Category: Bible

For our recent elder Q&A, we received some Bible questions that we did not have time to answer. This week, therefore, I decided to try out using the Midweek Meditation for Bible Q&A. Here’s today’s question:

What does Matthew 6:22-23 mean? The NASB95 translation reads, “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”

These verses have long puzzled Bible interpreters, so I sympathize with the asker’s straightforward question. In answer, let me emphasize certain good habits of Bible study. Understanding these verses requires attention to three important areas:

1. Context. All good Bible interpretation pays attention to a text’s surrounding words and ideas as this context generally sheds important light on a passage’s meaning. After all, the Bible is written as a purposeful flow of ideas and arguments, so we should ask: what does Jesus speak about before and after Mt 6:22-23? A quick glance at Mt 6:19-21 and 24 shows that Jesus is speaking in this section about wealth and how devotion to wealth is incompatible with devotion to God. In the wider context, Mt 6:1-18 contrasts fake righteousness’ obsession with earthly reward and true righteousness’ commitment to heavenly reward with God. Mt 6:25-34 also contrasts the life of one devoted to God with the life of one devoted to possessions: the God-seeker trusts God to provide for tomorrow’s needs while the possession-seeker is dominated by worry. All this context helps us to see that, whatever the exact meaning of Mt 6:22-23, Jesus is saying something to us here about wealth and the need to seek God over temporal and passing treasures.

2. Key Terms. As with appreciating context, digging more deeply to understand difficult or important words in a passage is another critical part of good Bible interpretation. Here, two key terms are the words translated “clear” and “bad.” The Greek word for “clear” (haplous) literally means “single” and figuratively means “single-minded, sincere, or straightforward.” The Greek term translated “bad” (poneros) means just that: “bad.” However, this badness could be either moral or qualitative, that is, bad in the sense of “wicked, evil” or in the sense of “poor quality, useless.” The latter idea would make sense for describing eyes: a useless eye is an unhealthy eye with no light. Meanwhile, though “single” is perhaps an odd way to describe good eyesight, the idea here possibly is of singular or clear vision.

There is another wrinkle, however: the phrase “evil eye” meant something specific to people at that time. To the ancients, an “evil eye” is an envious eye that resents and desires the material prosperity of others. We see “evil eye” (poneros ophthalmos), for example, used both in Mk 7:22 (translated “envy”) and Mt 20:15 (translated “envious eye”). Indeed, the idea of an envious eye fits very well with a passage talking about wrong devotion to wealth and possessions. In fact, several commentators think that Jesus is employing double meaning and wordplay here when talking about eyes: an eye that envies others is one that is also bad and cannot see clearly, while a sincere eye that does not regard the good of others with ulterior motives is the one with singular and whole vision!

3. Historical Context. One final important aspect of good interpretation worth mentioning for this passage has to do with historical background. We probably have difficulty understanding the metaphor Jesus uses regarding the eye as the lamp of the body. After all, we know that a lamp provides light, but don’t the eyes function more like windows than lamps, letting in light from the outside? And what’s all this about the light or darkness within a person? We are tripped up here because of our modern scientific understanding of vision. We understand that we can see because our eyes capture light from outside ourselves and transmit sensory information to the brain in such a way that our brain creates pictures of what our eyes detect.

The ancients, though, did not fully understand how vision worked and so described sight in phenomenological language, that is, how sight feels and appears. Eyes help you see and thus function like illuminating lamps. When you can’t see, it’s like your eyes are dark or dim (cf. Gen 27:1; 1 Sam 3:2; Isa 29:18). These are not scientifically accurate statements, but they do not attempt to be; they are accurate descriptions of feeling and appearance (like using the terms “sunrise” and “sunset,” which even we moderns use). Therefore, to understand Jesus’ metaphor, we must be careful not to import unnecessarily a modern understanding of vision into the text.

Conclusion: With the above three points in mind, what is Jesus teaching in Mt 6:22-23? It depends on whether we see the nature of the eyes as either cause or effect. Does having an envious outlook cause darkness of heart, or is the envious outlook the result of a dark heart? Because of Jesus’ statement about the heart and treasure in Mt 6:21, I take the latter view (though it’s also true that one’s outlook reinforces what is already in the heart). Jesus teaches us that how one views others and their wealth shows whether light or darkness is in the heart. If your eye, the lamp of your body, is sincere and bright, then your whole body must be full of light. But if your eye is envious and dark, then your whole body must be full of darkness. And if darkness is so clearly evident in your external outlook and actions, how bad must the dark idolatry be on the inside!

So then, in light of this teaching from Jesus, we must ask ourselves the following question: “How’s my eyesight?”

This past Sunday, we heard from Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7:15-18 that righteousness and wisdom, while God-glorifying and the best ways to live life, do not always result in earthly blessing. While this is a hard truth, the perhaps even harder truth to accept is that God may choose to bless other persons, who seem just as or even less deserving, and not you. For example, your business may struggle while your friend’s succeeds, your body may be debilitated by disease while your neighbor is healthy and carefree, or your worldly acquaintances may have all happily found boyfriends/girlfriends or spouses while you remain single. We often respond to these situations with envy, anger, or despair. “Does God simply hate me?” we ask, “Otherwise, why would God give others what they want and not me? Why should God cause others to prosper and not me?”

As with suffering, one can find many examples in the Bible of God’s righteous having unequal experiences of prosperity. Some righteous women had no children, few children, or children who grew up to be evil, while other righteous women had many and/or godly children (consider the various experiences of Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, Jochebed, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Anna); some Old Testament prophets were dishonored, persecuted, and killed, while other Old Testament prophets were honored, heeded, and preserved (consider the variations between Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist); and some New Testament Christians were martyred early while other Christians had long ministries before their martyrdoms or were never martyred at all (consider the experiences of Stephen, James, Peter, Paul, and John). These outcomes were not simply based on righteousness, i.e., some experiencing more blessing because they were more faithful to God. Rather, God simply determined that one righteous person should be blessed in a particular way and that another righteous person should not.

How should we respond to unequal prosperity? Though this topic is worthy of a whole sermon, let me briefly outline three ways:

1. Humble yourself before God. As with other difficult circumstances of life, we must first recognize that God has a right to do as he pleases with his creation. If he wishes to exalt one person and afflict another, even two brethren in the same church, that is God’s right, and he does not owe an explanation. He is the potter and we are the clay (Isa 45:9-10; Rom 9:19-21). His ways are far above ours, and we do not have to understand what God is doing to trust him. Furthermore, that we experience any good from God is already an incredible grace (Gen 32:10; Luke 17:10).
2. Beware craving earthly gain. One reason we resent the prosperity of others is because we think we need what they have in order to be happy or secure. But Solomon has shown us again and again in Ecclesiastes that this is false: there is no lasting joy or protection in the things of the world, even in the good but temporary gifts of God. After all, whenever you do finally get what you have been coveting, you will find—just as the toddler does who finally gets the toy for which he whined—that it is only vapor. For good reason the Scriptures exhort us to set our minds on treasures that truly last (Mt 6:19-21).
3. Remember God’s perfect love. Though we must all submit to God’s sovereignty, we should remember that God is no miser. Rather, he is a loving and generous father who loves to give what is good and needful to his children (Mt 6:25-33; 7:7-11). The Scriptures even promise that God never withholds good from his own (Ps 34:10; 84:11). Therefore, we can say with confidence that, if we lack a certain blessing, it is only because it would not be truly good for us to have it. God knows what each person needs, and all of us need most of all to know, become more like, and glorify Christ.

Varying levels of prosperity are a fact of life. While God’s wisdom often leads to success, it does not always, nor does it always lead to the same measure of success as experienced by someone else. But God has a good purpose even in this variance, which means we truly can fear God, keep calm, and carry on.

Matthew 20:15, Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?

Questions to Consider:
1. Which is easier, to “weep with those who weep” or to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom 12:15)? Why?
2. Our society is currently seeing a greater push toward socialism, wealth redistribution, and “equity of outcome.” Are these ideas biblical? Why or why not?
3. Where in your life do you need to repent over your jealousy of others’ prosperity?

As I have gotten older, I’ve learned to be suspicious of anything offering a fast, easy, and good result. Such promises frequently appear in advertisements and online click-bait articles: “I lost 50 lbs. on this diet plan in just six weeks!;” “Killer tips from young entrepreneur who made 500K in just three years;” or “My kids used to meltdown all the time until I learned this simple trick.” These statements seem too good to be true—which, of course, they are. If there is anything helpful at all in these articles, it will likely be some variant of a long-known truth: “If you are willing to make sacrifices and persevere through difficulty, you can obtain a reward.”

It would be great if our world were one of quick fixes: you plant a seed and the next day you have a beautifully blooming flower, or you discipline your rebellious child just one time and he is ever after obedient and respectful. But that is not our world. For creation, God ordained that good results will usually take time. Also, because of God’s curse on the world due to man’s sin, good results will usually require toil, pain, and perseverance (Gen 3:17-19). Survival and blessing can still be had in this world—which is a great grace of God!—but they are obtained under a general principle of sowing and reaping: if you sow in hard work and wisdom, then you will reap a blessing; but if you sow in laziness and folly, then you will reap a curse. To say it concisely: reward comes after wise work. And consider for how many areas of life this truth applies: health, business, parenting, marriage, church, personal holiness, and more!

However, as I said to you in the Sunday sermon, responding wisely to this basic reality of our world requires a humble heart. A person must accept both that God has a right to arrange the world according to his wisdom and that a person needs no more for contentment than whatever God chooses to give. The covetous people of the world, of course, arrogantly refuse to submit to God’s cause and effect principle and demand good results without wise sowing and no bad results from foolish sowing. But we Christians should be different. Christians should not only be marked by patient perseverance to sow and reap well in this passing life but also to sow and reap well to life eternal (Gal 6:7-9). Christians should expect that every sinful temptation will be a choice between immediate gratification and deeper long-term gratification and choose accordingly. Christians should also expect that blessing, even in sanctification, comes not by short spiritual sprinting but by long and faithful jogging (Heb 12:1). Above all, Christians should expect that, whatever blessing comes in this life, Christ will reward Christians in a fuller and greater way in his coming kingdom (Heb 11:6, 13-16).

Ecclesiastes 7:8-9, The end of a matter is better than its beginning;
Patience of spirit is better than haughtiness of spirit.
Do not be eager in your heart to be angry,
For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

Questions to Consider:
1. Why does a drive for immediate rather than delayed gratification so often lead to sin and self-harm? Consider Prov 1:8-19; 6:6-11, 20-35.
2. Does a person always reap what he sows in this life? What would Solomon say from Ecclesiastes?
3. Where are you looking for quick fixes in your life where you should instead be applying wisdom, hard work, and self-control?

One of the most dangerous ideas to the soul is that a person can sin now and just repent later to avoid judgment. This thought fortifies many unbelievers in their refusal to submit to the gospel but also trips up genuine believers. We Christians can so easily think, “I know I shouldn’t say these hateful words,” or “I know I shouldn’t go back to immorality again,” or “I know I shouldn’t pursue a divorce,” but then proceed anyways. We tell ourselves, “I just have to do this. I know it’s wrong, but God will forgive me.” In speaking and acting this way, we forget many of the sober warnings of Scripture.

One warning we forget has to do with testing the Lord. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 6:16, “You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test.” When we use God’s patience, love, and faithfulness as excuses for sin, we test God and provoke his judgment and chastening. Even for his own children, God is not above correction or severe disciple, as he demonstrated with both Israel (e.g. Num 11:1-3; Num 16:41-50; Num 21:4-9) and the NT church (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor 11:27-32; Rev 2:19-23). Our heavenly father is too good to just let his children continue in sin.

Another warning we forget has to do with the simple principle of sowing and reaping. Satan the liar would have us believe that we can sin without consequence (Gen 3:4), but the God of truth tells us that unwelcome consequences are built into sin itself. Paul says in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” Even with repentance, sin does lasting damage to one’s relationships, reputation, finances, physical body, and even eternal reward (e.g. Prov 5:7-14; Prov 6:27-28; 1 Cor 3:10-14). Thankfully, with God there is always the hope of healing and restoration (Lk 15:11-32), but some temporal consequences can never be removed (e.g. Num 20:8-13; 2 Sam 12:7-14). Our good God thus kindly exhorts us to flee from the poisonous way of sin and walk in the path of true benefit and blessing (Rom 6:20-23).

A final warning we forget has to do with the most serious potential consequence of sin: a hardened heart, leading to judgment. In telling ourselves that we will repent later, we don’t realize that there might not be a “later” for us, not only because God might end our lives before we repent (Lk 12:19-20), but also because God might give us over to our sinful stubbornness. Part of the sobering appeal of the NT book of Hebrews is that, if believers temporarily deny Christ under persecution, there is no guarantee that these believers will ever come back. Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Israel is a prime example of this giving over to hardening and judgment (Ps 95:6-11; Amos 8:11-12) as are the followers of antichrist in the days to come (2 Thess 2:8-12). Now, yes, the Bible indicates that true believers can never lose their salvation and that any truly repentant heart is always welcome to the full banquet of God’s forgiving grace (Jn 10:26-30; Isa 55:6-7). Nevertheless, true Christians are marked by increasing holiness (1 John 1:5-7), meaning that they live soberly, learn from past mistakes, and beware the heart-hardening effects of sin (1 Cor 10:1-22).

In sum, to excuse sin by saying we will just repent later is self-destructive foolishness. The Bible declares plainly that the necessary moment of repentance is not sometime later, but today, even right now:

1 Corinthians 6:2, Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation.”

Questions to Consider:
1. Sometimes we are tempted to tell ourselves, “Just one more time with this sin and then I’ll repent.” Why is this thinking naïve and self-deceiving? Consider 1 Peter 4:1-3 and Eph 4:17-24.
2. Can we ever know for certain whether a person is so hardened by sin as to be beyond the possibility of repentance? Why or why not?
3. Do you use God’s grace as an excuse for sin? How should your thinking change in light of the above truths?

I am really grateful for my wife. I am grateful for her for many reasons, but one is that she is really good at noticing little beautiful things. We go on walks together, and on these walks I am constantly surprised at how many pretty blossoms, cute animals, and interesting architectural details she is able to spot. I probably would never have noticed these sights on my own, but when she shares with me her appreciation of what’s around her, I find that I am able to enjoy what I otherwise would have missed.

In light of our Sunday investigation of Ecclesiastes 6:1-12, it is good for us to stop and give thanks not only the good gifts God has given us but even for the ability to enjoy those good gifts. Truly, we are so reliant on God to be able to enjoy anything to any degree. Consider just some of what is needed to enjoy the sight of a simple flower: 1) the flower must exist, grow, and blossom; 2) you must exist and be healthy enough to go outside; 3) the weather must be fair enough to encourage you to actually go outside; 4) you need eyesight and attention good enough to see the flower; 5) you need the time and material provision that enables you to pause work and view the flower; 6) you need a mental disposition that actually appreciates the visual beauty of flowers; 7) and you need the spiritual disposition that is willing to adore God above but also through flowers. Consider that none of these necessary components for genuine enjoyment comes from ourselves! Neither are any of them deserved! We should realize, then, just how wholly blessed we are before God in being able just to appreciate a flower.

What should make us even more thankful is the realization that not everyone has the same ability to enjoy that we might. Flowers don’t grow everywhere, some people are not healthy enough to view flowers, the weather is not always agreeable for flower viewing, some people don’t have eyesight at all, some people cannot afford to take time to view flowers, some people simply don’t see what is so beautiful about flowers, and some people have never heard or accepted the wisdom of God that counsels us not to search for ultimate gain in this world but take time to enjoy God’s simple gifts. No one can blame God for a lack of good things or the lack of ability to enjoy them. God gives however his loving, wise, and holy heart determines. Rather, if we have any good things and any ability to enjoy, we should give God worship.

Ecclesiastes 2:25, For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

Questions to Consider:
1. Ultimately, who causes a person to listen to God’s counsel in Ecclesiastes not to pursue vanity but to reverently enjoy life?
2. Is it possible for unbelievers also to enjoy God’s good gifts in life? If so, what are the differences in enjoyment?
3. Do you demonstrate thankfulness to God both for his good gifts and for your ability to enjoy them?

Thinking more on Pastor Babij’s Sunday sermon about the coming day of the Lord, I found myself pondering the apostle John’s intriguing statement about antichrist in 1 John 2:18,

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.

Even though John says that one ultimate antichrist is coming, he also says that there are already “many antichrists” on earth—proof of the late state of this world. And what is the key mark of these antichrists? John gives the same answer three times in his letters: willful denial of the truth about Christ (1 Jn 2:22; 4:3; 2 Jn 1:7). Really, all antichrists will seek to do at some level exactly what the ultimate antichrist will do: deny Christ, exalt the self, and make war on those who will not give ultimate obedience and worship.

One striking result of studying history is that you discover just how many people throughout time—especially those in power—fit well into the mold of antichrist. The Bible itself is full of these rebellious, wannabe gods: Pharaoh of Egypt (Ex 5:1-2), Sennacherib of Assyria (2 Ki 18:31-35), the King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:1-10), the King of Babylon (Isa 14:3-23), the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Dan 11:21-39), Herod the Great (Mt 2:1-20), and Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-5; 20-23). We could add to this list most Roman emperors (like Nero, Domitian, and Diocletian) as well as some kings and queens of Israel—not to mention various modern dictators, demagogues, and religious leaders.

Why so many antichrists? We see an answer in Genesis 3:4-6,

The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

The truth is that, since humanity’s fall into sin, all of us are born following the same spirit of antichrist (Satan) that Adam and Eve followed. We therefore naturally live intent on denying Christ, exalting ourselves, and enforcing our own way. Rather than submit to God, we want to be god. While most people try to conceal this heart attitude, it often comes out when under strain or when a person simply feels powerful enough. Yet living this arrogant way only results in God’s overwhelming judgment (Ps 2:1-12; Ps 82:1-8; Isa 42:8).

But there is freedom from this self-destructive spirit in Christ, who gives us his new Spirit (Rom 8:9-11). Though the flesh will want to resume self-exalting ways, the true Christian will take up after the pattern of Christ and not antichrist. After all, a Christian is one who, by faith, has come to accept one basic piece of divine wisdom that every antichrist foolishly rejects:

Luke 14:11, For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Questions to Consider:
1. In the proceeding context of 1 John 2:18 (1 John 2:19-24), whom does John implicitly identify as antichrists?
2. How are the “many antichrists” of this present age evidence of Christ’s imminent return?
3. Does your life demonstrate that you follow the spirit of Christ or the spirit of antichrist?

When we look around at the world today, it would be easy for us to come to the conclusion that the eschatological end is very near. Western society has reached new levels of celebrating evil, persecution is rising in America and is already prevalent throughout the world, and the church has largely abandoned the true gospel. Every day’s headlines seem to fit with what the Bible says to expect before the coming of God’s day of judgment, so surely Christ’s return is around the corner!

While Christ indeed could return at any time and we need to be ready, we should also remember that we are not the first believers to conclude that we must be in the last of the “last days.”

Who first expected Christ’s return at any moment to their godless time? The very first generations of Christians. Sometimes people talk about how America has descended into a Romans 1:18-32 situation and is thus ripe for final judgment, but the fact is that the conditions described in that passage already existed in the Roman world of the first century. People worshipped literal images of creatures rather than the Creator (Rom 1:18-23); indulged in rampant fornication, adultery, and homosexuality (Rom 1:24-27); and promoted many other sins associated with a debased mind (Rom 1:28-32). Actually, Paul’s whole point in Romans 1-3 is not to talk about what the world will eventually become but what the world generally is: sin-ridden, under God’s wrath, and desperately in need of the saving gospel of faith.

Additionally, persecution and apostasy were huge issues in the first century. Both Jews and Gentiles periodically attacked Christians, especially with Nero’s persecution in Rome starting in AD 64 and Domitian’s empire-wide persecution starting around AD 89. Christ and the apostles warned that times of persecution would come as part of the last days, and the early church experienced such times (Mt 5:11; 10:23; Lk 21:12; Acts 8:1; 2 Thess 1:4; 2 Tim 3:10-12; 4:6-8; 2 Pet 1:13-15; Rev 1:9; 2:9-10; 13; 3:8-10). As for apostasy, the apostles were constantly dealing with false teachers in the churches, whether these teachers were adding OT rule-keeping for salvation (Galatians), advocating some kind of gnostic asceticism (Colossians), or simply trying to secure exclusive authority against the apostles (2 Corinthians, 3 John). Paul and Peter warned that more false teachers would come and lead many to fall away (Acts 20:29-30; 2 Tim 3:1-9; 2 Pet 2:1-3), and Jude and John later confirmed that such was already happening in their own time (Jude 1:3-4; 1 John 2:18-19).

In the midst, then, of incredible godlessness, persecution, and false teaching, you can understand why many believers in the first century thought that Christ was about to return! But Jesus didn’t. And later generations of Christians similarly expected Christ to return in their own times and even identified many good candidates for the antichrist, whether Roman emperors, Catholic popes, or modern dictators or presidents. Yet these Christian speculations also were not accurate. Christ did not and still has not returned.

The lesson to be learned from all this is not that Christ won’t return (2 Pet 3:3-9) but that we should be humbly cautious in our estimate of when he will return (Eccl 8:16-17; 10:14). Christians have not been wrong to suppose that Christ could come at any time; the world has always been ripe for his return and only gets more so everyday! But we cannot see exactly what God is doing. Our job is not continually to speculate nor, as they say, “to exegete the newspaper,” but to be about the disciple-making commission of our Master and be found faithful when he does come.

Matthew 24:45-47, “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.”

Questions to Consider:
1. Sometimes people talk about the early church like it was a spiritual golden age. Why is this kind of talk ultimately naïve?
2. Is speculation about the details of Christ’s return beyond what the Scripture says profitable? Why or why not?
3. Are you ready if Christ should return today? Are you also ready if Christ should not return today?

As I think more this week about the sermon and Ecclesiastes 5:13-20, I’m reminded of how we Christians must guard against a certain kind of material-spiritual philosophical dualism.

One idea popular in the ancient Greco-Roman world was that the material world was inherently inferior or evil and that spiritual world was inherently superior or good. This thinking often led people either to indulge themselves freely in physical pleasures (after all, the body is hopelessly corrupt and only the spirit really matters) or, conversely, to subdue themselves in rigid asceticism (the evil body must be denied all physical pleasures so that the good spirit can be set free). Such dualistic thinking found its way into the early church, too, and moved some to excuse immorality (1 Cor 6:12-14), to command abstinence from marriage and foods (1 Tim 4:3), and to deny that the Son of God actually had a physical body (1 John 4:2-3). The medieval church also tended to carry an anti-material worldview, believing that true spirituality consisted of denying oneself physical pleasures (taking monkish vows of poverty, celibacy, and the like) to follow a life of isolated prayer and contemplation. Even today, Christians often regard material things with a mixture of suspicion and guilt.

Now, to be sure, the Bible does warn us not to be devoted to material things in idolatry (Eccl 2:1-11; Mt 6:24; 1 Timothy 6:10) and warns that two marks of a false teacher—even the prosperity preachers we see today—are greediness for immorality and material gain (2 Pet 2:3, 14-15; Jude 1:4, 11). The Bible also commands and commends a life of self-control (Gal 5:23; 2 Tim 1:7; Prov 25:28; Mt 18:8-9). Nevertheless, the Bible does not regard material things as inferior or evil at all but as good, even a means by which we know and enjoy the God who is Spirit! Consider that God declared his entire physical creation in the beginning to be “very good” (Gen 1:31), calls upon his people even now to enjoy with thankfulness the good gifts of God’s physical world (Eccl 5:18-20; 1 Tim 4:3-5; 6:17), and promises to bring his people at the end of history not into a wholly spiritual world but into a recreated material world with recreated material bodies and new material delights to enjoy (Rom 6:5; 1 Cor 15:20; Lk 24:36-43; Mt 26:29; Isa 65:17; Rev 21:1; 22:2).

Really, there is a false dichotomy in pitting the material against the spiritual. Those who misuse the material and worship the gift over the Giver commit evil in their spirit and will receive condemnation (Rom 1:21, 25), but those who reverently use the material and worship the Giver through his material gifts both please and glorify God (1 Cor 6:20; 10:31).

Ecclesiastes 5:18, Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward.

Questions to Consider:
1. Ultimately, are believers in Christ heaven-bound or earth-bound?
2. Where are you taking time to reverently and thankfully enjoy the good gifts of God’s material world?
3. Where has your enjoyment of God’s creation become idolatrous, and what do you need to change so you can “flee idolatry” (1 Cor 10:14)?

Life is full of data, whether historical facts, personal experiences, or scientific measurements. Data by itself, though, does not say anything; all data must be interpreted to have meaning or helpful application to life. As we all know, people frequently have differing interpretations of data. And why? Because people use differing starting points for their interpretations, that is, they approach the data with different sets of assumptions. Thus, the strength of the interpretation of any particular piece of data depends on the strength and validity of undergirding assumptions.

If you have been part of our Answers Bible Curriculum Sunday school classes in the past, then you probably appreciate how the above is relevant for many spiritual-scientific issues Christians face today, including the origin and age of the earth. The prevailing opinion today is that the universe came from a cosmic explosion; that the earth is millions of years old; and that the terrain, rock layers, and fossils of the earth are the product of age-long processes. Pastor Babij mentioned in his sermon on Sunday the main assumption that undergirds this view: uniformitarianism. In geology, uniformitarianism is the belief that “the present is the key to the past” or, more specifically, that the earth’s features must be explained by the same slow, gradual processes of change still observable (such as erosion). Operating on this assumption, many scientists claim that they have found abundant evidence of an “old earth” today and thus scoff at the Bible’s account of a six-day creation (Gen 1) or worldwide flood (Gen 7-9). Some Christians, too, adjust their interpretation of these Genesis passages based on the evidence presented by old earth advocates.

But is uniformitarianism, the main assumption anchoring the old earth interpretation, truly justified? I am amazed by how flatly God contradicts uniformitarianism in 2 Peter 3:4b-6,

“For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

The earth is not merely the product of slow, natural processes! According to Peter, there was a time when the earth didn’t exist at all and then came into being by God’s mere word, and there was another time when the earth was radically transformed by a catastrophic, worldwide flood event. Any interpretation of the past that does not account for these spectacular events as the Bible describes them is, of course, going to reach faulty conclusions!

There may be much about the past that we will never uncover (Eccl 7:24), but whatever data we do discover must be interpreted according to proper, biblically founded assumptions. To say this another way using Answers in Genesis’ phrasing, we need to look at the past and really the entire world with “biblical glasses” if we want to see clearly.

For more on the creation and flood accounts, please see our recorded Sunday school lessons: https://www.calvaryem.org/sermon-topic/creation-the-flood/.

Questions to Consider:
1. Why do young earth creationists and old earth advocates both claim abundant evidence for their views? Which evidence ought to be more persuasive?
2. In what other areas of life today are unbiblical assumptions supporting popular scientific, governmental, and societal ideas?
3. Considering how wrong scoffers are about the earth’s past, why should Christians be even more assured about the future return of Christ?

In light of the new baptisms and new memberships at our church, I have been thinking again about God’s design for the church according to Ephesians 4:7-16 and Romans 12:4-8. Fundamentally, the church is the spiritual body of Christ; Christ is the head and Christians are the various body parts. Though all within the body must draw life and strength from the head, each member is also dependent on each other member serving according to proper function. There is a reciprocal relationship. If one member withdraws, neglects its giftedness, or is spiritually sick by sin, both that member and the rest of the body suffer. But when a member joyfully fulfills its function in seeking to serve Christ and the other members, both that serving member and the rest of the body benefit. Thus, there should be no non-contributing body parts in the church; all of us have a role to play in building up Christ’s body.

But what about when there seem to be no opportunities for service? The ongoing Covid situation has meant that many regular ministry outlets remain suspended (e.g. Sunday school classes, home groups, nursery). Furthermore, not everyone in the church can serve in the formal ministries that are available (e.g. worship team, preaching). So does this mean that we should just wait until Covid is done to serve? Hardly, for the spiritual needs of the body have not diminished in quarantine but have only increased! And no one knows how long we will be under restrictions. We cannot afford to let Christ’s body suffer so long without exercising our gifts.

So what do we do? We must remember that opportunities for informal, quiet service abound. You do not need an official ministry position in the church to serve Christ’s body. In fact, some of the most important church ministry happens in simple godly conversations inside and outside the church service. Christ’s brethren need encouragement, prayer, admonishment, teaching, someone to grieve with or rejoice with, and the meeting of practical needs. Resolve, therefore, to serve in whatever ways are available to you! Come to church with an attitude looking to serve, not only to be served. Talk to people at church but skip the small talk. Get to know people and their needs so that you can help. Engage one another with the great spiritual truths you are learning from God’s word. Take part in the weekly ministries of the church, not only as an encouragement to those leading but also to minister to the other people there. Get together with your brethren outside of formal church ministries. And if you need to take extra precautions due to Covid, mask up, use your phone, or get together virtually. Such acts of service are not insignificant to Christ and will prove a blessing to both you and the whole church (Mt 10:42; Acts 20:35).

Galatians 6:10, So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

Questions to Consider:
1. How important is genuine love in any Christian’s service? Consider 1 Cor 13:1-13 and Rev 2:1-7.
2. Do you make time for other people, even in these days? If not, what is preventing you from loving Christ and others in this way?
3. What are some quiet ways you can serve Christ according to your giftedness right now? If you need some specific guidance, consider speaking with an elder or deacon.