\”Covetitis: When Pastors Yearn for Ministry Magic Beyond Scripture\’s Logic!\” There is a strong temptation for pastors in today\’s environment, with the proliferation of social media and internet platforms, to compare their ministries to those of their peers. It\’s possible they\’ll envy another pastor or ministry\’s apparent success, popularity, or influence. Envy and covetousness have always been a problem, even in biblical times. However, if your desire extends beyond looks and causes you to compromise biblical truth, you are in danger.
How many meanings are there in a Biblical Text?
Scripture becomes, as Martin Luther put it, a wax nose that can be shaped into whatever form the interpreter likes. When this happens, the interpreter cannot be corrected by the text; rather, the interpreter becomes lord over the text.” Therefore, when we seek to discover the meaning of scripture we are seeking the plain meaning as the original author intended.
The Timeless Jesus
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. Therefore, there are no impossibilities of time and space for what Jesus Christ was He is, and what He is, He was.
Don’t Preach to their Ears!
He who hopes to preach so as to please everybody must be newly come to the ministry; and he who aims at such an object would do well speedily to leave its ranks.
Union with Christ
Believers have even now been incorporated into the consummation of their union with Christ in the eschaton: “future glory . . . will be nothing other than the continued unfolding of the riches of our union with Christ.”
Divine Authorship of Scripture
Many times Christians find themselves frustrated by their attempts to live ethical lives. They feel helpless and impotent to do what is right and good. In such situations it is a great encouragement to know that learning the Scriptures, reminding ourselves of them, even meditating on the Scriptures, is not an exercise in futility.
Sufficiency of Scripture
Most basically, to say that Scripture is \”sufficient\” is to say that it is able to fulfill the purposes for which it was written. But not surprisingly, this simple idea becomes complicated because it is hard for Christians to agree on what the purpose of Scripture actually is.