Through the cross I realize that no sin committed against me will ever be as serious as the innumerable sins I’ve committed against God. When we understand how much God has forgiven us, it’s not difficult to forgive others. (Living the Cross-Centered Life, pp. 154-155)

Some insightful questions from C. J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross-Centered Life, to help us diagnose the problem:

Do you relate to God as if you were on a kind of permanent probation, suspecting that at any moment He may haul you back into the jail cell of His disfavor?

When you come to worship to you maintain a ‘respectful distance’ from God, as if He were a fascinating but ill-tempered celebrity known for lashing out at His fans?

Are you more aware of your sin than you are of God’s grace, given to you through the cross? (p. 125)

And finally, a quick reminder:

Don’t buy the lie that wallowing in your shame is pleasing to God. (p. 126)

A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can earn God’s forgiveness through personal performance. …. It says to God, in effect, ‘Your plan didn’t work. The cross wasn’t enough and I need to add my good works to it to be saved.’ …. Legalism is essentially self-atonement for the purpose of self-glorification and ultimately for self-worship. It is the pinnacle of pride for me to assume that by my good works I could ever morally obligate God to forgive me, justify me, or accept me. (Living the Cross-Centered Life, pp. 113-114)

Regardless of how dark a day becomes, regardless of the severity of the anguish we’ll experience, He’s always present… and that is sufficient. (p. 101)

It was a crowded morning in Starbucks. I was standing with several customers who formed two parallel lines leading toward the counter.  As my turn came to step forward and order coffee, the young man serving me smiled and said, ‘Hey, how are you?’ …. ‘Better than I deserve,’ I answered. (Living the Cross-Centered Life, p. 59)

The humble are those whose first response to objective truth from God’s Word is not to ask, ‘How do I feel?’ but to say, ‘I’m not going to let my faith be determined and directed by the subjective and the experiential. Instead I confess before God that I will believe the objective truth of His Word, regardless of how I feel.’

I need to warn you that reading this book will not be a safe and static experience. After all, the cross isn’t about playing it safe; it’s about being found safe in Christ. (p. 9)

One way is to hold our hand. That way we can feel him near us, just as a child can feel the gentle squeeze and reassuring warmth of Mum’s hand .

The other way is rather like those reins that parents sometimes use to restrain their kids. They’re a bit like a slimmed-down parachute harness. Really handy – if the kid heads toward trouble, you can just haul him out of the way in no time.

The difference, of course, if that it’s not always possible to feel the reins, just as we don’t always feel God’s closeness to us. But just like a parent holding tight to the reins, God is always holding us tight, even when we don’t feel him.

Remember this when you’re praying Psalm 22. While we can legitimately pray v. 1: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ remember that we’re never truly forsaken. For Christ was utterly forsaken once for all in our place, and has transformed that path of forsakenness from a place of punishment to a road towards maturity.

To such couples Psalm 78:5-8 offers great encouragement.

He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. (Psalm 78:5-8)

Every thousand-generation dynasty of faithful Christian believers will be able to trace its lineage back to its first parents.

Pray that God would grant you that privilege.

It’s worth pausing for a moment to ask why such pragmatism is such a bad idea. In one sense, pragmatism per se is OK. It’s fine to do things that work. The problem lies with pragmatism as a guide to moral decisions, resting on the (often unstated) dichotomy between ends and means, which in turn relies on the assumption that ends are morally significant whereas means (in themselves) are not.

This dichotomy, together with the assumption that underlies it, are unbiblical because the Bible speaks with complete authority and sufficient clarity on all the moral aspects of every decision we ever face. To deny this is to imply that God has left us in the dark about moral issues that matter to him. It is an attempt to ‘fence off’ some areas of human existence from the lordship of Christ, to claim that there are large slices of our lives where we can do what we like, where our Creator can safely be ignored.

The Bible knows no moral distinction between ends and means. A sinful action can never be justified on the grounds that it was a means to some other end, however laudable that end might be. The Bible just says, ‘Don’t sin’, and that’s the end of it.

In practice, this kind of pragmatism rejects Scripture as a guide to conduct, replacing it with whatever-we-think-works. In effect, it is a form of traditionalism, for it allows the word of God to be displaced by human conventions, human experience and human wisdom. And Jesus had some pretty uncompromising things to say about that.

A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

It relates to the incident in 1 Samuel 21:10-15, where David took refuge in Gath at the court of the Philistine King Achish (=Abimelech?), only to be discovered as the great Israelite warrior who had ’slain … his ten thousands’ (v. 11). Realising that the Philistines would probably not sit idly by while an internationally feared assassin sat a few yards from their King, David ‘was very much afraid’ (v. 12). So he feigned insanity, with the result that the King of Gath threw him out as a lunatic rather than (perhaps) executing him as a would-be murderer.

In other words, David came within a whisker of an untimely end, and (humanly speaking) only this spur-of-the-moment ruse saved his life.

So perhaps this detailed superscription is intended to draw attention to two things:

1. The extreme depths to which the LORD sometimes allows his people to sink before finally delivering them.

2. The apparently desperate and forlorn character of the schemes by which the LORD’s deliverance sometimes takes effect.

So don’t despair if it feels like the LORD has let you go right to the edge. The darkest hour is just before the dawn.

But let’s be clear: such love feels unreasonable only because we are irrational. Distorted by sin, we’re perfectly capable of justifying even the most perverse sins. Only the transforming grace of Christ can empower us to think straight and see sin for what it really is.

The perverse nature of man, corrupt with sin, and destitute of God’s word and grace, thinketh it against all reason that a man should love his enemy; and hath many persuasions which bring him to the contrary. Against all which reasons we ought as well to set the teaching as the living of our Saviour Christ, who loving us when we were his enemies, doth teach us to love our enemies. (The First Book of Homilies, pp. 64-65)

And if we consider that he which hath offended us deserveth not to be forgiven of us, let us consider again that we much less deserve to be forgiven of God. (The First Book of Homilies, p. 65)

As St. John saith, ‘Hereby manifestly are known the children of God from the children of the devil; for whosoever doeth not love his brother belongeth not unto God’. (First Book of Homilies, p. 64, quoting 1 John 3:10)

He loved not only his friends, but also his enemies, which in their hearts bare exceeding great hatred against him, and with their tongues spake all evil of him, and in their acts and deeds pursued him with all their might and power, even unto death. (The First Book of Homilies, p. 63)

And forsomuch as almost every man maketh and frameth to himself charity after his own appetite; and, how detestable soever his life be both unto God and man, yet he persuaded himself still that he hath charity. Therefore ye shall hear now a true and plain description or setting forth of charity, not of men’s imagination, but of the very words and example of our Saviour Jesus Christ. (The First Book of Homilies, p. 61)

Accordingly:

Charity is also to love every man, good and evil, friend and foe, and whatsoever cause be given to the contrary. (The First Book of Homilies, p. 62)

What do you do?

Easy. You write a whole pile of Sermons, Appointed by the Queen’s Majesty, to be Declared and Read by all Parsons, Vicars, and Curates, every Sunday and Holiday in their Churches; and by her Grace’s Advice Perused and Overseen for the Better Understanding of the Simple People.

Enter, if you would, The First Book of Homilies (online version slightly different from my printed edition, but pretty close).

Here’s a taste from the ‘Sermon of Christian Love and Charity’.

Of all things that be good to be taught unto Christian people, there is nothing more necessary to be spoken of, and daily called upon, then charity. (The First Book of Homilies, p. 61)

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.’ But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:1-3)

What was he thinking?

By the time we get to 4:1-2, we discover one side of the answer: Jonah fled to Tarshish because he didn’t like the idea of God showing mercy to the Ninevites. And since God’s mercy has a habit of spilling out all over the place, the only safe course was to steer well clear. After all, the Ninevites didn’t deserve the grace of God, right? Er…

But there are always other sides to the answer in Jonah. Isn’t it possible, for example, that Jonah had in mind the appalling ungodliness of the Assyrian nation – particularly the sins they had committed against his own countrymen? How many of Jonah’s friends and family had been butchered by Assyrian soldiers during Israel’s defence of her borders (2 Kings 14)?

And here lies the danger for us. It’s not hard to love those with whom we are at peace; loving our enemies is the difficult thing. It can be tempting to justify (little?) sins against others on the grounds of the (greater?) sins they have committed against us.

Tempting. But never wise.

The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a ‘boast’ by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll.

I’m not sure exactly what the Vatican says this is, but it certainly is not forgiveness. This is revising the original estimate of the bad-ness of Lennon’s words (which may or may not be the right thing to do): ‘We used to think it was wicked, but we’ve changed our minds – it wasn’t so bad after all.’

That ain’t forgiveness.

Forgivenesss leaves the verdict of ‘wicked’ on the deed itself intact. It doesn’t redefine the action as ‘non-sinful’, but instead announces that the offence has been covered over, and the verdict reversed, whilst simultaneously insisting that it was a sin, and it would still be a sin if you did it again.

Forgiveness (well, God’s forgiveness, anyway) isn’t a make-believe re-write of history, with all the nasty bits rubbed out. God lets history stand intact, full of the glaring horror of human wickedness, and at the same time declares, ‘I won’t count that against you. Or that. Or that. Or even that.’

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;  blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. (Romans 4:7-8)

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. (James 3:13)

Listen to Thomas Manton:

Men of abstracted conceits and sublime speculations are but wise fools; like the lark, that soareth high, peering and peering, but falleth into the net of the fowler. (Thomas Manton, James, p. 299)