"So What?!‪"‬ "So What?!"

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This month Pope Francis announced his decision to consider married men for ordination as a type of pseudo-priest for service to the Roman Catholic faithful. The Reason? The Roman Church suffers a lack of single men applying for ordination. In the US there are 2,500 Catholics per priest. In Brazil, the country of greatest need, there are 8,000 Catholics per priest.

So, to solve the problem Francis opened this topic for discussion in the upper echelons of the Roman Catholic hierarchy. He seems to be using the same method, as when he discussed the possibility of female deacons, saying, the Catholic faithful must ask, “What does this mean at that time [of the Bible]? What does it mean today?” He continued by encouraging the faithful to search the Scriptures, saying, “Don’t be afraid! That makes us free.”

Today, in the 500th year of the reformation, we will ask the same question: “What is a Priest?”

Interestingly enough, this call to search the Scriptures for the divine answers is identical to the call of Christ (John 5:39) and served to rally the Reformation, as many in the 15th and 16th century humanist movement cried “ad fontes” or back to the sources- a plea to return to the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts composing our modern Bible. This is something we must remember: the Church did not decide the Scriptures, they were written long before, circulated among believers for hundreds of years before the church collected these known documents and placed them into the canon.

If you desire to know more about the Bible, go to our past podcast- “What is the Bible?”

So, let’s go back to the Scriptures- the fountainhead of meaning- and discover the purpose of the priesthood. Then, we may understand how such an institution fits into the modern church.

The priesthood is first explicitly defined in the time of Moses. Men have offered sacrifices since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden, but God first instituted the priesthood in relation to His covenant with Israel. In Leviticus 10:8-11, we read of the first ordination and the duty of the priests.

The Lord then spoke to Aaron, saying, “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations—and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them through Moses.”

Priests have two primary roles: they are called to offer sacrifices and teach the people. The sacrifice serves as the object lesson to the Scriptural teaching.

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True Christianity is not one New Year’s Resolution away- it’s not based on your decision. Instead, the Christian life begins with God’s choice. The evangelist John writes, “Children of God are born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13) God bears you into His kingdom according to His will, not because of your birth certificate, your church membership, how “good” you try to be, or what resolutions you make this year.

Such a concept drastically shakes the foundation of common human understanding. “Wait a minute, are you saying I cannot decide?” Yes, the Bible speaks clearly on this matter. Faith in Jesus Christ and a relationship with God depends entirely on the work of God, not your own.

He initiates, maintains, and completes this relationship with men and women. Jesus illustrates the new birth through nature, saying, “Do not be amazed that I said you must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8) God’s spirit brings new life into one’s heart. He gives us a new birth by His spirit.

Two Critical Elements

So, what happens in us to begin this new and dynamic relationship? The new birth depends upon two inseparable components. First, the word of Jesus Christ must be faithfully preached- “for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom 10:17). Then, in conjunction with the word of Christ, the Holy Spirit convicts the listener to the truth of Christ and the magnitude of their sin (John 16:8).

Both these elements combine to pierce one to the heart (Acts 2:37), causing the afflicted to cry out, “What must I do to be saved?” Such is the response as the Gospel takes root in one’s heart and God begins a relationship with them by the power of His Holy Spirit.

The Big Question

But, what actually takes place in us? Sure the Spirit “works” (whatever that means), but how do I know if God has actually worked in me? Great question! The convicting power of the Holy Spirit is not a far off and distant spiritual pinprick, but a real and tangible felt need of repentance or turning away from one’s sin.

The spirit reveals your true disobedience to God and causes a type of self-disgust and personal loathing. This exceeds a guilty conscience and indicates that we have undergone an important and life altering procedure by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The prophet Ezekiel says this about the new birth defining it in terms of a spiritual operation, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26). God takes out our old heart unfeeling to the things of God and intent on perpetuating our sinful desires, and gives us a new heart.

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Today, on the So What Series, we ask, “What is Thanksgiving?” Millions of Americans have just returned from gathering around the tables of friends and family to celebrate this national holiday and literal “feast day.” But, instead of recalling the size of the Turkey. Stop, and consider the real reason for this holiday for the concept of Thanksgiving reaches far beyond 1623, and finds its genesis in the man's relationship with God. Thanksgiving literally means to praise God for His grace and, whether you are a Christian or not, we all have plenty to be thankful for. Without grounding our thankfulness in God, we will find ourselves void of a natural outpouring of thanks and praise for God’s bountiful blessings and many graces, but only filled with an empty pride and unsatisfying self-conceit. Thank you for joining us as we attempt to kindle the true meaning of the holiday and the warmth never far from a heart pressed closed to the hand of God.

In the Greek New Testament, thanksgiving literally translates to eucharistia, and means an outpouring of gratitude and thanks for God’s undeserved mercy and grace. While the Roman Catholic Church, has attempted to give the word new meaning within the practice of Eucharist. We can recognize thanksgiving not as what enter one’s mouth, but what proceeds forth (Matthew 15:11). So, thanksgiving is our response to God for what He has done for us. We can experience God's grace in two ways: the first involves His general grace, and the second His special grace.

The general grace of God is administered to everyone independent of any behavior. In Matthew 5:45, Jesus tells his disciples that God brings the sun and the rain on good and evil. Both are a underserved blessing and God gives both to good and bad. Likewise, Psalm 127:3, shows us children are a gift from God. Regardless of your relationship with God, all men and women experience the common blessing of family and children, hearth and home. God designs all these blessings to turn humanity to Him, for in them we realize we are powerless to bring such goodness into our dark, confused, and lonely lives. Only this undeserved gifts serve as a glimmer of the full hope and light resting in God. Yet, more often than not, we reject God's providence in these blessings, choosing to chalk such things up to good genetics, a little luck, and hard work (Romans 1:21). The Gospel writer John, says "the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:5).

But, in God's special grace, the light is on full display in Jesus Christ. Despite our hostility to the things of God, He draws us into a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ (Col 1:21-22). In Colossians 1:15, we find Jesus Christ as the image of the invisible God. This special grace of God elicits praise in the Christian heart. The entire Christian relationship is built upon God's grace or getting something we do not deserve.

The best biblical verse to sum up this uniquely Christian thought is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he writes, “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.” (Eph 2:8-9) Thanksgiving comes from the realization that you do not deserve a relationship with God- its not your right! But, God, in Jesus Christ, extends us His grace and mercy to exist in a relationship with Him, if we turn from our sins and repent, trusting in Christ and Christ alone. We cannot work for this relationship, we cannot sacrifice for this honor, we cannot ascribe to the strictest tradition and duties to realize our faith. Faith comes by God alone.

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We’ve all had the experience; someone is trying to tell you something important! Meanwhile, you are creeping to the door. Whew! You escaped…. then you recall: "I just felt like they wouldn’t stop preaching at me!” As humans, we do not like to be “preached at” or really for that matter to be preached nearby. We do not like to be told “what to do” or “how to do it”. We can figure it out on our own, thank you very much. But, the Bible mandates preaching (Mark 16:15-16), Jesus himself modeled it (Mark 1:14-15), and throughout the history of God’s people He has delivered His message through the voice of the prophets. So, how can we reconcile our dislike for preaching with God’s call to preach? Shall we swallow the vinegar with the honey or shall we retire preaching and agree to have more “conversations”.

We must preface this episode with an understanding: not all preaching is good, God-honoring preaching. Some is horrendous, hateful, and embittered; other preaching is passive, disorganized, and subjective. Our focus is, “What is God-honoring, Biblical mandated preaching look like?”

First, let’s look at the Biblical mandate to preach. The last chapter of Mark records the direct command of Jesus- “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). This is straight forward enough. The last chapter of Matthew presents a more nuanced view of the disciples’ ministry- “Go therefore a make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20) This is perhaps a fuller picture of the preaching ministry. The disciples are called to always have a focus, not to just make converts, but raise up disciples. They are called not only to plant the seeds, but also to harvest the crop. And, the primary means to ensure the fruit of the spirit in the heart of believer is teaching. Preaching without teaching is like talking without words- the two always go together.

But, teaching is only a component of preaching and is not inherently connected to its nature. Martin Lloyd Jones compared teaching to preaching by saying that a lecture could be given at anytime, but a sermon must be delivered now. Preaching has a sense of urgency. Again, Martin Lloyd Jones writes, in his book, On Preachers and Preaching,

What is preaching? Logic on fire! Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. A true understanding and experience of the Truth must lead to this. I say again that a man who can speak about these things dispassionately has no right whatsoever to be in a pulpit; and should never be allowed to enter one.

The Prophet Jeremiah expressed the same urge to preach as a “fire in his bones.” (Jer 20:9) So, preaching possesses many qualities of teaching, the former exceeds the latter in passion, urgency, and conviction, while never sacrificing content or clarity.

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We may understand the Holy Spirit as an emotion, a feeling, or sense. Maybe we perceive the Spirit as a type of built-in moral barometer. Perhaps, we think God’s Spirit exists within all men and allows us, after proper reflection or meditation, to speak on God’s behalf. While all of these perceptions may retain a degree of truth, they largely reveal a flawed understanding of the Holy Spirit and a low working knowledge of the Spirit’s actual mechanics. Instead of asking, “What is the Holy Spirit?” We should ask, “Who is the Holy Spirit?”

In our society's march towards ever-greater “personhood", or the ability to define one own's identity despite cultural, societal, gender, or moral norms, we have seemingly gained rights for every people group; yet, despite our unceasing quest for personal autonomy, we continue to misunderstand, misuse, and malign the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a force, not an emotion, not an ecstatic hyper-spiritual sense. The Holy Spirit is a person of the Godhead (2 Cor 3:17) with a unique character. He testifies to the truth of Jesus Christ (1 John 5:6-10). He is grieves over Christian’s sins (Eph 4:30). He speaks truth (John 16:13). And, He achieves His will throughout the church (1 Cor 12:11). Lastly, the person of Holy Spirit is God. He possesses the very mind of God and knows all the riches of divine knowledge; nothing is hidden from His comprehension (1 Cor 2:10-11).

So, the Holy Spirit is His own person. And, as God He has His own agenda. He is not our errand boy or mystique force. He is the very person of God. In His divine sovereignty, He serves as the representative or vicar of Christ on earth. In Christ’s absence, the Holy Spirit administers God’s will (John 14:26). In short, for us to know Christ or have a relationship with God, we must only look to the Holy Spirit- not to any priest, pastor, or any other individual. The Holy Spirit is the designated advocate and ambassador of Jesus Christ. Anyone claiming the role as Vicar, Paraclete, or Mediator infringes on the very personhood of the Holy Spirit. He alone represents Christ, and oversees the will of God in Christ’s absence.

The Holy Spirit administers His unique two-fold ministry on earth, serving both believers and non-believers in different ways. His primary role for the non-believing world depends upon his conjoined and interdependent ministry with the Word of God. Upon the reading and proclamation of God’s word, the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of all mankind to convict them of their sin and prove the righteousness of God (John 16:8). The spirit is the strong arm behind the word of God, enabling the word to penetrate deeper than any sword, “dividing soul and spirit.” (Heb 4:12). The Spirit plants the first fruits of faith and evokes the response, “What shall I do to be saved?” (Acts 2:37).

The Spirit of God works in the believer’s heart in a variety of special ways. First, in conjunction with the word of God....

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We all know the saying, “the most convincing lies are almost true.” Yet, rarely does such a commonly used colloquialism serve to perpetuate a Biblical tenet. Error, untruths, and lies surround us everyday. While we are able to determine the gross falsehoods from the truth, we have been convinced time and again by lies nearly true. Everyday finds us facing a new ‘gotcha’- one so near the truth we didn’t see it coming. Besides growing into an old and bitter curmudgeon, Biblical truth provides the only anecdote for fighting error.

The study of error serves to benefit both Christian and non-Christian for in it we discover error’s modus operandi- how error works- and uncover the very means which lead to our deception. In his letter to the Church at Colossae, Paul warns the church, writing, “I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument (Col 2:4).” Paul pinpoints the nature of error. The word he uses for delude is literally translated as paralogic. The prefix para- means to come alongside of or work in conjunction with. The base word logic connotes truth or reason. This is how a persuasive argument works. The argument comes alongside the truth. We note Paul doesn’t say contralogic. The persuasive argument is not completely contrary to the truth. Instead the argument comes alongside the truth. Perhaps, the argument looks identical to the truth or even serves to enhance its appearance.

The purple flower bloom of the wisteria vine beautifies any house or garden. Yet, as the plant winds up your favorite oak or along your cottage exterior the vines can eventually strangle your beloved tree, and displace the bricks you wished remain in your walls. Persuasive arguments work in the same way. They wind alongside biblical teachings, merely enhancing or seemingly embellishing the truth, but instead they serve to displace the brick-and-mortar doctrines of the Christian faith.

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