Posted by Pastor Pat on September 29, 2011
To understand the Book of Colossians it is helpful to examine the three movements within the book itself; they are logical and sequential. In the first chapter Paul explains the sufficiency and singularity of Jesus Christ. He speaks of the exalted Christ. Here he identifies for the reader what is considered “orthodoxy”.
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos (“right”, “true”, “straight”) + doxa (“opinion” or “belief”, related to dokein, “to think”),1is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion.2
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Posted by Pastor Pat on November 20, 2009
Read Ephesians 4:17-32
The intent of this article is to show how what we once were in Adam we no longer are, but still have. Paul’s point from the beginning of the letter all the way through chapter 3 is to note how those who were once in sin’s debt and alienated from God are now redeemed from sin and adopted into God’s family. He is their Father and they are His children.
Paul is clear in verses 17 through 22 as to what this in Adam condition looks like both as a state and as a function. I would like us to consider the graphic nature of Paul’s language in describing those apart from Christ. There are several descriptive phrases that help us mark the unbelieving state and practice.
First, there is the futility of their mind (v. 17). The word “futility” speaks to vanity, emptiness. “The word contains the idea of aimlessness, the leading to no object or end.”[1] It is the same word used in Romans 8:20 (“For the creation was subjected to futility. . .”) and in 2 Peter 2:18 (“For speaking out arrogant words of vanity. . . ”). There is emptiness to the conclusion drawn by those who do not and will not acknowledge God. Because there is no fear of God within their thinking, they have no wisdom (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). This is the manner of life that characterizes the unbelieving.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 14, 2009
Read Mark 8:10-21
In this short study, I would like us to consider the biblical warning to “watch out” and “beware.” The word “watch out” is used three times in Mark’s Gospel (1:44; 8:15, 24). It is only here where it is used with the force of an imperative. Mark uses the word for “beware” fourteen times. It is used with force in Mark 4:24; 12:38; 13:5, 9, 23, and 33.
The words “watch out” or “beware” call for a quick response. They warn us of immediate or impending danger. In the passage before us we are warned of three potential adversaries: hypocrisy in fake questions, hostility in false teachers, and hardness in fat hearts.
All three areas can cause the unaware to be positioned against God. The first danger of hypocrisy is seen in the question asked by the religious establishment. Their questioning attempted to cloak the deception of their hearts. They did not ask to investigate, but to ensnare. Their sole intent was to trap and destroy. They had no desire to hear, examine, and grow through change. Their minds were already made-up and their resolution was already against Him.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 10, 2009
Read Mark 8:1-9
I believe it is important to keep our Lord’s movements in mind when reading the various stories. Jesus is in the Decapolis and is speaking to a predominately Gentile audience. It is important to remember the continued conflict with the religious leaders and political authorities. He has come to His own people first and then begins reaching out to the Gentile world. In the world in which Jesus lived, everyone who is non-Jewish is Gentile. Mark shows how Gentiles are included in the story of God. Mark opens this idea with Jesus addressing the Pharisees on the topic of “clean versus unclean.” He then heals a Canaanite woman’s daughter of a demon. He continues His handling of the unclean Gentiles by healing a deaf and mute man. To show equality among the Jews and Gentiles, He repeats His feeding miracles among a predominately Gentile audience. His actions do not negate Jewish primacy. Jesus did not forget that it was to the Jew and through the Jew that God’s revelation and divine incarnation would take place. Such action on His part reflects an impartial worldview. In fact, His actions always reflect a Christian worldview. Often I think as Christians we need to be reminded that a Christian worldview is a Christ worldview. His worldview is to be reflected by and represented in our worldview. It is not the other way around. Sometimes I, we, confuse our nationalism, our patriotism, our tribal instinct, our religious experience for a biblical worldview. What is His worldview? What is a Christian worldview? WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 6, 2009
Read Mark 7:31-37
This narrative continues to celebrate the innate goodness of God. Regardless as to what our thoughts and opinions might be concerning Jesus, they must conclude with the idea that He is good. It is because He is good that what He does is good. It cannot be otherwise. In our present passage, Jesus heals an individual who is both deaf and speechless. His inability to hear contributed to his inability to speak. Regardless as to the condition, it was just cause for our Lord to act and, in acting, to display His power over all disease. In so doing, His status as Messiah continues to be established. In commenting on the grammatical structure of this statement, A.T. Robertson notes how, “The present perfect active shows the settled convictions of these people about Jesus.” Jesus was never charged with doing evil. Everything He did was “good.”
The entire Gospel of Mark seeks to establish the identity of his primary character. He is the one who was foretold and pre-figured. He is God’s Hero King. What Jesus did and why it was done has intentional design. Nothing was random; everything was deliberate. I appreciate the calculated manner in which the following thought explains this idea.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on July 2, 2009
“Even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”
Read Mark 7:24-30
Mark’s accounting of this story is direct and terse. Matthew provides necessary embellishment that enhances the encounter. Together they form a remarkable story of how our Lord is merciful. Mark places this story in contrast to the interaction with the religious leaders. The Pharisees and Scribes are arguing over whether or not one should eat with unwashed hands, and Jesus ministers to a Gentile woman whose daughter is demon possessed. The disparity could not be more stark. How many times do we “hyperventilate” over the unimportant only to overlook the dying lying at our feet? Although it would appear His actions are insensitive (“He did not answer her a word”) and His words are demeaning (“throw it to the dogs”), what we cannot feel is the look in His eyes and the expression of His face.
The woman was consumed by her grief. Her condition was agitated and her actions were aggressive. Her circumstance removed all protocol and etiquette. Without shame or restraint, she pursued our Lord with her petition. Her daughter, her little daughter was cruelly possessed by a demon. As a Canaanite, an outcast and dog to the Jew, she came and prostrated herself before, “The Son of David.” Her petition was simple, “Lord, help me, have mercy on me.”
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 28, 2009
Read Mark 7:1-23
Remember to whom Mark writes. He is writing to a Roman audience, a Gentile audience. He is showing how they are included in the redemptive purpose of God to secure for Himself a people who will love Him and worship Him forever. It is these people who will enjoy the presence of God forever. Although this truth caused the religious establishment to put Him to death, it caused the larger world to rejoice.
In the purpose of God for the redemption of His people, worshippers from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation were intentionally included. Many within the Jewish religion excluded Gentiles from a redemptive hope. Jesus forcefully shows how Gentiles were a part of God’s plan all along.
The same tension continued to exist with Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10. In Acts 10 we have the vision to Peter declaring that all foods are clean (10:1-23). The Holy Spirit then falls on the Gentiles, just as He did in Acts 2 (10:23-48). Peter defends Gentile inclusion (11:1-18) and the church in Antioch grows strong in the Spirit (11:19-30).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 20, 2009
17 “For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife’”(Mark 6:17, 18).
I find John’s statement and cause for imprisonment striking in light of our presidential elections on Tuesday (November 4, 2008). Although I would probably argue that the prophet’s role in a theocracy, John’s role in a monarchy and our role in a democracy might be different, there are similarities. I am told pastors cannot tell you to vote for specific candidates, there is, however, a right and wrong in what each of our presidential candidates promote and the Bible does speak to issues.
Does the Bible promote a system of honorable work? Are we to concern ourselves with the poor, widowed, and orphaned? Is greed and the exploitation of the less fortunate sinful? Should we be warmongers or peacemakers? Does war, like divorce, exist simply because of the hardness of men’s hearts? Should laziness be enabled? Does the issue of personal convenience justify taking the life of the unborn child, infanticide or euthanasia? Is the use of our natural resources an expression of biblical stewardship and mankind’s dominion over the earth? When does environmentalism become idolatry and exploitation become criminal?
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 12, 2009
Read Mark 6:1-6
In all of our stories from Mark 4:35 and following, there is consistent thread of faith. Faith appears throughout as a precondition to the miraculous. Nonetheless, is faith a precondition to the miraculous or is it a consequence of the miraculous?
Some would argue from the passage that “the miracle does not generate faith; rather, faith must be present for the miracle to occur. This is the negative side of the positive correlation between faith and miracles seen already in Mark: miracles can and do take place in a context of faith (cf. 2:4; 5:43, 36); conversely, where there is no faith, miracles cannot occur.” ([emphasis added] The Oxford Bible Commentary, Ed. John Barton and John Muddiman [Oxford: University Press, 2001], 897, 898).
Here is my tension with the absoluteness of this statement. If such a conclusion is true, then faith becomes a burden to be born. Faith becomes a tool to be exploited and expanded on. In the absoluteness of this statement, every bad thing you’ve prayed over and had as its outcome nothing can be attributed to your lack of faith. Had you simply believed “enough” disease, death, depression, and dysfunction would have turned out the way you asked. Your child would not have gone astray, your marriage would not have failed, your bills would have been paid out, and your health would have been restored, had you simply believed. Such thinking is truly guilt-forming and bondage-making. This is not a biblical view of faith.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on May 30, 2009
As believers, you and I are in constant spiritual warfare. Often, however, we fail to recognize our battles as such. In addition, we are often ignorant of Satan’s mode of operation. And finally, we regularly fail to fight from a position of victory. Although this is a lengthy study, I would like to simply note several verses and then conclude by noting how we live from victory and not for victory.
First, let us begin by noting how the devil’s defeat is already secured.
“But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house” (Mark 3:27).
This parable tells us that Jesus has bound the devil and has placed him in a position of subjection. Jesus is the strong king who has conquered His enemies.
“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 23, 2009
Where do we go from here? Because the story exceeds the boundaries placed on it, it engulfs everyone and everything that lies in its path. God wrote every detail into the story. He knows what will happen before it happens simply because He is God. There is only one book that gives us “the rest of the story.” It is found almost exclusively in the book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is notably apocalyptic literature. This means it uses symbolism to communicate its thoughts. The meaning is not in the symbol but in what the symbol represents. “It is literature born out of crisis and was a means of addressing that crisis to a religious community.”(http://faculty.bbc.edu/rdecker/phd/depriest/1defined.html) This means the intent of the literature was to explain present conflict and provide immediate hope. The book of Revelation is remarkably singular in its purpose. Chapter 1 verse 1 opens with the following statement,
1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev. 1:1-3).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 13, 2009
We have already noted how the Hero’s work has left His people with a legacy. This legacy is to be carried out by every succeeding generation. The mission for His people is to share His legacy. Luke 24:47 notes how the message is to “be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Luke continues this idea in Acts 1:7, 8. ”He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth’”.
“All the nations” in Luke 24:47 are “the remotest part of the earth” in Acts 1:8. The thought of Jerusalem is common in both. The Hero’s legacy, His redemptive work in behalf of His people, is to be proclaimed to everyone, everywhere, at all times. The work of the witness is to be who they are in whatever role they find themselves. The story of God is not bound by the chronicling of it in the Bible. The story exceeds its literary boundaries and is to overflow into every area of life. There is no part of life that is not a part of His story. Each of us, in our own special way, is a part of this divine story. This includes housewives, working mothers, husbands who find themselves in repetitive jobs whose sole interest is to clothe his family, put food on the table, and keep a roof over their heads. This is a part of the story. The story has various sub-plots but every sub-plot keeps taking the reader back to the four primary themes: creation, transgression, condemnation, and redemption. At times in the story, it is the author’s delight to keep parts a mystery to the reader, but this does not make the mystery any less necessary. Its placement is designed to push us toward the author and His purpose.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 7, 2009
In the story of God, He created a world in which His story would unfold. From the very beginning a villain, an antagonist was presented. But God also wrote into His story a deliverer who would bring deliverance. This hero was foreshadowed and imaged throughout biblical revelation and history. The foretelling and figure were so exact that when the hero arrived all who were looking were able to identify God’s hero. The Hero came at a very specific time in history and with a distinct purpose. He came as a deliverer, and He brought with Him deliverance. The Hero has finished the work entrusted to Him by His Father; now He gives to His people the responsibility to carry on the work of proclamation to all the nations. Even though we acknowledge the story of God, we fail to see how we are living in the story and how our lives are a part of the ongoing story of God.
We are the means God has established for the proclamation of His story to all the nations. This is His legacy to us. He left us with this inheritance. What we have in the story is the only thing in life that is truly priceless. The story is the treasure. Of all things created this is the one thing we cannot duplicate. The person and work of the story’s Hero is beyond us, and there is nothing we can do to do what was done. This work is the treasure that we are to share with all the nations.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 5, 2009
“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5).
In the story of God, it is not simply the hero’s presence that secures for His people deliverance from their shame, fear, and guilt. It is the hero’s work that will conquer their shame, fear, and guilt. Our text tells us that what He does will secure for His people redemption from the Law and adoption as sons. This immediate text does not tell us how this end would be secured. The Book of Galatians, however, does. There are three verses that describe the event that “fills the gap” at the end of verse 4 and the beginning of verse 5. The first verse is Galatians 1:3, 4, the second is 2:20 and the third is Galatians 6:14.
3 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal. 1:3, 4).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on January 4, 2009
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5).
In the story God wrote, He created a world in which His script would be played out. His story includes individuals whose wills can reject His and cause sin to exist. Their rebellion places them in a position of shame, fear, and guilt. All of their attempts at rectifying the problem end in failure. Failure begets failure. Something or someone must come to their rescue. Fortunately, God’s story not only includes a villain, but also provides a hero. The hero of God’s story was foretold as a deliverer who brings deliverance. This individual would be foretold and visualized in prophecy, promise, picture, type, shadow, and figure. The foretelling created hope and caused the true believers to live in expectancy and anticipation. They looked and longed for the hero’s arrival.
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