PILGRIM BENHAM

The blog of Pilgrim Benham. Making Jesus famous while I'm here.

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My new book is out!

Hail the King is now available. Click below to order your copy!

https://pilgrimbenhambooks.myshopify.com

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Good Friday Was Not a Mistake

Today is Good Friday, the day that we remember (and celebrate) the death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Though Jesus died on a particular day (the Friday of Passover week in Jerusalem), and at a particular time (he was crucified around 9am and died around 3pm), this was ordained by the Father and prepared before creation even existed.

According to the Definite Plan of God

In Peter's first sermon on the day of Pentecost, standing among the very people who demanded Jesus be crucified (and witnesses of his death and resurrection), he said, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:22-23).

Peter is saying, "you crucified and killed him, but this was all according to God's definite plan and foreknowledge." From the foundation of the world, God had already prepared creation for the cross. 

From Creation to the Cross

On the third day of creation, as the plants were created, God knew that one of these plants--a tree in particular--would be used one day for evil in the hands of wicked men who would crucify his one and only Son.

On the fourth day of creation, when God created the stars and other heavenly bodies that would determine signs and seasons and days and years, he knew that one of the signs would be that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem.

On that sixth day, when God created Adam, he knew that in his treacherous rebellion, man would fall and sin would enter the world and mar his creation, and that from his own offspring One would be born who would crush the serpent's head even as his own body was bruised (Gen 3:15).

When God cursed the ground because of Adam, one of the results was that thorns and thistles would grow. In God's predetermination, he knew that one day these thorns produced by the Fall would be twisted together and used to pierce the forehead of his beloved Son who would bear our sin upon himself as he hung on the cross.

Answers in Genesis says, "Think about this: before the universe was created, before time existed, before man was created, God knew that we (in Adam) would sin. He knew we would rebel against our Creator. And in the wisdom and love of God, in eternity, He predetermined a plan so that we could receive a free gift of salvation. In eternity, God planned for the Son of God to step into history to provide the ultimate sacrifice—the sinless Son of God would suffer sin’s penalty of death, be raised from the dead, thus providing a way of salvation. Hebrews 10:10 declares: “By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”[1].

The Implications

The cross was not a mistake. The cross was not an accident. The cross was predetermined from the foundation of the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. God was sovereign over Christ’s suffering, and he is sovereign over our lives as well. The One who created all things also knit you together in your mother's womb, and knows you. Will you receive him? Will you turn from your sins and trust him? Will you place your faith in the finished work of Christ on your behalf? For those who have, this is a Good Friday indeed!

-Pilgrim Benham

Hi! I’m the teaching pastor at King’s Cross Church in Bradenton, Florida. My new book “Hail the King” is going to be released soon. If you enjoyed this post, read some of my other blog posts here. Follow me on social media @pilgrimbenham.

[1] https://answersingenesis.org/ministry-news/creation-museum/slain-from-the-foundation-of-the-world/

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Believers *Should* Be Maturing

There is something incredibly off-putting about immaturity. Maturity doesn’t qualify as inappropriate to us until a person has reached an age threshold. In other words, we have lots of parents at King’s Cross Church who have young babies, and I’ve been to a fair share of their one-year old birthday parties. You know the scene: the parents place their baby in a high chair, dress them in a bib, and then proceed to set a delicious (and oversized) slice of birthday cake in front of the child. Then everyone gets their phones out to record the baby digging their hands into the cake and making a splendid mess of it all. 

That’s cute. 

But, when that exact same behavior is mimicked by a ten-year-old, we have questions for the parents. Something is wrong! Why? Because that child has reached an age threshold where they should have grown past high chairs and eating cakes without utensils. What is cute at a young age is inappropriate to someone older, because more maturity is expected from them.

The writer of Hebrews said this instructively, if not convincingly:

Hebrews 5:11-14

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Paul told the Corinthian church

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways” in 1 Corinthians 13:11.

God loves us too much to leave us in a condition of immaturity, of spiritual infancy. If you know God, he desires to develop your faith and to conform you by the Holy Spirit, into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.

That may happen through his loving, corrective discipline (Hebrews 12), through your own study of his Word (2 Peter 1), or through trials and suffering, which conform you into Christ’s image. Either way, may we grow and mature in our sanctification and in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)!

[pilgrimbenham]

Five Lessons for Life & Ministry in 2022

Every year on Dec 31, I take time to review the previous year and the five life and ministry lessons I've learned.

Here they are for 2022:

1. God is graciously sovereign and will provide.

Jenny and I watched God providentially work through her health concerns and in the end, the tumors were benign - but through the thick of it he showed he is near to those who call upon him, even providing all we needed for our medical bills.

2. Time passes quickly.

With my son Aiden graduating, and my daughter London turning 16, (and Jenn and I now turning 44!), the clock doesn't stop. That's why the Scriptures remind us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom, redeeming the time for his glory!

3. Church buildings require resources.

We were very close to purchasing a new property for Shoreline Church, but the amount of improvements needed were far beyond our scope. I am thankful for such a wonderful church community that rode the ebb and flow this year, and can't wait until we settle into a spacious space sometime soon.

4. Connections equal opportunities.

I've observed that my wife's business ventures have all come due to solid relationships, and this year we launched an Airbnb business working with homeowners to manage their amazing properties. Though none of us should network just for business' sake, it is awesome to see how important community is to success in all areas of life. We thank God for who he's brought into our lives to make us thrive, to make us better, and most importantly to make us more Christlike.

5. The church community is beautiful.

From our newly-appointed deacons (who are contributing in amazing ways to our church), to our plurality of elders, to our church members (a number that continues to outgrow our pace!),  I love the body of Christ. Worshiping together on Christmas Day was another glorious reminder of the fellowship, unity, and joy that we share as the blood-bought people of God.I look forward to what 2023 has in store!

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7 Book Suggestions for 2023

WIth every new year comes new goals and (failed) resolutions. I set out at the beginning of each year to intentionally select books that I desire to read. Sometimes I re-read a book I’ve read in years’ past that is worth revisiting every few years or so, but usually I have new list with each new year. My goal every year is to ambitiously read 52 books, and most of the time I get close but still don’t reach that mark. (Keep in mind I am also in seminary and have assigned reading each semester - usually 3-5 books minimum!).

If you are unsure where to start, or you aren’t an avid reader, I would dissuade you from aiming for a book a week! Instead, start where you are. In fact, here are 7 Book Reading Suggestions for 2023, including some suggested books (click on each title to go to the Amazon link)! Seven books is absolutely attainable, no matter how busy you are, and for most of us is at least a good primer to begin a year of avid reading!

A Biography

Biographies can be a great source of encouragement and perspective for us as believers. We see how others walked by faith, prayed, and made decisions. 

Some biographies worth reading include:

Spurgeon the Pastor: I read this in 2022 and it was one of the most simple and helpful biographies from the lens of pastoral ministry!

Bonhoeffer: I read this biography several years ago and am still encouraged by his boldness and focus on discipleship!

John G. Paton: After hearing some amazing things about Paton, I’m planning to read this autobiography of the pioneer missionary to Vanuatu this upcoming year! 

A Classic

Classics are helpful because they have stood the test of time and broaden our understanding of the world and get us out of our modern context. Christian classics are great, but so are some secular works, including:

Brave New World: Since this is on almost every “must-read classics” list, I plan to read this in 2023.

The Lord of the Rings: This goes without saying! As great as the movies are, there is nothing that compares with these novels.

The Pilgrim’s Progress: not only am I named after this classic allegory, but it is a must-read for every Christian! I recommend getting the audio book, so you can hear the opening poem in its unabridged glory. Bunyan was a skillful poet.

A Fictional Novel

I am a big fan of fiction audiobooks and am often listening to sci-fi or fantasy while I’m driving (I alternate by listening to podcasts!). Fiction helps give our minds a break from the mundane and stressful, and if well-written can help us learn more about the world and the people in it. I’m going to leave this category up to you to find a good fictional book.

A Book on Church History

One of the concerns I have with today’s church is her failure to know and understand what has happened through the ages, from Pentecost to today. I recommend:

In the Year of Our Lord: Sinclair Ferguson is one of my favorite pastor-writers, and certainly one of my favorite Scottish preachers! This book takes a chapter for each century and gives the bigger picture of what was happening, with lessons we can apply today.

2000 Years of Christ’s Power: this is something I’m beginning in 2023 and will take a few years to work through. It is massive (five volumes) and this work by Needham should be on every pastor’s bookshelf. 

A Devotional Book

Devotionals are books that help encourage us in our devotion to Christ. Often they are 30 days, but sometimes can cover the entire 365-day year! Here are some of my favorites:

The Five Solas of the Reformation: Of course I had to include the book that Dan Sardinas and I wrote in 2021! This is a helpful, 30-day guide through to understand we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone!

Truth For Life: Alastair Begg’s annual devotional is packed with great truth and I’ve enjoyed working through it this past year!

New Morning Mercies: This simple, Gospel-centered devo may be Paul Tripp’s best book. There is always something convicting and yet encouraging.

A Book on Ecclesiology (the church)

This is important because as believers we must have a solid understanding of what the Bible means when it says “church”. I’m currently nearing completion of my latest book “Hail the King”, which is both a theological look at the kingdom of God, as well as a call to action for the body of Christ. It releases on Ash Wednesday, February 22, and I hope you have a chance to pick up a copy!

Any of the 9 Marks Building Healthy Churches Books: These short books, on a variety of topics, are incredibly helpful to gain an understanding of what comprises a healthy church. Start with “Church Membership”, which we give to all our new members at our church.

A Book about God's Attributes

As believers, this part of our bookshelves should be the most worn and well-trodden. When January 1 opens every year, I always make it my aim to complete my first book that year reading a book about God’s attributes. Some great options include:

Knowing God: J.I. Packer’s summary of God’s attributes is powerful!

The Attributes of God: A.W. Pink’s classic is worth a re-read every few years! I also recommend his “The Sovereignty of God”, which I read this past January.

The Holiness of God: an instant classic by R.C. Sproul!

I also encourage you to download “Goodreads” (a phone app) to help track your progress. Your friends can leave notes of encouragement for you, and you can also review the books you’ve read! May this new year be the best year of reading yet!

Honorable mentions: 

-A Book about Christian living

-A Book written by a Puritan

-A Book written this past year

-A Book you’ve read before

-A Book you disagree with theologically, to help sharpen your argument

[pilgrimbenham]

Noah & The Gospel

Sometimes being a man of God feels like you are standing alone on a seashore as the world rushes in at you like a devastating tsunami. You seek to walk in integrity, celibacy, and faithfulness - even while the world parades sensuality and unbridled sexual expression before your eyes. You desire to contend for truth, which is absolute - even as the world tells you to be a little more winsome and a lot more tolerant of what you know is falsehood. You want to be a light in your workplace, or your neighborhood, or among your family - which means you have to be subjected to the crass language, the filthy jokes, the gossip and slander, the lure of compromising your faith in order to fit in.

All Christians who are truly walking with God experience the treatment which Peter describes coming from those who worship idols instead of the living God, when he says, "With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you..." (1 Peter 4:4).

"Flood" is an apt word Peter uses there, isn't it? Some days it seems as though the people of God are floating around in a world that has been flooded with impurity and unrighteousness. We feel so completely alone, and surrounded by a mindset that is completely contrary to God's ways. Most of us experience this - from the oldest of us to (especially) those who are in their teens. On our best days we are called old-fashioned or unloving, and on our worst days we are labeled as phobic, bigoted, hateful, narrow, or oppressive.

But we refuse to conform to the pattern of this world! We don't blindly give in to what is fashionable or favored by the masses and just mindlessly approve of what the world affirms. We aren't trying to be hated by all men - but we also shouldn't run around fawning after the world's approval and seek to be liked or admired by the world. The command is to love our neighbors (and even our enemies) - not to do everything we can to get our enemies to love us. In fact, Jesus told us in advance that the world already hates us because we are in Him.

Judgment is Coming

And yet - as John reminds us in 1 John 2:17, “the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

As Peter would go on to say in 1 Peter 4:5, 'they (the same ones who are flooded with sinfulness) will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead'.

It may feel like you are all alone, surrounded by a world that is corrupted - but the reality is that judgment is coming. One day Babylon the great city will be thrown down with violence and will be found no more - God's retribution will come swiftly and conclusively (Revelation 18). What is called good by this world will be avenged by a holy and just Judge. What is paraded and celebrated and legislated and tolerated will one day be eviscerated!

Noah’s Flood a Type of Global Judgment

As much as we may feel like we are standing alone against a swelling tide of global wickedness, in the Genesis flood narrative there stands a man (and his family) who actually experienced this. The entire world had become corrupted, and only Noah had found favor in the eyes of YHWH (Genesis 6:1-9). As God communicates His means of both judgment and salvation to Noah, we see corresponding realities to the judgment of God against sin in our own day.

Jesus said, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26–27).

Like those who stood outside the ark as the rain began to fall, even for all mankind today there is no escaping the judgment of God against sin. All of creation is subjected to futility and all who are in Adam will die, and face the fearsome indignation of an infinitely holy, set apart, magnificently majestic and perfectly powerful Creator - who reveals to us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Salvation is Exclusive

God provides a means of salvation for Noah, the righteous man - and God's salvation was sufficient, predetermined, and exclusive. There are not many paths to God, many ways - just as there were not many arks - only one. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The door on the side of the ark was large enough to fit all who God had drawn in to it - and Jesus said in John 10:9 "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” We enter salvation solely through Christ. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!

Noah was instructed to "cover the ark with pitch" - the noun and verb there are closely related to the Hebrew word for "atone(ment)”, or to ‘cover’. Christ's death on the cross is the atoning sacrifice that covers our sin - that sufficiently provides us with the mercies of God.

Psalm 32:1-2 says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

The Bible affirms that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)! Our sins have been atoned for by the saving work of Christ on the cross.

Like the ark, God has given us an invitation to salvation and an escape from His fearsome wrath. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to fulfill His law and to die at the hands of lawless sinners. His death fully and forever paid the price to redeem those who would be joined to His righteousness.

Just as Noah's ark was sufficient, predetermined, and exclusive in salvation, the same is true of our Savior. There is no other name given under heaven by which we may be saved. Have you turned from your sin and trusted in Christ?

[pilgrimbenham]

Don’t Unhitch from the Old Testament

In a 2018 sermon, the pastor of North Point Church, Andy Stanley, encouraged the church to “unhitch” from the Old Testament: “(First Century) Church leaders unhitched the church from the worldview, value system, and regulations of the Jewish scriptures," Stanley said. "Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well." (the sermon link is found here). Some Christians say, “The Old Testament is outdated, irrelevant, old covenant nonsense.” Others project their own view that God in the Hebrew Scriptures is jealous, petty, angry, and crotchety - but the New Testament God is all love and everyone gets a free puppy (they’ve clearly never read either testaments!).

What is our response to this?

1. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.

After Jesus had risen, two of His disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus, and in Luke 24, Jesus appeared to them and rebuked them for not anticipating His death, burial, and subsequent resurrection:

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27)

Steve Lawson says that the Bible is a "him" book - it is a book all about Him - all about the Lord Jesus Christ. "The Old Testament says He's coming. The Gospels say He's here. The book of Acts proclaim Him. The epistles explain Him. And Revelation says He's coming again. That's the Bible in a nutshell."

In Genesis we see Jesus, the Word, who was with God in the beginning, and that all things were made by Him and for Him.

We see Jesus as the Seed of Eve who would one day be struck but who would crush the head of the serpent.

We see Jesus as the manna from heaven and the rock in the wilderness that feeds, nourishes, and supplies God's people.

We see Jesus as the true and greater Passover Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and saves us from the fearful wrath of God.

We see Jesus as the one lifted up on the pole for all to see, and those who behold Him are saved from destruction.

We see Jesus in each feast, as God's people celebrate the living water that will never run dry, and the tabernacle of God who dwells with man.

We see Jesus in the songs, poems, and wisdom literature as the praise and fulfillment of Israel, the coming Messiah-King, and the Logos of God.

We see Jesus in the prophets as the suffering servant, the Beth lehem-born king coming on the foal of a donkey who will bring His people out of exile and redeem them.

2. All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable.

Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

In the verse right before this, Paul references Psalm 69:9. Ostensibly, Paul is recounting how Scripture written by David hundreds of years prior to this - written in antiquity - can simultaneously continue to both instruct and encourage believers throughout all time. There is a direct link between the people of God and God Himself - where God's revelation brings endurance and encouragement down to God's people, which causes hope to spring back up in praise, adoration, and glory back to God within and among His beloved image bearers. That link between God and His people - that revelation - is the Scriptures!

In fact, from this verse, John Stott provides us 5 important truths about Scripture (from verse 4) which I find very insightful:

John Stott: 5 Truths About Scripture a. Contemporary intention - they may have been written in the past, but the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture to have a timeless message for all generations. I can't think of any other book still relevant today after 2000+ years/ Thankfully dentists aren't consulting journals from the sixth century B.C. for your root canal! But that fact speaks to the power of God's eternal word. God's Word is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 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.

b. Inclusive value - everything written in the past is for our instruction. This doesn't mean everything in history - but everything we read in the Holy Scriptures. No, not everything in the Bible is of equal value (there are some verses with greater weight and impact than others), but even just a quote from a half-verse in Psalm 69 is valuable to us.

c. Christological focus - in other words, the Scriptures testify of Jesus. The Bible is for us - but it's not about us - it is about Jesus (as we just looked at above).

d. Practical purpose - Consider how the Scriptures instruct us, but they also bring encouragement and hope to us as we endure hardship. The Bible is not just a textbook for you to merely learn intellectually, as though the church gathering is a class we attend and hope to get an A in because we can regurgitate the material accurately. No, this book changes us from the inside out, it divides joints and marrow and provides hope and encouragement.

e. Divine message - there's a parallel with 'endurance and encouragement' in verse four, with 'the God of endurance and encouragement' in verse five. When Scripture speaks, God speaks! Justin Peters says, "if you want to hear God speak to you, read the Bible. If you want to hear God speak to you audibly, read the Bible out loud!"

3. The Old Testament Scripture provides hope and encouragement.

How do I live a life of hope in the midst of dark, despairing, evil and fearful days? Through endurance, and the encouragement of the Scriptures! Now in context, Paul is speaking specifically about the Old Testament - and yet even the Old Testament was written for our instruction.

There are some who would say "just read from the New Testament" - and sadly some pastors and churches only teach from the NT rather than from the volume of the book. Those with that view would get an earful from the apostle Paul! They'd also get an earful from the prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, who said:

“The apostle declares that the Old Testament Scriptures are meant to teach New Testament believers. Things written aforetime were written for our time.”

Consider what we have in the Old Testament:

We learn that there is a Creator God who is YHWH - gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving faithfulness, just and true.

We learn about the utter ruin of man and his incapacity to meet God's holy standard, and yet created as God's image bearers to rule the earth and fill it with the knowledge of God.

We learn about how God selected one nation to be His own special people, but how they failed to be loyal and faithful to the God of promise even though He had never failed them.

We learn how God provided a means to cover man's sin but this all foreshadowed how He would put a final end to sin through the redemptive work of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

We learn how a remnant of God's people endured trials by God's grace and were justified by faith, whether it is Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Nehemiah, Esther, or Daniel. The OT writings produce in us a persevering faith and a faith that is encouraged to stay strong in the God of hope.

This is why it is so important for us to be people of the Book. To orient our lives, even our daily lives, around the study of and submission to the Word of God. A Christian who neglects the daily reading of Scripture is in effect saying "I am not in need of God's revelation today. I am too busy or I'm uninterested". And yet we fill our minds with the words of a thousand other counselors and then wonder why we lack both the knowledge of God's Word as well as persevering hope in the midst of despairing circumstances.

Open the pages of Genesis to Malachi today, and find endurance and encouragement in your walk with Christ!

[pilgrimbenham]

On Authority

One of the joys of pastoring is being able to point people to the glory of submission to authorities. "Really?", you ask, "How can submission to authorities be something joyful or glorious?" The truth is, much suffering exists in the world due to unbiblical rebellion. To be more theological accurate, all suffering exists in the cosmos due to the rebellion in the garden as man sought to cast off the authority of God in pursuit of autonomy and "freedom". God was quick to warn Adam that in the day he ate of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, he would "surely die" (Genesis 2:15). Sadly, that is exactly what happened: spiritual death (separation) from God, and the curse of sin entering the world through one man's rebellion (Romans 5:12). So it is a pastoral joy to encourage people to rightly, biblically submit to the authorities God has established in the world.

Five Biblical Concepts on Authority

In Romans 13, Paul outlines the importance of submitting to authority, but contextually is speaking specifically about the government. We learn from this text (and other Scriptures) five important things about authority, along with five corresponding implications (in parentheses!): 1. All authority is instituted by God (therefore, we must be careful to rightly represent Him!) 2. Authority exists to rule out evil by representing good (therefore, we must not abuse our authority!) 3. Authority is to be respected & submitted to (therefore, we must also submit to other authorities ourselves!) 4. Authority is limited, and finite (therefore, we must honor where lines are drawn) 5. Authority that dishonors God's law is to be resisted (therefore we must ensure our authority is Biblically-sound!)

The early twentieth century Dutch theologian and prime minister Abraham Kuyper coined the term, "Sphere Sovereignty", arguing and demonstrating from Genesis 1 that God has created in society a number of different institutions or spheres, each with their own respective roles and responsibilities. Three of the most important institutions created by God are:

the CHURCH– starting with Adam, and continuing through Noah, Abraham, the people of Israel and the New Testament church

the STATE– whose role is set out in various places including Psalm 72 and here in Romans 13

the FAMILY – begun with Adam and Eve

In the Bible, God gives each of these spheres a distinct task and role. The sphere of Church is sovereign over areas within its jurisdiction: theology, doctrine, church discipline and membership.

The sphere of State is sovereign in matters properly within its jurisdiction as given and defined by God. Some of those matters would include criminal law, national defense, maintaining a fair and impartial justice system, and using taxes to provide infrastructure like bridges and roads.

And within the sphere of Family lies responsibility for issues of child education and discipline, religious instruction, sexual ethics, moral development, etc.

The problem occurs when any of these spheres reaches beyond their limited and finite jurisdiction of sovereignty into another sphere. I illustrated this to my daughter London recently, using the analogy of bubbles with her. When we stay within the jurisdiction of our bubble, to the glory of God, things go well. When we reach into someone else's bubble and seek to exert our jurisdiction there, we violate the authority God has given us - and thus our misuse of authority can (and should) be rebelled against.

WHEN AUTHORITY REACHES TOO FAR

For example, the elders of the church do not have the authority to carve through people's properties and start paving roads directly to the church building (as helpful as that may be on a Sunday morning!). That's outside of our jurisdiction - outside of our sphere/bubble.

When the State starts to mandate what a church can or can't teach, or do in their gatherings, or when they can or cannot meet, this is violating their authority.

Then there’s the home - and the concept of “Christian Patriarchy” (also known as “Biblical Patriarchy”, though it goes far beyond what is Biblical!). The Christian Patriarchy movement has been espoused by many, including organizations like Vision Forum (and many others). The biggest problem is that it misrepresents the father's authority and overstates it. The argument is that the father in the family has the right and power to make all spiritual, financial, and relational decisions in and for his children - even after they have become adults. There is much to affirm about male headship in the home and in the church - I write about complementarianism here. However, some hold to a gross over-realization of headship and take too far what is taught and affirmed all throughout Scripture. For example, we learn in 1 Corinthians 11:1-3, Ephesians 5:22-23, and Genesis 3:16 that the husband is head of the wife (not merely the source, as others teach), just as Christ is the head of the church, and yet the husband is still in submission to his head - who is Christ! He is a man himself in submission - submission to God's Word, God's people, and God's governing authorities.

However, some believe the father's authority does not stop at the four walls of his home, but reaches into the sphere (bubble) of the church's authority. Thus, the father can override Christian fellowship to demand "home church", can restrict church participation and membership, and even resist ecclesiastical church discipline of his own rebellious teenagers. Even if his son or daughter is a member of a church, he holds the jurisdiction to overrule that church’s elders because he is “the head of his home”.

BUT AREN’T CHILDREN SUPPOSED TO OBEY THEIR PARENTS FOREVER?

The command throughout the Scripture for children to obey their parents (originating in the moral law of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:12) is written specifically to the biblical category of children. In 1 John 2:12-14, we see three categories of ages (children, young men, fathers). Though I believe we can honor our parents at every age (not just under 18), the express command to obey the authority of a mom or dad expires when we reach adulthood. Some countries and cultures clock that rite of passage differently, but the broader concept remains: when you are a child, you listen and obey your parents. When you become an adult, you continue to show respect, honor, deference, appreciation, and gratitude to your parents - even if you are no longer submitting to their commands, demands, requests or petitions. As Focus on the Family says, “’honor’ doesn’t necessarily mean that an adult child has to do whatever his parents ask.” (See reference at bottom of page!)

Some don’t see these nuances. To those who hold to this misguided doctrine, the father (and by extension, mother) must be obeyed perpetually into adulthood. If the "child" does not obey the whims or orders of the parent(s), he or she is breaking the ten commandments. He or she is in rebellion. He or she is thus alienated from God because of their unrepentance, and unless or until they repent and obey mom and dad, the favor of God won't rest on them but only His discipline and judgment. 

This is why it is critical to understand where our jurisdiction has limits. My jurisdiction as an elder is over church matters - but that authority is limited and finite. The government's jurisdiction is over the state - but not the church. A father's jurisdiction is over his own home and developing children - but not to rule and reign over his adult children or to interfere with their lives as members of Christ's church.

WE REPRESENT GOD IN OUR AUTHORITY

The authority God has given each of us is a stewardship, and we are to represent God in and through our spheres of authority. So pastor/elders are to be prophet/priests who reflect the grace and truth of God in our care for Christ's bride by feeding, caring for, and protecting the sheep. Sadly many leaders have corrupted this authority through domineering or pragmatism.

Civic government - as crazy as it sounds - is called to be an instrument of righteousness and justice, reflecting Christ's kingdom of light and truth. Sadly, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Fathers and mothers are to discipline their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, but sadly many parents end up either oppressing, manipulating, or withdrawing in their parenting. Unbiblical Christian Patriarchy has left a wake of devastated families because it misrepresents, abuses, and overrealizes the authority God has given parents to train their children in the way they should go - which is a principle and not itself a promise (Prov 22:6).

As Christians, we affirm Sola Scriptura - meaning Scripture alone is the highest authority. It isn't the only authority - but when other authorities attempt to supplant, override, or dishonor God's Word - like Peter and the apostles - we must obey God rather than man. Like the midwives before Pharaoh, like Daniel and the Hebrews in the face of oppressive edicts, we must obey God rather than man.

When a parent overreaches their jurisdiction and seeks to control their adult children, we must obey God rather than man.

A WORD OF APPLICATION

If you have experienced this treatment (from your parents), I encourage you to not recoil from Biblical submission. Much of what the Bible says has been unfairly misrepresented to you, and a good deep-dive into the Scriptures will prove helpful and healing in your assessment of authority.

If you are a parent who has perpetuated this teaching/view, I encourage you to call your sons and daughters and weepingly repent for how you have robbed God of glory and brought dishonor on the name of Christ. May our children see Christ in us as we represent God and His Word rightly.

If you are not a Christian, you are living in rebellious enmity before the Creator God who lovingly formed you and knows you. Turn from your sin and receive Christ - who died and rose again for your sin that you might be forgiven and free. One day you will bow before King Jesus - whether now willingly or in eternity at the judgment seat.

If you are a Christian, I encourage you to joyfully submit your lives to the biblical authorities God has instituted in your life, but also have the boldness to rebel whenever these authorities stand in the way of obeying the Word of God to the glory of God.

There are many other great resources on this topic. I commend to you these two for further study/reading:

https://www.reformation21.org/blogs/the-patriarchy-movement-five-a.php

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/parental-authority-over-a-grown-child/

https://rethinkingvisionforum.wordpress.com

[pilgrimbenham]

God’s Timing is Perfect

This blog is a part of an Advent Series of blog posts. For more content, visit thisisshoreline.com/sermons.

This really is the most wonderful time of the year! There are lights, special meals, and mistletoe so I'm guaranteed a kiss from my wife. The kids are overjoyed because of their gifts, and we are all together with our closest loved ones.

Isn't that how you feel at Christmas? Maybe not everybody... For some, Christmas is a time not of celebration but sadness. There's mistletoe, but my honey isn't with me anymore. They are in heaven. So the holidays are more lonely than ever. There are special meals, but no one to enjoy them with. There are lights...the lights of Florida seasonal traffic making my commute twice as long. The kids aren't overjoyed at their gifts...they are sulking because they didn't get what they REALLY wanted. I got the wrong Beanie Boo so now life is over. Some of us are just lacking that Christmas cheer that only Buddy the Elf can seem to generate.

SOME CHRISTMAS STATS

Christmas is my favorite time of year and most Americans celebrate it, but why?About nine-in-ten Americans (92%) and nearly all Christians (96%) say they celebrate Christmas, according to a 2013 Pew Research Center survey. This is no surprise, but what might be more unexpected is that a big majority (81%) of non-Christians in the U.S. also celebrate Christmas. (Pew Research)

More than seven-in-ten (73%) say that Jesus was born to a virgin and 81% believe he was laid in a manger. And similar shares say that wise men, guided by a star, brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (75%) and that an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus (74%). Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) believe that all four of these things actually happened, while 14% say none of them happened. (Pew Research)

Well if that is true, then we have our work cut out for us. This time of year, Advent, helps us re-calibrate our understanding of Christmas. We don’t celebrate Santa or gifts or cheer - we celebrate the Incarnation - the arrival of King Jesus, the One sent by God the Father to bring hope and salvation to fallen man!

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT GLORY

And that should inspire us to worship Him. No matter who we are, or where we are at, there is something that brings us all together as believers in Jesus Christ and that's what Christmas should be about. That no matter how dark or how bleak our circumstances are today, the arrival of Jesus into the world changes everything. Hope shines through any and every situation because the news that Jesus is the Savior of all mankind and has been born and given to us is literally the best news ever given, and it should evoke us to worship Him. We can and should join with the angels declaring “glory to God in the highest”!

Isaac Watts taught this idea to us in song, and we sing it every year, do we not?

“Joy to the world...the Lord has come! Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the earth the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ! While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy. No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found.He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove, The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love!”

In other words, the news we have, of the arrival of Salvation, should cause contagious joy and resounding praise! 

THE TIMING OF GOD

Luke 2:1-3 says, “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.”

Note those words with me: "it came to pass". Through the providence of God, Caesar Augustus calls for a census. Why would a Roman leader call for there to be a census? Because he's deeply and genuinely concerned with his constituents? Yeah, no. It’s merely to get a headcount for taxation.

This was a politically and financially-motivated decision. And yet underneath it all was the sovereign hand of God moving man to make a decision that would lead Joseph and Mary, the mother of Jesus, to register back in his hometown of Bethlehem, even though he currently lived in the town of Nazareth.

The hand of God in the exact timing of Jesus' birth isn't random or by chance. It was specific and perfect. God's timing is right.

When we close the Old Testament, and open the New, some radical changes had taken place. Consider the intertestamental period: the 400 year period of silence between Malachi and the arrival of John the Baptist.

Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV) says: “4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”

Did you catch that? 'When the set time had fully come'. A few other Bible translations say: KJV/NKJV/ESV/NASB: “when the fullness of time had come” NLT: “when the right time came” PBV: “when the time was ripe…”

At just the right time, God sent His Son. Jesus was born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law.

WHY JESUS CAME

Jesus didn't come to save you from your problems. He came to redeem you from the curse of sin, pronounced to us, declared to us because of the law. The law declares you GUILTY, so Jesus came to bear the curse of guilt and fully obey the law, so that He could declare you RIGHTEOUS. Both the law of sin and death and the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus have to do with declarations. Jesus declares us righteous, but He had to come born of woman and born under the law to redeem those born under the law, and adopt us to the status of sons.

AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME

God's timing was perfect in sending Jesus. And when you begin to look through the OT and NT you see some major differences.

From the time of Malachi to John the Baptist, there was a 400-year awkward silence from God and the lack of prophetic voice was troubling.  After the last of the old testament prophets was off the scene, much had changed in the culture and scene from Old testament to New.  

When we leave Malachi, worship of God took place in the temple.  In Matthew, we are introduced to synagogues.  

When the Israelites came back from captivity under Ezra and Nehemiah’s watch, they re-established the identity of Israel as a nation.  But in the New Testament, a foreign ruler holds the iron scepter: Rome.  

The shepherds of Israel at one time were the prophets, but when Jesus comes along, there are men known as Pharisees and Sadducees, and a religious ruling council known as the ‘Sanhedrin’.  

Even the traditional Hebrew language had been replaced with Koine Greek.  Some things had changed, and the fields were getting white for harvest.

There were political, social, economical, religious, and cultural changes that were all setting the perfect stage for Christ, the Messiah, to arrive.

For the time to be just right for Messiah to arrive, there needed to be, in practical terms, some “x-factors”.

First, there needed to be a common way to communicate this religion to as many people in as many places as possible.  Rome had linked the pagan world together in a vital and general way with the advancement of their kingdom and with roads.  Also, the common language of Koine Greek replaced Judaic Hebrew as the main language, which afforded people all around the Roman empire the opportunity to hear and understand the gospel message as it was heralded.

Secondly, there needed to be a spiritual hunger and thirst. The sheer lack of prophetic revelation for 400 years from Malachi to John the Baptist was stirring an unrest and spiritual hunger in the masses.  It was long overdue for someone to say, "Repent, and Prepare the way of the Lord".

Thirdly, there needed to be a desire for salvation. The political juggernaut of Rome had revealed to the Jewish people their oppression. They were done with tyranny and ready for salvation.

The time was ripe.  

One other development seemed to intersect at just this right time as well.  Rome had invented and perfected a new means of capital punishment.  Only in God’s providence would this new horrific and excruciating form of torture and death be employed near the birth of Messiah.  It was called crucifixion, of which the Hebrew scriptures overwhelmingly describe, prophetically centuries before it was invented.

So all at once, with a stable government, a time of relative peace, roads that connected cities with one another and through various towns and villages, along with a common language and a deep spiritual hunger and religious bankruptcy, the stage was set, the fruit was ripe. At just the right time, Christ came into the world.

All of this occurred just as the Scriptures said, and Caesar unknowingly played an important part. A.T. Pierson used to say, “History is His story,” and President James A. Garfield called history “the unrolled scroll of prophecy.” If God’s Word controls our lives, then the events of history only help us fulfill the will of God. “I am watching over My word to perform it,” promises the Lord (Jer. 1:12, nasb).

At just the right time, when Jewish society was ripest, God sent Jesus to redeem those born under the law to offer salvation and sonship to all who would receive Him.  But Paul moves from interpretation to application, and tells you and I that ‘that’s the way it was with us’ before Christ came into our lives!  You and I were slaves to the spiritual powers of this world, whether lust or law, religion or wrongdoing. But with the birth of Jesus, we were set free.

J. Hampton Keathley says: “The majority were so caught up with the details of life and their external religiosity that when the signs of Christ’s birth were given to the nation, such as the news of the shepherds and wise men—very few could be concerned...Israel was spiritually bankrupt. It was a time of external religiosity, pharisaic letterism and formalism, and sadducean unbelief. Like much of America today, Israel was caught up with materialism, with human good deeds, and with ritual. There was a form of godliness, but they denied its power. They were practical atheists—living as though God were dead or as though He were non-existent. And so, it was into these conditions that Christ was born to deliver us from religion, from human philosophy, from materialism—indeed from sin and from all its forms...Such was the hope of Messiah when Jesus came on the scene of human history.”

God’s timing with the birth of His Son was at precisely the right time. God's timing is perfect. His timing in your life can be trusted. Submit to Him today! Take the time this Advent to worship God rightly, fully - for the perfectly-timed, precious gift of His dear Son Jesus Christ.

[pilgrimbenham]

On Clarity in the Pulpit

The single most important thing that is communicated from the pulpit of a church is biblical truth - followed closely by (or with the presentation of) clarity. The argument Paul the apostle makes to the Corinthian church in his first epistle (particularly in chapter 14) is that there be intelligibility in the corporate gathering. There were gifts being misused and this was blurring the clarity of revelation. The motivation of the Corinthians in their unintelligibility may have been selfishness, but today clarity is blurred for more insidious reasons.

A Local Church’s Statement of Faith

Sadly, today many churches maintain an ambiguity regarding what they believe. The church website may have their statement of faith posted on a page titled, “What We Believe”, but often this is nothing more than a simplified list which has been cut/pasted from another church and so general or poetic that it is pointless to post. Most new church plants that I observe don’t list their statement of faith - but they do have a prominent place to give financial support. Why would I support a church if it is unclear what they believe and teach? Shouldn’t this be the priority over building a team - so people know what sort of ministry they are committing to?

The Type of Preaching

In the pulpit, it can be tempting as a pastor to avoid difficult texts and just preach verses that bring encouragement and comfort, popular topics that attract people (i.e. faith, power, victory, success, love, hope), or novel and catchy sermon series that function as religious clickbait for the unbelieving. However, if we are to be found faithful to declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27), we must turn away from these comfortable and carnal practices to “preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2) by employing expositional preaching and teaching not just from our favorite passages, but from all of God’s Word - Genesis to Revelation. 

When we do this, two things occur. First, we are forced to let Scripture interpret Scripture. We won’t be permitted to abduct a single verse out of its context in order to post onto our social media platform or create a pithy statement worthy of retweeting. The content of our sermons will be informed from the text of Scripture, not the other way around. Our congregation may be greatly convicted as we teach Romans 6, and greatly encouraged as we arrive in Romans chapter 8, but the content of the text will shape the sermon. Secondly, when we teach all the Biblical texts in their context, the Bible begins to inform our doctrinal positions, thus bringing clarity to where we stand on various theological viewpoints. We can’t avoid eschatology, soteriology, pneumatology (just to name three of the most argued doctrinal categories!) because at some point we will be in a text that requires us to be clear on what we believe!

What Do You Believe About ____?

Sadly, you can compare nailing jello to the wall when trying to find out what a pastor believes theologically, just based on his sermons. Two people who land on completely opposite sides of a doctrine can listen to a sermon from a church like this and both people would believe the pastor agrees with them. How is this possible? The opposite of clarity: ambiguity!  

Why would a pastor or church choose to be ambiguous? The only reason a church or pastor would be fuzzy/muddy in what they believe is the desire for retention: to keep people coming and not upset the apple cart. It is unpopular today to clarify what we believe about the primary issues - such as sin, hell, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, how one is saved, the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, and what defines a Christian. Popular or not, these are essential in defining who is (and who is not) an orthodox church, and we must be clear in explaining what the Scripture teaches on these things.

Unity and Division

We must express clarity on what we believe and why we believe it - not to muddy things down and blur the lines. Now, on secondary, less important issues, we should be less dogmatic and more compelling - explaining in a gracious way why we believe and are convinced of these non-salvific ideas. With fellow believers we disagree with, we should seek to build bridges instead of barriers - and to praise God for the truths that do unite us.

But in some areas there must be division. I believe division over primary issues is actually a good and healthy thing. I'm not going to agree with someone who wants to vape while pumping gas - I'm going to disagree with them strongly! When it comes to issues of life and death - the primary orthodox doctrines of the Christian faith - we should seek to draw lines that define orthodox or heresy. That means seeking symmetry - the most important beliefs that all Christians espouse and what allows us to move together for the Gospel.

What We Can Do

If there is a lack of clarity in your church, seek to remove the cloud of ambiguity and proclaim the truth boldly!

If there is a lack of Biblical exposition in your church’s pulpit, pray for your pastor and encourage him with sermons from great expositors throughout church history (there are too many to list here!).

If there is angry division over secondary issues, seek to live peaceably with all as far as it depends on you, without compromising truth (Romans 12:18).

If you are a pastor who is purposely ambiguous because of the fear of man (or fear that your ministry will shrink), repent and choose to be faithful! Heed the words of 2 Timothy 4:2-5, “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

-Pilgrim Benham

[pilgrimbenham]

Grace Has the Final Word (part 1)

A few years ago, just after midnight, three ladies driving their rental car through Bellevue, Washington found themselves underwater as the car’s GPS mistakenly directed them to take a turn onto a boat launch and into Mercer Slough!  

Though all three women were able to escape safely, the car was a total loss (but it made for good headlines because of the eerily familiar moment when Michael Scott made almost the exact same mistake on The Office!) (Staff, Seattle Times. (2011, June 15). Women trust GPS, DRIVE SUV into Mercer Slough. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/women-trust-gps-drive-suv-into-mercer-slough/).

What was the ultimate problem there? Other than the obvious, the destination which was entered into the GPS was wrong, thus the directions that took these ladies into the lake veered them off course. In the same way, in our theology and practice, if we don't have the right destination, then the methods we follow will ultimately take us into a direction that could lead to our own destruction. Who, more than the legalist, has the wrong destination in mind?

The legalist is one who honestly thinks that God is impressed with how they keep the law and in the end desires to be saved by perfectly keeping the Mosaic covenant, either disregarding, overlooking, or minimizing the work of Christ in our redemption. Sadly, the path that leads many of us there ends up sinking us into despondency, discouragement, and emptiness – and into many arbitrary, man-made rules that define righteousness. Legalism will either build up our pride or leave us in despair, but either way, it’s a dead end into a murky slough. We need the right destination, and that is an understanding of the true Gospel of grace. Thankfully, grace has the final word!

The apostle Paul had gone on his first recorded church planting mission through modern-day Turkey with an apostolic band of men to establish elders and leaders in various regions and cities and towns. One of the regions they eventually arrived at was an area called Galatia (Acts 13-14).  If we had a map, our eyes would rest on the land mass between Israel and Greece, the area north of the Mediterranean Sea. Galatia wasn’t a city, but a region like, “Southwest Florida”. These churches seemed to start healthy, but years later Paul gets the word that some men had gotten ahold of the church and had led some of their core doctrinal beliefs astray, teaching that “You may say you are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, but you still have to obey the Old Testament Mosaic law to a ‘T’. You have to do everything prescribed by Moses in the law--including the Abrahamic sign of circumcision--in order to be saved." So Paul, fearing that his kids had let a stranger come and walk them down to an inner city drug house, writes one of the first letters we have written to the early church to correct this false teaching.  

The Tone and Flow of Galatians

The tone therefore of Galatians is not light, upbeat, nor encouraging - but is written to rebuke and correct. Paul doesn’t come home with a trophy but a paddle, taking the church and her leaders behind the woodshed for some proper discipline. Paul greeted every church in every epistle with thanksgiving, except Galatia. Paul thanked God that the Romans' faith was being proclaimed in all the world. He thanked God for the grace of God that been given to the Corinthians. Paul had heard of the faith and the love for all the saints in the Ephesian church and he could thank God for that. It was for their partnership in the gospel that Paul thanked God for the Philippians. For the Thessalonian church, Paul was grateful to God for their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in Jesus. Yet to the churches in Galatia, Paul has no commendation, only concern. Why? Because they had so easily departed from Christ.

The flow of Galatians moves from greeting (1:1-2) to gospel (1:3-12), from Paul’s defense against the gospel (1:13-14) to his defense for it, even against church pillars like Peter if necessary (1:15-2:14). Paul builds a case for justification by faith by bringing up the example of Abraham (2:15-4:20), comparing Sarah and Hagar as freedom versus bondage (4:21-5:1), and concluding his case for grace & Spirit-enabled freedom from adding the works or requirements of the law to our faith in Christ (5:2-12). He finishes his letter communicating what a community of grace looks like: a renewed and free people empowered by the Spirit (5:13-6:18).

For the next four blog posts, we are going to review three key passages in Galatians to understand the importance of grace against legalism: chapter 1:1-11 (how grace can be neglected and abandoned, or ‘the problem’), 3:1-10 (that grace is given to sons, not slaves, or ‘the solution’), and 5:1-15 (that grace can only truly be understood in community, or ‘the outcome’). Then we will learn three ways that this letter can apply to our lives today as we truly understand grace. I pray that through these posts you will come to learn that grace - and grace alone - has the final word!

[pilgrimbenham]

Should Senior Pastors Raise Up Their Son to Replace Them?

In “Moses-model” churches, the senior pastor (often the founding pastor) is the sole leader who represents God to the people and the people to God. Their influence, decision-making, and moral character are often unchecked - creating a dangerous distance between “clergy” and “laypeople”. His spiritual calling is what qualifies him - and anyone who disagrees or distracts from his vision is the one in sin. The Moses model is not the only Old Testament form of leadership that is employed in the modern church - there is also the Dynasty model.

Do a quick evaluation of Israel’s history of kings, and an insightful stat emerges from the pages of Scripture like a winsome word of warning: only one of about every two kings is a “good” king. The other half are wicked and “did not do as their father did”. It seems that the throne could easily become a place where self-aggrandizement and power—all the while in the pursuit of lawful righteousness—failed to produce a hunger in the next generation for that same shared zeal for holiness. 

And the same can be said of today’s pulpit.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Being a Pastor’s Kid

Not every son or daughter of a pastor should automatically be in ministry. But there are a few reasons why growing up in the home of a pastor is especially beneficial. The pastor’s kid (’PK’) certainly has an advantage over others in their exposure and familiarity with work and life balance and the tension of ministry need vs. family margin. The PK has seen what imbalance can do to jeopardize or even destroy a family’s synergy. They understand hospitality, frugality, and the (sometimes) unrealistic demands that a needy congregation can place upon a ‘minister’.

But there are also disadvantages. The PK may have seen dysfunction or observed conflict that discourages them from counting the cost. They may not be of moral stature or character to pursue their parents’ call. If there is domestic pressure to follow in dad’s footsteps, some children born to ministry leaders may feel a sense of duty, entitlement, or even expectation that they will be the heir apparent. When this happens, many ministries die a long and inevitable spiritual death.

Old Testament Dynasty VS. The Church as a Body

Many times in the Old Testament we hear the following story: King So-And-So was righteous. He had instituted many religious reforms and had helped make significant spiritual progress in the nation of Israel. But he made the mistake of not investing in his son, Junior So-And-So. Somewhere in this holy household a small boy grew to disdain his father’s values and doctrine. Seizing opportunities to sin and pursue his own way, Jr. lived safely under his father’s banner and reputation. Only once his father was out of the picture would he tragically plunge the nation into spiritual anarchy and thus despair - incurring judgment, difficulty, and bondage for God’s people.

We face a similar concern today. Many pastors are quick to name their own successors—and are confident in the calling of their own sons to carry the torch. However, the church wasn’t designed to be a dynasty: it was formed as a body with many various parts with Jesus alone as the head. Colossians 1:18 says “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” In a healthy working body, only the head calls the shots. The finger may point, but it is powerless to digest food. The tongue may be the most vocal, but it cannot see what the eyes do. Only Jesus—the head of His church—should clarify the future of any ministry. By the Spirit of God, in a local church a plurality of qualified men whom God has raised up as leaders will collectively hear the voice of the Lord and move forward into the future with excitement and vision.  Incidentally, dynasties throughout history were very suspect of threats, violations of their authority, and even other gifted or charismatic leaders in their midst.

In like manner, nepotistic pastors will stifle men who sense a calling in their church and limit their giftings out of fear that their own legacy will be at risk. They won’t allow them to teach or plant churches in near proximity so through either conflict or neglect they mismanage the stewardship God entrusts to them for the care and growth of His body. All because the men who sense a calling are something they could never be: related to the pastor.

When Is It Right To Raise Up Jr.?

Nepotism is a reality in ministry today. Dynasty churches are as alive today as the heirs to the throne of Israel in Jewish Davidic history. Only through robust and rigorous trust in others can we see the church move in to the next generation successfully. Men must humbly place their legacy aside for the greater story and glory of Jesus’ church. Sadly, many pastors have insulated themselves from accountability out of a lack of trust in other men so they turn to someone they think they can trust. And we’ve already seen those odds. The future of this church with Junior? Let’s flip a coin.

So when is it right to raise up a pastor’s kid to replace their father? If a pastor’s son is clearly called, raised up by the Lord and affirmed by the church, he should certainly be considered. But typically it is assumed that Junior will be taking the reigns, so no other options are explored. Children related to the senior pastor should always be tested first, and if brought on staff should have a different pastor to directly report to. If the current leadership agrees and the church body affirms the pastor’s son, this may be a great blessing to the future generation and the Lord may be glorified as the next generation continues the Gospel work founded by the new pastor’s father.

As God is faithful to lead and protect His body, so the recognized leadership under Jesus should be trusted to work together to lead the church into the future. Many churches see the folly of the dynasty mentality and have sought to protect the flock from nepotism by adding trusted leaders to their inherited singular shot-caller structure. They affirm and give opportunities to sons while still shouldering the demands of ministry until the Lord—not dad—raises him up in due time. May Christ be the true head of His church!

Pastor Pilgrim Benham

[pilgrimbenham]

What Do Deacons Do?

In a previous article, I wrote about the character and role of elders in the local church. 

We learned that elders are the men who care for the church by living lives of exemplary character, exercising spiritual oversight as they preach and teach God's Word, protecting the church from false teaching as they shepherd the flock of God (Titus 1:9, 1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Peter 5:1).

The Deacons’ Character

However, elders are not the only leaders in the church. In the New Testament, we also read about deacons. Paul addresses the deacons in Philippians 1:1, "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons". Deacon comes from the word 'diakonoi' in the Greek, which is translated "one who serves”. In this sense, we are all deacons - but the appointed leadership role of deacon in the local church requires a handful of character and competency traits, similar to the elders. Deacons must be men of dignity, not hypocrisy (1 Tim 3:8), temperate with both alcohol consumption as well as money (1 Tim 3:8). They should be proven as servants before being given a title (1 Tim 3:9), faithful husbands to their wives (1 Tim 3:12), skilled at disciplining their children (1 Tim 3:13) and good household managers (1 Tim 3:12). The deacon who serves well stands out in the congregation as a great example, in turn causing them to walk with great confidence in their faith (1 Tim 3:13). Their wives are also to exemplify temperance in word, thought, and deed (1 Tim 3:11).

The First Deacons

In Acts 6, a crisis was brewing in the Jerusalem church. As the church grew in number, some of the believers from a Gentile ethnicity (Hellenists) were complaining to the leadership of the church because some widows were being overlooked or neglected as food was shared with those who had need. It is part of the local church's responsibility to look out and care for widows among her (James 1:27) - an aspect of righteousness and justice that has always existed among God's covenantal people (Exo 22:22-23, Deut 24:17-21, 1 Tim 5, Isa 1:17). The elders of the Jerusalem church come to an important conclusion: "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:2-4). The seven men selected and brought before the congregation were appointed as the church's first deacons.

However, Alexander Strauch points out in his book "Paul's Vision for the Deacons": "...the Seven were to provide charitable relief for the church’s many impoverished members (Acts 6:3). But in 1 Timothy 3, Paul assigns no specific tasks for the diakonoi/assistants of the elders. As the term assistants indicates, the deacons do what the elders assign them to do so as to allow the elders to focus more on feeding, leading, and protecting God’s flock. The problem with trying to connect the Seven of Acts 6 with the later deacons is that neither Luke nor Paul state such a connection." He goes on to state, "The specific tasks of the deacons are to be determined by the elders in accordance with the church’s particular needs, size, and giftedness of its members." Thus, though 'waiting tables' was what the Jerusalem church's overseers needed the deacons to assist them with, this will take a completely different shape from local church to local church.

How Deacons Assist the Elders

Notice that the elders did not ignore the needs of the congregation (waiting tables) but raised up the deacons to help them in oversight and care for the body. The reason the deacons were appointed was to allow the elders to prioritize their attention on prayer and preaching. Within the Bible, deacons are always mentioned after the overseers (elders) because their role is to assist and complement the priority of prayer, preaching, and doctrinal precision. We don't read about deacons serving in their role for pay - only the pastors/elders seem to receive that distinction (1 Timothy 5:17-18). A big distinction between elders and deacons is that deacons are not required to teach. They must have a firm grasp on the gospel (1 Tim 3:9), but wouldn't necessarily be preaching or teaching like the elders.

Deacons help foster the practical care that a fellowship of people require, assisting the elders in pastoring the church both administratively, practically, and ministerially. There should always be a team of deacons working together to help care for the congregation, unless there is a temporary exception. Strauch points out, "Certainly elders need continuous help with official hospital visits and phone calls, checking on absentees, managing charitable gifts, distributing aid to the needy, assisting families in distress, visiting and protecting the elderly and shut-ins, helping with finances, overseeing church property, and carrying out certain administrative tasks....The help of qualified, approved assistants … relieves the elders of certain demanding tasks and helps them to keep their focus on their primary ministry of leading and feeding God’s flock." 

Pray that God would raise up more servants to assist your elders in caring for Jesus' church!

-Pilgrim

For more, read Alexander Strauch's Paul's Vision for the Deacons: Assisting the Elders with the Care of God's Church. Lewis & Roth Publishers. Kindle Edition. Also visit www.deaconbook.com.

[pilgrimbenham]

What Do Elders Do?

The Scriptures explain to us that the chief leader - and very foundation - of the local church is uncontested: His name is Jesus Christ. 

Under the authority and direction of Christ, the “undershepherds” include both the elders and deacons. The deacons - literally “servants” - are men who originated in Acts 6 as those who assist the elders in caring for the congregation in practical ways such as benevolent care or in facilitating ministries that serve the church and her needs (in the case of the Jerusalem church in Acts 6, it was caring for and feeding widows who had been overlooked or discriminated against). The assistance deacons provide allows the elders to prioritize their focus on preaching and prayer (Acts 6:4).

THE ELDER’S CHARACTER & COMPETENCY

Both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 describe the exemplary character demanded of elders - they are to be “above reproach”, “sober minded”, and “the husband of one wife” (meaning a one-woman man). Titus 1:7 also uses an interchangeable word “overseer” - demonstrating that the elders are the men called to exercise spiritual oversight in the local church as they submit to Christ’s lordship. In 1 Peter 5:1, Peter speaks to “the elders among you, as a fellow elder” and then proceeds to exhort them to “shepherd (pastor) the flock of God that is among you”. The elders are the men tasked with pastoring the people of God as they lead with willing hearts, humble demeanors, and lives that set an example worth of following. Above all this, elders must be uniquely gifted at preaching and teaching as they give instruction on sound doctrine and have the authority to rebuke any contradictory teaching (Titus 1:9, 1 Timothy 3:2). With this God-given duty, the congregation should submit willingly to their counsel and care (Hebrews 13:7,17).

PLURALITY OF ELDERS

Paul instructed Titus to “appoint elders in every town as I directed you” (Titus 1:5). Each local church should have a council of qualified men who work together for the oversight and spiritual health of their congregation. A plurality of elders bears a significant weight of responsibility and work and should rely on one another to steward this responsibility well. In his book, Biblical Eldership, Alexander Strauch provides at least three reasons why a plurality of elders is both healthy and helpful: it balances people’s weaknesses, it lightens the workload, and it provides accountability. I can say from experience both how joyful it is to work with others - and how “safe” it is to not be a rogue leader who is susceptible to my own (or others’) whims. 

FIRST AMONG EQUALS

Within this team, there is still a “primus inter pares” - or ‘first among equals’,  like Peter in Jerusalem (Matt 10:2), or Paul with Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:13, 14:12), or Philip/Stephen among the deacons (who are both listed first in Acts 6:5 as well as chapters 7-8 and 21:8). The elder (or elders) who is first among equals is recognized as the chief speaker and who is uniquely gifted and called to represent the group to the church, speaking appropriately on the elders’ behalf, worthy of the double honor of being supported by the local church financially (1 Timothy 5:17). As Strauch points out, this does not demote the other elders to become his “assistant pastors”; Peter was not the apostles’ ‘senior pastor’! On the contrary, these men share the responsibility equally - though their workload may be divided up quite differently.

WHAT DO THE ELDERS DO?

So what do elders actually do in a church?

We join with other church members in joyfully fulfilling our responsibilities as church members (Phil. 3:17; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:7–8; 1 Pet. 5:3)

We carefully shepherd the flock with willing, eager humility (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-4)

We invite others to follow our exemplary walk with Christ (1 Cor 11:1, 1 Peter 5:3, Titus 1:6)

We teach the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27–28; 1 Tim 4:16; 2 Tim. 4:1–5; Titus 2:1) and carry the authority of God’s Word (1 Timothy 2:12)

We safeguard sound doctrine and warn those in error (Titus 1:9-2:1)

We counsel, reprove, rebuke, and exhort our fellow members from the Scriptures (2 Timothy 4:2)

We pray for our members (Acts 6:4), particularly the sick (James 5:14), along with those in all levels of God-given authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

We organize our gatherings to equip the saints and glorify God (Ephesians 4:11-12)

We prayerfully seek God’s will for our church community and steward her resources to the best of our ability based on our study of the Scriptures and following of the Spirit (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:1–4).

We lovingly exercise discipline when necessary, for the glory of God, the good of the one disciplined and the health of the church as a whole (Matt. 18:15–20; 1 Cor. 5; Gal. 6:1; James 5:19–20)

We identify, train, and appoint future elders and deacons according to the criteria assigned to them in the Scriptures (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Pet. 5:1–4).

WHAT YOUR ELDERS ARE PROBABLY DOING THIS WEEK

This list is not exhaustive - but gives a glimpse of what elders are generally called to oversee Biblically. On any given week, our elders are praying with and for our members, sitting down in Biblical counseling meetings, planning worship services, studying a passage of Scripture to teach, training future leaders, reviewing the church’s finances, following up with new visitors, meeting with potential new members in the church, calling wayward members to deeper discipleship, exhorting both younger and older men (and women) to grow in their faith (Titus 2-3), studying doctrinal / current issues in the broader body of Christ in order to create content which will best protect and equip the church, organizing weddings/funerals/baby dedications/baptisms as God’s people grow in grace. It is all at once a noble task (1 Timothy 3:1), a weighty yet wonderful responsibility, and a ministry we have received by the mercy of God (2 Cor 4:1). Pray for your elders - they are praying for you!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Plurality Principle

Biblical Eldership

Church Elders

[pilgrimbenham]

Four Reasons Why I’m Complementarian

In recent days there has been great controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention surrounding a well-known church which ordained at least three female pastors - which directly contradicts the SBC’s position on Biblical qualifications for pastors/elders. I have some great friends who land in different places on this issue, so this is not my attempt to barrage or attack anyone’s personal or ministerial convictions. It is an opportunity for me to succinctly explain why I hold to “hard” complementarianism and why I believe this is the only Biblically-faithful way to interpret the entire volume of Scripture as it pertains to this topic.

First, let’s define some terms. There are generally three main “camps” that each hold to a unique view on the role of women. The Hierarchal camp believes that in every sphere of life, women are inferior to men. Generally those who are Hierarchal believe that women should not work outside of the home, including holding public office, running companies, or starting businesses. They should stay home and make their role as wife and potentially mother their primary and sole vocation. They are not to speak in church and should have no role in any church leadership. On the other extreme, the Egalitarian camp believes that men and women are to be equal in every role, in every sphere. Egalitarians would ordain women as senior pastors, associate pastors, etc. 

The Complementarian camp agrees that women are equal to men in dignity, worth, value, and are not in any way inferior to men as those who have been created in the Imago Dei. However, Complementarians believe that a woman’s role is limited in the spheres of the home and the church - and that in those two spheres *qualified* men are called to lead as they submit to Christ as their Head. Complementarians will not ordain women as pastors but believe they should participate in the life of the church, even in varying degrees.

Within these larger camps there are smaller subsets. Perhaps this continuum would help clarify the nuance: Hierarchal - women are inferior to men in identity and role, in every sphere Hard Complementarian - women are equal to men in identity but limited in their role in the spheres of home and church Soft Complementarian - women are equal to men in identity and should be allowed to teach men if they are submitted to the leaders of the church Soft Egalitarian - women should be ordained as pastors if their husbands are pastors, or if they are pastoring women Hard Egalitarian - women are equal to men in identity and role, in every sphere

The “soft” complementarian view has gained the strongest support in recent years, with some prominent evangelical leaders promoting their wives, women’s ministry leaders, and female theologians to teach and preach on occasion in the pulpit. In more charismatic/pentecostal circles, the soft egalitarian view has been the modus operandi for a generation, with the hard egalitarian position relegated to the more liberal denominations. But a seismic shift is taking place. As our western culture continues to question gender dynamics, sexuality & identity, it is only a matter of time before the Egalitarian view takes the moral high ground, accusing Complementarians of abuse of power, faulty interpretation, and dogmatic chauvinism. I thoroughly reject those indictments, and here list four reasons why I’m Complementarian:

1. The Trinity models all relationships. 

That may seem like a strange concept, but consider the unique relationship within the Godhead. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all co-equal and yet distinct. The Father leads, sends, initiates, and has authority over the Son - but the Son does not exert authority over the Father. Instead, Jesus willingly submits Himself to, yields, trusts, responds, and even obeys the Father. The Father sends the Spirit not to replace the Son but as a co-equal member of the Godhead, He points our attention back to Jesus and applies the teaching and work of Christ to all believers, to the Father’s glory. Consider the perfect unity and distinct, humble diversity displayed by our Triune God. This complementary relationship should be the model for our marriages and the gender roles within the church.

2. All of Jesus’ apostles were men. 

Jesus doubtless had many female disciples/followers, which should surprise, delight, and encourage us. Christianity is not a religion for “men only” (nor, for that matter, is it for one race, tribe, socioeconomic category, caste, age demographic, or political party). Though at His ascension there were at least 120 faithful followers, Jesus only appointed twelve with apostolic, pastoral authority - and these happened to only be men. Was this because Jesus was sexist? Was this because women are inferior to men, or are incapable of teaching at the same quality as men? Absolutely not! This is not an argument on gifting, but qualification. Many men are very gifted at preaching but are disqualified because of their character. Gifts are subservient to biblical qualification, and the Bible makes no intentional case for a woman pastor (if it did, I would easily become an Egalitarian!).

3. The Biblical qualifications for pastors/elders in 1 Timothy 3 & Titus 1 both describe the qualified pastor (and deacon) as ‘the husband of one wife’. 

1 Timothy 3 goes on to describe the wife of a deacon with a separate list of qualifications. Every example proposed by detractors of complementarianism is eisegesis at best, or Bible origami at worst (people will mention Phoebe, Deborah, or Priscilla - women used by God but certainly not ordained, recognized elders in a New Testament church). If there were a leadership role within the church for women, God’s word would have made it clear.

4. The roles in the church mirror the roles in the home, and vice-versa. 

In the home, I am not the head (Christ is!). Ephesians 5:21-33, written in the first century, dismantled the Roman concepts of men owning their wives and treating their children like property. He is to be faithful to his wife, loving her and providing an example to his children that would not cause them exasperation. She is to submit to him and yield the final authority in the home to the husband’s care, as he submits himself to Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3). If we encourage women to be the authority in the church, we must also capitulate to their authority in the home - and the Scriptures will not permit this.

There is much more to unpack on this topic, with lots of passionate opinion and perspective on all sides. I pray the Lord will continue to encourage leaders to believe not only in the authority of Scripture, but also in its’ sufficiency. Though the world would rail at the church as old-fashioned, sexist, chauvinistic and bigoted, we must continue to declare the glory of the Gospel without apology - but perhaps with a bit more nuance. What about you? Where do you land on women in church leadership?

[pilgrimbenham]

My Daily Morning Routine

Every day is indeed a gift from God. I have been learning how to live my life “coram Deo” - before the face of God. Knowing that we have an opportunity with each and every sunrise to “redeem the time, for the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16), how we manage the firstfruits of our daily lives matters. If we lack intentionality, we will allow the loudest alarms and what is most pressing to command our attention and order our day. There is a better way - a purposed, consistent, intentional daily routine.

A Few Caveats

Now before I share my routine - here’s a few caveats: -I don’t follow this routine on Sundays - because I consider “the Lord’s day” a very unique and distinct day of the week which starts with reflection, worship, and gathering with God’s fellowship of the redeemed to both express our gratitude for our Triune God, as well as to be equipped for the work of ministry as we grow in the Gospel of grace through the proclamation of God’s Word from Genesis to Revelation. So I begin with a different time of prayer, worship, and Bible reading.

-I don’t follow this routine on my day off (which is not Sunday - I’m a pastor!). I like to start the week strong getting much work done on Mondays and then take Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoons off to rest and recharge with my family. Not following my daily routine on my off day means spending more time resting and leaning into recreation, relationships, and responsibilities.

-I don’t follow this routine on days I wake up feeling unwell or when on vacation. The focus on those days is restoration and health.

My Daily Routine

Those aside, here is my daily routine: -I wake up between 5:30 - 6:00am with my Apple Watch alarm (which has been charging on my night stand - our phones are not in our bedroom at night but are charging in the living room). -I first drink a large glass of water to prepare my day hydrated, and do some basic stretching and breathing exercises. -I wake my children up between 6 and 6:30 to help them get a jumpstart on preparing for their day (they leave by 7am and my older son drives them to school. Life these days is great!). Often 6:30-7:15am is sheer chaos and thus my “quiet” time is not so quiet...but I still do my routine around them (not separated in a study or separate room) to show them I am available to help as needed. -I do my best to not check social media or emails - but if a text message has been sent overnight I do confirm there aren’t any urgent messages lingering. -I use an app called “DayOne” which is a journaling app. I write down 3 things I am thankful for - including one specific characteristic/trait about my wife that I love and appreciate at the moment. Then I take a few moments to pray for my family, confess sin, and yield my heart to Christ as I open my Bible. -I read a portion of Scripture. Currently I am in seminary so we are reading through the entire Bible, which is a practice I try to maintain annually/daily. As of writing this, I am reading through the book of Acts three chapters a morning. I try to notice anything that stands out in the text and always journal that verse in the DayOne app, along with some personal thoughts on the verse(s). -I will often supplement my Bible reading with a prayer from the Valley of Vision prayer book, a Morning Devotion from Charles Spurgeon, and the daily reading from Paul Tripp’s “New Morning Mercies”. Often these latter three are done on Fridays with my wife as we read a few psalms and a chapter from Proverbs (which corresponds to whatever day of the month we are in). -I then review my current goals. I always have 3 Big Monthly Goals (which I set once a quarter and at the end of the previous month), my 3 Big Weekly Goals, and list what I have ahead of me that day. I take a few minutes to pray through my schedule and intercede for any people we know or in our church who have urgent prayer needs. -Depending on the day, I then go for a run (more like a jog!) or bike ride, while listening to an audiobook. Listening to books for an hour a day allows me to “read” (or ‘listen’, if you asked my wife!) at least a book every week. By the time I am home it is time to cool down, shower and head to our church office to begin my day - usually by 9am! -When I get to the office, I start with a series of tasks that start each day out the same (prayer, email, daily tasks, scripture memory, and more). Mondays I work on a lot of administrative tasks, prayer, followup from our weekend gathering, as well as reading through the text I’ll be teaching that Sunday and outlining the sermon. Tuesdays I do a “deep dive” and prepare most of the sermon content (introduction, main points from the exposition, application, and conclusion). Tuesday is my heavy-reading/study day. Wednesdays I write and have discipleship and leadership meetings, along with prayer. Thursday we have an admin team meeting and I do counseling, then do some final weekend service prep on our order of service and communication. -This morning routine lasts from 5:30-8:30 but doesn’t always include the run/bike ride. Not everyone has the time to devote to personal/consistent growth but as a pastor and community leader, I don’t have time not to!

Having a daily routine does not have to be as long or as structured as mine - the key is to wake up around the same time, start with gratitude, exercise, and reading. For Christians, it is key to start the day in prayer and studying God’s Word and considering how we can live our lives to the fullest, for God’s glory. As we live “coram Deo”, may we submit our schedules to honoring and glorifying the King!

What does your morning routine look like? Is there any consistency, intentionality, and routine? What is holding you back from spending at least a few minutes starting your day right?

[pilgrimbenham]

P.R.A.Y.

Every Monday morning, as I begin my week in-office, I begin by asking my Facebook ‘friends’ how I may pray for them. This is more than a passing attempt at pleasantries and certainly not to garnish attention for some perceived (and mistaken) piousness by me. It is more like a means of accountability - to remind myself as I work behind the scenes in anonymity and exertion that my greatest work and calling is to pray for others and exhaust myself at God’s welcoming throne of grace.

Prayer sadly is one of the spiritual disciplines that is most often neglected by Christians (the same can be said of pastors!). It seems to be an omnipresent prayer request at small groups: “pray for me, I am not praying enough!” This can cause discouragement and defeat. Some have just resigned that they “can’t” pray. However, we are admonished throughout the Scriptures to commune with God - almost at a constant pace and with consistency. This doesn’t necessarily have to be timed and organized - but should also be spontaneous and in the urgency of the moments throughout our day.

A great example for us is Paul the apostle, who was known for constantly praying (Ephesians 1:16, 2 Timothy 1:3, 1 Thessalonians 1:3). He exhorted the church in Ephesus to keep “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me”. Nehemiah was known both for praying long, particularly robust prayers over the course of several days - as well as short and focused prayers of spontaneity in the middle of a moment of decision (Nehemiah 1:4-11, 2:4). The amount of time isn’t as critical as practicing a consistent and focused time to spend in communion with our Heavenly Father who knows what we need before we even ask (Matthew 6:8). Jesus likewise was in constant communication (or you could say, ‘communion’) with His Father. On one particularly busy week of ministry, rather than grinding away in ministry and neglecting prayer, Jesus instead was awake early and praying (Mark 1:35).

I recently learned a helpful acronym that gives believers a great assist in prayer, and it’s pretty hard not to remember this: P.R.A.Y.

This stands for: Praise, Repent, Ask, and Yield. Let’s unpack each of these to form a helpful template in our fellowship with God.

PRAISE

Ultimately, prayer begins with praise. We take the time to exalt God as we consider His attributes and the ways He has faithfully worked in our lives. We express gratitude and appreciation for who He is and what He has done. This could be acknowledging broader things like health, provision, or strength - or being very specific in what we are praising Him for in this moment. I personally like to reflect on at least three things I am thankful for every morning, and am careful to return the praise to God specifically. Jesus commended the one leper who returned to praise God and thank Jesus for his cleansing, whereas the other nine who were cleansed never expressed their gratitude (Luke 17:11-19).

REPENT

Next, we take time in prayer to repent of our sin. To be more accurate, this is confession. When I confess my sins, I am admitting that I am in need of forgiveness, I am staying in fellowship with other Christians, and I am walking in the truth. When I cover them, excuse them, dismiss them, or pretend that I don’t have any sin, I lose fellowship with the Lord and His people and His truth does not abide in me (1 John 1:6-10). So taking the time to honestly review my behavior, thoughts, words, decisions and attitudes and confess them to God brings me into the truth and into the light. John goes on to say in 1 John 2:1, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” Repentance means to actively put those areas of sin to death even as we pursue God’s righteousness by the Spirit’s help as we walk in obedience. In prayer this may be saying, “Father, forgive me for looking lustfully at that woman. I know what Your Word says about this - and I have transgressed Your law.” It seems that I am consistently confessing (and also repenting of) my constant acts of selfishness, lust, anger, and pride - to name a few. It is helpful to daily ask for God’s Spirit to search you and lead you to confession, a practice initiated by David in Psalm 139.

ASK

Thirdly, we begin to ask. The most obvious request after confessing our sin is to ask for God in Christ to forgive us. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So we rest in the finished work of Christ on our behalf. We ask God to restore to us the joy of our salvation. We ask for strength to forgive others, as we have been forgiven. Then, and often only then, do I personally begin to intercede for others or petition God for specific prayer requests. This is the type of prayer we usually think of when we say “prayer” - crying out to God on behalf of those who are sick, suffering, or in need of salvation. I have a prayer list that continues to grow and use a smartphone app called “Echo Prayer”. This app will remind you daily to pray for a variety of lists that you set up and helps keep you focused on who you are interceding for.

YIELD

Finally, we close in prayer by yielding to His sovereign, gracious care. This means to submit everything we have prayed for to the God who is faithful to keep His promise and Who is gentle in how He works (Psalm 145:13). When we yield in prayer to God’s Word and God’s ways, this will fortify us when we face trials, discouragement, and moments of severe hardship. For example, the three Israelites who faced the fiery furnace of wrath expressed that they had already yielded their safety and future to God when they said to Nebuchadnezzar, “…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). Note with me that they weren’t necessarily in prayer when they said this, but they were affirming their faith in YHWH to a governmental authority who threatened their lives. They had certainly yielded to God’s sovereign, gracious care before being in this precarious position, but had already resolved to submit to only worshiping and bowing down to the true and living God. We too should open our eyes of faith when we conclude our prayers and open our physical eyes.

However our prayer life looks, may we trust God to be faithful to His Word and His people - resting in Christ for all that we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:3-11) as we ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7). Near the end of 1 John, listen to these words of assurance and may they greatly encourage us as we pray: “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” I trust that our prayer lives are not what they *could* or *should* be - but begin spending time with our Heavenly Father today by praising Him, repenting of sin, asking for His gracious provision, and yielding to His sovereign care. 

Let me know in the comments if this template has helped you stay more focused in prayer!