TOMS: Titus 1

For an introduction to this series, click here.

October 30, 2007

Titus was another of Paul's proteges. We know from the book that at the time of this writing Titus was working in Crete. 
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior." (1:1-4)

I usually don't comment on the greeting, but this one is too good to pass up. Notice Paul's three-fold message in verses 1 and 2: 1) the faith of God's elect; 2) acknowledging the truth which accords with godliness; 3) hope of eternal life. If you notice, these correspond to the three aspects of salvation: justification, sanctification and glorification. These were the three things that Paul preached: that is, the Gospel.

"This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it." (1:5-9)

It's interesting that one of the qualifications for an elder is that his children be believers. I'm not sure I've ever heard that taught before. Other translations do not render it this way: the KJV, NKJV and the HCSB all read, "faithful children." Not that there is much of a difference, but the way the ESV reads is certainly hard-hitting. Personally I don't think these qualifications preclude a single elder, for example. I think the stipulation is that if the man is married he should be a one-woman man and if he has children they should be faithful to the Lord.  

"For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled." (1:10-15, ESV)

Once again we have a warning against false teachers. Apparently the Judaizers had found their way to Crete and were leading many people astray. These teachers were not motivated by the Lord or by their love for the people. They were motivated by money. Be careful about any preacher who seems inordinately concerned about money. 

Paul quotes Epimenides, a Greek poet, when he describes the Cretans. Paul was not uninformed about the world around him. Obviously he wasn't obsessed with it, like it is easy to do. But the fact remains that he apparently was well-read in secular literature and was familiar with the aspects of the popular culture of his day. Of course it is wrong to let your mind think about nothing but worldly things, but never are we commanded to pull ourselves away from society and not know anything.

I can remember as a young kid walking into Sunday School one time singing a song I had heard in a TV commercial (I don't remember what the song was now, I wish I could). One of the other kids said, "That's a bad song! You shouldn't be singing that!" And then the teacher scolded me a little bit, thankfully not too much. That's what Paul means that to the pure all things are pure. I didn't know it was a "bad" song (it probably wasn't, anyway, at least not sinful). We should be very careful to criticize the motives of someone doing something that is not clearly sin. Sometimes we Christians can impose our dirty consciences on others and ruin someone else's liberty. There's plenty of other examples, of course, but you get the idea. 

TOMS: 1 Thessalonians 5

For an introduction to this series, click here.

October 10, 2007

Here we have the conclusion of this book. The first part of this chapter continues the thought of the previous chapter concerning the Rapture: 
"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief." (5:1-4)

The Rapture is not something we should be worried about. The Lord will come when the time is right and we will know it when He comes. He is not going to hide somewhere.

"So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him." (5:6-10)

In virtually every epistle, Paul includes this warning: to be sober. He gives different reasons, but the admonishment is still the same. Life is serious. Of course it is fine to have a good time and we need to relax and refresh ourselves from time to time, but overall, Christians should not be characterized by an attitude of pursuing fun all the time and not taking life seriously.

As a side note, some people say that the phrase "God has not destined us for wrath" is a proof text for the "pre-tribulational" rapture. I think if you read it in context, it becomes obvious that this passage is talking about us as believers not being condemned to hell.

"We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." (5:12-24, ESV)

These are some general things that are very hard to actually live out in our daily lives. If we could obey just one of these commands completely, the way the Lord wants us to, our lives would be so different. Now that isn't an excuse, but I know for me particularly, it is hard for me to "rejoice always." Because there are things in life that don't cause me to rejoice.

I think if you look at it in context (isn't it amazing how much simpler things are when you read more than one verse at a time) it becomes obvious that "Abstain from every form of evil" is one of the most abused verses in the Bible. I have heard that verse used to justify all sorts of ideas, from saying that you shouldn't eat in a restaurant that serves alcohol to not going to a movie rental store. (My, how the world has changed in 8 years!) In context, Paul is talking about true and false doctrine. We are told not to despise prophecies. In other words, don't reject any teaching out of hand just because of who is teaching or whatever. Then we are told to prove all things, hold fast to the good and reject what is bad. Simple. The Bible speaks for itself, and we would do well to follow the clear teaching in the passage above and forget the opinions of man piled onto one particular phrase.

TOMS: I Corinthians 10

For an introduction to this series, click here.

August 3, 2007

This chapter kind of covers a wide range of topics. Paul starts out with a discussion of the meaning of the stories of the Old Testament: 
"Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, 'The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.' We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come." (10:6-11)

I have run into a couple of people who believe the Old Testament is meaningless for Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. We can learn so much from the Old Testament. Those people were real and struggled through life just like we do. Whatever we can learn from their example is good. Paul says the most important lesson we learn is this: 
"Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (10:12-13) 

I had never realized that passage was connected with a passage about the meaning of the Old Testament. So many times we think we are the only ones who have gone through what we are dealing with right now. But God wants us to know we are not alone: we are never alone from His presence, and other people in the past have gone through some of the same experiences we have. Some were faithful and some were not. We can seek to copy those who were faithful and learn from the others' mistakes.

Paul next gives a warning against idolatry: 
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons." (10:14-21)

Apparently, some of the Corinthians thought that since an idol is not real, they could go and participate in some of the rituals at the pagan temple. I'm not sure why, maybe it was for the entertainment value or, more likely, they went with their unsaved family members, just as a family tradition. Paul is saying this is a very dangerous thing, not to be taken lightly. Just because an idol is not a real god does not mean that there is nothing spiritual going on. There are demonic forces at work, and a Christian has no business being involved in something like that.

Finally Paul brings up the topic of Christian liberty again: 
"Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For 'the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.' If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, 'This has been offered in sacrifice,' then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his." (10:24-29) 
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved." (10:31-33, ESV)

This is the ultimate teaching on doubtful things. We should do nothing that would make ourselves an offense. Sometimes this means forgoing something you might like to do. Not because there is something inherently sinful about it, but because someone else may be tempted to violate their conscience or an unbeliever may see no distinction between you and him. It is important not to use our own freedom to be an impairment to the work of God in other people's lives.

TOMS: I Corinthians 8

For an introduction to this series, click here.

August 1, 2007

This chapter starts a discussion of doubtful matters, always a fruitful discussion. There will always be things that we disagree about. Instead of criticizing or fighting people over them, we need to learn to consider our brothers and sisters in the Lord first.

The number one issue in the first century church was food offered to idols. The pagan temples would offer their meat very cheap after they finished using it for their ceremonies, and you know how church folks are when there are bargains to be found. Lots of people went down and bought the food, but others, especially those who had just been saved out of those pagan religions, were offended by that, saying that Christians should not eat that meat. Paul starts off in an interesting way, different than he handles the issue in Romans:
"Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that 'an idol has no real existence,' and that 'there is no God but one.' For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth — as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords' — yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." (8:4-6)

Paul says very clearly that there is nothing wrong with eating food offered to an idol, since an idol is nothing but a statue anyway. But he goes on and acknowledges that some people have a problem with it:
"However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." (8:7-13, ESV)

Our first consideration is the conscience of our brother, not our own desires. I believe this passage, especially the part when Paul says clearly that eating meat is OK, teaches that we should try to teach weak brothers what is right. But until we do teach them, or at least have helped them mature to the point that they will not be offended if they see us do whatever the controversial thing is, we should avoid it. This is a very fine line. It's hard to know exactly what to do a lot of times. For example, I know lots of people who will not eat in restaurants that serve alcohol. What do you do when you go to a place that does? Most of the people I know will not say anything, so that is good. But what if someone did? I think it is our responsibility to try to teach them and strengthen their conscience a little bit, but at the same time, it is always wrong to be a stumbling block. I don't really know the perfect answer to that.

Notice that Paul says it would be Ok not only to eat the meat, but to eat the meat in the pagan temple. That would be farther than what I would probably go if I was living in that time. If you read the New Testament carefully, there are very few outward things that are sin. More than 90 percent of the sins taught against are sins of the heart. We tend to look at the places people go and the things they do as being sinful, but that is not always the best barometer. I think God's priority list is a little different than ours. We need to work toward evaluating people the way the Lord does, and not hanging on to our own man-made standard.

One final thing: Notice very carefully that the person with the stricter personal standard - the one who has a problem with eating meat - is the weaker brother. This is an important distinction. Too many people are proud of their weakness, glorying in the fact that they have a long list of things they won't do and blasting those who violate that list. This is clearly a violation of Paul's teaching and the inside-out of what Paul said about being a stumbling block. If it is wrong for a strong person to be a stumbling block of temptation for the weak, it is just as wrong for the weak to be a stumbling block of intimidation to the strong.

TOMS: Romans 14

For an introduction to this series, click here.

July 17, 2007




Now this is a very practical chapter. It has to do with standards. No two people think alike or have the same background, so no two people will agree 100 percent on everything. Paul gives us a lot of practical advice to help us get along with our fellow believers: “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." (14:1-7)

Everybody always figures that they are doing things the right way. If that were always true then those who do things differently must be in sin. That is the attitude Paul is trying to combat here. I could get real specific here and blast certain people for their narrow-minded views on certain things, but I think that would be counter-productive. We all know people we think have nutty views on some sort of issue that is not really all that important. The best thing to do, and the advice Paul gives us here, is to get along with our brothers and sisters and disagree without being disagreeable.

Eating meat offered to idols and observing days, particularly the Sabbath but also other days of the month and year, were the flashpoint issues in Paul's day. Today of course, some of the issues we fight over unnecessarily include music/worship styles, Bible translations and worldly influences- what kind of movies/ TV shows/ music/ magazines/ books are OK to take in and what kind are not. Now of course there are general Biblical principles that need to guide our choices in these matters, but there are no clear lines in the Bible on what kind of music we should sing in church, for example. Or take the issues of hair and dress, which thankfully most Christians have stopped fighting tooth and nail about: we are supposed to dress modestly, and men are supposed to have short hair and women are supposed to have long hair. But everyone's definition of modesty, short and long is different.

Now after the general principle, Paul gets more specific: "Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." (14:13-23, ESV)

Read very carefully what Paul says here. He is persuaded that there is nothing unclean of itself (even wine, but that is for another time), but he chooses to avoid exercising his liberty if it will cause a brother to be tempted to sin by violating his conscience. Paul explains very clearly at the end of this chapter the reason why we need to consider the weaker brother: the weaker brother has not been convinced that all things are clean, and if we in our liberty convince him to do something he believes is wrong, he is violating his conscience and we cause him to sin. 

Now I may be wrong, but I think the definition of a weaker brother is very clear here. A weaker brother is one who is new or immature in his faith, and consideration needs to be taken to help him. A weaker brother, by definition, is not a leader in the church or a mature believer in general. I have been in at least one situation where a Christian supposedly more mature than I, and certainly one I would not think would be tempted to violate their conscience by participating in an activity with me, has told me I shouldn't do something because it offends them, citing this portion of scripture. Well I'm sorry but I don't think a pastor or church leader qualifies as a weaker brother. They were just trying to impose their beliefs upon me, doing the very thing Paul tells us not to do in the beginning of the chapter. 

So it cuts both ways. If God intended for us to have the exact same opinions and practices on every issue, He would have given us more clarity in the Bible. It would make the Bible much longer. Since God did not do this, we should practice charity whenever possible when confronting troublesome issues between brothers.