Dangers of Being in a Church that Loves God's Word: #2 Failing to Apply the Word

Last week I began a short series on "Dangers of Being in a Church that Loves God's Word". Let me assure you that being in a church that loves God's Word is not a danger. In fact, it is one of the greatest gifts of God to us, because a church that loves God's Word is one which will hear often from God in his Word.  When I mention "dangers," what I mean is that there are potential pitfalls for how we interact with the blessing we have. Our flesh often twists blessings in ways which can be dangerous. So, we must "take heed, lest we fall."

Danger #2 Failing to Apply the Word We Hear
The second danger I want to point out is closely associated with the first one, but it is distinct. Not only can we forget the the importance of remembering, we can also fail to obey what we hear from the Word.

The danger is that we get so focused on knowing more, but we forget to take the time to apply what we know. We hear so much teaching, but sometimes we fail to sit down and ask God to help us apply what we have heard. Our pastor or teacher does the hard work of studying and communicating the Word to us and we do the hard work of listening, but then we stop there. The problem is that the Word has not completed its intended work, and we miss out on blessing. Read James' classic text on the issue and pay attention to the last verse

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.  (James 1:22-25)

How Can We Apply the Word?
When we go to apply the Word, we are not simply saying "stop doing this and start doing that." The Bible does give us that sort of application. But it also gives us things to believe and new ways of thinking. God gives us promises that we must battle to believe and hope in. He gives us new ways to think about our joys, struggles, and identity. Think about our struggle against sin as described in Romans six. Even before telling us to put off sin and put on righteousness (which he does in 6:12), God tells says to "consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Rom 6:11). This is a truth about our identity which must be rightly understood and believed.

So, let's take some time to prayerfully reflect on what we heard on Sunday or at Bible study and ask is there a promise to believe, a truth to apply, a behavior to stop or start, or a new way of thinking to embrace? Let's really believe that God has sovereignly placed us under the teaching we are hearing so that we will be blessed in obeying it.

Dangers of Being in a Church that Loves God's Word: #1 Forgetting the importance of reminders

God's Word is vital to our lives individually and as a body of believers (local church). And a church that loves and teaches God's Word accurately and on a regular basis is an unmitigated good thing. In fact, it is one of the marks of a healthy church. However, there are still dangers to watch out for. Every blessing and trial comes with its own potential dangers in this fallen world. In fact, it is often in great blessing that we find great temptations. The problems are not the blessings but our propensity to go astray.

So, are there any dangers to the unambigiously good gift of a church that loves God's Word? I would say there are some. Over the coming weeks I'll list several dangers.

Danger #1 Forgetting the importance of reminders
A church that loves God's Word usually is a church that loves to learn new things from God's Word. There is a potential danger here though. We can get to a point where we hear each sermon and Bible study as falling into the categories of "I already knew that," verses, "I learned something new."  We can then assume that the whole point of the teaching of the Word is to merely give us new information. We then define "getting something" from the message as "I learned something new." In other words, a good message is one which gives us new facts.

While we should learn new things often, that is not our only goal in hearing the Word or reading it. The Apostle Peter is clear that his teaching (even inscripturated, God-inspired teaching) aimed not only at teaching new things but at reminding believers of things they already knew.

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. 2 Peter 1:12-15

He writes to "remind" believers of truths they already knew in order that he might stir them up to greater faith and the obedience it produces (2 Pet. 1:3-11).  It could be that we often "don't get anything out of the message" because we fail to see that our foolish hearts are prone to go astray and need constant reminding and exhortations and encouragements to run the race of faith (Heb. 3:12-13).

Advice on How to Face Hostility towards the Gospel

I hope and pray that as the semester is off to a start that you are finding opportunities to share the gospel with new friends and professors. As you seek to be faithful to speak the good news of Christ, you might (and at times will) find yourself facing hostility. Recently, I was reading in Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students" on the topic of a minister's conversation. As I read it, I noticed that what he said would apply to sharing the gospel in the face of hostility. He writes,

In all probability, sensible conversation will sometimes drift into controversy, and here many a good man runs upon a snag. The sensible minister will be particularly gentle in argument. He, above all men should not make the mistake of fancying that there is force in temper, and power in speaking angrily. A heathen who stood in a crowd in Calcutta, listening to a missionary disputing with a Brahmin, said he knew which was right though he did not understand the language- he know that he was in the wrong who lost his temper first. For the most part, that is a very accurate way of judging. Try to avoid debating with people. State your opinion and let them state theirs. If you see that a stick is crooked, and you want people to see how crooked it is, lay a straight rod down beside it; that will be quite enough. But if you are drawn into arguments, use very hard arguments and very soft words. Frequently you cannot convince a man by tugging at his reason, but you can persuade him by winning his affections.

The point is not to avoid using reason. Spurgeon used reason and made clear arguments. But, the point is that reason does not change those who "suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

Remember, your goal is not to protect your pride. Your goal is to put the gospel on display in word and deed. The powerful message of the gospel is best communicated by those who entrust themselves to God and do not seek to revile. In the classroom, remember that it is the professor's class. In humility seek to winsomely and accurately lay the straight gospel beside crooked philosophies of the world. Finally, don't forget to pray that God will open blinding eyes to see the beauty of himself in Jesus Christ.

Is Football an Idol?

Kevin DeYoung has a helpful article to help you evaluate whether or not you might have made football into an idol. Here are the bullet points:

1. Is ministry and worship on the Lord’s Day compromised by my allegiance to football on Saturday and Sunday?

2. Are my emotions all out whack?
... If the good news of Jesus’ resurrection can’t outweigh the bad news of your team’s minus 3 turnover differential you’ve got some heart work to do...

3. Can my conversation go deeper than football?

"College Doesn't Change Your Heart, It Reveals It"

Sammy Rhodes has a good article over at desiring God. In the "heart" of the article, he gets to the biblical truth that we all need to take note of:

Woody Allen once famously said that “the heart wants what it wants.” Thomas Chalmers would agree. The problem isn’t that we desire, it’s what we desire, and why. Our hearts are fickle things, and more than anything, that’s what college reveals. As Paul Tripp might put it, it’s not that college changes your heart as much as reveals it. It isn’t the secularity, or the immorality that is to be feared. According to Jesus, it’s the propensity of our hearts to either want the wrong things or try to anchor themselves in the wrong places. All the while, Jesus is simultaneously the one we’re running from and looking for.

 I encourage you to read the whole article.


 HT: Challies

Acts 17 Sermon for the University

As school starts up again, I thought this rendition of Acts 17 is a good reminder to be actively sharing the gospel and bringing it to bear on the "gods" of our day. You'll remember that, in Acts 17, Paul is preaching an evangelistic message to the pagan culture of his day. He is speaking to the philosophers on Mars Hill (the place of learning and scholarly debate). Here is how it might have begun if he came to one of our universities today:

"Men and women of the university, I see that in every way you are very religious. As I walked around the university, I observed carefully your objects of worship. I saw your altar called the stadium where many of you worship the sports deity. I saw the science building where many place their faith for the salvation of mankind. I found an altar to fine arts where artistic expression and performance seem to reign supreme without subservience to any greater power. I walked through your residence halls and observed your sex goddess posters and beer can pyramids. Yet as I walked with some of you and saw the emptiness in your eyes and sensed the aching in your hearts, I perceived that in your heart is yet another altar, an altar to the unknown God who you suspect may be there. You have a sense that there is something more than these humanistic and self-indulgent gods. What you long for as something unknown, I want to declare to you now...." (Daniel Denk as quoted by Derek Thomas in Acts, pg. 503).

And give them the good news of Jesus who fulfills the standard of perfect righteousness and whose death took the punishment for sin so that any who trust in Jesus as their Savior-King will have his righteousness and the forgiveness of sins. Show them that the idols they have willing worshiped are empty and that that God calls all people everywhere to turn away from idols and to him, the one, true God.

"Dispatches from the Front"

Bible study begins this Wednesday. We will spend our first few weeks seeing Christians around the world and hearing their testimonies of the power of the gospel. We will hear of the Kingdom of Christ and its expansion in some of the most difficult to reach places (because of geography and because of resistance and persecution). We will do all this by watching several DVDs in the series "Dispatches from the Front." These videos will expand our vision of the Kingdom of Christ. Below is a video about the series:

You can find "trailers" for the episodes here: http://www.dispatchesfromthefront.org/