This is Meekness

By / Mar 18

A person’s ride usually tells you something about that individual. A minivan suggests that it is probably driven by a family man—a family man with a big family. A hot hatch with nice alloys and the suspension lowered perhaps indicates that it belongs to a young person. A pickup truck is almost certainly driven by someone intensely practical. An elegant European saloon, in pristine condition, probably points to a late-middle-age driver who has taken early retirement and washes his pride and joy at least twice a week. A person’s ride usually tells you something about that person. That is exactly what we find in Matthew 21:1–11 with Jesus:

“Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, “The Lord needs them,” and he will send them at once.’ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

‘Say to the daughter of Zion,
Behold, you king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
on a cold, the foal of a beast of burden.’

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.'”

The Meekness of Jesus

It is clear that by this point in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is actively preparing to announce himself as the long awaited Messiah. The deliberate planning that lies behind 21:1–3 suggests that Jesus knows the time has come to reveal himself to all as the Messiah. He does this by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and thereby fulfilling an OT prophecy (Mtt. 21:4–5).

This prophecy is Zechariah 9:9, and there the prophet promises that Israel’s king would come to them on a donkey. More than that, however, it also communicates that this king would be a king of humility or, better, meekness. 

Jesus is revealing that he is indeed the messianic king that has been anticipated. But he is also communicating subtly—by the prophecy he fulfills, the ride he uses—that his messianic reign is of a very different type to that which was expected. The people desired a valiant king who would stride into Jerusalem on a white war horse, followed by a mighty army, ready to drive out the occupying Roman force. Jesus’s mode of travel (and this is the only time we read of him travelling by anything other than foot) tells us something about who he is and how he reigns.

This should not be surprising, at least for the reader of Matthew. At the beginning of Jesus’s most famous sermon, he pronounces: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Mtt. 5:5). In chapter 11, Matthew then records Jesus stating: “I am gentle (meek) and lowly in heart” (Mtt. 5:29).

Beyond Matthew’s gospel the meekness of Jesus is evident. Consider the nativity narratives. God the Son takes on human flesh. The One who was omnipresent is now confined to a womb. The One whose powerful word sustains the universe now cries in order to be fed. The One who is eternal now grows and ages like any other human. This is meekness.

Consider the Last Supper in upper room. A band of twelve dull disciples who repeatedly misunderstood their Rabbi gather together. As they do so, their Rabbi disrobes, kneels down and begins washing their feet. I hate feet—I don’t even like washing my own feet. But here is Jesus washing away the dusty filth from a day’s walking by sticking his fingers in between the toes of Judas Iscariot. Jesus knows that in only a matter of hours Judas will betray him. Even so, he serves him. This is meekness.

Consider the cross. The Creator permits his creation to crucify him. More, the Perfect Son willing bears the wrath of the Heavenly Father for sin that is not his own. Jesus endures everything he deserved to escape in order that his people might escape all that they deserve. This is meekness.

Our king is a king of meekness. 

Although we have witnessed it in Jesus, it might be beneficial to offering something of a working definition: Meekness is a knowledge of our standing before God, which provides an inner strength enabling us to act for the benefit of others, even at our own expense.

Meekness is a trait seldom sought, scandalously side-lined and, sadly, in short supply. But Jesus sees it differently, and if I could be so bold as to place modern parlance on the lips of Jesus he might say that “meek is fleek.” 

The Significance of Meekness

As we consider the reality that Jesus is the embodiment of meekness, there are at least two points of application to note today.

Our View of Jesus

First, we want to ensure that we see Jesus for who he truly is. Our Savior is not a harsh task-master. He does not view us with persistent disappointment, despite our persistent failures. He is not exasperated with our frustrating progress in the Christian life. Our Saviour never gives us that not-again-look. Jesus is meekness personified.

Instead of demanding that we earn his affection, Jesus freely offers himself in our place. He loves us first at his own expense. He suffers and dies so that we might live. He gives of himself so that we might gain.

We must ensure then that our view of Jesus is dictated by what we are told in Scripture. He is a Savior to whom we can confess. He is a Lord to whom we can turn to in our brokenness. He is a God who gives instead of demands. He is a man who knows what it is to be tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Our Savior is not distant, disinterested and discontent with his brothers and sisters. Quite the opposite. If our view of Jesus does not entice us to intimacy with him, we do not see him properly.

Our View of Ourselves

Second, we want to ensure that we possess a proper view of ourselves. If the king of the kingdom is meek, then so too the citizens. 

We should be people known for acting for the benefit of others no matter our own expense. The motivation for this attitude should be the status we have before God as Christians. Due to the fact that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ next to nothing should be too much bother for us.

I read of a church that puts this to the test. Apparently, when young men approach the elders and express their desire to serve in full-time ministry the elders of this church send them to the crèche. They tell these young men that if they want to serve in ministry show yourself worthy by serving in the crèche.

How would you respond to that request? Does a pride bubble up inside that whispers: “I am far too intelligent to demean myself with that kind of service”? Maybe our pride is more subtle than that, and we reason: “I am not very practical, I couldn’t do that job well.”

If we are not willing to get down on our hands and knees to clean up pee, poo and puke, perhaps we do not have the requisite character to enjoy the privilege of preaching from a church pulpit.

As we have already noted in the life of Jesus, such meekness was no issue for Jesus. Indeed, Paul reminds the Philippians that Christ made himself nothing (Phil. 2:7). Is that not the epitome of meekness?

In a true knowledge of our standing before God we possess an inner strength that enables us to act for the benefit of others, even at our own expense.

Our view of ourselves will dictate how we embrace Jesus’s call to be meek. 

Our prayer must be that we will know Jesus for who he truly is and that by the power of his Spirit we might walk as he did. After all, Jesus promises: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Mtt. 5:5).



Consider the Small Churches

By / Mar 17

Well, it’s that time. You move to a new town. You go to college. You get married. You leave your last church for whatever reason. And you’re on the hunt again, looking to find a church. Everyone wants to have a church into which they are born, grow up, and die. But most of us will make the painful decision to say “Goodbye” (hopefully in a good way) to our old church and start looking for a new church a few times in our lives. There are lots of factors you need to consider: theology, style of worship, philosophy of ministry, location, etc.. I want to draw attention to one factor that you should pay attention to. Is the leadership humble?

Has the work of the Almighty Son of God, Jesus Christ in denying himself to accomplish our salvation as our substitute and sacrifice on the cross been like chemotherapy to the cancer of pride?

Specifically, are those who are responsible for the teaching of God’s Word humble. Why? Hebrews 13:7 tells us that we should imitate the example of those who teach God’s Word. Paul tells Timothy that by keeping a close watch on himself and his teaching, he will “save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16) He is pretty clear that the teacher must set, “the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (4:12)\

In particular, a pit of errors is avoided by humility. James warns us that those who harbor “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” in their hearts have demonic roots which leads to “disorder and every vile practice” (James 3:14-16). By contrast the “meekness of wisdom” (3:13) will lead to “a harvest of righteousness.” (3:18) For reasons I can’t elaborate on here, I believe that James 3:13-18 is specifically written for leaders. Some might disagree. But I think all can agree, this at least applies to the leaders of an assembly.

If a pastor is proud and arrogant, he will not only see “every vile practice” in his own life, but his church will be filled with it. He can have polished communication, perfect ministry strategy, effective mission, and orthodox theology, but if he is filled with pride and arrogance, his church will be a seedbed of the demonic.

So next time you look for a church, find a church with humble leadership.

Which is why you should consider looking for a small church. Not that there aren’t big churches with godly leadership. There are. I know some. There are also tons of small churches with proud pastors. I know some (I often am one!). But the problem is this: if you can’t get close enough to the pastor to see that, you will never know if they are humble or arrogant.

The simple reality is that in big churches, you just can’t get close enough to look at the teaching pastor’s life to discern how humble they are. By the time you find out, it is probably going to be too late. As I see it, this is an existential crisis for large churches. The burgeoning of large churches with arrogant pastors has led to the stunted growth of many Christians and a serious de-christianization of too many cities. The rocketing growth of large churches often leads to the hollowing out of other, smaller churches around. When they implode, those people often don’t go back to church. For the life of me, I don’t know how large churches try to solve that problem. I’ve never been a megachurch pastor, and with posts like this, there are relatively few chances I will ever be one.

But I do know this: in my small church, my people can see all my mistakes, all my errors, all my faults, all my excesses, all my fears, all my irritations. They can see my pride, jealousy, laziness, and workaholicism. They can see my joys and my despair, my hopes and my despondencies. I hope in the midst of all this they get a glimpse of humility.

I have every confidence that, on the whole, it is easier to get that view in a small church than a big one.



Wisdom for Unwanted Singleness: Singleness as Loss (Part 3)

By / Mar 16

As years have passed and my singleness remains, some counsel I’ve found to be quite scarce to single people who desire marriage is to grieve the sense of loss that sets in when marriage doesn’t come. But, the Bible shows us how to respond to the losses in our lives: lamenting to the Lord.

We see the practice of lament throughout scripture.[1] It is a prominent aspect of living in relationship with God in the midst of a broken world. Lament is not about wallowing in a place of despair or depression. It is about being honest before the Lord when His good character and our painful circumstances don’t seem to make sense. It involves turning to God, bringing our complaints to Him, asking Him for help, and choosing to trust Him.[2] Mark Vroegop puts it this way:

“Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust. Throughout the Scriptures, lament gives voice to strong emotions that believers feel because of suffering. It wrestles with the struggles that surface. Lament typically asks at least two questions: 1) ‘Where are you, God?’ 2) ‘If you love me, why is this happening?’”[3]

For me, I have always wanted to marry young and have children young–but that has not been God’s plan for me. Do I regret how my life has turned out? Absolutely not. I see God’s faithfulness to me in a thousand ways. I can look back on my life and say: “the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Psalm 92:15). And yet sometimes, I feel deeply the loss of what could have been: “my days are past; my plans are broken off, the desires of my heart” (Job 17:11). I will never marry young or have children in my twenties. Those years are gone. The possibility of having children around the same time as my siblings and closest friends is slipping away. The possibility of having any biological children at all is slipping away. At times, that’s deeply sad to me – and that’s okay.

John Piper said, “Occasionally, weep deeply over the life that you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Feel the pain. Then wash your face, trust God, and embrace the life He’s given you.”[4] Ecclesiastes says there is a time to weep. Jesus Himself wept. The Psalms and prophets are full of laments. Indeed, “the Bible gives us permission to weep deeply over the life we hoped we would have, and not feel ashamed of that hope or disappointment.”[5] We should allow ourselves to lament the loss that comes with unwanted singleness. Lament is the way God has designed for us to process pain, and lament is also a doorway to wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 7:4 says, “The house of the wise is in the house of mourning.” Why is that? Because the world is broken, and so are we. To lament is to live in reality. We often ignore it, but when sorrow comes, it serves as a “reorientation to the brokenness that lies underneath all of our lives.”[6] It reminds us that we live in a world with unexplainable pain and forces us to wrestle with God about it. Lament is not only a balm to soothe our souls. It is also smelling salts to rouse our hearts. It awakens us to the reality of sin, suffering, loss, and pain–and also to the gospel, hope, redemption, and heaven. Lament is the way God brings healing to our souls, and it is also a way He imprints wisdom deeply on our hearts.

Faithfulness – Ours and God’s

Unwanted singleness is a loaded gift. It has a freeing simplicity, but it also has unanswered questions, hopes deferred, and gradual losses. Our call is to be faithful with whatever God gives us. In the parable of the stewards, the master gives each servant talents to work with. For those who stewarded them well, the master’s response was, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

Part of stewarding faithfully is rightly identifying the “talents” we have. We often talk about being faithful with the advantages of singleness, but neglect talking about being faithful with the trials and losses. All are gifts from the hand of God. If we are single and don’t want to be, it is not an accident. God is not overlooking us. He is purposely giving us something. When He gives us unwanted singleness, it is like He is giving us three talents labeled gift, trial, and loss. We should be faithful with all of them. We respond faithfully to the gift of unwanted singleness when we use our single years for strategic kingdom service. We respond faithfully to the trial of unwanted singleness when we endure with patience and steadfastness, linking arms with brothers and sisters who also have trials of various kinds. We respond faithfully to the loss of unwanted singleness when we don’t ignore it, but lament it.

When I was 21, I couldn’t imagine being single into my 30’s–yet, here I am. It’s easy to look back and see God’s faithfulness; it’s harder to look forward and trust that it will be there. But because of Christ, I can say: “As for You, O Lord, You will not restrain Your mercy from me; Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will ever preserve me” (Psalm 40:11). The Lord will not restrain His mercy from me. If what I need is grace for unwanted singleness for 2 more years or 50 more–I will have it.

For as long as we have unwanted singleness, we have a multi-faceted gift. Let us faithfully and humbly steward it–and also hold it loosely. The gift of singleness has an expiration date, whether in this life or the next. We have no idea what gifts God has in store for our lives on earth, but we know exactly what He has in store for faithful stewards: “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21).

[1] See Genesis 50:10; Numbers 11:11-15; Job 3, 6-7, 10, 16, 23, 26, 30, 31; Psalm 3, 5, 6, 10, 22, 35, 42, 43, 44, 69, 74, 80, 88, 94, 102, 137, 143; Jeremiah 12:1-4, 15:18; Lamentations; Micah 7; Habakkuk 1:1-4.

[2] Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds Deep Mercy (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), p. 29.

[3] Vroegop, 28.

[4] John Piper. “Embrace the Life God Has Given You.” Desiring God, accessed March 10, 2021, https://www.desiringgod.org/embrace-the-life-god-has-given-you

[5] Lore Wilbert, Sleeping Alone, 68, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5877a990725e25a56603b679/t/5a665556e2c48324bb327296/1516655969414/Sleeping+Alone.pdf

[6] Vroegop, 91.

This article is a part of a series. You can read Singleness as a Gift (Part 1) here and Singleness as a Trial (Part 2) here. 

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared at porchanddove.com.



How Do I Know I’m Really Repentant?

By / Mar 14

What does a repentant heart look like?

Does it just look sad? Timid? Is it simply agreeable? How would we discern the difference in ourselves between a heart turning from sin and one seeking simply to manage or alleviate the consequences of it?

While I don’t think it’s normally a great idea to be going around “measuring” other’s repentance, sometimes this kind of discernment is indeed necessary. And it’s always necessary in evaluating our own efforts of daily taking up our cross and following Jesus in our participating in the Spirit’s work of sanctification in us. Paul tells Timothy to “keep a close watch on yourself (1 Timothy 4:16), so a grace-driven examination of our own souls is not out of spiritual bounds.

In his helpful little book Church Discipline, Jonathan Leeman offers some guidance on discerning repentance:

“A few verses before Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18 about church discipline, he provides us with help for determining whether an individual is characteristically repentant: would the person be willing to cut off a hand or tear out an eye rather than repeat the sin (Matt. 18:8-9)? That is to say, is he or she willing to do whatever it takes to fight against the sin? Repenting people, typically, are zealous about casting off their sin. That’s what God’s Spirit does inside of them. When this happens, one can expect to see a willingness to accept outside counsel. A willingness to inconvenience their schedules. A willingness to confess embarrassing things. A willingness to make financial sacrifices or lose friends or end relationships.” (p. 72)

These are good indicators, and I believe we can add a few more.

But first, a note: You will notice I have listed these signs in the first person plural (“we”) not because it is always inappropriate to seek to evaluate the genuineness of someone else’s repentance, but — again — because we should always be evaluating our own hearts first, and because while the truly forgiving heart is interested in an offender’s repentance, it isn’t inordinately set on holding up the measuring stick of the law but holding out the promise of restorative grace. In any event . . .

Here are 12 signs of a genuinely repentant heart:

1. We name our sin as sin and do not spin it or excuse it, and further, we demonstrate “godly sorrow” (2 Cor. 7:10), which is to say, a grief chiefly about the sin itself, not just a grief about being caught or having to deal with the consequences of sin.

2. We actually confessed before we were caught or the circumstantial consequences of our sin caught up with us.

3. If instead of freely confessing, we are found out in our sin, we confess immediately or very soon after and “come clean,” rather than having to have the full truth coaxed out of us. I’m not trying to hide anything or keep back portions of the truth to protect myself. Real repentance is typically accompanied by transparency. Being “caught” is seen as a severe relief to enter into rather than an embarrassing inconvenience to manage.

4. We have a willingness and eagerness to make amends. We will do whatever it takes, if possible, to make things right with those we’ve wronged and to demonstrate we have changed.

5. We are patient with those we’ve hurt or victimized, spending as much time as is required listening to them and taking responsibility without jumping to defend ourselves or trying to manipulate, reverse the offense, or gaslight.

6. We are patient with those we’ve hurt or victimized as they process their hurt, and we don’t pressure them or “guilt” them into forgiving us.

7. We are willing to confess our sin even in the face of serious consequences (including undergoing church discipline, having a spouse leave us, or even — in the case of criminal offenses — undergoing legal consequences like going to jail).

8. We may grieve the consequences of our sin — as all normal people do — but we do not bristle under them or resent them. We understand that sometimes our sin causes great damage to others that is not healed in the short term (or perhaps ever this side of heaven).

9. If our sin involves an addiction or other compulsive or pathological patterns of behavior, we do not neglect to seek whatever help we may need to address it, including seeing a counselor, entering a solid recovery program, entering a rehabilitation center, etc.

10. We don’t resent gracious accountability, pastoral rebuke, or church discipline.

11. We seek our ultimate comfort in the grace of God in Jesus Christ, not simply in being free of the consequences of our sin.

12. We remain humble and teachable.

The good news is that those who have been united to Christ by faith and have experienced the indwelling of God’s Spirit can repent! And we can do so freely and boldly, knowing that we have complete forgiveness in him. We may not be free of sin’s consequences in this life — and we will have to deal with those as they come — but we can know that we are free from sin’s condemnation! Because in Jesus, that is no longer a possibility. We are irrevocably his, and he is eternally pleased with us. Knowing this, genuine repentance becomes not just possible but preferable.

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

— 2 Corinthians 7:9-11

(This is partly adapted from a post previously published in 2015 at The Gospel Coalition.)



What is Your Ministry Posture?

By / Mar 11

I had to go to the chiropractor a few years ago for the first time in my life. Apparently, years of sitting on a rather thick wallet (although certainly not thick with cash) had contributed to hips that were out of alignment. In addition, my natural sitting position has never been great. I tend to slump in my chair at work or lounge on the couch at home. I flop down and slide as far as I can go with my rear barely resting on the edge of the seat, which bends my spine in rather unhelpful ways. When I was younger and regularly involved in sports my muscles were strong enough to handle my dismal posture. Unfortunately, as I approached 40 and sat at my desk for hour upon hour, my body could no longer compensate for the unhealthy positions I forced upon it. It started to communicate with a vengeance that something was wrong and to tell me I better correct my posture.

Just like our physical posture, we all carry a posture for ministry. This posture shapes our automatic understanding of situations and controversies as well as the way in which we respond to them. Your ministry posture may seem natural, but it’s been cultivated and developed over time. You have been influenced by those you look up to and taught how to respond to the variety of circumstances that arise and now it seems natural, good, and right to “sit” the way you do in ministry. 

Two Postures for Ministry

While I understand the dangers of oversimplification, I believe there are two dominant and distinct postures for ministry. Overall, your ministry will trend toward being constructive or critical. Let me explain.

The ministry posture of criticism bends toward tearing down and the negative. In its worst iterations you find the “discernment” blogger or the YouTube channel that exists for the sole purpose of pointing out where all the problems in the church lie. Even for the normal pastor without an online following, it’s easy to slide into a regular posture of criticism. We begin to treat theology mainly as an exercise in exposure of wrong and polemics. We constantly talk about the “problems in the church today” and we become experts in identifying where others have left the good path. We treat sanctification as primarily about what we avoid. In our hyper polarized age, it’s easy to drift into this cultural mold and tell ourselves we are defending the truth. 

The other broad approach to ministry is what I’ll call constructive. When I use this term, I’m not describing someone who only ever says nice things. To move through life and ministry with a constructive posture is to have a disposition to build, edify, and form something lasting and helpful to others. Of course, there will be times to expose the unfruitful works of darkness, but the exposure is always in the service of constructing something good and whole. 

Constructive Posture and Ephesians 4:11-16

Of the two approaches, I believe Scripture calls us to order our ministry lives toward a constructive posture rather than a critical one. One of the key NT texts regarding ministry, Ephesians 4:11-16, speaks to this repeatedly. The metaphors used throughout the passage describe the intentional construction of something strong and beautiful and not deliberate demolition. God gifts the church with key leaders (Ephesians 4:11) to equip the saints for ministry so that the church can be built up. We are to mature into the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13) and to speak the truth in love so that the body can grow into the head (Ephesians 4:15). As each body part works correctly, the whole body grows and is built up in love (Ephesians 4:16). Ministry means aiming to turn a pile of wood and stone into the Notre Dame or coaching that uncoordinated pre-teen till he’s Tom Brady. 

What would this look like “in the wild”, as the kids say? I’d like to make two pastoral applications using this constructive posture paradigm. 

First, to give a clear and current example, let’s talk about our approach to issues of social justice and Critical Race Theory and what this indicates about ministry posture. It’s great that your church is “not woke” and denounces CRT in all it’s forms, but what does it look like for the people in your church to “do justice” (Micah 6:8) in the world and to “do good to everyone” (Gal. 6:10)? Maybe you think it’s not the role of the institutional church to be involved in cultural and political issues. Fine. But the gospel has implications for the social lives of every person who claims Christ. The individual members of your church need to know what it looks like to “do justice” in their HOA. They need to know how a Christian should “do good” as they conduct business. What are the practical ramifications of a biblical account of justice for ongoing racial tensions in our culture? Give them a constructive biblical understanding of justice and build them up to act on it. 

Second, it’s easy to treat sanctification as mainly about what we avoid. Obviously, the New Testament calls us to “put off” and to “put to death” sin in our lives. But as we read further in Ephesians 4 the putting off always leads to a putting on through the pathway of the renewal of our minds. As you preach, give your people a positive vision of what a mature Christian looks like. I won’t have prepared my 5-year-old to play soccer well if I only warn him not to kick the ball out of bounds, touch it with his hands, and keep from shoving the other kids over. He needs to know what not to do, but he’s got to cultivate the necessary skills to put the ball in the back of the net. Those in our churches need to acquire the full range of Christian virtues and not just keep from breaking the rules. Give them a positive vision of maturity in Christ characterized by faith, hope, and love. 

So, what is your ministry posture? Are you slumped over into a critical position that always finds the wrong and warns to avoid? Or, even when you must point out error, do you do it so that you can help to construct something lasting and strong? Let’s be those with a posture to build up into Christ and construct something useful in those we serve.  



How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Step 6–Argument Tracing

By / Mar 10

When interpreting Scripture, we observe carefully by considering how a passage is communicated. We have already established the literary units and text hierarchy (step 2) and assessed clause and text grammar (step 5). So, we are ready to finish tracing the literary argument and to create a message-driven outline that is tied to the passage’s main point. “Argument-tracing” is step 6 in understanding and apply the Old Testament. Perhaps more than any other step in the exegetical process, this one helps us grasp a passage’s message. In this post, I will show how to trace the argument of a passage by using an argument-diagram.

Create an Argument Diagram

To understand a passage’s structure, we must evaluate the relationship of every proposition, clause, and larger text unit. This type of appraisal is most natural when the argument is chronologically or logically linear (A-B-C-D-E) as opposed to parallel (A-B-C-A’-B’-C’) or symmetric (A-B-C-B’-A’). Regardless, in each structure, every proposition contributes in its own way to developing the passage’s main idea. The relationships between propositions can either be coordinate or subordinate.

  1. Coordinate relationships are those that stand side-by-side. These elements could operate independently in series, in progression pointing to a climax, as alternate possibilities of a given situation, or as both true or both
  2. Subordinate relationships always have a main clause or text unit and then another that either restates, stands distinct from, or stands contrary to the main clause or text.

a. Restatement exists:

i. Where a stated action is followed by the manner for fulfilling that action,

ii. Where a comparison between two or more entities exists,

iii. Where the same thing is stated both negatively and positively,

iv. Where there is a question and an answer,

v. Where an idea is then explained

vi. Where a general statement is then specified, or

vii. Where a fact is then interpreted.

b. Distinct statements are evident:

i. Where one statement provides a ground or reason for another statement,

ii. Where one statement draws an inference from another.

iii. Where a single statement bilaterally grounds two different statements that frame it,

iv. Where there is an action and its result or an action and its purpose,

v. Where there is a condition for meeting a greater end,

vi. Where there is a specific temporal or locative marker, or

vii. Where anticipation through promise is accompanied by its fulfillment.

c. Contrary statements exist:

i. Where a concessive relationship is marked through a term like “although,” or

ii. Where a stated situation is followed by a response.

The following chart further clarifies these relationships and uses abbreviations or symbols to represent each.

All of these relationships are helpfully defined and overviewed at https://BibleArc.com. This is one of the best online-resources for personal Bible-study, and it’s my favorite tool for doing the actual brain-work of analyzing a passage’s thought-flow and propositional relationships. Here you can create a text-hierarchy through the “phrasing” module. Then, in the “discourse” module, you can identify the logical relationships of the various parts of your passage through “arcing” or “bracketing.”

Five Ways Arcing or Bracketing Assist Interpretation

The process of arcing or bracketing a passage assists our interpretation in at least five ways:

  1. It pushes us to recognize that the Bible presents profound and often complex arguments and not bullet points of unrelated truths;
  2. It forces us to take every connecting word seriously;
  3. It helps us to ensure that we do not leave any clause or proposition unexamined;
  4. It causes us to ask many questions that we may have otherwise not considered;
  5. It moves us to the main point of the passage.

 

Naturally, the best way to be certain you are tracing an Old Testament argument correctly is to use the Hebrew (or Aramaic), but a form-equivalent translation like the New American Standard Bible (NASB) works very well. As an example of the approach in English, let’s consider Habakkuk 3:17–19. These verses represent one of the great Old Testament expressions of persevering faith and hope for the age of the new covenant. I want to walk through my text hierarchy, and then we will track the logical relationships through an arc and bracket. The translation here is my own.

Text-Hierarchy of Habakkuk 3:17–19

Reading the translation, you can see that the passage has two parts––the concessive protasis beginning with “even if” in verse 17, and the adversative apodosis starting in verse 18 with the explicit inference particle “then” and the first common singular pronoun “I.” The protasis by nature modifies the apodosis, so I have indented 17a–f to the right. The protasis itself has two parts: agricultural devastation in 17a–d and the ruin of the livestock in 17ef. The apodosis opens in 18a with a statement, “Yet I will triumph in the LORD,” which is then explained in 18b, “I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” Asyndeton (i.e., lack of a connector) marks the explanation. Then what follows in verse 19 is a further inner-paragraph comment, also signaled by asyndeton, which appears to express the reason why Habakkuk commits to celebrate his God––he will do so because “The Lord GOD is my strength” (19a), and because God has empowered him to rise above his adversities through faith (19bc).

With this basic thought-flow in hand, let us now create an argument-diagram, considering the logical relationships evident in the text. Below I use what is called “arcing” but an equivalent tool is “bracketing.” Look back at the above chart to identify all the abbreviations.

Arc of Habakkuk 3:17–19

First, we must distinguish the concessive protasis in 17a–f (signaled by “Even if” in 17a) from the adversative apodosis in 18a–19c (signaled by “Yet”). I use the symbol “Csv” to mark the Concessive nature of the protasis. The concessive unit distinguishes between God’s curse on crops in 17a–d and his curse on domesticated animals in 17e–f, so I put arcs over the various sections. Note that each unit bears a parallel structure: a clause with action verb in 17a (“blossom”) and 17e (“disappears”) is followed by an existential clause beginning with the negative expression “there is not” in 17b and 17f. These two groupings are coordinate and interchangeable, so I mark the relationship as Series with the symbol “S.” Within the first of these units, I have also treated 17cd as an Explication (Exp) of the Idea (Id) presented in 17ab. The second pair of clauses build on the content of the initial two clauses, developing the concept of agricultural devastation. We could rephrase it, “Even if the fig tree does not blossom, and there is no fruit on the vines––that is, if the yield of the olive fails, and the fields produce no food.”

Coming to the adversative apodosis (i.e., “Yet” clause) in verses 18–19, we begin with an Idea-Explanation (Id/Exp) in 18ab. After declaring, “Yet I will triumph in the LORD,” Habakkuk clarifies that what he means is, “I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” The explanation is signaled by asyndeton or lack of connector (Ø).

What follows in verse 19 unpacks further why the prophet will rejoice in God, and even though there is not a formal causal conjunction like “because” or “for,” the relationship between verses 18 and 19 appears to be a Ground [G]: “Because the Lord GOD is my strength and empowers me to rise above my challenges, therefore I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” O, that we would continue to savor our Savior amid times of testing (Matthew 5:11–12; Romans 5:3; James 1:2)! Habakkuk’s last two clauses are tied together thematically and appear to express a Progression [P]: God first makes Habakkuk’s feet like the deer’s and then moves him to walk in the heights.

Some of the logical relationships that I identified when doing my text-hierarchy, I have now been able to concretize and display through arcing the passage. I hope that you can begin to see the benefit of identifying the coordinate and subordinate relationships. Engaging in arcing or bracketing forces us to ask all the right questions and allows us to visualize in an instant the way all the parts of a text relate to each other.

Main Idea and Exegetical Outline of Habakkuk 3:17–19

When a passage has a two-part syntactic construction as in Habakkuk 3:17–19, the weight of the passage’s meaning always falls on the apodosis side. These verses, therefore, seek to motivate believers to follow Habakkuk in rejoicing in his saving God, even when tasting the impact of covenant curse. Every believer should rejoice in the saving God amid trial because the Lord is both able and committed to strengthen and sustain. This is the main idea of Habakkuk 3:17–19. I outline the flow of thought as follows:

I. The Cursed Context for a Believers Joy in the Saving God (v. 17)

a. Lack of earthly provision: Crop devastation (v. 17a–d)

b. Lack of earthly provision: Livestock devastation (v. 17e–f)

II. The Believer’s Declaration of Sustained Joy in the Saving God (vv. 18–19)

a. The assertation of joy in the saving God (v. 18)

b. The basis of joy in the saving God: His ability and commitment to strengthen and sustain (v. 19)



Wisdom for Unwanted Singleness: Singleness as a Trial (Part 2)

By / Mar 9

From Genesis to Revelation, troubles and trials are an enormous theme. Ultimately, all pain and suffering are a result of the fall of man, but God promises to use hardship in the life of the believer to grow our faith and produce maturity. In God’s wisdom and love, he turns trials into faith-building exercises for his people on their way to glory. While unwanted singleness is a light trial in comparison to others, the muscle needed to walk through unwanted singleness is the same muscle needed to walk through any unwanted thing: the muscle of faith. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” The thing “hoped for” and “not seen” here is not marriage. This verse is talking about all of God’s promises to those who believe in Him. God has not promised us marriage, pleasant circumstances, or many other things we may want. But He has promised us infinitely more glorious things: forgiveness of sin, fellowship with Him, an eternal place in His family, a role to play in the growth of that family, sustaining and comfort in every trial, an inheritance in heaven that is unfading and imperishable, a day when tears and sorrow will be gone, and the absolute confidence that we will not be disappointed with how our lives played out. 

Whatever trial we are going through is not essentially about the trial. It’s about us and God. Do we trust Him? Do we believe His Word? Are we living for His kingdom or our own? Instead of focusing only on Paul’s words about singleness to gain wisdom on the topic, we should look also at what the Bible says about living the ordinary Christian life—-which includes unwanted circumstances and daily walking by faith. These concepts take up much more space in our Bibles than teaching on singleness does, and we would be wise to order our reading and teaching accordingly.

Seeing unwanted singleness as a trial also helps those in the body of Christ truly relate to one another—-not based on the uniqueness of our trial, but on our common experience of various trials. For example, I know very few women my age that are still single—-and I do find encouragement in godly women who share my circumstance. But I have found a jackpot of encouragement in sharing life with believers in my local church who are living with trials of various kinds. We may have an assortment of unwanted circumstances, but we share the same source of strength: the promises of God. For single people, our best comrades may not be other single people, but fellow Christ-followers who are holding fast to the Word of God in the midst of their own struggles. 

Let us not miss out on an opportunity to exercise our faith and experience the ministry of the body of Christ. When we see unwanted singleness only for its advantages and not its hardships, we ignore reality and hinder the growth of faith muscles. We also miss out on mutual ministry among believers. Chances are, there is an area in every Christian’s life that is hard for them to trust God with—-whether it’s singleness or something else. The married and the unmarried can find common ground through shared vulnerability, paving the way for encouragement as we bear one another’s varied burdens and point one another to Christ.

Finally, unwanted singleness is not just a situation to leverage or a trial to be endured faithfully—-it is also a loss worth grieving before the Lord.

Continued in Singleness as a Loss (Part 3). Read Singleness as a Gift (Part 1) here. 

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared at porchanddove.com.



Christ is An Unconquerable Savior

By / Mar 7

Because Jesus is God we can know that he is able to save. But we are encouraged not just that Christ is able to save, but in knowing that he has actually exercised his ability to save us.

In other words, to say that God is able to save isn’t exactly the good news, because God is able to do many things that he nevertheless chooses not to do. Whenever he says “no” to one of our prayers, for instance, we should not construe him to mean that he’s saying “I can’t.” (Unless we’re asking him to sin or otherwise act against his nature.)

I’m thinking along the lines of the old Carl Henry saying: “It’s only good news if it gets there in time.”

That Christ is able to save is no benefit to those who do not find themselves taking refuge in him!

Well, Christ is an able Savior and because he’s always on time—indeed, he has authored time itself— he’s an unconquerable Savior.

Look, for instance, at John 17:9-19, where in his “high priestly prayer” Jesus turns from praying for himself to praying for his friends. Christ’s interceding on the sinner’s behalf is GOOD NEWS, and here it rises to the surface of his prayer in wonderful relief:

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

He has given us the only kind of life he has within himself – ETERNAL LIFE.

The primary facet of eternal life on display in vv.9-18 is the eternality of it, the forever protection Christians have by Christ himself. Review from the passage, for instance:

v.10 = all yours are mine and mine are yours, meaning we belong to God

v.11 = the Father is keeping us

v.12 = he has guarded us, and not one of them has been lost

v.15 = keep them from the evil one

vv.16-17 = sanctify them (or set them apart)

All of this points us the safety we have in Jesus!

Even the loss of the “son of destruction,” a reference to Judas, in v.12 is not an indication of  Christ’s unconquerability, since he notes that Judas’s destruction was according to the divine plan (“that the Scripture be fulfilled”). In other words, Judas didn’t slip through the cracks. Jesus isn’t a pretty good Savior, about to finish 11 out of 12. No, he kept all that were given to him. None of them was lost. Nobody slips through the cracks. If you are saved, you are unconquerably saved.

The obvious doctrinal connections here are to eternal security and the perseverance of the saints. But there are shades here of what’s more explicit in John 17:21-22, where we get a glimpse into the doctrine of mystical union with Christ.

…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them…

The gospel gem of union with Christ is perhaps the major facet of the gospel uniting the whole of the New Testament. It is implicitly proclaimed every time we see phrases like “in him” or “in Christ” or “with him” – to be found in Christ, to be raised with Christ, to move and live and have our being “in Christ,” to be crucified with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly places, to be hidden with Christ in God.

In John 15, Jesus tells his disciples that they are the branches and he is the vine, and that they must “remain in him” or “abide in him.” This is all doctrine of union talk.

And in John 17 the picture being displayed shows us that Christ doesn’t just advocate for us as a defense attorney – though he does that too – but that he actually grafts us into himself. But further: by faith, the sinner saved by grace is spiritually inextricable from Jesus. His Spirit indwells us. And we are said to dwell in him.

How is this? That he would be, spiritually speaking, inside of us. And we would also be, spiritually speaking, inside of him?

Well, think of the temple in the ancient days. The holiest of holies was the place where God’s presence specially dwelled. But it would not be accurate to say God’s wholeness was solely located in that physical space. God is omnipresent. He can’t not be omnipresent. So God was outside the temple and everywhere. But also he dwelled specially in the temple. This is a corollary to the indwelling presence of Christ in believers. We are in him. But he is also specially in us.

Think of a Martryoshka doll. You know, those Russian nesting dolls, where you open it up and there’s an increasingly smaller doll inside? Well, picture just three. The middle one is us. We are inside Christ, so that when you open him up, you find us. And when you open us up, you find him again.

We belong to God. The Father is keeping us. He has guarded us and not one of us will be lost. He is keeping us from the evil one. He has sanctified us.

Speaking of Russia: Recently, as Russian invaders entered Ukrainian soil, I saw a photo online said to be of a group of Ukrainian Christians in a circle in Kharviv Square joined in prayer. And I was struck by two things in contemplating that photo. The first thing I was struck by was the sheer vulnerability of them. For seven or eight human beings armed with nothing but winter coats are no match for small arms fire, much less heavy artillery. But the second thing I was struck by was the sheer power of them. For Christians – to be found in Christ, to be guarded and kept by him is — in all the ways that ultimately and eternally matter — to be unconquerable

Richard Sibbes says, “The Christian is an impregnable fortress. The Christian is a man who cannot be conquered.”

Oh, we can be killed. But we cannot be conquered.

As Paul says in Colossians 3:3, “our life is hidden with Christ in God.” If we are hidden with Christ in God, we are as secure as Christ is. Now, how secure do you think Christ is?

Jesus says, “I have guarded them! (v.12)”

Now, of course we need to be sober-minded. We will endure hardship in this life. In v.15, Jesus plainly says, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world,” only that we be “kept from the evil one.”

Nobody gets out of here alive. Even the Christian must die. But dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you. Dying after you die is the worst thing that can happen to you. But for those who are united to Christ by faith – we have unconquerable, eternal life.



Freely Received

By / Mar 4

Making his birthday list, my son wondered, “Can I ask for a $57 Amazon gift card?” 

“Sure,” I replied, “what do you want to buy?” 

He explained it was not for anything that he wanted.  Instead, what his brother hoped to receive for Christmas cost $57; the only way he would be able to buy it is if he was the recipient of this gift card. 

He knew that in order to give, he first needed to receive.

How true this is for us as well.  We are asked to give to others what we have first received from the Lord ourselves.  

Are you being asked to love a difficult person?  Forgive an offense?  Be kind and tenderhearted?  Serve the ungrateful?    Whatever it is, Christ exemplified it first. 

Yes, first you were the recipient.

One day Jesus told the story of a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.  There was a man who owed him “ten thousand bags of gold.”  Unable to pay such an immense debt, the master ordered that he, his family, and all he owned be sold in order to repay the debt.  Falling down before the master, this man cried out, “Master, have patience with me, and I will pay back everything.”  The master was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  However, as the servant went on his way, he found a fellow servant–one who owed him “a hundred silver coins.”  Just as he himself had done, this fellow servant fell to his knees and cried, “Have patience with me, and I will pay it back.”  This man, this recipient of compassion, grace, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, had just been released from a debt of “ten thousand bags of gold.”  With his debt no longer held against him, released from such a burden, he refused to extend what he had received.  Instead, he had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the master heard what had happened, he called for the one he had forgiven: “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”  (Matthew 18:23-34)

Just as I had on you…

Do these words pierce your heart, as they pierce mine?  “Just as I had on you…” removes any sense of entitlement or rights as well as any form of excuses or rationalizing.  I come face to face with how kind, generous, gracious, merciful, loving, and compassionate the Lord has been towards me.  In gratitude and humility I wonder: As I have received, how could I not give?   

When we primarily view ourselves as the giver, we set ourselves up to analyze the recipient’s worth and if he or she deserves what we are about to bestow (whether love, forgiveness, or any other grace).  However, when we primarily view ourselves as the recipient–of God’s love, forgiveness, and grace–we are moved and motivated by gratitude.  It does not automatically make it easy, but it does bring into focus that we, too, were undeserving, unworthy, and have been so graciously dealt with.  

Unlike my surprise regarding my son’s birthday request, having never expected him to have such a thought, the Lord does expect us to “have such a thought” towards our brothers and sisters. 

May we make this our prayer: that “just as I had on you” would permeate our hearts and by the grace of God, affect our actions: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).

“I have given you an example to follow.  Do as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).

By His grace and for His glory, as we have so freely received, may we so freely give.



Pain From the Church Heals in the Church

By / Mar 3

I have a confession: I tried to write this article five times.

Every time my fingers finished flying across the keyboard, I stared at the screen and realized the thoughts weren’t yet meant for others. Processing deep pain with God rather than immediately turning it into a lesson learned has been good practice for me lately.

I felt similar freedom sitting outside with an old friend from seminary yesterday. On a beautiful spring afternoon in Kansas City, we ventured into the courtyard of our alma mater to catch up after almost two years apart. Looking at him with my own tired eyes, I recognized the war-torn look in his. The peppy (somewhat prideful) people we were upon meeting had since been humbled by severe mercy. What a grace.

This is the beauty of the body of Christ: we do not have to pretend we are put-together people. Believers endure the trials of this life together, which means we also have a front-row seat to spiritual growth gifted through them.

But I have another confession: some of the greatest heartaches of my life have been caused by those in the Church. What happens when the ones united to you in Christ—who share the same Holy Spirit as you—are the ones who inflict the deepest wounds?

In the middle of pursuing my Master of Divinity, I almost gave up on the local church.

Though I believed so strongly in Midwestern Seminary’s vision “for the Church” that I moved across the country to study here, a combination of crises during my second year of seminary caused me to question my calling. Forgiveness has since been extended on all sides, but in that season I gained a personal understanding of what it meant to have “church hurt.” In the weeks before the global pandemic erupted, my world had already been turned upside down.

It is by the grace of God and the help of friends that I stayed where God called me. When I could hardly get out of bed at all, let alone to the doors of a church, I had sisters who gently offered to bring me to theirs. This is how I found myself in the care of the church I am covenanted to now: Cross Fellowship Church.

My pastors and fellow members are, by their admission, not perfect. Honestly, a lot of us are weird (in an endearing way). But before I even belonged to the congregation, they were the ones who texted and called me while I lay in an isolated hospital bed with COVID-19 in March of 2020. When I was eleven hours away from my family, they recognized me as part of the broader family of God and therefore loved me as such. Meeting real physical and spiritual needs, they helped me begin the process of healing in the months that followed. Pages could be written about the unmerited grace poured out on my life through my church since then. But I know not every believer has this experience.

If you have been hurt by someone in the Church, or by the institution itself, I am sorry.

Only the Lord knows the nuances of your situation and the hearts of those involved. Several resources speak to steps to take towards reconciliation and recovery. But what I want us to acknowledge together is why pain from the Church hurts so much:

I am convinced the reason those in the Church have the power to hurt us most is because they are the people we love most.

They are the ones we trust to shepherd us. The ones we allow to hold us while we cry. The ones we share time, service, and affection with like family because we are family: sharing in the blood of Christ that granted us life. God our Father is safe. He is kind. He is good. Shouldn’t his people be, too?

As sinners saved by grace, we have righteous standing before God in heaven while also undergoing sanctification on earth. We are beholding and becoming more like Jesus daily, but we are not God. This means that even with the best intentions, we fail. Few people are aware of how true that is in my life as the friend I spoke with in the courtyard.

Yes, I have been hurt by the Church. But I have also hurt others in the Church.

This is how I know pain from the Church heals in the church: God has not only allowed me to experience the grace of this design in my own life but to witness it in the lives of those whom I have wounded.

In the local church, we get to consistently practice the patterns of repentance commanded for all believers. We get to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [we] have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love;” and have the privilege of showing the world what it means to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3). Walk. Wound. Repent. Repeat.

God granted a small glimpse of his glory displayed in the longsuffering version of this process with my brother in Christ yesterday, but I experience it with my church family daily.

The call of the Christian is to die to ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Jesus. We can’t trust our flesh to always like what is required for us to become more like him. It is not always easy to work for “unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” or “speak the truth in love,” but it is always right (Eph. 4:13, 15). And it is always worth it.

Whether you have endured a necessary wound inflicted in love or one carved by the knife of sin, please do not allow it to keep you from the one place your traumas can be tended. In the local church, let them be washed by the water of the Word. Allow them to be covered by the sweet salve of a friend’s earnest counsel. Remember that it is by the wounds Jesus bore for his Bride the Church that they are truly healed.

The process of healing from “church hurt” may be uncomfortable, but it is a plan prescribed by God himself.