12: How Jesus Maintains Some Old Testament Laws

By / Jan 1

“Keep All His Commandments” (Deut 30:8)

Having evaluated how the Bible relates OT law to Christians and having considered some of the errors and dangers in alternative approaches, the discussion below overviews a three-step process for applying OT law today. It then supplies two case studies on commands that Christ’s new-covenant law maintains with extension and without extension.

A Method for Applying OT Law

The following three-step process will help believers faithfully assess through Christ and for Christ the lasting significance of Moses’s law today.

1. Establish the Law’s Original Meaning and Application

a. Categorize the Type of Law:

What type or kind of command are you assessing—criminal, civil, family, cultic/ceremonial, or compassion law? At stake here is the law’s content, not form (e.g., apodictic vs. casuistic).

Criminal Laws Laws governing offenses that put the welfare of the whole community at risk (i.e., crimes); the offended party is the state or national community, and the punishment therefore, is on behalf of the whole community in the name of the highest state authority, which in Israel meant Yahweh.
Examples: Kidnapping, homicide, false prophecy, witchcraft, adultery, and rape.
Civil Laws Laws governing private disputes between citizens or organizations in which the public authorities are appealed to for judgment or called upon to intervene the offended party is not the state or national community.
Examples: Accidental death and assault, theft, destruction of property, limited family issues like premarital unchastity, post-divorce situations, and the mistreatment of slaves.
Family Laws Non-civil, domestic laws governing the Israelite household.
Examples: Marriage, inheritance, the redemption of land and persons, family discipleship, and the care of slaves.
Cultic/Ceremonial Laws Laws governing the visible forms and rituals of Israel’s household.
Examples: The sacred sacrifice, the sacred calendar, and various sacred symbols like the tabernacle, priesthood, and ritual purity that distinguished Israel from the nations and provided parables of more fundamental truths about God and relating to him.
Compassion Laws “Laws” dealing with charity, justice, and mercy toward others; these laws cannot be brought to court, but God knows the heart.
Examples: Protection and justice for the weak, impartiality, generosity, and respect for persons and property.

Table 1. Types of Laws by Content

b. Establish the Law’s Original Meaning and Significance:

Assess the makeup of the law in its original context. Clarify its social function and relative status. Is it central or peripheral to the dominant themes and objectives we find in the rest of the material? Is it a primary expression of Yahweh’s values and priorities, or is it more secondary, reinforcing and supplying an example of a more primary law?

c. Consider the Law’s Original Purpose:

What role did Yahweh intend the law to have in Israelite society? Ask the following: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? How often? To what extent?

2. Determine the Law’s Theological Importance

a. Clarify What the Law Tells Us about God:

What does the law disclose about Yahweh’s character, desires, values, concerns, or standards? We learn about the unchanging God through his law, and meditating on Moses’s law should move us to worship the Lord and to recognize and grieve over lawlessness as a direct affront to his person. It should also move us to celebrate his provision of Christ as the perfect law keeper and righteousness supplier.

b. Evaluate How Christ Fulfills the Law and Consider Its Impact on Application:

Christ’s person, teaching, and work display the call to love God and neighbor, and Jesus fulfills the law not only in the way he perfectly obeyed it but also in the way that he is the substance of all old-covenant shadows (Col 2:16–17). As we consider how Moses’s law informs the law of Christ, some new-covenant instructions look identical to Moses’s teaching, whereas others are maintained with extension, transformed, or annulled. Because the various types of laws are mixed in the Torah, we must deal with each law on its own.

c. State the Love Principle behind the Law:

If indeed love is what God called the people to do and all the other commandments clarify how to do it (Matt 7:12; 22:37–40; Rom 13:8, 10; Gal 5:14), we should be able to boil down every law into a principle of love. In detail, complete the following statement for every law: The call to love God/neighbor means/implies/impacts/necessitates _______________.

3. Summarize the Law’s Lasting Significance

Here we preserve both the portrait of God and the love principle behind the law but change the context, all in view of Christ’s work. God’s nature is unchanging, but his purposes progress over time. Furthermore, a proper approach to OT law must account for the pattern Christ set for believers and the power he supplies through his victory and his Spirit.

Case Study #1: The Law Maintained with Extension

Our first example of applying Moses’s law is a “slow-pitch, easy-hitter.” It illustrates how some laws get extended into new spheres as times and cultures change.

When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

Table 3. Deuteronomy 22:8

1. Establish the Original Meaning and Application of Deuteronomy 22:8

Flat roofs are common throughout the Middle East, as the roof supplies an extra living space. A parapet is the low wall that surrounds the roof and that protects people from falling off. Hence, a homeowner needs to build his house with a parapet to guard against another’s death. The law’s conditional nature suggests it stands as a secondary application of the more fundamental principle of compassion. Its main purpose was to prevent domestic casualties brought about by mishap or negligence.

2. Determine the Theological Importance of Deuteronomy 22:8

God treasures when humans display his image, and he calls his people to value those made in his image. In Deuteronomy 22:8, Yahweh graciously warns against dangers that could result in injury to others. Similarly, the “golden rule” that Christ advocated (Matt 7:12) is evident in our passage, and it requires that Christ’s followers today love others in the most practical of ways, including how we ready our living space for guests. Hence, the call to love others means we will remove potential dangers and make our living environment safe.

3. Summarize the Lasting Significance of Deuteronomy 22:8

All homeowners bear the responsibility to care for their guests’ well-being. While many societies do not have houses with parapets, Deuteronomy 22:8 is naturally extended to include, say, building a fence around a pool, placing a protective gate above a stairwell, or salting a sidewalk after an ice storm. Love for neighbor is to impact even the littlest details of daily life.

Case Study #2: The Law Maintained without Extension

Much of the world is amid a gender-identity crisis, and the brokenness it is causing is tragic. When read through the lens of Jesus, Deuteronomy 22:5 speaks to this issue.

A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

Table 4. Deuteronomy 22:5

1. Establish the Original Meaning and Application of Deuteronomy 22:5

We should note three features about this prohibition. First, given its use of géber (“man”) rather than ’îš (“man, husband”), the prohibition is not restricted to husbands and wives but includes the broader society. Second, certain articles of clothing, such as a man’s “garment” (ḵelî) and a woman’s “cloak” (śimlâ), distinguished men and women in Israelite culture. And third, the fact that cross-dressing is an “abomination” highlights the gravity of the offense and associates it with idolatry (Deut 13:14; 17:4), witchcraft (18:12), and dishonest gain (25:16), which could relate to criminal, civil, or family law.

In this light, Deuteronomy 22:5 appears less a core principle and more a secondary application of more fundamental truths—that there are two biological sexes (male and female) and that one’s biological sex should govern one’s gender identity and expression. As for the purpose of the law, it appears to maintain divinely created gender distinctions.

2. Determine the Theological Importance of Deuteronomy 22:5

Yahweh is passionate about displaying right order in his world. This is the essence of his righteousness, and maintaining gender distinctions is an important part of this order. Moreover, Christ and his apostles continued to distinguish men from women. Indeed, Jesus perfectly exemplified maleness in the way he deeply respected femaleness (see, e.g., Matt 5:27–32; Mark 5:25–43; Luke 7:36–8:3; John 7:53–8:11). In addition, gender distinctions will continue at least until the consummation (Eph 5:22–33; 1 Tim 3:4–5), and even if earthly marriage will end (Matt 22:30), there is no reason to think that gender distinctions will alter in the new heavens and new earth (cf. Rev 21:24).

According to Deuteronomy 22:5, then, loving others and God means that people will maintain a gender identity that aligns with their biological sex and that they will express their gender in a way that never leads to confusion.

3. Summarize the Lasting Significance of Deuteronomy 22:5

Deuteronomy 22:5 helps us recognize the appropriate path for gender expression and the sinfulness of gender confusion, which includes cross-dressing and transgender practice. Western culture still distinguishes men’s and women’s clothing, even if women can at times wear slacks, collars, and ties with no one questioning their femaleness. What was at stake in Moses’s law was gender confusion, and it is from this perspective that our outward apparel matters.

Because Deuteronomy 22:5 focuses on adults and addresses gender confusion, it would not directly dissuade a girl from sporting a mustache in a play or a boy putting on a girl’s dress at home. No viewer of this “child’s play” would be confused regarding the child’s gender. Nevertheless, we must be cautious, because we are always shaping our children, and we live in a society that acts as though gender is a matter of choice rather than providence. This perspective is abominable, and Deuteronomy 22:5 speaks directly against it.

In closing, I call the church to care deeply for the violators and the violated in the present gender-identity crisis. We need to help those struggling with identity to find a new identity in Christ, and we need to help those who have been hurt to find the healing that only Jesus brings. He alone is Savior. He alone is Healer.

¹What follows is abridged from Jason S. DeRouchie, “Confronting the Transgender Storm: New Covenant Reflections on Deuteronomy 22:5,” Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 21, no. 1 (2016): 58–69.

This blog series summarizes Jason S. DeRouchie’s forthcoming book, Delighting in the Old Testament: Through Christ and for Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024). You can pre-order your copy here.



Episode 243: The First Ever “FTC Grab Bag” Episode

By / Dec 27

We start a new feature this week we’re calling the FTC Grab Bag. Unlike the FTC Mailbag, where we answer your submitted questions and topics, on Grab Bag episodes Jared and Ross will each bring “surprise” topics or questions they want to discuss with each other. Will it be interesting? Will it go terribly? Tune in and find out.



11: Other Views on the Christian and
Old Testament Law

By / Dec 27

“We Uphold the Law” (Rom 3:31)

This post considers alternative proposals to how Moses’s law relates to Christians. It first tackles the common distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial law, and then it confronts three dangerous approaches to the law that followers of Christ must avoid.

Assessing the Threefold Division of the Law

Historically, many evangelicals have identified three theological categories of laws when considering the contemporary importance of Moses’s instruction:

  • Moral laws—ethical principles that are eternally applicable, regardless of covenant
  • Civil laws—applications of the moral law to Israel’s political and social structures
  • Ceremonial laws—symbolic requirements related to religious rituals and cult worship

Many covenant theologians believe that the moral laws remain binding on Christians today, whereas the civil and ceremonial laws are no longer applicable. In contrast, Christian reconstructionists assert that, because civil laws apply moral laws situationally, they too carry over through Christ and are to guide all nations and states (not just the church).

While these approaches helpfully celebrate Christ as the substance of all OT shadows (Col 2:16–17; Heb 8:5–7) and that his coming alters some laws more than others, neither model satisfies the biblical testimony concerning Moses’s law. Against both approaches, the previous post argued that none of the Mosaic covenant is directly binding on Christians today (Rom 10:4; 1 Cor 9:20–21; Gal 3:24–25) but that all of it is still significant as revelation, prophecy, and wisdom when mediated through Christ (Matt 5:17–19). Furthermore, Scripture views all the law as a single entity, all the law to be moral in nature, and all the law to have devotional benefit for believers.

The Law as a Singular Entity

The OT identifies types of laws based on content, but it never distinguishes laws in the way the threefold division proposes. Leviticus 19, for example, shows little distinction between laws, mixing calls to love one’s neighbor (vv. 11–12, 17–18) with various commands related to family (vv. 3a, 29), worship (vv. 3b–8, 26–28, 30–31), business (vv. 9–10, 13b, 19a, 23–25, 34b–36), care (vv. 9–10, 13–14, 33–34), disputes (vv. 15–16, 35a), and rituals (v. 19b).

Furthermore, the NT regularly speaks of the law as a unit. In Romans 13:9, for instance, the call to love one’s neighbor synthesizes not just a group of moral laws but every commandment, including the proposed civil and ceremonial legislation. Jesus and James, too, spoke broadly of the law (Matt 5:19; Jas 2:10). Paul stressed that the law brought curse to all (Gal 3:10), that we are no longer under the law-covenant in Christ (3:24–25), and that “every man who accepts circumcision … is obligated to keep the whole law” (5:3). 

The “Moral” Nature of All Laws

Christian reconstructionists are correct to note that the “civil” laws illustrate moral principles worked out in Israelite culture. To this we can add that the “ceremonial” laws demonstrate moral elements through symbolism and that even the Ten Commandments, often deemed the premier example of moral law, contain many culturally bound features:

  • The prologue identifies Israel as a people redeemed from Egyptian slavery (Deut 5:6).
  • The idolatry command assumes a religious system including carved images (5:8).
  • The Sabbath command presumes ancient Near Eastern bond service, geographically limited animals, and cities with gates (5:14).

This list should caution those who want to distinguish civil or ceremonial laws from moral because of their temporal boundedness.

The Benefit of All OT Law

Most theologians espousing the threefold division of the law affirm the lasting value of all Scripture. However, this division has led many to see the Book of the Covenant (Exod 21–23) and Leviticus as having little lasting relevance. Yet Jesus and Paul affirmed Exodus’s prohibitions against reviling parents (Matt 15:4) and leaders (Acts 23:5), Paul drew pastoral insight from Leviticus’s instructions on temple service (1 Cor 9:13–14), and Peter called believers to holiness because God called for it in Leviticus (1 Pet 1:15–17). “All Scripture … is profitable” for Christians (2 Tim 3:16), and we align most closely with the Bible when we emphasize how the entire law still matters for Christians, though not all in the same way.

Dangerous Applications of OT Law

Before learning how to apply Moses’s law through Jesus and supplying some extended case studies (in future posts), we must consider three destructive approaches to OT law: (1) legalism, (2) antinomianism, and (3) anti-OT thought.

Legalism

Legalism is operative when people trust in their own doing to enjoy right standing with God (Luke 18:9; Gal 3:3). Foundational to the very nature of the old-covenant law was Yahweh’s claim, “If a person does them [i.e., my statutes and rules], he shall live by them” (Lev 18:5). Because God gave the law to a mostly unregenerate people, their pursuit of righteousness by works and not by faith resulted in their ruin (Rom 7:10; 9:30–32).

Foundational to all Reformation doctrine is that justification before God comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And we become legalists if we ever ground our justification in anything other than Christ’s perfect obedience alone. “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (5:18–19).

Antinomianism

In the NT, nomos is the Greek term for “law,” so antinomian means “no law.” Antinomians, then, are those who claim that God’s rules need not influence Christians’ daily ethics. In contrast, Paul stressed that he was not “outside the law of God but under the law of Christ” (1 Cor 9:21) and that what counts is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision but “keeping the commandments of God” (7:19).

Long ago, the Westminster theologians highlighted, “Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, is no dead faith, but worketh by love.” It is from this framework that, after forgiving the sin of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus commanded, “Go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11). Similarly, Peter urged, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet 1:14–16). Clearly, antinomianism is not an option for Christians.

Anti-OT Thought

In his book Irresistible, Andy Stanley claims that one of the church’s greatest problems today is “our incessant habit of reaching back into the old covenant concepts, teachings, sayings, and narratives.” He stresses that we should call the OT the “Hebrew Bible” and the NT the “Christian Bible,” even warning against too quickly finding Christ in the OT, lest we be among those who have “hijacked” the Jewish Scriptures by “ignoring the original context” and by “retrofitting them as Christian Scripture.” Stanley also assumes that none of Moses’s law matters today: “Thou shalt not obey the Ten Commandments,” he says.

Stanley rightly affirms that Christians are part of the new covenant, not the old, and that Christ stands as the end of old-covenant worship laws. Nevertheless, he overlooks the fact that Jesus maintains some laws and transforms others. Stanley also overlooks the facts that Jesus and Paul’s only Bible was what we call the OT, that they saw it pointing to the Messiah and his work (Luke 24:44–47; Acts 26:22–23), and that they recognized the whole OT to be Christian Scripture (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:11; 1 Pet 1:12). Stanley treats the OT as if Jesus came to “abolish” rather than “fulfill” it (Matt 5:17), and he fails to help people understand how the initial three-fourths of Christian Scripture is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).

Summary

Many Christians distinguish between moral, civil, and ceremonial laws and then view only the moral or only the moral and civil as applying to Christians. Both approaches miss that no old-covenant legislation directly binds believers today, that all of Moses’s law still serves Christians through Jesus, but only in so far as he maintains, transforms, or annuls the various laws. While principles of love and justice in Moses’s law also carry over into governments today, Christ’s law binds the church and not the state. Finally, legalism, antinomianism, and the view that the OT no longer applies to Christians are all dangerous teachings, for they compromise Christ’s saving work.

 

¹David A. Dorsey, “The Law of Moses and the Christian: A Compromise,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 34 (1991): 330.

²Westminster Confession of Faith 11.2.

₃Andy Stanley, Irresistible: Reclaiming the New That Jesus Unleashed for the World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 90.

₄Stanley, Irresistible, 280.

⁵Stanley, Irresistible, 156.

₆Stanley, Irresistible, 136.

 

 

This blog series summarizes Jason S. DeRouchie’s forthcoming book, Delighting in the Old Testament: Through Christ and for Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024). You can pre-order your copy here.



Episode 242: The Annual Christmas Episode

By / Dec 20

Why do the more traditional Christmas songs feel the most timeless? Mr. Christmas himself — pastor and author Dr. Ronnie Martin — is back for our annual Christmas episode. This time he and host Jared Wilson discuss their favorite Christmas music. And we have a BIG announcement to share at the end of the episode!



10: The Christians’ Connection to Moses’s Law

By / Dec 20

“Not under Law” (Rom 6:14):

How does the OT law apply to Christians when so much has changed with Christ’s coming, not least of which is that we are part of the new covenant and not the old? With a simple alliteration, Brian Rosner has captured well three principles that clarify the Christian’s relationship to the Mosaic law. The biblical authors repudiate the old Mosaic law-covenant, replace Moses’s law with the law of Christ, and then reappropriate the law of Moses through Christ.

1. Biblical Authors Repudiate the Mosaic Law-Covenant

By God’s purposes, the Mosaic law multiplied transgression (Rom 5:20; Gal 3:19), exposed sin (Rom 3:20), and brought wrath (4:15) to show that “one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (3:28). Christians repudiate the Mosaic law-covenant, “for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (10:4). “The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Gal 3:24–25). Thus, as the author of Hebrews declared: “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb 8:13). “The law made nothing perfect” (7:19), but in Christ we find a “better hope” (7:19), a “better covenant” (7:22), “better promises” (8:6), “better sacrifices” (9:23), “better possession” (10:34), a “better country” (11:16), a “better life” (11:35), and a “better word” (12:24).

2. Biblical Authors Replace Moses’s Law with the Law of Christ

Moses knew that Israel’s system of worship was merely symbolic, suggesting that it would become obsolete when shadow moved to substance (Exod 25:9, 40; Zech 3:8–9; 6:12–13). Moses also affirmed the need for a better covenant––one in which Yahweh would accomplish for Israel what he did not accomplish with Moses (Deut 29:4; 30:6, 8). Furthermore, the prophets longed for the day when God would teach every member of the blood-bought community (Isa 54:13), write his law on their hearts (Jer 31:33), and cause them to walk in his statutes (Ezek 36:27). All these hopes have been realized through Christ’s person and work (John 6:44–45; Rom 2:14–15; 8:3–4; Col 2:16–17).

As Christians, our “release from the law” (Rom 7:6; cf. 6:14) in part means that the Mosaic law is no longer the direct authority and immediate judge of the conduct of God’s people. The age of the Mosaic law-covenant has come to an end in Christ (10:4), so the law itself has ceased from having a central and determinative role among God’s people (2 Cor 3:4–18; Gal 3:15–4:7). As a written legal code, not one of the 613 stipulations in the Mosaic law-covenant is directly binding on Christians. Instead, we are bound by the law of Christ (1 Cor 9:20–21; Gal 6:2), which is summarized in the call to love our neighbor and which James refers to as the perfect law (Jas 1:25).

3. Biblical Authors Reappropriate Moses’s Law through Christ

While the NT authors highlight the Mosaic law’s condemning nature and stress that believers are now under the law of Christ, they also apply OT laws to Christians based on Christ’s justifying and sanctifying work (e.g., Eph 6:2–3; 1 Tim 5:17–18; 1 Pet 1:15–16). As an illustration, in Romans 13:8–10, Paul urges believers, in view of God’s mercies shown in Christ (Rom 12:1; cf. chaps. 1–11), to fulfill the law by loving others. In this passage, Paul cites four commands associated with the Ten Commandments that focus directly on valuing God’s image in others. Yet by adding “any other commandment,” he shows that love fulfills all Moses’s directives, even those beyond the Decalogue.

Although Moses’s law does not directly bind Christians legally, we do not throw out the law itself. As Moses himself foresaw, God’s people would turn and “obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments” in the day of heart circumcision (Deut 30:8). Along with repudiating the old covenant and replacing its law with the law of Christ, then, Christians must reappropriate Moses’s instruction (1) as a testimony to God’s character and values, (2) as prophecy that anticipates the gospel of Jesus, and (3) as wisdom intended to guide new-covenant saints in our pursuit of God.

Moses’s Law Reveals God’s Character and Values

The Mosaic law expresses God’s character. Yahweh asserted, “You shall … be holy, for I am holy” (Lev 19:2), and the way Israel would fulfill this charge was by heeding God’s words (Exod 19:5–6; Num 15:40). Paul stressed that the law is “the embodiment of knowledge and truth” (Rom 2:20) and that “the commandment is holy, righteous, and good” (7:12). Peter, too, asserted, “As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Pet 1:15–16). Moses’s law signals what Yahweh values and hates, what he delights in and detests. Christians learn about the character of God through Moses’s law, and this in turn can clarify what it means to image him faithfully (Gen 1:26–28).

Moses’s Law Anticipates the Gospel concerning Christ

Jesus stressed that he came not “to abolish the Law and the Prophets” but “to fulfill them” (Matt 5:17). By “fulfill,” he meant in part that he supplies the end-times actualization of all the OT predicted. Thus, “all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John” (Matt 11:13), and the very “gospel of God … concerning his Son” was “promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures” (Rom 1:1–3). Jesus stood as the goal and end of the OT’s hopes, pictures, and patterns.

As the last Adam (1 Cor 15:45), the representative of Israel (Isa 49:1–6; Matt 21:9; Luke 1:32–33), the true Passover lamb (John 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7), and the true temple (John 2:21), Christ is the substance of all old-covenant shadows (Col 1:16–17; Heb 8:5; 10:1). His role as teacher and covenant mediator also fulfills Moses’s own hopes for a covenant-mediating “prophet” like him––one who would know God face to face, who would perform great wonders, and to whom people would listen (Deut 18:15–19; 34:10–12; cf. Luke 7:16; Acts 3:22–26).

Moses’s Law Guides Christians in Love and Wise Living

The “law of Christ” that we live out (Isa 42:4; 1 Cor 9:21) is the law of love as fulfilled and taught by Jesus, which is the end-times realization of Moses’s law. Jesus said that “all the Law and the Prophets” depend on the commands to love God and neighbor (Matt 22:37–40). Paul added that “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:14). Significantly, every commandment, not just a “moral” subset of the law, is fulfilled in the call to love (Rom 13:8–10).

In both the old and new covenants, then, love is what God’s people are to do. All the other commandments simply clarify how to do it. From this perspective, while the Mosaic law does not directly or immediately guide Christians, it does show us how deeply and pervasively we should love God and neighbor.

Four Ways Christ Fulfills Moses’s Law

As discussed in the previous post, Jesus is the lens that clarifies how to rightly appropriate the law of Moses, and he alone supplies the power to obey it. When Moses’s instruction is viewed through this lens (see fig. 1), some laws appear unchanged, whereas others hit the lens and get “bent” in various ways. Jesus’s coming maintains (with and without extension), transforms, and annuls various laws.

 

Figure 1. The Law’s Fulfillment through the Lens of Christ

Another way to grasp how Christians should relate to OT law is to visualize two riverbanks separated at varying distances by water (see fig. 2). The two sides symbolize the old- and new-covenant laws, and Jesus is the “bridge” over which we must move from one side to the other. Our distance from the Mosaic legislation changes depending on the nature of the law in question. Thus, some laws (e.g., prohibitions against murder and adultery) are so similar that the distance seems almost nonexistent, but other laws (e.g., relating to food laws and the Sabbath) disclose substantial distance.

 

Figure 2. The Law’s Fulfillment over the Bridge of Christ

Summary

Jesus and the NT authors repudiate the Mosaic law-covenant, replace Moses’s law with the law of Christ, and reappropriate Moses’s law through Christ. They do this to give us glimpses of God’s character and to guide believers in wisdom and love. None of Moses’s law is directly binding on God’s people today in a legal or regulatory way (Rom 7:4; Gal 3:24–25), but it continues to impact us through Christ in both revelatory and pedagogical ways. Christ is like a lens, and through him (and his NT revelation) we can discern whether he maintains, transforms, or annuls any given law.

 

 ¹Brian S. Rosner, Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God, NSBT 31 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2013), 208–9, 217–22.

 ²Tom Wells and Fred G. Zaspel, New Covenant Theology: Description, Definition, Defense (Frederick, MD: New Covenant Media, 2002), 115. 

This blog series summarizes Jason S. DeRouchie’s forthcoming book, Delighting in the Old Testament: Through Christ and for Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024). You can pre-order your copy here.



Episode 241: FTC Mailbag

By / Dec 13

It’s a Mailbag episode! On this week’s For the Church Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson answer your questions and discuss your submitted topics, including how to handle burnout and ministry discouragement, advice for pastors who have unmarried couples who are cohabitating, developing a culture of Bible readers in the church, the place of apologetics or academic discussions in preaching, identifying potential elders, and even our favorite dad jokes.



2023 For the Church Book Awards

By / Dec 6

Like year’s past, we are excited to present our readers with a few books that stood out as exceptional from this past year. For our seventh annual For the Church book awards, members of our FTC council, editorial staff, and seminary community chose two books—a winner and a runner-up—to honor and to recommend to you for the way they impacted them personally and/or offers a significant contribution to the Church and her pursuit of a gospel-centered faith.

Congratulations to this year’s winners of the 2023 For the Church Book Awards!

Dr. Jason K. Allen, President of Midwestern Seminary and FTC Editor-in-Chief

Winner: 27 Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament edited by G.K. Beale, D.A. Carson, Benjamin L. Gladd, and Andrew David Naselli (Baker Academic)

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Beale, G.K., Carson, D.A., Gladd, Benjamin L., Naselli, Andrew: 9781540960047 : Amazon.com: Books“Sometimes the most helpful additions to one’s library is not a volume to be read cover to cover, but a resource to be accessed throughout a lifetime of faithful ministry. Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament is just such a resource, and it serves as a worthy companion to the similarly helpful Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Scholars, pastors, and students—indeed all who desire to better study and know the Scriptures—will benefit from this book.”

Get the book here.

Runner-Up: The Surprising Genius of Jesus: What the Gospels Reveal about the Greatest Teacher by Peter J. Williams (Crossway)

The Surprising Genius of Jesus: What the Gospels Reveal about the Greatest Teacher: Williams, Peter J.: 9781433588365 : Amazon.com: Books“Jesus was much more than a teacher, but he was nothing less than a teacher. Whether in synagogues on the Sabbath or day-to-day on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus customarily taught. And as he taught, his listeners recognized him as one with authority, altogether unlike every other rabbi of the day. In The Surprising Genius of Jesus Peter Williams methodically unpacks Luke 15, connects it the Old Testament, and painstakingly demonstrates just how divinely brilliant Jesus truly was, and why his teaching astonished his hearers and changed the world.”

Get the book here.

Dr. Jason G. Duesing, Provost of Midwestern Seminary and FTC Editorial Council Member

Winner: Friendship with the Friend of Sinners: The Remarkable Possibility of Closeness with Christ by Jared C. Wilson (Baker Books)

Friendship with the Friend of Sinners: Wilson, Jared C.: 9781540901354: Amazon.com: Books“Packer’s Knowing God
Sproul’s The Holiness of God
Piper’s Desiring God

Each generation of evangelicals have treasured life changing books. I can think of no better book to serve evangelicals in these days than Jared C. Wilson’s Friendship with the Friend of Sinners. The truth that God really does love us and we can know him is, I believe, the secret to the universe (and all of our hopes and worries). Exploring how we can know God through Jesus as friend is the remarkable key that unlocks the door to that secret—but, sadly, is often overlooked or forgotten. Never fear, Jared C. Wilson has come with this book, and as a friend to you and me, hands us the key, and invites us to enter. Come, one and all, and taste see why Jesus is good, and the best of friends.

Get the book here.

Runner-Up: 5 Puritan Women: Portraits of Faith and Love by Jenny-lyn de Klerk (Crossway)

5 Puritan Women: de Klerk, Jenny-lyn: 978 1433582103: Amazon.com: Books“Jenny-lyn de Klerk is an advocate. Following in the steps J. I. Packer, de Klerk aims to spark a reading revival of not just the Puritans, but Puritan women. Long neglected and misunderstood, de Klerk’s volume provides a remedy by enabling the reading of these women on their own terms. The result this careful and thoughtful scholar is edification and instruction for the Christian life.”

Get the book here.

Jared Wilson, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministry, Spurgeon College; Author in Residence, and FTC Editorial Council Member

Winner: Pastoring Small Towns: Help and Hope for Those Ministering in Smaller Places by Ronnie Martin and Donnie Griggs (B&H Books)

Pastoring Small Towns: Martin, Ronnie, Griggs, Donnie: 978 1087764924: Amazon.com: Books“Having pastored smaller churches, most recently in a very small Vermont town, I am always on the lookout for resources that get to the heart of this unique — but normal! — ministry so often overlooked by all the aspirational leadership guides in the evangelical marketplace. I’m thankful for this great little book by two veterans of small-town ministry. Martin and Griggs share their hearts and bare their souls, providing hard-won wisdom and grace-drenched insight for the thousands of ‘little guys’ in the trenches. As much as a single book can, this book pastors pastors. The year’s best in the ministry category.”

Get the book here.

Runner-Up: Pastor, Jesus Is Enough: Hope for the Weary, the Burned Out, and the Broken by Jeremy Writebol (Lexham Press)

Pastor, Jesus Is Enough: Hope for the Weary, the Burned Out, and the Broken: Writebol, Jeremy: 978 1683596738: Amazon.com: Books“Jesus’ letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3 are not the most likely reference point for a gospel-centered encouragement to modern-day pastors, but they make for a rich and stirring exhortation in Writebol’s book, which is a theologically stout but wonderfully devotional and highly applicational exhortation to pastors about the sufficiency of the gospel for ministry.”

Get the book here.

Lucas Hahn, Director of Marketing and Content Strategy and Managing Editor of For the Church

Winner: Help for the Hungry Soul: Eight Encouragements to Grow Your Appetite for God’s Word by Kristen Wetherell (Crossway)

Help for the Hungry Soul: Eight Encouragements to Grow Your Appetite for God's Word: Wetherell, Kristin: 9781433588617: Amazon.com: Books“In Help for the Hungry Soul, Wetherell helps cast a refreshed and renewed vision for the importance of Bible intake by addressing the hunger problem at the core of the human heart. Packed with Scripture, wisdom, practical application, and encouraging stories, Wetherell outlines the ‘how-to’ of Bible reading by unpacking the ‘why’ along the way. This book, especially as it framed the word as a ‘treasury of the Lord’s compassion’, was edifying and encouraging in my daily Bible reading.”

Get the book here.

Runner-Up: The AItheist: a novella by Michael J. Svigel  (Independently Published)

The AItheist: a novella: Svigel, Michael: 9798397411684 : Amazon.com: Books“The AItheist is a powerful little 100-page book that tells a riveting story of a Christian theologian-turned-atheist’s attempt to convince a sentient AI (artificial intelligence) machine to question the Christian faith amidst pain and suffering. Full of emotion, banter, and apologetics, the story that unfolds is heartbreaking yet beautiful. The few hours it takes to read is worth every minute.”

Get the book here.

Brett Fredenberg, Associate Editor at For the Church

Winner: The Holy Spirit: An Introduction (Short Studies in Systematic Theology) by Fred Sanders (Crossway)

The Holy Spirit: An Introduction (Short Studies in Systematic Theology): Sanders, Fred: 9781433565908: Amazon.com: Books“Gregory of Nazianzus once said of the Trinity, ‘No sooner do I conceive of the one than I am illumined by the splendor of the three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the one.’ In this wonderful introduction on the Holy Spirit, Fred Sanders demonstrates as much as he helpfully distinguishes the Holy Spirit yet does not divorce His person from the Father and Son. In fact, as Sanders has said before, you really haven’t begun studying the Holy Spirit if you miss the eternal relations of origins in the Trinity. This book helps you commune with the Holy Spirit and ponder the very heart of the Trinity. I couldn’t recommend it enough!”

Get the book here.

Runner-up: Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life: An Invitation to Wonder by Ross Inman (Baker Academic)

Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life: An Invitation to Wonder: Inman, Ross: 9781540965738: Amazon.com: Books“This book is the summation of an idea that has gripped my mind and heart this past year: contemplating God is not a means to some other end but is our very purpose. If we slow down long enough to consider the true, the good, and the beautiful in God and all things in relation to Him, we’ll return to a more human way of life on earth with God—one filled with awe and wonder. If you’re prone to disregard philosophy as impractical, ethereal, or merely intellectual, then read this book to see how it’s so much more, and so much less, at the same time!”

Get the book here.

Abby Schroeder, Associate Editor at For the Church

Winner: Every Moment Holy, Volume III: The Work of the People by Douglas Kaine McKelvey (Every Moment Holy)

Every Moment Holy, Volume III: The Work of the People: McKelvey, Douglas Kaine: 9781951872168: Amazon.com: Books“Now more than ever, I find myself repeatedly needing to refocus on the Lord in my daily tasks. Everywhere I turn, the world clamors for my attention, constantly vying with the Lord for my focus. Every Moment Holy is a beautiful collection of liturgies that serves as a subtle nudge, reminding me of God’s omnipresence in every facet of life. It skillfully challenges the common tendency among Christians to compartmentalize life into distinct spheres of work, leisure, and worship. Instead, the liturgies advocate for a holistic perspective centered on Christ, where every aspect of life becomes an act of worship.

Unlike Volumes I and II, Volume III is written by a diverse team of writers, artists, and songwriters, giving depth and texture to the readers experience. This anthology of liturgies seamlessly elevates mundane moments, such as yard work, wrapping Christmas gifts, dropping a kid off at school, and taking a walk in the neighborhood into opportunities for prayerful reflection. Every Moment Holy is a poignant tool, that I anticipate revisiting repeatedly, serving as a reminder of God’s unceasing presence in the smallest and most routine details of my life.”

Get the book here.

Runner-Up: Sunday Matters: 52 Devotionals to Prepare Your Heart for Church by Paul David Tripp (Crossway)

Sunday Matters: 52 Devotionals to Prepare Your Heart for Church: Tripp, Paul David: 9781433582820: Amazon.com: Books“In his book Sunday Matters, Paul David Tripp directs our gaze toward Christ and offers a refreshing perspective on the challenges many believers face when it comes to preparing their hearts and minds for Sunday mornings. As anyone who has worked in a church can attest, Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings can often feel like battlegrounds where the enemy seeks to distract and drain our energy.

Tripp, drawing from his wealth of experience, offers a practical solution to this common struggle. In this book, he presents 52 devotionals tailor-made for those crucial moments on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, just before heading to church. What sets these devotionals apart is their ability to refocus your heart and mind on the Lord when your physical body may be the only thing that feels present in the church building.

One of the standout features of Sunday Matters is the comprehensive structure of each devotional. Tripp doesn’t just leave you with a brief message; instead, he enriches your experience by providing carefully selected scripture passages, thoughtful reflections, and even prompts for family discussions. This multifaceted approach ensures that readers not only engage with the material but also are equipped to lead their families toward a heart that is prepared for Sunday worship.

Tripp’s book is a valuable tool for anyone seeking to reclaim the sanctity of Sunday mornings. Whether you attend church weekly or serve within a church community, Sunday Matters equips all believers to fortify their hearts against the distractions of the enemy, fostering a sense of rest, reflection, and renewal that truly makes Sunday mornings matter.”

Get the book here.

Grace Sutton, Associate Editor at For the Church

Winner: Women Leading Well: Stewarding the Gift of Ministry Leadership by Emily W. Dean (B&H Academic)

Women Leading Well: Stewarding the Gift of Ministry Leadership: Dean, Emily W.: 9781087776088: Amazon.com: Books“This is the book I wish I had when I first considered my call to ministry as a woman. From her personal experience and the experience of other women, Dr. Dean outlines the unique joys and challenges of being a woman in ministry and the variety of forms that calling can take: being a mother, volunteer, mentor, or director. Her practical advice is invaluable for women considering ministry and encouraging for those already ‘in the trenches.’”

Get the book here.

Runner-Up: Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing by Jonathan Leeman  (Crossway)

Authority: How Godly Rule Protects the Vulnerable, Strengthens Communities, and Promotes Human Flourishing: Leeman, Jonathan: 9781433587634: Amazon.com: Books“In an era increasingly suspicious of authority (even in Christian circles), Leeman’s book is a clear and nuanced study of authority when it is Scripturally defined, granted, and exercised. Leeman doesn’t coddle or hide the well-known sins of authority-gone-wrong, but still makes his readers grapple with the God-given authority of a church, elder, husband, parent, employer, or government. Authority offers a timely, balanced vision of these biblical positions in a world desperate to see them reflect the One with all authority.”

Get the book here.

Levi Moore, Manager, Sword & Trowel Bookstore and Tomlinson Cafe

Winner: 27 Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament edited by G.K. Beale, D.A. Carson, Benjamin L. Gladd, and Andrew David Naselli (Baker Academic)

Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Beale, G.K., Carson, D.A., Gladd, Benjamin L., Naselli, Andrew: 9781540960047 : Amazon.com: Books“Continuing the saga of the New Testament use of the Old Testament, Beale, Carson, Gladd, and Naselli have produce an enormously useful work for exploring and researching the intertextual elements of Scripture by topic. Formatted as one might expect a dictionary to be, the relatively short but substantive articles encapsulate a wide array of topics in a way that gives a launch point for more targeted research, especially with each article having a bibliography to guide readers to reputable resources. This volume is an absolute must to have for those who are serious about Old and New Testament studies alike.”

Get the book here.

Runner-up: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany by Jonathan Gibson (Crossway)

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany: Gibson, Jonathan: 9781433587948: Amazon.com: Books“Having already made his mark on the world of liturgical personal worship with Be Thou My Vision, Jonathan Gibson made his mark yet again this year with the release of his Advent focused volume, O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Having read through his former volume several times myself, turning to this new volume was a seamless transition that has strengthened my focus on the real reason for the season, the birth of Jesus Christ and his imminent sacrifice. This liturgical work’s ready-made worship plan aids the reader to focus on worshipping the Savior rather than wondering how to go about doing so. Especially poignant in this volume, just as in the former volume, are the constant reminders of three historic creeds of the church (Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian) and the prayers of the men of God who helped shape church history.”

Get the book here.

Once again, we would like to extend a congratulations to the authors and publishers represented in the 2022 For the Church Book Awards. You can view previous winners of the FTC Book Awards here: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017.



Through Agony, Comes Forth Life: How Childbirth Points Us To The Hope Found in Christ’s Death

By / Dec 6

A few weeks ago, I was reading through the Gospel of Mark and came upon the narrative of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As I read the words of Jesus “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will,” I felt the anguish of his words in a way I never have. I am currently 34 weeks pregnant with my third child which means my mind is never far from the anticipation of a coming baby and with that baby, the inevitable labor pains. With this being my third baby, I am fully aware of the pain that awaits me. The anticipation of the labor sometimes overbears the anticipation of the baby. So when I read Jesus’ words as he anticipates the agony of bringing forth life in a much more intense and important way, I resonated with his anguish. Once I felt those reverberations of Jesus’ plea in my own heart, I started to consider the ways that birth mirrors Christ’s death on the Cross. Obviously, childbirth cannot be equated to Jesus’ death to save sinners, but there are some evident similarities that have encouraged my heart as I prepare to endure suffering for the newness of life.

On the Cross, Jesus bore the agony of our sin to bring forth spiritual life for all who would believe.1 In labor, women endure the agony of contractions, pushing, and crowning in order to bring forth physical life. Both acts are God’s gracious kindness to mankind yet both acts include intense pain and suffering—one far more significant than the other but both as an act of submission for the sake of the life of another. Even those who have reprieve from the pain of labor through the gift of modern medicine, often do not get through labor without some sort of pain. The Cross and childbirth both tell us one thing, life is not given without intense sacrifice. So, Jesus’ words in the Garden as he begged for God’s relief from the cup of suffering ring familiar in the ears of a woman as she anticipates the hardship of bringing a child into this world.

In his death, Christ defeated the curse of Genesis 3, death. In childbirth, women are bearing the curse of Eve as they birth with increased pain. Christ had to die to overcome the curse for the sin of the world. Birth is excruciating because of that same curse. In a way that our births cannot, Christ’s death redeems the curse of humanity. Where we can merely endure the pain of the curse, Jesus’ suffering was effective for all of time to reverse the curse of death. As you should be starting to see, the parallels of Jesus’ death point us to a hope far greater than a healthy birth.

Sacrifice is required for new life. Just as we would choose to birth children despite the inevitable pain, both physical and emotional, that come from raising children, Christ chose to endure the wrath of God on the Cross out of love for both you and me.2 We don’t always know the outcome of our births, but we know the outcome of Jesus’ death. He has perfectly secured our futures. We cannot secure a certain future for our children and sometimes we lose them before we ever meet them and endure the pain of miscarriage without the bringing forth of life, but Jesus’ sacrifice means that death does not have the final say in the agony of loss, the emotional agony pain of which is far worse than the physical pains of birth.

After our births, people often reflect on the biology instituted by God that causes our minds to forget the intensity of our pain. Some say this is so we’re willing to have more children. Whatever the reason, it is a gift that the oxytocin released at the sight of our babies cleanses our memories of the agony previously experienced. When it comes to Jesus’ death, the pain of the Cross was not forgotten but instead it is remembered as the greatest event in history where new life became available.

In a perfect scenario, the labor of a woman produces a healthy, beautiful, and thriving baby, but we don’t live in a perfect world. This is where the parallel of Jesus’ death reaches peak encouragement. When our own birth stories do not bring forth life, when our labor does not end with that first breath, Jesus’ death is still certain. When our labors do not go as planned, Jesus’s crucifixion and subsequent resurrection are absolutely sure. His agony assuredly brought forth life. Even when our suffering in labor seems as though it is for nothing because we do not reap the joys of a healthy child, our suffering is not meaningless. In fact, Jesus’ death doesn’t merely parallel the agony of birth, it actually brings meaning to our suffering altogether. The physical pain, the emotional turmoil, the pain of infertility, the struggles of adoption—all are redeemed by Jesus’ death. The meaning we find in other facets of life such as birth are only made meaningful by the fact that Jesus’ died and rose for us.

Just as many of us bear the marks of having children through stretch marks and stitches, Jesus still bears the scars of what he endured to secure life for us. We have the privilege of bringing forth physical life and the privilege of being given spiritual life. In fact, through this lens, all should be considered grace upon grace. We participate in the creation of life and we receive the richness of life through Christ. Birth is merely a picture of Christ’s death—it cannot secure all that Jesus did, but it can point us to the greater reality of the suffering that took place for our own lives. Maybe, with this perspective in mind, we will have joy in the agony of bringing forth life because Jesus submitted himself to the will of the Father for the bringing forth of our very lives.


1. 2 Corinthians 5:13-15
2. John 3:16



Episode 240: Church Size Dynamics

By / Dec 6

Different size churches experience different cultural and communal dynamics. Different size churches need different kinds of leadership, as well. On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared Wilson and Ross Ferguson talk about how church size affects church experience and church ministry.



9 Biblical Methods for Encouraging One Another

By / Dec 5

The Need for Encouragement

Would you take more encouragement if you could get it? Have you ever felt like you had no more need of encouragement? What would be possible in your life if you lived with a continual diet of encouragement from others? These questions help reveal something we all intuitively know: We need encouragement. The Bible presents encouragement as needed fuel for the Christian life. Without encouragement we will be lacking in love and faithfulness, fall into sin, become hardened, be deceived, live in unbelief, and miss the closeness of God (Heb 3:12-13; 10:25). It is vital.

If you have this need, so do those around you. Your marriage, family, and church all need encouragement. In the middle of struggle, sin, and suffering, we can bring the hope-filled voice of encouragement. In the mire of apathy, fear, and discouragement we can light the fire with the matches of encouragement. It is a great tool to serve others. A great gift we can give.

But, we need to learn how. How do we learn to use this great tool? How do we move beyond Christian platitudes that feel shallow? How do we give more than simple, secular affirmations (like the all too common “you got this!”)? The best way to learn how to encourage is to watch others do it. The Bible models this for us in a variety of ways. Let’s look at the examples and learn how we can we use this powerful tool.

Biblical Methods of Encouragment

 

1. Tell Others How God is Working Through Them

Paul tells the Thessalonians that, “…you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out.” (1 Thessalonians 1:7–8). Often we are blind to the good things God is doing through us. It may be because we always feel there is more to do, we see the imperfect nature of what we’ve done or simply because people don’t take the time to notice and appreciate. But God is working through us. When we see this we are led to thankfulness for the joy of participating with God and want to endure. Show people how God is using them.

2. Show Others How God is Working in Their Life

“…the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end..” (1 Corinthians 1:4–9). God is always working for the good of those who love him. Yes, life is hard but too often this is our only focus; the negatives, pain, and brokenness are hyper-real. But there is more to the story. Show people the evidence that God is active, present, and involved in their life. Show people that God is doing good.

3. Tell People How You See God Growing and Changing Them

“Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thessalonians 1:8–10). In the day to day, people can feel stuck and like there is little to no progress. Sometimes we doubt that God wants to, has, or can change us. We often need an outside voice to help us see where we have come from, and celebrate the changes God has made. God is sanctifying, show people where you see their growth.

4. Praise the Good You See People Doing

Paul says, “I always thank my God when I mention you in my prayers, because I hear of your love for all the saints and the faith that you have in the Lord Jesus…I have great joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.” (Philemon 4–7). Much of our good is unseen. Many of our faults are magnified. By our self and others. It is too easy to correct error and assume good. Instead, we must thank and celebrate the good we see in others.

5. Remind People God Sees the Good They Are Doing

Likewise, we don’t just say that we see it. We must remind them that God sees their work and is pleased. “For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.” (Hebrews 6:10). Imagine if we all had fresh in our minds that though unseen by many, God sees the time we volunteer at church, our care for crying babies in the middle of the night, our interceding for others, and sacrificial generosity. God sees it and delights. Let’s remind one another!

6. Declare to Others the Truth of Who They Are

We all struggle with our identity. We are tempted to vacillate between self-righteousness when we are doing well and despair when we are missing it. The secular world often seeks to affirm our identity by telling us how great and worthy we are. But this is hopelessly empty. Our identity is more than our greatness. Our identity is rooted in who God has been and will be to us. We need to declare to one another who we really are: “To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ”. (Jude 1–2).

7. Thank People for Being a Blessing to You

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer…” (Philippians 1:3–6). “For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Indeed you are our glory and joy!” (1 Thessalonians 2:19–20.) We may think people know how much they mean to us but they do not. Sometimes people will say something like, “this goes without saying” or “I know you know this…” and then offer some encouragement. But I’ve never seen someone say, “yeah, yeah, yeah of course.” No, they are profoundly moved. We should be effusive in thanking others for the blessing they are to us.

8. Highlight the Character of God You See in Others

God is renewing each of us more and more into the image of Christ. This means people are displaying reflections of God continually. Through others we see a picture of God’s kindness, hospitality, faithfulness, service, boldness, etc. Tell them what you see. “About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers and sisters in the entire region of Macedonia.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9–10).

9. Publicly Recognize the Contribution of Others

Let us not only privately praise others. Like sharing a meal with friends, sharing an encouragement is always better with others. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchreae. So you should welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever matter she may require your help. For indeed she has been a benefactor of many—and of me also.” (Romans 16:1–2). Whether in writing, a small group, an introduction, or Sunday service give the encouragement of public recognition and honor.

We know we all need encouragement. The Bible calls us to encourage one another every day. Let’s not settle for shallow, unthoughtful, meaningless encouragements. Let’s grow in using this great tool. Take these 9 methods and make a commitment to practice each this month. Attach Scripture. Use specific examples and patterns. Write it down. Repeat. People will be built up, our churches will be changed, and God will be glorified.