From the West Wing:
Monday, December 30, 2013
December 29, 2013 | Colossians 4:2-6
We are quickly approaching the end of our study of Colossians. And it is fitting that we conclude 2013 studying prayer and a gospelized tongue.
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.
5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
The Difference Between a Redeemed and Unredeemed Tongue
In his commentary on Colossians, John MacArthur offers a helpful summary of what the Bible has to say about the tongue of the redeemed and unredeemed. His basic point is simple: you ought to be able to tell the nature of one's heart by their mouth. He writes:
When our Lord told the Pharisees that ‘the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart’ (Matt. 12:34), He gave an important spiritual principle: Speech will reflect the kind of person one is. Because the tongue can speak so easily and is difficult to control, a person’s speech becomes the truest indicator of his spiritual state (cf. Matt. 12:37).He then goes on to highlight the characteristics of an unredeemed tongue which is prone to:
- evil (Prov. 15:28)
- sexual immorality (Prov. 5:3)
- deceit (Jer. 9:8)
- curses (Ps. 10:7)
- oppression (Ps. 10:7)
- lies (Prov. 12:22)
- destruction (Prov. 11:11)
- vanity (2 Pet. 2:18)
- flattery (Prov. 26:28)
- foolishness (Prov. 15:2)
- madness (Eccles. 10:12-13)
- carelessness (Matt. 12:36)
- boasting (Ro. 1:30)
- false doctrine (Titus 1:11)
- evil plots (Ps. 37:12)
- hatred (Ps. 109:3)
- too many words (Eccles. 10:14)
- gossip (Prov. 26:22)
- confession of sin (1 John 1:9)
- confession of Christ (Rom. 10:9-10)
- edifying speech (Eph. 4:29
- talk of God’s law (Ex. 13:9)
- praise to God (Heb. 13:15)
- blessing of enemies (1 Pet. 3:9)
- talk about God (Ps. 66:16)
- wisdom and kindness (Prov. 31:26)
- gentleness (prov. 15:1).
The Best and Worse Part
In preparation for Sunday's sermon (on Colossians 4:2-6), I came across the following illustration from John MacArthur on the tongue.
One of the seven ancient wise men of Greece was a man named a man named Bios. And the reason he was considered to be one of the most wise men in all Greece was the fact that one person on one occasion had sent him an animal as a gift with the instruction that he was to sacrifice the animal but that before he had sacrificed the animal he was to cut out the best and the worst part and send it back to the donor. He sent back the tongue. And as a result of that he was considered to be one of the wisest of men. The tongue is the best and the worst of you. It is the best and the worst of me in so many, many ways. -"The Speech of the New Man, Part 1"
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
December 15, 2013 | Colossians 3:22-4:1
Sunday we finished our exposition of the third chapter of Colossians by discussing Paul's exhortation to masters and slaves.
22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.
4:1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
The Mouth Reveals the Heart: MacArthur on the Tongue
From John MacArthurs commentary on Colossians:
“When our Lord told the Pharisees that ‘the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart’ (Matt. 12:34), He gave an important spiritual principle: Speech will reflect the kind of person one is. Because the tongue can speak so easily and is difficult to control, a person’s speech becomes the truest indicator of his spiritual state (cf. Matt. 12:37).
The Bible has much to say about the speech fo both the redeemed ad the unredeemed mouth. The unredeemed mouth is characterized by evil (Prov. 15:28), sexual immorality (Prov. 5:3), deceit (Jer. 9:8), curses (Ps. 10:7), oppression (Ps. 10:7), lies (Prov. 12:22), destruction (prov. 11:11), vanity (2 Pet. 2:18) flattery (Prov. 26:28), foolishness (Prov. 15:2), madness (Eccles. 10:12-13), carelessness (Matt. 12:36), boasting (Ro. 1:30), false doctrine (Titus 1:11), evil plots (Ps. 37:12), hatred (Ps. 109:3), too many words (Eccles. 10:14), and gossip (Prov. 26:22)
In contrast, redeemed speech is characterized by confession of sin (1 John 1:9), confession of Christ (Rom. 10:9-10), edifying speech (Eph. 4:29( talk of God’s law (Ex. 13:9) praise to God (Heb. 13:15), blessing of enemies (1 Pet. 3:9), talk about God (Ps. 66:16), wisdom and kindness (Prov. 31:26), and gentleness (prov. 15:1). It takes as its model the Lord Jesus, who spoke instructively (Matt. 5:2), graciously (Luke 4:22), blamelessly (Luke 11:54), and without deceit (1 Pet. 2:22).” (177-178)
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Remember Jonah?: A Great Nugget from Acts 27
Earlier this year we studied the the book of Jonah. This afternoon while preparing for tonight's Bible study, I came across the following paragraph in Dr. John Polhill's commentary on Acts regarding Paul's shipwreck at the end of Acts.
The story of Paul's stormy voyage is reminiscent of the voyage of Jonah. The prophet also encountered a violent storm at sea. Jonah's crew also jettisoned the cargo and began to despair of life. And the crew and passengers of Jonah's ship were ultimately delivered. There is, of course, a major difference between the two. It was Jonah's presence on the ship that gave rise to the storm, and only in his absence were the others saved. It was altogether different for Paul's ship. The apostle's presence on the ship led to the deliverance of all aboard. (522)The story itself is one of salvation as Luke uses the Greek word for "save" at key moments of the story. The crew and all those on board were in desperate need of deliverance. It is a fitting picture of the spiritual state of the unredeemed. Unable to deliver ourselves, we need salvation.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
December 1, 2013 | Colossians 3:20-21 - The New Man and the Home
Sunday we looked at what Paul says about how the gospel transforms us as children and parents. The last two chapters in Colossians are very practical and his words here are no different.
20 Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.
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