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8. Exalt the Lord God! (Exodus 8-10)

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March 25, 2018

Life of Moses (8)

“Frank and Ernest” (cartoon by Bob Thaves, 10/4/95) are standing before a scowling St. Peter at the gate into heaven. Clueless Ernie has on a T-shirt that reads, “Question Authority.” Frank whispers to him, “If I were you, I’d change my shirt, Ernie.”

Good advice! At times we may challenge some human authority, but when it comes to the Almighty Lord God, who spoke the universe into existence by His word alone, who will judge the thoughts and intentions of all the living and dead, it’s not wise to oppose Him! There is no one anywhere like the Lord God (Exod. 8:10; 9:14). The whole earth belongs to Him (Exod. 9:29). He is able to command everything from the smallest bacteria to powerful hailstorms to blacking out the sun. The plagues that God brought on Egypt because of Pharaoh’s hard heart teach us:

Because the sovereign Lord God will be exalted over all, it is foolish to harden your heart against Him.

The Lord tells Moses to tell Pharaoh why He is inflicting these plagues on Egypt (Exod. 9:16-17), “But, indeed, for this reason I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you My power and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against My people by not letting them go.” There are two main lessons:

1. The Lord God will be exalted over all because He is sovereign over all.

The plagues reveal God’s sovereignty in three broad areas:

A. The Lord God is sovereign over His creation.

The Egyptians, like all idolaters, worshiped the creation but not the Creator. They had gods that supposedly had influence over different aspects of life. So in the plagues, God challenged Egypt’s gods, showing His absolute superiority and sovereignty over them. Last week we looked at the first plague, turning the Nile into blood, which confronted the Egyptian god of the Nile. God is the sovereign over the Nile.

The Egyptians had a goddess of birth that had a frog head. So in the second plague, God brought frogs to the land. From a distance, this plague is humorous, but it wouldn’t have been funny to be invaded by swarms of frogs. There were frogs in all the houses (including Pharaoh’s palace), frogs in bedrooms and on beds, and frogs in kitchens. As a woman went to make bread, frogs were hopping into the dough! When she went to put the dough in the oven, frogs were in the oven! Wherever you walked, you stepped on frogs. You couldn’t get away from the slimy, croaking creatures! And the Egyptians couldn’t kill them because they were gods! But the point is, God is sovereign over frogs. Pharaoh’s demonically-powered magicians could bring forth frogs, but they couldn’t get rid of them. Only God could do that. But then there were stinking dead frogs everywhere!

The third plague of gnats (or mosquitoes or lice) came without warning. Whatever they were, they were all over people and animals (Exod. 8:17). They were in people’s eyes, noses, and ears. The closest Marla and I have come to anything like this was hiking in Alaska. We had nets over our faces and our entire bodies covered, but the mosquito swarms were so thick that you couldn’t think about anything else. This plague may have been an assault on Pharaoh, whom Egyptians believed had the power to maintain the cosmic order (Philip Ryken, Exodus [Crossway], p. 241). Or, it may have been directed against the Egyptian priests, who prided themselves on purity with frequent washings, shavings, and linen robes (John Hannah, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ed. by John F. Walvoord & Roy Zuck [Victor Books], 2:123). Here, Pharaoh’s magicians were stymied. They had to acknowledge (Exod. 8:19), “This is the finger of God.” He is sovereign over tiny insects.

The fourth plague was flies (Exod. 8:21). The Hebrew term could refer to several different kinds of flying insects. They may have been blood-sucking flies, like the black flies that we have encountered on backpacking trips. But whatever they were, they were all over Egypt. But in this plague, God protected the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived (Exod. 8:22-23). This plague may have shown God’s superiority over the Egyptian god Baalzebub, which means, “lord of the flies” (Ryken, pp. 249-250). He was supposed to protect the land from such infestations. But God is sovereign over such false gods.

The fifth plague killed the Egyptian livestock, striking a blow at many Egyptian gods and goddesses, depicted as cows. The bull was worshiped as a fertility god. Isis, the queen of the gods, was depicted with horns on her head (Ryken, pp. 262-263). But God created all livestock and is sovereign over them. Some ask how, if God killed all the livestock in this plague, there were still livestock to protect from the hail (Exod. 9:19). Either the word “all” (Exod. 9:6) means, “a great number,” or the plague killed all the animals in the fields (Exod. 9:3), but not those who were in shelters.

The sixth plague reveals God’s sovereignty over bacteria and disease: He struck the Egyptians and their surviving animals with painful boils (Exod. 9:8-12). The symbolic action of Moses and Aaron throwing soot from a kiln into the air may have pictured Israel’s bondage as brick-makers as the reason for Egypt’s plagues (Walter Kaiser, Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], ed. by Frank Gaebelein, 2:359). The boils may have been skin anthrax (Ryken, p. 270), but whatever it was, it involved painful skin sores. This plague demonstrated God’s superiority over several Egyptian gods of healing. Pharaoh’s magicians were incapable of overcoming this plague because they themselves were infected with boils.

The seventh plague consisted of the worst hailstorm in Egyptian history (Exod. 9:18-26). Again, the area where the Israelites dwelled was spared. Some of Pharaoh’s servants were getting the message! They feared the Lord and brought their people and animals inside (Exod. 9:20). But along with many human and animal deaths, most of Egypt’s crops were destroyed. God demonstrated His sovereignty over the Egyptian storm gods.

The eighth plague brought locusts so thick that no one could see the land (Exod. 10:5). They ate everything that the hail hadn’t destroyed. This humiliated Egypt’s god of the crops and the fields, as well as the god of the sky. Years ago, a locust swarm 1,200 miles wide was seen over the ocean flying from West Africa to Great Britain. In one photo taken from the air, you couldn’t see any piece of open ground in an area 2,000 miles square (Charles Swindoll, Moses [Thomas Nelson], p. 186). A recent locust infestation in Dagestan, Russia, covered 270,000 square miles. God is sovereign over all of His creation!

The ninth plague consisted of dense darkness over the land, described as “darkness which may be felt” (Exod. 10:21). This plague showed God’s sovereignty over the Egyptian sun god. Many ancient Egyptian texts identified Pharaoh with the sun god (Ryken, p. 304). Some commentators think that the darkness was caused by a severe dust storm, but the description seems to go beyond this. The Egyptians couldn’t see one another or go outside, but the Israelites had light (Exod. 10:23). This plague had obvious spiritual significance: darkness represents the sin and spiritual blindness of those in Satan’s domain, whereas light represents God’s holiness and the spiritual sight granted to those who know Him (John 3:19-21; 8:12; Eph. 4:18; 5:8-13; Col. 1:13; 1 John 1:5-7).

So the main point of all the plagues is that God is sovereign over His creation. He controls everything from the tiniest germs and bugs to thunderstorm and the sun. He rules His creation!

B. The Lord God is sovereign over people.

God hardens whom He desires and shows mercy to whom He desires (Rom. 9:18). But we need to understand that He wasn’t hardening the heart of someone who otherwise would have believed. Even John Calvin, noted for his emphasis on God’s sovereign election, states that God didn’t harden a heart otherwise given to obedience; rather, He hardened a reprobate who was willfully devoted to his own destruction (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], p. 210). This is a mystery that no one can understand completely, but we must hold two truths in tension: God is sovereign over all; and, people are responsible for their sin. If you let go of either truth, you’re out of balance.

This tension is clearly seen in the death of Jesus Christ. God predestined Christ to die for our sins before the foundation of the world. This means that God ordained that Judas would betray Jesus, the sinful Jewish leaders would arrest and abuse Him, and Pilate would give Him over to be crucified. But even though these things were foreordained, the wicked people who killed Jesus were responsible for their horrible crimes. As Peter preached (Acts 2:23), “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” Or, as the early church prayed (Acts 4:27-28), “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” Jesus was predestined to die, but those who did it were evil men, responsible for their sin.

In the plagues on Egypt, God sovereignly determined to spare Israel at least in the plagues of flies (Exod. 8:22-23), the death of livestock (Exod. 9:4-6), the hail (Exod. 9:26), the darkness (Exod. 10:23), and finally in the death of the firstborn (Exod. 11:7). Why did He do this? Clearly, it wasn’t because Israel deserved His favor, while Egypt deserved His judgment. Everyone deserves God’s judgment for their sins! God isn’t obligated to spare anyone. But, in mercy, He chooses to save some. If He has saved you, be thankful, be in awe, and worship Him!

C. The Lord God will be exalted both in judging the wicked and in saving His people.

These ten plagues on Egypt are a merciful warning to everyone who hears about them that God is holy and He will bring terrifying, final judgment on all who harden their hearts in rebellion against Him. In Revelation 6:12-14, John describes the cataclysmic destruction when the sixth seal was broken: a great earthquake, the sun became black, the moon became like blood, the stars fell to the earth, the sky was split apart, and mountains and islands were moved out of their places. Then everyone from great kings to lowly slaves cried out to the mountains and to the rocks (Rev. 6:16-17), “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

The Book of Revelation reveals that many of these same plagues that were inflicted on Egypt will be poured out on the earth during the great tribulation: Water will be turned to blood (Rev. 8:8; 16:4-5). There will be frogs (Rev. 16:13); locusts (Rev. 9:3); boils (Rev. 16:2); hail (Rev. 8:7); and darkness (Rev. 9:2; 16:10). God’s righteousness will be glorified by His judging the wicked and His grace by saving His people. Thus,

2. It is foolish to harden your heart against the sovereign, exalted Lord God.

There are four truths to consider here:

A. The sovereign, exalted Lord God will answer the prayers of those who sincerely call upon Him.

If you wonder, “How can I be saved?” the Bible promises (Rom. 10:13), “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” It promises (John 3:16), “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Don’t trust in yourself or your good deeds. Trust in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as the sufficient and final payment for your sins. As Paul states (Rom. 4:5), “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.”

In these plagues, Pharaoh’s hardened heart caused him repeatedly to promise to let Israel go, only to go back on his word. But in spite of this, Moses repeatedly asked God to lift the plagues and He mercifully did each time, except for the final plague of the death of the firstborn. That is a picture of God’s mercy to rebellious sinners. Perhaps they promise Him, “Get me out of this problem and I’ll serve You,” only to renege on their pledge. Again and again He spares them from judgment. But, someday the final plague of death will come. Hebrews 9:27 warns, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” Since you don’t know when you’ll die, it’s not wise to delay. “Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’” (2 Cor. 6:2).

B. The sovereign, exalted Lord God knows your heart, so beware of superficial repentance.

At first, the arrogant Pharaoh said to Moses (Exod. 5:2), “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord ….” But through the plagues, he was getting to know something about the Lord, even though he never came to know Him personally. Pharaoh was still a polytheist, but as God dominated and humiliated Egypt’s various gods through the plagues, at least Pharaoh knew that the Lord is more powerful than all of his gods. By God’s relieving each of the first nine plagues in response to his pleas, Pharaoh knew that God is both powerful and merciful to those who call out to Him.

So Pharaoh knew about God and he even professed repentance more than once. After the plague of hail, Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said (Exod. 9:27), “I have sinned this time; the Lord is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones.” But after the plague was lifted, we read (Exod. 9:34), “But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.” After the plague of locusts, Pharaoh again professed repentance (Exod. 10:16-17), “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and make supplication to the Lord your God, that He would only remove this death from me.” But his heart was still hardened so that he didn’t let Israel go (Exod. 10:20, 27).

One clue that Pharaoh’s repentance was superficial is that he wanted to work out a deal with God’s demand to let Israel go. First, he told Moses (Exod. 8:25), “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” “Don’t go far away” (Exod. 8:28). In other words, “You can worship your God; just remain my slaves!” Then, after the locust plague, Pharaoh told Moses that the men could go if they left their wives and children in Egypt (Exod. 10:10-11). That way, he knew that the men would come back under his rule. After the plague of darkness, Pharaoh agreed to let Israel go, even with their children, but only if they left their flocks and herds behind (Exod. 10:24). He acknowledged that he had sinned, but he was bargaining with God. He wanted relief from the consequences of his sin, but when he got relief, he went back to his sin. That’s superficial repentance.

Moses nailed Pharaoh’s problem when he said (Exod. 9:30), “But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” Genuine repentance stems from fearing God. It’s a matter of the heart, not of outward profession when you’re just trying to get out of a jam. Since God knows every thought and intention of your heart, you can’t fake repentance. It can’t be partial or for selfish purposes. It has to be total surrender to the Lord, where you turn from your sin and seek to obey Him from the heart. Pharaoh’s superficial repentance also shows that …

C. If you fight against the sovereign, exalted Lord God, you will lose.

Pharaoh was the most powerful monarch on earth and Egypt was a prosperous nation, but they weren’t a match for the Lord God. The Lord told Moses (Exod. 10:1-2) that He hardened Pharaoh’s heart and his servants’ hearts to make a mockery of him. That reminds me of Psalm 2, where the kings of the earth take their stand against the Lord and His Messiah. But God’s response is (Ps. 2:4), “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.”

The Bible is replete with stories of those who proudly tried to win against the sovereign, exalted Lord God, but who lost in the end. Read the Book of Revelation. Just before judgment falls, the world’s rulers and business leaders are living in luxury, seemingly prospering without God. But then in one hour their great wealth is laid waste (Rev. 18:16-19). God always wins big time in the end. If you fight against Him, you may do well for a while, but in the end, you will lose everything forever!

Thus, the sovereign, exalted Lord God will answer the prayers of those who sincerely call upon Him. He knows your heart, so beware of superficial repentance. If you fight against Him, you will lose every time. So the best plan is to submit your heart to Him.

D. The goal of submitting to the sovereign, exalted Lord God is that you and your children might worship and serve Him.

Moses repeatedly tells Pharaoh that he should let Israel go so that they could serve the Lord (Exod. 8:1, 20; 9:1, 13; 10:3, 24-26). The Lord told Moses that one reason for these plagues was (Exod. 10:2), “that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians and how I performed My signs among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

To lead God’s people out of Egypt so that they could serve and worship the Lord, Moses had to resist Pharaoh’s repeated attempts to get him to compromise. Pharaoh wanted Israel to sacrifice in the land, which would not have allowed them to be separate from Egypt (Exod. 8:25). Satan is all for religion as long as it accepts other religions and doesn’t insist that Jesus is the only way to God. Pharaoh would allow Israel to go, but not far away (Exod. 8:28). In other words, Satan says, “You can go worship your God, but you’re still my slave. You can be a Christian, but don’t be too different from the world!” Moses also had to resist Pharaoh’s proposal that the men go, but leave their wives and children behind (Exod. 10:8-11). The enemy loves to divide families.

Finally, Moses had to resist Pharaoh’s ploy to let Israel go, but not take their animals for sacrifice (Exod. 10:24). The enemy if okay if we “worship God,” but just without that blood sacrifice stuff: “You don’t need the blood of Jesus. Just follow His moral teaching and example of love.” But without the cross of Christ and His resurrection from the dead, there is no salvation. Thankfully, Moses was uncompromising with Pharaoh (Exod. 10:26): “not a hoof shall be left behind.” The goal of submitting to the sovereign, exalted Lord God is that you and your children and your grandchildren might worship and serve Him. To do that, you can’t compromise with the world. You must follow the Lord totally.

Conclusion

Hopefully, God has not inflicted anything comparable to these horrible plagues on you, but everyone goes through trials. Some face severe trials. How should you respond? First, don’t respond as Pharaoh did when he brazenly said (Exod. 5:2, paraphrased), “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice? I don’t know the Lord, and I’m not going to obey!” And, don’t imitate Pharaoh with superficial “repentance” just to get out of the trial, but then go back to your old ways. Fighting against God is foolish, because He is going to win big time in the end! God brings trials into our lives so that we will grow in faith and holiness as we submit to His mighty hand (Heb. 12:9-11; 1 Pet. 5:6-11).

Just as God sent Moses to deliver Israel from physical slavery, He sent Jesus to deliver us from slavery to sin. Jesus said (John 8:34), “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” He invites everyone enslaved to sin (Matt. 11:28), “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” He can set us free from sin (John 8:36). Don’t ignore or reject His loving, gracious offer!

Application Questions

  1. A skeptic says, “If God is sovereign over natural disasters, then He is unloving for killing innocent people.” Your reply?
  2. How would you answer a critic who said, “If God ordained Jesus’ death on the cross, then He is responsible for sin”?
  3. One well-known Christian writer argued that if God is able to save everyone, but only saves some, He is immoral and unjust. How would you rebut this?
  4. How can a person know whether his repentance is genuine or superficial? What are the marks of true repentance?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2018, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Character of God

9. God’s Means of Salvation (Exodus 11:1-12:36)

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Life of Moses (9)

April 15, 2018

I think that sometimes we toss around biblical terms without thinking carefully about what they mean. Take the word, “salvation.” It’s a good biblical word, but we say it so often that maybe we’re glossing over what it really means.

For example, let me ask: Does God’s killing all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt strike you as overly harsh, extreme, or unfair of God? Killing Pharaoh’s firstborn might have been appropriate, since he had oppressed Israel and refused to let them go. But if you think that to kill all the firstborn seems harsh, then maybe you need to think more deeply about salvation.

To understand salvation, we need to back up and understand who God is and who we are. God is the infinitely holy sovereign of the universe. He spoke the universe into existence for His glory. He made man as male and female in His image to reflect His glory. But that first couple listened to Satan and disobeyed God’s direct command. Because of their disobedience, God imposed His threatened penalty (Gen. 2:17): “In the day that you eat from [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you will surely die.”

While God graciously didn’t strike Adam and Eve dead on the spot, the instant they ate they experienced spiritual death (separation from God) and the process of physical death set in. As a result of their sin, everyone since then is born separated from God and under His just curse of death. And in addition to being born in sin, we’ve all piled up plenty of our own sins against the Holy One.

God is not obligated to save any sinner from His just penalty of eternal separation from Him. We all deserve His judgment. But because of His sovereign love and mercy, He has graciously provided a way of salvation. He sent His own eternal Son, the second member of the trinity, to bear the penalty we all deserve. Because the sinless Son of God paid that price, God now can (Rom. 3:26), “be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” That’s the meaning of salvation.

God’s final plague on Egypt and His providing a way for Israel to be saved from that plague and delivered from slavery in Egypt is a picture of how He saves sinners spiritually. Just as Moses warned Pharaoh that the penalty if he refused to let Israel go would be the death of his firstborn, so God has warned all (Rom. 6:23), “the wages of sin is death.” Just as God gave Pharaoh nine plagues to warn him of His power and that He would do just as He had warned, so God has warned sinners of the impending consequences if they refuse to obey Him. We see that all people die. We see how frail we are. Even when we’re young and healthy, death is a daily possibility. We need a Savior from eternal death! Just as God provided the Passover Lamb, so He sent His Son to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of everyone who believes in Him (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). Thus …

God’s means of saving His people is the blood of an acceptable sacrifice, applied by obedient faith.

We see in this inspired story the people who need salvation, the penalty for ignoring God’s means of salvation, the provision for God’s salvation, and the application of God’s salvation.

1. The people who need salvation are slaves.

The Israelites were literal slaves under a cruel tyrant. Their parents and grandparents had been slaves for as far back as anyone knew. During the time of Moses’ birth, Pharaoh had given orders to kill all Israelite baby boys. Years later, when Moses went to Pharaoh to demand that he let Israel go, Israel’s misery as slaves got worse. Pharaoh commanded that they had to gather their own straw to make bricks, while keeping their quotas the same. So the Israelites knew their miserable condition as slaves. They knew that they needed deliverance from their bondage.

Israel’s literal condition as slaves was a picture of the universal human condition: We all are born in slavery to sin, captives in Satan’s domain of darkness (Col. 1:13; 2 Tim. 2:26). Jesus said (John 8:34), “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.” Paul also describes our condition outside of Christ as being “slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:17).

But the problem is, many who are captives of Satan, enslaved to sin, don’t realize their true condition. They’re not walking around in chains, listening to a brutal slave-driver yell at them to get their quotas of bricks made. They don’t feel his lash on their backs. Rather, they’re doing rather well. Life is good. They have comfortable homes, two or more cars, plenty to eat, paid vacations, and good retirement plans. They don’t look like slaves or feel like slaves.

And so they don’t see their need for salvation. Salvation may be nice for religious types, but they want the freedom to run their own lives. They like to have their weekends free, rather than feeling obligated to go to church. They like to keep their money for personal pleasure, not feel like they need to give to the church. In their minds, if anyone is enslaved, it’s the religious crowd. Who needs that?

So, how do we tell people the good news about salvation when they think that they’re doing just fine as they are, thank you? That’s like trying to sell an ice-maker to an Eskimo! What is needed is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, concerning whom Jesus said (John 16:8-11), “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

“Convict” means “to convince,” as in a court of law. The Holy Spirit has to convince those in slavery to sin about their true condition. He has to convince them of their sin of unbelief. He must convince them that they fall short of God’s perfect standard of righteousness, as seen in Jesus Christ. He has to convince them about the coming judgment. So we need to pray that the Holy Spirit would open the eyes of those we know who are slaves of sin to their true condition. But be careful! He might use you to be the one to tell them!

One effective way to help people see that they are slaves to sin who need the Savior is Ray Comfort’s method (“The Way of the Master”) of going over the law before you tell people about God’s love and grace. He walks people through the Ten Commandments to show that they’ve broken every single one. They’re guilty before the Holy God! If you can’t remember all ten, you can say, “Jesus summed up God’s commandments by saying that we are to love God with our entire being and to love others as much as we love ourselves. Have you done that?” Or, you can go to Matthew 5, where Jesus says that if you’ve ever been angry with someone, you’ve committed murder in God’s sight. If you’ve ever lusted, you’ve committed adultery. It’s only when the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see their condition as slaves of sin that they might be open to their need for salvation.

2. The penalty for rejecting God’s means of salvation is death.

Exodus 11:1 should probably be translated, “Now the Lord had said to Moses ….” (Walter Kaiser, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], ed. by Frank Gaebelein, 2:369). So verse 4 continues Moses’ remarks that he began in Exodus 10:29. He warns Pharaoh of God’s threat of the death of all Egypt’s firstborn, both of people and of cattle. But because of Pharaoh’s hard heart and the awful consequences that Moses could see coming, Moses “went out from Pharaoh in hot anger” (Exod. 11:8).

You may think, however, that it was unfair of God to harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 11:10) or to take the firstborn of “the slave girl … behind the millstones” (Exod. 11:5), who probably hadn’t even heard about the encounters between Moses and Pharaoh and who wouldn’t have known about the requirement to put the blood of a sacrificial lamb on her doorposts.

Regarding Pharaoh, there is a mystery that we cannot fully fathom, but we must accept if we believe in the Bible as God’s Word (Rom. 9:18): “So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.” At the same time, people are responsible for their sins. And, we aren’t free to challenge God on this. When Paul raises this issue, he anticipates our objection (Rom. 9:19), “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’” Paul’s answer is (Rom. 9:20): “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” In other words, “Sit down and shut up! God is God and you’re not God!”

Regarding the slave girl who had no knowledge of God’s impending judgment and yet suffered the loss of her firstborn, I admit that this is difficult to understand. I realize that like all of us, she was a sinner who deserved God’s judgment. But she didn’t seem to have a chance to hear about and apply God’s remedy. True, she had the witness of creation, as all people have (Rom. 1:18-21). But that’s only enough to condemn, not enough to save. The only verse I know of that addresses this is when Paul tells the people of Lystra (Acts 14:16), “In the generations gone by He [God] permitted all the nations to go their own ways.” God has permitted many to live and die without hearing the gospel. I know that God is perfectly just and fair. He knows every thought and deed of every person. No one will be judged unfairly. So I have to leave that difficult question there.

But we need to see clearly that the issue in salvation is life or death. In the exodus, God made a distinction between Egypt and Israel (Exod. 11:5-7). His salvation of Israel meant life for them. His judgment on Egypt meant death for them. C. H. Mackintosh observed (Notes on the Pentateuch [Loizeaux Brothers], p. 185), “How little do men think of this! They imagine that ‘real life’ ends when a man becomes a Christian … whereas God’s Word teaches us that it is only then we can see life and taste true happiness.” He cites 1 John 5:12, “He who has the Son has the life.” Also, John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Thus, the people who need salvation are slaves. The penalty for rejecting God’s means of salvation is death.

3. The provision for God’s means of salvation is the blood of an acceptable sacrifice.

In Exodus 12, God gives Moses specific directions for Israel regarding the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately followed. There is far more than I can cover thoroughly here, but note the following:

First, the lamb (or goat) needed to be sufficient for each person in each family (Exod. 12:4). This pictures that salvation must be applied by each individual. Being a member of a Christian family or a Christian church is not enough. You must personally apply God’s means of salvation.

Also, the lamb was to be “an unblemished male a year old” (Exod. 12:5). This pictures Christ, our Passover Lamb (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7), who was without sin (John 8:46; 1 Pet. 2:22). If Jesus had been a sinner, He would have had to offer sacrifices for Himself, as the Jewish priests had to do. But as Hebrews 7:26-27 explains, “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.”

Further, the lamb was to be selected on the tenth of the month, but not sacrificed until the fourteenth (Exod. 12:2, 6). This pictures that Christ was marked out for death before He was actually slain. As 1 Peter 1:19-21 states, we were redeemed “with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

John Sailhamer (The Pentateuch as Narrative [Zondervan], p. 260) makes the interesting suggestion that in Peter’s reckoning, a day with the Lord is as a thousand years (2 Pet. 3:8). He adds, “If Peter worked within the traditional chronology of the Bible, which reckons the coming of Christ at four thousand years after Creation, then his concept of Christ, the Passover lamb ‘chosen before the creation of the world,’ would fit the requirement of the lamb chosen four days before the Passover.”

Scholars debate the exact time that the lamb was to be slain, (Exod. 12:6) but some believe that Jesus died on the cross at the same time that the Passover lambs were being killed at the temple. Then the Israelites were to put some of the blood on the two doorposts and the lintel of their houses. They were to roast the lamb with fire and eat it that night along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Exod. 12:8). The fire may represent the fact that God’s true Passover Lamb had to endure the fire of God’s wrath on the cross (Mackintosh, p. 192). The bitter herbs were a reminder of the bitterness of Israel’s centuries of slavery in Egypt. The unleavened bread reminded them of the purity required of those whom God delivered from slavery. And eating bread in the Bible also points to fellowship. Thus we partake of the communion bread as a symbol of fellowship with the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.

The Passover was to mark the beginning of the New Year for Israel (Exod. 12:2). This is a reminder that God’s salvation by the application of Christ’s blood marks the beginning of new life for the believer. God promised that when He saw the blood on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelite homes, He would pass over them and not strike down their firstborn. All who were under the blood would be safe. This leads to the truth that …

4. The application of God’s means of salvation is obedient faith.

Paul uses the phrase, “the obedience of faith,” in Romans 1:5 & 16:26. Obedient faith is opposed to the dead faith that James 2:17 warns against. Note five things:

A. Obedient faith takes God at His word and acts on it.

To kill the lamb, eat it in the prescribed manner, and put the blood on the doorposts and lintel, required taking God at His word. Their obedience was evidence of their underlying faith. As Hebrews 11:28 says, “By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.” Exodus 12:28 underscores the point: “Then the sons of Israel went and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”

If an Israelite questioned or doubted God’s word to Moses by saying, “This doesn’t make sense,” or, “Why do I need blood? That’s gross!” his firstborn would have died. If he said, “I’m vegan and believe in animal rights; I’m not going to kill and eat a lamb!” his firstborn would have died. Obedient faith takes God at His word and acts on it.

B. Obedient faith is the only genuine faith.

To say, “I really respect Moses and Aaron and I believe what they say,” but not to have applied the blood would have meant that your firstborn died. James and Paul were not at odds. Both believed that genuine saving faith obeys God’s word. Paul wrote the familiar Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” But don’t forget verse 10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Genuine saving faith necessarily results in the obedience of good works. This is what James meant when he wrote that faith without works cannot save, because it is dead (James 2:14-17). Obedient faith is the only genuine faith.

C. Obedient faith is seen in the ongoing holiness of God’s people.

This is pictured in the unleavened bread. C. H. Mackintosh (p. 192) observed, “The Israelite did not put away leaven in order to be saved, but because he was saved.” He then points out that the penalty for eating leavened bread was to be cut off from the congregation of Israel (Exod. 12:19), which answers to the church putting out of their fellowship those who persist in known sin. The Passover with its application of the blood of the lamb pictured our salvation, when by faith we apply Christ’s shed blood to our hearts. But the Passover was followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread, picturing the fact that those who are saved must clean out the leaven of sin and be set apart unto God, who is holy (1 Cor. 5:7-8).

D. Obedient faith passes the faith down to your children.

The Lord instructs Israel (Exod. 12:24-27) that in later generations when they lived in the land which the Lord would give them and their children asked the meaning of the Passover, the fathers were to say, “Go ask your mother!” No! They were to explain the meaning of God’s salvation to their children. In the same way, Christian parents should explain to their children the message of salvation as pictured in water baptism and communion. To be baptized and partake of the Lord’s Supper, children should be old enough to understand the gospel clearly and give some evidence that they have personally believed in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They should be able to grasp the basic meaning of both ordinances, which picture the reality of saving faith.

E. Obedient faith results in God’s people possessing the wealth of the nations.

It is mentioned and repeated (Exod. 11:2-3; 12:35-36) that the Israelites asked the Egyptians for articles of silver, gold, and clothing, and that God granted them favor so that the Egyptians complied. I don’t know whether the Egyptians were thinking, “Take this and get out of here before another disaster strikes!” or that they gave because they highly esteemed Moses (Exod. 11:3). But it was God’s way of providing Israel with necessary provisions for their time in the wilderness, and also the materials that they later needed to build the tabernacle.

The application for the church today is that when we obey the Great Commission, God blesses us with the wealth of the nations—not material wealth, but rather people from every tongue, tribe, and nation worshiping around God’s throne.

Conclusion

A prominent soap manufacturer and a Christian were once walking along a city street as the Christian was explaining the gospel to the businessman. But the businessman objected: “If what you say is true, why is there so much evil in the world?” The Christian was struggling with how to answer when he saw a little boy sitting on the curb. His face, hands, and clothes were filthy. The Christian asked, “I thought that you manufactured soap.” “I do,” said the man. “If that is so, why is this boy so dirty?” The businessman replied, “The soap must be applied.” “Exactly,” said the Christian. “The work of Christ on the cross must be applied.”

The crucial question is, “Have you applied the sacrificial blood of Jesus to your heart?” Believing in general that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins is not enough. You must recognize your desperate condition as a slave to sin, under God’s just condemnation. But then you must exercise obedient faith by putting your trust in Christ as your substitutionary Lamb. And if your faith is genuine, you will then seek to grow in holiness.

Application Questions

  1. Must a person be convicted of sin before he comes to faith in Christ? If so, are we wrong to encourage those who are not convicted to receive Christ?
  2. How would you answer the skeptic who said, “God is unfair to condemn those who have never heard the gospel”?
  3. Why is trying to follow Jesus’ teachings and example not enough to get a person into heaven? Why do we need to trust in His shed blood?
  4. Is praying to receive Jesus into your heart the same as the obedient faith of salvation? Why/why not?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2018, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Sacrifice, Soteriology (Salvation)

Mark #11: The Pursuit of Excellence

Introduction

In keeping with the biblical goal of spiritual growth and greater levels of maturity, we often find in Scripture the call to abound or excel in Christian character, especially in the various ways we can express love to one another. Spiritual maturity is a quest for character for which there will be little progress without the pursuit of excellence. Without pursuing excellence, life will remain bland, very vanilla, lukewarm at best (see Rev. 3:15-16). The quest for excellence fuels our fire and keeps us from just drifting downstream gathering debris. This focus and need becomes quickly evident from the following verses.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Philippians 1:9-10 And this I pray, that your love may abound (i.e., excel) still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (NET)

2 Corinthians 8:7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you—make sure that you excel in this act of kindness too. (NET)

1 Thessalonians 3:12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound (excel) in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 3:13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more. (NASB)

1 Thessalonians 4:10 for indeed you do practice it (love) toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more (NASB)

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (NET)

Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

From these verses, it should be clear that God wants His people to abound or excel in both what they are (inward character) and in what they do (behavior or good deeds). It would seem obvious that there is simply no way one can love God with all his heart (Matt. 22:37) without seeking to do his or her best to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Since that is so, the pursuit of excellence is both a goal and a mark of spiritual maturity. However, for this to be true, the pursuit of excellence must be motivated by the right values, priorities, and motives. If we go astray here, the pursuit of excellence can quickly become a mark of immaturity and just another result of man’s obsession with his own significance, which, as mentioned previously, is a perilous pursuit.

It is known that Admiral Hyman G. Rickover’s interviews were legendary and one of the reasons is he always wanted to cut through the glib and rehearsed answers to get a look at the person underneath. He especially wanted to know how candidates would act under stress. On occasion he had them sit in a chair with the front legs sawed off an inch or two shorter than the back, to keep them off-balance. In his autobiography Why Not the Best?, President Jimmy Carter tells about his Rickover interview.

The admiral asked how he had stood in his class at the Naval Academy. “I swelled my chest with pride and answered, ‘Sir, I stood 59th in a class of 820!’ I sat back to wait for the congratulations. Instead came the question: ‘Did you do your best?’ I started to say, ‘Yes, sir,’ but I remembered who this was. I gulped and admitted, ‘No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.’ He looked at me for a long time, and then asked one final question, which I have never been able to forget—or to answer. He said, ‘Why not?”78

Because of who Christians are in Christ, because of our eternal hope, and because of the enabling grace of God available to all believers in Christ, seeking to do our best and choosing what is best is part of God’s will and an evidence of genuine spiritual growth and maturity. However, there is one distinction that needs to be stressed up front. As Edwin Bliss once said, “The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.”79 As finite human beings, none of us ever arrive, as they say, and there will always be room for growth and improvement (see Phil. 3:12-14). While this reality should never promote negligence or apathy or slothfulness, and while we should seek to grow, mature, and do our best, understanding this reality should help us all relax and rejoice in the Lord.

Definitions and Explanations

Pursuing Excellence is not to be a Quest for Superiority

In the first definition in The American Heritage Dictionary, excellence is defined as “The state, quality, or condition of excelling; superiority.80 The word excel is defined as, “to do or be better than; surpass; to show superiority, surpass others.” Then under the word excel, the following terms are listed and explained as synonyms for excel.

The words excel, surpass, exceed, transcend, outdo, outstrip all suggest the concept of going beyond a limit or standard. To excel is to be preeminent (excels at figure skating) or to be or perform at a level higher than that of another or others (excelled her father as a lawyer). To surpass another is to be superior in performance, quality, or degree: is surpassed by few as a debater; happiness that surpassed description. Exceed can refer to being superior, as in quality (an invention that exceeds all others in ingenuity), to being greater than another, as in degree or quantity (a salary exceeding 50 thousand dollars a year), and to going beyond a proper limit (exceed one’s authority; exceed a speed limit). Transcend often implies the attainment of a level so high that comparison is hardly possible: Great art transcends mere rules of composition. To outdo is to excel in doing or performing: didn’t want to be outdone in generosity. Outstrip is often interchangeable with outdo but strongly suggests leaving another behind, as in a contest: It is a case of the student outstripping the teacher.81

Competition or being better than others is a prominent part of the above definitions. But when we think of the pursuit of excellence from a biblical standpoint, is that what is meant? No! As the above terms and their explanations suggest, those who approach or look at life from the viewpoint of the world typically think in terms of competition, of outstripping others, but such is usually done for one’s own glory or significance or for the praise or applause of men.

Brian Harbour picks up on this issue in Rising Above the Crowd: “Success means being the best. Excellence means being your best. Success, to many, means being better than everyone else. Excellence means being better tomorrow than you were yesterday. Success means exceeding the achievements of other people. Excellence means matching your practice with your potential.”82

Gene Stallings tells of an incident when he was defensive backfield coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Two All-Pro players, Charlie Waters and Cliff Harris, were sitting in front of their lockers after playing a tough game against the Washington Redskins. They were still in their uniforms, and their heads were bowed in exhaustion. Waters said to Harris, “By the way Cliff, what was the final score?”83

As these men illustrate, excellence isn’t determined by comparing our score or performance to someone else’s. The pursuit of excellence comes from doing our best with what we have to God’s glory and with a view to growing and improving, but not with a view to the score or who is watching from man’s standpoint.

So then, biblically speaking, the pursuit of excellence refers to pursuing and doing the best we can with the gifts and abilities God gives, giving our best to the glory of God. But ideally, it is done without the spirit of competition or seeking to excel simply to be better than others. Excellence includes doing common, everyday things, but in very uncommon ways regardless of whether people are watching. The reality is that God sees our work and rewards us accordingly (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58).

Pursuing Excellence Should Not be Limited by the Nature of the Task

The emphasis of the exhortation in 1 Corinthians 10:31 is that we are to do whatever we do, whether it is viewed as important by society or very menial and insignificant, whether one is the president of a large company or one who cleans the offices at night, all is to be done to the glory of God. Regardless what we do, it deserves our best for in the long run, it reflects on the honor and glory of our God and will ultimately be rewarded by Him (1 Cor. 15:58).

The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.84

1 Corinthians 15:58 So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding ( perisseuo, “abounding, doing over and above, excelling) in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Pursuing Excellence Is a Matter of Choosing the Best

The pursuit of excellence is never a matter of simply choosing between what is good or bad, but of choosing what is best or superior because it will better enable us to accomplish what God has designed us to be and do (cf. Phil. 1:9 with Eph. 2:10).

In keeping with the fact that all believers are to abound or excel in the expression of Christian love, the apostle prayed that the Philippians my have greater knowledge and every kind of discernment. But in order to excel in love and wisely express it, they needed to be able “to approve the things that are excellent” (NASB) or choose what is best (my translation). The term “approve” or “choose” is the Greek dokimazo, which carries two ideas. First, it means “to put to the test, examine,” and then as a result of the examination or testing, “to approve, make the right choice.” Through the values and priorities that come from the knowledge of God’s Word, we are to examine and test, and then choose accordingly.

What is to be chosen is explained by the words “the things that are excellent” (NASB) or “what is best” (NET). The Greek word here is a present neuter participle from diaphero, which means in this context, “the things differing, but in accordance with what is best,” i.e., the best or what is excellent.

The pursuit of excellence from a biblical world view is always connected with the issue of God’s values and priorities. This means the pursuit of excellence must include the elimination of some things even though they may be good and legitimate. The principle is are they the best and will they get in the way or hinder the main objectives of a Christian’s life based on biblical principles and values? If so, they need to be eliminated. We see this truth in Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify” (see also 1 Cor. 6:12). Just because they are legitimate does not mean they should be chosen or pursued.

Film-maker Walt Disney was ruthless in cutting anything that got in the way of a story’s pacing. Ward Kimball, one of the animators for Snow White, recalls working 240 days on a 4-1/2 minute sequence in which the dwarfs made soup for Snow White and almost destroyed the kitchen in the process. Disney thought it funny, but he decided the scene stopped the flow of the picture, so out it went. When the film of our lives is shown, will it be as great as it might be? A lot will depend on the multitude of ‘good’ things we decided to eliminate to make way for the great things God wants to do through us.85

Pursuing Excellence is an All-Inclusive Pursuit

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Both of these passages point us to the all-inclusive nature of the pursuit of excellence. The words, “whatever your hand finds to do” and “whatever you do” point to the importance of doing our very best in everything we do. The preacher of Ecclesiastes teaches us that apart from faith in God and living one’s life for Him, life is empty and futile. But this does not mean that men should therefore have a supine attitude by which one simply drifts along since nothing really matters because it does. Life is full of opportunities and there is work to be done. This means that the strength and abilities we have are to be used to take advantage of the opportunities God gives us as they lie in the scope of our gifts, strength, His leading, and our responsibilities.

Besides encouraging his readers to enjoy life as God enabled them, Solomon also encouraged them to work diligently. The idiom whatever your hand finds to do means “whatever you are able to do” (cf. 1 Sam. 10:7).86

If it is a task worth doing, it is a task worth doing right and diligently.

Perhaps it might be worthwhile to make a list of as many areas as we can think of where the pursuit of excellence should touch and change our lives. Be specific! Are there any areas or tasks that I have not really taken seriously and I need to work on? Scripture says, “whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). This would mean our occupation, ministries, family, hobbies, recreation, etc.

Pursuing Excellence Is a Matter of a Whole-Hearted Endeavor

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Matthew 23:37-38 Jesus said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.This is the first and greatest commandment.

These three passages also point us to the importance of whole-hearted endeavor in whatever we do as Christians. But even more basic than that, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 23:37 teach us that pursuing excellence is a matter of the heart, of the inner person and proceeds from a inner faith/relationship with God. Scripture clearly teaches the real issues of life are spiritual and are really matters of the heart, the inner man. Maybe it’s for this reason the word “heart” is found 802 times in the NASB, 830 in the KJV, 837 in the NKJV and 570 in the NIV. Heart is one of the most commonly used words of the Bible and most of these occurrences are used metaphorically of the inner person. When so used, they refer to either the mind, the emotions, the will, to the sinful nature, or inclusively to the total inner person. Thus, the term heart speaks of the inner person and the spiritual life as the seat and center of all that proceeds from a person’s life. Like the physical pump, the spiritual heart is central and vital to who we are and how we live.

Both Solomon and the Lord Jesus teach us that the issues of life proceed from the heart (Pr. 4:23; Matt. 6:21; 12:34; 15:18). What we do in word and deed is first of all a product of what we are on the inside from the standpoint of what we truly believe and how we think. This is easily illustrated by the Lord Jesus in His teaching in the sermon on the mount. There He spoke strongly against the mere external and performance-oriented hypocrisy of the religious Pharisees. Importantly, in Matthew 5:17-48, no less than six times, He contrasted the external teaching of the Pharisees with His own teaching which stressed the inner life. Note the following statements:

“You have heard … but I say to you …” (vss. 21-22)

“You have heard … but I say to you …” (vss. 27-28)

“It was said … but I say to you …” (vss. 31-32)

“You have heard … but I say to you …” (vss. 33-34)

“You have heard … but I say to you …” (vss. 38-38)

“You have heard … but I say to you …” (vss. 43-44)

What was the Lord seeking to communicate? He was reminding the people of the moral precepts they had been taught by their religious leaders for years, precepts which often had their source in the Old Testament Scriptures. But then, with the words, “but I say to you,” He addressed those same issues again as being first and foremost matters of the heart. This and only this is authentic Christianity and reveals an intimate walk with God by faith. Anything else is nothing more than religious hypocrisy and will fail to pursue excellence, at least from the right motives.

Because of the central place and importance of the heart in all we do, which naturally includes the pursuit of excellence, it would be well to think a moment about some issues concerning the heart as it applies to doing our best for the glory of the Lord.87 By itself, the heart is not a safe haven. It needs guarding or protection from invasion by the world system around us and from the sinful nature that dwells within us. In Proverbs 4:23, Solomon wrote, “More than any act of guarding, guard your heart, for from it are the sources of life” (NET). The heart needs special care because the heart, which includes the mind, the emotions, and will, is the place where we deposit the knowledge of God or biblical wisdom; it is the place of our values (Matt. 6:21) and priorities and where vital choices are made. Thus, it becomes the wellspring, the source of whatever affects life and character (see Mt 12:35; 15:19).

Swindoll has a good word here:

Relentlessly, we struggle for survival, knowing that any one of those strikes can hit the target and spread poison that can immobilize and paralyze, rendering us ineffective. And what exactly is that target? The heart. That’s what the Bible calls it. Our inner person. Down deep, where hope is born, where decisions are made, where commitment is strengthened, where truth is stored, mainly where character (the stuff that gives us depth and makes us wise) is formed. . .

The quest for character requires that certain things be kept in the heart as well as kept from the heart. An unguarded heart spells disaster. A well-guarded heart means survival. If you hope to survive the jungle, overcoming each treacherous attack, you’ll have to guard your heart.88

Indeed, the heart needs guarding. We need to place a sentinel over the heart because it is the storehouse for the treasures that lead to the formation of Christ-like character. But these treasure can be stolen by the variegated deceptions and temptations of Satan who seeks to seduce us to pursue the lust patterns of destruction like power, prestige, pleasure, possessions, fortune and fame and always at the expense of the pursuit of excellence and godly character.

In keeping with the idea of excelling, the pursuit of excellence naturally works against a half-hearted, drift along or go-with-the-flow kind of mentality. As Ecclesiastes 9:10 shows, to do our best requires doing it with all our might. In keeping with the rest of Scripture, this means “with all the ability and strength that God gives us.” And, as Matthew 23:37 and Deuteronomy 6:5 teach us, pursuing excellence is a matter of giving the whole heart. But this does not mean there is no place for leisure or rest and relaxation.

A certain amount of rest and relaxation is essential to our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. It is not only okay to relax, but it is essential as long as it is kept in the scheme of its purpose and not used as an excuse for laziness and irresponsibility. The goal is to enhance our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. Strangely, however, in our workaholic society many people, and this include a lot of Christians, get their sense of identity and significance from work and a busy schedule. They often give their all, but for selfish reasons—the pursuit of position, praise, or significance. Some Christians even promote the idea that you really aren’t living for the Lord unless your are “overcommitted, hassled, grim-faced, tight-lipped believers… plowing through responsibilities like an overloaded freight train under a full head of steam…”89 Some would view such behavior as a sign of pursuing excellence when in reality, it can become a hindrance because of the debilitating impact on one’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.

Swindoll writes:

Strangely, the one thing we need is often the last thing we consider. We’ve been programmed to think that fatigue is next to godliness. That the more exhausted we are (and look!), the more committed we are to spiritual things and the more we earn God’s smile of approval. We bury all thoughts of enjoying…for those who are genuinely dedicated Christians are those who work, work, work. And preferably, with great intensity. As a result, we have become a generation of people who worship our work… who work at our play… and who play at our worship.

Hold it! Who wrote that rule? Why have we bought that philosophy? Whatever possessed someone to make such a statement? How did we ever get caught in that maddening undertow?

I challenge you to support it from the Scriptures…

According to Mark 6:30-34, Jesus purposely sought relief from the hurried pace of ministering to others and advised his apostles to do the same.90

The pursuit of excellence will mean hard work and diligence which may take on various forms—research, study, time, sweat, planning, brainstorming for ideas, etc. It may well mean swimming against the stream and sometimes navigating the rocky and swift rapids of life. It will often be exhausting and bring us up against that which is really beyond us. Thus, in keeping with our own shortcomings and weaknesses, the pursuit of excellence in the execution of our daily routine or special projects is something that must be pursued by God’s strength. Such a mentality can be seen in the attitude and actions of the apostle Paul. As one totally committed to God’s purpose for his life, Paul gave his all to be all God wanted him to be in seeking to bring men to maturity in Christ, but he did so by God’s enablement rather than by his own strength.

Colossians 1:25-29 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship of the grace of God—given to me for you—in order to complete the word of God, 1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 1:28 We proclaim him by instructing and teaching all men with all wisdom so that we may present every man mature in Christ. 1:29 Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me.

Motives for the Pursuit of Excellence

The Glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

In thinking about biblical motives for the pursuit of excellence we are brought face-to-face with the issue of the chief purpose for the Christian life. In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Paul reminds us that whatever we do (in keeping with our purpose) is to glorify God. This naturally includes pursuing excellence. The Westminster Shorter Catechism echoes this point with the words “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” For the Christian who is be concerned about his motives, this is the appropriate starting place. This comment by the apostle Paul and the statement from the Shorter Catechism brings us to the heart of the matter and it is doubtful if the issue can be more accurately and succinctly expressed. Christians must constantly be reminded that nothing less than the glory of God should be the motive for whatever they do and how they do it. To glorify God means to bring honor and greater respect to God’s name among men and even the angelic world who watch the behavior of the church (see Eph. 3:10). Every other consideration must be brought into subjection to this supreme objective.

The Principle of Redeeming the Time, Using our Opportunities

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:10b, “for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going” brings us to the climax of Solomon’s point in this verse. It may be that Jesus Christ was paraphrasing verse 10 when he said, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). Solomon was not saying anything sub-Christian here. Scripture knows nothing of a purgatory where one can pick up or gain what was neglected in this life. The New Testament agrees that it is deeds done in the body that count.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.

The reason for the preacher’s advice in Ecclesiastes is that once death comes we can no longer buy up or use all opportunities for work and service. After death a person will have no further opportunities for work; there will be neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. We must not think this passage is suggesting soul sleep; see comments on our web page regarding “soul sleep.”

Eternal Rewards

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding (excelling) in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people, 3:24 because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.

Another awesome reason for the pursuit of excellence is that our toil in the Lord is never in vain if done in His strength or by the enabling ministry of the Spirit of God. All Christians will one day stand before the Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ to receive back for what they have done while alive in this life.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. 3:12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done. 3:14 If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. 3:15 If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

The consequences of the dishonor to the Lord, failure to be a blessing to others, failing to use our opportunities, and the possibility of the loss of rewards form excellent motivations for the pursuit of excellence.

The Role of Attitude in the Pursuit of Excellence

How does one develop the pursuit of excellence? What are some of the things involved by way of the means for pursuing our best?

From the standpoint of that which affects the way we work, there is probably nothing more important than one’s attitude! Our choice of attitude impacts every decision we make on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis. Our attitude can either fire our hopes and the pursuit of the things that are important or it can extinguish our hopes and pursuits. The value of one’s attitude on what we pursue—our values, priorities, objectives, and how we pursue them is very evident in the book of Philippians where one of the themes is that of joy or rejoicing in the Lord no matter what the conditions or circumstances of life.

While chained daily to a Roman soldier in his own apartment, Paul wrote the following which is literally satiated with a positive attitude that clearly fueled his hopes against all odds.

Philippians 1:12-22 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel. 13 The results of this are that the whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, 14 and that most of the brothers, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word without fear.

15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment. 18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me; yet I don’t know what I prefer:

Then, in Philippians, as an encouragement to “working together harmoniously for the faith of the gospel” (1:27) Paul wrote:

Philippians 2:1-2 If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Note what the apostle is doing. There is encouragement which comes from our being in Christ, consolation or comfort which comes from God’s love for us, the love of Christians for one another, and there is a marvelous fellowship of the Spirit. This leads to affection and compassion in the hearts of God’s people. So Paul encourages the Philippians to allow the above realities to impact their attitudes in their relationship with one another—to have the same mind, maintain the same love, be united in spirit, and intent on one purpose.

Then, in a context dealing with two women who had served with him in the gospel, but were having difficulties in their relationship with one another, Paul wrote:

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! 4:5 Let your steady determination be seen by all. The Lord is near! 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, tell your requests to God in your every prayer and petition—with thanksgiving. 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. 4:9 And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

Finally, in thanking the Macedonians for their support, we are given these words that display the power of maintaining or choosing the right attitude by faith in what we have in Christ:

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Conclusion

There is a colorful illustration in the life of the great violinist, Paganini, which shows the value and power of attitude on the pursuit of excellence.

The colorful, nineteenth-century showman and gifted violinist Nicolo Paganini was standing before a packed house, playing through a difficult piece of music. A full orchestra surrounded him with magnificent support. Suddenly one string on his violin snapped and hung gloriously down from his instrument. Beads of perspiration popped out on his forehead. He frowned but continued to play, improvising beautifully.

To the conductor’s surprise, a second string broke. And shortly thereafter, a third. Now there were three limp strings dangling from Paganini’s violin as the master performer completed the difficult composition on the one remaining string. The audience jumped to its feet and in good Italian fashion, filled the hall with shouts and screams, “Bravo! Bravo!” As the applause died down, the violinist asked the people to sit back down. Even though they knew there was no way they could expect an encore, they quietly sank back into their seats.

He held the violin high for everyone to see. He nodded at the conductor to begin the encore and then he turned back to the crowd, and with a twinkle in his eye, he smiled and shouted, ‘Paganini…and one string!’ After that he placed the single-stringed Stradivarius beneath his chin and played the final piece on one string as the audience (and the conductor) shook their heads in silent amazement. ‘Paganini…and one string!’91


78 Taken from Reader’s Digest, October 1993, p. 104.

79 Eating Problems for Breakfast by Tim Hansel, Word Publishing, 1988, p. 39.

80 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation. All rights reserved.

81 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, electronic version.

82 Leading the Way by Paul Borthwick, Navpress, 1989, p. 64.

83 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, From Leadership Journal, edited by Craig Brian Larson, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1993, p. 73.

84 John Gardner, source unknown

85 Craig Brian Larson, p. 186.

86 John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck, Editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor Books, Wheaton, 1983,1985, electronic media.

87 For more on this concept, see the study on our web site called Guarding the Heart which deals with a number of practical and helpful issues here like the needs of the heart (it needs guarding, giving, preparing, purifying, prostrating, biblical desires, and longings, and other essential needs) and the problems of the heart (an unbelieving heart, a fearful heart, an agitated heart, a depressed heart, etc).

88 Charles R. swindoll, The Quest for Character, Multonomah Press, Portland, 1987, pp. 19-20.

89 Charles R. Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip, Essentials in an Aimless World, Word, Waco, 1982, p. 161.

90 Swindoll, pp. 161-162.

91 Charles R. Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip, Word Books, Waco, 1982, pp. 205-206.

 


 

Appendix: Discussion Questions for Marks of Maturity

MEN 7/52 is a men's ministry of bible.org. Our desire is to see all men become true followers of Jesus Christ 7 days a week/52 weeks a year.

These studies were developed in a team training environment where men were being trained for their role as church leaders, as fathers, and as effective members of a society that desperately needs to see what authentic, biblical Christianity looks like. So, exactly what does a mature Christian look like? A mature Christian is a believer whose life begins to take on the character of Christ-likeness. But what exactly is that? What are the specific qualities that mark out a person as Christ-like? This is the focus and point of this study.

The qualities that should characterize Christian leaders are also the marks of spiritual maturity as described in the Bible. While all of the qualities that will be discussed in this series are not unique to Christianity and are often promoted and taught in the secular world, many of them are, by their very nature, distinctive to the Bible or biblical Christianity. Thus, the characteristics that should mark out a Christian leader are also the marks of biblical maturity which are in essence the product of true spirituality. In fact, biblical spirituality can be described by the term maturity since Christian maturity is the result of growth produced by the ministry of the Spirit in the light of the Word over time. It is this biblical/spiritual element, at least in part, that makes the marks of Christian leadership distinctively Christian.

Session 12

1. Using your dictionary, please define “excellence”.

2. How is “excellence” defined from a biblical standpoint?

3. What, then, is the difference between “success” and excellence”?

4. Describe, in detail, the biblical pursuit of excellence.

5. What is the pursuit of excellence always connected to?

6. Make a list of as many areas you can think of where the pursuit of excellence should touch and change your life.

7. Are there any areas or tasks that you have not really taken seriously and need to work on?

8. According to Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 23:37, what is the pursuit of excellence a matter of?

9. What are the biblical motives for the pursuit of excellence?

10. Describe the areas of your life where you are pursuing excellence purely for the glory of God.

11. In what areas in your life are you pursuing excellence for your own success and not for the glory of God?

12. Why is it important to “redeem time” and to “use your opportunities”?

13. What are the goals you now pursue that are for rewards in this life and not for eternal rewards?

14. Read Philippians 1:12-22. Describe in detail the attitude of the apostle Paul.

15. What were his goals? Again, be specific.

16. How would you rearrange your priorities so that you would pursue biblical excellence in your role as a husband, father, member of the Body of Christ, and in your community?

17. What pursuits would you give up?

18. What specifically would you focus on?

Group Discussion:

What will be the most radical change in your life when you pursue excellence solely for the glory of God, for the redemption of your time and opportunities, and only for eternal rewards?

Related Topics: Issues in Church Leadership/Ministry, Leadership, Spiritual Life

Principles of Prayer from Luke 11

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Introduction

It has been rightly said, “the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer.” Not just our failure to pray, but our failure in prayer. In the story of the Pharisee and the publican the Pharisee is one who prayed long and often, but he was a miserable failure. His prayers were never heard by God because neither he nor his prayers were ever right with God.

I think it was Oswald Smith who said, “when we work, we work, when we pray, God works.” Throughout history, the men and women that God has used mightily have been people who knew how to pray and for whom prayer was both a priority and a necessity. As we study the gospels and the training of the disciples by the Lord, we find that prayer is to be a vital part of a disciple’s life. For a couple of illustrations compare the following verses:

John 14:12-13 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. 13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.

An electronic concordance quickly shows the importance of prayer in the Word of God. Variations of the word “pray” such as “prayer” and “praying,” etc., occur 331 times in the NASB, 545 in the KJV, and 375 times in the NIV. The difference in numbers is caused by the fact some Greek and Hebrew words are translated differently in the different translations. For instance, the KJV might use the word “pray” while the NASB or NIV might use “ask.”

Most Bible believing Christians recognize and accept, at least intellectually, the need and importance of prayer. We read books on prayer, we talk about it, we ask for prayer from time to time, but somehow, the church today is anything but a praying church. We may have a few real prayer warriors, but the VISION AND DISCIPLINE of biblical praying as committed disciples of the Lord Jesus has somehow escaped the body of Christ. We talk of its necessity, but too often we fail to accomplish its reality.

The disciples had this same experience. They too fell short in their prayer life and they felt it deeply. In this lesson we want to look at Luke 11:1 and the request of the unnamed disciple who was probably asking on behalf of the entire group. Here is a very important passage for learning some of the key issues of prayer that are so crucial to our walk with the Lord and the fulfillment of His purposes.

The Plea of the Disciple
(11:1)

Luke 11:1 it came about that while He was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”

The Motivation for the Question

The disciples had obviously heard that John had taught His disciples on prayer and they too wanted instruction (11:1). But was there not something more, something much deeper that provoked this request? It was Howard Hendricks who, several years ago in a message at a pastor’s conference, called our attention to the fact that if we were to open our Bibles and read starting with Matthew and were to read through John we would never find an instance where the disciples asked, “Lord teach us how to witness,” or “teach us how to perform miracles,” or “teach us how to teach.” But in this passage, we do find one of the disciples asking, “Lord, teach us to pray . . .” Wow! How significant!

This was a very wise question, a very needed question, and from these disciples who were sometimes so slow about spiritual values, this question becomes extremely significant. What was the motivation behind this question, and why is this so important?

Again, I am reminded of something Professor Howard Hendricks once said. Can you imagine what life with Jesus Christ was like during His ministry on earth? One amazing experience after another! He was forever a source of joy and bewilderment, and I am sure people were constantly trying to explain Him to their own satisfaction with their own kinds of answers. (Cf. Mark 4:41).

For a long time I can imagine they tried to explain Christ with typical human explanations—training, IQ, natural abilities, or whatever. At least at first. They regularly saw demonstrations of His power. They both heard His wise words and saw His wonderful works. They saw the lame walk, the blind see, the sick healed, the deaf hear, and the demon possessed dispossessed. Furthermore, they had all experienced the emptiness of the religion of their day and so, through all of this, you know they were watching the Lord and seeking answers to the miracle of His life.

As they studied His life one of their conclusions was that He was God incarnate (John 1:14). But is that conclusion what evoked this question? I don’t believe so. It was something else they constantly saw in the man Jesus that they began to suspect was part of the answer to His life. What was it? Our immediate response is of course, “It was prayer.” Right? Not exactly! It was not just prayer.

The Pharisees prayed and so did the disciples. It wasn’t just prayer; it was the way He prayed in relation to all that He was and all that He did in His life on earth. It was His manner and attitude in prayer that saturated His total being and living, His every step and action, and that manifested the intimacy of His relationship with and dependence on the Father. Prayer was never just a religious responsibility nor exercise Christ engaged in because He was obligated to do so.

Then what? Prayer for our Lord proceeded out of a basic attitude of deep dependence that resulted in a very intimate fellowship that He always had with the Father because, from the standpoint of His humanity, He was totally convinced He could do nothing of own resources. It is this that undoubtedly brought deep conviction and longing in the lives of the disciples. They came to recognize that, while they could be believers in the Lord, they could not be true disciples who became like their teacher (Luke 6:40) unless they learned to pray to the Father like the Lord Jesus in the intimacy and dependency that He constantly demonstrated.

Christ’s Attitude in Prayer

This incorporates one of the basic principles that governed the life of the Savior. In John 5:19 Christ said, “the Son can do nothing of Himself.” Then, in John 8:28-29 and 14:10 He repeated the principle. The principle should be obvious for us. For Jesus Christ, prayer was a way of life, an absolute necessity: it was a means of communion with the Father and the means of bringing the power of God the Father to bear on the humanity of Jesus Christ moment by moment. We see this in Matthew 12:18 and 28.

Note that for the most part, it appears the Lord performed His works and spoke His words by the power of God the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit whom the Father had given Him. Though God of very God Himself, Jesus generally did not perform His works independently of the Father nor the Spirit’s leading (Acts 2:22). It was the Father working through Jesus, the man.

As we study the life of Christ in the gospels, we note a consistent pattern:

(1) In the midst of a busy schedule, when men were clamoring in their need for His attention, Christ retired to pray and to draw upon the resources of God the Father for He knew that “the Son can do nothing of Himself” (Mark 1:32-37).

(2) When it was time to choose the disciples we don't find Christ reviewing the qualifications of each of the disciples. Rather we find Him retiring to pray. This is clear in Mark 3:13 and Luke 6:12-13. Why? Because “the Son can do nothing of Himself.” He needed the direction and provision of the Father.

(3) When Jesus stood at the tomb of Lazarus He raised His eyes heavenward in dependence and thanksgiving for what the Father was about to do (John 11:40-42). The actual prayer of Christ is not given, only the fact of His dependence, thanksgiving, and confidence that His prayer had been heard. The words of verses 41 and 42 imply, however, that not only did He pray to the Father, but that He wanted all those standing around to know it as well that they might learn the secret of dependence. This teaches us that when performing miracles, though not always heard by men, Jesus the man was praying in dependence upon the Father from the standpoint of His humanity.

(4) When He fed the five thousand. The words “and looking up toward heaven” demonstrate the Lord’s prayerful dependence (Mark 6:41). Also, “He blessed the food” which shows He thanked God the Father for it and for what He, the Father, was about to do through Jesus, the man, a God-dependent, God-approved man.

Think of Jesus Christ. He was the Son of God, God incarnate, the perfect man and the absolute Creator God who also as the God-man adequately and continuously fulfilled every expectation of God for man. He was the constant delight and joy of the Father’s heart. He always pleased the Father. Now, thinking of Him as such, ask yourself this question. How much did He personally, as man, contribute to His mighty works, deeds, and ministry? NOTHING! Christ Himself gives us the answer, “. . . the father abiding in me does His works” (John 14:10). And how did that come about? Through prayerful dependence on the Father!

When we work, we work. When we pray, the Father works. So out of this conscious and constant sense of need, there arose a continuing attitude of prayer: a continual expectation in the Lord Jesus that if anything was to be done, the Father must do it both by way of initiative, and wisdom, and power. Now if this was true of Jesus Christ, how much more shouldn’t this also be true for us? Indeed, prayer according to the pattern of the Lord Jesus is to be a vital goal of true disciples.

The disciples saw in Christ’s life, not only prayer, but a prayer life which demonstrated a dependency upon and intimacy with the Father unlike anything else they had ever seen and they wanted to know the secret of this.

What was the request posed by the unnamed disciple? It was, “teach us to pray.” Not just how to pray, the MECHANICS, but how in the sense of the MOTIVATION. The how aspect is included by Christ in His answer in Luke 11:2-13.

(1) Prayer should demonstrate a total consciousness of our need, a sense of our complete inadequacy along with a sense of God’s complete adequacy and willingness.

2 Corinthians 2:16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,

(2) Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of God’s ever present willingness.

(3) Prayer is not for emergency use only, when we get in a pinch and need someone to bail us out.

(4) Prayer is not an “Aladdin’s Lamp” or a trip to the wishing well for our wants.

(5) By contrast, prayer is a means of intimate communion, fellowship, and dependence upon God the Father who has promised to work in and through us through His Son, just as God worked through Him.

(6) Prayer is for everyday living, moment by moment.

(7) Prayer is a means of claiming God’s promises and knowing and becoming abandoned to God’s will.

In John 14:10-14, note the relationship to prayer mentioned in verses 13-14 and the works we, as disciples, are to do in verse 12.

John 14:10-14 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father. “And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

There is no activity in the life of a believer which does not require a prayerful attitude—a prayerful dependence on and an expectation that God is at work and will work according to His purposes and leading. In ourselves we can do nothing. Christianity is living by faith in the Creator God who dwells in us, and prayer is God’s means for us to draw upon Christ’s miraculous life. Christianity is as Paul expressed it in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and delivered Himself up for me.” Faith for a committed believer is expressed in intimate, prayerful living.

In practical terms what exactly does this means?

  • The phone call we are about to make, we can’t really handle, at least not in Christ’s power and life, apart from prayer.
  • The lesson we are preparing to teach, we can’t do effectively without prayerful dependence.
  • It means that while we usually recognize our need of God’s enablement in things like witnessing, we nevertheless tend to take God for granted and operate in our own abilities in other areas because we think something doesn’t seem too difficult or it is within our area expertise.

As an illustration let’s look at the miraculous catch of fish in Luke 5:5-11. What was Peter thinking in this passage? Probably something like, “Lord, you’re a great teacher, you’re the Son of God and Messiah, but we can handle this ourselves; we are expert fishermen. We have been fishing these waters for years. Besides, Lord, we fished these waters all night and we know the fish are simply not biting now.” But you see, biblical Christianity is living by faith and prayerful dependence upon God and under the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ regardless of how things appear to us.

Biblical Christianity is never a matter of living by who and what we are—our insight, our background, our experience, our training, our giftedness, etc. Rather it is a matter of living by faith in God’s Word, biblical insight, and by faith in Jesus Christ, the Creator God and His availability to work through us as we are available and submissive to Him. But such only happens when we live by intimate prayerful dependence upon the Father through a life of prayer, a life of praying without ceasing, and a life devoted to special times of prayer alone with the Father and His Son in the power of the Spirit.

The Pattern for Prayer
(11:2-4)

Luke 11:2-4 And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be You name. Your kingdom come. 3 ‘Give us each day our daily bread. 4 ‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

We have observed something of the prayer life of our Lord which undoubtedly was a large part of the motivation behind the request of the unnamed disciple in verse one, “Lord, teach us to pray.” For our Lord, prayer was the most natural and necessary aspect of His existence. In answer to this request of Luke 11:1, our Lord gave what is popularly known as the Lord’s Prayer. In reality, it was the disciples’ prayer and provides us with a model or pattern for biblical and effective prayer.

This is an excellent passage in teaching new believers about prayer because it covers a number of categories which are important to prayer.

Two things this prayer is not:

(1) It is not and was never intended to be a ritual prayer to be formally and liturgically recited. It was a model designed by our Lord to show the nature of prayer and what prayer should consist of by way of content. There is nothing wrong, of course, with reading or reciting it together as we would any passage of Scripture for a certain focus or emphasis or as a reminder of truth. I am convinced, however, it was never meant to be simply recited as a prayer to God in place of personal prayer poured out to God from the heart. Compare the translation of the Living Bible: Luke 11:1b reads, “Lord, teach us a prayer to recite just as John taught one of his disciples.” In a footnote to this verse the translator has added the word, “Implied.” But is it really implied, or is this translation a product of religious tradition that does not have its roots in what this passage was intended to teach?

(2) It was certainly never intended to be used as an amulet or special words to protect someone when in danger. Perhaps you have seen films where people were in some kind of danger and they prayed the Lord’s Prayer in this fashion.

The prayer divides into two sections marked out by the pronouns, “your,” and “us.”

  • The “your” section points us to God and concerns our relationship with Him regarding His person, character, being, purposes, and activity on earth.
  • The “us” section deals with our needs as they are related to God and His activity and purposes in our lives here on earth.

This is no accident. First, we start with God and then we go to ourselves. Here is an important principle in all worship of which prayer is but one mode and means. In prayer, as in everything, our Lord teaches us to put God first. Why? Because this puts everything in the right perspective, it gives us the right viewpoint about life, one that sees beyond our own very limited scope. This is important so that we might genuinely focus our hearts and minds on the who and what of God, that we might seek first the rule and righteousness of God, and that we might walk with Him in obedience and under His enablement, direction, and protection.

As a tear magnifies sorrow and as laughter magnifies joy, so prayer (a form of worship wherein we count on the worth of God) must first magnify the Lord if our prayers are to have the proper result in our lives—confidence, faith, and direction into the will of God.

Prayer is a means of entering into the joy and confidence of God’s love, provision, direction, and presence. It is a way to focus on the Who and What of God—God’s person, plan, principles, promises, and purposes. This kind of praying glorifies the Lord and demonstrates our desire for relationship with God, along with obedience. It is comforting to our hearts because it brings God into our vision along with His purposes.

This first emphasis by our Lord exposes what is often a fatal weakness in our own prayers. We tend to begin with “us” rather than with “Your.” We rush into God’s presence pleading for “our” petitions, “our” needs, “our” problems and, as a result, we become problem oriented and frantic rather than God oriented and relaxed in His sovereignty (cf. Ps. 46:10, “Be still [cease striving] and know that I am God”).

We need to focus on the Lord first to get the perspective of Jeremiah 32:27. Concerning the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises to Israel and to keep the Prophet’s eyes on the Lord, we find this word to the Prophet: “the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah saying, ‘Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is anything to difficult for Me?’” (Jer. 32:27).

We need the praise and focus of God in Psalm 100 before the petitions of Psalm 102.

When We Pray: The Time Element (v. 2a)

When you pray say.”

It is significant, I believe, that no commands are given as to time or how often. Why? Because prayer is more than a mere religious routine we go through as it is in some religions in which worshippers recite certain words and bow in a certain direction specified times of the day. Scheduled prayer is certainly scriptural and a godly pattern to have as with Daniel (Dan. 6:10), and David (Ps. 55:16-21), but, as with both David and Daniel, it should always be the response of a heart which desires communion with God and depends on Him in the same way man naturally takes in oxygen through the process of breathing. This is seen in the cry of the psalmist, “As the deer pants (heavy breathing) for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God” (Ps. 42.1)

Two things about this cry of the psalmist: First, his entreaty expresses our need. We need the Lord and we need to drink from His fountain of life through the Word and prayer—our means of hearing Him and responding to Him. But second, his entreaty also expresses what should be a recognized reality in each of us. As the psalmist, we should long to communicate with our God. Prayer is to be an expression of our longing for intimacy with God and to enter into His strength and will.

Why We Pray: The Nature of Prayer (v. 2a)

“When you pray say.”

“Pray” is the Greek word proseucomai from pros, stressing direction, closeness, and eucomai, “to ask, request.” The basic meaning of this word (along with its uses) looks at prayer as an avenue of drawing near to God in worship and dependence because we see Him as the all-sufficient one and ourselves as insufficient. Prayer becomes one of the means by which we draw near to the Lord and His sufficiency and submit to Him.

“Say” is the Greek word, “legw.” It gives prominence to the thought processes in choosing the words spoken because of their meaning. Originally, it meant “to pick and choose” and this is precisely what we generally do in speech unless we are talking gibberish. Legw reminds us of our need to carefully choose our words as opposed to praying as mere religious rote without careful thought. It should remind us of the conversational nature of our prayer or communication with God.

“Say” is what we call in Greek grammar, a present iterative imperative. As an iterative present it describes an event which is, as a command, to occur repeatedly, over and over again. The idea is when you pray, consistently pray in the following manner or example, but not repetitiously by rote, reciting these words as a mere repeated ritual, the problem Jesus addressed earlier in Matthew 6:7.

Reasons why it does not refer to a prayer to be merely recited.

(1) Matthew 6:5-7 is a specific warning against praying in a repetitious manner and the warning there is followed by this teaching which gives us a model for prayer. To view this as a prayer to be repetitiously repeated would be in conflict with the previous command.

(2) The parallel passage of Matthew 6:9 adds the words, “in this way.” This is the Greek $outws which could very will be rendered, “in this manner” or “after this manner.” In other words, what follows is to be taken as a model for prayer, not as a prayer to be memorized and merely recited.

(3) In the epistles of the New Testament, this prayer is never repeated though its pattern or principles are basically followed in one way or another.

(4) This understanding fits with the warning of Isaiah 29:13 which the Lord quoted against the religious externalism of the Israelites of His day.

Prayer is the thoughtful exercise of the heart and the mind through which we seek to draw near to God in worship and dependence on Him because of who He is as our sovereign God and support.

How to Pray (vv. 2b-4)

    Pray as a Child

This command demonstrates the need of the new birth or spiritual regeneration. Scripture teaches us that prayer, other than the call to know God or for salvation, is really only applicable to believers in Jesus Christ who are brought into a relationship with God as His children through faith in Jesus Christ. This is accomplished by the new birth, the regenerating work of the Spirit of God (cf. John 1:12; 3:3-7; 14:6).

Our prayer is to be addressed to God using the term, “Father.” The basic plan of prayer for the New Testament saint is not to Jesus, but to the Father. He is the one to whom we are to pray, THE GIVER, through the name of the Son, THE ACCESS into God’s presence, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, THE MEANS (cf. John 14:6; 16:23-24; Eph. 2:18; 3:14; 1:17; 6:18; Jude 20; Col. 1:13; Heb. 7:25).

“Father” is a term of honor or reverence and relationship. Coming to God in prayer as “Father” is designed to demonstrate: (a) our attitude toward God as one of honor, respect, and trust, and (b) our understanding of the relationship we have with Him as a child; God is a father kind of God who cares for us as only a parent can care for a child.

How should this affect our prayer life?

(1) When we pray as New Testament believers, we are to talk with God as our Father, not simply about God in a theological monologue of high sounding and pious phrases and tones. True, we should exalt the Lord in our prayers through praise, adoration, and thanksgiving for His person, His essence, and His works in creation, history, and salvation. Our need, however, is to come to God as a child and talk with Him as our Father (Ps. 103:13).

(2) It means we are to talk with Him as a Father who loves and cares for us as His children. We will praise Him for His divine essence and being, and for His wonderful and mighty works, but ultimately it means praying with the frankness of a child while counting and resting in God as a Father who has a father’s heart, love, understanding, wisdom, and strength. To pray to God as our Father means recognizing that He is a person who is intimately concerned about us more than we could possibly be concerned about ourselves. He is not a blind or impersonal force.

(3) Calling God our Father means believing Him to be so. Such a relationship and conviction could never really be expressed if we were to address God as simply, “Almighty God, the great and terrible one,” or “Dreadful Creator and Ground of all Being.” This kind of approach to God would actually betray one’s ignorance of the nature and relationship of God to us in Christ, or one’s unbelief in Him as a loving heavenly Father.

How easy would it be to pray or how confident would we be if we could only approach God as an impersonal “ground of all being” or as “the great and terrible one?” The word “Father” draws our attention to the nature of our relationship with God as a result of the new birth and our access to God through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus it emphasizes the ease and willingness with which we should come into His presence, boldly, with the confidence of a child who knows he or she is loved with an unconditional love (Heb. 4:16). By ease, however, I do not mean disrespectfully and without regard to His holiness and majesty or without concern about sin in our lives. We dare not ignore our responsibility to deal with our sin by confession (Ps. 66:18). Rather, by ease, I mean an awareness of this fatherly kind of care, the love of God, and our provision and access through the finished work of Christ.

    Pray to honor God’s name

In Scripture, much more so than today, names represent who people are and what they represent—their reputation. This clause means, “may your person be hallowed.” “Hallowed” is the verb $agiazw “to set apart, make holy, venerate, or treat as holy.” But how can we do this? As God’s children we bear his name and represent him before the world. How we act affects His name and reputation before others.

Paul reminded the Jews of this very concept in Romans 2:23-24, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written.’” This is saying “let the whole of my life honor, venerate and be a source of delight to you and all that you are.”

To hallow God’s name or sanctify it means to turn my life over to Him for sanctification. This means opening up my life and all its closets to His work of making me like His Son. Surely this is to be a prayer of surrender or commitment for God’s name is never going to be hallowed (at least by us) as long as we are walking in rebellion and self dependence.

Ephesians 3:16-21 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

This also expresses a desire and a request for the veneration of God’s person in general throughout society.

    Pray for God’s will on earth

This is a prayer for God’s reign on earth, that soon the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our LORD. It demonstrates a belief and recognition that this world is a fallen world that has rejected its Creator (Rom. 1:18f), that this world is not God’s ultimate goal, and that a new and glorious world is coming (cf. 1 Pet. 1:3-8, 13-17; Rev. 11:15).

Praying for God’s kingdom also shows a longing and a hope for the return of Christ to earth and the fullness of our inheritance. It means living in view of the blessed hope as sojourners who love and pray for His kingdom (Titus 2:13; I Pet. 1:17; 2:11).

It is also a prayer for the reign of God within us so that God’s will can be done now in and through our lives. It is a desire to fit into His plan no matter how small and in accord with what he is doing through the various trials, defeats, successes, provisions, and circumstances He brings. I am reminded of a line in a poem by Cowper which reads, “Deep in unfathomable mines of never failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs and works His sovereign will.”

In the parallel passage, Matthew 6:10, “Thy will be done” is added. This teaches us to pray as our Lord did when facing the cross. “Thy will be done” means help me to surrender my life to that which will further your kingdom, your will on earth, and your purpose for me. I am to prayerfully accept the truth that “out of darkness God calls forth light; out of despair, hope. From death comes resurrection.” It is often “by means of defeat the kingdom of God is born in human hearts.”1

    Pray for daily, physical needs

In verse 4 the Lord deals with forgiveness and thus, the needs of the immaterial man, the soul and spirit. If you or I were giving these instructions we would probably have inverted the order to spiritual needs first and then we would turn to physical needs. So, why this order?

The Lord created our bodies—the body is important to the function of men. The body is not evil; it is a vehicle of service and of good. In another place he says in relation to the physical needs of the body, “seek ye first the kingdom of God . . .” There He shows that the spiritual man is a priority and does take precedence over the physical. But this does not mean the physical man or the needs of the body are unimportant, that they are to be neglected, or that it is spiritual and more holy to neglect the body and to treat it carelessly. The Lord may have used this order to deal a blow against some of the pagan ideas of his day and to some of the imbalances believers can so easily slip into—and always have.

The Greeks regarded the body as evil and believed pure spirit was of greater value. Many rejected the idea of the resurrection because they believed all matter to be evil. They taught it didn’t matter what you did with the body. They either tortured it in various forms of asceticism, or misused it in licentiousness. This is why some of the Greeks at Corinth did not want to believe in the resurrection and part of the reason why Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 15. Concerning their attitude about the body and resurrection, Ryrie writes:

In general they believed in the immortality of the soul, but not the resurrection of the body. To them, the body was the source of man’s weakness and sin; death, therefore, was the welcomed means by which the soul was liberated from the body.2

Even today many Christians take their bodies for granted. We over-feed them, under-exercise them, often fail to give them enough rest, and in general, many times fail to take care of the body’s daily needs. In Philippians 3:21, the translation of the KJV could leave a wrong impression about the body. It reads:

Philippians 3:21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (KJV)

The translation, “vile body,” can suggest the body is evil, but literally, the Greek text means “body of humility,” i.e., a non-glorified body. This body is mortal and subject to age, disease, death and decay—so it needs special care if we are to maintain it as a useful tool of God.

1 Timothy 4:8 puts this into the right perspective. It reminds us that bodily discipline is profitable for a little while. It keeps the old machinery in good working order as long as it is being exercised and cared for properly on a daily basis. But of course, godliness is profitable both for now and for eternity.

1 Timothy 4:8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Man is a unity of body, soul and spirit. What affects one part affects the other. Neglect the body and it can affect the spiritual life. Neglect the spiritual life and it definitely will affect the body. So our Lord here teaches us balance—to care for both, to pray for both body and soul. The prayer for daily bread represents the whole concept of the needs of the body—food, clothing, shelter and whatever the human body needs to function effectively for the Lord. Our bodies belong to Him; He has bought them with the price of His Son.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Note that He teaches us “give us each day our daily bread.”

This is a prayer for daily supply to be made available to us for our physical needs. This is to be prayed daily. We should never take the Lord for granted. (Cf. Paul’s emphasis in the following passage.)

1 Timothy 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude;

This also teaches us that our primary concern is to be our daily needs—day by day living as sojourners rather than storehouse living like the rich fool.

Luke 12:16-21 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man was very productive. 17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 “And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 “So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

1 Timothy 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

The purpose of this request is to get us to consciously place our security and our trust in the Lord’s hands on a daily basis as a protection against: (a) false security, and (b) the wrong pursuits for life, i.e., living life with a view to one day at a time can help us maintain the right goals or purposes (cf. 1 Tim. 6:8-19; Matt. 6:19-34).

The prayer is designed to help us realize that the daily supply of the physical needs of life come from the Lord regardless of our resources or reserves, or how wisely we think we have planned for the future. Planning for the future has its place, but only as we keep such plans in proper perspective.

It is also designed to remind us that though God is the transcendent and sovereign God of the universe, He is also our personal and immanent heavenly Father who is concerned for and the Provider of even our daily physical needs. But wait a minute, didn’t Jesus Christ also say, “your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask Him”? (Matt. 6:8, 32).

If He knows, why ask daily?

(1) Prayer is obviously not something by which we inform an omniscient God of our needs. Prayer is for us, to influence us and to keep us depending on Him.

(2) The principle of prayer is not that God needs to be told, but that we need to tell Him because of what true prayer does to us. It is a means by which we submit to God’s will and learn to wait upon God as we delight our hearts in Him (Ps. 37:4-6).

(3) Prayer is a means by which we draw close to God so that He may draw close to us to bless us, not just with our needs as we may conceive them, which may not at all be what we need, but with the awareness of God Himself (James 4:8). What happens when we fail to praise and thank God and fail to bring our needs to the Lord? We begin to pull away from Him, to take Him for granted, and eventually we succumb to the delusion that we can handle life alone.

God is influenced by biblical steadfast praying, not because we have informed Him of something or because we have influenced God to change His mind, but because it has affected our lives, demonstrated our faith, obedience and submission to Him (Ps. 33:13-22; 34:4-9). God answers and honors trust.

    Pray for spiritual needs

(1) Regarding personal sin— “and forgive us our sins,” (11:4a)

First of all this verse deals with the subject of the forgiveness of the child of God, not the forgiveness of the unbeliever. The unbeliever is not forgiven by praying this prayer or by confessing his sins as though that would win his forgiveness. Instead, the Bible reveals that he must acknowledge his sinfulness, that he is a sinner separated from God, helpless in himself, and in need of the saving grace of God through faith in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ.

The passage is addressed to disciples, to believers who can call God their Father as the regenerated children of God through faith in Christ. Judicially, for those who have trusted in Christ the penalty of sin has been settled by the cross (Rom. 3:21-24; 5:1-2; Col. 1:14), but as we see in John 13, we all face the problem of personal sins that we incur as we walk down the defiled streets of this world. Known sin hinders our fellowship with God, it quenches His power and control of our lives, and it hinders our ability to grow and be truly changed by the grace of God. Therefore, in this model prayer, the Lord shows us that we must deal with the problem of personal sin.

We must remember that this prayer gives us a pattern for prayer in its general content. Here, it deals with the subject of forgiveness as a very important part of our prayers if they are to be answered and significant in our lives and our walk with God. This passage does not give us an explanation of the mechanics or details by which the believer is to handle sin and experience forgiveness. For this, God expects us to turn to the rest of the Word for instruction and insight. Rather, this model of prayer reminds us of our sinfulness, shows us our need of cleansing for fellowship with God, and demonstrates our responsibility to deal with the problem of personal sin in all its many categories as:

  • Mental attitude sins—resentment, envy, jealousy
  • Sins of the tongue—lying, gossip, criticism, abusive language
  • Overt sins of every kind—stealing, fornication, adultery, murder, substance abuse, fraud, etc.
  • Root sins—failure to appropriate God’s grace and live dependently on Him, false values, false motives, and false patterns of thinking and dealing with life. This involves the defense and escape mechanisms and the independent strategies of self protection or self management that we all tend to use to control our lives and protect ourselves rather than trusting in the Lord.

Let’s look for a moment at Luke 11:4a “And forgive us our sins.” The verb, “forgive,” as it is first used in this verse, is a construction in the Greek text (an aorist imperative) which adds a note of urgency—undoubtedly because of the consequences of sin. The Lord spoke here of specific sins. The word sins has the article and is in the plural. In light of the analogy of Scripture, the Lord is talking about specific personal sins that we are responsible to acknowledge as sin because of what it does to our fellowship with the Lord and our capacity as believers to love and minister to others.

This means we are not to take this request, “forgive us our sins,” as just a broad all inclusive and sweeping prayer for forgiveness of sin in general, i.e., “Lord, forgive me of all my sins.” That would avoid specific conviction and acknowledgment of specific sin, and leave us with non-convicting generalities. Such a prayer would simply sweep sin under the rug. It would clean up the outside of the cup but ignore the filth on the inside.

Matthew 12:34-35 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 “The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil.

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

The verb is afihmi and means literally, “to send away, let go.” It comes from a preposition, “from” and a verb, “to be.” It had, however, a legal use and meant “to cancel, remit, or pardon.” It was used of a loan or debt and also of the guilt or debt of sin which, as a result of forgiveness, removed the penalty or consequences of sin. The consequence in view here is broken fellowship which is restored by honest confession. (See Appendix 5 for an overview of the key issues in forgiveness for the believer.)

(2) Regarding relationships with others—“For we ourselves also forgive everyone . . .” (v. 4b)

Here and in Matthew 6:12b this is stated in the form of a principle rather than a request, but it deals with a subject which certainly needs to be a matter of prayer. It is an area we each need to turn over to the Lord for management. God holds us responsible for our relationships with others and the focus here is when we think we have been mistreated and would tend, then, to hold grudges and seek revenge.

In relation to forgiving others, there are always two dimensions involved: the Godward or vertical element, and the manward or horizontal element.

In relation to God: All sin against others is first of all a sin against God because it is a transgression against the law of God to love one another. Therefore, when we sin against another human being, we must first confess the sin to God.

In relation to men: In the horizontal relationship, we have a dual set of obligations: those of the offended party (the one sinned against), and those of the offending party (the one sinning against another).

THE OFFENDING PARTY

THE OFFENDED PARTY

Vertical responsibility—Confess to God the sin against the other party

Responsibility—Forgive the offending party

Horizontal responsibility—Ask forgiveness and seek reconciliation with the person offended. This can include making restitution.

Responsibility—If necessary for unity, healing, restoration, etc., go to the offending party to seek reconciliation and restoration.

The offended party, as a forgiven person in Christ, has a two-fold obligation. First, he or she is to show the same unqualified forgiveness they received from Christ. This is the point of the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:23-35. Second, if the offending party does nothing, then in obedience to Scripture and for the purpose of unity, restoration, and healing, the one offended should go to the offending party to correct the problem even if it means rebuke (Luke 17:3-4). If the offending party does not repent, then the offended party may need to follow the procedures of Matthew 18. This, however, never means the right to harbor resentment or anger.

If God by His grace and mercy has forgiven us such an enormous debt, one we could never pay because of our own sinfulness, how much more shouldn’t we forgive others the debts or sins against us as mere fellow-servants regardless of how much we have been hurt. What we suffer cannot compare to what Christ suffered for us. But forgiving others is never to be viewed as a work by which we seek forgiveness for our own sins because our debt is too great for any of us to pay by what we do.

On the part of the offending party the obligation is also twofold: First, to deal with the wrong done by repentance or confession before God. This reestablishes the vertical relationship. Then go to the offended party and correct the problem by asking their forgiveness and by doing the right thing as called for by the circumstances. Compare the following passages on forgiveness: (Cf. also 18:21-35; Luke 17:3-4; and 1 Peter 3:7.

Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Matthew 5:23-26 “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you shall not come out of there, until you have paid up the last cent.

Matthew 6:14-15 “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Principles to keep in mind:

  • Failure to forgive demonstrates our unwillingness to treat others on the same basis of grace that God has treated us. We must be willing to extend forgiveness as freely to others as God has freely extended it to us (Matt. 18:21-35; Eph 4:32).
  • Failure to forgive others stems from our failure to turn the matter over to the Lord and trust in His sovereign purposes and control. The Lord who rested totally in the Father’s love and plan is our perfect example in this (1 Pet. 2:21-25).
  • Failure to forgive others keeps the Lord from forgiving us, not because our act of unforgiveness becomes the basis for our own forgiveness, but because unforgiveness, like any known sin, stands as a barrier to fellowship. The basis for our forgiveness is always the cross and Christ’s presence before the Father as our advocate (1 John 1:9-2:2). It is important for us to understand, however, that failure to forgive others is not only sin, but a sin which is a contradiction to the heart of the gospel message (cf. Matt. 5:23-24; 1 Pet. 3:7; Ps. 66:18).
  • Failure of people to forgive one another results in a sick church—one without the power and blessing of God on it’s ministry and life.

(3) Pray Regarding Personal Temptation— “and lead us not into temptation . . .” (v. 4c)

This particular request has troubled many. Exactly what does this mean? One thing for sure, it is not a request out of fear that God might lead us into some form of temptation. James 1:13 specifically reminds us that God tempts no man. Temptation to sin always comes from sources other than the Lord. This request stems from recognizing certain principles and spiritual realities. It reminds and warns us of:

  • The principle of our own inherent weakness and our inability to always recognize temptation or to be able to handle certain temptations due to our particular spiritual state or phase of maturity.
  • The principle of our three enemies, the real sources of our temptation—(a) the sinful nature or indwelling sin, (b) the world around us, and (c) Satan against us. Satan and the world have many snares and traps to which we are susceptible because of our own desires and proneness to turn to the many tempting offers made by these sources for significance and happiness.
  • The principle of our desperate need of the protection and guidance of the Lord—our only strength against temptation (cf. Eph. 6:10f).

This prayer request is a matter of recognizing these principles that we might turn to the Lord and lean on Him to protect us and to keep us from temptation, especially the unrecognizable forms.

The Parable of the Persistent Friend
(11:5-8)

Luke 11:5-8 And He said to them, “Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him ‘; 7 and from inside he shall answer and say, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 “I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

In this parable we see the certainty of God’s answer and supply through persistent prayer.

Certain questions repeatedly pop up in the minds of believers regarding prayer. For instance: Why are we to continue to pray for something if the first time we pray we believe God for our request? Isn’t that unbelief? What about those times when we pray and are certain of an answer, and no answer is forthcoming? We believe and are confident it is God’s will, yet nothing happens. What are we to do? What are we to think?

Such questions are often a discouragement to prayer because people do not understand enough about prayer and its place in God’s plan and in our lives. Further, believers know they are to pray and to pray in faith, but this is hard. They say, “I know God can, but is it His will?” After all, God’s will is an important ingredient to the way we pray and receive answers.

Please note Mark 11:22-24

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (NIV)

Now compare the above promise with the following passages:

Matthew 6:10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

Luke 22:42 saying, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done.”

Ephesians 5:17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The Lord’s story of the friend who refused to take no for an answer is given to counter feelings of doubt and to become a reason and motivation for continuous and persistent prayer that believes God for what we ask. What do we mean by “persistent prayer”? Sufficient to say it means more than keeping on in prayer.

Why this parable? (Luke 11:1 cf. 18:1, i.e., the context). The disciples had asked the Lord to teach them to pray. In essence they were saying, “Bring us to the point, Lord, where prayer is not an option or for emergency use only. Bring us to the place where you are Lord and where prayer becomes an indispensable and irresistible reality.”

These verses, consisting of the parable, the prescription, the promise, and the principle, were given to answer questions and to motivate them (and so also us) in the struggle of prayer. In Luke 18:1, Christ undoubtedly had the principle of persistent prayer in mind as well. Note that we have only two options: Either we pray biblically in faith or we faint and fail to pray which is itself a form of failure.

This parable, in answer to the unnamed disciple’s request regarding prayer (11:1), is designed by the Lord as further instruction on the subject of prayer. It is developed around three people whom we will call friend A, B, and C, and five circumstances.

Friend A, coming from a long journey, visits friend B late at night, evidently seeking help. Friend B, possessing insufficient resources himself, goes to his neighbor, friend C, for help on behalf of friend A. Friend C, however, though he possesses sufficient resources, is reluctant to rise and give help to friend B, but he is persistent and continues to ask on behalf of friend A. Finally, friend C who has the resources provides the requested resources because of the persistence of friend B.

Let’s note several lessons or principles we can learn from this parable about prayer:

The Principle of the Need of Others

Here is where prayer has its origin. Prayer is designed to fill the needs of needy man (Heb. 4:16). But the parable illustrates praying for the needs of others, not just for our own needs. Friend B was making requests for his friend who came to him at midnight, hungry and without bread. Here also is where the church seems to have lost its vision in the ministry of intercession. Remember there are basically two kinds of prayer requests: (a) prayer for our own needs (petition) and (b) prayer for the needs of others (intercession).

As believers, we are all priests of God (1 Pet. 2:5). To us has been given the ministry of intercession through which we can bring untold power and blessing into the lives of others by praying for the lost, for laborers to be sent out, open doors for the Word, and the basic needs of fellow believers (cf. 3 John 2; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2-4, 12). To pray properly is to become sensitive and open to the needs of others. It is to care for others rather than be occupied with ourselves.

When on the cross, our Lord prayed for his own deliverance, but he never forgot those around Him. From the meaning of the Greek text, which uses the imperfect tense of continual action in past time, we know the Lord repeatedly prayed, “Father forgive them . . .” during those hours on the cross.

Closely related to the above is our next point found in this passage.

The Principle of Sacrificial Love

It was Andrew Murray who pointed out in With Christ in the School of Prayer, that intercessory prayer is part of God’s training school (p. 49). Here our sonship, fellowship and friendship with God is tested as well as our love for others. Our prayer life is a good barometer of the true condition of our spiritual life and our maturity and fellowship with Jesus Christ.

What happened in this parable? A man took the weary traveler and friend into his home at midnight. He did not excuse himself with “I’ve had a hard day, have no food—go elsewhere.” He sacrificed his night’s rest and went out in the darkness to find the needed bread. “Love seeks not its own,” love gives of itself, its time, its comfort for the needs of others.

This kind of love in word and deed is not natural to any of us. It requires supernatural capacity or ability and motivation. It requires the mind of Christ (the Word of God in the soul and the control of the Spirit controlling and motivating the life). John 15:5,7-8 and Ephesians 6:18 remind us that genuine fellowship with the Lord is vital to our prayer life just as prayer is vital to our fellowship. In a way, each feeds the other. Without the vertical focus, prayer becomes self-centered and based on wrong motives (James 4:2). So, in a very real sense, intercessory prayer is a test of our love, of our fellowship with God and our friendship with others. What kind of friend am I?

The Principle of Our Impotence

The man we have called friend B said, “I have nothing to set before him.” People often speak of the power of love, of what love can and does do for others. But it is important for us to realize another truth. In ourselves we are extremely limited. We may want to help another, but because of our puniness as man we are unable or at least very limited in our ability to help. In ourselves we are nothing.

No matter how much we may want to lead a person to Christ, you and I can’t open their eyes, we can’t force them to see the light. Only the Spirit of God can do that (Acts 16:14). Evangelism, then, if it is going to be effective must be preceded by prayer. The same principle applies to building people up in the Word. Consistently, the Apostle Paul prayed for the spiritual enlightenment of the people to whom he ministered (Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-20; Col. 1:9-14; Phil. 1:9-11). Doctors may do all they can for someone who is ill, and still not alleviate the problem, but God can.

The principle is that we are inadequate and weak, but God is the omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent One who is able to do above all that we can ask or even think. In His wisdom He knows what is best, in His love He always cares, and in His power He is able to do anything. So the more we come to see and sense our impotence and need, the more indispensable and irresistible prayer should become to all of us.

The Persuasion Regarding the
Friend Who Can and Will Supply

Though this man cannot supply the need himself, he knows there is another who can and will supply this need. He has a super rich friend nearby who will be both able and willing to supply.

The following are important principles concerning faith:

  • Faith must have the right object,
  • The object must be available,
  • The object must be able, and
  • The object must be willing.

Knowledge of these truths is a great incentive to prayer (cf. Neh. 1).

Faith and knowledge made this person leave his home at midnight to go to the house of his friend to get bread for the weary traveler who had come from the long journey and was tired and in need of food. As mentioned above, prayer is a test of our friendship with God, of how well we really know Him and so of how confident we are that eventually God will answer and supply. Such faith leads to prayer: knowing God and His promises and our access to Him in Jesus Christ, we can be confident in His supply—that he won’t turn us away, that He feels and cares for our needs and the needs of others.

This illustrates and teaches us the simple truth that our loving heavenly Father and “Friend” will give what is needed if we ask. When a need really exists, there can be no mistake, our God will supply! Why? Because our God who cannot lie, who is immutable, who is loving and faithful, has given us promise after promise to that effect. Compare also Matt. 21:22; 18:19-21; and Luke 11:9-10.

Psalm 9:10 And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; For Thou, O LORD, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee.

Psalm 10:17-18 O LORD, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble; Thou wilt strengthen their heart, Thou wilt incline Thine ear 18 To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, That man who is of the earth may cause terror no more.

Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 145:18-19 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.

Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

How well do we know our God? How many of the principles and promises dealing with prayer do we know?

We hear people say, “but sometimes God’s answer is NO.” Yes, that is true and 2 Corinthians 12:7f is an example. But the point I believe we must see is this; too often this kind of attitude is a cop out on intercessory prayer or on personal petition and real praying. Too often people give up before they have prayed according to the prescription of persistent prayer.

The Perplexing Answer (v. 7)

In the parable the man who could meet the need is reluctant to do so. What is the point of this part of the parable? The God who has told us to pray, who cares for us, and who has promised to supply and answer, often holds back the answer and the gift. Sometimes we meet with what appears to be His refusal. Why? What is involved here? What is Christ teaching us about intercessory prayer? That we must keep knocking on God’s door as the reluctant friend until He can stand it no more and finally gives in? NO!

What about those times when we are sure of God’s will, when there truly is a genuine need and we ask in faith, believing, and yet we seem to meet with silence or an apparent NO? What then? Let’s look at the next principles for our answer.

The Persistence Which Takes No Refusal

In our passage friend B met with a refusal— “don’t bother me,” but he wouldn’t take no for an answer and he shamelessly persisted until he got what he asked for. Was he wrong in this? Should he have simply said, “Well it must not be God’s will, brother. Sorry, I just can’t help you.”? Obviously not because Christ followed up this parable with verse 9, “ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, . . .” a very definite and firm promise.

Persistent intercessory prayer is part of God’s training school. Here again, as Murray reminds us, it is a test of our friendship with God, of how well we know Him as our heavenly Friend and Father, and of how committed we are to knowing the Lord and finding His will. Note that the passage emphasizes the need of persistence in prayer, and that, as Luke 18:1 teaches, we should never give up.

Steadfast prayer like this requires faith and knowledge of what God wants to accomplish—knowing God and His plan. Steadfast and continuous prayer is to become a time of testing and training, a time of searching and discovery as we will see below.

    Persistent praying is self-revealing

Persistent prayer demonstrates our knowledge and confidence in our Friend and heavenly Father. It greatly glorifies God because it shows we are resting in His wisdom and love. The lack of an immediate answer does not turn us away in disgust or cause fear or doubt and frustration. Why? Because we know our heavenly Friend and Father. Do we understand all that God is doing? No, not really. Is it easy ? No.

Persistent prayer demonstrates the maturity of our faith or the lack of it and so also our need of understanding God, His plan, principles, promises, and purposes. It demonstrates our need of faith, of wisdom and biblical values and priorities along with patience and an eternal perspective. A mature or growing faith sees and believes the promises of God, embracing them with persistence even though the answer is not immediately forthcoming (Heb. 11:13, 39). Mature faith knows that God will answer in a better time and in a better way.

This is no place better illustrated than in the prayers of our Lord both before and on the cross. Had the Father taken the cup of the cross from Him or called ten thousand angels to deliver Him from the cross, we would still be in our sins. God answered His Son, but in a better time and in a better way.

    Persistent praying becomes a time
    of discovery regarding God’s will

Persistent prayer is often needed to bring our prayers into the will of God, i.e., to correct and make them such that they will glorify God and become a greater blessing to us (cf. Luke 18:38-41).

This story of the blind man in Luke 18:35-41 shows that the blind man was crying out for mercy, a very general request which he repeated, believing and knowing that Jesus Christ could and would heal him. But what did Christ do? Did He heal him immediately? No. Instead He said “what do you want me to do for you?” Of course Christ knew the man was blind just as our heavenly Father knows our needs before we ask them (Matt. 6:8). So why the question?

The Lord’s question to the blind man teaches us that God wants us to pray specific requests by which we bring God’s person, promises, principles, and purposes directly to bear on the details of our lives and the lives of others. This kind of praying fits with the basic concept we have seen about prayer. It is not just a religious exercise or ritual divorced from our mind, emotions and will, and the specifics of our lives. Why? Because prayer is a means of fellowship and growth by which we are to seek and discover more about the Lord and His will.

Through true persistent prayer we are forced to investigate the needs and requests as to their nature and motive and as to God’s purpose in the situation. This demands time, thought, soul searching, and fellowship with God. It demands that I ask and think about some crucial questions that help me to discover what God is seeking to teach me, questions like: What are my motives? What are the real needs? What does God want me to do? What does God want to accomplish? God, how do you want me to pray?

Persistent praying and searching in prayer causes us to see our own needs and inadequacies or those of others more pointedly. It helps to bring the real issues to the surface which cause us to more fully depend on the Lord in specifics. So we don’t just say “Lord, help me, or help Bill today.” But “Lord, strengthen me in this area, or in this specific problem or weakness.”

Persistent prayer that forces us to search out and investigate the specific needs aids our personal walk with God and our growth in faith and obedience. When we get specific we are forced to deal with specific areas and root problems in our lives or in the lives of others. We don’t just pray, “Lord, deliver me from sin,” but “Lord, enable me to deal with my temper, or my lack of love, or my fear regarding taking a stand, etc.” It forces us to face what we really are and how God is sufficient for our specific needs.

What then are some of the provisions of persistent praying?

The Provisions of Persistent Praying

Remember we are talking about times of delay in God’s answer and what persevering prayer provides in believers through the process of searching and discovery.

(1) It develops our relationship with the Lord. Through the search/discovery process, our understanding of God, our faith, our confidence, our joy and peace (Phil. 4:1f), and our strength and courage to go on in the joy and strength of the Lord in the face of continued pain or persecution are all enhanced (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10; 4:16-18).

(2) It provides specific answers from God, but in His timing. And, as we look back, we can often see the hand of God working out His wise purposes through which we can praise Him for in specific answers (2 Cor. 9:11-12). Being specific enables us to wait for specific answers and to more clearly identify them when they come so we can praise and thank God for the answers.

The main principle of the parable is this: If the unfriendliness of a selfish earthly friend can be overcome by persistence—how much more will not persistent praying bring an answer and reward from our heavenly Friend who is also our heavenly Father?

The passage is not saying that God holds back answers because He is unfriendly or doesn’t want to be bothered. As we will see from the context, He is the all wise heavenly Father and holds back answers in His perfect wisdom and goodness because He cannot give us anything but what is best for all concerned.

The Prescription for Persistent Praying
(11:9)

Luke 11:9 “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.

The Greek text employs the continuous present with each of the commands (“ask, seek, knock”). But as you can tell by what has already been said, by persistent praying Scripture is not telling us to just keep on asking or repeating the same request. There is a great deal more to it than that.

“And I say” in verse 9 is kagw (kai + egw) and legw which means “and I, I say.” Or “now I, I say.” This was used as a kind of special formula to introduce a point of truth or doctrine which needs to be gleaned from the parable. It is like saying, “here is the point.” This is followed by three commands, which, in the context give us the following principles.

Keep on Asking

This is a command to keep on bringing our request, keep on coming to the Lord with the need and the issue. Don’t give up or faint. Don’t throw in the towel. We are to persevere before the Lord in our requests. But how?

Keep on Seeking

Some see this as just another way of saying the same thing, but I believe this is a call for searching and discovery in the midst of continuing to pray. I believe this means more than just asking or seeking for the thing requested. This means, in our prayers and through the prayerful reading and study of the Word, we are to search for God’s will and the lessons He want us to learn. Pray for spiritual wisdom and understanding and for that which God is doing in the situation (James 1:5). We need to ask questions like: What is God seeking to teach me or us? Is the Lord wanting to take us in another direction or is the timing just all wrong for now? Is He wanting to develop our patience, trust, change our values, or reveal the wrong sources of happiness or sources of self-trust and self-management?

Keep on Knocking

This is a call for expectant waiting in our prayers. Don’t give up and go away. Don’t stop. Stay, wait and rest the matter in the Lord’s hands and timing. We have here the principle of waiting on the Lord, of the faith-rest life—resting patiently by faith in God’s wisdom and love. The answer and revelation of what God is doing will come. Just trust in the goodness and wisdom of God.

With that in mind, the Lord quickly focuses our attention on the nature of God and our relationship with Him as our heavenly Father as believers in Christ. Why? To encourage us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. God is a faithful father kind of God.

The Promise of God’s Sure Answer
(11:10)

Luke 11:10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.

This verse simply states that those who keep on asking, seeking, and knocking, who persist in prayer, will receive answers from the Lord. They will receive, they will find, and God will open the door.

It is helpful to note that the present tense is used with each of these verbs regarding God’s sure answer (“receives, finds, knocks”). In verse 9, the future was used, but not here, at least not with the first two. There is a manuscript problem with the third and it is difficult to determine from the evidence if this should be the present or the future. Probably the present as with the first two verbs.

The present tense stresses the actuality of God’s sure answer even more emphatically. This may be what we call the future present which denotes an event that has not occurred, but which is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be viewed as a present reality. Or, it may be the gnomic present of what is a general, timeless principle. The Lord consistently gives to those who persist in prayer. It’s God’s pattern. The Lord is emphatically assuring us of God’s concern and involvement in our lives to direct us, transform us, and answer our prayers.

Now to strengthen our faith and to demonstrate why we can be assured of God’s answer and concern, the Savior focuses our thoughts on God’s MUCH MORE GRACE by calling our attention to God’s infinite and holy love as our heavenly Father.

The Principle of God’s Much More Grace
(11:11-13)

Luke 11:11-13 “Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 “Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

The Comparison to Human Fathers (vv. 11-12)

God is our heavenly Father who can do no less for his children than would our earthly father.

Matthew 7:11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

The rather extreme examples given in these verses 11-12 represent the norm, the general pattern among men. When societies degenerate and morally go bottom up, child abuse follows, but in general, fathers do not break with these principles. They do not give harmful gifts or gifts that mock their children’s requests. They will often be unwise in their gifts, but they generally do what they think is best.

These examples reinforce the point that God, because of who he is as a holy and infinitely wise God, can only respond in perfect kindness and love.

The Contrast to Our Heavenly Father (v. 13)

Because God is perfect and infinite in all aspects of His character and being, He can do nothing less than the most and the best. He will do much more than our earthly fathers who, though they generally seek to give good gifts, are also sinful and finite in their wisdom.

In this verse we see a contrast of nature and a contrast of gifts. In contrast to the limited and material gifts of earthly fathers, our heavenly Father gives the highest and greatest gift, one that involves and is important to every other spiritual gift—He gives the Holy Spirit.

But what about asking for the Holy Spirit? Can this prayer be legitimately prayed today? NO! Either one of two things apply:

(1) In the Old Testament, the gift that God had promised His people was the Holy Spirit (cf. Ezek. 36:25-27; Joel 2:28-29). So the Lord was here telling the disciples that during this interim period, before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as promised in the Old Testament, if they would ask in persistent prayer, they could then have been indwelt and empowered by the Spirit.

(2) Or, our Lord was saying that what the Father had promised would one day be realized once Israel turned and repented. At that time Christ was being rejected, so the promise would have to be postponed. Christ was saying they should not give up hope, but should continue praying and wait for the gift that would come after His glorification or death and resurrection (cf. John 7:37-39). In the upper room, this is precisely what the disciples did (Acts 1:14).

I personally prefer view number one above.

Conclusion and Application

Because of our lack of wisdom and finite human condition, and because of our sinfulness, if God answered all our prayers just as we ask them we would receive that which would be equivalent to either a stone, a serpent, or a scorpion. But God as our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ (as the one who knows best, who knows all the facts, and who can give only what is best) waits until, through persistent asking, searching, and knocking, our prayers are changed into the will of God (if against it) or until we have learned the lesson(s) He is seeking to teach us through the training ground of persistent intercessory prayer.

The capacity to have this kind of faith in God is dependent upon our knowledge of Him and our confidence in His will. Until God’s will is known and sensed on a request, prayer will have to fall into two categories:

(1) The prayer of confident expectation and faith knowing that God will answer in His own time and according to His wisdom.

(2) The prayer of submission and trust as the Lord prayed, “Nevertheless Father, not my will but Thine.”

One aspect of our prayer should involve asking the Father to help us know His will about the issues for which we are praying. Another aspect involves giving thanks to the Father for answering according to His will. In the meantime, our prayer should be that God would enable us rest in Him and to grow and learn from what He is doing.


1 Ray Steadman, Jesus Teaches on Prayer, Word Books, Waco, TX, 1975, p. 63.

2 The Ryrie Study Bible, NASB, Expanded Edition, Moody Press, Chicago, 1995, p. 1839.

Related Topics: Prayer

5. As Epístolas Não-Paulinas

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Introdução

Chegamos agora às oito epístolas finais do cânone do Novo Testamento, sete das quais têm sido frequentemente chamadas de Epístolas Gerais ou Católicas, embora Hebreus tenha sido excluída desta descrição. O termo Católicas foi usado no sentido de geral ou universal, de modo a distingui-las das Epístolas Paulinas, endereçadas a igrejas ou pessoas.1 No seu endereço (à excepção de 2 e 3 João), não se limitavam apenas a uma localidade. Como exemplo, Tiago é remetida “às doze tribos da dispersão” (1:1), tratando-se de uma designação para os crentes em qualquer lugar (provavelmente todos eles cristãos judeus naquele tempo). Em seguida, 1 Pedro é dirigida “aos eleitos que são estrangeiros e estão espalhados no Ponto, Galácia, Capadócia, Ásia e Bitínia”, uma designação para os crentes nessas diversas áreas. As epístolas 2 e 3 João também foram incluídas neste grupo, embora fossem remetidas a indivíduos específicos. Devido a estas diferenças, neste estudo, estes oito livros são chamados simplesmente “as Epístolas Não-Paulinas”. Deverá ser notado que, enquanto as Epístolas Paulinas se intitulam de acordo com os seus destinatários, todas estas epístolas são intituladas de acordo com os nomes dos seus autores, à excepção de Hebreus.

De um modo geral, podemos dizer que Tiago e 1 Pedro são éticas, convocando os crentes a um santo caminhar com o Salvador. Segunda a Pedro e Judas são escatológicas, advertindo os crentes contra a presença de falsos doutores, chamando-os a batalhar pela fé. Hebreus e as Epístolas de João são primeiramente cristológicas e éticas, incitando os cristãos a permanecer em Cristo enquanto revelação final de Deus e cumprimento da aliança do Antigo Testamento, experienciando a Sua vida e não ultrapassando a verdade do evangelho.

Estas oito epístolas exercem uma influência desproporcional à sua extensão (menos de 10 porcento do Novo Testamento). Complementam as treze Epístolas Paulinas, oferecendo diferentes perspectivas acerca da riqueza da verdade cristã. Cada um dos cinco autores – Tiago, Pedro, João, Judas e o autor de Hebreus – tem uma contribuição distinta a fazer de acordo com o seu próprio ponto de vista. À semelhança das quatro abordagens complementares à vida de Cristo nos Evangelhos, estes escritores proporcionam um retrato abrangente da vida cristã, na qual a totalidade supera a soma das partes. Grandes como são as epístolas de Paulo, caso os escritos destes cinco homens não tivessem sido incluídos, a revelação do Novo Testamento após Actos estaria severamente limitada por uma só perspectiva apostólica.2

Hebreus

Autor e Título:

Durante cerca de 1,200 anos (desde 400 a 1600 d.C.), este livro foi comummente intitulado “A Epístola de Paulo aos Hebreus”, mas não havia unanimidade nos primeiros séculos a respeito da sua autoria. O título mais antigo e confiável é Pros Ebraious, “Aos Hebreus”.

Conforme mencionado, o autor é desconhecido. Muitas sugestões têm sido feitas e muitos argumentos elaborados têm sido propostos por estudiosos, mas o facto é que o autor não é nomeado em nenhuma parte do livro, sendo essencialmente, tal como o local de redacção, data e até o público-alvo, desconhecido. Ryrie escreve:

Muitas sugestões têm sido feitas para o autor deste livro anónimo – Paulo, Barnabé, Apolo, Silas, Áquila e Priscila e Clemente de Roma. Existem tanto semelhanças como diferenças em relação à teologia e estilo de Paulo, mas Paulo apela frequentemente à própria autoridade apostólica nas suas cartas, enquanto este escritor apela a outros, que eram testemunhas do ministério de Jesus (2:3). É mais seguro dizer, como fez o teólogo Orígenes no terceiro século, que apenas Deus sabe quem escreveu Hebreus.3

Devido à incerteza da sua autoria, o seu reconhecimento como parte do cânone do Novo Testamento foi, pelo menos no Ocidente, protelado até ao século quarto, altura em que foi finalmente aceite na Igreja ocidental através dos testemunhos de Jerónimo e Agostinho. Dado que Paulo era considerado autor pela Igreja oriental, esta epístola sempre foi aceite nessa região.

O problema da sua canonicidade foi novamente levantado durante a Reforma, mas a profundidade espiritual e qualidade de Hebreus deram testemunho da sua inspiração, apesar do seu anonimato.

No capítulo 13, os versículos 18-24 dizem-nos que este livro não era anónimo para os leitores originais, que evidentemente conheciam o autor. Por alguma razão, porém, a tradição eclesial primitiva dividiu-se quanto à identidade do autor. Parte da igreja atribuiu-a a Paulo; outros preferiram Barnabé, Lucas ou Clemente, e alguns escolheram o anonimato. Assim, a evidência externa não ajudará a determinar o autor.

A evidência interna deverá ser o último recurso, mas também aqui os resultados são ambíguos. Alguns aspectos da linguagem, estilo e teologia de Hebreus são muito similares às epístolas de Paulo e o autor também menciona Timóteo (13:23). Contudo, diferenças significativas têm conduzido a maioria dos estudiosos bíblicos a rejeitar a autoria paulina deste livro: (1) O estilo de grego em Hebreus é muito mais elegante e refinado do que aquele que se encontra em qualquer uma das reconhecidas epístolas de Paulo. (2) Em vista das afirmações consistentes de Paulo quanto a ser um apóstolo e testemunha ocular de Cristo, é pouco provável que usasse a fraseologia encontrada no capítulo 2, versículo 3: “a qual, começando a ser anunciada pelo Senhor, foi-nos, depois, confirmada pelos que a ouviram”. (3) A ausência da habitual saudação de Paulo, que incluía o seu nome, vai contra o firme padrão encontrado em todas as suas restantes epístolas. (4) Embora Paulo tenha usado tanto o texto hebraico como a Septuaginta para citar o Antigo Testamento, aparentemente o redactor de Hebreus não sabia hebreu, citando exclusivamente a partir da Septuaginta. (5) O uso comum de títulos compostos que Paulo fazia para se referir ao Filho de Deus não é observado em Hebreus, que usualmente se refere a Ele como Cristo, Jesus e Senhor. (6) Hebreus concentra-se no presente ministério sacerdotal de Cristo, mas os escritos de Paulo têm pouco a dizer acerca da obra presente de Cristo. Portanto, Hebreus parece não ter sido escrita por Paulo, embora o autor mostre uma influência paulina. De nenhum modo a autoridade de Hebreus está dependente da autoria paulina, especialmente dado que não declara ter sido escrita por Paulo.4

Os Destinatários:

Uma vez que os destinatários não são mencionados, ao contrário do que acontece nas Epístolas Paulinas, poderemos dizer algo sobre eles. A própria natureza do livro, com as suas abundantes citações do Antigo Testamento e a ênfase no sistema sacrificial, sugere fortemente que seriam hebreus. Escrevendo em The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Zane C. Hodges diz:

A identidade dos primeiros leitores de Hebreus permanece, tal como a do autor, desconhecida. No entanto, faziam evidentemente parte de uma comunidade particular. Tal torna-se aparente através de várias considerações. Os leitores tinham uma história definida e o autor referiu-se aos seus “dias de outrora” (Hb. 10:32-34); conhecia a sua generosidade presente e passada face a outros cristãos (6:10), e era capaz de ser específico acerca da sua condição espiritual actual (5:11-14). Para além disso, o autor tinha ligações definidas com eles e expressou a sua intenção de os visitar, talvez com Timóteo (13:19, 23). Também lhes pediu orações (13:18).

É muito provável que a maioria dos leitores tivesse origem judaica. Embora isto tenha sido questionado algumas vezes, o conteúdo da epístola defende-o. É claro que o antigo título “Aos Hebreus” poderá ser uma mera conjuntura, mas é natural. Quando se diz tudo o que é possível dizer a uma público gentio, permanece o facto de que a forte ênfase que o autor coloca sobre os protótipos judaicos e o seu ataque sincero contra a permanência do sistema levítico é melhor explicado caso o público seja largamente judeu, inclinado a voltar à sua antiga fé. O duro e extenso apelo à autoridade das Escrituras do Antigo Testamento também era mais apropriado para leitores que haviam sido criados com as mesmas.5

Data: 64-68 d.C.

Várias coisas sugerem uma data algures entre 64-68 d.C.. Primeiro, o livro foi citado por Clemente de Roma em 95 d.C., pelo que teve de ser redigido antes disso. Segundo, pelas razões que se seguem, parece bastante claro que o livro foi escrito antes da destruição de Jerusalém, em 70 d.C. Primeiro, caso um evento desta magnitude tivesse ocorrido, o autor teria certamente mencionado a destruição do templo e o fim do sistema sacrificial judeu, especialmente em vista do argumento deste livro. Segundo, ao falar do templo e das actividades sacerdotais, o autor usa o grego em tempo presente vez após vez, sugerindo que ainda estavam a ocorrer (veja 5:1-3; 7:23, 27; 8:3-5; 9:6-9, 13, 25; 10:1, 3-4, 8, 11; 13:10-11). Terceiro, em 13:23 o autor refere-se à recente libertação de Timóteo, que, se associada ao seu ministério para com Paulo em Roma, requer uma data nos finais de 60.

Tema e Propósito:

Claramente, o tema de Hebreus é a incomparável grandeza de Cristo ou a Sua superioridade e, consequentemente, a superioridade do Cristianismo face ao sistema do Antigo Testamento. Várias palavras – melhor, perfeito e celestial – são usadas de forma proeminente para demonstrar isto. Como propósito prioritário, o autor procura demonstrar como Cristo é superior ou melhor de cinco formas significativas. Enquanto Filho, Ele é (1) superior aos profetas do Antigo Testamento (1:1-3), (2) aos anjos (1:4-2:18), (3) a Moisés (3:1-6), (4) a Josué (3:7-4:16) e (5) ao sacerdócio de Aarão (5:1-10:18). O objectivo deste tema é advertir os seus leitores contra os perigos de trocar a matéria daquilo que possuem em Cristo pelas sombras temporárias do sistema do Antigo Testamento. Assim, os leitores são avisados para prosseguirem até à maturidade e recompensa de crentes fiéis, participantes do seu chamamento celestial. A fim de fazerem isto, existem cinco passagens de aviso, inseridas de modo a desafiá-los a progredir na sua fé cristã (2:1-4; 3:1-4:13; 5:11-6:20; 10:26-39; 12:14-29).

Palavras-Chave:

As palavras-chave são melhor, que ocorre cerca de treze vezes, perfeito, que ocorre nove vezes, e celestial, que ocorre seis vezes. Portanto, o conceito-chave em Hebreus é a superioridade ou a incomparável grandeza de Cristo.

Versículos-Chave:

  • 2:1-4 Portanto, convém-nos atentar com mais diligência para as coisas que já temos ouvido, para que em tempo algum nos desviemos delas. 2:2 Porque, se a palavra falada pelos anjos permaneceu firme, e toda a transgressão e desobediência recebeu a justa retribuição, 2:3 como escaparemos nós, se não atentarmos para uma tão grande salvação, a qual, começando a ser anunciada pelo Senhor, foi-nos, depois, confirmada pelos que a ouviram; 2:4 testificando, também, Deus, com eles, por sinais, e milagres, e várias maravilhas e dons do Espírito Santo, distribuídos por sua vontade?
  • 4:12-13 Porque a palavra de Deus é viva e eficaz, e mais penetrante do que espada alguma de dois gumes, e penetra até à divisão da alma e do espírito, e das juntas e medulas, e é apta para discernir os pensamentos e intenções do coração. 4:13 E não há criatura alguma encoberta diante dele; antes, todas as coisas estão nuas e patentes, aos olhos daquele com quem temos de tratar.
  • 4:14-16 Visto que temos um grande sumo sacerdote, Jesus, Filho de Deus, que penetrou nos céus, retenhamos firmemente a nossa confissão; 4:15 porque não temos um sumo sacerdote que não possa compadecer-se das nossas fraquezas, porém um que, como nós, em tudo foi tentado, mas sem pecado. 4:16 Cheguemo-nos, pois, com confiança, ao trono da graça, para que possamos alcançar misericórdia e achar graça, a fim de sermos ajudados em tempo oportuno.
  • 12:1-2 Portanto nós, também, pois que estamos rodeados de uma tão grande nuvem de testemunhas, deixemos todo o embaraço, e o pecado, que tão de perto nos rodeia, e corramos, com paciência, a carreira que nos está proposta, 12:2 olhando para Jesus, autor e consumador da fé, o qual, pelo gozo que lhe estava proposto, suportou a cruz, desprezando a afronta, e assentou-se à dextra do trono de Deus.

Capítulos-Chave:

O capítulo 1, que tão fortemente declara a divindade de Cristo enquanto Filho e revelação final de Deus, é certamente um capítulo-chave, mas o capítulo 11 também se destaca como o grande Corredor da Fama e da Fé. Apontando para os numerosos santos do Antigo Testamento que viveram pela fé, demonstra a verdade de 11:6, “Ora, sem fé é impossível agradar a Deus, pois para se aproximar d’Ele é necessário que se creia primeiro que Ele existe e que recompensa os que O procuram”.

Como Cristo É Visto em Hebreus:

Cumprindo o objectivo de mostrar a superioridade de Cristo, Hebreus torna-se indubitavelmente o livro individual mais cristológico do Novo Testamento. Aqui, Ele é declarado Filho, o próprio esplendor e representação da essência de Deus (1:3, 13), aquele que se sentou à direita de Deus (1:3), aquele que foi declarado Deus por Deus Pai (1:8-9), Criador eterno (1:10-12) e Sacerdote eterno segundo a ordem de Melquisedeque (7). Aqui, Cristo é apresentado como o Profeta, Sacerdote e Rei humano-divino. É visto como nosso Redentor que, tendo sido feito como os Seus irmãos, lidou de uma vez por todas com o nosso pecado e fez aquilo que os sacrifícios temporários jamais poderiam fazer. Como tal, encontra-se agora no Céu como nosso Grande Sumo Sacerdote, que simpatiza com as nossas fraquezas.

Plano Geral:

I. A Superioridade de Cristo Face aos Líderes da Antiga Aliança (1:1-7:28)

A. Cristo É Superior aos Profetas do Antigo Testamento (1:1-3)

B. Cristo É Superior aos Anjos (1:4-2:18)

C. Cristo É Superior a Moisés (3:1-6)

D. Cristo É Superior a Josué (3:7-4:13)

E. Cristo É Superior ao Sacerdócio Aarónico (4:14-7:28)

1. Exortação a permanecer firme (4:14-16)

2. Qualificações de um sacerdote (5:1-10)

3. Exortação a abandonar a letargia espiritual (5:11-6:12)

4. Certeza da promessa de Deus (6:13-20)

5. Cristo é superior à ordem sacerdotal (capítulo 7)

II. A Superior Obra Sacrificial enquanto Nosso Sumo Sacerdote (capítulos 8-10)

A. Uma Aliança Melhor (capítulo 8)

B. Um Santuário Melhor (9:1-12)

C. Um Sacrifício Melhor (9:13-10:18)

D. Exortações (10:19-39)

III. Apelo Final a Perseverar na Fé (capítulos 11-12)

A. Exemplos dos Heróis da Fé do Passado (capítulo 11)

B. Encorajamento a Perseverar na Fé (12:1-11)

C. Exortações a Perseverar na Fé (12:12-17)

D. Motivação para Perseverar na Fé (12:18-29)

IV. Conclusão (capítulo 13)

A. Princípios Práticos para a Vida Cristã (13:1-17)

B. Pedido de Oração (13:18-19)

C. Bênção (13:20-21)

D. Comentários Pessoais (13:22-23)

E. Saudações e Bênção Final (13:24-25)

Tiago

Autor e Título:

Esta epístola inicia-se com “Tiago de Deus... às doze tribos”6. De forma a indicar claramente o remetente, a Bíblia NET traduz “De Tiago, escravo de Deus... às doze tribos...7” Mas existiam quatro homens chamados Tiago no Novo Testamento. Os mesmos eram os seguintes: (1) o filho de Zebedeu e irmão de João (Marcos 1:19), (2) o filho de Alfeu (Marcos 3:18), (3) o pai de Judas (não o Iscariotes; Lucas 6:16), e (4) o meio-irmão do Senhor (Gl. 1:19). A este respeito, Ryrie escreve:

Dos quatro homens detentores do nome Tiago no Novo Testamento, apenas dois foram propostos como autores desta epístola – Tiago, filho de Zebedeu (e irmão de João), e Tiago, meio-irmão de Jesus. É improvável que o filho de Zebedeu tenha sido o autor, pois foi martirizado em 44 d.C. (Actos 12:2). O tom de autoridade da epístola não só exclui os dois “Tiagos” menos conhecidos do Novo Testamento (“Tiago Menor” e o Tiago de Lucas 6:16), mas também aponta para o meio-irmão de Jesus, que se tornou o líder reconhecido da igreja de Jerusalém (Actos 12:17; 15:13; 21:18). Esta conclusão é apoiada pelas semelhanças entre o grego desta epístola e o utilizado no discurso de Tiago no Concílio de Jerusalém (Tiago 1:1 e Actos 15:23; Tiago 1:27 e Actos 15:14; Tiago 2:5 e Actos 15:13).8

No texto grego, a partir de Tiago 1:1, o livro é simplesmente intitulado de Jakobos. O título antigo era Jakobou Epistle, “Epístola de Tiago”. Mas Tiago era realmente Jacob (Iako„bos). Desconhece-se a razão exacta pela qual os tradutores ingleses escolheram “Tiago” em detrimento de “Jacob”. “Tiago”, “Jake” e “Jacob” provêm todos da mesma raiz etimológica9. Traduções bíblicas em outras línguas tendem a utilizar o nome transliterado do hebreu yaàa†qo„b, “Jacob”. É possível questionar se o Rei James desejaria ver o seu nome na tradução inglesa que autorizou.

Destinatários:

Uma vez mais, dado o modo como Tiago se dirige aos destinatários, também aqui é preciso um comentário. Tiago dirige-se “às doze tribos da dispersão (diaspora), saúde”. Conforme é sugerido por “meus irmãos”, em 1:19 e 2:1, 7, trata-se de uma referência não à dispersão que ocorreu entre 66-70 d.C., mas aos judeus distantes da sua pátria, ao longo das dispersões passadas (veja Mt.1:11, 12, 17). Nos capítulos iniciais de Actos, judeus de todas as partes do mundo encontravam-se em Jerusalém para o Pentecostes (veja Actos 1:5). Muitos deles viram e ouviram o fenómeno do Pentecostes e começaram a acreditar em Cristo. Eventualmente, muitos regressaram às suas respectivas casas, em diversas regiões do mundo. Era para estes que Tiago estava a escrever. Outros, porém, vêem isto como uma referência aos cristãos judeus que haviam sido dispersos após a morte de Estêvão.10

Data: 45 ou 46 d.C.

Embora alguns sugiram uma data para Tiago tão antiga como o final dos 30s, e outros uma tão tardia como 150 d.C., a maioria dos estudiosos data o livro à volta de 45 d.C.. As razões são as seguintes: (1) Há um carácter judaico muito distinto no livro, sugerindo que terá sido escrito numa altura em que a igreja era ainda predominantemente judia. (2) Não há qualquer referência à controvérsia acerca da circuncisão dos gentios. (3) O termo grego synagoge (“sinagoga” ou “assembleia”) é usado para designar a assembleia ou local de assembleia da igreja, em detrimento do termo “igreja”, ekklesia (2:2). (4) A ausência de referência aos assuntos envolvidos no Concílio de Jerusalém, tais como a relação entre cristãos gentios e cristãos judeus (Actos 15:1 ss; 49 d.C.), sugere também uma data muito precoce.  (5) “As alusões aos ensinamentos de Cristo têm uma concordância verbal tão escassa com os Evangelhos sinópticos que a epístola provavelmente precedeu-os.”11

Tema e Propósito:

Existe uma controvérsia significativa a respeito da natureza exacta do tema e propósito desta epístola. A respeito desta polémica, Ron Blue escreve:

Poucos livros da Bíblia foram mais difamados do que o pequeno Livro de Tiago. A controvérsia recaiu sobre a sua autoria, data, destinatários, canonicidade e unidade.

É bem sabido que Martinho Lutero teve problemas com este livro. Chamou-lhe “epístola de palha”. Mas apenas é de “palha” na medida em que é “complicada”. Existem agulhas suficientes neste palheiro para picar a consciência de cada cristão enfadonho, derrotado e degenerado deste mundo. Esta é uma “epístola estimulante”, destinada a exortar e encorajar, a desafiar e condenar, a admoestar e revivificar, a descrever a santidade prática e conduzir os crentes em direcção ao objectivo de uma fé que funciona. Tiago é severamente ético e revigorantemente prático.12

Claramente, Tiago preocupa-se com possuir uma fé que funciona, uma fé vital, poderosa e funcional. Mas parte da controvérsia diz respeito à natureza dessa fé. Estará ele a escrever para que se desenvolvam as características da verdadeira fé, versus a fé falsa de um crente meramente professo, ou estará ele a falar acerca da fé genuína de um verdadeiro crente, mas cuja fé se tornou morta e inactiva e, por conseguinte, inútil? Alguns afirmariam que Tiago “usa efectivamente estas características como uma série de testes para ajudar o leitor a avaliar a realidade da sua relação com Cristo”.13 Outros enfatizariam que Tiago escreve para advertir os crentes acerca das consequências de uma fé morta e inactiva, tanto a nível pessoal como corporativo, e para estimulá-los ao crescimento e à verdadeira maturidade espiritual. Em linha com este foco, Blue tem um excelente resumo do propósito de Tiago:

O propósito desta potente carta é exortar os novos crentes à maturidade cristã e a uma vida santa. Esta carta lida mais com a prática da fé cristã do que com os seus preceitos. Tiago disse aos seus leitores como alcançar a maturidade espiritual através de uma posição confiante, serviço compassivo, discurso cuidadoso, submissão contrita e partilha solícita. Lidou com cada área da vida de um cristão: o que ele é, o que faz, o que diz, o que sente e o que tem.

Com o seu ensinamento algo severo sobre a santidade prática, Tiago mostrou o modo com a fé e o amor cristãos deverão ser expressos numa variedade de situações reais. As partes do livro aparentemente não relacionadas podem ser harmonizadas à luz deste tema unificador. As pérolas não ficam a rolar dentro de uma caixa qualquer; são cuidadosamente enfileiradas a fim de produzir um colar de inestimável beleza.14

Palavras-Chave:

Num livro de apenas cinco capítulos, a palavra ocorre dezasseis vezes. Isto, em conjunto com a forte ênfase na vida piedosa e com a repetição de obras treze vezes no capítulo 2, mostra que estas são as duas palavras-chave do livro.

Versículos-Chave:

  • 1:2-5. Meus irmãos, tende grande gozo quando caírdes em várias tentações, 1:3 sabendo que a prova da vossa fé obra a paciência. 1:4 Tenha, porém, a paciência a sua obra perfeita, para que sejais perfeitos e completos, sem faltar em coisa alguma. 1:5 E, se algum de vós tem falta de sabedoria, peça-a a Deus, que a todos dá, liberalmente, e o não lança em rosto, e ser-lhe-á dada.
  • 1:19-27 Sabeis isto, meus amados irmãos; mas todo o homem seja pronto para ouvir, tardio para falar, tardio para se irar. 1:20 Porque a ira do homem não opera a justiça de Deus. 1:21 Pelo que, rejeitando toda a imundícia e superfluidade de malícia, recebei com mansidão a palavra em vós enxertada, a qual pode salvar as vossas almas. 1:22 E sede cumpridores da palavra, e não somente ouvintes, enganando-vos com falsos discursos. 1:23 Porque, se alguém é ouvinte da palavra, e não cumpridor, é semelhante ao varão que contempla ao espelho o seu rosto natural; 1:24 porque se contempla a si mesmo, e foi-se, e logo se esqueceu de que tal era. 1:25 Aquele, porém, que atenta bem para a lei perfeita da liberdade, e nisso persevera, não sendo ouvinte esquecediço, mas fazedor da obra, este tal será bem-aventurado no seu feito. 1:26 Se alguém entre vós cuida ser religioso, e não refreia a sua língua, antes engana o seu coração, a religião desse é vã. 1:27 A religião pura e imaculada para com Deus, o Pai, é esta: Visitar os órfãos e as viúvas nas suas tribulações e guardar-se da corrupção do mundo.
  • 2:14-17. Meus irmãos, que aproveita se alguém disser que tem fé, e não tiver as obras? Porventura a fé pode salvá-lo? 2:15 E, se o irmão ou a irmã estiverem nus, e tiverem falta de mantimento quotidiano, 2:16 e algum de vós lhe disser: Ide em paz, aquentai-vos e fartai-vos, e lhe não derdes as coisas necessárias para o corpo, que proveito virá daí? 2:17 Assim, também, a fé, se não tiver as obras, é morta em si mesma.

Capítulos-Chave:

Escolher um capítulo-chave em Tiago é difícil, mas os capítulos 1 e 4 destacam-se certamente. O capítulo 1 é fundamental na medida em que nos dá informação vital acerca da natureza e propósito das provações e tentações. As provações desenvolvem o carácter e, quando misturadas com fé, originam a maturidade; as nossas tentações vêm de dentro, nunca de Deus. O capítulo 4 também é um capítulo-chave graças àquilo que nos ensina acerca das três fontes de contendas, da natureza adúltera do mundanismo, de se aproximar de Deus e de resistir a Satanás, que foge quando lhe resistimos e nos aproximamos de Deus. Outros temas-chave encontrados noutros capítulos são fé e obras (2:14-26), o uso da língua (3:1-12) e a oração pelos doentes (5:13-16).

Como Cristo É Visto em Tiago:

Em 1:1 e 2:1, Tiago refere-se especificamente ao “Senhor Jesus Cristo”, antecipando depois a Sua vinda em 5:7-8. “Nos 108 versículos desta epístola, existem referências ou alusões a 22 livros do Antigo Testamento e pelo menos 15 alusões aos ensinamentos de Cristo personificados no Sermão da Montanha.”15

Plano Geral:16

I. Permanecer com Confiança (capítulo 1)

A. Saudação e cumprimento (1:1)

B. Regozijar-se nas diversas provações (1:2-12)

1. Atitude nas provações (1:2)

2. Vantagem das provações (1:3-4)

3. Auxílio nas provações (1:5-12)

C. Resistir à tentação mortal (1:13-18)

1. Fonte da tentação (1:13-14)

2. Etapas na tentação (1:15-16)

3. Solução para a tentação (1:17-18)

D. Repousar na verdade divna (1:19-27)

1. Receptividade para a Palavra (1:19-21)

2. Responsividade para a Palavra (1:22-25)

3. Conformidade com a Palavra (1:26-27)

II. Servir com Compaixão (capítulo 2)

A. Aceitar os outros (2:1-13)

1. Cortesia para com todos (2:1-4)

2. Compaixão para com todos (2:5-9)

3. Consistência em tudo (2:10-13)

B. Assistir os outros (2:14-26)

1. Expressão da verdadeira fé (2:14-17)

2. Evidência da verdadeira fé (2:18-20)

3. Exemplos da verdadeira fé (2:21-26)

III. Falar com Cuidado (capítulo 3)

A. Falar com controlo (3:1-12)

1. A língua é poderosa (3:1-5)

2. A língua é perversa (3:6-8)

3. A língua encontra-se poluída (3:9-12)

B. Cultivar o pensamento (3:13-18)

1. A sabedoria é humilde (3:13)

2. A sabedoria é graciosa (3:14-16)

3. A sabedoria é pacífica (3:17-18)

IV. Submeter-se com Contrição (capítulo 4)

A. Transformar o ódio em humildade (4:1-6)

1. Causa do conflito (4:1-2)

2. Consequência do conflito (4:3-4)

3. Cura do conflito (4:5-6)

B. Transformar o julgamento em justiça (4:7-12)

1. Conselho para a justiça (4:7-9)

2. Vantagem da justiça (4:10-11)

3. Autor da justiça (4:12)

C. Transformar a vanglória em crença (4:13-17)

1. Afirmação de vanglória (4:13)

2. Sentença da vanglória (4:14)

3. Solução para a vanglória (4:15-17)

V. Partilhar com solicitude (capítulo 5)

A. Partilhar o que se possui (5:1-6)

1. Consternação pela riqueza (5:1)

2. Corrosão da riqueza (5:2-3)

3. Condenação da riqueza (5:4-6)

B. Partilhar a paciência (5:7-12)

1. Essência da paciência (5:7-9)

2. Exemplos de paciência (5:10-11)

3. Evidência da paciência (5:12)

C. Partilhar as orações (5:13-20)

1. Sensibilidade para com os necessitados (5:13)

2. Súplica pelos necessitados (5:14-18)

3. Importância dos necessitados (5:19-20)

Primeira a Pedro

Autor e Título:

Que o apóstolo Pedro é o autor está claramente expresso no versículo de abertura: “Pedro, apóstolo de Jesus Cristo” (1:1). Não só 1 Pedro foi universalmente reconhecida como obra do apóstolo Pedro pela Igreja primitiva, mas também há forte evidência interna que atesta a sua autoria. Quanto à evidência externa, Eusébio colocou 1 Pedro entre os homologoumena, e nenhum livro tem uma confirmação mais antiga ou forte do que 1 Pedro, conforme evidenciado por 2 Pedro 3:1.

A carta foi explicitamente atribuída a Pedro por aquele grupo de Pais da Igreja cujos testemunhos aparecem na confirmação de tantos escritos genuínos do Novo Testamento, nomeadamente Ireneu (140-203 d.C.), Tertuliano (150-222), Clemente de Alexandria (155-215) e Orígenes (185-253). Fica, portanto, claro que a autoria literária de Pedro goza de um apoio forte e antigo.17

A evidência interna para a autoria de Pedro é a seguinte: (1) Existem semelhanças claras entre esta carta e os sermões de Pedro registados em Actos (compare 1 Pd. 1:20 com Actos 2:23; 1 Pd. 4:5 com Actos 10:42). (2) Em Actos e 1 Pedro, a palavra grega xylon, “árvore, madeiro”, é usada por Pedro relativamente à cruz (confira Actos 5:30; 10:39; 1 Pd. 2:24). (3) Os temas, conceitos e diversas alusões às experiências de Pedro durante o ministério terreno do Senhor e a era apostólica apoiam também a autoria de Pedro (confira 1:8; 2:23; 3:18; 4:1; 5:1).

Mesmo com esta evidência, alguns estudiosos modernos têm desafio a autoria de Pedro em vários aspectos. Os seus argumentos e respectivas respostas encontram-se sumariados por Roger Raymer no que se segue:

Até tempos relativamente recentes, a autenticidade da afirmação da epístola relativamente à autoria apostólica permaneceu incontestável. Depois, alguns estudiosos modernos realçaram que Pedro era considerado “comum” e “sem instrução” pelos líderes religiosos judeus (Actos 4:13). O esplêndido estilo literário e uso sofisticado de vocabulário em 1 Pedro parecem indicar que o seu autor deveria ser mestre em grego. Os que negam a autoria de Pedro dizem que um tal pedaço artístico da literatura grega não poderia ter fluído da caneta de um pescador galileu.

Embora Pedro pudesse ser classificado como “sem instrução”, e embora o grego não fosse a sua língua materna, não era de modo algum “comum”. Os líderes judeus viam Pedro como não instruído simplesmente porque não fora treinado na tradição rabínica, e não porque fosse analfabeto. Lucas também registou (Actos 4:13) que esses mesmos líderes ficaram admirados com a confiança de Pedro e o poder da sua personalidade controlada pelo Espírito. O ministério público de Pedro abrangeu mais de 30 anos e levou-o de Jerusalém para Roma. Viveu e pregou num mundo poliglota. É razoável crer que, após três décadas, Pedro dominasse a língua da maioria daqueles a quem servia.

O estilo retórico e uso da metáfora empregados em 1 Pedro poderiam ser tão facilmente atribuídos quer a um orador público, quer a um estudioso literário. Certamente, Pedro dispunha de tempo e talento para se tornar um excelente comunicador do evangelho através da língua grega.

Quaisquer dúvidas adicionais sobre a autoria petrina que se baseiem no estilo linguístico podem ser respondidas pelo facto de que, aparentemente, Pedro usou Silvano como seu secretário (1 Pedro 5:12). Embora cristão de Jerusalém, Silvano era cidadão romano (Actos 16:36-37) e poderia ter grande facilidade no idioma grego. Mas quer Silvano tenha ou não ajudado Pedro com as nuances gramaticais do grego, o conteúdo da epístola permanece ainda assim a mensagem pessoal de Pedro, selada com a sua autoridade pessoal.18

Destinatários:

A epístola é endereçada “aos eleitos que são forasteiros da Dispersão no Ponto, Galácia, Capadócia, Ásia e Bitínia”. Pedro usou duas palavras-chave para descrever os destinatários, “forasteiros” (grego, parepide„mos, uma palavra que enfatiza residência temporária e nacionalidade estrangeira) e “dispersão” (grego, diaspora, “dispersão”). Esta palavra “refere-se normalmente aos judeus que não viviam na Palestina, espalhados ao longo do mundo mediterrânico. Porém, aqui é provavelmente metafórica, usada em relação aos cristãos gentios, espalhados como povo de Deus no meio de um mundo pagão”.19 Mas talvez Pedro tivesse em vista tanto crentes judeus como gentios:

1 Pedro dirige-se aos cristãos dispersos pelas cinco províncias romanas da península da Ásia Menor. Hoje em dia, essa área corresponde ao norte da Turquia. Nessas províncias, as igrejas eram compostas de judeus e gentios. A epístola é abundante em referências e citações do Antigo Testamento. Os cristãos judeus encontrariam uma relevância especial no termo diasporas,, traduzido “dispersão”, usado na saudação (1:1). Os judeus que viviam fora de Jerusalém eram descritos como vivendo na diáspora.

À luz do seu passado de completa ignorância relativamente à Palavra de Deus (1:14), os leitores gentios iriam reparar na exortação de Pedro a uma vida santa. Os cristãos gentios também se sentiriam fortemente encorajados pelo facto de que, embora tivessem estado na ignorância, eram agora considerados “povo de Deus” (2:10). Claramente, Pedro incluiu com cuidado tanto cristãos judeus como gentios na sua carta de encorajamento às igrejas da Ásia Menor.20

Data: 63-64 d.C.

A tradição eclesial associa Pedro na parte final da sua vida à cidade de Roma. Caso a referência à Babilónia em 5:13 seja uma referência críptica a Roma, esta carta foi escrita enquanto Pedro esteve em Roma, durante a sua última década de vida, por volta de 63 d.C., mesmo antes do surto da perseguição de Nero, em 64 d.C.. Pedro olha para o estado de forma harmoniosa ou quiçá conciliatória (veja 1 Pd. 2:13-17), algo que seria mais difícil (mas não impossível) numa data mais tardia, debaixo do despoletar das perseguições de Nero.

Tema e Propósito:

Embora 1 Pedro toque em diversas doutrinas e tenha muito a dizer sobre a vida e responsabilidades cristãs, o tema e propósito de 1 Pedro centram-se em torno do problema do sofrimento – particularmente sob a forma de perseguição devido à fé. Tem sido descrita como um guia ou manual, mostrando aos cristãos como deverão viver enquanto forasteiros e embaixadores de Cristo, num mundo estranho e hostil (1:1, 13-21; 2:11-12; 3:14, 17; 4:1, 13, 15, 16, 19).

Existem vários propósitos específicos neste livro. Destina-se a proporcionar orientação para os crentes perseguidos, (1) focando-se na revelação iminente de Cristo e sua salvação (1:3-12), (2) seguindo Cristo como exemplo perfeito no sofrimento (2:21 ss) e (3) vivendo no mundo de acordo com a sua vocação como povo especial de Deus, mantendo uma boa reputação no mundo gentio (2:4-12 ss; 4:1 ss.). Outros propósitos incluem demonstrar a ligação vital entre doutrina e prática (5:12) e encorajar à liderança piedosa e ao pastoreio do rebanho de Deus (5:1 ss), que é um elemento essencial na capacidade da Igreja para funcionar com eficiência num mundo hostil.

Palavra-Chave:

A palavra-chave e conceito é, obviamente, “sofrer por Cristo”. A palavra “sofrer” aparece sob várias formas cerca de dezasseis vezes no livro. Intimamente associado a isto, como grande fonte de esperança e conforto, encontra-se o conceito da revelação iminente e glória de Cristo, que será revelada ou manifestada aos crentes acompanhada pela libertação ou salvação derradeira (veja 1:5, 7, 12, 13; 4:13; 5:1, 10-11).

Versículos-Chave:

  • 1:3-7. Bendito seja o Deus e Pai do nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, que, segundo a sua grande misericórdia, nos gerou de novo, para uma viva esperança, pela ressurreição de Jesus Cristo de entre os mortos. 1:4 Para uma herança incorruptível, incontaminável, e que se não pode murchar, guardada nos céus para vós, 1:5 que, mediante a fé, estais guardados, na virtude de Deus, para a salvação, já prestes para se revelar no último tempo. 1:6 Em que vós grandemente vos alegrais, ainda que agora importa, sendo necessário, que estejais, por um pouco, contristados com várias tentações, 1:7 para que a prova da vossa fé, muito mais preciosa do que o ouro, que perece e é provado pelo fogo, se ache em louvor, e honra, e glória, na revelação de Jesus Cristo.
  • 1:14-21. Como filhos obedientes, não vos conformando com as concupiscências que antes havia na vossa ignorância; 1:15 mas, como é santo aquele que vos chamou, sede vós, também, santos, em toda a vossa maneira de viver; 1:16 porquanto está escrito: “Sede santos, porque eu sou santo.” 1:17 E, se invocais por Pai aquele que, sem parcialidade, julga segundo a obra de cada um, andai em temor, durante o tempo da vossa peregrinação, 1:18 sabendo que não foi com coisas corruptíveis, como prata ou ouro, que fostes resgatados da vossa vã maneira de viver, que por tradição recebestes dos vossos pais, 1:19 mas com o precioso sangue de Cristo, como de um cordeiro imaculado e incontaminado, 1:20 o qual, na verdade, em outro tempo foi conhecido, ainda antes da fundação do mundo, mas manifestado nestes últimos tempos por amor de vós; 1:21 e por ele credes em Deus, que o ressuscitou dos mortos, e lhe deu glória, para que a vossa fé e esperança estivessem em Deus.
  • 3:15-17. Antes santificai a Cristo, como Senhor, nos vossos corações; e estai sempre preparados para responder, com mansidão e temor, a qualquer que vos pedir a razão da esperança que há em vós; 3:16 tendo uma boa consciência, para que, naquilo em que falam mal de vós, como de malfeitores, fiquem confundidos os que blasfemam do vosso bom porte em Cristo. 3:17 Porque melhor é que padeçais, fazendo bem (se a vontade de Deus assim o quiser), do que fazendo mal.
  • 4:12-13. Amados, não estranheis a ardente prova que vem sobre vós, para vos tentar, como se coisa estranha vos acontecesse; 4:13 mas alegrai-vos no facto de serdes participantes das aflições de Cristo, para que, também, na revelação da sua glória, vos regozijeis e alegreis.

Capítulo-Chave:

Talvez devido à sua extensa orientação sobre como lidar com a perseguição, o capítulo quatro é o capítulo-chave de 1 Pedro.

Como Cristo É Visto em 1 Pedro:

Este livro está imbuído da pessoa e obra de Cristo. Através da ressurreição de Cristo, os cristãos adquirem “uma esperança viva” e “uma herança incorruptível” (1:3-4). Em várias passagens, Pedro fala da iminente glória e revelação de Cristo (1:7, 13; 4:13; 5:1). Também fala (1) da pessoa e obra de Cristo enquanto Cordeiro de Deus, que nos redimiu suportando os nossos pecados na cruz (1:18-19; 2:24), (2) de Cristo como nosso exemplo perfeito no sofrimento (2:21 ss) e (3) de Cristo como pastor Supremo e Guardião dos crentes (2:25; 5:4).

Plano Geral:

1 Pedro pode ser facilmente dividida em quatro secções: (1) a Salvação dos Crentes (1:1-12), (2) a Santificação dos Crentes (1:13-2:12), (3) a Submissão dos Crentes (2:13-3:12) e o Sofrimento dos Crentes (3:13-5:14).

I. A Salvação dos Crentes (1:1-12)

A. Saudação (1:1-2)

B. Esperança Futura (Viva) e Provações Presentes (1:3-9)

C. Salvação Presente e Revelação Passada (1:10-12)

II. A Santificação dos Crentes (1:13-2:12)

A. Convocação à Santidade (1:13-21)

B. Convocação ao Amor Mútuo Fervoroso (1:22-25)

C. Convocação a Desejar o Leite Puro da Palavra (2:1-3)

D. Convocação a Oferecer Sacrifícios Espirituais (2:4-10)

E. Convocação a Abster-se dos Desejos da Carne (2:11-12)

III. A Submissão dos Crentes (2:13-3:12)

A. Submissão ao Governo (2:13-17)

B. Submissão no Trabalho (2:18-25)

C. Submissão no Casamento (3:1-8)

D. Submissão em Todas as Áreas da Vida (3:9-12)

IV. O Sofrimento dos Crentes (3:13-5:14)

A. Conduta Necessária no Sofrimento (3:13-17)

B. Exemplo de Cristo no Sofrimento (3:18-4:6)

C. Recomendações no Sofrimento (4:7-19)

D. Guardas (Pastores) no Sofrimento (5:1-9)

E. Conclusão ou Bênção (5:10-14)

Segunda a Pedro

Autor e Título:

A autoria desta epístola é a mais disputada do Novo Testamento. Contudo, não só o autor se identifica claramente como Simão Pedro (1:1), mas também um conjunto de outras evidências internas apontam para ele como autor. Numa secção muito pessoal, quase como o testamento final de um pai moribundo, usa a primeira pessoa do singular para se referir a si mesmo (1:14), declara-se testemunha ocular da transfiguração (compare 1:16-18 com Mt. 17:1-5), afirma que esta carta é a segunda que envia aos leitores (3:1) e mostra o seu conhecimento pessoal do apóstolo Paulo, a quem chama “caríssimo irmão” (3:15). A respeito da autoria de Pedro, Ryrie escreve:

Muitos têm sugerido que outra pessoa que não Pedro escreveu esta epístola após 80 d.C., devido a (1) diferenças de estilo, (2) sua suposta dependência da epístola de Judas e (3) referência ao facto de as cartas de Paulo estarem a ser compiladas (2 Pd. 3:16). Porém, usar um escriba diferente, ou mesmo nenhum, também resultaria em alterações estilísticas; não há nenhuma razão pela qual Pedro não pudesse inspirar-se em Judas, embora seja mais provável que essa epístola tenha sido escrita depois de 2 Pedro; e 3:16 não se refere necessariamente a todas as cartas de Paulo, mas somente às que tinham sido escritas até àquele tempo. Para além disso, parecenças entre 1 e 2 Pedro apontam para um mesmo autor e a sua aceitação no cânone requer autoridade apostólica subjacente. Assumindo a autoria petrina, a carta foi redigida logo antes do seu martírio, em 67 d.C., mais provavelmente em Roma.21

Em The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Kenneth Gangel escreve:

No século quarto, a autoria petrina de 2 Pedro era fortemente defendida. Dois dos grandes teólogos da Igreja primitiva, Atanásio e Agostinho, consideravam 2 Pedro canónica. O Concílio de Laodiceia (372 d.C.) incluiu a epístola no cânone da Escritura. Jerónimo colocou 2 Pedro na Vulgata Latina (cerca de 404 d.C.). Adicionalmente, o grande terceiro Concílio de Cartago (397 d.C.) reconheceu a autoridade intrínseca e valor de 2 Pedro, afirmando formalmente que fora redigida pelo apóstolo Pedro.

Embora 2 Pedro seja o livro menos confirmado do Novo Testamento, o seu apoio externo ultrapassa de longe o de muitos outros livros bíblicos. A ausência de tradição eclesial antiga de suporte a 2 Pedro poderá certamente ser devida ao carácter breve da carta e à falta de comunicação entre cristãos durante tempos de perseguição intensa. Consequentemente, o silêncio do segundo século e a prudência do terceiro não colocam nenhum problema intransponível à erudição cuidadosa dos concílios canónicos do quarto século.22

Esta epístola é intitulada Petrou B, “Segunda de Pedro”, de modo a distingui-la da primeira carta escrita por Pedro.

Destinatários:

Esta é a segunda de duas cartas que Pedro escreveu a este grupo de crentes (veja 3:1) como uma espécie de testamento final, aviso e carta dos “últimos tempos” (1:14; 2:1 ss; 3:3), redigida no final da carreira do apóstolo (1:12-14). Escrevia a cristãos de fé preciosa, indubitavelmente a igrejas judias e gentias de “Ponto, Galácia, Capadócia, Ásia e Bitínia” (1 Pedro 1:1).

Data: 67-68 d.C.

Como uma espécie de carta de despedida, advertindo contra nuvens perigosas no horizonte, Pedro escreveu-a no final da sua carreira. De acordo com Eusébio, historiador da Igreja primitiva, Pedro foi martirizado durante as perseguições de Nero (por volta de 67–68 d.C.). É mais provável que a carta tenha sido redigida num desses anos.

Tema e Propósito:

Tal como o apóstolo Paulo advertia contra os perigos iminentes da apostasia nos últimos anos da sua vida e ministério (2 Timóteo), assim também Pedro advertia contra os perigos em permanente ascensão de falsos doutores, preditos pelos profetas, pelo Senhor e pelos Seus apóstolos (2:1; 3:1-3). O propósito desta carta breve encontra-se neste mesmo assunto, nesta ascensão de falsos doutores. Portanto, o propósito consiste em advertir contra estes perigos, com os quais a Igreja se depara.

Dado que Deus providenciou tudo o que é necessário para a vida e piedade (1:3), 2 Pedro é um apelo apaixonado para que o seu público cresça e amadureça em Cristo, para que não seja ocioso nem infrutuoso (1:8) e, com isto, como um alicerce, se guarde contra a corrente em ascensão de falsos doutores. Tal foi precipitado pelo facto de Pedro saber que o seu tempo na terra seria breve (1:13-15) e que o corpo de Cristo enfrentava perigo imediato (2:1-3). Assim, Pedro desejava refrescar as memórias deles e estimular o seu raciocínio (1:13; 3:1-2), de modo a que pudessem conservar, com firmeza, o seu ensinamento em mente (1:15). Para fazer isto, descreveu cuidadosamente qual deveria ser o aspecto dos crentes maduros, encorajando-os a crescer em graça e conhecimento do Salvador (confira 1:2-11; 3:18). Como apoio adicional para lidar com falsos doutores, recordou-lhes a natureza da Palavra de Deus enquanto seu alicerce seguro (1:12-21), avisando-os depois dos perigos iminentes dos falsos doutores, os quais também descreveu cuidadosamente, em conjunto com o seu julgamento certo (capítulo 2). Finalmente, encorajou os seus leitores com a certeza do regresso de Cristo (3:1-16). Com esta ênfase final no retorno do Senhor, Pedro deixou um último desafio. “Pelo que, amados, aguardando estas coisas, procurai que dele sejais achados imaculados e irrepreensíveis, em paz; vós, portanto, amados, sabendo isto de antemão, guardai-vos de que, pelo engano dos homens abomináveis, sejais juntamente arrebatados, e descaiais da vossa firmeza; antes, crescei na graça e conhecimento do nosso Senhor e Salvador, Jesus Cristo. A ele seja dada a glória, assim agora, como no dia da eternidade!” (3:14, 17-18).

Palavra-Chave:

A palavra ou conceito-chave de 2 Pedro é o de advertir contra os falsos profetas ou doutores e escarnecedores com palavras falsas (2:1-3; 3:3).

Versículos-Chave:

  • 1:3. Seu divino poder nos deu tudo de que necessitamos para a vida e para a piedade, por meio do pleno conhecimento daquele que nos chamou para a sua própria glória e virtude.
  • 1:20-21. Antes de mais nada, saibam que nenhuma profecia da Escritura provém de interpretação pessoal, pois jamais a profecia teve origem na vontade humana, mas homens falaram da parte de Deus, impelidos pelo Espírito Santo.
  • 3:8-11. Mas, amados, não ignoreis uma coisa: que um dia para o Senhor é como mil anos, e mil anos como um dia. 3:9 O Senhor não retarda a sua promessa, ainda que alguns a têm por tardia; mas é longânimo para convosco, não querendo que alguns se percam, senão que todos venham a arrepender-se. 3:10 Mas o dia do Senhor virá como o ladrão de noite; no qual os céus passarão com grande estrondo, e os elementos, ardendo, se desfarão, e a terra e as obras que nela há se queimarão. 3:11 Havendo, pois, de perecer todas estas coisas, que pessoas vos convém ser, em santo trato e piedade,

Capítulos-Chave:

O capítulo 1 é o capítulo-chave de 2 Pedro, pois nele somos presenteados com uma das mais claras passagens acerca da natureza da inspiração da Bíblia. Enquanto 2 Timóteo 3:16 declara claramente o facto da inspiração, 2 Pedro 1:19-21 descreve o “como” da inspiração, e ainda mais. Mostra-nos que (1) a Escritura é absolutamente confiável, uma palavra segura de profecia, (2) que nenhuma profecia da Escritura surge a partir da própria imaginação do profeta, isto é, este não a originou, mas, em vez disso, (3) o Próprio Espírito Santo é a origem da Escritura, assegurando a sua exactidão. Veja a nota de rodapé retirada da Bíblia NET.23

Como Cristo É Visto em 2 Pedro:

Pedro fala de Cristo como fonte de vida e piedade e, mantendo o foco, refere-se a Cristo como “Senhor e Salvador” quatro vezes, mencionando-O catorze vezes como “Senhor”. Adicionalmente, faz referência à gloriosa transfiguração na montanha santa e aguarda a segunda vinda do Salvador, ou parousia. Nesse momento, todo o mundo verá aquilo que Pedro e outros dois discípulos tiveram o privilégio de observar nessa montanha santa.

Plano Geral:

I. Saudações (1:1-2)

II. O Desenvolvimento ou Cultivo de um Carácter Cristão (1:3-21)

A. O Crescimento da Fé (1:3-11)

B. Os Fundamentos da Fé (1:12-21)

III. A Denúncia ou Condenação dos Falsos Doutores (2:1-22)

A. Seu Perigo e Conduta (2:1-3)

B. Sua Destruição e Condenação (2:4-9)

C. Sua Descrição e Características (2:10-22)

IV. O Plano e Confiança para o Futuro (3:1-18)

A. O Escárnio dos Falsos Doutores (3:1-7)

B. A Demora do Dia do Senhor (3:8-9)

C. A Dissolução Após o Dia do Senhor (3:10-13)

D. A Diligência Necessária em Vista dos Perigos (3:14-18)

Primeira a João

Autor e Título:

Embora o nome do autor não se encontre na carta, tem sido tradicionalmente atribuída ao apóstolo João. Diversas referências por parte de escritores cristãos antigos, incluindo Ireneu, Clemente de Alexandria e Tertuliano, falavam de João como autor desta epístola. Da perspectiva de evidência interna, existem algumas diferenças estilísticas em relação ao evangelho de João, mas estas podem ser atribuídas às diferenças entre uma epístola e um evangelho. Para além disso, existem muitas similaridades sob a forma de palavras-chave (habitar ou permanecer) ou imagens contrastantes, tais como justiça e pecado, luz e trevas, vida e morte, amor e ódio, verdade e engano. Adicionalmente, o escritor foi uma das testemunhas originais do Salvador, conhecendo-O intimamente (1:1-5). Assim, há muitas expressões e frases similares: compare 1 João1:1 com João 1:1, 14; 1:4 com João 16:24; 1:6-7 com João 3:19-21; e 4:9 com João 1:14, 18; 3:36. Não existem boas razões para que este livro não seja atribuído ao apóstolo João.

Embora seja geralmente aceite que a mesma pessoa escreveu o evangelho de João e estas três epístolas, alguns acham que os textos não foram redigidos (ao contrário do que é tradicionalmente defendido) pelo apóstolo João, filho de Zebedeu, mas sim por outro João (o ancião ou presbítero, 2 João 1; 3 João 1). Argumenta-se que (1) um homem sem estudos (Actos 4:13) não poderia ter escrito algo tão profundo como este evangelho; (2) o filho de um pescador não conheceria o sumo sacerdote como o apóstolo João; e (3) um apóstolo não chamaria a si mesmo “ancião”. Porém, “sem estudos” não significava iletrado, mas somente sem treino formal nas escolas rabínicas; alguns pescadores eram abastados (confira Marcos 1:20); e Pedro, embora apóstolo, chamava a si mesmo “ancião” (1 Pedro 5:1). Para além disso, se João, o ancião, é o “discípulo predilecto” e autor do evangelho, porque não mencionou nesse evangelho João, filho de Zebedeu, uma figura importante na vida de Cristo? Toda a evidência aponta para que o ancião João seja a mesma pessoa que o apóstolo João, autor desta carta.24

Destinatários:

Ao longo de toda a epístola, existem versículos indicativos de que João estava a escrever para fiéis (2:1, 12-14, 19; 3:1; 5:13), mas João não indica em nenhum local quem eram ou onde viviam. Este facto pode sugerir que se tratava de uma carta circular, a ser trocada entre várias igrejas, talvez em torno da cidade de Éfeso, já que escritores cristãos antigos colocavam João em Éfeso durante os últimos anos da sua vida.

O uso confirmado mais antigo de 1 João ocorreu na província da Ásia (actual Turquia), onde se localizava Éfeso. Clemente de Alexandria indica que João serviu em diversas igrejas, dispersas por essa província. Pode assumir-se, portanto, que 1 João foi enviada às igrejas da província da Ásia.25

Data: 85-90 d.C.

É difícil datar com precisão esta e as restantes epístolas de João mas, uma vez que muitos dos temas e palavras são tão similares ao evangelho de João, é razoável assumir que foi escrita após o evangelho. Foi indubitavelmente redigida após o evangelho, mas antes das perseguições de Domiciano, em 95 d.C.. Por conseguinte, uma data razoável situa-se algures entre 85-90 d.C..

Tema e Propósito:

O tema do livro é comunhão com Deus através do Senhor Jesus (1:3-7). Em vista da heresia que estes crentes enfrentavam, quiçá uma forma primitiva de gnosticismo, João escreveu para definir a natureza da comunhão com Deus, que descreve como luz, amor e vida. Deus É luz (1:5), Deus É amor (4:8, 16) e Deus É vida (veja 1:1-2; 5:11-13). Assim, andar em comunhão com Deus significa caminhar na luz que conduz à experiência da Sua vida, amor pelos outros e justiça. O livro, portanto, fornece um conjunto de testes ou provas de comunhão, embora alguns os vejam como testes de salvação. Porém, de acordo com o tema, o ensinamento dos falsos doutores e a natureza crente do seu público, é melhor vê-los como testes ou provas de comunhão, testes relativos a permanecer e conhecer o Salvador numa relação íntima, na qual se experiencia a vida transformadora do Salvador nos crentes.

É difícil determinar a estrutura exacta da heresia com que estes cristãos se deparavam mas, de acordo com o conteúdo de 1 João, envolveria a negação da realidade da encarnação e a afirmação de que o comportamento pecaminoso não impediria a comunhão com Deus. Por conseguinte, João escreveu para os seus “filhinhos” (2:1, 18, 28; 3:7, 18; 5:21) devido a, pelo menos, cinco razões: (1) para promover a verdadeira comunhão (1:3 ss), (2) para experimentar a alegria completa (1:4), (3) para promover a santidade através da verdadeira comunhão (1:6-2:2), (4) para prevenir e guardar contra a heresia (2:18-27), e (5) para dar garantias (5:11-13).

Palavras-Chave:

O termo-chave é comunhão, conforme expressado nos termos comunhão (1:3, 6, 7), permanecer, permanece, etc. (2:6, 10, 14, 17, 27, 28; 3:6, 9, 14, 15, 17, 24; 4:12, 13, 15, 16). Outras palavras-chave são justo, justiça, luz, trevas, pecado e transgressão.

Versículos-Chave:

  • 1:5-2:2. E esta é a mensagem que dele ouvimos e vos anunciamos: que Deus é luz e não há nele trevas nenhumas. 1:6 Se dissermos que temos comunhão com ele, e andarmos em trevas, mentimos e não praticamos a verdade. 1:7 Mas, se andarmos na luz, como ele na luz está, temos comunhão uns com os outros, e o sangue de Jesus Cristo, seu Filho, nos purifica de todo o pecado. 1:8 Se dissermos que não temos pecado, enganamo-nos a nós mesmos, e não há verdade em nós. 1:9 Se confessarmos os nossos pecados, ele é fiel e justo para nos perdoar os pecados, e nos purificar de toda a injustiça. 1:10 Se dissermos que não pecámos, fazemo-lo mentiroso, e a sua palavra não está em nós. 2:1 Meus filhinhos, estas coisas vos escrevo, para que não pequeis; e, se alguém pecar, temos um Advogado para com o Pai, Jesus Cristo, o justo; 2:2 E ele é a propiciação pelos nossos pecados, e não somente pelos nossos, mas, também, pelos de todo o mundo.
  • 5:11-13. E o testemunho é este: que Deus nos deu a vida eterna; e esta vida está no seu Filho. Quem tem o Filho tem a vida; quem não tem o Filho de Deus não tem a vida. Estas coisas vos escrevi, para que saibais que tendes a vida eterna, e para que creiais no nome do Filho de Deus.

Capítulo-Chave:

Certamente, uma das passagens-chave em 1 João, e até mesmo no Novo Testamento, é o capítulo 1, graças à sua verdade a respeito do pecado, mesmo na vida do cristão. Andar na luz significa reconhecer honestamente o problema do pecado. Mais do que negar o pecado, este capítulo mostra-nos a necessidade de confessar o princípio do pecado (1:8), os pecados particulares ou pessoais (1:9) e a prática do pecado (1:10).

Como Cristo É Visto em 1 João:

O livro foca-se no actual ministério do Salvador na vida dos crentes, antecipando a Sua nova vinda. O Seu sangue limpa continuamente o crente de todo o pecado (1:7), bem como dos pecados pessoais e de toda a iniquidade, mediante a confissão do pecado (1:9). De facto, declara que Cristo é o nosso justo Intercessor diante do Pai (2:1), bem como a propiciação ou sacrifício expiatório, não só para os crentes, mas para todo o mundo (2:2); que Jesus é o Cristo que encarnou (2:22; 4:2-3); que veio pela água e pelo sangue, referência ao Seu baptismo e à cruz (5:6); e que virá novamente, altura em que O veremos e seremos como Ele (2:28-3:3).

Plano Geral:

I. Introdução e Propósito da Carta (1:1-4)

II. Condições Essenciais para a Comunhão (1:5-2:2)

A. Andar na Luz (1:5-7)

B. Confissão do Pecado (1:8-2:2)

III. Conduta Consistente Com a Comunhão (2:3-27)

A. O Carácter da Comunhão – Ser Como Cristo (2:3-11)

B. O Mandamento da Comunhão – Não Amar o Mundo (2:12-17)

C. As Precauções para a Comunhão – Guardar-se Contra o Anticristo (2:18-27)

IV. Características da Comunhão (2:28-5:3)

A. Pureza em Vista da Nossa Perspectiva (2:28-3:3)

B. Prática da Justiça em Vista da Morte de Cristo (3:4-24)

C. Provar (Testar) os Espíritos (4:1-6)

D. Modelo da Comunhão, Amar como Cristo Amou (4:7-5:3)

V. Consequências da Comunhão (5:4-21)

A. Vitória Sobre o Mundo (5:4-5)

B. Verificação das Credenciais de Cristo (5:6-12)

C. Verificação (Confiança) da Salvação do Crente (5:13)

D. Verificação da Oração Respondida (5:14-17)

E. Vitória sobre o Pecado Habitual (5:18-21)

Segunda a João

Autor e Título:

Embora não seja declarado, o autor é indubitavelmente o apóstolo João. Refere-se simplesmente a si mesmo como “o ancião” (presbuteros, “ancião, velho”), o que vai de encontro à relutância do autor do Evangelho de João e de 1 João quanto a identificar-se. Esta é a mesma auto-designação usada pelo autor de 3 João. O facto de se identificar tão simplesmente como “o ancião” sugere que seria bem conhecido e aceite por aqueles a quem escrevia. Tratava-se de um título oficial para o cargo de um ancião, mas talvez seja mais provável que o estivesse a usar sob a forma de designação carinhosa, através da qual era bem conhecido pelos seus leitores.

As parecenças estilísticas entre esta epístola, 1 João e o Evangelho de João sugerem que os três livros foram escritos pela mesma pessoa. Um conjunto de passagens mostra as similaridades: compare 2 João 5 com 1 João 2:7 e João 13:34-35; 2 João 6 com 1 João 5:3 e João 14:23; 2 João 7 com 1 João 4:2-3; e 2 João 12 com 1 João 1:4 e João 15:11.

Embora João pudesse enviar uma carta pessoal mais curta, parecida com uma carta mais longa que escrevera previamente, é pouco provável que um falsificador tentasse produzir um documento tão curto, que acrescentasse tão pouco ao que se encontrava em 1 João. Para além disso, uma falsificação posterior de 2 João (ou 3 João) tê-la-ia despojado da sua autoridade sobre os leitores, uma vez que os conteúdos de 2 e 3 João indicam que conheciam pessoalmente o autor.26

Uma vez que o livro tem sido tradicionalmente associado ao apóstolo João como autor, tem sido intitulado no texto grego Ioannou B, Segunda de João.

Destinatários:

A carta é dirigida “à Senhora eleita e a seus filhos” (v. 1; confira vv. 4-5).

Esta frase pode referir-se a um indivíduo ou a uma igreja (ou à Igreja em geral). Alguns têm sugerido que o destinatário é uma mulher cristã chamada “Electa” mas, no versículo 13, a mesma palavra é claramente um adjectivo, não um nome próprio. Outros consideram que a carta se dirige a uma senhora cristã chamada “Kyria” (explicação primeiramente proposta por Atanásio) ou a uma cristã anónima. Porém, a evidência interna de 2 João apoia claramente uma referência colectiva. No versículo 6, o destinatário é mencionado usando a segunda pessoa do plural, o que se repete nos versículos 8, 10 e 12. O singular só reaparece no versículo 13. É mais provável que as utilizações nos versículos 1 e 13 sejam colectivas. Alguns têm considerado uma referência à Igreja em geral, mas o versículo 13, referindo-se aos “filhos da tua irmã, a escolhida”, é difícil de compreender tendo a Igreja universal em mente. Assim, a explicação mais provável é a de que a “Senhora eleita” consiste numa igreja local particular, a alguma distância da localização do autor.

sn 2 João foi escrita para advertir uma igreja “irmã”, a alguma distância, referida como uma senhora eleita, relativamente aos esforços missionários dos falsos doutores separatistas (discutidos em 1 João) e aos perigos de os receberem quando chegassem.27

Data: 85-90 d.C.

É difícil datar a carta, mas as circunstâncias e temas sugerem que terá sido escrita por volta da mesma altura de 1 João (85-90 d.C.). As parecenças acima mencionadas também são indicativas disso (veja a discussão da data em 1 João).

Tema e Propósito:

O tema de 2 João é a preocupação do apóstolo em relação a que os seus leitores continuassem a andar na verdade da doutrina apostólica e de acordo com os mandamentos (vv. 4-6). Uma vez que “muitos enganadores entraram no mundo, os quais não confessam que Jesus Cristo veio em carne” (v. 7), João escrevia para os proteger do engano perverso daqueles que se recusavam a permanecer no ensinamento de Cristo, mas que corriam além e para longe da verdade (v.9). Nesta linha de pensamento, vêem-se vários propósitos: (1) Escreveu para impedir que os seus leitores perdessem as coisas pelas quais haviam trabalhado juntos, incluindo uma recompensa plena (v.8), e (2) para lhes proporcionar instruções claras contra receberem esses falsos doutores nas suas casas ou igrejas, dando-lhes uma recepção cristã. Indubitavelmente, tal referia-se a reconhecê-los como doutores da verdade nas suas igrejas locais. João não estava a dizer-lhes para serem mal-educados ou se recusarem a dar-lhes testemunho.

Palavras-Chave:

As palavras-chave são “verdade” (nove ocorrências) e “mandamento” (14 vezes).

Versículos-Chave:

  • 6-11. E o amor é este: que andemos segundo os seus mandamentos. Este é o mandamento, como já desde o princípio ouvistes: que andeis nele. 7 Porque já muitos enganadores entraram no mundo, os quais não confessam que Jesus Cristo veio em carne. Este tal é o enganador e o anticristo. 8 Olhai por vós mesmos, para que não percamos o que temos ganho, antes recebamos o inteiro galardão. 9 Todo aquele que prevarica, e não persevera na doutrina de Cristo, não tem Deus; quem persevera na doutrina de Cristo, esse tem tanto o Pai como o Filho. 10 Se alguém vem ter convosco, e não traz esta doutrina, não o recebais em casa, nem tão-pouco o saudeis. 11 Porque quem o saúda tem parte nas suas más obras.

Capítulos-Chave:

Uma vez que só existe um capítulo em 2 João, esta secção não é aplicável.

Como Cristo É Visto em 2 João:

Uma vez mais, tal como em 1 João, 2 João preocupa-se com a protecção da doutrina bíblica da encarnação. O autor escreveu para refutar o erro que nega que Jesus Cristo tenha vindo em carne. De facto, a afirmação no versículo 7, a respeito da negação de que “Jesus Cristo veio em carne”, pode até referir-se à encarnação num sentido triplo. Em contraste com 1 João 4:2, onde usou o particípio perfeito, “veio em carne” (ele„luthota), João utiliza aqui o particípio presente (erchomenon), “está vindo” ou “vem em carne”. Uma vez que o particípio presente pode apenas enfatizar os resultados, sendo por vezes traduzido como presente, pode não existir aqui nenhuma distinção, mas talvez João quisesse alargar o foco para a relevância da encarnação.

Este particípio presente parece incluir a anterior vinda de Cristo em carne aquando da Encarnação, a continuação actual da Sua humanidade erguida, bem como a Sua futura vinda à terra. Em contraste, o particípio perfeito em 1 João 4:2 enfatiza somente a Sua encarnação.28

Plano Geral:

I. Prólogo e Saudação (1:1-3)

II. Elogio por Andar na Verdade (1:4)

III. Mandamento para Que Continuem a Amar-se Uns aos Outros (1:5-6)

IV. Precauções e Instruções Contra os Falsos Doutores (1:7-11)

V. Comentários Conclusivos e Saudações Finais (1:12-13)

Terceira a João

Autor e Título:

Tal como acontece com 1 e 2 João, o apóstolo João é o autor desta epístola. Quer em 2, quer em 3 João, o autor identifica-se como “o ancião”. Adicionalmente, repare nas semelhanças encontradas em ambas as epístolas: “amo na verdade” (v.1 de ambas as cartas) e “andam na verdade” (v.4 de ambas as cartas). O estilo de ambas as epístolas é claramente o mesmo, e os esforços no sentido de negar que João seja o autor das três epístolas não possuem apoio ou evidência real.

A antiga opinião de que o Apóstolo João escreveu esta carta, bem como as outras duas, pode ser prontamente aceite. Em virtude dos laços estilísticos claros, os argumentos que apoiam a autoria apostólica de 1 João estendem-se a esta pequena epístola. Além disso, a autoridade auto-confiante do escritor de 3 João (confira v. 10) também beneficia a ideia de um apóstolo.29

Destinatários:

Esta é claramente a carta mais pessoal de João. É dirigida a um homem que João denomina “caríssimo Gaio” (v. 1), a respeito de problemas eclesiásticos que Gaio enfrentava. Para lá da simples descrição acima referida, o destinatário não recebe uma identificação adicional, sugerindo que seria bem conhecido nas igrejas da Ásia Menor, onde João serviu nos últimos anos da sua vida. Gaio é um nome familiar no Novo Testamento. Aparece em Romanos 16:23 (Gaio de Corinto), Actos 19:29 (Gaio de Macedónia) e Actos 20:4 (Gaio de Derbe).

Data: 85-90 d.C.

Uma vez mais, as semelhanças entre 1 e 2 João sugerem uma data similar, algures entre 85-90 d.C..

Tema e Propósito:

João escreveu a Gaio a respeito da questão de hospitalidade e apoio físico prestados a trabalhadores cristãos itinerantes (missionários), especialmente estrangeiros. O tema centra-se em torno do contraste entre o ministério de Gaio e sua generosa demonstração de amor cristão, enquanto alguém que anda na verdade, e o comportamento egoísta de Diótrefes que, em vez de andar na verdade, rejeitava o que João dissera e procurava preeminência pessoal (v. 9).

Vários propósitos distintos emergem nesta epístola: (1) elogiar Gaio (vv. 1-6a), (2) instruir e encorajar a continuação do seu apoio aos trabalhadores cristãos que João evidentemente enviara (vv. 6b-8), (3) admoestar Diótrefes pelo seu comportamento auto-centrado (vv. 9-11), (4) fornecer instrução para Demétrio (v. 12) e (5) informar Gaio a respeito do desejo e intenção de João quanto a visitá-lo e lidar com as dificuldades (vv. 10a, 13-14).

Palavra-Chave:

Embora nenhuma palavra se destaque por via da repetição como em 2 João, a ideia-chave é ministério fiel de serviço altruísta aos outros, enquanto trabalhadores companheiros na verdade (vv. 5-8).

Versículos-Chave:

  • 6-8. Que, em presença da igreja, testificaram do teu amor; aos quais, se conduzires como é digno para com Deus, bem farás; 7 porque pelo seu nome saíram, nada tomando dos gentios. 8 Portanto, devemos receber os tais, para que sejamos cooperadores da verdade.
  • 11 Amado, não sigas o mal, mas o bem. Quem faz bem é de Deus; mas, quem faz mal, não tem visto a Deus.

Capítulos-Chave:

Tal como em 2 João, esta secção não se aplica, pois existe apenas um capítulo.

Como Cristo É Visto em 3 João:

Embora o nome de Jesus Cristo não seja mencionado directamente, é-Lhe feita uma referência na afirmação “Pois por amor do seu nome partiram”. Indubitavelmente, trata-se de uma referência ao ministério em nome do Senhor Jesus (veja Actos 5:40-41, onde encontramos uma construção idêntica do grego no v. 41). Paulo usa uma frase similar em Romanos 1:5 e, em 1 João 2:12, o autor escreveu “pelo Seu nome (Jesus) vos são perdoados os pecados”. O Evangelho de João também faz referência a crer “no nome de Jesus” (João 1:12, 3:18).

Plano Geral:

I. Saudação ou Introdução (1)

II. Elogio de Gaio (2-8)

A. A Sua Piedade (2-4)

B. A Sua Generosidade (5-8)

III. Condenação de Diótrefes (9-11)

A. A Sua Ambição Egoísta (9)

B. As Suas Actividades Egoístas (10-11)

IV. Elogio de Demétrio (12)

V. Comentários Conclusivos (13-14)

Judas

Autor e Título:

O autor identifica-se como Judas (v. 1). Em grego, é literalmente Judas. Tradicionalmente, as versões inglesas têm usado Jude, de modo a distingui-lo do Judas que traiu Jesus. Além disso, identifica-se como irmão de Tiago e servo (grego, doulos) de Jesus Cristo. Judas é listado como meio-irmão de Jesus em Mt. 13:55 e Marcos 6:3. A Bíblia NET traz uma nota útil sobre isso:

Embora Judas fosse meio-irmão de Jesus, associou-se humildemente a Tiago, seu irmão de mãe e pai. Começando por chamar a si mesmo servo de Jesus Cristo, torna-se evidente que não desejava que alguém valorizasse em excesso as suas ligações físicas. Em simultâneo, precisa de se identificar ainda mais: uma vez que Judas era um nome comum no primeiro século (dois dos discípulos de Jesus eram assim chamados, incluindo aquele que O traiu), era necessária mais informação, daí dizer irmão de Tiago.30

No texto grego, o título é Iouda, uma forma indeclinável usada para o hebreu Judah e para o grego Judas.

Destinatários:

Judas não parece escrever para nenhum grupo específico de pessoas. Em vez disso, a carta é simplesmente endereçada “aos chamados, queridos em Deus Pai, e conservados por Jesus Cristo” (v. 1), dirigindo-se a eles mais tarde por “amados” ou “caríssimos” (v. 3).

Data: 70-80 d.C.

Embora o assunto seja muito similar ao de 2 Pedro, uma das principais diferenças entre Judas e 2 Pedro reside no facto de que, enquanto Pedro alertou que “haverá falsos doutores” (2:1), Judas afirma que “certos homens infiltraram-se dissimuladamente no meio de vocês” (v. 4). Uma vez que 2 Pedro antecipa o problema e Judas fala do mesmo como actual, Judas foi aparentemente redigida algum tempo após 2 Pedro. Se 2 Pedro é datada por volta de 66 d.C., então Judas poderá ser colocada por volta de 70-80 d.C..

Tema e Propósito:

Judas tencionava escrever acerca da salvação comum mas, devido aos avanços da heresia e ao perigo que ameaçava a Igreja, viu-se obrigado a escrever para encorajar os crentes a batalhar seriamente pela fé e contra os falsos ensinamentos, que estavam a ser secretamente introduzidos nas igrejas. Evidentemente, estavam a ser feitos avanços definitivos por parte de uma forma incipiente de Gnosticismo – não ascética, como aquela que Paulo atacara em Colossenses, mas uma forma antinomiana.

Os gnósticos consideravam perversas todas as coisas materiais e boas todas as coisas espirituais. Assim, cultivavam as suas vidas “espirituais” e permitiam que a sua carne fizesse tudo o que desejasse, tendo como consequência tornarem-se culpados de todos os tipos de pecado.31

A partir disto, podem ser vistos dois propósitos principais em Judas: (1) Condenar as práticas dos libertinos pecaminosos que infestavam as igrejas e corrompiam os crentes, e (2) aconselhar os crentes a permanecerem firmes, continuando a crescer na fé enquanto batalhavam pela verdade apostólica que havia sido dada à igreja.

Palavra-Chave:

A ideia ou palavra-chave é “batalhar pela fé”.

Versículos-Chave:

  • 3 Caríssimos, estando eu muito preocupado em vos escrever a respeito da nossa comum salvação, senti a necessidade de dirigir-vos esta carta para vos exortar a lutar pela fé, confiada de uma vez para sempre aos santos.
  • 24 Àquele, que é poderoso para nos preservar de toda a queda e nos apresentar diante da sua glória, imaculados e cheios de alegria.

Capítulos-Chave:

Tal como em 2 e 3 João, dado que este livro tem um só capítulo, esta secção não é aplicável.

Como Cristo É Visto em Judas:

Judas foca a nossa atenção na segurança do crente em Cristo (v. 24), na vida eterna que Ele dá (v. 21) e na certeza de que virá novamente (v. 21). É Jesus Cristo, nosso Senhor, quem nos confere acesso à presença de Deus (v. 25).

Plano Geral:

I. Saudações e Propósito (1-4)

II. Descrição e Denúncia dos Falsos Doutores (5-16)

A. O Seu Juízo Passado (5-7)

B. As Suas Características Presentes (8-13)

C. O Seu Juízo Futuro (14-16)

III. Apologia e Exortação aos Crentes (17-23)

IV. Bênção (24-25)

©2018. Artigo original por J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M.

Tradução de C. Oliveira

J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M., licenciou-se em 1966 no Seminário Teológico de Dallas, trabalhando como pastor durante 28 anos. Em Agosto de 2001, foi-lhe diagnosticado cancro do pulmão e, no dia 29 de Agosto de 2002, partiu para casa, para junto do Senhor.

Hampton escreveu diversos artigos para a Fundação de Estudos Bíblicos (Biblical Studies Foundation), ensinando ocasionalmente Grego do Novo Testamento no Instituto Bíblico Moody, Extensão Noroeste para Estudos Externos, em Spokane, Washington.


1 Thiessen, p. 271.

2 Wilkinson/Boa, p. 450.

3 Ryrie, p. 1943.

4 Wilkinson/Boa, p. 454.

5 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

6 Nota de Tradução – no inglês original, “James of God … to the twelve tribes.” Na ausência de uma versão bíblica portuguesa com sentido similar, o tradutor optou por uma tradução livre do versículo.

7 Nota de Tradução – no inglês original, “From James, a bond-servant of God … to the twelve tribes". Não estando a bíblia NET disponível em português, o tradutor optou por uma tradução livre do versículo.

8 Ryrie, p. 1966.

9 Nota de Tradução – No inglês original, "James, Jake and Jacob".

10 Zane Hodges, The Epistle of James: Proven Character Through Testing, Grace Evangelical Society, Irving, TX, 1994, p. 15.

11 Wilkinson/Boa, p. 465.

12 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

13 Wilkinson/Boa, p. 465.

14 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

15 Ryrie, p. 1966.

16 Escolhi utilizar aqui o plano geral de Ron Blue, retirado de The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Trata-se de um dos planos gerais do livro de Tiago mais exactos e inovadores que já vi. Ron foi um colega de turma no Seminário de Dallas, sendo isto típico do seu excelente trabalho.

17 The NIV Study Bible Notes, Biblioteca Electrónica Zondervan NIV.

18 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

19 Nota de Rodapé proveniente de Bíblia NET, The Biblical Studies Press.

20 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

21 Ryrie, p. 1984.

22 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

23 tn O versículo 20 é interpretado de várias formas. Existem aqui três termos-chave que ajudam a decidir quanto à interpretação e tradução. De igual modo, a relação com o versículo 21 informa relativamente ao significado deste versículo. (1) O termo "provém" (givnetai [ginetai]) é frequentemente traduzido por "é um assunto", tal como em "é um assunto de interpretação própria". Mas a força progressiva deste verbo é muito mais comum. (2) O adjectivo ijdiva (idias) tem sido entendido como significando (a) do próprio indivíduo (isto é, do próprio leitor), (b) próprio de algo (isto é, próprio da profecia específica) ou (c) próprio do profeta. Os estudiosos católicos tendem a ver uma referência ao leitor (no sentido de que nenhum leitor individual pode compreender a escritura, mas precisa da interpretação disponibilizada pela Igreja), enquanto estudiosos protestantes mais antigos tendem a ver uma referência à passagem individual a ser profetizada (daí a doutrina da Reforma da analogia fidei [analogia da fé], ou da escritura interpretando a escritura). Mas nenhuma destas perspectivas se refere de modo satisfatório à relação entre os versículos 20 e 21, nem faz plena justiça ao significado de givnetai. (3) O significado de ejpivlusi (epilusis) é difícil de determinar, uma vez que é um hapax legomenon bíblico. Embora no grego extra-bíblico seja por vezes utilizado no sentido de interpretação, este não é de modo algum um significado necessário. A ideia básica da palavra é desprender, o que pode indicar uma explicação ou uma criação. Por vezes, tem o sentido de solução, ou mesmo de encantamento, podendo ambos os significados facilmente acomodar algum tipo de declaração profética. Para além disso, até mesmo o sentido de explicação ou interpretação se adequa com facilidade a uma profecia, uma vez que, frequentemente – se não mesmo usualmente –, os profetas explicavam visões e sonhos. Não existe qualquer exemplo no qual esta palavra se refira à interpretação da escritura; contudo, ao sugerirmos que interpretação é o significado, trata-se da interpretação que o profeta faz da sua própria visão. (4) No início do versículo 21, gavr (gar) proporciona a base para a verdade da proposição no versículo 20. A ligação que faz mais sentido é que os profetas não inventaram as suas próprias profecias (v. 20), uma vez que o impulso para profetizar veio de Deus (v. 21).

sn Jamais a profecia teve origem na vontade humana, 2 Pd.1:20-21, forma, assim, um inclusio com o versículo 16: a fé e esperança cristãs não se baseiam em fábulas engendradas com esperteza, mas sim na Palavra segura de Deus – proferida pelos profetas, inspirados pelo Espírito de Deus. A ideia de Pedro é a mesma que se encontra em outras partes do Novo Testamento, isto é, que os profetas humanos não originaram a mensagem, mas que a transmitiram, usando para isso as suas próprias personalidades.

24 Ryrie, p. 1990.

25 NIV Study Bible, Biblioteca electrónica.

26 Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, InterVarsity, Downers Grove, 1997, c 1993, versão electrónica, Logos Library System.

27 Nota de Tradução, The NET Bible, The Biblical Studies Press, 1998, versão electrónica, Logos Library System.

28 Ryrie, p. 2000.

29 Walvoord/Zuck, versão electrónica.

30 NET Bible, versão electrónica.

31 Ryrie, p. 2005.

Related Topics: Introductions, Arguments, Outlines

10. The Scenic Route To The Promised Land (Exodus 13:17-22)

Related Media

Life of Moses (10)

April 22, 2018

We live in a culture obsessed with time-saving devices. I get breaking news alerts from around the world on my phone the minute they happen. A wealth of information is instantly available at our fingertips. I can ask, “Hey, Siri, what’s the population of Paris?” and instantly she tells me. Just a little over a century ago, it took Hudson Taylor four months to travel from England to China and the same to send mail back to England. Now I can text or Facetime with my daughter half way around the world and instantly know how she’s doing.

So naturally, we expect God to work in the same way. I read books on time management and how to get things done more efficiently. Life is short, so I want God to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible. It’s unimaginable that He would be slow or inefficient in accomplishing His purpose!

Of course, from His eternal perspective, God is not inefficient or slow. He knows what He’s doing and He accomplishes His purpose right on schedule (Isa. 46:10). But from our time-bound perspective, God’s ways often seem incredibly wasteful, inefficient, and slow. To be faithful to the Lord and His cause, we need to divest ourselves of the modern way of viewing things and understand how God works. We need to know His ways, which are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9).

This is important because many Christians claim that God wants you to be instantly healthy, wealthy, and spiritually victorious. They deny that sickness, suffering, pain, or poverty ever come from the Lord’s hand. If you’re sick, they say, don’t admit it—that’s a negative confession. Rather, claim your healing by faith! If you’re poor, envision living in a mansion and claim that by faith! If you struggle with problems, that’s not God’s will! Get slain in the Spirit or speak in tongues, and you will have instant spiritual victory! And, by the way, if you’ll send a nice check to the TV preacher making these claims, he’ll send you a special prayer cloth that you can use to get miraculous answers to your prayers.

That false teaching appeals to the flesh. Who doesn’t want instant success and instant solutions to difficult problems? If you had your choice between instant spiritual victory or fifty years of a slow, difficult battle, who wouldn’t choose the instant route?

Well, God would not! He had just delivered His people from 400 years in Egypt, much of it spent in horrible slavery. He delivered them right on schedule, according to His word to Abraham (Gen. 15:13-14), but that meant that many generations of Israelites lived and died crying out to God for deliverance, but without any indication that He heard their prayers.

Now, the Lord’s plan was to lead Israel to the Promised Land. If Moses had looked at a map, he would have seen that the shortest route from Egypt to Palestine with no rivers or sea to cross is to go straight north through Gaza into the land. But rather than go that way, God led His people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea (or, Sea of Reeds; Exod. 13:17-18). He had His reasons (Exod. 13:17): “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Ironically, they soon would need to engage in war (Exod. 17:8-13). But God knew that initially, they weren’t ready, so He led them on this somewhat circuitous route that I’m calling, “the scenic route to the Promised Land.” I’ve never been to the Sinai Peninsula, but the photos I’ve seen don’t make me want to go there! But it was God’s way for His people. The lesson for us is:

God’s way of dealing with us is to take us on “the scenic route,” because His purpose is to teach us to trust and glorify Him.

First we’ll look at God’s way and then at His purpose.

1. God’s way of dealing with us is to take us on “the scenic route.”

When we used to live in Southern California and wanted to get to the Bay area, if we had the extra time we enjoyed taking the more scenic route up Highway 1 along the coast. The fastest way there is Interstate 5 which goes right up the middle of the State. But it’s hot and boring, so we preferred the scenic route. But there are four things about that scenic route that are also true of God’s “scenic route”:

A. The scenic route always takes longer.

It takes much longer to get to the Bay area up Highway 1 with its two-lane highway and many curves than to shoot up I-5. In Israel’s case, it would have taken less than two weeks to go directly from Egypt to Canaan, but God’s “scenic route” through the wilderness took them forty years!

The Bible is clear that God does not seem to be in the big hurry that we’re in. He takes His time. For example, God called Abraham when he was 75 and promised to give him a son. But that son wasn’t born until Abraham was 100 and his wife was 90, well past her childbearing years. Keep in mind that God’s promise to Abraham was to make from him a great nation (Gen. 12:2). But God only gave him one son through whom to fulfill that promise.

Well then, surely Abraham’s son Isaac must have had a large family, right? No, in fact at first, Isaac’s wife Rebekah was barren (Gen. 25:21). After Isaac prayed, the Lord gave them twin sons, Esau and Jacob. But God rejected Esau and chose Jacob. Jacob deceived his father out of the birthright and had to flee from the Promised Land because his brother wanted to kill him. He worked there for his uncle Laban for seven years to gain Laban’s daughter Rachel as his wife, only to be deceived so that he had to work seven more years.

Eventually, he returned to the land of promise, but had a slew of problems there. His ten oldest sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt. He spent the better part of his twenties in an Egyptian jail before God elevated him to the second position in the land under Pharaoh. Finally, God led Jacob and his sons and their families down to Egypt, where we find them 400 years later when Moses’ story begins. That’s not exactly a fast track to fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham to give him the land of Canaan and make of him a great nation!

As we’ve seen, the route to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt wasn’t the quick way either. Moses was “educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). He sure seemed ready to go. But when he set about at age 40 to deliver God’s chosen people, he failed miserably, fled for his life, and spent the next 40 years in the desert. Meanwhile, God’s people languished in slavery.

You see a similar pattern in the life of David. He was anointed as king as a teenager, but he spent his twenties running from the mad King Saul. He finally became king at age 30.

After the 70-year exile of God’s people in Babylon and their return to the land, 400 long years went by with no word from God. Finally, John the Baptist appeared on the scene, announcing the coming of the Messiah. Surely the Lord Jesus, who was without sin, would be ready to go by age 20! But, no, He was about 30 when He began His public ministry (Luke 3:23) and then it only lasted about three years before He was crucified.

You see the same thing with the apostle Paul. He was converted in his early thirties, but then spent two or three years in Arabia (Gal. 1:17-18) and another six to eight years in Tarsus before he began teaching at the church in Antioch. Later, when Paul seemingly could have had maximum impact for the gospel through his missionary efforts, God left him confined in Caesarea for two years because of a greedy governor who was hoping for a bribe (Acts 24:26-27). Then, rather than being released, he was transferred to Rome, where he spent more time in confinement.

And, if you’ve read any history of the church or missionary biographies, you know that the spread of the gospel has not been quick. The scenic route to fulfilling the Great Commission has taken much longer than if God had hired a time management expert back in the first century!

B. The scenic route is not the most efficient way to get there (from our point of view).

The scenic route doesn’t always make sense to us. Why didn’t God choose Abraham when he was 25 and give him Isaac when he was 30? Think of all those “wasted” years! Why leave Joseph in that Egyptian dungeon for all those years? Surely, the cupbearer could have told Pharaoh about Joseph much sooner, but the cupbearer forgot (Gen. 40:23). And God could have given Pharaoh the dream that led to Joseph’s release after two weeks or two months. But we read (Gen. 41:1), “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream ….”

Why leave Moses out in the desert for 40 years while the Israelites continued to make bricks under the cruel Egyptian taskmasters? Wouldn’t a couple of years of training have sufficed? Then, why not lead Israel directly into the Promised Land and save 40 years? God could have struck the Canaanites with a deadly plague and spared Israel the difficulty of conquering the land.

Why not get rid of the faithless King Saul and put the man after God’s heart in power much sooner? Why not send the forerunner and the Messiah shortly after the exiles returned to the land? Why not have the Lord Jesus begin His ministry at 20 and let it go until He was 60? Think of how much more He would have accomplished! Why not have Paul released from the corrupt Roman governor so that he could take the gospel to Spain, as he wanted to do? From our point of view, the scenic route is not very efficient!

C. The scenic route is the most difficult route.

Sometimes when we used to drive up Highway 1, the road had been covered by mudslides. I recently saw on the news that it was completely closed because of a huge mudslide. But even when it’s open, there are all those curves! Last summer we were in Maui, where the most scenic road is the road to Hana. I saw a T-shirt that read, “The Road to Hana: Turn left, turn right, repeat 620 times!” It wasn’t exaggerating! Plus there are 59 one-lane bridges in 52 miles! It’s called “the Divorce Highway” because of the strain it can put on your marriage to drive it! But everyone agrees that it’s the most scenic route on Maui!

As we’ve seen, God’s scenic route was not the easiest way to get to the Promised Land. It would have been much easier if God had promised Abraham a son and six months later Sarah announced that she was pregnant. It would have been easier if Jacob had told Laban, “I’ll work seven years for Rachel,” and Laban had said, “Seven weeks is enough.” It would have been easier for Joseph if after he resisted the seductive attempts of Potiphar’s wife, he had been rewarded with the number two job in the land, rather than with years in an Egyptian dungeon. The same could be said for Moses, David, Paul, and other servants of the Lord. Why didn’t these men claim their deliverance by faith and get on with enjoying the victorious life? God’s scenic route takes longer, it’s not the most efficient way, and it’s the most difficult route.

D. The scenic route is the most beautiful in the long run.

That’s why we take it! It’s worth the longer time, the inefficiency, and the difficult hassles because in the long run, nothing is as beautiful. In California, straight, four-lane, 70 mile-per-hour I-5 just doesn’t compare with Highway 1 up the coast!

The reason that God’s scenic route for His saints is the most beautiful in the long run is because God is with you and there is nothing to compare with a life lived with Him. If Israel had traveled straight north into Canaan, even if God had taken out the Canaanites, they would have settled into a comfortable life in the land. As it was, they spent forty years camping with God and His people in the barren wilderness where they saw Him miraculously provide manna each morning and water from the rock. They had the pillar and the cloud of God’s presence protecting and guiding them.

The logistics of providing for two million people in the barren desert were overwhelming! If you lined them up at 50 abreast, they would have stretched forty miles into the desert! To provide for that many people would have required 30 boxcars of food and 300 tank cars of water every day of their journey! But which in the long run would have been the more beautiful way of life: to be a part of that great company in the wilderness, seeing God provide for all your needs, leading you by the pillar of cloud and fire, and knowing that you were the objects of His loving care? Or, to settle down in suburban Jerusalem in a nice house with a two-donkey garage?

So, God’s way is to take us on the longer, inefficient, difficult scenic route, which in the long run is the most beautiful. But, why? What is His purpose for taking us that way?

2. God’s purpose for taking us on “the scenic route” is to teach us to trust in and glorify Him.

The basic aim of the fallen human race is independence from God. We want to save ourselves or at least to have a hand in the process. We want to direct our own lives, perhaps with a little help from God, so that we can share the credit. But we don’t like being totally dependent on God.

It all boils down to, who gets the glory? If I can help God in the process of salvation, then I can share some of His glory. If I can live the Christian life by my strength, then I can take the credit. But God says (Isa. 42:8), “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another ….” And so He takes us on the scenic route to break us of our self-dependence so that we put our trust in Him and glorify Him. Note three things about trusting in the Lord:

A. Trusting in the Lord requires seeing your weakness and need, but His power and provision.

As we’ll see next time (Exod. 14:1-4), the Lord specifically directed Moses to take Israel to a place where a large body of water was in front of them and the Egyptian army was bearing down behind them. They were trapped. Why would God do that? So that Israel would see their own utter weakness along with God’s power and provision when He parted the sea and delivered them from Pharaoh’s army.

So, they learned their lesson, right? In Exodus 15:22, after the miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea, Israel went three days into the wilderness and found no water. Surely they knew that if they trusted God, He could provide water, right? But instead they grumbled. They hadn’t yet learned to trust in the Lord. In chapter 16, the people complained about being in the wilderness with no food and threatened to return to Egypt. But God provided manna. In chapter 17, again they needed water. But rather than trusting the Lord who had already miraculously delivered them and provided water and food, they grumbled. Then (Exod. 17:8), Amalek fought against Israel.

Why were they having all these problems? Weren’t they God’s chosen people? Weren’t they the ones through whom God’s promise to Abraham and His purpose would be fulfilled? Wasn’t God leading them? Then why did He allow all of these problems? Because God’s way is to take His people on the scenic route because His purpose is to build a people who trust in Him for His glory. But we don’t trust Him as we should until we see our weakness and His faithful power and provision.

B. Trusting in the Lord requires remembering that He always keeps His promises.

We read (Exod. 13:19): “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, ‘God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.’” I chuckle whenever I read that verse. You know how hectic it is to leave for a family camping trip. You have to pack your suitcases and get the car packed with all the camping gear. There’s always so much stuff! I wonder, “How am I going to get everything to fit into the car?”

So picture Moses getting ready to lead two million people out of Egypt and into the wilderness. I’m sure that their wagons didn’t have a lot of extra room. They’re just cinching down the pile of stuff when Moses says, “We forgot Joseph’s bones! We’ve got to make room for Joseph’s bones!” Actually, it was his mummy! With all of their household goods and kids and animals and food and water for the trip, they had to find room for Joseph’s bones! Why did Moses take Joseph’s bones? Genesis 50:24-25 tells us:

Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”

Carrying Joseph’s almost 400-year-old mummy back to Canaan was a visible proof that God always keeps His loving promises. Every time they broke camp and moved to a new location in the wilderness over those 40 years (at least 41 different camps, Num. 33:5-49), Moses had to load and unload Joseph’s bones! Perhaps some of the kids saw this old man loading and unloading that coffin and asked their parents, “Why is he doing that?” If the parents knew what was happening they would have replied, “Taking that coffin back to the Promised Land shows that God is keeping His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

You can’t trust someone who doesn’t keep his word. But if that person always keeps his word, you can trust that he will do it the next time. But remember, God doesn’t operate on our timetable! It was 400 years before Joseph’s bones made it out of Egypt! It would still be another 1,400 years before God sent the promised Savior. Now it’s been almost 2,000 years since the crucified and risen Savior ascended with the promise (Acts 1:11), “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” But because God has always kept His promises, you can trust that He will keep that one, too!

C. When we trust in the Lord, He gets the glory and we get the blessings.

The familiar Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this point: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” In its entirety, being saved from God’s judgment is a free gift of His grace (see, 1 Cor. 1:26-31). That way, He gets all the glory, which He alone deserves. But what do we get? We get the blessing of His salvation! We get every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3). When we trust in the Lord, He gets the glory and we get the blessings.

Conclusion

When God’s eternal Son came to this earth and took on human flesh, God led Him on “the scenic route.” It was the most difficult way imaginable, the way of the cross. When Jesus began to tell the disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the Jewish leaders and be killed and raised up on the third day, they thought that He had lost it! Peter took Him aside and rebuked Him (Matt. 16:22)! But Jesus rebuked Peter (Matt. 16:23): “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

God’s way is “the scenic route.” If the route is long and hard, it’s so that you will learn more deeply to trust and glorify our gracious Lord!

Application Questions

  1. How would your life be different if you viewed your schedule from God’s “scenic route” perspective rather than from our culture’s efficient perspective?
  2. In 1956 five young, godly missionaries were martyred in Ecuador. It was seemingly an inefficient waste of potential. But why was God’s difficult way the best way?
  3. Some Pentecostal preachers claim that all trials are from the devil and that we need to rebuke him by faith. Why is this not biblical? How should we pray when trials come?
  4. Study the following Scriptures to see different ways God uses to teach us to depend more fully on Him: Exod. 2:11-15; 2 Cor. 1:8-10; 4:7-11; 12:7-10; 2 Tim. 4:9-18.

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2018, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Christian Life, Suffering, Trials, Persecution

11. Why God Ordains Trials (Exodus 14:1-31)

Related Media

Life of Moses (11)

April 29, 2018

After an extensive tour of the United States, the late German pastor and theologian Helmut Thielicke was asked what he saw as the greatest defect among American Christians. He replied, “They have an inadequate view of suffering.” (Cited by Philip Yancey, Where is God When it Hurts? [Zondervan, 1977], p. 15.)

It’s vitally important to have a biblical understanding of suffering because the enemy of our souls uses trials to try to devour Christians. Peter wrote to a suffering church (1 Pet. 5:8-11):

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Note how Peter emphasizes the sovereignty of God: He has eternal dominion and He is using our trials to perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish our faith. Without that understanding of God’s sovereignty over trials, your options are that Satan has equal or greater power than God (dualism) or that God doesn’t concern Himself with the things that happen to us (deism). A slightly different option is the more recent “open theism,” which claims that God feels bad about your trials, but He doesn’t know or control the future. All of those views attempt to get God “off the hook” for bad things that happen. But they’re all heretical because they deny who God is as revealed in His Word.

In Exodus 14, after Pharaoh had driven Israel out of Egypt after the tenth plague, when God killed all the firstborn in Egypt, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart. It wasn’t a change where they repented of their sins and cried out to God for His mercy. Rather, they decided that they had made a mistake to let the enslaved Jews go. So they sent the army to pursue Israel with the aim of bringing them back to Egypt as slaves. God directed Moses to lead Israel to turn back and camp in a place that was a military trap. God had a definite plan to glorify Himself by delivering helpless Israel and destroying Pharaoh’s army. The parting of the Red Sea is one of the most familiar stories in the Old Testament. Its application for us is that …

God ordains trials in our lives so that we will trust Him and honor Him when He delivers us.

It was shortly after God had delivered Israel from bondage that Pharaoh went after them. In the same way, Satan likes to go after new believers who haven’t yet learned what God’s Word teaches about suffering. So it’s especially important if you’re a new Christian or if you’re working with new Christians to learn the lessons of this chapter. There are three main truths:

1. God is sovereign over all things, including the trials that come into our lives.

Not just the “open theists,” but also many in the Pentecostal movement, claim that God doesn’t ordain trials. They usually ascribe trials to the devil, not to God. While the Book of Job is clear that Satan can inflict awful trials on the Lord’s people, it is also clear that he can only go as far as God allows. God uses demonic forces to accomplish His holy purposes (e.g. Paul’s thorn in the flesh, 2 Cor. 12:7), but they are subject to His commands. Thus …

A. God is sovereign over all of the trials that come into His children’s lives.

In Exodus 14, the Lord told Moses to tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in a spot by the sea, where they had no route of escape when Pharaoh’s army came upon them. Scholars debate the exact location for the exodus. Some translate “the Red Sea” as “the Sea of Reeds,” since the Hebrew word means “reeds.” The problem is that papyrus reeds do not grow in the deeper waters of the Red Sea, but only in the shallower marshlands of northern Egypt. Thus these scholars say that Israel crossed at one of the lakes or marshlands north of the modern Gulf of Suez.

But there are some problems with this view (see, Philip Ryken, Exodus [Crossway], pp. 391-392). First, there are other places in the Bible where this Hebrew word clearly refers to what we know as the Red Sea (Num. 14:25; 21:4; 1 Kings 9:26; Jer. 49:21). Second, the depth of water that Israel passed through, which God then sent back to drown the Egyptian army, is greater than a shallow marshland or lake. Twice (Exod. 14:22, 29) the parting of the sea is described as a wall of water on the right hand and left. While God used a mighty wind to dry the seabed and part the waters (Exod. 14:21), it was clearly miraculous that the water stacked up like a wall on both sides.

More recent scholarship has shown that in former times the Red Sea extended farther north than it does today. It may even have been connected to the Bitter Lakes in the north, in which case there could have been papyrus reeds growing along its shore (Ryken, p. 392). While we cannot know for certain where the exodus took place, we can trust the biblical account that reports the mighty miracle that God did to deliver Israel through a deep body of water that subsequently drowned the pursuing Egyptian army.

But the significant point in Exodus 14:1-4 is that God specifically directed Moses to lead the Israelites to turn around and camp where they were trapped by the sea, which was suicidal from a military point of view. Pharaoh got a report of this and thought, “They’re sitting ducks! They can’t escape!” But the entire situation was orchestrated by God for His sovereign purposes.

Those who deny God’s sovereignty over the horrible trials that we see around us are trying to protect God from the charge of being responsible for evil. But the Bible affirms that God uses demons and evil people to accomplish His holy purposes, but He is not responsible for their evil actions (1 Kings 22:19-23; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). If you deny God’s sovereignty over trials, you rob people of God’s comfort. A godly woman from our church who died of cancer in her fifties (after already losing her husband to an early death) told me shortly before she died that if she didn’t believe in God’s sovereignty over her cancer, she would have despaired. Knowing that He is sovereign gave her great comfort.

B. God sovereignly ordains trials for our ultimate good.

Romans 8:28 is a familiar verse that brings great comfort when we go through trials: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” While we should not glibly lay that verse on a suffering person, saints who suffer should lay hold of it as an anchor for their souls.

Hebrews 12, which describes God’s discipline to train believers, assures us (Heb. 12:10b-11), “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” Psalm 119:67 states, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word.” It continues (Ps. 119:75), “I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.”

I’m not minimizing the trauma and pain of the difficult trials that many of God’s saints have endured. But the only comfort in that suffering is to view it as Joseph viewed his brothers’ selling him into slavery (Gen. 50:20): “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Note also …

C. God is sovereign over the hearts of all people, including powerful political leaders.

God repeatedly lets Moses know that Pharaoh’s change of heart came about because God hardened his heart (Exod. 14:4, 8, 17). Proverbs 21:1 affirms, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

As you see evil dictators around the world committing atrocities against people, you may wonder, “Where is God in all this? Why doesn’t He do something?” The psalmists often utter similar cries (e.g. Ps. 2:1-3; 13:1-4; 94:2-7). But they take great comfort in remembering that (Ps. 2:4), “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.” God promises (Deut. 32:35), “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip.” The Book of Revelation reveals the persecution that the antichrist will inflict on the saints, but it assures us that after he has inadvertently served God’s purposes, God will destroy him and vindicate His saints.

So, the first lesson is that God is sovereign over all things, including the trials that come into our lives. But, the question remains, “Why does He ordain these trials?”

2. God ordains trials so that we will trust Him to deliver us.

There are three lessons here about trusting God:

A. God ordains trials so that we will trust Him.

God does this on different levels. Often, He brings trials into our lives before we have trusted in Christ as Savior to show us our need for Him. Countless testimonies run along the lines, “I was a happy unbeliever when suddenly I got hit with some overwhelming trials that showed me that I needed God. About that time, a Christian friend told me that Jesus died on the cross for all my sins and offers me eternal life as a free gift if I would trust in Him. I realized that I needed Christ and trusted Him at that time.”

I love the story of blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52). If he had not been blind, he probably wouldn’t have been as desperate to meet Jesus. But as it was, when he heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out (Mark 10:47), “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many tried to silence him, but he yelled all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus heard him, stopped, and called him to come. Jesus asked (Mark 10:51), “What do you want Me to do for you?” He wanted Bartimaeus to acknowledge his need and his faith. Bartimaeus said, “Rabboni, I want to regain my sight!” Jesus healed him instantly, saying (Mark 10:52), “Go; your faith has made you well.” Bartimaeus’ blindness drove him in faith to the only One who could help. If you’ve never trusted in Christ as your Savior, let your trials drive you to faith in Him!

But also, God ordains trials for us as believers so that we will trust Him more deeply. The apostle Paul was not weak in faith. But even he needed to trust God more. He wrote (2 Cor. 1:8-10), “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us.”

But we need to be careful so that our cry to God in a time of need is genuine. In Exodus 14:10, as Pharaoh and his army drew near to the trapped Israelites, we read that they cried out to the Lord. But then they immediately (Exod. 14:11-12) accuse Moses of bringing them out of Egypt so that they could die in the wilderness. They remind him that they had said when they were back in Egypt that it would be better to remain slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness. Their accusation assumed that they knew better than either Moses or God about what would be best for them! So their cry to God was just a cry of panic, not of genuine faith. Genuine faith submits to God’s mighty hand in trials, casting all cares on Him (1 Pet. 5:6-7). Complaining or accusing God of harming you is evidence of a lack of genuine faith.

B. We can trust that God always has the resources we need for deliverance.

The angel of God and the pillar of cloud that had been going in front of Israel to direct their way moved behind them to provide a barrier between Israel and the Egyptian army (Exod. 14:19). It served as darkness for the Egyptians, but as light for Israel (cf. 2 Cor. 2:15-16). C. H. Mackintosh (Notes on the Pentateuch [Loizeaux Brothers], p. 205) observed, “He has placed Himself between us and our sins; and it is our happy privilege to find Him between us and every one and every thing that could be against us.” He also notes, “The same waters which formed a wall for God’s redeemed, formed a grave for Pharaoh.” The point is that God has infinite resources to provide deliverance for us. As Isaiah 54:17 promises, “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper.…”

C. Trusting God sometimes means doing nothing else, but at other times using appropriate means.

Exodus 14:13-14 reflects Moses’ great trust in the Lord:

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”

This is a great picture of our salvation. We can’t do anything to help God out in the process. All we can do is receive God’s salvation by faith. But even saving faith and repentance must come from God (Phil. 1:29; Eph. 2:8-9; 2 Tim. 2:25-26).

Some object, “How can God command sinners to repent and believe in Christ if they’re incapable of repenting and believing?” But the Bible shows that with the command, God grants faith and repentance to those He sovereignly ordains to save (Acts 5:31; 11:18). Mark 3 reports that in the synagogue Jesus saw a man with a withered hand. He couldn’t move it. But Jesus called the man in front of everyone and commanded (Mark 3:5), “Stretch out your hand.” Was Jesus mocking him? He wasn’t able to stretch out his hand! But with the command, Jesus imparted the power to obey. The man stretched out his hand and was healed.

Here (Exod. 14:15), God gives Israel the impossible command, “Go forward.” That was a good idea, but there was this little problem of the Red Sea preventing them from going forward! But when Moses trusted God and lifted his staff over the sea, it parted so that the Israelites could obey God’s command.

There are a few other instances in the Bible where God commanded His people to do nothing except to trust Him and He brought a miraculous deliverance (2 Chron. 20:15-17). But God’s usual method is for us first to trust Him and then to use appropriate means to deal with the trial at hand: Pray for a job, but then do all you can to secure that job. Pray for healing, but get proper medical attention. Pray for problems in your marriage, but obey biblical commands that apply to your marriage.

Thus, God is sovereign over all things, including the trials that come into our lives. He ordains those trials so that we will trust Him to deliver us. But why does He do that?

3. God ordains trials so that we will honor Him when He delivers us.

In Exodus 14:4, God explains His reason for these events, “Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” He repeats (Exod. 14:18), “Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.” Philip Ryken (the subtitle of his book) says that the theme of Exodus is “saved for God’s glory.” He further explains (p. 396) that everything that God has ever done, is doing now, or will do is for His glory. That is clearly the reason for Israel’s deliverance through the Red Sea. God is glorified both when He judges the wicked and when He saves His elect. Thus,

A. When God delivers you, give Him the glory.

This applies both to your salvation through the gospel and to His delivering you from a trial. In Psalm 50:15 God commands, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” Pharaoh’s army, with its hundreds of chariots, was the most powerful war machine of its day, but it was no match for God’s power. He divided the sea to let Israel cross and to lure the Egyptian army to pursue them. Once Israel was on the other side, God commanded Moses to stretch out his hand so that the sea returned to its normal state, drowning all of the Egyptian soldiers. As a result (Exod. 14:31), Israel feared the Lord and believed in Him, as well as in His servant Moses (although temporarily).

If you’re going through a difficult trial, I encourage you to read the triumphant words of Romans 8, especially the crescendo at the end, where Paul declares (Rom. 8:31), “If God is for us, who is against us?” He goes on to list every conceivable trial, including being slaughtered as sheep for God’s sake. But then he adds (Rom. 8:37), “In all these things we overwhelming conquer through Him who loved us.” But that raises a final question: “What if God doesn’t deliver you?” What should you do then?

B. When God doesn’t deliver you, give Him the glory.

Many of God’s saints trusted in Him but died prematurely from disease or were killed for their faith. The great faith chapter, Hebrews 11, records the many victories that God’s people obtained by faith. But after stating that women received back their dead by resurrection, the author continues (Heb. 11:35-38):

… and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

The same faith in God had very different results! I love the boldness of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego when the arrogant King Nebuchadnezzar threatened to throw them into the furnace if they didn’t bow to his idol (Dan. 3:17-18):

“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

They were ready to glorify God whether He delivered them or whether they burned to death!

Conclusion

At the cross, Satan and all of God’s enemies thought that they had gained final victory by killing Jesus. But through the cross, God disarmed and triumphed over the forces of darkness, securing our salvation (Col. 2:15). God raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him above all rule and authority (Eph. 1:20-22). So even if we suffer martyrs’ deaths, God will be glorified by raising us from the dead and having us rule with Him throughout eternity!

The 1563 Heidelberg Catechism begins with the question, “What is your only comfort in life and death?” It answers:

That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.

Honor God by letting that be your only comfort in life and death!

Application Questions

  1. A critic says, “If God ordains trials, then He is unloving and responsible for evil.” Your reply?
  2. How does an understanding of God’s sovereignty help us to endure hardship in the Christian life?
  3. Which is more difficult to endure: persecution from without or attacks from within the church? Why?
  4. Why are we generally so fragile when it comes to any sort of criticism or hardship in serving the Lord? Would persecution be good for the American church?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2018, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Faith, Suffering, Trials, Persecution

12. Singing, But Then Sinning (Exodus 15:1-27)

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Life of Moses (12)

May 6, 2018

We all have our lists of sins that we think are really bad, going down to those that we tend to shrug off as hardly sins at all. We’d all agree that killing innocent people or even murdering an enemy are really bad sins. Raping women and molesting little children are really bad. Robbery or burglary are bad, but not as bad as murder or rape, assuming that no one gets hurt.

And so we work our way down the list. We’re usually careful not to put any of our own sins very high on the list. We think, “Sure, I have my faults, but I’d never commit any of those really bad sins!” I might admit that I have a tendency to grumble now and then, but I’d dismiss that as a relatively minor fault. In fact, I might not call it a sin at all—until, that is, I read God’s Word!

God had just miraculously delivered Israel from Pharaoh’s pursuing army by parting the Red Sea for Israel’s escape and then bringing the sea back over the Egyptian army. Then Israel had a joyful time of worship, singing to the Lord (Exod. 15:1-21). Next, we read that Israel went three days into the wilderness and found no water. Then they came to Marah, where there was water, but it was bitter and undrinkable. But rather than trusting in the Lord, who had led and provided for them thus far, Israel grumbled.

It’s easy for me to sit in my comfortable house, shake my head, and think, “What’s wrong with those people, anyway? Didn’t they know that the God who miraculously delivered them from Egypt could easily provide water? Why didn’t they just trust the Lord?” And yet, when I encounter minor trials, I’m often quick to grumble rather than thankfully to trust in the Lord who has graciously saved me from Satan’s domain of darkness!

The Spirit of God inspired Moses to put together the jubilant song of Moses followed immediately by the grumbling of the people at Marah. I could have separated these stories by preaching different sermons on each one. But I think there’s a lesson from looking at both of these incidents together:

If God has saved you, joyfully sing His praises, but avoid the terrible sin of grumbling.

First, let’s look at the song; then, the sin:

1. If God has saved you, joyfully sing His praises.

Scholars suggest different ways of analyzing this song, but I think the easiest is to see verses 1-12 as rejoicing in what God had done in delivering Israel from Egypt, while verses 13-18 rejoice by faith in what God is going to do when He gives Israel the land of Canaan. Verses 13-15 use the past tense; verse 16 uses the present, while verses 17 & 18 are in the future tense. But it all describes by faith how God will fulfill His promise to Abraham to give his descendants the land. Verse 19 recaps the great deliverance described in chapter 14, while verses 20 & 21 tell how Miriam led the women in singing this song and dancing. There are three main lessons:

A. Singing about God’s salvation should be joyful.

This is the first recorded song in the Bible and its mood is decidedly joyful, as seen in the women playing the timbrel (like a tambourine) and dancing. You get the impression that these people were happy about something! The singing was both congregational (v. 1, “Moses and the sons of Israel”) and personal (v. 1, “I will sing to the Lord”). Worship should be both: if God has saved you, you should joyfully sing because you personally have experienced His great salvation. But, also, you should join with others who have experienced His salvation so that the corporate singing magnifies your experience by a factor of how many hundreds or thousands of saved people are combining their voices in praise.

Note also that there is not a word in this song (except for the title, which is mentioned in Rev. 15:3, not here) about what Moses did to lead Israel out of slavery, but only about what God did. There is no mention of the people’s faith in putting the blood on their doorposts. Everything is about the Lord and directed to Him. They “sang this song to the Lord, and said, ‘I will sing to the Lord …” (Exod. 15:1, emphasis mine). There is a proper place for teaching and admonishing one another through corporate singing, but even then we should sing to the Lord (Col. 3:16, emphasis mine): “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Israel, of course, was joyful over God’s delivering them from hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt and from Pharaoh’s threatening army. But the exodus is the greatest picture in the Old Testament of God saving His chosen people from bondage to Satan and sin. And that is something worth getting excited about over and over again! Don’t ever allow yourself to get bored over the wonderful, eternally joyous truth that God has saved you by His grace! That’s why Jesus told us to celebrate His supper often in remembrance of Him. We tend to get busy with other less important things and forget what He did for us on the cross and where we’d be at if He hadn’t done that. So think often about God’s saving you. And if it doesn’t move your heart to think about what the Savior did for you on the cross, then confess it and ask Him to help you recover your first love for Him (Rev. 2:4-5).

John Stott (Christianity Today [6/12/81], p. 19) told about a Salvation Army drummer who was beating his drum so hard that the band leader had to tell him to tone it down a bit. In his cockney accent the drummer replied, “God bless you, sire, since oi’ve been converted, oi’m so ’appy, oi could bust the bloomin’ drum!”

I’m not talking about pumping up your emotions or having our worship teams play songs that pump up everyone’s emotions. Rather, I’m saying, “Think about what God has done in saving you and then joyfully sing His praises in response!” In Jesus’ words, worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).

B. Our joyful singing should exalt the Lord who has saved us from a terrible past and promised us a glorious future.

1) The Lord has saved us from a terrible past.

That first generation of Israelites remembered all too well their horrible past. Some of the older ones remembered how Pharaoh had commanded them to kill their baby boys. They remembered the meaningless daily grind of making bricks from sunrise to sunset in the hot Egyptian sun. Many remembered the lashes of the cruel taskmasters when they couldn’t produce their quotas. In verse 9, they rehearse Pharaoh’s more recent evil intent:

The enemy said, “I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be gratified against them;

I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.”

The problem was, subsequent generations may not remember the terrible past of that first generation that God delivered through the exodus. And that can be a problem if you’re a second or third generation Christian. You may think, “I was raised in the church. I don’t have a terrible past to be saved from.”

But that’s not true! I used to have a friend named Glenn who was saved while he was in prison for drug dealing. He would boldly witness to every stranger he met, handing them a tract with his testimony as he said, “I was in prison when God saved me. Here’s my story.” He often told me, “I was forgiven much, so I love Jesus much!” But I used to think, where does that leave me? I was raised in the church. I’ve never been drunk or used illegal drugs. I’ve never been arrested. So how can I say, “I was forgiven much, so I love Jesus much”?

But then I was meditating on the story in Luke 7 where Jesus uses that phrase to describe the sinful woman who anointed His feet with perfume and her tears. The point of that story is that Simon, the proud Pharisee, who wondered how Jesus could allow this sinful woman to touch him, needed to be forgiven just as much, if not more, than this woman. But his self-righteousness blinded him to his sinful pride. And all of us, including us who may outwardly be pretty good people, needed to be forgiven much. If the Lord had not intervened to save me, I’d be heading for God’s righteous judgment. So when we think about our terrible past when we were slaves in Satan’s domain of darkness, we should exalt the Lord who saved us. But also ...

2) The Lord has promised us a glorious future.

In verses 13-17, Moses looks ahead to what God will do and describes this glorious future as if it’s a done deal. God would bring His people to His holy habitation. He would cause the inhabitants of the land to tremble in fear and anguish. He would plant His people in the mountain of His inheritance, where He would dwell in His sanctuary. All of this looked beyond the next 40 years in the wilderness and the battles to conquer the land under Joshua’s leadership. But by faith Moses views it as done. Verse 18 states the reason he could do this: “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”

While the Bible plainly and repeatedly describes the many trials and hardships that the Lord’s people will go through (Acts 14:22; Rom. 8:35-36; 2 Tim. 3:12), it also promises that Jesus will return and we will be with Him forever in a new heaven and a new earth, where there will be no crying, pain, or death (John 14:1-3; Rev. 21:4)! As we think on the many gracious promises that the Lord has given to us about our eternal future, we should exalt Him with joyful singing.

C. Our joyful singing should exalt the Lord for His attributes and His actions.

1) Exalt the Lord for His awesome attributes.

This song is filled with God’s attributes: He is highly exalted (v. 1). He is Yahweh (11 times in the song), the self-existent, eternal One, as He revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush. He is the only God (v. 11). He is powerful (vv. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10); holy (v. 11); loving (v. 13); and, sovereign over all (v. 18). God’s inspired Word is our only source for knowing His awesome attributes. Don’t just read your favorite passages, but read the whole Bible to get a balanced view of who God is.

2) Exalt the Lord for His almighty actions.

He has become our salvation (v. 2). He is the covenant-keeping God of Abraham (v. 2). He is a warrior, who hurled Pharaoh’s mighty warriors and their horses into the sea (v. 1, 3). His burning anger consumes rebellious sinners who are enemies of His people (vv. 7, 14-16). He works wonders (v. 11). He guides the people whom He has redeemed to His holy habitation (vv. 13, 16). He gives them an inheritance (v. 17). He dwells with His people (v. 17). He reigns forever (v. 18)!

When you consider all of the reasons we have to exalt and praise our gracious God, the grumbling of the next section is jarring! It teaches us:

2. If God has saved you, avoid the terrible sin of grumbling.

God’s Spirit put verses 22-27 here to show how prone we are to go from the heights of praise to the depths of self-pity and grumbling. You may think, “The text here never calls grumbling a terrible sin.” But there are over a dozen passages in the Pentateuch where Israel grumbled against the Lord (R. Alan Cole, Exodus [IVP], p. 128). Psalm 95:8-11 brings up Israel’s grumbling as the reason God swore in His anger that this generation would not enter His rest. Hebrews 3:7-11 cites Psalm 95 and then applies it (Heb. 3:12): “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” Paul (1 Cor. 10:5-10) says that Israel’s experiences in the wilderness are an example for our instruction. He warns us not to grumble as some of them did, incurring God’s judgment. Note four things:

A. Experiencing God’s salvation in the past is no guarantee that we won’t fall into grumbling in the future.

Not all of the Jews who came out of Egypt with Moses were born again spiritually (Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 3:7). Many perished because of their unbelief (1 Cor. 10:5-10). But corporately they were God’s people, who “all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:2). And yet, in spite of experiencing God’s gracious deliverance from slavery in Egypt, they immediately and repeatedly fell into this sin of grumbling. Thus after relating Israel’s wilderness experience, Paul warns us (1 Cor. 10:12), “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.”

B. Grumbling stems from false expectations about God’s gracious salvation.

I think that most of the Jews thought that being freed from slavery in Egypt would result in a direct route to the Promised Land, where God would quickly subdue their enemies and give them all the blessings He had promised to Abraham. But, as we’ve seen, God took them on “the scenic route” to the Promised Land. And now Moses led them three days into this barren wilderness, where first they found no water, and then the water they found was bitter. It wasn’t the program they thought they had signed up for!

Sometimes new believers naively think that once they’re saved, everything will go smoothly from there on out. After all, now they’re under God’s loving care! But God led His people He had delivered through the wilderness first to no water, and then to bitter water. He disciplines us as His children “for our good, so that we may share His holiness” (Heb. 12:10). Paul instructed new converts (Acts 14:22), “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Don’t expect a trouble-free life so that you don’t fall into grumbling!

C. Grumbling impugns God’s loving, faithful character.

The people grumbled against Moses (Exod. 15:24), but their complaint implicitly was against God, who had led them by the cloud to this barren wilderness. C. H. Spurgeon (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Pilgrim Publications], 17:234) observed that usually we aren’t honest enough to grumble directly against God, so we aim it at others. We grumble about people who irritate us or about our circumstances. But since God is sovereign over every hair that falls from our heads, He has ordained all of the difficult people and circumstances in our lives for our ultimate good.

Grumbling implies that God doesn’t care about us and that we know better than God what would be right for us. There is a proper way submissively to bring our complaints to God (as in the Psalms), but grumblers don’t come to God submissively, trusting in His goodness and love. Rather, they malign Him, while at the same time they reveal their own bitterness. Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], p. 265) pointed out that God easily could have led Israel straight to fresh water, but instead, He led them to bitter water to reveal the bitterness in their hearts. Moses says that God did this to test them (Exod. 15:25).

God also gave them bitter water to teach them that if they would trust Him and call upon Him, He can make bitter water sweet. Moses cried out to the Lord, who showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, it became sweet. There were no miraculous powers in the tree itself; the power was from God. But in this case, He chose to use the means of this tree, just as Jesus sometimes used means to effect His miraculous cures (Mark 7:33; John 9:6). He wants us to learn that He has sufficient resources to meet our every need if we will trust in Him.

In the Garden of Eden, there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was forbidden, and the tree of life, which God barred the couple from eating of once they had sinned (Gen. 2:17; 3:22). But in the New Jerusalem, there will be a tree of life for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:2). Eating of that tree, which symbolizes Christ and the cross, turns the bitterness of sin into the sweet water of eternal life.

D. Grumbling hinders us from enjoying God’s abundant blessings.

Note Exodus 15:26-27:

And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.” Then they came to Elim where there were twelve springs of water and seventy date palms, and they camped there beside the waters.

Obedience is not the means of salvation—God had already delivered Israel from Egypt. But it is the means of experiencing His blessings after we’re saved. Disobedience, including the sin of grumbling, brings His corrective discipline to our lives. This was not a promise to heal everyone in Israel from all diseases if they would obey Him. Even the obedient in Israel got sick and died, as we all do. Rather, it was a promise that if Israel obeyed, God would not bring on them the plagues which He had brought on Egypt. And, it points to the truth that God is able to heal our diseases when it is His will to do so.

The fact that Jesus went around preaching the gospel and healing people reveals Him to be the Savior. He can heal our bodies when it is His will to do so. But even more importantly, He can heal our souls from the eternally deadly consequences of sin. When He brings us to the place of bitter waters, He wants us to learn His sufficiency for our every need, whether it is physical, emotional, or spiritual.

The final verse of the chapter illustrates God’s abundant grace, even for those who have grumbled against Him. He led Israel from Marah to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water (one for each tribe) and seventy date palms (one for each of Israel’s elders, Exod. 24:9). There wasn’t any grumbling there, although I wonder if some grumbled when they set out from Elim and went again into the wilderness (Exod. 16:1-2).

Why didn’t Israel just settle in Elim, where there seemed to be plenty? Because God had something better for them in Canaan. We can enjoy the comforts that God gives us here, but keep in mind that all of His gracious blessings here are only a foretaste of the blessings He has stored up for us in heaven (Rev. 22:1-5).

Conclusion

I remember how God convicted me of grumbling 48 years ago. I was in seminary in Dallas and it was hot and humid. I was taking a bath one day and grumbling to myself because my apartment didn’t have air conditioning or a shower. It only had a bathtub. I didn’t hear a voice from God, but the Lord impressed on me that the Vietnam War was going on, and I could be over there in a sweltering jungle with bullets flying at me! I quickly repented! But I still have to fight grumbling all the time!

Thankfulness is the antidote to grumbling. Paul commands us (1 Thess. 5:18), “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” To obey that command, you must be able to say of the Lord Jesus what Moses said (Exod. 15:2), “This is my God, and I will praise Him.” You must enter into a personal relationship with Christ through faith in His sacrifice for you on the cross. Then you can begin practicing for heaven, where we all will sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (Rev. 15:3), “Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!”

Application Questions

  1. God commands our joy (Ps. 100:1-2). If you don’t feel joyful, how can you be joyful? Wouldn’t that be hypocritical?
  2. What should you do if you feel depressed, not joyful? Is depression always a sin? Why/why not?
  3. The psalmists sometimes express their complaints to the Lord. Were they sinning? Why/why not?
  4. Read Philippians, which Paul wrote while wrongfully imprisoned and maligned, noting the emphasis on joy. Is rejoicing and not grumbling a choice?

Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2018, All Rights Reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

Related Topics: Christian Life, Failure, Hamartiology (Sin)

Q. Can Women Wear Pants?

Answer

God created mankind male and female (see Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4). It is clear in Scripture that God has distinct roles for each to play, and this is particularly true in marriage (Ephesians 5) and in the church (1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Corinthians 14:33-40). I believe God wants men to embrace His distinctions between male and female, and thus men should look like men, and women should look like women. More importantly, I believe God wants men to act like men, and women to act like women. We live at a time when these distinctions are being challenged, so that men are dressing and acting more feminine, while women are dressing and behaving in a more masculine manner. I don’t think that pants vs. a dress is the primary concern (though we should not disregard Scripture here), but rather maleness and femaleness. The more we blur the lines of distinction between male and female the more we blur the lines God has declared regarding the role each should play, especially in marriage and the church.

I would encourage you to consider lessons 8-12 in this series:

Blessings,

Bob Deffinbaugh

Related Topics: Cultural Issues, Women

Q. Is Our Lord’s Burden Really Light?

How can Jesus say that His burden is light when living the Christian life is not easy?

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, NASB).

The context is very important here. Jesus has some very condemning words for that generation of Jews. They wanted Jesus and John the Baptist to “dance to their tune” (11:16-17). Jesus said greater judgment would come upon the Jewish cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum than upon the Gentile cites of Tyre and Sidon because they had received greater revelation concerning Jesus, but had rejected it (11:20-24). Jesus then praised the Father for revealing Himself to little children, while the wise and understanding simply didn’t get it (11:25-27).

Jesus then invited all who were weary to come to Him in faith and He would give them rest. He promised that His yoke was easy and His burden was light (11:29-30). And yet elsewhere Jesus made it clear that following Him was not the path of least resistance:

23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62).

Paul’s words were similar to new believers:

21 After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21-22).

How, then, can Jesus speak of His “burden” as light and yet warn that following Him is not easy? In Matthew 11:29-30 Jesus is speaking of salvation and how it is obtained, in contrast with the legalism of Judaism, which lays heavy burdens of men, which do not lead to salvation:

1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger” (Matthew 23:1-4).

When Jesus spoke of His burden being light, He was speaking of the fact that we don’t have to work to attain enough righteousness to be saved. We’ll never make it if that is what we are trying to do. This is why Israel failed to trust in Jesus as the Messiah. They sought to earn salvation by law-keeping, and the Gentiles attained salvation without working for it, but merely trusting in Jesus by faith:

19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:19-26).

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 9:30-10:4).

The burden of working for one’s salvation is heavy, while trusting in Christ and His work at Calvary is light (for us). For our Lord the load was extremely heavy, but He bore our load by dying for our sins, and rising from the dead so that we could be declared righteous in God’s sight.

When the Jews asked Jesus what work they must perform to attain salvation, Jesus told them that their only “work” was to believe:

28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:28-29).

While we cannot labor to earn our salvation, we must “fight the good fight” and wrestle against sin, in reliance upon His Word, His grace, and His Spirit:

24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin (Romans 7:24-25).

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

In this, we are not to be passive, but to strive in the power of His Spirit:

10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers (1 Timothy 4:10).

Bob Deffinbaugh

Related Topics: Christian Life

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