The Source of Strife (01/06/25-01/07/52)

Once again I find the things I have gathered out for comment seem to be all over the place as to the points being made.  This is why prayer is needful in the pursuit of study.  Whether God would agree that I have prayed, I trust that He is guiding as I seek to shake these myriad snippets of thought into some semblance of organized relationship.  And I hope that I will be doing more than merely regurgitating what I wrote previously.  At any rate, I see that I have for the most part gathered things under three heads, reflecting the three sets of people in view in these few verses.  We have those of ill-will, those of good will, and then Paul together, presumably, with his companions.  I will touch on these in the order they first appear in our text.  As such, we begin with the ill-willed, self-promoting contingent.

Of course, seeing mention of them, there is the irresistible urge to seek out who he has in view.  So often, in his writing, the precise issue, or the source of the issue that he is addressing remains oblique, must be inferred from the response.  This, I have to insist, is by God’s design.  The problem is not the point, not the thing upon which we need to focus our thoughts and energies.  Rather, it is the answer that matters, the correct course being laid out for our benefit.  Still, I see from the variety of ideas put forth in different commentaries that in spite of the impossibility of certainty, still attempts are made to discern the exact nature of these negative examples.

Okay, so one point made is that the term Paul uses in describing both of these contingents does not necessitate that we consider them to be preachers, certainly not as we would understand them today.  For one, with the Apostles yet extent, Christian preachers of that era would not have carried quite the degree of authoritativeness that they tend to have today.  They couldn’t go to seminary, for there were no such things.  What they could do is proclaim what they had heard, hopefully, what they had come to believe themselves.  And to be sure, Paul and his team were careful to look to the equipping of these churches they planted, to leave them with a leadership that was capable and earnest in their faith.  But there could be no guarantees, could there?  Even the best of godly men remain but men, and cannot see the heart.  Now, we might posit a unique gift of discernment on the part of the Apostles, but I don’t suppose that even there, we would suggest perfection.  Those texts that God saw fit to preserve for the ages we can account as inerrant.  We cannot go so far as to suggest that every last word ever spoken, every deed ever done, every choice ever made by these men was likewise inerrant.  Even in what we have of his writings, we see Paul carefully distinguishing opinion from revelation in his responses.

So, what is the term we have in this instance?  Kerrussousin.  It speaks of one acting as a herald, making public proclamations.  Strong notes a particular affinity with the proclaiming of divine truth.  Okay.  But Thayer observes there is an official aspect to this, an inherent authority in the announcing.  So, can it be reduced to mere confession of faith, as Clarke suggests?  Would we say, for example, that the pronouncements made by a baptismal candidate are authoritative?  Would we account them to be teaching in that case?  I think not.  Arguably, James advises against such a view.  “Let not many of you become teachers, brothers, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (Jas 3:1).  Man!  There is some advice that weighs heavily on my mind, and all the more as we consider these insincere instructors.  But I’ll get to that shortly.  For now, I am going to have to disagree with Clarke and say that no, these are preachers of some sort that Paul has in view.  It feels more along the lines of a street-corner preacher as we may have seen in the city.  I could think of Pastor November in this same light, I suspect.  But it’s not the same as those of questionable sanity who stand there shouting about the end of the world approaching.  Certainly, in his case, it’s about getting out where the lost are in order that some may be found.  And I expect that is far more the perspective to see in what’s in view here.  We are not yet considering motive, rather purpose.  We might add that, at this early stage, it’s not like there were identifiable church buildings to which men might gather who wished to learn of Jesus.  The church may have known which house to go to and when, but it’s not as though there were signs posted outside, indicating what time and day to meet.

Okay, so let us accept that we have preachers in view.  We then come to the question of what sort of preachers?  What was the problem?  And of course, given Paul’s history, thoughts turn rather immediately to those Judaizers who had troubled him seemingly every step of the way.  These had been trouble in Antioch.  They had been trouble in the region we know as Turkey.  But first, we need to make a bit of a distinction here.  I think, when we speak of Judaizers, we need to recognize that they are distinct from those we often find referenced as ‘some Jews.’  Typically, if Paul is dealing with ‘some Jews,’ such as those from Asia who had caused the ruckus that led to his arrest in Jerusalem, they are not in any way possessed of faith in Christ.  They are absolutely opposed to the cross.  As such, this particular contingent would be highly unlikely to be out in the streets of Rome (where fairly recently, Jews had been required to get out of town) preaching Christ as Messiah whom they rejected.  But there was this other contingent, more rightly construed as Judaizers, which consisted of Christians from the fledgling church in Jerusalem, Jews who had in fact come to faith in Jesus, but who still felt they must hold to former practices.  And these, with their devotion to Mosaic laws and rites, felt that other believers, if they were being drawn from the Gentile populations around them, must likewise come into compliance with those practices.  The Jerusalem Council had dealt with this issue and rendered their verdict.  But it seems that their verdict did not entirely end the contention.

So, is it possible that Judaizers such as these, believers in Christ, but Christ-plus, are the ones about whom Paul is writing?  I guess it’s not out of the question.  However, the same factors that would likely have held back the antagonistic ‘Jews from Asia,’ from following Paul to make their accusations would have a natural tendency to dissuade the Judaizers from visiting the city.  Granted, the expulsion of the Jews under Claudius would seem to have been revoked under Nero, at least at this stage, I’m not sure we can say that with certainty.  It does seem, from the text of Romans, that the church in Rome, as elsewhere, was a mixed congregation, Jews and Gentiles alike forming its membership.  And we see from the end of Acts that Paul was addressing the local Jewish leadership as a matter of first priority when he came.  So, perhaps the situation had eased enough that yes, these Judaizing Christians had come even to Rome.  I’d still find it at least a little surprising, given how long it had taken Paul to get here (and by such means!)  But it’s not out of the question.  Here, though, is a point of contention amongst the commentaries.  The Wycliffe Translators Commentary insists, for example, that Paul would hardly tolerate their like, because he viewed their gospel as something different, and quite at odds, with that which had been entrusted to him.  They bring forward the message Paul sends to the Galatians to make the point, and it certainly inclines to do so.  “I say it again:  If any man is preaching a gospel other than what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:9).  And we know that he was dealing with these Judaizers in their case.  It’s quite plain to see.  And it’s also plain to see that he finds no room for compromise in regard to them.

On the other hand, Clarke supposes that it is indeed them that Paul is speaking of, as they did in fact proclaim Christ as Messiah, even if their Gospel was, as he puts it, garbled, perhaps incomplete.  But I suppose I should have to side with the other view here.  From the evidence of Scripture, it would be hard to posit Paul as accepting that they were preaching the gospel at all, given his perspective of their message as representing a different gospel, and one that rendered them accursed for thus lying in God’s name.  What then are we to make of this?  How far are we to tolerate, and at what point does steadfast faith require vociferous defense of truth, even at the expense of denouncing these preachers?

I’m not sure I have good answer here.  I know I find myself almost startled by the conclusion Barnes seems to come to.  He, as he considers these preachers who have set about competing with Paul, accepts the possibility that their message is a mix of truth and error.  I suppose we would have to accept the possibility, indeed admit the certainty, that even with the best and most upright of preachers the same must be said.  So, Barnes immediately adds the caveat that of course, pure motive and sound doctrine are to be preferred in the preacher.  I might say vastly to be preferred.  But then he proceeds to suggest that even such a mixed message – some truth, some error, and the ratio not specified – is better than nothing.  He reaches the conclusion, as regards proclaiming the Savior, “The announcement of that fact in any way may save a soul; but ignorance of it could save none.”  Frankly, I’m not sure I can concur with that.  I’m not sure Paul would.

Put it in the context of the active shooter training we received after church last week.  Suppose those trainers come with the true message that indeed, such events are more common than we care to believe, and give us some true input on the nature of human response to such crisis situations.  But then, suppose that all the suggested courses of action to take if faced with such a situation were baseless, or outright wrong?  Should we blithely applaud and receive the error, because at least there was some truth to it?  It seems to me that there is something of an epidemic of just this sort of unthinking acceptance today.  There is such a propensity to insist that we can believe what we like, and all beliefs are equally valid, when it should be patently obvious that they can’t be, and that many beliefs are absolute horse-pucky, others downright deadly.  And here, we’re dealing with matters largely limited to this temporal existence.  Now, take it into matters of eternal import, and are you still willing to say, “Well, at least there’s something valid in what they’re saying?”  The dangers of the error wrapped in truth is greater than the error that is blatantly obvious, for the presence of truth in the delivery vehicle may suffice to get past our guard, and allow the lie to implant.

All in all, then, I incline to agree with the view that these that Paul has in mind were preaching truly enough, so far as their doctrines were concerned.  They just weren’t quite living up to their doctrines.  As Calvin writes, “It is possible that the man who teaches most purely, may, nevertheless, not be of a sincere mind.”  And that, I think, ought to be something to stir up some introspection, some self-examination.  At the very least, it ought to keep us humble, and remind us that the finest grasp of doctrinal truth does not itself ensure right practice or right heart.  I do think, though, that had their doctrine been off, we should not find Paul so sanguine about their efforts.

Come back to his message in addressing the Corinthians.  “No man can lay a foundation other than that which has been laid:  Christ Jesus” (1Co 3:11), and the man who would build must build upon this foundation.  This is what the preacher is doing, and it should as well be what the hearer is doing.  Only, “let each man be careful how he builds upon it” (1Co 3:10).  However you build, that construction will be tested.  Not by Paul, not by your pastor, but by the purifying fire of God in His perfect holiness.  But observe here the conclusion of his point.  “If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, yet he himself shall be saved, though it be as through fire” (1Co 3:15).  This, I have to say, would appear to be aimed more at the hearer than the preacher.  It’s a call to pay attention to what you are being fed, testing to see if it is indeed true, if it aligns with the foundation of sound doctrine, or whether in fact it’s the stuff of vain imagination and self-promotion.

As it happens, Table Talk was touching on Calvin’s famous observation that we are by nature idol factories, constantly churning out ideas of God that do not in fact comport with God’s own revelation of Who He Is.  Be careful!  You are the first preacher you have need to verify, for you listen to no man’s voice so keenly as your own!  Make sure what you are telling yourself is true.  Make sure that what you are finding in Scripture is actually what it is saying.  That’s harder than it may seem.  We are too inclined to perceive through the filters of our understanding, rather than clearly seeing, by the evidence of Scripture, where our understanding is in error.  Before you think to critique another for their lack of principles in ministry, consider that you are also a fallen creature redeemed by Christ.  You are also the product of a degenerate age, and may yourself be in need of significant course correction.  So, yes, it’s sad to find preachers with poor principles, but it’s also sad to find ourselves so often operating from poor principles.

What are we to do?  Well, pray, obviously.  Seek the Lord on our own behalf as well as on behalf of those with whom we find ourselves met in ministry.  Consider carefully the issues that are in view here, which, as best we can see, are not issues of erroneous doctrine, at least not so erroneous as to constitute a different gospel, but rather the more common issue of being contentious, seeking position, or seeking influence.  The problem we have before us is not one of what is being taught, nor even by whom.  It is an issue of intentions, and those intentions, on the part of the ones seeking to cause Paul grief, are to make gain for their own reputation at the expense of his.  It is the same issue we saw rising in Corinth, and which may have had some presence in Philippi as well, given the mention of Euodia and Syntyche later in this epistle.  It is the produce of pride, seeking to form a party with oneself as head, or at the very least, with one’s preferred leader as head.

Lest there be any doubt about this, observe Paul’s reference to these individuals and their ‘selfish ambition.’  The term translated there is eritheia, which concerns itself with the pursuit of office.  But like so many office-seekers, those who seek in this manner do so through unfair means.  We might say they fight dirty.  Think opposition research, as we’ve come to see it in modern politics, especially such research as largely fabricates its results, seeding negative information with seemingly official sourcing to a friendly media, such that the lie can take hold to such a degree that no amount of exposure to the truth will dislodge the opinion thus formed.  This, one suspects, is very much what was happening out there in Rome.  These individuals weren’t preaching a false gospel, but may well have been spreading false opinions or false conclusions as to the significance of Paul’s imprisonment and what that meant as to his position, and maybe even for those who were found to be his associates.

They sought, in short, to form a party around their own preaching, and in doing so, they felt it necessary to diminish Paul’s influence.  It might well be that they sought to diminish the influence of all the Apostles.  After all, they were the official leadership, and as such, they were the greatest threat to these who would be leaders themselves.  Not satisfied to play second fiddle, they must first eliminate those who were currently first fiddle.  And this, necessarily, will tend to produce strife.  I don’t know as we can find any man who is entirely free of such prideful notions.  Perhaps there are some.  But even they, presented with this sort of instigation, might well give evidence of a certain lack of patience, perhaps raise a bit of defense as to their own position.  And I don’t suppose we would even fault them much for doing so.  I mean, the Apostles were not opposed to defending themselves when it proved needful.  Certainly, Paul was not shy about his office, nor about presenting sound defense of it.

But here, he feels no need of it, perhaps content in that there was little to nothing he could do about it anyway in his present circumstance.  But he knew his God, and he knew God would attend to His Church.  Neither, it seems, did he take this competitiveness, destructive though its intentions seem to have been, as evidence of unbelief.  He is not denouncing these as false teachers, as wolves in sheep’s clothing.  He is welcoming their preaching, because the Gospel is the power to save, even in the hands of such poor workmen as these, even in the hands of such poor workmen as ourselves.

The JFB brought up that portion of 1Corinthians that speaks to the whole business of party politicking in the Church.  It starts with something critical for us to lay hold of.  “No one can lay a foundation other than that which was laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1Co 3:11).  That foundation was laid in the revelation given to the prophets (OT) and apostles (NT), with Christ Himself the Cornerstone (Eph 2:20).  Here is where the Reformed preacher finds basis for declaring special revelation completed in the text of Scripture, therefore denying the possibility of further such revelation through visions, angelic messengers, or the like.  God has revealed what He wished to make known, culminating that revelation in the live teaching of the Son of God, and the exposition of that teaching by His chosen, appointed Apostles.  As I have probably noted often enough by now, the qualifications for Apostolic office have long since ceased from being possible to meet.  Who are you going to find who could claim to have been eye and ear witness to the ministry of Jesus?  Even Paul had difficulty defending that claim, and he was at least alive and in Jerusalem during that period.

Back to my point.  That same passage concludes with this observation, as to those who build poorly upon the foundation once for all laid.  Their work being tested by the fire of God’s holiness and found wanting, what becomes of them?  “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1Co 3:15).  We are not, then, looking at error, at least not error of salvific import.  We are looking, perhaps, at failure to implement what has been learned, not advancing from right doctrine to right practice.  We may not have been the example we should have been, may not have pursued those works God had prepared for us beforehand, done that for which we were individually created by Him.  None of this, I must insist, has thwarted God’s plans, nor even required Him to reschedule anything.  He knew.  He knows.  And He has already addressed our failings.  That is not the same as saying we escape all responsibility or all consequence.  No. There will be loss for our failures, but not loss of salvation.  Even with that off the table, there’s plenty enough to concern us sufficiently as to take heed to our progress, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, as Paul urges us in the next chapter (Php 2:12).

So, then, let us, as Paul urged those Corinthians, take heed how we are building.  Let us beware of the taint of pride in our efforts, remain mindful of our own fallen nature, not supposing we are better than we are.  But let us neither wallow in those accusations the enemy may bring to bear, crippled by some sense of unworthy.  God was able to use these.  God is able to use you and me.  God is able.  And that is the fundamental, necessary motivator to keep on keeping on, and to do so content amidst the strife.  It was never about yours or my capabilities anyway.  It’s about God, and His Gospel is yet the power to save, even today.  It falls not on our eloquence and persistence, but on His choice to empower, to render the hearts of those who hear receptive to His gift of grace.

The Unity of Knowledge (01/09/25)

There is a contrast, which the JFB observes almost in passing, between the envious and the good-willed as Paul presents them.  The good-willed know, whereas the envious think.  The former know that he is appointed for the Gospel.  The latter think their competitive efforts will be a cause of distress to him.  Interestingly, in both cases, the object is Paul, and indirectly, Paul’s character.  How they view the Gospel, and then the God of the Gospel can only be inferred from their view of Paul.  Those who think they know him are demonstrably incorrect in their thinking.  One might suppose that however accurately they may have presented the Gospel, it remained a matter of thought and not knowledge.  It might be equated to reciting something one has memorized, but without really bothering to grasp the meaning, or, we might say, without really believing what one has recited.

Now, that takes my thoughts in an interesting direction.  For most of us, as youngsters, were taught to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  I don’t know as that’s still done.  But if it is, even as it was, to what degree was our recitation mere parroting without any real conviction?  I suspect that for many a child there was little sense of conviction whatsoever.  Now carry it into the church.  We often recite the Lord’s Prayer.  Do we actually pray it, though?  Or to take that question of Jesus that has replayed so often in my notes, “Do you believe this?”  Or are we just going through the motions?  What of our songs of worship?  Are they expressions of our true thoughts?  Do we even engage our thinking, or are we just reading the slides, trying to stay in tune?  As one who serves in leading worship, I know that very often my thoughts are, somewhat of necessity, more on hitting the right notes than on what is being sung.  That seems to me to be much more true on keyboards than on saxophone, primarily because the saxophone is, for the most part, as an extension of my body, requiring little thought, outside of certain, rarely played keys.  Keyboards, on the other hand, I must pay attention to, remember where my fingers have gotten off to, keep various chord notations sorted, recognize which ones I can leave to the guitarist, and where the chord markings may not quite reflect the measures, and so on.  But there are times, when things are easier, when I can more truly engage with what is being sung.  There are other times when my offering of worship consists simply in the music I can offer, and perhaps that’s okay.

But back to our text.  Those who labor from love know.  They know who Paul is.  They know his office, and they know who appointed him to it.  They love because they know this God who has brought the Gospel into being, and loving God, they love those who serve Him, and serving Him, they love those who have need of hearing of the love that is in them by His gracious gift.  Love compels action.  And hasn’t that in fact been Paul’s story?  He is compelled to proclaim the Gospel, as good as has no choice but to do so.  But it’s not a coercive compulsion.  It’s the urgent desire of the will in love with God, desiring that all whom He loves might indeed learn of His love and respond as he has responded.  He knows, therefore he preaches.  That came up in last week’s readings for men’s group.  “Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men” (2Co 5:11).  Don’t get hung up on the fear thing.  It is not fear of reprisal should he neglect his purpose.  It’s reverence, the same sort of honor we hopefully are able to have towards our parents, only in this case, a reverence wholly and thoroughly deserved.  Here is God, perfect in holiness, perfect in goodness, perfect in love, demonstrably caring towards you.  Indeed, He has adopted you as His own child, made you His own, given you life and a new name.  And He has shown you what is good.  You know, and you love Him whom you know.  You love, and are thus anxiously desirous that all might know Him as you do, know His love as you do, become family together with you.

And then, of course, I must ask, is this our experience?  Is it mine?  I cannot say that I generally feel this compulsion to declare Jesus to one and all.  I rarely speak of it outside of the company of believers, to be honest.  I hope, however, that my example speaks of my faith, at least most of the time.  I know it can be a struggle for me, in the workplace particularly, to remain of godly demeanor.  It’s a consuming business, this engineering.  It requires a certain intensity of thought, a certain depth of involvement, holding much in mind all at once while seeking after answers.  And doesn’t that sound rather a lot like the whole process of trying to walk godly?  Interesting that.  But it’s hard to give the one its full and necessary attention while pursuing the other.  I don’t say impossible, for with God, nothing is impossible.  But it presents a challenge.  That depth of focus tends not to take well to interruptions.  One knows, perhaps, the cost of interrupted flow of thought.  To be constantly pulled off task to deal with some other task, or to help another in theirs, leads to errors, dropped balls, issues that are going to be introduced and go unnoticed until they become headaches later on.  And recognition of this impact can lead one to be a tad short with interruptees.  But the Gospel comes to bear.  And it’s not an occasion to preach, perhaps, but it is certainly always an opportunity to represent.  If you know, live it!  That, perhaps, is the primary, most critical aspect of faith for the average believer.  “Do you believe this?”  If so, live it.  That’s enough to keep you well occupied so long as life and breath persist.

Those who know Paul here in Rome know him both by reputation and now, by experience.  They have seen the man, experienced his character first hand.  This is not, in this instance, the intimate knowledge of ginosko, but rather, the more inferred knowledge of oidate, with its relationship to the input of the senses.  They have seen him in action, or we might say, in inaction.  And they have seen his quiet contentment, his unswerving, unwavering commitment to God and God’s purpose.  The evidence has convinced them of the person.  He is what he says he is, and he is so by God’s appointment and empowerment.  They have seen the man to be as immovable as the purpose of God which has brought him to this place.

Those who sought advantage over Paul may well have posited his imprisonment as some sort of evidence against him, some proof that God did not in fact work through him, and maybe didn’t even like him.  But those who observed and knew?  They saw the truth of it.  No, he wasn’t here because God was offended by him.  He was here because he was faithful to his mission.  He was here because this was his mission, by God’s appointment.  And if in fact he was here by God’s appointment, then his being here was to good purpose, not only for himself, but for themselves as the kingdom of God in that place.

I spent a fair amount of time considering this matter of God’s appointment in my prior notes, so I don’t want to dwell on it too much here.  But it is by His appointment that we find ourselves in this unity of knowing.  We know God.  We are not merely aware of what is written.  That will never be enough.  We are not merely well-versed in doctrinal truths.  That in itself will not suffice.  We know Him.  We have experience of Him in our own lives, and we have observed the outworking of His good purposes in those around us.  Sometimes, those outworkings have been difficult to accept.  We have, just in the last few days, lost a young man in our church to cancer.  Now, I cannot say that I was ever particularly familiar with him, and what little I knew of him did not really commend him to my thoughts as being a fellow believer.  Indeed, it was quite clear that he was fighting against any such idea.  But faith came to him as he lay in hospital, fully aware that time was indeed short, and it would appear, by the testimony of those who knew him better than I, that indeed, that receiving of faith was real and heartfelt, not some blithe recitation to appease the pastor and get him to leave.  So, praise God.  It’s hard to accept death in most any case, but certainly so in one who has barely even gained adulthood.  But God has his reasons, and his reasons are good.  All things, He assures us with absolute assurance, are working together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28).  It will be a rough patch for many, his family certainly, and his friends among the youth of the church.  But God has a purpose in this, and that purpose is not punishment or retribution.  We shall, by His grace, grow by our loss.

Some, I’m sure, will bemoan his passing before his time.  It seems that no matter what age has been attained, there is always that feeling that the end came too soon.  They should have remained longer.  I suppose, for some who have reached a ripe old age, there may be less of that.  With my father’s passing, it was clear that he had had enough of life, and it had been a full one; not perfect, certainly, but full, both of sorrows and of successes.  But then there are those whose deaths are more of a surprise, perhaps, or whom we feel sure could have remained alive longer had this or that been different.  But the reality is, according to our God, that He appoints the time.  And He is never early any more than He is ever late.  He has known the number of each person’s days since long before that person was a person.  From begore the beginning He knew you.  He knew me.  He knew this young man.  He knew exactly how many hairs were on each of our heads, and when they would fall out.  He knows the exact moment of our conception, and He knows the exact occasion of our demise.  When that time comes, it shall be by His appointing.  We may do as we wish to stave it off or to speed the day, but His appointment stands.  We may succeed or fail at the various tasks He has prepared in advance for our doing, but His purpose remains steadfast, and His will is done.

My wife has taken, of late, to praying ardently for God’s perfect will to be done.  And I get it.  I don’t wish to pray against God, certainly, but with Him, in accordance with His will.  But then, I can have confidence that His answer will ever and always be in accordance with His will.  How could it be otherwise?  God has not set Himself subservient to our requests in any way.  We are not commanders of His actions, but servants of His court.  We may be good servants or poor, but whichever the case, we are not in charge, nor can our failures disrupt or delay His works.  Neither, for all that, can our best efforts speed the schedule of His works by even a nanosecond.  This doesn’t render our works pointless, or our efforts in vain.  We remain free agents, functioning according to our wishes and desires.  And as free agents, we know that we shall in due course give answer for our choices.  “For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to be repaid for our deeds while in the body, whether what we did was good or bad” (2Co 5:10).  There are words to keep us humble and on our toes.  We have appointed duties, as children of a loving God.  If we have been diligent to see to them, then that day need hold no fear.  If we have not?  Well, back to that building Paul mentioned in 1Corinthians 3.  We shall yet be saved, but as through fire.  There will be a cost for failure, though not the cost of eternal death.  We have been redeemed from that.  But let it not be thought that this leaves us free of any concern for consequence.

God has given us a task, each one of us.  Yours may not look quite the same as mine, and that is fine.  We are not called to march in lockstep.  But we are called to labor arm in arm, as it were, to join in this unity of knowing God, truly knowing Him, and being known by Him.  He is Lord, and we are His servants.  He is Father, and we, His children.  Let us, then, redouble our commitment to give Him our best service, our most ardent love, our deepest devotion.  And let us, in so doing, lean fully upon His power.  I find I am much in mind of that second letter to Corinth, given daily reading of it.  But one image that really stuck with me from last week’s reading was at the center of Paul’s recitation of his resume, as it were.  He describes his work as being, ‘in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left’ (2Co 5:7).  I see this as a touch of parallelism, which is to say, the word of truth and the power of God are the weapons of righteousness.  Speak truly of God Who is true.  Live that truth by the power of God.  By His power, when we speak, it shall be in love and in such love as is evident to the one to whom we speak.  By His power, our words will find His mark, satisfy His purpose, and God willing, bear fruit unto salvation.

Fear not the task God has set before you.  Fear not that you are ill-equipped or ill-prepared.  Don’t fall into Moses’ erroneous self-deprecation, seeking exemption from the assigned task.  God has purpose for you.  And He loves you.  He has not given this assignment to harm you or make you feel bad.  He certainly hasn’t done so as punishment for some past failing.  He has done it so that the soul may feel its worth.  He has done so in order that you might grow in strength and in faith.  Let us propose that at least one purpose in this appointment is that you might perceive what He has already done in you, and thereby be the more ready to trust Him in what He will be doing next.

Rest, then, in the unity of knowing God, and of knowing He knows you, loves You, and has purpose for you in this life.  Rest in the knowledge that all of your days are in His hands, and whatever this life may have in store, you remain His.  Fall in love with Him again.  Rejoice in Him again.  Rely on Him to see you through.  For He is faithful, and He will do it.

The Place of Contentment (01/10/25)

Here is what those antagonists have failed to observe.  Paul is content.  It would be a stretch to say he rejoices to be where he is, constrained as he is.  But he is content.  And why?  Because he himself understands that he is in this place by God’s appointment.  It is not punishment.  It is not an accident.  It is not some aberration keeping him from what God would have him doing.  It is precisely what God intends, and in this circumstance to which he has been appointed, the office to which he has been appointed by this same God has not changed.  He remains the Apostle to the Gentiles.  He remains, as he states here, a sentry set over the doctrines of faith.  I borrow that description from the Wycliffe Translator’s Commentary.  It’s a wonderful picture of Paul’s role, isn’t it?

Ezekiel was one appointed as a watchman (Eze 3:17).  And what was his duty in that position?  “Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.”  Paul, we could readily see, is in the same place.  What I speak to you, speak to them.  You can see, then, the continuity between the old prophetic office and the apostolic office at the start of the church age.  He’s not here to win a contest.  He’s not here for the fame.  He’s here to see the church begun and set on a sound footing, equipped with the truth of God and with such leaders as shall, in his absence, see to it that the flock abides in the gospel delivered to the saints (Jd 3), not offering novelty, not offering inventive new theories of belief, but abiding in the truth of God.

So, again, being aware of his office and his obedient service to God, we have to assume that in both cases which he sets before us the true Gospel is being proclaimed truly, even if not always from true motive.  The Christ being preached is the Christ Who Is, and so long as that holds true, Paul’s reaction to the nature of the preacher is, “Who cares?”  His concern for their motive is, so far as it touches on him at all, “Who cares?”  To be sure, given opportunity, I have no doubt but that he would seek to help those of false motive to come into the place of being true servants of God serving from true and heart-felt faith.  But that opportunity does not present itself.  Maybe after the trial.  Or maybe at some future date.  Or maybe not at all.  That’s up to God.  He appoints.  His servant serves.  If He is pleased to see the Gospel’s reach expanded by such as these, then His servant is pleased as well.  How can we not be?

This, really, is the key to contentment.  If all is by God’s appointment, then how can we not be pleased by what He has appointed?  That’s hard to swallow when you are suffering.  But it is no less the case.  And it comes of recognizing that God is not forgetful or inattentive, but rather, He is very purposeful in his providences, and He is true to Himself in those providences.  What that means is that we can indeed trust in the truth of Romans 8:28 and the truth of Genesis 50:20.  It matters not what the intentions were of those by whom things came to pass. They may indeed have meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.  And let me just stress that in Joseph’s case, it wasn’t just his personal gain, or his freedom, though these were part of the package.  The same held true back when he was falsely imprisoned.  The same held true back when his brothers threw him in a pit, thinking to kill him off and so gain standing in their father’s eyes.  But observe his comment here.  This was, “to preserve many people alive.”  Do you think maybe Paul could feel some of that same sense here in his own imprisonment?  It was, after all, for the Gospel, and because of his imprisonment, that Gospel was going forth even more widely than before.  And nothing serves better to preserve life, indeed, to swallow up this mortal existence by life (2Co 5:4).

Some time prior to this imprisonment, back when he was freely roaming the empire, Paul wrote to the church in Rome to affirm that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Ro 8:28).  And, as seems always to be the case of late, I must stress, it is not those working in His purpose, though they may well be doing so, and likely are, but those who are called according to His purpose.  I incline to say that those thus called will, by the nature of the thing, find that they are working, but it’s not their working that determines.  It’s His calling.  That will come back in chapter 2 of this epistle.  We work because God works.  We are willing because God has willed to make us willing (Php 2:13).  So, Paul is content.  He knows why he’s here, and he can see from the evidence that his captors and his inquisitors know as well.  Indeed, by the looks of it, the whole of Rome knows.

Would you be content?  Would you know this calm and steadfast demeanor that you see in Paul?  It’s a choice, isn’t it?  How will you view the circumstances of your life?  How will you choose to perceive the situations you face even today?  If your measure of things is how they impact you, then you will likely find yourself frustrated by every inconvenience, cast down by every setback, and, if this is left to continue, dismissive of everybody around you.  Or, if things happen to go rather well, you may be happy enough, perhaps even elated, but entirely without sympathy or compassion for those others around you who are not so fortunate.  You may find yourself in the place of, “Phew!  Glad that’s not me.”  And in the world today, I have to say that’s the default setting.  Compassion, it seems, is largely gone, replaced by a perverse sort of voyeurism that finds pleasure, or amusement, or maybe some sense of vengeance, in seeing the sufferings of others.  I see it even in response to these fires in California.  Hah!  They deserve it!  What, and you don’t?  Oh, it’s just the rich.  Well, no, not really.  Granted, many of the places burning belong to people of some degree of fame.  But for every one of them, I am quite sure there are twenty and more who are effectively nameless and faceless.  But they get no sympathy either, because the envious focus on those well-to-do getting theirs.  And it can affect the godly as well, who may view it as God’s justice finally come down on this pit of sin.  Watch out!  Remember your own state.  “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Ro 3:10).

So, we have these who are going about proclaiming a Christ that we might have cause to wonder if they really know or believe in.  We have preachers today whose understanding of Scripture may be profoundly deep who yet, by their example, show little evidence of having internalized that understanding.  There are, to be sure, preachers who preach a good sermon, and let us insist for the sake of argument, a perfectly accurate sermon, a sound exposition of Scripture, and yet, their reasons for doing as they do remain ungodly.  It can be disconcerting.  But it’s rare to come across one who could, in good conscience, join Paul in saying, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”  Yet that’s our calling!  Are you prepared to advise people to do this in regard to yourself?  Do you think they would be well-served if they did so? 

Yet, even in our weak and miserable condition, we can remain confident and content.  Though sin may continue to stain even our best efforts, it’s not our efforts that make the result.  We are granted a part in God’s plan, blessed indeed to be part of what He is doing.  But it remains Him that is doing it.  We need to get beyond this idea that the message is only as good as the messenger.  It’s been a long while since I listened to NPR, or to the radio at all, come to think of it.  But I can recall hearing profound truths spoken, on at least one occasion, but truths I fully suspect the speaker did not intend to convey.  It was rather a verbal case of Genesis 50:20.  You meant it for whatever purpose you pursue with your reporting, but God meant it for good.  So, I would agree with the conclusion reached by several of the commentaries.  The Wycliffe Translator’s Commentary, for example, records that, “Even though the Gospel may have been used as a camouflage for personal gain, it was still ‘the power of God unto salvation.’” Remember!  It is the Gospel that is the power of God to save (Ro 1:16).

As I wrote back in April, “It’s not me you need to esteem.  It’s Christ and Christ alone.”  This is Paul’s attitude.  I pulled that comment down to review here because it was so much a part of my experience in Lesotho last November.  There was, as I have noted repeatedly, such a response there, such a receptiveness to what was being taught, and such appreciation shown for my part in it.  Chatting after one of the sessions, one of the brothers there insisted that, “We need you here.”  Combine that with the response that was evident in the room after our session on working with passages of direct teaching, and the matter of distinguishing law and gospel in what is taught there.  Oh, my!  To be sure, I was riding high.  And I had rather assiduously to see to my response.  Pride would have gladly taken a ride on that wave.  It was awesome, and I suspect it is a memory I shall carry with me for years.  And it is, as I have probably written before, addictive.  To be thus used by God is a thrill.  It’s better than drugs.  But it has some of the same enticements, the same enticements we may be seeking to satisfy through social media.  Ooh!  Look at the likes pile up!  Oh, look how many listens my new song has gained.  But when it comes to the Gospel, and to the ministering of God’s Word, the fundamental remains, “It’s not me you need.  It’s Christ.”  That became a necessary part of my lesson for the next session.  We are not here to be held up as idols.  Far be it from us!  Far be it from you!  No, we are here, as Paul said, as those compelled to deliver what God has given us to speak.  Don’t look at me.  Look at what God is doing and rejoice!  And for me, it was the same message.  Don’t look at this as if it were about you.  Look at what God is doing and rejoice!  Yes!  It’s okay to rejoice in what God is doing, and to rejoice in having a part in it.  Just don’t lose sight of who is doing the work here.

“For God sometimes accomplishes admirable work by means of wicked and depraved instruments.”  That’s from Calvin.  It comes in response, of course, to Paul’s assessment of the less honorable preachers that had gone to work in the city while he was somewhat out of the picture.  But it’s a healthy reminder for us in our self-assessment.  What we may be accomplishing (to the degree that we are the ones accomplishing it) is no assurance of our right character.  I have known those who would insist we need to be clean and upright ourselves before we go trying to minister to the lost.  While I can sympathize to some degree with their perspective, and to be sure, we would always be well served by seeing to our sanctification, the simple fact remains:  God is the one doing the work.  The Gospel is the power to save.  It’s not about you.  Yes, you might find your weaknesses recognized and ridiculed by the very ones you seek to reach.  But it’s not about you.  Indeed, if this is your concern, then you still haven’t fully grasped the situation.  If God is doing the work, then your impurities won’t stop it.  And if you think you’ve achieved such purity, well, think again.  “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1Jn 1:8).  We may still be used.  We may still proclaim what is true.  But the interior, the man of the spirit, remains corrupt, fails to see the reality of his situation.

The Gospel you preach you need to hear yourself.  That is always true.  This, too, has been part of that teaching I bear to Africa with me, and it is a lesson first taught to me by a dear brother who had come to us from Africa.  Isn’t that something?  I think so.  Anyway, it’s a lesson to take to heart, that we cannot be fully empowered in delivering the message, if we have not fully received it first.  Now that may seem, at first glance, to run counter to what I was just saying.  So, let me attempt to square that circle.  It remains true, as is quite evident, that God can and will achieve His good purpose in spite of the qualities of those through whom He works.  It’s the obvious example, I suppose, but that donkey that blocked Balaam’s path and spoke to him was not somehow rendered holy by that act.  It was quite likely unaware of anything beyond, “Big threat in road.  Me no go.”  It could respond to pain and it could respond to threat, but moral concerns didn’t enter into it before that moment, nor did they enter into it in the moment.  The donkey was a tool being used by God to deliver His message.  The same could have been achieved, I suppose, by some armed bandit, or by the angel that stood in the way.  The means make no difference.  But imagine what might have come of it had Balaam truly believed, truly internalized the truth he was given to speak to his hirer.  He himself is an example of the case, isn’t he?  He prophesied truly enough, even doing so by God’s command, but not from pure motive, surely.  No, indeed.  Rather, first chance he got, he sought to undermine God’s work and destroy it.  But the power is in God’s Word, not the mouth of the one tasked with proclaiming it.

The value remains, however, in one who not only preaches truly, but receives his own preaching.  There is so much more effectiveness in the message delivered by one for whom it is the very fabric of his being.  So, let us be clear about this in Paul’s contentment.  First, it is the fabric of his being.  When he speaks of it, he speaks as one demonstrably living it, habitually living it.  What he teaches is what he himself has been taught, and not just as head knowledge, but as true knowledge, epignosis, with all its life-changing power.  A life changed is a life for which truth has become belief, and belief has become practice.  That’s the place of character.  And the place of character is the place of power for one who would serve Holy God.  Because such a one knows that the power is in the gospel, and as such, even in our fallible hands and with our limited wisdom and speech, it can and does go forth to great effect.

So here, Paul looks past the purpose of man to see the purpose of God.  And because he is looking to God’s purposes, he can rejoice, and he does rejoice.  Understand that Paul is not indifferent to the intentions of these men.  He is not sanguine about the falsity of their motivation and would, as I have said already, no doubt be taking steps to help them come to true character were he in position to do so.  But he’s not, and so, he must content himself with the observation that yes, the Gospel is going forth, and as it is God’s work, that Gospel will go forth to good effect in those who are receiving it.  Whatever the error of the preacher, God will take care of eliminating its impact on those who are called according to His purpose.

As I observed, thanks to the JFB, back in the previous part of this study, those who worked from good motive knew.  They knew God’s appointing of Paul and they knew the joyful impact of His Gospel.  Those who worked from ill motive thought.  They didn’t know.  They had not internalized.  And, like so many, no doubt ourselves included, they projected.  They thought Paul must be rather like themselves, moved by a hunger for fame and glory.  We are all of us like this to one degree or another.  For the most part, we tend to assume that our peers are rather like ourselves.  If we feel this way, surely everybody does.  I mean, what’s the alternative?  For the most part, it becomes, am I really so much more awful than everybody else?  Am I the only one who deals with this?  Woe is me!  Or, worse, look at me!  I am so far and away above and beyond these yokels.  It’s the very elitist mindset that plagues so much of society at present.  The elites are so sure of themselves that they can’t see their own corruption, and have such disdain for those not of their class that they fail to see their own failings, fail to recognize wisdom when it comes at them in full flood, because they are too busy dismissing the unqualified messengers by which wisdom has been delivered.  They can’t get past the donkey to hear the message.

But their intentions do not determine the outcome.  Neither do our intentions determine the outcome as we seek to serve God as best we are able.  The power remains with Him.  We can rejoice to be used by Him, and we can rejoice to see others used by Him.  We can rejoice whenever and however we find the truth of God going forward.  It’s not a competition.  It’s not a case of, if we are expanding His kingdom overseas, we can’t be expanding it here at home.  No!  It’s both/and.  God can and will expand His kingdom to every corner of a world without corners.  Imprisonment cannot stop it.  Martyrdom cannot stop it.  Millennia of devilish machinations cannot stop it.  “Thy will is done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  Oh, to be sure, we could stand to be more readily obedient to His will, and there are plenty who have set themselves to oppose Him, however futile that effort may be.  And yes, there remains a far more glorious future to welcome us in due course.  But work in contentment.  Abide in contentment.  God knows what He is doing.  It does not depend on you.  Neither does it suffer from the opposition it faces.  God knows.  God wins.  And you are His.  Rejoice, and be content.

Some Takeaways (01/11/25)

So, what are our takeaways from this brief glimpse into Paul’s mindset?  There are a number of directions one could go, I expect.  One could pursue the theme of contentment which runs through this epistle.  But that feels more general to the whole, than particular to the part we have before us.  We could discuss authority and submission in the church context, but that’s not really the point here, either.  Paul isn’t defending his position in this instance.  Among his friends in that church, there’s really not the need to do so, and as concerns events in the city of Rome, he holds his authority as a matter more between him and God, it seems to me, than as a matter to be maintained among the local believers.  Some know him and receive him for what he is.  Some think they know him and reject him for what they suppose him to be.  He’s not the point.   The Gospel is the point, and the Gospel is what matters to him.

This being the case, I think the main takeaway we have to pursue here is this mindset, this perspective.  The work of the kingdom supersedes personal position, personal profit, personal prestige.  We can turn, of course, to other passages that speak to this, even from the next chapter.  “Regard one another as more important than yourself” (Php 2:3b).  Set your agendas aside.  In fact, toss them.  They’re just going to get in the way.  Now, set your differences aside.  That’s going to be a greater challenge for some of us.  We become enamored of our understanding, our theological soundness, and if we are not careful, we become dismissive of those who understand things a bit differently, maybe even counting them a threat to our authoritative command of the stuff of religion; perhaps even counting them as a threat to our sense of self.

This is serious stuff.  After all, if we are truly talking matters of belief, and not merely fine theories, then we are addressing matters that constitute the fabric of our being.  It may sound overblown, but doctrine determines character.  Belief, worldview, sense of what is good and true, all of this becomes established in us. It is who we are.  It is who we are in our own perception of self.  So, naturally, if somebody comes with a conflicting perspective, even if it is only on what should rightly be held as secondary matters, matters that are very much a matter of interpretation, and not fundamental to saving knowledge, it strikes us as a blow to the gut.  But, but, this is who I am, and you’re telling me I am false!  That cannot stand.  I won’t have it!  I can’t be that wrong about faith.  After all, I’ve been faithfully walking with God lo, these many years.  It cannot be that all of that which I thought I knew was off base.

Now, it may be a most minor point that has come up, yet something in us feels it as a blasting away of the whole foundation.  Take this from us, and we must collapse.  But if we were to consider our coming to faith in the first place, did we not discover that much that we held to be true was in fact false?  Did it destroy us to let go of those falsehoods?  Of course not, for they were replaced by the firm foundation of truth.  But to suppose we got it all right after that is the height of presumption.  To suppose we’ve got it all right now, even after years of devoted pursuit of Christ, of knowing Him and knowing His Word to us, is no less presumptuous.  His ways remain far and away above our own, His thoughts beyond us to think.  “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:9).  That comes, I should note, as lead in to the well-known declaration that, “So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isa 55:11), and that, in turn, comes in the context of a clear promise of compassion upon a people dear to the Lord.  “For you will go out with joy, be led forth with peace.  Mountains and hills will shout for joy before you.  Trees will clap their hands.  The land will be fruitful as a memorial to the LORD, an everlasting sign which will not be cut off” (Isa 55:12-13).  So may it be, Lord.  So may it be!

Where was I?  The Word of God, as has been observed by better men than me, is accessible enough that the merest child in faith can receive from it in full, yet deep enough that the most learned of men can drown in its depths.  Oh, but God will not permit us to drown!  By no means!  But to be submerged in the waters of the Word, that is well and good.  To be overwhelmed by the wealth of Truth therein, yes, that is healthy.  And to therefore take the time, expend the energy, develop the discipline to take this seriously, to understand it better day by day, to put it into greater practice day by day, to buffet this flesh and strengthen the spirit, knowing that in all this exercise of effort, it is solely by the strength of the Lord and the wisdom imparted by the Holy Spirit that we make any gains whatsoever; that is a most worthy undertaking.

But it requires humility.  It requires remaining mindful that we are not the arbiter of truth, but the receptor of God’s wisdom.  It requires remaining clear that though we have endeavored mightily to understand, we yet see but dimly.  Our mental acuity just isn’t up to the task of perfect knowledge.  That may suggest a certain futility to trying, but no such suggestion is intended, nor should it be received.  No.  God has been so gracious as to reveal Himself in this word, and has undertaken mightily to see it preserved and made available to His children through long ages.  The history of this text is a marvel.  That it is present today in forms readily accessible to us, largely in total disregard for what language we may speak or read, and even if we cannot read, is a marvel.  It is not a marvel of human endeavor, though to be sure, much human endeavor has gone into both the preservation and the translation.  No, it is a marvelous work of God that has seen this text preserved and free of any significant corruption for millennia, through wars, through most vicious efforts at eradicating Christian faith, through migrations and pogroms, and even through corrupt religious officialdom.  And he will preserve His truth against your misunderstanding and mine.  And, loving Father that He is, He will undertake to ensure that our mistakes are corrected in the course of time.

In the meantime, we have debates and disagreements.  Much is made of the myriad denominations into which Protestantism has divided.  But here’s the thing.  To the degree that these various denominations remain committed to being scripturally sound, they remain truly Christian.  We understand that there are fundamentals of the faith which cannot be denied and leave the denier a Christian.  There are the matters of Jesus as both Son of Man and Son of God, fully human and yet, fully divine.  This is not a matter for dispute.  There is the matter of His virgin birth, apart from which His sinless life would be impossible, as He would bear, as we do, the taint of Adam’s original sin.  There is the central, critical doctrine of His innocent death, and of His resurrection.  Remove that, and there is no Christianity.  There is no hope.  And, as we see over and over again, as central as is His resurrection, there is that future, bodily resurrection to come, a resurrection of saint and sinner alike, albeit to very different ends.  We must add, I am sure, the Trinitarian being of God, One in essence, yet Three in Person, each Person wholly and completely God, and yet distinct.

But on matters of the mechanics of baptism?  On the proper perception and observing of Communion?  On the ever-popular question of spiritual gifts?  Or, perhaps, the place of women in the church?  These are matters about which different people have differing views, and are equally vehement in their conviction that these views are biblically sound.  And, we must accept, they have been arrived at by an equally determined desire to be guided in belief by what the Bible says.  But on these and so many other matters, centuries of effort by the best minds among men have not arrived at a conclusive determination.  Men of good faith and good heart have ever and always found themselves perceiving the overall answer of Scripture on such matters to be different.  And it’s okay.  It has to be okay.  We are not called to denounce one another as heretics over such things.  Over the fundamentals?  By all means, let us mount a staunch defense.  But as to the rest?  For your part, be wholly convinced, and then live in light of your convictions.  Do as conscience dictates.  That is the clear teaching of Scripture in a nutshell.  If indeed you have the Spirit indwelling, then He is speaking to and through conscience, and we must listen and heed.  We have James.  “To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is sin” (Jas 4:17).  Paul has similar things to say, though I am not finding the reference this morning.  But in matters of indifference, which is what these are, when considered on the salvific level, let the conscience be fully convinced, and let conscience guide.  As Martin Luther maintained in his defense, “To go against conscience is neither right nor safe.”

Now, to be sure, a defiled conscience is hardly going to prove a reliable guide.  But we are discussing the redeemed here.  We are amongst the reborn, renewed in spirit, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God Himself, and made thereby His temple.  Do our thoughts yet often whisper lies and temptations to us?  Oh, yes.  But that’s not what we’re about.  We’re about those serious pursuits of knowing God, understanding His revelation, and living in light of what we know.  Here, I must maintain that conscience remains the sure guide, as it in turn is guided by Scripture.  Not by opinion, not by tradition, not by what others have told us it means, but by Scripture.

And as we are thus led, we must recognize the good heart of our fellow believers, and their own standing as temples of the living God.  We must recognize that while they have reached different conclusions than we have, it is not through ill will, nor through some moral impediment, either on their part or ours.  If there are wrong motives, perhaps it would be best to recognize that we are moved by wrong motives ourselves on many occasions.  I don’t suppose there is anyone among the sons of men who can claim to have conquered themselves to so great a degree as to have no improper motive remaining.  Even Paul, I expect, would have to stand down in the face of such a test.  He is, after all, human.  He suffers the same weaknesses of flesh, the same distortion of sin, though he has been lifted to heights of insight and understanding that truly astound. Recall that the Apostolic office, as well as being a matter of divine appointment, is also a matter of divine equipping.  And recognize, too, that there must be much of what Paul and the other Apostles said, and even wrote, which has not survived.  Why?  Perhaps because they were not the inspired word of God, as were these texts that have been preserved.

What is our call, then?  We would do well to review the teaching of Romans 14, which I see, has the other reference I was looking for.  Here are matters of indifference.  For that time and place, there were questions as to food.  This was not some nascent vegan movement in the church.  Rather, it was concern over idolatry.  In general, the meats at market were likely to have come from the offerings of this or that temple around the city, and given the stern warnings against continuing in their former idolatries, many a believer felt serious concerns about knowingly consuming these idolatrous leftovers.  Others saw past this, recognizing that in Christ, all things are clean, and the provenance of these foodstuffs were really rather immaterial.  If idols are nothing, then eat freely.  It’s not as if you were participating in their rites, or the food tainted by them.

Then, too, there were questions as to the traditional feast days.  One senses this had to do particularly with the feasts of Jewish tradition, or Mosaic instruction.  Some, particularly amongst the Jewish contingent in the church, felt these should still be observed.  It was, after all, set down as a perpetual commandment, right?  Others, particularly the Gentiles, looked at the setting aside of the requirement of circumcision, and felt these feast days to be in the same category, ceremonial matters fulfilled in Christ and no longer binding.  One might have expected Paul to have strong feelings on such concerns, and perhaps he did.  But as to instruction?  “Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind” (Ro 14:5), and then follow his convictions.  And in this pursuit, let him who is stronger in his faith, which we may take as congruent to more aware of his liberty in Christ, not allow his rightful liberty to become a source of stumbling for his brother who does not feel at liberty.  Know this: “He who doubts is condemned if he acts, as his action is not from faith” (Ro 14:23).  Thus far I paraphrase.  Now, more directly, “Whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Take this into the realm of doctrinal dispute, differing opinions on secondary matters.  The same applies on the subjects we have noted above, and many others.  Let conscience determine action, and for those who are of different opinion, don’t make your opinion a cause for stumbling in your brother who disagrees.  Be fully convinced, each of you, and act accordingly.  And as to your interactions?  “Pursue the things that make for peace and the building up of one another” (Ro 14:19).  Tolerate where you should be tolerant, and save the strong defense for those who oppose True God by their lies.

Be humble before the Lord your God.  Recognize that your own understanding is colored by prior perceptions.  There is much to consider in this regard, far more than I am going to have time to pursue here.  But it is something of the counterpoint to being guided by conscience, for we often mistake personal opinion for the voice of conscience, and that’s where we run into trouble.  Our opinions are just that, opinions.  They may be right or wrong, though we are disinclined to accept the possibility that we are wrong.  We must.  We must allow and even invite the correction of our opinions by the process of pursuing understanding of God’s Word and by prayerful pursuit of wisdom from the Holy Spirit.  But He can hardly supply us wisdom if we refuse to abandon our position, however wrong it may be.  Recognize that you may have arrived at your current understanding of things on the basis of misunderstanding, and be willing to receive from you brothers.  Allow the possibility that in fact you have been wrong, and far better you should correct it now than that you should insistently hold to your error.

Now, perhaps we can consider how we might serve to peaceably build up our brother with whom we find ourselves in disagreement.  Perhaps we do have the better understanding.  Perhaps there is real and obvious error in this one’s current belief and understanding.  Perhaps, like Apollos, they are speaking well enough so far as what they know, but have not yet come to full knowledge.  Training is in order.  Gentle correction, perhaps.  Lovingly helping them to perceive more clearly, and patiently urging them to a more coherent conviction of God’s truth.

Ironside, looking at this passage, applies it to the raising up of new preachers, which I suppose we might equate in some sense to young believers.  He notes how crushing it can be when a more seasoned believer, listening to the sermon of such a young and earnest evangelist, takes to critiquing every error, perhaps rejecting and renouncing the young man for his mistakes rather than seeking to help him grow and mature in his calling.  As he observes, it may very well be that this one’s message is cause for much prayer, both on his behalf, and on behalf of those who have listened.  It may be that their methods do require some loving critique.  But let the emphasis be on loving.  If there is lack of knowledge in certain areas, let us not lord it over him with our superior understanding, but rather, offer them opportunity to perceive more clearly for themselves.  Far better that they might themselves come to the place of, “Oh, I see!” rather than to bash them over the head with, “Don’t you recognize your error?”  Godly admonition should, I think, ever have this goal and methodology, to guide the thoughts toward correct conclusion, rather than to bludgeon them into submission.  As Ironside offers, “Faulty methods and expressions, if rightly dealt with, may soon disappear as the earnest young evangelists grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth.”  Or, if we insist on the heavy-handed approach, the earnest young evangelists will themselves likely disappear.  And that is to the detriment of the work of the kingdom of God.

This does not require us to praise false motives.  You don’t see Paul doing that here.  No.  He is quite clear as to their motives, and as to the sinfulness of those motives.  Envy and strife are never good, certainly not in the work of ministry.  Yet, we can, by God’s grace, look past motive to result.  Is the Word of God preached?  Is the message delivered true to Scripture?  Then, praise God!  Motive can be addressed.  Partial understanding can be addressed.  Differences of conclusion can be discussed as among adults, not with calls for anathema, but with mutual pursuit of a clearer, more reasoned and well-founded understanding of what God has reveled on the matter.  And it may very well be that even after such exercise, we shall have to agree to disagree.  So be it.  “Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.”  And let us be at peace, resting in the assurance that we are both godly men, both sons of God most High, and that He, in His infinite and perfect wisdom and power, shall surely see to the welfare of His church.

We see, through the epistles preserved for our edification, just what pains God has taken in that regard.  How marvelous that He, knowing the sorts of errors that would arise, saw to it that His chosen Apostles were present on the scene, fully equipped by His equipping, to address those errors with His truth, and with the hearts of shepherds expressing His own fatherly love.  And so, we have both the positive and the negative set before us in this revelation of our God, that we, too, might recognize the error and understand the truthful counterpoint.  God took great pains, through the Apostles, to ensure that the Church, from its founding, would be fed on truth, established on truth, and secured in the Truth, steadfast in its devotion to Christ and to sound doctrine.  This is what is needful in every age, and in every believer.  Here we stand.  We can do no other.