With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm? NO!

Matthew 8:23-27
²³ And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴ And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. ²⁵ And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” ²⁶ And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

When I was a young boy, one of the songs I really liked to sing in Sunday School was the song, “With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm.” Coupled with accompanying actions and the challenge of singing it as fast as we could without making mistakes, it was a fun song to sing.

The song went something like this:

With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm.
Smile at the storm. Smile at the storm.
With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm.
As we go sailing home.

Sailing, sailing home; Sailing, sailing home.
With Christ in the vessel we can smile at the storm

Smile at the storm? Is this what the passage is teaching\? First, let me clarify that the main point of the passage is not about smiling at the storm, but rather, the main point is summed up by the rhetoric conclusion of verse 27: “What sort of man is this, that even wind and sea obey him?” The answer: This man is the LORD God Himself: the creator of the Universe.

With that said, let us put that conclusion aside and consider the application. Let us consider the statement, “Smile at the storm”.

Why did Jesus rebuke his disciples for being afraid and for having little faith? Was it because they did not ‘smile and trust God’ in the midst of the storm? That would be your conclusion if you listen to most preachers. But almost every one of these preachers miss the point. Most preachers will teach something like this:

“Amid a huge storm, even when everyone else was afraid of drowning, Jesus trusted God so much that he was able to sleep through it. He was not bothered about the circumstances. In the same way, we ought to trust God so much that even through all the storms of life, we can have perfect peace and sleep through them. We can follow the children song and smile at all the storms of life.

Why is this wrong? The passage tells us that the boat was taking water and was being swarmed by waves. It was sinking! Jesus could very well have been drenched as he slept through the bumpy ride. I don’t know about you, but no matter how calm I am, there is no way I would be sleeping with such a bumpy and wet ride unless I was dead tired. So why didn’t Jesus do anything? Well… didn’t Jesus have disciples? What were they doing? Screaming in fear? They did not anything useful. So in the end, Jesus, got up and did what the disciples were supposed to do. He rebuked them for their lack of faith, then he turned to the storm and rebuked it. And the storm died down.

Let me repeat that again, in case you missed it. Jesus did what his disciples were supposed to do. Jesus rebuked and calm the storm!

“With Christ in the vessel, we can smile at the storm?” NO no no! With Christ in the vessel, we can STOP the storm.

What? You can’t do that?

O you of little faith!

 

Is food a ‘basic human right’?

Is food a ‘basic human right’?

What does the Bible say?
2 Thess 3:10—”For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”

Yes… it’s a command!

Conform your thinking and values to the Word of God, not to the World. If you are a Christian, your politics and worldview should be shaped by the Word of God.

Was Jonah a false prophet because Nineveh was not destroyed?

In the Old Testament, the mark of a true prophet was that he must always be 100% accurate in all his prophecies. If a prophet prophesy something that is not fulfilled, that prophet is false and must be put to death.

Deut 18:20-22 (NET) writes:
²⁰ “But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. ²¹ Now if you say to yourselves, ‘How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord?’— ²² whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”

In Jonah, we read about how God told Jonah to preach to the wicked nation of Nineveh and to proclaim a message that:

Jonah 3:4-5, 10 (NET)
⁴ When Jonah began to enter the city one day’s walk, he announced, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!” ⁵ The people of Nineveh believed in God, and they declared a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them…
¹⁰ When God saw their actions—they turned from their evil way of living!—God relented concerning the judgment he had threatened them with and he did not destroy them.

Was Jonah a false prophet for declaring disaster on Ninevah in 40 days when in the end, Ninevah repented and God did not destroy the city?

1. First, Jonah was not a false prophet, because Jonah 3:1-3 tells us that Jonah spoke exactly what God had told him to say. This is the opposite of false prophets who prophesy things that God has never spoken. In other words, Jonah 3:1-3 affirms that Jonah was a true prophet.
2. Second, we must understand that it is quite clear from this passage in Jonah that Jonah as well as the King of Nineveh understood that what Jonah was preaching was a conditional prophecy. In fact, this is the reason why the King made the nation repent, and this is also the reason why Jonah refused to preach to Nineveh in the first place—Jonah was afraid that the Nineveh would repent at his preaching and God would relent and not destroy them. Jonah hated Nineveh, so his reluctance to preach to them is evidence that he understood his prophecy to be a conditional one. If Nineveh did not repent, it would be have been overthrown in 40 days. But Nineveh did repent, so the condition in Jonah’s prophecy was met.

⁹ Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”¹⁰ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

Just in case there is any further doubt that Jonah’s prophecy was a conditional one, let us consider Jeremiah 18:7-10.

Jeremiah 18:7-10 (NET)—⁷ There are times, Jeremiah, when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom. ⁸ But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong, I will cancel the destruction I intended to do to it. ⁹ And there are times when I promise to build up and establish a nation or kingdom. ¹⁰ But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it.

From this passage in Jeremiah, we know that when it comes to prophecies regarding the destruction of nations, they are always conditional. God promises us that if a nation repents, he will not carry out the threats of judgment he said he would do to them.

These two reasons we have covered so far should be more than enough to vindicate Jonah from the charge of false prophecy.

However, there is a third reason I would like to bring to the attention of my readers.

Not many people realize that what God said he would do from the beginning, actually came to pass. This requires a bit of knowledge about the Hebrew and its play on words. Unfortunately, as it is with most translated works into English, such word plays are often lost in translation; but the concept here is not hard to understand, and I think most people should be able to follow what I am about to say here.

3. The third reason why Jonah was not a false prophet is that what he had preached actually came to pass.

Jonah 3:4-5 (NET) says, “At the end of forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown!”

The Hebrew word often translated overthrown, is the Niphal form of the word הפך (hpk), meaning: to overturn or change. This word can also be translated as a reference to an altered/changed heart. 

Consider these two examples in the Bible, which like Jonah 3:4, have the same Hebrew verb stem (i.e. Niphal) for the word, הפך (hpk). In both cases, the word is translated as a reference to an altered/changed heart.

Exodus 14:5 (NET)—When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, “What in the world have we done?

Hosea 11:8 (NET)—How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart! All my tender compassions are aroused!

In the same way, Jonah’s prophecy against Nineveh can be translated two ways. First, it can be interpreted as:

“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”: or, it can be translated as:

“Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be changed (of heart)!”

In other words, Jonah, who was merely repeating God’s word to the people (Jonah 3:1), was actually 100% correct in his prophecy. While he misunderstood his words to mean that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days, God intended those words to mean the opposite—in 40 days, Nineveh shall repent!

Jonah was not a false prophet. If anything, his prophesy was fulfilled in an incredible fashion—in a fashion that Jonah himself did not expect. True to Jonah’s prophecy, the entire nation of Nineveh was converted within an extremely short period of time.

In the same fashion, the Bible tells us that one day, we will see another incident similar to what happened to Nineveh. This time round, it would involve the sudden miraculous conversion of Jerusalem.

The Bible tells us that towards the end of the Tribulation period, Jerusalem will likewise repent and cry out to the LORD (c.f. Rev 11:13). In just a short time span, all of Jerusalem will miraculously repent and recognize Jesus Christ’s kingship over them after an earthquake destroys one tenth of Jerusalem and kills 7,000 people. All who survive the earthquake in Jerusalem will repent and turn to the LORD. When Jerusalem cries out, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD!”(c.f. Matthew 23:39b), Christ will return, defeat the enemies of Israel, bring an end to the Tribulation, and establish his Kingship in His millennial kingdom (c.f. Zech 14).

 

 

1 Corinthians 11-14: Chiasm

It is common for preachers to classified 1 Corinthians 12-14 as a literary whole, due to its emphasis on the charismata gifts. However, it is more accurate to say that 1 Corinthians 11-14 (rather than chapters 12-14) form a complete literary narrative. These chapters deal with not just the Revelatory gifts, but more importantly, God’s commandments concerning corporate worship. This can be seen in how the Greek text is structurally laid out in the form of a Chiasm from chapters 11-14. These chapters deal with issues of congregational worship such as women’s role in congregational worship, prophecy, tongues, corporate prayer, singing, etc.

The Chiasm in 1 Corinthians 11-14: is framed (start and end of this chapters) by an acknowledgement of apostolic authority followed by a discussion on the appropriate conduct of women, and this fits better in a larger literary whole than if we were to isolate just Chapter 12-14. The Chiastic mirroring is clear when chapter 11-14 are framed both thematically and grammatically – i.e. when the placement of key Greek markers are identified within the text.

I have compiled a Chiasm on this passage below:

A. 11:1-2 Maintain the traditions I delivered to you

B. 11:3-16 Women under men; conduct of woman (head covering)

C. 11:17-34 Proper Church Conduct: Lord’s Supper

Assembly: coming together:
11.17: συνέρχεσθε ESV: you come together – Assembly
11.18: συνερχομένων … ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ ESV: coming together… in Church – Assembly
11.20:συνερχομένων… υμων… το αυτο ESV: you come together: Assembly
—–
11.19: (φανεροὶ γένωται) ESV: Recognized – made manifest (literal)

D. 12:1-31 Use of the Spiritual gifts

12:1 Concerning Spiritual gifts… I do not want you to be uninformed.
(Doctrine and spiritual maturity)

12:31 (τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ μείζονα) ESV: the higher/greatest gifts
12:31 (ζηλοῦτε) ESV: earnestly desire

E. 13: Love (13:1-7; 8-11) (It is clear that there is a actually a smaller Chiasm within 13:8-11 whose focal point links “Love” to the use of spiritual gifts in the congregation. Also Emphasizes Spiritual Maturity.)

D’. 13:12-14:26 Use of the Spiritual gifts

14:20: Do not be children in your thinking… in your thinking be mature.
(Doctrine and spiritual maturity)

13:13 and the greatest (μείζων) of these is love.
14:1 (ζηλοῦτε) ESV: earnestly desire

C’. 14:26-32 Proper Church Conduct: Tongues and Prophesying

14.28: ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ ESV: in Church – Assembly
14.26: συνέρχησθε ESV: When you come together: Assembly
—–
14.25: (φανερὰ γίνεται) ESV: Are disclosed. (made manifest)

B’. 14:34-35 Women under men; conduct of woman (stay silent)

A’. 14:37-40 Acknowledge… the things… I am writing to you. (otherwise: not recognized by the church)

At the center of the Chiasm lays chapter 13 — the passage on love. Interestingly, within this chapter on love (chpt 13), there is itself another Chiasm that refocuses the chapter back to one of Spiritual maturity within the context of the spiritual gifts and corporate worship.

1 Cor 13:8-13

A. Love never ends.

B. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end;

As for tongues, they will cease;

As for knowledge, it will come to an end. (Three gifts)

C. For we know only in part,

And we prophesy only in part;

But when the complete comes,

The partial will come to an end.

D. When I was a child,

I thought like a child,

I reasoned like a child;

When I became an adult, I put an end of childish ways.

C’. For now we see in a mirror, dimly,

But then we will see face to face.

Now I know only in part;

Then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

B’. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

A’. and the greatest of these is love.

This chiasm listed above is written by James L. Bailey in his book, Literary forms in the New Testament, p.51.

Bailey comments,

“…Chapter 13 is often used as an independent unit in the church, the chiastic structure of the larger passage shows the folly of this approach. Chapter 13 and its statement about love must be understood within the larger context of the nature and use of the spiritual gifts in the Christian community.

Note that the focal point of the Chiasm in chapter 13 says, “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; When I became an adult, I put an end of childish ways.”; Notice the parallel themes:

Correct doctrine in relation to spiritual maturity. This is present at the start and end of the discussion on the spiritual gifts in 1 Cor 12 and 1 Cor 14.

——

1 Cor 12: 1-3 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor 13:11 “When I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; When I became an adult, I put an end of childish ways.”

1 Cor 14:20 – “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.”

——

There is a strong emphasis throughout Paul’s discourse in this passage on how one’s understanding on the corporate use of the spiritual gifts reflects one’s spiritual maturity. The passage on spiritual gifts centers upon love; and the chapter on love, re-centers back on the spiritual gifts and the congregation.

Why is framing this passage important? Why is there a need to frame this Chiasm so carefully?

The answer:
Perhaps more than any other Chiasm in the Bible, Paul concludes 1 Corinthian 14 with a warning that those who do not agree with his teaching are not to be recognized. Thus, it is necessary to understand where this particular discourse by Paul starts and ends.

1 Corinthians 11-14 are not to be taken as a mere personal suggestion, but as a commandment from God himself.

In contrast, in 1 Cor 7:6; 25, Paul makes it clear that what he is writing about in Chapter 7 is not a command from God, but simply his personal opinion.

However, here in Chapter 14, Paul makes it clear that what he is teaching is a command from God. If anyone does not acknowledge what he teaches, that person is neither recognized as a prophet nor a spiritual man. The Church is also commanded not to recognize such anybody who disagrees with Paul’s teaching in these chapters. Since one of the requirements of church eldership is that he is spiritually mature, Paul’s warning is especially important. Those who deny Paul’s teaching concerning the role of woman, the order that is to be maintained in congregational church worship, and the biblical exercise and desire of the charismata gifts, are necessarily excluded from church leadership/eldership.

So somewhere between chapter 7 and chapter 14, Paul’s writing shifts from being his own opinion, to God’s commandment. How do we tell where each discourse starts and ends? That is where identifying the Chiasm from 1 Corinthians 11-14 comes in handy.

Since chapters 11-14 are written as one literary whole (Chiasm), all the commandments that fall within these four Chapters are to be obey by the church without exception. It is sin to defer from these commandments in 1 Cor 14.

This is a very severe warning with equally severe consequences. Thus, the reader needs to understand where Paul’s discourse starts and ends, and what commandments Paul’s warning in 14:37-40 refer to.

Ephesians 5:22 — Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Eph 5:22 (ESV)

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

This is a strong, but straight forward command in the Bible.

Very often when preaching from this passage, many pastors will mention this commandment in passing and then apologetically add that God’s commandment for men is even tougher — that a man must love his wife and be willing to lay down his life for her (c.f. Eph 5:25).

That is true. And perhaps pastors ought to devote more time in teaching their congregation what it means for a man to love his wife to the point that he would lay down his life for his wife.

However, pastors need to first stop making excuses for the Bible and start preaching what the bible demands of wives. Exegete this verse the same way you would exegete any other verse instead of just glossing over it as a passing remark. Spent a whole sermon on this one verse if necessary.

Yes. The commandment that a wife should submit to her husband as to the Lord is indeed very counter-cultural. Yes, perhaps there will be women in church (and even some men) who might be offended by it. Yes. It is not an easy commandment to obey — perhaps one might even say that it is more difficult to continuously submit to her husband as to the LORD, than it is to lay down one’s life.

But it is precisely because this verse is so counter-cultural and so controversial that pastors ought to spend even more time teaching the church what it means for a wife to obey this commandment.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”
Preach it boldly with confidence and authority — for this is the Word of God. Make no apologies for it. Command your congregation to conform their minds to the Word of God in this area; Not just to submit to their husbands, but to subject themselves nd submit to their husband as to the Lord. The more they struggle in this area, the more you are to preach it.

Only after you have preach through this passage thoroughly and faithfully, should you move on to the next passage where a man is commanded to lay down his life for his wife. And when you come to that part, preach to the men in your congregation with equal fervor and conviction.

 

Concerning “Stage-cage” Calvinism and a zeal for the gospel

Lately, there has been a trend on the internet that makes fun of “cage stage Calvinists”. This is a derogatory term used to described those who have recently come to believe in Calvinism and are seen as being zealous about their new found knowledge.

What they call “cage-stage” Calvinism, is nothing more than “being zealous about the gospel”. It is those that have lost their zeal over the years that are to be rebuked. Let us not make excuses for those who have lost their zeal over the years by making this out to be a good thing. It is not a good thing!

The zeal of those who are passionate about the gospel and the sovereignty of God is something to be commended and even encouraged.

 Romans 12:11—Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

 

The Bible on Slavery

How do we answer the charge that the Old Testament supports slavery?

Rather than saying that slavery is forbidden, it is better to say that slavery is permitted if and ONLY if, it is defined the way the bible defines slavery, and ONLY if it is governed by the strict biblical guidelines that God gave to his people. But what is the biblical understanding of slavery that the Old Testament permits? As we will see, it is a slavery that is very different from the way we understand slavery in our modern European/Western culture.

The Old Testament understanding of slavery is similar to that of a contract worker with many other benefits like profit sharing, etc. The kind of slavery practiced in Europe and Western nations that we speak about during the time of William Wilberforce is strictly forbidden. Exo 21:16 makes this plain: Human trafficking requires the death penalty, so this automatically refutes any suggestion that the bible permits or supports the kind of slavery practiced in Europe and USA in the last few centuries.

Exo 21:16 “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.

The following is from an edited version of a devotion I wrote a couple of years back for RHC:

Exodus 21 covers a list of mishpatim (enactments) stemming from the Ten Commandments. In this chapter, laws concerning slaves, restitution and social justice are taught.

Where slaves are concerned, Old Testament requires that the Hebrew slave be given a weekly Sabbath rest as well as the right to celebrate the various Jewish festivals – this itself is regarded as part of acceptable worship unto God. God promises to bless the owner who does this (Deut 15:10).

The Hebrew slave is even addressed as “your brother” (Deut 15:12; Jer 34:9,14) and can only be bound as a slave for six years. He is set free on the seventh year, or earlier, if the year of Jubilee occurs during his service (Lev 25:40). When he leaves, the slave cannot leave empty handed. He must give to the slave “liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, out of your winepress, and as the Lord has blessed you, you shall give to him.” (Deuteronomy 15:13)

When circumcised, and thus identified with the covenant between God and Israel, the slave must participate in the Passover offering.

He is to be “avenged” if he dies from a beating from his master. The loss of a limb, and even a tooth at the hands of his master automatically grants him his freedom. A fugitive slave may not be extradited and is accorded protection from maltreatment and is given the right to live wherever he chooses.

When Jesus quotes Exodus 21 on the Sermon on the Mount, “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth” (Matthew 5:38), he was speaking about civil justice, rather than revenge.

A Hebrew can become a slave if he sells himself out of poverty to work off the value of stolen goods. While the slave is considered the property of the owner, the laws instituted by God ensures that the slave is not mistreated.

In today’s context – the closest equivalent to a Hebrew slave would be a lowly paid, six-year contract worker, who upon completion of his contract, leaves with a large bonus with profit-sharing benefits. (Deut 15:12-15).

The command not to let slaves leave empty handed, but to allocate to them part of one’s wealth also alludes to Israel’s journey out of Egypt. God did not let them leave empty-handed, but instead plundered the property of the Egyptians and gave part of their wealth to the Israelites.

Such a practice was unheard of among Gentile nations, such that the ancient Jews, in the writings of Kiddushin 20a, exclaims that he who buys a Hebrew slave is like one buying himself a master. These rules ensure that the slave is well taken care of and not abused by his owner.

Slaves who wanted to stay longer than six years had to pierce their ears to the doorposts of their owner and remain slaves forever. Rabbinic tradition specified the right ear to be pierced and they saw it as an act of symbolic punishment: “Because the ear heard on Mount Sinai: ‘For they are my servants, whom I freed from the land of Egypt; they may not give themselves over into servitude [Lev. 25:42],’ and it divested of itself of the yoke of Heaven and accepted the hegemony of a human yoke – let it be pierced!” Those the Lord has set free, should not seek to be enslaved to their former past any longer.

The slavery in the bible is different from the picture of slaves we have in our minds when we think of slavery in the 18th and 19th century. In fact, it was the understanding that man was made in the image of God, which led to the abolishment of slavery Europe. In light of the rights given to slaves in the Old Testament, how much more should we treat those who work under us, such as domestic workers, or employees? Understanding that they are all made in the image of God should radically change the way we treat them. We are not to exploit them. As slaves for Christ, we are the possession of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yet this master we have, is a master who has laid down his life for us.

This should shape our ethics as followers of Christ.

 

Why do I reject the regulative principle of worship

The regulative principle of worship is the teaching that we should only do the things commanded for us to do during corporate church worship. Anything that is not mentioned, is not allowed and sinful. In contrast to the regulative principle of worship, we have the normative principle of worship. This is the teaching that we are free to exercise our freedom to worship God as long as we do not do anything forbidden by God.

For many years, I have held to the regulative principle of worship since this seems to be the default position of most people who considered themselves to be “Reformed” or “Calvinists”. However, I have now rejected the regulative principle in favor of the normative principle of worship in light of what the Scripture teach.

There are a number of passages that are always brought up by advocates of the regulative principle of worship, where it is supposed that individuals were punished by God for worshipping him in an unprescribed manner. However, I have come to understand that every single one of these examples actually involve the breaking of a specific commandment of God that have already been given prior to the punishment; so that God’s punishment of those individuals is itself an argument in favor of the normative principle of worship — God only punishes those who break his commandments.

One of the most common examples given in favor of the regulative principle of worship is that of Lev 10:1-2. It is claimed that the bible never tells us that it is wrong to offer unauthorized fire to God, yet when Nadub and Abihu does so, God killed them. The claim is that while God did not forbid the offering of unauthorized fire, God did not tell them to do so either, so when they offered this fire, God struck them dead.

Is this really the case? As we will see, the real reason why Aaron’s sons were killed for offering unauthorized fire was because they broke a very specific command given by God. In other words, this verse is not an argument in favor of the regulative principle of worship, but instead, a verse supporting the normative principle of worship.

Lev 10:1-2 Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD

Exo 30:7-9 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.

Aaron’s sons were struck dead by God because they broke the commandment given earlier which specifically commanded them not to offer unauthorized fire.

Another common example given is that of Moses and the golden calf.

Exo 32:4-5 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” … Exo 32:27-28 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.’” And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell.

In this example, it is claimed that God did not say that they could not worship God through a golden calf, but they did so and were punished. However, this is once again an example of the normative principle of worship. As it turns out, these people were breaking a very specific commandment from God not to make a golden calf. This is found in the Ten Commandments that God had just given to Moses on the mountain. God Himself tells us in the text that the people were punished because they had broken his commandment:

Exo 32:8
They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”

Deut 9:16
And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you.

This commandment was given prior to this golden calf incident when God gave the Ten Commandments to man:

Exo 20:23
You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.

Exo 20:3-4
“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Likewise, every other instance brought up to illustrate the regulative principle of worship turns out to be sinful only because it disobeys a specific commandment of the Lord. In other words, the bible teaches a normative principle of worship, and not the regulative principle of worship. God gives a law, man breaks it, and man is held accountable. There is no sin apart from the law.

Rom 5:13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.

1 John 3:4b – Sin is lawlessness.

——
*”The normative principle teaches that whatever is not prohibited in Scripture is permitted in worship, as long as it is agreeable to the peace and unity of the Church. In short, there must be agreement with the general practice of the Church and no prohibition in Scripture for whatever is done in worship. The normative principle is often contrasted with the regulative principle of worship, which teaches that only those practices or elements which are specifically commanded or modelled in Scripture are to be permitted in worship services.”

2 Thess 3:6-15 … we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’

“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. … For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat.’ … If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”
c.f. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

This is a clear commandment from the Scripture — that if a man will not work, he shall not eat. Any professing believer who rejects this teaching and still proceeds to feed those who will not work, is to be shunned and shamed by the Christian community.

This commandment from the Lord should shape how as Christians we are to act. More importantly, this command is not just addressing those who are lazy and who refuse to work. It is first and foremost, addressing Christians who reject his teaching and still insist on feeding those who refuse to work. Such people are to be shunned.

• What does this verse tell us about what we are to do when we see an able-bodied beggar in the street begging for money when he should be working for his food?
• How are we to deal with Christians or even pastors who insist on feeding such beggars?
• How does this affect our policy on charity as a church and as individuals?
• How are we to view social welfare policies that feed lazy bummers who collect the dole for no other reason than that these people have no job?
• How does this shape the way we view medical missions and humanitarian relief?
• How does this shape the way we understand biblical politics and economics?
• How should the church use its money to help those who are unemployed or needy?

These are all important questions we need to ask ourselves as Christians in light of 2 Thess 3:6-15

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As Vincent Cheng writes,

“This is a rather self-explanatory passage. The challenge is to make Christians take it seriously, and to obey it. Paul had said, “warn those who are idle” in his first letter (1 Thessalonians 5:14), but apparently that did not eradicate the problem. So when he receives report that some of them remain idle (2 Thessalonians 3:11), he brings up the matter again in this second letter. This time he takes on a more urgent tone, first appealing to “the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” and then issuing a “command” to compel the brothers to take decisive action against those who persist in idleness. … It is precisely to those who are not among the idle that the apostle directs most of his statements on the subject. So no one should take what Paul says only as a matter of exegetical interest, but this is something that Christians must do, that all churches must implement as official policy, as a matter of obedience to the Lord Jesus. …The decisive action that Christians are to take against those who are idle is to “keep away” from them – that is, to literally, really, shun them. What? Should we just let them starve? Is that the Christian way? Yes, it is. Paul adds, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat’” (v. 10). In the name of Christ, Paul commands all Christians to let idlers starve to death. It would be a sin to feed them. Then, the apostle proceeds to “command and urge” those who are idle to “settle down and earn the bread they eat.” Verse 14 repeats the command to those who are not idle: “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.” Mark this person. Know him by name and by face. And then avoid any association with him. There must be a concerted effort of the entire Christian community to shun and to shame this person. The command has obvious implications for policies on welfare and charity. Those who are able to work, but are unwilling to work, are to be shunned and shamed. They are not to receive any financial or material aid. If they do not work, they do not eat. If they starve to death, then so be it.

More details here:

http://www.vincentcheung.com/…/26/starve-those-who-are-idle/

Avoiding Sugar-Coated Eloquence: The mark of an effective preacher. Evangelism technique: 101

Question: What is the best technique to use when preaching to an unbeliever?

Answer: Avoid sugar-coated eloquence in your preaching: The mark of a faithful preacher is one who faithfully preaches the full counsel of God and who does not depend on eloquent speech. He does not shrink from preaching things that may sound unpleasant to the ears of his hearers, nor does he use all kinds of worldly entertainment to make church more appealing to unbelievers. Rather, the faithful preacher depends on the Holy Spirit to move and to save those who are his. Consider what Paul says in 1 Cor 1:17, “ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”

Why would eloquent wisdom empty the cross of its power?

Until a preacher/evangelist understands this, he has not grasp the essence of effective biblical evangelism. In contrast to all the worldly gimmicks used in modern day evangelism, we read: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (c.f. 1 Cor 1:31) The person who accepts the Lord’s teaching concerning this has “the mind of Christ.” (c.f. 1 Cor 2:16), while the one who disagrees with this is given a rebuke by the Apostle Paul–effectively asking him who he thinks he is to instruct God concerning effective evangelism (c.f. 1 Cor 2:16)

1 Cor 2:14-16 (ESV) The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

In preaching the full counsel of God in its plainness, the preacher moves not “in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (c.f. 2 Cor 5). In direct contrast to the seeker-sensitive movement, the Apostle Paul taught that sugar-coated preaching of eloquent words, empty the cross of its power. (c.f. 1 Cor 1:17). In short, if you want to avoid making false converts, and if you want to be faithful in preaching the word of God; if you want to be an effective evangelist pleasing before God; and if you want to see God move in the Spirit to convict hearts, preach the full counsel of God in its plainness. The Lord will save those who belongs to him, and the Spirit will convict hardened hearts. Remove unnecessary gimmicks in your preaching and focus on the word. The modern day preacher only has a short amount of time to teach a whole list of biblical truths. Use that time wisely. Preach the word with clarity and as plainly as possible, and pray that the Lord moves in power to save those only he can save. Do not water down your sermons, but preach the deep things of God. It is the Spirit who illuminates the eyes and ears of your hearers and give them understanding, not you.

There is also a popular trend to limit the preaching of a sermon to only three points. In some churches, they now limit this to one point! These preachers claim that if we teach more than three points in a sermon, people are not able to absorb what is being taught. To be an effective preacher and communicator, they say, a preacher should limit his sermon to only three points. How tragic. By those standards, we must conclude that Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets must have been the worst preachers. They preach ten… even twenty point sermons. Preach the word in its entirety. It is the Lord who brings understanding to them, not you. And if the Spirit so wishes, he is able to cause your hearers understand everything you preach to them, and cause them to remember it all, and even reveal truth to them through your sermon that you might not have thought about. Three point sermons are nothing more than a disguised attempt at manipulating the sermon with eloquent wisdom. No. Seek to preach the text in its entirety to the best of your ability. It is God who gives understanding and discernment of his word. You want to know how to move in the Spirit? Begin first by getting rid of all these gimmicks. Trust the Lord to illuminate their minds. Preach the word plainly, and the pray.

This my friend, is the most important lesson an evangelist/preacher must learn. Preach the full counsel of God in its plainness. Sadly, this simple truth is one of the most neglected teaching in evangelism/mission course.

Consider what the Apostle Paul says on this very subject:

1 Cor 1:17-25;1 Cor 2:1-5 (ESV)

1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.