2,000 years of Christian history have produced many heroic figures whose examples of dedication to Christ inspire and teach us.
One such is Polycarp of Smyrna (Izmir in modern west Turkey). It seems he was born about AD69 and was a leading Bishop of the church in Roman Asia. In AD155 he was on the ‘most wanted’ list for the local authorities. The charges against him were atheism (for not believing in the Roman gods) and sedition (for putting Christ before Emperor).
When Polycarp was arrested he said: God’s will be done, and provided refreshments for his captors while he prayed for two hours. On the day of his trial his judges were embarrassed at such an aged and gentle man. One asked: "What harm is there in saying that Caesar is Lord … and so saving yourself". Another said: "Swear and I release you, curse Christ."
Polycarp’s reply is one of the noblest confessions of any martyr: "For 86 years I have been his servant, and he has never done me wrong: how can I blaspheme my king who saved me?"
Are we so loyal and grateful to Christ that we would say this?
Death by wild beasts and then burning was threatened. Polycarp replied: "The fire you threaten burns for a time and is soon extinguished: there is a fire you know nothing about – the fire of the judgement to come … . But why do you wait? Do what you want ... ."
Are we so certain of the hope to come that we would be thus calm before this prospect?
As the fire was prepared he prayed again: "I bless you for counting me worthy of this day and hour, that in the number of the martyrs I may partake of Christ’s cup, to the resurrection of eternal life of both body and soul …."
Are we so fixed on Christ and his kingdom that we could say the same, even for the lesser suffering that we have for Christ?
It seems that the young Polycarp knew the Apostle John. Little could John have known how his words to the church in Smyrna would prove so apt for her later bishop: "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. ... Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life. … The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death" (Rev 2:10-11).
May we have grace to be as faithful as Polycarp.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Ready to Go - The Really Useful People
Today is Reformation Sunday. We remember the gracious act of God to reform his church through people such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox.
One feature of the Reformation was insistence on the rule of Scriptures. The church and its members were not to be swayed by tradition, pragmatism or their own ideas on what was right in faith, life, worship and church order. Instead, God’s people were to listen and submit as God spoke in the Scriptures. That emphasis on God ruling all things through his Scriptures is especially strong in reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Today is also the end of our four week series from 2 Timothy 3:14-17. This passage teaches us that the Scriptures are God-breathed. God’s word was expressed in the words of human language through men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The passage also explains the uses of the Bible. It will make us wise for salvation; teach and correct us in the content of our beliefs; rebuke and train us in Christian conduct.
Today also marks the end of Christian Education emphasis month. Over the last few weeks we have been exposed to the various Bible teaching ministries of the church. Today’s focus is on adult learning through our revamped School of Christian Ministry (SoCM). The courses and programming of New SoCM give us all many opportunities to grow in the faith.
The purpose of this growth is summed up in the words: so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:17). That is, we don’t study the Bible as an end in itself, but as a means to a greater end: that we might be: God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10).
All of today’s themes come together as we mark the church’s anniversary. We need to scrutinise church life by the Scriptures lest churchly traditions or pragmatism take us from God’s way. We need to reinforce that the whole church is to be a Bible-learning and Bible-doing church at all times.
The anniversary is also a time to remind one another of our calling. We are to be ready to go with God as we live the life that he sets before each of us. We are to be ready to go for God as we fulfil his mission to make disciples of all nations. This readiness is a product of being a Bible-learning people.
May it please God to make us a really useful people in his next year.
One feature of the Reformation was insistence on the rule of Scriptures. The church and its members were not to be swayed by tradition, pragmatism or their own ideas on what was right in faith, life, worship and church order. Instead, God’s people were to listen and submit as God spoke in the Scriptures. That emphasis on God ruling all things through his Scriptures is especially strong in reformed and Presbyterian churches.
Today is also the end of our four week series from 2 Timothy 3:14-17. This passage teaches us that the Scriptures are God-breathed. God’s word was expressed in the words of human language through men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The passage also explains the uses of the Bible. It will make us wise for salvation; teach and correct us in the content of our beliefs; rebuke and train us in Christian conduct.
Today also marks the end of Christian Education emphasis month. Over the last few weeks we have been exposed to the various Bible teaching ministries of the church. Today’s focus is on adult learning through our revamped School of Christian Ministry (SoCM). The courses and programming of New SoCM give us all many opportunities to grow in the faith.
The purpose of this growth is summed up in the words: so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:17). That is, we don’t study the Bible as an end in itself, but as a means to a greater end: that we might be: God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10).
All of today’s themes come together as we mark the church’s anniversary. We need to scrutinise church life by the Scriptures lest churchly traditions or pragmatism take us from God’s way. We need to reinforce that the whole church is to be a Bible-learning and Bible-doing church at all times.
The anniversary is also a time to remind one another of our calling. We are to be ready to go with God as we live the life that he sets before each of us. We are to be ready to go for God as we fulfil his mission to make disciples of all nations. This readiness is a product of being a Bible-learning people.
May it please God to make us a really useful people in his next year.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Was It Worth It?
The old Protestant cemetery in Pinang Malaysia has graves of many pioneers of the British colony there.
Some came as merchant adventurers with the East India Company and more to seek their fortune. Others came to build an empire as soldiers and administrators. Doubtless many were escapees.
It was a long journey for all and the risks were real. Many graves contained people who lived less than 45 years.
One family grave is noteworthy ..
John Ince died on 24 April 1824 aged 29.
His wife Joanna died on 1 June 1822 aged 27. She shared her coffin with an unnamed infant son.
Their daughter Caroline Rachel died on 4 December 1820 after 5 months and 26 days of life. Her younger sister Eliza died on 23 May 1821 aged one month and four days.
What cause took the Ince family to all this?
John and Joanna were Christian missionaries. They went to build the greatest empire in God’s kingdom and to share the riches of heaven.
Was it worth it? ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to keep that which he cannot lose.’
Some came as merchant adventurers with the East India Company and more to seek their fortune. Others came to build an empire as soldiers and administrators. Doubtless many were escapees.
It was a long journey for all and the risks were real. Many graves contained people who lived less than 45 years.
One family grave is noteworthy ..
John Ince died on 24 April 1824 aged 29.
His wife Joanna died on 1 June 1822 aged 27. She shared her coffin with an unnamed infant son.
Their daughter Caroline Rachel died on 4 December 1820 after 5 months and 26 days of life. Her younger sister Eliza died on 23 May 1821 aged one month and four days.
What cause took the Ince family to all this?
John and Joanna were Christian missionaries. They went to build the greatest empire in God’s kingdom and to share the riches of heaven.
Was it worth it? ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep in order to keep that which he cannot lose.’
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Really Useful Bible
We all know that a closed Bible is a useless thing. In the language of an old Anglican prayer, we should have our Bible open to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest its contents.
It’s one thing to have the Bible open and be active learners, but what are the uses of this learning?
As 2 Timothy 3:15 teaches, the first use of the Bible is to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. This was our theme last Sunday.
However, the Bible’s uses do not stop there. The Bible has uses to those who have put their faith in Jesus as well as to unbelievers. 2 Timothy 3:16 gives four further uses, paired around two themes of Christian content and conduct.
• Christian content: The Bible is useful for teaching and correcting. In a positive sense, the Bible teaches us all we need to know about God. Instead of making up our own ideas about God we are to let him be our teacher through the Scripture. We sometimes have defective ideas about God, whether from partial knowledge, some distortion of truth or even a wilful error. The Bible is the standard by which these wrong ideas are corrected and we are pointed to right content in our beliefs.
• Christian conduct: The faith is something to be lived and the Bible is the street map to guide our conduct. This is especially pressing for converts from non-Christian backgrounds who may have little idea of godly living. The Bible trains in righteousness by pointing us to the principles and patterns of behaviour that please our Lord. On the other hand, both new converts and old believers can slip into conduct that is right in the world’s eyes but offensive to God. We need to have our Bible open so that these behaviours are rebuked and changed.
If we put all this together, we see that the Bible has uses for heart, head and hands. Our heart is to be given to the Lord Jesus in faith as we become wise for salvation. Our head is to be taught and corrected in the content of the faith. Our hands are to be trained and rebuked in right conduct so that we can live what we believe.
The Scriptures are a really useful book. Let’s open our Bibles often and carefully ponder what is written there. Let’s also let the Bible to both inform and transform our head, heart and hands in the ways that please our Lord.
It’s one thing to have the Bible open and be active learners, but what are the uses of this learning?
As 2 Timothy 3:15 teaches, the first use of the Bible is to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. This was our theme last Sunday.
However, the Bible’s uses do not stop there. The Bible has uses to those who have put their faith in Jesus as well as to unbelievers. 2 Timothy 3:16 gives four further uses, paired around two themes of Christian content and conduct.
• Christian content: The Bible is useful for teaching and correcting. In a positive sense, the Bible teaches us all we need to know about God. Instead of making up our own ideas about God we are to let him be our teacher through the Scripture. We sometimes have defective ideas about God, whether from partial knowledge, some distortion of truth or even a wilful error. The Bible is the standard by which these wrong ideas are corrected and we are pointed to right content in our beliefs.
• Christian conduct: The faith is something to be lived and the Bible is the street map to guide our conduct. This is especially pressing for converts from non-Christian backgrounds who may have little idea of godly living. The Bible trains in righteousness by pointing us to the principles and patterns of behaviour that please our Lord. On the other hand, both new converts and old believers can slip into conduct that is right in the world’s eyes but offensive to God. We need to have our Bible open so that these behaviours are rebuked and changed.
If we put all this together, we see that the Bible has uses for heart, head and hands. Our heart is to be given to the Lord Jesus in faith as we become wise for salvation. Our head is to be taught and corrected in the content of the faith. Our hands are to be trained and rebuked in right conduct so that we can live what we believe.
The Scriptures are a really useful book. Let’s open our Bibles often and carefully ponder what is written there. Let’s also let the Bible to both inform and transform our head, heart and hands in the ways that please our Lord.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wise for Salvation
Wise for Salvation
Some people have a life-long and deep-seated fascination for the Bible. Whether as amateur sleuths or professional scholars, they love to spend time digging deeper and deeper into the background, language and meaning of the Bible. This is good, and we can all benefit when they share the fruits of their fascination.
But is the Bible given just for our fascination? Is the Bible more like a textbook for our learning or a road map for life?
2 Timothy 3 addresses these questions. The God-breathed Scriptures are intended to guide our thinking and behaviour in order to make us complete people who are ready to go for God (3:16).
However, first things first.
The greatest and first human need is to reconnect with our maker through faith in his Son Jesus (Rom 3:23). And so, before the Bible teaches us what to believe and how to behave it points us to Jesus for the wisdom of salvation (2 Tim 3:15). This is a message that we will never discover in creation, or in our conscience or by our own thinking. It is a message that is revealed in Scripture (Rom 3:21) and which must be revealed because our hearts are darkened and our thinking is foolish (Rom 1:21). This is wisdom: to see our need of salvation, to know that we cannot save ourselves and to trust in Jesus as saviour.
Notice where this message is found – it’s the Old Testament. The ‘scripture’ referred to in 2 Timothy 3:15; Rom 1:2; 3:21 and 1 Corinthians 15:3 is the old Bible of the Hebrews. This reinforces a point that Jesus made to his disciples after his resurrection (Lke 24:25-27, 45-49). We must learn to read the Old Testament in the light of Jesus and as all pointing to Jesus in one way or another.
Whatever else we learn from the Bible, this is the start point. Its one thing to be learned in the languages and literature of the Bible and able to discuss it for hours – but have we believed in Jesus?
In this sense, the Bible is a road map for life. We are not all able to study it with intellectual wisdom, but we can all read the life-wisdom of reconnecting to God through his Son Jesus.
In ORPC we put a big emphasis on Bible learning in many of our ministries. Let’s be sure that we have made the Bible a road map for life by putting our faith in Jesus.
Some people have a life-long and deep-seated fascination for the Bible. Whether as amateur sleuths or professional scholars, they love to spend time digging deeper and deeper into the background, language and meaning of the Bible. This is good, and we can all benefit when they share the fruits of their fascination.
But is the Bible given just for our fascination? Is the Bible more like a textbook for our learning or a road map for life?
2 Timothy 3 addresses these questions. The God-breathed Scriptures are intended to guide our thinking and behaviour in order to make us complete people who are ready to go for God (3:16).
However, first things first.
The greatest and first human need is to reconnect with our maker through faith in his Son Jesus (Rom 3:23). And so, before the Bible teaches us what to believe and how to behave it points us to Jesus for the wisdom of salvation (2 Tim 3:15). This is a message that we will never discover in creation, or in our conscience or by our own thinking. It is a message that is revealed in Scripture (Rom 3:21) and which must be revealed because our hearts are darkened and our thinking is foolish (Rom 1:21). This is wisdom: to see our need of salvation, to know that we cannot save ourselves and to trust in Jesus as saviour.
Notice where this message is found – it’s the Old Testament. The ‘scripture’ referred to in 2 Timothy 3:15; Rom 1:2; 3:21 and 1 Corinthians 15:3 is the old Bible of the Hebrews. This reinforces a point that Jesus made to his disciples after his resurrection (Lke 24:25-27, 45-49). We must learn to read the Old Testament in the light of Jesus and as all pointing to Jesus in one way or another.
Whatever else we learn from the Bible, this is the start point. Its one thing to be learned in the languages and literature of the Bible and able to discuss it for hours – but have we believed in Jesus?
In this sense, the Bible is a road map for life. We are not all able to study it with intellectual wisdom, but we can all read the life-wisdom of reconnecting to God through his Son Jesus.
In ORPC we put a big emphasis on Bible learning in many of our ministries. Let’s be sure that we have made the Bible a road map for life by putting our faith in Jesus.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Scriptures: Inspired and Inspiring
The Christian Scriptures are central to our gathered worship, to all Christian Education ministries and to our private piety.
Why make such a fuss over this diverse collection of ancient writings? They are often difficult to understand and are far removed from our digital world in which we are post-everything but unsure what we stand for. Why privilege the Scriptures over other religious writings?
We receive the Bible as the word of God and hear the Scripture declare that: All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16a). This is a compelling image. Our breath comes from the inner recesses of our being and expresses our thoughts as it passes over the speech organs. Likewise, the Scriptures come from God’s heart and express him to us.
2 Peter gives us a clue as to how this happened: men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21).
• Men spoke: the Bible was written by human hands in our languages using different literary styles and in widely varying settings. To understand the Bible we have to try and get into the minds of these people and their languages, styles and settings. Then we can better grasp what they were trying to say to the people of their day before asking what the message is for us.
• Men spoke from God: the Bible’s writers were not the final source of their message. They were used by God in such as way that prophets could say thus says the Lord, the apostles were the means through which the Lord’s commands were given (2 Pet 3:2) and the writings of a man like Paul could be called ‘Scripture’ (2 Pet 3:16).
• Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit: the whole Trinity is involved as the Father bears witness to his Son through the Spirit who also enables us to understand the Scripture (1 Cor 2:11-14).
Thus the Scripture has divine and human aspects, just like Jesus who was both fully man and wholly divine. The humanity of the Bible impacts the way in which we understand it, as noted above. The divinity of the Bible makes it worth reading as we hear the word of our creator and redeemer in the words of his human writers.
It is because the Bible is inspired by God that it is inspiring. And that is why it remains central to gathered worship, Christian Education ministries and private piety.
Why make such a fuss over this diverse collection of ancient writings? They are often difficult to understand and are far removed from our digital world in which we are post-everything but unsure what we stand for. Why privilege the Scriptures over other religious writings?
We receive the Bible as the word of God and hear the Scripture declare that: All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16a). This is a compelling image. Our breath comes from the inner recesses of our being and expresses our thoughts as it passes over the speech organs. Likewise, the Scriptures come from God’s heart and express him to us.
2 Peter gives us a clue as to how this happened: men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21).
• Men spoke: the Bible was written by human hands in our languages using different literary styles and in widely varying settings. To understand the Bible we have to try and get into the minds of these people and their languages, styles and settings. Then we can better grasp what they were trying to say to the people of their day before asking what the message is for us.
• Men spoke from God: the Bible’s writers were not the final source of their message. They were used by God in such as way that prophets could say thus says the Lord, the apostles were the means through which the Lord’s commands were given (2 Pet 3:2) and the writings of a man like Paul could be called ‘Scripture’ (2 Pet 3:16).
• Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit: the whole Trinity is involved as the Father bears witness to his Son through the Spirit who also enables us to understand the Scripture (1 Cor 2:11-14).
Thus the Scripture has divine and human aspects, just like Jesus who was both fully man and wholly divine. The humanity of the Bible impacts the way in which we understand it, as noted above. The divinity of the Bible makes it worth reading as we hear the word of our creator and redeemer in the words of his human writers.
It is because the Bible is inspired by God that it is inspiring. And that is why it remains central to gathered worship, Christian Education ministries and private piety.
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