Love is Just a Four-Letter Word

"I always love you, but I don't like what you're doing." 

In one way or another, every good mother has used this phrase with her children. It helps express to a child the distinction that their mommy makes between them and their behavior. The words reassure a child's sensitive heart that mommy may get upset, frustrated, even angry about my bad choices, but mommy never stops loving me. Children are prone to conflate their choices with their person, as if being rebuked or disciplined for sinful choices meant their parent had stopped loving them. Parents must consistently reassure their kids, especially in times requiring discipline, that this is being done in love not without love. I have often told my oldest daughter in disciplinary moments, "Daddy loves you too much to let you sin without consequences." 

Every June in these United States, we are bombarded with the opinions of people who apparently were never taught this reality about love. PRIDE and all its followers equate love with enthusiastic approval for their every action, choice, or behavior. "If you really loved me, you would approve of ___________". We are informed that, if believers in Christ do not approve of LGBTQ+ lifestyles, we are failing to love. Yet, we who know our Bibles know that these sorts of choices and behaviors are labeled as sinful, and (like all sin) are destructive to those who engage in them, as well as the broader society celebrating them. 

We are not (reasonably) pressured to do this with any other soul-destroying sin. If I preached against drug abuse as destructive to the souls of those who engage in it, no one could reasonably accuse me of being unloving to drug addicts. If I condemned pornography as an enslaving, mind-warping tool of hell, I have not revealed a lack of love for those who are addicted to it. In fact, quite the opposite! I cannot truly love the soul struggling with porn addiction without hating the porn that is enslaving them. I cannot love the man or woman addicted to drugs without hating the drugs that are destroying their souls. 

To love what is good requires that we hate what is evil, NOT to hate those who are doing evil. The apostle Paul commands us in Romans 12:9, "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good." True love doesn't approve of sin, but loves sinners. We know this to be true because that's how God loved us. The Bible is clear that God hates sin. But the Bible is equally clear that God loves sinners. God's hatred of our sin was shown as He poured out His wrath on Jesus Christ on the cross, who bore the wrath of the Father for our sins. But His love for sinners was equally shown as Jesus willingly offered Himself for us, that all who believe in Him might be freed from sin and receive everlasting life. 

True Christian love must look at PRIDE month with hatred for the sins displayed and celebrated in it, BECAUSE the Christian loves the sinners who are destroying themselves with those sins. You cannot truly love those lost souls without hating the sin enslaving them, and you cannot hate those sins in a godly way without loving those who are lost in them. Remember that Christ, not culture, will be your judge in the last day, and Christ has called us to love one another, as He has loved us: not by leaving us enslaved to sin, but freeing us from sin. (John 13:34)

+ Blessings in Christ +

No Peace with Sin!

When king Ahab of Israel miraculously defeated Ben-Hadad and the Syrians, the Lord delivered the enemy into his hand for complete destruction. Instead, Ahab made a treaty with Ben-Hadad and allowed his enemies to live. Although this may sound like mercy, it was actually ungodly foolishness. “Then he said to [Ahab], ‘Thus says the LORD: Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’” (1 Kings 20:42) Ben-Hadad and the Syrians would be the death of Ahab, not immediately, but years later. (1 Kings 22:1)

One of the worst lies Christians often believe is that we can make peace with sin. We make treaties with our enemy, the way Ahab made treaty with his enemy. And we imagine that this apparent peace can last, but sin will always strike again. Sin, if left alive, will always seek to destroy your soul. The only answer is what Paul says in Colossians 3:5, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” There must be total war waged by the Christian against sin. How do we wage that war? By the Spirit’s power, not our own. (Rom 8:13) Not by law, but by constant remembrance of God’s grace given to us in Christ. (Rom 6:13) And not just by putting off sin, but putting on the new man God has created us to be, in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:24)

Christian, the sin that put your Savior on the cross is not worthy of your coddling, your protection, or your affection. Make no peace with it, but crush it underfoot like the soul-destroying enemy it is. "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly." (Romans 16:20)

"Why Do We Do That?" Psalm Singing

 In this series of essays pastor Keith will seek to explain aspects of our ministry at Trinity Chapel. May the Lord use these to give you greater clarity about our work and encourage you to participate further in this gospel ministry!

Why Do We Sing Psalms?

Anyone who has ever visited Trinity Chapel, watched one of our livestreams, or even heard us talk about worship will quickly learn something: we love the Bible! We recognize the Bible as God's precious word to His people, warning sinners toward repentance, and assuring us of all His promises in Christ. At Trinity Chapel we love the Bible so much that we are not content to simply read a verse or two before the preacher launches into a 15-20 minute spiritually-ambiguous TED talk. NO! We DEMAND the Bible, from start to finish. 

That means we don't just preach and read the Bible, we also pray and even sing the Bible! Every Lord's day, in morning and evening worship, two books are made available to all worshipers at Trinity Chapel: the Trinity Hymnal and the Trinity Psalter. While the Hymnal consists of many wonderful God-honoring hymns and spiritual songs, the Psalter alone contains the very words of God, translated straight out of Scripture and set to a singable pattern. 

One blessing of singing these songs is that they are incapable of being untrue. Because they are the very words of God, taken straight from the source of Scripture, they are inspired, God-breathed, and inerrant (incapable of being in error). Many times, even with old hymns, we might rightly ask, "Are these words true? Is this song reflecting something true about God?" With psalms, we never have to ask that question. We know these are Spirit-inspired songs, and therefore always relevant to all of life, no matter how far removed from the original context we might be. 

The psalms also give voice to the full range of human emotion and experience. Many modern praise songs only focus on the same pre-conceived selection of "appropriate" feelings and experiences. How many contemporary Christian worship songs focus on the destruction of enemies, the experience of being betrayed, or feeling abandoned by God? The psalms have highs and lows, peaks and valleys, and, if we sing them all, we find we have an applicable song to sing no matter how we are feeling in the moment. 

We sing psalms because Jesus sings psalms! As a Jew, from His earliest days, our Savior would have learned to sing the psalms in His family home, in the synagogue worship, and at the temple in Jerusalem. Psalm-singing was ingrained into Him from day one, as with all people of the Book. Jesus almost definitely prayed and sang the Hallel Psalms (Psalms 113-118) when He instituted the Lord's supper (Matthew 26:26-30). When we sing the psalms, we don't just sing about Jesus, but with Jesus. We join Him as our elder brother and High Priest, singing praise with Him to God the Father. 

Above all, we sing psalms because the Bible commands us to sing psalms! "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:19, also Colossians 3:16) "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms." (James 5:13) The Lord is always infinitely more pleased with our simple obedience than our most outlandish, extravagant displays of external worship. (1 Samuel 15:22)

So, with renewed zeal and trust in the Lord, let us take up our psalters and sing praise to God! Many of our neighbors, even our Christian brothers and sisters, have never known the blessing of singing God's word in the Psalms. May we grow to love the Psalms more in 2023 and share this wonderful treasure with the world around us. To God be the glory!

"Why do we _____?" The Call to Worship

In this series of essays pastor Keith will seek to explain aspects of our ministry at Trinity Chapel. May the Lord use these to give you greater clarity about our work and encourage you to participate further in this gospel ministry!

What is the call to worship?

In many of life's events, something designates the starting point. The starting gun signals the runners to start running. A man getting down on one knee in front of his girlfriend indicates that a certain question is (probably!) coming. Corporate Christian worship also has a designated starting point, which comes in the call to worship.

Before the announcements on Sunday, I get up and welcome you to church; that isn't the beginning of the worship service. After the announcements a musician plays a brief piece of music; that isn't the beginning of worship. One of the men then rings a bell three times; this ALSO isn't the beginning of worship! These are all preliminary actions to worship. Worship begins when God speaks through His word and summons us to come into His presence with praise.

Why does the call to worship need to come first? Because God is the instigator of worship. He created us for worship and sought us in Christ to be worshipers. "True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." (John 4:23) The call to worship is the reminder to us that we are coming to God in response to Him. Worship isn't our idea, nor does it come out of our hearts until God plants the seed of His word in us. He invites us out on the dance floor; we take His hand in response.

This is also why the call to worship is always taken from the Bible. With confessions of sin, confessions of faith, certain prayers, and even songs, we may use words that are Bible-based, but not explicitly taken from Scripture. In the call to worship we hear the very voice of God, speaking through His ordained minister, summoning His redeemed people to praise. This should only be done through the words God gives us in the Bible. 

The call to worship also sets the tone for worship as a dialogue. Although it is the pastor's voice you hear, it is God who speaks to the worshiper. Throughout the service, God and His people speak, promise, praise, and bless one another. Worship is not a performance of the people, nor is it all an act of God. It is a relational interaction between the two: God initiates, His people respond. He calls; we reply. 

The call to worship also reminds us of our calling as we go into the world again. Just as God calls us to worship at the beginning of the service, He also sends us out into the world at the end of the service to call all those around us to come worship Him. Just as we have been called, so He sends us out to call others. "Sing to the LORD, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples." (Psalm 96:2-3) 

As we look forward to this coming Lord's day, let's settle in our souls now that, when we come to God's house together, we will come attentive, ready to hear the voice of our Savior as He calls us. 

Soul-Searching in the Face of Sickness

Trinity Chapel is currently going through a season of sickness. Many of our households over the last 1+ month have been hit by illness, of varying degrees and type. It has kept over half of us home sick at any given time, and away from the Lord's day assembly of God's people. I know I have been thankful for the livestream option in the last weeks, but I imagine that those of you who have been using it would agree: we want to be back together! 

In times like these, we are reminded of our own weakness. We are reminded of our drastic limitations, which we are often able to ignore with the use of many modern technologies. But the reality is, we get sick, and no matter how hard we close our eyes, repeat the mantras, or take medications, healing still takes time. 

A mistake we often make with sicknesses is to approach them like naturalists. Christians profess to be supernaturalists, meaning we believe in the power of God to work in the world, but we often live like God didn't do it. We do this with natural disasters, droughts, world conflicts (all of which are under the power and control of God), and we especially do it with sickness. The biblical reality is that no plague, disease, or sickness, ever comes apart from the allowance of God. While God doesn't always allow these things as a direct consequence of sins (e.g. John 9:1-3), Scripture does teach that He might. Consider some of David's words from Psalm 39:

 "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the foolish. I was mute, I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it. Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand. When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; surely every man is vapor. Selah. Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers were. Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength, before I go away and am no more." (Psalm 39:7-13)

As a result of his personal sins David knows that the Lord has rebuked, or corrected, him with sickness ("Your plague"). David cries out to the Lord to forgive his sins and remove the chastening plague from him before it takes away his life. Many times in Scripture, God is said to send sickness and disease as a punishment and/or a wake up call to repentance (e.g. Rev 9:20; Amos 4:10; Psalm 106:29-30). 

I'm not going to sit here and write that the Lord has explicitly told me that our church's current struggles with sickness are the direct result of any one particular sin on our part, but I do think it is easily in the wheelhouse to say we ought to treat this time as a call to repentance, to prayer, to personal examination of our hearts, and confession and forsaking of sin. 

May we have spirits like Phinehas, who intervened with holy violence and removed the transgression of God's people, that God's plague might be stopped. Let us search our hearts with the spirit of Psalm 139, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." May we cry out like David, on behalf of ourselves and our brethren in Christ: "Deliver us from all our transgressions. Remove Your plague from us. Hear our prayer, O LORD, and give ear to our cry." 

As we renew ourselves to seek the Lord and His righteousness, may we find Him a refuge in our time of need, and experience the blessings of Psalm 91:9-11,

"Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,

Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you,

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,

To keep you in all your ways.

The Peace Table

 "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

How many times have we heard something like, "All I'm looking for is some peace of mind?" Or how joyful is a war-torn nation when the announcement of "Peace!" is finally made. Peace is a reality that often seems to elude us. We seek it. We think if we had a different set of circumstances, we would have more peace. But there is a greater peace that every single human soul needs: peace with God. In our sins, we are out of fellowship with our Creator. We are antagonists, acting against Him, rebels and traitors warring against His righteous rule of all things. What hope for peace could cantankerous usurpers like us possibly have with God?

That's part of what makes Romans 5:1 such an amazing verse. We not only have the hope of peace, it isn't just a possibility; it's a reality! We aren't waiting to see if it comes, we have it! We have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. God is no longer angry with you, Christian. If you have been justified by faith; declared innocent through the blood of Christ and clothed in His perfect righteousness: God is not mad at you. He has no more wrath against you. He has no condemnation awaiting you for all your sins, for Christ was already condemned for them. In the absence of conflict, which Christ has taken away, and in the presence of love, which Christ has provided; you are left with nothing but peace. 

Peace with God through Jesus Christ. If you have Him, you have everything required for peace with God. And not just the peace of a ceasefire! Not just an armistice. The perfect peace of God that surpasses understanding is yours in Christ Jesus. The peace that pervades a loving household. The peace of love. The peace of satisfaction. The peace of enjoyment of the other. Christ has given you that sort of peace with God, Christian.

It is that peace that we celebrate and picture as we come to the Lord's table. The meal we eat as we are served by the Lord Jesus is the feast of a loving family. God has not only received us in Christ, but He assures us of our reception through a meal shared with Him. We eat with Him at His table as brothers and sisters, received and beloved by God. 

As we taste the bread and drink the cup, may that be the word that most fills our souls: peace! Peace with God and peace with one another, through Christ our Lord.

In Preparation for Communion

Have you ever had someone show up and randomly start telling you how to do your job? It’s frustrating! Especially if you are forced to put up with that person because of their status. In my case, I was the college-educated boss’s kid on the construction job, working with guys that had been doing this work for years. I knew that my best bet was to keep my lips sealed, my head down, and work hard at whatever task was put in front of me.

There’s an interesting story about Jesus, only recorded in Luke 5, where Jesus shows up and starts telling some blue-collar guys how to do their job. Luke writes: Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” (Luke 5:3-5)

Jesus, who is not a fisherman, tells Simon the fisherman how to fish. And the day has already been unproductive. Simon tells Jesus, “Master, we’ve already been at it all night and haven’t caught a thing!” But Simon also has respect for Jesus as a spiritual teacher, so he indulges his Master a little. You can almost hear Simon and the other fishermen muttering beneath their breath! “We’re going to get these boats ready and out there again and Jesus will see it’s exactly like we said: there’s no fish! Stick to the preaching, Jesus. Leave the fishing to us.”

But what happens? “And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.” (Luke 5:6-7) Not only do these experienced fishermen haul in an astounding catch, they take in so much that it becomes dangerous! What happened?

What happened is summed up in Peter’s words, which he probably wasn’t even thinking about, “At Your word I will let down the net.” It is not the skill of these fishermen that makes the difference; it isn’t the wisdom of men who’ve probably spent their whole lives on these waters, hauling in fish. It is the word, the commandment, of Jesus that makes the difference and turns this fishing venture from a bad catch to an overwhelming abundance.

There’s another place in Scripture where Jesus commanded something that sounds strange to us: when He instituted the Lord’s supper at His last supper with His disciples. There He broke the Passover bread and He told them: “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28)

If we were doing things with man’s wisdom, we could probably come up with a much more impressive sacrament than the Lord’s supper. In fact, the communion table is astoundingly unimpressive to the flesh: a little bread, a small taste from the cup. And yet, because Christ Himself instituted this meal with His own words, His own commandment, the table becomes for us the very place where we taste by faith the body and blood of our Savior. Through the Spirit’s power and blessing that little bread and little cup become for us spiritual nourishment and encouragement for our souls. And as we eat the meal together we have the curtain peeled back and get a brief glimpse of eternal life, where we will eat the everlasting meal at the Lamb’s wedding table. As we come to the Lord’s table this week, let us come in obedience to the very words of Jesus, believing that His word transforms scarcity into abundance, death into life, and the cross into eternal victory. God bless you all until we gather at the table once again.