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A Little Spot of Heaven

A Little Spot of Heaven

Thanksgiving Day in America is not a religious holiday. It is a national holiday. The tradition dates back to the early settlers in the Plymouth colony when in 1623 they gave thanks to God for their survival in the wilderness of the new world.

Our first president, George Washington in 1789 and President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed national days of thanksgiving for God’s blessings on our nation. The U.S. Congress ratified a national day of thanksgiving in 1941.

The scriptures tell us that God has built thanksgiving into the structure of his world. From the beginning of Israel’s national life, thanksgiving was to be part of the essential nature of things. The third book of the Bible, Leviticus, prescribes the sacrifices and offerings that were essential to maintaining fellowship with God. These sacrifices provided covering for sin, making it possible for the people to draw near to God in worship and prayer.

Israel’s Thanksgiving Celebration

One of those offerings was the  “thanksgiving” offering, otherwise called the “fellowship” or “peace” offering. It was a voluntary expression of thanks to God for specific blessings, such as forgiveness, answers to prayer, deliverance from danger, or provision of daily needs. It was called the “peace offering” because it celebrated the believer’s peace with God.

In Leviticus 7:11-15 we learn that this was a festive offering that was shared with the priest who administered the sacrifice on behalf of the worshiping family. It involved a sacrificial lamb, and the preparation and consumption of bread made with and without yeast.

Imagine the Hebrew father gathering his family around him and asking them, “What has the Lord done for us?” We may imagine the children responding with memories of God’s faithful provision.

“God sent rain and sunshine and rebuked the locust so our crops would grow.”

“He healed Grandpa when he was sick.”

“He gave our soldiers victory over God’s enemies.”

“Our neighbors came and helped pull the ox out of the ditch.”

“Mama’s baby was born healthy.”

Then father might say, “We must thank God for these blessings. Thaddeus, go pick out the best lamb in the flock for the sacrifice and I will inspect it to make sure it has no blemishes. Tabitha, you help Mama prepare the bread for the feast and for the offering to the priest. Obadiah, run off to Grandpa’s house and invite him to join us for the thanksgiving offering and feast.”

The celebration began with the sacrifice of the lamb. The father would lead his little procession to the door of the tabernacle, lay his hands on the head of the animal and confess their sins. The animal would be killed and its blood spattered on the altar. Its internal organs were burned on the altar.  Their sins now covered, the family could joyfully celebrate their fellowship with the Lord.

The meat of the animal was divided and part of it was given to the officiating priest, along with the bread. This Hebrew Thanksgiving feast was celebrated by the family in fellowship with the priestly community, symbolizing their fellowship with God.

Examples from history

Israel’s national leaders set an example by observing the feast of thanksgiving. Moses “sent young Israelite men and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord (Exodus 24:5).

When he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, “David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord” (2 Samuel 6:17).

When King Solomon dedicated the magnificent temple he built for the Lord in Jerusalem, the observance consisted of thousands of fellowship offerings (1 Kings 8:63).

During the great revival of Israel’s religion, King Hezekiah called on the entire nation to rededicate themselves to the Lord. “Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the Temple of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 29:31).

When the people rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah led them in a celebration of thanksgiving to God. “And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy” (Nehemiah 12:43).

This serves as an example for us now. Christ the Lamb of God is our sacrifice through whom we have peace with God. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Ephesians 3:12). Because of this, we are able to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for (us) in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The vocabulary of heaven

I read about an American ambassador who was giving a lecture on the work of the foreign service. He said an American embassy is a little spot of America set down in an alien land.

Our embassies have pictures of our national heroes and American flags throughout. Inside, American laws and customs are in force. The holidays and celebrations of our country are observed, including Thanksgiving Day.

On the streets outside there may be different laws and customs, but the embassy compound is a little spot of America set down in an alien land.

Thanksgiving is the vocabulary of the kingdom of God. In the kingdom age, there will be “the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord saying, ‘Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever'” (Jeremiah 33:11). 

This coming week, thanksgiving to God can be a little spot of heaven set down right here in our homes, churches and throughout our nation.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Gregory Preached the Gospel

Gregory Preached the Gospel

The gospel was alive and well in fourth-century Cappadocia. It was located in what is today east-central Turkey. One of its most famous early theologians was Gregory of Nazianzus (330-390). He was renowned for his preaching and his defense of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Gregory was for a time the bishop of Constantinople. His preaching resulted in a revival of faith among the people. They respected his call to reverence, simplicity, and modesty in an age when many clerics were obsessed with power, wealth and ostentation.

Gregory’s writings were infused with biblical knowledge with which he sought to instruct the young. He also wrote with intellectual and philosophical rigor to defend the Christian faith against the arguments of pagan thinkers. He was one of the bishops who presided at the second great ecumenical council  (Constantinople) which clarified the church’s teaching on the Holy Spirit.

Gregory boldly proclaimed the gospel. He believed Christ’s death was an expiatory sacrifice to satisfy God’s righteous law. In one of his orations, he said of Jesus, “For my sake, he was made a curse, who destroyed my curse, and sin… .”

I pass along to you today what Gregory wrote and preached in 381. Gregory’s preaching of the gospel is as relevant today as it was in the fourth century.

He began his ministry by being hungry, yet he is the Bread of Life.

Jesus ended his earthly ministry by being thirsty, yet he is the Living Water.

Jesus was weary, yet he is our rest.

Jesus paid tribute, yet he is the King.

Jesus was accused of having a demon, yet he cast out demons.

Jesus wept, yet He wipes away our tears.

Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver, yet he redeemed the world.

Jesus was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, yet he is the Good Shepherd.

Jesus died, yet by his death, he destroyed the power of death.

 

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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Saints by Calling

Saints by Calling

How could the Corinthians have been called “saints?” They were contentious, tolerant of flagrant immorality,  confused about theology, disorganized in worship, litigious, divided and rebellious against the one who had brought them the Christian message. Yet in 1 Corinthians 1:2, they are introduced as “saints.” This must mean that to be a saint means something different than to be memorialized in statues and stained glass!

Imperfect saints

When he wrote to the Corinthians, Paul said that they were “the church of God in Corinth… sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the Lord Jesus Christ — their Lord and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NIV). These people, he said, were “saints by calling” (NASB), “called to be saints” (ESV), “set apart for a God-filled life” (The Message). Yet they were very imperfect people.

in last week’s entry I wrote about “All Saints Day,” an opportunity to pause and remember those who have stood for Christ in the past. I did not mean to imply that our faithful Christian predecessors were somehow spared from the temptations and failures common to all humanity. They, too, were sinners who needed God’s grace and forgiveness.

Set apart

To be a “saint,” in biblical teaching, is simply to be set apart for God. In the city of Corinth, it meant to bow in worship only to the God who is revealed in Jesus Christ. The Corinthian Christians “called on” him in prayer( 1 Corinthians 1:2) and they sang to him in praise (1 Corinthians 14:15, 26). They worshiped Jesus among neighbors who knew only the worship of Zeus and Aphrodite, who were locked in pagan superstition. The believers were “set apart” from all that. The words Paul used were “sanctified” and “saint.”

Paul used these terms of all Christians, not just of martyrs or exceptional leaders. He says that what was true of them was true of all who call on the Lord Jesus, wherever they are. The term “saint” applies to all who acknowledge the ruling authority of Jesus who is “our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2). This comprehensive term means that Jesus is the divine-human son of God and supreme Lord and Messiah, God’s anointed king. His saints regard him this way.

Be who you are.

Are you a saint? If you trust Jesus as savior you are a saint. The well-known preacher Harry Ironside famously introduced himself to some Catholic nuns on a train with “Would you like to meet a saint?” When they answered yes he said, “Hello. I am Saint Harry!” If you are a believer, then think of yourself as in Christ, set apart for God, a saint for sure.

This means that saints are not stained-glass heroes. If the Corinthians were saints then saints are far from perfect people. The rest of the first letter to the Corinthians was written to correct errors in theology, abuses in relationships,  and problems in public worship. There were many ways in which they were in great need of spiritual guidance, sort of like the church today.

Saints call on Jesus in prayer. Saints worship Jesus. How is it with you? These saints in Corinth were organized into an assembly of believers called a “church.” To boycott the church is to contradict your sainthood. To ignore the Lord’s call to worship is to break fellowship with “all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:2).

Paul wrote to these saints to teach them to start behaving like the people they were, God’s distinctive people standing for Jesus amid the idolatry of paganism. We are called to the same things.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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We Are Surrounded

I do not pray to the saints. This is because  I find no teaching in holy scripture that tells me to do it. I do find texts such as Hebrews 12:1-2, reminding me that “we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” 

I take this to mean that they continue in a blessed existence in the presence of the Eternal God. He is not the God of the dead but of the living. I am to learn from their noble example to “run with perseverance” the race marked out for me through this life and on into the next, as they did.

Throughout the world, many Christians observe this day, November 1, as “All Saints Day.” It commemorates heroes of the church, known and unknown. This observance dates back to the seventh century and is marked by the remembrance of their lives and honor to their example.

I have known quite a few saints in my time. Some of them are still living on earth. (I am married to one of them.) Others are now in eternity, with the Lord whom they loved. I could write all day (I won’t!) with gratitude for what they have meant to me and for what I have learned from their faithfulness, their endurance, their unselfish love.

So there is value in remembrance. If All Saints Day is a day of remembrance for you, then give thanks today for those saints above and saints below who have reminded you to keep “fixing (y)our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

In 1864 William W. How wrote a hymn for this day. Read it slowly.

For all the saints who from their labors rest,/ who Thee by faith before the world confessed,/ Thy name O Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia!

Thou wast their rock, their fortress and their might;/ Thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;/ Thou in the darkness drear, their one true light. Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!/ We feebly struggle; they in glory shine./ Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine. Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,/ steals on the ear the distant triumph song,/ and hearts are brave again and arms are strong. Alleluia!

But then there breaks a yet more glorious day:/ the saints’ triumphant rise in bright array;/ the King of glory passes on his way. Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds and ocean’s farthest coast,/ through gates of pearl stream in the countless host,/ singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost: Alleluia!

Alleluia, indeed!

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

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The Seeker who was Sought

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Zacchaeus was a crook, and everybody knew it. Jesus knew it too. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus as one is curious about a celebrity. Jesus wanted to see Zacchaeus and he singled him out as a candidate for salvation (Luke 19:9-10).

Jesus made this man the center of attention on purpose because he wanted to emphasize the fact that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” I am struck by several features of the story. To begin with, Jesus went out of his way to publicly associate himself with a person with an unsavory reputation,  a “sinner.”

Zacchaeus was a tax collector; actually, a “chief” tax collector who held  higher office than most others. In this, he was a collaborator with the hated Roman government in extorting excessive and unjust revenues from ordinary people. This arrangement had made him wealthy at the expense of others

This is not the first time Jesus spent time with people who were known “sinners.” One of Jesus’ disciples, Levi, or Matthew, had been a tax collector before the Lord called him (Luke 5:27-32). In Luke 7:36-50, Jesus forgave the sins of an immoral woman: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

it is also worth notice that the Lord called Zacchaeus by name. He knew who he was even before they met. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the last time. He has declared his purpose: he will die for sinners and rise from the dead. (Luke 18:31-34). Everything that happens along this road to Jerusalem should be understood accordingly: He “loved me a gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Furthermore, it was the very presence of Jesus which stabbed the heart of Zacchaeus with conviction and repentance. His willingness to give half his wealth to the poor was not salvation by works. His willingness to make generous restitution for past wrongs was not an attempt to buy his way into the kingdom of God. It was evidence of a changed heart. It was gratitude for the gift of salvation.

“Salvation has come to this house” parallels the teaching of Jesus in Luke 18:18-29. There the Lord had said it would be possible, despite appearances to the contrary, for such men as Zacchaeus to enter the kingdom of God.

The only way for him to be assured of salvation would be by faith in the savior. This is implied by what the Lord said in verse 9: “This man too is a son of Abraham.” Surely this means that he became a believer in Jesus and thus was included as a spiritual descendant of Abraham (Romans 4:3-5, 16), the spiritual father of all those who believe (Galatians 3:26-29).

This story suggests several applications. (1) Jesus knew Zacchaeus by name. He knew all about what he had done. He knows our names. He knows all about us. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

(2) Zacchaeus thought he was seeking Jesus. He learned that Jesus had been seeking him all along.

(3) Everything in this story must be understood in light of the cross. Whenever Jesus spoke about the coming kingdom, he gave a solemn prediction of his coming death in Jerusalem, as he did in chapter 18. Even though the disciples didn’t understand at first (Luke 18:34),  this indicates that his death and resurrection were at the very heart of his kingdom message, “of first importance,” as Paul put it later in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.

(4) Zacchaeus had a change in his character. His heart was changed. Salvation came to his house because salvation came first to his heart. He was transformed from the inside out. This what Jesus came to do for all who believe in him.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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Prophecy and History Show God is in Control

Prophecy and History Show God is in Control

God is in control of history. Prophecy proves it. There is an arresting passage in the book of Isaiah that reveals the interplay between human history and biblical prophecy. It describes in some detail how Israel’s God would prompt the king of the mighty Persian empire to release the Jews from their exile in Babylon and permit them to return to Jerusalem.

These events are described after the fact in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. God moved the heart of the Persian emperor in 536 B.C. to provide money for their expenses, protection for their journey and permission for the Jews to rebuild the temple of the Lord in the Holy City.

In the British Museum, I have seen the famous Cyrus Cylinder which tells the story from the standpoint of this pagan king. He adopted a policy of religious tolerance toward the conquered peoples in his empire. He authorized the rebuilding of many of their sacred sites. He dedicated this project to the gods of Babylon, Marduk, Bel, and Nebo. He asked his subjects to pray to their various gods for the success of his reign.

The prophets of Israel saw in these events the sovereign influence of the Living God of Israel who said of the Persian king: “He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, ‘Let it be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘let its foundations be laid'” (Isaiah 44:28).

There are those who say Isaiah could not have written this. They claim a pseudo-Isaiah or an anonymous “second Isaiah” wrote about Cyrus contemporaneously as if it were a prophecy. After all, Isaiah lived 150 years before these events took place. How could he have known the name of Cyrus and the sequence of events that would transpire long in the future?

There is plenty of evidence for the unity of Isaiah as one book, not a patchwork of descriptions posing as prophecies. It is an integrated whole, “The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw…” (Isaiah 1:1). A few points of evidence testify to the unity of the book.

The Jews accepted Isaiah’s authorship of the last part of the book, well before the time of Christ. The monumental Isaiah scroll, discovered with the Dead Sea Scrolls, has the complete text. It has been dated about 125 B.C. The New Testament quotes from the different parts of Isaiah, assuming it is all the inspired Word of the Lord.

The expression “the Holy One of Israel” is used of God in all parts of the book. Scholars tell us there are many other verbal parallels tying the two halves of the book together. According to the NIV Study Bible, there are at least 25 Hebrew words found in both halves of Isaiah that are found in no other prophetic writing. This is evidence that Isaiah wrote both parts of the book, including the remarkable Cyrus prophecies in chapters 41, 44, and 45.

So let’s assume that Isaiah wrote about King Cyrus of Persia long before he emerged on the stage of history. What does this mean? It means that God’s Word has been fulfilled literally. It means that God is in control of history. He calls Cyrus his anointed one (Isaiah 45:1) and his shepherd (48:28). God says it is he who opens doors for Cyrus to subdue nations (45:1) for the sake of his people Israel (45:4).

God will use Cyrus even though he does not acknowledge Yahweh as the true sovereign God (45:4). G.W. Grogan wrote, “We cannot accuse God of using inappropriate means to achieve his ends.” These historical developments will be the by-products of Cyrus’s policy toward all the nations under his reign. But Isaiah knows that this is all under God’s control who will use Cyrus for the benefit of Israel.

Isaiah wrote this as a prophecy of future events. It is not a recitation of current events or recent history. “I will raise up Cyrus (‘him’ in Hebrew) in my righteousness: … He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free” (45:13).

Therefore, if prophecies of Israel’s preservation have been fulfilled literally in the past, we may safely assume that the prophecies about Israel’s future restoration will also be fulfilled (Romans 11:25-27). Isaiah is full of such prophecies. He who kept his promises in the past will keep his promises in the future.

In the same way, the Isaiah who foresaw the coming of Messiah as the “Suffering Servant of the Lord” (Isaiah 52–53) also foretold the second coming of Messiah as Universal King (9:6-7; 32:1; 33:20-22). He will bring justice to the nations of the world (42:1; 60:3). At his first coming, he died to bear the sins of his people. At his second coming, he will diffuse the glory of God throughout the earth and reign as King of kings.

When we are troubled by the world situation in our own time, we may be encouraged to know that the sovereign God holds history in his mighty hand. No potentate or politician can successfully thwart the operation of his divine purpose. His kingdom will come, as promised.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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A Joyful Response to the Doctrine of Election

A Joyful Response to the Doctrine of Election

Warren Wiersbe whimsically told of a man who wanted his help to get a book published, “God has given me the pen of a ready writer,” the man claimed ostentatiously. He caught up with Wiersbe at his hotel room, interrupting a badly needed afternoon nap.

When Wiersbe opened the door to his room the man blurted, “I have a book manuscript here in which I prove that John 3:16 does not teach that God loves the whole world.”

“‘Really?’ I replied, with an obvious yawn which he ignored. ‘Then what does the word world mean in John 3:16?'”

“‘The elect!’ he almost shouted.”

Wiersbe answered, “You know, brother, life has enough problems even when we believe that God loves the world. What would happen if we didn’t believe it? Life would be unbearable! I don’t suggest that you publish that book.”

This illustrates the lengths to which some extremists go to try to promote their version of the doctrine of election. And this is a reason some believers react so strenuously against its teaching.

In point of fact, we cannot deny that this teaching is scriptural. Whatever else we might say about it we must all agree that the election of God’s people is because of his love (Ephesians 1:4-5). An appreciation of the doctrine of election leads to right living (Colossians 3:12).

In today’s blog, I want to call attention to what the apostle Peter says about it in his first letter. He is writing to Christian Jews of the diaspora and to Gentiles who have recently been converted from paganism. They are being persecuted for their faith and Peter is writing to give them encouragement and stability in the face of suffering.

Peter fortifies their faith with the great truth of election. They are God’s chosen ones, his special people, the “people of God” (1 Peter 2:9). Though they are “strangers” and “scattered,” as far as the world is concerned, as far as God is concerned they are his elect people “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father” (1 Peter 1:1-2).

To me a high point of the letter is 1 Peter 2:9 — “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

He went on to say, “To this, you were called…” (2:21) and “God called you to his eternal glory…” (5:10). Therefore they are to “Stand fast in the true grace of God” (5:13). The “call” to which he refers is the election of God, his special choice of those people whom he calls his own, by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.

It is not my purpose here to address all the questions that may arise. It is to remind you of a truth that is in the Bible to bring us comfort and joyful assurance. In many ways, we are like those first-century believers who needed the stability and hope that comes from strong doctrine. We need it too!

So meditate today on 1 Peter, chapter one. There it says that God’s elect people are: strangers in the world, chosen in keeping with God’s plan, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, cleansed with the blood of Christ, born again, given a living hope and an imperishable inheritance in heaven, shielded by God’s power, believers in Jesus, even though they have not seen him in person, and given the present assurance of ultimate salvation.

Peter says that all this should fill us with an “inexpressible and glorious joy!” Let that be our response instead of extremism, rancorous arguments and division. If there are questions or misunderstandings, let us bring them to the Lord. In quiet reverence, let’s ask God to give us the same thankful response that is recommended by the apostle Peter.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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No Explanation is Adequate

No Explanation is Adequate

Our local newspaper was full of sympathetic coverage of the death of a sixteen-year-old football player. Peter Webb died after sustaining head trauma during a game with his Christian school team on September 13. At his funeral, he was eulogized as enthusiastic, confident, athletic, and devoted to Jesus Christ.

His father, Jim, and his four brothers showed uncommon courage as they each rose to speak in Peter’s honor before over two thousand guests in attendance.  Several high school football teams came and they heard Peter’s dad speak of the intense pain the family felt because of the loss of their son and brother.

No doubt the young men on those teams and Peter’s fellow students have been struggling with the same questions most people ask in similar situations. Couldn’t God have prevented Peter from dying? if so why didn’t he? If God is good, why does he allow evil to exist? If he is all-powerful, why doesn’t he bring an end to human suffering?

These profound questions cannot be answered with glib cliches. The emotional suffering of the Webb family cannot be healed by philosophical band-aids or sentimental pieties. As a sorrowing C.S. Lewis put it in A Grief Observed, “Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolations of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand.”

Where is God?

“Where was your God when my son was killed?” a grieving father asked John Claypool. “He was where he was when his own boy was being killed,” came the answer. What the wise pastor was saying is that God entered, and enters, human suffering in the incarnation of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Consolation in such a time is not to be found in platitudes, but in presence, the presence of a compassionate God who said he would be “near” (Philippians 4:5) and in the supportive presence of friends who quietly care and serve in his name.

But this does not answer the question “why?” Rational explanations are cold comfort to those in sorrow. But for those who are attempting to understand the mysterious ways of God it may be useful to recall that God is good and evil did not originate with him. He made the world good and part of that good was to allow for the possibility of human choices.

All choices involve risks and consequences, including the risk of brain trauma from a football injury. Was Peter Webb’s death untimely? terrible? tragic? Certainly. All sports, including American football, pale in comparison to the value of such a precious human life.  Yet young men are drawn to challenge, risk and conquest. “The glory of young men is their strength” (Proverbs 20:29).

A good purpose

Was his death purposeful? The Christian answer is an unequivocal “yes!” God was not defeated when that beautiful young man died. Somehow in the sovereign wisdom of the Creator, a good purpose is being fulfilled. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).

Examples are found throughout scripture to illustrate how God uses human suffering to accomplish his purposes. The story of Joseph’s sufferings is such a lesson. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good,” he told his brothers in Genesis 50:20.  The sufferings of Joseph were purposeful. The Babylonian captivity of the Jews was purposeful (Jeremiah 20-29). The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was purposeful (Acts 2:23). Nothing is outside of God’s purpose.

Likewise, the New Testament teaches us that God sometimes uses human suffering to humble his people (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Sometimes it is to correct and purify his people (Hebrews 12:6, 11). Sometimes no explanation is given. Sometimes our only response is to lament, as Jeremiah does, as Job does, as Habakkuk does, as Asaph does in Psalm 73.

These facts alone do not lift the emotional burden of overwhelming pain and loss borne by a grieving family. The fact is, we are not always given emotionally satisfying answers to why there is undeserved suffering in this world.

God will win

The Christian message promises God’s ultimate victory over evil. In the meantime, we live in a world where danger, evil and suffering remain for the present. But this imperfect world is preparing us for the next. I paraphrase Winfried Corduan who reminds us that God is able to use evil to facilitate the coming of that better world. He writes, there can be no pity without suffering. There can be no redemption without sin. There can be no courage without danger. There can be no resurrection without death.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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I’m Going To Jail

Recently one of my racquetball buddies and I were talking after a match. “Will you be here tomorrow?” he asked. I told him no because I would be in jail. This piqued his curiosity and he wanted to know what I meant.

I told him about my ministry as a volunteer chaplain with Oklahoma Jail and Prison Ministry. He kept asking questions. He seemed to really want to know what it was like. I described the sixth floor chaplain’s office at the Oklahoma County Jail. I shared how the inmates come there because they want prayer, they want hope, and they want to hear from God’s Word.

This led to a frank conversation about the gospel, the Lord’s offer of forgiveness and new life in Christ. He listened respectfully as I told him that this is what we all need, whether we are prisoners in a jail or “respectable” people on the outside. We are all sinners. I told him about the Lord’s gracious offer of eternal life through faith in Jesus the Savior. He’s thinking about all this and I am praying for him.

One of the questions he asked had to do with why I would want to do this. I told him I do this because I have been blessed with a great spiritual heritage and excellent training. Most of the people I meet in the jail have not had these advantages. I feel a responsibility to share the blessings I have been given.

Another thing I told my friend is that prisoners are human beings created in the image of God. As such they have value in his sight. I told him what George Rennix said some time ago: “When I go into the jail I want  to consider those inmates more valuable than myself,” commenting on Philippians 2:3. I want the same thing. I think one reason prisoners want to see a chaplain is that they are treated with respect as they are told about God’s love for them.

As a retired pastor I have the Bible knowledge, the desire to share the gospel, and the discretionary time which allows me to serve. The inmates are spiritually hungry, and most of them are receptive to the message. There is a great need for chaplains, and it is a privilege to serve the Lord in this way.

I also told my friend about the joy I feel when a person, broken by sin and repentant, opens his heart to Jesus Christ to receive the gift of eternal life through faith alone. There is joy in the presence of the angels (Luke 15:10), and there is joy in the Oklahoma County Jail.

I appreciate the prayers in the little book Valley of Vision. Here is one that sums up my motivation for ministry in the jail.

Thou hast knowledge of my soul’s secret principles and art aware of my desire to spread the gospel.

Make me an almoner (one who gives generously) to give thy bounties to the indigent,

comfort to the mentally ill,

restoration to the sin-diseased,

hope to the despairing,

joy to the sorrowing,

love to the prodigals.

Blow away the ashes of unbelief by Thy Spirit’s breath and give me light, fire and warmth of love. Amen

For more information about Oklahoma Jail and Prison Ministry, go to www.ojpm.org, or call 405-917-2242.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

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Why Didn’t Paul Condemn Slavery?

Critics of the apostle Paul point to the fact that he refers repeatedly to slaves and masters but makes no attempt to call for an end to the institution of slavery. It is also embarrassingly true that American slave owners and their preachers used Paul’s texts to justify their beliefs and practices.

To compare the shame of the North American and British slave trade with first-century Roman slavery is a case of false equivalency. Brian J. Dodd has pointed out that slavery in the Mediterranean world of Paul was vastly different. (1) Slaves could and did earn their freedom. (2) They were not distinguished on the basis of race or color. In fact, it would have been difficult to tell, on the basis of appearance, the difference between a slave and a free person.

(3) Unlike the slaves in the American South, those in the Roman world had legal rights, including the right to appeal in the case of unfair treatment. (4) In some cases slavery was an opportunity for social and economic advancement. Some people sold themselves into slavery in search of a better life. (Paul discouraged this practice in 1 Corinthians 7:22-23.)

(5) Slaves in Roman society were often well educated and highly skilled. They occupied such trades as tutors, scribes, clerks, bookkeepers, civil servants, physicians, and household managers. (Slaves who worked in the mines, as gladiators and as galley-slaves on Roman ships were mostly prisoners of war or criminals.) (6) Slaves could own property and save money. This allowed many to purchase their own freedom and eventual Roman citizenship.

(7) Sometimes slaves in prominent households preferred to remain in this position rather than to seek emancipation because it was advantageous to them to be treated well under a kindly master.

Ben Witherington has added that as we try to understand Paul, it is useful to remember that no ancient government considered abolishing slavery. No former slaves or philosophers wrote attacking the institution. The slave revolts we read about in ancient history were not attempts to overthrow the institution but to improve working conditions or to protest abuses. Manumission (buying freedom) was so common in the first century that Caesar Augustus set up laws to restrict it. There is evidence in early Christian writings that some Christians gave sacrificially to purchase the freedom of fellow church members who were slaves. (The Paul Quest, InterVarsity press, 1998)

So what are we to make of Paul’s instructions to Christian slaves to obey their masters and do their work for the Lord (Colossians 3:22-25)? How are we to understand his words in 1 Corinthians 7:21-24, 1 Timothy 6:1-4, and Titus 2:9-10? We must begin by setting aside any thought that Paul would have condoned the kidnapping, violence, brutality, and inhumanity of the British and North American slave trade. We must, rather, interpret his writings within the context of his own world, the Greek and Roman world of the first century.

To that world, Paul brought the radical teaching that Christian slaves and masters are brothers in Christ, freed from sin, and liberated to serve Jesus. In the church, they are equals. They are to see themselves as an alternative society, part of a new humanity in which ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Paul went out of his way to identify with slaves. He called himself a “slave of Christ” (Philippians 1:1). He most likely worked alongside slaves when he plied his trade as a tentmaker. He dignified them by regarding them as persons of value, teaching them the virtue of work done for God. His short letter to Philemon was an appeal for the restoration, and possible liberation, of a runaway slave who had become a Christian, and whose service to Paul had been invaluable.

Brian J. Dodd has written: “It would be naive to fault Paul for not making an all-out, frontal assault on the institution of slavery. What would a meaningful protest have meant in a stratified society where there were no referenda, no public opinion surveys, no democratic process for the masses? Furthermore, a protest against slavery as such would have been interpreted as treason and sedition. It probably never occurred to Paul to lodge such a protest, and it is anachronistic for us to fault him from our social-legal position that cherishes the right of free speech. On Paul’s side of the interpretive bridge, such rights did not exist… .” (The Problem of Paul, InterVarsity Press, 1996; cf. S. Scott Bartchey, “Slavery in the NT,” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed.)

Paul knew that slavery was an economic institution upon which Roman society depended. Any attempt to overthrow slavery would have been met with instant retaliation and the most severe punishment. Instead, his strategy was to undermine injustice with Christian love and mutuality. Even as Paul taught respect for the institutions of government (Romans 13:1-7), he knew that the good news of Jesus would penetrate Greek and Roman social structures with the influence of unselfish love. Paul’s calling was to proclaim the powerful gospel of Christ. He knew that it would change people’s hearts and create a new society.

    –  Pastor Randy Faulkner Randy 2019-spring

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