Does Your Worship Please God?

by Phillip M. Way

Worship, or the telling forth of God's "worth-ship", has to have a priority in our church services. We are not to meet together for what we can get out of the praise or the preaching - we are to meet together so that we might worship God through the praise and preaching. We are to focus on HIM.

The qualifications given by Jesus Himself in the New Testament for worship are that our worship is to be offered in "spirit and truth." To understand this we need to first look at how worship is often the opposite of these requirements.

Worship that Displeases God

In Amos 5:21ff, the prophet proclaims a word from God regarding the acceptability of worship. Have you ever stopped to ask if the worship you offer is acceptable to God? He does not want us to simply go through the motions. That, in fact, is not worship.

In Amos 5 God says that He wants justice and righteousness. He desires worship given in spirit and truth. Instead the Children of Israel were mixing the worship of God with other pagan festivals and religions. They were polluting the worship of the Most High God. They defiled worship by offering God what they wanted, or what they thought He wanted instead of what He demanded! They did things their way instead of His.

In the text, Amos writes as God speaks,

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Can you imagine? God HATED their worship. It was self-centered and self-serving. They tried to keep proper form (feast days, singing, sacred assemblies) but had an improper motive. They approached God with unclean hands and an impure heart and as a result He rejected their worship. We must come before God on His terms, prepared to worship acceptably - and if we come any other way (rushed, with little thought or preparation) then He will likewise reject what we have to offer!

So in order to understand our duty in worship, in order to truly know what God expects and commands of us as His worshippers, we must first grasp the characteristics of worship that displeases Him. Take the time to meditate on these verses and examine these topics as we search the Scriptures for a brief outline of worship that God hates.

Charactersistics of Worship that Displeases God – Ex 20:1-11

A. Worship of Anyone or Anything Other Than or Together with God
Ex. 20:3; Ps 86:10; Rom 1:18-25

B. Worship that involves Disobedience
Ex 20:4-6; Ex 32

C. Worship that Takes God’s Name in Vain
Ex 20:7; Malachi 1:6-14; Matt 15:9

D. Worship that is not Holy
Ex 20:8-11

Worship that is not holy can be further noted to be:

1. Void of Faith
Heb 11:6; Rom 14:23

2. Full of Hypocrisy (Lips vs. Heart)
Isaiah 29:13; Jeremiah 12:2; Matt 15:8

3. Based on Lies (False Doctrine)
John 4:24; Psalm 17:1

4. Worship that is not Separated from the World
Rom 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17

5. Worship that Profanes
Ezekiel 22:23-31

Worship that Pleases God

We see what God rejects when it comes to worship, so what is acceptable to Him? What pleases Him? In John 4, Jesus tells us what is expected and necessary if we are to worship God in an acceptable manner. The account reads:

The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

True and acceptable worship is to render to God respectful spiritual service. This is the definition of "reverence." Reverence is to be the main characteristic of our worship. Reverence finds us focusing on God instead of self. We do not just do whatever we feel. We do what honors God.

The two characteristics given here by Christ let us know that worship is not about "when" or "where", but it is all about "how." It is not a building, location, event, or time of the day or week that qualifies our worship as acceptable to God. It is how we worship. We must worship God in spirit and truth.

To worship God in spirit is to worship from the heart, not simply with outward form! It originates internally, not externally. If the inside (the heart) is not prepared for worship, then no matter what we say or do to worship, God will reject what we offer! He even tells us in the Word that if we come to offer God a gift (worship) and there remember that we have something against our brother or sister in Christ, we are to leave and make things right with others before we come near to God! Our heart has to be ready to worship - we have to be prepared. We have to have our relationships in order and come with a clear conscience or our worship is not acceptable.

To say it is from the heart means that it does not matter what we know or what we claim to believe that qualifies our worship. It is how we express our hearts in love and obedience to Christ! What is in the heart, after all, will come out the mouth. And if our heart is not clean and right and we attempt to worship God, we are lying! That's right. If what is coming out of our mouths does not match the thoughts of our heart, we are hypocrites of the worst sort, and just pretending to worship!

Worship in Spirit

How do we worship in spirit with a right heart condition and attitude? Let's expand our study of the Scriptures on this point. Open your Bibles and read these verses and then read how I have summarized worshipping God in spirit into the following seven points:

1. Philippians 3:3, 7-11
Worship in spirit is offered with no confidence in the flesh. The true believer views his flesh as sinful without any merit or capacity to please God without the intervention of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

2. Revelation 4:10-11
Worship in spirit is focused wholly upon God with no thought of self.

3. Psalm 95:6-7
Worship in spirit must be reverent, not loud and obnoxious, with disharmony or showmanship!

4. Psalm 96:9; 5:7
Worship in spirit must be characterized by fear and trembling! We are worshipping a thrice holy God and cannot ever enter His presence with little thought or frivolity.

5. Psalm 29:1-2; Psalm 99
Worship in spirit must be holy. To be holy is to be set aside or separated from the world. We should not worship God like the world worships its false gods. Worship should be distinct from the world and not mixed with worldly values and practices.

6. 2 Chronicles 20:18-20
Worship in spirit must overflow with humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less! Again - the focus is GOD.

7. Psalm 51:15-17
Worship in spirit is worship with brokenness. We must come expressing a total dependence upon God for everything we need.

Worship in Truth

Jesus also said we must worship in truth. This means that our worship must first meet the above-mentioned requirements of worship in spirit, and then added to that, it must also be consistent with Scripture and centered on Christ. Here are a few more verses to read as we look at five ways we worship in truth:

1. Revelation 14:7
Worship in truth gives God honor, reverence, glory, and expresses His worthiness.

2. Psalm 45:11
Worship in truth is based in the truth that we worship Him because He is our Lord. We don't make Him Lord. He is Lord. Forever. The question here is whether or not we obey Him as Lord since He is Lord?

3. Psalm 66:4
Worship in truth offers praise to His name. We worship Him, not His provision or creation, not His works or ways. We worship HIM, as He is characterized by His many names revealed in Scripture.

4. Psalm 138
Worship in truth is worship in lowliness. We must have a proper opinion of ourselves, a low opinion of self. We are sinners and but for His grace we would not be able to approach Him at all. Our worship of Him is all based on His doings - His salvation, forgiveness, and grace.

5. Psalm 148, 149, 150
Worship in truth is worship in ways of which God approves!

Meditate on these verses of Scripture that tell us more about what God expects from us in worship, and remember, next time you gather together with other believers to praise and worship God, be prepared, and keep this simple truth in mind - worship will either please or displease God. Take the time to be ready to worship and please Him!

• Psalm 29:2; 96:9
  
• Psalm 66:4
  
• Psalm 95:6
  
• Psalm 99:5, 9
  
• Psalm 138:2

What is a Church?

by Steve Owen

Following on from a discussion of "What is a Christian?", comes the question, “What is a Church?”.

I suggest that it is nothing else but an assembly or gathering of Christians.

The Greek word translated 'church' is Ekklesia. It has a secular meaning, that of 'assembly', which is found three times in Acts 19 to describe the Town Council in Ephesus (vs 32 & 41) and the Court of Law in that city (v 39).

When used in its Christian connotation, it has two meanings. Firstly, it designates a single congregation. Paul writes to 'The church of God which is in Corinth' but also to 'The churches of Galatia'. Nowhere are the congregations of one area put together and called a 'church'. Paul writes, 'I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea...' (Gal 1:22 ). The church in Corinth may well have been split into ‘House Groups’ for much of the time since it did not have its own building, but it was able to meet together as a body on regular occasions (cf. 1 Cor 14:23 ), and so Paul refers to it as a single ekklesia.

Secondly, ekklesia is also used to describe the whole people of God, the entire body of Christ. Paul writes that, 'I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it' (Gal 1:13 ), but when he met the Lord on the Damascus road, he was asked, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' This usage may be said to represent that great assembly of all Christians which is described in Rev 7:9ff.

So we can see immediately that when we speak of, 'The Medieval Church', 'the Church in Europe', 'the Church in Iraq', ‘the Afro-Caribbean Church’ or, God forbid, ‘the Gay and Lesbian Church’, we are using ekklesia in a way that is unknown in the Bible. We should use the plural, or speak of ‘Christianity in the Middle Ages’ etc. Nor should we speak of buildings as 'churches'. The church is the people. There is the story of the evangelical minister of a church that met in a beautiful old building. As he was opening it up in preparation for the morning service, he was approached by two tourists. “May we see your church please,” they asked. “Certainly,” he replied. “It will be along in about an hour!”

We make a serious error if we describe denominations as churches- ‘The Methodist Church’ or ‘the Church of England.’ Far too often when people speak of 'my church', they are thinking of their denomination. Most denominations are utterly different from what they were when they were founded; rot and decay set in, and they rarely come in through the pew- a denomination is like a dead fish; it decays from the head down.

People often say, "I will never leave my church while it keeps to the Confession of Faith." But a confession is not a church either. Confessions are not abandoned openly, or not at first. They are made of no effect when men affirm them whilst making 'mental reservations.' The man in the pew imagines that he is still in a confessional church, while the Bishops or Presbyters have secretly abandoned the confession and are busy training up ministers who have no allegiance to it. Within two generations of the writing of the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Presbyterian churches in England were utterly apostate. The same thing happened even in Geneva.

But even where a church is utterly faithful to its confession, it can still be a dead thing, because it is possible to subscribe to every jot and tittle of a confession and to have no spiritual life, but only a dead orthodoxy. A church is not a confession, it is Christians. It is an assembly of people as described in my previous article- those who have been born again by the power of the Spirit, who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ crucified for salvation.

A church is the people described in Acts 2:41-47. They have gladly received the word of God, been baptized, and now they meet together, learning more of the faith, joining together in the Lord's supper and in prayer, looking to each other's needs, having joy in their hearts and praising God together.

A church is the people described in 1 Cor 1:2-8. They have been set apart in Christ, called in holiness, have received undeserved favour and peace from God; their knowledge of God and their witness to Him comes from the Holy Spirit, who has given them corporately all the gifts they need to function as a church, as they eagerly await the return of their Lord who will preserve them in Him until that day.

In other words, a church is Christians. There is much talk of a 'visible' and 'invisible' Church, but this finds no support in Scripture. Many commentators have tried to import the concept into the Bible, mangling most wretchedly the Parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13:24-30 ) by claiming that the field represents the 'visible' Church. It does not! Our Lord has given us the interpretation of that parable, and 'The field is the world' (Matt 13:38 ). The Church, as we have seen, is made up of Christians.

That there will be those who join a church but are later found not to be Christians is admitted. Jude writes, 'For certain men have crept in unnoticed' (Jude 4 ). Those who prove themselves not to be Christians, whether by their behaviour or their doctrines are to be put out of the church (1 Cor 5:13; Titus 3:10 ). Discipline is an integral part of a true church. Initially it is aimed at producing repentance (2 Cor 2:6-11 ), but if that is not forthcoming then exclusion is made permanent, because unbelievers are no part of the Church of Christ (cf. 1 John 2:19 ). We are instructed (2 Cor 6:14-17 ), ‘Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of the Lord with idols?………Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you.”’ There are two sorts of men in the world- those who ‘walk according to the flesh’ and those who ‘live according to the Spirit.’ How can these two sorts of men enjoy spiritual unity? It is impossible. We may and should invite our unbelieving neighbours to attend church services so that they may hear the word preached (1 Cor 14:24-25 ), but we must not knowingly tolerate unbelievers within the church membership.

Did the Church exist in the Old Testament? Well, in the sense that the Church is the people of God, then, yes. There were true believers in Christ before Christ. But they did not assemble together as believers. Israel was not the Church. Presbyterians point to Acts 7:38, which describes Israel as the ekklesia in the wilderness, but all that this means is that the Israelites assembled together as a body before the Tabernacle. But Israel was a 'mixed multitude'; some indeed were truly the Lord’s people, but the large majority knew nothing of the Lord experientially (eg. Isa 1:9; Jer 5:1-2 ). Israel by no means met the definitions of a church that we have seen above.

In the first appearance of ekklesia in the Bible, the Lord Jesus declared, 'I will build My church' (Matt 16:18 ). The tense is future. Our Lord laid the foundations of His Church during His time on earth. Ephesians 2:20 tells us that this foundation is that of the 'apostles and prophets', and whether we believe that the prophets were of the Old or New Testament, clearly there were no apostles before the time of Christ. If there was a church in Old Testament times, then it can have had only half a foundation! In fact it is clear that Paul is speaking of the New Testament prophets since he couples apostles and prophets a little later in the letter (Eph 4:11 ) in a context that is obviously New Testament.

The Lord Jesus is continuing to build her even at this present time (Eph 2:21-22 ); she is His Church, His bride; He has purchased her with His own blood and she is a chaste virgin. As it is written, 'In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts' (Zech 14:21 ). It is the duty of the leadership of each individual church to seek to make the assembly in its charge as pure as possible (2 Cor 11:2 ).

The Church is composed of those who have come out of the world to join it. They are no longer what they were (Eph 5:8 ). Peter speaks of them as ‘sojourners and pilgrims' (1 Peter 2:11 ). Paul told the church at Philippi, ‘Our citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil 3:20 ), and to the Colossians he said, ‘[God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love’ (Col 1:13 ). The church at Thessalonika had, ‘Turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God' (1 Thes 1:9 ). They came out of the world and into the Church. Now some will say immediately, “Ah, yes. But this refers to the invisible church. In the visible church there are many who are in the world and in the church at one and the same time.” Perhaps, but as we have seen, this is simply not the language of Scripture. When Paul writes to the church at Colossae, he is addressing, ‘The saints and faithful brethren in Christ’ (1:2 ) He knows nothing of a ‘visible’ or ‘invisible’ church, but only an assembly of true believers. It is true that there are exhortations to the believers to examine themselves (2 Cor 13:5 ), and warnings against falling away (Heb 6:4-8; 10:26-38 ), but the writer to the Hebrews remains confident that the recipients of his letter will remain constant (Heb 6:9; 10:39 ).

A major characteristic of the Church is that of unity. This suggestion may cause a sharp intake of breath, and indeed Paul had to exhort the Corinthian church in this respect (1 Cor 1:10); but a church is not a debating society, she is compared in the Scripture to a body, a family, a building, a commonwealth. All these comparisons point to a unit; and where a unit is, there should be unity. Dr Lloyd-Jones wrote*:-

‘This unity is emphasized right through the whole of the New Testament. We are told by the Lord Himself that it is to be a visible unity, It is to be something that the world can see “in order that the world may know”, he says. “that Thou hast sent Me”, and that He is in us and that we are in Him. The world is to ‘see’ this; the church is to manifest and demonstrate a visible unity. In other words, a church is not a place where men come together in order to seek for truth, or where they may have what is now called a ‘dialogue’ in order that they may be able to smooth over their difficulties. It is not a place of argument and discussion in order that you may ‘arrive’ at something. No, no! The word that is used about people who become Christians is this: “They were added to the church.” Why?………..Because of something that had happened to them………. You can only become a member of a church in the New Testament after the discussion is over. It is only ‘because’ certain things had happened to them that they were added to the church.’

Lloyd-Jones goes on to make a most interesting reference to the building of the Temple at Jerusalem. The stones that formed the Temple were chiselled into shape before they were brought to the Temple site to be placed in the wall (1 Kings 6:7) so that no sound of cutting or hammering was heard as the building was erected. The work had already been done before the stones were put into place. In the same way, ‘You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house’ (1 Peter 2:5). Our own spiritual ‘chiselling and cutting’ has already happened before we join the church. The people whom ‘the Lord added to the church daily’ (Acts 2:47) were those who had known conviction of sin (Acts 2:37), had repented (v38) and had trusted in Christ for salvation (v44). In brief, they had been born again. Lloyd-Jones declares that the only man who is a member of a church is a man who has got new life, for ‘the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned’ (1 Cor 2:14). The question is not, ’are you a Methodist or a Presbyterian?’ But, ‘have you been born again?’ If not, whether or not you attend a place of worship each week, whether or not you have a membership there, you are not in the church (Acts 8:21). Christ is the Head of the Church. If He is not your Head, then you are not part of the body.

Therefore, although there may be disagreement between individual assemblies over secondary issues like church government or administration of the Lord’s Supper, there is unity over the basics: the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, the deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning death and resurrection, justification by faith alone and so forth. An assembly that does not hold to these fundamental truths is no church at all, but a synagogue of Satan. These are the very ‘things of the Spirit of God’ of which Paul speaks. It is not a matter of dead orthodoxy, but the unity of those who have been born again. The unity of an individual assembly is not preserved by glossing over contentious issues, but by appointing a church leadership which will ensure the preaching of the ‘whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27 ) and lead the church to grow into unity around the word of God (Eph 4:7-16 ).

Another distinguishing feature of a true church is love. The Lord Jesus told the apostles, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35 ). We are to love all Mankind, even our enemies, but our first duty is to our fellow Christians (Gal 6:10 ). The first church made sure that there was no one within its ranks who was in need (Acts 4:32-37; 1 John 3:16-18 ). The members of a church are frequently a diverse bunch of people! They will often be from different social and economic groups, be of differing intellects, have individual personalities and have come from varying church backgrounds. Some may have very little in common with others, save a love of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that which draws them together is greater than that which separates them. ‘If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?’

* Unity in Truth ed. Hywel Rees Jones (Evangelical Press, 1991 ).

The Object of Our Prayers

John Gill
(1697-1771)
An excerpt taken from
A Discource on Prayer

With the object of prayer, which is not any mere creature. Prayer is a part of religious worship, which is due to God only. To address a creature in such a solemn manner is idolatry. This is a sin the Gentiles have been notoriously guilty of, who have paid their devoirs this way, both to animate and inanimate creatures. The idolatrous Heathen is thus described by the prophet; (Isa. 45:17) He maketh a god his graven image; he falleth down unto it, and worshipped it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god. Such a practice as this, is an argument of great ignorance and stupidity; (Isa. 45:20) They have no knowledge, that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. It is no wonder that their prayers should be in vain, since their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands: They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear (Ps. 115:4-6) not, They are insensible of the wants of their votaries, and unable to help them; they are not in a capacity to give them the least relief, or bestow the least temporal mercy on them: Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he, O Lord, our God? Therefore we will wait upon thee; for thou hast made all these things. (Jer. 14:22) The Papists have followed the Pagans in their idolatrous prayers to angels, the virgin Mary, and other saints departed, and even to many that were not saints; but it may be said to them, what Eliphaz said to Job, (Job 5:1) in another case; Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?

God only is, and ought to be the object of prayer. My prayer, says David, shall be unto the God of my life. (Ps. 42:8) God has a right to this part of worship from us, as he is the God of our lives, in whom we live, move, and have our being; who grants us life and favour, and whose visitation preserves our spirits; who daily follows us with his goodness, and loads us with his benefits; to whom we are obliged for every mercy, and on whom the whole support and continuance of our beings depend: and we are under greater obligation still, as well as have greater encouragement, to address the throne of his grace, as he is the God of all grace, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus; all which may assure us, that his eyes are upon us, his ears are open to our cries, that he has both a heart and a hand to help and relieve us; he is a God that hears and answers prayer, to whom all flesh shall come, who are sensible of their need of him, and dependence upon him; his arm is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that he cannot hear; nor did he ever say to any of the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain.

Though the Lord our God is but one Lord; there is but one God, which, with the Scriptures, we assert, in opposition to the polytheism of the Gentiles, who had gods many, and lords many; yet there is a plurality of persons in the Deity, which are neither more nor fewer than Three, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, which Three are One; the Father is God, the Word is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Though the Persons in the Godhead are more than One, yet the Godhead itself is single and undivided. Now God in either and each of the Three divine Persons, may be prayed unto. It is lawful for us to address in prayer either God the Father, or God the Son, or God the Holy Ghost distinctly, though not any of them to the exclusion of the others, This I mention, to disentangle the minds of some, who may have some scruples and hesitations about praying to the distinct Persons in the Deity. Now it is easy to observe, that there are petitions directed to each of the three Persons distinctly; of which I shall give some few instances from the Scriptures.

God the Father is sometimes singly and distinctly prayed unto, though not to the exclusion of the Son or Spirit. It would be too tedious to reckon up all the instances of this kind: The epistle to the Ephesians will furnish us with a sufficient number to our purpose. In one place the apostle says to them, (Eph. 1:16, 17) I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; where God the Father is prayed unto, as distinct from the Lord Jesus Christ, whose God and Father he is, and distinct from the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, who as such is prayed for. And in another place, he says, (Eph. 3:14, 16, 17) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might, by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; in which passage God the Father is addressed, as the object of prayer, distinct from Christ and the Spirit; the former of which he desires might dwell in their hearts by faith, and that they might he strengthened by the latter in their inner man. If these instances were not sufficient, others might be produced; but about God the Father’s being the object of prayer, there is no question nor hesitation.

God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, may be distinctly prayed unto, of which are many instances in Scripture. Sometimes he is prayed unto in conjunction with his Father, as appears from all those passages (Rom, 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 3; 2 John 3; Rev. 1:4, 5) in the epistles, where grace and peace are desired from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; and from many others such as these: (1 Thess. 3:11, 12) Now God himself, and our Father, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way unto you; and the Lord, that is, the Lord Jesus, make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and towards all men, even as we do towards you; and in another place, (2 Thess. 2:16, 17) Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope, through grace, comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work. Sometimes Christ is prayed unto singly and alone; as by Stephen at the time of his death, when he prayed, saying, (Acts 7:59) Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. By the apostle Paul, (2 Cor. 12:8, 9) when he had a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him; for this, says he, I besought the Lord thrice, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, as appears from the context, that it might depart from me: And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. By the apostle John, when Christ said to him, (Rev. 22:20) Surely I come quickly, he replies, Amen, even so, come, Lord Jesus. And by many others; such as those mentioned by Ananias to Christ, when he bid him arise, and go to Saul; (Acts 9:14) Lord, says he, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem; and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.

God the Holy Ghost may be also prayed unto, as he is sometimes and singly alone, and as distinct from the Father and the Son; (2 Thess. 3:5) The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. By the Lord, I understand the Lord the Spirit, whose work it is to direct the hearts of believers into the love of God, and to shed it abroad in their hearts; who is manifestly distinguished in this petition from God the Father, into whose love, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, into a patient waiting for of whom, the hearts of the saints are desired to be directed by him. Sometimes he is prayed unto distinctly, in conjunction with the other two Persons, as by the apostle Paul; The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (2 Cor. 13:14) And by the apostle John, (Rev. 1:4,5) Grace be unto you, and peace, from him, which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is a faithful witness. By the seven spirits cannot be meant angels; for it cannot be thought that they being creatures, should be put upon a level with the divine Being, and be with him addressed in such a solemn manner; but by them we are to understand the Holy Spirit of God, who is so called either in allusion to Isaiah 11:2, or on account of the seven churches of Asia, to whom John wrote by his dictates, or to denote the perfection and fulness of his gifts and graces.

Now though each divine Person may be singly and distinctly addressed in prayer, and all Three together, being the one God, be considered as the object of it; yet, according to the order of persons in the Deity, and suitably to their several and distinct parts, which they, by agreement, take in the affair of man’s salvation, God the Father, the first Person, is generally addressed as the object of prayer, though not to the exclusion of the Son and Spirit: Christ is the Mediator, by whom we draw nigh to God; and the Holy Ghost is the inditer of our prayers, and who assists in the putting of them up unto him.

The first Person is usually addressed in prayer under the character of a Father, and as our Father; so Christ taught his disciples to pray, (Matthew 6:9) Our Father which art in heaven, &c. and he is to be considered in this relation to us, either as the Father of our spirits, the Author of our beings, by whom we are provided for, supplied, and supported in them. In this manner the church in Isaiah’s time applied to him, (Isa. 64:8, 9) saying, But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter, and we are all the work of thy hand. Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: Behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Or he may be considered as the Father or Author of our mercies, temporal and spiritual, which he, in a kind and gracious manner, bestows on us, through Christ, and that as the Father of Christ, and as our God and Father in Christ. In this view the apostle addresses him, when he says, (2 Cor. 1:3) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. And, in another place, (Eph. 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now these several considerations furnish out so many reasons and arguments to induce and encourage us to apply to him who is the God of all grace, and is both able and willing to supply our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The second Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both God and man, is the Mediator between God and man. God absolutely considered, is a consuming fire; there is no approaching to him as creatures, and especially as sinful creatures. Job was sensible of this, when he said, (Job 9:32, 33) He is not a man as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment; neither is there any days-man betwixt us, that might lay his hands upon us both. Now Christ is the days-man, the Mediator, the middle Person, who has opened a way for us to God, even a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. (Heb. 10:20; John 14:6; Eph. 2:18 and 1:6; 1 Peter 2:5) He himself is the way, the truth and the life; he is the way of access to God; through him, both Jews and Gentiles, have an access, by one Spirit, unto the Father; he is the way of acceptance with God; our persons are accepted in the Beloved, and our spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ: The prayers of the saints are called odours; (Rev. 5:8 and 8:3, 4) they are of a sweet smelling savour to God; which is owing to the mediation of Christ, the Angel of God’s presence, who stands continually at the golden altar before the throne, with a golden censer in his hand, to whom is given much incense, with which he offers the prayers of all saints, and which makes them a sweet odour to God. Our encouragements to prayer, and to the exercise of grace in that duty, are chiefly taken from, and our pleas for the blessings of grace, are founded on the person, blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and intercession of Christ. Seeing then, says the apostle, (Heb. 4:14-16) that we have a High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession: For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. And in another place, (Heb. 10:22) he exhorts and encourages to this work in much the same manner; Having, says he, an High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

The third Person, the Holy Spirit, takes his part, and has a peculiar place in this work; he is the author of prayer, the inditer of it, who forms it in our hearts, creates breathings, and desires after spiritual things, stirs us up to prayer, and assists in it. Hence he is called, (Zech. 12:10) The Spirit of grace and supplications; both the gift and grace of prayer come from him; he informs us of our wants, acquaints us with our necessities, teaches us both, in what manner, and for what we should pray; what is most suitable for us, and agreeable to the will of God to bestow on us, and helps us under all our infirmities in prayer; which is observed by the apostle, for the use, instruction, and comfort of believers, when he says, (Rom. 8:26, 27) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the heart, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints, according to the will of God. As Christ is our Advocate with the Father, pleads our cause, and makes intercession at the right hand of God for the acceptation of our persons and prayers, so the Holy Spirit is our Advocate within us; he makes intercession for us in our own hearts; he puts strength into us; he fills our mouths with arguments and enables us to plead with God. Christ is Mediator, through whom, and the Spirit, the assister, by whom we have access to the Father. God, as the God of all grace, kindly invites us to himself; Christ, the Mediator, gives us boldness; and the Spirit of grace, freedom and liberty in our access unto him; and this is what the scriptures call Praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and praying in the Holy Ghost.

Nuts to Crack

THE CHRISTIAN is one who is to be plainly seen, and yet his life is hidden; he is a man in the world, but not a man of the world; he converses with other men, and yet his conversation is in heaven.

He is one who lives to die, and dies to live; yet he is dead while he lives, and lives when he dies.

He is one who lives in another, and for another; he seeks not himself when he aims most at his own good; God is his all, and his all is God; he aims at no end but the glory of God, of which there is no end.

~CH Spurgeon, From the November 1874 Sword and Trowel

What is a Christian?

by Steve Owen

The word ‘Christian’ appears only three times in the NT (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1Peter 4:16). We learn from Acts 11:26 that the name ‘Christians’ was first used in Antioch. It appears not to have been at first a word that Christ’s followers used of themselves, but to have been used by outsiders to describe them, probably as a term of scorn or abuse. We read, ‘The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.’ Therefore to be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ. So what is a disciple? It (Gk. Mathetes) means a student; someone who is being taught or trained; someone who is learning of Christ. Not all disciples were true believers. We read in John 6:66 that ‘From that time, many of His disciples went back and followed Him no more’ and in John 8:31, we read, 'Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”’ There are true and false disciples. Yet these, presumably, are the same disciples whom the Apostles baptized in John 4:1-2. So we need not feel ashamed if those whom we baptize prove not to be true disciples so long as they were credible in their profession. However, after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, we hear much less of disciples proving false, though it still occurs throughout the NT.

Is it possible for an infant or very young child to be a disciple? The argument of some paedo-baptists is that they baptize babies and then teach them, so they (the babies) are disciples. I suggest that this is untenable. First of all there is no mention of infants in connection with the word Mathetes anywhere in the NT, and secondly, from John 8:31 above we see that a synonym for ‘disciple’ is ‘believer’, and we read in Acts 2:41 that ‘Those who gladly received (ie. believed) his word were baptized.' Those same people ‘Continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ doctrine' (v42)- they were disciples, learning from the Apostles the things of Christ. So a Christian is a believer; how can a tiny baby be described as such? We read in Acts 11:21 that, ‘A great number believed and turned to the Lord.’ They became Christians when they believed. There is no mention of infants in connection with the word ‘believe’ or ‘believer.’ Not every believer is a true believer (Acts 8:13, 20-21), but a believer is one who professes faith in Christ, something an infant cannot do. That does not mean of course that we should not teach children about Christ just as soon as they are able to understand. ‘Let the little children come unto Me,'said the Lord Jesus, and so we should.

Another word that is used for ‘Christian’ is ‘Saint.’ Paul writes (Phil 1:1), ‘To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi….’, and again, ‘To the saints and faithful brethren who are in Colossae’ (Col 1:2). Whom can he mean except the Christians there? Now the word ‘hagios’ means ‘holy’ or ‘separated’, so a saint is a ‘holy’ person, or one separated from the world for holy purposes. It is true that children are referred to as ‘holy’ in 1Cor 7:14, but a closer examination of that text reveals that ‘holy’ in this instance is being used as the opposite of ‘unclean’.

A fourth word used frequently in the NT to refer to Christians is ‘Adelphoi’, ‘Brethren.’ We have seen it used in Col 1:2 above. Its first NT appearance is in Mat 23:8; “For One is your teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.” It appears in Acts 12:17; ‘Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren” and also in 1Cor 15:6. The singular, ‘brother’, appears in 1Cor 6:6; ‘But brother goes to law against brother.’ By comparing this verse with verse 2, we can see that ‘brother’ is a synonym for ‘saint.’ Love for ones Christian brothers is one of the marks of a true Christian (1John 3:14; 4:20-21).

A word frequently used by the apostles in their letters to the churches is ‘agapetoi’, ‘beloved’ (translated weakly in the NIV as ‘dear friends’). Now are the Christians beloved by the apostles or by God? By both, no doubt. Certainly love is a hall-mark of a disciple, as we read in John 13:35, but the previous verse tells us that the mutual love of Christians is based upon Christ’s love for us (cf. also 1John 4:11). When John writes (1John 4:7), ‘Beloved, let us love’, he might mean that the Christians to whom he was writing were beloved by John, by each other or by God, and doubtless all three were true. But when Paul writes in 2Thes 2:13, ‘But we are bound to give thanks always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord’, it is abundantly clear that a Christian is one whom God loves.

The final word used as a synonym for ‘Christian’ is ‘kletos’, ‘Called’. In Romans 1:7, Paul addresses his letter, ‘To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints’, and Jude writes, ‘To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.' The Christian is one whom God has loved from all eternity, and called to Himself in time (Rom 8:28-30; cf. Jer 31:3).

As we compare these words, 'Christian', 'Disciple', 'Saint', 'Believer', 'Brother', 'Beloved one', 'Called one', we may see that a Christian is someone who is loved by God, has been effectually called by Him, who believes in Christ for salvation, is learning more about Him, is separated from the world by the Holy Spirit, and is united to his fellow-believers by the bonds of spiritual brotherhood. It is hard to see how these descriptions could be applied to a tiny infant.

Finally, as we look at the New Testament letters, we can make the assumption that they were written to Christians as we look at the opening addresses (eg. Rom 1:7; 1Cor 1:2; 2Peter 1:1 etc ). The following descriptions are based largely upon what the writers of the letters say about the recipients.

A Christian is someone who has been taught by God. He has learned of the Father and therefore fled to Christ for salvation (John 6:45; 1Thes 2:13). Although he has been taught in this way, he still needs to grow in the faith by hearing, ‘the pure milk of the word’ (1Peter 2:2) and indeed, by graduating to the ‘meat’ (Heb 5:12-14).

A Christian is someone who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:9; 1John 2:20).

A Christian is someone who knows the Lord, has His laws written upon his heart and has his sins forgiven (Heb 8:10-11).

A Christian is someone who knows God as his Father (Rom 8:15). He needs no man to tell him how to know God (Matt 16:17; Heb 8:11; 1John 2:27).

A Christian is no longer a citizen of this world but of heaven (Phil 3:20; Heb 11:16).

A Christian is someone whom God has called out of darkness into light (Eph 5:8; Col 1:13; 1Thes 5:5; 1Peter 2:9).

A Christian is someone who has been baptized (Acts 2:41; Rom 6:4). Not because water baptism makes one a Christian, but because being baptized is our Lord’s command for those whom He saves (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:38).

A Christian is someone who is kept by the power of God (John 10:27-30; 17:11; Rom 8:38; 1Peter 1:5).

Saved

John 10:9
I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Jesus is not only the Good Shepherd, He is also the only door to enter God's kingdom. He serves as the Way to the Father so that we might "be saved."

We use that term a lot in the church but how often do we really stop and think about what it means. If we have "entered Christ" then we are saved! Saved from what? Saved to what? Saved, why? Saved, how? Those are the questions we will answer today.

We are saved from a number of things when we believe in Christ. First we are saved from sin. Because Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life and He imputes His righteousness to us now God is able to declare us righteous (justified) and we are right with God. He has taken away our sin and imputed to us His rightness with God. He saved us by taking our sin upon Himself on the cross – the death He died was OUR death - the one we should have died as a result of our sin. (Rom. 6:23) So now we are saved from (freed from) sin (Romans 6).

Secondly we are saved from death. The wages of sin is still death, but because the price for our sin has been paid we never have to fear death! We may die physically, but that is simply a transformation as we step into life in the spiritual realm face to face with Christ. But we will never die spiritually – we will not die the eternal death in hell that the lost will. The death we are saved from is referred to in Scripture as the Second Death. To be separated from the goodness and grace of God and to suffer the agony of dying forever! (This could also be termed being saved from judgment or wrath!) In examining this closely we see that since we are saved from the wrath of God, we are literally saved from God's justice. We are given mercy and favor (grace) instead of justice and wrath.

Thirdly we are saved from self! We now have the power from the Holy Spirit to be self-controlled or better said, Spirit-controlled, so that we can overcome temptation and sin and truly live a victorious life! We are saved from everything wicked and awful that we were without Christ.

Fourth we are saved from bondage. Before we entered Christ we were bound in sin. Another term is to be dead in sin. There was no spiritual life in us at all. We were dead to God and would never have even thought to come to Him unless He had called us by His Spirit to salvation. (1 Cor 2:14; John 6:39, 44). In essence to be saved is to be free! Truly free. In reality our freedom is nothing more than slavery to Jesus! Now we are bought at a price and belong to Him for all eternity.

If we are indeed saved, we now know what we are saved from – but what are we saved TO? We are saved to His glory for His good pleasure. He saved us because He wanted to save us! It glorifies Him to show His love and mercy through our salvation. Actually, the Old Testament talks about it being HIS salvation.

We are also saved to eternal life - now we can live forever in the presence of God because our sin debt has been paid and we are counted righteous in His sight! The thing that separated us from the Heavenly Father has been removed and we have been reconciled to Him just as He wanted.

Our eternal life is secure from before we are even born. While all of us will live forever somewhere because of Jesus now we can be sure that our eternal life is lived in His presence, with Him in the new heaven and earth instead of separated from Him in the lake of fire!

Jesus saved us to good works as well! We have the power daily to do what is right because He has given us freedom to chose obedience to His Word and His will whereas before we were bound to sin. He produces through us the works that glorify Him! He lives through us on a daily basis to help us BE right with God moment by moment.

We have been saved to fellowship (although I do think that we will be surprised by two things when we get to heaven - the people who are there who we thought never had a chance, and the people who aren't that we expected to see)! Our ability to fellowship carries us through trials and hardships and gives us reason to rejoice with one another at all that God has done for us! You cannot enjoy true fellowship unless you are serving God with brothers and sisters in Christ. The lost offer no fellowship and no godly counsel. They provide no encouragement of help in true times of need, because they do not know our Father - and even if they are blood related, they still aren't family as much as other believers are and can be! There is a friend closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

To continue our list, we are also saved to carry out a mission - and that mission is to spread the good news of the Gospel to as many people as we possibly can. We have purpose in our lives, not the least of which is proclaiming the salvation that has been secured by the sacrifice of our Savior!

I know there is much more, but today I will let you finish the list - what else can you think of that we have been saved TO?

Now let us answer the final two questions: why are we saved and how are we saved? We are saved because God loved us so much that He created us to have fellowship with Him - and when Adam and Eve sinned and broke that fellowship, God's plan to redeem us was simple - He would send His Son to die in our place, to pay the penalty for our sin and to give us His rightness with God.

His desire for fellowship saw Him plan this out long before He even created us. He knew we would fall, and He knew what it would cost Him to redeem us and He still created us and loved us enough to carry out His eternal plan!

The how is as simple as can be. We are saved when we are regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:1, 5-6; Ezek. 11:19) and then converted, justified, and adopted. All of this happens as we answer His call and turn from our sin (repent) to Christ (believe) in faith. We are called by grace through the Spirit of God and respond with the faith He has given us. He saves us, we don't save ourselves - and He continues to save us! We are saved, we are being saved as we grow to be more like Him day by day, and we will be saved. Eventually our bodies will be redeemed as well as our spirit! (see also Eph 1:3-4; 1 Peter 3:18; Eph. 2:8-9; Acts 5:30-31; Acts 11:18; Gal. 1:1-9, 11; Rom. 8:15; and 1 John 3:1).

Jesus tells us that we will be saved if we "enter" the proper door, namely, Him! He is the Way, Truth, and Life, and none of us can hope to ever come to the Father unless we come through Christ. And once we are saved and part of His sheep fold, then we can come and go and find pasture!

The implication here is that we are now free! We can come and go as we please, whereas before we were dead and bound to sin and to sin alone. Now we have been given our freedom to "roam" the Kingdom and go wherever we want! Indeed, finding God's will is not nearly as difficult as we make it - if we are walking by faith in obedience to the Word of God and following the direction of the Holy Spirit, then we can do whatever we desire, for to delight in Him is to find Him giving us the very desires of our heart! (Not the object of desire, the desire itself!)

He also tells us that as we go and come we will find pasture. He is talking here about being spiritually fed and growing in grace. I want to look at several ways that we are fed as we "go in and out to find pasture." We are fed spiritually by the Word, by pastors and teachers, and by fellowship with others.

The first on our list is obvious. We are fed by the Word of God. It is to be to us like food as we must have it to survive. From it comes our faith and our desire to do His will. From it comes the instruction as to what His will is and will continue to be. The Word tells us how to be safe, be saved, and be fruitful. In it we find His blueprints for our life, day to day. The Bible serves as an owner's manual (written by our Creator and given to us so that we can "run" the most efficiently and as long as possible!).

Secondly we are fed by pastors and teachers. The Church is the Body of Christ to which has been given leaders to “plant and water” , to grow us and equip us to live our lives by faith and in a manner that serves as salt and light in a tasteless and dark world! The job of a pastor is to feed (equip, teach, instruct, encourage, counsel, motivate, care for, rebuke, etc.) the flock of God. As a matter of fact the Bible is plain in telling us that the pastor of your church is actually God's gift to that church! (see Eph. 4:11-16). And we are also fed by others who teach us, whether through tv or radio, or by books or tapes - there are many good teachers out there who can give us a steady diet of truth! (see our links for some of the best on-line teachers).

Thirdly, we are fed and nourished by fellowship with others. There is a great need in our day for believers to realize that the Spirit of God has gifted them to minister to others in the body of Christ! (boy, there's a whole other study on spiritual gifts!) Many times we fail to see that the trials we have faced and endured or have fallen to are there for us to share with others to "save" them from the same mistakes or to sympathize with them as they face the same kind of hardships that we have had to endure! There is great encouragement and strength in sharing our Christian walk with others - that is precisely why we are COMMANDED not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together for worship regularly (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Because of Christ, we are free to go in and out and are promised that we will find pasture. We will be fed many times and many ways, most of all we are fed by His love for us as He walks side by side with us and often even carries us through this life! Today, be thankful to God for the things He saved you from when He accepted you in His Son. Today - BE SAVED!