The amazing power of soft answers

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“A soft answer turns away wrath; but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

Someone is angry at you all out of proportion to the situation.  Their energy in attacking you catches you off guard and your first reaction is to strike back in self-defense.

What to do.

My friend Bobby Hood started ministry as a musician, then became a missionary and later a pastor of several churches. These days, he and I are both doing retirement ministries. Our friendship goes back to seminary days in the 1960s.

Bobby once told me of a time during his church musician period when he was going to a program in another church. To get there, he had to meet friends at the junction of a couple of roads.  He arrived early and pulled off the highway, stopped in front of a house, and killed the engine. A few minutes later, a man burst out of that house, waving his fists and shouting all kinds of profanity.  He ran to the car and around to the driver’s side, still hurling his threats.

Bobby rolled down his car window and let the man finish.  Then he said calmly, “You don’t remember me?”

The man was someone Bobby had known all his life.

The fellow took a good look at him, recognized Bobby, and suddenly, his anger dissolved and he became a different person.

He sheepishly explained that people had been ruining his grass parking in front of his house and he was determined to put a stop to it.

Bobby said to me, “You know how the Bible says, ‘A soft answer turns away wrath?’ It sure does, doesn’t it?”

I thought of something a relative of mine did.  He’s given me permission to mention it.

Jon was in the left lane of a four-lane thoroughfare in our city.  Traffic was heavy and running at 40 or 50 mph when suddenly, the driver in the right lane rolled down his window and spat a glob of something out his window that landed on the side of Jon’s car.

Uh oh.  Not good.

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Those who have walked this ground before us

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(This is a reprint from January of 2014.)

Recently, while giving some Atlanta friends a brief tour of New Orleans, I asked the teenagers in the back seat, “Did you know Abraham Lincoln came to our city?”  They didn’t.

Most people don’t.

The teacher in me kicked into overdrive.  I love telling people things about our city they didn’t know. And if it involves a celebrity–modern or ancient–so much the better.

Lincoln came twice, once in 1828 when he was 19 and again in 1831, at the age of 22.

In those days, people would built flatboats upriver and float down the Mississippi bringing crafts or produce to our city.  Once here, they would peddle their cargo, tear up the boat and sell it for firewood, then walk around for a couple of days and “see the elephant,” as they called it. Eventually, people from Illinois would book passage back to St. Louis on a paddlewheeler and walk the rest of the distance back home.

The first time, Lincoln came as a helper for his boss’ son, and the second time he may have been in charge himself.

Professor Richard Campanella of Tulane University has written Lincoln in New Orleans, published in 2010 by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press.  It’s the best and most complete thing ever written on the subject, I feel confident in saying.  Subtitle: The 1828-1831 flatboat voyages and their place in history.

This is not a review of the book, even though I’m fascinated by it.  (In truth, the book is so dense, with tons of interesting insights on every page, reading it is a slow process.)  What I find most fascinating, however, is that Campanella tells us where the flatboat probably docked, where Lincoln and his friend may have stayed, which slave auction they may have watched.

I walked today where Lincoln walked.  Sort of.

You know where Canal Street hits the Mississippi River. That would have been “city center.”  However, flatboats were not allowed to come in that close, but had to tie up a mile or so upriver.  Close in were the steamboats, with two or three new ones arriving daily, according to Professor Campanella.  Further downriver you found the larger, ocean-going masted ships.  This was one busy place.

Slaves were auctioned at numerous places in what we now call the French Quarter. Hewlett’s Exchange on Chartres Street, being the biggest, was the one most likely to have drawn in out-of-towners wishing to see this cruel spectacle.  Campanella thinks Lincoln and his friends would have gone there.

I’ve walked the French Quarter, from one side to the other. Back in the 1960s, we seminary students preached on Decatur Street, right in the middle of what is now the grandest tourist section of the area but which back then was run down, seedy, and scary.

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Ever heard of a pastor with congregational phobia?

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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Did you see in the news where a schoolteacher is trying to get approved for medical disability because she fears the students in her class?  The anxiety is so strong that she is unable to function, she says.

Someone told me about his pastor the other day. His first analysis was that his preacher is simply lazy. He preaches one sermon a week and often gets someone to fill in for him. He canceled the midweek service because so few people were coming, and turned over the Sunday night service to a layman. He moved his study into his home, but cannot be reached by phone because he turns his phone off and studies wearing headphones which bring in music.

As we chatted further, the man said, “This is the pastor’s first senior pastor position. Previously, he was a youth minister. I’ve noticed he has a great anxiety about facing the congregation on Sunday morning.”

There it is: Congregational Phobia. 

If that schoolteacher can achieve disability status, this pastor ought to give it a try. Sounds like he qualifies.

If it sounds to you like I’m not taking this seriously, your analysis is right on.  I have no patience for this little problem. The very idea!

That’s not to say that “fear of the people” is a new phenomenon. It is not.

–When God called Jeremiah as a prophet, He told him, “Everywhere I send you, you shall go. And all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:7-8).

In his case, Jeremiah would be preaching to the big shots of his days, the kings and princes, the priests and the people. And this without health insurance!

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Church bosses: A problem that has been with us from the beginning

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I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us.  Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words.  And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to do so, putting them out of the church.  III John 9-10.

In his book of 1,502 stories and illustrations (The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart), Chuck Swindoll has this:

A. T. Robertson, a fine, reliable Baptist scholar of years ago, taught for many years at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville.  When he began to write on books of the Bible, he chose on one occasion the Book of 3 John, which talks about Diotrephes.  Diotrephes was a man who became a self-appointed boss of a church. And over a period of time, he was the one that excommunicated certain people and he screened whatever was done in the church.  As the self-appointed leader, he wouldn’t even let John come to speak as a representative of Christ.  So, John wrote a letter and reproved him.

In writing about Diotrephes, A. T. Robertson said this: ‘Some forty years ago I wrote an article about Diotrephes for a denominational paper. The editor told me that twenty-five deacons stopped (taking) the paper to show their resentment against being personally attacked in the paper.’  

We can be thankful for this church boss of the first century.  Had we not known the early church had to deal with church tyrants masquerading as agents of Christ and brutalizing God’s people, we would have thought things had gone seriously downhill in our day.  But this cancer has been with us from the first. This, incidentally, is why we give thanks the church at Corinth, Greece, had so much trouble.  In First Corinthians, when Paul addresses these problems he establishes guidelines and sets up markers we’ve used ever since. Had the early Christians experienced no difficulties, we would have none of this.

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Overlooked Scripture No. 6 “The tyranny of the urgent”

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“Now, in the morning, having risen a long time before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’  But He said to them, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth’” (Mark 1:35-38).

“I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I’m late! I’m late!” So said the white rabbit as he plunged into the hole.–  From the Walt Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland.” 

I have a hard time turning off my inner engine.

A typical situation looks like this:  I’m packing the car in order to leave as soon as possible for a long drive to a preaching assignment.  Do I have everything? Have I canceled the newspaper for the days I’ll be gone? Do my children know where I’ll be? Am I taking my laptop? Do I have the phone charger? My extra dress shoes?  Enough shirts?

All the while, I’m keeping an eye on the clock. I know how long the drive will take and when I’m expected. The first meeting is tonight. I’d sure like to get there in time to check into the hotel and rest for an hour.

Hurry. Hurry, and hurry some more.

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Overlooked scripture no. 5 “Who is my mother?”

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“One said to Him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with you.’  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, ‘Who is My mother and who are my brothers?’ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother’” (Matthew 12:47-50).

I’m so sorry, Catholic friends. But Scripture does not allow you to worship Mary.

There is no place for Mariolatry, as it is known, in the life of Jesus’ disciples.

We will give her the honor Scripture gives her. We have no trouble calling her blessed, for who would not be blessed by being chosen to bear God’s Son into the world. But no, she is not “the mother of God.”  Any way you slice it, the only way you can make Scripture justify worship of Mary is to ignore everything but a few selected verses.

A woman called out of the crowd to Jesus, “Blessed is the womb that bore you! And blessed are the breasts that nursed you!”  Jesus’ answer is significant.  “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27-28).

Jesus would not allow people to make of Mary more than she was.

And if I may say, I’m convinced Mary herself would be horrified to see the way people have taken honor from the Savior and handed it to her.

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Overlooked Scripture No. 4 “Second-hand faith.”

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“And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them, and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word. Then, they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’” (John 4:39-42).

Paul Harvey used to call this “the rest of the story.”

We preachers dearly love the Lord’s encounter with the woman at the well, from the first half of John 4.  It’s insights and teachings, its power and pathos, make it one for the ages.  But the story does not end the way we generally conclude it, with her rushing back into the town to tell her friends about the Man she had met. There is more.

As the townspeople flowed out to meet the Lord, they begged Him to stay, which He did. Then, two days later, when He departed, Jesus left behind a lot of new believers.  That’s when some of them gave us the memorable statement which I’m calling “overlooked scripture.”

Now we believe…not just because of your testimony that He told you everything you ever did…but because we have met Him for ourselves, and we know that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

That’s strong stuff.

Second hand faith can be a good thing.

At first, the speaker said to the woman, we had a second hand faith.  We believed because of what you said.

There is not a thing in the world wrong with second-hand faith in Jesus.  In fact, it’s an essential step toward getting the real thing.  Someone tells you of Jesus and you see the change that has come about in their lives, and you believe in Him because of them.

However, you do not know Him yet.

You know about Him.

Now, if you proceed no further, you have a remote faith in Jesus but you do not know Him personally. This is not saving faith.  This is a hearsay faith, a second-hand religion.

To believe in Jesus because Mama did or because Grandma believed is not good enough.

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Overlooked Scriptures No. 3 “Jesus baptized no one.”

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“The Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)….” (John 4:1-2)

Baptism has bumfuzzled God’s people from the first.

Where did the practice originate?  Answer: Evidently from the Old Testament practice of drenching a newly ordained priest (Leviticus 8:6). Later, some say, the “pouring” was given to proselytes coming into the Jewish faith from the world.  So, when John the Baptist arrived and began calling people to wade into the Jordan for a dip (which is the literal meaning of “baptize”), while people thought he was strange, no one seems to have questioned the practice.  Oddly, he was baptizing Jews, and neither Gentiles nor proselytes.

When our Lord was baptized, it signaled His coming out, His going public, His announcing to the world His identity.  That moment, in my thinking, was the first time Satan knew beyond a doubt who the Messiah was. He knew the Lord was there somewhere, for he could read Scripture. But ever since Joseph had skipped out of Bethlehem in the middle of the night with Mary and the Baby, headed to Egypt, Satan had no idea where they were.

Satan did not know who the Messiah was until Jesus was baptized.

Growing up in Nazareth, Jesus did no miracles.  He did nothing to single Himself out, which would cause the enemy to identify Him.

But Satan was on the alert.  He heard John preaching and thus knew to be expecting the Christ.

And then one day, Jesus of Nazareth walked into the water to John.  At that moment, the heavens opened and a voice from the sky shook the landscape.

Satan now knew.

Soon, when Jesus began preaching, His disciples baptized those wishing to go public in their faith.

Yet, He Himself baptized no one.

That’s what Scripture says in John 4:1-2.

What are we to make of that?

Let’s analyze this a bit.

In the first chapter of I Corinthians, Paul sends greetings to various members of that congregation which he had birthed.  He was not happy to learn that they had broken into divisions in his absence, with some following Peter and some Apollos and some following Paul.  Another group refused to be divisive, they said, and pulled off into a separate clique which was “of Christ.”  Then, Paul says, “I thank God I baptized none of you” (I Corinthians 1:14).  He thinks a moment, and adds, “Except for this one….and that one…and maybe another.”  But other than those, no one.

And then Paul left us with this memorable statement: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel (I Corinthians 1:17).

I wonder if we have given that sentence the importance it deserves.

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Overlooked Scripture No. 2 “Why Jesus is the authority on Heaven”

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“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13).

Jesus knows about Heaven.

He should. He’s a native.

When He speaks of Heavenly things, everyone else on the field should retire and every mouth be closed.  No one else carries the credentials Jesus does regarding the divine.

I wonder if people have ever considered the width and breadth and depth of this statement (the text above), given by our Lord to Nicodemus.

John MacArthur said, This verse contradicts other religious systems’ claims to special revelation from God. Jesus insisted that no one has ascended to heaven in such a way as to return and talk about heavenly things (cf.2 Cor. 12:1-4). Only He had His permanent abode in heaven prior to His incarnation and therefore, only He has the true knowledge regarding heavenly wisdom (cf. Proverbs 30:4).

Question:  Didn’t other biblical characters go to heaven? Didn’t Enoch? And Elijah? And on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus met with Moses and Elijah, weren’t they from Heaven?  Aren’t the “dead in Christ” at home with the Lord?

Our answer:  Heaven seems to be a huge place.  (smile, please)  So, perhaps in saying no one had been there except the One who came from there, referring to Himself, Jesus meant no one had yet entered the Holy of Holies itself. The throne-room of the Godhead.  Only He.

Humans have known for centuries that the universe is huge.  But only in the last, say, 100 years have we learned just how big it is.

Mind-blowing big.

We do not have to use our imagination to think of Heaven as incredibly large.  We can see that by walking outside on a dark night and glancing upward.

Scripture speaks of heaven in at least three ways: the sky above us, the physical universe around us, and the remote and holy dwelling-place of the Lord and the host of heaven.

Even so, we would err, I imagine, in devoting too much time to reflecting on the various heavens or what portion of heaven Jesus meant. These are unknowable.  The point He was making to Nicodemus that day should take our attention:

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Overlooked Scriptures Number One: “Does Jesus believe in me?”

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“Now, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25).

They believed in Jesus, but He did not believe in them.

Think on that for a moment.

Is it possible that for a person to believe in Jesus and still not be saved?

Doesn’t Scripture make belief in Him the essence of salvation?

Look at the incident above, from John 2.  I’m thinking there is nothing else like it in the Word.  The Greek words are one and the same there.  They believed in Jesus but He did not believe in them.

Immediately after that encounter, we have the Lord’s encounter with Nicodemus.  That’s where we have John 3:16 promising that “whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  Earlier, in John 1:12 we read “…to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”

And yet, the passage in John 2 makes it clear that some who “believed” in Jesus were not born again.  The reason given is a fascinating one:  Jesus did not believe in them.

Please do not rush past this.  Let’s consider it.

Have you ever wondered whether Jesus believes in you?

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