DO YOU EVER WANT TO QUIT YOUR CHURCH?

I suspect all Pastors/Elders, at least occasionally, want to quit! You may be thinking - "yeah I wish mine would", but it isn't that easy. Scripture says:

2 Tim. 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; 2 Preach the word! Be ready in and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heal up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (NKJV)

Once called to a church and given the responsibilities as outlined in scripture Pastors/Elders have a call form God to lead and serve as instructed above. Similar to marriage: How can you be sure you are called to be fully committed to your current spouse? By the fact that you are married to them! Likewise, unless a moral issue or a stray form Biblical orthodoxy requires a Pastor/Elder to be removed or resign it must be assumed they are where God has called them. It is evident from the verse above that God's will for the Pastor/Elder does not always mean smooth sailing, but also may include resistance to sound doctrine, afflictions and the necessity of being long suffering!

So what do you do as a Pastor/Elder when you want to quit? Remember God’s call and stay. Simple enough, but is that all there is to it? Is it necessary to be enthusiastic about it or simply go through the motions out of obligation? Back to the marriage comparison - is it God’s desire that we simply tolerate our marriage/spouse out of obligation or must we actively love them? It goes without saying we are to actively love, not just tolerate our spouse. Consider the call to love the whole body of Christ and see the bar is set very, very high:

Phil. 2:1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (NKJV)

So as a Pastor/Elder quitting is not the answer, staying with a bad attitude out of obligation is not the answer, but rather seeking power in the Spirit to actively love the church in the confidence that God’s will is being done as we fulfill our call according to scripture. As God is way better at managing the universe than we are, it would be right to be very thankful for where He has us and seek to grow in our relationship with Him as we face the difficulties He allows into our lives right where we are - for His glory! Not always easy, but that is our call and we should fulfill it!

So - What should you do when you want to quit?

The Doctrine of Original Sin

This video by Mark Kielar is worth a few minutes of your time!

Salvation - Fair or Biblical?

Many passages in scripture would seem to suggest, at first glance, a lack of fairness in the way of salvation.

For example:

Rom. 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion." 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to the Pharaoh "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills and whom He wills He hardens. (NKJV)

People will sometimes go to great lengths to redefine what otherwise seems obvious in an attempt to make sure the scripture fits their idea of fairness. While I can't say my analogies below regarding salvation are perfect, no analogy ever is,  I do hope they aid in describing the error of  much fairness thinking as it relates to salvation and provide a more biblical picture.

Typical fairness analogy - God laments over the less than ideal circumstances that have left mankind drowning in the lake of sin. God throws out a life ring (salvation through Jesus) to all people. Some say "yes I want to live" and grab hold (saved), while others say "no thanks" and eventually drown (eternal condemnation). God tried to save all, but only some were smart enough, humble enough or something else enough to take the offer. Those who grabbed hold of salvation are glad they had what it took to make the right choice and take comfort in the fact that all had a chance! Fair maybe, biblical - not so much!

A more biblical analogy - From before creation God's redemptive plan included the present state of things, even mankind hopelessly drowning in lake of sin (mankind is still to blame for sin). God has also planned from before creation that He would rescue some of these drowning people by His grace and for His glory. Mankind does not want God and would never choose Him. Spiritually mankind might as well be dead at the bottom of the lake! Mankind was born lake dwellers (sinners) and also enjoys life in the lake of sin separated from God and His righteousness. If God throws in a life ring mankind will ignore it, throw it back or even curse God for meddling in their business. In spite of mankind's enmity against God, His plan includes the gracious saving of some of the rebellious lake dwellers. Since they won't choose Him and don't want Him, God changes their hearts "rebirths" them (through word/Spirit), so that they recognize their true state and freely desire Him, forgiveness and even righteousness. God does everything necessary (through Jesus) for those He chose to save and others are left with what they wanted, separation from God and His righteousness forever.

Not a perfect analogy, but more biblical and as it should be - God gets all the glory! This seems especially fitting since scripture tells us the way He does save is not to the praise of our wise choice, but - "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us acceptable in the Beloved". (Eph. 1:6 NKJV)

The One Who Seeks God's Glory Is True

Click on text below for an excellent John Piper sermon!

The One Who Seeks God's Glory Is True

Was Pharaoh’s Heart Ever Soft? Was Israel Any Different?

Much debate has raged over the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart as described in Exodus Ch. 4-14 and in Rom. Ch. 9. We would be right to question God's justice in making an innocent person sin whether by irresistible force or strong coercion. However, if someone were already God's willful enemy, guilty of sin, had a natural desire to sin  and was deserving of eternal judgment for their sin, would God be wrong to use their own sinful desires, circumstances or even a direct influence on their will to bring about His purpose - including some of their deserved judgment? 

The nature of man's heart, Pharaoh's or anyone else for that matter, would seem to bear greatly on this whole issue. The New Testament has much to say about man's nature and sin: 
 
Rom. 1:18 says people - "suppress the truth through unrighteousness", Rom. 3:11 asserts -"no one understands", "no one seeks after God", Rom. 8:7 affirms - "Carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God nor indeed can be", 1 Cor. 2:14 likewise says - "natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit they are foolishness to Him nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned".

Perhaps mankind’s heart and relationship toward God is well summed up here:

Eph. 2:3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (NKJV)

We must understand the nature of man's heart with the best information possible, the direct teaching of scripture, which we see confirms that all people are naturally hard hearted. So it follows that Pharaoh’s heart was hard and that he was inclined by nature and his own desire to choose sin. Even if Pharaoh was not as bad as he could have been in every instance, his choices were not out of a love for or obedience to God.

Now with that said can God justly and for His own purpose intervene in the life of Pharaoh even to the point of hardening his heart so he doesn't let Israel go when otherwise out of fear/pain/logic, but not righteousness, he might have?

Scripture says -  

Exod. 4:21 And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. (NKJV)

Exod. 10:1 Now the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him, 2 and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD.” (NKJV)

Exod. 11:9 But the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not heed you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.” 10 So Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go out of his land. (NKJV)

Exod. 14:3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. (NKJV)

I realize that between the first mention of God’s plan to harden Pharaoh’s heart (4:21) and the final hardening which God claims credit for as well (14:3) there are several mentions of Pharaoh hardening his own heart. However, it is very clear that God wants to be recognized as the source of the hardening and even tells us several reasons why: To show - “Israel is My son, My firstborn”, that Israel may tell their sons “of the great things I have done in Egypt”, “My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt”, “I may gain honor over Pharaoh”, “the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord”.

Pharaoh comes close to letting Israel go several times in response to the painful plagues, but since God’s purpose is not yet fulfilled He hardens Pharaoh’s heart. (Example: Exod. 10:24-28).

It is clear that Pharaoh was hard hearted by nature and choice, like all people and that God caused him to keep Israel longer than he otherwise might have (to avoid the plagues/pain) so that God’s purpose in the deliverance of Israel would be fully carried out.

One more question to consider - Is Israel any better?

God tells Pharaoh “let my people go” and He tells Israel “I will deliver you out”. Israel sees the signs/plagues brought on Egypt affirming their deliverance, but do they respond with great faith or do they seem a bit hard hearted as well?

Exod. 14:10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” (NKJV)

God’s opinion of Israel’s heart/faithfulness is summed up well here:

Deut. 9:4 “Do not think in your heart, after the LORD your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out from before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. (NKJV)

The amazing thing about God’s workings among Israel and Egypt during the Exodus is not the audacity of God to harden the rebellious/hell deserving Pharaoh, but the audacity of His choice to show grace toward Israel who is also rebellious and hell deserving!

Lord – please intervene in our lives according to your mercy and grace - for your purpose and glory!