Psalm 23

Psalm 23 (NET) reads:

A psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd,
I lack nothing.

2 He takes me to lush pastures,
he leads me to refreshing water.

3 He restores my strength.
He leads me down the right paths for the sake of his reputation.

4 Even when I must walk through a dark ravine,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff keep me calm.

5 You prepare a feast before me
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh my head with oil;
my cup is full of wine.

6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will live in the LORD's palace for the rest of my life.

This isn't the most poetic version of Psalm 23 I've ever read, but you gotta love the NET Bible for communicating in plain English the meaning of the original languages. (By the way, the NET Bible is an awesome resource for that kind of thing. There are 60,237 translator's notes that give you the original languages, options for translation, and why NET worded the English text the way they did. Plus it was produced by the guys at DTS, and they gave me permission to reproduce large chunks of their translation on my blog for free.)

I notice some things for the first time as I read the NET version of Psalm 23. First, I love how they render "for his name's sake" as "for the sake of his reputation." That's what the psalmist is getting at--God's reputation is at stake when it comes to the protection of his people. Second, I love verse 4. "The valley of the shadow of death" is a timeless image, but it isn't clear that the psalmist is talking about walking home at night alone. We might paraphrase verse 4, "Even when I head out to the parking lot at night, I'm not scared because God is there." Finally, I love how they rendered "You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies" as "You prepare a feast for me in plain sight of my enemies." It really communicates the idea of honor and shame--important concepts in the OT world (think Mordecai and Haman).

Psalm 23 is arguably the greatest poem ever written. I love how the NET takes the poetry and brings it down to real life--God is looking out for us. When we're worried, when we're afraid, when we're confused, we can know that God will protect us for his reputation's sake.

"Father, I thank you for protecting your people. I thank you that we can be confident--that we don't have to fear danger, for you are with us. I confess that there is nothing that takes you by surprise, nothing that can thwart your will, nothing that can deter your plans. I thank you that, despite your greatness, you take time to protect me. Amen."

Psalm 22

Psalm 22 (NET) reads:

For the music director; according to the tune "Morning Doe;" a psalm of David.

My God, my God, why do you reject me?
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.

2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.

3 You are sovereign;
you sit as king over the worshiping community of Israel.

4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted in you and you rescued them.

5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.

6 But I feel like a worm, not a man;
people insult me and despise me.

7 All who see me taunt me;
they mock me and shake their heads.

8 They say,
"Commit yourself to the LORD!
Let the LORD rescue him!
Let the LORD deliver him, for he delights in him."

9 Yes, you are the one who pulled me from the womb,
and made me feel secure on my mother's breasts.

10 I have been dependent on you since birth;
from the time I came out of my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.

12 Many bulls surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan hem me in.

13 They get ready to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey.

14 My strength drains away like water;
all my bones are dislocated;
my courage is like wax;
it melts away inside me.

15 The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.
You are making me descend into the grave.

16 Yes, wild dogs surround me--
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet to the ground.

17 I can count all my bones;
my enemies are gloating over me in triumph.

18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice for my garments.

19 But you, O LORD, do not remain far away!
You are my source of strength! Hurry and help me!

20 Deliver me from the sword!
Save my life from the paws of the wild dogs!

21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,
and from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered me!

22 I will declare your name to my countrymen!
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you!

23 You loyal followers of the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, worship him!
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him!

24 For he did not despise or shun the humble condition of the oppressed;
he did not ignore him;
when he cried out to him, he responded.

25 You are the reason I offer praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the LORD's loyal followers.

26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled!
Let those who seek his help praise the LORD!
May you experience lasting encouragement!

27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the LORD and turn to him!
Let all the nations worship you!

28 For the LORD is king and rules over the nations.

29 All of the robust people of the earth will join the celebration and worship;
all those who are descending into the grave will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.

30 A whole generation will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the sovereign Lord.

31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.

I love this psalm. You can't help but identify with the psalmist as you read the vivid imagery of his opponents pinning him to the ground like lions and mocking him. He cries out to God, "My God, my God, why do you reject me? I groan in prayer, but help seems far away. My God, I cry out during the day, but you do not answer, and during the night my prayers do not let up."

Have you been there?

The tone changes at the end as the Lord has answered his prayer. He writes, "You loyal followers of the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, worship him! All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him! For he did not despise or shun the humble condition of the oppressed; he did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded."

It's amazing how brokenness and honesty before God--even brutal, scathing honesty--can result in praise and adoration. Before the psalmist could say, "All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him! For he did not despise or shun the humble condition of the oppressed; he did not ignore him; when he cried out to him, he responded," he had to be at a place where he said, "My God, my God, why do you reject me?"

No one likes that place. But we need it.

I like to journal my prayers. On one page I like to write about the things that really weigh heavy on my heart--fears about the future, frustrations about the present, regrets about the past--and on the other I like to write down ways in which God has answered those prayers. So, when I am at a place when I am asking, "My God, my God, why do you reject me?" I can see how He has delivered me in the past. It doesn't always lessen the pain, but it reminds me that God truly is in charge and that we are "not tossed about on the winds of chance," as Alistair Begg reminds us.

Kiva.org

A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Watch this video of a Kiva.org story. It will be the best 11:03 of your day.

Come and See

I was reading through John yesterday, and I was struck by a profound phrase in chapter 1--"Come and see." The Greek word for "come," erchomai, occurs 11 times in John 1. The word for "see," horaō, occurs 9 times in the same chapter. Obviously, there is an emphasis on "coming" and "seeing."

The words occur together in 1:39, 1:46, and 1:47. In 1:39, two of John's disciples ask Jesus where he is staying, and he replies, "Come and you will see." In 1:46, Philip, a follower of Jesus, goes to get his brother Nathanael. He says to Nathanael, "We have found the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth." Nathanael responds, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip says, "Come and see."

To John there is a correlation between "coming" to Jesus and "seeing." He writes about Jesus, "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it" (John 1:4–5 NIV). Those who follow Jesus comes into the light and they see. Those who do not believe remain in darkness. The prototypical example of this is the contrast between the man born blind and the Pharisees in John 9. The man born blind testifies before the Pharisees, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25 NIV) Later, Jesus says, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind" (John 9:39 NIV).

There was something about Jesus that was beyond description. You had to come and see; and then it all made sense.

As I believe that the church continues the ministry of Jesus, I wonder how often people say about us "come and see." Jesus said, "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning" (John 15:26–27). The work of the Holy Spirit in the church is a testimony to Jesus. In short, when people "come" to us, they should "see" Jesus.

"Father, I pray that we would live in such a way to testify to Jesus. The world is looking for answers, and we confess that we have found them in Your Son. May my life, and the life of the church be such that people tell their friends, 'come and see.'"

The Good Life Sermon 8--"What Can This Relationship Do for Me?"

On Sunday, January 4th I taught the eighth message in my series called The Good Life: Redeeming Suburbia through Counter-cultural Living, in which I am contrasting the message of suburbia about living the good life with the message of Jesus about living the good life. We talked about the seventh myth of suburban living, "What Can This Relationship Do for Me?"

In short, we treat people as a means to an end. We don't have friends--we have contacts. We maintain relationships with people because of the things they can do for us.

In contrast, John 4 recounts the story of Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. The Samaritan woman couldn't do anything for Jesus. He was a Jew and she was a Samaritan woman. By all social mores, he shouldn't have even talked to her. Further, the woman was probably the talk of the town as she had been divorced five times and she was living with a sixth guy to whom she wasn't married. The whole conversation would have been a little scandalous.

But Jesus was always a little scandalous. He didn't care about the kind of social standing a person had. He didn't use people to climb the social ladder. He treated people like people. In the same way, we should treat people like people, not like a means to an end. Maybe we all need a few more friends and a few less contacts.

You can listen to this sermon, others in The Good Life series, or any recent sermons by me or Gary Albert here.

Quote of the Day

"I love Believers Fellowship. The worship is great, Gary's teaching is great, and Matt is . . . uh . . . interesting." (From a telephone conversation I had earlier today)

There you have it folks! I have officially graduated from "Matt is really smart" (translation: "I have no idea what he is talking about half of the time") to "Matt is interesting" (translation: "He tries; and you gotta love the effort").

The Good Life Sermon 7--"My Church Is the Problem"

On December 28th, I taught the seventh lesson in The Good Life series. We looked at David Goetz's sixth myth of suburbia--"My Church Is The Problem."

In suburbia, we treat churches like consumers. If we want some pizza, we go to the local pizzeria. If we want a haircut, we go to the local hairstylist or barbershop. If we need our car fixed, we go to the local auto mechanic. If we need some Jesus, we go to the local church. If we don't like the haircut we get at one barbershop, we go to a different one. If the local auto mechanic is too expensive, we go to a different one. If we don't like the Jesus we're getting at First Baptist, we go to Second Baptist.

Is that the role that church should play in our lives? When we aren't connecting to God very well, is our church the problem?

We looked at Jesus' interaction with Simon Peter. In The Gospel of John, Peter is contrasted with Judas. Judas denied Christ; Peter denied Christ. While Judas went off and hung himself, Peter took responsibility for his spiritual life and came back to Jesus. Like Peter, we need to take responsibility for our spiritual lives.

Most of the time, when we are not "being fed" at church, we're the problem, not the church. If we want to live the good life, we need to start taking responsibility for our own spiritual lives.

You can download this sermon, the other sermons in The Good Life series, and all the most recent sermons by me and Gary Albert here.

The World Is Flat By Thomas Friedman

Read this book.

In The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman explores the world that has been "flattened" by globalization. He explains how we got here and what it means for nations, corporations, and individuals. Friedman argues that in the past, the global economy was run by nations. Then, it was run by large corporations. But thanks to the power of the global flatteners (internet, personal computers, fiber optic cables, etc.) the future of the global economy will be shaped by individuals. Today, anyone with a personal computer and an internet connection can start a business and compete globally.

I think I liked this book so much because I have been wrestling with ideas about global poverty, the Gospel's challenge to care for the poor and disenfranchised, and the reality of what I can do as a middle-class American Christian. I know I can't solve the problem myself, but I can at least be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

I think that micro-finance is the future of the western church's involvement in developing nations. America has grown great by our entrepreneurial spirit. Instead of exploiting developing nations so that we can live more comfortably, we need to encourage developing nations to industrialize and lift themselves out of poverty. A small loan of a couple of hundred dollars can be all it takes to help an entrepreneur in a developing nation start his or her own business. In this way, we are not handing out relief aid and teaching people to be dependant upon the provision of others, we are offering them a fair and reasonable way for them to lift themselves out of poverty.

I also highly recommend Erik Reinert's book, How Rich Countries Got Rich . . . And Why Poor Countries Stay Poor for an excellent discussion of how the developed world perpetuates the poverty of developing nations, and how we can change to better help them. If you want to know more about micro-finance and micro-enterprise, visit http://www.kiva.org/.

Finished Translating the New Testament

Yesterday I finished translating the New Testament for the second time in my life. It's a ton of work, but it helps me understand the Scriptures unlike anything else I do.

I'm debating what to do next. I don't have the courage to tackle the Hebrew Old Testament. My Hebrew is not good enough to do it in a timely manner. It would take me several years to do the whole thing.

I have considered translating the LXX. Although knowledge of Hebrew is certainly valuable for New Testament studies, I'm not sure how widespread knowledge of Hebrew was among the early church. I think much of the language of the New Testament was borrowed from the LXX, so translating it would shed light on the vocabulary of the early church.

I will probably try it out and see how hard it is.

And Can It Be That I Should Gain?

This is one of my favorite songs. Charles Wesley wrote the words in 1738. Most churches don't sing it any more, so the words might be fresh to you. Reflect and enjoy.

"And Can It Be That I Should Gain?"

by Charles Wesley

And can it be that I should gain

An int'rest in the Savior's blood?

Died He for me, who caused His pain?

For me, who Him to death pursued?

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

Amazing love! how can it be

That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

'Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!

Who can explore His strange design?

In vain the firstborn seraph tries

To sound the depths of love Divine!

'Tis mercy all! let earth adore,

Let angel minds inquire no more.

'Tis mercy all! let earth adore,

Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father's throne above,

So free, so infinite His grace;

Emptied Himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam's helpless race:

'Tis mercy all, immense and free;

For, O my God, it found out me.

'Tis mercy all, immense and free;

For, O my God, it found out me.

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;

Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!

Alive in Him, my living Head,

And clothed in righteousness Divine,

Bold I approach the eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Bold I approach the eternal throne,

And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

The New Perspective on Paul--I'm Convinced

2008 shall henceforth be known as the year that I converted to the New Perspective on Paul. I don't know to whom it will be known as that, but it's true nonetheless.

Most of the New Testament theology books that I read in 2007 and 2008 dealt with the issue, including:

• The New Perspective on Paul by James Dunn
• The Theology of Paul the Apostle by James Dunn
• The Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon (NIGTC) by James Dunn
• The Epistle to the Galatians (Black's) by James Dunn
• The Climax of the Covenant by N.T. Wright
• Colossians and Philemon (Tyndale) by N.T. Wright
• Paul, Judaism, and the Gentiles: Beyond the New Perspective by Francis Watson
• Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the Origin of Paul's Gospel by Seyoon Kim

I would like to do a series of posts about the New Perspective--what it is, why I am convinced it is right, and what weaknesses I see in it. It's going to be a lot of work, but I hope to do it nonetheless.

In short, the New Perspective is a reinterpretation of Paul's view of the law, the Gentiles, and the Jewish people. The Lutheran interpretation of Paul and the law dominated theological discussions of Paul for 400 years, until E.P. Sanders challenged it with Paul and Palestinian Judaism in 1977 and Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People in 1983.

Sanders argued that Second Temple Judaism should not be characterized as "legalistic," but by a term he coined, "covenental nomism." According to Sanders, the ancient Jews were not trying to "earn their salvation by good works" in the same way that 16th century Roman Catholics were. Instead, Judaism was a religion of grace. God elected Israel purely by grace, and faithful Jews responded to this election by obeying the Mosaic Law. Obeying the law was a crucial part of the covenant, but obedience in no way "earned" anyone salvation. (This is similar to the Reformed view of the role of the law in Christianity. "Salvation is by faith alone, but the faith that saves is not alone.") Perfect obedience was never expected, and the sacrificial system was put in place to atone for sin.

In his letters, Paul strongly condemns the religious system of his Jewish contemporaries in favor of a system he calls "justification by faith." In the Lutheran system, justification by faith has been contrasted with "doing good works to earn your salvation" so that the traditional antithesis in Paul is "believing" versus "doing."

The Lutheran understanding of Paul has problems, though. Paul isn't against good works at all. He encourages them. Further, if the Judaism Paul opposed didn't believe in "salvation by good works," what was Paul's problem with it? What did he mean when he said, "By works of the law no man will be justified"? If the contrast wasn't "believing" versus "doing," what was it? If Judaism was a "religion of grace," how was Christianity different than it? These are the questions that the New Perspective seeks to answer.

Not every New Testament scholar accepts the New Perspective. Many do, the most significant being Sanders, James Dunn, and N.T. Wright. There is disagreement even among adherents to the New Perspective about Paul's attitude toward the law and Judaism.

Like I said, I will gather my thoughts about what I think are the most poignant ideas of the New Perspective, and I will post more in the future.

Leaders are Readers

They always told us at Cedarville, "Leaders are readers." Here is what the commander-and-chief of the U.S. has been reading over the last 3 years. You will be surprised. (HT Between Two Worlds.)

John Armstrong on Evangelical Political Bullying (HT Boar's Head Tavern)

John Armstrong has a great article on his blog about the forced resignation of Richard Cizik, former Vice-President of the National Association of Evangelicals. (HT Boar's Head Tavern)

In short, Armstrong suggests that Cizik was removed, not because of what he believed, but because he challenged powerful evangelical leaders. Here's an excerpt from the article, in which Armstrong discusses the need to create Benedict Arnold's in conservative evangelicalism:

A man who is involved in this kind of highly charged political intrigue told me back in the 1990s that if I would take an occasional controversial stand on a political issue, a stand that would appeal specifically to conservative standards of the sort he believed important, I would drive up my donor base dramatically. I was appalled. I remain appalled to this day, more than a decade later. In fact, I am angry when I see this still happening. It is not the sole reason these things happen but everyone on the inside of donor-driven evangelical organizations knows that sooner or later issues do raise money. And the best money is mostly found among those who are over 55 years of age. Appeal to their sense of what is being lost in America through capitulation to “liberalism” and compromise in the evangelical camp and people will write big checks. A good old-fashioned attack on a compromiser in one’s own ranks is needed to sell the mission. It seems that we need our evangelical Benedict Arnold’s to keep the war going much of the time.

Jesus Creed on Obama, Catholics, and FOCA

Guest writer Mary Veeneman will be posting a series on Obama and the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) on Jesuscreed. FOCA is huge because many think it will lead to the closing of Catholic hospitals that refuse to perform abortions.

In the first article, Veeneman discusses Fr Jay Scott Newman's decision to deny communion to Obama supporters because of "material cooperation with intrinsic evil." Is Fr Newman right? Are Obama supporters ethically liable for the effects of FOCA?

Spiritual Formation

How do we know that Christianity is true?

The other day I had lunch with a guy who used to be a Mormon. He was a serious Mormon--a high priest or something like that. He knew all of the secret handshakes, had full access to the temple--the whole deal. But then one day he realized that it was all smoke and mirrors. He didn't believe it, and over the next few years he worked up the chutzpa to renounce his faith. A few years after that, he was involved in a Christian community, met Jesus, and became a Christian. Now he is a missionary. Very cool story.

When I was talking to him, the question on my mind that I wanted to ask, but didn't know how (the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss this guy's spiritual journey), was "Does Christianity 'work' better than Mormonism?" What I mean by that is, "Now that you are a Christian, do you have a newfound spiritual power that you did not have when you were a Mormon? Is there a noticable difference?"

I've been reading a lot of Paul lately. He was a pretty intense guy. Didn't pull any punches. He wrote, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." (Rom 8:9–14 NIV)

Starting in verse 9, Paul says something to the extent of, "How do you know if you belong to Christ? If the Spirit of God lives in you, you belong to Christ." Notice that the known proposition in this statement is whether or not the Spirit lives in you, and the unknown proposition is whether or not you belong to Christ.

Paul also wrote, "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing-- if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" (Gal 3:2–5 NIV)

In this passage, Paul proves that justification is through faith and not works of the law because the Galatian community received the Spirit by believing what they heard. In other words, the known proposition was that the Galatians had received the spirit by faith, and the unknown proposition was whether they would be perfected by faith or by works of the law.

In both Romans and Galatians, Paul used the Christian community's experience of the Spirit as proof that what he was saying was true. In short, the Holy Spirit's work in our lives is "proof" that our faith is true.

So that brings me back to the question for my former-Mormon friend--Does Christianity "work" better than Mormonism? Does it "work" better than Islam? Buddhism? Paganism? Therapy?

In Galatians 5, Paul writes about what the work of the Holy Spirit looks like in your life. He writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal 5:22–23 NIV)

I hope to teach a class on spiritual formation in the Spring, and I am wrestling with what spiritual formation looks like and how it is fostered. Spiritual formation is easy if you measure it in terms of how often you read the Bible, how often you pray, how often you go to church, etc. But, if spiritual formation is measured in terms of how loving you are, how joyous, how peaceful, patient, and kind you are, then it becomes a lot harder.

What 12 steps do you give someone to make them more loving?

But then again, isn't that the heart of the Gospel? Isn't that what the Holy Spirit is supposed to do in our lives? Shouldn't it be a no-brainer? Paul seems to take it for granted that the Holy Spirit was at work in the Christian communities, making the Christians more loving, joyous, etc.

I have wrestling with my own heart lately. Richard Foster summarizes human vices in three character flaws--lust, greed, and pride. I think that about sums it up. So, as I prepare this spiritual formation class, I am asking myself, "Am I less lustful than I was a year ago? Am I less prideful? Am I less greedy?" If I can't answer those questions, "Yes," then the way I practice my faith is not working, and therefore it is not of the Spirit and it is not true.