Watching Over the Heart

Hans F. Bayer's refreshingly theological and practical work, A Theology of Mark, sheds light on "the dynamic between Christology and authentic discipleship" in the Gospel of Mark. In some ways, this work has captured all that I have been trying to say, as we are now in the middle of the fourteenth chapter of Mark.

In my study this week of Christ's repeated command for the disciples to be watchful (14:34, 37, 38) in Christ's final hour of agony in Gethsemane, I came across Bayer's chapter on "Eight Discipleship Qualities" and "Watching over the Heart" was one. The eight were stated as follows:

1. Surrender to God's Will
2. Faith in God
3. Prayer
4. Watching over the Heart
5. Humility and Service
6. Forgiveness
7. Withstanding Temptation
8. Confessing Christ

Bayer says, "These core character traits mark each follower as being shaped and transformed by Christ. They are to be understood as the fruit of Christ's impact, not as spiritual disciplines that followers of Christ emulate in their own strength."

Take "Watching over the Heart" for example...This means keeping a vigilant eye on the condition of your heart. We must constantly surrender ourselves to God's will, trust in Him, and pray to Him. We must be watchful so that our heart does not become hard and independent from God (8:17–21; 6:52). We must be watchful so that nothing inappropriate comes out of our heart (7:14–23). We must be watchful so we can radically cut sin and temptation out of our lives as God reveals it (8:33; 9:43–47). We must be watchful so that we don't fall prey to doubt (11:23). We must be watchful so that we don't carelessly mislead others (9:42). We must be watchful so that we don't have wrong attitudes toward our parents (7:10). We must be watchful so that we don't blaspheme the Holy Spirit (3:29).

Look at who Jesus is--He maintains a pure heart in the midst of all temptation (8:33; 14:36; see also Heb 7:5). Learning from His example and being controlled by His lordship in our lives, we should learn to ask ourselves: to what extent am I watchful over my heart in relationship with God? This is the very point the disciples needed to be warned of in the Garden of Gethsemane because their allegiance to Christ would soon be tested at Jesus' capture and crucifixion.

"Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation." Mk 14:38

The Friends and Foes of Christ

The streets of Jerusalem are packed with Jewish travelers from all over Palestine with their animals ready for sacrifice. It is now two days before Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the national celebration of Israel's deliverance from Egyptian captivity (Exod 12). The disciples of Jesus follow their Rabbi and Messiah in and out of the city in the final days before "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mk 8:31).

According to Mark, there are two very different crowds in Jerusalem during this week: the "foes" of Christ and the "friends" of Christ.

In Mark 14:1–2, the foes of Christ "were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him." In Mark 14:3–9, the friend of Christ is a woman who generously anoints His head with very costly ointment of pure nard. And in Mark 14:10–11, the foes of Christ "sought an opportunity to betray him."

This "sandwich" structure in Mark 14:1–11 is arranged in such a way that the reader does not miss the surrounding context of man's depravity in addition to the woman's costly devotion to Christ. The dark backdrop of the scheming, scandalous scribes and the satanically-driven Judas Iscariot sets this woman's beautiful deed done unto Jesus in clear focus to be admired and followed by all who would call themselves "friends" of Christ.

Many times what makes our good deeds "beautiful" (14:6) is when pure, unashamed, undivided devotion to Christ is surrounded by the foes of Christ hurling their insults and satisfying their sinful pleasures that lead them to rebel against His authority as the Son of God. Stand with Christ when men only stand against Him. Prize Christ so highly that you'd be willing to risk it all just to serve at His feet.

It Contradicts His Holiness, and He Must Hate It

Wayne Grudem on the Definition of Sin (Systematic Theology, 492):

"Finally, we should note that this definition ["sin is lawlessness" 1 Jn 3:4] emphasizes the seriousness of sin. We realize from experience that sin is harmful to our lives, that it brings pain and destructive consequences to us and to others affected by it. But to define sin as failure to conform to the moral law of God, is to say that sin is more than simply painful and destructive--it is also wrong in the deepest sense of the word. In a universe created by God, sin ought not to be approved. Sin is directly opposite to all that is good in the character of God, and just as God necessarily and eternally delights in himself and in all that he is, so God necessarily and eternally hates sin. It is, in essence, the contradiction of the excellence of his moral character. It contradicts his holiness, and he must hate it."

Does that make you see your sin any clearer? Hate your sin any more? Know your God any better?

You Choose: The Least Sin or the Greatest Affliction?

Jeremiah Burroughs (1599–1646) in his Puritan work, The Evil of Evils, proposes:

[I]t is a very evil choice for any soul under heaven to choose the least sin rather than the greatest affliction. Better be under the greatest affliction than be under the guilt or power of any sin...There is more evil in sin than in outward trouble in the world; more evil in sin than in all the miseries and torments of hell itself.

He illustrates:

Suppose that God should bring any of you to the brink of that bottomless gulf and open it to you, and there you should see those damned creatures sweltering under the wrath of the infinite God, and there you should hear the dreadful and hideous cries and shrieks of those who are under such soul-amazing and soul-sinking torments through the wrath of the Almighty. Yet, I say, there is more evil in one sinful thought than there is in all these everlasting burnings...

Do we think of sin as we ought? Do we realize just one wicked deed's wickedness; one sin's sinfulness; one evil thought's evil? When given the choice of sin or affliction, will we look to Christ in that moment? Will we see the great affliction that He endured for just one of our sins (and all the others)? Will we be content to share in the afflictions of Christ, choosing righteousness, and not choose to sin? Or will we choose the evil of evils: sin?

There Will Be No Riots in Hell

Alva McClain in his excellent work, The Greatness of the Kingdom (p. 25), says:

The strange notion that the devil is the king of hell has no basis in divine revelation. God is the King of hell, just as He is the King of everything else in time and space. And because this is so, that everlasting prison-house of the lost will not be the noisy and disorderly place that is sometimes imagined by the popular mind. There is no more orderly place than a well-disciplined prison, even under imperfect human government. There will be no riots in hell.

"The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens; and His kingdom reigns over all" (Ps 103:19).

Three Essentials of Ministry Preparation

Those of you who are serious about serving Christ with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, please consider Charles Bridges' words of encouragement:

"Upon the whole, it is most important to mark the combination of these three Sections of Ministerial preparation--Study, Prayer, and Exercise. The omission of one of these, whichever it may be, weakens the practical influence of the rest. Study furnishes the materials--Prayer sanctifies them--Exercise makes a suitable distributive application of them to the several cases brought before us."

Taken from Christian Ministry, page 67. This section on The View of the Christian Ministry focuses on "The Employment in the Cure of Souls," in other words, what the work is like that has eternal impact on others for the sake of Christ's Kingdom.

We all would do well to consider these three pillars of ministry preparation. Ministry should be your every-day occupation. Life ceases to become about ministry when Christ ceases to become your Master. In some way and somehow we tend to neglect study of the Word which "stores the mind," prayer to God Himself which "infuses a divine influence," and exercise of all that we have come to know about God's instruction which "carries out the resources into effective agency."

Where do you fall short in ministry? What is your personal plan for being committed to study, prayer, and exercise?

God's Glorious Purposes for the Tribulation

The Olivet Discourse (Matt 24–25; Mk 13; Lk 21), John's Revelation (esp. 6–19), and Daniel's visions (esp. Dan 9:24–27) along with several other biblical references mark some of the hardest passages in Scripture to interpret. Do we apply them to the persecution of the early church? Do we apply them to the tribulations that the church is experiencing now? Or is there a more literal sense in these prophetic passages that applies to the future events immediately preceding Christ's coming and the end of the age (Matt 24:3)?

The "futurist" position, which this writer holds, takes these prophetic passages to be still future in their fulfillment rather than past or present. Despite all the persecutions and tribulations that the church has ever experienced from governments, other hostile peoples and religions, and false christs, there is a time coming when God will pour out His judgment on an unbelieving world (church removed) for rejecting Christ's sacrifice and authority in their lives. And His judgment will be far worse.

"For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be" (Mk 13:19). "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book" (Dan 12:1). And the reason for this most unique "time of trouble" is because John saw that it was "the Lamb [who] opened one of the seven seals" (Rev 6:1a). God's judgment is far worse than persecution from men or even the schemes of Satan.

God says to the church that has kept his word about patient endurance: "I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world" (Rev 3:10). We believe that God will rapture ("snatch up") the living saints on the earth prior to His return to be with all those who have believed (1 Thess 4:17). "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:9). It is "Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:10).

At the rapture Jesus will return for His saints, whereas at the Second Coming Jesus will return with His saints (Rev 19:14). At the rapture we will meet Him in the clouds (1 Thess 4:17), whereas at the Second Coming Jesus will return to the earth (Rev 19:11ff).

Before Christ returns, God has specific purposes and plans for the Tribulation Period before Christ unites all things in Him, things on heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10) in the Millennial Kingdom and into the Eternal State:

Purpose #1: Judgment for an unbelieving world

1. Revelation 3:10 refers to the Tribulation period as "the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth." The first major purpose of the Tribulation, then, is to test the unbelieving world. “Those who dwell upon the earth” refers to those who are unbelievers on earth during the period described in Revelation 4-19. (Thomas Edgar, "An Exegesis of Rapture Passages," in Issues in Dispensationalism, p. 216)
2. As the three series of judgments (seals, trumpets and bowls) are being poured out on the earth during the period of the Tribulation, every creature will be held responsible to the Creator for resisting Him and breaking His laws.
3. God will deal violently yet justly with all the pagan nations during this time. He will prove that though “the nations rage and the peoples plot” against Him, their rebellion is “in vain” (Psalm 2:1). “The rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against his anointed” (2:2) but “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (2:4).
4. Paul Benware adds, “These judgments are another step in dealing with sin in preparation for the Messiah’s reign of righteousness on earth. But it is clear that God could judge sinners completely in a matter of moments and does not need seven years. This suggests that judgment, though important in the plan of God, is not the main reason for the seven-year period of tribulation.”

Purpose #2: Preparation of a future generation of Israel

1. “The Bible teaches that the Tribulation is a time of preparation for Israel's restoration and conversion (Deut 4:29, 30; Jer 30:3-11; Zech 12:10)." (Ice and Demy, p. 36)
2. Ezekiel 20:37 says, “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.”
3. Daniel 12:1 says, “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.”
4. Zechariah 13:8 says, “In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
5. A great number of Jews will be saved in the Tribulation. They will flee into the wilderness (Rev 12:6, 13–14). And final salvation will come to believing Jews at the end of the Tribulation period (Zech 12:10ff).
6. Romans 11:26 says, “And so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.’” So all Israel, that will inherit the Kingdom, will be saved.

Purpose #3: Salvation of an unnumbered amount of Gentiles

1. This purpose is more of a bi-product or an result of God’s intentions in the Tribulation. They are referred to as martyrs (Rev 6:9; 7:9–10) because believing in Christ during this time will cost their life. Nevertheless, one cry will come out from every nation and tribe and people and language: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb" (Rev 7:10).
2. Either the two witnesses (Rev 11:3), the 144,000 sealed saints of Israel (Rev 7:4), the angels (Rev 14:6, 7) or the appearance of Christ at the end of the tribulation (Rev 19) will be used to bring about the salvation of these Gentiles.

It seems that a literal, grammatical, historical interpretation of certain prophetic passages of Scripture leads us "to wait for his Son from heaven" (1 Thess 1:10a) who will come with judgment, power and glory (Matt 24:30) to establish His heavenly kingdom on the earth (Rev 20:1–6). "For God has put all things in subjection under his feet" (1 Cor 15:27a; Eph 1:22).

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10).