christian living

Balancing Toughness and Tenderness in Pastoral Care

/ Richard Bargas / 2 Comments

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he brings all his own out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. A stranger they will never follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:1–5, LSB)

This passage about Jesus being both the Good Shepherd and the door of the sheep pen conveys a sense of toughness and tenderness. The sheep are cared for, protected, and guided by this good shepherd. Meanwhile, the thief and robber attempt to gain access to the sheep to steal, kill, and destroy them. However, they cannot do so as long as the Good Shepherd watches over His own.

Christians cling to such imagery because it reminds us of the loving care and protection the Savior gives to us, His sheep. As a pastor, I also appreciate the picture because it reminds me of the dual nature of being a pastor as I try to model my care after Christ’s. Being tough and tender are essential elements in every biblical elder’s life and ministry.

Like many things in life, it is all too easy to fall into extremes. I see fellow pastors struggle to be tough. They are soft on sin, fail to confront, delay, or ignore the need for discipline, and tolerate false doctrine under the guise that they want to be humble. All of these are troubling and can lead a church into very dangerous situations if ignored for too long.

What I observe more frequently nowadays is the opposite extreme. I notice many younger pastors who are trying exceptionally hard to appear tough. They speak harshly and project an image of being strict about sin, particularly concerning the sins of those who don’t completely agree with them on every doctrinal issue. I witness toughness in their congregations, where any disagreement is perceived as dissent and division, met with a severity that is alien to the way Jesus dealt with his own. This portrayal is especially unappealing when found on social platforms like X, where the negativity of chest-thumping and public shaming has escalated to an alarming level. How did we get here?

Jesus used both tender and firm hands with those He encountered, even unbelievers. He understood when it was necessary to be firm and when to be gentle. He rebuked “that fox,” Herod, yet was gracious to the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery. He wasn’t being lenient on sin. He wasn’t condoning their life choices. Jesus never turned away when sin needed to be addressed. It’s not “tenderness” when we compromise by allowing sin to continue without confrontation or resolution. 

But Jesus didn’t always “bring down the hammer” when He saw sin in others. After all, everyone He met was guilty in some way or another! “If You should keep iniquities, O Yah, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, That You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3–4, LSB). Instead, Jesus aimed for the hearts of those He walked among. He was more direct with the hard-hearted, and He was gentler with the bruised and broken (“A crushed reed He will not break And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will bring forth justice in truth” (Isaiah 42:3, LSB).

The Good Shepherd was both tender and tough. Regardless of our natural tendencies, we must strive to embody the heart of our Good Shepherd, who was neither lenient toward sin nor harsh with the broken and weak. By doing so, we will more closely reflect the heart of our Master.

The Heart of Teaching: Aligning with God’s Truth

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“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” (John 8:43–45, LSB)

In the back-and-forth between Jesus and the religious leaders, Jesus made a telling comment regarding the reason behind their resistance to His teaching. These devout Jewish leaders were not representing or speaking on behalf of God as they purported. They were not God’s men, even though almost anyone within Israel would have believed that they were. They had been well-trained in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, and they knew the traditions of the rabbis that dated back many years. And yet, Jesus doesn’t align their teaching with God, but rather with Satan.

The root of their teaching wasn’t so much the words they said as the heart from which it emerged. The doctrine they espoused may have found its source in the Old Testament, but it never had penetrated much deeper than their minds. Their hearts were filled with murder and malice. Even though they knew what the Old Testament said and taught, their hearts twisted and ignored God’s teaching so that they were planning murder even in the face of the most unmistakable evidence of Jesus’ divinity.

Just as in the 1st Century, there are a lot of competing ideas about religion. Some incorporate truth with a mixture of folly. Others are more satanic. But even those that are closest to the teaching of Scripture, if not aligned with a changed heart given by the Spirit of God, can lead to cultic, even satanic behavior. In other words, our teaching and doctrine might be orthodox, and yet our hearts might be spewing the infectious poison of hell.

How can we know? Jesus made it clear that knowing the truth is not enough. We must believe the Word of God and not lies. When we read the Scripture and yet our lives demonstrate rebellion against the God of heaven, we ought to pause. “Do I believe, or do I merely say the right things and live in rebellion to the God I say I love?” I can’t answer that question for you, but Jesus’ words are a good reminder for all of us that it is not words versus deeds, but deeds that emerge from beliefs (however imperfect) that give evidence of what is truly in our hearts.

Divine Warfare: What 1 Chronicles Teaches Christians Today

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“With them by their generations according to their fathers’ households were 36,000 troops of the army for war, for they had many wives and sons. Their relatives among all the families of Issachar were mighty men of valor, recorded by genealogy, in all 87,000.” (1 Chronicles 7:4–5, LSB)

Although it’s not the most gripping read in the Bible, the opening chapters of 1 Chronicles are “…God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16, LSB), like every other passage of Scripture. I’ve tried to keep this in mind during my daily Bible reading as I move through this section of my devotional study.

This morning, what caught my eye was the repeated references to the number of men prepared for war among each of the tribes of Israel. Of course, these numbers were both dangerous and essential for the king(s) to know. They are dangerous because they could lead a ruler to rely on physical strength rather than on God, who is the One who fought for the nation. However, these numbers are also crucial for faithful preparation. As Jesus notes, “Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” (Luke 14:31, LSB).

The Bible is filled with references to war and battle, both physical and spiritual. Some Christians struggle with the concept of warfare, viewing it as problematic for New Testament believers to engage in anything from war to self-defense. For pacifistic Christian sects, they must grapple with the warfare language used throughout the New Testament (including Jesus calling his disciples to carry swords at one point, cf. Lk 22:36-38) as well as the extensive discussions of warfare found in the Old Testament.

Although we might be able to dismiss war in the Bible as the sinful actions of warmongering rulers and sinful soldiers, we cannot ignore the reality that God Himself is identified as “Lord of Hosts” and “warrior” and that He engages in war with His enemies (Ex 14:14; 15:3; Ps 24:8; Isa 42:13; Jer 20:11; Zeph 3:17). So, if warfare is sinful, then why does the Lord Himself engage in it, and why did the Holy Spirit inspire New Testament writers to use battle imagery when speaking about the Christian life?

I don’t deny that not all wars are equal. I also don’t deny that war and violence are ugly. The fact is that we live on a fallen planet where the wicked and the righteous must coexist. The righteous are called to live at peace with others, so far as it depends on us (Rom 12:18). But what happens when the peaceful are acted upon? What happens when women, children, and the helpless are threatened, and the lives of others are put in danger? Is it not righteous to protect the lives of others? The temple had guards. Things we value have locks, including our homes.

I found an interesting quote in Peter Craigie’s book, The Problem of War in the Old Testament. Referring to a study done by Elbert W. Russell, “…the more orthodox a Christian group or individual may be, the more likely it is that his attitudes will be militaristic.”1 As I stated above, the challenge for pacifist Christians is that the Bible is filled with references to war, warfare, and even God’s direct instruction to Israel on how it should engage in battle. Craigie identifies Russell as a Quaker, and as such, he highlights the paradox of why orthodox teaching on warfare does not deny the place of peace in Christianity. I would add that peace was also the goal of the Old Testament teachings of God to His people.

Some politicians and American presidents have touted the ideal of “peace through strength.” As I read through 1 Chronicles, I can’t deny that militarism and preparation for righteous warfare are not foreign to the Bible, and neither should they be to the lives of modern Christians. One day, we will hammer swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks (Isa 2:4), but that is awaiting King Jesus, who will rule with a rod of iron and be seated on His throne. Until that day, I am thankful for the men who protect the innocent on a daily basis all around the world.

  1. Peter C. Craigie, The Problem of War in the Old Testament. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 14. ↩︎

Shifting Focus from Celebrities to Christ

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

I came across the following quote from Gregory the Great (Bishop of Rome from 590-604 AD):

“That man is an enemy of his Redeemer who on the strength of the good works he performs, desires to be loved by the Church, rather than by Him [Christ]. Indeed, a servant is guilty of adulterous thought, if he craves to please the eyes of the bride when the bridegroom sends gifts to her by him.”1

A lot of Christians have noted that the “celebrity Christian” thing is weird and should be done away with. Yet, after one falls, another begins to rise to the top and quickly takes the last one’s place. There are a lot of issues related to the celebrity culture, but my aim in this post is to point out that the celebrity Christian thing is not only wrong, it’s adulterous.

When we put men or women on a pedestal, we divert the eyes of the world and other Christians away from Christ and onto a man. And when we seek to be the one on that pedestal, we desire to be the one who draws the eyes.

Tradition in the United States is that no other woman should wear white to a wedding other than the bride-to-be. Why? It is because the eyes of the guests, and especially of the groom, should be on the bride. So what happens when there are competitors? And not just wearing white, but seeking to catch the attention of the groom? Gregory is correct in stating that this is adulterous and marks such a person as an enemy of the groom, Jesus Christ.

Some who crave the spotlight would say that my comments and those of others who decry celebrity culture are simply a result of jealousy over their success, and that they are seeking a way to point others to Jesus. Yet, I don’t see these tactics used in the Bible. Instead, Jesus said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32, LSB).

May we see more Christians with the attitude of George Whitefield:

“Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified. Let my name die everywhere, let even my friends forget me, if by that means the cause of the blessed Jesus may be promoted. . . . I am content to wait till the judgment day for the clearing up of my reputation; and after I am dead, I desire no other epitaph than this, “Here lies G. W. What sort of man he was the great day will discover.”2

  1. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Care, trans. Henry David, Ancient Christian Writers 11 (New York: Newman Press, 1950), 75. Quoted in Harold L. Senkbeil, The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), 117. ↩︎
  2. Arnold A. Dallimore, George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival (2 vols.) (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1980),2:257-258. ↩︎

Yesterday was Sunday. Now What?

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become an object of horror, and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.’ So they brought back word to the king.”  (2 Kings 22:18–20, LSB)

How will we respond to the Word of God once we know what He has said? Many of us spent a good portion of our Sunday in our local church and we heard the Bible taught to us—possibly multiple times in different ways. In addition we sang biblical words, and prayed Scriptural truths. But, what happens to that truth we heard now that it’s Monday?

Josiah was a king who began his reign at the tender age of 8. His prospects for a long and godly reign didn’t look good. Many kings before him had been assassinated, and most of the kings who ruled David’s former kingdom (now divided in two) ruled in evil ways that looked more like the pagan nations around them. But King Josiah was different. His heart was set to obey the Lord, and the influence of godly priests around him hardened his resolve to follow God and lead his nation with wisdom and godliness.

At 18, Josiah began making some long-overdue changes. The temple had been neglected and he made arrangements for this to be corrected. In the process a copy of the Word of God was discovered and brought to the kings attention. As this mysterious book was read to the young king, he reacted with great emotion. He tore his robe in grief and anguish, and called the priest and his scribe to go and seek the Lord on his behalf.

What had disturbed this young king? The words of the Law of God spoke clearly about how God’s people—Josiah’s people—were to behave. They were to be a holy people, a godly people. They were never to worship any other gods, and they were to follow the Lord’s directions for life. But Josiah knew that it had been a long time since they had done that, and that the nation was guilty of great sin against the Lord God.

Imagine taking on a new job, and you start with anticipation of how well you will perform your duties. You work there for a few years, and you begin to learn that you are in a long line of serious slackers. Not only did they fail to do their jobs, but they stole from the company, sold secrets to the competition, and talked bad about the company owner. Some even called the company by the rival company’s name! Now you have the job, and you are a company man, and you hope to change things, and straighten up things. Then one day you find a book that not only has the company history, showing you the glorious past of your firm, but it also has all of the expectations that you should be meeting. As you read it, you become terrified! “We’re failing every metric in this book! Every worker in this company should be fired, and even sued for the damage they have caused to the owner. His losses are immense!”

This was Josiah’s dawning reality. He sent the priest and scribe to the Owner, the real King of his kingdom, to find out what He really thought about their situation. The word that came back was what Josiah feared—God was furious. Payback was coming, and it would cause the ears of those who heard about it to buzz.

Josiah, this righteous king, was overcome by grief. Yes, he was filled with sorrow for the coming judgment. But even more so, he was crushed by how his people had been toward their God. Josiah wanted to be a good king, obedient to all that the Lord had spoken—but he was in a long line of losers. It was almost payday, and not the good kind.

But God saw Josiah’s heart, and he saw his grief over the situation. The Lord told his ministers to tell the king that the judgment was so great that there was no avoiding it, but that it would be delayed. Josiah would reign, and he would be recorded as a good king. God would wait until after he was gone to bring the promised judgment.

How would you respond? Josiah was surely relieved. But even more, he was determined. He knew the judgment would miss him, but instead of sitting back and enjoying his royal life, he leaped into action. He leaned into the reforms he knew were needed. He tore down the centers for idol worship and reinstated God’s holy standard. He made godliness great again.

Let’s go back to Sunday—yesterday. What did God say to you through His servants? Do you have the zeal of Josiah? Are you looking at this week with anticipation for how you will carry out what God shared with you through His Word yesterday, or are you comfortable sliding back into your life, like the kings that came before Josiah?

Josiah is known to this day as one of the godliest kings of Judah. His reforms didn’t last long because the people quickly slid back into their wretchedness when the kings after him continued the long path toward paganism. But that doesn’t matter. Right is right, and God calls us to obey. What happens after we are gone isn’t our problem. He calls His people to walk with Him, and we need to strive to do so every day of our lives. We can prepare the next generation as best we can, but ultimately, they will need to do it themselves, and will give an account before God, just like we will.

Yesterday was Sunday. Now what?