The Beatitudes are among the most well-known passages of Scripture. The name, the Beatitudes, is borrowed from Latin. It means “blessedness” or “happiness”. Who doesn’t want to be happy? Yet Jesus turns our usual picture of happiness on its head with the second beatitude: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matt. 5:4).

It sounds like a contradiction. The Good News translation was translated for English speakers who have had little to no exposure to Christianity. The contradiction sounds even more stark in their rendering: “Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them.” How do we make sense of this?

Much of the Western world pursue happiness as the greatest good. The United States Declaration of Independence claims that all men have been endowed with unalienable rights: “among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Some African countries have followed suit and enshrined the right to happiness as a core value in their constitutions (like Liberia, Namibia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Egypt). Our own country, South Africa, did not.
 
Do we have a right to be happy? Some would argue that we can’t be happy while there is so much suffering in the world. Thousands die in wars across the globe. Millions are suffering because of malnutrition. Dictators rule with an iron fist. Yet even if we acknowledge that, we aren’t keen on walking around in sackcloth and ashes.

We mostly try to avoid mourning or people who mourn. It makes us uncomfortable. We want to be surrounded by people who are upbeat, happy, and enthusiastic. As DA Carson points out, “The world does not like mourners; mourners are wet blankets.” Yet Jesus says that those who mourn are truly blessed. He even warns those who are happy: “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.” (Luke 6:25).

What does it mean to mourn? Jesus used a weighty word to describe mourning. It was used for the desolation we experience when we lose a loved one. It was used in Greek translation of Genesis 37:32-34 to describe Jacob’s mourning when he thought he had lost Joseph. It is also the word that Mark used to describe the disciples mourning after the death and burial of Jesus in Mark 16:10. The mourning that Jesus referred to was deep, heartbreaking grief.

This beatitude is wonderfully comforting when we suffer, and its message is consistent with the rest of the New Testament. We find comfort knowing that God can sanctify us through our suffering, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). We are comforted when we remember that we are God’s children and therefore fellow heirs with Christ, who will not only share in his suffering but in his glory too (Rom. 8:17-18).

There is also the promise of the resurrection (John 11:25-26) and the hope that God himself will comfort us in glory: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4). These heavenly truths comfort us in our earthly suffering. “A moment is long if we look at the things round us; but once we have raised our minds to heaven, a thousand years begin to be like a moment.” (John Calvin).

These comforts do not spare us the mourning, but they help us endure. There is much to hope in and to look forward to, provided we mourn for the right things and in the right way. More on that next week.
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Because of Christ,
Pieter

Jesus opened his Sermon on the Mount with a lesson on true blessedness. He gave us eight declarations of what true blessedness is, each starting with the words: “Blessed are…” The first of these, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3) is rather surprising. As we noted last week, we do not usually see poverty and blessing mentioned in the same breath. Yet this was the first characteristic Jesus highlighted when he spoke on true blessedness.

Clearly, the kind of poverty that Jesus describes here is not material in nature. He was speaking of a poverty that is felt deeply in the inner man. That is what “spirit” refers to in this context. This is what the Lord referred to when he said to Samuel: “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7).

What does a truly blessed inner man or spirit look like? We are told the truly blessed heart is a poor one. When the New Testament uses the word “poor” it often refers to those who are in abject poverty. In Luke 14:21 the poor are listed with the crippled, the blind, and the lame. These were people who had no means of caring for themselves – they were beggars. The poor in spirit understand themselves to be spiritual beggars.

Listen to how John Brown describes the poor in spirit: “He knows himself to be an entirely dependent being; he knows himself to be an inexcusable sinner; he knows himself to be a righteously condemned criminal; he knows that ‘in him, that is, in his flesh, dwells no good thing’; he knows that he has, that he can have, no hope, but in the sovereign mercy of God”.

In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus told a parable in which a Pharisee and a tax collector were in the temple praying. The Pharisee looked down on the tax collector. His prayer was filled with condescension and boasting. But the tax collector, we are told “would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'” (v. 13). He was justified, not the Pharisee. He was truly blessed.

Psalm 34:18 says: “The Lord is good to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit”. The Lord loves the poor in spirit. We are told that he will look to “he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isa. 66:2). The Lord does not shun our poverty of spirit, but draws near to it. 

​Augustus Toplady’s famous him, Rock of Ages, expressed it well: 

Nothing in my hands I bring, 
Simply to thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

Why are the poor in spirit considered blessed? The final phrase in Matt. 5:3 explain that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. The grace that God promised to those who humble themselves under his mighty hand (Jam. 4:6), is that they will posses the kingdom of heaven. You may not have noticed this, but the phrase is in the present tense, not future tense. Future tense would have made sense, if Jesus was just referring to his future kingdom. The new heavens and the new earth, the heavenly Jerusalem descending... this kingdom is considered their present possession. They are already citizens of it. Deserving nothing, in Christ the poor in spirit have everything.

Because of Christ,
Pieter

Have you ever wondered how the Beatitudes got their name? They are so called because of the Latin translation of the opening words, “beati sunt”, meaning “blessed are” (Matt. 5:3). In this passage Jesus explains what true blessedness is and to whom such blessedness belongs.

Reading through the Beatitudes, you may have noticed that true blessedness is not defined the way the world would. The prevailing culture tells us that the ambitions, wealthy, popular, confident or gifted are the truly blessed ones. Parents and children are being bombarded with these messages through social media and the entertainment they consume. Their idols are a far cry from what Jesus describes in this passage.

Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” (Matt. 5:3). Some interpret this to mean that material poverty is the key to true spirituality. Some professing believers take a “vow of poverty” to grow closer to Christ and sympathize with the poor. However, poverty does not necessarily bring one closer to God. The poor can harden their hearts against the gospel as well as any rich person can. As the Scottish preacher, John Brown, once said: “Extreme poverty is not favourable to religion any more than extreme affluence.”

Some Christians, in their zeal to help the poor, misinterpret or misapply the Bible. They’ll point to passages like James 2:5, which says: “has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” This, they believe, proves that the poor are the true people of God. The next verse, however, explains James’ statement: “But you have dishonoured the poor man.” (v. 6). They were showing favouritism based on people’s social status or wealth. The poor are not prevented from entering the kingdom because of their poverty, but they are not guaranteed entrance because of it.

True, there is one occasion where Jesus asked a rich you man to: “sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."” (Matt. 19:21). The next verse explains why Jesus asked this of the young man: “When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matt. 19:22). It was not the wealth of his possessions that kept him from Christ, but his love of those possessions that did so.
The Bible warns us against the “love of money” (1 Tim. 6:10). It leads to all kinds of temptation and has ruined the lives of many. Riches aren’t the problem, but setting our hearts and hope on it is. Money has a way of becoming a destructive idol. We so easily convince ourselves that money will solve all our problems. Ecclesiastes 5:11-12 warns that when “goods increase, they increase who eat them” and that “the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.” 

Abraham was a godly man and is even called a “friend of God” (Isa. 41:8), and the Lord blessed him with wealth (see Gen. 13:2). Our Lord Jesus Christ never enjoyed such riches during his earthly life. Though he was rich in glory, for our sake he became poor (2 Cor. 8:9). 

Blessedness is not measured by the wealth of our possessions. Scripture is clear on that (see Heb. 11:37-38). True blessedness comes to those who are “poor in spirit”, which we will explore next week.

Because of Christ,
Pieter

The Gospel of Matthew is a true gem. From the opening sentence it has deliberate and direct ties to the Old Testament, bridging the gap between the two. It also presents the teaching of Jesus' teaching in a clear and orderly way, making it the most used Gospel in the early church.

Jesus, the true Prince of Preachers, preached with such clarity and authority that the people were amazed at his teaching (see Matt. 7:28). The Sermon on the Mount is arguably the most famous of his sermons. His preaching routinely drew huge crowds, and this time was no different (Matt. 5:1). On this occasion a hillside served as his pulpit.

Jesus opened his sermon with these words: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3). The Greek word that is used here often appears in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the LXX or the Septuagint). This is the first time the word is used in the New Testament. 

What is blessedness? It is an important theme in both the Old and New Testament. Thomas Watson calls it “the whetstone of a Christian’s industry, the height of his ambition, the flower of his joy.” Aquinas called it the “ultimate end”.  To help us understand blessedness, we need to understand what it is not. 

First, it is not the accumulation or increase of worldly things. That much is clear from the passage, but that isn’t how many of us live. Much of our time and effort is expended in gathering worldly goods, yet we may miss true blessedness altogether. Solomon understood this very well: “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?” (Eccl. 5:10-11). Again, Thomas Watson writes: “earthly things accumulated cannot rock the troubled heart quiet”.

Second, blessedness is not the absence of trouble. Our passage makes that clear as well. There is a whole lot of trouble in the Christian life. David understood this, as he explained in Psalm 23:5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

True blessedness, then, includes the idea of being well and happy. Sadly, we’ve so overused and diluted the idea of happiness that we need clarify what we mean. When the Bible tells us that someone is ‘blessed’ it is not telling us how they feel but what they are. John Stott explains that the “beatitudes are not an indication of their feelings but of God’s assessment of them.”

God alone can make a man or woman truly blessed. In doing so, they are made spiritually well or whole. They experience true joy, even when their circumstances are not all that enjoyable. As Don Carson explains: “Those who are blessed will generally be profoundly happy; but blessedness cannot be reduced to happiness.” Their happiness and wholeness are not rooted in their circumstances, but in their God.
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It is only by abiding in Christ that such blessedness is attained. That is why, as we will see, it is found even in the most surprising places.

​Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

If you are like me, you’ve probably had your fill of post-apocalyptic disaster movies. I really don’t need to see the world end for the eleventeenth time. Hollywood is obsessed with the end of the world and apocalyptic imagery. Sadly, when they borrow those images from the Bible, they strip them of all biblical meaning. That leaves us with a cheap imitation of the truth. It’s about time we took one of their images and imbue it with biblical meaning, don’t you think?

These stories often depict some kind of bunker, shelter, or ark that is humanity’s last hope of survival. If our intrepid heroes can reach said bunker, they will be safe, and the species will endure. If these are indeed the last days, and several passages say that they are (see 1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 John 2:18), where should we run for safety? Where is our bunker?

It might surprise you to learn that God has indeed given us a place of safety, and it isn’t some fortress in a desert somewhere. Hebrews 10:24-25 is a wonderfully encouraging passage as we face an uncertain future. Here the author exhorts us to “to stir up one another to love and good works”. We can’t do this if we are “neglecting to meet together”. Tragically, there were believers who had made a habit of neglecting the gathering of the local church. This left them isolated, vulnerable, and weak. 

What does this have to do with the end times? Verse 25 concludes with these words: “encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” The “Day” refers to Christ’s return in judgment. Verse 27 warns that those who persist in sin will face “a fearful expectation of judgment”. This is where the church comes in. The church is that haven or bunker that protects us from the coming storm. The gathering of God’s people is a means of grace in the life of a believer.

What does the church do? Among other things, the gathered church exhorts, encourages, and stirs up believers to live righteous lives. We should be known for our “love and good works”, even if the world around us is falling apart. That is how we are called to be light in the world. Trying to do this alone is not only hard, but foolhardy. God has given us the church so that we can strive together. 

The gathered church also corrects us when we go astray. Earlier, in Hebrews 3:13, we are warned against “the deceitfulness of sin”. To keep us from hardening our hearts, we need to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today"”. While we wait, we exhort. The local church serves as a preserving influence in the lives of Christians, keeping us from conforming to the world around us.

How do we prepare for the end times? By drawing close to our fellow believers. The Lord Jesus Christ has given us a haven, a bunker in the church. The nearness of the return of Christ should not scatter God’s people but draw them together. 

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

​Jesus warned that, before his return, “because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). “You’ve got to look out for number one,” they’ll say. Christians ought to be different. Believers should be known for their care and compassion, expressed in serving one another.

One of the ways in which believers prepare for the return of Christ, is service. In Luke 12:42-44 Jesus tells a short parable about a wise servant: “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.”

In the parable the master leaves his servant in charge while he is away. The newly appointed manager has not only been given the responsibility of supervising the other servants’ work, but also of providing for their needs. If he fulfils this responsibility faithfully, he is called “blessed”. He becomes the object of his master’s special favour. What blessing does his master bestow on him? An even greater position with even greater responsibility. His master’s return is not something he fears, because he was doing what his master commanded him to do.

But what about an unfaithful servant? I still remember the feeling of dread that came over me as a child when my parents got home, and my room was still a mess. They told me to clean it up before they got home. I didn’t and now I would have to face the consequences. As Christians, we need not wait for the Lord’s return with dread. We prepare for Christ’s return by being busy with the work that he has given us. 

In Matt. 25:31-45 Jesus describes his return as a great tribunal. On that day our love for the Lord will be measured by our service to others, because “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (v. 40). We prepare for that great day by sacrificial love and service: providing a meal to the hungry, a cup of water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, care for the sick, and comfort to the afflicted (v. 35-36).

The end times are a powerful motivator for service in the present. Instead of withdrawing from others, we run to their aid. This is how believers prepare for the return of Christ.

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

These are the last days. You don’t have to take my word for it. Listen to what the apostle Peter wrote: “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20). The last days were inaugurated with the first coming of Christ. His incarnation, death, and resurrection ushered in the final chapter of redemptive history. At his second coming in judgment and glory, Christ will bring the story of redemption to a close.

As the return of Christ nears, the Lord promised that there would be signs, but we need not fear these signs. Christian vigilance is not an attitude of fear but faith. Even so, we ought to be prepared for Christ’s return. How should we prepare? 

Again, the apostle Peter gives us a straightforward answer. He writes: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:10). Peter understood that the end times had already arrived, but the “day of the Lord” was still coming. And this day will arrive “like a thief” (v. 10), meaning that it will happen when we least expect it. Christ’s return will be sudden and that it will catch many by surprise.

We also see that it will be a cataclysmic event, affecting all of creation. The descriptions that Peter gives in this passage, of the heavens passing away, heavenly bodies being burned up, the world being set on fire and dissolving are frightening. Make no mistake, for many it will be a terrible day. The Scriptures tell us that it will be a day of destruction (Isa. 13:6; Joel 1:15), wrath (Isa. 13:9), vengeance (Jer. 46:10), doom (Ezek. 30:3), and darkness (Amos 5:18). 

Finally, we see that it will be a time of judgment, because “all the works that are done on [earth] will be exposed.” There will be no place to hide and all our deeds, even those done in darkness, will be brought to light. We will have to give an account of how we lived.

How do Christians prepare for such an event? Peter continues: “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” (2 Peter 3:11-12). In verse 11 Peter tells us how we should prepare: since these things will take place, what “sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness”.

First, we are told that we ought to be holy. What does that mean? Holiness, at its core, means that the believer should be set apart – different – consecrated for God’s special use. There should be an exclusivity in our relationship with God, where no rival love is allowed, and no alternative life is pursued. Our hearts and our lives should be holy devoted to our Lord.

Second, we are told that we ought to be godly. How does holiness differ from godliness? The two are intimately related and you cannot have one without the other. However, some suggest that holiness emphasizes character, while godliness refers to conduct. Godliness is a life lived in devotion to God. These are right beliefs in action. Your life should reflect your love for God. It carries the idea of worship, not only as something you do on a Sunday, but as the pattern of your life. 

Keep in mind, when Christ appears, this is what he has promised to perfect in us. In the words of 1 John 3:2: “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” When Jesus appears, the believer will be glorified – sanctification will be complete. And this hope drives our sanctification while we wait on his return: “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” (v. 3).

Being prepared for the end times, means living a holy and godly life – one that you would not be ashamed of when you are called to stand before our Lord. This is how the Scriptures exhort us to prepare for Christ’s return.

​
Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

How do we prepare for doomsday? When Covid first hit, it caused a great deal of uncertainty, anxiety, and fear. People were quoting verses on plagues and pestilence (mostly out of context) as proof that we had entered the last days. Then Russia invaded Ukraine, and recently Hamas attacked Israel as they were celebrating Yom Kippur. Thousands of lives have been lost in these conflicts and there seems to be no end to the suffering that it has caused.

Surely these are the last days, right? Listen to what Jesus said in Mark 13:7-9: “when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.  "But be on your guard.”” Jesus called these events “birth pains”. They must take place, but “the end is not yet.”

These events are tragic. We mourn for every life that has been lost, especially those who do not know Christ. Jesus did not say these words to minimize the injustice or suffering that people have had to endure. He said them to comfort his disciples – “do not be alarmed” – and to prepare them – “be on your guard.”

How should we prepare? Some people have decided to sell their homes, build bunkers, stockpile food, or purchase weapons. Is that how Christians ought to prepare? The Bible clearly instructs us to be vigilant. There will be signs. Jesus said as much in Mark 13:28-29: “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” There will be signs, but believers need not fear these signs. We should not be alarmed, while still being on our guard. 

Beware those who try to predict the time of Christ’s second coming. Every attempt has only led to humiliation and has shaken the faith of many. Jesus said, in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Before his ascension, Jesus repeated: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7). Being prepared and predicting the coming of Christ are not the same thing.

Every generation has had to be on their guard. A quick review of history will show that our situation is not unique. Imagine being a believer in Rome under Nero. He persecuted the church and martyred the apostles Peter and Paul. Christians were burned at the stake and thrown to lions. Not long thereafter, Jerusalem fell and Christians fled Jerusalem and Judea. Read Augustine’s great work, The City of God, where he reflects on the fall of the Roman Empire and the effect it had on the world. Europe’s history is filled with tales of devastation, war, and conquest. And the plague… the Black Death, as it was called, decimated Europe in the fourteenth century. It wiped out towns and claimed an estimated 25 million lives (nearly half of Europe’s population). 

The world was at war for four years between 1914 and 1918. The devastation was terrible and it was thought that it could not be matched. Then, two decades later, from 1939-1945, the world would witness the death of thousands on the battlefield and millions in concentration camps. Nuclear bombs were dropped on civilian targets for the first time and even after the war ended, the threat of the Cold War loomed over the world.

These are indeed the last days, the end times, but that has been the case ever since the ascension of Jesus Christ. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he said: “Now these things happened to them (referring to the history of Israel) as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” (1 Cor. 10:11). When John wrote to his disciples, he said: “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.” (1 John 2:18). The author of Hebrews opens his letter with these words: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). And the apostle Peter wrote: “He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20).

Dear believer, you are in the last days. This is the final phase of human history before the return of Christ. Christ commands us to be on our guard, but he also comforts us when he says: “do not be alarmed”. In our next post we’ll look at what the Bible says about preparing for Christ’s return, with vigilance and faith.
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Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

In 2013 the South African Theological Seminary (SATS) did a survey on biblical literacy in South Africa. The study found that, while most self-professed Christians read the Bible daily, many held views that disagreed with the Scriptures. This is troubling, because it indicates that Christians who read the Bible often don’t understand it, nor do they apply it to their lives.

Christians should not only be busy with the Word, but should be transformed by it. We should not be like the women described in 2 Tim. 3:7: “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth”. This void leaves people open to deception (just look at verse 6) and opens the door for movements like Hebrew Roots. One area in which the Hebrew Roots Movement exploits people’s ignorance of basic Christian truths, is their attack on the doctrine of the Trinity.

The rejection of the Trinity
We’ve already mentioned that many within the Hebrew Roots Movement reject the doctrine of the Trinity. While not all adherents do, it is telling that a significant number of the movement’s most vocal proponents do. Writers and teachers like Ken Garrison, Randy Folliarde, AB Traina, as well as organizations like Yahweh Restoration Ministries, Hebraic Christian College, and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly explicitly reject the doctrine of the Trinity. Some embrace the Arian heresy and teach that if “the Son was the first begotten of creation, there was a point in time He did not exist.”

Hebrew Roots teachers often point to the Nicene Creed (325AD) as the moment the Christian church embraced a pagan idea about the nature of God. This is simply not true. The creed summarized biblical teaching on the nature of the Godhead. This process did not start with the Nicene council. The Scriptures gave birth to the doctrine of the Trinity, and that doctrine was summarized, not by philosophers (as Hebrew Roots proponents assume), but pastors who sought to be faithful to the witness of Scripture. What was generally assumed and agreed upon within the wider Christian church, had to be defended because of heresies that threatened biblical truth. Arius from Alexandria (318) taught that only the Father was truly God and that Jesus, his Son, was not eternal and did not possess by nature any of the divine perfections.

A defense of the doctrine of the Trinity falls beyond the scope of this article, but it should be noted that the council assembled to defend biblical teaching, not to redefine it. The Trinitarian formulae of passages like Matthew 28:19-20 and 2 Cor. 13:14 present the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as equally God, while not confusing their Persons. It is tragic that ancient heresies, which the church has confronted and refuted countless times throughout church history, is making a comeback. The Hebrew Roots Movement threatens this fundamental Christian doctrine, even if there are proponents who do not reject it entirely. 

The Hebrew Roots hermeneutic 
Hermeneutics is a big word for the rules of interpretation. If we compare studying the gospel to a sport, hermeneutics would be the rules of the game. The Hebrew Roots movement subtly changes the rules of interpretation, thereby changing the way we read the Bible. For example, the Christian maxim has always been that that “the new is in the old concealed, the old is in the new revealed.” This phrase, first found in the writings of Augustine of Hippo (fourth century AD), is taken from Ephesians 3:5. There Paul explains that the gospel and the subsequent inclusion of the Gentiles “was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”

The Hebrew Roots Movement turns this on its head by insisting that we cannot understand the Old Testament in light of the New, but should instead interpret the New Testament in light of the Old. There is no denying that we cannot make sense of the New Testament without the Old. It would be a fatal mistake for believers to ignore or set the Old Testament aside. However, the New Testament illuminates the Old, while the Old is the foundation for the new. As John 1:17 says: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

This is not the only hermeneutical error that the Hebrew Roots movement makes. In private correspondence with Hebrew Roots proponents, I’ve had to correct errors such as:
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• “Illegitimate totality transfer,” which means that every dictionary definition of a word is read back into every use of that word. The meaning of a word is determined by its context and does not carry every possible meaning in each sentence.
• “Verbal parallelomania,” where verses are linked together simply because they used the same word, even if the context is wildly different. Just because soccer and rugby both use a ball, it does not mean that the ball is the same. Similarly, if two verses use the same word, it does not mean that the word is used in the same way.
• “The root fallacy,” assumes that the word derives its meaning from its shape or the components it’s made of. As an example, a butterfly is not a block of butter that flies. The component parts do not necessarily tell us what the word means. A Hebrew Roots devotee insisted that the sin of the Nicolaitans (mentioned in Rev. 2:6, 15) was “exercising authority over church members.” They believed that any authority structure in the church was sinful. This assertion was based on a misinterpretation of the root words of “Nicolaitans.” The two words in question could be translated “conquer the people,” but it could also be translated “victory of the people.” Why choose one over the other? Also, this interpretation ignores the context, which alludes to Balam, idolatry, and sexual immorality. It also ignores historical references to the Nicolaitan cult. It does so deliberately to undermine the offices God has ordained in the church (elders and deacons).
• “A careless appeal to background material,” means that a link is made between passages based on incidental background material or similar themes. As an example, a Hebrew Roots proponent tried to convince me that the Law of God and the Word of God were identical. While it is true that there is overlap between the two concepts in the Old Testament, they are not identical. Confusing the two terms led this proponent to identify Jesus with the law itself, claiming that Jesus was the Law become flesh (his reading of John 1:1-3). He then claimed that the light that Jesus brought (verse 4) was actually the law. This contradicts John 1:17 which we mentioned earlier.

These are, admittedly, varied examples. Not all proponents of the Hebrew Roots movement make these same mistakes or make them in the same way. There have also been non-Hebrew Roots teachers who have made these mistakes. The point, however, is that much of what the Hebrew Roots movement teaches rely of exegetical fallacies and hermeneutical gymnastics. It is not light, but darkness.

Concluding thoughts 
The Hebrew Roots Movement is not a return to biblical Judaism, but to Talmudic Judaism at best and “pop-Judaism” at worst. It ignores the clear teaching of passages like Acts 15, which addresses the relationship of Gentile believers to Judaism. There we are told: “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” Hebrew Roots proponents believe that the council just corrected what was missing in the Gentiles’ obedience, but the letter that the council wrote destroys that notion. Look at verse 24: “Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions”. What were these false teachers preaching? That they had to keep the law and be circumcised. Later, the letter adds: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements” (v. 28). They clearly did not expect these Gentiles to keep the whole Mosaic Law.

It is telling that the majority of Jews who come to faith do not join Messianic Synagogues, because of the unbiblical impositions placed on those who convert to Christianity. Most of these Synagogues are filled with Gentiles trying to be Jews. Fisher warns: “This imposition of Jewish practice on non-Jewish believers really does constitute a serious issue that promotes elitism, unnecessary division, wide confusion, and unbiblical practices. We can almost understand Jews who convert to Christ who still try to keep some of the cultural aspects and celebrations of their familial heritage. If their intentions and motives are not legalistic, and if these things are not done for salvation or out of religious elitism, there may be some minor benefit. Yet to impose them on Gentiles (as is the case, more often than not) is a direct violation of Paul’s words to the Colossians: “So let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (2:16-17).”

Finally, the Hebrew Roots Movement cannot agree on which version of Judaism it should follow. There were different streams of Judaism in the first century. Should we emulate the religious Pharisees? And, if so, should we follow the school of Shammai or Hillel? What about the Sadducees, the Zealots, or the Herodians? Did John the Baptist capture the true essence of Judaism? There were purist movements, like the Essenes, who withdrew from society for fear that their faith would be corrupted. Should we follow their interpretation? We cannot return to the Judaism of the first-century: there is no temple, no priesthood, and no animal sacrifices.

Some in the Hebrew Roots Movement seem to be enamoured with modern Orthodox Jews. This doesn’t solve the problem either, because we would have to decide between the Ger Hassidic Dynasty, the Belz Hassidic Dynasty, and many others. It just causes more confusion.

You cannot belong to the Hebrew Roots Movement without making the most crucial mistake of all: believing that Jesus is not enough. Therefore, beware of the Hebrew Roots Movement and those who hold to it. It is a very real danger to your soul, your family, your church, and the glory of Christ.
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Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

God has revealed himself to us through his works and his words. God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” have been revealed in his work of creation (Rom. 1:19-20). Sadly, sinful humanity easily misinterprets what God has revealed in creation. We’ve “worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). We need something more than God’s general revelation through creation; we need special revelation through his Word.

In his wisdom God chose to make himself known through language. God chose the family of Abraham and God spoke to them in a language that they understood. Hebrew became the language through which God revealed most of the Old Testament (with a few passages written in Aramaic). And when the gospel spread throughout the world of the first century, it was communicated in the most common language of the day: Greek.

This does raise a few questions about how God communicates today. Most believers do not have access to the original languages and so have no other choice but to use translations. These translations have become a bone of contention for some believers, especially for those who hold that the original languages are somehow unique or special.

Hebrew Roots is such a movement. They take exception to our modern translations, often accusing them of deliberately confusing the original text in order to deceive. This can be seen most clearly in their approach to the Names of God and their insistence that the New Testament was also written in Hebrew.

Names of God
The Hebrew Roots Movement believes that to be faithful to the God of the Bible, we must use the names by which he identified himself to Israel. They are adamant that we cannot use the Names of God as they were translated into other languages. Some even consider it blasphemous if we fail to use the Hebrew Names of God. For example, we must call him "Elohim" (God) or “Ha’Shem” (the Name). We are also told that we cannot pray in the Name of “Jesus Christ,” but should pray in the name of “Yehoshua Ha'Mashiach.”

The original Hebrew-Aramaic name of Jesus is Yeshu‘a, which is short for yehōshu‘a (Joshua). The name occurs 27 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and is mostly used to refer to the high priest after the Babylonian exile. It was not an uncommon name, with as many as five men being called Yeshu’a in the Old Testament. Dr. Michael L. Brown, who has a PhD in Semitic languages, explains how we got from Yeshu’a to Jesus: “Simply stated, this is the etymological history of the name Jesus: Hebrew/Aramaic yeshu‘a became Greek Iēsous, then Latin Iesus, passing into German and then, ultimately, into English, as Jesus.”

Some Hebrew Roots proponents insist that the true name of the Messiah is Yahshua, but there is no evidence for this. It is likely that their zeal for Yahweh’s name caused them to combine the two names. A.B. Traina, a Hebrew Roots teacher who wrote the Holy Name Bible, was a vocal proponent of this position. According to Traina, “The name of the Son, Yahshua, has been substituted by Jesus, Iesus, and Ea-Zeus (Healing Zeus).” This is a lie, first spread by the sacred name cults of the 1930s. Here is Brown’s evaluation of his position: “In this one short sentence, two complete myths are stated as fact: First, there is no such name as Yahshua (as we have just explained), and second, there is no connection of any kind between the Greek name I­­ēsous (or the English name Jesus) and the name Zeus. Absolutely none! You might as well argue that Tiger Woods is the name of a tiger-infested jungle in India as try to connect the name Jesus to the pagan god Zeus. It is that absurd, and it is based on serious linguistic ignorance.”

The Hebrew Bible
Because of their insistence that the Hebrew Names of God are the only legitimate names by which God may be called, the Hebrew Roots Movement believes that the New Testament was originally written in Hebrew. They believe that the Greek New Testament is a corruption of the original Hebrew text. This approach betrays a sad ignorance of biblical history.
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Before the Babylonian exile, Judah mainly spoke Hebrew, and most of the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. After returning from exile the province of Judea was under Persian rule, which meant that Aramaic became the official language of government. It gradually became the most common spoken language in the region. Hebrew and Aramaic are closely related Semitic languages that mixed and influenced each other during this period. Some portions of the Old Testament were originally written in Aramaic (parts of Daniel and Ezra), as were some of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other early Jewish literature.

When Alexander the Great conquered the region Greek became the language of government, trade, and culture. By the third century BC many Jews had completely lost their ability to speak or read Hebrew and Aramaic. That is why the Old Testament was translated into the most common language of the day, Greek. This translation became known as the Septuagint, or LXX (referring to the 70 scribes who were said to have translated the whole Old Testament text).

Fast forward to first century Palestine and you find a multi-linguistic society that mirrors much of our own. Most people groups retained their unique languages, but Greek became the most widely spoken language in the region (much like English in our own world). Greek would have been the most likely language through which the gospel was communicated and the manuscript evidence confirms it. We have more than 5000 manuscripts containing parts or the whole of the New Testament. All of these manuscripts are in Greek. There are various translations in Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Georgian, but they were all translated from the original Greek.

In contrast, there are no ancient manuscripts for a Hebrew New Testament. We do have ancient copies of the New Testament in Aramaic, however these reflect dialects from the Eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia. These dialects were very different from the Aramaic that Jesus spoke. 

There are early church historians, like Eusebius, who mention that Matthew used a collection of Hebrew sayings of Jesus to compile his gospel. Some early writers even suggested that Matthew originally wrote in Hebrew. Yet there is no evidence for such a manuscript and even Eusebius’ claim is ambiguous. He does not say that the gospel was written in Hebrew, nor does he explain what these Hebrew sayings were.

The most telling sign that the New Testament was not written in Hebrew, is the inclusion of Hebrew words and phrases in the text itself. For example, in Mark 5:41 we read: “Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."” This means that Jesus did in fact speak Aramaic, but also that Mark’s readers didn’t. If the entire gospel was originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, why only preserve this saying? And if the Name of God should not be profaned by translating it, why preserve this saying and not the Name of God?
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Drew Longacre summarizes it like this: “there is much evidence for an underlying Semitic language (especially Aramaic) for parts of the Gospels, particularly in the sayings of Jesus. There is also considerable Semitic influence in the Greek language of many New Testament authors. But there is no linguistic reason to suppose that any of the complete Gospels or other New Testament books were originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic in their entirety.” 

God made himself known to his people in a language that they understood. In the Old Testament it was Hebrew and Aramaic, and in the New Testament it was Greek. In his wisdom the Lord allowed Old Testament references to be translated into Greek in the New Testament, as well as his Name. When the Gentiles heard the gospel, they heard of Iēsous Christos (Jesus Christ) who died for their sins upon the cross, triumphed over death through his resurrection, ascended into heaven, and who now offers the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life to all who would repent of their sin and believe in him. Knowing the original languages can be a wonderful help, but you don’t need to know Hebrew to know the Saviour.

Rico Cortes was raised in a Christian community in Puerto Rico, but in the 1990s he began researching his family history. He found that he was a descendant of medieval Spanish Jews. After devoting himself to the study of Scripture, he came to a surprising conclusion: “When I kept reading the Bible, [Jesus] kept Shabbat, he ate kosher, he kept the faith.” He decided that the best way to understand and follow Jesus was to live the way Jesus had lived, which meant he too would observe the Torah.  Is that what it means to follow in Jesus’ footsteps?

Of course, true Christians should want to be more like Jesus. After all, we are called to look to Jesus, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He is our ultimate example. He “suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:21). Every true believer strives for Christlikeness. But what does “being like Jesus” mean?

Jesus was a Jew, obviously. He was born a Jew and perfectly obeyed all the requirements of the Law. He fulfilled the demands of the Law for us (Rom. 8:1-4). Should those who follow Jesus become observant Jews like Jesus was? Should Gentile believers try to be Messianic Jews? In the words of Richard Fisher: “Should they don a yarmulke, worship in a synagogue, blow a shofar, wear a prayer shawl, call Jesus Yeshua or Yeshu, keep the Old Testament feasts and dietary laws, and give their pastors the title of Rabbi, even though Matthew:23:8 says otherwise? Are Jewish ceremonies and practices efficacious? … Is Jewishness next to godliness?”

The Hebrew Roots Movement seems to think so. Here is our first summary the Hebrew Roots Movement’s erroneous teachings. In this article we will focus on the Torah, dress code, and their view of Israel.

The Torah
The Hebrew Roots Movement teaches that believers should live a Torah-observant life. This means that the ordinances of the Mosaic Covenant must kept and should be a major focus for believers today. Keeping the Torah includes keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals (refer Leviticus 23), keeping the dietary laws, avoiding the "paganism" of Christianity (Christmas, Easter, etc.), and learning to understand the Scriptures from a Hebrew mindset.

The Hebrew Roots Movement teaches that those who belong to Christ will keep the law, not out of legalistic bondage, but because of their love for Christ. The reality, however, is very different. They teach that to please God, a Torah-observant walk must be part of a Christian’s life. If we do not observe the Torah, at least not in the way that they believe most agrees with ancient practice, we cannot please God and therefore cannot be his children.

What many in the Hebrew RM don’t seem to realize, is that it would be impossible to return to the practices of the early church. Dr. Stephen Katz of Jews for Jesus helpfully points out that much of what the Hebrew Roots Movement espouses today is based on later Jewish and rabbinic tradition. They are actually following the Jewish Talmud, which was completed some 500 years after Christ. Few within the movement even know that there are two Talmuds, a Babylonian and Palestinian Talmud, with some serious differences between them.

Dress code
Men in the Hebrew Roots Movement cover themselves with the Yarmulke (in Yiddish) or Kippa (in Hebrew). They also use the Tallit (Prayer Shall) to cover their heads. Most wear tassels, called tzitzit, though they aren’t always visible. These, again, are worn in obedience to the Torah, specifically Numbers 15:38-40. The context makes it clear that these tassels were supposed to be a reminder to Israel to obey the law. The Pharisees were known for their adherence to these external requirements, but the tassels themselves did nothing for their hearts. Hebrews 8 makes it clear that such a reminder is no longer necessary, since the law resides in the heart of the believer through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

Israel
The Hebrew Roots Movement is understandably obsessed with Israel. In extreme cases they claim to be descendent of the 10 Northern Tribes and claim land rights in Israel. Some claim the right to make "Aliyah" (Law of return to Israel by Jews). They even consider themselves to be as much Israelites as Israel of this age.

Israel, then, becomes the lens through which God looks to us. It also becomes the lens through which Hebrew Roots proponents look at others. Your support for and identification with Israel will determine whether you are acceptable or not. This is clearly false. Even more concerning, is the teaching of some HR proponents that Israel will be saved even apart from Christ.

The New Testament teaches that the Father looks upon his children through Jesus Christ, his beloved Son, “whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). Gentile believers are grafted into the people of God (Rom 11:16-24). What the Hebrew Roots Movement fails to realise, is that the root of the cultivated olive is not the law, but the faith of Abraham. Israel itself is not.

Listen to what Paul writes in Galatians 3:7-11: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The righteous shall live by faith."”
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Not all Israel (ethnically) are truly Israel (spiritually), and the distinction is not law, but grace (Rom. 9:6-16).

In our next article we will focus on the names of God and the Hebrew Bible.

Tangled in Roots

​In the 1970s the ‘messianic movement’ sought to reach ethnic Jews with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The hope was to show them that Jesus truly is the Messiah prophesied in the Scriptures and that by believing in Him they can receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. Practically speaking, it meant sharing the gospel with ethnic Jews.

Turn the clock ahead 30 odd years and the landscape has changed considerably. Jews who believe in Jesus are not the only ones claiming to be ‘messianic’. One movement which has laid claim to the title is the so-called Hebrew Roots movement. 
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What is the Hebrew Roots movement?
It is a difficult movement to pin down, as Menachem Kaiser explains: “It’s a loose identity. There isn’t a church, there isn’t a leader. It gets very fragmented.”  Kaiser wrote an in-depth article on the Hebrew Roots movement for Tablet magazine. In it Kaiser describes what seems to be the common denominator in the various branches of the movement: “The movement’s central belief is that the Torah is still binding—that God, or Yahweh, or Hashem, did not intend for Yeshua’s appearance to render irrelevant the lessons of the Old Testament, whose rules and instructions remain valid. The Brit Chadasha, or New Testament, which most Christians believe superseded the Torah, is understood as a sort of extension of the Torah.”  Stephen Katz, North American Director of Jews for Jesus, gives this succinct definition: “The Hebraic Roots or Jewish Roots movement refers to various organizations with a common emphasis on recovering the original Jewishness of Christianity.”

Most of those who associate with the movement are not ethnic Jews. They are Gentiles who have no intention of converting to Judaism yet follow Jewish laws, customs, and practices. This has caused no small amount of confusion and trouble for those ethnic Jews who do believe in Jesus. Rich Robinson, who serves as Senior Researcher at the Jews for Jesus headquarters in San Francisco, wrote a series of articles on the challenges that the Jewish messianic movement faces. He writes: “Some ministries and groups exhort all followers of Y'shua—Jewish or not—to observe Jewish holidays. Many teach the importance of recovering the first-century faith of believers in Jesus and rejecting the pagan notions they feel have corrupted faith in the Messiah.”  Exactly what pagan notions they reject is not always clear; it ranges from the rejection of worship on Sunday to the rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity. However, the movement is united in its rejection of modern Christianity as a perversion of the pure, first century version of their religion.

History
The history of the Hebrew Roots movement is as opaque as its teachings. Because it has no structure and should be considered a “grass-roots” movement, determining its origin is very difficult. Earlier movements, like the Sacred Name Movement and the World Wide Church of God from the 1930’s have definitely influenced the perspectives of the Hebrew Roots Movements. For example, Herbert Armstrong – leader of the World Wide Church of God – taught that Christians had to observe parts of the Jewish law, including keeping the Sabbath, adhering to Jewish food laws, and celebrating the Jewish festivals. He also believed in British Israelism, which teaches that British, American, and many European peoples were descended from the so-called Ten Lost Tribes of the Northen Kingdom of Israel. Most alarming, however, is Armstrong’s rejection of the Trinity, which many proponents of Hebrew Roots also do.

Even though Hebrew Roots takes many of its cues from Armstrong, the movement really took off after his death in 1986. In the mid-90s Dean Cozzens of Open Church Ministries published a supposed prophecy titled “The Hebrew Movement”. In it he claimed that God had foreordained four movements in the 20th century. Pentecostalism would be the first, then faith healing, leading to the Charismatic movement and finally, the Hebrew roots movement. Others joined the movement and in 1998 Dean and Susan Wheelock began publishing Hebrew Roots Magazine. They also started a website, Hebrewroots.net, which still operates today. With the help of the internet the movement started to grow and spread.

Not all Hebrew Roots proponents will agree with this characterization of their origins. Richard Fisher explains that the movement has many other influences and has branched into numerous streams. He writes: “It’s hard to define the HRM because it is so diverse and made up of so many disparate groups and individuals. It’s a moving target. It’s a vast smorgasbord of everything from scholarship, as in the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research, to so-called Third Questers, to individuals practicing subjective pop (make-it-up-as-you-go) Judaism. It can even include the medieval mystical Kabbalah, with its esoteric numerology. More often than not there are no distinctions made between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant or between the Bible and the Talmud. This movement can impose legalism with a vengeance or in some instances may simply suggest Jewish practices that they say will give us deeper insight and understanding as well as make us more “authentic” believers.” 

​Even though the movement is varied, there are common traits that has the potential to do great harm to the church and its witness to the lost.

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​In a previous blog post I explained how the development of artificial intelligence has not reached the level of systems like HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the 1968 movie, HAL is an the artificial intelligence that controls the systems onboard an exploratory space craft. During the mission, HAL makes a mistake and the human crew decide to disconnect it. This leads to all kinds of disaster as the AI decides to fight back to preserve itself and the mission.

These are the kinds of scenarios most people fear when they think about artificial intelligence. Even though we aren’t anywhere near this level of AI yet, the possibility is troubling. “What if we lose control? What if it turns on us? Will we be able to stop it?” These and similar questions have been discussed and debated on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media platforms. I won’t rehash those discussions here. Instead, I would like to reflect on some of the dangers our current AI capabilities hold.

There is the danger of laziness
AI will tempt some to laziness and ‘cheating’. Plagiarism is not a new problem, but with AI it can be taken to new heights. With the help of AI like ChatGPT students, scholars, or pastors can write thousands of pages of content with minimal effort. I preached on AI recently and asked ChatGPT to write the introduction to the message to make this very point. It didn’t sound like me, but it wasn’t half bad. In case you were wondering, it fooled a few people, but I owned up to it immediately. 

In a way, using AI to write for us is an advanced version of “copying and pasting” from your favourite website. Only now, with the help of AI, the material can be reordered so that it will appear original. Some have even compared it to ghost writing: employing another person to write on your behalf, and then taking the credit for the product. Only in this case, you won’t have to pay the ghost writer! Either way, the one taking the credit didn’t do the work.

The Bible has quite a lot to say about the sin of laziness. Proverbs warns the sluggard that “poverty will come upon you like a robber” (Prov. 6:9-11). Instead, we are called to be good stewards of the gifts, talents, and time that God has given us. We are to do “honest work with [our] own hands” (Eph. 4:28), such that would honour God (Eph. 6:6-7). Remember, AI is a tool that can assist us in our work, but it should not be used to replace our work. If AI assists us in doing our work more efficiently, this means that we’ve been given the opportunity to do more, not less.

There is the danger of fake church 
David de Bruyn recently highlighted this danger here. I raised a similar concern during a recent message on the topic of AI and the church. We already have the problem of “market friendly” churches that focus on appealing to the widest audience, often at the expense of biblical truth. The rise of AI might add to this phenomenon and do away with the biblical preacher too.

Artificial intelligence can already create fake voices and faces, sometimes called “deep fakes.” These digital likenesses of real or imagined people can be disturbingly convincing. Combine this with ChatGPT’s ability to write sermons and you have the potential to create the perfect digital preacher. Just choose the voice you like listening to the most (James Earl Jones perhaps?), pair it with the face you find most appealing, and have it read a sermon written in the style of your favourite preacher… voila!

You may think that this is an overreaction, but this is exactly what a German church scholar did last week. You can read about it here. The artificial preacher, which presented as a Black man with a beard above the altar of St. Paul's Church in Fürth, Bavaria, told the packed congregation not to fear death, according to the Associated Press. The service wasn’t flawless and some congregants reported being put off by the artificial manner and tone of the “preacher,” but it is only a matter of time before these hurdles are overcome.

Many Christians are opting for online church and preaching, and this has only been accelerated by the pandemic. Worship is viewed as a passive event and even those who attend in-person services often leave before anyone else has a chance to greet or engage with them. We’ve fallen into the trap of treating our worship like a form of entertainment. 
This is not what God has called believers to. The qualifications for elders describe godly men (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9), not robots. They will be imperfect, but they have been given the responsibility of “keeping watch over your souls” (Heb. 13:17). There is more to being a pastor than preaching. The name implies shepherding, which is impossible to do without knowing the sheep.

AI preaching would not only isolate believers from biblical oversight, but also from one another. God’s design for the church is community, which means that we have fellowship with God and with one another (1 John 1:7). There are numerous “one another” commands in the New Testament, all of which would be impossible to fulfil in isolation. The perfect church would not mean the absence of people, but would be filled with imperfect people loving and serving one another to the glory of God. 

These are two very real temptations that we have to contend with in our new AI integrated world. A biblical view of work and of church will help guard our hearts against them.

Artificial intelligence is trending. News articles, documentaries, and discussions on the topic abound. What was once considered science fiction has become mainstream. Even those who’ve never heard of Isaac Asimov are suddenly interested in what shape our AI-integrated future might look like. One reason for the surge in interest is undoubtably the rise of ChatGPT.
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ChatGPT or Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer is an artificial intelligence chatbot. We’ve all encountered chatbots, whether it is a “How can I help you?” pop-up on a website or an automated reply service. What makes ChatGPT unique, however, is the natural language processing it uses to create humanlike dialogue on almost any topic. It was first released in November 2022, and has only improved since then.

Many have touted the arrival of ChatGPT as another step towards a technological singularity: a hypothetical moment when technology advances so far that it will become uncontrollable and irreversible. This is the stuff of science fiction nightmares. Even though we have come a long way, we aren’t anywhere near the dystopian disaster many fear.
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Artificial intelligence can be categorized into three levels. The first, limited AI, includes all artificial intelligence programs or protocols that perform a specific task. It may do that task well, but it can’t do anything else. Deep Blue, which beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, is an example of such an AI. It is very good at chess, but not much else.

The second level, general AI, would be an artificial intelligence capable of a wide range of functions. It would be able to learn new functions and improve existing ones. It would be almost human, or at the very least, to most observers it would seem human. The third and final level, super AI, would be an artificial intelligence capable of improving itself beyond our human capabilities, surpassing our intellect. 

While some believe that we are only a small step away from general or possibly even super AI, the reality is very different. Currently, our most advanced AI (those that employ machine or deep learning) are nothing more than capable but very limited tools. They aren’t anywhere near the level of sophistication that would make them “almost human.”

How should Christians reflect on the advance of artificial intelligence? Perhaps it would be wise to start with the humans who create artificial intelligence. There is no way to remove the human element entirely. A human planned and programmed the processes that the AI uses. A human created the data that advanced AIs like ChatGPT are trained on. A human gives the AI the instructions that it executes so well. 

This has two immediate implications. First, when we understand that humanity is central to the development of artificial intelligence, we also understand that sin is close at hand. An AI, like ChatGPT, has no way of knowing whether the information it was fed, is true. It cannot account for the biases of those who created it or the data it was trained on. It can write the lyrics to a Christian worship song or imitate your favourite author, but it does not know whether what it generates is good or true. That depends on the data, the user, and the algorithms, i.e., humans. Trusting in AI or hoping that it will be the miracle that saves the world, would as foolish as trusting in man.

The second implication is related to the first: it should make us appreciate the unique glory that God has bestowed upon humanity. Even though we are fallen creatures, we are still said to have been created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27). Each attempt to create artificial intelligence, to create something “in our own image,” reminds us that we are unique. The closer we think we get to an artificial intelligence that matches our own, the more we come to appreciate the difference between us and our machines. We have a capacity for the good, the right, the beautiful. We are more than sophisticated robots, a collection of chemical reactions and firing electrons. We are image-bearers of the most High.

Like with most advances in human technology, there will be triumphs, fears, and failures. For now, at least, we can rest easy that we have not created something “human”; only God can do that.

The following is a list of titles we've already completed:

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney
Through the Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot
Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman
The Dropbox by Brian Ivie
​Future Grace by John Piper
Knowing God by J I Packer
Do More Better by Tim Challies
12 Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur
Refresh by David and Shona Murray
Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund
The Lies Women Believe & the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
A Call to Spiritual Reformation by DA Carson
Eight Stone Gates by Dan Manningham
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss

If you're interested in joining or would just like to know more, contact Vasti Pienaar (​[email protected])

At least once a year I try to read a book on parenting. It deepens my understanding of the task to which God has called me. It also reminds me of truths I may have started to take for granted. One such truth, for example, is that I cannot give what I do not have.

In Deut. 6:5-7 Moses instructed the Israelites: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

The basic idea is that parents should teach their children God’s Word, and that they should use every opportunity to do so. Sounds simple enough, but did you notice how Moses introduced the command to teach? Before he deals with a parent’s ministry, he deals with a parent’s heart. The first command of the passage is that we should “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (v. 4).

Jesus called this “the great and first commandment” (Matt. 22:38). Here we have the first key to an authentic and enthusiastic witness: a genuine love for the Lord. We all have things that we are passionate about. I had a high school teacher who was passionate about cricket. It was a passion that we exploited if we didn’t want to have class. “Sir, what do you think of the Proteas’ chances at the world cup?” We’d sit back and listen as he waxed lyrical about his favourite players. He was positively effervescent in his enthusiasm for the game.

It is the love of God which compels us to share his gospel with others (2 Cor. 5:14). Sadly, we often find that Christians share their faith reluctantly. You’d be forgiven for thinking that they were ashamed of the gospel, as though it wasn’t “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). If we don’t love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and might, we won’t be motivated to share his Word with others. You cannot give what you do not have.

How can I grow in my love for the Lord? That is where the second command of the passage comes in: “these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” (v. 6). Our love for the Lord is deepened by our knowledge of him. Our love is a response to his love revealed in the Word and in his Son (1 John 4:19). For example, in Psalm 1:2 we are told of the blessedness of those whose “delight is in the law of the LORD” and meditates on it day and night. Similarly, David wrote: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Ps. 119:11).

Have you ever joined a conversation only to realize that we have no idea what they are talking about? We stand there quietly, politely nodding our heads, but we’re just looking for an opportunity to leave. If we want to participate joyfully in Christian fellowship or share our faith effectively with family and friends, we must know what we are talking about. We cannot give what we do not have.

These are the fundamental requirements for an authentic, enthusiastic, and effective witness. We must love the Lord our God and his Word must be on our hearts. Only then are we equipped to share it with others.

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

As I parked my car outside a friend’s house, he walked up to me and remarked: “Do you know your front right wheel is flat?” I hadn’t noticed and awkwardly tried to turn the exchange into a joke. He stopped me and said: “That isn’t safe, man; not for you and not for your family.” I had it checked later that day.

We live in a materialistic world. This is not new. Proverbs 11:28 warns us: “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall”. These words were penned by one of the richest men in the Old Testament: Solomon. Yet even Solomon understood that wealth has its limits and that it is a flimsy foundation for confidence. As Jesus explained: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt. 6:19-20).

Christians would do well to heed these warnings. Our confidence should not be in the abundance of our possessions. We must be careful that the things we own don’t own us. Jesus added: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21). 

Psalm 24:1 says: “The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein”. We don’t actually “own” anything; God has entrusted some of his abundance to us. How we manage this blessing will say a great deal about our priorities, desires, and spiritual maturity. 

At this point you probably expect a lecture on generosity and benevolence. These are important Christian disciplines that defined the early church and should shape us as well. However (you knew this was coming), this is not what I want to focus on. I want to focus on how you take care of the things God has entrusted to you. They were given to take care of your family (or, if you are alone, yourself). 

Look at Proverbs 27:23-27: “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goats' milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.”

This proverb teaches a lesson drawn from rural life. There are flocks and herds, grass and vegetation, fields and milk. These imagines may be strange those of us who grew up in the city, but they are the stuff of life out on the farm. Tending to your livestock is important because they will provide wool (v. 26), milk (v. 27), food (v. 27), and yes, money (v. 26). Tending to your field is also important because it produces food for the livestock (v. 25).

We understand the concept. This is the “circle of life” stuff our childhood cartoons sang about, but there is more to it than that. Look at how the passage ends: “food for your household and maintenance for your girls” (v. 27). If you are a breadwinner or homemaker there are people who depend on you. Your family (“your household”) depends on you. There may even be people that you employ: “your girls”. This is most likely a reference to servants, which the NIV makes explicit when it translates it “servant girls”.

In both cases there are people who rely on you for “wool… milk… food”. You may not have fields or flocks, but you have a car that gets you to work, a home that keeps your family warm and dry, and other tools that enable you to ply your trade. You, and the gifts that God has blessed you with, are the means by which God takes care of your family or employees. How you manage your fields and flocks impacts them. In other words, you must take care of the things that take care of your family. The wise stewardship of the means that God has provided for you, is a blessing to your family. If you squander what God has given, or if you aren’t attentive to it, your family and your employees will suffer.

Can God provide for your family without you? Absolutely. God takes care of those who have no one else to take care of them. Just look at Psalm 68:5: “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” Trust that the Lord will take care of them when you can’t. But this does not mean that we can be unwise stewards of what he has entrusted to us.

Heed God’s wisdom and learn to take care of the things that take care of your family.
​
Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

Part 3: A few things to remember
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Sharing our Christian testimony is one of the simplest ways to share the gospel. We are essentially telling the story of how Jesus Christ saved us. This is exciting stuff, because each conversion story is a THTHTHT to the grace of God and the power of the gospel. It is an account of how light triumphed over darkness, grace over sin, and Christ over Satan. If our testimony is boring, it is not because God didn’t do something amazing, but because we don’t realize what an amazing thing God has done.

How should I tell my story? We have three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts. The first is found in Acts 9. Here Luke, the human author writing under the inspiration of the Spirit, narrates the events of Paul’s conversion as it happens. The second is found in Acts 22, where the apostle Paul shares his own testimony of conversion when the Jews level false accusations against him. The third is found in Acts 26. Again, the apostle Paul shares his testimony, only this time he shares it with a much smaller group and in a very different setting.

If you read all three accounts, you will find that there are subtle differences between them. For example, in Acts 22:8 Jesus identifies himself as “Jesus the Nazarene” (which does not happen in the first account). In Acts 9 we read about how the Lord prepared Ananias to minister to Paul, but Paul’s account in Acts 22 doesn’t mention it. In Acts 26 some details are left out, while more details of his call and his message are given. How do we make sense of these differences?

Some believe that these discrepancies prove that Paul made it all up and that his testimony was a fabrication. The opposite is true. In law, if a story remains totally unchanged when told at different times or to different people, it is more likely to be considered false. All of the details in Paul’s different testimonies are true, but weren’t included in each account. Why not?

Each of these testimonies emphasized different aspects of Paul’s conversion depending on his hearers. For example, when Paul was speaking to his fellow Jews, he emphasized his Jewishness and faithfulness to the Law. He also referred to God as “the God of our fathers”. He was trying to reach his fellow Jews with the message of the Messiah. He naturally changed his emphasis when he shared his testimony with Gentiles (see Acts 26).

This means that you, too, can shift the emphasis when you share your conversion story with different people. You don’t invent a new story, but you highlight different things. For example, the way that I share my testimony with teens or young adults differs slightly from how I would share it with someone older. I use different words (a different vocabulary), or I’ll highlight things that my listeners can relate to.

An effective testimony does not embellish or exaggerate. It recognizes that the salvation of a soul is a miracle of God’s grace. You don’t have to repeat the same rehearsed story every time; you can tailor the story to the situation while staying true to the facts. We want others to see how the gospel has changed our lives and how it can change theirs as well.
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Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

​The apostle Paul has a pretty unique conversion story. It is first recorded in Acts 9, where the author gives us a spectator’s perspective of what happened. Later, in Acts 22, Paul shares his own testimony with the Jews as they were trying to arrest him. After his arrest, Paul had an opportunity to plead his case before King Agrippa (Acts 26). While the circumstances of each testimony is different, the essential elements of the story stay the same. We’ll look at Paul’s testimony before Agrippa as an example of how you can tell your conversion story. 

What does a Christian testimony look like?

1. Introduce yourself (v. 4-8):
Paul’s introduction fits the occasion: he is standing before a ruler after being accused by his own countrymen. That is why he details his connection with the Jews, his strict adherence to their Law, and constantly shows deference or respect to the king. 

In his introduction he sets the stage. He links his own story with the bigger story of Israel, one that the king would have been familiar with. He also introduces the theme around which he builds his story. It is in verse 8: “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” The resurrection becomes a central theme in how he shares his conversion story.

There are other gospel themes, like forgiveness, eternal life, or reconciliation around which you can tell your story. A theme helps you to decide what to include and what to leave out. It also gives your story focus. What grabbed your attention when you first heard the gospel? Was it the love of God revealed in Jesus? Was it the offer of forgiveness? Were you looking for life in all the wrong places, only to find eternal life in Christ? 

2. Describe your life before Christ (v. 9-11): 
In verse 9-11 Paul describes the consequences of his self-righteousness and how it motivated him to persecute the church. He describes his fallenness; he tells the king what his sin looked like. Note, however, that Paul does not glorify his sin. This is not the most exciting part of his story. He does not go into the gory detail, but he shares enough to help his listeners understand that he needed salvation.

When we talk about our lives before faith in Christ, we must be careful that we don’t glamourize sin. Don’t share details that may entice or tempt others to sin, rather than pointing them to Christ. This is a confession, not a boast, and should be done with the appropriate humility (see 1 Tim. 1:15).

3. Describe your conversion (v. 12-18):
Paul’s account of his first encounter with Christ differs slightly from the first account in Acts 9. For example, he includes the words: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (v. 14). It was a common proverbial statement that meant that we cannot ultimately prevail against God’s will. Agrippa would have known what Paul meant: the Lord is in control, not Paul and not the king. In this version of his testimony he shares a lot of detail on his commission (v. 16-18). This links his story with the king’s story; the king is one of the Gentiles to whom the Lord has sent Paul!

What is most important, however, is that Christ takes centre stage. We must understand that our testimony isn’t ultimately our story, but God’s. It is about how he saved us, how he intervened in our lives. This should be the most exciting part of your testimony. This is the part where someone who was dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1) and lost in darkness (Col. 1:13), is brought to life and delivered into light by Jesus Christ.

How did you hear the gospel? Who shared it with you? What was your first response? When did you cry out to Jesus? What did you experience when you repented of your sin and trusted in the Saviour?

4. Describe your life after coming to Christ (v. 19-22):
Paul’s description of his life after coming to Christ is brief, but he wants to show that the gospel has made a difference. He wants to show how Christ has changed him: before he persecuted the church, but now he planted churches all over the Roman empire!

One of the elements we often neglect when we tell our conversion story, is how Christ has changed us. We are not who we used to be, and it will show (2 Cor. 5:17). Share how the gospel has made a difference in your live. What is different about you? How have your desires and plans changed? Where has God used you? What have you learned?

5. Conclusion (v. 23):
Paul concludes with an invitation: he restates the gospel clearly and simply: Christ suffered, died, and rose from the dead so that light can be proclaimed to both Jew and Gentile. He brings his story full circle by pointing Agrippa back to the resurrection. 

His story demanded a response, and our should as well. Not everyone will respond positively to your testimony (they didn’t always respond positively to Paul’s), but that is not our job. We cannot change hearts, only Christ by his Holy Spirit can. Our job is to testify to the grace of our Lord in our lives. If you know enough to be saved, you know enough to share.

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter

Part 1: What is a testimony and why should I share it?

​What is a testimony? Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the dictionary definition. I would, however, like to give you a Christian definition. A Christian testimony is a story. It is a story in which you testify about God’s character. It is your eyewitness account of how God rescued you from sin and death through Christ, and changed your life as a result.

In Acts 4 the disciples were being persecuted for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. After their release, they prayed, and God filled them afresh with his Holy Spirit. What was the result? Acts 4:31 tells us: “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” Then, in verse 33, we read: “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” The disciples were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, or as the NASB translates it, they “were giving witness to the resurrection”. 

In a similar way, when a Christian shares his or her testimony they are giving an account of what the Lord has done in their lives. Sometimes this means sharing the story of how the Lord answered prayer or delivered from a particular danger. In most cases, however, testifying means that we share how the Lord has changed our lives through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that we know what a Christian testimony is, we must consider why we should share our testimony with others. The apostle Peter instructed believers to: “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,” speaking here of those who persecuted them because of their faith, “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:14-16). 

If we love the Lord Jesus Christ and devote our lives to honoring him, it will elicit a response from those around us. Sometimes people respond with curiosity, not understanding why we are different or how we’ve changed. At other times they respond with animosity (enmity, opposition, or even persecution – which is what Peter highlighted in his letter). Even if people reject us, Christians are people with a profound hope. This hope changes how we endure suffering for the sake of Jesus. We should be ready to explain why we have such hope, even in suffering.

One of the best ways to do so, is to share your testimony. It is a way in which you can honor Jesus Christ, share the gospel, answer your opponents, and encourage other believers. Do you want to know the best part? Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ has a testimony. True, your testimony may not be as exciting as the apostle Paul’s, which will look at next week, but you can share your unique story of how the Lord changed your life by grace through faith in the Saviour. 

God can use your story to lead others into the glories of the gospel. If you know enough to be saved, you know enough to share the gospel with others.

Because of Christ,
Pastor Pieter