faith

Crippling Anxiety

by Ben Zornes · Mar 23, 2023

Paul commands the Philippian believers to “Be careful (anxious) for nothing (Phi 4:6).” Jesus taught, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on (Mat 6:25).” In both instances the word for careful/thought is merimnaō. Very simply it means one’s cares or worries. Biblically, anxiety is caring about something to the point of distraction. Anxiety and fear tend to go together. When you are anxious over something it can very easily lead to a whole host of largely irrational fears. When we begin to carry a worry to the point where it consumes almost our entire attention we have grown anxious.

Anxiety can cripple a person to the point of almost entire inaction. Fear can breed more fears, which breeds fear of fears. Anxiety can lead to severe health issues, and fear can lead to severe relational issues. The stress of anxiety can cause heart attacks, high blood pressure, whereas fear can result in being unable to function normally in our relationships. Headaches, sleeplessness, and difficulty concentrating on one’s responsibilities are often the result of merimnaō taking over someone’s life.

We all have responsibilities and “weights” to carry. Scripture doesn’t say that we have no concerns, but rather emphasizes that the things which we are to care for do not grow to dominate all our focus and energy to the neglect of all our other “cares.” The old adage carries a load of wisdom, if you count your cares they’re sure to grow. The Psalms show us that when our cares come to weigh us down, burdening us with their load, we ought to cast them upon God (Ps. 37:5).

When faced with the weight and paralysis which anxiety brings, you must first turn to the simple wisdom of Christ: worrying never made anybody taller (Mt. 6:27). Scripture admonishes us to set our mind on things above, not on earthly things (Col. 3:2), which means that although we have responsibilities to take care of, our primary focus should not be our cares, but upon God. He tends to our needs by upholding us each and every day, and we should walk with a “care-free” disposition trusting him to supply all our needs. This doesn’t mean we do nothing, but rather that we actively work to do our duty, trusting God through it all to protect and provide for us.

A very simple strategy for beginning to deal with anxiety is simply to take a page and begin to list things for which to be grateful, followed by ways in which God has provided and protected in times past. The simple exercise of “looking back” at God’s prior faithfulness emboldens us to face todays trials and troubles. It is easier to number up your worries and think they are innumerable, because they multiply like vermin. But when you begin to look, really look, at tall of God’s kindness to you, your worries all begin to melt away like wax. Like the hymn says, “What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Leaning on the everlasting arms.”

The Peril of Paedobaptism

by Ben Zornes · Feb 21, 2023

The practice of paedobaptism is glorious, but perilous. The greatest peril is that of presumption. Both the Old & New Testament are emphatic that the just shall live by faith. Not by presumption.

Our nation, once Christian, is now running on the fumes of covenant presumption. We’re like a boy trying to ride his bike uphill, even though the chain fell off a mile back. Peddling harder won’t help. A child that is brought up in a home or culture of presumption will come to find no heat of love for God, no desire for holiness, no compulsion for obedience, no yearnings after glorifying God.

Which is why it is utterly necessary to accompany this sign with the Gospel call, to this child and all in my hearing, “You must be born again.” God calls you, if you would be justified in His sight, to believe in Christ by faith, all the days of your life.

So welcome our sister to Jesus Christ…

Not a Tableful of Metaphor

by Ben Zornes · Feb 15, 2023

The Lord’s Supper is an aid to our faith. But too often, that statement gets tweaked a few degrees out of plumb. It is mistaken thinking to imagine that this is just a helpful word picture, or clever illustration for understanding hard doctrines. But this is no metaphor. Nor is it one of many examples which are found in those mass produced books at Christian Bookstores: “5000 Sermon Illustrations to Make Your Congregation Go Aww.”

This is an aid to your faith, indeed, because you truly feast upon Christ in this meal. When you receive this in faith, you eat true bread and drink true wine. These are genuine signs that confirm that we belong to Christ who won us. A covenant bond is more than a clever simile. A covenant sign assures us the thing is true, the bond is genuine, all the promises will be made good. This is the earnest of our inheritance: eternal life, sustained by Christ, signified by this meal of bread & wine. That is what God has given you through Jesus.

Thus, this meal builds your faith. God builds up your faith, by feeding Christ to you. And as your faith is built up, it is in order that you might overcome by Christ. The Apostle John tells us this exact truth: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God (1 Jn 5:4-5)?”

So this isn’t just a tableful of metaphor. Here is the first taste of your victory over sin, the devil, and the world. So savor it. Drink it deeply. Christ has conquered, and made you a partaker of His conquest.

So come in faith and welcome to Jesus Christ

The Divine Novella | Ruth 2 | Blessings Abound Where’er He Reigns

by Ben Zornes · Sep 29, 2022

Introduction

Each chapter of the tale of Ruth builds with tension. In this chapter, we’re introduced to a mighty man, who could save our distressed damsels. But will he? This portion of the story is a real cliff-hanger. It doesn’t give any resolution, but it does leave us important hints. It foreshadows, without giving anything away.

The Text

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? […]
Ruth 2

Summary of the Text

Naomi & Ruth returned empty to Bethlehem, during the barley harvest (1:22). They were empty, but Bethlehem was full. The disaster has befallen, but now we witness a hero arise, a mighty man, of the kinfolk of Naomi, Boaz was his name. His name means “fleetness” or “in him is strength” (v1, Cf. 3:18); a clear contrast with Mahlon. Ruth sets out–with Naomi’s blessing, and likely due to Naomi’s instruction–to busy herself with the lawful means of subsistence given to widows & strangers (v2; Cf. Lev. 19:9). God’s hand is clearly at work, for she “happens upon” the field of Boaz, Naomi’s kinsman (v3). A diligent man, Boaz comes to see the state of his harvest with a blessing for his reapers who bless him in return (v4). Like any good love story, he spots the fair maiden, and inquires of his steward as to who she was (v5); the steward provides a thorough report: 1) she was the Moabitess who’d returned with Naomi, 2) she’d sought permission to exercise her right to glean, and 3) she’d displayed a remarkable work-ethic (vv6-7).

Boaz speaks to Ruth, inviting her to glean permanently in his fields, permitting her to work alongside his maidens without harassment by his young men, and encouraging her to help herself to the cool waters of his wells (vv8-9, Cf. 2 Sam. 23:15). She bows in reverence, asking as to how she, a stranger, should procure his grace (v10). He explains that he’d heard the full tale of her loyalty to Naomi, forsaking her own land (v11), and he speaks a word of covenant blessing over her, for by her faith Jehovah’s wings were spread over her (v12). She expresses her gratitude (v13), but his kindness to her is not yet done, for he welcomes her to dine with him & his harvesters (v14), and then instructs his reapers to purposefully make her gleaning both easier (v15), more abundant, and hassle-free (v16).

After Ruth’s full day of work, she returned to Naomi with the abundance of her industry: arms full of blessing (vv17-18). Naomi insists on knowing who to bless for this bounty, and Ruth informs her it was Boaz (v19). This news incites Naomi to burst forth in prayer & praise, explaining the importance of their relation to Boaz (v20). Ruth and Naomi then agree that this gleaning arrangement should be continued (vv21-23).

The One Who Clung

In some Rabbinic tradition Orpah is known as “the one who kissed,” and Ruth is known as “the one who clung.” Ruth clung to Naomi, displaying a true conversion to the God of Naomi. In Chapter 2, Boaz invites Ruth to cling to his fields amidst his handmaids and young men until the end of the harvest (Cf. 2:8,21); which is the very thing she does (2:23).

This is the same word that’s elsewhere used to describe a husband cleaving to his wife (Gen. 2:24). The Lord repeatedly tells Israel to cleave unto Him (Deu. 10:20, 11:22, 13:4, 30:20); and to not cling unto the cursed things (Deu. 13:17) or else the curses will cling to them (Deu. 28). Joshua renews the insistence that Israel continue cleaving to the Lord, if she would enjoy the Deuteronomic blessing (Jos. 22:5, 23:8,12).

But Bethlehem has been under the curse of God, as evident by the famine. However, Ruth has come to cling to Naomi and her God; and now in Boaz, she clings to the fields of Israel. In contrast, Elimelech forsook the fields of Israel for the fields of Moab. Ruth has clung to God, and as the story unfolds we wait to see whether this clinging will result in blessing. We often want to see the blessing before we cling in faith. But Ruth displays the life of true faith, clinging comes first. Faith and then sight. As the hymn writer put it, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.”

The Mighty Man

The arrival of Boaz into the narrative is meant to tantalize us, but not satisfy us. He’s a close kin of Naomi, and thus he could fulfill the required duty of redeeming her, and raising up an heir for Elimelech (Deu. 25:5).

There are a few things we learn about Boaz. He himself apparently doesn’t have an heir. He was the son of Salmon and Rahab. Some scholars object to the timeline, and insist that the genealogy at the end of the book must have been streamlined. But this just shows a lack of imagination and basic math skills. John Tyler (born 1790), our tenth president (1841-1845), still has a living grandson. In other words, it is not at all unlikely that Boaz’s mother was indeed that famous Jerichoite, Rahab.

So his own mother had been a Gentile stranger who came to rest in the land of Israel. He was likely rather old, as his referring to Ruth as “my daughter” indicates. His care of her is initially paternal. He is a mighty one. And, as we see, a man of profound generosity. His charity is notable, and worthy of emulation. But most importantly, he’s a possible Kinsman-redeemer for Naomi and Ruth.

Light in the Shadows

This whole section is laden with important symbolism. There’s a contrast being made between how Boaz treats this Moabitess with how Moab treated Israel during her wanderings (Deut. 23:3-4). Another shadow which is being illuminated for us is in the language used to describe Ruth’s departure from the land of her nativity (2:11). It calls to mind Abram’s departure out of Ur. Boaz’s feast invites us to see in him a sort of Melchizedek, bringing wine and bread to this feminine version of Abram.

The first man, Elimelech & his sons, left Naomi and Ruth in a wasteland. Not unlike Adam in Eden. Boaz arises to be a sort of second Adam. He is painted as what a good and godly king ought to be. Mighty, diligent to know the state of his flocks & fields (Pro 27:23), overflowing generosity, a mouth full of blessing. He is indeed a portrait of a godly patriarch, and all this is aimed to reinforce the Davidic Kingdom.

Under Jehovah’s Wings

The only place of protection is under the wings of Jehovah. This expression will come into play again in the next chapter. But to be under the wings of Jehovah is likely a reference to the wings of the cherubim, which covered the ark of covenant. It was by the blood, sprinkled on the mercy seat, whereby all of Israel rested under the blessing and protection of God.

The story of Ruth is the story of the Redemption of the world in miniature. It sets before you the question: have you come to rest under the wings of Jehovah? Ruth the barren, brings to Naomi, in the midst of her bitter trial, armloads of sweet blessing. Where did this abundance come from? It came from resting under the Shadow of the Almighty. But the blessings here only foreshadow greater blessings which await these godly women.

This truth remains unchanged. Many people want God’s blessing, but they do not want to forsake Moab’s fields. They want their arms loaded full with the harvest, but they do not want to cleave to the fields of Boaz. God’s blessing is found, even in the midst of bitter trial, by clinging to Him alone, obeying His Covenant Word, and steadfastly hoping in the promised Seed.

Naomi gives a speech at the end of each chapter. The first chapter is her cry of godly despair; she even refuses to call God by His covenant name, opting instead to call Him El Shaddai (the Almighty). But here at the close of chapter 2, she praises Jehovah, and His covenant-mercies. The Redeemer arises, to make good on all the promised covenant blessings.

Clean-up in the Evangelical Aisle of Twitter

by Ben Zornes · Sep 27, 2022

Broken Bottles of Extra Spicy Serrated Edge Sauce

UPDATE: Costi has since deleted his critiques of Doug Wilson, and has begun a correspondence to work through some of the concerns.

I’d like to address the recent dustup over on the Evangelical Aisle of Twitter, sparked by Costi Hinn accusing Doug Wilson of dropping one jar of Heresy Jam and a Bottle of that Extra Spicy Serrated Edge Sauce, and asking the piety janitors to come and clean up the mess. And while they’re at it, can they remove Doug from the premises? Then the discernment podcasters dutifully fired up their Røde mics, cracked their knuckles and did literally dozens of minutes of research into Doug’s writings, in order to find what they’d already concluded: HERETIC!

Now, I should be up front. I am a pastor on staff at Christ Church (the church Pastor Doug is senior pastor of). So, when I see the evangelical piety police coming with their politeness cuffs for Doug, I realize that the rest of us aren’t far behind. But we are building something here, and God’s blessing is abundantly seen. Along with all that also come the snarls that arise from discipling the people of God to walk in all His ways. The Evangelical world has sought for years to ignore what has been being faithfully built here in Moscow, and now that the likes of MSNBC is taking notice, they’ve decided now is the time to warn everyone of the “concerning things” about Moscow ministries (i.e. Doug’s blogging, Canon Press, CrossPolitic, etc.).

Thinly Sliced Heresy

The issue at hand in this recent scuffle is that we apparently deny justification by faith alone. This is the accusation because Doug has insisted that the same faith which begot us will be sustained through the whole of the saint’s life, and bring them at last to glory. As one hymn writer put it,

Without thy sweet mercy I could not live here;
Sin soon would reduce me to utter despair;
But, through thy free goodness, my spirits revive,
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.
John Stocker

To which we all here in Moscow, to a man, say one of our hearty “Amens.” You would be not only hard pressed to find anyone here denying that our salvation is entirely due to grace, but I think you’d find nary a church mouse who would deny such a glorious doctrine. But what we insist upon, and which draws the ire of the discernment podcasters is that that grace bears fruit. That grace which produces faith is the same grace which sustains our faith, and causes us to persevere in faith and good works.

Over in the deli section however, some of the evangelical butchers are slicing the Ordo Solutis so thin so as to be transparent. They insist that we are conflating faith and faithfulness, and tsk tsk tsk, that is a thing which must not be done. But I would ask, if it is genuine faith (the noun pistis) what else should be expected but faithfulness (the adjective pistos)?

We are being faithful (pun intended) to the WCF:

SECTION III.-Their ability to do good works is not at all of themselves, but wholly from the Spirit of Christ. And that they may be enabled thereunto, besides the graces they have already received, there is required an actual influence of the same Holy Spirit to work in them to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Here is AA Hodge’s comment on this section:

In regeneration the Holy Spirit implants a permanent holy principle or habit in the soul. which ever continues the germ or seed from which all gracious affections and holy exercises do proceed. In respect to the implantation of this permanent holy principle by the Holy Spirit the soul is passive. But the instant this new moral disposition or tendency is implanted in the soul, as a matter of course the moral character of its exercises is changed, and the soul becomes active in good works, as before it had been in evil ones.
AA Hodge

And Doug himself in his commentary on WCF: “These good works are not the ground of salvation, but they are the ground of assurance of salvation. They are the fruit of the tree, not the cause of the tree. They are the clear evidence that the tree is alive and growing. They are fruit and evidence of a true and lively faith.” We are justified freely by the grace of God. But those who are leveling the charge of heresy at us seem to make the grace of God out to have all the potency of a spit-wad. What we’re insisting upon is that the grace of God which begets living faith in us has the potency of ten-thousand Suns. This grace changes us by imparting a truly lively faith. It is only by this freely given faith that we have any power to go about doing the good works which are commanded to obey.

Neutering Grace

So, to those who insist we are making a heresy mess in their pristine aisle of Christendom, I would ask a question in return. Is the Christian’s obedience something which he must thank God for? If yes, then is that not the fruit of a lively faith? If no, then a saint obediently carrying out faithful good works is garbledy-gook.

The temptation within the evangelical world is to preach such a nebulous grace so as to neuter it. Their assertions that Moscow is denying justification by grace through faith is because they have been sneaking sips of that Antinomian liquor, which they smuggled in from another aisle entirely. In other words, if the grace you preach doesn’t enable you to do the good works which God prepared in advance for you to do, then you are not in fact preaching grace. What you’re preaching is a what Leonard Ravenhill would call a milquetoast Gospel.

The good works of faithful obedience are the result of God’s kind outpouring of grace to the saint. Our works are to be in faith. If this is to mean anything it must mean that the faith which arose thanks to the Spirit’s regeneration is the same faith, by the same Spirit, which enables us to obey God. To call this heresy is to resort to the sort of name-calling that we see on the left. Anything to left of Liz Cheney is racist, fascist, neo-nazism. What our brothers who are wringing their hands in concern over “everything Moscow” need to come to realize is that we are more than happy to engage and answer and debate in good faith. But we aren’t gonna hang up our cleats. We’re just getting started.

Emotions Led By Faith

by Ben Zornes · Aug 2, 2022

Your emotions are not in charge of you. We’ve been brought to believe that whatever emotion you feel at any given point is the emotion which you must give way to. Emotions aren’t just something that happens to you. This line of thinking needs a bucket of bleach poured on top of it, followed by a flame thrower. Ok, maybe a bit over the top. But not by much.

Our emotions are unwieldy things when left undisciplined. They can burst out with violent heat at the simplest provocation. They can pop with sudden streams of tears at the least setback. They can ooze out onto others like toxic sludge, due to storing them in porous containing units. Every profanity an angry father shouts, every tearful outburst of a moody teenager, every cranky snarl from a lazy wife are all the result of thinking that emotions just happen to us and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

But Scripture teaches there is something to be done. It isn’t to become stoic robots void of any feelings. We were made to feel. Our passions however, need to learn to behave. The only way for them to do so is if they are led by the hand of faith.

As you set your affection on things above, faith takes your joys and sorrows, griefs and angers, and tells them, “This way little ones.” Your emotions need to be thought of as the cargo of the train, not the engine. When faith, governed by God’s Word of promise, takes hold on your emotions you don’t find them numbed, but strengthen, sharpened, and sweetened. Your joy bursts forth over righteous glories. Anger burns hotter over injustices. Calmness settles over every turmoil. Sorrow and grief are dear servants and not tormentors. Faith takes your feelings and makes them truly live.

Prayer of Confession

Our emotions have governed us, when we are instructed to govern our emotions in accordance with our faith in You. You teach us what to desire and delight in. You promise us that sorrows will only last for a night. You kindle righteous anger in us. Forgive us for letting our unrighteous anger scald others, often those closest to us. Forgive us for turning into puddles of inconsolable sobbing, thinking that tears alone will nourish a robust faith and life. Forgive us for feeling deeply about things that are fleeting, while being numb and indifferent toward Your Word and those in need of the grace of the Gospel. For all these ways and more, forgive us for our unruly emotions, and grant us grace to rule over them, with Your character and nature as the bit & bridle on every last one of our emotions. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Word to #DatPostmil Bros

by Ben Zornes · Jul 18, 2022

It does no good to chest-thump online about theonomy, or #datpostmil if your lawn resembles the Amazon Rainforest, your sheets haven’t been washed in weeks, your children are unruly & unloved, and your finances are a wreck. Building a Christian culture takes sanctified work.

Not busy work. Not self-righteous work. Not the work of slaves. But grace saturated work. If we would build a Christian nation, it means we actually need to be able to build. Not just figuratively, but literally. This undertaking requires diligent hands, faithful hearts, wise minds, and unswerving zeal. It will involve both sawdust and flour, sweaty brows and calloused hands, stacks of dog-eared books, and well-worn garden trowels.

Psalm 90 concludes with a prayer we must learn to pray: “Let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.” If God’s beauty rests upon us only then will our work be firmly established.

Works of selfish ambition & vainglory must give way to works of mercy & worship. Faithful Christian work is no longer the futile labor of self-preservation, it’s the work of giving your life away. You build wealth, not to horde, but in order to provide work, food, shelter and healing for not only your children, but for multitudes.

The drumbeat of Christian work is diligence. We aren’t gamblers swept off by the latest gold-rush. We lay strong foundations, we restore ruins, we tame forests, we nurture the streams. We do so in order that our children’s children might not only build upon those foundations, but extend the borders. Our diligent work isn’t to make a name for ourselves, but because we’ve received the name of Christ. So, we work to bring glory to His name.

Christ saved us from the futile works of sin, and set us to work the works of faith. The Father has prepared good works for us to do, well in advance of us doing them. Yet often we turn aside through laziness, sloth, cowardice, or compromise. We excuse untidy homes by some vague mention of how busy we’ve been. We blame our business failures on the economy. We claim all sorts of reasons as to why we’ve avoided the hard work God’s providence has set before us to do. If we would see reformation, we must come to God for forgiveness over our lazing about, and ask that His Spirit might be poured out upon us that we might work the works of faith and good works. All to the glory of Christ our King.

Our work, if it is to last, must be built on the foundation of God’s grace to us in Christ. every other foundation will crumble. But if we build on sins forgiven and mercy extended, than the Lord will indeed establish the work of our hands. So we repent, and then we get to work.

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