Month: May 2021

When the Old Life Looks Better: Burn the Ships

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

In 1519, Hernan Cortez left Cuba and landed on the eastern shores of what is now known as Mexico. After a rough voyage to their landing, the sailors became discouraged as they saw the conditions they would have to encounter. Not only hunger and thirst, but jungles, wild animals and the ‘bloodthirsty’ Aztecs. Knowing the murmuring that was spreading throughout the ranks and perceiving an attempt to flee back to Spain, Cortez had the ships burned. There was no returning. They now had no other option. They would conquer or they would die trying.

Genesis 23:1–4 (ESV): Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites, “I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”

Abraham, filled with grief did not pack up and return home, but rather made the final commitment to the promises of God and bought a piece of land to bury his wife.

Burial was done in the native land. When Abraham bought this land he was renouncing his homeland in Mesopotamia and declaring that this Promised Land was where he and his ancestors intended to live and die according to the promises of God.

Not only was Sarah buried in this cave, but also Abraham (25:9), Isaac and Rebekah (49:29-31), and Jacob and Leah (50:13).

In our lives, as we struggle on in this Pilgrim’s journey, how many times have you been tempted to turn back? How about being tempted to forget all about living a holy life and begin to think seriously about your desire to chuck it all and dive headlong into sin? Maybe it’s a thought to throw away your marriage vows in defeat because divorce looms as such an easy escape?

Whatever it is that looks so tempting out there, as you look longingly back at your old life and you wish you could go back, don’t. Burn those ships. There is no going back. God has a plan that entails victory.

His plan brings great joy. Hard work, yes. Struggle? Yes. Trials? Yes. Dangers? Yes. But what have you ever received that was of real value with little effort? The treasures of heaven far surpass the greatest gold deposits in the world.

Practical Humility

/ Richard Bargas / 1 Comment

“When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

(John 13:12–17, ESV)

Pride is an insidious thing, and it is easy to recognize in others while being blind to it in ourselves. A proud Christian leader is an exceptionally ugly thing.

The former slave-trader John Newton recognized that pride can even be manifest in holy things. He wrote with scathing accuracy what could have been written for the keyboard crusaders of our day:

I am afraid there are Calvinists, who, while they account it a proof of their humility that they are willing in words to debase the creature, and to give all the glory of salvation to the Lord, yet know not what manner of spirit they are of. Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines, as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature and the riches of free grace.

John Newton

Fighting pride is something all of us will need to do until the day we are made new. We might have correct doctrine and yet, be filled with such pride that we denigrate the God we wish to please. May the Scriptures that we prize have a deep impact upon our speech, our attitudes, and our lives so that whatever we do would bring glory to God.

Christ: No Less in the Storm as in the Sunshine

/ Richard Bargas / 3 Comments

“I think it is a great lesson to learn in spiritual things, to believe in Christ and His finished salvation, quite as much as when you are down as when you are up, for Christ is not more Christ on the top of the mountain than He is in the bottom of the valley. And He is no less Christ in the storm at midnight than He is in the sunshine of the day. Do not begin to measure your safety by your comfort—but measure it by the eternal Word of God which you have believed and which you know to be true—and on which you rest, for still here, within the little world of our bosom, ‘He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap’ ” (Ecc 11:4).”

Charles H. Spurgeon (1892, Sermon 2264)

The Sweetness of Biblical Hospitality

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.”

(Proverbs 17:1, ESV)

I’ve had bad meals and I’ve had good meals. I’ve eaten alone, and I’ve eaten with others. Good food and good friends are the best combination. King Solomon must have hosted a lot of fancy parties in his palace. Some were no doubt with people he didn’t really like, but for political reason, he had to endure them. Other meals were perhaps more simple, but satisfying.

In Solomon’s proverb he speaks about eating a dry morsel of bread. The bread is hard and unappealing, which is only made worse because there isn’t much to eat. But this unfortunate meal is far more satisfying that a feast with certain company.

He isn’t primarily lauding the silence of the room alone, because a house filled with strife can be quiet in that awkward way where the tension is thick and nobody is speaking. The quiet Solomon says is desirable is a peacefulness of the heart and one in which there is an absence of rancor and angry yelling at others. Friendship, love, and wonderful conversation fill the room, and whatever is served on the table takes a secondary place in the meal.

It is better to eat a simple meal in the company of those that are loving than to eat a feast among those who hate you and one another. In hospitality, it is not so much the meal that is served as it is the company one keeps and how they are made to feel loved and welcomed. This is true hospitality.

Putting the Word into Practice

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We are called by Scriptures to do and observe all that the Bible teaches. So, as a people who desire to be not merely hearers, but doers, I give these five applicational thoughts about how to “use” the Bible more effectively.

By saying this, I don’t mean that we should jump from reading to application. There is a very real danger in doing this improperly. There needs to be serious study and understanding of what the Bible meant to its original context and to its original audience. But in a sermon, your pastor/expositor has done this (or should have), and now, on Monday, we need to know how to put what we have learned into practice.

  1. Notate. Take note of application given in sermons you hear. Literally take notes! Look for what God would have you DO with his Word. Don’t just collect biblical information. Then, go back and review your notes, praying for help to obey what you have seen that he wants you to do.
  2. Saturate. On your own, re-read your Bible with an eye for application. This means that you need to know how to find universal principles in the Bible. These are truths that are good in every time and every culture. They are also consistent with the whole Bible.
  3. Categorize. Take those universal truths and begin categorizing them into useful headings as you see the need for them in your own life. Begin by setting up categories for your roles in life–Bible verses for you as a Father/Mother, as a husband/wife, as a son/daughter, as a Christian, as an employee, as a neighbor.
  4. Organize. Put Scriptures (and the principles that they speak of) in categories that will lend themselves to your use–such as pride, humility, gossiping, the tongue, hope, fear of man, decision making, forgiveness, etc. Some of these will be more useful to you than others, so be sure to put them on a list that you can tuck into your Bible, or even write into the end papers of your Bible so they are handy whenever you need them.
  5. Apply. Now, when you are having a bad day with your mouth, for example, or you keep hurting others, or maybe you’ve lost your temper–you can turn in your Bible and meditate on what God’s Word says about that issue and what you need to do. As you do this over and over, you will not only begin to remember where to go without having to look at the list, but you will slowly memorize those verses and have them available for those times of temptation when you don’t have your Bible handy.

It’s not brain surgery or rocket science, but it does take discipline and effort. Jesus said for you and I to “do and observe” His Word. If you claim that the Bible is truly your authority, then you need to know it so you can obey it. If not, then you are merely a hearer of the Word and not a doer–fooling yourself. May we never find ourselves there.