Starting today, you would be very welcome to follow along with the Pleased to Dwell advent video playlist. It can work alongside the book, or you can just watch the videos. Here is the playlist, please do subscribe to the YouTube channel and use the playlist to work your way through these short videos as Christmas approaches!
Pastoral Ministry
Catching Up With The Podcast
It has been a busy few months and I haven’t posted links to the podcast on here as much as I had planned. But let’s do a quick catch-up:
After a sequence of weddings, I shared some thoughts on preaching at a wedding. The last months included some great interviews, including:
Andy Paterson – Firstly, on how the Word does the work of ministry, and then, the relationships of a preacher.
Marcus Honeysett – First, on painting with fire, then on the nature of true transformation, and finally, on the heart of the preacher.
Steve Mathewson, we crossed the ocean to hear from Steve on the importance of all scripture in our preaching, and then we reminisced together about lessons learned from our mutual mentor, Haddon Robinson!
Jonathan Lamb – back to the UK to hear from Jonathan on crossing cultures as we think about preaching, and then we thought about how preaching models for listeners!
Rick McKinley – and once more back to the US to hear from an experienced pastor in the Portland metro area on connections required to connect with our listeners, and a great discussion about the role of humility in preaching.
Along the way, we have had some bitesize episodes on specific subjects, like adding to the text, is something missing in your preaching?, preaching the prophets, preaching at Christmas, and highlighting historical accuracy when we preach.
Mike and I have also enjoyed some helpful discussions: thoughts on being a guest preacher – something we’ve both done quite a bit of over the years!, landing a message, bad preaching (another area where we have experience!), a chat about Pleased to Dwell in anticipation of the advent season, and a chat about preaching at Christmastime!
We hope these episodes have been helpful for you, and if you have missed any, please do catch up! As ever, we really appreciate any help in getting the word out about the podcast – sharing links, liking, subscribing, etc., is all really helpful. If you particularly like an episode, please do let others know about it on social media – thank you in advance!
Going Beyond the Text?
When we preach a Bible passage, we need to preach the text. That may sound obvious, but many don’t do it. Some preachers use the text as a launching point – they read the text and then preach an associated thought from their own thinking or theology. Others bounce briefly off the text and then preach other passages with some perceived connection.
God is the best communicator, so as preachers, we want to reflect his communication as best we can. When you are preaching a passage, really try to preach it. That includes helping your listeners to see what is there, to understand what is there, and to feel the force of what is there. To really preach a passage is not simply to educate listeners in the meaning, although that is a good start. It is to get them into the text and get the text into them, and it is to introduce the God who is revealing himself through the text so that they experience the transformative power of a personal encounter. The preacher is not merely teaching, but introducing, match-making, and fanning the flames of the relationship between listeners and God.
If we commit to truly preaching a passage, then we will come up against the challenge of saying more than the text says. That is, if we are really committed to a high view of the biblical text, are we straying if we add any detail not overtly stated in the passage? If we have a biblical narrative, are we restricted in telling the story so that we cannot fully tell it, but instead end up preaching theological points connected to it? Are we trying to cram a 100-word reading into a 4000-word speech without really saying anything beyond the 100 words of the passage?
Here are five thoughts that may help when it comes to the subject of “adding to the text.”
1. Think about the “informing texts” – As well as the passage you are preaching, there will be other passages that inform the content of your preaching passage. Any passage quoted, or alluded to, or that provides the relevant history (think Acts for some of the epistles) should be considered as fair game for helpful content as you preach your passage.
2. Consider “related texts” – This is more subjective, but some passages are more related to your preaching text than others. The same author or the same time period will tend to be more related than a distant author and era (unless the era is earlier and may have informed your writer, but then we are back to number 1: informing texts). Related texts can be helpful, but don’t lean on them so much that your preaching passage is lost in the process.
3. Make plain “assumed knowledge” – When the Bible writers wrote, they were not thinking of readers in a different culture, language, location, and historical era. So there is a lot of background information that is assumed. The author might assume the reader knows who the Pharisees were, named individuals, cultural events, or societal norms. Geographic descriptions weren’t needed for the original readers, but they might be highly helpful for modern listeners to make sense of the setting of a passage. It is not going beyond the text to state overtly what is implicitly assumed within the text. Study the background, the culture, the geography, etc., and help people to understand, visualize, and feel the impact of the passage as you preach.
4. “Imagined” thoughts and feelings in a passage can be shared honestly – We don’t know what was going through a character’s mind, or even what was happening in their life around the events of a story. Where we use our imagination to help bring a passage to life, be sure to help listeners know that you are not asserting divine revelation. I was listening to a Haddon Robinson sermon recently, and he said something like, “I’m not sure he said this, but I know we do…” It was a helpful way to connect the real-life aspects of the story to the real-life experiences of Haddon’s listeners. “I can imagine how Peter may have felt…” is a perfectly legitimate statement because your listeners know you are using your imagination.
5. Only “assert what the text asserts” – While sanctified, humble, and informed imagination can be helpful, it should never be the substance of your preaching points. Let the thrust of your message, both at the level of the main idea and the main points, come from the passage. Do not make assertions based on assumptions, imagination, or guesswork. An example comes from Psalms where the historical setting is not stated but only guessed, and then the preacher makes a point that depends on a guessed historical setting. Let the text drive the points you are making. Use your imagination to help proclaim the passage.
Seasoned preachers know that the bigger challenge will always be what to leave out, rather than what to add to a message. But in some settings, people have an overly restricted view of what should be said in a sermon. They fear saying anything more than the passage itself states overtly. That can restrict effective preaching.
Let’s make it our goal to plumb the depths of our passage, to proclaim it as fully and engagingly as possible, and to make sure that it does its work in bringing listeners into an encounter with the God who reveals himself through the Word.
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Here is last week’s podcast episode on this subject:
Not less preaching, but better preaching – Interview
Evangelical Focus just published an interview with me. Lots about preaching in here, so I hope you find it helpful!
“The solution is not less preaching, but better preaching”, Evangelical Focus
Love Jesus, Love the Gospel
It does not surprise me when I find scholars who do not believe the Bible is God’s inspired Word and also have a problem with the Apostle Paul. But it still surprises me to find Bible-believing Christians who view Paul negatively. For some, this is a reaction to his argumentative persona and intellectual presentation of complex truths. For others, the antagonism comes from the feeling that he is misogynistic or overly self-referential.
Where there is a specific criticism based on a particular passage, it helps to study that passage in its context and take into account the rest of his writings as well. But where the criticism is more a general feeling (i.e. he is too argumentative or complex), I think what helps is to try to enter into his world and see Paul in action.
At the beginning of Galatians, we find an extended biographical section that, at first glance, may appear self-congratulatory. However, delving into Paul’s world is a worthwhile endeavour. Not only will we find a brilliant and articulate fighter for the truth of the gospel – perhaps even a hero of the faith – but we will also find a motivation we can emulate. Maybe most of us will never be as brilliant as Paul. But all of us could love Jesus and the truth of the Gospel as Paul did. And if we did, perhaps the global and eternal impact would be beyond anything we have dreamt.
Let me try to give you a taste of this. On Paul’s first missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 13-14, Paul and Barnabas arrived in the region of Galatia, preached the gospel, and saw churches established. They were understandably excited as they headed for home base to report what God had done. But when they arrived, they discovered that others had followed in their footsteps and sought to correct their ministry. The criticism? Paul was not a full apostle, and Paul did not preach a complete gospel message. Perhaps Paul was portrayed as well-intentioned, and his message was seen to serve as a good starting point. But these later teachers were promoting themselves as representatives of the Jerusalem apostles and their Law-based message as a more complete and committed version of what God expects.
Paul was livid! He wrote Galatians to ward off this falsehood and try to win back the hearts of the believers before they were pulled away by this destructive corruption of the good news he had preached.
Why did Paul write with an edge? (No pun intended) Why does he seem to be shouting? Why is Paul so sharp with them? (Ok, that was slightly deliberate for the context!) The answer is that Paul loved Jesus, the Gospel, and the believers in the Galatian churches. Like a parent shouting sharply at a child walking towards a busy road, Paul was desperate to get their attention.
In the latter verses of Chapter 1, he laid out his apostolic credentials. This was not about showing off but about exposing the lies being told about him. He did not derive his authority from Jerusalem. He had barely been there. His authority came from God himself. And in the opening verses of Chapter 2, he focused on his Gospel message. It was a message that he had laid before the Jerusalem apostles. Even under pressure from the same false teachers, Paul’s Gentile companion Titus had not been compelled to be circumcised. The highest council of apostles, the inner circle itself, had affirmed his calling with a hearty handshake and no doctrinal caveats.
When you ponder the world Paul inhabited, it becomes clear that he was driven not by a desire to win arguments or a passion for self-promotion like an early social media influencer. A deep love for Jesus drove Paul, and therefore, a passion for the gospel of God’s grace that truly transforms lives from the inside out. It was that deep love that drove Paul to travel, to preach, to be misunderstood, to be persecuted, to suffer, and eventually, to die for the Lord that he loved. In Galatians 2:11-14, it was that deep love that drove Paul to take a most uncomfortable step: he publicly called the great senior apostle Peter a hypocrite in front of his home crowd.
I’m not suggesting we should be looking for opportunities to poke others in the chest. I’ve seen far too much bombastic finger-wagging on social media. But I’ve also seen far too little courage in person when faced with character and behaviour that compromises the Gospel. Will we be willing to take uncomfortable steps in the face of compromise, or will we be willing to take uncomfortable steps in the calling of missionary need?
We cannot give ourselves a good talking-to and suddenly generate sacrificial motivation for ministry. Neither can we muster up Paul’s level of theological brilliance just because we start to find him inspiring. But we can gaze long and hard at Jesus. We can ponder the wonder of the gospel of God’s grace in Christ deeply. We can ask God to give us a heart-exploding glimpse into the wonder of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. Because if we see Jesus for who he is, if we get a sense of the wonder of the gospel, then perhaps we will start to share in Paul’s motivation for the truth of the gospel.
Why did Paul contend for the truth of the gospel, even in the face of opposition? Two words from Galatians 2:5 – it was so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved “for you.” And by extension, from Galatia down through two millennia, it was for it to be preserved for us. May we be ever more captivated by the glorious good news of God’s great love for us so that we are motivated to preserve it for others.
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Podcast Catch-Up: Insights for Preachers
The last couple of months have been busy, to say the least. A conference with Josiah Venture in Czech Republic, the European Leadership Forum in Poland, two family weddings, two baptism services in the midst of a busy season at church – these all added up to not sharing much on this site. So, it is time for a catch-up on the podcast. What has been happening since the last post that was linked to an episode?
Mike and I discussed the various kinds of interruptions that can add some intricate dynamics to a preaching event. We also talked through the most basic sermon preparation process. While there is plenty of potential for complexity in the area of sermon preparation, we wanted to make sure the basic process is clear.
We have had quite a few bitesize episodes, including Peter on 5 Aspects of Natural Delivery, The Four Worlds of the Preacher, and Preaching Without Notes. (I will write another post on that subject soon!) Mike shared about the courage to confront yourself, and the potential poison of preaching ministry.
Along the way, we also had a couple of episodes hearing from Si Munsie of Life Church, Southampton. (Click here for part 1 on preaching to real people, and here for part 2 where we think about past employment and preaching.) And this week, we have part 1 of my interview with Andy Paterson, currently pastoring in Hong Kong – a fascinating conversation with a very experienced pastor-preacher! We have some great interviews lined up in the next months too.
So my apologies for being quieter on here and social media in recent weeks. We really do appreciate every encouraging comment, both in person and online. If you are able to subscribe on YouTube and in whatever podcast platform you use (eg Spotify or Apple), that really does help. Also, every like, comment, share, etc., is massively appreciated. Thank you for helping to get this podcast off the ground!
Mentored by the Text
I recently had the privilege of speaking at the Josiah Venture Spring Conference. What a joy to spend those days with great people in a beautiful place, enjoying an excellent Bible book! In light of that time, I have been pondering the idea of being mentored by the biblical text.
To begin the series of messages, I suggested that if we could time travel, we would be changed by spending half an hour watching Jesus, Moses, Daniel, Paul, or whoever. If we could just be there and see them in action, we would be mentored by the experience. But we have the Bible! So why not allow the experience of the text to mentor us? Time spent watching Jesus (in this case) should surely mark our lives in significant ways.
Here are some thoughts on “Preaching as Biblical Mentoring” –
1. The move from then to now is essential, but the move from text to sermon can be overdone. I have seen sermons so crafted that listeners may marvel at the sermon construction but lose the passage. Maybe our sermonic work of art is not as valuable as the inspired text. After all, whatever we can do with the text is not as good as what God did when He inspired the text. So perhaps we need to consider how to let the passage drive the message more in our preaching.
2. Overly crafted wording can hide rather than reveal the inspired text. In the detail of the sermon, do we demonstrate our linguistic skill rather than elevating the text itself? Our wordcraft may impress listeners, but is our goal to impress them? Surely our pastoral goal should be for them to encounter God Himself in His word? Let us make it our goal to communicate rather than to exhibit our craftsmanship.
3. The shape of an overly crafted sermon can hide rather than reveal the shape of the text. I remember one moment as a student in a class. I was the member of our group who went up to write our outline on the whiteboard. “That is incorrect,” the teacher declared, “you have to make all the points parallel.” I was taken aback and responded, “But, isn’t that the shape of the passage?” The teacher looked at the Bible. “Yes, it is the shape of the passage, but your outline has to follow the rules of rhetoric, so it is wrong.” I politely pointed out that Haddon Robinson (who was in charge of the preaching department at that seminary for many years) had taught us to reflect the shape of the text in our sermons. It became clear that there was a point of difference between these two excellent teachers. I’m with Haddon. Let’s aim for sermons that reflect the shape of the text rather than squeezing the text to fit our rhetorical expectations and standard sermon shapes.
4. Overly crafted rhetoric can hide rather than reveal the experience of the text. As we preach, we should communicate clearly, with good organisation and a thought-through structure. But sometimes, our sermons can hide the text and keep listeners from experiencing the tensions and contours of a passage. So let’s use whatever skill we can, but remember that our goal is not to present the work of art that is our sermon. No, our goal is to bring our listeners into a rich experience of the passage and, in doing so, to encounter God as He reveals Himself there.
5. We should preach so listeners can “see” the movie projected in their hearts. I find it helpful to imagine every listener with a movie screen in their hearts. If I prayerfully and carefully present the message to them, a movie should form on that screen. It is easy to offer theological insights and speak theoretical truths. But those screens will remain blank. However, suppose I can effectively describe what is on the page. In that case, my prayer is that they will not only understand it but also experience it. And when they experience it, it will change their lives. It can be like being mentored through the text by God revealing Himself in that passage.
I am sure there are more angles to consider on this subject. Perhaps too much of our ministry uses the Bible, begins with the Bible, or connects to the Bible, but what people really need is to experience what God has given us in the Bible. Supremely, the Bible reveals Him. Let’s prayerfully shape our ministries so that people can encounter Him and not simply learn theological truth at arm’s length.
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Please check out The Biblical Preaching Podcast, on YouTube (click image below), or on any podcasting platform (Spotify, Apple, etc.)
Biblical Ministry?
Most people in Christian ministry would like to think they have a biblical ministry. But what does that mean? Is it simply an evaluation of whether what they do is in the Bible? Or maybe better, an assessment of whether their values and methodology reflect biblical qualities? This would be a good question to ponder prayerfully.
Let’s take a few minutes and consider what role the Bible plays in your ministry. I will start with some troubling ones I have observed, then move on to better options. I have seen all of the troubling Bible roles over the years. Perhaps one or two have crept into my ministry at times. How about you?
5 Troubling Bible Roles:
1. Token Requirement – This is where a Christian ministry uses the Bible here and there because it is expected or required. The driving energy for the ministry comes from the individual’s drive, the rhythm of habit and tradition, or the necessity of keeping their position. But the Bible seems inert, a lifeless requirement quoted here and there to endorse what is happening in the ministry.
2. Quotes and Springboards – This is a slightly more specific version of number 1. This is where the Bible gets used to either endorse the message or to launch the message. Please understand me: the Bible is capable of both roles. However, in this case, it feels more used than living. The person makes their point, then adds a proof-text. Or the preacher reads a bit of the Bible, then launches away from it to preach what is essentially their own set of thoughts (often leaving the Bible far behind in the process).
3. Magic Charm – This is where the Bible is used superstitiously to “guarantee” the effectiveness of the ministry. The people of Judah treated the temple as a guarantee in the days of Jeremiah, but they didn’t know what God was doing in their day. So, Christian ministries can hold up the Bible or quote a verse, thereby guaranteeing that their ministry should be successful. Again, the Bible seems to be used rather than alive.
4. Blunt Weapon – This is where the Bible gets used without precision. Instead of being the sharp scalpel wielded by a careful and kind surgeon, biblical words get plucked out of context and used for delivering blows to the poor recipients. Without God’s grace, character or plan, and tangible reliance on the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart, the Bible gets used to beat people into behavioural submission.
5. Self-Support – Maybe you have come across this one too? It is where the person doing the ministry uses the Bible to affirm their personal limitations and quirks. Instead of being humble, teachable, and open to help, the minister quotes the Bible to self-affirm, self-support, and defend from criticism or concern.
5 Better Bible Roles:
A. A Rule Book (An Instruction Manual) – I will start here because this could easily slip into the troubling list above. It is good to recognise the authority the Bible has in life, ministry, etc. We should be looking to see what God’s Word has to say about each issue we face and each difficulty we navigate. At the same time, I hope you can also feel the awkwardness that can come when the Bible is seen as just a rule book, an instruction manual, or a guide for life. It can so easily lose its vitality and begin to feel lifeless – one common factor in the list of troubling Bible roles. So yes, the Bible does have authority, and we should submit to what it says, but let’s not be satisfied with that. Let’s go on to the rest of this list!
B. An Inspiring Book – Again, this could be an inadequate label. Sometimes, a work of art can inspire those beholding it, but the Bible is much more than a well-written collection of books. It is inspired by God, meaning it uniquely comes from God, breathed out by him. The writers were not just inspired by something divine, pulling out a pen to try to capture their feelings at that moment. They wrote Scripture, carried along by the Holy Spirit, giving us the unique Word of God. And if anything that has ever been written should stir our hearts and change our lives, it is God’s inspired and uniquely inspiring Word.
C. An Equipping Book – Whatever your ministry may be, the Bible has been given to you so that you may be “thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:17) Whatever your ministry may be, if it is biblical, there will be an element of helping equip others for life and ministry. When the Bible is active in a ministry, both the one doing the ministry and the recipients of that ministry will be fashioned and formed for ministry in some way by the life-changing Word of God.
D. A Life-Giving Book – Because the Word of God is alive, it is also life-giving. An encounter with biblical ministry can draw a dead heart to Christ, it can call back a drifting believer, it can motivate greater godliness, inspire Christlike sacrifice, launch cross-cultural missionaries, lift drooping hands, strengthen weak knees, and comfort the grieving believer. When people encountered the Word of God incarnate (Jesus), their lives were changed. In the Gospels, many people meet Jesus and leave more alive than when they came. The same can and should be true of biblical ministry. After all, the Word of God inspired (i.e. the Bible), is a life-giving book. Biblical ministry should result in many leaving more alive than when they came.
E. A Him Book – Jesus rebuked the Jewish leaders for thinking they were so Scripture-saturated that they knew God and had life. His rebuke? They thought they would find life in diligent Scriptural study, but the Scriptures were “about me” (see John 5:37-40). Above all else, the Bible’s role in life and ministry is to reveal God to us, ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ. While we may treat the Bible as a me-book (what I need to learn for my life), actually, it is a Him book (whom I need to meet to know life). As someone involved in ministry, I need to come to the Bible and look for Him.
My God, I need you. More than I need anything else, I need you. As I open your Word on my own, show me your heart, your character, your plan, your Son. Captivate my heart afresh with yours. Then, by your grace, would you allow me to share that life with others in my ministry? May they see you because they need you, just as I need you. Amen!
Final thought – One time, a friend and supporter gave me a very generous gift. I still remember his words close to three decades later: “When others speak, I can tell they are repeating their notes from when they went to seminary. When you speak, I get the sense that you have been studying the Bible fresh.” I pray that I will not grow stale but have a freshness to my preaching. Let’s encourage one another in that!
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Click here to listen to a recent episode of The Biblical Preaching Podcast. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel, or follow on Spotify, Apple, etc. We would love to stay connected as we think about preaching together:
How to Improve Your Delivery
Delivery matters. And yet some do not want to think about improving their delivery. Perhaps they feel comfortable with the rhythm of preaching that their tradition and experience has set in place and do not want to tinker with something that seems to work. Perhaps they consider it more spiritual to avoid any hint of performance in their preaching. Maybe they believe that the content of the message, or even the vitality of their personal walk with God, should and will speak for itself.
There may be some preachers who are highly confident in their own rhetorical prowess and cannot imagine that everyone else is not continually wowed by their combination of presentational ease and flair. More likely, there could be many preachers who know they have delivery weaknesses but are hesitant to face them in case it is overwhelming. Then, there will be preachers who do not know how much their delivery impacts their communication and have never stopped to give the matter any thought.
Delivery matters. It either helps or hinders your attempts to communicate God’s Word with your listeners. Improving your delivery is both an act of love for your listeners and a matter of good stewardship of your ministry before God. It is about making sure your good study and preparation is given a chance to get through, and it is about making it as easy as possible for the listeners to hear God’s word.
What if the best message is presented at too low a volume, with a persistent cough, distracting vocal mannerisms, and you can’t quite see the preacher – is it possible for you to listen to that sermon? While it’s possible to hear and still be impacted by the sermon, it will take extra effort on your part to fully absorb what’s being said. As a preacher, it’s an act of love to minimize the effort required for your listeners to truly engage with your message.
In this episode of the podcast, I present a simple three-step process to improve your delivery. It is not complicated. But the question is, will you follow this process and improve?
I’d love to hear from you – what is the one thing that you need to work on next? Also, what have you worked on in the past and what did you find helpful? Please do comment on this post, or after the podcast episode. Please click here to watch Episode 11.
James and the Greatest Gap
The book of James is a fascinatingly practical epistle. Some have called it the Sermon on the Mount in letter form. On the one hand, we shouldn’t expect anything less than practical from the son of a carpenter. On the other hand, we don’t want to miss the profound theological thrust of the letter.
After addressing issues of suffering, true religion, favouritism, the use of the tongue, and the right kind of wisdom, we arrive at James chapter 4. Now, James drills below the practical matters of the letter. Yes, there is a gap between conduct and confession, which seems to bother James. We could frame this as a gap between past habits and new identity, but James presents a more significant gap that we must face.
In James 4:1-3, he goes below the surface to explain what is going on and what is going wrong with his readers. Why do they have conflict? Very simply, it is because of the passions that bubble away inside them. Their conflict comes from their wants, like shoppers fighting to get bargains at the opening of a sale, like children fighting over the happy meals in McDonald’s, or even like chicks pushing to be in prime position to receive the worm from the mother that is bringing food into the nest . . . we clash, because we want.
It is encouraging to see James give a glimpse of the heart of our Father. We only need to ask since he is willing to feed us. So, the problem is inside each one of us – our selfish desires cause havoc in our lives.
What is the solution? Our world and Western tradition tend to tell us that self-control is the solution to our passions. Yes, we have an engine that moves us along, but we need to get a grip on the steering wheel and take control of ourselves. Interestingly, James does not instruct his readers to get a grip. Instead, he gives them a glimpse of what is happening inside God.
In James 4:4-6, we see inside God’s heart. What do we find? We see his jealousy over his people; he calls them “adulteresses.” James is not focusing on the women of the church; he is focusing on the people of the church, who are the bride of Christ. As the bride of Christ, we are flirting with the world. And God’s heart is grieved. It is jealously yearning for us to come back to him.
Here is the real gap that we need to face. Not just the gap between our conduct and our confession, nor even the gap between our past habits and our new identity. It is the growing gap between our hearts and his. Where there is unfaithfulness, God yearns for us to return. Where there is drift, God yearns for us to come close.
James 4 is like God has sat us down in a chair and confronted us with our drift. “What is going on?” We seem to be far from him. We seem to be motivated by other things. It may be overt unfaithfulness, or it may be signs of drift. It may be something that is not bad in itself, but it has become more important than him. Our career, bank balance, hobbies, favourite sports team. Just as we see in Hebrews 12:1-2, there is sin that entangles and everything that hinders—bad things, “good things,” but alternatives to him.
So, how do we respond when God lovingly confronts us for the drift in our spiritual marriage? If we stick out our chests and get defensive, claiming the right to define our spiritual health on our terms, then we reek of pride. God opposes the proud (James 4:6), but will we humbly admit the drift?
In James 4:7-10, we have the wonderful invitation. If we humble ourselves, submit to God, and resist the devil, we can draw near to God. We deserve his rejection, but that was also true before the cross. God loves us and gave Jesus to win our hearts to him. And as we drift, he continues to love us and waits with arms open to welcome us back to him. There may need to be mourning and grief over our unfaithfulness. Turning to our heavenly bridegroom should break our hearts as we see our waywardness and drift. But as we resist the devil and repent, turning back to our bridegroom, we will find that he also draws near to us.
The most critical gap in Christianity is the gap that can develop between our hearts and his. He may take James 4, sit us down in a chair, and confront us with our adulterous drift. But he does so lovingly, longingly yearning for our hearts to draw near to him. And as we do, he will draw near to us.
Hallelujah! What a saviour we have.
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Please check out the new Biblical Preaching Podcast – in this episode, Peter Mead and Mike Chalmers discuss the four most important questions for all in ministry:
Biblical Preaching 