Walking Through Landmines

Stan did a marvelous job on Sunday with a challenging text. As he prepped for that, he asked quite a few questions of our pastors, and I could tell that he was wrestling with what to put into that sermon and what to remove. Jill and I were out of town for a wedding, but we had the joy of watching online, and Stan added and subtracted the perfect amount of content and information.

It’s hard for the listener of Stan’s sermon (or any sermon) to understand what goes into that process. In this short post, I thought I would explain what made Stan’s text so challenging and what goes into these decisions.

The coming of the Lord:

Stan did a great job of giving a general overview of eschatological positions (end-time theologies). He was correct when he said that every position agrees that Jesus will return. But he was also masterful in moving through some landmines in the text.

But what makes James 4:7-12 so challenging is the ‘nearness’ of this coming. The people of the New Testament believed that Jesus would come again in their lifetime. Now (this is where Stan had to make a tough decision), which coming did they think would happen? For those of you who just read that question, you’re probably thinking, ‘well, dummy, the 2nd coming.’ But it’s not that simple. Two different ‘comings’ are discussed in the New Testament. There’s a coming in judgment as a way of revealing that Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God, and there’s a coming to make all things new. For instance, what did Jesus mean in Matthew 16:28 when He said, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”? Or, when speaking to the Jewish leaders, He said, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.” In both texts, you can see the nearness and the sense of judgment. The judgment was on the Jewish people who had rebelled against the Lord. Historically, the Roman attack on Jerusalem in AD 70 fulfills this judgment.

But there is also a coming when He will make all things new. This is what John talked about in 1 John 3:1 when he wrote, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

What Stan did that was excellent was that he stayed out of the weeds of this, while revealing to us our hope in the coming of the Lord. Either coming would’ve greatly encouraged the Jewish Christians in James’ time. Indeed, the Lord’s judgment on the rebellious, unbelieving Jews who had mistreated Christians would’ve encouraged them, and knowing the Lord will one day set all things right would’ve also been encouraging.

It is challenging to determine what should be added and subtracted. In this case, because there are so many various viewpoints, it’s best (like Stan did) to stick with what most would agree with and not get too far into the weeds. You could do that in an informal bible study, but not on a Sunday morning. It’s also essential for the preacher to determine what he’s comfortable with and what he knows and can explain clearly. I thought Stan did this very well Sunday.

Unity in disagreement on secondary issues:

When we discussed Stan’s passage with him last week, it was an excellent discussion about these different comings. Further, it reminded me of the joy of serving with brothers with different opinions. We would all say that while the coming of Jesus is a foundational doctrine, but the timing and events of when that happens are not foundational.

Furthermore, this is very much like our church. We have some interesting ‘hybrids’ that are taking place that I find exhilarating. But, as I’ll share with our church in the coming weeks, these secondary things can become primary reasons for conflict or division. For instance:

  • We have a group of folks who would love to have a “Family” Church without a Children’s ministry, and a group who loves our CM and other ministries like this (CLF Students, Community groups, etc.). We have tried to blend both.
  • We have some from Charismatic backgrounds and some who want to be Presbyterian. We are a church that believes in God’s sovereignty and the existence of all spiritual gifts.
  • Our elder board and church have a variety of end-times views. While no one on our elder team currently subscribes to a dispensational, pre-tribulation rapture, several in our church do. Our elders hold to historical, orthodox positions like historical pre-millennialism, amillennialism, or post-millennialism.

I bring all of this up because the Lord, in His kindness, has given us a unique church—diverse people with different views unifying around the glorious gospel.

Pastors’ College Video:

Sunday’s video about the pastors’ college gave you a glimpse into one of the sweet things about being connected with Sovereign Grace. Our Pastors’ College is a unique training ground for men called to pastoral ministry. Jeff Purswell is a wonderful gift to our family of churches.

One comment on the video was when one of the men said that the Lord used Jeff and the PC to convince him of the power of the Word of God. He stated that he had previously believed his logic and gift of persuasion brought power or convincing. What a great lesson for all of us. Sometimes when we’re sharing the gospel with a friend or debating with someone, we think that we have to come up with some winsome, philosophical point that will turn the tide. But that is not the case. Our job is to bring the news. It’s God’s job to do the convincing.

Finally, the video was intended to give you a glimpse of a great pastor’s training ground. If you’re interested in financially supporting the PC, here’s a link: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/give/. When I viewed this update, I couldn’t help but dream and pray that, possibly one day, CLF will be a training ground for pastors like this. This is one of our desires for our new building. We would love a place where more men and families are sent out to plant and serve great churches.

Cheap Seats:

Have a great week!

Last Sunday’s Sermon

Christ is King!

In Christ,

Dave York

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