If ever there was a time for the Church to support Israel, it is now! Israel, ethnic national Israel (not the Church), is still the apple of God’s eye (Zechariah 2:8). The Church is the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:32), and as such, is specially loved by God. But God also loves Israel and still has a special plan for their future. Right now, the people of Israel, the apple of God’s eye, are in the world’s bullseye. We haven’t seen hatred of the Jews ramp up like this since the 1930’s.

It wasn’t until May 14, 1948, after the Holocaust, that the Jews were given back their land. How, then, did Charles Spurgeon, who died in 1892, know that the nation would return? Someone might say that Spurgeon was a prophet. But Spurgeon himself claimed that he was merely expounding upon what was clearly revealed in Scripture. Spurgeon preached the following about the return of Israel to the land: “The meaning of [Ezekiel 37], as opened up by the context, is most evidently, if words mean anything, first, that there shall be a political restoration of the Jews to their own land and to their own nationality. And then, secondly, there is in the text and in the context a most plain declaration that there shall be a spiritual restoration—in fact a conversion—of the tribes of Israel.” It is remarkable that Spurgeon preached this in the mid-to-late 1800s, long before any Zionist momentum had been gathered; Spurgeon knew this from Scripture, not by reading the tea leaves.

So, Charles Spurgeon predicted the restoration of the Jews to their land, and he did so about seven decades before it happened! Now, seven decades after it has happened, there is a massive push in the Church, led by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and Candace Owens—all claiming to be Christians—to say that Israel has been replaced by the Church and that the people now occupying the land are actually the great villains on the world stage. Tucker even said that he hates Christian Zionists “more than anybody.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take Charles Spurgeon’s exposition of Scripture over the endless opinions of Tucker, Nick, and Candace seven days a week and twice on Sunday. And John MacArthur gave us a second witness on these matters. Not that we are respecters of men when coming to biblical conclusions, but proven character and biblical acumen do count for something.

The bottom line is that the Bible is clear that God is still accomplishing his plan for ethnic national Israel. The Church hasn’t replaced Israel. The New Covenant does not make irrelevant what God said in the days of the Old. In fact, it was right there in the New Covenant promise of Jeremiah 31 that God reiterated His intentions. In the very passage where the New Covenant was revealed, God (by Jeremiah) went on to say, “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is his name: ‘If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.’ Thus says the Lord: ‘If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the Lord’” (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

The most comprehensive New Testament teaching on this subject absolutely concurs with what God said in Jeremiah. Paul writes, “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’; ‘and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.’ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all” (Romans 11:25-32).

Notice from this passage that “you” (the Church) and “they” (ethnic national Israel) are distinct from one another, and God still has a plan for their future inclusion. Israel “will be” (in the future) saved (verse 25). Spurgeon was right to separate the physical return of Israel to the land (Spurgeon said, “first”) and the spiritual softening of the people’s hearts (Spurgeon said, “And then, secondly”). The latter is yet future. But the former, what Spurgeon saw as the first step, has now happened!

Church, the Bible, not a podcaster, teaches us how God speaks of Israel. He even warns Christians not to boast over them as they sit in their spiritual blindness, in their unbelief. We are to humbly remember that but for the grace of God, there go we. But this is not how the most popular voices in our society today have been speaking. Opposite God’s heart, they constantly blame the Jews, accuse the Jews, deride the Jews. We must take no part in fueling the fires of hatred against the Jews.

“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse” (Proverbs 1:10-14).

The father and son Jihadis at Bondi Beach murdered as many Jews as they could. Need it be said that the Bible condemns what they did? “Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm” (Proverbs 3:29-30).

The podcaster with the #1 ranked show in the world called Israel an “occult nation” (Owens Quote 1) who “took over ours” and assassinated JFK (Owens Quote 2). She has blamed Israel for the murder of Charlie Kirk (Owens Quote 3). Need it be said that the Bible condemns what she said.

“A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28). America and Israel are close friends, the closest of allies. Just this last summer, America and Israel worked together to eliminate an imminent nuclear threat from Iran. The Ayatollah who rules Iran believes in the 12th Imam—the twelfth successor to Muhammad, a guy named Muhammad al-Mahdi, who supposedly went into “major occulation” (became invisible) in the Year of Our Lord 941. This Twelver Shia belief includes the fanatical idea that it will take apocalyptic devastation to bring Muhammad al-Mahdi out of hiding. So, if that is what the leader of Iran believes, then what better than a nuclear weapon to bring about this end to the world? The doctrine of “Mutually Assured Destruction” is no protection when we’re dealing with Muslims who think like this. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, under their current leadership, they might very well use them.

The close friendship between America and Israel benefits both, provided that preventing nuclear war benefits all involved. Those who seek to separate this close friendship have proven themselves dishonest. These Anti-Zionists told us repeatedly last June that if Trump busts the bunkers of Iran’s nuclear facility, then we will be in World War 3. Well, Trump did order the busting of the bunkers, and no, it did not result in world war. It disarmed the threat. And just as the Israel-hating crowd was wrong about what they said in June, they continue to be wrong as they spread strife between America and Israel, in their effort to separate close friends.

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment” (Proverbs 18:1). The #1 podcaster in the world gets richer and richer the longer she stays in the limelight. In the end she will be isolated, on an island with only her die-hard fans remaining. But in the meantime, some of her desires (the Lord knows what those are) will be met. It is clearly against “sound judgment” to allege things she cannot prove, like the allegation that Israel murdered JFK. The Bible advises caution in the things we say. To charge Israel with the murder of a US President, while offering no proof, is a flagrant injustice. It lacks sound judgment.

“A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul” (Proverbs 18:7). Perhaps it is simply unwise to flap the lips incessantly, a million words per minute, going on and on for hours and hours, week after week, posturing oneself as a purveyor of secret knowledge. We ought to be slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19).

The #1 podcaster in the world needs a Charles Spurgeon or a John MacArthur in her life to tell her to “go home.” She denigrates her own husband and all men everywhere when she says, “If it’s going to take women having to speak up and say [that Israel is an occult nation] to make permission, like, to give permission for men to do the same, then I’m happy to be the first person. I just want to be clear, if anything happens to me, blame the Zionists.”

“Blame the Zionists”…but it was the Jews, the very ones she repeatedly denigrates, not her victim-posturing self, whose bodies fell on Bondi Beach. It was the Jews, not her, who were massacred on October 7, 2023. It was Charlie Kirk, a close friend of the Jews and an enemy of violent leftists, who was cut down on September 10, 2025. Maybe the one who says “blame the Zionists” when nothing happened to her is the one who deserves some blame. “Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart” (Proverbs 3:3). There is no love, no faithfulness to the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31), in blaming the Jews. If the reader has steadfast love and faithfulness, then now is the time to speak up for the Jews, before they are once-again carried away to slaughter. It is loving to say “never again.”

America has blessed Israel more than any other country in the world, and partly as a result of this, America is the most blessed country in the world (Genesis 12:3). We must keep it that way. “The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous” (Proverbs 3:33).

Church, it is not right to join the world’s chorus in blaming the Jews. Moreover, it is not right to remain silent when that chorus keeps getting louder. “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” (Proverbs 24:11). Who will be there for Israel in this her time of need? Don’t look down upon Israel; speak up for Israel!

For the Lion of the Tribe of Judah,

Pastor Jeff

Mark was a quitter. He committed to a mission trip with Paul and Barnabas, but he bailed when the going got tough. “Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John (Mark) left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia” (Acts 13:13-14a). While the mission went forward, Mark pulled a Jonah and sailed in the opposite direction.

Mark’s abandonment was a big deal to Paul. Later on, another opportunity arose for a second mission trip, “Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed…” (Acts 15:37-40). Paul was willing to forgive, but trust and forgiveness are two separate issues. Paul couldn’t trust a guy who had proven himself to be a quitter.

Mark was a quitter, but he was the kind of quitter who didn’t give up. That is to say, Mark fell, but he eventually got back up. His courage faltered, but he found it again. He did quit, but he also restarted.

Mark is a truly sympathetic figure in this regard. Who among us hasn’t fallen short at some point in our lives? Moreover, most of us know the particular shame of falling short of a standard we set for ourselves. No one put a gun to Mark’s head and compelled him to go on that first mission trip. He volunteered to do it. He thought he could do it. Then he fell short of the expectation he had for himself.

Falling short of what we expect from ourselves makes us hang our heads in shame. It can be crushing. Sadness can set in, sometimes even severe depression. The failure might be breaking a diet and gaining weight, when we committed to ourselves that we would lose weight. The failure might be resorting to a bad habit that we promised ourselves we would never again resume (drinking, smoking, gambling, sexual sins, excessive gaming, etc). Or, like Mark, the failure might be not doing something that we had hoped to be able to do.

Mark gives us a beautiful example of a Christian who failed but who resumed trying. To have the great Apostle Paul issue a vote of no confidence and still get on that boat with Barnabas and try again was a remarkable display of grit. There is a lesson in it. Even if the most respected people in our lives don’t think we can do what we think God is calling us to do, do it anyway. The one thing we cannot do is finally quit, even if our problem has been our own tendency to quit.

Discipline is a muscle that must be built. Muscles grow by training, through small decisions building up over time. Maybe you’ve tried going to the gym before, but you always end up quitting after a few weeks, or perhaps after a few days. One of the great revelations about the joy of discipline is that you don’t have to arrive at an end goal to experience discipline’s joy. As soon as we experience some progress, the joy of discipline begins to build. If a middle-aged man desires to lose 50 pounds, he’ll hold his head high as soon as he loses 5, as long as the course is still set to reach the goal.  Progress, not arrival, brings a sense of satisfaction. The scrawny teenager who wants to add muscle will likewise feel joy each time he lifts a little more weight than he did before. So, the real key to building discipline is simply to not quit, even if quitting has been a problem in the past.

Mark quit, but then he didn’t. Years after Mark’s missionary desertion, just before Paul died, Paul would write to Timothy, “Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:9-11). Notice how many quitters deserted Paul: Demas, Crescans, and even Titus! But not Mark. Luke, Timothy, and Mark endured. Given Mark’s history with Paul, it would have been no small thing for Mark to hear that Paul had said of him, “he is very useful to me for ministry.” Mark got that vote of confidence that he once forfeited. He rebuilt trust.

If Mark could do it, so can we. Learn what motivated men like Mark and Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). This promise was not just for Paul, but to all who endure to the end (Matthew 24:13).

So, “lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees” (Hebrews 12:12). Whatever failures you regret, they are in the past. If you have repented and believe in Jesus, then they are under the blood. Be like Mark and get back at it. The Lord will make you very useful in ministry if you refuse to give up. As Jim Valvano famously said, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

Being a Christian is a lot like being an athlete. Paul loves to make the comparison (2 Timothy 2:5, Philippians 3:14). “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Paul understood that Christians need to think like athletes. There is a prize for all the hard work we need to do. The better the performance, the bigger the rewards. Like athletes, we need motivation.

When NFL teams clash on a Sunday afternoon, they are highly motivated. Each team is striving for Super-Bowl glory, and every player knows that their individual performance will determine their own future contract. In addition to the money, they are motivated by the glory, the idea of wearing a ring that displays their accomplishments. This year’s Eagles’ Super Bowl rings have a button that increases the display of their glory; hardware like that is a great motivator for future players. And Howie Roseman (the Eagles’ Manager) is famous for quickly rewarding outstanding performance with lucrative pay increases. The Eagles management understands the value of these motivators.

Every team gets it, even if it is to a lesser degree, as with the Cowboys :) But think about what any team will do if an opposing player goes to the media and makes a derogatory comment about them…The coach will seize upon that, display the comment in the locker room, and use it for extra motivation: “Look what he said about you! Are you gonna prove him wrong or are you gonna let him get away with that?” The coach uses a player’s anger to motivate him to be more aggressive.

Every sport, by its competitive nature, is fueled by motivation, but Christians often neglect the importance of motivation in the game of life. Perhaps this is connected to the fact that we are given so much at the outset of the Christian life. Think about it: the very moment that we believe in Jesus Christ, we are showered with blessings more valuable than an Eagles’ Super Bowl ring. In an instant, we have complete forgiveness of all sin—past, present, and future (Luke 24:47); we have eternal life granted to us, not merely as a future hope for when we die, but as an instantaneous reality (John 11:26); we even get the down payment of the Holy Spirit, the third Member of the Trinity, to live inside of us (Ephesians 1:13-14). Indeed, at the moment of our new birth, we have everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). For all these things, we ought to give thanks.

We do give thanks, but there is a problem: Gratitude is not a very strong motivator. Human nature works against gratitude’s sustaining power. We tend to forget our blessings, even if we are reminded to “forget not His benefits” (Psalm 103:2). We know we need to make a list of all the things for which we are thankful and pray “with thanksgiving” (Philippians 4:6), but we tend to get too busy to offer thanks, or maybe too busy to even produce the list. Because of our frail estate, our thankfulness is very weak relative to all that we have been given. Thanks be to God that He remembers our frame.

He has something more. God does not motivate us by our gratitude only, but also by His promises! This is a wonderful, though neglected, truth of the Christian life. When, as a child, I was taught a bible verse for each letter of the alphabet, I learned the letter E this way: “Exceeding, great, and precious promises are given unto us” (2 Peter 1:4). The promises of God are future oriented, not past oriented, and they are the biggest motivator of the Christian life.

“13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:13-21).

Notice that Peter motivates us with both the past and the future. In verses 18-21, he reminds us of what has already been done for us, and in verses 13-17, he promises us more. In verse 21, “faith and hope” include both the past-oriented and future-oriented aspects of our devotion.

With regard to the future, Peter uses both the carrot and the stick to motivate righteous living. The carrot is “the grace that will be brought” when Jesus comes back. The stick is the discipline of the “Father” whom we are to “fear.”

There are future benefits associated with right choices, and there are future hardships associated with wrong choices. God presses upon our own self interest to motivate good Christian living. If we abide in Him, living by His Word, we can expect fuller joy (John 15:11). If we neglect Him and His Word, living by our emotions, we can expect the pains of discipline (Hebrews 12:11).

The choice is ours. But I write these things to motivate us to choose wisely. Let’s start every week in church. Let’s start every day in prayer and the Word. Put into practice what we learn on Sunday mornings and what we read in the Word every day. We will be blessed if we live this way (Psalm 1).

If athletes are motivated by hope of future rewards, how much more ought we be motivated by hope of future rewards? Our rewards hold promise for this life and also for the one to come.

Motivated By Great Promises,

Pastor Jeff

Prophets are known to use sarcasm at times. Elijah famously told some Baal worshippers that their “god” was silent because perhaps “he is relieving himself” (1 Kings 18:27); he encouraged them to “cry aloud, for he is a god.” Isaiah used sarcastic irony to convey contempt for those who cut down a cedar tree to make an idol, who then pray to it, saying “Deliver me, for you are my God!” while they burn the rest of the cedar wood and say, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” (Isaiah 44:16). These are famous examples. But have you ever considered the sarcasm Zechariah employed when describing the offerings of the children of Israel? This one might hit a little closer to home.

“Put a price tag on my forehead!” That’s pretty much what Zechariah demanded. “Pay me what you think I’m worth!” Zechariah wanted to know how much the people valued his ministry. Or better, given the context of Zechariah 11, he wanted to force the people to provide a number that would allow them to see how little they valued the word of the Lord, how little they were willing to give to the God who gives them everything.

The people knew that Zechariah was a prophet. Now Zechariah was requiring them to put a value on hearing the word of the Lord. It wasn’t that Zechariah was greedy for “filthy lucre” (Titus 1:11 KJV). He would soon prove the opposite by throwing all the money back into the Temple (Zechariah 11:13). But he wanted the people to see how little value they were assigning to the ministry of the Word.

They offered up thirty pieces of silver. Zechariah was not impressed…sarcasm warning! Zechariah described their offering as a “magnificent sum” (Zechariah 11:13 NLT). Thirty pieces of silver was the “handsome price” (NIV) assigned to the prophet. In calling their offering “handsome” (NIV) or “magnificent” (NLT) or “lordly” (ESV), Zechariah delivered a heavy dose of sarcasm. Such was his assessment of the paltry valuation they gave him; thirty pieces of silver wasn’t good at all. True prophets will let people know how God really feels about how they are doing, including what they offer. A prophet may even use sarcasm to do it.

But let’s go a little deeper and take this more seriously, by considering how Zechariah’s words relate to Jesus. Jesus is also a Prophet, not to mention a Priest and King, even “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). When He presented Himself to Israel, Judas Iscariot valued him at the same price Zechariah got—thirty pieces of silver. Judas was “a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John 12:6). Judas had always been a greedy sell-out, but when he went to the chief priests and offered to deliver Jesus into their hands, he finalized the deal. He exchanged the whole of His time with Jesus for a paltry price. He collected on what His relationship with Jesus was worth to him. In so doing, he put a price tag on Jesus’ forehead. To Judas, the Son of the living God was worth thirty pieces of silver.

An entire sermon could be preached on the parallels between Zechariah 11:12-13 and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, recorded in the Gospels. That the Lord said to Zechariah “throw it to the potter” (11:13) is a prophetic type that finds its antitype in the usage of Judas’ blood money to purchase a potter’s field (Matthew 27:7). That the money was “thrown into the house of the Lord” in both cases is another prophetic analogy.

But the prophetic image that ought to arrest our attention the most, in the parallels between the two betrayals, is that in both cases the money ends up back at the feet of those who offered it. The coins bouncing on the pavement is a vivid image of an offering rejected! Picture the chief priests picking up the money with their fat, greedy fingers. They, like Judas, valued Jesus at no more than thirty pieces of silver, and the providence of God displayed that day in the Temple was essentially saying, “keep the money!” When Zechariah threw the thirty pieces of silver “into the house of the Lord”, there were those in attendance who would have scurried about to grab the scattered coins. Maybe a few hands arrived at the same piece at the same moment and jostled against each other in the effort to grab it. Thirty meager coins loose on the floor, free for the taking, drew out a pitiful display of misplaced priorities. How many people only saw bouncing, sparkling silver opportunities while missing that it was a word from the Lord?

Zechariah 11:13 is a word from the Lord. The “lordly price” (ESV) needs to be worthy of our Lord. When we come to “the house of the Lord” we ought to bring our best offering to the Lord. A poor widow did that. She gave a handsome, magnificent, lordly valuation of her Lord. Materially, that valuation was only two mites. But the two mites were all she had. The sum did not matter. The Lord saw her heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus then gave an assessment of her offering. Without sarcasm or hyperbole, but “Truly” (Luke 21:3), He evaluated her gift this way: “I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them” (Luke 21:3). It’s not the sum we bring that determines whether the Lord will accept it or send it scattering back at our feet. The determining factor is whether or not our offerings reflect a heart that values the Lord of glory. David rightly said, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24).

Let’s each bring our best this Sunday morning and on every Lord’s Day. Paul instructs the Corinthians, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Paul was referring to his missionary visit. How much more should we be looking forward to the coming of Jesus Christ? The first day of every week is the Lord’s Day. Part of how we worship Him is by putting something in the offering box (or in the proverbial “offering box” when giving on the app). This offering is “as he may prosper,” meaning that to whom more is given, more is expected (Luke 12:48). Perhaps today, the Lord is asking one of us to increase his weekly offering by $2, and obedience to that will bring about God’s pleasure, just as with the widow’s two mites. The Lord may be asking another to increase their weekly offering by $30, and obedience to that will bring about God’s pleasure. But let each one respond to the Word of the Lord in Zechariah 11:13. Those who prayerfully offer the best they can will receive the Lord’s commendation. Those who flippantly offer a poor valuation might one day see the handsome price bounce back at their feet, with a dose of sarcasm. Wouldn’t we rather hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).

There are two ways to describe what happened to the shattered plate lying on the floor. One is in the passive voice; the other is in the active voice. One would be an irresponsible answer to the owner of the plate who discovers it lying on the floor; the other would be to take responsibility. The guy who dropped the plate could say, “It fell from my hand,” or he could say, “I dropped it.”

Both constructions form true statements, but one sentence is better than the other. To say “It fell from my hand” might seem like the better option in the moment. Let’s say another family member upstairs slammed a door, and the guy carrying the plate was startled by the sound, resulting in the fumble. Given this added circumstance, the fumbler might want to pass at least some of the blame off upon the originator of the jarring sound. Or maybe the owner of the shattered plate has questioned the fumbler in a harsh tone, perhaps with an angry face and with such excessive volume that the guy who dropped it feels afraid and wants to protect himself. So he emphasizes the accidental nature of the slippage; he chooses to say, “It fell from my hand.”

But who is responsible for the loss? The truth is that we ought to be more careful and sure handed with other people’s things than to carry them so loosely that a mere noise upstairs would “cause” us to drop something. Furthermore, we shouldn’t be so high strung and jumpy that noises affect us that way. Moreover, we shouldn’t be so fearful and timid that angry faces and angry words make us wilt like a drying flower. No, the appropriate—and godly—answer to the question is that the dropper is responsible for dropping it. If he was getting slugged in the face when he dropped it, then, no, he is not responsible. But in the above scenario, he is responsible. Therefore he should word things this way: “I dropped the plate.”

Such ownership should be followed with a sincere expression of being sorry. To be “sorry” doesn’t mean to break out in tears, but “sorry” does come from the same root as “sorrow”; it means to show a sign of emotion, some compassion for the one who suffered loss. This expression of being sorry should then be followed by an apology. An apology is a “defense” (1 Peter 3:15) and an “excuse” (Romans 1:20); both “defense” and “excuse” are translations that come from the root “apologia”—apology—in the Greek New Testament. To “apologize” means to recount the events, explaining what happened, owning the sin or error or mistake in one’s own actions, and stating, or at least implying, that what you did is now a learning experience that should result in better outcomes in the future.

If the guy who dropped the plate speaks in the active voice, saying, “I dropped it,” and he then expresses being sorry and gives an apology, then he can move forward in good conscience. If he’s a Christian, then he is likely to be a good and growing one.

But I am convinced that the greatest danger we face after being saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is getting stuck in our own irresponsibility. If justification is a free gift—and it is—then what incentive do we have to progress in righteousness? After all, “I’m already saved!” Since Christianity is not a performance based religion (it’s the only one that’s not), it is quite possible for Christians to go on sinning, letting grace make up the difference between irresponsible and responsible behavior. Christians can sometimes become very irresponsible people.

Christians who remain irresponsible after being saved have failed to duly consider that genuine salvation takes us further than justification. To be declared righteous is a glorious start to the Christian life. Justification is also a matter of eternal rejoicing. But salvation includes elements that precede our justification, for example, the accomplishment of our redemption at the cross of Christ, where Jesus said, before any of us were even born, “it is finished” (John 19:30). Salvation also includes elements that follow the moment of our justification as God applies the redemption He accomplished to the individual lives of believers. We are positionally sanctified (John 3:2-3) the moment we believe, which then initiates a life-long process of progressive sanctification (John 17:17). This progressive sanctification finally reaches its mark when we are glorified (Romans 8:30) at the moment of our death (2 Corinthians 5:8) or at the Rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:17), whichever comes first.

All this to say, salvation includes sanctification, not “just” justification, so to speak. And if we are not pursuing holiness, then we are not saved (Hebrews 3:6, 3:14, 12:14). Christian, you have a responsibility to grow in godliness:

2 Peter 3:14 “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

Colossians 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Romans 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Pursue holiness. Practice godliness.

Decide today to take responsibility for your own sanctification. Our effort doesn’t take away from God’s work of sanctification. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13). When we work out our own salvation, it is because God is at work. It is only because He has given us His Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2) that we stand to make progress.

We can really start moving forward in sanctification when we learn to start saying, “I dropped it.” That sense of responsibility is often the missing ingredient when a Christian starts to feel “stuck” in their walk with Christ. Each of us needs to relearn responsibility and be reminded to say, “I am responsible for my own motives, thoughts, words, and actions.” We will continue to progress in godliness only if we learn to take responsibility for our failures. We must take responsibility for our own sanctification.

There were no migraine headaches in the Garden of Eden. No back or hip pain. No cancer. Adam and Eve wouldn’t even have been sore in the morning after going for an especially long walk the day before. The pains of this life came into existence through the fall of man into sin.

Genesis 3:17-19 records the curse: “And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, “You shall not eat of it,” cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’”

Pain is a product of the fall. Thorns and thistles are twisted things, instruments of pain that do not come from the original design of a plant, but from the contortions caused by sin. All creation now groans because of what Adam did.

The only remedy to the curse of sin and death is the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He wore a crown of thorns on His head to signify the work of the Man, the new Adam, as He bore the curse for us. His bloody death and bodily resurrection loosed the pains of sin and death.

But we are not home yet. While we wait the consummation of God’s plan of redemption, which will include the freedom of the creation itself from its bondage to corruption (Romans 8:21), we still live in a thorny world. When Christians die, we are released from the pains of this world (2 Corinthians 5:8). When Christ comes, He releases those of us who now remain here in the waiting (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Until that day, there will be thorns. Migraines, back and hip pain, cancer, and sore muscles are part of this life until Christ returns.

But there’s more to the story. The thorns of the flesh are not merely a brute fact to be endured until Christ comes. Because we are heirs of redemption, the thorns of the flesh have a purpose in this life and in the one to come. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Paul suffered a thorn in his flesh. Some scholars think it was a back problem. Others think it was poor eyesight or a severe limp. Others think it was more of an emotional wound. But whatever it was, Paul describes it as tormenting (harassing):

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

In this world, we, like Paul, will have trouble. This trouble will sometimes include physical and/or emotional ailments. But the thorns in the flesh are instruments that God is wielding for our good. Sure, Satan is happy to inflict us with them, and we do well to plead with the Lord to “deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13), but if we pray again and again for deliverance from a thorn and the Lord still leaves it in our flesh, then we can rest assured that God is accomplishing some important purpose by leaving it there.

In Paul’s case, God left the thorn in the flesh to keep him humble. After all, Paul was the Apostle who was taking the Gospel to the entire known Gentile world (Romans 11:13). Paul was also writing half of the New Testament. It would be easy for pride to creep in on Paul, or perhaps for Paul to grow a little bitter toward other Christians when he noticed that they didn’t run as hard as he did. Paul did notice that he “worked harder than any of [the apsotles]” (1 Corinthians 15:10). But that never made him bitter. It never caused him to look down on them or any of the “ordinary” Christians.

How did Paul retain such a positive attitude? He remained grateful by remembering who he was before Christ saved him (Acts 9, Acts 26). He also remained humble by enduring a thorn.

Physical pain was one of many instruments that kept him close to God. Whenever the pain lifted enough for Paul to go preach, Paul was overwhelmed with gratitude. He realized that apart from the grace of God, the thorns of this life would have him six feet under. If it weren’t for grace, Paul couldn’t draw his next breath.

Paul’s thorn reminded him of grace. God’s power is made perfect in weakness. Thorns will not be part of the eternal state. We’ll have no sin nature, which is what makes thorns useful to us in this life. Without a tendency toward pride, we won’t need thorns to keep us humble. But in this life, we are prone to complain (a form of pride), prone to wander (Lord, I feel it), and thorns are instruments that God uses to keep us reliant upon Him.

Thank you Jesus for wearing our thorns, that we will not wear them for all eternity. Thank you Jesus for giving us grace to endure the thorns of this short life, because if Paul needed them, then how much more do we?

By Grace,

Pastor Jeff