This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.
- Titus 3:8-9
In his letter to Titus, the Apostle Paul focuses on sound doctrine and practical living. The gospel is not merely an idea to be believed but a truth to be lived out. After describing God’s merciful work of salvation in Titus 3:4-7 (which you can read more about here and here), he shifts to the practical implications for the Christian community. Believers must devote themselves to good works, while at the same time avoiding divisive and fruitless disputes. For the church today, these verses speak directly to the tension we often feel between living out our faith actively in love and being distracted by arguments that do not advance God’s Kingdom.
Paul begins in verse 8 with, “This is a trustworthy saying.” This phrase likely refers back to the gospel summary in the previous verses, affirming that the message of salvation by God’s mercy, rebirth, renewal by the Spirit, and justification by grace is completely reliable. He wants Titus and the churches in Crete to hold fast to this truth without wavering. The gospel is trustworthy; the Church’s foundation is not shifting sand but solid truth.
Then Paul charges Titus, as a church leader, to emphasize the gospel truths consistently. This wasn’t to be a one-time sermon but an ongoing theme. The gospel is not just the entry point to Christianity; it is the message that must continually be stressed to keep the church healthy. Leaders today can be tempted to shift focus to what seems more practical, entertaining, or marketable. But Paul reminds us that stressing the gospel is the most practical thing we can do. When believers are grounded in what God has done, they are motivated and empowered to live faithfully.
Paul explains the purpose: “so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.” Faith in God is not passive. True trust leads to an intentional commitment to doing good works. This is not salvation by works but salvation that leads to good works (see James 2:14-26). Doing good is not only an act of obedience to God but also a blessing to society. Christians are called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), demonstrating the goodness of God in tangible ways.
For Christ followers now, being “devoted to doing good” means more than sporadic acts of kindness. It means living with a posture of service by meeting needs, seeking justice, and extending mercy in everyday life. Churches must cultivate a culture where good works are the natural outflow of faith, not optional extras.
After urging devotion to good, Paul gives a contrast to that in verse 9: “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.” In the church in Crete, some false teachers were obsessed with speculative debates about genealogies (possibly Jewish myths about ancestry), arguments over the finer points of the Mosaic law, and controversies that stirred division rather than building faith. These disputes wasted time and distracted believers from living out the gospel.
We may think these things don’t apply to the Church today since we don’t get hung up on debating genealogies or the Mosaic law. But we do get sidetracked by debates that are similarly unprofitable. We have long online debates over secondary theological issues. We have division over cultural or political matters that overshadow the gospel. We may get obsessed with speculative end-times predictions or conspiracy theories. But Paul’s warning is clear: the church’s energy should not be consumed by fruitless quarrels. Our calling is not to win arguments but to live out the truth in love.
This passage from Titus calls us as believers to live in balance. On the one hand, we must be devoted to good works, actively serving, loving, and blessing others. On the other hand, we must avoid distractions that derail our mission, arguments that divide and consume energy without producing fruit. This balance is difficult. Some Christians emphasize good works but neglect doctrinal clarity. Others focus on doctrinal disputes but neglect practical love. Paul insists that both matter: sound doctrine fuels good works, and foolish disputes undermine them.
How can we work through this? First, church leaders should continually stress the gospel message, not assuming people already know it. The gospel motivates good works and keeps us from drifting into speculation. Second, we should encourage believers to see good works as a daily devotion, not occasional charity. Highlight stories of service, celebrate them, and model them. Third, we should learn and then teach others how to distinguish between core doctrines that must be defended (like salvation by grace alone) and secondary issues where disagreement is acceptable. Finally, we should promote a spirit of humility, patience, and love in the church. Unity does not mean uniformity, but it requires believers to stay focused on Christ rather than peripheral controversies.
This passage presents a vision for the Christian life that is both simple and difficult at the same time: stress the gospel, devote yourselves to doing good, and avoid distractions that are unprofitable and useless. For the Church today, these words are an important reminder. We live in a world where endless debates, controversies, and distractions threaten to consume our attention. But Paul directs us back to what matters: grounding ourselves in the trustworthy gospel and expressing that faith through good works that bless everyone. This is the kind of church the world needs to see today.
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Last week, I emphasized Jesus’ final teachings from what’s known as the Upper Room discourse, and today, I’ll finish that by emphasizing John 16-17, which is a final teaching on the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ great prayer, the longest recorded single prayer in Scripture.
Jesus spoke of all these things so His disciples would not stumble. The world would come after them because they were associated with Jesus. The authorities would arrest them, beat them, slander them, and seek to do all they could to destroy them. And understand this: the authorities and the church were synonymous in those days. If applied today, the government would be arresting us, but some of the very people we think we should trust are those who will turn us in. The biggest enemies of the Church have been the counterfeits in the Church.
But Jesus said we are not to fear these things, but to know that when they happen, do not be surprised. When Peter and John were arrested in Acts 4 for preaching the name of Jesus after healing a lame man, they sang for joy because they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ. But this joy can only come from the Holy Spirit. It will never come from the flesh. It also must be practiced and prepared before you can actually do this. Richard Wurmbrand told people in the West that we need to practice suffering. One way he would do that was to go through an American grocery store and say, “I can go without that.” And would end up leaving and getting nothing. Yes, he would get food to eat, but 14 years of prison in Communist Romania teaches you to cherish what you have, but also not to indulge in things even when you can. Jesus told us we would suffer, and the US church is the only one so far to not have gone through actual persecution in the way the rest of the world has. Even when the Church had moments of peace from Roman emperors, it was short-lived. So if Jesus says we will suffer, guess what, if we are living the Christian life, we will suffer, and people won’t like us. We need to get used to that.
However, in this promise is another promise of help: the Holy Spirit. The reason why the world is going to hate us so much is not merely because of Christ in us. They will hate us because the Holy Spirit has a primary job of convicting the world of sin, and you don’t even have to say anything for this to happen. Why? Because the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin and warn you against sin, and when you don’t engage in sin when the world seeks to, that action will tell them, “Oh, you are one of those Christians.” Understand that these reactions are actually a cover for their FEAR of God because they know that God is real and that judgment is coming. They don’t just want you to know that this is what is going on. But when this happens, the Holy Spirit will guide us to all truth and even what to say and what not to say.
Then Jesus warns of His death and resurrection again. There will be great sorrow within 24 hours, but great rejoicing just a couple of days later. And when that happens, the disciples won’t need to question what God is saying due to a lack of understanding, because when they ask what they need, they’ll get what they need in prayer. Yet tribulation is imminent.
From there, Jesus goes to His epic prayer of John 17, first praying for Himself, then praying for His disciples, and then for all believers. Jesus prays for Himself for the moment He was about to go through, and that He would be glorified in receiving the judgment of God for the sin of the world. He prays for His disciples that they would be able to endure the trials to come and to be kept and protected. He prays for the rest of the believers for endurance and protection during the times of persecution that they may be good witnesses. And Jesus ended it with the knowledge of God and that the love of God would be on full display among the church.
With this, Jesus finished teaching His disciples and headed for the Garden of Gethsemane, where He would have the battle for His life: the internal battle about whether He would go to the Cross or seek another way.
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It's beyond obvious now, for those paying attention, how much the world has changed, and how much the United States of America has gotten away from the Biblical principles that our nation was founded upon. We are now beginning to finally see what so many of us have been warning about for decades.
We are receiving the consequences of our actions, or dare I say inaction and silence, on many of our parts in the Church. This has brought not only chaos, but much anger in many people inside and outside of the Church. Many are now seemingly believing that they are justified in becoming the very thing that they feared for so many years.
What is that?
They are becoming tyrants or are seemingly choosing to support tyranny in order to get their way. They are forcing others to live Biblically, even when a person might not agree with it. Sadly, many inside the church are now embracing this idea that forcing others to follow Jesus and his ways is good, right, and true.
Even though you might think it's good, it is not good. Jesus never forced people to follow Him. Did he challenge, equip, and educate them? Well, yes. Forcing someone, who is an adult, to do what you want them to do, for the most part, is not good.
It is exactly what I personally have been warning about for so long. I have been encouraging all of us who are followers of Christ to be on the lookout for this within our own hearts. It's why I have had to step back from the ministry of Worldview Warriors for a time in order to try to get my house and family in order.
Discipleship is so incredibly important. It isn't cute, and it doesn't always have a great impact in the short term. But follow the example of Christ and consciously choose to sink into the few in order to reach the many, for Jesus Christ is the answer! I am convinced of this!
So, with this in mind, I would like to share with you what I have been up to over the past two years. After much prayer, consideration, and counsel, I have been pastoring a small church in the state of Ohio, where we have been digging into the Word of God, worshiping, and fellowshipping together. We have been striving to know Christ and are trying to make Him known. We are striving to learn and act in allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. Do we have it all figured out? Absolutely not! However, we have been and are continuing to embrace the importance of discipleship within the body of Christ.
I am convinced that we must follow the example of Jesus Christ when sinking into His people if we are going to see any movement and action for the Kingdom of God in this world. We must have alignment before assignment.
It is time to continue to grow and become mature and complete in the Lord, so we can then act and be doers of the Word, as it tells us to do in James 1:19-25.
Over the past two years, I have been blessed to personally lead a number of small discipleship groups. God has not only allowed me the opportunities to lead young men, but God has also allowed me to be in relationships with many older men and women as well. They have been an incredible blessing to me. I hope I have been able to bless them, too.
God has also given me the amazing opportunity to sink into the lives of many young ladies and other young men to discipline them through a sports ministry that, with the help of others, my family and I started back in 2018. It is called The Senedot Stripes. Why am I sharing all this? Because starting this winter, we will slowly start rolling out opportunities, starting with young men, to join a small group solely focused on discipleship and unity in the Lord. These opportunities will start in the state of Ohio. Things will roll out slowly, but we are excited to see where the Lord will take this. I encourage you to be on the lookout for more details about all of this in the future.
May God bless you, and may the Lord's will be done as I hope we all continue to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit in each one of our lives.
Jason has been married to his wife since 1997. They have been blessed with 6 children. Jason is the President of Worldview Warriors, and he is also the pastor at Evangelical Pietist Church of Chatfield. He is also the Athletic Director for the Senedot Stripes.
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He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
- Titus 3:5b-7
This passage builds on Paul’s thoughts to Titus from the previous few verses, beautifully conveying the true heart of the gospel message of salvation. These verses remind us of the Spirit’s transforming work, the generosity of God’s grace, and the eternal hope we share as heirs of His kingdom. We were once foolish and enslaved by passions, but now we are saved, not because of anything we have done, but because of God’s mercy.
The second half of verse 5 picks up the thought and expands it, showing how salvation works and what it means. Paul begins with an image of cleansing: “the washing of rebirth.” The word rebirth refers to being “born again,” a complete new beginning. It echoes Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus in John 3:3 that “no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” The idea of washing suggests not just forgiveness of sins but also purification and transformation. It is more than a surface cleansing; it is a new life created by God’s Spirit.
Many people today search for a “fresh start,” whether through self-help books, therapy, or “reinventing themselves.” But the gospel offers something far deeper: an entirely new nature. For the church, this means we must continually proclaim that Christianity is not about self-improvement, but about God’s power to make people new.
Paul then speaks of “renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Rebirth marks the beginning, but renewal is ongoing. The Spirit doesn’t just save us and leave us; He continues to shape, sanctify, and empower us daily. Renewal implies growth, change, and transformation into Christ’s likeness. Paul reminds us that genuine Christian life is impossible apart from the Spirit’s continual renewing work. Our preaching, worship, and community life must be Spirit-dependent, not merely human-driven.
Then in verse 6, Paul describes the Spirit as one “whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” God is not stingy with His Spirit. The phrase “poured out” suggests abundance, not scarcity. Salvation is not a minimal transaction but a lavish gift. This echoes Acts 2, where the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, empowering the church for mission. Many Christians live as if God’s resources are limited, as though He gives just enough grace to get by. But Paul insists that God’s Spirit is poured out abundantly! This truth should fill us with confidence and hope. Churches should cultivate a culture of expectancy, believing that God will supply everything needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
In verse 7, Paul shares that we have “been justified by his grace.” Justification is a legal term, meaning to be declared righteous before God. It’s not about earning righteousness but receiving it as a gift through Christ’s sacrifice. In our modern, performance-driven culture, justification by grace is a radical message. Many people, even in the Church, live as though God’s acceptance depends on their achievements, morality, or religious devotion. Paul shatters this illusion: we are justified solely by grace. Churches must be vigilant against legalism and remind believers that our identity and worth are rooted in God’s declaration, not our performance.
Finally, Paul describes the result of all of this: “we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Being heirs means we are children of God, entitled to His promises and His eternal Kingdom. Eternal life is not just a future reality but also a present assurance. It gives believers resilience in trials, confidence in uncertainty, and motivation for holiness. It is so easy for us to only focus on the here and now, but our hope should truly be eternal. Churches should cultivate a forward-looking faith that shapes how we live now. The promise of eternal life should give us boldness to serve sacrificially, endure hardship, and invest in what truly matters.
Being a Christian is not just about moral improvement. It is a radical transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit. Churches must clearly present the gospel of rebirth in a world that craves change but resists surrender. Programs, strategies, and efforts are good, but without the Holy Spirit, they are powerless. Churches and individual believers should emphasize prayer, dependence, and openness to the Spirit’s renewing work.
Instead of a mindset of scarcity, we as believers should rejoice in the abundance of God’s Spirit. Our worship should reflect gratitude, and our mission should be fueled by confidence in God’s overflowing grace. Legalism is always a threat, but we must hold firmly to justification by grace and resist cultural tendencies to base our worth on performance or success. Finally, the eternal hope we have in Jesus should shape our daily lives. We should live with heaven in view by investing in people, serving sacrificially, and enduring hardships with joy.
In a time when many feel exhausted, disillusioned, or uncertain, this passage encourages us to refocus on what God has done for us and how we should live that out through the power of the Holy Spirit. God has done a complete work in us, is continually renewing us, and has secured for us a glorious future. That is good news worth holding, celebrating, and proclaiming.
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John 13-17 contains the final teachings of Jesus’ life before His crucifixion. It was a very difficult time for Jesus because from that point on, Jesus’ disciples would effectively be on their own… except they would not be left on their own. For three years, Jesus had trained His disciples to be teachers and preachers of a new message and to lead a new Kingdom, but none of them got it. None of them would understand what Jesus had been saying all along for another fifty days, and this was the hardest message for them. Because Jesus was leaving and they were going to suffer greatly. In this post, I’ll cover His teachings in John 13-15.
After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus told everyone that He was about to be betrayed. Then Jesus immediately identified Judas by giving him the dipped bread and told him to do what he was about to do. Once Judas left, no one suspected him. Judas had the money box and suspected Jesus was sent to get something. With that, Jesus announced that He was leaving, and where He was going, they could not come. This was a total heartbreak for the disciples. They knew Jesus was their Messiah, their Savior, and they loved Him and knew He had everything they could ever need and had nowhere else to go. Peter said he would go anywhere, including dying for Jesus, and Jesus simply sighed and told Peter he would deny Him three times that very night.
But Jesus then began to comfort the disciples by telling them what He was going to do while away: prepare a place for them and then come back for them, and they would know where and how to meet Him. Thomas and Philip tried to get clarification on this and never understood that Jesus was not merely the Messiah, but was one with God; by knowing Jesus, they knew the Father. But then Jesus said He would not leave them alone but would give them something far better than His physical presence: the Holy Spirit. And it would be the Holy Spirit who would do more than just comfort them.
The Holy Spirit is called “the Helper,” the “parakletos,” and is so much more than the “helper” that Eve was to Adam. The Holy Spirit is the very engine that makes the car called mankind operate as intended. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us how to love one another. It is the Holy Spirit who teaches how to obey the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit who overcomes the world and enables us to rise above our culture and live the supernatural life.
I want to dwell on this for a moment because we have a severe problem in our time today. We have a massive movement of making a huge emphasis on the Holy Spirit that attributes practically anything and everything to Him, no matter how ridiculous it is. And we have a reaction to that movement that practically denies anything to do with Him. The Charismatics very well acknowledge the action of the supernatural, but they rarely check what they say or think against Scripture to know what is actually Him or not. But the Reformed cessationists, while doing an excellent job at checking this movement, all but practically deny the actual nature of the supernatural in the process. Many truly think that the nature of spiritual warfare is ONLY regarding teachings, and they miss the mark on that one. What they end up with if they are not careful is a very well-constructed theology, but one that is dead. Both sides have a severe problem: no real power.
The world does not give them the time of day. The world has always had to respect the true Church when she has had power, often to the point of taking it very seriously to try to shut it down. But with only a few exceptions, the government has been very subtle in its opposition to the church. They go after Creationists because that is where a severe threat to worldly ideals lies, but they aren’t going after the church as a whole. Not openly. Just gradually setting things up so that the Church will not raise her head above an accepted level. And I am asking: Why has the church allowed this? And I have to ask myself, why have I been part of “keeping the status quo”? We are to live supernatural lives, and we are satisfied with pure academic lives. That’s not what Jesus intended. Jesus intended for us to be a force that no one could stop, and the source of that force is the Holy Spirit.
After that, Jesus emphasizes making sure our source is Him. We must be attached to the vine and get our source of life from the vine; otherwise, we are merely dead branches, and dead wood is only good for the fire. And worse are branches that don’t produce fruit and are just wasting the vine’s energy. So those will be pruned. It’s a severe warning that those who are supposed to be Christians can’t just get a free ride. But those who engage in the Father’s mission will have a joy beyond anything that we can describe. The mission we are sent to do cannot be done without our power source: the Holy Spirit.
Jesus repeatedly emphasizes to the disciples to love one another. He says this many times in this final teaching. Jesus calls them “friends,” and for God to call you a friend is something special. Never forget, He is still the King, and we are still His servants. We see throughout Acts and the Epistles that the Apostles never lost sight of this. They never forget that Jesus was King and they were but His servants, yet Jesus called them His friends. And that is a severe problem with the world, because the world hates Jesus.
The world has been in rebellion against God from the very start. The world does not want God to rule, and the ultimate reason is that Jesus points out that they are sinners who deserve judgment. The world hates us because we are no longer of them, of their same likeness. We are representatives of God, and they hate God. So why would we want to curry their favor? Now, understand this. They don’t hate God because of ignorance of Him. They hate God because they DO know Him. They DO know that God exists, and they hate Him; they hate God without a cause. But when we have the Holy Spirit, we need to not fear them or their silly arguments or their attempts to weaponize the law against us. Let them try. We go preach Jesus because that is what a Holy Spirit-filled person will do.
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At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
- Titus 3:3-5a
Few passages in Scripture capture the “before and after” of Christian salvation as powerfully as this one. In just a couple of verses, Paul moves from the dark reality of our life without Christ to the glorious light of God’s saving mercy. He reminds Titus and us that the gospel is not about what we’ve done for God but about what God has done for us in Christ.
Just before this, Paul called for believers to live peaceably and gently in society. Christians should live this way because we know firsthand what it means to be lost in sin and found by grace. Remembering who we once were keeps us humble, compassionate, and thankful. Remembering how we were saved keeps us centered on mercy rather than pride.
Paul begins in verse 3 with a sobering description of human life apart from Christ: foolish, disobedient, deceived, and enslaved. The word “foolish” here does not mean lacking intelligence but lacking spiritual discernment. Apart from Christ, we lived without the wisdom of God, following our own ways. “Disobedient” underscores our rebellion against God’s commands. This is the universal human condition; we resist God’s authority and seek independence.
Not only are we rebellious, but we are also deceived. Sin blinds us to truth. We think we are free, but in reality, we are enslaved. We chase satisfaction in places that cannot satisfy, believing lies about what will make us happy. The language of being enslaved is strong but necessary. Our desires, instead of being good gifts under God’s direction, dominate and control us. Whether it’s lust, greed, gluttony, or selfish ambition, sinful desires trap us. The modern world often celebrates “following your desires” or “following your heart,” but Paul reveals the tragic reality: apart from Christ, desires enslave us.
But sin is not just against God; it is also against others. A life without Christ is marked by the breakdown of relationships: malice (ill-will toward others), envy (resenting others’ blessings), and cycles of hatred. This description may sound extreme, but look at the anger, division, and hostility in our world today. It is the natural fruit of a heart estranged from God.
After painting this bleak picture, in verse 4, Paul shifts to one of the most beautiful contrasts in Scripture. Human sin is not the end of the story! God stepped in. Salvation is not the result of humanity climbing its way up to God, but of God coming down to us. God’s kindness and love appeared and were made visible in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Notice what motivated salvation: kindness and love. God is not distant or indifferent. His heart toward sinners is compassion. Even while we were foolish, deceived, and enslaved, His love moved Him to act. This is crucial for us to grasp. Many imagine God as perpetually angry, waiting for us to earn His approval. But the gospel reveals the opposite: God moved first, out of love. His kindness and mercy are the fountain of salvation.
At the start of verse 5, Paul makes it absolutely clear that we were not saved by anything that we had done. No amount of moral effort, religious rituals, or good deeds could save us (see Ephesians 2:8-9). Even our best attempts at righteousness are tainted by sin and fall short of God’s perfect standard (see Isaiah 64:6 and Romans 3:23-24). Salvation is not a reward for human effort.
Mercy means God withholds the judgment we deserve and gives us grace instead. Salvation is a gift, not a wage. It is rooted in God’s compassion, not our merit. This truth is the heartbeat of the gospel and the foundation of Christian assurance. If salvation were based on our works, we could never be certain. But because it is based on God’s mercy, we can rest secure that we are saved through God’s grace and our faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul didn’t write these verses as abstract theology. He wrote them to shape how Christians live in the real world. If God’s kindness and love moved Him to save us, then kindness and love should be foundational in our lives. The truth that we were saved not by works but by mercy should shape how we relate to others. We must not demand that people earn our love or forgiveness. Just as God extended mercy freely, so should we.
But the most important part of this to apply to our lives is that salvation is God’s work, not ours. This gives us confidence and security. It also directs all glory to Him. We should not be glorified for anything that we do, but rather, we should direct all glory to God, who truly deserves it. That should be our greatest witness and testimony: what God did for us and how He gave us salvation through His great love and mercy.
For followers of Jesus Christ today, this truth should shape everything about our lives. May we never forget where we came from, and may we always live in the light of God’s mercy.
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During the Last Supper, Jesus carried out His most humiliating and final act of servitude in His human life: the washing of the disciples’ feet. After this night, Jesus would go face-to-face with His enemies and surrender His life to them. Then, upon His resurrection, Jesus was no longer the “passive servant” that some had made Him out to be, but the royal King making His final rounds before ascending. Yes, He would serve a couple of meals, but after the Resurrection, Jesus was no longer the lamb. He was now the lion. Here at the Last Supper, Jesus gave the final example of what true leadership looks like: taking the lowest spot and doing the things that were often reserved for the lowest menial labor. It is this moment, along with Philippians 2:5-11, that gives rise to the phrase, the Servant King. That title is nowhere found in Scripture directly, but there is truth to it. Jesus was and is the King, and He is a king who did serve. But understand that Jesus looked down on no one, and while He served and supported, He absolutely did not bow to anyone’s command.
Multiple ministers and missionaries I have encountered knew precisely what to do with anyone who wanted to come serve with them. When they asked if they could preach or evangelize, they would hand over the toilet brush. Because if they were not willing to do the work behind the spotlight, they were undeserving of the spotlight. Too many people think ministry in the Kingdom is a glorious spotlight of fame and TV/YouTube spots. But it’s not. It’s often a dirty job. The pastoral position is like being the father of a family. It gets messy when you deal with people day in and day out. The people who don’t want to do that only see the speaking part, the celebrity part, and the “get taken out for lunch” part, and then they can leave and leave the dirty work for someone else. Jesus never promoted any such notion.
Jesus’ final act of service was to wash His disciples’ feet, including those of Judas, whom Jesus knew would betray Him within a few hours. Peter realized what Jesus was doing, and good old foot-in-the-mouth Peter insisted that Jesus should not bring Himself down to such a position. He would rather do it himself. Then, when Jesus corrected him, Peter asked for a whole-body washing. Oh, how many of us sound just like Peter, if not more bone-headed?
One thing Jesus made clear was that His kingdom was not of this world. It works completely backwards from how mankind would plot it or plan it. All the Jews and even the disciples thought Jesus was going to rescue them from Rome and be who they thought David would be. But David was just a picture of defeating physical enemies, and Jesus would defeat far more powerful enemies. The Jews wanted to rule with force, but Jesus would rule with love and authority. The kingdom of God would spread by preaching and loving each other. When Pilate questioned Jesus, he was afraid of a Jewish revolt – not that it would succeed, but that it would be a headache for him to deal with. But Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world, and Jesus’ final act of service was just that – an action that is not of this world.
Jesus’ model for ministry was to genuinely help people and to lift them up, at first with ONE round of physical needs, and then with spiritual needs. He was the antithesis of the “social justice” movement that has usurped His name. The social justice movement has never been about actually helping people, but a Marxist ideology to remove individual wealth and distribute it “among the poor.” The pretense is to help the poor, but the actual agenda is to keep the poor poor and make the middle class subject to the state, so the state controls the resources. It’s Communism pretending to be generous to the poor. That’s not what Jesus was about. Jesus was about the individuals helping the poor as they saw need and as they had ability. If Jesus saw a wagon that was broken down, He’d get under it and fix it. He didn’t just say “go the extra mile” to carry a Roman soldier’s gear, but would actually do it. Jesus was about going above and beyond helping true needs, but Jesus also had limits. Jesus fed the 5000, but when they came to get seconds and treat Jesus as a welfare system, Jesus didn’t give them another bite. Jesus was a servant, the servant king, the King who served, but He was going to be nobody’s call boy.
Jesus is not a genie. He does not serve upon command. He serves by choice, and He will draw a line at what He does. He never demanded that anyone follow Him with any threats or even bribes, but He certainly warned and called out those who deliberately refused to even consider Him. He wept at those who loved their sin too much to let it go, but He held nothing back at those who would hold back His sheep from the truth and from Him. Yet Jesus treats His sheep with tender love and care, and sometimes that means taking them through some brutal areas so that they can graze and eat their fill and rest by very good waters. This model is how we are to handle others. We are not to be doormats, but we are to serve those whom we can, and sometimes that includes our enemies. We are not to lord anything over others. This is part of why I don’t like apologists who have to boast their credentials as though they mean much. I especially have no respect for those who think their credentials make them deserve some kind of respect or attention. That’s what the Pharisees did. We don’t need to show our credentials; that’s worldly thinking. Our credentials are our love for each other and our love for others as we deal with their actual needs, physical and spiritual.
Let us take Jesus’ example and serve one another, even doing the menial tasks without complaint, even if it means taking a step back in our professional career, and build up those who are around us. Yes, even those pagan administrators and managers who don’t know a thing about the real world or what we actually have to do. Because if God told Israel to support Babylon because they would be blessed if they blessed Babylon, so will we. If we make our bosses, our managers, and our leaders proper, so shall we. We serve a higher authority, and if we serve Him, He will honor us.
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