bible study – Life on Sojourn

The Art of Double-Speak

Published on November 20, 2019November 21, 2019 by wanderingpastor

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued… 1 Timothy 3:8

I don’t want to speak badly about so and so but let me tell you how bad he is. I’m not complaining, but here is my complaint. I don’t want to gossip but let me tell you this juicy and defaming bit of information about so and so, just so that you would know (or maybe so that you can pray). I won’t slander, but this person said this, and I want you to think as badly as possible about them even though in context the thing was more understandable than I will share.

No one is as forthright as the above about his or her double-speaking ways. And that is the problem, isn’t it? We might be so given to the double-tongue that we are double-tongued even about our double-tongued-ness. It might be such a pattern in our lives that we don’t even see it as wrong.

Sadly, this might be true of us even in the church. Even as professing Christians.

In our church, the new deacon team and I are working through what the Bible teaches about deacon qualifications (mainly from 1 Timothy 3:8-13). We had to pause on this gem of a word: double-tongued. It is translated from the Greek word δίλογος. The word is constructed by the prefix di, which means two or double, and the root logos which means word. So double-tongued or double-worded or insincere seems to capture the meaning well. Ironically, the word is employed exactly once in the New Testament, and only once in the Greek Apostolic Fathers. The Bible and the Fathers didn’t doubly use di-word. 🙂

Why do we say one thing and mean another, or say one thing to one person and a different thing to another? Why do we often give a disclaimer that is completely out of step with the thing being disclaimed (i.e., I don’t want to gossip or be hurtful but here is some hurtful gossip.)?

Maybe it is because we really want to act ugly while still appearing pure or righteous? Maybe it is because our Christianity is a mere pretense, and we don’t want to let that show through? Maybe it is because life (or church) is a game to us, and it is okay to hurt people in games?

I’m sure there are many reasons. But the Bible makes it clear: being double-tongued is not befitting for a Christian. Sincerity and love ought to be the marks of a people who have been transformed by God’s grace. We should be the one demographic that actually says what we mean (and not mean mean things!).

Christians – all Christians, but especially those who are in church leadership – are called to be sincere and loving in the way that we talk. So much hurt and division can spring up from the insincere speech of one double-tongued person. May it not be so among us!

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

Why Keep Harping on Grumbling? I mean, seriously…

Published on October 30, 2019October 30, 2019 by wanderingpastor

rain In the church where I serve as pastor, we’ve been talking quite a bit lately about grumbling. Not so much because there is a lot of grumbling (though I am sure we have our fair share) but because we preached through Exodus during the summer, and a few weeks ago we hit 1 Corinthians 10:10. And in those Scriptures, we encounter the sin of grumbling. And big-time warnings against it!

So what is grumbling and why all the fuss? BDAG defines the Greek word translated grumble as speaking in low tones of disapprobation or to complain against someone or to murmur. Merriam-Webster says it is a mutter of discontent.

Grumbling can be the natural and sinful response to pretty much anything we do not like or agree with.

Grumbling can be audible, or it can be an attitude in the heart. When it is vocalized, it is spoken in low, muted tones (literally or metaphorically) because grumblers don’t want everyone to know they are grumbling. It can be directed against a person, such as a spouse; or a group of people like a church. Grumbling is often against a situation or circumstance. We even grumble against God (honestly, I think all grumbling is ultimately against God, but I’ll leave that deep thought for another post)! Grumbling can be the natural and sinful response to pretty much anything we do not like or agree with.

The word comes up in the New Testament 11 times, and every time it is in a negative light. Here is a sample:

Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing…”

1 Corinthians 10:10, “nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.”

James 5:9, “do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged…”

1 Peter 4:9, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

What, pray tell, is the big deal? Can’t we complain a little once in a while? Why such a sweeping – and repeated – prohibition against grumbling?

Here are three brief reasons for why we should view grumbling as the serious sin that it is, and run from it.

First, grumbling poses a real threat to the unity of a church. Of the 11 times the word grumbling occurs in the New Testament, at least 4 of them have to do, at least indirectly, with church unity (all the ones quoted above). Of course, maintaining unity has always been an issue in the church for many reasons. But one really quick method to directly harm unity is simply to grumble against one another and/or against the leadership.

Second, grumbling dims the light we are called to shine in this “crooked and perverse generation”. That is an implication from Philippians 2:14. Since doing all things without grumbling leads to shining as a light, it follows that grumbling dims that light. To put that another way: grumbling mutes the gospel. It is a very serious thing!

Third, grumbling demonstrates a lack of faith in God. In 1 Corinthians 10:10, the context points to Israel in the Wilderness “putting Christ to the test” by complaining against Moses and grumbling against God because of their situation, and the way God was providing for Israel. Instead of trusting God in their trails, they complained and muttered their discontent. Grumbling is the opposite of faith. In fact, it demonstrates a heart-level belief that God is doing something wrong in your life.

So, brothers and sisters, let us resolve to not be grumblers. For the unity of the church, for her testimony to this lost world and to show that we believe that God is good, let’s do all things without grumbling or disputing.

To Judge or Not to Judge

Published on October 30, 2018October 30, 2018 by wanderingpastor

Many people claim that the Bible is “full of contradictions” even though they usually can’t cite any of those alleged contradictions. So that isn’t really a thing. But what do we do when the Bible does seem to contradict itself? How do we treat passages that seem to be in tension with other Bible verses?

I hold to a “high view of Scripture” which basically means that I believe that the Bible is inspired by God and, therefore, 100% true, just as it claims. Basic logic tells us that two contradicting propositions both cannot be true; either one is true and the other false, or both are false. Thus, if one passage contradicts another, that would mean that one of those passages (at least) is false. So how do we resolve verses that seem to be in tension?

Take, for example, the text I preached on last Sunday, 1 Corinthians 5:12. That verse says, For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? Don’t miss that last part (which I helpfully bolded for you). Paul is clearly saying you are to judge those in the church. He posed it as a question, but it is a rhetorical one and the meaning is unmistakable.

Now, compare that with Matthew 7:1: Judge not, that you be not judged. And compare it also with 1 Corinthians 4:5:

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

So do we judge, as per 1 Corinthians 5:12, or don’t we, as per Matthew 7:1 and 1 Corinthians 4:5? Are these verses in contradiction?

That “high view of Scripture” thing forces us to look deeper. Since we believe the Bible is totally true, we can’t settle for the shallow read, and just assume this is one of those many contradictions that the Bible is full of. We have to assume that each of these statements is true. So how do we reconcile Matthew 7:1-2 and 1 Corinthians 4:5 with 1 Corinthians 5:12?

We have to assume that there is a way of judging that Jesus forbids (Matthew 7:1) that is different than the kind of judging that Paul commands (1 Corinthians 5:12) and that Paul also forbids one kind of judging (1 Corinthians 4:5) while commanding another kind (1 Corinthians 5:12). In other words, there must be right ways and wrong ways to judge.

And this one is pretty easy, as apparent contradictions go. It takes only a bit of effort to see that in Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus is forbidding the kind of judgment that is hypocritical – judging others by a measure we wouldn’t want applied to ourselves. And in 1 Corinthians 4:5, it is clearly the attempt to judge someone’s heart and hidden motives that is in view. So we don’t judge hypocritically, and we don’t judge a person’s heart – those kinds of judging are forbidden. And there is a way to judge that is commanded by Paul. And you can see what that is all about by digging into 1 Corinthians 5:9-13. (Note: It is beyond the scope of this post to explain what that judging looks like. However, you can listen to my sermon on that passage by clicking here.)

We should be really thankful for supposed contradictions in the Bible. They force us, if we take the Bible and truth seriously, to go deep with our study. And when we do that, we not only see that the Bible does not, in fact, contradict itself, but that it is sweeter than the honeycomb, and more precious than gold.