“Why I am Protestant” by Beth Felker Jones. A book review.

Posted on November 6, 2025 by pneumaandlogos

In this book, Beth Felker Jones sets forth the case for the Protestant Tradition with clarity and grace. If you want a more dogmatic approach, you will need to look elsewhere.

Chapter 1 introduces some of the common themes of Trinitarian Theology as embodied in the Nicene and Calcedonian Creeds, which are affirmed by Protestants, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox alike. This is an essential emphasis, but as subsequent chapters will demonstrate, Roman Catholicism would depart from the good news of the gospel by speaking of salvation as being achieved partly by grace and partly by works. It seems to me that a sharper statement here would have been helpful. Also, it would have been helpful to have had a clear statement of the dangers of nominalism.

The author rightly stresses that the gospel is good news and should be proclaimed as such; she also rightly reminds us that God Himself is good news. One of the strengths of this book is the underlying emphasis on grace, which we will see developed in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 2 begins to introduce us to why the author is a Protestant. The first section of this chapter introduces us to the Protestant view of what it means to be catholic. In this section, the author introduces us to the concept of catholic meaning the universal church, not an institution. This is vital for any good understanding of the good news of what God is doing in His Church worldwide. This view of the Church is in contrast to the Roman Catholic position, which sees the Catholicity of the Church as institutional. We are reminded here that Augustine taught that the Church exists by God’s grace alone.because of that will lead to the praise of the Triune God.

Beth Felker Jonnes then moves on to the theme of being Protestant because Reformed. Here she speaks of being reformed with a lower case r as distinct from those of us who would quite happily use the upper case R. I do not want to make a big problem here, I have good friends who hold to the same position as the author with whom I have shared fellowship for many years. The important thing is to return to the key teachings of the Reformers. What this means for the author will become clear in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 3 is about how Protestantism helps us be Christians. In this chapter, the author honestly admits to the problems the church poses and wrestles with some of these. The author stated quite clearly that the very brokenness of the Church is aided by a Protestant understanding of the Church and its sinfulness.

She then moves on to a section about “Knowing God in a sinful world” It is in this context that we need the Protestant doctrine of Scripture; here we find a God who reveals himself as trustworthy and who wants to be known. Furthermore, Scripture enables us to develop our relationship with God. God reveals himself supremely in Jesus, but even so, Scripture is the primary way of knowing God until the second coming of Jesus. The author then goes on to outline why Scripture is the “norming norm” for Protestants. Scripture, being authored by God through the Holy Spirit, reveals to us the Triune God. This section of the book is very helpful, and it is hard to offer a short account. I would recommend purchasing the book for the richness of this section. The author rightly stresses that Scripture reveals the living God to us.

The next section of this chapter deals with the Protestant Theology of the Church. The author rightly stresses that the unity of the Church is to be found in God’s gracious work in a wide diversity of settings, rather than in institutional claims set forth by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. She then turns her attention to Augustine of Hippo and the Reformers. Before doing this, she briefly examines the scriptural witness, which reveals how close the Church is to God’s heart. When the author turns to Augustine, she draws on his awareness of divisions in the Church. She then moves on to looking at how Augustine reacted to the Donatist controversy. He was horrified at the way that they broke the unity of the Church, but he also acknowledged god’s grace was at work amongst them. It is this aspect of God’s grace that is important for us as we consider the Church. The Protestant Reformation is the flowering of Augustine’s theology of grace in the church.

Chapter 4 continues the topic of the Church under the Theme of Doing Church. The Reformation teaches us that unity is found in the faithful proclamation of the gospel and the faithful administration of the sacraments, both of which are rooted in the grace of God. Martin Luther, in rejecting the authority of the pope, sees Peter’s confession as the rock on which the church is built. In other words, the rock on which the church is built is the Scriptural teaching about Jesus Christ.

In the next section of this chapter, the author looks at the teaching about the church which was articulated by the English Reformation. here, we find an organic picture of the Church as a tree with many branches. This concept helps us in understanding the church in all of its diversity as it confesses the grace of God. This gives us a better account of the diversity of churches in the majority world as well as the diverse denominations in the West, all of which proclaim the gospel of God’s gracChapter 5 discusses the Difficulties of Protestantism. The first problem the author looks at is Individualism, Fragmentation and Authority. Individualism has steadily gained ground since the Reformation. One important point made here is that we cannot opt for the individual over the communal. We need to be in community. This is true for any understanding of the nature of Christianity; the Church is essential. God works in the church even when it is broken. Schism is closely related to individualism; the author mentions a list of denominations in the USA, which shows the fragmentation of the Church in that country. Similar lists could be made for other nations. The whole area of authority is affected by the fragmentation of the Church. For Protestants, the Scriptures are affirmed as the sole authority in all things. Authority is primarily reflected in who Jesus is; this means that true authority reflects the character of Jesus and cannot be expressed in dominance or control. The next section deals with the subject of Consent and Peace; here, the problem of modernity is discussed in a constructive way.

The next section of this chapter is entitled, Sola Scriptura and all its Messiness. this is an important area of discussion for Protestants who affirm the authority of Scriptureas God’s Word written. When it comes to a choice between trusting Scripture and trustung the Church the author states that she will always choose Scripture. The Scriptures are inspired by the work of the Holy Spirit. The author states that too much protestant theology has sought propositional clarity over personal knowledge of God. This is a vital point. This shows the danger of trying to master the text rather than submitting oneself to the authority of the text.the discussion of the work of Phillip Cary’s work makes me wonder if there is an overlap between his thinking and that of the Pentecostal Theologian, Cheryl Bridges Johns. Her book re-enchanting the Text, seems to be making similar points. For me this whole discussion can be summed up in the words of an old hymn by William Cowper.

1 The Spirit breathes upon the word,
and brings the truth to sight;
precepts and promises afford
a sanctifying light.

2 The hand that gave it still supplies
the gracious light and heat;
God’s truths upon the nations rise:
they rise, but never set.

3 Let everlasting thanks be thine
for such a bright display,
as makes a world of darkness shine
with beams of heavenly day.

4 My soul rejoices to pursue
the steps of One I love,
till glory break upon my view
in brighter worlds above.

Chapter Six deals with the peculiar strengths of Protestantism. The first section discusses the loving home, the historic church. The author correctly highlights that living within our tradition is a good thing. I am very aware of my own protestant identity as one who is directly descended from the French Huguenots, on my maternal grandmother’s side of the family. I have always been glad to dwell within that identity. The author then moves on to the central doctrine of the Protestant Reformation, Justification by Faith Alone. Justification by God’s grace precedes sanctification. This vital point highlights our unity with Christ and that everything else flows from that. God declares us righteous not because of anything we have done but rather because of what he has done in Christ. Part of this story is that God imparts grace for the whole Christian journey and not just the beginning. The author speaks of the need for us to hear the Word of God from outside ourselves; she also emphasises the priesthood of all believers.

Chapter 7 discusses the theme of “Hopes for Christian Unity on diversity”. True unity is centred on the Lamb of God and our worship of him; this does not distract from our diversity. The author speaks of the unity that the sacraments call us to and remind us of. In the global church, we meet a great diversity of churches, each with its own contribution to the body of Christ. In Acts chapter 2, God honours the diversity of the people by communicating with them in their own languages. This is a key to understanding how God himself honours unity in diversity.

Chapter 6 deals with “Scripture Passages for Protestants”. The author starts by stating her purpose for this chapter. The first passage she considers is Ephesians 2:11-22. Here, the author argues in a rather convoluted way that we are all one in Christ and that the wall of division has been demolished in Christ.

The second passage she considers is 2Timothy 3:10-17. The author states that we need to see this passage against its wider context and also that the authority of Scripture operates relationally. Scripture works good works, and good works are key to the authority of Scripture.

The third passage considered is Luke 1:46-55. Mary is seen as an example of faith in God in this passage, which is her response to God’s grace. We can also learn from how Mary interprets Scripture. The author quotes others here, and this whole section deserves further consideration.

This book concludes with a short Epilogue. Here she once again considers the brokeness of the Church, and as she reflects on it, she states that this is why she is Protestant. In her concluding paragraph, she states that this is not pessimism at the end of the day. But rather reflects the reality of the already/not yet light of resurrection.

Concluding Comments. The attentive reader will have noticed that I have not made any comment about Eastern Orthodoxy; that is simply because of my lack of knowledge on that subject. However, I am more critical of Roman Catholicism than she is. I believe that Roman Catholicism obscures the grace of God.

I do not want to distract from the many strengths of this book. I highly recommend this book; it has so many good insights. I believe this book will repay careful reading.

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Toward a Critical Patriotism

Posted on October 7, 2025 by pneumaandlogos

This paper was presented to the Tyndale Fellowship Christian Doctrine Study Group online Conference in 2921.

Introduction: In this paper, I will consider the subject of Patriotism from a Christian Perspective. I want to give a little bit of the background to this paper at the outset. In 1977 at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland, I was attending the weekly discussion held on a Thursday morning when my colleague Larry Snyder was asked by a student what the Christian view of patriotism was. Larry said he had not thought about this and then turned to me and asked me if I had. I said no. Larry then challenged to develop a lecture on patriotism for the students at L’Abri Fellowship. In 1978 I delivered a lecture on that subject which contained the basic idea that I have developed in this paper.

Although in this paper I develop the idea of a critical patriotism, this should not be taken to mean that I do not appreciate much of my British heritage. There is much that I am proud of but there are other aspects of which I am ashamed. I look at much of my heritage with pride, but I also realise that other cultures bring a lot to us and enrich us. I lived in Alpine France for four and a half years and learnt so much from the people there including an appreciation for their culture. Another factor that has had a big effect on my life is that I married an American citizen and as result we celebrate some distinctly American things in our household. These factors on a very practical level have shifted my focus from being exclusively British to seeing the valid contributions that other nations can bring. So yes, I love my own country but not in an exclusive manner.

Firstly, I will look at a definition of patriotism and ask whether it is satisfactory for a Christian to embrace.

It is good to see a very general definition of patriotism before looking more specifically at some of the issues,

 Patriotism or national pride is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to a homeland and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings relating to one’s own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or historical aspects. It encompasses a set of concepts closely related to nationalism.[1]

The above definition is quite helpful as it highlights for us both the positives and some of the negatives of what is popularly considered as patriotism. In this paper I will hold that love of one’s own country is right, we can all see much in our nation which is admirable, and we should value this. Indeed, there ae aspects of our national heritage which are good in themselves, but they can cause problems as soon as we imply that because of these our nation is superior. A great problem occurs when patriotism becomes linked to an exclusive nationalism it can then become dangerous. In this paper my examples of extreme patriotism will all be taken from the British scene

 Some forms of patriotism are ones that turn one’s own nation into an idol, this can be seen for example in the words of these British patriotic songs,

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no questions, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.[2]

Or perhaps even worse are the sentiments expressed in this song,

When Britain first, at Heaven’s command

Arose from out the azure main;

This was the charter of the land,

And guardian angels sang this strain:

“Rule, Britannia! rule the waves:

“Britons never will be slaves.” [3]

This unqualified support of our nation leaves no room for moral discernment as to whether what the nation is doing is right or wrong. In the view of many people this is what patriotism is all about an unqualified love of country. But does this have to be the case? As the title of this paper implies my answer is no This is because I believe moral discernment is of vital importance in our evaluation of our nation.

Secondly, I will now briefly examine the intersection of Patriotism with Nationalism, I will try to be careful at this point to distinguish between wrong forms of Nationalism and those that are more compatible with a Christian perspective. I will here look at an example of nationalism which exalts one’s own nation above all others.

The British National Party shows its true colours in the following statement,

At the core of British National Party policy is the belief that Immigration into Britain is a destructive agenda and must be stopped.

Without any vote or debate, successive governments in Britain have introduced the most pernicious and divisive policy since World War II, and transformed our country almost beyond recognition.

In towns and cities up and down the country we feel like foreigners in our own country, our traditions derided and our future given away.[4]

The British National Party and other right-wing groups, such as Britain First and the British Freedom Party often refer to themselves as being patriotic movements in a way that others are not. If we disagree with their sentiments, we are told that we are not patriotic An example of this attitude of exalting Britain over other nations can be seen in a short speech given by Britain First’s  Ashlea Simon where she says that Britain has nothing to be ashamed of but rather we can be proud of all  that we have done as a nation, including our colonialism.[5] This type of nationalism tends towards an extremism and very often has a racist agenda.

 It is helpful to look at the example of a moderate nationalism as exhibited by Scottish National Party.

The SNP says.

The SNP believe in independence for Scotland, but also in independent countries working together for good of all to protect workers, tackle climate change, preserve peace and guarantee our freedom…[6]

This shows a vastly different attitude to that of the extreme nationalism noted above; here is a desire to work with other nations for the common good. This view is more compatible with a Christian view of patriotism. I do not want in this paper to get involved in the discussion about the future of the United Kingdom but rather to make a more general statement about contrasting attitudes.

Thirdly, I will now look at the lives of two Christians who have had to live with the problem of where their first loyalty lies whether to the nation as patriots or to the Lord as Christians. The two people I will look at are Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King. Such figures often believed that their love for their country must be shaped by their prior commitment to the Lord and obedience to his Word.

Bonhoeffer found himself facing a real dilemma with the rise of Nazism, there can be no doubt from his writings that he loved Germany and German culture. On the other hand, he knew that Nazism was antithetical to Christianity and as such must be opposed. He and others formed the Confessing Church to make a strong witness for Christian values, this can be seen in the Barmen Declaration.[7] Here we find clearly set out both their sense of being German but at all times giving a priority to being Christian.

Bonhoeffer was a minister in the Confessing Church and as such made a stand against the Nazis which would ultimately lead to his death. His statement that he made about his coming back from America to Germany illustrates this.

I have come to the conclusion that I have made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period of our national history with the Christian people of Germany.… Christians in Germany will face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying our civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose; but I cannot make that choice in security[8]

Bonhoeffer in his contacts with Bishop Bell and other church leaders made an appeal that there would not be a mass destruction of Germany in a way that would humiliate the country, this appeal was passed onto leaders of the British Government.

Martin Luther King was a great leader of the American Civil Rights Movement and he always led non-violent protests. He genuinely appreciated the vision of the Founding Fathers of the United States and one can clearly see his love of the nation, but this did not stop him from his trenchant criticisms of segregation. I will quote from his letter from Birmingham Jail where he is responding to clerics who thought his actions were extreme. In his response Martin Luther King roots his discussion in The Great Tradition, He said,

One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.”

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an “I it” relationship for an “I thou” relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man’s tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.[9]

Here we see how Martin Luther King believed it was his duty to oppose the evil of racism. This in turn leads him to actions which others perceived to be extreme and provocative. But he knew that these actions were needed to highlight the evil of segregation and to advance the cause of civil rights in America.

Fourthly, I will now look at an alternative model of patriotism which I will draw from the Biblical narrative, here drawing on the Prophetic and Apostolic witness.  I will show that we are called to love our country but not in an uncritical way. The Prophets clearly loved the nation of Israel, but it was this love that motivated them to be willing to speak God’s word of judgement against the nation and to call it back from its sinful ways into a right relationship with God and neighbour. We don’t have time to give an exhaustive list of the way the prophets spoke so I will just use some examples that could be multiplied many times over.

The prophet Isaiah says this,

      16 Wash and make yourselves clean.

         Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

         stop doing wrong.

      17 Learn to do right; seek justice.

         Defend the oppressed.

         Take up the cause of the fatherless;

         plead the case of the widow.[10]

Micah also uses strong language when speaking of the sin of Judah,

       Then I said,

       “Listen, you leaders of Jacob,

         you rulers of Israel.

         Should you not embrace justice,

         2you who hate good and love evil;

         who tear the skin from my people

         and the flesh from their bones;

      3 who eat my people’s flesh,

         strip off their skin

         and break their bones in pieces;

         who chop them up like meat for the pan,

         like flesh for the pot?”

      4 Then they will cry out to the LORD,

         but he will not answer them.

         At that time he will hide his face from them

         because of the evil they have done.

5 This is what the LORD says:

         “As for the prophets

         who lead my people astray,

         they proclaim ‘peace’

         if they have something to eat,

         but prepare to wage war against anyone

         who refuses to feed them.

      6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,

         and darkness, without divination.

         The sun will set for the prophets,

         and the day will go dark for them.

      7 The seers will be ashamed

         and the diviners disgraced.

         They will all cover their faces

         because there is no answer from God.”

      8 But as for me, I am filled with power,

         with the Spirit of the LORD,

         and with justice and might,

         to declare to Jacob his transgression,

         to Israel his sin. [11]

Lastly the words of Jeremiah are extraordinarily strong,

      13 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,

         his upper rooms by injustice,

         making his own people work for nothing,

         not paying them for their labour.

      14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace

         with spacious upper rooms.’

         So he makes large windows in it,

         panels it with cedar

         and decorates it in red.

      15 “Does it make you a king

         to have more and more cedar?

         Did not your father have food and drink?

         He did what was right and just,

         so all went well with him.

      16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,

         and so all went well.

         Is that not what it means to know me?”

         declares the LORD.

      17 “But your eyes and your heart

         are set only on dishonest gain,

         on shedding innocent blood

         and on oppression and extortion.” [12]

These three passages illustrate to us how the prophets spoke out clearly against injustice and yet they do so because they desire to see the nation return to God’s ways. I believe that the prophets demonstrated their love of Israel by being willing to declare these words of judgement. It would have been much easier to stay quiet, but love of God and neighbour demanded that they speak out. The Prophets did not as some do today spend all their time denouncing things but rather, they showed a deep love and concern for their nation which caused them to speak out.

If we also look briefly at the whole Bible Story, we see that in Creation God created humankind as one race with a unity. We see this clearly in the early chapters of Genesis but also in Paul’s teaching for example in Acts 17 he says,

26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.[13]

In this passage Paul undermines the Athenians belief that they were a special people created differently from the other nations surrounding them. He also shows that each nation has a place in God’s plan and purpose. The latter part of this verse has caused much discussion by commentators on the book of Acts as to its precise meaning so it would be unwise for me to me to make any dogmatic statement about it here.

The Fall introduces brokenness and division, and this can be illustrated by the account of the Tower of Babel.  Babel brings with it the confusion of languages and the division of nationalities; this is all a result of humankind’s false worship and arrogance.

 In the outworking of God’s redemptive purposes, we can see how he has brought and is bringing people back together; Pentecost is the reversal of Babel. At Babel barriers to communication with one another were created whereas at Pentecost the barriers are overcome as people miraculously hear the Gospel in their own language. The purpose of the Gospel is to create a new humankind which reflects the diversity of cultures but is one in Christ. This can also be seen in the new creation which is the Church of God where the distinction between Jew and Gentile no longer holds but rather there is a new humanity in Christ.

 Also, the fruit of the cultures of all nation are brought into the New Jerusalem. See Isaiah 60 and Revelation 20:22-27. Richard Mouw helpfully expounds this idea in his book “When The Kings Come Marching In”[14]. Central to this whole concept is that even in the New Jerusalem one sees the bringing together of the nations of the earth and the best of their culture. This perhaps goes against a rather more pietistic view of the New Heavens and the New Earth, but it seems that only this view does justice to the Biblical text which does not devalue the physical creation.

The Bible closes with a reminder of the fact that God will remove the curse at the time of the eschaton, one of the things that is intriguing is that the nations still exist, but they are all healed and are part of the new creation, The author of the Apocalypse puts it this way,

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.[15]

These words are ones that can help us to see what we should be aiming for as we adopt a critical patriotism because our desire will be to see the healing of the nations through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and in his ultimate triumph over all the forces of evil.

I will close by quoting what I said in 1978.

The first place we start with our nation is examining it from the Scriptures and supporting our rulers by prayer. This is something we must do. Love your country where you are from, but at the same time be critical of it, understanding those things which are wrong….and never, never hold your country as inherently superior to any other nation. But rather, understand that each culture in the community of nations has something to offer the other, whether it be in the diversity of music, traditions, etc. In all of these things, let us try and learn from each other as nations, but let us prize our own heritage” [16]

Select Bibliography

Bonhoeffer, D. (2010). Letters and Papers from Prison. (C. Gremmels, E. Bethge, R. Bethge, I. Tödt, & J. W. de Gruchy, Eds., I. Best, L. E. Dahill, R. Krauss, N. Lukens, B. Rumscheidt, M. Rumscheidt, & D. W. Stott, Trans.) (Vol. 8, ). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Bonhoeffer, D. (1973) True Patriotism, London, William Collins

Clements, Keith, (1984,2011.) A Patriotism for Today, Eugene, Oregon, Wipf and Stock Publishers.

King, M.L. (1964) Why We Can’t Wait, New York, New American Library

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriotism

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Vow_to_Thee,_My_Country

/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule,_Britannia!

[4] https://bnp.org.uk/policies/immigration/

[5] https://www.bitchute.com/video/3DwfI7KWHiCP/

[6] https://www.snp.org/policy-area/europe-international-affairs/

[7] https://www.ekd.de/en/The-Barmen-Declaration-303.htm

[8] Bonhoeffer, D. (2010). Letters and Papers from Prison. (C. Gremmels, E. Bethge, R. Bethge, I. Tödt, & J. W. de Gruchy, Eds., I. Best, L. E. Dahill, R. Krauss, N. Lukens, B. Rumscheidt, M. Rumscheidt, & D. W. Stott, Trans.) (Vol. 8). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

[9] King, M L1964, Why We Can’t Wait Page 82 Signet Books, New York

[10] The New International Version. (2011). (Is 1:16–17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[11] The New International Version. (2011). (Mic 3:1–8). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[12] The New International Version. (2011). (Je 22:13–17). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan

[13] The New International Version. (2011). (Ac 17:26). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan

[14]  Mouw Richard “When the Kings Come Marching in” Grand Rapids and Cambridge UK, Wm B Eerdmanns, 2002

[15] The New International Version. (2011). (Re 22:1–5). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[16] from a lecture on Patriotism given at L’Abri Fellowship, Huemoz, Switzerland by David P Rollings 1978

Posted in Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Church.

Posted on November 19, 2022 by pneumaandlogos

When we think of the Church we tend to think of it as a building but this is not how the New Testament writers thought of it. The New Testament authors expect us to see that the Church is the community of the people of God. Jesu himself said that the Church would be built on the confession of his name.

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 16:15–18.

Here Jesu is reacting to the confession of faith that Peter had just made about who he is when he states that the Church will be built upon it.

On the day of Pentecost, the Church is born by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the whole of chapter 2 0f the Book of Acts demonstrates this, but I want to concentrate on just a few verses from the end of the chapter.

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 2:41–42.

Peter in his sermon had called on those who were listening to him to “repent and be baptised” the Apostles saw baptism as part of the whole process of becoming a disciple. It was not an optional extra and it should not be for us. About three thousand people respond to the message that day and were baptised.

These new disciples devoted themselves to the apostles teaching ( they really wanted to understand their newfound faith), and they also devoted themselves to fellowship ( a deep sharing with one another in a variety of ways). They also devoted themselves to the breaking of bread ( In other words receiving communion and really celebrating what Jesus had achieved for them on the Cross) and they also devoted themselves to prayer.

We ss that the early church devoted themselves to these things but we must ask do we devote ourselves to them?

Paul in chapter 2 of his letter to the Ephesians lays out the way of salvation and how Jesus has abolished the deciding wall between Jews and Gentiles he then goes on to make some profound statements about the Church which we will briefly look at.

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Eph 2:19–22.

All those of us who are true believers are fellow citizens with God’s people and members of his household, this means that generations of hostility have been broken down. The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets ( we find the teaching of the prophets and apostles in the pages of scripture) but the cornerstone of the Church is Christ himself. This is not the end of the matter because we are being built together to be a building in which God dwells by his Spirit. The New Testament sees the Church as a body, they would not have understood our modern individualism and our centred faith as being an accurate reflection of their teaching.

Peter in his first letter stresses the importance of the corporate nature of our faith, these words should cause us to rejoice that we are privileged to be part of such a wonderful people.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 1 Pe 2:9–10.

These words are a tremendous encouragement to value our place in the Church of God, we are his people, saved by his grace and transformed into his people. We are called to be priests together who offer our praise and prayers to God. We are called to be a holy nation, a people set aside for God’s own purpose. This is so that we may declare the praises of him called you out of darkness into his glorious light.

In the light of the above we need to embrace the importance of the Church as part of god’s plan for our salvation and edification. We have not been able to look at all the significant marks of the Church in this post, we must not forget the importance of evangelism and discipleship but those subjects will have to be addressed elsewhere.

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Anger is a fire that Consumes

Posted on November 8, 2022 by pneumaandlogos

Anger is like a fire that consumes my heart and then hurts others

A Judgmental attitude creates division where none should be.

Legalism is more concerned with rules than with people.

Gossip betrays the secrets of others and destroys relationships.

Self-centred thinking leads to jealousy and bitterness.

BUT

Love is like a refreshing stream that flows out to others

Love seeks peace, understanding and reconciliation.

Love is patient, and tries to build others up

Love seeks to forgive and to see others blessed.

David Rollings, January 2013

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The Lord Jesus Christ.

Posted on October 29, 2022 by pneumaandlogos

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

[1]

[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Php 2:1–12.

This passage brings together the great truth about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this post, I want to look briefly at who he is, what he accomplished and his exaltation.

Who he is, the first thing to note from this passage is that he is truly God, he is equal with God in every way and has existed from all eternity. This means that as God he has the same power and love as His heavenly Father. This means that he is full of compassion which explains why he would be willing to leave the glories of heaven for our redemption. He has always been the Lord and is Sovereign over all things and as such is just and holy. God in his holiness cannot overlook sin. Sometimes when we talk about Jesus we forget that he is the holy one and that is to do him a great injustice. He is truly God in every aspect of who he is and he has all the attributes of God In this short post I do not have the space to consider them all but he is the Almighty God the creator of heaven and earth.

Jesus Christ is also truly Man, he humbled himself and came down to earth and was born of the virgin Mary, he then lived a very full human life. It is very important to affirm that Jesus Christ is truly human, it is only as such that he can be our representative before God. It is vital that we affirm his true humanity the New Testament is very clear that as a man Jesus got tired, sometimes he was sad and at other times he was angry with sin. We also read of him being full of compassion for the needy and the lost.

It is important therefore that we maintain that Jesus is God and Man, he is not a mixture of God with humanity but rather truly God and truly Man, this is a great mystery with which the greatest theologians of the Church have wrestled with but who all affirm this to be true and essential for our faith.

What He did. Jesus humbled himself by taking on himself the nature of a servant he could rightly have come as a King but he did not and the reason for this is he came into this world for our salvation. Jesus lived a life of service in obedience to his heavenly Father by which he also works out righteousness for us, his active obedience to his Father is of vital importance to us as part of the plan of Salvation. But in this passage, the emphasis is on the passive obedience of Christ, and his willingness to die upon the cross. The cross was reserved for the worse criminals and the lowest in society, this does not seem the appropriate place for the Son of God to die but he does this for our sake. We need a Saviour who is pure and holy and only Jesus Christ fits this picture, but we also need both a holy man and God to act on our behalf. It was a man that fell and therefore we need a new Adam to save us but because we are fallen there is no way that any ordinary man can pay the price for sin. This is where the marvel of the plan of salvation comes into focus because Jesus could accomplish our salvation because he is both fully man and fully God. It is so important to hold these things together because our salvation depends upon it. Jesus died upon the cross to atone for our sins, he died as our substitute so that he took upon himself the punishment for our sins. There is so much we could say about the Cross but we don’t have space here.

His exaltation. Jesus was willing to die upon the cross therefore God has exalted him above every name above every other name. He is therefore to be regarded as holding a place of highest honour which is why everyone will confess that Jesus is Lord, every knee will bow before him and here we come to the sober truth that some will bow the knee unwillingly while others will the knee rejoicing in the fact that Jesus is their Lord and Saviour. This passage should encourage us to rejoice in the greatness of our salvation and to give the Lord Jesus Christ all the glory that he so richly deserves.

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The True Light Gives Us The Right To Become Children of God

Posted on December 15, 2020 by pneumaandlogos

In the first Chapter of John’s Gospel, we find these amazing words,

9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The New International Version. (2011). (Jn 1:9–13).

Here we find that the eternal Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to be its Saviour. As God he gives liight to everyone who is born into this world. Sin has caused us to live in darkness and many in the world do not recognise him for who he is. What is really sad is that his own people did not recognise him, they had less excuse than the pagan nations as they had the witness of Scripture that ponted them to who Jesus really was and is. We cannot point our fingers at the Jews without also having to reflect that we also have lived in the darkness of sin. Sin has a had pervasive effect on all of humankind.

The good news is that when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ he gives us the right to become Children of God. The good news does not stop there however because we are told that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ do so because of the new birth.This is not something that we bring about rather it is God’s action in us which gives us new life. The Apostle John makes it quite clear that just as we do not give ourselves birth when we are born the first time, neither can we give ourselves birth spiritually. The whole of being a child of God shows that we have a change of status before we become children of God we are slaves to sin, now we have been set free. Yet, it is not only a matter of being set free but also coming into a close relationship with the living God through Jesus. A child can come and speak to his Father and know that he has good purposes for us. with a human Father the relationship is always broken and flawed by sin but with God we have a perfect heavenly Father.

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Praying for the Nation

Posted on November 7, 2019 by pneumaandlogos

The Bible gives us a clear instruction to pray for those in authority over us and gives us good reasons to do so. It seems that is a relevant matter at the present time and firstly we need to listen to Paul’s words to Timothy.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.. (1 Ti 2:1–6).

In this passage Paul grounds our praying for those in authority in the reconciling ministry of Christ, we are to pray that we may be able to live godly lives so that others would come to know the Saviour. We cannot say that we need to concentrate on the spiritual matters in our prayers when we have such a clear exhortation from the Apostle Paul. for those of us living in countries where we have a democratic vote, we need to pray for wisdom when we vote. It also seems to me that from this exhortation we should be praying more in our worship services for those in authority over us. We need to pray for anyone who is in authority over us whether we like them or not, I doubt if the believers in the early church really appreciated the oppressive power of the Roman authorities but they still prayed for them.

 

When we pray for the nation it is very difficult to know how to pray after all we see so much sin and rampant ungodliness all around us, we can be tempted to give up in despair or on the other hand to pray self-righteous prayers. How are we to get the right balance, I think that Daniel has a lot to teach us in this regard he was a man of the utmost integrity and of a known godly character. Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9 is very instructive in this regard. I want to look at what lead to the prayer and then to look at some sections of the prayer itself.

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes (Da 9:1–3).

Daniel was motivated in his praying because he was reading the scriptures, he was not just praying out of frustration or anxiety but in a way that the Scriptures inspired him to. Notice that he does not just assume that because Jeremiah had prophesied that the exile would last seventy years that he did not have to do anything, in fact it was just the opposite he prayed for those promises to be kept But he was also aware of the continued sinful state of the nation. Now I want to turn to some elements in the prayer in some detail.

4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land (Da 9:4–6).

The prayer starts with a heart of worship and an acknowledgement the greatness of God for Daniel, God is great and awesome, we have lost something of that awe in today’s church but it permeates the whole Bible. It is because Daniel realises how great God is that he can also appeal to the fact of God’s covenant of love. As we said earlier Daniel was a godly man but as he prays for the nation he identifies with it. This is so different from the way many of us would be tempted to pray, we need to be on the guard against spiritual pride and here Daniel is a good example of humility. Notice how he constantly use the word “we” not them or some fault finding category. If we are to pray effectively for our nation we need to have a similar attitude to Daniel’s. Daniel constantly says we have done this or that or we have not listened to God’s word.

7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, LORD, because we have sinned against you. 9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you (Da 9:7–11).

Daniel continues to acknowledge that the nation has sinned against God and that God’s judgements are just. But he also knows and relies upon the fact that the Lord is merciful and forgiving, this motivates him to continue confessing the nation’s sins and the fact that the nation has not obeyed the Lord. But at the same time he does not tone down the gravity of his people’s sinfulness. Daniel acknowledges the fact that Israel has rebelled against the LORD and he does not tone down their actions but in the light of them still seeks mercy. in the following verses he continues to confess the nations sins and admits that God’s judgement are just. He sees that the curses of the law have been releassed because God has not been worshiped and obeyed. He lists all of these things before he makes his final plea where once again Daniel looks at the character and promises of God. One of the things that is striking about this prayer is how much Daniel has immersed himself in the Word of God.

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” (Da 9:15–19).

In this section we see how Daniel uses the history of God’s redemptive purposes towards Israel to guide his praying. This links in for us to the fact that we are called to pray for those in authoority over us based on God’s salvation in Christ Jesus. Daniel does not ask God to act for the nation’s sake but rather for God’s own sake, Daniel wants to see God glorified. Notice how many times he says “your” in this part of his prayer. Daniel is concerned for his people but he realises that the only way something good can be achieved for them is through the saving work of the Lord and in that saving work the Lord must get himself the glory.

I hope this blog post will cause us to pray more for our nation but to do so with heart that is in tune with God’s plan of salvation, then our prayers will be humble like Daniel’s but also like him knowing the character of God we will ask for great blessings.

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Finding Freedom In Christ

Posted on September 20, 2019 by pneumaandlogos

At some point every Christian needs to realise that they are free in Christ but what does that mean in this post I will try to answer that question to some extent.

Firstly, freedom in Christ is being free to be the person God wants you to be that means becoming more like Jesus. This means that we can live as people who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, using the language of redemption shows that Christ has freed us from slavery to sin. The concept of redemption runs through the pages of the whole Bible and is therefore fundamental to our understanding of Christian freedom. The Exodus event shows this in a very graphic way as God liberates the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and brings them out to form as his own special people.

Secondly, we need to note thaat Christian freedom is very different from the secular concept of freedom, many people today when they speak of freedom today speak of it as being able to do exactly what I want to do. The modern concept of freedom does not want to be restricted by anything whereas as we have seen above the Christian concept of freedom is very different from this. to understand this more fully we need to look at some of the key Scriptures that speak of freedom in Christ.

We need firstly to look at a key passage in John’s Gospel where Jesus speaks clearly about finding fredom through him.

“31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.“

The New International Version. (2011). (Jn 8:31–36).

In this passage we see clearly that Jesus makes a very clear and bold claim that if we hold to his teaching he will set us free. It is interesting to note that Jesus linked fredom to the teaching that he gave. We must grasp the fact that we will only be truly free when we submit ourselves to God and His word.. The Jews claim that they can trust in their descent from Abraham but Jesus holds that this is not good enough. We to must be careful that we do not rely on anything other than the finished work of Christ for us. Religious rituals and practices can never make up for a living relationship with the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul warned against this at great length in his letter to the Church in Galatia.We need to turn to that book and gather some of what it has to say for us.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.“

The New International Version. (2011). (Ga 5:1). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

“13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

The New International Version. (2011). (Ga 5:13–18). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Paul lays out very clearly in the previous chapters of Galatians that salvatian is found only in the finished work of Christ but in these verses he calls us to walk in the freedom this salvation brings. He affirms that we need to walk in the Spirit so that we will manifest the fruit of the Spirit. Paul shows us that a life of freedom in Christ should also be a life of loving service to others. We are to be aware of the Spirit’s leading and this means cultivating an awareness of the Spirit’s presence and reality.

Paul spells this out very clearly in another letter when he says,

“17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.“

The New International Version. (2011). (2 Co 3:17–18). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

We do not really need to make much comment on these verses but once again the Apostle highlights that where the Spirit is there is freedom. Also, he stresses that we will be transformed by this freedom more and more into the image of Christ.

So far I have laid the foundation for walking in fredom now I want to look at some specific passages that will help us to do so.

Firstly let us look at Romans 12,

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ro 12:1–2). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

This passage among other things calls us to be “transformed by the renewal of your mind” this transformation comes about the more we align our thinking with that of Scripture. This is why it is so vital that we get to grip with what the Bible says, it is on the pages of the Bible that we find direction, guidance and comfort. It is through the pages of Scripture that we can learn who we are in Christ. The Bible is also the compass for our journey through life and shows us clearly what God’s standards are. The Holy Spirit can and will help us in our understanding of Scripture but when he speaks he never will change the plain meaning of the text. When we are equipped with a transformed mind we can discern God’s will for us clearly, this does not always make life easy but it always provides us with the certainty that we are walking in God’s ways and not our own.

The subject of forgiveness is also vital in finding freedom in Christ, firstly we need to know that we are forgiven by God through the finished work of Christ but then we are called to forgive others. There are many Scriptures on this subject but I will look briefly at just one, Col 3:12-14 says,

“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Paul here appeals to us to show kindness and love to others based on what God has done for us, we are addressed as “God’s Chosen people and dearly loved”, this should make us stop and think about the importance of what is to follow. Various virtues which are important in the Christian life are summarised here but when it comes to forgiveness we are called to forgive on the basis of what God has already done for us. We can not claim to be walking in the light of being forgiven if we hold onto bitterness and unforgiveness. We do need to be able to let go of past hurts and extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us. Sometimes we make excuses for harbouring unforgiveness, one common excuse is that we have lost contact with the person but we can still tell God that we forgive this person and pray that we would know God’s blessing in their lives..

There is much more that could be said about finding and keeping our freedom in Christ and these are only just a few examples of what the Bible teaches on this important subject but let us be sure of this we need to live out our Christian freedom from day to day. in the above I have tried to reflect something of what Martin Luther meant when he said “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all,subject to all” ( The Freedom of the Christian by Martin Luther). If we take this seriously we will serve others from a place of fredom not of servitude, delighting in the fact that we have been seet free to serve God and others. May the Lord help each one of us to live in the knowledge that we are free in Him.

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Mary The Servant of God Sings His Praise.

Posted on December 18, 2018 by pneumaandlogos

Mary can give us some great insights into the Christian life as can many other of God’s people. In this post, I will mainly concentrate on the Magnificat but we need to put that in the setting that is found in the Bible. Luke writes a very careful account of the historical events found in the Gospel, and we must look at these if we are to understand the importance of what he has to say. When we first encounter Mary in this gospel it is when the Angel Gabriel speaks to her. Here we find Mary encountering the unexpected and yet she responds in faith. She finds herself as an unmarried young woman being told that she will become pregnant by an act of God. This child that she will bear will be destined for great things because he is the son of  God, he will sit on David’s throne forever and as his name implies he will save his people from their sins. Mary accepts this astounding news, her only question is how can this come about. Mary is assured by Gabriel that this will all come about when the Holy Spirit comes upon her. Mary says that she is the Lord’s servant and is willing to do his will.

Now we are ready to look at the Magnificat, which is part of the interchange between Mary and Elizabeth, Elizabeth was fill filled with the Spirit when Mary greeted her. Elizabeth knew that Mary was bearing a child of great importance, she acknowledged that the child was the Lord himself. it is at this point that Mary utters the words that she is so famous for.

46 And Mary said: 

     “My soul glorifies the Lord 
     47and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 
  48 for he has been mindful 
     of the humble state of his servant. 
     From now on all generations will call me blessed, 
     49for the Mighty One has done great things for me— 
     holy is his name. 
  50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, 
     from generation to generation. 
  51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; 
     he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 
  52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones 
     but has lifted up the humble. 
  53 He has filled the hungry with good things 
     but has sent the rich away empty. 
  54 He has helped his servant Israel, 
     remembering to be merciful 
  55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, 
     just as he promised our ancestors.”  Luke 1:46-55

Mary utters this song of praise which is saturated with influences from the Old Testament, particularly Hannah’s song found in 1Samuel 2. here Mary models for us what it means to let the word of God dwell in us richly ( see Colossians 3:16). Notice that Mary praises God for all his goodness, she praises God with her whole being. She speaks of God as her Saviour, Mary knew that as a sinful human being she needed a Saviour and rejoiced in the fact of God’s salvation. She knew that she came from a humble background but the Lord had been mindful of her, Mary knows that the blessing that has been bestowed upon her meant that all futures generations would call her blessed, here we are over two thousand years later still acknowledging that Mary was blessed and that her son is the fount of all blessing.  Mary praises God because he has done great things for her and this, in turn, causes her to reflect on the fact that God is Holy, in fact, Mary rejoices in the fact that God is holy. God is not only Holy but he is also merciful and shows his mercy to those in need. He is the one who can change history so that righteousness is vindicated. Mary believes that God is starting to set things right and we know that will be completed through the second coming of Christ. Mary believes in a God who can and does overthrow unjust rulers. Mary roots all of this in the fact that God is keeping his covenant promises to Abraham, God always keeps his word and Mary knows this and praises God for it.

We can learn Much from this account of Mary both from her encounter with the Angel Gabriel and from her encounter with Elizabeth. Mary had a heart that was open to God and she was able to hear his voice, we too need to be able to listen to God as he speaks to us. secondly, Mary was transformed in her mind by the way she allowed the Word of God to dwell within her. We can see this very clearly in the Magnificat because it echoes so many Old Testament passages, we need to be like her and spend time reading our Bibles and meditating on what we read/. Thirdly she knew that because God was at work in her life, she was being transformed and this would affect not just herself but future generations. we need to recognise that as God works in us we do not need to repeat all the mistakes of past generations and we too can be a blessing to those who follow us. Mary knew that she was a child of God and therefore could live in the light of that fact. We also need to know that as Children of God we are adopted into his family and live in the light of the assurance that this can bring us. Perhaps most importantly we see that Mary had a heart that wanted to worship the Lord, we should ask ourselves whether we are like Mary  and desire to be those who worship the true and living God.

Posted in almighty God, faith, Faithfulness, God, God's love, holiness, praise, Theology, Word of God, worship | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Serve The Lord With Gladness

Posted on October 19, 2018 by pneumaandlogos

All believers are called to serve the Lord within the Church. yet each one needs to discover how to do that with the gifts and personality God has given them. One of the keys to this is to realize that we are all members of the body of Christ and are given gifts to use in his service. As we see that our whole life is to be one of service to God we can see that we need to receive his wisdom and insight.

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Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2. In this passage, we see something of Paul’s heart for the believer, he wants us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God and by so doing to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. This is not for primarily intellectual reasons but rather practical ones in knowing God’s will. We are called to have a have a very different mindset to that of people in the world our is to be a mindset which reflects the new age of which we have become a part in Christ Jesus. As our minds are transformed we will know God’s will for us, this is far better than anything we could devise for ourselves. Notice that it is his perfect will for us, God’s will is the place where we find that he as our creator knows what is good for us and therefore He will lead us in the way which is best for us.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. ( Romans 12:3-8) These verses spell out in more detail what is implied by becoming living sacrifices and living the life of service which God desires for us. Firstly we are called to think soberly about ourselves this excludes pride because that would miss the importance of the whole body of Christ. Service by definition calls us to serve the Lord and each other and therefore should spring from a heart of love. Each of the gifts that Paul lists here is to be used to serve the Lord and others and each gift has a valuable function within the body of Christ. We are to use these gifts to serve one another and to build the church up. As the gifts spring from God’s grace they are not something we can be proud of but rather we receive from the Lord what he has given to us and use it for the benefit of our fellow believers. some of these gifts are upfront ministries but others are less conspicuous, but all are equally important to the life and vitality of the local church.

 

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. (Romans 12:9-16)   

In the above verses, we see that Paul once again returns to the theme of loving one another, other believers are to be put first. One of the ways to maintain our love for believers is to be full of zeal and to have this we need to maintain our spiritual fervour. For Paul spiritual fervour leads to very practical results in our care for one another, we very often tend to think of spiritual fervour as being shown in our worship in Church, here we see that although this is true it is much more than that  because it is our spiritual fervour which causes us to reach out in love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are called to live in harmony with one another and to achieve this we need to keep control of any tendency to pride on our part. We need to be fully open to one another.

Sometimes people say that that do not have any gifts but one of the quickest ways to discover our gifts is to serve the church in any way we can. It soon becomes obvious what our strengths and weaknesses are. It is not always given to us on a plate but we have to step out in faith. sometimes we try something and it soon becomes apparent that this is not our gifting, on other occasions, we try something and find ourselves enjoying it and being more and more drawn to it.also at various times in our lives we need to reevaluate what we should be doing to build the church up.



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