Tag Archives: 2 Timothy 3

The promise….

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Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up….. be careful that you do not forget the Lord..

(Deut 6.4-7,12)

When the people heard this,… they said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name  of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

(Ac 2. 37-39)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

(2Tim 3.14&15)

The baptism of infants is not some magic ritual, nothing about the child changes as a result of having water sprinkled on its head. What happens rather, is that the congregation within which the child is brought for baptism is remembering and celebrating the abundant and free grace of God – who, when we were as dead things, incapable of any move towards Him, sent Jesus to set us free from the power and guilt of sin, so that we might live for and with Him. This child, born to christian parents, is the object of God’s loving care, all because of Jesus.. It is all God’s plan, all God’s power, all God’s agency, and we are invited to receive it!

It is that generosity and love which we celebrate in baptism – the person receiving God’s gift of salvation has done nothing to earn it, and while we pray and trust that they will persevere in faith, the mere fact of having been baptised does not guarantee anything about their future walk with God. Adult believers who have been baptised may walk away from their faith in the same way that the children of believers who have been baptised and raised in their faith may walk away.. I know it, I know those children and their grieving parents. Ultimately, we cannot make a person believe, and baptism can be rejected along with all the other aspects of our calling as believers in Jesus.

Today, I will be joining with my son and daughter-in-law and their congregation as my grandson is baptised. I will pray for him for the rest of my life, that he might grow to walk in the faith into which he has been born; I will pray for his parents to have wisdom in sharing their faith with their son, and in surrounding him with a faith-family; I will do what I can, when I can, to help this little one navigate the hurdles to faith which our blindly self-obsessed culture presents. But I cannot guarantee that he will follow his father and mother, his grand-parents and great-grandparents in trusting Jesus.

The promise was claimed by my parents for me; I claimed it for my children, and today my son will claim it for his son. We are a family rich in God’s grace as some in each generation have accepted their calling to live as followers of Jesus. I desire this more than anything for my own children and their offspring – nothing, nothing else matters as much in all the world, as that they should be safe in Christ. But I also know a very small part of the grief of our great God as he calls people to himself, only to see them reject his love and choose to walk in their own light. If it breaks my heart to see a child walk away from their Saviour, how much more must it grieve God who is love, who made each and every person that has ever lived with the desire that they might know and love him?

Heavenly Father, from whom all good things come, I thank you today for your gift of life and hope, for the child who has  joined our family. Lord God, may he grow up into faith, into a lifelong obedience and service of the Lord Jesus. Thank you that our salvation is your free gift, may I share that good news fervently and freely, so that more may come into your family and find peace.

Lord God, have mercy on those who would reject the faith into which they were born. Give us wisdom to love them well in your name; stir up within them a hunger for more than this world can offer; bring them back to the foot of the cross to accept for themselves the life which Jesus has won for them. Oh Lord, hear our prayer for the straying sheep, and sustain our hope, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Not empty rituals but reason…

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“See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations.. What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? …only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget… Teach them to your children and to their children after them…

(Deut 4.5-9)

Ezra came up from Babylon, He was a teacher well versed in the Law of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given… [Ezra] had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.

(Ez 7.6&10)

… all the people came together as one.. They told Ezra.. to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel. So.. Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.. The Levites instructed the people in the Law.. making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.. Then all the people went away to.. celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

(Neh 8. 1-3,7&12)

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(2Tim 3.14-17)

One of the many wonderful things which are revealed to us in the pages of what we call the bible – the combined Hebrew scriptures, gospels, the story of the early church and the letters – -is the emphasis on reason, on understanding, on the clear desire of our Creator that his people should bring all the powers with which He has endowed them to the understanding and expression of our worship and faith. Certainly, rituals were instituted and established by God, to be lived lessons in the relationship which a holy God has with sinful humanity –  but there was always a purpose, a lesson to learn and a principal to apply to life. Our God seeks intelligent worshippers, not blind slavish observance of ritual.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we do not leave our intellect and reason behind, but bring them into the glorious discipline and light of the revelation which God has given us – they are to be used, as every other gift is to be used, to glorify God and to spread the good news of the kingdom which is coming.

In the story of the exiles returning from Babylon to rebuild the temple and city of Jerusalem, we find a wonderful picture of the proper attitude to scripture – recognising its author, its authority, and joyfully celebrating the communication which is given to us by our great and loving God. How amazing, how marvellous and humbling, to find that the eternal, unlimited and all-powerful One would choose to make himself known to our tiny and limited minds… so that we can (at least dimly) glimpse his glory and grasp something of his character. Our minds as well as our strength, our love, and our gifts, are all most fully and satisfyingly occupied when we put them at God’s disposal and spend them in his service.

I know that I shall never come to an end of learning, of finding fresh treasure in the word of God. I know that I am more hungry than I have ever been for this food which nourishes my faith and brings me back to worship – because the more I learn, the more I realise I do not know! 

Lord God, author of wisdom and truth, it is good when your people recognise the authority of your revelation, place themselves under that authority and seek to be transformed by it. Your people are to be your witnesses, and how can we do that unless we know you, know your word and purposes? By that wisdom and the Spirit’s transforming power, may we testify to you in every sphere of life, bringing all our powers to be harnessed in your service. Let our minds be transformed according to your word, and be glorified in us we pray, for Jesus’s sake, Amen.

 

Uncomfortable reading

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“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ‘Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.. Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: “‘The Lord will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling and roar mightily against his land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth. The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord will bring charges against the nations; he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,'” declares the Lord.

(Jer 25.15,30-31)

The tempter came to [Jesus], and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread,’ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every mouth that comes from the mouth of God,'”

(Matt.4.3&4)

“You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

(Jn 5.39&40)

[Jesus] said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.

(Lk 24.25-27)

..continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(2Tim 3.14-17)

In recent years, I have been privileged to spend time reading and thinking about Job, Isaiah, and Daniel in local bible study groups. These have been occasions of great blessing, but also very challenging as they bring me face to face with some difficult truths about human life, divine sovereignty, the reality of evil and the facts of suffering.

I am aware that over the years, I must have heard many sermons on these themes, and yet every time I come across another difficult, violent passage like the one quoted above from Jeremiah, I find myself wincing away from it, deeply disturbed by the images conjured up. What am I, a 21st century Christian who enjoys health, peace and freedom, to make of the sheer quantity of bloodshed, wrathful speech, grim forebodings of judgement and general gloom which characterise so much of the Old Testament?

I do not subscribe to the notion that our bible – combining as it does the Hebrew scriptures, the gospels and epistles – actual talks about two different deities. I do not believe that there is a vengeful Old Testament God, and a loving New Testament God. For one thing, there is nowhere that Jesus attempts to distance himself from the Hebrew Scriptures and their portrayal of the God of Israel. This was the only scripture which Jesus knew, and the one from which he drew in explaining his mission, calling and identity to his followers! If there were some deep issues with the Old Testament portrayal of God, the heavenly Father who so loved the world that he sent his son to die, then surely Jesus would have dealt with it?

No, my Lord and Saviour regarded the Hebrew scriptures as the word of God, the source of truth, and the place where all the teaching necessary to prepare his people for his coming had been recorded. I must then follow his lead, and begin from a place of acceptance, trust and willingness to learn – and to accept that my own human understanding is limited!

I want to grow in maturity of faith and understanding, I want to be able to handle the word wisely and not to be afraid of the difficult things, and so I invest in resources, I ask questions, I push myself to try and change lazy habits of thinking. Sometimes it feels like my brain is stuck – but I trust that the Holy Spirit can undo the knots and barriers to comprehension, and that as I continue to approach the word humbly, willing to learn and to face hard things, to hold seeming contradictions together, I will indeed be better equipped to serve my Lord, wherever he may call me.