while today

The Weaker Vessel

March 1, 2013

Theodore Dalrymple is a British essayist. His work as a psychiatrist and medical doctor in a prison and hospital gave him a unique perspective on society. Although not Christian, his essays reflect conservative and traditional values. This is his encounter with a young girl who was the victim of domestic violence.

“I can look after myself,” said my seventeen-year-old.

“But men are stronger than women,” I said. “When it comes to violence, they are at an advantage.”

“That’s a sexist thing to say,” she replied.

A girl who had absorbed nothing at school had nevertheless absorbed the shibboleths of political correctness in general and of feminism in particular.

“But it’s a plain, straightforward, and inescapable fact,” I said.

“It’s sexist,” she reiterated firmly.

A stubborn refusal to face inconvenient facts, no matter how obvious, now pervades our attitude towards relations between the sexes. An ideological filter of wishful thinking strains out anything we’d prefer not to acknowledge about these eternally difficult and contested relations, with predictably disastrous results.¹

This provides a good lead in to consider Peter’s language in 1 Peter 3:7: “living with the wife according to knowledge as the weaker vessel.” By the way, “vessel” is not a disparaging word. Paul was a “chosen vessel” (Acts 9:15), and Christians are “vessels of clay” (traditionally “jars of clay”) that contain the great treasure of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:7). But what does Peter mean by weaker?

Since Christian wives are fellow heirs of the gospel with their Christian husbands, it is clear that they are of equal worth. Since wives may be Christians and their husbands not (3:1), it cannot mean that they are weaker morally or intellectually. The only thing that makes sense is that they are weaker physically.

The above statement is a generalization. We might easily find a woman who could beat the tar out of some man. But admitting to exceptions, there is wisdom in telling men, who are frequently more aggressive, to use knowledge in living with their wives. The knowledge or understanding Peter is after is the awareness of a woman’s vulnerability and our common Christian hope. In ministry, I’ve seen the great damage that occurs when a woman becomes fearful of her husband.

Peter’s message may offend modern ears, but we live in a world where domestic violence is a reality. We still need his message about living according to understanding and honoring our wives.

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¹Theodore Dalrymple, Life at the Bottom, p. 37.

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Posted by Russell Holden

The Problem of Masters and Slaves

February 22, 2013

For the skeptic, the subject of masters and slaves in the Bible is a moral failing. For the beginning Bible reader in the West, it is something very foreign to our lives (unfortunately, slavery still exists in the 21st century). The problem for us is bridging the context with two different ancient cultures.

Slavery in the Old Testament was debt servitude somewhat like indentured service in U.S. history. The Mosaic law attempted to protect the poor in many ways, but servitude was the answer to extreme poverty in the ancient near east. The law regulated and humanized this practice. Paul Copeland argues that if the principles of the Old Testament had been practiced, slavery would not have existed in the United States.¹ What were those principles?

The law limited the time of servitude to six years. In the seventh year, the slave was to go free. Exodus 21:1
The law prohibited kidnapping, so slave traders were illegal and subject to the death penalty. Servitude in Israel was something an individual entered into voluntarily because of debts. Deuteronomy 24:7
The law protected the slave from harm. If harm came to the slave (e.g., a broken tooth), the slave was set free. Exodus 21:26-27
The law prohibited the return of a runaway slave. Deuteronomy 23:15-16 This stresses the voluntary nature of the financial arrangement. If conditions were too harsh and the slave could escape, he or she would not be returned.

The New Testament context was different from that of the Law of Moses. Yet even here, the context was different from the American experience. Slavery was not based on race. Most slaves gained their freedom. Some slaves held important positions like doctors, teachers, and government workers. Yes, conditions could also be harsh. Slavery is never a good situation (unless the master is God).

Christianity ultimately brought an end to slavery. The New Testament prohibited kidnapping or slave trading (1 Timothy 1:10 ). It taught the human dignity and equal spiritual status of all people including slaves. It encouraged slaves to gain their freedom whenever possible (1 Corinthians 7:20-22). The end of slavery in the West came because Christianity transformed society morally from the inside rather than by political rebellion in the first century. And when slavery has occurred in history since, it has often had Christian leaders at the forefront to end it.

Once we have bridged the cultural contexts, I believe we will have answers for skeptics as well as lessons for today. From Paul’s letters (Ephesians 6:5-9, Colossians 3:22-4:1), we can learn about Christian ethics in the workplace. From Peter’s letter (1 Peter 2:18-25), we learn how to respond to unjust treatment. But as readers we must enter into a very different world with understanding.

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¹Paul Copeland, Is God a Moral Monster?, p. 132

For further reading, see the relevant chapters in: Is God a Moral Monster? by Paul Copeland and Reason for God by Timothy Keller.

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Posted by Russell Holden

How Do You Know God?

February 15, 2013

K.C. Moser in his book, Attributes of God, has a chapter on knowing God. He lists three ways of knowing God: (1) through creation, (2) through revelation, and (3) through Christian experience.

Knowledge of God through Creation. Knowledge of God through
creation is discussed in several passages:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1, ESV)

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:19-20, ESV

When we consider creation, we can learn something about God. We still need revelation in order to come to a saving knowledge of God, but there is something for us to learn from creation.

Knowledge of God through Revelation. Knowledge of God through revelation is critical. Without scripture, we would not know of our spiritual condition or God’s solution.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, ESV

Knowledge of God through Christian Experience. Our knowledge from experience must be based on our knowledge from revelation. Yet, we must also see that knowledge of Bible content must be put into practice. This daily living adds a deeper dimension to our knowledge of God. One could know all the facts about Jesus’ sacrifice for us, but Paul also writes “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us”
(Romans 5:5, NASB). This speaks of a love that the Christian comes to experience and feel, because of what Christ has done. The love of God and neighbors are concepts to be learned (Matthew 22:35-40) but also experienced in our service to God and ministry to others.

May we all come to know God from creation, revelation, and experience. When our knowledge of God from creation and revelation goes on to the knowledge of experience, it has moved from facts about faith to a life of faith. That is what Christian maturity is about. How do you know God?

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Posted by Russell Holden

A Seriously Funny Story

February 8, 2013

It was a serious story told with a sense of humor. For the serious part, Peter was held in prison about to be executed by Herod Agrippa I. Security was tight. Herod had four squads of four soldiers each to take turns guarding Peter around the clock. Peter was in prison bound with chains sleeping between two guards, when an angel appeared. The chains fell from his hands. The angel instructed him to get dressed, put on his sandals, and follow him.

Peter thought he was seeing a vision. They passed by the first guard, then the second guard, and finally they were to the iron gate leading to the city. The gate opened for them automatically. When the angel left him, Peter realized that he had really been through a most unusual prison break. It was a humorous realization, but a serious situation to be on the run from Herod Agrippa and his soldiers.

Remaining free was also serous business, but the story continues with some humor. Peter went to the house of Mary. The servant girl, Rhoda, was so excited by Peter’s arrival, she left him standing in the street! So much for trying to remain out of the sight of the authorities. The people inside praying for Peter’s release were convinced that Rhoda had it wrong. “It is his angel,” they said. While all of this was going on, Peter continued to knock. When Peter was finally admitted to the prayer gathering, “they saw him and were amazed.”

We read the account and wonder: why didn’t they believe what they had been praying for had come true? They knew the reality of prayer is that we don’t always receive what we pray for. God is not a cosmic vending machine: insert earnest prayer and the requested answer immediately dispensed. The Apostle James had already been executed by Herod Agrippa. No doubt this same group had earnestly prayed for him. God doesn’t always answer prayers in the way we would choose.

Their faith is seen in praying even up to the eleventh hour. (God’s rescue of Peter was just in time delivery.) They did not doubt the importance of prayer even if they had an initial surprise of Peter actually being at the door. They did not doubt the importance of prayer even if previous prayers had not been answered in the way they wished.

We must pray in the same way. God has invited us to ask and to intercede for others. But this is a relationship, not magic. We trust that the heavenly Father knows how to give good gifts. We trust even when the answer is what we don’t want. God will grant the strength to cope. Luke could tell this story with good humor, because he trusted the God who is in ultimate control of history.

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Posted by Russell Holden

The One Talent Servant

February 1, 2013

Hearing the parable of the talents is difficult (see Matthew 25:14-30). We are distanced from the cultural setting of the story. It was a world of masters and slaves. A wealthy master departing on a journey entrusts his possessions to his three slaves. He gives to each according to their ability. The relationship itself says that the possessions are not their own, and they will have to give an account.

The word, talent, is also easily misunderstood. Today, the word, talent, normally means a special ability, and I have heard quite a few sermons about using our talents (i.e., abilities). In the ancient world, the talent had originally been a measurement of weight varying between 57 to 80 pounds and then a unit of coinage. Verse 27 specifically mentions silver, although most English translations just say “money” in this verse, and the NCV inexplicably talks of gold. It’s difficult to translate into dollar amounts, but comparisons help. One talent is about twenty years of wages for a common laborer, so 5 talents, 3 talents, and 1 talent would be 100 years of wages, 60 years of wages, and 20 years of wages. The “poor” one talent man received nearly a million dollars in our currency.
Imagine burying 20 years worth of wages in silver in your field. What were the original hearers thinking as the story was told? Maybe some thought, “If I had that much money, I’d know what to do with it. I wouldn’t just bury it.”

The servants didn’t receive just a few dollars. Even the Message’s $5,000, $3,000, and $1,000 is paltry in comparison with the text. The servants received major investment capital, and economic terms describe their master’s return. He wants to “settle accounts.” The one talent man describes his master as being a “hard man.” The word refers to “being unyielding in behavior or attitude” and in this context, “demanding”. It makes hiding his talent even more difficult to understand, although I suspect we are tempted to do the same. The master calls the one talent man “wicked and slothful” or “worthless and lazy.”

What are we to learn? We have a master – God Himself, the creator of the universe. Everything we have is a matter of stewardship – our money, possessions, time, abilities, and opportunities. We take nothing out of this world except for what we “treasure in heaven.” There are no U-hauls attached to hearses. The greatest treasure we have been given is the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:7). Is not the gospel worth a million dollars to us? Will we bury it or use it to achieve gain for our master?

The question is never how much has been entrusted to us. That will in fact vary. The question is whether we are faithful. From our master’s point of view, are we “worthless and lazy” or are we “good and trustworthy”? The bottom line is stewardship.

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Posted by Russell Holden

Dangerous Words

January 26, 2013

It was a decisive moment in my life. I was a teenager. It was Sunday morning, and my Mom had just called me to get up. I lay in the bed and said to myself, “I just don’t feel like it.” I had stayed up too late the night before, and the bed was oh so warm and comfortable. “If I lie here long enough,” I thought, “she would either be late herself or she would leave without me. After all, my Dad was always home on Sunday morning. I could stay with him.”

As I hatched my plan to sleep in, another thought occurred to me. What about next Sunday? Would I really want to get up any more on that Sunday than this? And the honest answer was “no.” I’ve always been a bit groggy in the morning. Then I asked myself one more question, “Do I want to walk away from God?” And the answer was “no.” I suddenly realized that if I gave into this feeling, I could be starting a habit that took me away from God. I got up and went to church.

And so it has gone with my life. I have to admit the things that I have “forced” myself to do have blessed my life. Some decisions shouldn’t be made on emotions alone, but with reason and reflection. Emotions have their place, but sometimes, we have to put emotions in their place and use our will.

Certainly there are areas of life where it is proper to say “I just don’t feel like it.” Some choices in life really don’t matter. But all of us realize that sometimes we have to overcome our feelings. I just can’t say “I don’t feel like it” to taking out the trash, balancing my checkbook, paying the bills, and a long list of other necessary things.

The same is true in the spiritual realm. Satan may use our feelings to weaken our resolve and start us down the wrong path. Emotions go up and down. They vacillate with mood and circumstance, but the important things in life need commitment and constancy. In those weak moments, our emotions need to be overruled by our will. Sometimes “I just don’t feel like it” are dangerous words.

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Posted by Russell Holden

The Boast

January 18, 2013

Paul turned boasting on its head. Paul had learned from the prophet Jeremiah to boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31 quotes Jeremiah 9:24). Paul’s opponents were boasting in circumcision and outward expressions of Judaism. Instead, Paul offered this humble boast:

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Galatians 6:14, ESV

Jesus did something for us on the cross. He became the once for all sin offering. His death brings life. His death grants forgiveness of sins to those united to Him. Sin and death are defeated in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. So, Paul boasts… he boasts “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The humble boast was a scandalous boast. Cicero said that the very mention of the word “cross” should be far from the person of a Roman citizen. The cross was “the most cruel and disgusting penalty.” For the Jew, the scandal was death upon a cross was to be “cursed” (Deuteronomy 21:23).

For the first century world, the cross evoked the emotions that a hangman’s noose would in ours. Clarence Jordan used “lynching” in his Cotton Patch Series for the cross. In explaining his dramatic retelling of the gospel story set against the racial tensions of the South, he wrote:

Our crosses are so shined, so polished, so respectable that to be impaled on one of them would seem to be a blessed experience. We have thus emptied the term ‘crucifixion’ of its original content of terrific emotion, of violence, of indignity and stigma, of defeat.

To the first century world, it was a scandalous boast.

The boast is also transforming. For Paul, the cross is not merely something outside of him. He pictures us all united to Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6). The cross becomes a paradigm… a journey… a daily walk. Paul pictures himself as crucified to the world and the world crucified to him. We are to die on our cross to the lusts and desires of a sinful world because of Jesus. The cross has power to transform.

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er his body on the tree;
Then am I dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.
–Isaac Watts, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, verse 4

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Posted by Russell Holden

Why Be Baptized?

January 11, 2013

Why be baptized? The question only makes sense if someone believes in Jesus. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and raised from the dead, then it is legitimate to ask: why be baptized?

Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22). If I’m going to follow Jesus, I can’t hesitate to do what Jesus did especially when he commands it. Jesus didn’t need baptism for forgiveness of sins unlike you and me, since Jesus is sinless. But Jesus persuaded John to baptize him “to fulfill all righteousness.” It was appropriate to fulfill God’s will.

Jesus commanded baptism (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:16). The followers of Jesus are to go into all the world and make disciples. A disciple, in this case, is a follower of Jesus. A disciple is someone who learns and follows Jesus’ instructions. But the making of a disciple is incomplete if we don’t follow all of Jesus’ instructions. We are also to baptize this person in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. We are also to teach them to keep all the things commanded by Jesus.

Jesus promised certain things in baptism through his teaching and his apostles’s teaching.

The entrance into the Kingdom of God, John 3:5
Forgiveness of sin, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Cor. 6:11.
Reception of the Spirit, Acts 2:38, 1 Cor. 12:13, and therefore the new life in the Spirit, i.e. regeneration, Titus. 3:5, John 3:5.
Union with Christ. Gal. 3:27, and particularly union with Him in his death and resurrection. Rom. 6:3ff, Col. 2:11f, with all that implies of release from sin’s power, as well as guilt, and the sharing of the risen life of the Redeemer, Rom. 6:1-11.
Salvation. Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21

Now I’m not suggesting that immersion in water by itself does all these things. These passages assume that we come to baptism in faith with repentant hearts. The power is in the work of Christ — his death, burial and resurrection. Baptism is an expression of our trust in Jesus and in God. But on the other hand, the New Testament never pictures the unbaptized as possessing these blessings. Baptism is the place where we meet God in faith to receive the spiritual blessings he has promised because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

Why be baptized? Jesus was baptized. Jesus commanded baptism. Jesus has promised spiritual blessings in baptism. I can’t take Jesus seriously and claim to follow him without also submitting to baptism.

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Posted by Russell Holden

Overcoming Evil

January 4, 2013

Evil abounds. The modern world’s 24 hour news cycle covers it live by satellite. We see the victims of evil and violence, and we often hear the sordid tales that perpetrators were once themselves victims. Clearly evil does not overcome evil. It only brings ever widening ripples like a stone dropped in a lake. Evil after evil only keeps the painful cycle unbroken.

How do we overcome evil? We must first accept the cure for our own lives provided by the death of Christ. He died to set us free from sin and death. Having died to sin we must live for God – we must live a transformed life. Paul provides some specifics.

Bless instead of curse. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them” (Romans 12:14, ESV). We do not pay back hurtful words, with hurtful words. Don’t let evil grow.
Don’t repay evil for evil. “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17, ESV). Someone’s sin against us does not give us permission to sin against them.
Seek peace. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18, ESV). Jesus calls peacemakers blessed (Matthew 5:9). Not everyone wants peace, but we should have the attitude that seeks peace.
Leave vengeance to God. “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Romans 12:19, ESV). God is better qualified for vengeance. God is without sin. God is completely just, yet merciful.
Do good to all people. “To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head’” (Romans 12:20, ESV). Paul is quoting Proverbs 25:21-22. “Heap burning coals” should be seen as good deeds pricking the conscience of the enemy and bringing them to repentance.
Overcome evil with good. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21, ESV). How does Satan do battle? His lies and deception lead to evil. How will Satan win battles (for he cannot win the war)? By getting us to stoop to his level, to play his game by his rules, by tricking us to do evil.

Overcoming evil with good is not always easy. The inclinations of the flesh must be put to death with the Spirit’s help. But in Christ there is healing for the brokenness inside. In Christ the cycle of evil can be broken. Only goodness overcomes, for Christ has won the victory.

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Posted by Russell Holden

Anno Domini

December 28, 2012

The Latin, Anno Domini, is better known as simply AD. It means “in the year of the Lord” and is short for Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (“in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ”). Years before the Christan era are designated a.C.n. (for Ante Christum Natum, Latin for “before the birth of Christ”). In English, it is common to use the abbreviation BC for “before Christ.” This calendar intended to have the Christian era begin with the birth of Christ.

Although others had attempted to date from the time of Christ, our current system was devised by Dionysius Exiguus (“Dennis the Small”) in AD 525. He was assigned the task of creating tables for calculating future dates for Easter. The previous tables in use had been dated from the emperor Diocletian. Dionysius did not want to perpetuate the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. Instead he calculated AD 1 as equaling the 754^th year from the founding of Rome.

Calculations like these are never easy, and there are reasons for believing that Dionysius may have miscalculated. Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews mentions a lunar eclipse immediately after the death of Herod the Great. That causes modern chronologists to suggest that Herod died in 4 BC. This in turn causes a revision in the date for the birth of Jesus. Although the intent of the dating system was to date an era from the birth of Christ, the miscalculations give us the oddity of Jesus being born in 4 BC or earlier.

Other calendar systems exist. January 1, 2013 in the Jewish calendar is 19 Tevet, 5773 (before sunset). The Jewish calendar dates its era from creation using the genealogies in Genesis to arrive at this calculation. The Islamic calendar dates itself from the Hijra, when Mohammed emigrated from Mecca to Medina. The Persian calendar also calculates from Mohammed’s emigration from Mecca to Medina, but it is a solar calendar in contrast to the Islamic lunar calendar. The Chinese calendar dates from the first legendary emperor, Huangdi or the Yellow Emperor. The Hindus also have a calendar that has been used in India since about 1000 BC.

As we enter a new year, this history lesson reminds us that Jesus is so significant that we date time by him. No other calendar dates simply from someone’s birth. Jesus is that significant. Have you examined the evidence? Do you have faith in him? Have you obeyed His teachings? Can you call Him Lord?

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Posted by Russell Holden