Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Today's blog closes out the series we have been doing on consecration. We have been drawing much of our understanding from Numbers 5-7 and other passages. Consecration is when I decide to concentrate every area of my life upon the Lord. As Oswald Chambers and other Christian writers have pointed out - consecration is "my part" in the post-conversion Christian walk, whereas sanctification is "God's part". (Philippians 2:12-13). As much as consecration is a resolve of the redeemed human will, it cannot begin without the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit supplying the background and basis.
In our study we have identified the following truths concerning consecration:
1. Consecration of the heart
2. Consecration of marriages
3. Consecration of one's life
4. Consecrated church
Today I want to simply list select passages that both topically and explicitly reveal the New Testament's emphasis on consecration for the Christian. For the sake of the reader I will underline words or phrases that are conveying this idea.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 6:20-21 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21for
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be
added to you."
Romans 12:1-2 "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a
living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship. 2And do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so
that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable
and perfect."
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE
SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT
TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. 18“And I will be a father to you, And
you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty."
Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us
also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility
by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is to be held in honor among all,
and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and
adulterers God will judge.
1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you,
yet with gentleness and reverence
All of these texts occur in contexts where conversion has taken place, God's sanctifying work has begun and the believer is being urged to have his desires match God's desires. Consecration is the chief fruit in the will of the saint who is experiencing the progressive, sanctifying work of God's Holy Spirit. I would bid every child of God and myself to resolve ourselves daily unto consecration and pray for the sweet Spirit of God to continue on His work of sanctification.
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Thursday, August 30, 2012
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Picturing A Consecrated Church
Numbers 7:1 Now on the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it
and consecrated it with all its furnishings and the altar and all its utensils;
he anointed them and consecrated them also.
So far this week we have considered the topic of consecration. Consecration is when I decide to concentrate every area of my life on God. That means I may choose to abstain from some things in order to draw closer to Him. As we have labored to show, consecration works in cooperation with the Spirit's work of sanctification which He is working forth, constantly and progressively in our hearts. (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:4-11)
As we consider the importance of consecration from the pattern set forth by it in Numbers 5-7, we can note the following areas:
1. Consecration of our hearts (Numbers 5)
2. Consecration of marriages (Numbers 5)
3. Consecration of one's entire life (Numbers 6)
Today as we look at Numbers 7, we see the activity of consecration as it pertains to entire nation. We could easily apply this point to be that of corporate consecration: when an entire church, nation, or Christ driven group consecrates itself to the Lord.
How does a church retain its level of unity and peace with one another
Years ago the late Dr. W.A Criswell, pastor of First Baptist Dallas for over fifty years, was asked a question regarding the incredible unity witnessed among his hundreds of staff members, Deacons and other church leaders. Dr. Criswell noted that his church had an agreement that centered around being right with God. I summarize his answer:
"We here have followed this principle, that if I'm right with God, and your right with God then we will be right with one another. However if we find ourselves in disagreement and discord, then we wait, pause, and pray, getting our hearts in tune with God once again. Once we have done that, we then can walk together, thus moving forward as a church." Through Dr. Criswell's comments runs this theme of consecration.
Why consecration is worth it
Numbers 7 was recalling those tender days when the tabernacle had just been finished. Exodus 40 records this same timeframe. What an amazing year it must had been, to go from bondage in Egypt to worship of God at the mountain. The very structure He so ordained to be his house was completed. We know from the parallel passage in Exodus 40 and Leviticus 8 that the Shekinah glory of God fell and filled that place. Now the priests and the whole nation were being called unto consecration. Consecration of their gifts, animals and lives.
Why such effort? Why such expense? You read through the 89 verses of Numbers 7, and see rituals and offerings. Its not until the very end you see the point of corporate consecration in Numbers 7:89 - "Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him."
The Church together ought to aim for corporate consecration
When you look at how the early church in Acts 2:41-47, they had "continually devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching" (Acts 2:42) Furthermore, all of those who had believed together had "everything in common". (Acts 2:44) Nothing is more beautiful than when a church has consecrated itself among its membership to love Jesus Christ together.
When the members of the New Testament church have consecrated their hearts, marriages and lives the corporate act of consecration follows. Christ is building His church, and desires her to be in experience whom she already is by position: a temple of the Holy Spirit, the Bride of Christ. When a church has corporately resolved to consecrate itself to the Lord, revival results and lives are changed. May we aim to be what God wants us to be in Jesus Christ!
So far this week we have considered the topic of consecration. Consecration is when I decide to concentrate every area of my life on God. That means I may choose to abstain from some things in order to draw closer to Him. As we have labored to show, consecration works in cooperation with the Spirit's work of sanctification which He is working forth, constantly and progressively in our hearts. (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:4-11)
As we consider the importance of consecration from the pattern set forth by it in Numbers 5-7, we can note the following areas:
1. Consecration of our hearts (Numbers 5)
2. Consecration of marriages (Numbers 5)
3. Consecration of one's entire life (Numbers 6)
Today as we look at Numbers 7, we see the activity of consecration as it pertains to entire nation. We could easily apply this point to be that of corporate consecration: when an entire church, nation, or Christ driven group consecrates itself to the Lord.
How does a church retain its level of unity and peace with one another
Years ago the late Dr. W.A Criswell, pastor of First Baptist Dallas for over fifty years, was asked a question regarding the incredible unity witnessed among his hundreds of staff members, Deacons and other church leaders. Dr. Criswell noted that his church had an agreement that centered around being right with God. I summarize his answer:
"We here have followed this principle, that if I'm right with God, and your right with God then we will be right with one another. However if we find ourselves in disagreement and discord, then we wait, pause, and pray, getting our hearts in tune with God once again. Once we have done that, we then can walk together, thus moving forward as a church." Through Dr. Criswell's comments runs this theme of consecration.
Why consecration is worth it
Numbers 7 was recalling those tender days when the tabernacle had just been finished. Exodus 40 records this same timeframe. What an amazing year it must had been, to go from bondage in Egypt to worship of God at the mountain. The very structure He so ordained to be his house was completed. We know from the parallel passage in Exodus 40 and Leviticus 8 that the Shekinah glory of God fell and filled that place. Now the priests and the whole nation were being called unto consecration. Consecration of their gifts, animals and lives.
Why such effort? Why such expense? You read through the 89 verses of Numbers 7, and see rituals and offerings. Its not until the very end you see the point of corporate consecration in Numbers 7:89 - "Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him."
The Church together ought to aim for corporate consecration
When you look at how the early church in Acts 2:41-47, they had "continually devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching" (Acts 2:42) Furthermore, all of those who had believed together had "everything in common". (Acts 2:44) Nothing is more beautiful than when a church has consecrated itself among its membership to love Jesus Christ together.
When the members of the New Testament church have consecrated their hearts, marriages and lives the corporate act of consecration follows. Christ is building His church, and desires her to be in experience whom she already is by position: a temple of the Holy Spirit, the Bride of Christ. When a church has corporately resolved to consecrate itself to the Lord, revival results and lives are changed. May we aim to be what God wants us to be in Jesus Christ!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Consecrating one's entire life
Numbers 6:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a
special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD"
For the past couple of days we have been looking at the subject of Christian consecration. We have noted that consecration is when I by God's grace in sanctification, working in my heart, choose to cooperate and concentrate every area of my life on God. So far we have noted how consecration functions like ripples in a pond:
1. Consecration of the heart Numbers 5:1-10
2. Consecration of your marriage Numbers 5:11-31
Today we continue on, moving to an even wider reaching vision of consecration - consecration of one's entire life.
Nazarites - people whose entire life was about consecration
The Hebrew root for the word Nazarite (Nazir) means "consecrated, devoted, dedicated." According to the "Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament", page 1340, the word Nazir had to do with "keeping away oneself from something." Negatively it speaks of separation, positively it referred to the placing of a crown on top of one's head - an object designating the special office of the wearer.
In the history of the redemption we find four, and possibly a fifth man who took the Nazirite vow of dedication spelled out here in Numbers 6. Clearly the Nazarite is a visual picture of the concept of consecration. The words "dedicate", or "separation" occur no less than 14 times in Numbers 6. Among other things, the Nazarite (male or female) had to abstain from "wine and strong drink" (Numbers 6:3) or even anything produced from the grapes. No razor is to be near his hair (6:5), nor is he to touch a dead body (6:6) nor is he to defile himself even in mourning for his family when they die by touching them (6:7).
Three men that were life-time Nazarites for sure were Samson (Judges 13:5); Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15). Gathering from their practices and foods that they abstained from, we can reasonably connect them to the prescriptions laid down here in Numbers 6. The Apostle Paul in Acts 18:18 appears to have "taken a vow" which ended when he cut his hair. Thus Paul illustrates a man who took a short-term Nazarite vow.
The fifth possible man in the Bible who may have been a Nazarite was James, the author of the N.T book bearing his name. In reading the first Church Historian Eusebius in his "Ecclesiastical Church History", Book 2, Chapter 23, reference is made from an eyewitness of James' life. The witness was named Hesigeppus (Hes-i-gep-pus), who tells us of James having long hair, being a Nazarite and being a man of great piety. In fact, he was known to have had knees like a camel for his long season of intercessory prayer. James was martyred, being thrown from the pinnacle of the temple for refusing to renounce Christ. Even while the mobs were stoning him (he didn't die after that high fall!), he prayed, in likeness to Jesus, that their sin be not held against them.
Why consecration of one's life truly brings glory to God
When you look at the lives of some of those who were Nazarites, you begin to understand why consecration of one's life can truly demonstrate a devoted heart to the Lord. Imagine a Samuel, whose resolve to proclaim God's Word in a day where the word of the Lord was scarce led to the anointing of not one, but two men who would occupy the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 3:1) The Bible tells us that not one word of Samuel fell to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19).
Or how about John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said was the greatest man born of women. (Luke 7:28) He was the prophetic forerunner to the Messiah. His consecration to God was a desire given to him by the Holy Spirit, who uniquely filled him from the womb, and who stated he was to be a Nazarite in vow. (Luke 1:15) His undying commitment to his mission to exalt the Savior, even to the point where he utters the words: "he must increase, but I must decrease". (John 3:30)
And if we take the testimony of history to be true (from not only the writings of Eusebius, the father of church history, but Josephus, the father of Jewish history so to speak), then we know that James was a man passionate about Christ and His word. It was this James who was Jesus' half-brother in the flesh. It was this same James who led the early church in Acts 15 and who authored the Book of James.
To consecrate one's entire life is far from a cold, sterile activity. Every Christian is called to give up all they have to follow Jesus Christ through the death of self in preference to the Master. (Luke 9:23-24) Consecration is truly the chief expression of a true disciple willing to cooperate with God in the growth of their faith-walk with Jesus Christ.
For the past couple of days we have been looking at the subject of Christian consecration. We have noted that consecration is when I by God's grace in sanctification, working in my heart, choose to cooperate and concentrate every area of my life on God. So far we have noted how consecration functions like ripples in a pond:
1. Consecration of the heart Numbers 5:1-10
2. Consecration of your marriage Numbers 5:11-31
Today we continue on, moving to an even wider reaching vision of consecration - consecration of one's entire life.
Nazarites - people whose entire life was about consecration
The Hebrew root for the word Nazarite (Nazir) means "consecrated, devoted, dedicated." According to the "Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament", page 1340, the word Nazir had to do with "keeping away oneself from something." Negatively it speaks of separation, positively it referred to the placing of a crown on top of one's head - an object designating the special office of the wearer.
In the history of the redemption we find four, and possibly a fifth man who took the Nazirite vow of dedication spelled out here in Numbers 6. Clearly the Nazarite is a visual picture of the concept of consecration. The words "dedicate", or "separation" occur no less than 14 times in Numbers 6. Among other things, the Nazarite (male or female) had to abstain from "wine and strong drink" (Numbers 6:3) or even anything produced from the grapes. No razor is to be near his hair (6:5), nor is he to touch a dead body (6:6) nor is he to defile himself even in mourning for his family when they die by touching them (6:7).
Three men that were life-time Nazarites for sure were Samson (Judges 13:5); Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:15). Gathering from their practices and foods that they abstained from, we can reasonably connect them to the prescriptions laid down here in Numbers 6. The Apostle Paul in Acts 18:18 appears to have "taken a vow" which ended when he cut his hair. Thus Paul illustrates a man who took a short-term Nazarite vow.
The fifth possible man in the Bible who may have been a Nazarite was James, the author of the N.T book bearing his name. In reading the first Church Historian Eusebius in his "Ecclesiastical Church History", Book 2, Chapter 23, reference is made from an eyewitness of James' life. The witness was named Hesigeppus (Hes-i-gep-pus), who tells us of James having long hair, being a Nazarite and being a man of great piety. In fact, he was known to have had knees like a camel for his long season of intercessory prayer. James was martyred, being thrown from the pinnacle of the temple for refusing to renounce Christ. Even while the mobs were stoning him (he didn't die after that high fall!), he prayed, in likeness to Jesus, that their sin be not held against them.
Why consecration of one's life truly brings glory to God
When you look at the lives of some of those who were Nazarites, you begin to understand why consecration of one's life can truly demonstrate a devoted heart to the Lord. Imagine a Samuel, whose resolve to proclaim God's Word in a day where the word of the Lord was scarce led to the anointing of not one, but two men who would occupy the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 3:1) The Bible tells us that not one word of Samuel fell to the ground (1 Samuel 3:19).
Or how about John the Baptist, of whom Jesus said was the greatest man born of women. (Luke 7:28) He was the prophetic forerunner to the Messiah. His consecration to God was a desire given to him by the Holy Spirit, who uniquely filled him from the womb, and who stated he was to be a Nazarite in vow. (Luke 1:15) His undying commitment to his mission to exalt the Savior, even to the point where he utters the words: "he must increase, but I must decrease". (John 3:30)
And if we take the testimony of history to be true (from not only the writings of Eusebius, the father of church history, but Josephus, the father of Jewish history so to speak), then we know that James was a man passionate about Christ and His word. It was this James who was Jesus' half-brother in the flesh. It was this same James who led the early church in Acts 15 and who authored the Book of James.
To consecrate one's entire life is far from a cold, sterile activity. Every Christian is called to give up all they have to follow Jesus Christ through the death of self in preference to the Master. (Luke 9:23-24) Consecration is truly the chief expression of a true disciple willing to cooperate with God in the growth of their faith-walk with Jesus Christ.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Consecrating your marriage
Numbers 5:12 & 16 - (12) “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and
is unfaithful to him" (16) ‘Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before the LORD,"
Why consecration works from the heart out to the behavior, rather than being another form of behavior modification
Yesterday we noted that consecration is a grace-motivated desire to concentrate every area of life on God. As we noted from Oswald Chambers discussion on the issue, it is where the Christian is making his interests to match God's interests. Before we move onto the realm of consecrating one's relationships and marriages, the emphasis upon consecration of the heart cannot be over emphasized.
Consecration can be mistakingly taken to be nothing more than some type of behaviorial modification. Often people in a church service or atmosphere charged with the presence of God will rashly make promises to God to change or remove habits without first dealing with the heart that produces those behaviors. In their minds, they vow to stop doing certain behaviors and adopt better ones. Granted, there may be genuineness involved, whatever name we call it (rededication, recommitment). However more often than not, some rededications are aimed only at behavior modification. Unless we are beginning with God's sanctifiying work already operative in the heart, our rededication and recommitments will lead to legalism and failure. Let me explain.
Sanctification is a two-sided coin - a "me and God" thing. In sanctification we have God working in us His perfect and pleasing will while at the same time we are opening ourselves in response to His work by "working out our salvation with fear and trembling". (Philippians 2:12-13)
True consecration begins with an acknowledgement of a transforming work of grace in the heart leading to a conforming of attitudes and behaviors that concentrate on the Lord. The biblical word "consecration" is a more helpful word than mere "rededication", since the heart and behaviors, and not the behaviors by themselves, defines the aim of consecration.
Consecrating our marriages
In the remainder of Numbers 5, God is laying down prescriptions for dealing with allegations of unfaithful spouses. Three times the accused wife is told to present herself before the Lord. A water mixture called "The water of bitterness" is given to the woman to determine whether her denial of infidelity is legitimate or not. If she ends up being infertile, then she was unfaithful, whereas if she is still able to have children, then she was clearly faithful.
The phrase that captures my attention here is the phrase: "before the Lord". (Numbers 5:16, 18, 30) The woman, her husband, the priests involved in discerning the allegations and the people were all reminded that marriage was covenant made before God - and that God see all things! (Hebrews 4:12-14)
Time and time again the Bible reminds us that our marriages are pictures of what the Lord desires to have with his people in terms of oneness, closeness and loving trust. (Ephesians 5:25-27) To consecrate our marriages means for husbands and wives, with consecrated hearts, to make that marriage's interests to match God's. Hebrews 13:4 plainly states - "marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
Benefits and suggestions for consecrating your marriage
First and foremost, regard everything you and your spouse does as being in the presence of the Lord. The older Christians used a Latin phrase to describe the Christian life lived before God: coram dei (in the presence of God). Approaching everything from your T.V watching to what you both do seperately to even marital intimacy as being pleasing to God will greatly affect how you view your marriage.
Seeing marriage as not only having to do with finances or physical things, but as supremely interconnected as a covenant with one another before God captures its true meaning. (Genesis 2:23-25)
Practically making the effort to be more faithful in church attendance, or instituting praying with your spouse or even writing simple little notes letting them know you're praying for them are ways to consecrate marriages. By consecrating marriages, you are being more proactive in managing the health of your relationship, rather than reactive. Proactiveness to marriage reinforces positive, Godly edifying values that ensure protection against the temptations and forces waged against marriage in today's world. Reactive marriages try to overcompensate through desperate measures to correct behavior, without addressing the hearts that led to the behaviors.
The fruit to be born in consecrating marriage is that of stronger, God honoring marriages that can withstand the storms that attempt to drown the passion and commitment needed in 21st century marriages.
Why consecration works from the heart out to the behavior, rather than being another form of behavior modification
Yesterday we noted that consecration is a grace-motivated desire to concentrate every area of life on God. As we noted from Oswald Chambers discussion on the issue, it is where the Christian is making his interests to match God's interests. Before we move onto the realm of consecrating one's relationships and marriages, the emphasis upon consecration of the heart cannot be over emphasized.
Consecration can be mistakingly taken to be nothing more than some type of behaviorial modification. Often people in a church service or atmosphere charged with the presence of God will rashly make promises to God to change or remove habits without first dealing with the heart that produces those behaviors. In their minds, they vow to stop doing certain behaviors and adopt better ones. Granted, there may be genuineness involved, whatever name we call it (rededication, recommitment). However more often than not, some rededications are aimed only at behavior modification. Unless we are beginning with God's sanctifiying work already operative in the heart, our rededication and recommitments will lead to legalism and failure. Let me explain.
Sanctification is a two-sided coin - a "me and God" thing. In sanctification we have God working in us His perfect and pleasing will while at the same time we are opening ourselves in response to His work by "working out our salvation with fear and trembling". (Philippians 2:12-13)
True consecration begins with an acknowledgement of a transforming work of grace in the heart leading to a conforming of attitudes and behaviors that concentrate on the Lord. The biblical word "consecration" is a more helpful word than mere "rededication", since the heart and behaviors, and not the behaviors by themselves, defines the aim of consecration.
Consecrating our marriages
In the remainder of Numbers 5, God is laying down prescriptions for dealing with allegations of unfaithful spouses. Three times the accused wife is told to present herself before the Lord. A water mixture called "The water of bitterness" is given to the woman to determine whether her denial of infidelity is legitimate or not. If she ends up being infertile, then she was unfaithful, whereas if she is still able to have children, then she was clearly faithful.
The phrase that captures my attention here is the phrase: "before the Lord". (Numbers 5:16, 18, 30) The woman, her husband, the priests involved in discerning the allegations and the people were all reminded that marriage was covenant made before God - and that God see all things! (Hebrews 4:12-14)
Time and time again the Bible reminds us that our marriages are pictures of what the Lord desires to have with his people in terms of oneness, closeness and loving trust. (Ephesians 5:25-27) To consecrate our marriages means for husbands and wives, with consecrated hearts, to make that marriage's interests to match God's. Hebrews 13:4 plainly states - "marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge."
Benefits and suggestions for consecrating your marriage
First and foremost, regard everything you and your spouse does as being in the presence of the Lord. The older Christians used a Latin phrase to describe the Christian life lived before God: coram dei (in the presence of God). Approaching everything from your T.V watching to what you both do seperately to even marital intimacy as being pleasing to God will greatly affect how you view your marriage.
Seeing marriage as not only having to do with finances or physical things, but as supremely interconnected as a covenant with one another before God captures its true meaning. (Genesis 2:23-25)
Practically making the effort to be more faithful in church attendance, or instituting praying with your spouse or even writing simple little notes letting them know you're praying for them are ways to consecrate marriages. By consecrating marriages, you are being more proactive in managing the health of your relationship, rather than reactive. Proactiveness to marriage reinforces positive, Godly edifying values that ensure protection against the temptations and forces waged against marriage in today's world. Reactive marriages try to overcompensate through desperate measures to correct behavior, without addressing the hearts that led to the behaviors.
The fruit to be born in consecrating marriage is that of stronger, God honoring marriages that can withstand the storms that attempt to drown the passion and commitment needed in 21st century marriages.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
The Importance of Consecration
Numbers 7:1 Now on the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle, he anointed it
and consecrated it with all its furnishings and the altar and all its utensils;
he anointed them and consecrated them also.
Defining consecration
Today we begin a new blog series on a subject of extreme importance in the Christian life - consecration. Oswald Chambers in his landmark devotional classic: "My Utmost for His Highest" writes the following definition of consecration: "Consecration is our part, sanctification is God's part. Consecration is when we have deliberately determined to be interested in that which only God is interested."
Admittedly we don't hear much today about the word nor the subject. Whenever I see the word "consecration", it reminds me of another English word with a similar sound: "concentration". As Chambers points out, consecration is an act of the Christian's will resolving to make God's interests their own. This of course can only occur in proportion to the Holy Spirit's ongoing work of sanctification, whereby He is working forth and imparting to us the affections, desires and life of Christ. Thus concecration is the "human side" of the cooperation we daily have with God's Holy Spirit following conversion. In consecration, I simply aim to have greater concentration on Jesus Christ.
The Pattern of consecration in the Bible
As God was calling the nation of Israel to be a God centered congregation (Numbers 1-4) composed of Godly servants (Numbers 3-4), God prescribed an ever increasing pattern of consecration (Numbers 5-7). The Law of God sets forth the patterns of Godly living, requiring and pointing God's people to reliance upon Grace to have power for Godly living.
Like a series of ripples in a pond, Numbers 5-7 gives us a series of ever-increasing concentric circles of consecration that we aim to explore over the next several blogs. This pattern, spelled out in the Old Testament, is repeated in a fuller way in the New Testament. The pattern requires the grace of God working in the human heart to both desire it and carry it out. The pattern we will be looking at this week involves consecration of the following:
1. Consecration of the Heart (Numbers 5:1-10)
2. Consecration of your marriage (Numbers 5:11-31)
3. Consecration of your life (Numbers 6)
4. Consecration as a Church (Numbers 7)
The Ever increasing nature of consecration in the faith-walk
Consecration of the heart. Numbers 5:1-10; 1 Peter 3:15
The Apostle Peter writes these words in 1 Peter 3:15 - "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." That underlined word, which we could also translate "consecrate, set apart", has virtually the identicle meaning as the Hebrew word underlined above in Numbers 7:1. To "set apart, dedicate, consecrate" as refer to the same thing. The New Testament reinforces the grace-motivate pattern of consecration outlined in passages such as Numbers 5-7. The place to begin is with your heart.
The heart in the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures was the causal, emotional control tower of the person. The camp of Israel in a physical way was to picture the interior of the person: with God at the center in the human spirit - as so pictured by the tabernacle. On the outer perimeter of the tabernacle was encamped the Levites, who stood between God and the people. We could say that the conscience, that part of the soul which interracts most with the heart/human spirit, is what reminds the people of God's law and condemns us when we have done wrong. The remainder of the people camped around the Levites pictures for us the remainder of my soulish realm - mind, emotions and will, as I live out the Godly life through my human body.
When God was telling these people to send away the lepers and diseased from the camp, He was not being mean nor unreasonable. A reading of Leviticus 13-15 explains how leprosy and infectious diseases needed to be quarantined, to both protect the people and to reinforce the danger of the infection of sin in their hearts. Consecration has me separate from something keeping me from fellowship with God, in order to draw closer to God.
In Numbers 5:5-10 we see instructions on restoring stolen or damaged property. The people needed to treat one another with love, since their regard for one another revealed how they regarded the Lord. Jesus even comments in passages such as Matthew 26:40 and Acts 9:4 that "whatever is done to the least of these little ones, so have you done unto me." If we begin consecrating our hearts, we will be ready to consecrate our emotions, thoughts and attitudes towards how we treat people and respond to situations.
In tomorrow's blog we will take a look at another area of consecration that leads out logically from the heart - namely consecration of our relationships and marriages.
Defining consecration
Today we begin a new blog series on a subject of extreme importance in the Christian life - consecration. Oswald Chambers in his landmark devotional classic: "My Utmost for His Highest" writes the following definition of consecration: "Consecration is our part, sanctification is God's part. Consecration is when we have deliberately determined to be interested in that which only God is interested."
Admittedly we don't hear much today about the word nor the subject. Whenever I see the word "consecration", it reminds me of another English word with a similar sound: "concentration". As Chambers points out, consecration is an act of the Christian's will resolving to make God's interests their own. This of course can only occur in proportion to the Holy Spirit's ongoing work of sanctification, whereby He is working forth and imparting to us the affections, desires and life of Christ. Thus concecration is the "human side" of the cooperation we daily have with God's Holy Spirit following conversion. In consecration, I simply aim to have greater concentration on Jesus Christ.
The Pattern of consecration in the Bible
As God was calling the nation of Israel to be a God centered congregation (Numbers 1-4) composed of Godly servants (Numbers 3-4), God prescribed an ever increasing pattern of consecration (Numbers 5-7). The Law of God sets forth the patterns of Godly living, requiring and pointing God's people to reliance upon Grace to have power for Godly living.
Like a series of ripples in a pond, Numbers 5-7 gives us a series of ever-increasing concentric circles of consecration that we aim to explore over the next several blogs. This pattern, spelled out in the Old Testament, is repeated in a fuller way in the New Testament. The pattern requires the grace of God working in the human heart to both desire it and carry it out. The pattern we will be looking at this week involves consecration of the following:
1. Consecration of the Heart (Numbers 5:1-10)
2. Consecration of your marriage (Numbers 5:11-31)
3. Consecration of your life (Numbers 6)
4. Consecration as a Church (Numbers 7)
The Ever increasing nature of consecration in the faith-walk
Consecration of the heart. Numbers 5:1-10; 1 Peter 3:15
The Apostle Peter writes these words in 1 Peter 3:15 - "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence." That underlined word, which we could also translate "consecrate, set apart", has virtually the identicle meaning as the Hebrew word underlined above in Numbers 7:1. To "set apart, dedicate, consecrate" as refer to the same thing. The New Testament reinforces the grace-motivate pattern of consecration outlined in passages such as Numbers 5-7. The place to begin is with your heart.
The heart in the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures was the causal, emotional control tower of the person. The camp of Israel in a physical way was to picture the interior of the person: with God at the center in the human spirit - as so pictured by the tabernacle. On the outer perimeter of the tabernacle was encamped the Levites, who stood between God and the people. We could say that the conscience, that part of the soul which interracts most with the heart/human spirit, is what reminds the people of God's law and condemns us when we have done wrong. The remainder of the people camped around the Levites pictures for us the remainder of my soulish realm - mind, emotions and will, as I live out the Godly life through my human body.
When God was telling these people to send away the lepers and diseased from the camp, He was not being mean nor unreasonable. A reading of Leviticus 13-15 explains how leprosy and infectious diseases needed to be quarantined, to both protect the people and to reinforce the danger of the infection of sin in their hearts. Consecration has me separate from something keeping me from fellowship with God, in order to draw closer to God.
In Numbers 5:5-10 we see instructions on restoring stolen or damaged property. The people needed to treat one another with love, since their regard for one another revealed how they regarded the Lord. Jesus even comments in passages such as Matthew 26:40 and Acts 9:4 that "whatever is done to the least of these little ones, so have you done unto me." If we begin consecrating our hearts, we will be ready to consecrate our emotions, thoughts and attitudes towards how we treat people and respond to situations.
In tomorrow's blog we will take a look at another area of consecration that leads out logically from the heart - namely consecration of our relationships and marriages.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
The Evangelistic Motives for knowing about Philosophy
Ecclesiastes 12:12-13 The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His
commandments, because this applies to every person. 14For God will bring every act to judgment,
everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Today's blog will close out this week's introduction to Worldview studies. I hope in future blogs to write more on this important subject. In future blogs we may explore Biblical Christianity's historic interractions with other areas such as science, logic, mathematics, medical ethics, psychology and other issues.
Theology, the Queen of the Sciences, and Philosophy the hand-maiden
In the middle ages (800 A.D - 1500 A.D), the highlighted phrase above was used to distinguish between the discipline of studying philosophy from that of theology. The Bible and the language used by Bible teachers to articulate scripture's contents (Theology) was viewed as supreme over all other forms of knowledge, whether they be science, philosophy, mathematics or logic. In a very general way, all of those other avenues of understanding were placed under the greater umbrella of theology. I
A brief history on how theology got separated from other academic disciplines
If you would had been studying in a European University in the middle ages, you would had studied theology along side other subjects. Most thinkers believed that any knowledge gained was as a result of God's general revelation in nature. Whole movements (such a schollasticism) developed that attempted to construct a "natural theology", which in short tried to develop assumptions about God and his relationship to the world into a working theological system based off of the "General Revelation" of God through creation. (Romans 1:18-20, 2:15)
The wars that would ensue between Protestants and Catholics following the wake of the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformations of the sixteenth century led many European thinkers to be dissillusioned with the authority of scripture. Men such as Rene Decartes and Immanuel Kant attempted to construct an understanding of the world based more on human reason rather than revelation. The movement of the Enlightenment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, wherein Reason was enthroned above revelation and individual opinion was elevated above external authority, separated theology from the other disciplines in the major European universities.
Why Christians must better understand the relationship and history between biblical authority and philosophy
As settlers from Europe came over to this country, an attempt was made by Christian thinkers to once again unite all known knowledge under the banner of scripture and theology. Universities such as Harvard, Brown, Yale and Princeton were conceived to train pastors who were knowledgeable of what was going on in other lines of thought.
The revival of the 18th century known as the First Great Awakening was led by the greatest theologian/philosopher ever born on American soil - Jonathan Edwards. His famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" launched a movement of revival that would be responsible for re-igniting spiritual and intellectual movements for the glory of God. Sadly, as the eighteenth century closed out, and the nineteenth century came into view, American universities and many of the larger urban churches were giving themselves over to liberalism coming from Europe and their own pre-occupation with heresies that were being born on American soil.
Sadly by the nineteenth century, those universities lost their moorings and became secularized, shaping their beliefs around the disciplines of science, philosophy and logic rather than building those disciplines around an informed understanding coming from scripture.
Soon Universities in this country dropped the study of theology in favor of "religious studies", which aimed to understand the religious nature of human beings, rather than the revelation of God through scripture and Jesus Christ.
Biblical reasons why Christians should know the questions being raised by philosophy, and be ready to supply biblical answers
As we saw earlier in Ecclesiastes 12:12-13, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was summarizing the meaning of life. All of life's purpose and meaning derives from and is aimed towards God Himself. Revelation tells us that desiring to know life's meaning is what it means to be human. General revelation in nature and the conscience furnishes all men with a knowledge about God, and only God's special revelation through the scripture in Jesus Christ enables men by grace through faith to know God personally. Only in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ can such a meaning be understood.
Philosophy too aims to understand meaning - meaning of right and wrong (ethics), meaning in thought (logic), meaning in knowledge (epistemology) and meaning in reality (metaphysics). Philosophy's weakness lies in it approaching such questions apart from the revelation of scripture. With that said, our job as Christians is to be ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the hope within us. (1 Peter 3:15) We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ that attempts to raise itself up against His authority. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
By knowing what questions are being raised in the culture by disciplines such as philosophy, we can supply answers from scripture. Men like Jonathan Edwards evangelized the culture with solid biblical truths, knowing the questions being raised by the culture. Any reading of Edward's works will demonstrate his unflagging commitment to biblical truth and deep familiarity with the philosophical questions of his day. They did so without compromising scripture nor watering down the message. To be able to show people how the Bible raised similar questions, and to communicate the answers God supplies through Jesus Christ, we can be more effective in reaching out to others for Jesus sake.
Today's blog will close out this week's introduction to Worldview studies. I hope in future blogs to write more on this important subject. In future blogs we may explore Biblical Christianity's historic interractions with other areas such as science, logic, mathematics, medical ethics, psychology and other issues.
Theology, the Queen of the Sciences, and Philosophy the hand-maiden
In the middle ages (800 A.D - 1500 A.D), the highlighted phrase above was used to distinguish between the discipline of studying philosophy from that of theology. The Bible and the language used by Bible teachers to articulate scripture's contents (Theology) was viewed as supreme over all other forms of knowledge, whether they be science, philosophy, mathematics or logic. In a very general way, all of those other avenues of understanding were placed under the greater umbrella of theology. I
A brief history on how theology got separated from other academic disciplines
If you would had been studying in a European University in the middle ages, you would had studied theology along side other subjects. Most thinkers believed that any knowledge gained was as a result of God's general revelation in nature. Whole movements (such a schollasticism) developed that attempted to construct a "natural theology", which in short tried to develop assumptions about God and his relationship to the world into a working theological system based off of the "General Revelation" of God through creation. (Romans 1:18-20, 2:15)
The wars that would ensue between Protestants and Catholics following the wake of the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-reformations of the sixteenth century led many European thinkers to be dissillusioned with the authority of scripture. Men such as Rene Decartes and Immanuel Kant attempted to construct an understanding of the world based more on human reason rather than revelation. The movement of the Enlightenment in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, wherein Reason was enthroned above revelation and individual opinion was elevated above external authority, separated theology from the other disciplines in the major European universities.
Why Christians must better understand the relationship and history between biblical authority and philosophy
As settlers from Europe came over to this country, an attempt was made by Christian thinkers to once again unite all known knowledge under the banner of scripture and theology. Universities such as Harvard, Brown, Yale and Princeton were conceived to train pastors who were knowledgeable of what was going on in other lines of thought.
The revival of the 18th century known as the First Great Awakening was led by the greatest theologian/philosopher ever born on American soil - Jonathan Edwards. His famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" launched a movement of revival that would be responsible for re-igniting spiritual and intellectual movements for the glory of God. Sadly, as the eighteenth century closed out, and the nineteenth century came into view, American universities and many of the larger urban churches were giving themselves over to liberalism coming from Europe and their own pre-occupation with heresies that were being born on American soil.
Sadly by the nineteenth century, those universities lost their moorings and became secularized, shaping their beliefs around the disciplines of science, philosophy and logic rather than building those disciplines around an informed understanding coming from scripture.
Soon Universities in this country dropped the study of theology in favor of "religious studies", which aimed to understand the religious nature of human beings, rather than the revelation of God through scripture and Jesus Christ.
Biblical reasons why Christians should know the questions being raised by philosophy, and be ready to supply biblical answers
As we saw earlier in Ecclesiastes 12:12-13, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, was summarizing the meaning of life. All of life's purpose and meaning derives from and is aimed towards God Himself. Revelation tells us that desiring to know life's meaning is what it means to be human. General revelation in nature and the conscience furnishes all men with a knowledge about God, and only God's special revelation through the scripture in Jesus Christ enables men by grace through faith to know God personally. Only in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ can such a meaning be understood.
Philosophy too aims to understand meaning - meaning of right and wrong (ethics), meaning in thought (logic), meaning in knowledge (epistemology) and meaning in reality (metaphysics). Philosophy's weakness lies in it approaching such questions apart from the revelation of scripture. With that said, our job as Christians is to be ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the hope within us. (1 Peter 3:15) We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ that attempts to raise itself up against His authority. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
By knowing what questions are being raised in the culture by disciplines such as philosophy, we can supply answers from scripture. Men like Jonathan Edwards evangelized the culture with solid biblical truths, knowing the questions being raised by the culture. Any reading of Edward's works will demonstrate his unflagging commitment to biblical truth and deep familiarity with the philosophical questions of his day. They did so without compromising scripture nor watering down the message. To be able to show people how the Bible raised similar questions, and to communicate the answers God supplies through Jesus Christ, we can be more effective in reaching out to others for Jesus sake.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Biblically defining Philosophy's relationship to Christianity
Acts 17:28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we also are His children.’
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Discerning the relationship between philosophy and biblical Christianity
In the two above texts, we see the Apostle Paul preaching and writing in two different environments. In Acts 17 he is preaching to a group of Philosophers at a place called "Mars Hill". He uses quotations from their own philsophers to lend support to His biblical message on the Sovereignty of God in creation and salvation.
In the Colossians text, Paul is under house arrest in Rome. That text was written 10 years or so after his sermon on Mars Hill. In reading his remarks in Colossians 2:8, one may have the impression that Paul has changed his tune on the use and value of Philosophy. Is he forbidding its use all together? No. Rather he is warning his readers of misusing Philosophy or uncritically accepting all of the answers that Philosophy offers to the questions raised by people about the meaning and purpose of life.
Paul still used philosophical categories, in a sparing way, to demonstrate the validity of Christianity over against the paganism of his day. For instance, whenever He states Christ to be the "fulness of the Godhead bodily" in Colossians 2:9, the word used for "fulness" is taken straight out of the pagan Gnosticism of which he was battling. The Gnostics taught that "the fulness" was an impersonal force that revealed itself in varying levels or "emanations" of lesser deities and beings.
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul took this Greek Philosophical concept and turned it on its head, taking every thought opposed to Christ and bring it under subjection to Christ's authority. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Moses and the children of Israel took the gold of the Egyptians given to them during their Exodus out of Egypt to use in the construction of the tabernacle - demonstrating God's Sovereignty over that false system. Paul like-wise too took elements of the false system he was battling and revealed how the Gospel calls every Christian to be more than a conqueror. Christ indeed is Supreme, personal and above any so-called thought of man, philosophy or otherwise.
Sifting everything through scripture
Paul showed that Christ is the embodiment of all authority, and that He alone is the mediator between God and men. He is the personal Fulness of Deity who revealed Himself in history, and who can be know by Grace through faith. In one verse Paul undermines an entire philsophical system, with some of the very tools used by the philosophers themselves!
There are going to be times when encountering any system of thought outside of scripture that believers have to discern whether such a system is valuable, of limited value or of no value whatsoever. If questions raised by Philosophers mirror those addressed in scripture, then we may have something useful. The discernment comes in not using the answers given by that system.
Keeping in mind the distinction between General and Special Revelation
God's General revelation of Himself through nature and special revelation of Himself in scripture can be used to explain why we find similarity of questions raised in Philosophy and scripture. No doubt Paul had this assumption going into his dialogue with the Athenian Philsophers on Mars Hill in Acts 17. Paul identified the common questions raised by the pagan philosophy and sacred scripture - testifying to the former's reaction to God's general revelation in nature and God's special revelation in the Bible. However, Paul was also quick to direct his sermon's answers to those questions to the Special revelation of scripture.
Conclusions on the biblical relationship between philosophy and Christianity
Questions about meaning, purpose and life, so often raised by philosophy and scripture alike, can only be clearly answers by scripture alone. Christians can use Philosophy, providing they are careful, discerning, and draw conclusions that mesh with the biblical record, rather than the philosophical system. The idea of sola scriptura (the Bible alone) is an important doctrine to uphold in this discussion. Sola Scriptura is defined as the Bible being the final authority on all matters in comparison to secondary forms of authority - whether it be science, philosophy or tradition.
One author has noted that "all truth is God's truth". As we consider how to evaluate things like Philosophy in comparison to scriptures, I would offer this additional thought: God's Truth, perfectly revealed in scripture, discerns the truth He reveals in creation. There is "truth" that we as human beings imperfectly perceive in disciplines such as science, math, and philosophy and then there is TRUE Truth which is perfectly revealed in scripture alone.
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Discerning the relationship between philosophy and biblical Christianity
In the two above texts, we see the Apostle Paul preaching and writing in two different environments. In Acts 17 he is preaching to a group of Philosophers at a place called "Mars Hill". He uses quotations from their own philsophers to lend support to His biblical message on the Sovereignty of God in creation and salvation.
In the Colossians text, Paul is under house arrest in Rome. That text was written 10 years or so after his sermon on Mars Hill. In reading his remarks in Colossians 2:8, one may have the impression that Paul has changed his tune on the use and value of Philosophy. Is he forbidding its use all together? No. Rather he is warning his readers of misusing Philosophy or uncritically accepting all of the answers that Philosophy offers to the questions raised by people about the meaning and purpose of life.
Paul still used philosophical categories, in a sparing way, to demonstrate the validity of Christianity over against the paganism of his day. For instance, whenever He states Christ to be the "fulness of the Godhead bodily" in Colossians 2:9, the word used for "fulness" is taken straight out of the pagan Gnosticism of which he was battling. The Gnostics taught that "the fulness" was an impersonal force that revealed itself in varying levels or "emanations" of lesser deities and beings.
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul took this Greek Philosophical concept and turned it on its head, taking every thought opposed to Christ and bring it under subjection to Christ's authority. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Moses and the children of Israel took the gold of the Egyptians given to them during their Exodus out of Egypt to use in the construction of the tabernacle - demonstrating God's Sovereignty over that false system. Paul like-wise too took elements of the false system he was battling and revealed how the Gospel calls every Christian to be more than a conqueror. Christ indeed is Supreme, personal and above any so-called thought of man, philosophy or otherwise.
Sifting everything through scripture
Paul showed that Christ is the embodiment of all authority, and that He alone is the mediator between God and men. He is the personal Fulness of Deity who revealed Himself in history, and who can be know by Grace through faith. In one verse Paul undermines an entire philsophical system, with some of the very tools used by the philosophers themselves!
There are going to be times when encountering any system of thought outside of scripture that believers have to discern whether such a system is valuable, of limited value or of no value whatsoever. If questions raised by Philosophers mirror those addressed in scripture, then we may have something useful. The discernment comes in not using the answers given by that system.
Keeping in mind the distinction between General and Special Revelation
God's General revelation of Himself through nature and special revelation of Himself in scripture can be used to explain why we find similarity of questions raised in Philosophy and scripture. No doubt Paul had this assumption going into his dialogue with the Athenian Philsophers on Mars Hill in Acts 17. Paul identified the common questions raised by the pagan philosophy and sacred scripture - testifying to the former's reaction to God's general revelation in nature and God's special revelation in the Bible. However, Paul was also quick to direct his sermon's answers to those questions to the Special revelation of scripture.
Conclusions on the biblical relationship between philosophy and Christianity
Questions about meaning, purpose and life, so often raised by philosophy and scripture alike, can only be clearly answers by scripture alone. Christians can use Philosophy, providing they are careful, discerning, and draw conclusions that mesh with the biblical record, rather than the philosophical system. The idea of sola scriptura (the Bible alone) is an important doctrine to uphold in this discussion. Sola Scriptura is defined as the Bible being the final authority on all matters in comparison to secondary forms of authority - whether it be science, philosophy or tradition.
One author has noted that "all truth is God's truth". As we consider how to evaluate things like Philosophy in comparison to scriptures, I would offer this additional thought: God's Truth, perfectly revealed in scripture, discerns the truth He reveals in creation. There is "truth" that we as human beings imperfectly perceive in disciplines such as science, math, and philosophy and then there is TRUE Truth which is perfectly revealed in scripture alone.
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