Attention All Readers…
I have created a new blog site: www.jasonwhitley.wordpress.com
I figure its easier for most of my family and friends to remember that than Ephesians….was it 1 or 2? Or maybe 6 since the armor of God is in the chapter. You get the point.
We live in a world that is big on security, don’t we? From stolen ID’s to computer viruses to protecting our country from terrorism, we see the importance of security in our lives. But what about “spiritual security?” Does that really exist? Have you ever wondered if you could lose your salvation? Is there something you could do to lose it? Or what if I failed to do something that I should have done and as a result forfeit my salvation in Christ? Maybe you have had similar questions at times in your Christian life. I’m sure we have all wondered at some point if it was possible to lose our salvation. Doesn’t the scriptures say that losing it – is possible? What about Matthew 10:22 “He who endures to the end will be saved.” Does that mean if I do not do well until the end of my life – that I won’t be saved? What about John 8:31-32? Does that passage mean if I am not able to continue in the word diligently that I will lose my salvation?
Be careful, the Bible is not saying in these passages that you can do something to lose it. Jesus was saying in Matthew that the one who is saved will endure to the end. Enduring to the end is a characteristic of a true believer. In John 8 and in many other similar passages, Jesus is talking to unbelievers – challenging them in regards to their belief. You see, back then many people claimed to be Christians, but were not (and as a result did not bear fruit as a Christian should). So Jesus would challenge them – saying that only a true believer is the one who obeys His word.
Once saved, always saved! Don’t ever forget that, and don’t let anyone come along and tell you otherwise. Remember that Christ is the Author and Finisher of your faith (Phil.1:6). He doesn’t just get it started and leave you to finish it off. God is the one at work from the beginning until then end! Romans 8:38-39 says that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Just read the list that Paul provides there – it’s pretty exhaustive! One of the most refreshing verses is found in John 10:27-29. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Be comforted. Your salvation is sustained by God’s power, not your own. Just as you did not earn your salvation, neither can you lose it! God is the one who justifies (Rom. 8:33) and God is the one who sustains you, as His child, for eternity. The Apostle Peter says that your inheritance will never decay or fade away (1 Peter 1:4). Be encouraged, your salvation is protected by the powerful hand of God for eternity. Now that’s security!
I believe there are several issues that God constantly reminds me of in the christian life. One of those regular reminders is to read my bible daily. Last year when we started our men’s biblestudy, we all agreed to discipline ourselves in God’s word. Each time we met we would ask each other about our devotional time – a kind of accountability. By the end of the year each of us had some sort of structure to our devotional time. Just the fact that it existed was great for some! I drove this into them pretty hard the entire year. My youth pastor did the same to me when I was in high school, constantly asking those convicting questions of how my bible reading and prayer time was going. Most of the time I didn’t answer with too much enthusiasm, more like: “Well, its…ok. Needs improvement though.”
We can all use some more help with our devotions. One article I read recently was an interview between a young man and Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, who was a pastor in London at the time. The young man asked him to give him some fundamental lessons he (as a young man) should take to heart. The very first principle Dr. Lloyd Jones said – was to systemtically read your bible every day. This answer has two parts to it – read your bible every day, and as you do – read from cover to cover.
Always good to be reminded to read it every day. But the second part of that principle hit me hard. Many times I have found myself reading only those books or passages that I am familiar with: Ephesians, the Gospel of John, James, etc. I have favorite books and passages that I often go to. It easy to get caught up in this, as the familiar is always comfortable. I think we should go to those often for spiritual strength, but not to the neglect of the rest of scripture. God wants us to know all of what He has said. Every part of scripture is relevant to us, and not only relevant but necessary for our growth. I am always pleased to hear people committing to read their entire bible in one year (that’s the typical talk in January). But when May or June roles around, I like to ask those same people how their reading is going. Rarely do I hear – “Great! I’m right on track.” Usually they die in the burnt offerings of Leviticus, or if they make it through Leviticus, they die in Numbers, somewhere in the Sinai wilderness. I understand the frustration, as I have done the same thing many times.
Recently I decided to start from scratch. I started reading in Genesis, and have committed to reading through the entire bible this next year, and yes, even though it’s May! I’ve come to accept that the time of the year won’t give me the motivation to do it. But I need a real purpose, a real motivation to read the entire bible in sequence. And that purpose is to know the “whole counsel of God.”
God will bless those who read and study His entire word. For example, what if your spouse told you the things in life that they really enjoyed doing. They gave you their 5 favorite things they enjoy doing. But instead of listening to them and remembering those 5 things, you only decided to hear one of them. Your completely forgot the other four. On top of that, for the rest of your marriage you never again asked them to repeat the other four things they enjoy doing. How do you think your partner would feel? Probably neglected. So would you, right? It shows you love them if you listen to all they have to say, and remember all they have said too. It’s the same with God. How can we show Him our love for Him, if we fail to listen to all that He has to tell us?
And not only is it about our love for God, but about our own personal growth. If we only eat one kind of food (as good as a food as it may be for us) we can stunt our growth. We get sick when we don’t eat many kinds of foods. If we fail to eat a variety of foods, we fail to get all the nutrients we need. So let’s read the entire counsel of God. And as Dr. Lloyd Jones exhorted that young man many years ago, make sure you read the entire bible systematically. There is nothing better than reading from cover to cover. And in doing so, you will hear God’s whole counsel and your knowledge of scripture will grow as you begin relating scripture with scripture. After all, scripture is the best commentary on scripture! God’s speed in doing so. And yes, it’s ok to start in May.
I should have written this blog a long time ago, but for some reason never got around to it. I graduated Seminary almost a year ago now (last May). Over the last year I have reflected back to those busy days. I am very grateful for their ministry and devotion to the Lord.
As I look back on those days, I carry some concerns in regards to the students. They aren’t theological or academic concerns, but rather “life issues,” as I have so titled my blog.
Because I started seminary right after college, I didn’t get much of a break from the academic world. For those 8 to 9 years I heard and participated in numerous theological debates. Seminaries seem to be the center of such battles, and many times are the best places for them. They can be good, as iron does sharpen iron. You learn a lot about the truth from wrestling with others. You learn that your view is not the only view, and many times your view does not have as much biblical support as do some other. There were good conversations back then, as I learned a lot from each of them. However, it seemed that some students, even after graduation, were only looking for another debate. It wasn’t necessarily for the purpose of getting a better grasp on a subject, or graciously helping others to wrestle with God’s word, but rather to win. Life and ministry is not about winning a theological debate or proving that say presuppositional apologetics is a better approach than evidentialism, but rather helping others to know God. Sure, there are rightful places and times to discuss these issues with other believers (and it can be beneficial), but it should never motivate us in ministering to others. In ministry I quickly learned that my greatest motivation and responsibility should be to struggle through life with others in order to help them to grow in the Lord -and that rarely happens through a theological debate! It happens by living closely with them and “weeping with those who weep.” Sure, I still read (and read and read) to keep up with current theological issues, but I realize the most important part of my ministry is shepherding God’s people.
That leads me to another reflection: a pastor both teaches and shepherds his flock. There seems to be a strong tendancy among seminary men (especially the younger crowd) to get so wrapped up with their study and teaching, that they neglect to shepherd their people. A shepherd gets down with his sheep, wrestles with them, cleans them, protects them, and guides them. Sometimes a shepherd weeps with his people and many times struggles with them through their worst days. Teaching is a necessity for the minister, but so is the careful shepherding of the people of God. If I could give one sermon to any seminary in the country, it would be this: Don’t neglect shepherding God’s flock while you faithfully study and teach the word. Shepherding is from the pulpit, but it does not stop there.
A final thought is in regards to the heart, specifically pride. I consider seminary to be a great place to grow -no doubt. What a tremendous opportunity to spend time studying the word surrounded by other Christians doing the same thing! But I found that pride easily creeps into the heart during such opportunties. I strongly believe that a major reason for pride in a seminary setting is that students take in so much information in such a short amount of time. Paul warns the Corinthians that “knowledge puffs up.” Many students have failed to carefully mediate on the truths they receive and have failed to carefully work them out in their own life (as did their professors for the last 30 years!) A common illustration for seminary is that it is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. There is so much coming at you that you cannot take it all in. I definitely agree! There is no way you can take in all that education within just a few short years, but you can at least grab some along the way and learn the tools to study more later. The problem is not the overwhelming information that the student receives, but the proud heart that receives it. My advice to anyone receiving a biblical education of any form, is to watch themselves closely. Receive biblical instruction from their professors with great humility. Never think highly of yourself for receiving such great truths.
When I hear of young men interested in seminary, I always encourage them to follow through with that desire. But I never hesitate to remind them of these things.
This title may catch your attention. Yes, I grew up in the great state of Texas, and in the best city in Texas – Houston. Houston is known for its fabulous cuisine and its friendly atmosphere. People even wave to you as they drive by! If someone in L.A. waves to you, you duck. But not in Houston, because there are friendly hospitable people who enjoy each other’s company.
Unfortunately Houston has not been known for its great preachers (though there are some!). No, Houston was not home to the great Charles Spurgeon (just in case you were confused). Neither was it home to such men like Martyn Lloyd Jones, A. W. Pink, or A. W. Tozer. What is Houston famous for now? You guessed it, Joel Osteen.
I’m amazed at the number of people who ask me if I know or like Joel Osteen (once they find out that I’m a Christian and I’m from Houston). It’s true, people have actually asked me if I know him personally. No I don’t know Pastor Osteen; Houston is a fairly big city after all. And I don’t particularly like his preaching. Some people have asked me why I don’t like his preaching, so I thought I would provide some reasons.
I found the courage (more like curiousity) one day to sit down and watch him on T.V. Instantly a warning light went off in my head. What was the warning light about? Well, because he was on T.V. I have never had a high respect for preachers who are found on T.V. There are a few exceptions, but only a few. I will give John MacArthur credit, he is actually on T.V. now (believe it or not). I think he is in the upper hundred channels somewhere, like 180 or 181. Our tube only goes to the upper 70’s, which today is considered pathetic in the digital world. But I am pleasantly surprised that MacArthur is getting that kind of coverage. Yes, T.V. preachers and evanglists never have impressed me. And to find a good preacher on T.V. is a rare thing. It seems that the more convicting a preacher, the less coverage he will have in this culture.
There was another warning light that popped in my head – he had more people in his church Sunday morning than the Houston Rockets had in a playoff game. 30,000 people? His church even bought the old Rocket’s basketball arena (once called the Summit, or Compaq Center). I remember going to watch them play there as a kid. The point is, that when I see that many people flocking to his church every Sunday, I have to wonder if he really is preaching the truth (which convicts, rebukes, corrects, and exhorts the Christian).
A wide message brings a wide audience. A narrow message brings a narrow audience. Jesus said that the road is narrow that leads to life. So with such world wide coverage on T.V. and such great masses of people flocking weekly to hear him, I could only conclude that he was failing to preach the Word.
I listened to his entire message on T.V. As he got into the heart of the message, I recalled what one of my seminary professors used to talk about in his theology class. He said he too would be flipping the T.V. some lazy Sunday afternoon and fall upon the heavenly channel of T.B.N. He said it wasn’t ten minutes before his wife was snatching the remote out of his hands and turning the channel – preventing him from further cursing the T.V. Now, most of the time, his wife forbids him from watching that channel just to keep his sanctification.
After I listened to his message I was neither convicted of anything substantial nor encourged to live a more holy life. He preached a warm message about how God provides for you every day. He talked about how God had provided the Summit for their church to meet at, and how they were able to purchase it with some bazillion dollars. Sure I agree that God provides. But as I have briefly listened to a few more messages, it was obvious that this was the only message he preached ( just in different forms). He preached nice, southern, warm and fuzzy, non-convicting, non-biblical messages. The title of his book reflects this ongoing message: Your Best Life Now. Pastor Osteen discusses steps to living your full potential in this life. He aims at giving people hope that their life can be more fun and more fulfilling today, and that that’s what really matters. Unfortunately he missed the point that Jesus was making when He preached some 2,000 years ago. Jesus preached about denying yourself (be willing to give up everything for Christ), taking up your cross (be willing to give even your own life for Christ), and following Him (choosing to do God’s will rather than your own will in order to live life with Him in eternity). This is not the same message as the famous Houston preacher today.
Be careful when you feel warm and fuzzy after listening to someone like Him preach to you. Don’t get me wrong, God does provide incredible deep abiding joy in the Christian life – but only after the Christian has been convicted and humbled before a holy and righteous God. If Jesus preached in Houston and wrote a book, it may be titled something like this: Your Worst Life Now, Your Best Life in Eternity.
Recently I have had the chance to interact with some volunteers at church. And to my surprise, I found a good number of them stuck in some form of depression. Many of them don’t seem motivated in their Christian life. They spend most of their days in worry, fear, and doubt. I was glad for their honesty, but I felt a little discouraged to find so many Christians discouraged!
Many of them are worrying about present situations, fearing the unknown future, and doubting if God truly works the way the word says He does. I do sympathize with them, as many times I have doubted God’s word and have worried about many things that were not worthy of worry. But I am surprised that many of these people have been stuck in the mud of doubt for such a long time. It seems (at least to them) that they are unable to get out of it and truly see God for who He is.
After listening to many of them explain the reasons for their doubt and discouragment, I can’t get around the fact that they are very good listeners. In fact, most of these people have great listening skills. The problem, however, is not that they have a difficult time listening, but that they listen to themselves! It’s as if they are taking copious notes from their own thoughts, instead of from God’s thoughts!
I recall several years ago reading Martyn Lloyd Jones’ book Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure. One of his main points is that people live in depression because they tend to listen to themselves too much. He exhorts the believer to stop listening to himself and to begin talking to himself. What good does it do to listen to our own scattered, faithless, misguided thoughts? The Psalmist in Psalm 119:11 says to treasure the word in your heart. Why would he say such a thing? The Psalmist instructs us to do that because God desires for us to constantly listen to His own words, not ours. And one way to do that is to memorize scripture so that God’s words are in your mind. Unfortunately we tend to listen more to our own thoughts and fail to treasure His thoughts.
My advice? Stop listening to yourself. Be certain that if you continue to listen to yourself, you will be lead to doubt God’s word and to live a depressed life. Our own thoughts don’t give hope, the scriptures give hope. Stop listening to yourself, and begin listening to God’s word. Better yet, preach to yourself! Remind yourself of what God has said in His word, for His thoughts are what changes us.
Recently in Sunday school, we went through Matthew 4, the temptation of Christ. I don’t intend to blog everything about that lesson, but at least a few points to consider.
The first truth is that Christ was tempted. Hebrews 4 says that Christ was tempted in every way, and because of that is able to sympathize with us. Someone may say, well Jesus is God. He can handle sin, we cannot. But we must embrace the humanity of Christ – that Christ was fully human, and as the end of Hebrews 2 says – that he truly was tempted. Someone also has commented that He did not have a sin nature, thus a very good reason why He was never tempted. But we must remember that Adam and Eve did not have sin natures either (for God had made them perfectly good in Genesis 2). On top of that, Jesus had the worst of circumstances and surroundings, being almost dead from 40 days without food, undergoing horrible desert climate conditions (dry, sunburn, wild beasts, etc.) as well as being tempted by Satan himself, who had at this point used the last 6000 years to better understand humans.
Adam and Eve on the other handle, had perfect circumstances and surroundings. They had a lush beautiful garden where everything was provided for them. They had only one restriction. And they had the opportunity to walk with God everyday in the cool of the day. They had the perfect circumstances and yet Christ had the worst – and still did not sin. A few principles to walk away with:
1. Your sin (moral failure) does not depend on your circumstances or surroundings. You are ultimately held responsible for your sin, and Christ has showed us by example that God gives you (as a Christian) the ability to walk in righteousness, no matter what is going on around you.
2. Christ was tempted as we are, therefore we can approach Him in prayer to get help.
3. Remember that Christ relied fully on the Father and His word. The word of God and its truths were the foundation upon which Jesus succeeded in His temptation. He simply depended upon the Father’s word, and walked in obedience to God – shunning all temptations to do otherwise.
My wife is by far the sweetest person I’ve ever known. She has a gentle, gracious way about her, which was one of the first characteristics that attracted me back in those college days. I even see the gentleness trait in our daughter. But one thing shocked me after I had dated her for some time during college…her favorite sport. Hockey? Wow, that makes football look like a girl’s sport. Is there actually a hockey player in the NHL that still has all of his teeth? What was even more shocking was going to a L.A. Kings vs. Dallas Stars game and watching my wife clinch her fist and root for the Kings player when (no kiddin’ around) they duked it out in a boxing match. She loved the fight! I just scratched my head in bewilderment. I still do today. But I do know she loves hockey, and any chance I get – I’ll still take her to watch the Kings. But I think I should start rooting for the Kings instead of the Stars, being that I am from Texas.
What are some books on your reading list? Most people I know like to read books, and most of those people have their own list of books to read. Looking ahead at the new year – this will be the first full year that I will be able to chart out my reading list and it not include anything “due” for school. My very own list! I almost don’t know where to start. But I do have a few books in mind that I would like to read this next year. There is a handful of new books that I have never read, and a few that I have read – but that are good enough to read once a year.
New books
1. The Greatness of the Kingdom, by Alva McClain. A classic on the biblical theme of the Kingdom. Just never got around to reading it yet. My professor of theology in Seminary (Dr. Trevor Craigen) was a student of Alva. He says this is his favorite book.
2. Sketches of Jewish Social Life, by Alfred Edersheim. This is a good background book on Jewish life during Jesus’ time. I want to begin studying the life of Christ more in depth – in order to do a Sunday school series.
Re-Read
1. Profitting from the Word, by A. W. Pink. A great book on the importance and benefits of being a student of the scriptures.
2. The Sovereignty of God, by A. W. Pink. A wonderful book on God’s sovereignty, possible one of the most extensive on the subject. I always feel puny after reading it.
…And yes, I do like Pink.
3. Counted Righteous in Christ, by John Piper. It explains and defends the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Also a practical explanation of Romans 1-5. A must read.
I’m sure I’ll think of more, but these came to mind first. What are some books you are interested in reading?
I have created a new blog. This blog will be my “outlet” as I write about what the Lord is teaching me in my devotional time, my time in biblestudy, and my ministry at the church. I hope you enjoy it and are encouraged by it! God bless. Jason.
Life\'s Issues from a Theological Perspective 
