The Barrier shattering power of the Gospel!

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; also greet the church that is in their house.
Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord . . .

Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ greet you.
Romans 16: 3-8, 16

Greeting, greetings, greetings! Romans 16:1-16 is one of those passages you’re tempted to skip over as you study your Bible. After all, what can you learn from a list of names like this? So the apostle Paul had a few friends? Great! What does that have to do with my life?

Well, skip by a passage like this too fast, and you’ll miss some of the many hidden blessings found in Scripture. I'm constantly amazed at the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in the way He has arranged the Bible, and I'm certain He wanted us to see something here as well. So what could it be?

First of all, the very fact that Paul names other people like this is significant. I don’t know how you tend to think about the apostle, but for many he is seen as a kind of a spiritual trail blazer – a lone ranger out there conquering the world alone for Christ! But when you actually ead the Bible for what it says, you find a very different picture. Paul is an amazing man, make no mistake about it. But he is also very rarely alone! Wherever he goes there are others – faithful friends and common Christians– who make His ministry possible.

That brings up the second thing. Real ministry takes lots of people. There is an idolatry in our age that kills true, biblical ministry. We exalt the mega-pastor and the so-called Christian “celebrity” as if the fate of Christianity stands or falls with them. But the fate of Christianity never stands with any man or any movement! It always stands with Christ alone! And Christ stands with His church! Not special people, but common people he chooses to use to make His glories known

There are 27 people are named here. Most of them, you’ve heard of! We know next to nothing about any one of them. And yet they are believers who are important, not only to the Apostle Paul, but also to the Kingdom of God! We should never underestimate the vital role of the ordinary men or women who faithfully follow Christ

Another thing that encourages me as I study this passage is the clear evidence of the barrier-destroying power of the Gospel. In this list of Paul's friends are found, not only men and women (down goes the gender barrier), Jews and Gentiles (so much for the racial barrier), but also slaves and noblemen as well (the social barrier). The Gospel of Christ has power to break down every dividing wall that we put up as it brings all believers together on equal footing under the cross as sinners saved by grace!

But not only do we see barriers coming down, we also see the wonderful power of salvation on display. In this list we find members of wicked King Herod’s family. We also see members of the household of Narcissus, a Roman who was tragically executed by Emperor Nero. What a joy to have a Gospel that can reach into any home – no matter how deep the pattern of sin or how great the experience of tragedy – to bring help and wholeness in Christ. My prayer is that we would see many similar miracles of grace throughout this new year!

Rejoicing in His Mercy!
Pastor Scott Lee

Jonathan Edwards and Contemporary Worship Music

I've been reading George Marsden's massive biography of Jonathan Edwards (Yale Press, 2003) and I've discovered something I never knew. During Edwards' day there was a controversy over what kind of worship music to use in church. The older, more traditionalists among the laity wanted to keep to exclusive Psalm singing (usually done poorly with no accompaniment). Why? Well, mainly because that's what had "always been done" in Puritan churches and thus, it just felt more like church to them. They were against the "modern" invention of human composed songs (we call them hymns) and the use of such innovations as three part harmony and (gasp!) musical instruments.

On the other side of the worship divide were mainly clergy who felt that God was better glorified by "regular" singing where people learned parts, were free to use a variety of musical instruments and to sing songs that were composed by modern authors as long as they were faithful to the message of Scripture. Isaac Watts, of course, was at the forefront of this movement. Most will remember him as the author of such songs as "Joy to the World," "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross". His hymns were a large part of the "new music" being sung mostly in the city churches, but largely rejected by the churches in the smaller towns and countryside.

Now, most of that I already knew. But what I did not realize until reading Marsden's book, was that Calvinist stalwarts Cotton Mather and Increase Mather (both famous preachers of the day who pretty much defined what it meant to be theologically conservative) were on the side of the new music. And right along with them, championing the new music was a very young Jonathan Edwards (in his late 20's).

For him, it just made sense. Edwards' famous grandfather, Solomon Stoddard (whose pulpit Edwards took over in 1726) had been one of the first to introduce the "new music" into rural Massachusetts, and young Jonathan continued the reforms he began.

I think if Edwards was with us today, he'd be in the forefront of those who believe in using good contemporary music (as well as solid older hymns) to the glory of God. I don't mean the fluff. There's a lot of worthless stuff out there that isn't worthy to be used in worship - both in contemporary and traditional song books. What I mean are the solid, biblical, Christ exalting songs from every age -- whether Luther's "A Mighty Fortress" Wesley's "And Can It Be", or "In Christ Alone" or "The Power of the Cross" both by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend, or any one of a hundred other new and old songs I could mention.

The point, once again, is not "traditional" or "contemporary", but Christ honoring and biblical, verse not.

In Christ Alone, My Mighty Fortress!

Scott Lee

PS - For those interested in exploring this subject for themselves I would suggest John Frame's excellent work "Contemporary Worship Music". It's a tad bit dated now and could really use a revision, but still a good place to start. Also, Sovereign Grace Ministries (www.sovereigngraceministries.org) is a marvelous resource for well written "new" music with rock solid biblical words. So also is www.igracemusic.com

The Gospel at Christmas

“ John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Mark 1:4

What is the message of Christmas any way? You hear lots of things about that this time of year. “Christmas is for caring” says one. “It’s gifts and presents,” says another. “No, it’s peace on earth and goodwill toward men” chimes in a third, a little closer to the truth.

But really, what is the message of Christmas all about? You ask most people and, unless they’ve just come straight from an ACLU meeting, they’ll know at least the basics – Christmas has something to do with Jesus, and God sending Him into the world as a baby, and that somehow this gift was meant to save the world. Most will know at least that much.

But again, I’ll ask, what exactly is the heart of the Christmas message? And what are we supposed to do with it, once we’ve understood it?

When it gets right down to it, the thing we need to understand is that the Christmas message is exactly the same as the message of the Gospel. There really is no difference. For Christians, Christmas is not a separate thing, tucked over in a corner of the year all by itself (even though we sometimes treat it that way). It’s not that we have this nice, sentimental little story about a baby in a manger who was visited by shepherds and wise men, and then we have this other story about a Christ who was rejected by men, crucified and then raised from the dead on the third day. It’s all part of the same wonderful story – the record of what God has done to save His people from their sin! It’s the announcement of the Good News that God saves sinners!

And so the message we need at Christmas is the same message we need to hear at Easter and every other time of year – it’s the message of repentance from sin and of faith in Christ Jesus for salvation for those who believe. It’s the good news that sinners like us can be reconciled to God and made His children and heirs, if we will turn from sin and by faith trust in His Son as Savior and Lord

My prayer for you this Christmas Season is that God will give you ears to hear the marvelous news of what he has done in sending His own Son to die in the place of sinners. And that he'll give you a heart to believe that He did this even for you -- if you will trust in Him. So that, no matter what you've done or where your life has taken you up to this point, if you will repent of your sin (which means turn away from it in order to turn to Him) and trust in Christ (believing that He is able to save even the worst of sinners and give them new life in Him) you too can be saved.

Christmas Giving

“Where your treasure is there will your heart be also”
Matthew 6:21

Giving and Christmas go together. Everybody knows that. Even before Ebenezer Scrooge got straightened out by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future and went running through the streets of London giving away his wealth, people have identified Christmas with giving. It’s in the air this time of year. There are fund raisers at work and at school, bell ringers in front of every store and shopping mall, and more than a few reminder from the pulpit.

And Americans seem to be listening. More than $260 billion will be given to charitable organizations this time of year (most of it through Christian organizations, by the way!). That’s something we should be glad about. Americans are still the most generous people on earth – and I believe God has blessed us because of it.

And yet, one thing we have to keep in mind during this time of holiday giving, is that the attitude of our hearts toward wealth is something we need to be aware of all year ‘round. Sometimes I find that, even as I’m giving to help the poor and support missions, my foolish heart can be filled with greed. Whether a desire for the latest new gadget, the shiniest jewelry or the biggest HD TV , it’s easy to become discontent with what you have and thus be tempted to give less for those in need in order to have more of what you want.

My prayer for our church --and for every Christian in the prosperous West -- is that God will continue to free us from our obsession with wealth and things that so easily captivate our souls. I pray we will refuse to give in to the thought that says, “I’ve already done enough” and instead will ask God for even greater opportunities to do more to extend His kingdom and meet the needs of those around us who are hurting.

Believers, let’s ask God to make us truly generous all year around with our time, our money and our very lives. Let's give and serve and sacrifice in a way that makes God look good (see Matthew 5:16), and in a way that will leave people no choice but to come to the astounded conclusion that having Him really is more valuable to us than having those things the people of the world live and die to possess.

Treasure Him!

Psalm 67 -- A Missionary Psalm

“God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us that Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.”
Psalm 67: 1-2

Psalm 67 is about missions! It’s a cry for God to bless us. But unlike so many who cry today for God’s blessing, the Psalmist is not thinking only of Himself. He has a much greater goal in mind. He prays that God would bless us and be with us, so that through us the nations might hear and know and worship God as He deserves to be known and worshiped!

Now, as I think about that, I realize that this is always the motive behind God’s blessing. God does not bless us so we can hoard the blessing to ourselves. He blesses us so that we might be a link in the chain of events He uses to bless others – and especially to bless them with the Gospel of Christ.

What was it He said to Abraham when he called him to follow Him by faith? He said, “I will bless you and you will be a blessing and all nations on earth will be blessed through you!” (Gen 12:3) Wow! Think about that. God doesn’t bless us so we can look in the mirror and say, “Gee, isn’t it great to be blessed?” God blesses us so that other nations and people we’ve never met can be blessed through us! How? By hearing and responding to the Gospel of Christ that we preach and that we send out into the world through missions!

That’s why I like to say that Psalm 67 – in addition to being one of my own personal favorites – is a missionary Psalm! It’s a call for us to realize that all God is doing in our lives today – all of his blessing, all of the advantages we have known as Americans is for this purpose: to make His glory known, and to enable us to carry the news of His glory (..the Gospel) to the ends of the earth so that,....”all the peoples” and “all the nations” may hear and be glad in Him!

God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth might fear Him! (Ps 67:7)

Pastor Scott Lee

Belated Thanksgiving Message

OK, I meant to post this right before thanksgiving, but never got around to it. But, here we go . . .

I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30

As Christians, every day is thanksgiving day! So while I hope you and your family had a wonderful time giving thanks and celebrating this holiday we call“ Thanksgiving,” my real prayer is that you will find your heart rejoicing this morning in the reality of what God has done for us in Christ!

It’s sad, really. Our world has forgotten what Thanksgiving means – if it ever knew. For many it’s just “Turkey Day” – an excuse to eat too much and drink too much and watch TV. But the thing missing from such “celebrations” is the one thing that matters most – the reality of a genuine delight in Him to Who all praise and thanksgiving are due! (Rm 11:36)

Romans 1:21 says that although people knew about God, “they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to Him” Ingratitude, you see, is the root of all kinds of sin – pride, selfishness, bitterness and complaining. We take God’s blessings for granted. We assume we deserve the good things that happen, and then complain bitterly about the bad. It’s as if God – if He exists – exists to serve us and make our lives easy. And if He doesn’t, He has failed.

But the Gospel of grace frees us from such insane delusions. It re-orients our world and puts God at the center, not us! When that happens you then discover that you’ve been freed to do the one thing in all the universe you were meant to do – gain the joy of making much of God forever! I pray that you know this freedom and that you will express it joyfully in the form or thanksgiving and praise offered to the One who truly matters most! And then, ask God to help each of us grasp the importance of knowing Him in a real and lasting way through the miracle of conversion by grace through faith in Christ alone

With Thanksgiving in My Heart for all things in Christ!
Pastor Scott Lee

“The Valley of Vision” -- A place to gaze on the majesty of God

“The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions,” as the title suggests, is a collection of prayers and devotions from the Puritans – a people who knew and deeply loved God! As you read this book, you’ll discover that the Puritans were not the “stuffed shirts” so many think they were. They were warm-hearted Christians who passionately loved and pursued God in every area of their lives. They understood that prayer, doctrine and life must all fit together in the Christian’s life in such a way that one cannot be separated from the others! In fact, it was their doctrine that produced in them such deep praying (as we find in this book), and it was their prayers that filled their hearts and lives with such a Christ-centered joy.

One of my goals in life, and in the life of Rockport Baptist Church, is that we would be a people who not only know a lot about God from His Word, but also who know Him in way that is real and intimate and filled with a passion for His glory. This book will help you in that pursuit. For years I have used it to help my own praying. By looking over the shoulders of these godly men and women as they lifted their hearts to God, I’ve found my own passion for Christ rekindled, my prayers resurrected from deadness, and my heart warmed with faith. My prayer is that this book will have the same effect on you.