Gentle and Lowly: False Hope for Itching Ears (A Review)

Introduction

As a Biblical Counselor I was shocked to find Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund at the top of the 2020 Association of Certified Biblical Counseling (ACBC) list. I’ve lost Facebook friends and been banned from a popular—albeit less helpful than it used to be—group of biblical counselors merely for questioning whether anyone agreed with Dane Ortlund’s treatment of Hebrews 5 and stating that I saw merit in the Grace to You (GTY) article which raised red flags concerning the book's helpfulness. Originally I began to write a review in mid-2020, but deemed the GTY article sufficient enough of a warning, and I did not intend to finish this article, but since the GTY article has been inexplicably removed, I felt it necessary to declare a warning against this book: This book is unhelpful and heretical and should not be used in counseling, Bible study, counseling classes, or church.

There is strange affinity towards this book from people who otherwise could be considered solid; my expectation is that this affinity is to remain on good terms with Crossway and the Gospel Coalition (TGC), or more likely because the community as a whole has been seared to biblical discernment by decades of drivel coming from celebrity pastors. My initial cursory reading of this book led me to completely reject it on biblical grounds. In order to write this review I’ve accomplished an in-depth read-through, knowing that I may lose more friends and/or never be published by Crossway and/or never be invited to write or preach for TGC (which looks like it’s closed down anyways), it seems prudent to compile and post my warnings.

There are plenty of cautions out there concerning the author's father, Ray Ortund, but there is a great warning in this quote regarding the nepotism that perhaps has made this book so popular, “If you disparage one of my sons’ books, I might mute you. You are sincere, I’m sure. But I need solidly uplifting voices in my life.” Not biblical, but uplifting; not uplifting Jesus, but uplifting Ortlund. It’s no surprise then that Dane Ortlund would follow such error, “[My father] taught my siblings and me sound doctrine as we were growing up…” (p100) For all reading this, but especially for Ray Ortlund, I implore you to read Psalm 2:12 and consider which son you should be defending, if their opinions differ. Consider also Proverbs 5:12 and it's context.

My editing is far from complete, and this is not meant to be a comprehensive rebuke and warning of the entire book, but to give the main points of contention and support them with quotes from the book. After working for far too long to produce a piece full of paragraphs and transitions, I finally decided that the facts are here, and while it’s not the most readable thing I’ve written, I trust it will sufficiently warn the flock and the under-shepherds of this wolf in Shepherd’s clothing.

I’ve grouped my concerns into five categories. First, I want to look at the foundation of the book, Puritanism versus biblical exegesis, second is the gnostic (think secret/mysterious/code reading of the Bible) language it is written in, third is how Ortlund pits the Bible against itself, fourth is a rejection of responsibility for sin by emphasizing victimhood of sin, and fifth and finally is a nearly complete lack of the biblical gospel.

Not all that is Puritan is Gold

Halfway through the book I had the thought, “No one could ever come up with this book by reading their Bible,” and Ortlund agrees, pointing out that the book was birthed from Puritan writings (p14). Granted, there are many great Puritans, but the title of Puritan carries far more weight than the actual writings of the Puritans. I once said in a class on the Puritans, “John Owen takes forever to say nothing.” Puritanism is as wide and varied as 1600’s Christianity; the modern equivalents might be Southern Baptists where an overview would give you Albert Mohler and Adrian Rogers on one side and Ed Young Jr. and Steven Furtick on the other; in four hundred years I wouldn’t be surprised to see Charles Spurgeon and John MacArthur lumped into Southern Baptist quotes, though neither hold that affiliation. In Puritanism you have undeniable heretics like Richard Baxter, controversial figures like Isaac Watts, and you have solid ministers like John Bunyan and Jeremiah Burroughs. Just because someone lived during the time of the Puritans doesn’t make them a solid Bible teacher; and they shouldn’t be quoted on par with scripture (Ortlund addresses this on page 14, but the rest of the book brings serious doubt to the authority of scripture in his life). Now I’m not saying that John Owen and Thomas Goodwin are the equivalent of Steven Furtick or Richard Baxter, but they’re certainly not on par with John Bunyan or Alistair Begg.

But Ortlund doesn’t even rightly represent the Puritan’s correctly, for example Jonathan Edwards said, “There is no love so great and so wonderful as that which is in the heart of Christ.” But Ortlund gives this commentary, which Edwards certainly would have thrown out, “The first thing out of Jonathan Edwards’s mouth, in exhorting the kids in his church to love Jesus more than everything else this world can offer, is the heart of Christ.” (p96) Do you see it? Edwards was focused on the person and work of Christ but Ortlund twists this quote to press his agenda.

And even when he rightly represents the Puritans, he quotes them when they’ve misrepresented scripture; for example Goodwin holds to the heresy that God hates the sin but loves the sinner (consider Revelation 21:8, among others), which Ortlund latches onto, “Yes, God has hatred, Goodwin says—toward sin.” (p168)

In our age, there is a strange magnetism towards the Puritans, and while we can certainly learn from the writings of godly men, not all Puritans are godly or correct. Richard Sibbes, who I have gleaned from in the past, makes this error, “Christ is nothing but pure grace clothed with our nature,” (quoted p177) when Christ is much more than grace, he is truth and righteousness and Saviour and Judge and an entire Bible full of attributes…compound that to the language of Sibbes is far from clear on what our nature is.

So beloved, reject Gentle and Lowly on its authority alone; anything that elevates the teachings of men over the teaching of God should be rejected immediately. Even if this misattributed authority were orthodox (consider Revelation 19:10)—which Gentle and Lowly is far from Orthodox—the reader should be exhorted by scripture and the man of God to worship God and listen to the testimony of Jesus! But Gentle and Lowly is not orthodox, instead it teaches an unconcealed Gnosticism.

Gnostic Leanings

Gnosticism is the idea and teaching that there are secret things in the Bible that should receive special attention, require special revelation, or specific prophets to see. Dane Ortlund unapologetically makes this error by using Matthew 11:29 as his hermeneutical key to the entire Bible. The problem with using one verse to interpret the entire Bible is that this verse wasn’t around for the writing of the majority of the Bible. Scripture should interpret scripture, but from the clear to the unclear; A great question to ask on every passage you study is, “What would be lost if this verse weren’t in the Bible?” This is a serious question to ask of thousands of years of believers who trusted God for salvation before Matthew penned what we now call Matthew 11:29. If this verse is truly the key to knowing Christ like Ortlund proposes over and over, then why wasn’t it recorded closer to Genesis 1:1? Rather, the gospel does not stand or fall on a single verse, compare from the beginning (cf. Genesis 3:15, Deuteronomy 18:18, 1 Samuel 2:25, Psalm 34:6, Isaiah 53:3-12, Zechariah 13:1, and thousands more) that God is not hiding the need for a Messiah or the salvific nature of the Son of God and Son of Man to be the propitiation for sin and the righteousness which are both required for reconciliation with God.

Instead of falling on scriptural promises or the exhortations of two-millennia of church history since Matthew penned his gospel, Ortlund takes a deep dive down the rabbit hole of a hidden, secret, deep magic of one verse (that I (and Jesus) would say doesn’t even say what he says it says.) The context of the keynote verse of the book is Matthew 11:29, which is in response to rejecting the Son of God. As I reread Ortlund’s book, I said incredulously and made a vocal outburst in a café, “No one who likes this book knows the context of Jesus’s statement.”

Consider this gnostic language from quotes from the book. I disagree with all of Ortlund’s conclusions; I’ve included some commentary:

“As we zero in on the affectionate heart of Christ, how do we ensure that we are growing in a healthy understanding…?” (p28, emphasis mine)

“…who God actually is.” (p14, emphasis mine)

“Do you know his deepest heart for you?” (p16 emphasis mine)

“There’s only one place where Jesus tells us about his own heart.” (p17, A very large and very real reason Jesus came is expressed in John 1:18, “the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” That Jesus is showing exactly who he is—and who is Father is—through his actions, not through one verse misapplied)

“In the one place in the Bible where the Son of God pulls back the vail and lets us peer way down into the core of who he is…” (p18, emphasis mine, compare again: John 1:18, 17:17, Heb 12:1-2)

“Only as we drink down the kindness of the heart of Christ…” (p22, emphasis mine)

“What he is, he does.” (p25, Consider elsewhere that what he does is flip tables, cleanse the temple, curse a fig tree, berate Pharisees, and hide the truth in parables… amongst many other things, and what he is, he surely does, cf. esp. Revelation 19:11)

“The leper was asking about Jesus’s deepest desire. And Jesus revealed his deepest desire by healing him.” (p25, emphasis mine, Jesus deepest desire is to glorify the Father, not every desire is his deepest, cf. Matthew 6:33)

“Simply seeing the helplessness of the throngs, pity ignites.” (p26, Jesus was driven by completing his mission, not by an internal instinct or whim)

“The Jesus given to us in the Gospels is not simply one who loves, but one who is love; merciful affections stream from his innermost heart as rays from the sun.” (p27, Jesus came to seek and save the lost)

“Deep into the heart of Christ” (p46, emphasis mine)

“He cannot bear to hold himself at a distance…His heart is too bound up with yours.” (p50, Jesus is not blown about by his emotions)

“Nothing can chain his affections to heaven; his heart is too swollen with endearing love.” (p55, Jesus is not at the mercy of his emotions)

“As we go down into pain and anguish, we are descending ever deeper into Christ’s very heart, not away from it.” (p57, emphasis mine, While I agree completely that God is redeeming pain and anguish for his glory (cf: Romans 8:28-29) my question for Ortlund would be should we seek out suffering for the benefit of knowing Christ better?)

“IT IS PROBABLY IMPOSSIBLE to conceive of the horror of hell…that will sweep over those found on the last day to be out of Christ.” (p67, EMPHASIS ORIGINAL, Further, what is “out of Christ”?, it sounds like something someone who has heard about the Bible would say, not someone who has read it (cf. esp. Ephesians 1-2), see also page 68, 143)

“When we come to Christ, we are startled by the beauty of his welcoming heart. The surprise is itself what draws us in.” (p98)

“…he approaches us on our own terms and befriends us for both his and our mutual delight.” (p119, He does not need anything, if he were hungry or lonely or needing delight, he would not tell you.)

“If you catch God off guard, what leaps out most freely is blessing.” (p140-141, So many problems with providence and sovereignty, but especially that God is going to exude blessing in a startled state…consider the only two verses I know of that remotely hint that God may be caught unawares speak of the terror of his wrath and his rebuke: Psalm 73:20 & Mark 4:38-41)

Pitting Bible against Bible

Because Ortlund derives so much of his hermeneutic not from the scriptures, but from his own interpretation of one verse, it is no surprise that he finds contradictions throughout the scripture.

“But in only one place. . .do we hear Jesus himself open up to us his very heart.” (p18, many other authors have noted that the incarnate Jesus’ first and last command are, “Repent” (Mark 1:15, Revelation 3:19), as well as reiterated throughout the gospels and New Testament; if Matthew 11:29 is so important for understanding the rest of the Bible and who Jesus is, then it is extremely odd that John, Mark, Luke, Paul, Peter, and the Holy Spirit chose to omit)

“The posture most natural to him is not a pointed finger but open arms.” (p19, compare Matt 23, and find a place in scripture where Christ was able to welcome someone with open arms. If we want to play some sort of middle-knowledge game and assume men could humble themselves and seek Jesus apart from his cleansing and intercession them, then perhaps men could be welcomed, but then we run into the problem of Jesus never coming to earth if men could save themselves (Cf. Galatians 2:21)…so his most natural (to use this heretical language) posture is that of Suffering Saviour)

“If we are asked to say only one thing about who Jesus is, we would be honoring Jesus’s own teaching if our answer is, gentle and lowly.” (p21, emphasis original, again, scripture is clear that this is not his only attribute)

“He can’t un-gentle himself toward his own…” (p21, Jesus is in the posture of wounding and binding (Isaiah 30:26, Hosea 6:1, et al); so what about discipline? We know that the reproof of the Lord is not pleasant at the moment, but it does produce a fruit of righteousness and peace that are not to be repented of, my prayer is that Jesus would not be gentle, but that he would be efficient, measured, purposeful, and skilled, and he is! We’ll talk about “his own” more as we consider the gospel-lite nature of the book.)

“It is what gets him out of bed in the morning.” (p23, emphasis mine, God doesn’t sleep, his purpose is his glory.)

“This is the one whose deepest heart is, more than anything else, gentle and lowly.” (p24, emphasis original, compare Isaiah 63 and those who will face Christ scorned and receive his wrath for eternity.)

“We are apt to think that he, being so holy, is therefore of a severe and sour disposition against sinners, and not able to bear them. ‘No,’ says he; ‘I am meek; gentleness is my nature and temper.’” (p23, This same Jesus also said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the Wrath to Come” (Matthew 3:7))

“Twice in the Gospels we are told that Jesus broke down and wept.” (p26, emphasis mine, Never in the gospels are we told that Jesus broke down)

“It is impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be overcelebrated, made too much of, exaggerated.” (P29, emphasis original, Jeremiah disagrees and despises those who declare “Peace, Peace!” when there is no peace, not on earth, not between man and nature, not between man and man, not between nation and nation, and certainly not between God and man)

On page 52, Ortlund is so desperate to find a proof text that he quotes Hebrews 5:1-4 as about Jesus, when it is not, it only begins to be about Jesus in verse 5.

“Jesus Christ was sinlessly weak (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5).” (p57, see 2 Cor 13:3, Jesus Christ is not weak, meek does not mean weak, it is a faithful saying that in order to be meek you have to have real power to maim, kill, destroy, coerce, and rule, otherwise you are not meek, you are weak)

“It’s the only way he knows how to be.” (p57, compare Revelation 1-3 and the entirety of the Bible)

“a rare glimpse” (p73, unless you’re reading your Bible)

“Should we envision the Son as gentle and lowly but the Father as something else?” (p127, This eisegesis of forcing one verse to drown out 31,101 other verses is troubling and dangerous, if the Father is gentle and lowly only then we have no need to read verses like Proverbs 1:7: The Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom)

“But at the theological bull’s-eye of the whole book, we are told that God does not bring such pain ‘from his heart.’” (p138, then where does pain come from, and is there supposedly joy to come out of being afflicted some other way?)

“God is rich in mercy. He doesn’t withhold mercy from some kinds of sinners while extending it to others…his heart gushes forth mercy to sinners one and all.” (p177, What about those it doesn’t? Are all saved? Are all victims of some historical sin that they themselves are not a part of? Or is God just in holding sins against sinners?)

Victimhood Versus Sin

The most dangerous, if I could pinpoint the most dangerous part of the book, is that it rejects that sinners—in their very nature—are not deserving of gentleness or restraint, but are deserving of the full, undiluted, infinite and eternal wrath of God.

If we aren’t in immanent danger because Jesus loves us so much and is doing everything possible to save us, then of course a jesus who just wants to give us a hug makes sense, but the truth is: we aren’t victims, we’re perpetrators, we’re not witnesses to the crucifixion, we’re orchestrators.

Consider some quotes that would make Charles Finney wince for their heresy.

“Open yourself up to him. It is all he needs.” (p20, why the cross? Poor little Pelagian Jesus who has done his best and now needs you to do the rest)

“Jesus Christ’s desire that you find rest, that you come in out of the storm, outstrips even your own.” (p21, The question then, of course, is why so many are lost and why Jesus has a small, difficult path that leads to Heaven and a broad well-paved well-marked highway leading to Hell?)

“Your very burden is what qualifies you to come.” (p20, This is bordering on Works Righteousness, and a painful misunderstanding a very astute Jonathan Edwards quote)

“But for the penitent, his heart of gentleness is never out-matched…” (p21, Cf. two verses earlier: Matt 11:27, “whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Penitence doesn’t open eyes or hearts, and it is not how you participate in the propitiated gentleness of the Father and the Son)

“He never tires of sweeping us into his tender embrace.” (p23, Cf. Jeremiah 3 and the divorce of Israel)

“We cannot avoid the conclusion that it is the very fallenness which he came to undo that is most irresistibly attractive to him.” (p30, If we can’t avoid that conclusion, then why would we avoid the conclusion that he could have stopped the fall but didn’t?! But the conclusion is false, because what is most attractive to Jesus is the joy and glory in being both Righteous and Saviour (cf. Isaiah 45:21-22))

“The same one who reached out and touched lepers puts his arm around us today when we feel misunderstood and sidelined.” (p32)

“He wants us to draw on his grace and mercy because it is who he is.” (p36, he is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) and a jealous God (Deut 4:24))

“Jesus Christ is comforted when you draw from the riches of his atoning work, because his own body is getting healed.” (41, Jesus isn’t broken, compare Acts 7 and Stephen)

On page 63-64, concerning the fictitious exchange between Christ and a generalized seeker, every reader should be screaming: ‘Where is the cross?!’; While the cross does appear sporadically throughout the book, it is clear that Orlund does not understand its power, and here describes a sinner saved by a sympathetic jesus who is willing to take a sinner just as he is without any atonement or righteousness or propitiation or blood-shed.

“To those who do belong to him, sins evoke [in God] holy longing, holy love, holy tenderness.” (p70, [Clarification Added], A cursory reading of Revelation 2-3 would say otherwise, him seeking not to coddle the sinning believer, but to sanctify him)

“We all tend to have some small pocket of our life where we have difficulty believing the forgiveness of God reaches.” (p83, Ortlund’s hermeneutic can only promise half a gospel, that God forgives, but not to the uttermost)

“The only qualification needed is desire.” (p89, If this is true then Jesus spoke very deficiently when he said things like, “Repent and Believe the Gospel.” This quote of Ortlund's is similar to, but so much less powerful than, Joseph Hart's Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy, “But to feel your need of him”, because Ortlund is so mired in victimhood that he ignores that Christ is the source not only of forgiveness, but of righteousness and fellowship as well)

“embraces the penitent with more openness that we are able to feel.” (p99, because your greatest need in Ortlund’s universe is a divine hug)

“…Romance the heart of Jesus…Allow yourself to be allured.” (p99, emphasis original, As I read this section, I thought about the fruit of this book; this sort of language will NOT produce glorious older saints who seek the will of God from the scriptures and exhort with all authority those they encounter, but who lean (if they lean on Jesus at all) on platitudes and “Jesus-is-my-girlfriend” language gleaned from secular Christian radio rather than the heart of God)

“Jesus wants to come in to you—wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, naked you---and enjoy meals together. Spend time with you. Deepen the acquaintance.” (p116, Except Jesus is actively rejecting this church quoted from Revelation 3:14-22)

“Christ not only heals our feelings of rejection…” (p118, Here is my sarcasm: because feelings of rejection are our greatest need and what was in the cup that Christ pleaded with his Father to remove if there was any way? You’re not a victim of sin, you’re a sinner rejected by the Living Christ)

“It looks like a Middle Eastern carpenter restoring men’s and women’s dignity and humanity and health and conscience through healings and exorcisms and teaching and hugging and forgiving.” (p169, this jesus is spelled with lower-case because he does not exist, cf. 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, and is certainly not the Carpenter described in the Bible)

“It means the things about you that make you cringe most, make him hug hardest.” (p179…not sanctify or reprove or justify or glorify…hug)

“Maybe you have been deeply mistreated. Misunderstood. Betrayed by the one person you should have been able to trust. Abandoned. Taken advantage of. Perhaps you carry a pain that will never heal till you are dead.” (p179)

“Paul’s deepest burden is our present security…” (p193, Paul’s deepest burden is the glory of God)

“His heart was gentle and lowly toward us when we were lost.” (p194, Alistair Begg has a wonderful quote stating without a read anger, a real wrath, the cross is robbed of it’s meaning.” Was Jesus gentle and lowly towards us when we were “children of wrath”? See Ephesians 2:1-10)

“Only a soul in Christ would be troubled at offending him.” (p194, what about 2 Corinthians 7:10, what about millions who think their good deeds are keeping them in God’s good graces?)

Lack of the Gospel

It could probably go without saying that a book so antithetical to scripture would not provide a way to enter into Heaven or the good graces of God, but if you’ve read this far, let me prove it to you. Are these coming from the heart of Christ revealed in the scriptures, or the heart of Dane Ortlund?

“You might know that Christ died and rose again on your behalf to rinse you clean of all your sin…” (p15-16 emphasis mine)

“generally avoiding deep fellowship with him, out of a muted understanding of his heart.” (p22, emphasis mine, did Jesus die for misunderstood people even while they were muted (Compare Romans 5:8))

“This book is written. . .for those of us who know God loves us but suspect we have deeply disappointed him.” (p13, this person doesn’t exist, despite some saying that this book has a niche readership, this person does not exist in the scriptures, as the problem is that a person who knows God loves them will be transformed by the love (Cf. 1 John 4:18 where this is a test of salvation))

“He was reversing the Jewish system.” (p31, missed the cross entirely)

“Christ as our heavenly mediator-that is, the one who clears away any reason for us to be unable to enjoy friendship with God…” (p37, while there is some truth in this statement, this is NOT what a mediator does)

“What keeps him from growing cold? The answer is, his heart.” (p66, The answer is the cross!)

“No such thing as grace” (p69, Gentle and Lowly is a weird Pelagian, oft Roman Catholic (RCC), book that claims that there is no such thing as grace because that’s RCC stuff? Grace abounds, and while it may be intangible, there certainly is such thing as grace and it’s amazing, and I hope someday Ortlund is able to taste it, feel it, and be saved by it!)

“What does it mean that Christ is a friend to sinners? At the very least, it means that he enjoys spending time with them…What he is really doing, at bottom, is pulling them into his heart.” (p114-115, except that they all left him.)

Chapter 12, titled “A Tender Friend” doesn’t even consider that a friend will die for another friend. If there is an easier place to tie the gospel together than Jesus, the Friend of Sinners, and his accolades of a man who lays down his life for his friends, I haven’t found it; but Ortlund didn’t see fit to include it. My written note on the last page of that chapter reads in bold red pen, “How dare he not touch on John 15:13!”

There is an assumed Christianity throughout the book, especially on page 167 that if you think you’re in Christ, you definitely get all of his blessings, there is no clarion call for repentance and faith or making your calling and election sure. “You’re that safe.” (p178, and you are that safe if you’re in Christ, but if you trust in the promises rather than the Saviour, you won’t meet a gentle and lowly jesus on the final day and you’ll be outside of his safe graces (cf Matthew 7:21-23))

“Do you know what Jesus does with those who squander his mercy? He pours out more mercy.” (p179, potentially, but should we then sin all the more? Or not trample his blood underfoot?)

“Repent and let him love you.” (p170, is this a quote from Pelagius, Arminius, Finney, Osteen, or Ortlund?)

“It means that our sins do not cause his love to take a hit. Our sins cause his love to surge forward all the more.” (p180, Our sins cause a separation between us and God; run to the cross, go reconcile with your brother)

“rinse muddy sinners clean and hug them into his own heart” (p191, You could reject the whole book on this one sentence alone…I think it was my second most angry moment reading this book; the first being the quote in the conclusion below)

“Open yourself up to him. Let him love you…Go to Jesus” (p216, a biblical invitation may have been in order here?)

“Whenever you feel stuck…most defeated…” (p216, because Jesus came to seek and save the victims?)

Conclusion

I’ll let Dane Ortlund close us with the most ridiculous sentence in the entire book: “This is a book about the heart of Christ and of God. What are we to do with this? The main answer is, nothing.” (p215)

Beloved, from Matthew 11:29 the answer is: “Yoke Yourself to Jesus!” Trust Christ! Know Christ! Enjoy Christ! Link your eternity with his!

What should you do with Gentle and Lowly? Toss it, read your Bible!

All is Discovered! Flee Now!

Consider for a moment that you just received a text from an unknown number, 

All is Discovered! Flee Now!

How would you react?

In the late 19^th century, and popularized by Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), a tragically humorous anecdote was told of a person sending six telegrams to six upstanding Christian gentlemen (or pastors) stating only, “All is Discovered: Flee at Once!” The following day (or Sunday) not a single one of the men could be found, having left town in a hurry.

Tell this story at any gathering and you are sure to hear some nervous laughter. The joke is not that these six were accidentally discovered, for the author of the telegram had no knowledge or inkling of any secret sin, but that every man has a deep dark secret of which he would flee if it were found out, convicted by their own conscience.

The church has not been immune from secret sin, but beloved, there should be no unconfessed sin in your life that, if found out, would result in the end of your ministry, family, or life. This has been exacerbated in recent days by the findings of a major SBC investigation into Paige Patterson. The investigation began not because of secret sin, but because of public statements which were made in very poor judgment. Dr. Patterson had little to deny or even be ashamed of in his defense, other than a lack of clarity and of being out of line with the culture, but rather should have clarified and preached. But the investigation did not stop with public and defendable statements.

What was found that was utterly shocking and repugnant in Dr. Patterson’s investigation was that which was known by only a few people, that he had purposefully covered up rape allegations to either protect his seminary, or to protect the rapist. Either is abhorrent and a secret, which, when found out, led to his firing from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I had supported Paige Patterson up until I learned why he was fired, as the board revealed, this was truly “new information” and was a sin worthy of firing.

Paul writes to Timothy on these matters, speaking about being slow to associate with just any man who shows interest in ministry, because you may be found taking part in his sin. Paige Patterson is a hero in the Southern Baptist Convention and by almost all accounts seems to bear fruit keeping with repentance. I truly hope that his cover-up was a serious stumble, and not the exposure of much deeper spiritual issues.

Paul continued his thought, “The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later (1 Timothy 5:24).” I’ve always felt this was a direct allusion to Moses regarding whether the tribes of Reuben and Gad would provide warriors to conquer what would become Israel, “Be sure your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23).” Some men are obviously sinners and few are surprised when they fall, such were Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, Paul Crouch, Mark Driscoll, etc, etc, ad nauseum, but the sins of others are hidden, such as those of Josh Duggar, Paige Patterson, and Paul Pressler, and many are surprised when they are brought to light. I believe that the Apostle Paul was making the point that some sins are exposed before judgment, and others won’t appear until after judgment.

The tragedy of many is that they will never get a wake up call, “All is Discovered! Flee Now!” but their sins will only be made manifest on the great and terrible day of judgment when their faith is shown to be a fraud and their sin finds them out. For, dear reader, you may hide your sin from many people, but you will never hide your sin from God, for his Word is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13). God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus (Romans 2:16).

Our associate pastor recently recommended a wonderful book to us on teaching children to keep their body’s safe, it is called God Made All of Me by Justin Holcomb. It makes many great points (the main failing is that it does not address the gospel, but dear parent, that is ultimately your job), but the most important for me was where it talks about how secrets make people feel confused, hurt, scared, sad, etc and how secrets have no place in the kingdom of Heaven. Christ came as light into the world and the darkness fled from him, lest their deeds be exposed. There is no place for secrets in the household of faith. We could argue minutia such as not revealing the identity of a rape victim, but we will not argue whether the rape should be reported, investigated, and punished. A secret has no place in Christian's life if we have truly come to the light.

Dear reader, make this decision now, that no secret will exist in your life that, if revealed, would ruin your career, your family, your life, or your eternity. Let no sin go unconfessed to God and man, and unrepented of. The blood of Christ cleanses from all unrighteousness.

There are some whom I know whose sin is evident to all but themselves; there are others whose sin is undeniably there, but which sin is unclear; there are others whom I pray would receive a wakeup call on par with, “All is Discovered, Flee Now!” Beloved, where do you stand on this scale, if a telegraph appeared at your door tomorrow would you have enough time to pack your bags, or would you know that all of your sin is already laid at the foot of a bloodstained cross and has no power over you?

And if all truly were discovered, to whom would you flee? At the end of the age many will flee to caves in mountains and under rocks but will have no reprieve from him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. John the Baptist asked a wicked and perverse generation whose sin was more than conspicuous, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come (Matthew 3:7)!?”

Beloved, there is one Saviour, one name given under Heaven by which we must be saved, to whom we must flee: Jesus, raised from the dead, who delivers us from the wrath to come. Flee to him yourself, and call others to flee, instead of a telegram as a joke, implore men with all seriousness and love, “All is Discovered! Flee now to Christ Jesus who died for you while you were yet a sinner, defeated death, and is able to save completely all who draw near to him in faith!” For how will they call on him who is able to save and how will you declare it?

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but now has been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen. ~ Romans 16:25-27

God is Pleased to Cut Down Some to Warn Others – Josh Duggar

Josh Duggar is back in the news, and this time the sin he has been discovered in, and confirmed, is after his supposed conversion to Jesus Christ. It is a devastating fall and it is bringing disgrace upon the name of Christ, hurting the church, and crushing his family. It is a terrible and sad sin, but dear believer, God is using all things for good to those who love him and are called according to his purposes.

I pray that one of God’s purposes in the midst of this seeming irredeemable sin is to bring Duggar to repentance. I know that one of God’s purposes in exposing Duggar is to warn the church that secret and unrepentant sin is serious and dreadful.

It was said by Jonathan Edwards, “God is pleased to cut down some to warn others.” His original context is concerning death in young age, however, it is also very apt when a believer is caught in horrifying sin. Now, I am not confirming that Josh Duggar is a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, but it is not place to judge his salvation. That is the job of his close friends, his pastor, and his elders, and ultimately Jesus Christ, but based on his profession of faith, I hope he is a true believer in the Way.

Regardless, if we want to benefit spiritually from his fall, we must assume that he believed he is born-again, and also understand that is possible for believers to fall. The “Slippery-Slope” argument is sound, Josh Duggar did not choose to sin in a minute, his sin started in childhood, was nurtured through pornography, and blossomed in adultery; sin unchecked in the believer is more than capable of escalating to the levels that it has in Josh Duggar’s life.

Consider Ananias and Sapphira, there is scant evidence that they were true believers, but beloved, I submit that there is NO evidence that they were not. When their greed and deceptiveness manifested in lying to the Holy Spirit and they were cut down look at the response of the church, “Great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things (Acts 5:11).” God cut down Ananias and Sapphira as a warning to believers and unbelievers alike that he takes sin seriously and the consequences are dire.

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was found out almost immediately, Duggar on the other hand has concealed his sin for months and years. Paul warns, “The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later (1 Timothy 5:24).” Beloved, search your heart, which sin in your life are you successfully hiding from the world? Be sure that it will come to light sooner rather than later, and beloved, it behooves you to deal with this sin sooner than later!

It could be that right now Ananias and Sapphira are in the agony of Hell crying out in warning to you not to come to this place of torment. Do not rest on the solace that they may be in Heaven praising the exceeding grace of a risen Saviour. When you pass into eternity, let there be no question in anyone’s mind concerning your salvation. There is no-one alive who can tell you where Ananias and Sapphira are spending eternity, and there are many who worry that if Josh Duggar stepped out of this world today, he would face God in his terrible fury. The warning from God in Ananias, Sapphira, and Josh Duggar is this: Be sure your sin will find you out.

Be sure your sin will find you out.

The sins into which Josh Duggar has fallen publicly are all sexual sins. Molestation, pornography, adultery. These sins are rampant today in and out of the church. Truly the days are evil. Dr. Kevin Leman, in his book Sheet Music, notes an interesting phenomenon regarding sexual sin; that unconfessed, hidden sin is impossible to repent of. He specifically relates this in the context of unwed couples engaging in fornication, that regardless of how much each wants to stop sinning and abstain from fornication it is impossible as long as the couple is the only two who know of the sin. Only once a pastor, parent, or friend are told, asked to pray, and keep the couple accountable, do the couple start making righteous decisions and stop their sin. Paul pleads with you, "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, who you have from God (1 Corinthians 6:18-19)."

To flee from sexual sin requires light. Believer, if you are caught in sexual sin, you must tell someone who will keep you accountable and encourage you to repent of your sin. Tell your wife, your pastor, a close friend, tell someone. Depending on your sin their response may be judgment, but beloved, it is far better to be judged by a brother this side of eternity than by God, or to be found out like Josh Duggar. James exhorts you! “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:19-20).” Employ a Christian brother to bring you back from your sin. Most likely, no matter how terrible your sin is, you will be met with empathy and a willing heart to help you if you bring the sin to light. Regardless, sexual sin requires light, and hiding it in the dark will never benefit your spiritual condition.

Look at the sinners in Ezekiel’s day hiding their sin, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us (Ezekiel 8:12)…”

Likewise Jesus warns, “This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed (John 3:19-20).”

Let Josh Duggar be a warning to you. Your sin will find you out. Dear reader, first make your calling and election sure, are you in the faith? Confess your sin to Jesus Christ and look to his work on the cross as your salvation, thank him that he saw fit to save a wretch like you. Second, repent of your sin! Take drastic measures to repent and be forgiven. Look to Caleb in the movie Fireproof when he destroys and disposes of his computer. Tell someone, tell your wife, your pastor, someone, and seek godly counsel to help you overcome and defeat your sin.

Paul promises, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).”

Josh Duggar has been cut down for your sake. Be thankful for this warning and repent of your sin. Stop trying to hide it; it might be revealed today, or it might be revealed on the Day of Judgment, but it will be revealed, that is sure.

New Versus Obsolete: Thoughts on the Covenants

Introduction

Historically, the doctrine of the covenants has sent many Baptists to their death (drowning, burning, beating) and it has sent many Presbyterians to Hell. It is not something to be taken lightly, and we must admit that there is a vast difference between the belief that there is one Covenant (Covenantalism) and at least two major Covenants (Dispensationalism). This article will seek to define and repudiate the heresy of Covenantalism, drawing all readers to a firm belief in the New Covenant of Grace.

Definition

According to the Covenantal document, the Westminster Confession of Faith (hereafter WCF), the singular Covenant is expressed in two dispensations, "This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the Gospel (WCF Chapter VII, Para V)..." The covenant was administered through sacrifices, circumcision, and the like under the law, but under the gospel, they are administered through the preaching of the Word, and in Baptism and the Lord's Supper (WCF Chapter VII, Para VI).

The result of the law and the gospel, according to this anathema religion, is "full remission of sins, and eternal salvation (WCF Chapter VII Para V)..." They conclude by saying, "There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations (WCF Chapter VII Para VI)."

The simplest definition of Covenantalism is that the covenant is between God and men, under works it was circumcision, and under grace it is baptism.

The Dispensational document, the Bible, utterly refutes this Papist heresy by clearly differentiating between two Covenants, a covenant of works, and a covenant of grace. The primary places to find these are John 10, Hebrews 7-8, 2 Corinthians 3, Jeremiah 31, and Ezekiel 36; discussion of the covenants is not at all limited to these chapters, but is best expressed in them. Portions of each chapter will be quoted in this article, and I encourage you to read each in its context and entirety.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it this way,

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
__when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
__and with the house of Judah,
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
__on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
__and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
__after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
__and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
__and they shall be my people. - Hebrews 8:8-10

Note that there are two primary things happening, that two covenants are clearly expressed, and that the First is unable to save, and the Second makes a perfect salvation between God and his people. This is a direct quote of Jeremiah 31:31-34, but I quoted it from Hebrews in order to point out that the author here calls the first Covenant faulty (Hebrews 8:7) and obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), and the new covenant better (Hebrews 8:6).

The Old Covenant was conditional between men and God, but the New Covenant is conditional between the Father and the Son, for Christ says "I give [my sheep] eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand (John 10:28-29)."

Dispensationalism, defined most simply, is that the Old Covenant was a covenant between God and man, which man always fails, and the New Covenant is a covenant between the Father and the Son, which the Son fulfills perfectly.

The Sign and Seal of the Covenants

Covenantalism and Dispensationalism take another radical departure when the sign and seal of the covenants is discussed. The WCF states, "Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ...to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in the newness of life (WCF Chapter XXVIII Para I)."

The Bible refutes this by saying "when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)..." and "the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30)." and "circumcision is not outward and physical...circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit (Romans 2:28-29)." and "And I will give you a new heart, and a new Spirit I will put within you (Ezekiel 36:26)."

The sign and seal of the Old Covenant was circumcision, the seal of the New Covenant is the Holy Spirit and the sign is a new heart. The Covenantal view of an outward and physical sign is modern day Judaising, placing people under bondage and works by requiring adherance to the (misrepresented) law in order to be saved. Furthermore, the unforgiveable sin is Blasphemy of the Spirit, of attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to unclean spirits. Covenantalism seems to commit this sin unashamedly, by claiming that men seal themselves into salvation with a mere ritual.

The Application

Covenantalism is called, "The ministry of death" in 2 Corinthians 3. The Apostle Paul expands stating, "the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me (Romans 7:10)." The Covenant between God and men is perfectly upheld by God, who cannot break a Covenant. If men do good, they will be blessed, but a single sin results in their cursing. This Covenant is therefore weak and useless, for the law made nothing perfect (Hebrews 7:18-19). It is obsolete, and its only use is to show men their need for a better hope (Hebrews 7:19): the guarantor of a better Covenant (Hebrews 7:22).

Jesus Christ has made us sufficient to be ministers of a New Covenant, the ministry of the Spirit, not the ministry of condemnation, but the ministry of righteousness (2 Cor 3:6-9). Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17, Hebrews 4:15), suffering completely for our sin, that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). For the Old Covenant brings curses to cursed humanity, but Christ brings blessing to an unconditional covenant for men, because he fulfilled all of the conditions.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith." But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. - Galatians 3:10-14

Invitation

Dear reader, if you are bewitched into the soul damning doctrine of Covenantalism, then I implore you to come out of her, to flee from the terror of Sinai to the glory of Zion and the city of the living God, to look not to your own works or covenant making, but to the perfect obedience of Christ who saved a people from every nation, tribe, and tongue because of the Covenant he made with his Father, which is partaken of by faith, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and expressed in the power of reborn life.

If you stay, then heed this terrifying warning and be sure that your end is eternal damnation, "How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29)?" There is no salvation in the Obsolete Covenant, in fact it has passed away, so seek the Son while he may be found, place your faith in his faithfulness, not your own, and receive his blessings as he received your curse.

Dispensationalists, stand against this resurging Presbyterian heresy, your forefathers did and tasted death for it, their light momentary affliction preparing for them an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17). Obadiah Holmes, Baptist minister in 1651, received 30 lashes and nearly died at the hands of Covenantalists, yet his words to his persecutors are left to encourage us, "You have struck me as with roses. Although the Lord hath made it easy to me, yet I pray God it may not be laid to your charge." Do not consider Covenantalists your brothers, or be surprised when they show no fruit of the Spirit, for they have embraced a law that has cursed them and a veil lies over their hearts that only Christ can raise.

Above all, look to the perfection of the New Covenant which has made the Old Covenant obsolete and shown its weakness and uselessness. Look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Absorbing Offense - Christian Forgiveness

The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. One servant owed more than $6 BILLION, and he could not pay. Begging for patience he promised to pay all; out of pity for this servant, his king not only let the man go, but forgave him the debt. The servant went out and immediately found a fellow servant who owed him $12 THOUSAND. He seized him, and began to choke him, and demanded the man pay what was owed. When the debtor begged for patience, his pleas were ignored and he was thrown into prison until he paid the whole debt. (confer Matthew 18:23-35)

The above story is not the entire parable, but it contains important points I wish to make to you, dear saint, to stir you up towards good works and compassion towards the brethren (I will address the rest of the parable later in this article). The topic at hand is what happens to our sins against God, and what happens to others’ sins against us. Does this debt just vanish? Or does someone else pay it? Look at the above parable, the debt against the first servant is absorbed by the king (Matthew 18:27), the debt against the second servant is required to be paid by that servant (Matthew 18:30). Someone has to pay the debt, it cannot just go away; when a sin is just ignored, the Bible says, “He who justifies the wicked…is an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 17:15).” Sin must be paid for, and it will be paid for (Romans 2:4-5).

Did you notice the disparity between what a sin against God costs and what a sin against us costs? The debt owed to the king was several billion dollars, the debt owed to the servant was 0.000012 billion dollars. Clearly the king in this parable represents the Father (Matthew 18:35), and because God is infinitely more worthy than us, who are worthless (Romans 3:12), we must recognize that a sin against God is much more weighty and pressing than a transgression against ourselves. The Apostle Paul makes this point by writing to Corinth, “he caused [pain]…in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you (2 Corinthians 2:5).” Whichever sin is committed against us, no matter how big we think it is, it is nothing in comparison to our sin against God. This is why three Gospels tell us in three different ways to pray, “forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us (Luke 11:4, Mark 11:25, Matthew 6:12).”

So what happens to our sins? In another parable Jesus tells that there were two debtors, one owed $60 thousand, and the other owed $6 thousand. When they could not pay, the moneylender cancelled the debt of both. (confer Luke 7:41-42) Their debts were just canceled? No, not just canceled, cancelled on account of the moneylender who absorbed that $66 thousand. Now, let me make a brief caveat, sin cannot be calculated as money can, each one of your sins has been worth you going to Hell for, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), a single lie makes you a liar, and all liars will have their place in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8), and we’ve all sinned much more than a single lie, and we can’t pay for any of our sins (Zephaniah 1:18, Psalm 49:7-9). Our debt was infinite, it required an incalculable payment. We were storing up wrath for ourselves on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment would be revealed (Romans 2:5). God has promised to repay perfectly in vengeance the sin debt against himself (Deuteronomy 32:35). Truly the danger to our souls for our infinite debt was only matched by the heinousness of our sin. The only one worthy to pay our debt was the infinite and eternal Creator God, and we had offended him and made him our enemy; we were without payment, without hope, and without God in the world. But while we were yet sinners he came to our rescue. As our Creator was fulfilling the law to learn the obedience which was required for our substitutionary payment, he forgave the sins of a crippled man and recreated his legs to walk, saying only, “Man, your sins are forgiven you. I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home”, to which the Creator’s enemies were quick to say, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus did these things, “that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Jesus Christ is God, and is able and willing to forgive sins. (confer Luke 5:17-26)

At the appointed time, the Creator, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, the Son of God, put on flesh, learned obedience, and went to a cross as the payment for sin. He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25). God has made us alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14). In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the satisfaction for our sins (1 John 4:10).

Therefore beloved, we ought to love one another as God loved us (1 John 4:11). No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us (1 John 4:12). You must put away sin, all of them; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk; rather forgive one another, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Colossians 3:8,13).

How many times and to what extent must we forgive? Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him (Luke 17:3-4).” Absorb the debt of others' sins against you just as Christ absorbed your debt; you are never so Christlike as when you forgive someone, “it is the glory of a man to overlook an offense (Proverbs 19:11).” The Apostle Paul exhorts you, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:31-32).” And beloved, have you noticed that most of these passages do not place the requirement of repentance for forgiveness? Sometimes it is necessary to absorb even the offense of lack of repentance when you are certain the person is a brother. (confer Philippians 4:2)

But what if you won’t forgive? Solomon exhorts and then insults you, “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9).” The Apostle James implores you, “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20).” Paul tests you for the genuineness of your conversion, “Turn to forgive and comfort him…I beg you to reaffirm your love for him, for this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything (2 Corinthians 2:7-9, compare Hebrews 5:9).”

Will you be Christlike in absorbing offense against yourself, paying it in your own soul, and forgiving sin? Christ whom you profess has done so completely, “I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me (Jeremiah 33:8).” He has in a single sacrifice perfected all those who were once his enemies, but are now being sanctified. Will you not forgive those who have a small debt against you when you have been forgiven such a larger debt? Can you not overlook their offense and forgive them as Christ has forgiven you?

Is your answer still no? Look back to the parable we began with, the servant who will not forgive his fellow servant after being forgiven so much by his king is found out. Are you this servant who holds others accountable to pay when your debt is supposedly canceled? Christ then says he never knew you, and this is your fate, “You wicked servant! Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ In anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart (Matthew 18:32-35).” The wages of sin is death, each sin is infinite. It will require an infinite and eternal retribution to pay for only one sin against the King, and dear reader, we both know that our debt is closer to the $6 BILLION mark than the lesser debt.

But dear reader, if you will repent of your sin, trust in the Resurrected Christ, you then have assurance in the sufficiency of his payment, the complete appeasement of your debt. This repentance will play out in forgiveness, in reconciliation, in love of the brothers. Fret yourself not with keeping tabs on those who are not Christians, for Psalm 37 tells their fate,

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
__Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
__but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
__though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

- Psalm 37:8-10

But for you, forgive as you have been forgiven, and

Wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. - 1 Thessalonians 1:10

St. Patrick's Day - Savannah - Update

Friday and Saturday Vernon, Evan, and I were blessed to preach in Savannah to an estimated one-million revelers. We had great conversations, sermons, and responses and the exhortation of the Apostle is more true than ever, "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58)

The following are the prayer requests I sent out to my beloved church, with pictures added. Most of these pictures are courtesy of Vernon. I must apologize for not being much of a photographer on this trip, I missed some great conversations Vernon had. Pray for the youth pastor of a local church there, he definitely knew the true gospel, and was striving for ways to arrest the descent he sees of so many youth into the animism and paganism that is overtaking Savannah; we encouraged him, Vernon with the message of Patrick the evangelist to Ireland, and myself with a copy of "The Way of the Master".

Friday, and Saturday Morning:

We've had a great first day here in Savannah. On Friday we set-up on River Street, and almost immediately had people stopping to ask questions. My best conversation was with Neil, a South Korean student who grew up Catholic and rejected God for the religion of evolution. After taking him through the law, he admitted to believing there was a god, but that it couldn't be the God of the Bible. We had a long discussion on evolution and creation, and I kept bring it back to the law. I concluded with, "'Till sin be bitter, Christ will never be sweet." He took my card and I'm hoping to hear from him again.

After this, the sky opened up and everyone ran for cover. We ended up in a massive impromptu party in a tunnel with our crosses, just standing there garnered us all sorts of glares. After about an hour the rain let up and we headed back out.

As I was preparing to preach, a Jewish Evolutionist came by and said, "One question: how old is the earth?" I responded with just a tad over 6000 years. He didn't like this answer, nor did several others walking by. This led to a great long conversation; the argumentative people kept changing with new people entering all the time, and we kept going over the gospel. At the end we got mired into a discussion with an Emergency Room Surgeon named Zackary who thought you couldn't be a scientist and a Christian. He didn't want to even consider his conscience, but I kept bringing him back to his conscience that he had sinned against the Creator God who holds the universe in the palm of his hand. Finally as we were going nowhere fast I left him with the same thought I left Neil, that until sin is bitter, Christ will never be sweet.

Finally I stood up and preached on the foolishness of the cross to the perishing. We had some very angry hecklers who started dancing and screaming, but they drew a massive crowd and I didn't finish preaching until the police came to shut the hecklers down because they were on the verge of violence. At that point it was almost 2am and so we called it a night. The only act of violence was minor, a drunk threw a beer at Evan but in his inebriation missed and only hit the very bottom of Evan's cross.

The parade this morning drew thousands of people, we quickly handed out our 1500 Patrick specific tracts then headed to lunch. On the way we passed a big park with many people in it, so stopped to share the message of Christ with them. Preached on the law which promised life, but brought death when transgressed, and now leads us to Christ.

Keep praying for us, there are lots of inquisitive lost people here, as well as angry hardened people, pray for our boldness and for the word to go out and call lost sheep home.

Saturday:

Thank you for your prayers this weekend, they most definitely were answered. One of my favorite proclamations of the gospel is, "He is Risen!" because in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ he has proven to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Saturday we proclaimed to Savannah that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life, that there is eternal life for the one who turns from sin and trusts in the gospel. We received many different responses, but indifference was rarely one of them.

The parade started at 10:15am, we very quickly handed out 1500 St Patrick's Day specific tracts. We watched the parade from a restaurant, then headed out to engage people with the gospel. We brought two crosses, they say "Repent & Believe" and "Foolish to the Perishing" on the front and both say "He is Risen" on the back. Almost instantly we had crowds gathering around us asking questions. The most common question was, "Why are you holding a cross?" My answer is usually, "I'm hoping it will start conversations." Frequently the follow-up question is, "Has it started any?" To which I reply, "If you died tonight, do you think you'd go to Heaven?" Many great gospel presentations ensued.

Pray for David, a young soldier who may have some serious mental and/or demonic issues. We talked for about half an hour and during that time he claimed to be both an atheist and a born-again Christian. He was certain that he was not just a good person, but a great person. Pray that the seed planted will take root and call David out of the darkness into the light of Christ.

We talked to three young men, 20 years old or so, one was so convicted after the law that he walked off without saying anything. I tried to get him to stay for the gospel, but he wouldn't. The other two stayed and were intrigued by the gospel, but both had grown up in dead churches and told sad stories of hypocrites who showed no fruit of the Holy Spirit, and so both denied any power in Christianity to change lives. I implored them to trust Christ and that God is true even when every man is a liar.

Afterwards we set up with our crosses at Ellis Square, a mid-sized park that became a major hangout as the day progressed. It was far too loud anywhere to preach, but many stopped to hear the gospel. One man was so furious that he spent several minutes screaming at me, he kept saying things like, "You're a fool!" "You're an idiot!" I pointed to the cross which says the message of the cross is "Foolish to the Perishing" and explained that God has chosen the foolish things in the world to shame the wise. He was finally escorted off by a man who was easily seven feet tall; Vernon affectionately named this reveler the "Jolly Green Giant".

Evan spoke with a young lady who seems to be in a church that is preaching the truth, but she does not seem to have yet repented. Pray that their conversation will call her to repentance. I spoke to a similar girl who has been through "The Way of the Master" training course but has at least a toe still in the world. I exhorted her to tell someone about Jesus that night: history has several examples of evangelists saved under their own preaching.

The son of a pastor came next, he asked if I believed in predestination. I said, "the word is in the Bible." He said he believed he was predestinated to not be saved. I said that sounded like a wicked excuse to sin. We talked for a while longer and he seemed convicted and ran off. He left his girlfriend though, and we continued the gospel conversation. She said she wasn't a Christian, but that I was definitely sharing Christ in the wrong way. I asked her how she was sharing Christ and she said she wasn't. I replied that I liked the way I was doing it better than the way she wasn't. She went away thinking.

The last good conversation of the night was with a Catholic young man who asked to take a picture with the cross. He then asked, why are you doing this? I said, so I can ask you if you're going to Heaven. He said he hoped so, but after the good person test he showed visible contrition. Pray for him, because his girlfriend told me his motives in taking the picture with the cross were not good at all, but we know that what was meant for evil God can easily turn for good, that many are saved.

We've had a great evangelistic time here, and great fellowship. Thank you once again for the prayers, continue to pray for those who heard the message of the cross, that it would not be foolish to them, but the power of God to salvation. May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of his suffering!

Thinking Through Church Discipline

Introduction

Someone sins against you, or their sin becomes apparent to you; what do you do? Should you immediately find his pastor? Should you tell your friend? Should you post it to your prayer list? Should you stand him up in church and point your finger at him declaring his sin to the world?

No, if you do any of that, you are sinning against God and the person whom you are backbiting. God hates backbiters (Proverbs 6:16,19). There is a real danger in the church today of people who refuse to practice the process of church discipline laid out in Matthew 18:15-20. If someone sins against you, you are to go directly to them in private, it is not until step three, taking it to the church, that you are even required to mention this to the person’s pastor.

This is a hard process, it hurts, it hurts emotionally and spiritually, and you may even receive a black eye for it (Proverbs 9:7). Spiritually you may gain your brother, or you may earn yourself an enemy (Proverbs 9:8). But in all of this you are emulating Christ, who sought his greatest enemies, confronted them in their sins, and he received for his efforts spittle, violence, berating, and death, but when these people did turn, he received them as brothers, and the joy that was set before him.

Because it is hard, most churches won’t do it. I learned from a false teacher yesterday that she wanted a pastor who would never confront someone in their sins; of course that’s her desire, it’s so she can walk in every form of sin and commandeering attitude and be free from the fear of earthly rebuke. But if you love the church, you must be willing to call them to repentance, to desire for them to be saved from sin, and for them to love the discipline of God that produces righteousness, and to have an extreme fear of heavenly rebuke that is remedied only in the perfect love of Jesus Christ.

So beloved, will you honestly and sincerely endeavor to hold faithfully to biblical teaching on church discipline? This blog will hopefully encourage you towards that end.

The Goal

The goal of church discipline is to NOT finish church discipline. We never want to get to excommunicating a member, declaring them an unbeliever, and turning them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh. WE DO NOT WANT THAT. If you want that, then reader, stop here and examine yourself. The Apostle Paul was willing to give up his own salvation and be condemned himself, if his friends and family could be saved (Romans 9:3); if you cannot say the same, then you have not met Paul’s God, because Paul’s God put on flesh and gave his life not just for friends and family, but for horrible wicked sinners; that’s love demonstrated (Romans 5:6-8).

Our goal is to see sinners saved, both from the effects of bad theology, and if it is bad enough, from the consequence of facing a furious God with no Mediator.

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. - James 5:19-20

The First Step

The first step is not to go right to your pastor or elder or supervisor or Sunday School teacher or mom or ANYONE else; you must go to the person who has sinned. I’ve seen pastors crushed by the tattle-tale mentality of many churches, where every minor issue is brought to top-tier attention, and often without the sinner even knowing anyone had an issue against him.

I remember years and years ago when I was in elementary school hearing a teacher scold someone by saying, “Don’t tattle.” I was perplexed because I thought the teacher was saying, “Overlook people doing things wrong.” Granted, she didn’t explain herself well at all, but looking back I assume what she meant, and what is biblical, is “Don’t tattle, handle this situation on your own first.”

The “I’m gonna tell” mentality that permeates many people in churches today is a backbiting divisive nasty belief that MUST be crushed. You’ll not only overburden your pastors/elders damaging their shepherding efficiency, but you’ll spread dissention, distrust, and ultimately you might even destroy a church.

Beloved: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (Matthew 18:15).” I promise if you take this route, you will win many brothers.

The Second Step

The first step in the second step is to ask if the first step has been accomplished. If someone comes to you with a complaint against someone else, and they haven’t gone to that person privately, you must refuse to listen to them or even consider their issue.

If the first step has been legitimately taken and the sinner will not listen, then the second step can be accomplished. Now you involve one or two other people. Should it be your pastor/elder now? It can be, but there is no requirement for it to be. Preferably the person or persons you bring to be the second witnesses will know nothing of the details, this way they can not only hear the accusation, but they can see the response as well. A large part in repentance is not necessarily what you say, but your attitude. A believer will respond in love, joy, peace, kindness, but an unbeliever will respond with self-justification and rivalry, and maybe even flee from the conflict. We’re not just looking for repentance, we’re looking for teachability as well, look at what Jesus said,

If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church... - Matthew 18:16-17

If you’ve never read the vision in Ezekiel 8-9, I’d encourage you to do that today. In that story God sends angels to decimate Jerusalem, while an evangelist precedes them marking any who will mourn over their sins, and these are saved from the angels of war. The call is not for sinlessness, for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the call is for a recognition of sin and the ability to have sin pointed out to us; then we can work through repentance and reconciliation, and seek a Saviour.

On this point, let me make a radical claim; church discipline can work both ways. It may be that the accused is not the one in error, but the witnesses are. I can give you an example, someone was once accused of rejecting the adage, “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” Discipline got to step two, at step two the accused approached the group (slightly more than three, but less than seven), and admitted that he was against Southern Baptist tradition, and that he wanted to examine the scriptures, because he did not want to be found misrepresenting God. They did examine the scriptures, some more diligently than others, and at the end of the day one of the accusers, while reading Hosea 9:15, turned to a biblical understanding of God’s hatred towards the practitioners of sin.

The point of that little story is that the accused demonstrated Christian character and fruit, and it was readily apparent to some of the called witnesses that he was not deserving of further discipline because of his teachable and humble spirit. This is one reason why we have two or more (I wouldn’t suggest going over the scriptural three, though some do) witnesses, because the first witness may be wrong. If all witnesses agree, then the goal is to show the accused that scripture and saints stand in opposition to his beliefs and/or actions.

The Third Step

The first step in pursuing the third step is to make sure the first step has been completed. The second step is to make sure the second step has been completed. Once you are certain that one person has personally and privately confronted someone in their sin, they were unresponsive, one or two others witnessed their sin and confronted them, and they were unresponsive, now you take it before the local church body. At this point you have some conscientious decisions to make, how many in the local church? Some churches only bring it before sparsely populated meetings; that is wrong, and not what is in view. Others don’t think it can be done because of the small size of their church; Jesus says this only needs two or three gathered in his name (Matthew 18:20). As much as possible the pastor should inform, at the same time, the entire church (1 Corinthians 5:4) of the issues, and with the entire church calling the accused to repent:

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church... - Matthew 18:17

The Fourth Step

The fourth step obviously starts with step one, two, and three; step four, except in an exceptional case which I’ll discuss in the next section of this article, cannot occur without those steps being taken. If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector (Matthew 18:17).

After these steps, Jesus Christ is in agreement with the church in declaring the person to be outside of the camp. Elsewhere the Bible says this person is turned over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5), again with the goal being that they turn and live. The call is to avoid this person and treat them as an unbeliever (Romans 16:17), let them be ashamed, not out of malice, but out of love and desire to see them saved (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15).

When the Process Fails

The third step, as evidenced both by Jesus in Matthew 18 and Paul in 1 Corinthians 5, is to be done in front of the gathering of believers. Some schismatics and sinners will flee from rebuke, they fly from any hint of potential damage to their pride. If you cannot, under any circumstances, get this person to step three, are they safe from chastisement and have they escaped discipline?

By no means. Scripture provides an option for reaching out to a sinning professed believer who is unreachable through step three of prescribed church discipline. In no wise should this be normative and in no wise should it be done brashly. Matthew Henry states, “They are not easily and soon to be given up and cast off, but competent time and means must be tried for their recovery. Upon continued obstinacy and irreclaimableness, the church has power, and is obliged, to preserve its own purity, by severing such a corrupt member which discipline may by God’s blessing become effectual to reform the offender, or if not it will leave him the more inexcusable in his condemnation.”

This is in regards to Titus 3:10-11 concerning divisive people within the church. None is so divisive as one who runs from church discipline while still claiming to be a member of the church universal. Adequate time must be given to attempt to win this person, though the passage does not say it, myself and commentators agree the two warnings must have some degree of separation.

John Calvin put it this way, “neither shall we have a right to pronounce a man to be a heretic, nor shall we be at liberty to reject him, till we have first endeavored to bring him back to sound views.”

Now you may say that that Titus 3:10-11 is just shortened version of the model of church discipline in Matthew 18, but John Gill, Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, and John Calvin did not see this. John Gill said, “this is not to be understood of private admonition, by a particular person or persons; as in the case of private offences (Matthew 18:15,16) but of public admonition, in the name of the church.”

This is not a job for individuals, Spurgeon said, “When it comes to unbelief of fundamental and vital doctrines, we who are like Titus, set in office over a church, must deal with such deadly evils with a strong hand.” Calvin said similarly, “He does not mean that of a private individual, but an admonition given by a minister, with the public authority of the church.” The note in the Geneva Bible says, "the ministers of the word must at once cast off heretics, that is, such as stubbornly and seditiously disquiet the Church, and will give no ear to Ecclesiastical admonitions."

May Titus 3:10-11 be our last resort, for it concludes by saying, “such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” John Calvin clarifies, “we must not rashly or at random pronounce any man to be a heretic; for he says, ‘Knowing that he who is such is ruined.’ Let the bishop therefore beware lest, by indulging his passionate temper, he treat with excessive harshness, as a heretic, one whom he does not yet know to be such.”

How to Escape Church Discipline

We’ve looked at these passages, and if you’re in sin, a faithful church will see to it that everything possible is done to reclaim your soul. Maybe you thought you could escape by running from the church, but then you realized that there is a contingent for processing those who do such. Scripturally, you can avoid church discipline. Some think it’s through a legal option:

You Should Sue

A church that has set you outside the camp publically has declared that you are not a Christian, do not bear a Christian character, and that no Christian should associate with you. That is most certainly defamation of character. But don’t forget what Charles Spurgeon said, “If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him. For you are far worse that he thinks you to be.”

But in our modern world there is always the option to take it to the courts. Never mind that you’re completely ignoring 1 Corinthians 6:1-8; that’s probably why you’re in this predicament to start with. Take it to court.

But you may be interested to know that there is already legal precedent, and has been for nearly a millennia, with people who sue churches over being disciplined. In Alabama, in Yates v. El Bethel Primitive Baptist Church, the magistrate there declared that the state has no authority over church governance. Just recently in Texas, Westbrook v. Penley, the state clearly and convincingly articulated their limited jurisdiction and that they had no authority over the church or a pastor in the church. Church discipline stood.

So legally you can’t get out of church discipline. Your only hope, your only true option, is to do it biblically.

Listen and Turn

Should you turn, should you have sorrow, should you demonstrate even the smallest bit of Christian contrition, then the call is to reaffirm love, to welcome back into fellowship, and to rejoice that a brother has been regained, your soul is saved from death and your sins are covered.

Listen to the concerns of brothers who bring charges against you, if you are a believer, then surely you can see some truth in what they say, even if it is not what you want to hear. If discipline were fun, everyone would be constantly confessing their sins so that their brothers and sisters would help them work through them, but we need discipline.

For the Christian we have such a blessing to have a Heavenly Father and his Glorious Son who love us enough to discipline us (Hebrews 12:5-17, Revelation 3:19).

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. - Hebrews 12:11 (Compare Luke 6:40)

It is the churches goal to see all of its members obtain the grace of God, and to protect its members from bitterness and disunity; the only way to do this is through faithfully holding to the trustworthy Word as taught.

Oh, why will you die!? God has no delight in the death of the wicked! Turn, and live! (Ezekiel 18:31-32)

Conclusion

Church discipline is a wonderful gift given from Christ to his bride. It provides a solid avenue of correction, and a stated goal of full reconciliation without having to complete the discipline. I pray that you are encouraged to always start at step one and to never jump over this step, I pray that you are discouraged at those who have had to be taken to step four, and more discouraged by those who skip step one; I pray that you are encouraged by godly leaders who are able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).

It is essential that we pray for one another, that we exhort one another, that we be well acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. For all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17). May our first love be Jesus Christ, may we love the body of Christ as much as we love the head. May we strive through church discipline to see to it that no-one among us fails to obtain the grace of God.