Monthly Archives: August 2011

Aug
31
2011

Actions that Follow Righteous Living

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Sea of Galilee

Sea of Galilee

Grace is a loving response when love is undeserved, and mercy is a loving response prompted by the misery or hopelessness of the one to be loved. Showing mercy to others is coming to the aid of the needy. What we do to others, God will do to us. The one who is unmerciful is unaware of his own state, of his own need for mercy (Luke 18:10ff).

The pure in heart don’t just conform to outward rules. “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15:18-20a ESV) The pure in heart ask the awkward questions (as Don Carson puts it): how do I deceive others? what motivates me? am I laughing at crude and irreverent matters? what am I watching on TV? The pure in heart are single-minded in their commitment to God, with whole-hearted service to God. “And everyone who thus hopes in him [God] purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3 ESV)

The peacemakers are not the peaceful or those who desire peace; they are people who establish peace within the world. How best do we establish peace in the world? How did Jesus establish peace? Jesus reconciled men and women with God through his perfect life and his sacrifice on the cross. Maybe our act of peacemaking in this world is to proclaim the good news, the gospel. Not only that, but we who have experienced God’s peace which passes all understanding should also help reconcile one person with another. Paul asked the church in Philippi to help Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord (Philippians 4:2-3). We should reflect our heavenly Father’s wonderful peace-making character.

 

Aug
29
2011

Focusing our Attitude on God

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The first four beatitudes turn our minds from ourselves to God. To be “poor in spirit” is to acknowledge our spiritual ruin and our lack of spiritual power, to be finally undeceived at last about how we stand before God. This is humility, a humbleness that throws itself wholly on God. “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.” (Psalm 130:1 ESV) Our dependence on God, not on ourselves, leads us to the kingdom of heaven. Its power and privilege is available to us now, although it has not yet fully come.

Interior of Church of the Beatitudes

Interior of Church of the Beatitudes

We are all-too familiar with mourning that comes from the death of loved ones. We are often comforted by friends and family, as well as thoughts of meeting again in heaven if the loved one was a Christian. Yet, it seems that Jesus is speaking beyond the comfort provided in those situations. When we turn to God for forgiveness, we are comforted from the heavy load of carrying our sorrow and guilt. As Paul argues in Romans, we cannot achieve purity before God in our own strength. We cry out to God over our own sin, regret that we have disappointed God. Sin is ugly and black, lurking down our street and in other parts of town, causing misery and poverty. We should be prepared to mourn over the sin around us and not always to condemn. Judgment is coming

The meek are also humble and gentle, free from pretension. The meek seek the interests of others ahead of their own. This is in direct contradiction to what our culture tells us – get what you can, how you can, as soon as you can. “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” (Psalm 37:10-11 ESV)

If we have drawn close to God admitting our spiritual poverty and mourning over our sin, and if we leave everything in the hands of God instead of seeking our own interests, then we’ll be eager to become like this God who forgives. We will long for his righteousness; we will want it as the parched want water and the starving, food. We will be completely satisfied by God, and it will be so wonderful that we will hunger and thirst for more.

 

 

Aug
28
2011

Week 2: Matthew 5:11-16 (NIV)

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[11] “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

[12] Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[13] “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

[14] “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

[15] Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

[16] In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

 

Aug
28
2011

Interpreting the Sermon on the Mount

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As we read through last week’s passage (Matthew 5:1-10), we see in its words the character of the Christian – the attitude focused on God, the actions that follow righteous living, and the response of the world. It can be easy to turn this list into a law, something to be done mechanically that then becomes our “righteousness” rather than standing on Christ, our rock. The righteousness called for in the Sermon on the Mount always springs from a regenerated heart; it cannot be separated from the new birth.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones applied some tests to our interpretation and application of the Sermon on the Mount. Let me highlight two of them that struck me:

  1. “If you find yourself arguing with the Sermon on the Mount at any point, it means either that there is something wrong with you or else that your interpretation of the Sermon is wrong.”
  2.  “Finally, if you regard any particular injunction in this Sermon as impossible, once more your interpretation and understanding of it must be wrong.”

The Sermon points us to Christ. He fully lived the Sermon on the Mount; he taught these things to his disciples. And, he expects his disciples to live in his kingdom with this kind of behavior; he meant them to be practiced. Dr. Lloyd-Jones sums it up by saying “These things were taught by the Lord and were meant for us, His people. This is how the Christian is meant to live.”

 

 

Aug
22
2011

Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount

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Grant Osborne says the Sermon on the Mount represents a “here but not yet …” mentality. The kingdom of heaven (or, the kingdom of God) is here now. The commands should be the goal of every believer. Yet, we will not fully observe them until Christ returns.

Don Carson also reminds us that to enter the kingdom is to enter life. It’s not only life; it is the responsibility of a new citizen in this new kingdom. The new kingdom speaks of God’s authority and reign over that realm. It, thus, speaks to our whole-hearted allegiance to that authority. Living the Sermon on the Mount fundamentally means bowing to the authority of Jesus.

Sinclair Ferguson states it this way: the “forgiven” life and the “holy” life are two sides of the same coin. The teachings of Jesus lay out an ethical model to be followed by the new citizens of the kingdom. They provide the goal for us – God’s perfection.

As we read and learn the Sermon on the Mount, we’ll see areas where we fall short. But we do not despair or give up; we are grounded in Christ Jesus. We continually strive to pursue the life the Lord intends for us. We commit ourselves to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build us up and to give us the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

 

Aug
19
2011

Week 1: Matthew 5:1-10 (ESV)

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[1] Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

[2] And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

[3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

[4] “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

[5] “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

[6] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

[7] “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

[8] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

[9] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

[10] “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

Aug
19
2011

Practical Helps for Extended Scripture Memorization

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Practical Helps for Extended Scripture Memorization (by Dr. Andy Davis, FBC Durham, compiled by Tim Brister)
  1. Review old verses: Always give priority in your mind to the retaining of old verses even over the learning of new ones. You should begin every day’s work with review of old verses.
  2. Repetition over time: The absolute key to successful Scripture memorization is repetition over a long time period. This is how you retain old verses while learning new ones.
  3. Memorize the verse numbers: Memorize the verse numbers as if they were part of each verse. This will help prevent you from dropping out verses or even whole paragraphs when you’re reciting the book all the way through. It actually makes memorization easier in the long run! (Note from Heinrich: I did not do this with previous passages I have learned. I learned section by section, chapter by chapter. There are downsides with not knowing chapter and verse. I was concerned it would not flow as well with the text as I spoke it.)
  4. Photograph the verses with your eyes: Read each new verse ten times, covering each word as though photographing it with your eyes. Burn each verse into your brain with your eyes.
  5. Say it out loud: Another help in memorizing is to say the verse out loud to yourself. This helps the memorization process. It doesn’t have to be very loud, just loud enough so you can hear it. Also, try putting some feeling and interpretation into reciting the verses. This is actually a form of meditation on the verses as you are learning them.
  6. Recite the entire section of Scripture from memory for 100 consecutive days: If you have done your work well, after about the second week you probably won’t even need the Bible anywhere near you while reciting. This can be done anywhere. It will add no extra time to your busy schedule.
  7. Weed the garden: Simply take one of your Monday morning times after the 100 days (perhaps every other month) and just read the section by sight all the way through. This will correct errors, and thus “weed the garden.”
Aug
19
2011

Welcome!

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We kicked off our memorization of the Sermon on the Mount this week. We’ll use this site as a place for additional discussion between the groups who are meeting together. I’ll post the weekly passages – and all of us comment and discuss!

 

Aug
19
2011

Past experience learning Philippians

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Many of us carry devices that can access the Bible with the touch of a button or the slide of a finger. Having God’s word so readily available in so many translations is a great gift. Yet, as readily available as the Bible is, God still calls us to hide His Word in our hearts. We get spiritual power from memorization, and it strengthens our faith by repeatedly reinforcing the truth.

This year, I tried to take up God’s call in a way I had never done before – with a period of concentrated memorization. From the first week of January to Easter, four of us from church spent time memorizing the book of Philippians. It was based on Tim Brister’s “partnering to remember” blueprint. We learned a new passage from Philippians each week, about six to eight verses. We tried to meet once a week to say the verses out loud to one another. The spiritual discipline of saying the new verses aloud each week and rehearsing the previous weeks’ verses was a time of focused study of God’s Word for all of us. It was a very spiritually rewarding time for me.

My time studying Philippians was also a very meaningful time of private worship. I used a notebook with the Scripture passage on the left and a place for notes on the right. I took notes on the weekly passage as I meditated and pondered what God was saying, looking for the major themes in Paul’s letter. I used some additional resources to help me better understand what Paul was saying.

I am planning to memorize the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. It seems feasible to accomplish in 18 weeks, starting at the end of August and wrapping up on Christmas Eve.

I would like to invite others to partner with me in memorizing this passage. I’m hopeful that this focused memorization project will be of interest to others in the church. It’s open to anyone of any age interested in teaming up to remember. Focusing on Jesus’ words over several months will sharpen our vision of the kingdom life we are to be living.