On My Use of Bible Translations

One question that I am sometimes asked is, “Which Bible translation do you prefer?” Those who hear me preach or teach, or who read the variety of materials I post online, see that I use multiple translations. So which ones do I use the most, and which do I prefer?

In my sermon summaries I use the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), since this is the version I use when I preach at my church. This follows a long-standing practice of mine, which is to preach from the Bible translation that used by the church as the pew Bible. I do that so that if a visitor comes in, especially someone who may be unchurched, they will read the same thing I read from the pulpit. The HCSB is a decent translation, and is becoming widely used in Southern Baptist circles.

My preferred translation is the New International Version (NIV). I use the 1984 revision. There is a new revision (2011), but I haven’t really had a chance to evaluate it yet. I have found that some passages are significantly different from the 1984 version, and since I have memorized many passages in the NIV from the 1984 version I’ll stick with that for a while.

For study and sermon preparation, I compare five English translations, as well as looking at the original languages to the extent of my ability. I start with the HCSB and NIV, then add the New American Standard Bible (NASB), which is somewhat more literal; the World English Bible (WEB), which is based on the very literal American Standard Version (ASV) of 1901; and the New English Translation or NETBible, which provides extensive translation notes. Used together, these translations provide a very good cross-section that really gets at the meaning of the text.

Why not the KJV? I grew up with the KJV, and the beauty and formality of the language makes for wonderful reading. However, the English language has changed so much in four centuries that the language of the KJV is difficult for modern readers to understand. There are some good modern updates of the KJV, but I prefer translations built off an eclectic text, since in my studies I have concluded that these texts give us the best opportunity to recover the original text of the authors.

So you can expect to see several translations in the materials I write. Using multiple translations helps me understand Scripture better, and I highly recommend the practice to everyone who wants to seriously study the Bible in English.

Sunday sermon: The Serving Church"

The final installment in the series on the church deals with the church engaging in gift-based ministry to carry out the Great Commission. The summary can be found at http://pastorsteve.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Serving+Church.pdf.

A Measure of Faith

No, despite my title I'm not trying to find a way to quantify how much faith I have or to work out an equation for who has more or less faith than I do. I'm referring to Romans 12:3, where Paul speaks about God giving us a "measure of faith." This is a curious phrase, and some have taken it to mean something like what I implied above, while others, looking at the context of spiritual gifts, see it as the way God gives "better" gifts to some than others.

I always try to make sense of Scripture by looking at the context. (Ask my Sunday school classes; they'll tell you my first three rules of hermeneutics are (1) look at the context, (2) look at the context, and (3) look at the context.) Verse 3 reads: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." (NIV 1984- which, as an aside, amuses me to write after reading so many posts and articles that refer to KJV 1611.) Paul is speaking here not of the salvation experience or of any sort of comparison, but of our attitude.


The problem addressed in this verse is one of pride. Paul reminds the Roman church that everything they have, and every gift they exercise, is something God has given them. They should therefore not think that it is their inherent quality that allows them to exercise a particular gift, but the Holy Spirit. The "sober judgment" we are to have of ourselves is due to the fact that we have received grace from the Lord, and that "measure of faith" is not due to our own effort, will, or desire but to God's will and calling.


The Greek word for "measure" here is metron, which underlies our English word "meter." A meter is a standard measurement, and metron can have that meaning. Here, however, it more likely has the idea of "a determined portion," a measure of a quantity given out. The gifts God gives to us are a "portion" given to us. It goes against our culture to think this way, but we have nothing to do with what gifts we are given by God.


So what difference do we make? That is in the verses that follow, where Paul tells us to use the gifts we are given. He mentions a few specific gifts, each time urging those with those gifts to use them well. Where we make a difference is not in the acquisition of our gifts, but in their use. We have a calling from the Lord, and He sees to it that we have whatever gift is needed to carry that out. Our responsibility is to honor Him by using our gifts for His glory.


Don't think too much of yourself, then. Notice Paul doesn't say to think badly of yourself, or to put yourself down, but to think "soberly." That means having an accurate assessment of who you are and what you do for Jesus. Basically it means seeing yourself as God sees you. That will prevent us from getting puffed up about our importance, but it also will keep us from thinking we are worthless.


All Christians are gifted, and we all have a place of service to which we have been called. We need to make sure we are fulfilling our roles in expanding Christ's kingdom, and as keeping ourselves humble as we do.

Fighting Error With Truth

I've probably never used a title for a paper or post that is more likely to make readers go, "Well, duh!" In light of some comments I've seen relating to some current issues, however, I think it is an important reminder. When combating error, we need to begin from a base of knowing and understanding truth, rather than trying to pick apart little snippets of falsehood and fighting them like a series of brushfires.

I worked for a while in a retail store cash office. As a result of my job, I got to handle a lot of cash. (Sadly, very little of it was my own.) I couldn't even guess how many paper bills I handled during my time there. Only once did I encounter a counterfeit bill. (And trust me, if we were passing along counterfeits, our bank would have let us know!) How did I know it was counterfeit? Because I handled a lot of genuine currency. This bill didn't feel right as I counted, and upon inspection it didn't look right either. It wasn't an obvious fake, but I knew it was counterfeit because I knew what the real thing was like. (And yes, our bank did confirm it was a counterfeit bill when we sent it to them with a note explaining our suspicions.)

There is a lot of falsehood in our world today, and even a lot of falsehood in the church. How can we as pastors and teachers prepare people to deal with the false teaching they will encounter? We need to ground them in the truth of God's Word, and train them in how to study the Bible. Armed with truth, we can battle falsehood without having to study in minute detail every possible error we will encounter.

I have been listening to some excellent lectures on the early church fathers from the Theology Network web site. (I would recommend this site for the serious student of theology and church history; I'll add a link to my "favorites" box.) In his lecture on Irenaeus, Mike Reeves points out that Irenaeus' magnum opus, Against Heresies, is often seen as an attack on all heresies. It deals primarily with an attack against Gnosticism, especially Valentinianism, but in his work Irenaeus spends time dealing with orthodox teaching, and in attacking the Gnostics he also deals with the roots of many other heresies.

This reminds us of two points. First, while there are indeed many kinds of error, falsehood tends to fall into a few repeated areas. In a slightly different context, Josh McDowell has said that when answering objections to Christianity, knowing the answer to about twenty standard questions takes care of over 90% of what he is asked. Dealing with error generally involves dealing with world view questions, and those questions at their base fall into just a few categories.

The second point is that it is truth that wins the day. If you can successfully convince a person that what they believe is wrong and they should change their mind,  yet give them nothing to change to, what have you accomplished? We need to do more than point out what is wrong; we have to hold out the truth for people to believe. Our primary mission as Christians is to present the truth, the good news of Jesus Christ, to our world.

So arm yourself with truth. If you have the time and inclination, by all means acquaint yourself with the errors you are likely to encounter. We need informed teachers to tell us what we will face. But as your primary weapon in this battle, arm yourself with God's truth.

Family Radio: Enough Is Enough!

This is a post that brings me no joy to write. Just as God takes no joy in the death of the wicked, I don't believe He takes joy in the fall of the unrepentant either. I grieve for the proud, erroneous, and now pretty much incoherent path that Harold Camping has followed away from Biblical truth and into his own mix of numerology, allegory, and theological error that led him to look at a blatantly false teaching he made and stand up before reporters with a straight face and tell them he had been mostly right.

What angered me more, however, was the absolute callousness and cruelty he demonstrated toward those followers of his who gave up everything to spread his message. When asked if he felt any responsibility, Camping basically said (after several minutes of hemming and hawing) that it was their choice, they should ask God for help, and sometimes being destitute and desperate leads to a closer walk with God. Funny that he himself didn't sell all his possessions, liquidate Family Stations, or even acknowledge that he would do so as a possibility for his new date, October 21.

As I posted before, I used to listen to Family Radio many years ago, and was blessed by its ministry. I listened again tonight, to see if Camping would indeed repent. I will not listen again. (OK, maybe on October 22nd; he has to be out of excuses by then, right??). I am also going on record tonight as advising anyone I know to avoid Family Radio, unless and until the board and the stations repudiate Harold Camping's false teachings and return to Biblically sound, orthodox teaching.

It will, of course, be hard to monitor this while not listening, but I get to enough Christian outlets that somewhere I should see if this happens. (I have heard rumors that WFME, Newark may be ready to move away from Campingism, but I'll believe it when I see it.)

Watching an old friend waste away and drift into oblivion is not easy. I could simply turn away myself and just never talk about FR again. However, I think the hubris, arrogance, and meanness shown by Harold Camping tonight require me to openly state what I believe about this fiasco, and to also state that I will not support FR even by listening to it. I pray the Lord will open the eyes of all involved with FR and bring them back to Jesus and the Word.

Sunday sermon: "The Growing Church"

Today's sermon dealt with the church's function of discipleship. We were reminded that we all need to work to build up each other and our church, and that our standard is always Jesus. The summary is at http://pastorsteve.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Growing+Church.pdf.

See You Tomorrow!

As I type this tonight, we are just about four hours from the beginning of the Day of Judgment according to Harold Camping. I have to admit, after years of studiously avoiding Family Radio, I have been drawn to the last few days of broadcasting. I guess there's a morbid curiosity at work.

I used to listen to Family Radio (WKDN, Camden, NJ) when I was in college. At that time, there was a nice spectrum of conservative Christian programming on FR, and Camping hadn't yet gone off the deep end. While the music wasn't always the style I preferred, the solid Bible teaching was.

Over the years, with Camping in financial control of Family Stations, more and more of the orthodox evangelical broadcasters left the station, and of course all churches left after Camping declared them apostate. What I have heard over the last two days is the shell of a once-great influence for Christ, now reduced to the pathetic echo of a heretical teacher.

This will make a great lead-in for my sermon this Sunday (assuming, of course, that Sunday comes). When we cut ourselves off from the stream of orthodox Bible teaching and set ourselves up as the sole arbiter of what the Bible means, we can go far off the trail, as Camping has done. That's why the Lord gave the church people who are gifted in teaching us about the Word, our faith, and the way we should live. We cannot reach full maturity without depending on each other and on the wisdom of past generations to keep us on the path of light.

I recognize that we don't all agree on everything about theology and Christian living. We need to understand, however, that together, as each person and each group goes to the Bible for the truth, we can work toward a common understanding of many things. Our goal, of course, is the full unity in Christ that will one day be ours when we get to heaven. Until then, we need to sharpen and challenge our brothers and sisters in Christ to seek after and live the truth.

In the meantime, let's pray for those who will be disillusioned by the failure of the false prophecy of Harold Camping, and may be tempted to give up on God and the Bible altogether. Let's pray for those who would use the heretical predictions of an eccentric teacher to discredit the Bible. Let's pray that Camping himself would recognize his error and repent and turn back to Biblical truth. And let's pray that we will be diligent in our own study so that we re not led astray by those who take a little truth and mix in a lot of falsehood, bizarre interpretations, and ego to seduce us away from the Bible's teachings.

What Jesus Demands From the World

Some of you may recognize the title of this post as that of an excellent book by John Piper. Have you ever read a book where it seems that you can't get through more than a chapter before you have to stop and really think about what the author is saying? That's what I'm finding with this book. What makes that all the more amazing is that the chapters are intentionally short.

What makes me stop is how each of these chapters, pointing out a demand of Jesus, not only makes a claim on my life, but is potentially life-altering. And I'm only on chapter 9! Piper says that the later chapters will be the more detailed demands, but I'm finding plenty in these supposedly more general chapters to keep me occupied.

It's not that these verses are unfamiliar. I appreciate Piper's emphasis on presenting the words of Jesus as they appear in the Gospels, rather than picking away at the supposed process underlying the text (which often becomes the preoccupation of those dealing with the Gospels, to the detriment of the actual passage). That means a lot of what he discusses is based on very familiar ground, if you have studied the Bible for even a short length of time. 

Maybe that all comes back to one of the foundational teachings of the Reformation: the perspicuity of Scripture, which is an obscure way of saying the clarity of the teaching of the Bible. There are many deep and difficult passages in the Bible, and a lot of material that requires knowing something of the cultural, historical, and religious background of the times. But a large portion of the Bible is plain and can be understood by anyone (with the help of the Holy Spirit, of course).

Many of the hardest teachings for us to follow are those easy to understand. Mark Twain is quoted as saying, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts I do understand." While there is some doubt he actually said it, it makes sense. The central message of the Bible, that we are sinners who can't save ourselves and need to have faith in the person and work of Jesus to become right with God, is clearly stated many times, and is a huge stumbling block to many. For Christians, it isn't the obscure teachings of Scripture that trip us up nearly as often as the clear commands of the Bible. Easy to understand doesn't mean easy to do.

I expect that as I continue to make my way through this book (slowly, and with some thought) I will find more than enough challenges in what is familiar to keep me on my knees and working to become more like Christ. The familiar can become new when you look at it with a fresh perspective, and John Piper is helping me do that with these verses.

Sunday sermon: "The Calling Church"

This week's sermon speaks about our call to be ambassadors for Christ, calling others into a restored relationship with God through the function of evangelism.  The summary can be found at http://pastorsteve.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Calling+Church.pdf. If you were present at church last Sunday, you will find some additional material in this summary.

Looking Back on Half a Century...

I'm not particularly either bragging or embarrassed by my age; I just want to put up that title because it sounds cool. Any time we reach a milestone in our life we can look back over all the events and people that got us there. Still, the main reason we make milestone birthdays is that God has graciously allowed us to keep on living.

When I compare the 50 years I have lived with the grand sweep of redemption history, though, I realize how young I still am. Thousands of years have passed since Adam and Eve were sent away from the garden, and the story continued through Abraham, David, Jesus, and Paul, among others. Even just accounting for the writing of the Bible, we have over 1500 years to account for. The story from the fall of man, through all the steps of God's plan, and on to the prophecy John received of the end, is an overwhelming revelation of the grace of God.

Yet the story continued after the Bible was completed. Through Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Gregory, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Warfield, and to our present day, through generations of men and women, and a much longer list of leaders, teachers, and scholars than I have written here, the people of God continue to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and look forward to His return.

I think this may be why I find church history so compelling. Studying the way God has worked over the past 2000 years tells me the story in which I now play a part. I may be a pastor of a particular church at a particular time, serving the Lord in my small corner of the world, but I am a member of a church that is grand and glorious, and which has an amazing future in store.

So I can say, looking back on half a century in the church (yes, I was born on a Monday and in church the next Sunday) I have seen God at work. I have seen joy and sorrow, victory and defeat, success and struggle. Through it all, I have seen the hand of God at work. Should He give me another half-century, or should He give me but a few days, I want to keep serving and growing, and learning more about God, His Word, and the story He has told through the millenia of time, until the day Jesus comes to begin a new story with us for all eternity.

The Disappearing Church

One of the subjects that has attracted my notoriously fickle attention lately is the history of the church in the Syrian city of Edessa. I was first piqued by the legends of the correspondence of Jesus and King Abgar, and then by the earlier Acts of Martyrs of Edessa (which, alas but rather obviously, are not true, although some scholars believe they may reflect a genuine core around which the details were built).That led me to some brief articles on the city of Edessa and the church in that city. The church arose rather early, and went through a number of controversies and dabs at heresy. It remained a fairly strong witness for quite some time, even after the Muslim conquest. What I have found makes me curious to know more.

Yet the Edessene church is no more. Despite a history of strong figures, vigorous theological debate, and steadfastness under persecution, the church eventually gave way to forms of Christianity that would become marginalized, and then to the fate of most of the churches that came under Muslim domination. To borrow a phrase from Revelation, their lamp has gone out.

This phenomenon is not a relic of the past. We have only to look at the once-powerful churches of Europe to see that decline and destruction still happen today. True, the church has not fully succumbed yet, but the trends are not good. This didn't happen from military conquest by another religion, either; it happened by the gradual erosion of faith and doctrine, in some cases carried out within the churches.

The good news is that Christianity has spread throughout the world, and is growing and vibrant in may places. The bad news is that what we have seen happen in European countries could spread to the United States and elsewhere if we are not careful and willing to stand for the truth. Could it be that future generations will look back at Germany, France, and even the US as the Edessas of our era- churches once strong and alive, become nothing but distant memories of a tiny minority? We cannot allow the church to disappear from anywhere she stands, and we should pray and act to see the church of Jesus Christ grow even further in lands where once the church was strong as well as in the frontiers of mission.

Ambassadors for Christ

In 2 Corinthians 5:20 Paul uses the intriguing phrase "ambassadors for Christ." It is a word he uses twice, and no other NT author uses. In Ephesians 6:20 Paul uses of himself  ("an ambassador in chains"), and here he uses it of all believers. In both contexts he is speaking about proclaiming the message of the gospel boldly.

The root of the Greek word translated "ambassador" is the same as the root for "elder." The general idea with this word is one who has the right as an "elder" to represent someone. This is not specifically targeted toward the Biblical office of elder; instead, the idea is of those that have an experience that makes them qualified to speak for the party they represent.

So does this mean that we're off the hook for evangelism until we have enough experience to be a well-trained representative for Jesus? Not at all. Each Christian who has experienced the saving power of Christ, and who is empowered by the Holy Spirit, has more than enough experience to speak on behalf of the Lord. The very change that has been made in our lives is what qualifies us to speak to those who have not had that experience about the Lord who makes it possible.

I'm certainly not suggesting here that it's therefore OK to just sit back and just say what comes naturally, without attempting to learn more and more about Jesus. The newest Christian knows enough to speak about the life-changing power of Jesus, but each of us should seek to learn more, to grow more, and to find ways to be more effective in our communication of the gospel and of the Bible. Although we need to remember that regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit, not us, we should want to be able to represent our Lord in the best way we can.

Paul also doesn't say that Christians "ought to be" ambassadors for Christ; he says we "are" ambassadors for Christ. The question isn't whether or not you as a professing Christian will represent Jesus; the question is how you will represent Jesus. We in the church are often baffled, angered, or confused at some of those who claim they are followers of Jesus, and many who are not believers look at them and use them as excuses not to come to Christ. Our desire should be to show Jesus for who He is and what He has done to the world to the best of our ability.

If you are a Christian, you are an ambassador for Christ. How will you represent Him today?

Sunday sermon: "The Unified Church"

This week's sermon looked at the importance of fellowship in the church, and examined the meaning of fellowship and the Biblical foundations for fellowship. The summary can be found at http://pastorsteve.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Unified+Church.pdf.

A Birthday and a Wikispace Update

First I want to wish a happy birthday to my son Robert, who is the first of my children to navigate all the way through his teen years. He is making his mother and me proud as a music education major at Philadelphia Biblical University. He's had to over come a lot of obstacles, but God is blessing him and using him to touch the lives of teens for Jesus.

I have added two articles to the "Transitions" page on the Pastor Steve's Study wikispace. One is on the transition in Israel from the reign of Solomon to the reign of Rehoboam. The second is on the transition from Jesus to the apostles as leaders of the church. I have also updated the "Biblical Questions" paper with answers to select questions on OT chronology. I hope you will find these new additions informative and helpful.

Work Where You Are Placed

Who decides what each member of a church should do? Who decides who the officers of the church are? Depending on your church and denominational background, we could provide many answers to these questions. For example, I come from a congregational background (specifically Baptist). Therefore, on the surface the answer for my church would seem to be, "The congregation decides." Maybe we hold a business meeting and vote, or delegate the appointment of officers and leaders to the pastor, elders, or deacons.

Yet that would be an incorrect answer. 1 Corinthians 12:19 tells us that "God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided." (HCSB) Ultimately it is God who decides where each of us should serve in the church. The Holy Spirit specifically is the one who gifts us and calls us to minister in the way He determines.

What does this mean for our churches? I believe that in many churches too many people are operating outside of the areas to which God has called them. While in a few cases this may be due to a desire to find a place in which the person receives more attention or admiration than they might in the place God has gifted them for (and after many years in the church I've known a few of these!), it is more often due to people realizing "something has to be done" and doggedly volunteering to do it. After a while, working in an area that does not match their gifts, they may burn out, and not only leave that ministry but stop working for the Lord altogether.

I believe it is imperative that our churches look to fill positions of leadership and service with those the Spirit has called to those ministries. Each of us has gifts to be used to build up the body of Christ, and we need to use those gifts. I also believe that if God calls a church to engage in a specific ministry, He will provide the people to carry out that ministry. If we do not see "ministers" to take on the challenge of a ministry, we need to at least pray and ask God if we should be doing that ministry at this time.

Do you know what God has gifted you to do, and where in the body He has placed you? How are you taking your part in the body of Christ? There are no small gifts and no small people. Sometimes those who get the most attention (as a pastor, I speak especially to my fellow pastors) may be far less significant to the healthy service and growth of a church than many who labor in relative obscurity, and probably also less significant than we often think we are. But all of us are called to serve, to use our gifts for the glory of God and the building up of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

As we seek the Lord's will for our churches, let's help each member find the Lord's will for them in our churches. When we all work together as a body which is put together by God rather than by human wisdom, necessity, or desperation, we will see our churches grow and impact their communities and their world for Jesus.

Getting Healthy in the Church

If you have spent any time working with a church, especially as a pastor or on a pastoral staff, you probably have a large shelf in your library filled with a plethora of resources related to church growth and health. As I work with churches as a transitional pastor, I come back to these studies time and again. Some of them are faddish recaps of what worked in some church somewhere, but probably have little meaning for my church situation. Some are rather complex evaluations of where your church is and where it is going (often with surveys and consultations available at a "reasonable" cost). Some are much simpler and to the point. (One of my favorites, in fact, is called Simple Church.) There is just a huge amount of information available to those who work with churches today on how to help a church become a growing, healthy body.

Yet for all of this growth in church growth material, there seems to be something missing. Few churches today are growing at all. It has become almost commonplace to hear people say if you want a growing church you need to start a new one. What is keeping us from seeing the kingdom of God, and as a corollary our churches, growing?

I think the problem may well be that many churches fail to seek a balance in what they do as a church. Whatever the pastor's gifts are, or whatever the staff specializes in, or whatever the major contributors give to becomes the meaning of church for that congregation. So some churches emphasize evangelism, but have nothing in place to help the new Christians grow. Others emphasize discipleship, but see few new people come to know Christ. Still others favor pouring themselves into ministry, yet their busy programming schedules aren't matched by increasing numbers of maturing disciples. We could multiply the possibilities here, but they all result in the same thing: a one-dimensional church that is extremely good at what it does, but still does not see the growth it expects.

Maintaining balance in a church is hard, as in "herding cats" hard. This is due to our natural tendency (yes, it is mine as well) to emphasize the area in which we are gifted as the primary function of the church. We are most comfortable when the church we are part of majors in what we do best. Yet when we allow that to happen, we are hindering the church from becoming what it can be in God's plan.

How do we overcome this tendency? The hard way is to follow Paul's advice to "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4) That's right, to encourage health and growth in our church we should desire to see those whose gifts are different from ours flourish in exercising them. I firmly believe that every church that is seeking to do God's will and carry out His mission is given everything they need to do so. That includes people with all the spiritual gifts necessary to enable the church to function in a healthy, balanced way. We need to encourage others to use their gifts in a ministry for which they are gifted.

What will happen if we do this? We may very well find a natural balance to the ministry of the church. If the Spirit give gifts as He wills, and He gives them so we as a body can carry out our commission, then when everyone uses their gifts all of the functions of the church will take place. Evangelism, discipleship, worship, fellowship, and ministry will work together to make our church one which glorifies Jesus and engages in a well-rounded mission for the kingdom of God.

Such a humble attitude toward encouraging others will also make the church a witness to the love and compassion of Jesus. There may be nothing that Satan enjoys more than watching Christians fight. C.S. Lewis writes in The Screwtape Letters about what he calls "party" churches; these are churches where taking sides is more important than showing Jesus' love. His "hero" Screwtape writes (specifically about the Anglican Church, but with application to us) that without the work of the devils the church "might have become a positive hotbed of charity and humility." What would love and humility in our congregations say to our communities? A change in our attitudes and in our ministry could be the breakthrough we need to truly reach those around us for Jesus Christ.

Justice, Mercy, and Godly Sorrow

By a curious coincidence, we were studying Jonah 4 this past Sunday in our adult Sunday school class. One of the major topics of discussion was how we as Christians ought to treat our enemies. Jonah, of course, was furious with God for sparing the city of Nineveh. He complained that he knew God was compassionate and merciful, and Jonah had feared that the Lord would indeed spare the city if it repented. The Assyrians were the enemies of Israel, God's chosen people, and Jonah wanted them judged.

We talked about how difficult it is, even knowing Jesus' teaching to love our enemies, for us to pray for those who hate us, and to deal with grace toward our enemies. Several class members spoke of situations in which they found it extremely hard, if not impossible, not to wish for judgment on those who had perpetrated harm on others.

Little did we know we would be tested that night with the news Osama bin Laden had been killed by American Navy SEALs. How do you react to news like that? There is certainly a powerful sense that justice had been served. Bin Laden had perpetrated evil, had ordered the killing of our fellow countrymen. When I visit my parents' gravesite at a cemetery here in town, just down the row is the grave of a woman killed on 9/11. Our town lost six residents that day, including a parent of a student at the school where my wife teaches. The scars are still prominent here, as we live not far from New York City. That bin Laden received what he deserved in an earthly sense gave a sense of satisfaction to all who were touched by the losses of that day.

Yet as a Christian, there is no joy that, as far as we know, another soul had gone to eternal judgment. God Himself, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, says, "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live." (33:11) While in its context this refers primarily to Israel, I believe it also shows us the heart of God. While divine judgment is necessary to uphold the holiness of God, it is not what God created humanity for.

As angry as I am about what bin Laden did, as much as I recognize the need for justice to be served, as satisfying as it is to see that justice carried out, I take no delight in the fact that he has gone on to a destiny in hell. Far too many people who have posted and blogged about this subject today seem to take joy in consigning bin Laden to the flames. That does not reflect a Christ-like attitude toward our enemies. Jesus could have cursed those who nailed Him to the cross; instead, He prayed for them.

Now, this is an incredibly hard teaching, and I'm not going to sit here piously and pretend I have reached a point where I can grieve for the death of the wicked instead of taking joy in their receiving their due. Yet I know that this is an attitude we as followers of Jesus need to cultivate. We should not let justice fail, or seek to simply brush over the evil that people do. There is judgment, both human and divine, and the Bible clearly teaches that. It is our attitude toward those under judgment that we need to examine. Do we think of those being judged with a sense of satisfaction or even gladness? Or do we pray for our enemies, and seek to see them turn to the Lord? It's a tough lesson, and I suspect it is one we will not master in this lifetime.

Who are our enemies? Who are those who we see as the personification of evil in our world today? Closer to home, who are those who have done wrong to us personally? How do we treat them? Let's pray that evil may be reduced in our world not through the destruction of the wicked, but through their turning to Jesus Christ in salvation. If they do not, may justice be served on them, but let's not take joy in judgment, but grieve for the hardness of heart rejects Christ.

Sunday sermon: "The Christ-Centered Church"

In the month of May, I am preaching a series on the five functions of a healthy church. The first sermon is on worship. Because I believe these sermons are important, I have written up longer summaries of them and posted them on the Pastor Steve's Study wikispace. I will provide links here to these summaries. The first sermon can be found at http://pastorsteve.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Christ-Centered+Church.pdf.