Thinking Through 1 Corinthians 13: A More Excellect Way

Any reflection on Paul’s famous “Love Chapter” (1 Corinthians 13) must really begin in the last verse of the previous chapter. In chapter 12, Paul has begun his teaching on spiritual gifts, explaining God’s plan in giving diverse gifts to a unified body of believers. And after chapter 13, Paul will pick up this discussion of spiritual gifts. Truly, one could simply remove chapter 13 and the flow of Paul’s argument would run nearly seamless. The Love Chapter could be considered parenthetical, but that would be a great mistake. It is not parenthetical, but central (literally and thematically) to Paul’s discussion of the unity and diversity of the church.

This is evident in that last verse of chapter 12, when Paul begins to lead his readers up the mountain toward this shining treasure of love. He writes:

And I will show you a still more excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:31)

Love is more excellent. More excellent than what? Love is more excellent than the gifts of prophecy, healing, helping, miracles, and tongues. As wonderful as divine utterance is, love is the more excellent way. As thrilling as healing can be, love exceeds this miracle. Though tongues are affirmed by Paul, he elevates love above all else.

Do we value love like Paul did? Do my priorities reflect those of God’s word, counting the way of love as a still more excellent way than the marvelous gifts of discernment, wisdom, knowledge and faith?

Paul will go on to make the argument that without love the exercise of these gifts is meaningless. Discernment without love is proud. Wisdom without love is harsh. Faith without love is dead. Love is the prerequisite fruit for all kingdom-impact. It is a more excellent way…

More excellent than the ways of the world.
More excellent than power.
More excellent than fame.
More excellent than blunt honesty.

Your love is more excellent than your leadership.
My love is more excellent than my judgment.
Our love is more excellent than our pity, our anger, our memory, our intelligence.

Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. Love. That’s what I need to remind myself, if I am to stay on the still more excellent way.

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If you’re not familiar with Andrew’s music, you should be.

This Thanksgiving, Be a Blessing to the Persecuted Church

Blessings abound in the U.S. of A.  We can so quickly get bogged down in our own political and economic struggles that we lose perspective.  We have so much.  There’s really no way around that.  We have more food, more shelter, more comforts – and more liberty.

This Thanksgiving, I am reflecting on God’s grace to me by reaching out to a Christian brother who does not enjoy the freedoms we do.  His name is Sayed Mossa, and he is a husband and father of six.  He’s currently imprisoned in Afghanistan for converting to Christianity from Islam.  In his own words, he is in jail “due to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, saviour of the world.”  Since he was arrested and put in jail earlier this past May, he has been beaten, spat upon, made to go hungry, kept from sleep, sexually assaulted, and more.

According to Justin Taylor, we can help Sayed by writing him letters.  These letter can raise awareness of his plight and mount pressure for his release.  However, we need to be careful in what we write.  Letters should be short and should have no explicit reference to Christianity or Jesus.  Instead, we should address his situation as an issue of human rights.

Here’s the text of the letter I am mailing to Sayed:

Dear Sayed Mossa,

I am so sorry to hear of your mistreatment and unjust imprisonment.  Your story is being told around the world.  Many people care about you and hope to see you freed and able to return to your family, including me.

You are in my thoughts,
Jake Porter

Letters can be mailed to:

Mr. Sayed Mossa
c/o International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Charrahi Haji Yaquob
Shar i Naw
Kabul,
AFGHANISTAN

I hope you will join me in writing to Sayed, not only to raise awareness of his situation but also to provide him some encouragement.  As you write, please pray for him, as well.  Pray for his health and safety, for perseverance of faith, for his wife and children, and for those government officials who need to step out and boldly call for his release.

We are commanded to act on behalf of our persecuted brothers and sisters:  “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).  Let’s prove our faith by obedience.

Confessions of a Pastor: Possibly the dumbest ad I’ve ever seen.

Gmail provides the “service” of offering customized ads geared toward one’s particular fields of interest.  Basically, their servers pick up on keywords in your email and then select advertisements that match those words.  So, I frequently get political ads, ads from Forbes.com, mac-related site links, discount travel offers, etc.  Today, however, I saw the dumbest ad I’ve ever encountered.  Here’s a screen shot:

In case you can’t see the image, I’ll describe it.  A link says “Pastoral Studies Online – www.eLearners.com/Pastor – Become a Pastor From Home.  Get Free Info Today!”

Are you kidding me?  Is this a joke?  Become… a pastor… at home?

Look, I believe you can learn a lot of stuff online.  Learn a lot of good biblical theology, church history, even language studies.  But I’m quite convinced that no one becomes a pastor from home.

I’m by no means a top-notch pastor.  I’m a better teacher / preacher than pastor (not that the two are opposed, but by “pastor” here I am thinking more about the practical care and shepherding of church members than biblical teaching and instruction).  But I am working on it.  I want to be a good pastor.  And I am certain that I won’t become a pastor from home.

In my limited experience of six years, I’ve found that one learns to be a pastor in emergency rooms, funeral homes, and the post office.  I’ve had several pastoral lessons around dinner tables, on back porches, and the hallways at church.  A few instructive experiences consisted of phone calls, usually waking me up from a dead sleep.  I learned to pastor one time in a courthouse, and another couple of times during post-hurricane recovery efforts.

It wouldn’t be fair to say that none of my pastoral training has come from home.  I’ve had some really good periods of prayer for my church family at home, and that is part of pastoring.

Anyway, to any of you readers who aspire to be pastors, let me give you this word of wisdom:  If the link above appeals to you and you think it’d be great to “become a pastor from your home,” do us all a favor and pick a different vocation.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: A Study of Ecclesiastes

I have really enjoyed teaching through Ecclesiastes thus far.  The first four chapters are uploaded and available from iTunes or our church’s sermon player.

• Chapter 1:  Seeking Satisfaction in the World and Wisdom
• Chapter 2:  The Pursuit of Pleasure and Man’s Universal End
• Chapter 3:  Stuck Between Time and Eternity
• Chapter 4:  Vanities: Oppression, Envy, Idleness, and Popularity

Confessions of a Pastor: I love these people.

May I make a confession?  Pastors sometimes joke with one another about how great the ministry would be if it weren’t for the people.  I’ve done it myself.  We really shouldn’t do that.  I am going to stop those jokes.

The truth is, if you really want to know it, that I love the people in my church.  I receive more joy that I deserve by serving my brothers and sisters at Mont Belvieu’s First Baptist Church.  I love them when they let me hold their babies and kiss all over them (the babies).  I love them when they show up early just to be with one another.  I love when they pop into my office to get candy from the jar on my desk.  I love watching their faces as we worship together, and I love getting to see their faces as I preach (yes, even the faces of the older gentlemen who gently nod off).

But there’s more to the truth about how much I love the people in my church.  I love them when times are hard.  I love that I get the phone calls at midnight asking for prayer.  I am humbled to be the one who gets to walk through people’s dark times with them.  I love them as we strive to grow in grace together – all of us failing often – all of us rejoicing when, by God’s mercy, we get it right.  Even when I have to face situations that make me anxious, scared, angry, and full of doubts, I love getting to pastor God’s people.

This is a miracle.  To God be all the glory for this great thing He has done.  When I first felt called into vocational ministry, the last thing in the world that I wanted to do was pastor.  I wanted to teach at a Christian college or university or seminary.  But pastor?  Do funeral, moderate business meetings, make hospital visits, sort out benevolence requests, and shake dozens of hands every week?  Sounded horrible to me 7 years ago.  Preach the Word?  Yes.  But pastor?

Yes.  I must confess:  I love to pastor.

The Power of the Pulpit

I’m reading a book that could very well be the best thing I’ve ever read on the subject of preaching.  I love to read about preaching, and I pretty much continually have a book on the subject in progress.  This is not only because it is a topic that I enjoy, but also because it is a topic that I believe to be of the utmost importance.  In fact, I believe that when I stand before the Chief Shepherd on the Day of Judgment as an under-shepherd of His flock, I will be judged above all else on how I handled the responsibility of feeding His Word to His people.

While at T4G in Louisville last week, we were given a huge stack of books.  Sixteen in all.  Among the piles was a small volume titled “The Priority of Preaching,” by Christopher Ash.  I started the book a couple days ago and have enjoyed it so much.  I am about half way through the book; on page 61, to be precise.  Ash has done a marvelous service to the Body of Christ in providing us with this little book.

If you are a preacher, you MUST read it.  If you listen to a preacher, you REALLY SHOULD read it.  I’ll give you a few of the highlights in the first half.

Ash argues that “under the new covenant, Christ governs his people by the written word preached by preachers” (30).  Rather than simply ruling the church through the Word, it is specifically the Word preached to a particular people by which Christ exercises His authority in the church.  I’ve heard this position being argued in the past, but never so effectively as in this book.  Starting with Moses as the first prophet, Ash traces the role of the written Word spoken to the people of God from Moses, through the prophets, to fulfillment in Christ “The Prophet,” and now delivered by the under-shepherds of local congregations.  He makes the point:

Commenting on Romans 1:15, where Paul the letter-writer says he is ‘eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome,’ Haddon Robinson makes the point that even though the letter to the Romans is so magisterial, nevertheless Paul knew it was no substitute for preaching to them face to face (Rom. 1:15): ‘That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.’  He knows he cannot preach by a letter.  Haddon Robinson comments that, ‘A power comes through the word preached that even the inerrant written word cannot replace.’ (34)

Thus Ash agrees with the Second Helvetic Confession of 1566 that, “The preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God.”  That is a frightening statement, not just to sermon listeners but also to sermon preparers!  Ash carefully works through the abuses to which such a statement could lead, then says that “the preacher’s authority is a borrowed authority, only obtained by much toil, sweat, and with deep humbling” (37).  He articulates well the reality that no authority resides in the office of elder except that which is biblical authority.  In other words, as a pastor I only have authority over the people of my church as a spokesman for the Word of Christ.  I am simply a mouthpiece, a voice, and if when I ever depart from the teaching of the Word, the people should silence my voice in that moment.  I have no authority apart from the Bible.

I found myself nodding in agreement as Ash wrote, “Those who think this doctrine of authority puffs up the preacher have not begun to feel the sheer terror of being a preacher” (42).  While I love preaching, it truly is sobering to pause and consider the tremendous responsibility God has placed on me.  I know it is only by His grace that I do not fail every time and in every way.  Ash continues, “Preaching drives us to our knees, puts gigantic butterflies in our stomachs, and makes us cry out, ‘Who is sufficient for these things?’” (42)

One last highlight before I wrap up this post.  I love how Ash articulates the problem with so many small group studies.  In a section subtitled “What is the place of Bible study groups?” Ash writes:

I suggest that we ought to rethink the place and purpose of Bible study groups, for two reasons.  The first is that, all too often, a Bible study group is a place where discussion substitutes for submission to the Word of God.  One pastor wrote to me to say, ‘I have long felt that . . . for all the ways in which home groups look as though God’s people are coming under the Word of God, my experience is that the home group is the classic arena in which God’s people in fact sit above the Word of God.’ (29)

As one of my old Sunday school teachers once said, some discussion-based small group Bible studies are nothing more than groups of people sitting around and pooling their ignorance.  I say this as one who has wholehearted participated in such folly!  There is certainly a place for small groups, and there is a way to conduct a small group Bible study.  That place is in the fellowship of people under the Lordship of Chirst, and that way is in great humility to the commands of King Jesus found in His Word.  And as Ash argues – and I agree – the more the people of God sit under the authoritative preaching of the Word of God, the more a proper attitude of submission to God’s Word will be cultivated (35).

Can you tell I am enjoying the book?  I’ll probably write up some highlights from the second half in a few days when I’ve finished the book.  In the meantime, get a copy for yourself!

Snob. – Part 2

So I have been doing some thinking about theological snobbery.  (See my last post by clicking here.)  I think I might have figured out what is underneath the arrogance.  It is a lie, and the lie is this:  As a Calvinist, I’m a more mature Christian than the non-Calvinist.

Because I have a certain understanding of God and His sovereignty and how that sovereignty relates to human free will and the whole work of salvation, I must be more mature.  After all, I am right on these matters, right?  (And I do think I’m right!)  But no, theological knowledge is NOT the same as Christian maturity.  We should be careful with theological knowledge because, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:1).

Understanding doctrine does not equate automatically with wisdom, discipleship, or Christian manhood or womanhood.  It just doesn’t.  There is no way I believe that the young man who is saved in a Reformed tradition and comes quickly to accept TULIP line for line is as mature as the sweet old man who has faithfully been in the pews of his church for sixty years and knows of no tulip but the flower.  That old man has lived through hell – the death of two children, the loss of another child to a cult, the slow death of his wife of fifty years, wars of state and wars of culture – and yet he loves Jesus, loves to tell people about Jesus, and loves to give to kingdom causes.  He thinks an Arminian hails from Eastern Europe, but he also has a sweet fragrance of humility and kindness and compassion coming from his spirit.  That’s maturity.

One sweet lady who passed away about a year and a half ago is another great example of this.  She didn’t believe in the Five Points.  She was what I would consider a “traditional Southern Baptist” through and through.  But that woman had a prayer life that made me envious.  She had a heart for younger women that was inspiring.  She had a love for the Bible that many times put this preacher to shame.  And her dependence on the Holy Spirit was an amazing example of humility.  She overcame this world by dying to cancer and living by faith up to the last breath.  That’s maturity.

Paul says in Philippians 3:15 that those who are mature live as if they have not arrived spiritually, but instead they “press on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:14)  They seek to know Christ and the fellowship of His sufferings and the power of His resurrection (3:8-10).  They seek to share the mind of Christ, which is not a mind that gets lost in diagrams about the end times and supralapsarianism, but a mind that in humility considers others more significant than they consider themselves (2:3).

Writing to Timothy, Paul said that we should be trained in godliness – that is, we should strive for Christ-like living (1 Timothy 4:7-8).  This godliness is not about factual, doctrinal knowledge but Spirit-borne fruit in living by faith in the Gospel.  In fact, the point of all Paul’s ministry and instruction was “love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).  Love for God and love for neighbor mark maturity.  And snobbery is opposed to love.

Snob. – Part 1

I’ve been noticing something – in the halls at seminary, across the Evangelical / New Calvinist blogosphere, in conversations with my friends, and – most frighteningly – in my own heart.  Snobbery.  Theological snobbery, to be more precise.  And it has left a very nasty taste in my mouth.

First I found it creeping into my internal dialogue, where I thought I was safe – not safe from sin, just safe from others finding out about it.  But when things go on and on inside, eventually they leak out for the rest of the world to witness.  This was about three years ago during the time of class registration at seminary.  I found myself attempting to pick seminary professors based on a sort of theological litmus test:  Where does Prof. _________ stand on the Five Points? Never mind the fact that I’d just had classes with two professors – neither would describe themselves as Reformed (that’s just another word for Calvinistic) – who were absolutely wonderful in both their academic skill and devotional heart.  They both modeled humility and love for Jesus powerfully.  Without question I had learned from them both, and learned more than the textbooks had to offer.  Yet here I was seeking to avoid “professors like them” who wouldn’t sign off on TULIP.

Then I heard it from a fellow student.  We were talking about good books we’d all been reading lately.  Someone brought up Simple Church by Thom Rainer.  Great book.  And I expressed my opinion that it was worth the read.  Well, another guy in the room rolled his eyes, seemingly exasperated.  Trying to understand his apparent distaste, I probed a bit only to find that he scoffed at the idea of reading a book about “ministry methodology based on statistics rather than scripture.”  Whatever.  I realized then that the guy obviously had not even read the book.

Then there’s the friend of mine who felt she had to know a speaker’s “theology” before he began his message, worried about whether or not she should be listening to him.  This was not a speaker at some panel sponsored by the (very liberal) National Council of Churches.  This was a Southern Baptist spokesperson who was personally known by organizer of the event (who was “trusted”).  “Do we know where he stands on election?”  [Begin sarcastic tone here.]  Right, this is important, because if he disagrees with us on that point then he has nothing valuable to say, nothing we can learn.

Finally, I snapped a few weeks ago.  I was talking with a friend – no one in my church or at my seminary; this is someone I know from college; and yes, I’ve got his permission to write about this – about a commentary on the book of Revelation by Grant Osborne.  I think it is a great commentary.  But Osborne is an – wait for it… here it comes… are you sure you’re ready? because there is no turning back after this… You might never look at me the same way again – ARMINIAN!  Gasp!  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  Can it be?  What could I possibly gain reading a book – nay! not just a book but a commentary on the Holy Scriptures! – written by a man who is not just not a Calvinist, but an outright Arminian?

A lot, thank you.

God, give me grace never to be overcome with theological snobbery again.  It is SO… asinine, and for several reasons.

The hubris that accompanies theological snobbery directly contradicts the theology the snob claims to believe.  If I believe in the strong sovereignty of God in and over salvation, that means everything I believe was revealed to me.  I figured nothing out as a result of my own intellectual prowess.  So I should not think myself better than anyone else on those grounds.  Arrogance is a characteristic in conflict with Reformed theology.

Also, if we were to remove from our thinking, studies, and practice everything that came from non-Calvinists, we’d have a very poor inheritance of faith, indeed.  Those well-loved Wesley hymns like “Come Thou Fount, “And Can It Be” and “O For a Thousand Tongue to Sing” – gone, for Wesley was no Calvinist.  Any pastor who has read Richard Baxter’s classic The Reformed Pastor has certainly been blessed by its encouragement and exhortation to faithful ministry, but Baxter opted for the Arminian understanding of the atonement.  For a more contemporary example, we need only consider Southern Baptist leader Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his contributions to our convention in the last few years.  Akin’s leadership, I believe, will go down in history as being used by God to save our denomination from the trappings of denominational pragmatism.

The Church has gained much over the last two thousand years from devoted men and women who would not hold to each of the Five Points.  Many people who don’t hold to TULIP have a zealous passion of Jesus and are able teachers of the Bible.  Whether we like it or not, my Reformed friends, we have been blessed by Arminians and 2% moderate Calvinists.

What I really wanted to figure out after my last little eruption against theological snobbery was the root cause.  What is underneath this doctrinal arrogance?  What is hidden under the surface, beneath the claims of only being concerned about guarding biblical truth?  What’s the lie I have believed – and am susceptible to believing again! – that makes me think that I cannot learn from a non-Calvinist?  This was the question I have been thinking about for some time.  And this is the question I will address in the next post…

One of the best sermons I’ve ever heard.

Check out this video of excepts from John Piper’s message at the 2008 Together for the Gospel conference:

John Piper – Recap from T4G 2008 from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

I remember sitting in that convention center with thousands of other men as Pastor John unpacked these passages from the book of Hebrews on radical sacrifice.  Everyone else in that huge room faded away, at times even Piper, and I knew God was speaking to me – building my faith, granting me repentance, quickening my spirit, pouring out his grace, rekindling my love, calling me to obedience, and enlightening my eyes to see more and more of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I can hardly wait to go back in April of 2010.

You can hear Piper’s whole 2008 T4G message here.  I highly recommend it.