Non-Believers & False Teachers at the Church in Ephesus

The negative and positive qualities that Paul lays out in 1 Timothy for elders and deacons are a direct contrast to the non-believers and the false teachers that Paul had been teaching about. This post is simply the list of all the qualities of the non-believers and of the false teachers that Paul (and John) taught about at the church in Ephesus (I also walk through the qualities of non-believers in John's Epistles since they were most likely written to the church in Ephesus). This sets a strong contrast (to say the least) to the qualities that he encourages Timothy to look for in elders and deacons:

1. Some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Waybefore the congregation (Acts 19:9)


2. Itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord over those who had evil spirits, the sons of Sceva, and they were attacked by the demons (Acts 19:13-16)


3. Many formerly practiced magic arts, and they burned their books (Acts 19:19)


4. Demetrius'(a Gentile) trade was threatened and he warned the Ephesians that theirs would too and that their goddess Artemis was being threatened by the Christians (Acts 19:21-41)


5. Fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; from among your own selves [the elders] will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:29-31)


6. The Ephesian Christians once walked, following the prince of the power of the air the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind (Ephesians 2:1-3)


7. They formerly were Gentiles in the flesh, separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise. They had no hope and were without God in the world (Ephesians 2:11-12)


8. Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind, darkened by their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity (Ephesians 4:17-19)


9. Sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness was not to be practiced. Paul exhorted that there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, "For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:3-8)


10. It is shameful even to speak of the things that non-Christians do in secret(Ephesians 5:12)


11. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not getdrunk with wine, for that is debauchery (Ephesians 5:17)


12. Timothy was to charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations (1 Timothy 1:3)


13. Those who devote themselves to vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law,without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions (1 Timothy 1:6-7)


14. The law is for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for theunholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, formurderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality,enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted (1 Timothy 1:9-11)


15. Paul describes himself as a former blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponentof Christ (1 Timothy 1:13)


16. Those who blaspheme or reject the gospel (like Hymenaeus & Alexander) make shipwreck of their faith (rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith) (1 Timothy 1:19-20)


17. Women are not to teach or exercise authority over a man (when I get to the qualifications of elders and deacons I hope to discuss how this rules out that women can be elders, but not necessarily deacons) (1 Timothy 2:12)


18. Those who will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.(1 Timothy 4:1-3)


19. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths (1 Timothy 4:7)


20. Good or false teachers are not distinguishable by their age. Paul encouraged Timothy to "let no one despise you for your youth" (1 Timothy 4:12)


21. Paul describes those are falsely posing to be widows saying, "but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives" (this would particularly apply to deaconesses if we take the office of deaconess to be a biblical office, cf. Romans 16:1) (1 Timothy 5:6)


22. He also warns of the temptation of younger widows saying, "when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips andbusybodies, saying what they should not (1 Timothy 5:11-13)


23. Paul also describes how some of these sins are obvious or "conspicuous", but some of these are hidden sins or will "appear later" (1 Timothy 5:24)


24. Those who teach a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has anunhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, whichproduce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain (1 Timothy 6:3-5)


25. Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some havewandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs (1 Timothy 6:9-10)


26. The rich are not to be haughty, and should not trust in the uncertainty of their riches (1 Timothy 6:17)


27. Timothy was to charge the Ephesian church not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers (2 Timothy 2:14)


28. They were to avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some (2 Timothy 2:16-17)


29. They were to flee youthful passions (2 Timothy 2:22)


30. Further, they were to have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome (2 Timothy 2:23)


31. Paul wrote further that, "people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud,arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, mencorrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men." (2 Timothy 3:2-9)


32. Paul further describes that evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:13)


33. Paul warned that the time was coming when people would not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they would accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and would turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4)


34. Paul also described how false brethren deserted him. So another quality of someone unfit for the work of the ministry is someone who deserts true and faithful gospel preachers in their times of need (2 Timothy 4:10-17)


35. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:6)


36. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8)


37. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:10)


38. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4)


39. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness (1 John 2:9)


40. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes (1 John 2:11)


41. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world (1 John 2:15-16)


42. They went out from us [or abandoned them], but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us (1 John 2:19)


43. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son (1 John 2:22)


44. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you (1 John 2:26)


45. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4)


46. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother (1 John 3:9-10)


47. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous (1 John 3:12)


48. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 John 3:15)


49. Little children, let us not love in word or talk [only] but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18)


50. Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already (1 John 4:3)


51. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them (1 John 4:5)


52. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8)


53. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (1 John 4:18)


54. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20)


55. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son (1 John 5:10)


56. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12)


57. The whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19)


58. Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21)


59. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works (2 John 1:7-11)


60. I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first,does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing,talking wicked nonesense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true (3 John 1:9-12)

Eckhard Schnabel has summed up Paul's teaching in these passages well in the quote below (fyi: I added the bolded numbers and letters in brackets not the footnotes):

In his letters to Timothy and Titus, Paul discusses yet again the activities of certain Jewish Christian teachers. Paul asserts that they promote foolish controversies.[1]The comment that these teachers seduce Christians (2 Tim 3:13; cf. Tit 1:10) indicates that the “nonsense” they propagate is plausible to some degree and thus convinces some believers. Their teachings [1] focus on the Mosaic law, which the[A] interpret in an allegorical manner, [B] linked with Jewish myths and with circumcision,[2] [C] with ascetic practices related to marriage and food.[3] They [2]deny a future resurrection (2 Tim 2:18). [3] They emphasize the participation of married women in the teaching ministry of the churches with the result that they neglect their children (1 Tim 2:11-15). [4] And they possibly downplay the importance of missionary work among Gentiles.[4] [5] Their teaching implied that Jesus Christ does not occupy a central position as Savior and as Mediator between God and humankind. Paul attacks these teachers on account of their immoral behavior (Tit 1:16; 2 Tim 3:1-5), which was demonstrated, for example, in their desire to achieve financial gain through their teaching ministry (1 Tim 6:5-10; Tit 1:11). Paul warns the Christians in the churches in Asia Minor to recognize the danger that these teachers represent and to reject them, and not to become again the kind of people they had been before their conversion.[5] Paul encourages Timothy and Titus to be concerned about the quality of character of the leaders in the local churches (1 Tim 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-9). And he emphasizes the necessity of preserving the early Christian tradition in the churches.[6]

[1] Cf. 1 Tim 6:3-5; Tit 1:10; 3:9; 2 Tim 2:14-16; 2:23.
[2] 1 Tim 1:4, 7; 2 Tim 4:4; Tit 1:14; on circumcision cf. Tit 1:10.
[3] Cf. 1 Tim 4:3; cf. Tit 1:15; 1 Tim 2:15; 5:23.
[4] I. Howard Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, p. 45; cf. 1 Tim 2:4-6, 7; 4:10; Tit 2:11; cf. 1 Tim 3:16.
[5] Cf. 1 Tim 3:1-13; 5:6, 11; Tit 1:6-7; 2 Tim 2:22. Cf. Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, p. 43.
[6] Cf. 1 Tim 1:15-17; 2 Tim 1:13-14; 2:2, 8-13; 3:10, 14-17; Tit 2:1; 3:3-8.

Schnabel, Eckhard Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods(Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2008), 206-207.

Paul's Relationship with the Ephesian Church

Paul's Relationship with the Ephesians Before 1 Timothy
The Acts of the Apostles 9 & 20
Paul's ministry to the Ephesians is rooted ultimately in His conversion experience. In Acts 9:3-6 as he was traveling to persecute Christians in Damascus a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.'"

Right from the beginning of Paul’s experience as a Christian Jesus was teaching him about the church. The concept of the church was foundational to how Jesus revealed Himself to Paul. Notice in this passage that Jesus doesn’t say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting the church?” or even, “Why are you persecuting Christians?” Jesus says, “Why are you persecuting me.” This is the foundation of Paul’s understanding of what a church is, namely part of Jesus Christ.

Later in Acts 20 we see Paul's first encounter with the Ephesian church. One of the main emphases of Paul’s teaching there was in regard to the nature of the church. So in Acts 20:28-31 we see Paul teaching the elders of the Ephesian church about the church. Specifically that they should, “be on guard for themselves and for all the flock…which He [Christ] purchased with His own blood (v. 28).” Further, he wrote that they should, “be on alert [after admonishing them for three years, because he was] now commend[ing] [them] to God and to the word of His grace (v. 31-32).” Later then, in verses 36-38 Paul prays with them all (v. 36) and they all wept over the word which he had spoken, because he was leaving and they might not see his face again (vs. 37-38). There was a deep relationship between Paul and the church in Ephesus. They loved each other to the point of tears (this was not uncommon for Paul and the churches he helped plant 2 Cor 2:4; Phil 3:8). Paul even remembers Timothy's tears in his second letter (2 Tim 1:4). They were truly brothers and sisters in Christ. They were a family.

Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians
It is no surprise after seeing this relationship that Paul clearly outlines some of the themes that he does in Ephesians. However, remember that Ephesians is a general letter, it's even for us, “Most of Paul’s letters are…penned to meet specific pastoral and theological needs. But it is not easy to find any particular occasion that called for this letter…There is no reason, in principle, why a letter could not be general in nature and written for the purpose of instructing and edifying Christians over a wide area or in a range of congregations (Obrien, 51).” So then, as in all of Paul’s letters, despite the specificity of the audience we see that generally this letter is for all Christians. Even us!

We don't know exactly when he wrote this letter, but he probably wrote it from prison in Rome in A.D. 60-61 (Acts 28:16-31). The letter of Ephesians is divided into four main sections: First, the introduction (1:1-2); Second, the doctrinal exposition (1:3-3:21); Third, the practical application (4:1-6:20); and Fourth, the conclusion (6:21-24).

The section of doctrine, 1:3-3:21, has a three-fold trajectory. First, Paul sets out to outline God’s purpose of displaying His glory by knitting people into Christ (1:3-23). Second, he discusses the obstacle, namely sin (2:1-22). Third, and last, Paul is writing to us about how God has planned to fulfill His purpose of displaying His glory, namely, by showing his glory through the church (3:1-21). The application of the doctrine in chapters 1-3 begins directly after it in 4:1 with a pregnant “Therefore” which harkens the church toward unity. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones summarized the doctrinal exposition section of the letter by writing, “[Unity] is something that results from all that has gone before…These people are those who have been ‘bought’ into God’s kingdom and family at the cost of the precious blood of Christ’ [as we saw in Acts 20:28]. No-one can ever belong to this family, and participate in its unity, unless he believes that (Lloyd-Jones, 24).” In order then to have unity we must share the one thing in common that we all agree on, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's clear from all of this that Paul has a history with the church in Ephesus.

Where 1 Timothy Fits in the Chronology
It is generally thought that Paul wrote this letter after being released from a two year Roman confinement mentioned in Acts 28:30 (where he wrote Ephesians from in A.D. 60-61) approximately A.D. 63 (Leschert, 373; Schnabel, 115-121). This was either before or during his travels to Spain and then Crete, which took place before a second and final Roman imprisonment which is thought to be where Paul wrote Titus and 2 Timothy from sometime between A.D. 65-67. So here it is in a more clear list (please remember these are approximates, and we aren't 100% positive that there were 2 imprisonments):

Chronology of Paul's Relationship with the Ephesians
• A.D. 52-55: Arrived in Ephesus and left in A.D. 55 - This is the account in Acts 19-20
• A.D. 60-61: 1st Roman Imprisonment - Wrote Ephesians, etc.
• A.D. 63 (approx.): Released and travelled to Spain & Crete - Wrote 1 Timothy
• A.D. 65-67: 2nd Roman Imprisonment - Wrote 2 Timothy & Titus

Context of 1 Timothy Chapter 3 According to the Epistle Itself
All of this finally brings us to the question, "What is the context of 1 Timothy 3 within 1 Timothy?" Here's a brief outline of the book from Dale Leschert:

Salutation (1:1-2)
I. Responses to the Ephesians' ecclesiastical needs (1:3-3:13)
A. Preliminary warnings about theological errors (1:3-20)
B. Important instructions concerning church order (2:1-3:13)
II. Prescription for Timothy's ministerial conduct (3:14-6:19)
A. Timothy's apostolic mentoring for church leadership (3:14-16)
B. Timothy's professional responsibilities as a good minister (4:1-16)
C. Timothy's social relations with various groups (5:1-6:2)
D. Timothy's personal integrity as a godly man (6:3-19)
Conclusion (6:20-21)

Leschert, Dale The Flow of the New Testament (Geanies House: Mentor, 2002), 372.

Prior to the passage I'm going to start looking at regarding deacons (1 Tim 3:7-13) the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy about how Timothy is to remain in Ephesus in order to charge the leaders of the church not to teach different doctrine than what they received (1:1, 3). He entreats Timothy to wage the good warfare holding faith and a good conscience (1:18-19). Then he exorts Timothy to pray for all and particularly kings and those in high positions so that the believers might live a quiet and dignified life (2:1-2), specifically to pray for the leaders so that their leadership might allow the gospel flourish. He clearly lays out the foundation of the "good warfare" by explaining the gospel:

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (2:5-7)

After this Paul shares his desire for the church to pray without quarreling (2:8). Then we get to some of the more controversial passages in 1 Timothy about how women ought to dress, and how they are not to teach or exercise authority over men (2:9-15). This flows out of Paul's discussion of the church praying together in unity (the unity he desired for the church in Ephesus can be seen most clearly in Ephesians 4:1-16). After discussing women's role in the church Paul then moves into the lists of elders and deacons in chapter 3.

The role of the elders and deacons (regarding the church in Ephesus and our churches) are the antithesis of the poor leaders that Paul wrote the Ephesians about, and that Paul tells Timothy about in 1 & 2 Timothy. It's almost as if the qualifications of elders and deacons is set up as a direct contrast (we'll see this more clearly as we walk through the qualifications).

In my next post I'll explore some of the qualities of the false teachers in Ephesus. Then after the next post, Lord willing, I'll start looking at the qualifications for deacons.

Should 1 Timothy be Normative for Us?

Are Paul's Instructions to Timothy and the Church in Ephesus Normative Us?

Another way to ask the question is "So what, Paul taught Timothy and the church in Ephesus these things, that doesn't mean it applied to all the churches then, and it doesn't mean that it applies to all churches now, right?"

Well, that's good question, but the conclusion and the underlying assumption is dangerous and terribly wrongheaded. The assumption in this question follows this logic that, "because we are separated by time and context these instructions don't apply to us." The conclusion of this assumption says that, "we are not obligated in any way to apply these instructions to our present context." This thinking is dangerous because it wrongly concludes that Scripture's teaching about all of life, especially the church, is dependent on context when it's not. Praise God that the gospel is not limited to first century Jews & Gentiles who were living in the Roman political context of their time! The gospel is relevant to every time and place. It is relevant in every socio-political, socio-economic, and socio-cultural context. Similar to the gospel, Paul's message is prescriptive & descriptive rather than merely descriptive.

1 Timothy Is Normative for Us

I've been having a conversation with a friend about if the great commission is binding on believers. His question about this is coming from the observation that Jesus was speaking to the disciples and not us in Matthew 28:18-20 and John 20:21. The reason that all believers in all times are called to fulfill the great commission is both explicit and implicit in the command. Here's my response to his question:

So here's the text:

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

You're right that Jesus was saying this to the eleven disciples, but look at verse 19 "make disciples of all nations." They are making disciples of what exactly? They are called to make disciples of Christ, like them. There is nothing inherent in this passage that seems to limit this to their uniquely apostolic calling. So they are to train others the same way that they have been trained. Can we agree on that?

Verse 20 then says that the eleven disciples are to teach the disciples that they are making to "obey all that I have commanded you." So they are first to make disciples (baptizing them in the name of the Trinity). Second, they are to teach them that the commands that Jesus issued to the eleven disciples apply to the disciples they would make. If the great commission is part of the "commands" from Jesus to the eleven disciples then it is not stretching the text at all to say that the great commission then applies to the disciples of the disciples who then make disciples etc. etc. etc. all the way down to those who would become disciples today, hence me or you...Can we agree on that?

While 1 Timothy is not a "command" directly from the lips of Jesus Christ, it is God-inspired, God-breathed, sufficient for life and practice, and completely inerrant or without error (in the original manuscript). Paul writes about this thinking more clearly in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Since Paul's words here are Scripture (1 Peter 3:16 implies that they are) breathed out from the Holy Spirit, then they are authoritative for the Christian life and for the practice of corporate worship (this phrase can be nuanced to) in the local church.

How Does 1 Timothy Inform Our Worship of God?

Paul's instructions to Timothy are instructions to us how best to build up the church with good materials that last (1 Cor 3:12-15). His instructions to Timothy lay out a structure of offices in the church that enables churches to fit into the description he describes in Ephesians 4:11-16. Paul's instructions lay out the structure that enables the church to effectively carry out Christ's commands; therefore, these instructions should be our aim in regard to how we should structure our local churches.

Subjective/Normative/Regulative Principles

This isn't going to be exhaustive, so please don't read it like it is. That said, I'm writing all of this with the conviction of the regulative principle, not necessarily the normative principle or the me/subjective principle. An exhaustive discussion of this is for another day, but generally speaking the me/subjective principle would be that I worship God on the grounds I define and determine are best. The normative principle is generally defined as, "Whatever is not expressly forbidden in Scripture is an allowable practice in corporate worship." J. Ligon Duncan III defines the regulative principle well by writing the following:

"Worship in its content, motivation, and aim is to be determined by God alone. He teaches us how to think about him and how to approach him. The further we get away, then, from his directions the less we actually worship (Give Praise to God, 27)."

Regarding the grey areas that aren't explicit in Scripture Duncan writes that, "thinking in accordance with the general principles of Scripture and sanctified common sense, in the absence of positive scriptural warrant," should be our approach (Ibid., 21). Also, David Peterson expresses the nature of Christian worship well by writing, "the worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible (Engaging With God, 55)."

All of this considered I believe that Paul's instructions to Timothy are authoritative for us and our church practice.

Deacons and Elders

At the moment my laptop is in the shop, and I'm thankful for the fact that I have AppleCare! When I get that puppy back I'm planning to do a series of posts on what exactly deacons and elders are in the Bible, and I hope to take up some gleanings to think more about what exactly these roles should look like in the local church. In the circles I am a part of a lot of focus has been given on elders lately, so I'm going to start with deacons.

With that said I'm planning to slowly walk through what deacons are using 1 Timothy 3 as a road map. I hope that when this is through I'll have a more deep understanding of how I think of deacons and elders as they relate to the local church. Blessings!

Healthcare Deja Vu

When the current political climate started to rain "healthcare debate" a few months back I had no clue that when I was watching Aladdin and The Lion King in the theater as a kid that the same arguments and fears were being presented.

Between the ages of 10 and 14 I probably wouldn't have listened or given much attention to the political debate if it was actually mentioned. That being said after sorting through hundreds of newspaper articles at work recently (from the 90's Healthcare Debate) I was able to catch up on what I missed, and I was surprised at how much the current conversation sounds almost identical to what was going down about thirteen years ago. Here are a bunch of cartoons from the 90's that literally and figuratively illustrate the similarities:

The first 9 are from 1994

























It's amazing, you could take almost any of these and publish them in a paper today without any revision and it would be just as relevant to the current debate. Well, I guess the proverb still applies plus ça change, or as Ecclesiastes puts it, "There is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1:9)."

Missionary, Pastor, and Theologian

Hebrews 13:7 "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith."

In light of this passage a few brothers and I have been getting together to read through Eckhard J. Schnabel's book Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods and it has been excellent. Here is how Schnabel defines mission in the book:

The term "mission" or "missions" refers to the activity of a community of faith that distinguishes itself from its environment in terms of both religious belief (theology) and social behavior (ethics), that is convinced of the truth claims of its faith and that actively works to win other people to the content of faith and the way of life of whose truth and necessity the members of the community are convinced (22).

So far the book has been gospel-centered and faithful to Scripture. Here is how he describes the purpose of the book:

This is my goal in this book: to provide a close reading of the relevant New Testament texts that help us understand Paul's missionary work - proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and establishing communities of believers - in terms of the goals that he had and in terms of the methods that he used (30).

This book has been great, and it has given us a lot to chew on. After giving a solid chronology of Paul's life and work Schnabel summarizes how Paul identified his missionary task in the content of Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philippians, Corinthians, Romans, Colossians, Ephesians, 1 & 2 Timothy, and Titus. After this he summarizes Paul's self-identification of being a missionary in the following list. I am going to begin praying through this list for myself and all the missionaries and pastors that I know!

(1) God is the Lord over all missionary work.
(2) "Success" is the result of God's activity, not men or their methods.
(3) Christ is the content of preaching and the foundation, criterion, and measure of church planting and church growth.
(4) Missionaries are servants of God and His word.
(5) Missionaries make a public proclamation of the victory of God who also leads them.
(6) Paul sees himself as a church-planter establishing new communities of believers.
(7) A missionary's central work is the proclamation of the gospel.
(8) We must pay consistent attention to our listeners.
(9) Paul is not satisfied with the success of his mission, he wants to reach more and more people.
(10) Paul doesn't work alone.
(11) These are the last days, Gentiles don't need to become Jews to then become Christians. Christ is held out to all.
(12) Missionaries, Teachers & Preachers are responsible to God for their work and their motivations.

Schnabel, Eckhard J. Paul the Missionary: Realities, Strategies and Methods (Grand Rapids: IVP Academic, 2008), 151-4.

As we consider Paul's faith together I hope we will only grow more mature in our faith!

God Gives Us Children to Make Us More Like Jesus

After a great afternoon of watching sword swallowing and jousting at the Maryland Renaissance Festival we went out for dessert and a parenting talk/question and answer with Bob and Julie Kauflin at CHBC. Here are some of my notes:

Introduction: The longer they parent the less confident they feel. He mentioned that when their first child (of 6) was four he was ready to write a book, but now he's less confident that he knows what is always correct. When facing difficult situations they described how they cry out to God, surround themselves with friends who can help, and try to apply the Scriptures to their circumstances. They also encouraged, "don't miss the big picture," in parenting.

Psalm 127:3: They encouraged us to see our children in all seasons as a gift from the Lord. Further, God gives us children to make us more like Jesus. This challenges the notion that parents have many times that God has given them children so that they can make the kids more like Jesus. Children are gifts. This alone heads off so many problems that parents have with their children.

Ephesians 6:4: They encouraged us that our responsibility is to bring up children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. God's goals for our children are primary in our parenting. We try, erroneously, to be the Holy Spirit and God in our children's life too often. As parents we will be tempted to provoke our children or as Colossians says "exasperate" our children. We must let God do the work in our children's lives.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Parenting is a constant activity. A large part of parenting is what they observe in our lives. Having a cross-centered culture in our homes is of the utmost importance. Discipline protects the kids, and it shows them what is right, but it doesn't convert them. What we are aiming for primarily is our kids' desires. They mentioned that ages 11-14 is a fundamental shaping period for their desires, and when they are between the ages of 15-18 we will know what their desires are because they will begin acting on them. The way that we live as parents is the greatest means of teaching our kids. He then said that they want their kids to leave the home knowing that, "nothing is more valuable than Jesus Christ," and that Jesus is the main theing they need when they leave the house. Lastly he mentioned that the main goal in parenting is heart change.

Then we had a number of questions and answers:

(1) Do you have any advice for approaching family worship? His response was really encouraging as he said that they've basically had the approach of starting a number of approaches and then they dropped off. He said that they tried a variety of things a number of times with many successes and many failures. He said one thing to do would be to pose the question, "What evidences of God's work have you seen in your life this week?" Making family devotions fun is huge...teach them that this is God's world, and that Christ is the most desirable thing in your life. He said to take this approach: (1) Song (2) Scripture (3) Thought

(2) How do you work on a 7-9 year-old's character and not only discipline? Bob posed the question that we should ask ourselves, "Why can't you look at your kids as a blessing like a stranger's kids?" We often look at other people's kids and think how cute they are and the parents usually respond saying, "Well, you should see them at home." How we think of the gospel as it applies to us will transform how we relate to our kids. God is not a tyrant with us, and this should change how we relate to our kids. We should work to be developing a culture of grace in our homes from ages 6-10. Then when you reach ages 11-14 you'll know if you have their hearts or not.

(3) How should you deal with a 3 1/2 year old's hating of everything? One idea was that you can give your child the illusion of choice when they really don't have one by giving options to do things that you've predetermined are okay. They encouraged to be faithful in instruction, and told how role-playing and making things into games is really important. They then gave the encouragement that when your child hates everything that it's primarily a sin issue. Don't assume it's personal, and don't assume how this will affect the child when they are 18. This will only encourage fear. They encouraged us that we have to first begin by going to God, "God please help me," and ask for wisdom.

(4) How can fathers cultivate a culture of gratitude and joy in the home? Fathers have a responsibility to set the tone at home. You don't want your kids to hear how the dad is one way outside the home and think about how much they aren't like that when they think of what he is like in the home. Ephesians 4:29 constant correction and discouraging thoughts will only corrupt our children. It's important to remind our kids that we are for them. Ask them the question regularly, "Do you know that I'm for you?" and, "Do you know that I am grateful for you?" Demonstrate these things to your children. Demonstrate a consistent confidence that God is good, and that He gave His Son for us. Don't be silently grateful, put it into words. Lectures and monologues are not effective with our kids. They said we should ask ourselves two questions to help us in parenting: (1) Would I want to be with me if I was my child? (2) Would I treat any of my friends the way I'm treating my kids?

(5) Someone asked about how their youngest is quite a bit younger than their second to youngest...they seem like they are going easier on the youngest. Their question was what's going on here, "Are we more confident in God? Are we lazier? Are we just more laid back? or is there something else going on?" They said to ask this question, "Do we have the same relationship with the youngest?" In a lot of ways the Lord sometimes will work in the youngest to mature them faster because they are consistently around more mature people. The Kauflin's changed their parenting philosophy after reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp, but largely they did everything the same and the Lord just worked in each of their kids' lives in different ways. They mentioned the phrase from Tripp's book that was helpful, "A well-worn path to the cross." This is what we constantly want to do with our kids. In everything point them toward the well-worn path to the cross. If we don't labor to do this and have a rule-keeping mentality with the kids it will only lead to a struggle with pride in their future.

Lastly, they encouraged us to be confident that God is always at work. This was an encouraging time. Hopefully these notes have a nugget here or there that will be helpful for you.

Boast in Christ

Here's an excerpt from a sermon I preached recently on James 1:9-11. If you aren't a Christian consider how a person could possibly boast if he or she is poor. If you are a Christian meditate on the riches that are found in Christ alone, and try to look into your life and see the ways that you boast about Him.

Christian if you are poor you have riches in Christ. Consider the fact that before God created the world He had a purpose. The gospel was the secret wisdom of God which He decreed before the ages for our glory (1 Cor 2:7). This isn’t to say that you will not face any trials in this life, and James lays out that poverty is one of those trials, but one day the Lord will raise us up in the twinkling of an eye, and we will be glorified along with Christ. We have inherited much, even if we do not have the material riches of a monarchy here in this life. Take heart if you are struggling with poverty and delight in the glory of Christ, your rich inheritance. This is how a poor brother or sister is to boast, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal 6:14).” So if we are in need it is to serve a purpose, to help us see our riches in our dependence on Christ. As the hymn Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy states, “Let not conscience make you linger, nor of fitness fondly dream, all the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of Him.”

Grand Avenue Baptist Church; Ames, IA

Last week Lindsey and I hosted Terry Martens who is an elder from Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Ames. He came out with their new pastor Michael Felkins. It was a joy to get to know these brothers, and I hope the Weekender here at Capitol Hill Baptist Church was as much of a blessing to them as it was to us before we moved to DC.

It is encouraging to know that there is a solid expositional preaching ministry going strong in Ames, Iowa! If you're in Ames check 'em out! Here's a picture of me with Terry.

Inerrancy & Infallibility of Scripture

Today some people can nuance these terms so that they can affirm one and deny the other. That being said it's interesting how Christians before our time used the term infallibility to describe the concept that many now describe by using the term inerrancy. That the Scriptures are without error seems to be what Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) wrote about as "infallibility" (this was first published in 1862-1864):

"As an apostle he spake divine truths, and was guided infallibly by the Spirit of God; he delivered truths without all conditions and exceptions...And you must know this, that God, as he used the apostles and excellent men to write his book, to write the word of God, to be his penmen, yet he hindered them not be men. As he hinders not godly men to be men, but at once they may be saints and men; so St Paul as a good man, desired to see them, with a reservation; but as an apostle, he spake in the certainty of divine truth...So the prophets and apostles, as men, they might be alterable without sin. For God will allow men to be men, and subject to mistakes...But as an apostle, his doctrine was without ifs and ands, without exception, as we say, 'if God permit,' &c. 'No,' saith he; 'as God is true, our word to you was not yea and nay.' So in the apostles, we must consider a difference of divine truths that they delivered as apostles, from those things that they purposed as men, and as holy men."

Sibbes, Richard Works of Richard Sibbes Volume 3: An Exposition of 2nd Corinthians Chapter One (Carlisle: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2001), 356.

District of Columbia Detention Center

Last night two brothers and I went to do a Bible study on the parable of the four soils from Matthew 13 with about five young men at a detention center just down the road. It was a privilege to be able to share the gospel with these guys. Many could give answers to the questions like they had been in a church before, but they really didn't have an understanding of Christ, and the gospel, and the battle that is going on for their souls. They were tracking really closely and we shared the gospel clearly. In light of the wrath of God to come my heart is heavy for these guys. If you would willing here are a few ways you could pray for them:

(1) That the Holy Spirit might regenerate their hearts and that they would repent and believe in the gospel.
(2) That the Lord would bring their families to salvation and protect them.
(3) That the Lord might put them in a gospel preaching church if they get out.
(4) That they would have a thirst to read the Bible.

Was the Concept of Biblical Inerrancy Invented in the 1970's?

Have you ever heard this statement? "The concept of biblical inerrancy was invented in the 1970's." If you have the person saying it was probably referring to the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy's statement called The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy written in 1978. Folks that say this are mistaken, and it is saddening that they discourage trust in the authority and trustworthiness of Scripture by saying things like this. The term inerrancy simply means "without error" as it applies to the original manuscripts of the Old & New Testaments of the Bible. Here's how B. B. Warfield described inerrancy before 1921:

"The Church, then, has held from the beginning that the Bible is the Word of God in such a sense that its words, though written by men and bearing indelibly impressed upon them the marks of their human origin, were written, nevertheless, under such an influence of the Holy Ghost as to be also the words of God, the adequate expression of His mind and will. It has always recognized that this conception of co-authorship implies that the Spirit's superintendence extends to the choice of the words by the human authors (verbal inspiration), and preserves its product from everything inconsistent with a divine authorship - thus securing, among other things, that entire truthfulness which is everywhere presupposed in and asserted for Scripture by the Biblical writers (inerrancy). Whatever minor variations may now and again have entered into the mode of statement, this has always been the core of the Church doctrine of inspiration."

Warfield, Benjamin Breckinridge The Works of B. B. Warfield: Revelation and Insiration, Volume I (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, 2003), 173. [I didn't make any changes to the original quote. We took the pictures above of Warfield's grave at Princeton, NJ earlier this summer.]

Good Enough for Paul and Silas, Good Enough for Me!

I've been doing some work on genealogy, hopefully in a way that will promote stewardship of the gospel (so I don't conflict with 1 Tim 1:3-4, and Titus 3:9). It has been great! I've been reading through Grandma Braymen's diaries and the quote below was at the back of the one from 1964. This year was filled with journal entries about conflict over the children's Sunday School curriculum. She noted in her journal that Grandpa read through some of the curriculum with her and after pointing out some errors in comparison with what the Bible teaches he encouraged her to write a letter to the pastor. Here is what she wrote:

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed; rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15)

It was good for Paul & Silas - it is good enough for me.

July 14, 1964

Greetings to Rev. --

I am a Bible teacher, a Bible student - unfit spiritually to teach otherwise. God wants me to teach - & I believe it (she taught children's Sunday School).

Why I object [to the new curriculum]. [There is] no comparison to Bible lessons.

Omission of risen Christ, conversion, parables, prayer, Holy Spirit, salvation, sin, virigin birth, Easter, resurrection, ascension, miracles, Pentecost, "born again", ...1st church at Jerusalem, Christians 1st at Antioch, many more.

[The] Bible is [the] study of God's relation to man. (She then listed out some of the content of what they were studying and then wrote the following.) [This is] making Jesus in man[s] image.

I'm with Grandma on this one! The Baptist Faith and Message puts it well when it describes the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible by saying the following:

"The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a the perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation."

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

Changing The Blog

I have been blogging very sporadically lately, and I'm hoping to get a little more regular. That said, I'm making a few changes to the old blog, and I'm hoping to even get a more relevant url. So keep your eyes peeled!