Category: Faith

Verses are taken from ESV or LSB translations.

God

¹ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
– Genesis 1:1

¹ The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
    the world and those who dwell therein.
² for he has founded it upon the seas    and established it upon the rivers.
– Psalm 24:1-2

⁴ For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
⁵ The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
    you hate all evildoers.
– Psalm 5:4-5

³⁷ 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. 
³⁸ This is the great and first commandment.
– Matthew 22:37-38

¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
– James 2:10

³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
– Hebrews 10:31

Man

¹⁰ as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
¹¹  no one understands;
    no one seeks for God.
– Romans 3:10-11

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
– Romans 3:23

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
– Romans 6:23

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
⁹ not of works, so that no one may boast.
– Ephesians 2:8-9

Jesus Christ

⁹ For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily,
¹⁰  and in Him you have been filled who is the head over all rule and authority.
– Colossians 2:9-10

³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 
⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
– I Corinthians 15:3-4

⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
– Romans 5:8

²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
– I Peter 2:24

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit
– I Peter 3:18

²¹He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
– 2 Corinthians 5:21

Response

¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
– Mark 1:15

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to Yahweh,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
– Isaiah 55:7

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
– Luke 9:23

³⁰ Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent,
³¹ because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.”
– Acts 17:30-31

Hello all, I will be traveling to Scotland from July 11-23 to join the ministry JeremiahCry for an open air preaching tour. If you know me, you know I may have difficulty preaching very loudly. Instead, I am planning to engage in street evangelism sharing the gospel in conversation.

Why did I decide to go on an evangelism trip?

All genuine children of God are called to make disciples, and this trip is one of a variety of ways to accomplish the Great Commission. Jesus gave us this instruction in Matthew 28: 18-20: ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Romans 10:13-15, “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Why did I decide to go on this trip?

God once used Scotland and John Knox in a mighty way. John Knox began as a preacher when a Scottish Catholic regime martyred the pastor of St. Andrews. He went on to outlaw the Mass and reformed the Church of Scotland to be Presbyterian in ecclesiology and reformed in theology. John Knox was a successful reformer who impacted English Puritan theology and influenced Presbyterian and Reformed Baptist theology.

However, Scotland has now lapsed into paganism and is in great need of God’s work through the gospel once again:

• “More than half of Christians in the United Kingdom claim to have experienced hostility and ridicule for their faith, according to a study released Thursday.” The study found that much of the cultural hostility toward Christians in the U.K. emerges from LBGT ideology and that most of the younger Christians they interviewed who reported worsening persecution also held to a firm belief in biblical teachings regarding sexuality, gender and marriage.
• In April 2024, Scotland enacted legislation that outlaws offensive speech as “hate speech” with no exclusions for religious language. Evangelical apologist David Robertson called the new laws “crazy” and warned that shifting the definition of a hate crime to the perceptions of the supposed victim “will help modern Scotland become more of a police state — and less tolerant and inclusive”.

What is the nature of this trip?

We have a group of 22 men including 4 Scots who will be in four teams. We will be providing a list of local churches on every tract we hand out, and we will have 15,000 tracts. Our 4 Scots are primarily from one local church, and we will attend that church on Sunday.

I will be in Team Fide, and our team main contact/leader will be one of the 4 local Scots. We will be traveling to many cities in Scotland including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, St Andrews, and Aberdeen from July 13-20. The teams will be rotating in open air street preaching. I plan to engage in street evangelism primarily.

How have I prepared for this trip?

While I am not sure anyone can be prepared for such a trip, I can share how God has been working in me.

• In 2024, I have been reading through the Bible with an immersion method, reading 3-6 chapters daily and reading a book of the Bible 30x before moving to a new book.
• I am also blessed to be part of a church that preaches a sound gospel and believes that God is the author of our faith, providing us a new heart, and that evangelism does not require attracting the natural man but simply speak the complete gospel in love: the nature of the holy God, the nature of the originally sinful man, Christ the Son of God and His work, and our response to repent and believe.
• I am active in the monthly evangelism team, and this has been a great blessing to my faith and helped me grow in courage to share the gospel with strangers. These times help motivate me to share the gospel more so than I would otherwise in between the monthly evangelism.
• I have begun memorizing more verses for sharing the gospel.

What do I need prayer for?

As Paul wrote in II Thessalonians 3:1-2, “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men, for not all have faith.”

Please pray for me in the month leading up to this trip for:

• A dedication to prepare my heart and mind for a singular devotion to Christ, being regular in my daily devotions and prayer, pursuing and growing in holiness, growing in an effectual knowledge of God, and studying/memorizing a complete gospel presentation. And the same for my trip mates.
• Encouragement that this trip will be used by God and that He will strengthen and protect us. That I would be strongly motivated to share the gospel here in Houston before and after this trip and be clear minded about the urgent need of the gospel in the dark days in which we live.
• Unity and faithful edification among my Team Fide and all brothers.
• That God would send His Spirit upon us to speak the truth boldly in love. That we would communicate the gospel accurately and faithfully with grace. Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
• That God would send His Spirit to prepare the hearts and minds of the Scots who hear us and that he would lead many to submit to the Lordship of Christ and believe in Him for salvation out of a new heart that only God can provide.
• For strength of voice during all conversations.
• Safety and health in travels and during evangelism. I’ve seen videos of UK locals becoming agitated during street preaching. That the constables would protect us and treat us well and that none of us would be arrested.

Partnering with this trip

The main request I have leading up to this trip is by far and away your prayers. Paul even requested prayers from his church partners, and I am in need much more than Paul. I have no doubt that this trip is working against Satan’s designs for Scotland – we see this even in the recent law to ban offensive speech. Messengers of the gospel are always risk in ways both internally and externally to be hindered and discouraged from sharing the gospel. If you are willing to partner with me in prayer, please reply to me and let me know how often you will pray.

• You may email me here: ben.spivey@protonmail.com.
• Please include Scotland Trip in the subject to help me recognize all the emails.

Mission Statement

The mission of this page is simple and focused: to edify Christian men by highlighting and summarizing podcasts specifically useful for Christian men in areas including leadership, marriage, and family life. Most podcasts will be useful for married men or men seeking marriage, and an occasional podcast may be focused on single men.

I am intentionally writing summaries rather than adding my personal reviews of the podcasts. I plan on updating this page normally on a weekly basis.

Week of June 23, 2024

Founders Ministries

The Christian and the Civil Government (Part 1-5)

• The general thrust of Romans 13:1-7 is that Christians are to be submissive to the governing authorities that are God ordained.
• Governing authorities are only given their authority from the author who is God. Governments sometimes they fall far short of upholding God’s standard of righteousness and justice. In one example that has become common, some hypocritical governing authorities have not abided by the lockdowns they enforced in 2020-2022. While it is understandable that people do not want to respect such authorities, nonetheless we are called to give honor and deference to authorities.
• Government is to wield the sword to deter criminals and to enforce retributive justice. If we do not submit to authority, we are subject to God’s wrath and the sword of authority.
• Submitting to authority is not unquestioning obedience. Christians are also called to submit to each other. It is a deference for the position of authority.
• God ordained different spheres of authority: family, church, government. We are to obey authorities within their sphere of authority. Churches that resisted mandates to stay open did so rightly to obey God over men. We see biblical examples, even in Paul, John the Baptist, of calling government to follow righteousness and justice.

Week of June 16, 2024

Renewing Your Mind

The Role of Man and Woman

• The husband has been given the final authority for the family, and this is a weighty responsibility. The call for the wife to submit to her husband’s leadership indicates no difference in dignity or value between the husband and wife.
• No Christian woman has concerns about submitting to the Lord if He were her husband. The husband is called to sacrifice his life for his wife as Christ has done for the church.
• The wife wants his husband to cherish her and honor her and offer her to Christ while protecting her integrity. The husband wants his wife’s admiration.

Week of June 9, 2024

Renewing Your Mind

What is Christian Marriage?

• God issued the first malediction when He says that it was not good for man to be alone. God provided a solution for man’s loneliness. Eve was a helpful suitable for him. He created marriage as a gift for our well being.
• God regulates marriage – He creates marriage in the form of a covenant. Idea of a covenant is rooted deeply in Christianity. Covenant is a contract, at the heart is a promise, and it has stipulations and provisions.
• There is no such thing as a private contract. A covenant is undertaken in the presence of witnesses. In front of every authority structure in your life, you make promises and vows.

Week of June 2, 2024

Grace to You Radio

A Plan for Your Family: God’s vs. the World’s, Part 3

• The Jewish and pagan marriage and sexual standards of Christ’s time were far different than the new life Paul describes for Christians in Ephesians 5, the focus of this sermon.
• Jewish women had no legal rights. According to the school of Hillel, the Mosaic law that allowed a man to divorce his wife for indecency was interpreted to allow divorcing his wife for any reason.
• Women living in Athens without citizenship had little hope of marriage and resorted to prostitution for sustainment.
• By 200 B.C., feminism had become rampant. Roman women were challenging husbands in feats of strength, abandoning pursuits of embroidery, reading, songs, and instruments, and taking up fencing and wrestling. Women avoided having children to keep their youthful looks.
• The ancient world had the same sexual immorality that is being normalized today: adultery, divorce, prostitution, homosexuality, sexualization of children. Marriage becomes a fight for rights, and this creates chaos.
• God’s plan is an authority and submission plan, not inferiority but harmony.
• What is most important is not the behavior of our partner, but our relationship to God. Successful family life is defined by what you do not tolerate.

Week of May 26, 2024

Straight Truth Podcast

Biblical Masculinity and Femininity Under Attack

• Christ is the ultimate model for a man in his role as husband in Ephesians 5. Christ exhibits a supernatural combination of strength and gentleness in the same life. Christ is someone who would not break off a bruised reed. This allows a man to lead and love his wife and lead his children without exasperating them.
• This supernatural combination of strength and gentleness is only available to fallen men by regeneration and sanctification of the Spirit.
• Protecting and providing are characteristic of masculinity and headship of the husband.

Grace to You Radio

A Plan for Your Family: God’s vs. the World’s, Part 2

• The key to all relationships is to be Spirit-filled, be speaking with psalms/hymns/spiritual songs, be filled with thankfulness, and to embrace Christ-like submission.
• Christ was submissive to the Father’s will and need of man.
• In all Christian relationships, there will be a spirit of equality, a spirit of authority, and a spirit of submission.
• As sin has a desire for Cain, so God’s curse on the woman was to desire her husband. As a curse, God’s curse of “desire” on the woman as no natural positive desire but a desire to rule over the man, to force him to do certain things. Likewise, the man is cursed to want to dominate, and his rule can be oppressive and insensitive. This is how depravity of the human heart reveals itself.
• Hope exists where people are Spirit-filled. Conflict goes where the Holy Spirit dominates.

Week of May 19, 2024

The Sword and The Trowel

Joe Rigney |Leadership & Emotional Sabotage – Resist the Anxiety Wrecking Our World

• Steps of emotional sabotage of leadership: abdication, idolatry, and blame shifting. Seen in Adam’s response to Eve and the serpent.
• Family headship of the husband is an indicative not an imperative. Dual calls to love and submit are imperatives. Complementarian movement can sometimes confuse these by juxtaposing headship and submission.
• Temptations and causes of sabotage: name-calling for being a leader, emotional blackmail of the leader, and not knowing and staying true to the husband’s mission.
• Emotional blackmail as coined by John Piper is synonymous with how Shakespeare describe pity as a tool that can be used to attack the degree, or center of gravity, of an institution as Shakespeare called it. Example is a child threatening suicide if their parents don’t support a transition.
• J.D. Greear ironically called for tearing down hierarchies when he was SBC President. This behavior is consistent with abdicating his leadership role. The SBC has been subject to leadership and emotional sabotage.

Grace to You Radio

A Plan for Your Family: God’s vs. the World’s, Part 1

• This is the first episode in a series called The Fulfilled Family from sermons in 1996. MacArthur has said this series is the most requested by listeners.
• Dr. Armand Nicolai, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard medical school, sees the trend to destroy the family as a devasting trend. He points to parents not raising their own children, family moving frequently, TV dominating homes, lack of family communication, and divorce threatening our way of life. He predicted this will result in increased mental illness, violent crimes, suicide, and bizarre sexual experimentation.
• Ages 6 through 12 are formative years when a foundation will be put down or not put down.
• Eph. 5:18 is the verse that unlocks the rest. Whatever we are going to do in terms of our Christian life, whether it’s our marriage or our family, it has to flow out of a life controlled by the Holy Spirit.
• Being filled with the Spirit is obedience to Christ, being filled with praise and thanksgiving, and producing fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, thankfulness, and self-control.
• In our relationships, it is hard to argue with someone thankful for everything.

*Update: I originally focused on Free Will vs. Election and have since become more aware of the distinctions of a couple Free Will views: “Arminianism” and Provisionism. Note, that many who are mostly “Arminian” believe in a “Calvinist” view of preservation of the saints, and they may deny being “Arminian” due to this. However we are focused here on the doctrines of total depravity and election. I am making an update to represent all of these views fairly, i.e., “Arminians” do not believe the same as Provisionists. I use quotes here because those who fall into these categories often clarify they are not following a man or most of his beliefs. We are Christians and seek unity in Christ.

Why is this discussion of Total Depravity and Election important? The church historically rejected views that denied Total Inability and Total Depravity. The church rejected even partial depravity, Semi-Pelagianism, as heresy in the Council of Orange in 529. Yet these views are gaining popularity especially in Baptist circles as Provisionism promoted by Leighton Flowers. He also labels this view “Traditional” even though it has no connection to any traditional view from the Protestant Reformation or even the Early Church.

Those who believe humans have a completely free will to choose or reject God commonly hold an “Arminian” view that is consistent with a “Calvinist” view in so much that they believe in Total Inability and Total Depravity of a sinner to repent and believe apart from God’s grace. Both views stem out of the Reformation period. “Arminians” believe that God granted everyone a special grace to choose to repent and believe, and “Arminians” historically hold various views on how long this period of special grace lasts, whether lifetime or for a moment.

More recently a view called Provisionism rejects the doctrines of Total Inability and Total Depravity. Provisionists hold the same view as Semi-Pelagians that mankind retains enough good from the fall to still be able to choose to repent and believe or reject God and deny the doctrine of Total Depravity. This article replies to a defense by Provisionists and explains how they fail to clarify their stance of the condition of the fallen sinner. Note the Provisionist Article 2 on the Sinfulness of Man: “We deny that Adam’s sin resulted in the incapacitation of any person’s free will or rendered any person guilty (?) before he has personally sinned. “

• Provisionism denies that man is totally unable to exercise free will to choose God apart from God’s grace.
• Provisionism denies we are born with a sin nature as the Bible states many times.
• The Article 2 is inconsistent with either the historical views on Total Inability and Total Depravity held by “Arminianism” or “Calvinism” and rather is a Semi-Pelagian belief. This article defines Semi-Pelagianism and how it also rejects the doctrine of Total Depravity same as Provisionists.

The remainder of this article will address two questions: Is there a little goodness in all humans, sufficient to choose or reject God? and Who chose who? The first question should be a point of agreement between those who are “Arminian” and “Calvinist,” and is a point to address the Provisionist claims and avoid falling into a Semi-Pelagian heresy. The second question section attempts to investigates all references to “choosing” in the Old and New Testaments and evaluate whether it is man or God who does the choosing.

Is there a little goodness in all humans?

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me. – Psalms 51:5

For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, carry us away. -Isaiah 64:6

¹⁰ as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
¹¹ There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside, together they have become worthless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open tomb,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
¹⁴ “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths,
¹⁷ And the path of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” – Romans 3:10-18

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, – Romans 3:23

¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. – Romans 5:10

¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—  – Romans 5:12

²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ Therefore what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ? – Romans 6:20

¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the working out of the good is not. – Romans 7:18

¹³ Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, – Colossians 1:13

²¹ And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, – Colossians 1:21

¹³ And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions. – Colossians 2:13

2 And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. – Ephesians 2:1-3

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He might bring you to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; -I Peter 3:18

Conceived in sin. Unclean. None righteous. None who seeks for God. None who does good. All have sinned. Enemies of God. All sinned. Slaves of sin. Nothing good dwells in our flesh. Under authority of darkness. Alienated. Enemies in mind and in evil deeds of God. Dead in transgressions. By nature children of wrath. Unrighteous.

In 13-0 passages the Bible unanimously says mankind is inherently depraved, enslaved, and not seeking God by nature. I don’t see any speck of goodness here. The Provisionist claim should be rejected by those who seek to follow Scripture honestly.

Who chose who?

For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14

And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. – Mark 13:20

And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: -Luke 6:13

Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?” – John 6:70

I do not speak about all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ -John 13:18

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would abide, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. – John 15:16

If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. -John 15:19

until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen, -Acts 2:1

 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; -Acts 9:15

not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. -Acts 10:41

The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and lifted up the people during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it. -Acts 13:17

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. -Acts 13:48

And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from His mouth. -Acts 22:14

Listen, my beloved brothers: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? -James 2:5

What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but the chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; -Romans 11:7

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may abolish the things that are, -I Corinthians 1:27-28

But now God has appointed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. -I Corinthians 12:18

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love, -Ephesians 1:4

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. -2 Thessalonians 2:13

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as exiles, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the obedience of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of His blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. -1 Peter 1:1-2

But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; -I Peter 2:9

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. -I Peter 5:13

In 22-0 passages, God’s Word tells us that only God chose and appointed everyone who will believe to trust and follow Him. While some of these references are specifically to choosing the disciples, we see God’s sovereignty in choosing them not only for salvation but a special work, as He chooses all of us for His work in our places and times. God is sovereign!

This did not consider other verses like John 6:44 that states no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws Him.

For all of us who follow Christ, what can we say to this? Only praise God! God has given us His truth to humble us – that we may know our own wicked, dead, enslaved flesh nature did not choose and could not choose God. God’s Word says it better than I can:

But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— -Ephesians 2:4-5

God takes the first action. God made us alive when we were dead!

For the first half of January 2024 I have been reading Titus and Philemon twice daily for the 8 chapters per day. I am writing this post to summarize the key themes that I captured while reading through Philemon.

Context. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Philemon during his second Roman imprisonment as a letter to Philemon in Colossae. Timothy is also named as an author of the letter. Paul describes Philemon as a beloved brother and fellow worker who was also a slave owner of at least one slave Onesimus. Onesimus had run away from Philemon, arrived in Rome, and was ministering to Paul in his imprisonment at Rome.

People. Philemon is a unique book. It primarily describes one specific situation involving several believers and is a request from Paul for one believer to accept another believer as a beloved brother and no longer a slave. In this letter Paul describes the character of Philemon and Onesimus as well as several other Colossians. It is instructive for us to look more deeply into how Paul described these believers.

Paul describes Philemon as a beloved brother and fellow worker. Philemon demonstrated love and faith toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints. Philemon has refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon apparently was also known for hospitality since Paul was bold enough to ask him to prepare lodging for Paul’s planned visit to Colossians. The early church was suffering much persecution, seen no less in Paul’s and Epaphras’ imprisonment. One can reasonably guess that the saints were experiencing discouragement. Philemon’s role to refresh fellow saints must have been especially needed.

Paul describes Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave, as his child in the faith, his very heart, who was useful and ministering to Paul while Paul was in chains. He describes Onesimus as a beloved brother both in the flesh and in the Lord.

Paul also describes a few others in Colossae: Apphia our sister, Archippus our fellow soldier, and Epaphras his fellow prisoner in Christ.

Paul’s Request. Paul sends the runaway slave Onesimus back to Philemon, and he requests Philemon to receive him no longer as a slave but a beloved brother. Some commentators say that Paul did not attempt to abolish slavery or even end Philemon’s slavery. However, a careful read of Philemon considering both Paul’s explicit words and Paul’s gentle pleadings indicates that Paul was mostly likely requesting Philemon to release Onesimus from servitude.

• Paul’s explicit request to receive Onesimus no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a brother. Paul later explicitly asks Philemon to accept Onesimus as he might accept Paul, certainly not in a harsh manner and possibly not as a slave at all.
• Paul says that he intended to keep Onesimus. He had been useful to Paul and endeared himself to Paul. However he did not want to keep Onesimus without Philemon’s consent. Paul was asking Philemon to release Onesimus back to serve Paul in his chains.
• Paul did not want to command Onesimus’ release but wanted Philemon to act voluntarily. Paul was clearly asking for Philemon to act beyond just accepting Philemon back.
• Paul offers to repay anything that Onesimus owes Philemon.
• Finally, Paul says that he expects Philemon to do even more than Paul requests. This is more implicit but clearly it is more than just accepting Philemon back as a brother in Christ since Paul says he is gently asking for more than what he has asked.

Application. Paul says that he has boldness in Christ to command Philemon to do what is proper, and he says that Philemon owes Paul even his very self. However, Paul is careful to prioritize brotherly love so that Philemon’s goodness would not be under compulsion but voluntary. Paul also said that he wished to keep Onesimus but demonstrates his integrity that he did not want to do anything without Philemon’s consent.

Each year I decide how I will read the Bible for the rest of the year. I have usually either used a daily devotional with associated passages or have read through the entire Bible. Some of my favorite devotionals have been Strength for Today by John MacArthur and Truth for Life by Alistair Begg. I have also found chronological one-year Bible reading plans to provide a useful perspective on Old Testament books of prophecy.

In 2023 I learned about the immersion Bible study plan that involves reading each book of the Bible 30 times before moving to a new book, as described by John MacArthur. The book How to Eat Your Bible describes a variation of the immersion Bible study plan. Since the plan in this book varied in intensity from year to year, I decided to alter the immersion plan to be more consistent in intensity month by month, and I am planning to read approximately 8 chapters per day and finishing these chapters after reading them 30 times. Sometimes this will plan involve repeating 4 chapters twice per day.

For the first half of January 2024 I have been reading Titus and Philemon twice daily for the 8 chapters per day. I am writing this post to summarize the key themes that I captured while reading through Titus.

Context. The Apostle Paul addressed this letter to his child in the faith Titus who was serving in Crete. Titus was written between AD 62-64 while Paul was in Macedonia between his two imprisonments [1]. One of Paul’s main motivations for Titus is to direct Titus to appoint elders in all the towns that meet the qualifications Paul provides. He also provides instruction for men and women and believers in general.

Key Themes. Paul begins this letter highlighting how he is writing Titus for the faith of God’s elect and for their knowledge of truth according to godliness. The themes of truth and godliness are consistent themes throughout the book. Paul describes the truth Titus should teach in contrast to deception of rebellious men teaching for gain. Paul describes applications of godliness and emphasizes that believers are saved, not by good works, but unto good works. Paul highlights God’s trustworthy promise of eternal life that provides hope as a repeating theme.

Paul provides several key motivations for modeling the character traits of godliness that he provides. Christians should live in a way that the word of God is not slandered. Those who oppose the gospel should be put to shame have nothing bad to say about Christians’ behavior. We are waiting for the blessed hope of the Second Coming of Christ and also looking forward to being heirs of eternal life.

Titus 1. My pastor has said that Christian men should be preparing themselves to be ready to be elders in a church. The elders whom Titus would appoint would have demonstrated these qualities already prior to Paul’s letter. These qualities include: being above reproach (repeated twice), the husband of one wife, children who are believers not accused of debauchery or rebellion. Paul lists qualities defined by their negatives: not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not a drunk, not violent, and not greedy. Then Paul lists positive qualities: hospitable, loving good, self-controlled, disciplined, righteous, and holy.

Paul then says to silence rebellious men who are teaching and deceiving for dishonest gain. The nature of this teaching involved Jewish myths and commandments of men. These men professed to know God but denied him and were unfit for any good work. Later in Chapter 2, Paul says Titus should speak what accords to sound doctrine in contrast to the rebellious men. We see the theme of teaching truth.

Titus 2. One of the key themes of Titus 2 are the good works believers perform. Paul says to be a model of good works and zealous for good works. Paul also repeats the command to be dignified, self-controlled, and not drunken multiple times.

Paul gives commands for older men, older women, younger women, and younger men. Paul gives commands for older men: to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Paul’s commands for older women are to be reverent in behavior and not slanderers or addicted to wine. He says older women have a special calling to train younger women: to love their husband and children, be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their husbands that the word of God not be slandered. He urges younger men to be self-controlled. Clearly the theme of self-control is an important one that appears in his commands for all four groups. Many of these qualities like being self-controlled, not drunken, sober-minded and reverent are not gender-specific, apart from the gender roles Paul describes.

Paul also provides commands for slaves in order to adorn the doctrine of God our savior. The commands for slaves applies generally to all employees but directly to slaves in the Roman Empire who were owned by their masters [1]. Scholars estimate 20-30% of the Roman subjects were slaves by the early Empire. Slaves were to be subject to their masters, pleasing, not contradicting, and demonstrating good faith.

Finally Paul shifts from practical application to theology.

• The grace of God brings salvation to people of all nations and instructs us to deny ungodliness and to live self-controlled, righteously, and godly. This grace is meant to make believers a new creation, not easybelievism.
• Believers are to look forward to the second coming of Christ.
• Christ gave up his earthly life to redeem the elect from lawlessness and to purify the elect as His own possession, zealous for good works.

Titus 3. Paul provides more application regarding believer’s behavior to government and factious behavior and dissension in the church. Paul also provides more theology on the nature of man before salvation and the nature of salvation. Despite the emphasis on good works, Paul clarifies that works of righteous (i.e. good works) do not save anyone.

Paul commands believes to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work, to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, demonstrating gentleness to all. Paul’s commands are convicting for the American church when we consider how we approach politics and even political discussions among family and friends. Politics in America is nothing if not pugnacious and stirring up roughness, not gentleness, among neighbors.

Paul also address strife in the church. He says to avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, strife, and conflicts about the Law, which are worthless. He describes the church discipline process of giving two warnings to factious people in the church before rejecting them out of the church.

• Paul reminds Titus the nature of men before Christ: foolish, disobedient, deceived, lustful, malicious, envious, despicable, and hating others.
• Then God’s kindness and affection appeared in Jesus our Savior.
• Jesus saved us according to His mercy and not man’s works of righteousness. We are justified by His grace.
• This salvation occurred through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit richly on believers.
• We can look forward in hope to being heirs of eternal life.

Paul concludes the letter saying that “our people” or believers in their church and ministry should lead in good works to meet pressing needs, and this is characteristic of being a fruitful Christian.

1. The MacArthur Bible Commentary

The phrase steadfast love, hesed in Hebrew, appears frequently in the Old Testament to describe God’s sovereign and loving commitment to His covenant people Israel in the Old Covenant. Psalms 136 describes the Lord’s steadfast love demonstrated in His sovereign creation, in His deliverance of Israel from bondage, and in Israel’s establishment in the Promised Land.

After Moses delivered the Lord’s commandments to Israel, he describes how God chose Israel to be a people for His holy possession, not because of their number but in keeping His oath to their forefathers. Deuteronomy 7:9 describes how the Lord keeps his covenant and steadfast love, hesed, with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

⁶ “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. ⁷ It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸ but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Deuteronomy 7:6-9

The topic of trials is fresh on my mind since I have been dealing with my first prolonged bout of sinusitis this year. Since sinus surgery in 2021, I have found treatments that helped managed sinus infections, but these have been slow to work, if at all, this September 2023. This trial is made more acute since I planned to travel to my hometown, Atlanta, GA, this week for the G3 conference and to visit family.

In the past, a trial or disappointment like the current one could leave me frustrated and questioning God’s purposes. Deep in my heart, I may be asking, “How could God have any higher purposes than for me to keep my good plans to attend a Christian conference and visit family?” In the distance past, with a weaker understanding of God’s sovereignty and goodness, I might question Him and murmur like the Israelites wandering through the desert. Like most evangelicals raised Arminian or in the line of General Baptists, I still was lacking comfort in God’s sovereignty. An Arminian in a time of trial can question, “God must not be all powerful if He cannot guarantee any lost people will be saved even after the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross. This trial may even be out of God’s control.” If I would be so bold, I might even question silently why God would not give me good gifts even though I had chosen to follow Him. In my heart, I doubted His sovereignty or goodness though I knew what Romans 8:28 tells us about God’s sovereign and good purposes for His children.

²⁸ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,^[h] for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30

This is where a deep understanding of God’s covenant and steadfast love with His New Covenant people is important and why it is not simply a “debatable topic best ignored for the unity of the body.” For those of us who are God’s children, who believed and repented under the work of His Spirit, this is a comforting doctrine and leads us to glorify God all the more. God foreknew us in that He wrote our names in the Book of Life before the foundations of the world (Revelations 17:8). He predestined us to be adopted into His family and conformed to the image of His Son. He works all things, even trials, for our good.

While our plans seem most important to us, God ultimately cares about conforming us into the likeness of His Son. Inconvenience, cancelled travel plans, discomfort, trials, all of these can be used by God to conform us into His image. In the meantime, we can wait patiently on the Lord: resting knowing He is sovereign and good since He predestined to redeem us, trusting that He keeps his covenant and steadfast love for those who love Him, those who have been called, justified, and glorified for His glory.

I heard a good sermon by Martin Lloyd Jones on marriage where he addresses this question about doctrine or practical things, but first I’ll share some personal experience.

At prior churches, I have sat in a service where a pastor delivering the sermon specifically downplayed doctrine and said they preferred rather to focus on practical applications. I dare say this line of thinking is pervasive in the American evangelical community at the least. When someone with authority in the church pulpit downplays doctrine, we must ask, ‘Are they speaking from God?’ Shouldn’t they be speaking for God when appropriating authority from God in the pulpit?

• Should we pass over doctrines that rub across the grain of our natural self?
• Should we rest in excuses not to train our mind or study God’s Word?

Let’s see what the Bible says.

The Apostle Paul said:

⁷ Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸ for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I Timothy 4:7-8

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

II Timothy 3:16

If all Scripture is from God and profitable for teaching, should we ignore Scripture that requires some study to understand or that rubs against rough edges of our mind still not renewed in Christ?

The Old Testament, Jewish Tanakh, repeats this theme of training the mind many times in the Psalms:

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

This “storing up” requires effort. Training requires effort. God calls His children to put effort into training their mind and heart with His Word.

Martin Lloyd Jones has an answer for this kind of thinking while he preached on the Apostle Paul’s instruction on marriage to the church in Ephesus.

“But why is he speaking concerning Christ and the church? Why has he led them into the mystery? In order that husbands might know how to love their wife. And that is where these glib and superficial people who jeer at doctrine, they say, ‘Ah, those people are only interested in doctrine. We are the practical people.’ You can’t be practical without doctrine. You can’t love your wife unless you understand something about this doctrine, this great mystery. ‘Ah,’ say say people, ‘It’s too difficult. I cannot follow all that.’ My dear friend if you want to live as a true Christian, you’ve got to follow it.

When we are eating in restaurants, background music often fills the gaps in our conversations and the times when we let our minds wander away from the needs of the day.

We can also be carrying a background “music” of thoughts in our mind. These thoughts can stream continuously in our mind while we are going about our day. We may be wishing for something we do not have, worried about a need in life, worried for people we love, ruminating about all we need to do beyond what we need to do in the moment, or any other topics that are not focused on God. These thoughts streaming in the background of our mind can and often produce fruits in our lives. A background stream of wrongs we perceive can produce discord in our relationships with others. A background stream of worry can produce greed and hoarding God’s blessings. These are only a couple examples.

However, if we are children of God adopted into His family through faith in His grace alone, we also have the Holy Spirit who can remind us of God and His Word throughout our day. We need to be reading God’s word, meditating on it and memorizing it, for the Spirit to bring it to our minds. Praise to God and thanksgiving can be our background music instead. A continual heart of praise and thanksgiving dissipates worries and frustrations, and instead it produces the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Unlike the world, we are not seeking a generic gratefulness to give us a better life, but we are grateful for God adopting us into His family and providing us a hope for eternal life beyond whatever we experience in this life.

The Apostle John says in I John 4:11: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” When we remind ourselves of God’s love toward us, we are motivated better to obey Him by loving others.

The Bible also discusses how God’s Words should fill our time. Psalms 1:2 says, “but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Paul tells us in I Thess. 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

The message at church today spoke on a Psalm where David writes,

Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

Psalm 86:11-13

David exhibits this continual stream of praise and thanks, with his whole heart, seeking to glorify God. What motivates him to praise God? He remembers God’s love towards him that he delivered his soul from death, temporal and eternal. He remembers that God gives him hope for a meaningful life on earth for God’s glory and a hope for eternal life free from sin and death.

Romans 5:8-9 reminds us of this good news, the gospel, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

If we are children of God, may we cancel the stream of thoughts produced by our sin nature or even evil spirits in our spiritual battles, and instead carry a stream of praise and thanksgiving for God.

If you are reading this and not a born again children of God (John 3), may God open your eyes to your sin nature (Romans 3:23), your enmity with God and His ways (Romans 8:7), and cast off vain hopes of eternal life based on your inherent goodness, rituals, or religious efforts, and trust in the gospel of Christ. The Word of God, the Bible, only provides Christ as the way of salvation (John 14:6).