Weekly Roundup: atonement, church planting, imaginary girl, studying the Bible less
Actually knowing what “Jesus died for sinners” means, one question for every church planter, why the girl you want may not exist, and a quote on studying the Bible less.
Resources
“Jesus Died for Sinners”: Do Your People Know What This Actually Means? | Conrad Mbewe | 9Marks
This is one of many great articles from 9Marks’ quarterly journal. This quarter’s journal is on Penal Substitutionary Atonement. I love what Mbewe says in this article. I want to shout it from a mountain top!
The longer I pastor, the more I’m convinced that pastors should regularly preach the unsearchable riches of Christ not only for the salvation of the lost but also for the believers’ growth in grace.
But sadly, when dealing with the Savior’s work in saving us from sin, we preachers so often say very little. Because of this, something frightening happens over time: those who listen to us fill in their own meanings to the common words “Jesus died on the cross”—and those meanings can be far from what the Bible actually teaches concerning the death of Christ on the cross.
One Question Every Church Planter Should Ask | Kevin DeYoung | The Gospel Coalition
DeYoung gives some perspective to all excited church planters.
Not too long ago a church leader from another part of the Western world was (kindly) lamenting to me that an American mission agency was sending in missionaries to plant churches in his city. The man was not opposed to more churches. In fact, he welcomed more Christians and more churches. But he lamented to me that no one asked him, and the well-established denomination he was a part of, what gospel work was already taking place in the city. “They act like we are an unreached people group,” he said, “but we’re not. Talk to us first.”
The Girl You Want May Not Exist | Greg Morse | Desiring God
This one is a zinger. I haven’t been edgy on this blog for a long while, so hey, I’m below my quota. :P
He stood so inflexible upon his preferences that onlookers wondered if God had yet created a woman who could meet them. He, as if for sport, ignored every sweet Christian girl who would show interest because of feverish expectations of whom he ought to be with. He resisted any rumors of interest, because he believed himself destined for what amounted to a Christian supermodel.
I read, and save, more articles that I’m able to post in the Weekly Roundup. To see all of the articles I’ve saved over the years, see my Evernote collection.
Quote
Why sometimes you need to study the Bible less during small group, and instead have the Word study you!
I’ve started telling our leaders to study the Bible less. Saying that in my church is the proverbial red rag to a bull. Everyone gets twitchy. I intend to be provocative, of course. It’s a way to wake us up to a funny phenomenon. For some groups, studying the Bible has become more important than hearing God speak. Now I know what you’re thinking—that I’ve finally gone off the deep end. Surely studying the Bible is the very way we do hear God speak. Isn’t that the whole point? To which I have to say: yes, usually……. but occasionally, no. Let me explain.
I’ve been in groups that spend so much time debating words and sentences and contexts that they never do much of anything else. Maybe that’s what Paul had in mind when he told Timothy to warn against quarreling about words; it is of no value and only ruins those who listen (2 Tim 2:14). These studies never get beyond the quarrel. They certainly never get to implications for the way we live.
I’m all for getting to grips with the words of a passage (and structure, context, grammar, the works). But I am not for it if we end up muzzling the very Word we are claiming to study. That’s what I notice. Studying the passage becomes, paradoxically, a version of putting our fingers in our ears. I suppose it's no surprise. Sharp two-edged swords are uncomfortable and if a detailed study of grammar dulls the edge, we may well do it. It keeps the blade at arm's length. We examine it, but it no longer examines us.
The remedy is to speak personally. ... Instead, when studying a passage, we need variations on the "so what?" question.
— Steve Midgley, Something Worth Meeting For—A Biblical Vision for Small Groups. The Journal of Biblical Counseling (JBC) 28:3 (2014): 62–73. Accessed on Sun, Sep 1, 2019 at https://pcacdm.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Biblical-Vision-for-Small-Groups-article.pdf.