“Generational curses, simply put, is the belief that individuals inherit judgment for the sins committed by their forebears. Central to this belief is the word “curse,” which makes it a weighty matter. It means that many sufferers consider themselves cursed—even cursed by God.”¹

The Bible records a fascinating event in Numbers chapters 22 to 24 that speaks directly to this subject. For context, Israel is en route to the Promised Land. At a certain point in their journey, they needed passage through another nation’s territory. Balak, the king of that land, was terrified by Israel’s history of conquest (Numbers 22:1-3). His response? He contracted Balaam son of Beor, to curse God’s people in exchange for a reward.

Balaam is something of an enigmatic figure. In the New Testament, Peter compares false teachers to Balaam, “who loved the wages of wickedness” (2 Peter 2:15). Jude echoes this, associating Balaam with the selling of one’s soul for financial gain (Jude 1:11). His character is further exposed when he “taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14). He was evidently a man who practiced divination for a fee (Numbers 22:7).

From the very outset, God told Balaam: “You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12). Yet in his greed and covetousness, Balaam persisted — and rather than curse God’s people, he ended up pronouncing blessings over them instead (Numbers 23:8-12; 19-25; 24:6-10).

You Are Blessed in Christ

Before you read further, dear believer—regardless of your struggles in life or with sin—know that in Christ, your life is lovely. Do not be discouraged. Keep believing God.

There is a phrase in Numbers 23:21 that deserves our full attention, one that paints a picture of God’s blessings over his people: “It pleased the LORD to bless Israel.” What a wonderful statement. God’s enemy sought to curse God’s people, yet God’s promise of blessing remained immovable. The intended curses were negated by the faithfulness of God. Balaam looked upon a lovely people whom he was powerless to curse. This is something every Christian must internalize and believe: no one can bring a curse upon God’s people (Numbers 22:8; 23:19-20).

In Ghanaian Christianity, there is much talk of generational curses, spells, and juju. Faith has, in many places, given way to superstition. But if you are in Christ, no evil power—by whatever name it is called—has authority over you. You are in Christ and you are secure. Never allow anyone to explain your circumstances as evidence of a generational curse or as the work of evil spirits in your family. Shake off that bad theology. This narrative shows us plainly: God’s blessings on his people cannot be revoked.

Perhaps you have believed some of these lies about generational curses or family evil. Perhaps you are quietly entertaining the idea that your challenges in life are somehow linked to your family—a generational curse passed down. I call on you to renew your mind and remind yourself of your standing in Christ. In Christ, God has blessed you, and nothing can overturn it. Your greatest blessing in Christ is this: you have been saved from your sins, justified, and reconciled to God—”canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:14-15).

You Are Fruitful in Christ

How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. (Numbers 24:5-6)

Balaam paints a picture of God’s people using agricultural imagery—the language of fruitfulness. “Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river.” This text calls to mind Psalm 1, which describes the person planted by streams of water: “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (v.3).

The believer has been called to go forth and bear fruit for the Lord (John 15). A life planted in Christ does not wither—it bears fruit. And notice this: the fruitfulness pictured here is tied to where the people have been planted. “Like aloes that the LORD has planted.” Your fruitfulness is linked to your connectedness to Christ.

You Are Set Apart for God

We know the story of Israel—delivered from captivity in Egypt, a picture of deliverance from the world of sin. Speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Balaam noted that they had been brought out of Egypt. That is the picture of a saved community. God delivered them from Egypt to fulfil his promise to them.

God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel. (Numbers 23:22-23)

God is for them. Dear believer, God is for you. The God who saved you in Jesus Christ is for you. No charge can be successfully laid against you: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33).

Despite their rebellion, murmuring, and disobedience in the wilderness, the Israelites remained God’s people; a people over whom he would not permit a curse. How much more, then, are we who have been washed by the blood of Christ secure in him? Despite our shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins, the Lord Jesus died for a church he is washing and cleansing to present to himself as a holy bride without spot (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Jesus Christ: The Victor Over All

In this narrative, Balaam glimpsed a final Conqueror over evil. He saw, prophetically, Jesus Christ:

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities! (Numbers 24:17-19)

This was a prophecy pointing forward to the Lord Jesus. He is the One who died to break the curse of sin and redeem us from its clutches through faith: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged upon a tree’—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).

“In his fourth oracle, Balaam predicts the advent of a royal conqueror who will triumph over Moab and Edom. An initial fulfilment of this prophecy is seen in David’s victories over these nations (2 Samuel 8:2-14), but David’s accomplishments were themselves a foreshadowing of the greater conquests of Christ (cf. Colossians 2:15).”²

Dear believer, if you are in Christ, believe this with your whole heart: you are blessed beyond curse in Christ. This is not a triumphalist boast—it is a humble, settled reality from which we are to walk the Christian life in faith, and not in fear.

References

¹ Charlie Rampfumedzi, “Break the Power of Sin, Not a Generational Curse,” TGC Africa Edition, https://africa.thegospelcoalition.org/article/br

⁠ ⁠² R.C. Sproul, ed., Reformation Study Bible, Orlando, Florida: Reformation Trust, 2015

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In the traditional Ghanaian worldview, you keep good news to yourself for fear that an ‘enemy of your progress’ might jeopardise it through witchcraft or sorcery. People do not share when they are attending interviews, expecting a child, making visa applications, or about to travel. The Ghanaian lives in perpetual fear of being harmed by the ‘evil eye’—even from within their own family.

A Biblical Worldview

The first audience of the New Testament was not so very different from us. Many had come from pagan backgrounds, having been exposed to sorcery, witchcraft, and the worship of false gods (see for example, Acts 19:19). It was therefore all too easy for them to import the practices and beliefs of their former lives into their newfound faith in Christ.

Several passages in the New Testament call for a new perspective and worldview, using the pattern: ‘you used to walk in these ways, but now…’ (Eph. 5:8; Col. 3:7–8; Titus 3:3–5). We need our minds—our perspectives, our entire worldview—to be transformed through knowledge. This is what Romans 12:2 calls the renewing of the mind.

A God-Entranced Perspective on Biblical Warfare

In Part I of this article, we called for a God-entranced worldview, saturated in the sovereignty of God, to permeate our prayers. This does not mean denying Satan’s power. The Bible acknowledges that Satan and his demons are always at work (1 Pet. 5:8–9), and that he has the power to instigate painful persecution and, at times, even to kill Christians (Rev. 2:10). But the great comfort is this: Satan cannot do anything apart from God’s sovereign permission.

The biblical worldview is that spiritual warfare is normal—there is nothing extraordinary about it. Ephesians 6:16 calls us to:

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

The way to extinguish Satan’s darts—the way to do warfare—is simply to stand firm in our faith. It is faith in the Sovereign God that quenches Satan’s missiles. And the way we go on the offensive is by wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17). This means believing everything God says about Himself, about us as His children, and about Satan. The truth is that God is sovereign over Satan and his cohorts; we are hidden in Christ in God; and Satan is a defeated foe.

Doing Warfare Biblically

In light of God’s sovereignty, prayers for protection or deliverance need not dwell unduly on Satan. Our Lord once said to Peter: ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers’ (Luke 22:31–32).

The word ‘demanded’ in the ESV can be easily misunderstood. The Greek root is equally rendered ‘to ask earnestly’ or ‘to request insistently’. In other words, Satan is asking God’s permission to have Peter delivered into his hands—which means he does not have the power to touch Peter in the first place. This reaffirms what we said earlier: whatever power Satan wields is entirely within the limits of God’s sovereignty. He cannot touch any child of God unless God permits it.

A text that unequivocally cements our security in Christ is John 10:28–29, where our Lord declares:

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

All Scripture is precious—sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Ps. 19:10)— yet I confess I am tempted to call this the sweetest promise in all Holy Writ. Jesus here assures believers that they will never perish: their salvation is eternally secured. And as if that assurance were not sufficient, He adds that this security is doubly guaranteed in the might of the Father—there is none greater than He; the Father’s grip on His people ensures that no power can destroy them or wrench them from His sovereign, loving protection. Satan may do his worst, but he can destroy only the body; he can never touch the souls of God’s people (Matt. 10:28). And even that limited power is always constrained within the bounds of God’s sovereignty.

It is for these reasons that I believe the approach to ‘warfare’ propagated by the ‘dangerous prayer’ movement we talked about in Part I of this series does not square with the biblical perspective. When the Bible speaks of ‘weapons of warfare’, it points to standing on the truth of God’s Word in order to demolish strongholds of false belief—the distorted thinking that held sway when we were ignorant of God’s promises (Eph. 4:17; 2 Cor. 10:4–5).

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (2 Cor. 10).

God Is Glorified When We Depend on Him

One final thought regarding praying for our needs. At the close of Part I, we asked whether God-entranced prayer precludes praying for our daily needs. In response, we turn to the Lord’s prayer, a model prayer Jesus gave His disciples. Of its six petitions, only one concerns physical provision—yet from this we understand that our Lord fully expected His people to bring their daily needs to Him: food, shelter, clothing, and all that is necessary for life. God is glorified when we depend on Him in this way, as creatures who look to their Creator for sustenance. Psalm 145 says as much:

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your kingdom… The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing… He fulfils the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

The Psalmist celebrates the goodness and mercy of God, summoning all creation to give thanks and His saints to bless Him. And among the glories of His kingdom that they are to proclaim, the Psalmist lists God’s faithful provision to all who look to Him. There is, then, a way of asking for provision that glorifies God—a posture of utter dependence and reliance that honours Him. He delights to fulfil the desires of those who fear Him.

Conclusion

Too often our prayers fixate on Satan, inadvertently giving him more credit than he is due. While we do not deny that Satan is at work to frustrate God’s agenda—which he cannot, we have clear biblical warrant that he cannot act outside of God’s sovereign rule and reign. We resist him, therefore, by standing firm on God’s promises. That is how we wage war as believers — wielding the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Such prayers are saturated with the sovereignty of God.

And it is God’s honour to provide for His creation. As His children, He is glorified when we depend on Him for our needs.

The post Learning to Pray Like Paul — Part II appeared first on TGN.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)

It has been said that if you want to know a man’s theology, listen in on his prayers. This has certainly been true in my own life. Back in my secondary school days, there was a little book in circulation called Dangerous Prayers, which  taught a style of prayer that attacked the ‘source of your problems’ – namely, Satan and his minions.

Armed with select verses, you would ‘go to war’ against the demonic forces militating against your progress. The book then led you through ‘battle’ after ‘battle’ against ancestral curses, anti-miracle forces, anti-prosperity forces, spirit guards, spiritual spouses – the list was endless.

In retrospect, , I have realised that what I read as a teenager shaped my prayer life for years to come. Many of the prayer meetings I attended fuelled such prayers. We had sessions badged ‘Spiritual Warfare’ where all we did was bind Satan and his cohorts. The implication was clear: Satan was responsible for anything that looked amiss in one’s life—from besetting sins to joblessness, singleness, barrenness, poverty, poor academic performance, ancestral curses—you name it.

Super-spiritual But Shallow Prayers

Those prayers sounded super-spiritual. But they were founded on a false theology of God, prayer and what it means to be a Christian. Is it possible for a Christian to be cursed? Could Satan hold back my marriage, job opportunity, academic excellence, or promotion? If so, then our God must be powerless and weak  for Satan to toy with His children as he pleases. Does Scripture even teach this?

Reading the New Testament, I find that this approach to prayer is completely alien to the apostolic model. There’s not  a single example of apostolic prayer addressed to witches and wizards or demons, prohibiting them from tampering with a believer’s progress in life. Rather, I see an abundance of prayers focused on God’s greatness, growing in holiness, discerning the will of God, pleasing God, and representing Him well as ambassadors of Christ who shine as lights in a dark world.

God-entranced Prayers

Take, for example, our opening verses from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. These are his partners in the gospel, he says; people who are dear to his heart and for whom he prays always (v3-5, 7). He loves them deeply (v8). The description so far has been sweet and intimate.  Paul  cares affectionately for them. And so, we can be sure that his prayers for them must be equally meaningful and powerful, caring deeply for their their wellbeing. For this reason, it’s instructive to glean from his prayers for these Philippian Christians.

But what does he pray for them? “That your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

In the original classical Greek, the word translated ‘approve’ here referred to the assaying of metals or testing of money for authenticity (see Luke 12:56; 14:19). In essence, Paul is praying that the Philippians grow in their ability to discern those things that are truly important, so they can establish the right priorities. He prays that they will bear fruits of righteousness as Christ works in them and shines through them – and all of these things will result in one ultimate end: to the glory and praise of God. (This paragraph I believe should follow immediately after the text because you are explaining the word approve.)

Paul is concerned for their  growth in love and knowledge and all discernment. That is because Christian belief (termed here as knowledge and discernment) expresses itself in how we love and behave. “As we grow in our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus,we will increasingly be able to affirm and practice what is excellent.” Consequently, he prays that they will choose what is excellent and, by so doing, live pure and blameless lives as they await the second coming of our Lord.

Paul here summarises what it means to live as a Christian: to live for God’s glory. Everything else flows from this. A cursory look at the New Testament reveals that this is the ultimate goal of the Christian life: the glory of God. Jonathan Edwards calls it the end for which God made all things. And this is the grand theme of all that God does in redemptive history. Rightly, it permeates the Apostle’s prayer for these Philippian believers.

A ‘Dangerous Prayers’ pandemic?

Reflecting on the Ghanaian and African Christian landscape, there have emerged a number of influential prayer movements that have drawn large followings on social media and transcend nations, even continents. If what ardent followers of these movements share on social media is anything to go by, the focus and drift look very similar to the Dangerous Prayers model I was introduced to back in secondary school in the 90s.

Attendees are led to pray fervently for an end to financial stagnation, marital issues, childlessness, etc., and prayers and ‘decrees’ are issued promising an end to any forces militating against their progress. It is always Satan or some other force linked to him that is supposedly frustrating believers’ rise to glory.

Was Satan Less Active in the 1st Century?

Was Satan less active  when Paul wrote his epistles? Is that why he does not directly confront Satan in his prayers or battle for the deliverance of the saints to whom he wrote? I don’t think so. The world back then was not unlike the world today.

Church history tells us that the early Christians faced persecution far more severe than anything most of us will ever experience. Emperors like Nero viciously persecuted believers, burning some as torches to light his games and throwing others to lions for entertainment. Yet we don’t find a single apostolic prayer binding the demons supposedly motivating these despotic emperors or blaming Satan for the intense persecution the church experienced. The apostles saw God as Sovereign over all history, even in their suffering, yet their prayers remained God-centred, not Satan-focused.

We know from his letters that they often faced intense persecution on account of their faith and experienced diverse trials and temptations. In this very epistle, Paul recounts how Epaphroditus, a co-worker whom the Philippians sent with aid for him, fell ill and almost died. Yet Paul simply comments, “Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.” Even in the midst of affliction with sickness, the focus quickly shifts to God, not Satan.

Thus, we are given an insight into Paul’s theology: He was deeply saturated by a high view of God’s sovereignty. Nothing happened to the believer except by God’s permission (see the first question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism and accompanying Scriptural basis); and all things, Satan included, are subservient to God’s will (recall Job and see here). And so, Satan doesn’t take centre stage in Paul’s prayers – God’s glory does. And so should it permeate our prayers as well.

Praying Like Paul

In 2014, when I was exposed to Reformed theology, the first thing that gripped me was a profound sense of the sovereignty of God. And what a transformation a God-entranced, sovereignty-saturated view of God has made to my prayers! My ‘dangerous’ approach of commanding and decreeing things in prayer gave way to a more sober and humble reverence and awe for the majestic sovereignty of the One to whom I come when I approach the throne of grace.

Now I don’t waste precious time on Satan and his minions. God has taken care of them and takes care of me, so I don’t need to. Rather, inspired by Paul, I spend my meditations and prayers on how to grow in love and knowledge and discernment, to bear the fruit of righteousness, and to represent Christ well to those around me – living for His glory as He powerfully works His grace within me.

Does this mean praying for my needs and Christian warfare is unbiblical? We’ll address this in the sequel to this article.

The post Learning to Pray Like Paul appeared first on TGN.

¹ LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; ² many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah ³ But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. ⁴ I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah. ⁵ I  lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. ⁶ I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. ⁷ Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.⁸  Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! Selah (Psalm 3)

One of the recent coup d’états that hit the African continent was staged by the Presidential guard¹. The person paid to protect the President plotted against him. This was perhaps his closest ally—a friend who became a foe, a complete betrayal of trust. Psalm 3 reflects something similar. But it is even worse. David, a king, in this Psalm is being pursued. His own son has staged a coup against him. The heading of Psalm 3 in my Bible reads : ‘A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.’

Here is a son revolting against his father to overthrow him from the throne. This betrayal is far more despicable than a Presidential guard staging a coup against a President. But all this pales in comparison to the worst revolt in human history—humanity’s rebellion against their Creator: (Romans 1:21). All human beings are rebels who will have nothing to do with God. Like Absalom, we have all revolted against God. We have kicked God out of our lives. But out of His mercy, God sent Jesus to redeem rebels such as we.

Threat of The Enemy

The events of Absalom’s revolt are recorded in detail in 2 Samuel 15:1–6, 12. It is out of It is while in flight that David wrote this Psalm. In this Psalm, we see David overwhelmed by the threat of the enemy. His faith in God is being mocked. Notice how he expresses the threat: “LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me. many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God'” (vv. 1–2). His problems are rising and overwhelming.

Like David, we do get overwhelmed sometimes—if not often—by life challenges. It could be health, finances or a besetting sin we are dealing with. Then in the midst of all that, doubt sets in. The devil, the accuser of the brethren, is at your heel assailing you with unbelief. You can hear the accusation: “Many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God'” (v 2)

David is being told God has forsaken him. God will not deliver him. He is being told he deserves whatever is happening to him (2 Samuel 16:5–8)

What did David do in the situation? He…

Turned to God in Prayer

Psalm 3 is a Psalm of Lament where we see David pour out his heart to God. “LORD,” the Psalm begins in v.1. That is a desperate cry to God for help. And see the number of times he appealed to God: “LORD” (v.1), “But you, O LORD” (v.3), “I cried aloud to the LORD” (v.4), “Arise O LORD, Save me…” (v.7). David cried out to the God who could save him. But David didn’t end at prayer—he continued in trust.

Trusted God in Prayer

In the midst of all his increasing problems, he trusted God. There is a remarkable contrast between vv. 1-2 and verse 3. In verse 1-2 David cries out about his pursuers. Then in verse 3, the language changes to trust: “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head…“ (v.3a).

A shield is a common biblical picture of protection. So, David is affirming that despite his pursuers, he trusts in God for protection. God indeed protects his own. He preserves his own. He is a shield to those who have put their trust in him. In his prayer and trust, David further encouraged himself in God: “my glory, and the lifter of my head” (v.3b). This is a language of encouragement. His head was bowed in shame. His enemies taunting him. But “David strengthened himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6).

Whenever you find yourself in any overwhelming situation, do what David did: “encourage yourself in the Lord.” Don’t encourage yourself in your abilities or skills or wisdom. Rather, encourage yourself in the Lord—because…

God Answers Prayers

There is a reason David turned to God in prayer. There is a reason he trusted Him: because God answers prayer: “I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah” (v.4). David prayed, because God hears prayers and answers them. There are indeed many biblical promises of answered prayers (Psalm 50:15).  Dear child of God, do not linger long in your problems. Call out to God in prayer.

Peace In Prayer

Now, when you have prayed, let go of your worries. David did that. Verses 5–6 paint a picture of peace and tranquillity for David. “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me” (v.5). In the midst of his enemies pursuing him, David can sleep. This is total peace and confidence in God. Do not lose sleep over your problems. Trust totally (Philippians 4:6-7).

By the time we get to verse 6, there appears a turn of events.  Compare verse 6 with verses vv. 1- 2 where David laments his fears. In v.6 he expresses total confidence in God: “I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.” What happened? David can now say this because he has committed everything to God in prayer. He is no more afraid. His fear of his enemies is gone.

Triumph In Prayer

As we near the end of the Chapter, verses 7-8 paint a picture of Triumph for David. David is triumphant. He calls on God to administer justice “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked”. David did not take revenge. He left vengeance with God.

And finally, in contrast to the mockery of the enemies in v.2, “there is no salvation for him in God”. David pronounces his salvation in God in verse 8: “Salvation belongs to the Lord”.

Salvation indeed belongs to God and God can save us from the enemy. Now, our greatest enemy is sin. It is what has caused us to rebel against God. John tells us Jesus came to his own, but his own did not receive him(John 1:10). We are like Absalom, unwilling to submit to submit to the authority of our Father. So, we have rejected God’s authority. We have rejected his king—Jesus. We need to return to God through faith in Jesus.

Note

¹ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34277989

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Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh, what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer

In a previous article, the prayers of Paul, we pointed to a collection of the apostle Paul’s prayers as it is recorded in the New Testament. This article follows on from that and will examine some prayers of biblical characters. Being the first in the series, we will examine a prayer from the belly of a fish (Jonah 2:1). Does this sound familiar? It is the story of Jonah—called and sent by God, but he fled (Jonah 1:1-3). He didn’t get far before God intervened and stopped him in his tracks:

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days  and three nights (1:17).

What did he do in there? He  prayed. “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:1). Jesus, in Luke 18:1 told a parable to point to the necessity of prayer.“…[we] ought always to pray and not faint.” Job certainly exemplifies this.

What Does Jonah’s Prayer Teach Us?

Prayer is offered to God

Jonah, alone in the belly of the fish prayed: “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish” (Jonah 2:1). What we observe in these words is that the object of the Christian’s prayer is God. When in trouble, it is God we pray to. We don’t pray to dead  relatives, dead saints, Mary or  our ancestors. We pray to God—the Creator of the  heavens and earth. Take note of  the spelling of LORD in the text. The all capital spelling is the translators way of pointing to God’s proper name in Hebrew: Yaweh, meaning the “self-existent one” (Jonah 1:9). We pray to only God. He is the object of our prayer. The Westminster Shorter Catechism captures this aptly:

Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q98)

Prayer Is Personal

Jonah’s prayer teaches us that we can talk to God personally. He is a God we can relate with on a personal level. Jonah’s prayer is instructive. He prayed to “The  LORD his God”. He prayed to God because he had a relationship with God. He was a covenant child of Israel. The only grounds by which we can approach God in prayer is covenant a relationship with him. And Jonah had that personal relationship. And for us as Christians, on the grounds of our relationship with Jesus, we can pray to God because he is our Father (Matthew 6:9).

Prayer Is Not Limited By Geography

Before we proceed, let’s remind ourselves where Jonah is praying from: the belly of the fish: “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish. What an unusual place for prayer! This reinforces the omnipresence of God and because of this, our prayer is not  limited by location or geography. All of Jonah’s prayer were offered from the belly of the big fish. There  is no limitation to where prayer can be offered. Whereever we find ourselves, we can offer up prayer – and that should encourage us to pray.

Prayer is A Plea

If you have paid attention to many of the prayers been offered these days, you will hear much about commanding, decreeing, declaring, positive confessions and much more. Perhaps, dear reader, you may be guilty as charged. But these kind of prayer are wrong and unbiblical. Prayer is a plea! We call out to God to help. We bring our petitions before him, and that is no passive thing.

Imagine Jonah in the belly of the fish – suffocating, struggling to catch his breath, drowning in the midst of water, acid and everything else there is in the belly of a great fish.  He is in distress: “I called out to the LORD, out of my distress… out of the belly of Sheol I cried…” Jonah is in a real, face to face  encounter with death (vv 5;6;7).  You don’t command and declare your way out of a situation  like what Jonah found himself in. You cry out. You call out to God. You plead—God please save me! And we see it in the very next line “out of the belly of Sheol I cried”.

Sheol is depicted as hell or the grave. It brings clearly into view the picture of what Jonah was experiencing. To be people of prayer, we must plead our cause to God and turn away from the unbiblical prayers that have become so rampant among believers. Plead with God. Don’t decree and declare.

Prayer Must Be According To God’s Will

Prayer is no mere collection of wishes and desires—it must be according to God’s will. And where do we find God’s will? In the Scriptures. If you consider Jonah’s prayer carefully,  you will notice that it is saturated with the word of God. Jonah prays the Psalms. He prayed the word of God (Ps 18:4-6;42:7;130:1;31:22). Donald S. Whitney, in his book Praying the Bible, offers a compelling reason why we must pray the words of Scripture—especially the Psalms:

To pray the Bible, you simply go through the passage line by line, talking to God about whatever comes to mind as you read the text…If you don’t understand the meaning of a verse, go on to the next verse. Just speak to the Lord about everything that occurs to you as you slowly read his word

On some occasions, while leading a pastoral prayer in the church I pastor, I have prayed from a Psalm – and it has been deeply encouraging. It improves your prayer life and keeps you from being repetitive, from saying the same things every time you pray. Jonah prayed the Psalms.

Prayer Must Be Offered In Faith

From vv.2-3, Jonah expresses his distress. He feels driven away from the presence of God. But in the midst of it, he still had faith:

Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple. The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head. To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever. Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple (Jonah 2:4-7)

Jonah feels a sense of separation from God, but two words points us to his faith: “yet I shall again look upon your holy temple” (v.4a). Despite his overwhelming experience—the feeling of complete separation from God—he still garned the faith to look towards him.  Verse 7 equally paints a picture of faith: “when my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord…”

Have you ever experienced a sense of separation from God? It’s just a feeling. Don’t live by your feelings—cry out to God in faith. Jonah in the belly of the fish is grappling with this illusion that God has drawn away or cast him aside. Yet he cried out to God. Regardsless of our feelings, we must always turn to God in prayer, in faith.

Prayer Must Be Offered With Thanksgiving

In Luke’s gospel, the story is told of Jesus healing ten lepers, and only one returned to thank him. Jesus’ response tells something about thanksgiving: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17). This speaks volumes aboutthe place of gratitude in our faith walk. In the midst of all his petitions, Johan paused to thank God. In prayer, we don’t only bring our petitions, we bring our thanksgiving as well: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you;what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”(v.9).

We must be a grateful people for what God has done for us.

God Answers Prayer

 I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice (v.2)

To the roots of the mountains I went down, to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; Yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God (v.6)

And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land (v.10)

The greatest motivation for which we must pray is that God hears us, and he answers prayer. We see this powerfully in Jonah’s prayer and in his being cast out upon dry land. Do you need any further motivation to pray?

God answers prayers. So pray.

The post Praying With Biblical Characters: Lessons From The Belly of A Fish appeared first on TGN.

Few passages in Scripture present the doctrine of justification with the clarity and power found in Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah prophesied in 520 BC to the returned exiles after the Babylonian captivity, at a time when the temple was being rebuilt but the people were discouraged, conscious of their sin, and uncertain of their standing before the Lord. In one of the night visions given to encourage the restoration of His people, the prophet sees Joshua the high priest before the angel of the LORD, clothed in filthy garments while Satan stands ready to accuse him.

The scene reveals a guilty man before the Lord, defiled and without defense, yet by God’s command his iniquity is removed, he is clothed in clean garments, and he is made fit to stand in the presence of the Holy One. This passage is not merely about Joshua, but presents one of the clearest pictures in all of Scripture of the gospel and the doctrine of justification.

The Problem: How Can a Sinner Stand Before God?

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.

Zechariah 3:1–3

The scene is judicial. Joshua stands before the Lord as a man on trial. Satan stands beside him as the accuser. The garments he wears are filthy, a symbol of guilt, uncleanness, and unfitness for the presence of God.

Joshua is not an ordinary man. He is the high priest. Yet even the high priest stands defiled before the LORD. This shows that no office, no religion, no effort, and no obedience can make a sinner righteous before God. This wretched condition of man is established throughout Scripture (Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Psalm 130:3; Psalm 14:1–3, Psalm 53:1–3).

This is the question that makes justification necessary: How can a guilty sinner stand before a holy God?

The Doctrine of Justification

And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

Zechariah 3:4

Here the Lord Himself gives the answer. We know from Scripture that God alone can pardon sin, as all sin is first of all against Him (Romans 8:33; Psalm 51:4) – and so we rightly conclude ‘the angel of the Lord’ referenced in this passage is none other than God himself (Genesis 31:11–13; Exodus 3:2–6; Genesis 22:1). Joshua is not told to clean himself. He is not given time to improve himself. He is not instructed to earn acceptance.

Instead, God commands that his filthy garments, representing his iniquity, be removed, and that he be clothed with pure vestments, showing that his guilt is taken away and that he is given a righteousness not his own. This same reality is taught with great clarity throughout Scripture (Genesis 15:6; Psalm 32:1–2; Isaiah 53:11; Isaiah 61:10; Luke 18:14; Romans 3–5; Galatians 2–3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9; Romans 8:33–34; Titus 3:5–7).

From this we may state the doctrine clearly:

Justification is the gracious and judicial act of God whereby He removes the guilt of sin and declares the sinner righteous in His sight, not because of anything done by him, but because of the righteousness of Christ given to him by God and received by faith alone.

Justification is not a process of becoming righteous. It is not the infusion of righteousness, but the legal declaration that the sinner stands accepted before God. Joshua did nothing yet received everything. This is the glory of justification.

The Biblical Language of Justification

The language of this vision, in Zechariah chapter 3, is courtroom language: Joshua stands before the Lord; Satan accuses; the Lord rebukes; guilt is removed; righteousness is given; and a verdict is pronounced.

This is the same language used throughout Scripture: God justifies (Romans 8:33); God condemns (Deuteronomy 25:1); God declares righteous (Proverbs 17:15); God brings charges(Romans 8:33); God gives the verdict (Romans 8:1).

Justification belongs to the courtroom, not the workshop. It is not the language of moral improvement. It is the language of judgment and verdict. When God justifies, He speaks as Judge.

The Forensic Nature of Justification

And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

Zechariah 3:2

Joshua does nothing. He offers no defense. He presents no righteousness and no merit. The Lord speaks, and the verdict changes everything. Joshua is not first made clean and then accepted. He is accepted because God declares him righteous.

This is the forensic nature of justification. To justify means to declare righteous. It stands opposite condemnation. As Scripture says:

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn?

Romans 8:33-34

The word forensic is powerful because it places justification in the courtroom, where the issue is not inward change but the legal verdict of God, and where the sinner must stand before the Judge not on the basis of what he has done, but on the basis ofwhat God declares.

Justification is a legal act of God. Sanctification changes the person. Justification changes the verdict.

The Ground of Justification: The Branch

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

Zechariah 3:8–9

Joshua is justified in the vision, but the reason lies in the promise. Sin is not just swept under the rug. God points forward to the Branch, the coming Servant, the Messiah. The iniquity of the land will be removed in one day.

This points to the cross. Justification is not grounded in Joshua.It is not grounded in repentance. It is not grounded in obedience.It is grounded in Christ.

The righteousness that justifies is the righteousness of another.The sin that condemns is borne by another. Christ obeyed the law (Romans 5:19), bore the curse in our place (Galatians 3:13), and satisfied the justice of God by His sacrifice (Romans 3:25–26). Because of Him, the sinner can stand.

Imputation: Garments Removed, Garments Given

And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

Zechariah 3:4

Two things happen. Sin is taken away. Righteousness is given.This is the heart of justification. Our sin is counted to Christ. His righteousness is counted to us. Not infused. Not earned. Not developed. But given. Scripture speaks of this as reckoning, counting, or imputing (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3–8; Psalm 32:2; 2 Corinthians 5:19).

We stand righteous before God because the righteousness of Christ is placed upon us as a garment. Joshua does not sew the garment. He receives it.

Faith Alone

Joshua stands silent. He does not argue. He does not defend himself. He does not earn the change. He simply receives. This is the picture of faith. Faith does not justify because it is worthy, but because it receives Christ.

We are not justified by works. We are not justified by effort. We are not justified by religion. We are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Faith is the empty hand that receives the garment God gives.

As Scripture declares:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Justification and Works

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

Zechariah 3:7

The command comes after the clothing. This is the pattern of God’s grace. He justifies, then He instructs. This is the gospel order: first justification, then obedience. Works do not produce justification. Justification produces works.

The justified man walks differently, not to become accepted, but because he is accepted. Good works are the fruit of justification, never the cause.

Justification and the Resurrection of Christ

The LORD promises:

I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

Zechariah 3:9

At the cross, sin was borne. In the resurrection, the verdict was declared. Christ was delivered for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

When Christ rose, God declared that the work was finished. The resurrection is the public vindication of the Son and the guarantee of the believer. Because Christ lives, the verdict stands.

He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Romans 4:25

The Once-for-All Nature of Justification

Joshua’s garments are fully changed. He is not half clean. He is not partly accepted. He is not on probation. He stands clothed. Justification is complete.

God does not justify by degrees. He does not justify little by little. When God declares a sinner righteous, the verdict is final. The case is settled.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

Assurance and Peace with God

In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.

Zechariah 3:10

Peace follows justification. No accusation remains. No wrath remains. No condemnation remains. The justified man has peace with God. As Scripture says,

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1

He can stand before the Lord without fear. This is the fruit of the verdict.

The Glory of Justification

In the vision of Zechariah, the sinner stands silent, guilty, and unclean before the Lord while Satan accuses and the law condemns. Yet the Lord Himself commands that the filthy garments be removed and that the sinner be clothed in a righteousness not his own. This is the glory of justification: the guilty are declared righteous, the condemned are accepted, and those who could not stand are made fit to stand before the Holy One.

The church has long given voice to this wonder. Augustus Toplady, in his hymn Rock of Ages (1776), captured the heart of justification in these words:

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace.

The post Ordo Salutis: Justification appeared first on TGN.

“Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Galatians 6:14

The message of the cross is the heart of all that God has done for the salvation of mankind; and the one thing that must be preached at all times.

We bring you a compilation of articles which speaks to Christ’s death for humanity’s sins: what it means, why it matters.

We pray it blesses you.

Download your free copy here: Christ_Our_Sin_Bearer

The post Christ Our Sin Bearer appeared first on TGN.

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. (John 11:1-4)

Dear reader, I believe you may have, on many occasions, asked yourself the question “why me” because of an unexpected, unpleasant event in your life. As a matter of fact, we don’t always understand the negative circumstances life throws at us. Some life events may cause us to question God’s love and care for us.

In extreme cases, some have abandoned the Christian faith because a spouse leaves a marriage, or they lose a job, a contract, business opportunity or they receive a diagnosis of an incurable disease. “Why me?” and “Where is God?” In such moments, God may seem silent or distant.

In John 11, we see a familiar narrative where Lazarus was ill, his sisters sent for Jesus, but rather than attaching urgency to the SOS call from the sisters, Jesus delayed – purposefully. Eventually Lazarus died.

As the narrative progresses, a sense of frustration is registered by his sisters–Martha and Mary. They seemed to have blamed Jesus for the death of their brother, because he delayed in arriving on time. Twice in the narrative, we hear the sisters telling Jesus “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (vv. 21; 32). They subtly blamed Jesus.

What do you do when you don’t understand what is happening in your life and God seems silent and distant, or when you feel that God is indifferent to your situation? Know that you are not alone. Scripture does account for such sentiments. David, in three places in the Psalms felt God was distant:

Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? (Psalm 10:1)

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning (Psalm 22:1)

More encouraging still, our Lord on the cross cried out Psalm 22:1:

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? That is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46)

For the rest of this article, I will glean some lessons to help us through moments of doubt and struggle when God seems silent.

Embrace Suffering As Part of The Believer’s Life

Often we are ill prepared for suffering as believers and are therefore caught off guard when adversity comes. This may be a result of the kind of Christianity dominating our Christian milieu. The prosperity, health and wealth gospel has popularised the lie that Christians are not to suffer, get sick or experience setbacks. On the contrary, John Piper, in an article Why I Abominate The Prosperity Gospel, noted that,

“Normal Christianity is pain. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing is the pattern (see 2 Corinthians 6:10). Prosperity preachers do not prepare new converts in third world countries to endure the realities of what it will cost them to be a Christian.”

We will do well to prepare ourselves for moments of suffering as believers and not dispair. You are not immune to the problems of this life because you are a believer. Believers get sick, believers experience hardships and believers experience loss in life.

In this narrative, we are introduced to a devoted family. They worship Jesus, they are devoted to him. Notice how one of the sisters-Mary-is presented to us: “It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill” (v.2).

It is possible the event was commonly known amongst the readers of John or because it was recorded in the next chapter, John prepares his readers to not lose the plot of the events (John 12:3). But this is an important part of the narrative. It was this devoted woman whose brother was ill: “It was Mary…whose brother was ill” Humanly speaking, this should not happen. With the recorded intensity of devotion to Jesus, how can she lose her brother?

I suspect perhaps John is inviting us into the realities of the lives of devoted people: they encounter suffering. God is not silent because you are suffering. In fact he knows your situation.

Another important lesson for our attention is the emphasis John placed on Jesus’ love for this family (vv 3, 5, 36). These references to Jesus’ love for them give us a view for them gives us a view into the lives of the family. They were devoted to Jesus and most importantly they are loved by Jesus. Yet one of the people Jesus loved died out of illness.

Call On Jesus

Before Lazarus would die, they had called on Jesus: “…the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill” (v.3). We can look at this as a picture of prayer. They called out to Jesus in their moment of trouble. And that is what we should do when problems come. Our first action must be to call out in prayer. Now, though they called on Jesus, their brother died, and this will sometimes be the reality of all of us. We may experience unanswered prayers or delays. We will believe God. We will pray. But what we request may not come, or it may be delayed.

I noted earlier in this article that the sisters subtly blamed Jesus’ delay for their brother’s death (vv.21, 32). They had no idea behind the delay, but we know because we are now reading the narrative. The verse 4 tells us why: “But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

“But when Jesus heard it…”

This is important for our consideration. Jesus hears us when we call on him. Our call to Jesus for help in prayer does not go unheard. Every cry, every complaint, every scream for help is heard. And therefore whenever it seems to us that God is silent, we must trust him.

Rest In God’s Providence In Our Lives

When Jesus said “This illness does not lead to death…”, he meant that Lazarus’ illness will not ultimately lead to death. Yet, he waited for Lazarus to die so that God’s glory will be seen and revealed through Jesus. The glory of God, the glory of the Son then, is behind the supposed delay.  Lazarus will die, so that there will be an opportunity for people to experience the glory of God through Jesus. This is the providence of God working in every detail of our lives. God directs every detail of our lives to his glory. Nothing takes him by surprise. Because everything that happens to us has a purpose. The apostle Paul in the popular Scripture in Romans 8:28 says that

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Do you believe this? You should come to a point of conviction that whatever  happens in your life, God is at work behind the scenes for his glory.

There is a little detail in the narrative worth noting. The events are meant to bring his disciples to faith in him (v.15). Truly every work of Christ is to produce faith in his people, including this. Do you have faith? Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that he is able to work out every aspect of your life to his glory including your salvation? Please believe this.

The post When God Seems Silent appeared first on TGN.

Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.

Ephesians 2:20

When Christians speak about the centrality of Scripture in the life of the church, a thoughtful question often arises:

If the earliest believers did not yet possess the New Testament as we do today, what were they devoted to? And what does that mean for Word–centered ministry today?

This question matters because it touches on the issue of authority: How Christ rules His church, and how we know His voice today. If the first generation of Christians lived and grew before the New Testament was complete, does that suggest that Scripture is secondary rather than central? Is Word–centered ministry something that developed later, or was it present from the beginning?

By Word–centered ministry, I mean the church’s intentional commitment to gather around, submit to, and be shaped by God’s revealed Word—trusting it as the sufficient and final authority through which Christ builds and governs His people.

To answer the question, we must consider what the early church had.

They Had the Old Testament

The early church did not begin without Scripture. They possessed the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings — the very Scriptures Jesus affirmed and fulfilled.

After His resurrection, Jesus explained to His disciples that Moses and the Prophets were ultimately speaking about Him (Luke 24:27). The Old Testament was not a closed story waiting to be replaced; it was a promise awaiting fulfillment.

This is exactly how the apostles preached. At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed the risen Christ from Joel and the Psalms (Acts 2:14–36). Throughout the book of Acts, the apostles reasoned from the Scriptures, demonstrating that Jesus is the promised Messiah (Acts 17:2–3). They did not set aside Israel’s Scriptures—they opened them and showed how they pointed to Christ.

The earliest believers therefore gathered as a Scripture-shaped community. They listened to the Old Testament read, explained, and applied in light of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. The church was born not in the absence of Scripture, but in its fulfillment.

But they had more than the Old Testament.

They Had Living Apostolic Revelation

From the very beginning, believers devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). At that moment there was no completed New Testament. Yet the church was not without God’s Word.

Christ—the final and fullest revelation of God—had come (Hebrews 1:1–2). And the men He appointed now bore witness to Him with divine authority.

The gospel was first declared by the Lord Himself and then confirmed by those who heard Him, with God bearing witness through signs and wonders (Hebrews 2:3–4). The apostles were not religious innovators. They were eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, personally commissioned by Him, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to remember, proclaim, and explain what He had done (Acts 1:21–22).

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus prepared His disciples for this very role. He promised that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things and bring to their remembrance all that He had said to them (John 14:26). He told them that the Spirit of truth would bear witness about Him, and that they also would bear witness because they had been with Him from the beginning (John 15:26–27). He further declared that there were still many things they could not yet bear, but that when the Spirit came, He would guide them into all the truth and declare to them what belonged to Christ (John 16:12–15).

These promises explain why the apostles’ teaching carried divine authority. Their witness was not the result of human reflection alone, but the fulfillment of Christ’s own promise that His words would be preserved, clarified, and proclaimed through those He had chosen.

When they preached, they did not offer speculation. They delivered what they had received. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, he handed on what was “of first importance”—the death and resurrection of Christ according to the Scriptures.

This apostolic ministry was foundational and unrepeatable. Through these men, Christ Himself spoke to His church. The foundation of the church was being laid in history—once for all.

The apostles did not create a new message; they bore faithful witness to the One who had come. And as Peter later explains, their message was not produced by human will but carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20–21).

Apostolic Proclamation and Apostolic Scripture: Distinct but Foundational

Jesus Himself set the course of apostolic witness when He told His disciples they would receive power and be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

In the book of Acts, we see that witness unfold. Churches are planted, elders appointed, doctrine illuminated, and believers strengthened through living apostolic preaching (Acts 13–15; 17; 19). Through these men, Christ was speaking in history.

Scripture describes this period by saying that the church was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). These prophets are best understood not as the Old Testament prophets, but as New Testament prophets who, together with the apostles, received divine revelation during the foundational period of the church. They worked alongside the apostles and assisted in the establishment of the church through Spirit-given revelation (Ephesians 3:5). Like the apostles, their role belonged to the founding stage of the New Covenant church, when God was giving authoritative revelation that would not need to be repeated.

Yet apostolic proclamation and apostolic writing were not identical in form or function.

The apostles preached far more than was ever written down. They addressed specific situations, answered questions, and instructed congregations in ways that were never recorded. Not every sermon was preserved. The church today is not governed by everything the apostles once said, but only by what the Holy Spirit saw fit to preserve in Scripture.

This, too, was anticipated by Christ. He told the apostles that the Spirit would guide them into all the truth and declare to them what was to come (John 16:13). Their teaching would not remain a temporary oral tradition, but would be the Spirit-guided transmission of Christ’s own words to His church.

The apostles wrote with the authority of Christ behind them. Their words did not become Scripture over time; they were Scripture by divine inspiration from the moment they were written, before the ink was dry. The church over time acknowledged and received what God had already spoken. Under the Spirit’s inspiration, the apostles committed authoritative revelation to writing for the permanent foundation of Christ’s church (2 Peter 3:15–16; 1 Timothy 5:18).

The distinction is simple but crucial: apostolic preaching was historically foundational; apostolic Scripture is permanentlyfoundational.

The church no longer gathers around living apostles, for that office has ceased. The church now gathers around the Word they wrote—the Scriptures. And that written Word now stands as the binding and sufficient authority through which Christ continues to rule His people.

This is exactly what Jesus anticipated when He prayed not only for the apostles themselves, but also for those who would believe in Him through their word (John 17:20). Future generations would know Christ through the apostolic testimony, not through new revelation, but through the faithful preservation of the witness once given.

Therefore Word-Centered Ministry Is Continuity, Not Innovation

Word–centered ministry today is not a departure from the earliest church, but its direct continuation.

As Paul exhorted the Ephesian elders:

“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

Acts 20:32

Notice what Paul entrusts the church to—not new apostles, not evolving revelation, not institutional authority—but “the word of his grace.” Even before the New Testament was complete, the church’s future was tied to God’s revealed Word.

When the church devotes itself to Scripture—to its public reading, prayers, faithful teaching, and careful expository preaching—it is not innovating. The church is being faithful to her Lord.

Word–centered ministry is not innovation but covenant continuity. The same God who spoke through the prophets spoke through His Son and His commissioned witnesses. The same Holy Spirit who empowered the apostles to preach also guided them in writing Scripture, and that same Spirit and Word continue to build and preserve the church today.

To be a Word–centered church today is not to move beyond the early church—it is to remain within the apostolic doctrine once for all delivered to the saints.

The post What Did the Early Church Have Before the New Testament? appeared first on TGN.

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.’” (Acts 2:37–38)

If Regeneration describes what God does to us, Conversion describes what God brings forth from us. It is here, at this juncture in the Ordo Salutis, that the renewed heart responds to the Gospel with repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These two graces —repentance and faith— are inseparable, simultaneous, and necessary.

Simply put, Conversion is the God-enabled response of the sinner: turning from sin in repentance and embracing Christ by faith. It is not the cause of regeneration, but the result of it. Having been made alive by the Spirit, he now willingly responds to Christ as He is offered in the Gospel. The sinner really repents and believes, but only because God has first worked in the heart.

Scripture consistently presents repentance and faith not as achievements of moral resolve, but as responses that flow from God’s mercy (Acts 16:14; 1 John 4:19). When Peter preached Christ crucified and risen on the day of Pentecost, the crowd did not calmly weigh religious options. They were “cut to the heart.” Their response was not curiosity, but desperation. This piercing conviction was not self-generated; it was the immediate fruit of the Spirit’s regenerating work through the proclaimed Word.

Repentance: A Godward Turning

Biblical repentance is far more than remorse or regret. It is not merely sorrow over consequences, nor a momentary feeling of guilt. True repentance is a decisive turning of the whole person away from sin and toward God. Scripture consistently calls sinners to this response, commanding all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). The responsibility to turn from sin is real and urgent.

Yet the Scriptures are equally clear that such repentance does not arise from fallen human nature. The Apostle Paul speaks of repentance as a gift of divine grace, declaring that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 2:25). This language is critical. Repentance is demanded of every sinner, yet produced by God alone. The sinner turns willingly and consciously, but only because God has first broken the bondage of sin and illuminated the mind to see sin for what it truly is—rebellion against a holy God (Acts 9:4; 9:18). Therefore, repentance is not the cause of new life, but the fruit of it, flowing from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration necessarily precedes faith and repentance as its divine source.

Faith: Resting in Christ Alone

Alongside repentance stands faith—simple, dependent, Christ-exalting faith. Faith is not confidence in one’s sincerity, nor trust in one’s ability to make a wise spiritual decision. Saving faith is the empty hand that receives Christ as He is freely offered in the Gospel. It is a resting of the soul upon Christ alone, a clinging to His promises, and a looking away from self to His finished work for righteousness. Scripture repeatedly calls sinners to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), placing before every hearer the responsibility to trust in Him for salvation.

Yet the Bible is equally clear that such faith does not arise from the natural heart of fallen man. The Apostle Paul declares, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is not produced by human will or spiritual insight, but flows from the sovereign work of God in making the sinner alive. Only those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit are able to perceive the glory of Christ, embrace His promises, and rest in Him for salvation (1 Corinthians 2:14; John 6:44). The sinner believes willingly and personally, yet only because God has first granted the eyes to see and the heart to trust. Thus, faith is not the cause of regeneration, but its necessary fruit.

One Response, Two Sides

Repentance and faith are not sequential steps but two sides of the same coin. One cannot exist without the other. To turn from sin is necessarily to turn toward Christ; to trust Christ is necessarily to abandon sin as your master and lord. Scripture never allows for a faith that does not repent, nor a repentance that does not believe.

This is why the Gospel call is both searching and gracious. It exposes sin without mercy, yet offers mercy without condition. It commands repentance, yet supplies the very grace by which repentance occurs. It demands faith, yet provides the object, the ground, and the power of that faith in Christ Himself.

No Room for Boasting

At this point in the Ordo Salutis, any remaining vestige of human boasting must finally collapse. Even our believing and repenting are traced back to God’s prior work. As the Apostle Paul asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Conversion does not elevate man; it magnifies grace. The believer’s testimony is not “I chose wisely,” but “I was shown mercy.”

And yet, this doctrine does not produce passivity. On the contrary, it gives urgency to Gospel proclamation and clarity to Gospel invitation. We may call sinners to repent and believe without hesitation, knowing that God Himself grants what He commands.

Conclusion

If you are in Christ, remember that your repentance and faith are not relics of the past, but ongoing graces. The Christian life is one of continual turning from sin and continual resting in Christ. And if you are not yet in Christ, the call remains before you even now: “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). The same God who raises the dead delights to grant repentance and faith to all who come to Him through Christ.

In closing, consider the words of Joseph Hart’s hymn Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy (1759), which so beautifully capture the gracious call of the Gospel and the humble response of repentance and faith in the converted heart:

Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requires

Is to feel your need of Him.

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