Anger: A Feast Fit for a King

Throughout this summer, our church has been studying the Ten Commandments in a sermon series entitled, "The Laws of Love". Last week our senior Pastor preached on the sixth commandment, "Thou Shall Not Murder". As he pointed out, if there ever was a commandment where our initial reading would cause us to think that we've at least kept one of them, it would be murder. But Jesus doesn't let us off the hook so easily. In the middle of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount he exposes all of us as murders:
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment'. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement." (Matthew 5:21-22a)


Ouch. 
I've been thinking this week about how often I am guilty of exactly what Jesus is saying. Anger (i.e. the unrighteous kind; we won't go into it in this post, but make no mistake there is in the Scriptures an anger against sin that is commended by God) is a spiritual cancer. It eats away at us in the church  as a full-frontal assault on the twin pillars of truth and love, both of which find their foundation in the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Anger can cause us to emphasize one over the other; truth at the expense of love (which is barbaric), and love without its origin in truth (which is much closer to hate). I think Frederick Buechner, a 20th century novelist and Presbyterian minister, said it well. He writes concerning anger,
 "Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back--in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.” 


Anger is indeed a feast and plays us for the fool. It fools us into thinking we are storing up rage against a brother or sister, or even God, and thus erodes truth because we are only weakening ourselves. And anger destroys our own joy in community  and as believers, which is the most un-loving we can be toward ourselves, much less our brothers and sisters. If you're like me, you're tired of feeding this monster. 


The great Reformer John Calvin calls us in the church to be "an embassy for reconciling men to God" in his commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:18. Paul had reminded the Corinthians of their identity and mission. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) Anger can be the antithesis of that mission. Notice how Paul tells us that the rallying cry for our ministry of reconciliation with our brothers and sisters is firmly rooted in the reconciliation bought for us through the blood and atonement of Jesus. How much more then is at stake in our ministry of reconciliation? Our anger not only makes us into murders, but it creates spiritual amnesia. We forget our reconciliation in Christ. And we forget the ministry of reconciliation for which He has called us his own. 


Lee Hutchings is the Pastor of Discipleship at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, Mississippi 

Book Review. "The Life of A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God," by James L. Snyder

"The Life of A.W. Tozer: In Pursuit of God," by James L. Snyder is a quaint and pithy collection of Tozer snippets. An enjoyable read to be sure, it nevertheless falls short of its claim to be an "authorized biography" of the famed pastor.

This work is almost entirely a collection of loose quotations and undated anecdotes from those who knew him best. As such, it tends to read more like a funeral eulogy than a historical survey of the man's life and ministry.

Most of the recollections given of personal experiences with Tozer are general in scope. The author treats the reader to a rather monotonous series of fond memories, invariably beginning with "once," "on another occasion," or "one time..." For this reason, the total work gives the impression of pearls strung together in a loosely chronological but predominantly thematic order.

Very little attention is given to some of the significant moments in Tozer's life: his wedding to Ada, for instance, is treated with little more than two lines. His reception of honorary degrees (Tozer did not attend seminary) is only mentioned incidentally. His relations with other prominent evangelicals (outside the Christian Missionary Alliance which the author highly regards) such as Martin Lloyd-Jones is only regarded tangentially. His theological framework--such as it was--is lightly regarded.

Those accustomed to a more historical, annotated style of biography would probably do well to skip this particular volume on the life of A.W. Tozer, in favor of something more scholastic.

All in all, this book did what it was probably written to do, viz. provide some food for thought holding up Tozer's memorable quotations (already found in plethora in his collected writings) as the center-piece.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.

Psalm 23, Do You Say It in Earnest?, Part 1

Ever since the age of five, my family has visited a particular stretch of beach located in North Carolina. Our very first week there my older sisters and I noticed and picked up everything: driftwood, broken shells, polished stones, and even dead crabs. I remember how loud I thought the ocean was and how looking straight down at the layers of waves—some coming, some going—made me dizzy. Decades later, my mom, dad, brother, sisters, and I, and our respective families travel out to that same beach every other year. We love it, but many of those details that once loudly called for our attention have been muffled. I realized this one summer as I was mindlessly throwing shells into the waves without caring if each one was a “keeper” or not. I believe that this is much the same way with familiar passages of the Bible. The first few times we encountered them we may have tried to scrutinize every word and connection, but after a while familiarity sets in and we find ourselves breezing through much treasured passages, losing out on new discoveries.  

Realizing this too common phenomenon, I tried to come up with a way to help my mind focus on the details of Psalm 23 (the well-known The Lord is my shepherd passage). John Calvin and Charles Spurgeon, in their commentaries on Psalm 23, note what an amazing and godly man David was to have written what he did. I asked myself, When I speak Psalm 23 aloud, in song or praise, do I speak it in earnest? Or, in other words, How truthful are the precious words of this Psalm when emanating from my mouth? I admit—sheepishly, may I say—that I was not all that pleased with my answer to that question. 

Nonetheless, this very question will serve as the backdrop for my next few meditations on Psalm 23, as we walk through the pastures and the valley with David and the Great Shepherd.

Book Review. "Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life." By Colin Dureiz

After reading several of Schaeffer's books firsthand, (The Mark of the Christian; The Great Evangelical Disaster; A Christian Manifesto; How Should We Then Live?; He is There and He is Not Silent) I was eager to learn more about the life and thought of this great evangelical apologist from the last century.

Colin Duriez's biography certainly did not disappoint me on that quest to know Francis Schaeffer better.

Duriez, who bases his "Authentic Life" on voluminous personal interviews (including an interview with Schaeffer himself added as an appendix) does an admirable job in tying together first-hand witnesses, written sources, letters, and the author's own personal experiences at L'Abri in Schaeffer's presence.

Duriez traces the unassuming young man from his rural Pennsylvania upbringing, through his fundamentalist early years in the pastoral ministry, into his European study excursion, and ultimately to his founding of L'Abri and corresponding meteoric rise in international prominence, driven by his writings and film production.

Thankfully, someone has done a full-length biography of this prophetic pastor, and cultural guru before the generation of living witnesses to his ministry thins and ultimately dies out. This book combines the authoritative force of a well-researched documentary, with the personal ethos of a student of Fran who knew him personally.

By the time the author traces Francis Schaeffer's life to his demise at the mercy of cancer in 1984, the reader feels that he too--along with the whole evangelical community--has lost an important voice for truth.

Thankfully, Schaeffer's writings live on, continuing to influence generations still today. This biography would serve as an excellent companion for those considering spending some time in Schaeffer's mind though his writings and films. Colin Duriez's book will doubtlessly last as a helpful companion to understanding the life and mind of the author of these epochal works.

Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Brooksville, Florida.

Reflections on the Jerry Sandusky verdict

By Pastor Matt Ellis

Last night, the jury arrived at a verdict in the Jerry Sandusky case. He was found guilty on 45 of 48 counts of sexual abuse of minors. There was an overwhelming amount of testimonies. There was a lack of overwhelming substantive evidence. And yet, the jury and most people watching the trial believe that Sandusky was lying and should spend the rest of his life in prison.

Did the jury get it right? Or, as the case proceeds through the appeals process (which almost certainly is a given), will it become apparent that the witnesses were lying? Who knows?

But, there is one person who most certainly knows - Jerry Sandusky. As the verdict was read, Sandusky showed little emotion. Yet, inside his mind and heart, he knew the truth. If he is truly guilty, there was never an acknowledgment of it.

This is human nature. 

Adam and Eve would not volunteer a confession until God confronted them (Genesis 3).

Sarah could not acknowledge the fact that she laughed at a promise given by the Lord even when confronted (Genesis 18:9-15).

David refused to acknowledge an adulterous affair, murder and deception until the prophet Nathan confronted him (2 Samuel 12:1-15).

Annanias and Saphirra would not volunteer the truth to the Apostle Peter (Acts 5:1-11).

This is human nature ... or rather an evidence of the sin nature. Valuing self-protection and comfort more than "truth," the sin nature lies and refuses to acknowledge truth.

And, depending upon the nature of the offense, some folks (who have an active conscience) will withhold the truth to their own harm. They will live with guilt the rest of their lives. If they don't shut their conscience down completely ("sear it" - 1 Timothy 4:2), they will begin to experience problems with their health, relationships, etc. 

In his commentary on the book of Ephesians, John MacArthur recounts the following story:
According to an ancient Greek story, a Spartan youth stole a fox but then inadvertently came upon the man from whom he had stolen it. To keep his theft from being discovered, the boy stuck the fox inside his clothes and stood without moving a muscle while the frightened fox tore out his vital organs. Even at the cost of his own painful death he would not own up to his wrong."

It is a godly and courageous person, indeed, who will own up to what they have done. Why is it courageous? Because it is rarely if ever easy. In fact, it may be the hardest and most frightening thing someone will ever do ... and in confessing, there may be consequences.

But there is so much on the line! Why?

Because if the person is saved, God will bring discipline into that person's life until they make it right (Hebrews 12:5-11). 

And if discipline does not come in this life, it shows that someone is not God's child. Thus, they will hear the Lord say on the Day of Judgment: "I never knew you, depart from me..." (Matthew 7:22-23). The place to which these men and women are sent is a place of intense anguish (Matthew 13:41-42; Revelation 20:11-15). And it will be forever (Matthew 25:46). Horrid thought!!!

This second possibility shows that a desire to protect oneself from truth and consequences in this life may reveal that there are infinitely greater consequences in the life to come.

It's not worth it! Just mediate on the promise and joy of experiencing the truth of this verse, of being right with God:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). 

Being right with God and enjoying Him is worth whatever cost you may have to pay to get it!


Matt Ellis is Senior Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Brooksville, Florida. Follow him on Twitter @mattellis1997 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mattellis1997.

What Relevance is a Black President for the Southern Baptist Convention?

By Pete Garbacki

Unfortunately, it is very relevant for this day and age that the Southern Baptist Convention elected Pastor Fred Luter, Jr. as its first black president.  However, there are several faults I have with this being a major deal.

First, it should not matter the color of one's skin.  Rather, as Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed, his children would "one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."  In all the years since that speech in August of 1963 what progress have we made?  In some ways, we have made a great deal of progress.  In many ways we have made no progress at all.  For all the politically correct phrases we are supposed to use, people are still not judged by the content of their character way too often.  For the fallen world, this is to be expected.  For the church, this is a crime against God.

The Bible is clear in Galatians 3.27-29, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." (ESV)  In other words, we are not limited by our differences when we are in Christ.  We should see past skin color.  We should see past cultural differences.

Again, in Ephesians 4.1-6 Paul writes, "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵  one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (ESV)  We are to walk in the manner worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus.  He continues that Christians are of the same body, Spirit, Lord, faith, baptism and God.  There is no black god, or Hispanic god, no Anglo/Euro god.  There is one God over and within Christians.  We should, "regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer." (2 Corinthians 5.16 ESV)

Additionally, there is not a variety of races.  There is one race- the human race- all of us effected by Adam's choice to sin in the garden of Eden ("Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned..." Romans 5.12 ESV)  DNA points to this fact.  All the differences between "races" are very shallow. (See article: Do Races Differ? Not Really, DNA Shows -NY Times 8.22.2000)  

All humans are related through Adam and Noah's family.  Some people teach that the curse of Ham is where dark skin came from, others teach the mark of Cain is dark skin.  These are two dangerous and ridiculous teachings that do not square up with Scripture.  

Also, there is no black and white.  Everyone is a shade of color.  Some darker than others.  Different features can, doubtless, be traced to the scattering at the Tower of Babel.  When families left to different areas of the Earth, they brought their characteristics with them.  Their environment had an effect as well.  

I remember hearing that a "mixed race" marriage was wrong.  That is wrong.  When the Bible talks against a mixed marriage, it is regarding believers and unbelievers mixing, not cultures or skin colors mixing.  That part is, quite frankly, no one's business other than those in the relationship.

So, despite the fact that the skin color of the new president of the Southern Baptist Convention does matter, for Christians it should not matter at all.  Pastor Luter is my brother in Christ and a fellow citizen of Heaven.  ("...our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." (Philippians 3.20-21 ESV)

The Opportunity Presented by Post-Modernism

By Matthew Everhard

Permit me a moment to do a bit of cultural analysis. Let’s cover a thousand years of history in two minutes. Here goes…

The Ancient World gave way to an era called the Medieval Age, marked by superstition, supernaturalism, tradition, and the centralized authority in the Roman Catholic Church. This broke wide open in the Reformation period (1500’s) one of history’s great revivals of Biblical truth, as men like Luther and Calvin returned to the sources of the Old and New Testaments.  

Co-extensively, the Reformation ushered in the Enlightenment period (1700’s) marked by scientific inquiry and advance (Newton et al.) This matured into full-blown modernism (1900’s) which rejected almost all forms of supernaturalism, and essentially made empirical science “king.” Freud and Darwin took the top of the heap.

But today, we live in an age called “post-modernism.” Here, because we live in an inter-connected “global village” now, our culture rejects modern notions of absolute truth. Post-modernism rejects overarching meta-narratives. The playing field is wide-open. Anything and everything gets a fair shake in our day. Your truth is as good as mine. Wicca, Scientology, Mayan Calendar, Zombie Apocalypse--are all handled with the same gloves of tolerance!

We can define post-modernism as: an era of history in which the idea of “absolute truth” has been abandoned, in favor of: pluralism, tolerance, and personal experience. 

Good News/Bad News

There is both good news and bad news in all of this for evangelicals. First the bad news. Post-modernism makes evangelism a very difficult endeavor, because the preaching of the Gospel is first of all a truth claim. It is an assertion of certain facts: Jesus came, Jesus died, Jesus rose again. If these facts are not absolutely true, Christianity is unfounded. That post-modernism rejects “absolute truth” makes evangelism hard sledding indeed.

The good news in all of this is that our post-modern era is far more open to the sharing of personal-experiences than we fear! Much more so than other eras in the past! This is to our advantage in sharing personal experiences of Christ! Notice that in the book of Acts, Paul’s personal conversion story is told three times (chapters 9, 22, and 26). We should take note.

Discernible Life Change

There is, however, one rule to play by in post-modernism: you had better be authentic. The one thing that you must have to share your testimony with a post-modern thinker is a discernible life-change. Post-modern people can smell out a hypocrite from a mile away.

As Paul re-told his testimony and conversion to the angry crowd in Acts 22:1-22 twenty years later, not one man there could dispute that Paul had determined to live exactly like he professed that he would. Paul could pull up his shirt and show them the scars to prove it.

Biggest Fear

For most Christians, our biggest fear and ultimate obstacle in sharing our faith is that someone will reject us because we spoke about something so deeply personal as our faith in Christ. We are terrified of those two letters “no.” Have you ever heard the child’s motto “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” Well that goes for personal evangelism too!

Ironically, most people will not reject you for telling them what Jesus did for you. We should, however, be far MORE AFRAID that our lives reveal our hypocrisy, superficiality, and shallowness. That to me is far more terrifying prospect than rejection. 


Matthew Everhard is the Senior Pastor of Faith Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Brooksville, Florida. Follow him on Twitter @matt_everhard or friend him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pastor.everhard