January 2004 chaplain's corner
The Chaplain's Corner is a monthly message for chaplains.
Chaplain's Corner - January 2004
Rev. Rich Hines
This message is primarily for those who call on the name of Jesus Christ as
their own Lord and Savior, and are serving as correctional or rescue mission
chaplains within the United States. Although our web site
indicates a link to enable you to listen in real audio. Unfortunately,
that feature will not be available for an undetermined amount of time. So you
chaplains will have to read what I want to say to you in January, 2004, below.
When I thought about the start of yet another year of ministry for you
Christian correctional and rescue mission chaplains, I was again driven to see
that ministries like yours MUST lay down the basic bedrock of the priority of
the witness of Holy Writ.
As in the past, I want to stress that those you serve MUST be strongly and
constantly urged to search the Scriptures which come from the one, true God.
These are the words contained in the blessed sixty-six books of the Bible.I say this now, because I see afresh the wholesale
slide away from the centrality of the Bible, and from the God defined and
revealed through it. This one true God is most clearly revealed in the Person
of Jesus Christ. This slide is picking up speed as it plummets the identity of
what was once distinctly Christian deeper and deeper into the world of
rebellious
society. As we begin 2004, you must realize that more and more, the average
ministry from the average church and everything spinning off from it -
including ministries to jails and prisons, and rescue missions is less and less
about presenting the important truths of the Bible. Ministries that once
highlighted the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are now, more and
more replacing that eternally holy message with man-centered contests to GIVE
SINNERS WHAT THEY WANT.The new and almost universal
emphasis in what was once Christian ministry is to give people what is thought
to MAKE THEM FEEL BETTER. At the same time, careful planning takes place so
that "the ministry" will not offend those who do not believe the
Bible or the God it presents.Let me give you one
shocking example. Because of a man-based fear of offending sinners, many of
today's preachers will not even speak about the substitutionary
death of Christ for sinners. Why, you ask? Because only a God that is angry
with sin and rebellion demands the death penalty for sin,
and they do not want to present a holy God that is righteously angry about sin
and needs to be appeased. That kind of God won't be tolerated in the minds of
most unbelievers. Instead of the God of the Bible the new "god" they
want to present, the one that is much more "appealing," is sort of a
supernatural Santa Clause.
By the way, the vicarious, substitutionary death of
the Redeemer, Jesus, for the sins of His people, is not a fringe thing, but
rather the HEART OF THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL MESSAGE. I pray it is at the center of
your ministry and your messages.
Having said that, I think Psalm 1 would be a good starting point for you TO
REFOCUS those you serve on the Bible and on paying proper attention to the true
God instead of man. This Psalm stresses the effect of listening to God's word
and its' eternal importance. Note the text:
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in
the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day
and night.
3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not
wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor
sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the
way of the ungodly shall perish.
Note this Psalm speaks about two types of men, two ways and two destinies. The
Holy Spirit inspired words of this Psalm contrast the righteous, who are the
saved, with the ungodly that are lost in their sin. Note also the ungodly, who will perish, are described as those who form their life
around what others (who are not God) say.
Those that will perish are MAN-CENTERED, paying attention to what the crowd
says, whereas the righteous and blessed CONCENTRATES ON GOD AND WHAT HE SAYS.
The crowd the ungodly pays attention to are those that forget and despise God.
That crowd is in open rebellion against Him.
Look with me at this first Psalm a bit deeper. It has two parts. Verses 1-3
mainly show us the righteous, justified man. Verses 4-6 by contrast, major on
the ungodly and their ultimate destiny.
Looking at the right way, the way of the saved man, we read in verses 1,2:
1 BLESSED is the man who WALKS NOT IN THE COUNSEL of the UNGODLY, nor STANDS IN
THE PATH of
SINNERS, nor SITS IN THE SEAT of the SCORNFUL;
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day
and night.
Verse 1 begins with the awareness of a justified person. The first word is
plural and emphatic, and speaks about a great joy. One commentator says it
could be translated in this way "O the multiple blessednesses."
A person that has been saved by the true God constantly senses their blessings
from Him. The word "Blessed" here in the original Hebrew means
happiness as a result of having a superior bestow favor on you. It is mostly
used throughout the Old Testament for the fruit that comes from realizing God"s grace.
Verses 1,2 go on to explain why this person is so
blessed. In verse 1 their blessedness is linked to three things they do not do.
They don't walk in the counsel or advice that the morally wrong people give.
These "ungodly" simply do not have the Holy Spirit. They don't have
His wisdom or guidance. The best they have is a depraved human understanding,
which is inadequate and void of ultimate truth.
Secondly, the "blessed of God" person does not stand in the path,
which is to say they do not take their stand with or serve together with,
"sinners" or lawbreakers. This word "sinners" ultimately
refers to those who live to break God's law, but it certainly has an
application to civil criminals as well. The godly person is not on the same
team as the moral lawbreakers.
Thirdly, the righteous, justified by grace individual, does not
"sit," which is to say he or she does not make it a permanent settled
place of mental dwelling to join some of the ungodly in their habit of
rejecting God's words. The term "scornful" refers to those who
reinterpret mockingly.
It should be pointed out that all three of these things that are the opposite
of the actions of a blessed, godly, saved individual are "life as
normal" inside your institution. They are part of the regular atmosphere
of any jail or prison culture. Inmates parade their lack of true understanding
and give each other bad advice. They plan their next crimes to the point that
most people, even on the outside, realize houses of incarceration are nothing
more than schools that teach crime. Many inmates are openly and loudly so
cynical that they have become professional back-talking scoffers.
So the general inmate population is the place where ungodly counsel, criminal
sinful plans, and abundant scorn and rejection of God's truth abound. These are
the very things Psalm 1:1 says the man blessed of God with His grace and
salvation stays away from.
You chaplains should spend a lot of time calling inmates to repentance and
faith in the biblical Jesus Christ. He is God and He is God's grace (see John
1:1,14,17 ). If individual inmates have been born of
God into Jesus Christ, then they will know the blessedness of Psalm 1:1 and
they must be urged to stay away from all the ungodly thought and action around
them in the jail or prison facility.
In verse 2, the other side of the saved individual is pointed out. Here we see
what a godly person does. It all begins with their mind set. The two verbs in
verse 2, "delight" (i.e. to delight oneself) and
"meditates," stress this fact.
2 But his DELIGHT is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he MEDITATES day
and night
The first verb, "delight," means to take
pleasure in, to be delighted with and to desire something. The truly saved
person desires the law of the LORD, which is a euphemism for God's word. To the
truly blessed of God, His word is more desired than gold, even much fine gold
and it is also sweeter than honey and the honeycomb (Psalm 19:7-11). In
contrast to listening to man and his thoughts and following his sinful ways of
rebellion to God and His word, the justified love to listen to God. The
messages from God contained in the Bible are at the center of their thought
life.
The second verb in verse 2, "meditates" means to think deeply on,
muse upon IN ORDER to announce. And what is it the Holy Spirit here says the
blessed person meditates on? Again, it is God's word. Tell professing Christian
inmates that they must study the Bible, first for themselves to be rearranged
and retrained in how to think, but then also in order that they may lovingly
tell it and explain it to others.
I should also point out that in the original there is a message in the change
of verb tenses between verse 1 and verse 2. In verse1, the verbs- "walks
not,... nor stands,... nor sits," are all
definite. These things they do not do, picture points in time decisions. But in
verse 2, the two mind set verbs are indefinite, which indicates continuous
action! The delighting in and the meditating on God's word are continuous,
constant actions.
Verse 3 completes the Psalmists picture of the saved person, the one who has
been justified by God's grace. Here we are told what that person, even any
truly saved inmate or resident, will be like and what he will become.
3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that BRINGS FORTH its
FRUIT in its season, whose leaf also SHALL NOT WITHER; and whatever HE DOES
SHALL PROSPER.
This truth set forth in poetic illustrations here in Psalm 1, is echoed in
Jeremiah 17:5-8 which says:
5 Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart
departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good
comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land
which is not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD,
8 for he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its
roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be
green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from
yielding fruit.
In the Bible, God's truth found in His Holy Spirit given word, is likened to
water that washes and nourishes and gives life (see for example: Eph.5:26 or
John 7:37,38). So it is here, in Psalm 1:3. The water of God's word constantly
delighted in and meditated on will make the justified person fruitful. The
final phrase in verse 3, "whatever he does shall PROSPER" means to
have success, to go forward as desired; hence here in Psalm 1: to be fruitful
for God. This is not a promise of a financial jackpot but of success in the
things of God, which is far better eternally than simply gaining a physical
fortune.
In the final three verses of this Psalm, we see the contrast to the righteous
by being told of the destiny of the ungodly.
4 The ungodly are not so, but are LIKE THE CHAFF which the WIND DRIVES AWAY.5
Therefore the ungodly SHALL NOT STAND in the judgment, nor sinners in the
congregation of the righteous.6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the ungodly shall PERISH.
Natural men, those that are outside God's blessed saving grace that makes those
who believe in His grace justified, are totally different. First, according to
verse 4, they are not fruitful. Rather than being represented as good grain -
fruit grown by God's grace through the message of His word, they are simply the
light weight outer husks of grain, chaff good for nothing but to be burned (see
Matthew 3:12).
What a sad picture is given in verses 4,5! What a
failure, to not be what they could have been had they centered their lives on
God and His word which presents the Christ as their potential redeemer and
justifier. Instead of being successful as a human being meant to know God and
glorify Him, they will end up totally unknown by God and unproductive with the
human life He granted them.
They will die in their sin and be judged by God. That's what verse 5 says. They
will not be with the congregation of the righteous, the assembly, the church of
the firstborn (Hebrews 12:22-24), fully justified and glorified in heaven. They
will not be able to remain when God's judgment comes,
rather ultimately they will be driven into eternal judgment like the wind
carries away the grain husks.
Verse 6 stresses that the LORD "KNOWS the way of the righteous." That
means He has an intimate relationship with the lives of those He has justified
and made right through His grace in Christ. Therefore they will be with Him
forever, they will not perish, but the ungodly shall PERISH. "Perish"
in verse 6 means to come to utter destruction and loss. This pictures the
eternal ruin of those that will be sent to the lake of fire by God's final
judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).
Listen to Jesus, that Final Judge. "And then I will declare to them (all
unbelievers) 'I never KNEW you; depart from Me, you
who practice lawlessness.' " "...depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels:..."
(Matt. 7:23, 25:41).
For those who through faith receive the grace Christ brings, He is both Savior
and the One who sanctifies. 1 Peter 1:22,23 says -
"Since you (believers in Christ and His work) have purified your souls in
obeying the truth (of the gospel) through the Spirit in sincere love of the
brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again
not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD which lives
and abides (remains) forever."
And the same Jesus speaking about the sanctifying, cleansing power of God's
word prayed: "Sanctify them (believers) by Your
truth. Your word is truth." (John 17:17)
Our prayer for you chaplains in 2004 is that your ministry would emphasize to
the inmates and residents the centrality of God's word being studied, meditated
on and followed. The word will be used of God as Psalm 1 indicates, to save and
sanctify them.
It will, as I have attempted to point out from Psalm 1, also teach them to
focus and center on God and to turn away from the ways of the lost, confused,
sinful and sometimes arrogant unbelievers all around them in their society.
For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ,
Rich Hines
Minister To Chaplains,