Grace Given to Me For You

Here's some quotes where Paul talks about the grace that God has given to him. This is something to consider when thinking about how God works in and through such weak vessels to accomplish His work among us, and where a Pastor's ministry really comes from.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,
but to think with sober judgment,
each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:3ff

But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God - so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;
Romans 15:15ff

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:10ff

And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.

On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
Galatians 2:6ff

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles - assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:1ff

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 3:7ff

All citations from The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God's Standards of Judgement

This is another citation from Ezekiel, and this time God's talking about how He judges His people. I think this example can be considered as a foreshadowing of the precious gift of God that was to be worked in Christ.

And you, son of man, say to your people,

The righteousness of the righteous
shall not deliver him when he transgresses,

and as for

the wickedness of the wicked,
he shall not fall by it
when he turns from his wickedness,

and the

righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness when he sins.

Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live,
yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice,
none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered,
but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.

Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’
yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right,
if the wicked restores the pledge,
gives back what he has taken by robbery, and
walks in the statutes of life,
not doing injustice,
he shall surely live;
he shall not die.

None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him.
He has done what is just and right;
he shall surely live.

Ezekiel 33:12-15

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Eze 33:12). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God Decides Between His Sheep

Having declared how He would seek out and care for the sheep His faithless shepherds had neglected, if not outright persecuted and abused, God now declares what He'll do with the sheep within His flock:

“As for you, my flock, thus says the Lord God:

Behold, I judge
between sheep and sheep,
between rams and male goats.

Is it not enough for you
to feed on the good pasture,
that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pasture; and

to drink of clear water,
that you must muddy the rest of the water with your feet?

And must my sheep eat what you have trodden with your feet,
and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them:

Behold,

I, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Because you push with side and shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns, till you have scattered them abroad, I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey.

And I will judge between sheep and sheep.
And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.

And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them.

I am the Lord;
I have spoken.

Ezekiel 34:17-24

Being a member of God's flock doesn't mean that one gets a "free pass" to behave however one sees fit - those sheep who mistreat their fellow sheep would face judgment, while God would rescue those who've been scattered across the lands as a result of their mistreatment.

Finally, the statement "I have spoken" has an air of finality and certainty about it, that there will be no further discussion or argument, and that He would do what He had declared. The notion that "there will be no arguing" is present elsewhere in Scripture, particularly when it comes to times of judgment.

But that's material for another post...

All citations The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God Tends His Own Flock

Since the shepherds who were supposed to take care of the sheep of God's flock failed to faithfully discharge their duty, and instead used it as a way to fatten themselves, God takes more direct action to care for His sheep.

I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

“For thus says the Lord God:

Behold,

I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and

I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land.

And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and
I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.
I will seek the lost, and
I will bring back the strayed, and
I will bind up the injured, and
I will strengthen the weak, and
the fat and the strong I will destroy.

I will feed them in justice.

Ezekiel 34:10-16

Repeating something was an Old Testament way to denote emphasis or certainty. When God states that He "will do" something, it has the absolute certainty of the sun rising tomorrow that it would take place. So, in this passage, when God says He "will" do something fourteen times in a single passage, one can can be absolutely assured that what He said would come to pass actually would.

This citation also hints at what's to come when He says "the fat and the strong I will destroy."

More on that with the next installment.

All citations from The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God addresses the Faithless Shepherds

Having identified the problems with the faithless shepherds, and the consequences of the shepherds looking after their own interests rather than the sheeps', God pronounces judgment on them:

“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live, declares the Lord God, surely because

because my sheep have become a prey, and
my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts,
since there was no shepherd, and
because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep,
but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep,

therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

Thus says the Lord God, Behold,
I am against the shepherds, and
I will require my sheep at their hand and
put a stop to their feeding the sheep.

No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves.

Ezekiel 34:7-10

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Faithless Shepherds in the Old Testament

This is a complaint God had against so-called "shepherds" in the Old Testament who weren't doing what they were supposed to do, and the dire implications it had for God's sheep:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds,

Thus says the Lord God:

Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!
Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
You eat the fat,
you clothe yourselves with the wool,
you slaughter the fat ones,
but you do not feed the sheep.

The weak you have not strengthened,
the sick you have not healed,
the injured you have not bound up,
the strayed you have not brought back,
the lost you have not sought, and
with force and harshness you have ruled them.

So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.

My sheep were scattered;
they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.

My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth,
with none to search or seek for them.

Ezekiel 34:1-6

All quotes from The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

The Law, Gospel, and Feminization of the Church

Recently Issues Etc had a radio program talking about how the church is becoming feminized, and how the Law had to be preached in all it's stern-ness, and the and Gospel in all it's sweetness.

Out of curiosity, I did a search of Scriptures, and couldn't find either the Law or the Gospel described that way. In fact, I would submit these rather relational terms are indicative of just how "feminized" the language of the church has become.

So I wrote them a letter to that effect, quotes of which I'm posting below. You can find the link here and the MP3 recording of the session here.

We'll see what happens. :)

---

Greetings Gentlemen -

I listened to your program on how the church has been feminized, and I think one of the more insidious ways it's been "feminized" is how the Law and Gospel have been stated in more or less relational terms - ie the law is "stern" while the Gospel is "sweet".

Unfortunately, I was completely unable to find any of this kind of language used in Scripture to describe either the Law or the Gospel. Specifically

The Gospel is described as being the power of God:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages. Romans 16:25

...because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.
1 Thessalonians 1:5

As for the Law, Scripture says it's a good thing!

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:19

So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
Matt 12:12

Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Matthew 22:36

But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: 'They hated me without a cause.'
John 15:25

For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
Romans 4:15

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."
Romans 7:7

So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Romans 7:12

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.
Romans 7:14

Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good.
Romans 7:16

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
1 Corinthians 15:56

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 3:24

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
1 Timothy 1:8ff

---

I'd submit, if there's any "stern-ness", it's not from the Law itself, but from the knowledge that it's impossible to keep it. If there's any "sweetness" to the Gospel, I'd submit it's in the God-given knowledge through faith that all our sins are covered, that we're safe from the condemnation we deserve, and will be spending eternity with our Creator.

Thank you for your ongoing programming. I only listen to bits and pieces when I have time, if you respond to this on the air, I hope it'll be in the "talkback" segment or the segment's appropriately titled.

I also keep a blog, and I've posted my letter here:

Yours in Christ,