I remember being a fairly young Christian and thinking to myself, “That’s what those other churches do, you know those congregations who believe that you are saved by your works. They don’t understand we are no longer under law.”
 
What I thought “those other churches do” is value the Ten Commandments. Wow!  I couldn’t be further from the truth! It was Jesus Himself who taught He did not come to abolish the Law (Matt. 5:17), the only one who enters the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21) and the truly happy one (Luke 11:28) is the one who hears and keeps the word, the will, of God. Even the Apostle Paul, who many view as the champion of God’s grace, teaches that the outgrowth of true saving and sanctifying grace is following the will of God, which He delineates is summarized in the Ten Commandments (Rom. 13:8-10). 
 
The Ten Commandments, actually referred to as the “Ten Words” in the Old Testament (Exodus 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 10:4), summarize the  will of God as revealed in Scripture. What is more, it is not only God’s Law that reveals His wisdom (Deut. 4), it is God’s briefly stated “Ten Words” that reveal so much wisdom in such a small package. 
 
The wisdom of God is particularly seen in the three main uses of the Law that Scripture teaches. Once we grasp these, we will also see how knowing the Ten Words is helpful to a true follower of Jesus Christ. 
 
The first purpose of the law is to teach a person that God is a perfectly holy God, from whom all sinners are separated because of their sin (Isa. 59:2; Rom. 1:18-3:20; Gal. 3:23; 1 John 1:5-6) and so we need a Savior (Rom. 3:21-26; 2 Cor. 5:21). We will see this purpose stated in the answer to question #15 in The New City Catechism, which we will examine in a future article.
 
The second purpose of the law, as we also will be reminded of in the answer to question #15 in The New City Catechism, is to teach us how to live as a new person in Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:8-10). 
 
The third purpose of the law is to restrain people from the full practice of sin and lawlessness (1 Tim. 1:8-11). Law itself cannot change a person and/or save them. But a culture that has been impacted by the Christian worldview and thus is ordered by Law rooted in the Ten Words benefits all and helps preserve the culture, much like salt (Matt. 5:13). 
 
In all these ways, now we can see just how we are well-served by learning the Ten Words. We are ready to see how question and answer 8 in The New City Catechism helps us with this: “What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments? Answer: You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below—you shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.”  
 
Thank You, God, for Your Ten Words!
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

It is one small commandment, one of the Ten, that has big impact: “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). It is easy for us to pass over this commandment that simply means a person cannot take what does not belong to them without permission. It means you cannot take my truck, house, or property without my saying so. It means that if I am a business owner, you cannot harm my business because you are upset and you cannot take any of my merchandise without paying for it. Such is at the heart of a free and prospering land. After all, who would buy a house if anyone could come and take it? Who would take the chance of starting a business if it is not protected by law? 
 
We could go through a similar exercise as this with each one of the Ten Commandments, which are the summary of God’s will for how He wants us to reflect His character (Lev. 19:2). The Law is a wonderful gift of God to us, something that glorifies God and benefits us (Deut. 4:1-8). It is no wonder that the psalmist could write: “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” (Psalm 119:72)
 
This is a wonderful discovery to make since we uncovered in the previous catechism question (#6) that part of the way we glorify God is, “…by obeying His will, commands, and law.” It is important to ask the next question of The New City Catechism: “What, then, does the law of God require? The answer given is this: “Personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.”  
 
In this answer we find seven requirements of God’s good law (Deut. 10:13) listed. 
 
To begin, it is not merely corporate obedience, nor is it asking for your neighbor or friend to obey God and, as long as they do, you don’t have to obey. No, each person is to obey God, that means God’s teaching on His will, His law, requires: “Personal…obedience….” For example, the fifth commandment says, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Though the commandment, as seen in the context of the Old Testament, implies honor to all who are in authority over us, it does start with honor shown to one’s own parents. That means you must honor your parents. That is a strong call for personal obedience.
 
Next, we discover in Genesis 2:16-17 and in Genesis 3:1-19 that one seemingly insignificant sin plunged the whole world into sin and a curse for sin. Of course, there are no small or insignificant sins since all sin separates us from God (Isaiah 6:1-5; 59:2). Therefore, God demands, “perfect…obedience… (Matthew 5:48).” 
 
Not only does God require perfect obedience from each person, He also requires continual obedience, that is, always keeping His will. After all, it wasn’t enough for Adam and Eve to obey God for a while and then stop doing it. God requires continual obedience. The catechism puts it this way: “…and perpetual obedience….”
 
What is more, it is not merely obeying God outwardly that God requires, yet not doing it out of love from the heart (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8). God wants us to worship and love Him alone as God (Deuteronomy 6:4-6; Matthew 22:37-38): “…that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength….” 
 
Additionally, the fifth requirement flows out of the fourth (1 John 4:7-21), and that is to love others as self—and thus to put them ahead of self, seeking God’s best for them (Matthew 22:39; 1 Cor. 13:1-8)“…and love our neighbor as ourselves….” 
 
The fourth and fifth requirements are at the heart of these obligations, for they summarize all seven. This is how Matthew 22:37-40 says it: "And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
 
The sixth requirement is part of a duo of closing responsibilities: “What God forbids should never be done….” Given all that has been said above, this first part of the due follows. An example is the seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
 
The other half of the closing duo is this: “…and what God commands should always be done.”  Like with number six, this follows from all said above. An example is Leviticus 19:18: “You…shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This means to fall short of loving your neighbor and what that requires, is sin. 
 
We have become so used to the will of God as revealed in His laws, especially the Ten Commandments, that we take them for granted. Yet, when we take the time to look at what God requires behind His laws not only helps us in obeying them, but shows us just how good and wise they are. 
 
Thank You, God, for Your laws!
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

There are some words we use as Christians that are a regular part of our vocabulary and yet we never stop to define them or to think about what they mean. There is no word of which this is truer than that of “glory” and “glorify.” We often talk about glorifying God and yet what does that mean and how do we glorify God?
 
If you can’t answer that, you have come to the right place, that is the sixth question and answer of The New City Catechism. We learned in question and answer four that one of the purposes for which God created us was to glorify Him. Now, the catechism explains how to do this. Here is what we read: “How can we glorify God? Answer: We glorify God by enjoying him, loving him, trusting him, and by obeying his will, commands, and law.”  
 
The Hebrew words behind “glory” and “glorify” mean literally “weight,” “weighty,” or “to show to be weighty.” God’s glory, then, is His weightiness, His magnificence and greatness that is unique and which He does not share with anyone else (Isaiah 42:8; 46:9-10). When we glorify God, then, we are not making Him look weighty or magnificence, but we are acknowledging and showing the weightiness, the magnificence which is part of the essence of God (Psalm 96:6-8). The Greek terms used in the Old Testament Greek translation and then the New Testament itself mean the same things (cf. Matt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 10:31).
 
This sixth answer of the Catechism highlights some of the key ways we glorify God.
 
First, we glorify God “by enjoying Him.” Paul explains this in Philippians 1:20-23. Paul affirms that Christ is magnified in him when he values Jesus Christ even more than life. The way that this plays out for Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 is that God is glorified through the cheerful giving of self, resources, and finances to meet the needs of others. One of the points of each of these passages is that when the Lord is served out of delight, this glorifies Him more than doing it merely out of duty, just like when a wife is more honored when a husband brings home flowers out of delight for her as opposed to mere duty.
 
Next, we glorify God by “loving him.” Since God is eternally and essentially love (1 John 4:8), one who has loved for eternity within the Trinity (John 17:24-26), and since He created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-28), this means that God made us to love Him (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37) and others (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 22:39). In fact, love of others flows out of our love for God (Matt. 22:37-40; 1 John 4:20). We are made to love and we will love something(s) or someone(s) first and foremost. We are to love our Lord and Savior more than anyone or anything else (Luke 14:25-26), for this not only displays His glory in whose image we are created, it also displays His worth, He is preeminent over all (Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:15, 17), and we should love Him as such. This glorifies Him.  
 
What is more, we glorify God by “trusting him.” One place we discover this is in Psalm 50:15, where Asaph reveals why God has ordained prayer as a means of provision. He has done so because in our dependence upon Him, our trust in Him, through prayer, we glorify Him: “…and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” Let me illustrate how this works.
 
Imagine that you have had severe abdominal pain for a couple excruciating days and you finally meet with your physician about it. Tests are run and then he shares with you the good news. He has determined what is wrong and there is a medication for you to take for two weeks that will stop the pain. In fact, the pain should diminish within a couple days of starting on the medication. The question is, “Will you take the medication?” Imagine that you have been treated by your physician for several years and always found him to be very capable. You have had very good success with him. Let me ask again, “Will you take the medication?” No doubt the answer would be, “Yes.”
 
Suppose you go on the medication, and it works as he said it would. Two months later you have a friend who has the same abdominal pain you previously had. You tell them about your experience and recommend your physician.
 
What has happened in this scenario? You went to your physician and asked for help, which is similar to prayer and asking God for help. Your physician receives the honor because you asked—demonstrating you were not sufficient to treat yourself, but he knew how to help you. As a result, you receive the benefit.
 
The same is true when we trust in God and go to Him in prayer.
 
There is something else that happened in this scenario. Not only did you trust your physician and asked for help. You also trusted him with his prescribed treatment, and you did what he told you to do. You took the medication. This leads us to the next and last way we glorify God, according to The New City Catechism.
 
Finally, it is said here that we glorify God by “obeying his will, commands, and law.”  In Deuteronomy 11:1 we read: “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.” See also John 14:15, where Jesus Himself said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
 
What we have shown, then, is that since God is glorified through enjoying, loving, and trusting Him, He also is glorified through our obeying Him.
 
The New City Catechism has reminded us in question and answer four God created us to glorify Him. Now, in this sixth question and answer, we have learned how to glorify Him. Nothing could be more important for us to understand and to do than this. May we, then, glorify Him in whatever we do (1 Corinthians 10:31).
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

During a recent morning walk I saw a sad encounter between a mom and her child on the sidewalk in front of their home. The mom was trying to get the young boy to go to school and he was yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs. Now I don’t know for sure what the context was. And there could be unseen factors. But one thing was for sure, that boy had missed a key goal that should be set for all young lives. The fifth commandment reads, “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Sons and daughter are to learn to submit to the authority of their parents and this, in turn, helps them learn to submit to the authority of God. Leviticus 19:32 (NIV) captures the connection: “Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.”
 
Why should we be motivated to submit to the authority of God? The answer is found in the fifth question and answer in The New City Catechism: “What else did God create? Answer: God created all things by his powerful Word, and all his creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule.” This answer is derived from Genesis 1:31: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. . . .” To say that everything was “very good” in part means that it serves the well-being of the world through its having all it needs to bring about God’s glory and humans’ benefit.
 
God’s rule in Eden was loving. It is always loving and it is best to live under His rule. Here are just a few statements from the Bible that demonstrate this.
 
1. God gave His people-benefiting revelation of His will and life wisdom for both His glory (Deut. 4:1-8) and the good of people (Deut. 10:13; Psalm 19:7-11). In other words, living under God’s rule is benefiting and good.
 
2. Because of number 1, it follows that, God’s “commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
 
3. All the world’s brokenness arises from man’s sin, the curse of sin on the world, and thus, that humans want to live as their own kings and queens and not under God’s rule (Gen. 3:1-19; Rom. 8:18-25).
 
4. The hope of the world is the coming of God’s kingdom, which has already started (Mark 1:14-15) but it is not fully here yet (Matt. 6:10). Once God’s kingdom is here in full, His loving rule will be restored fully (Rev. 21-22).
 
5. Jesus Himself taught that those who have come into the kingdom of God and his loving rule through Jesus are the truly happy ones (Matt. 5:3-10). As a result, those who hear and keep the Word of God are blessedly happy (Luke 11:28), for they live under the loving rule of God.
 
6. Finally, teaching children the need to live under God’s rule for flourishing is loving since it shows us we all fail at this and need a Savior who has lived under God’s rule perfectly, as well as fully paid the penalty for their sins (See Paul’s argument in Romans 1-8, and his statement in Gal. 3:24-25).
 
Scripture teaches us that God’s rule is loving. It is important to teach right and wrong from Scripture, but as number six above reminds us, it is not enough. It is only in and through the gospel we come to live under God’s loving rule.
 
May we never fall for the lie that true freedom is freedom from authority. No! true freedom is knowing the King as Savior and living under His rule (Gal. 5:1, 13; Heb. 12:23)!
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

Imagine these following scenarios.
 
A car traveling east on Interstate 80 decides to construct its own rules and speed limit by driving in the west bound lane at 100 miles an hour. The outcome? Disaster!
 
A mom making a sandwich for her son who has a peanut allergy decides to construct her own guidelines for what is healthy and puts peanut butter in the sandwich. The outcome? Disaster!
 
After hearing that golf ball size hail is coming his way in a severe thunderstorm, a man decides to construct his own sense of a wise decision and leaves his new car out of the garage. The outcome? Disaster! 
 
In each of these scenarios we find examples of constructivism, a view that is convinced a person can construct their own reality. The disastrous results remind us that a person cannot construct their own reality.
 
In our next question and answer in The New City Catechism, #4 (“How and why did God create us? Answer: God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory.”), several areas of life are addressed in which many people currently construct their own reality, and with disastrous results. They all revolve around God’s creation of the world. Let’s briefly look at these.
 
Creation 
In order to escape any accountability that would come with there being a God, many have constructed their own reality about the origin of the world in a theory known as evolution or macroevolution. The results have been disastrous in that people have been encouraged to believe only in what they can see and touch, human beings have been diminished to no more importance than animals, and belief in God has been thought to be obsolete. Yet, the Bible clearly tells us, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). 
 
The Image Of God
Because so many have lost sight of God in the origin of the world, it also follows that they have constructed their own reality about who humans are and how important they are. The prevalence of abortion, assisted suicide, and a devaluing of the aged and infirm are all a direct result of this loss. It is in direct contradiction to what the Bible teaches: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) Human life is sacred since humans are created in the image of God: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Gen. 9:6)
 
Binary Sexuality
One of the most prevalent ways constructivism is being practiced today is in this area. God created humans male and female and He ordained marriage as only between a male and female, to give a picture of the ultimate bridegroom and bride, Jesus Christ and the Church (Eph. 5:32). To recognize this and live out this reality brings happiness and results in the best way to live (Deut. 10:12-13; Ps 112:1; Luke 11:28). Today’s constructivism often concludes that, “God put me in the wrong body, so I must transition,” or “Rather than loving and/or being in an intimate relationship with one of the opposite sex, I will be happier in such a relationship with one of my own sex.” Such ends in disaster, God’s judgment (Romans 1:26-27), much pain to those who live “alternative lifestyles,” and it opposes the clear teaching of the Bible: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)
 
The World’s Purpose
 To realize that God is the only God, the only Creator, and He has revealed how He constructed the world and humans best to live, leads to life purposes that fit with the reality of Him, His world, and our purposes: To know Him (Jeremiah 9:23-24; John 17:3), love Him (Matthew 22:37-40), live with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 21:1-7), and to glorify Him (Isaiah 43:7; Romans 11:34-36). 
 
There are many questions and answers in The New City Catechism that deal with very important topics, but none are more important than this fourth one because constructivism, in many ways, has replaced Secular Humanism as the number one challenge to a biblical worldview. In this one question and answer we find the biblical response in succinct form. 
 
Commit this question and answer to memory, teach it to the next generation, and talk about it often with your children. If you don’t, the world will catechize them in constructivism, otherwise known as sin. 
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

In Jeremiah 13:23 the prophet, after telling Judah they will face judgment from a northern enemy, addresses the topic of repentance. Yet rather than calling them to make a 180 degree turn from the immoral, disobedient direction they are going, the point he makes is that he knows they will not repent because they can’t. Sin has become a strong part of their nature, who they are. Here is the way he says this (literally): “Can the Sudanese change his skin or the leopard his spots? In the same way, you are able to do good, as disciples of evil.” Jeremiah’s point is that the inhabitants of Judah are as capable of doing good as the Sudanese person is of changing his skin color or the leopard getting rid of his spots. Doing evil has become who they are. Literally, he says they are “disciples of evil.” In the Hebrew mind, a disciple becomes like the teacher (Luke 6:40). The inhabitants of Judah, through the constant training and catechism of evil, are transformed into the same image.
 
What Jeremiah 13:23 reminds us of is that someone or something (or both) will disciple (or catechize) us and/or our children through sheer repetition. Our task is to catechize intentionally self and family so that we become more and more like Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:18) and not like the world system that opposes God (1 John 2:15-17). This is why we are currently encouraging you to think through and memorize The New City Catechism.
 
With this reminder of its importance in mind, we now come to the third question: “How many persons are there in God? Answer: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.” Though the Bible does not use the word, “Trinity,” it very clearly teaches it, and highlights its importance. Let’s see how this is so.
 
What Trinity Means
The word Trinity means tri-unity. In other words, it means that God is one in three.
 
To start, God is always and at each moment, He has always been, and always will be three persons. As the catechism says, “There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.” The Father is fully God, yet He is not the Son or the Spirit. The Son is fully God, yet He is not the Father or the Spirt. The Spirit is fully God, yet He is not the Father or the Son.
 
Next, we must see that though God is three persons, He is only one God, as the catechism affirms: “the one true and living God.”
 
Even more important than what Trinity means is that the Bible teaches it. Here are just a few examples.
 
The Bible Teaches The Doctrine of The Trinity
Luke 3:21-22 highlights that God is three persons, distinct from each other, and God is always and at one and the same time three persons: “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (emphasis added)
 
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commissioned us with these words and, in the process, shows that God is one God (one name) and yet three persons: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit….” (emphasis added)
 
In Paul’s closing prayer of blessing for the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:14, we see the three persons doing and being only what the one God can do and be: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (emphasis added)
 
These are just three of many examples we could give, yet they are enough to make the point that the Bible Teaches God has always been, is, and always be at all times and at each moment one God in three persons.
 
Of course many of us might think, “That’s all nice, but does this really matter?  Isn’t this a doctrine that only scholars care about?” Let’s answer this.
 
The Doctrine of the Trinity Is Important
There are a number of reasons this is important.
 
1. This is who God is and God takes delight in us knowing who He is and what He is like (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
 
2. The only way that God can be eternally and at His very essence love (“God is love.” 1 John 4:8), is to be a Trinity. If God is only a one person God, He would have had no one to love until He created and so could not have been love in His very essence for eternity.
 
3. The Trinity shows God has always been at His very essence a Father, the “begetter” (1 John 5:1). The ultimate Word or communication to us from and about God is the Son (John 1:1, 14, 18; Heb. 1:1-3) and the Son reveals to us that for all eternity the first person of the Trinity has been Father (John 1:14; 3:16) and this means that he is one who “begets,” who gives birth, who gives life (Dt. 32:18; 1 John 5:1). This shows that at the very core of His being God is one who gives true and full life, who overflows with good and love.
 
4. Related to number three is that the Father has always and eternally overflowed with, He has radiated out with His glory, embodied in the Son (Hebrews 1:3), which shapes how God overflows to create the world and to express His love in its most intense way through the love that saves sinners (John 3:16; Romans 5:6, 8; 8:28-39). This love has always been present in the Father and Son’s love for each other (John 17:24), which has been poured out among them by the Spirit (Romans 5:5).
 
5. The Savior, in addition to being fully human, had to be fully God, which means a triune God is important. He had to be God since God ultimately is the Redeemer or Savior of man (Isaiah 43:3; Jonah 2:9), most likely no mere man could have undergone the eternal wrath of God in that short period of time as a sin-offering (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 John 2:1-2), and the sacrifice and the priest offering the sacrifice had to be without sin (Rom. 5:12-19; Hebrews 9:1-14; 10:1-22)—and deity safe-guarded his sinlessness (Lk. 1:35). The Savior also had to be man since He was taking the place of sinful humans as the perfect man (Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:5-18; 9:1-14). To have a Savior who is fully God and fully man demands the reality and teaching of the Trinity behind it.
 
6. The Bible tells us that the Trinitarian God, the one who has been in community as the three persons of the Trinity for all eternity, created man in His image (Genesis 1:26; 5:1-2; 9:6; James 3:9). This sets the stage or us to see we are meant to be individuals who are also community beings. What is more, we are alike and different.
 
7. The Bible teaches us that God is eternally happy (1 Timothy 1:11) and that he does all things at some level out of his pleasure (Pss. 115:3; 135:6). Most often in Scripture pleasure, happiness, and joy are spoken of as radiating out of one’s being, but also in response to others. As a result, God’s eternal happiness and pleasure would relate to His being eternally a God of love as a God in community (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)—each person giving pleasure to the other persons.
 
8. The Bible tells us that the Trinity is the model for how God created man and woman (different to be in marital union, that is, one (1 Corinthians 11:3). When we come to see what the Bible teaches about the persons of the Trinity being equal in value, glory, power, and significance, having different main roles, and each person sharing in all the works of the Trinity outwardly, what significance do all these truths have for how we should approach marriage?
 
9. Seeing the beauty of God is a great desire of the godly (Psalms 27:4; 96:6) and, as can be seen in the above teaching about the Trinity, we can conclude we see God’s beauty in the Trinity.
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

When it comes to God, too many people, including Christians, are like an individual who thinks they know the president of the United States since he greeted them during a White House tour.  In other words, “I know God. I know about God. After all, I have gone to church.”
 
Yet, the true knowledge of God is so much more important than merely knowing Him in a surface way or knowing something about Him. Consider the significance the Bible gives to this.
 
True eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son. John 17:3 reads: “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
 
Knowing the true God is more than knowing some things about Him or merely being outwardly religious. Rather, it includes being transformed internally by God. Jeremiah 9:25, in the context of knowing God, makes this point: “‘A time is coming,’ says the LORD, “when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit…” (NLT).
 
God delights in people knowing Him. Jeremiah 9:23-24 captures this: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’”
 
The knowledge of God is crucial to navigating intense suffering, as we see in the book of Job: “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; 6 therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6)
 
Israel was destroyed for their lack of knowledge of God, as Hosea 4:6 affirms: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
 
Finally, as we discover in the Psalms (Psalms 34; 46; 86; 96; and 100 are good examples), it is difficult to trust in, depend upon, bring our needs in prayer to, and/or worship God, unless we know Him and know what He is like. Here is how David prays to and worships God in Psalm 86:1-15:
Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 2 Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God. 3 Be gracious to me, O Lord for to you do I cry all the day. 4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 5 For you, O LORD, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. 6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. 7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. 8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. 10 For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God…. 12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 13 For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol…. 15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
 
Nothing will help us anymore to know God than to know what He is and what He is like. This is why The New City Catechism places early on in its questions (number two), “What is God?” It follows the Westminster Catechism, which placed the same question as number four. The answer given to the second question of The New City Catechism is this: “God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in His power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through Him and by His will.” The supporting Scripture is Psalm 86:8-10, 15 (see above).
 
If you would like to grow in your knowledge of God, to strengthen your trust in, dependence upon, prayer to, and/or worship of Him, I would encourage you not only to study Psalm 86:5-10, 15 more carefully, but also to memorize this second question and answer in The New City Catechism.
 
Few things will bring you greater joy.
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus gives us an important lesson in hope without using that word. He says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 
 
There are two reasons Jesus gives for His disciples to lay up treasures in heaven and not on earth: First, what or whom we are trusting for our treasure (our hope for happiness) other than God directs the heart in that same direction and away from God. Second, earthly treasures are not lasting, but heavenly treasures are. In other words, they are a better investment and reflect a better object of hope. 
 
What Jesus teaches here reveals that whatever we put our hope in other than God is a poor replacement for Him. Is your hope in your house and never allowing change to your familiar setting? There will come a day you must leave that home for the last time, in a family member’s car to the assisted living center, in an ambulance to the hospital, or in a hearse to the funeral home. Is your hope your physical ability and health? Someday they will be in your rearview mirror. Are you placing your hope in your vocation? Your working days are numbered. 
 
There is only one hope that we have in life that is certain and lasting, since it goes beyond death, and that is to know that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ and we have a true relationship with God (John 3:16; 1 John 1:3, 7).
 
This is the focus of the first question and answer of The New City Catechism, which reads: “What is our only hope in life and death?  Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.”
 
“Our only hope in life and death” speaks of the only ultimate object of hope that is certain and cannot be taken away. Standing behind the statement that, “We are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ,” is the awareness that the history of redemption and the Scriptures are organized around covenants that God makes with people that show He has committed Himself to be their God and for them to be His people, belonging to Him (Ex. 6:7; 19:4-6; 29:45; Lev. 26:12; Jer. 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; Ezekiel 11:20; 14:11; 36:28; 37:27; 2 Cor. 6:16; Rev. 21:7).
 
The idea of covenant also highlights that God chooses, saves, and transforms His people by His sovereign grace. When a person has truly trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, this means they are objects of God’s sovereign grace and love, which assures us of a certain future and eternity. This, then, is the point of this first question. Paul words the truth this way in Romans 14:7–8: "For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s."
 
The New City Catechism follows the Heidelberg Catechism (1562) in both including this question and answer and placing it first. It is not hard to see why. This is one of the most important questions we can ask and answer, and to settle in our own life. Make it your ambition to live by and in line with the truths communicated here. We belong to Him and He is committed to us. As such, the final words of Psalm 23 provide unequaled comfort: “Surely goodness and steadfast love shall hotly pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

Over the past nine years I have encouraged the use of The New City Catechism (hereafter NCC), which debuted in 2017. This catechism derives from both the Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647, hereafter WSC) and the Heidelberg Catechism(1563). The NCC is more useful for contemporary users since it has only fifty-two questions (as opposed to the one hundred, seven of the WSC), its length makes it possible to memorize and/or to go through in one year, it has a free app that also makes it easier to use, the app can be put in children’s mode and used with younger readers, and it gives a great overview of the key doctrines of the Bible. 
 
Professing Christians who have been in Evangelical churches any time at all may think it odd that anyone is encouraging the use of a catechism.  There is not only a prejudice against such tools, but a great deal of misunderstanding.  Many conclude, “Catechetical instruction is one of those religious hoops to jump through in cold, sterile congregations!”[1]  Like any tool, a catechism can be misused and sometimes is.  However, this does not negate their helpfulness if utilized properly—namely to ground a person in the basics of the gospel and the Scriptures.
 
The lack of biblical and theological understanding among the Church today is well documented.[2]  Part of this stems from a misunderstanding of grace, one which suggests we should exercise easy belief (mere mental assent) in Jesus Christ as Savior and then try to stay away from study as far as we can, lest we become legalistic and/or make our Christianity something less than a relationship.  It is almost as if the less we know, the more we can claim, “Hey, it’s all about a relationship with Jesus!” The lack of biblical literacy also stems from the fact that the contemporary Church has made little use of theologically substantive training materials that can aid believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  
 
Catechisms are just such a tool. They are designed to root and ground children, new saints, and inquiring unbelievers in the basics of the faith and the gospel. In fact, since it was so common in the early church for those who had professed faith in Jesus Christ eventually to turn away from their profession, catechisms were developed to help the person “decide if he still wanted to submit to Christian baptism and gave the church opportunity to discern (as far as human observation can do this) the genuineness of his, or her, conversion…. This use of catechisms served as a safeguard for the purity of the church.”[3]
 
The term catechism is taken from the Greek word katecheo, which means “teach” or “instruct”. To catechize “simply means to teach Biblical truth in an orderly way.  Generally, this is done with questions and answers accompanied by Biblical support and explanation.”[4]  Catechetical instruction is not something done only in Roman Catholic or cold liberal churches.  In fact, it was one of the factors which enabled the Reformation of the 16th-17th centuries to remain on solid footing and to spread successfully.[5]
 
The use of the NCC fits in our church since we are a church serious about having a biblical, experiential knowledge of God, we value making disciples, and we value parents equipping their children for the Christian life. This tool helps with each of these values. 
 
Because of all this, I will take us through the NCC in my newsletter articles over the next year. There may be occasional weeks I will break from this and write on something else. But for the most part I will write on one question and answer a week.  
 
My prayer is that God will use these articles in your life, the life of your children, and the lives of those whom you are discipling. I also pray that He, His Word, and the truth of the gospel, will be opened up in new and fresh ways for your delight in Him and for His glory.
 
Your Joyful Catechizing Pastor,
 
Tom

Church, I am writing this article with my own self-interest in mind. I would like to encourage you to pray for me and all our pastors/elders at the church. This guidance for prayer arises from glorious encouragement given to pastors in Jeremiah 3:15-19.
 
In Jeremiah 3:1-14 the prophet clarifies that Judah has been unfaithful toward and treacherous against God, following in the footsteps of her sister, the northern ten tribes of Israel. Yet, this tone changes with 3:15-19, where it is prophesied that in the future God will save a remnant and enable them to be faithful to Him and so will experience covenant blessings.
 
It is in these four covenant blessings found in this passage we discover the joyous message for pastors that can guide us in praying for them.
 
1. God will give faithful pastors in the future. 15
In verse 17, the phrase, “at that time,” speaks of the time of the New Covenant (cf. 30:3; 31:1) that includes a work of God’s Spirit in the heart to transform His people more fully and powerfully, so they have more of an ability to please God (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-27). This is the very New Covenant Jesus ratified with his blood (Luke 22:20). We read in verse 15, “And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”  
 
What Jeremiah is prophesying is that in the time of the New Covenant (the period we now are in) the empowerment that comes through the rich pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon us and His continual indwelling of us, leads to two outcomes that are different than what Judah experienced from her shepherds during the days of Jeremiah.
 
To start, these New Covenant shepherds (in other words, pastors) will be “after My own heart,” says God. This means that these pastors will want to please God (1 Samuel 13:14; Psalm 143:10) by following God’s will and seeking to carry out their ministry in a way that delights God.
 
Under the New Covenant, Christians are empowered to serve God faithfully and fruitfully. This not only includes Christians at large, but Jeremiah singles pastors out in this prophecy. Does this mean that they will always do what is right, will be perfect, and always see wonderful outward success?  No. It does mean that God will supply every need of pastors (Phil. 4:19) to preach faithfully, to remain steadfast and patient when people oppose them (Gal. 5:22; 2 Thes. 3:5), and to find comfort when they face temptations to give up (2 Thes. 2:16-17).
 
Note what else is promised in this verse: “And I will give you shepherds…who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”   The shepherds God promised to give will shepherd according to knowledge and so as to give knowledge about God through His Word and, with this knowledge, the insight as to how to live out the knowledge. This does not mean that pastors/elders can be passive in their preaching ministry and God will just fill them with His knowledge. As Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:7: “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Pastors/elders must study and work to understand Scripture, but to do it all along the way relying upon the grace of God in Jesus Christ to understand and to help others apply Scriptural truth.
 
I am so comforted and encouraged by this prophecy. God has promised centuries ago to empower His pastors in the New Testament Church to do everything to which He calls them. Additionally, He tells us elsewhere (Eph. 2:10) that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we (yes, also pastors!) should walk in them.”
 
Pastors can preach the Word boldly, courageously, and by trust in our Lord! He is and ever will be our helper.
 
Though this promise does not mean there will always be large outward success, nevertheless God has promised that in this New Covenant era He will give success to the Church in carrying out the mission He has given to us. This should move pastors to pray, trust, and act boldly! Let’s look at this more closely in verses 16-17.
 
2. God will enable His Church to carry out His mission successfully. 16-17
In verse 16 we discover this startling promise: “And it shall be that when you have multiplied and have been fruitful in the land, in those days, according to the declaration of Yahweh, they shall no more say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ It shall not come up upon the heart and it shall not be remembered in it and it shall not be visited/sought; it shall not be done again.”
 
I say this is startling because what God is saying through Jeremiah is that in the New Covenant era (now!) God will enable His people to fulfill the Creation Mandate as it never has previously. That mandate in Gen. 1:27-28 includes these words: “So God created man in his own image…male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…on the earth.’” In other words, God will enable His people through this New Covenant to fill the world with God worshipers as has never previously happened.
 
And notice that at that time, the “ark of the covenant of Yahweh” will be a thing of the past. Why?  Because the picture and lesson it provided under the Old Covenant is fulfilled in Jesus Christ (see John 1:14; 2:18-19; Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 8-10). There is nothing unclear here. These promises are for this New Covenant era.
 
Notice also the focus in v. 17, which is made by using Old Testament worship language and pictures, is on the nations coming to the true God: “At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Yahweh, and all nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they shall not any more walk after the stubbornness of their own evil heart.” Revelation 5:9-10 displays that this is fulfilled in the New Covenant era: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’” Though the complete fulfillment of this will be seen in the future New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1-8), the fulfillment has been largely started now.
 
God, through Jeremiah, not only promises multitudes of people will come to the true God through Jesus Christ, He also promises that there will be significant ethical transformation in the people of God. We will see this in verse 18.
 
3. God will unify His divided people.
The way Jeremiah makes this point is as follows: “In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north upon the land that I gave as an inheritance to your fathers.”
 
We may not feel the power of this until we remind ourselves that the nation of Israel was to be a “light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6), to draw the nations to worship the true God through witnessing the wise, law-keeping behavior of God’s people (Deuteronomy 4:6-8) who love one another (cf. Leviticus 19:17-18). Yet, they failed miserably, so much so that the nation divided into two sub-nations (cf. 1 Kings 11-12; 2 Chronicles 10).
 
What Jeremiah describes here, then, is a supernatural work of God in His people that unites them in one Savior, as one people, who will finally display their true relationship to God by their love for one another and their unity (John 13:34-35; 17:20-21).
 
How do we know that God will keep these promises?  Consider verse 19.
 
4. Our certainty is found in this: We are dealing with a covenant-faithful God!
“And I myself said, ‘Oh how I would have set you among [My] children, and I would have given you a land of pleasant desire, an inheritance of glorious beauty [above] the hosts of nations.  And I said you would call me, My Father,  and would not turn from following me.”
 
God showed Himself faithful always to His people under the Old Covenant, even when they were not faithful to Him. He says to Judah, through Jeremiah here, that if they had trusted in Him and thus been faithful to Him, He would have blessed them as He promised He would. Yet, they broke covenant with God (Jeremiah 31:32). Once again, God shows that He will certainly be faithful to His people under the New Covenant, for that covenant will never be broken since it is ratified and kept by a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ (Jeremiah 31:31-34; 2 Corinthians 1:20).
 
How, then, we should pray for pastors/elders.
1. These promises in Jeremiah 3:15-19 show how good God is, how much we can trust Him, and how much we ought to be willing to come to Him for His good gifts of the New Covenant. Pray that pastors/elders would have an experiential knowledge of this goodness of God.
 
2. Pray that pastor/elders never rely on self as they preach to and lead their people. What God has called them to is a ministry that He has equipped them to carry out and will continue to do so. After all, the same anointing of the Spirit to preach that Jesus had in His earthly ministry (Luke 4:18) is also what pastors have since they are united with Him (Romans 6:1-11; Ephesians 2:4-6).
 
3. Pray that as pastors/elders prepare to preach and to lead the church, they do so in the confidence that God has empowered them in Christ so they can not only see people trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, since they have been born again (1 John 5:1), pastors/elders can also see lives transformed by the Word preached (John 17:17; Rom. 1:16; 10:17; 16:25; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
 
4. Pray that as pastors/elders preach the Word, they do so by standing upon God’s promises, for He is a covenant-keeping, a promise-keeping God—through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).
 
5. Pray that as pastors/elders approach each sermon, they expect God to change hearts and lives.
 
Joyfully Shepherding You As You Pray!
 
Pastor Tom

It is easy for people to think that my continual emphasis upon joy is a secondary issue that a Christian can take or leave—it doesn’t really matter. If that is how you respond, prepare to change, for Paul shows beyond a doubt in 2 Corinthians 9:7 just how important our joy is.
 
In 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul encourages the Corinthians to follow through with giving money, as they had promised to do (2 Cor. 8:10-11), to help support Christians in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-28; 1 Cor. 16:1-4) who are experiencing poverty due to the intense persecution.  
 
To move the hearts of the Corinthians to give, Paul not only holds up the churches of Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea) as models of faithful and generous giving (8:1-5), he also puts front and center the gracious, generous giving of Jesus Christ Himself (8:9) as an example: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
 
In 2 Cor. 9:6-7 Paul is ready to make his main appeal to the Corinthians to complete their giving: “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  
 
I want to zero in on the last clause, “for God loves a cheerful giver.” The adjective translated as “cheerful” is the Greek term, hilaros. It is the origin of the word hilarious. Though it appears only here in the New Testament, it appears in Greek literature to speak of that which is greatly “cheerful,” “glad,” or “merry.”  In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it speaks of great delight a person would have in God the Almighty, when He is their great treasure (Job 22:25-26). As we see here in 2 Cor. 9:7, such cheerful giving is the opposite of giving “under compulsion.”
 
Why is this a kind of giving that God loves? There are a number of reasons that arise from the context:
 
Cheerfulness, that is joy, moves a person to give toward those things that are important to God, such as helping fellow Christians in need (2 Cor. 8:1-5).
 
The reason that Christians want to please God is because they love Him, since He first loved them (1 Thes. 1:3 [cf. 1 John 4:19]).
 
True love for and worship of God begin in the heart (Matt. 22:37) and one of the great movements of the heart that marks true love for and worship of God is joy (Ps. 100:1-2; Gal. 5:22; 1 Thes. 5:16-18).
 
It demonstrates the reality of a Christian’s faith in the gospel (2 Cor. 9:13), which has a significant impact upon others who witness this or benefit from such cheerful giving (2 Cor. 9:12).
 
It leads others to give thanks to and to glorify God because of your cheerful giving (2 Cor. 9:12-13). After all, as author and Bible teacher, John Piper, has famously said in his comments on Philippians 1:20-23: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him” (see also John 14:12-14; 16:23-24).
 
God desires and commands us to give systematically and regularly (Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; 1 Cor. 16:2) to fund His work and to benefit others. Since joy is a motivation for such giving, we see just how important it is.
 
May you join Him cheerfully and generously in the work He is doing!
 
Your Joyfully Giving Pastor,
 
Tom

I enjoy reading biographies. Not long ago I read one that had been on my reading list for a long time: My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir, by Clarence Thomas. In this work Justice Thomas tells how he was raised by grandparents and particularly it was his grandfather who had a lasting, life-shaping impact upon his work ethic, faith, and sense of responsibility. There was gratitude expressed for his grandfather, even though he was open about the reality that he also made a lot of mistakes that made Thomas’ growing up years hard.
 
There is much we can learn from Justice Thomas about how to view our country. In this year in which we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration Of Independence, there is an important question we can ask and answer, especially those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ. Should we be patriotic, especially since, like with Justice Thomas’ grandfather, our country has not been perfect? Let me provide a sampling of reasons why we should.
 
1. We should be patriotic since at its core it involves thanks for our good country.
Just like with Justice Thomas and his grandfather, so we should give thanks for our country, even though it is not perfect.
 
We are called often in Scripture to give thanks. For example: “Give thanks to [the LORD]” (Psalm 100:4); “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Col. 4:2); “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
 
We should give thanks for the freedom we experience in this country, the rule of law that has guided us, the work ethic that has shaped it and enabled it to flourish. Of course, we can always improve, but it is a problem if we are not thankful for what God has given us in and what He has done for this country.
 
2. We should be patriotic since it does not necessarily put our country above God.
Because Jesus taught that we should love Him above all other things and relationships (Luke 14:26), some have concluded we cannot have a love for or be thankful for our country at all. Yet, we are never told in Scripture we should not love anyone since we are to love our God and Savior supremely. In fact, our love for God results in loving others (Matthew 22:37-40) and our love for God supremely should lead to our thankful and joyful acceptance of His good gifts (1 Tim. 6:17). This should include our country.
 
3. We should be patriotic since it involves thanksgiving and God has brought about the existence and flourishing of this country.
Since God “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) and since not even a sparrow “will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29), it leads us to see that God is behind the rise of this country. This does not mean that everything in or ever done by this country has God’s “stamp-of-approval” upon it. Yet, in this only country that has ever been founded on a creed, wrote G. K. Chesterton, the creed that, “All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” we should be grateful for this country, the hope it has afforded us, and others.
 
God stands behind and smiles on this country’s goal in the legal system and law enforcement that protects the law abiding and penalizes the law breaking (Romans 13:3-4).
 
So…
Go ahead and be patriotic. Give thanks for these 250 years. And, pray and work toward making the next 250 years even better!
 
Your Joyful, Patriotic Pastor,
 
Tom

Recently Karen and I have had significant time watching all or a portion of our grandchildren. Not only have these times been special because we love them and love to be with them, they have been such a sweet reminder from those days many years ago when we were raising our children and needed patience daily (even moment by moment).
 
Don’t get me wrong. Our grandchildren are well-behaved and so it has not been overly difficult. Yet, there have been those times, especially with the youngest ones, that they have acted their age and it can be tempting to be short with them. This is especially a temptation for parents who are in the middle of daily job, house, family, and so many other responsibilities and children do things that are frustrating, there is a need for patience.
 
Yet, why should we desire this?
 
1. Why Want Patience?
The first reason we should want to be patient is that patience is part of what God produces in us and the new life that He brings about when we are truly born again. In Colossians 3:12 patience is identified as part of this new life in Jesus Christ.
 
The second reason is related to the first. It is part of the fruit the Holy Spirit produces in us (Galatians 5:22). The word translated, “patience” in both Colossians 3:12 and Galatians 5:22 is makrothymia. This term is comprised of two terms meaning literally, “long wrath or fierceness.” In other words, patience is a virtue, a fruit of the Spirit, that means it takes a long time to get frustrated, angry, or to be irritable. Daniel Webster, in his 1828 dictionary, defined it this way: “A calm temper which bears evils without murmuring or discontent.” As we grasp what patience is, there should be a joyous desire in each Christian heart to live like this.
 
The third reason we should want to be patient is that this product of the Sprit which brings about Christlike new life, enables us to spread the fame of the name of Jesus Christ (Colossians 3:12, 17). In other words, it glorifies our Savior. These first three reasons are enough to move us to pursue patience.
 
Yet, a fourth reason we should want to be patient with our children, grandchildren, spouse, neighbor, or with anyone else, is that this is how we desire others to treat us. Since this is the case and since the renewed Christian heart wants to love, i.e. to treat others the way we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12), then we should want to be patient with others. We should think back to times as a child, for example, when adults were not patient with us and how that made us feel, and we should, motivated by Christlike love, desire more for our children.
 
It is one thing to speak of why we should want to be patient. But there is also a second question we should ask and answer.
 
2. How Can We Be Patient?  
In Colossians 3:12 and Galatians 5:22 both texts, read in light of their preceding context, show us that ultimately patience comes through Jesus Christ, His new life He effects in us and this through the Holy Spirit He richly pours out on us.
 
To flesh this out more clearly, we can say that we can be patient as we look to Jesus Christ…
 
a. As Savior.
Through Jesus’ saving work He gives us bold access to receive mercy and find grace for help in our time of need (Heb. 4:16), and He does this by treating us gently as one who has been clothed in weakness (5:2), which leaves Him able to sympathize with our weakness (Heb. 4:15). Dane Ortlund, Gentle And Lowly, explains that Jesus does not throw up His hands at our sin, failures, and weaknesses. Instead, as the one who suffered and died for us that we might be forgiven and transformed, He continually leans in and helps us with forbearance to change.
 
b. As Source.
In the passages we just looked at it also becomes clear that Jesus Christ, as our High Priest, empowers us to live like Him (see 2 Cor. 3:18), that is to be patient as He is patient.
 
c. As Standard.
We are being transformed into the same image as Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18), who is the ideal human (Heb. 2:5-8), and He exercises patient gentleness with us (Rom. 2:4; Col. 3:10, 12; Heb. 5:2). Therefore, we should desire and strive to be more like Him.
 
3. So, Be Patient.
When we treat those around us with the goal of Christ’s glory and their joy (1 Cor. 10:26-31; 2 Cor. 1:24), when we treat them as we desire to be treated ourselves, when we remember that the anger of humans never produces the righteousness that God requires (James 1:20), then we want to exercise patience and gentleness with them, even if we must correct them (2 Tim. 2:24-26). We want to be patient and, as we depend upon the grace of our great God (2 Thes. 1:11-12; 3:16, 180, we will be patient. Yet, when we are not, we will remember that the blood of Jesus Christ, the one who was patient in our place and continues to be patient withy us, continually cleanses us of our sins.
 
So, be patient for His glory and the joy of yourself and others!
 
Your Joyful Pastor, Aspiring To Be Patient,
 
Tom  

In this article I cover the remaining eight biblical reasons to oppose Socialism and Communism and, at the same time to advocate for a biblical approach to government, work, and economics.
 
9. God’s design for government is for limited tasks, tasks that include preserving righteousness and justice, not to provide for needs of a person, nor to take from one person to give to another. Rom. 13:1-4
 
Related to #8 is this reason: God does not give to government the purpose of controlling production, distribution, work, problem solving, etc. He has ordained government to do just a few key tasks, according to Rom. 13:1-4: “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. …do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.”
 
Socialism and Communism typically move in the direction of controlling their citizens so they conform to the purposes of the state and, as they do this, often turn upside down the stated purposes of the government. They often end up rewarding the law breaking and penalizing the law abiding.
 
10. Creation of jobs and wealth. Prov. 16:26; 31:18
As businesses flourish, they tend to need more workers and both owners and workers are motivated to work and grow the business even more to provide for all employees. The result is not only providing goods and services, but also creating more wealth for people to flourish. God designed it to work this way to His glory (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8). Just think of how the invention of the iPhone and its development over the past couple decades has created jobs and wealth, as well as opening up opportunities for all kinds of people throughout the world that they did not previously have.
 
Conversely, to disincentivize business owners and employees as Socialism and Communism tend toward, prohibits creating jobs and wealth. They also tend to disincentivize creativity and invention.
 
11. It is a good and biblical goal to seek to have and preserve freedom for people to make decisions and to act in ways that they want, which is the heart of freedom. Exodus 20:3-7; 1 Sam. 16:7; Mat. 15:18-19; Philemon 14
True religion or faith emerges from the heart, includes believing and doing what a person truly wants to believe and do, and includes worship of the true God as revealed in Scripture. Though political freedom is not absolutely essential for such religion or faith, nevertheless, freedom brings a greater level of flourishing.  Since centralized governments (such as Socialism and Communism) tend toward the removal of freedom (they tend toward strong control), they oppose this good and biblical goal.
 
12. We have no biblical examples of the approval of Socialism or Communism. Acts 2:45; 4:32-37; Acts 5:4
It has been common to point to the early Church in Acts 2:45 and 4:32-37 as examples of Socialism or Communism since many believers were selling land and other possessions to help those in need. However, Acts 5:4 makes it clear that all which was being given remained the property of the people who owned it before selling it and even once they sold it, they could determine how much of the earning to give to those in need. This is not Socialism or Communism. Instead, it is an example of the kind of generosity or safety net that can take place when people have flourished enough to have resources for their own families (1 Tim. 5:8) and for those in need (Eph. 4:28).
 
13. The biblical approach to government, work, economics, production, and distribution does not in any way encourage greed or envy, but the opposite (Acts 2:45; 4:32-37; 20:35; 2 Cor. 8-9; 1 Timothy 6:6-19: et. al.).
Conversely the history of Socialism and Communism have had a tendency to encourage envy and bitterness, that is, covetousness, over the lack of equal outcomes and resources. These theories, therefore, encourage the breaking of the tenth commandment (“You shall not covet….”).
 
14. The New Testament, specifically 2 Thes. 3:6-10, prohibits one aspect of Socialism and Communism, that is, the reception of life’s provisions without it being tied to work.
In verse six Paul addresses a problem that had been present in Thessalonica when Paul first visited there and when he wrote the first letter to them. Their conduct was disorderly, that is, it was idle, not given to work, and not ordered according to the Scriptural truth revealed to Paul and passed on to them:  “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you position yourself away from every brother who is walking in disorderliness and not in accord with the tradition which they received from us.”
 
Notice that Paul writes in the name (authority) of Jesus Christ. Paul was convinced this was what Jesus Christ taught and demanded in regard to the provision of life’s necessities. Life’s provisions were typically to come through one’s work, even though in dire situations they could temporarily come through charity. This opposed what many freedmen in the Greco-Roman world believed at this time, that work was beneath them. Yet, this was not to be so with followers of Jesus Christ. Paul even went on to say in verse ten: “For also when we were with you, this we were repeatedly commanding you: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”
 
What Paul writes here is consistent with what is learned in Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15; and Psalm 8, namely that humans, created in the image of God, reflect God through their work, which is part of their dignity, helps them flourish, and helps others flourish.
 
15. Given what we just discovered in 2 Thessalonians 3:6, we see that Jesus Christ, though a proponent for generous charity for those who are in need (Mat. 25:31-46), is just as much a proponent for work as the best means of provision.
Put another way, Jesus advocates a typical means of provision that comes through work, not through a Socialist or Communist approach.
 
16. Given the above 15 reasons, a sixteenth follows: Love demands Christians oppose Socialism and Communism, and advocate for a biblical approach to work, government, production, and distribution.
Love for God and for others demands that followers of Jesus Christ not only generously provide resources that meet the very essential needs people face (Mat. 25:31-46; Rom. 12:20; Titus 3:14), it also demands that we help people flourish through work that long term provides for their needs, the needs of their family, and for those who are in urgent need. Simply-put, love demands Christians oppose Socialism and Communism, and advocate for a biblical approach to work, government, production, and distribution.
 
Your Joyful Pastor,
 
Tom

Socialism and Communism are political and economic theories that advocate centralized, government-focused ownership, control, and distribution of goods, services, and property among a nation or people. Both of them shift production, provision, distribution, and problem solving for issues a nation or people face away from individuals to political entities. More specifically, we can define them this way:  Socialism is “a political and economic theory advocating collective ownership of the means of production and control of distribution.” Communism is a political and economic theory advocating for “the ownership of property, or means of production, distribution and supply by the whole of a classless society with wealth shared on the principle of ‘to each according to his need,’ each yielding fully ‘according to his ability.’”[1]
 
There has been much attention given to Socialism in our country recently (and by implication, Communism). I get the sense that many Christians have no idea why most Christians have historically opposed these two theories and why we should continue to oppose them.
 
Of course, how Christians have viewed things in history should be considered, but never serves as our ultimate authority. So, in what follows I provide sixteen reasons from Scripture why we should oppose Socialism and Communism and, at the same time, sixteen reasons to advocate for a biblical approach to government, work, and economics. I will cover eight in this article and the remaining eight in the next.
 
1. God created us to work so we, others, and the world can flourish. Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 8:5-6.
The original mission that God gave to humans, as seen in Genesis 1:26-28, was to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth with God worshipers and, at the same time, to help all the world flourish through our life, work, and giving people-benefiting order to all. This mission is part of the way we glorify God (Psalm 8) and it includes work (Genesis 2:15). In other words, God created humans in His image to work. Work is not a result of sin, though it is made harder by sin.
 
As we will see in what follows, this foundational truth stands underneath how God typically provides for humans (through work) and the reality God gives different talents to different people, so that these can be used toward this mission of helping the world and people flourish.
 
2. God created us to create, to solve problems, and this in diverse ways, based upon gifts, talents, and God’s providence.
This reason follows from the first one. It also seems to be supported by the fact God gives different gifts and talents to different people. This is true in the church (1 Cor. 12) but also outside the church. After all, wisdom (including skill) and might belong to Him, as well as the removal and setting up of kings (Daniel 2:20-21), something about which the Bible gives examples (Exodus 31:3; 1 Kings 5:8-9). When we remove production, problem-solving, and distribution from those who have been blessed by God with abilities for these kinds of things and place them in the hands of those not qualified and/or not in a position to make the best decisions (e.g. a centralized entity), this not only goes against God’s design, but ends up hurting people.  
 
3. God’s design is usually to provide through work. Gen. 2:15; Psalm 8; Prov. 6:10-11; 2 Thes. 3:10
Scripture is consistent throughout that God’s typical design is to provide for needs through work. This images and glorifies God (Gen. 1:26-28; Psalm 8). What this means is that the most productive way we can meet the needs of people is to advocate for biblical principles that stand underneath the best way government, production, work, and distribution can be done.
 
4. God’s design is that work provides for family, the poor, and the recipients of goods and services. Prov. 31:10-31; Eph. 4:28
Similarly to reason three, we can say that work does not just provide for a person’s needs, it provides for their family’s needs (Prov. 31:10-31; 1 Tim. 5:8) and it provides resources for workers to help those in need (Ruth 2; Eph. 4:28). This means that any approach to government, economics, and work that hurts the creation of wealth and jobs, in other words, that tends to hurt businesses (historically Socialism and Communism), will eventually diminish or do away with resources to provide for family and to help those in need.  
 
5. God’s design is to use a person’s appetite, their needs, to motivate them toward provision and flourishing. Prov. 16:26.
In other words, the need to put food on your own table and that of your family’s table, as well as to provide for all the other needs your family has and the families who work for you (if you are a business owner), motivates you to grow business, create jobs, and create wealth. Socialism and Communism have consistently hurt this motivation. After all, if the person who does not work, the person who works but not hard, the person who works hard, and the person who is in a position to create jobs for others all make the same, the motivation to do better is taken away, wealth is not created, jobs are not created, and those hurt the worst are those who have the least means.
 
6. Because #5 is true, it is imperative that the governmental approach of a nation or people not destroy the safety net.
In other words, though Socialism and Communism claim to be compassionate toward the poor, they hurt the very people they claim to help and in part it is because they are going upstream, against the grain of how God designed humans to work (see again Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; Ps. 8).
 
7. God’s design is for business and its wealth to bless and help others flourish. (Prov. 31:13-21)
Proverbs 31:18, speaking of the excellent or noble woman, says that, “She sees that her profit is good.” Why? In context it provides goods and services for others, it provides for her family, and it gives her resources to help the poor. God has designed it this way so that His people especially can be fruitful, multiply, fill the world with God worshipers, and help others flourish through their love, service, and yes their vocation. A centralized approach to work, production, distribution, and problem-solving opposes this design.
 
8. God’s will is not for what belongs to a person be taken from them against their will, including inordinate taxation. (Exodus 20:15)
Given what we have said so far about God’s design for humans, created in His image that they might glorify Him, helps us not to be surprised at the eighth commandment: “You shall not steal.” After all, if God allowed all (or even some) that the woman of Proverbs 31 owned, this would also disincentivize this woman from family providing, poor-helping, business that also helps others flourish through her business.
 
This also applies to the government taking an inordinate amount of money and resources of people and disincentivizing people from going into or growing their businesses. This will hurt all involved. Though Scripture is clear that taxes are appropriate for the tasks government has been given (Rom. 13:6), a system that works to keep taxes minimal best serves the citizenry.
 
In our next article I will cover the remaining eight reasons.
 
Your Joyful Pastor,
 
Tom
 
[1] Both of these definitions are taken from The New Lexicon Webster’s Dictionary Of The English Language (New York: Lexicon Publications, 1989).