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Old things New Podcast
Hosted by Reformed devotions from all of scripture. · EN
Regular, reformed Bible devotions from scripture to go deeper with Christ. "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old” - Mt 15:32.
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Ep 150: Wisdom's scorn (Prov 1:24-31).
Apr 2200:09:20Tap to summarizePrayerReading: Prov 1:24-31.Meditation.We ignore wisdom’s call at our own peril, and to do so invites certain destruction. It will do us good, then, to consider the way of the fool that we might avoid it for ourselves. The first mark of a fool is that they refuse to listen to wisdom. A fool, if they were to even read these words at all, would read and forget them before the day was out. A fool would refuse to listen, and would ignore the advice of wisdom. Now fundamentally, let’s be clear, this rejection is a rejection of Christ. The Book of Proverbs is not a moralistic book, it is gospel-istic. The words of Proverbs are not just the words of some wise old sage, these are the words of Christ. In Colossians 2:3 we read that all of the treasures of wisdom are hidden in Christ. Christ is God’s revelation of wisdom, and so the Book of Proverbs comes to us as Christ speaking to us. The ignorance of fools is first and foremost a rejection of Christ.But the scorn of wisdom intensifies in verses 26 and 27: “I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a stormand your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.” As the fool refuses to listen to wisdom, their calamity follows. If we refuse to listen to wisdom, that will be our fate too. Terror, distress, and anguish is the lot of the fool. This is no laughing matter, wisdom is not some optional thing that you can take or leave. The opposite of wisdom is disaster.Wisdom is patient, persistent, and available to all, but the time then eventually comes when wisdom is silent. To those who refuse to listen, calamity comes, and ultimately their doom also follows. If a person willfully ignores the call of wisdom and the correction that she offers, there is a point of no-return that eventually comes. Our choices always have consequences. Verse 28 presents a terrifying image: “Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.” Here we find the thought that one day it will be too late to listen to Christ speaking.Be doers of the word…The “scorn” of wisdom that we’ve been speaking about works on two levels. On the one hand, this is the stuff of everyday life. Let me give you an example, consider Proverbs 13:4. “The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” If a man lives his life as a sluggard until he is 55, never saving his money and never using it wisely, he can’t get those years back again. He can’t go back to being 25 and make up for lost time by living diligently. In that sense – he has been foolish. The picture of wisdom laughing at his calamity is that it can’t be undone, he now has to eat the fruit of his ways. In a sense we all face these kinds of consequences from our foolish choices. If we didn’t work in school, we can’t go back and do it again, our choices have consequences. However, one of the beauties of salvation in Christ is that, while we can’t undo these things, God will forgive us for them.The second level of wisdom’s scorn speaks to an eternal outcome. Eternal judgment is the ultimate doom of the fool. If we reject Christ, we will face ultimate destruction. Verse 32 thus says: “For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.” That is the doom of fools.Where do you stand with God? Each of us needs to consider for ourselves: Where do we stand with Christ? It really is a matter of the heart. Let me put it this way, when the Word of God comes to us, our hearts will respond in one of two ways: we will accept God’s word, or we just won’t want it. So if you hear the word spoken, and your inner response is: “I just don’t want it”, or: “I am not willing to forsake my sin”, then that is a very dangerous place to be. And, again, this is a special warning for young people. A young person might grow up in a christian family, they behave well, they know all the right answers, but they also know that as soon as their chance comes they’re going to live life their way. If there is a young person reading these pages thinking such things, then you need to hear the truth: the ignorance of fools is in your heart. That goes for all of us who are set on some path of sin as well. We must listen to wisdom. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Lord Jesus, please keep me from the deadly pride that hears your voice yet turns away. Please open my heart to receive your word while mercy still calls. Save me from the folly that forgets your counsel and must later eat the bitter fruit of its own ways. Please grant me a tender spirit that trembles at your voice, gladly forsakes sin, and walks in the path of life. Let me not seek you when it is too late, but today make me a hearer and doer of your word, resting in your forgiving grace. Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 149: Wisdom's Help (Prov 1:23).
Apr 2000:09:14Tap to summarizeWisdom’s Help PrayerReading: Prov 1:23.Meditation.Have you ever needed help? Have you ever felt yourself to be helpless? I sometimes feel that the Christian life is nothing but a growing sense of my own helplessness. But, as we sometimes sing, our God is mighty to save. In Proverbs 1:23, God offers us four particular kinds of help through these words of Lady Wisdom.First, wisdom offers correction: “If you turn at my reproof.” As we begin our quest to gain wisdom here at the beginning of the Book of Proverbs, one thing is sure: at times, it’s not going to be pleasant. The reason for that is because we need reproof so that we may repent and turn from our sinful conduct. Every Christian needs correction, and even discipline. As we continue through the Book of Proverbs, we should expect a spiritual workout. We don’t enter this world born with wisdom, but rather foolishness is our natural estate. We need correction, and wisdom offers it to us.Second, wisdom calls for repentance: “If you turn at my reproof...” It’s one thing to listen to what wisdom is saying, and hear her words of correction, and that is certainly essential. The next step, however, will be that we must also respond to what wisdom is saying. We must turn at her reproof. We must stop going in the direction we’re heading, and head in a new direction. Consider Proverbs 19:9 as an example: “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.” As we consider that proverb, the reproof is clear: stop bearing false witness, stop lying, otherwise we will perish. We could open that up more, but the simple point is there: wisdom calls for an actual change in the way we’re living.But a mere call to change is not enough, because our own hearts are often inclined to follow in foolish ways. We actually need a heart transformation, and wisdom does not fail to deliver, because the third thing she offers is divine empowerment. “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” Now at this point, it’s helpful to remember the basic unity between the Old and New Covenants. The Old Covenant looked forward to Christ through shadows and symbols, the New Covenant comes with the full revelation of Christ. It still remains, however, that across both covenants God remained the same. Whether under the old or the new covenants, spiritual transformation has always been a work of his Spirit. Wisdom thus offers nothing less than a divine promise of help from the Holy Spirit.As we hear the voice of wisdom calling and turn, God gives us his Holy Spirit, and then comes the fourth offer of help: wisdom opens our heart to the word. “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.” At all times, scripture reveals that it is his word that transforms us as we listen to him speaking through it, and see his glorious excellence revealed to us. In 2 Tim 3:16-17 we read: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” We receive wisdom, not by anything we possess, but by God’s enabling power. He pours out his Spirit upon us, and he opens up his word to us.Be ye doers of the word...In a practical sense, what this boils down to is that: (1) we need to listen to wisdom; (2) we need to turn from our sin as wisdom warns us of our sin; (3) we need to prayerfully look to God for the provision of his Holy Spirit; and (4) we need to prayerfully study the word of God – and particularly the Book of Proverbs. Listen, repent, pray, study. Repeat. Listen, repent, pray, study. Repeat. As we begin to live out these things in our lives, God has promised that he will go to work to put wisdom in our hearts. So then, wisdom is calling. Wisdom offers help to us. Listen to her voice, turn at her reproof – change your life as you become aware of changes that are needed. Pray for God’s enabling help, and give yourself to the diligent study of his word, and especially to the Book of Proverbs. We might feel helpless at times, but help is close at hand. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Heavenly Father, I thank you for the help that you provide in time of need. I thank you for your word, for your Spirit’s powerful work in the hearts of your people, for rebukes and correction, and for clear directions for our repentance. I pray that you would help me to heed your corrections in my life, and to turn away from sin. Please help me, Lord, pour out your Spirit upon me. Without your Spirit’s help, my will and affections would be utterly set against you and all your wise corrections. I am a simpleton and a fool, but you are able to work wisdom into me. Please give me wisdom, and please pour out your Spirit on me. I pray too, may you pour out your Spirit upon all the saints, and upon your people in my local church – that they too may hear the voice of wisdom, and turn at your reproof. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 148: Wisdom is not automatic (Prov 1:22).
Apr 1900:07:59Tap to summarizePrayerReading: Prov 1:22.Meditation.One of the very important insights that we gain from the Book of Proverbs is that, by nature, we are not wise. When we are young, our default setting is what the proverbs call: “simple” (see Prov 1:4). What this means, very simply, is that: unless you have gained wisdom, then you don’t have it. Wisdom does not come automatically. Let me put it even more plainly. If you have never invested yourself seriously into the Book of Proverbs, then there is a gaping hole in your life and there will be a serious lack of wisdom. I say that because the Book of Proverbs is one of God’s chief means of grace for gaining wisdom. I wish I’d studied this book as a younger person, and if you are a young person (or know of one) then there is an amazing opportunity before you right now to seek wisdom.Be ye doers of the word…One of the major reasons Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs was to exhort the young to use their youth in the pursuit of and growth in wisdom. I say this primarily to the young, but if you are older you may still take up this pursuit without delay. Like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Babylon, we may prove ourselves wise and exceptional by the pursuit and exercise of godly wisdom. You could spend your youth on youthful pleasures, which is the accepted pattern in modern day Australia and countries like ours. But let me urge you: don’t neglect the serious study of the Book of Proverbs.I’m not saying don’t enjoy your youth, it’s a gift from God and ought to be received and enjoyed with thanksgiving. As 1 Tim 4:4-5 says: “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” But I am saying remember your Creator in the days of your youth. If a young person invests themselves into the proverbs as a teenager, or even from the age of 9 or 10 (or younger), they will be wise and godly beyond their years as they grow older. They will be equipped to make a real difference in this world for the cause of Christ.That ought to be something we all pursue, regardless of age. But perhaps if you know of a young person who might benefit from these studies – share it with them. But even if you are older, again, it’s never too late to start. You can’t wind back the clock, but you can use what time you have right now to invest yourself into this book. Paul Washer has a great series of studies in the early chapters of Proverbs – that may be another excellent way to pursue this goal. Don’t stay simple, wisdom is crying out. Don’t neglect the Book of Proverbs and thus become a scoffer. That’s what the scoffer and the fool is ultimately doing – ignoring wisdom. Don’t let that become you. Don’t walk away from wisdom’s cry and forget what you’ve heard. One final challenge for today – go back through and re-read all the studies we have covered so far in the Book of Proverbs! Repetition is a crucial part of learning. And may Christ speak so that we can get wisdom. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Heavenly Father, I thank you that wisdom speaks to us through your word. I thank you that you have opened the treasuries of your wisdom to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that you would please forgive me for the many, many times when I have neglected this provision in the past. Even many years I have wasted, and while I cannot now recover that opportunity, I pray that you would forgive me and greatly help me now to repent with what time I have left appointed for me. Help me, please, to give diligent attention to the getting of wisdom. I pray for my local church, that you would give all of us a zeal and hunger for wisdom, that we may pursue it and grow in it. All glory be to you this day, in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 147: Wisdom - your best life (for) now (Prov 1:20-22).
Apr 1600:08:36Tap to summarizePrayerReading: Prov 1:20-22.Meditation.For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. So spoke Solomon the Preacher in Ecclesiastes 3. In one sense, you could describe our lives as a series of opportunities. When we are young, we have the opportunity to learn. When we have grown we have the opportunity to choose a vocation, a marriage partner perhaps. We have the chance to use the strength and energy of our youth; we have the chance to invest in our children when they are young. We have the chance to take care of our health in our middle years – or to neglect it. This principle also works on a smaller scale. We have the chance to use our time well each day, the chance to exercise and set our priorities. A key thing we need to see, however, is that those opportunities are not permanent. Once they have passed us by, we can’t get them back again.Now the choice before each one of us is simply this: As all these opportunities pass by in life, will we use them well? Or will we waste them? In a sense, this is the real question that’s before us in the final segment of Proverbs 1. It’s a call to listen and to listen carefully. Living wisely, in a sense, is simply the art of choosing carefully and well, to the glory of God and the good of ourselves and others. It is this discernment in choice that the book of Proverbs is designed to give to us. Verses 20-21 are an invitation to get that wisdom. Wisdom is calling, and she is calling us now.“Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.” In the Book of Hebrews we read that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. As we read God’s word, we are not religious observers merely studying a text. As we read, wisdom is calling to us – even now. There are two things we ought to notice about this call of wisdom.First, we notice that wisdom is available. Wisdom “cries aloud” and she “raises her voice.” She’s not hidden from anyone. She’s in the street, the marketplace, at the head of noisy streets, at the entrance of the city gates. The emphasis is clear: wisdom is available. No one will be able to come before God at the end of their lives and say that it wasn’t their fault, because wisdom has been freely offered to all. It’s offered to you even now, and each time you engage one of these devotional studies. If we refuse to listen, then on the judgment day it will be recalled. God will say to us: You heard my call. On Sunday 25th July 2021, wisdom called to you. She calls to you right now, will you listen? It is crucial that we do.The second thing we ought to notice about wisdom’s call in these verses is that wisdom has competition. In verse 21 we read:“at the head of the noisy streets she cries out.” Wisdom is available, but wisdom is not the only voice in the marketplace calling out for your attention. We saw sinners calling in verse ten, and the world is full of voices.Be ye doers of the word…There are probably voices and distractions in your mind right now. When you finish reading this meditation, and go on to the next thing in your day, there will be more voices. On your screens, maybe it will be certain people in your life, maybe episodes that you watch regularly, maybe social networks, maybe games, maybe something else. Each day there will be a constant stream of voices grabbing for your attention in the market place of life. The question is: Which voices are you going to give your attention to? Which ones are you going to give your time to? The answer we give to this question will have eternal consequences. Wisdom is calling now, listen carefully. Give your attention to her voice, and consider which voices are getting an ear in your life that would cool your love for Christ. Tune them out! Listen, listen for the cries of lady wisdom. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Lord, my life is sustained by your mercy alone, and I thank you that you speak and give wisdom. Your help is available to all who will heed. Lord, the voices of the world are loud, and the answer of my heart is all too ready to listen. Please help me Lord, help me to give the ear of my heart consistently to the hearing of your voice. And may your people in my local church too have listening ears, quick to hear what you would say, quick to act and do in accord with wisdom. This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 146: Flee from sin's destruction (Prov 1:16-19).
Apr 500:09:39Tap to summarizePrayerReading: Prov 1:10-19.Meditation.The world is on the road to destruction, they are plunging after sin headlong: “their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.” The attraction of sin spurs them on and, as we’ve seen in our proverbs episodes, it is attractive. There is even a temporary sinful pleasure that comes with it, but the bottom is simply this: sin brings death. For those who follow after the enticements of sin there is simply no other outcome, as verses 17-19 clearly say. Let me then lay before you three considerations of the destruction of sin revealed in our passage.Firstly, we see that sin desires evil: “their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.” For those who have no space for Christ, they are on that broad way to destruction (Mt 7:13). There is an eagerness in the heart of sinners to pursue evil. As Christians, we would do well to pause and meditate on this: any desire that we have that is not drawing us closer to Christ is evil and destructive. Consider that, and we ought to hold back our feet from such paths. Sin desires evil, and evil leads to destruction.Secondly, sin also brings misery. Sin is like a giant leech that would suck the very life out of you. “Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors” (Pr 1:19). Consider this the next time you’re engaged actively in sin. Whether you’re giving in to lust, giving in to anger, pursuing selfishness, idolising material possessions, or indulging in laziness – these practices are like vampires that would suck the life right out of us. When we engage in sin, that’s what’s happening – our life is being taken away from us. There is no gain to be found in it, it brings misery and death. Thus: “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Pr 27:12).Sin desires evil and brings misery, and – finally – sin brings death. That’s the bottom line. That’s how it was even from the beginning, as God told Adam concerning the forbidden fruit that on the day he would eat of it, he would die. Sin is blind to this truth. “For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives.” Godless people don’t even see their danger. They don’t understand that as they pursue their sin, they are committing suicide. Psalm 9:15 says: “The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught. The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.” So also in Proverbs 5:22 we read: “The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.” Evil never pays off, it always brings death, and neither you nor I will be the exception to the rule. If we follow after it, it will bring misery and death to us. Proverbs 11:19 says: “Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.”Be ye doers of the word…Sin promises much: power, prestige, security, but it delivers suffering and death. This is why we must constantly draw near to the cross of Christ. As we come bloodied and bleeding from our sin, our life is literally ebbing away. We must come to the fountain of Christ’s side. We must eat of his flesh and drink of his blood, as it were, that our souls may be revived. This is how our spirit is renewed, and how our peace with God is established. This is the only way that the life-draining effects of our sin can be reversed. In Christ our strength is found, and so we must cling to him. We must keep short accounts with him, laying our sin there at the cross. When you do that, instead of having your life drained away, you will find your life renewed in Christ.Follow hard after Jesus Christ. Follow like your life depends on it, because it does. Keep your eyes on him like a man who will drown if he looks at the waves – because you will drown. You will sink if you take your eyes off Christ. Proverbs 24:1 says “Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble. Set your eyes on Christ, keep your eyes on Christ. There is no other way to be saved, and there is no other hope on earth.What’s been distracting you lately? What is it in your life that’s been drawing you away from Christ? That thing, whatever it is, will kill you. Hold back your feet from the paths of sin. If sinners entice you, do not consent. Instead, open the door of your heart wide to Christ. Invite him in, let his word abide in you, and your soul will be furnished with rich food. You will be satisfied, and you will be delivered from this present evil age. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Righteous Father, we confess that we have listened to the promises of sin, envied evil, and allowed our feet to wander down the destructive paths of sin. We have believed the lie that sin brings gain, while it has only brought misery, weakness, and distance from you. Please have mercy on us, draw us again to the fountain opened at the side of the Lord Jesus, and wash us clean from our sin. Consecrate us to follow hard after you, to keep our eyes fixed on our Saviour, and to walk steadfast in righteousness. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 145: Sin's empty promises (Prov 1:13).
Apr 200:09:19Tap to summarizePrayerReading: Prov 1:10-14.Meditation.One thing we need to recognise from this passage is that the enticements of the world are dangerous because, on some level, we find them to be truly attractive. They have a magnetic power to the sin that remains in our hearts. There is something in us, even as Christians, that answers to and desires to respond to these temptations. One of the reasons that we need to beware of worldly attractions, is because we may well find ourselves attracted. We must especially beware when we notice in our hearts that we are being drawn toward certain sins. When Eve was in the garden, the temptation gained power over her. When the fruit and what she thought it offered got a hold on her heart, she was truly attracted to it.Here then is the danger of sin. No one is attracted to a spoonful of rat poison, but when that rat poison is hidden in a big piece of warm, moist, chocolate cake covered in icing, well, that’s another story. But why is sin so attractive to us? It seems insane! I think that we see in our passage the answer is this, sin promises fulfillment: “we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder”. A basic aspect of human nature is that we go after things that we think are good, and we avoid things that we think are bad. Those general rules apply to almost everything we do in our lives. Even the things that we don’t want to do, that we don’t think are good, are often done in pursuit of something else we do want. For example, you might not like your work, but you do want to get the pay packet.The desire that we have for good things is designed to find it’s fulfillment in God, for God alone is good and the source of all that is good (Mt 10:18). The problem with sin is that it tries to make God replacements. It looks at the creation that he has made, and it idolises the creation over the Creator. The problem is that sin always lies. It says something will be good, but in the end it leads only to death. The fruit in the garden was the original example. Satan deceived Eve, and she thought it would be good to eat the fruit, but it was a lie because eating brought only death and judgment. Every sin follows the same pattern, it promises something good but delivers a spoonful of poison. Lust will promise fulfillment, but leave you empty and hollow. Money will promise you power if you devote yourself to it, but you’ll always want more. Anger will promise justice, but it will itself destroy you. Fame will promise you attention, but your soul will still be parched and empty. Sin promises fulfillment, but it does not deliver. As verses 18 and 19 in our passage say: “these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors.”Be ye doers of the word…The application for our lives in this is quite simple: don’t be deceived by sin. When you’re tempted to commit some sin, and something in your heart feels the pull of it, look your heart in the face and preach the truth to it. Don’t be sucked in to the lies, don’t believe for a second that sin can offer what you’re looking for. It will give you a flash of pleasure and then leave you worse off than before. Measure your desires by the Word of God, and seek your fulfillment in Christ alone.You can’t beat something with nothing, and what is needed to beat the temptation of sin is total fulfillment in Christ. That is the way of wisdom. Psalm 16:11 says: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The invitation of Isaiah 55:1 comes to all of us: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live.” Do you know what it is from experience to be satisfied in Christ? This is is central to our faith, Christ must be our first love. It is only as we continue in the love of Christ that we gain the needed strength to shut the door on sinful temptations. So then, seek fulfillment in Christ alone.If there are any young people reading these words – again – these verses are especially directed to you. As you look at the world, you might see that there are all sorts of pleasures and possibilities on offer. You may be tempted to go out and sample some of them. The attraction that the world lays before you is a lie, because there is no satisfaction to be found there. All you will find is a temporary fix of pleasure, and then misery to follow. Be wise and learn from Solomon, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. Find satisfaction in your soul through Christ, and if that sounds strange to you, talk about it with your parents. Talk about it with one of the elders in your faithful, local church. All of us must come to Christ – whether we are young or old. If you are not young, consider sharing this post with a young believer. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Dear Lord, I thank you for the warning of these words. I pray that when I am tempted to sin today, and in days to come, that you may bring them to my mind. Help me always to consider the emptiness of sin and the promises of fulfillment that it offers. I pray that your people in my local church may likewise become more and more aware of these lies of sin, and that all of us may come to see and know that only Christ can satisfy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 144: Sin is evangelising you (Prov 1:13-14)
Mar 2400:07:46Tap to summarizePray.Reading: Prov 1:10-14.Meditation.In our last few meditations, we have learned a few insights into how our sinful nature generally works. It is self-centred, it is greedy, and in verses 13 and 14 we now also see that sin is evangelistic. God has made us to be social creatures. We are designed to live in community, and we naturally reach out to other people to connect, to love, and to live. That connection is designed to be a powerful force for good, but sadly our sinful nature can also use those connections to be a force for evil as well. In our passage we see an example of this as Solomon warns his son against being enticed to fall in line with sinners. There is a call to action in these verses: “Come with us… throw in your lot among us”, and the call comes with a tempting motivation to reward: “we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder.”In this passage, we see thieves trying to draw a young simpleton into their way of life, but the same principle holds true for you in your life as well. The world will not leave you to yourself, it will constantly be seeking to draw you in to its ways. Vanity-Fair will offer all manner of temptations, it will bait the hook of sin with every possible enticement seeking to draw you in. When the world tempts you to love the things of this world, be wary. If there is anything in your life that is tempting you and luring you away from Christ as your first love, flee from that thing. Do not walk in the way of with sinners, hold back your feet from the paths of the world. Do not abandon the world, and do not cease to bring the gospel to lost sinners, but keep an ear open for worldly evangelists as well, and when you hear them coming – close the door of your heart to temptation.Be ye doers of the word…As I’ve already said, and as scripture teaches, we cannot take ourselves out of the world. We ought not to try. We are called to engage the world, and to do good to all people (Gal 6:10). As we live in the world, however, we must be careful to guard our hearts – because the world will lay things before us designed to entice us into sin. The application in all of this is simply to avoid sin and temptation. As Jesus said to his disciples in Gethsemane “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”When you notice a worldly enticement has some pulling power on your heart, be especially careful to avoid it. Run, like Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife. Avoid such enticements like a deadly plague. Run from them as though they were a pack of wild dogs trying to tear you apart! Because that is what they are. As verse 15 says: “my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths.” Remove enticing godless influences from your life. SDG.Prayer of Confession & Consecration.Dear Lord, as I look back on the life that I have lived, I can readily think of many times when I have allowed the enticing power of the world to lead me into sin. Even now, as I consider my way of life, I can see still that there are various entertainments and enticements that would draw my eyes away from Christ, down from that which is above, and would set my mind and affections on that which is below. Lord, please forgive me for my sins, and help me now to set my mind on Christ above, seated at the right hand of God. Please fill my heart with love for him who died for me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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Ep 143: Don’t be shocked by society’s corruption (Ecc 5:8).
Mar 1900:16:26Tap to summarizePrayRead: Ecc 5:8.MeditationI rarely buy the newspaper, but just this last Wednesday (at the time of writing) I picked up two different papers, and let me share just a little of what I read. I warn you that these stories are troubling, but there is a point in sharing them.A four year old Melbourne girl was admitted to hospital this week. Weighing only 9.3kg, she had suffered severe neglect at the hands of her auntie, who was her guardian. She was severely malnourished and could not have survived much longer. When the case came to light, it was discovered that she had hardly attended pre-school, and the government worker charged with overseeing the girl also admitted that they had sometimes filed welfare reports without even seeing her.Here is another story. As William Dearing, a citizen of Melbourne, was singing the victory song of the Melbourne Football Club after his favourite team’s win at the MCG, a disgruntled supporter of the other team walked past and deliberately knocked the beer out of his hand. Mr Dearing, infuriated, knocked the man down and repeatedly beat him while he was on the ground. Mr Dearing got off from the courts with next to no penalty.One more story. Two drunk teenagers severely beat and injured an off duty and elderly police officer. There were worse stories than these as well, but I will not go into them now.My point is that even from a randomly selected newspaper on any given day there are numerous stories of darkness, and hearing so many of these stories may easily tempt us to despair. As Christians it is worse still, because these stories are only the ones the media is willing to report. It really is just the tip of the iceberg.For example, they will not print the story of Australia’s mass murder of unborn infants. That is a story unfolding every day in our country. Nor will they respond with outrage as the government protects the rights of those who murder these infants. There are laws against even praying within the vicinity of an abortion clinic. Another story the media will not tell you is the story of our country’s infatuation with sexual perversity. In fact the media often serves that agenda by trying to tell us that sexual immorality is normal and healthy, something to be celebrated.You may be aware that in Victoria, even as we speak, the government is discussing the possibility of criminalising normal Christian practices such as praying and discipling. Why? Because it rejects the idea that homosexuality is sinful. Now I am not denying that the church at large has mishandled and unfairly treated homosexuals and the issue of same sex attraction at different times, but what is being discussed attacks basic Christian practices.As Christians, we’ve see things like this getting worse and worse in recent history, and we are tempted to stand open mouthed in shock at the world around us. I was in a pastoral situation a few years ago in another church context, and as I was talking with a Christian man in his forties, he shared that as he looked out on the society around him he increasingly felt driven to depression. As he looked at everything that was wrong with the world he felt so overwhelmed that he simply did not know how to handle it. Life seemed full of darkness to him.As you talk to Christians it is not unusual to hear this kind of sentiment. It is not usually as severe as that example, but still many Christians find this matter difficult, challenging, perplexing, and depressing. There are so many things wrong in the world around us that we hardly know how to take it in, and just when you think it is as bad as it can get, something worse inevitably happens. Again and again.As the Book of Ecclesiastes continues, Solomon has a word for us on this issue. In verse eight he says: “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter.” While we stand gaping and shocked at the world around us, Solomon also looked on at similar sights all those years ago. He saw all the horror, but his response was quite different. He quietly turns to us and says that we should not be surprised.Why would he say that? That is the question we will be dealing with in the next few meditations. Moving on from the topic of fearing God in worship, Solomon is teaching us how to respond with godly fear to societal sins, oppression, injustice, and unrighteousness.Let’s remind ourselves of the labyrinth metaphor once again, it’s very helpful. One of the images I have used in this book to help us understand Ecclesiastes is the image of a labyrinth. Just as a labyrinth is vast, complex, mysterious, troubling, and easy to get lost in, so in Ecclesiastes we find a book that is mysterious, troubling, perplexing, and difficult. Yet in every labyrinth there is a centre, a goal that we are seeking to reach. So it is with Solomon.As we read in Ecclesiastes 12:13, he wants to show us how to fear God in a fallen world. Throughout the book Solomon is leading us toward that destination. Sometimes he shows us dead ends in the labyrinth, pathways in life that we ought not to follow because they take us far from the fear of God. These are pathways that lead nowhere and achieve nothing, pathways of vanity. But he also leads us along pathways of life, pathways that show us how to live in the fear of God. Each passage can be seen either as a dead end where Solomon shows us what not to do, or as a good pathway where he shows us the right direction.This of this passage as something like a T intersection in the labyrinth. We find ourselves walking toward a great wall, a wall that is high and wide and long, and a wall that seems impossible to get around. This is the wall of all the world’s injustices, oppression, and unrighteousness. As we approach this wall we have two choices. We can turn to the right hand or to the left. Solomon’s aim is to show us the right way. He points out the dangers and then directs us in how we ought to go.He begins with the dangers, and in this meditation we’re focusing on the first danger – the danger of the shock response. We’ve been talking about it already. As we see the society around us we may be tempted to feel a certain way. We may feel shocked. Like the Christian I mentioned earlier, we may look at this world and feel depressed or angry. In our anger we might ridicule the government or the people in our society, and we do sometimes see Christians willing to do that. Bitterness is a real risk. So is self righteous superiority, feelings of helplessness, and the slow evaporation of our joy. These are very real responses.So here we are at the feet of this great wall. There is no way around it, no way over it, and no way through it. We simply fall down and sit there, overwhelmed at the injustices of society. In Solomon’s language we are amazed or shocked at what we see. “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter.” But we are amazed. Aren’t we? Shocked into stunned silence at the new low we’re watching unfold.But Solomon says: “No”. Don’t be amazed at this sight. Do not be shocked when you see corruption, oppression, and injustice in the world around you. That is his instruction. Do not be overly downcast by the oppression of the poor. Do not fall into despair at injustices. Do not be shocked by moral corruption in the world around you. Do not be self righteously indignant. Do not grow bitter. Do not feel hopeless. Do not let your joy be choked out by these concerns.But there is an obvious question here. Why does Solomon tell us not to be shocked and amazed? After all, we do see some quite shocking things. Why would he tell us not to be shocked that tens of thousands of Australian infants are being slaughtered every year?Solomon does not leave us floundering on this question. He does not simply tell us to toughen up. Instead he directs us to look to God. He says, “If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter.” Then he gives the reason. “For the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.”What does he mean by this?When we feel shocked by the state of our society, what exactly are we feeling? We feel many things. We may feel anger, outrage, disgust, or loathing. Perhaps even hatred. We may feel nostalgia for what life was like seventy or eighty years ago, or at least for what we imagine it might have been like. We may feel a desperate desire for change while knowing we are powerless to bring it about.Part of what we feel is a loss of control. Somehow we think things should not be this bad. It becomes hard to believe that this is actually happening. It can begin to feel as though there is a giant black hole in our society and everything is being slowly drawn into it.But Solomon says: “Do not be amazed at this. This is a fallen world. We should not be surprised to find that sin truly is a hideous thing. It should not shock us to see that the corruption of mankind is vile and repulsive. Evil is not polite or well mannered. It is not a mischievous pet dog that occasionally makes a mess. Sin is a horror, a beast that destroys everything it can sink its teeth into.”Solomon has faced that fact. Sin is deep, black, vile, and destructive. It is a horror revealed in the mass slaughter of innocents. It is a corruption that shows its true colours when people celebrate and pursue depravity. This is sin.Yet even this is not Solomon’s main point. Simply recognising the horror of sin is not enough to give us the strength we need to face it. We must return to Sol...
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Ep 142: Take your vows seriously... umm... wut?
Mar 1700:17:00Tap to summarizePrayRead: Ecc 5:1-7MeditationWe’re going to talk a little about vows. Now it must be said, this topic is not really something that comes up at all for modern evangelical or even reformed Christians. It is pretty much off our radar. That is not because we do not make vows, but more because we do not think about them.In Solomon’s day, vows were a specific aspect of temple worship. There are multiple passages in God’s law dealing with vows, and there are multiple examples of vows in scripture, including in the New Testament.But where do we start to get our heads around this curious topic? A vow in Solomon’s day, generally speaking, was a specific commitment that someone made to God. We see Jacob vowing to serve God in Genesis 28:20. We see Hannah asking God for a child, and vowing to offer the child as a servant to God if he granted her request in 1 Samuel 1:11. Leviticus 7:16 speaks about the vow offerings in the temple. So vows were commitments and offerings, generally made publicly in the context of temple worship. This is why Solomon refers to the messenger in verse six. This was a person from the temple who had come to collect on the paying of the vow.Solomon’s warning here is that if you commit something to God, you had better be prepared to pay it. Because if you do not, it is a sin. In fact, this is so serious that Solomon says, “why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the works of your hands?” There are serious consequences for not paying vows. God is angry with it. He may even discipline you by destroying the works of your hands.Now, maybe you hear that and think: “Phew! Glad we don’t have vows today!” Well, don’t speak too soon!The temple offerings connected with vows have all fallen away, that is true. That which foreshadowed Christ has now been revealed in him. But this does not mean that the principle of vows or vow-making has simply evaporated.Let me show you what I mean.Forget about vows for a second.Let us completely drop the word for a minute.Forget about the offerings and the ceremony.What is really at stake here in what Solomon is saying? The real issue here is speaking the truth. Now that is true in a general sense. In Matthew 12:36 Jesus said that on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak. That is sobering, is it not? Every word we have ever spoken is on record, and it will be put to the test and shown up for what it is. Our words matter, and what we say matters. If you lie to someone, that is a serious sin. Proverbs 6:16–17 says that God hates a lying tongue. He hates it. It makes him burn with anger.Now. Here is where vows fit in. It is one thing to speak the truth generally, it is another thing to keep our commitments and speak the truth to each other. But when it comes to making a vow, what we are really talking about is our commitment to God.If you make a commitment to God, if you tell him you will do something, then speaking the truth becomes so weighty that the Bible has a whole category for this kind of commitment. That category is called a vow. The temple ceremonies surrounding vows have passed away, but if you commit to God himself that you will do something, then you had better believe that God will take that seriously, and he will expect you to do what you have committed to do.“When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.”God takes what we say to him with absolute seriousness. And this is not just Old Testament teaching. Whether you are in the Old Testament or the New, God hates lying. Look at Ananias and Sapphira in the Book of Acts. They publicly committed to give their wealth to the church. They made a vow. But then they held some back. They lied to God, and God struck them down.Now how does this apply to us?The first thing is this: do not be rash with your mouth. Solomon has already told us that in verse two. Deuteronomy 23:22 says that if you do not make a vow, you are not guilty of sin. Vows are optional. Ananias and Sapphira did not have to offer their possessions. “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?” (Acts 5:4). So if you are considering making a vow, do not rush into it.The second thing is this: keep the vows you make. You might think you do not make any vows, but the truth is that you do. You have made a commitment to God in believing in Jesus. You have committed yourself to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. That is the real heart of the vow. We vow to give our whole lives as an offering to God. That is the picture behind the laws of the vow.But there are other commitments as well.Every time we confess our sins publicly in church, Sunday by Sunday, we are telling God that we are sorry, and we are committing to repentance. How often do we reflect on the things we have repented of?Sometimes we also make commitments to God in the songs that we sing. In Psalm 119, in the Book of Worship that our church uses, we sing: “Upon your precepts and your ways my heart will meditate with awe; your word shall be my chief delight, and I will not forget your law.” Have we lived up to that? We sometimes sing a song called: “Brother, let me be your servant.” Verse 3 of that songs says, “I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night time of your fear. I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.” That is quite a commitment, and God takes note when we sing it. Have we done it? What songs do you sing in your church?What about our membership vows? The Book of Forms in our church, which we use when we make membership vows, says: “I promise to do all I can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to strengthen my love and commitment to Christ by sharing faithfully in the life of the church and its means of grace, honouring and submitting to its supervision and discipline, and I join with the people of God in doing the work of the Lord wherever I am.” And every time someone else professes their faith, we as a congregation in our church reply by saying: “Thanks be to God! We rejoice in your profession and promise you our love, encouragement and prayers.” Have we given our love, encouragement, and prayers to each other? If we kept that vow, church splits and broken relationships would be unheard of. Difficulties, yes. Church discipline, perhaps. But church splits, no.Solomon has laid out before us here a very difficult path in the labyrinth in this series of meditations from Ecc 5:1-7. It is narrow and steep. He has called us to guard our steps as we come to worship, to be prepared, and to have our hearts ready to listen to the voice of God speaking to us. He has called us to guard our tongues and not to speak rashly or thoughtlessly. He has called us to be committed to the public worship of God together in the presence of the saints. He has called us to take seriously the commitments that we make to God in worship.Solomon is not playing around here. This is serious. Public worship is not a time to relax and take it easy, or to have a laugh and a joke. It is a time to fear God.Now I don’t know about you, but as I was writing this series of meditations I experienced one particular sensation again and again. The sensation I am talking about is the sensation of my own failure. The feeling of shame as I saw my own failure.I have not kept my membership vows. I have often not even considered the songs that I sing, let alone recalled what I committed to do in them. His word has not been my chief delight, as I have sung in Book of Worship 119-a. And every single time I have sinned I have forgotten his law, which I promised to remember.The weight of our failure is great, and indeed far greater than we can even begin to fathom. Perhaps you have felt similar sensations in reading these meditations. Because the truth is that this path Solomon is showing us is a path that we cannot walk by ourselves.As we draw to a close in this section, let me suggest some additional application for you to take away.First, re-read these meditations and consider your failure honestly and earnestly before God. Work your way through the material and honestly confess to God your failures. Do not hold anything back. Admit that you do not prepare for worship as you ought. Admit that you do not come prepared to listen to the word. Admit that you do not put into practice the things you have heard. Admit to God that you do not keep the commitments you make. You have not kept your membership vows. You have not even remembered the commitments you have made in song. Lay it all out before him and confess that you have failed.And having done that, know this. The infinite blood of Christ has covered everything. All your failures in worship. All your shame. All our apathy. All our lack-lustre singing. All our inattention to the preaching of the word. All our unnecessary absences from worship. All our lack of preparation. All our failure to keep our vows. He has covered everything.Because here is the real heart of the vows in Scripture. It is not primarily about the vows that we fail to keep. It is about the vow that Christ has promised to us. The vow to cover our sins. The vow to forgive. The vow to uphold. And the vow to bring us safely to the end.While we all fail to keep God’s law, he will not. He will keep every single word he speaks to us. And he will graciously cover our every failure and lead us in the way everlasting.Here is another application. Every time you...
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Ep 141: Be careful of wondering minds and careless tongues in worship... (Ecc 5:1-7).
Mar 1200:10:53Tap to summarizePrayRead: Ecc 5:1-7.MeditationWhen we come to worship God, we come to listen, therefore our words must be few. That’s what we learned in our last meditation. But part of worship is about bringing our own offering as well. We must come and speak. Or, to be more accurate, Solomon instructs us to come and speak a little. He makes this very clear: the words of our mouths, even if they aren’t many, are not to be treated lightly. Reading again in verse 1, “To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.” Solomon’s main thrust in this passage is to call us to guard our own tongues in worship.Fast forward to a modern day worship service. When you think about these words in that context, right away you may be thinking: How is this relevant to me? Maybe you think of worship services as largely passive. You sit back and receive. That is faulty thinking for two reasons. First, even listening is a proactive activity. We must come prepared to listen. If we come tired, lazy, distracted, or preoccupied, we will not be able to obey that instruction. We must come prepared to listen. But second, worship also requires engagement. As we meet to worship, this is a conversation. We pray. We amen the corporate prayers. We sing. We speak. We profess our faith, we affirm and receive new baptisms. Even the meditations of our hearts are visible before God in worship. Worship includes speaking on our part, even if you don’t think of it like that very much.Solomon’s warning here is sobering. He speaks of offering the sacrifice of fools, and then says they do not even realise that what they are doing is evil. That is a strong warning. It is possible to turn up to a worship service and do evil. More than that, it is possible not even to realise it. It is possible that we offer the sacrifice of fools. To help us guard against that, Solomon opens it up further in verse two:“Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.”First, there is the obvious instruction: let your words be few. In the first place, be sure to pray for your pastor. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” This is why it is a fearful thing to become a preaching elder. It is best to be quiet in the worship of God. It is best to come to listen. And yet those who are to teach are required to speak more, and God will judge them more strictly for this reason. Please pray for your pastor. Please pray that God would spare pastors in our churches from leaking their own foolishness into the preaching of his word. Please pray that he would make the truths of the sermons living realities in the life of your pastor and in the lives of the people in your church.Second, consider a modern idea we see in the church today. In most churches something highly valued is greater involvement by the members. People come up to give testimonies, share a word, lead the singing, do this, do that. I attended a High Anglican service once where more than half the congregation stood up at different points to do or say something. Yet what we see in these verses shows that this mindset gets it wrong. You do not need to give everyone airtime. It is the opposite. We need to come with our lips sealed, our tongues guarded, and our ears open. That is what you do when you meet with God. It is not about “getting involved” in the sense that everyone needs to have a turn at being the leading visible figure-head. It is about falling at the feet of God to worship, sitting attentive and ready to listen.When Isaiah met with the Most High God, he did not begin by speaking about what part he could play. As he saw the Lord high and lifted up upon his throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple, with mighty seraphim flying, the foundations shaking, and the house filled with smoke, Isaiah did not say: “How about I give a testimony of my life”. He cried out and said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Is that the sense we have in our worship services?This is why the reformed tradition in the past has deeply valued reverence in worship. It ought not to be reverence in an old-fashioned, stuffy, or traditional sense. It ought to be reverence because this is the God of heaven we are dealing with. So let us come with sincerity and reverence into the house of God’s people, where God meets with us.Let your words be few, but there is an inverse truth here as well: let the words you do speak be sincere. Solomon does not say let your words be none. He says let your words be few. There is a time to speak in the house of God.In praise, we are told, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” As we sing to God, there is a sense in which we offer the new covenant equivalent of old testament sacrifices. That is what this text is saying. So come prepared to sing your heart out to God, and come prepared to engage your mind as you sing. If we sing to God while our minds drift and our hearts are not engaged in what is being said, then we are offering the sacrifice of fools and doing evil, and we do not even realise it. Do not rush into the presence of God. Do not hastily begin singing without thought. That is foolish behaviour. Better to still your heart for a moment, seek the Lord’s help, be still and know that he is God, and then turn your mind and heart to offering the sacrifice of praise.And in prayer also, do not be rash. Come prepared to the prayer meeting, with your thoughts ordered and ready to pray. On Sunday, come ready to pray as well. Come ready to say amen to every prayer that is spoken. There is nothing that tests your spiritual mettle like the quality of your prayer life. SDG.Prayer of Confession & ConsecrationHoly God, we confess that we have been rash with our mouths and careless in worship, offering distracted hearts and unguarded words before you. Forgive us for the sacrifice of fools, for singing without thought, praying without sincerity, and drawing near with lips when our hearts are far from you. Teach us to come with reverence and humility, to listen well, to speak little, and to mean what we say in your presence. Consecrate our tongues and our hearts, that through Christ we may offer the sacrifice of praise with clean lips and undivided devotion. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. Get full access to Old things New. at rcbhpastor.substack.com/subscribe
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