Dan Olinger

"If the Bible is true, then none of our fears are legitimate, none of our frustrations are permanent, and none of our opposition is significant."

Dan Olinger

 

Retired Bible Professor,

Bob Jones University

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How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 6: Muscle

September 11, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship | Part 4: Fruitfulness | Part 5: Intimacy 

Paul comes now to the third in his list of four characteristics of those who “walk worthy of the Lord” (Co 1.10): they are, he says,  

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness (Co 1.11). 

There’s a lot to talk about in this clause. I’ll note initially that most of us have trouble taking Paul seriously here. This is an astonishing promise. 

First, he says, we are “strengthened with all might.” Now, right on its face, it seems beyond belief. “All might?” Really? 

Well, that’s what it says. Of course, we need to read contextually. God is omnipotent (e.g. Ge 18.14), and he’s also holy, or unique (Is 6.3; 45.5-6), which means that we are not as powerful as he is. So in what way is the mature believer “strengthened with all might”? 

I’d suggest that God provides us with all the strength we need to do whatever he wills or calls us to do. We’re strong enough. We can get it done. 

And lest we get nervous about making extravagant claims, Paul piles on the confirmation. In just this phrase Paul uses both the verb and the noun forms of the same word: literally, we are “strengthened with all strength.” 

Now, Paul is a Jew, educated under Gamaliel the Rabban, and he knows his Hebrew language and culture. When a Hebrew speaker wanted to emphasize something, he repeated or duplicated it. In Genesis 1, for example, God says to Adam, if you eat the fruit of that tree, “dying, you shall die” (Ge 2.17). Most English translations rightly render that as “You shall surely die” or “You shall certainly die.” Scholars call that a “Hebraism.” 

So if the mature believer is “strengthened with all strength,” then he is, as my Bostonian friends would say, “wicked strong.” 

But there’s more. The next phrase gives the scope, or the measure, of that strength: “according to his glorious power.” The word “power” here is a different Greek word, one that means simply “might,” whether physical or military or political. I think the point here is not that we’re as strong as God—as we’ve already noted, that’s impossible—but rather that God’s commands for us are backed up by his omnipotence; we act not merely in our own strength, but with the impelling force of his omnipotence. We can do whatever God calls us to do. 

One more thing. Paul adds a phrase here that specifies the kinds of things he’s calling us to do. Not impressive exploits or acts of strength, but rather “all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness” (Co 1.11). Both patience and longsuffering have to do with bearing up under a heavy load, not collapsing, finishing a difficult experience. We might say “endurance.” Often in the Scripture the words are connected to suffering or persecution. 

How about that? A key evidence of spiritual maturity is that you don’t lose your cool. You don’t quit under pressure. You don’t let exhaustion, or pain, or fear move you to stop trying, to stop standing. When you’re persecuted, you take it, for as long as the persecutor can dish it out. 

You Just Do It. 

And finally, Paul says, you Just Do It with a smile on your face. “With joyfulness,” he says. 

Yikes. 

We have an example of that in the very earliest days of the church. After Peter healed a lame man in the Temple (Ac 3.1-10), he preached Christ to the gathered crowd (Ac 3.11-26). In response the Jewish leadership demanded that the apostles stop their preaching, under threat of severe punishment (Ac 4.1-22). But the church saw this opposition as the fulfillment of prophecy (Ac 4.23-31) and determined to continue preaching; and the apostles continued their healing miracles (Ac 5.12-16). 

In response the Jewish leadership came down hard and eventually determined to execute the apostles, but began with a beating (Ac 5.17-40). And how did the apostles respond? 

They departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name (Ac 5.41). 

They rejoiced that God had allowed them to suffer. 

And they kept preaching: 

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ (Ac 5.42). 

Strengthened with all might. 

It can happen. 

Next time: thankfulness. 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Filed Under: Bible, Theology Tagged With: Colossians, New Testament, sanctification, soteriology, systematic theology

How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 5:  Intimacy

September 8, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship | Part 4: Fruitfulness  

As Paul continues his list of specific ways that we will “walk worthy of the Lord, unto all pleasing,” he comes to item 2: “increasing in the knowledge of God” (Co 1.10).  

It shouldn’t surprise us that he lands here at this point; while the “good works” he’s just discussed are a necessary, even crucial, evidence of our regeneration—“faith without works is dead,” Jesus’ half-brother pithily observed (Jam 2.20)—Jesus made it abundantly clear that good works are not the central definition of Christian life. Throughout his ministry he lambasted the Pharisees, who had more good works going for them than anybody else in their day—even tithing their herbs and spices (Mt 23.23)—because they ignored “justice, mercy, and faith” (Ibid.). He identified the greatest commandment as “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Mt 22.37); and in an intimate conversation with his Father, he said, “This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (Jn 17.3). 

So it’s clear that Christian maturity is about more than just Doing What the Boss Says. Perhaps we can even say that it’s about more than the Lordship of Christ—though it is certainly about that. Christian maturity goes beyond that to the personal, to the intimate, to having a deep and loving—may I say affectionate?—relationship with God. We sometimes speak of “asking Jesus into our heart”—there’s some controversy about that—but as we’ve noted already, God is One, and we seek that intimacy with the Father (recall John 17.3, referenced earlier) and with the Son and with the Spirit, as One. 

The word knowledge here, as in the previous verse, has a preposition prefixed to it in the Greek (epiginosko as contrasted with ginosko). Sometimes, but not always, such a preposition signifies an intensification: so here, perhaps “to know with certainty,” “to know more deeply.”  

Maybe, maybe not. Trench thinks so, as does Geisler in the Bible Knowledge Commentary. But in any case we do not doubt that Paul is holding before us the goal of knowing God as thoroughly,as profoundly, as transformatively as a human can. 

Note that Paul describes this knowledge of God as “increasing.” This is something that grows, that develops, over time. 

We know what that’s like; we experience that in all our human relationships. My wife and I have been married for more that 41 years. There was a time when I didn’t know her at all. As we became acquaintances, we needed time for our understanding of each other to develop. Along the way there were times of misunderstanding due to the relative shallowness of the relationship. But as time proceeded, as experience was added to experience, we began to understand one another, to care for one another, to love one another. Most couples say that they thought they knew each other when they got married, but they realize now that they were just beginning. 

So it is in our walk with God; we are, after all, his bride (Rev 21.9). Unlike our human relationships, this growth is not reciprocal; God knows us perfectly from the beginning. But we have a lifetime of learning to do, and mature Christians find that their understanding and trust grow with that learning. 

Skeptics sometimes accuse Christians of being naïve, overly trustful, acting in blind faith. But that is not at all what’s happening. I trust my wife when I can’t see her, because I know her and have known her for decades. The mature Christian has the same kind of relationship with God. He knows his goodness and greatness from experience, and  he trusts him as a consequence. 

Do you have trouble trusting God? That’s normal for people who aren’t well acquainted. Give it time, and pay attention; God’s greatness and goodness will become apparent, and that will mature you over time. 

Next time: slow-twitch muscle.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Filed Under: Bible, Theology Tagged With: Colossians, New Testament, sanctification, soteriology, systematic theology

How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 4: Fruitfulness 

September 4, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship 

Paul now lists four specific ways that we will “walk worthy of the Lord, into all pleasing” (Co 1.10): 

  • Being fruitful in every good work, 
  • Increasing in the knowledge of God; (Co 1.10) 
  • Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (Co 1.11) 
  • Giving thanks unto the Father (Co 1.12). 

That’s quite a list. Keep in mind that these things are what God accomplishes in us—so they are achievable. 

The first characteristic that Paul chooses to list is fruitfulness. This follows naturally from what he has just said; if you are walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, then you are bearing fruit. 

In my early days as a Christian, my instructors tended to see “fruit bearing” as soul-winning or evangelism. I don’t doubt that that’s part of it, and a significant part; evangelism—and then discipleship—is the Great Commission that the ascending Christ left with us (Mt 28.19-20). Some see in Psalm 126 a motivation to evangelism: 

5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Ps 126.5-6). 

While I believe the context indicates a much broader scope to this observation, it certainly would include the concept of evangelism. 

But overall, when the New Testament speaks of “fruit” in the Christian life, it’s speaking about good works as evidence of faith (e.g. “the fruit of righteousness,” He 12.11; Jam 3.18) or character development, most famously in the “fruit of the Spirit” (Ga 5.22-23). I think it’s reasonable in this context (“fruitful in every good work”) to read this characteristic as demonstrating consistent success in our spiritual efforts to walk in a way that’s pleasing to God. We will fail on occasion, of course; the “old man,” as Paul describes our sinful nature, remains with us (Ro 7.24), and we stumble along the way, perhaps every day. (Or is it just me?) 

But in the main, there is growth and development of character; we can see progress from the way we used to be to the way we are now. I’ve been encouraged by the fact that as I grow older, and I have a longer timeline to recall and evaluate, the progress is easier to see. The sin nature is still there, and it may not be easy to see improvement from last week, or even last month, but oh, are things different from 50 years ago! Here is clear evidence of God’s working in my life, his ready grace and empowerment over time. 

Because he is omnipotent, God is never in a hurry; he is never under the pressure of time. He has done his work in me, and in you, as he has pleased, and he will continue faithfully until our last breath—and then he will sanctify us perfectly. There is great peace in that. 

And there is great peace in meditating on the specific “fruit of the Spirit” that he is developing in our character: 

  • Love, or others-centeredness. Thinking about, and living for, others instead of your own priorities or even needs. 
  • Joy, or persistent optimism about God’s control of present and future. Looking for what he’s doing rather than complaining or fearing about trials. 
  • Peace, or confident resting in the goodness of God’s plan. Freedom from fear, the predominant characteristic of present society. 
  • Endurance, or the ability to bear up under challenging loads for as long as necessary. This is a natural consequence of peace. 
  • Kindness, or care in treating others as you would be treated. This is a natural consequence of love. 
  • Goodness, or “interest in the welfare of others” (BDAG). This, too, springs from love. 
  • Faithfulness, or reliability, persistent adherence to the truth. I would suggest that this is another consequence of peace. 
  • Gentleness, or “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance” (BDAG). Another consequence of love. 
  • Self-control, or strength over your natural instincts. This too springs from love, a devaluing of your own interests in favor of those of others. 

God is doing this in you, over time, in his time. Enjoy watching this happen, and take heart from the experience. 

Next time: increasing in the knowledge of God. 

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Filed Under: Bible, Theology Tagged With: Colossians, New Testament, sanctification, soteriology, systematic theology

How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 3: Relationship

September 1, 2025 by Dan Olinger 1 Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience 

Paul has begun his prayer for the Colossian Christians with his primary request: that they would be dedicated to knowing—and following—God’s will for them. The foundation of a well-rounded Christian life is being God-focused and God-centered. 

Now, if you’re starting down this path and have reoriented your priorities in that way, something is necessarily going to follow. Paul says that you will “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Co 1.10a). That may surprise you. Can we really “walk worthy of the Lord”—even from the beginning? 

Paul does speak matter-of-factly about walking worthy of God, as though this is something achievable, even routinely, by his followers: 

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ep 4.1-3). 

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (Php 1.27). 

As Paul teaches elsewhere, this is not something we just buckle down and do. He tells another church, “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Php 2.13). We seek his will as revealed in his Word, and his Spirit illuminates our minds as we read (1Co 2.12-16). With that understanding, we know what to do. And then he motivates and empowers us to do it. As we do, we will walk “worthy” of the Lord and please him well. 

This isn’t really something we can do by our own willpower, is it? It’s not about gritting your teeth, scrunching your eyebrows together, and trying your very very best. It’s about reading, studying, and meditating on his Word, communicating continuously with him, and walking consciously in the light of his presence. You know what? That’s something you can do with an attitude of peace, not frantic (and often frustrated) effort. 

Christians often say that Christianity isn’t a religion, but a relationship. That’s not just verbal jiu-jitsu; it’s at the definitional core. We can’t thrive spiritually without walking moment by moment with God. 

A little trinitarian observation is appropriate here. We often focus on the fact that God exists in three persons, to the extent, I fear, that we think of three Gods. That is gravely wrong. God is One, and the persons do not operate independently, even though they do fill distinct roles. If we follow Jesus’ pattern for our prayer (Mt 6.9-13), we pray to the Father, a fact that implies that he is close enough to hear us. (I know that God’s ability to hear is not a function of distance, but work with me here.) Jesus, the Son, said that he would be “with” his disciples, to the end of the age (Mt 28.20). And finally, the Spirit indwells us forever (Jn 14.16; Ro 8.9). Now, God is omnipresent (Ps 139.7-10), so in a sense he is “with” everyone, even unbelievers, and he is in places where there are no people whatsoever. But these passages indicate that the Triune God is united in being “with” believers in a special way, instructing , leading, strengthening, abiding. 

I dwell in the high and holy place, With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Is 57.15). 

If you’re just stumbling along trying to do better, then, you’re missing the whole point. Walk with him, and you will find yourself walking “in all pleasing.” One commentator writes, 

“[This is] an expression that describes not a frightened attitude in the presence of a superior, but behaviour that honours the Lord because it arises out of glad obedience to him” (Peter T. O’Brien in The New Bible Commentary, p. 1265). 

Paul will turn next to specific ways that our walk will be worthy of the Lord. We’ll begin looking into that next time. 

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Filed Under: Bible, Theology Tagged With: Colossians, New Testament, sanctification, soteriology, systematic theology, Trinity

How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 2: Obedience

August 28, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction

So what does Paul pray for the members of the church at Colossae? He begins this prayer (Co 1.9-23) with a basic request (Co 1.9) followed by its typical result (Co 1.10a) and then amplifies that result with four descriptors (Co 1.10-12). As I noted in the previous post, the final descriptor (thankfulness) opens the door to a long list of specific things for which believers should be thankful (Co 1.13-23).

That’s a lot to digest. Let’s start at the beginning, chewing slowly and thoughtfully.

[ Sidebar: I’ve noticed in recent years, particularly among what we used to call “the young, restless, and reformed,” that many preachers like to use the metaphor of unpacking a box when they exegete a passage; they’ll say, “Let’s unpack this passage.” I rather suspect that they have a favorite preacher who uses the expression, and they’re imitating him (Piper? Mohler? Macarthur?). I have to admit that since I’m a hopelessly out-of-touch old coot, I don’t know who the exemplar preacher—the Yoda, if you will—is. But in any case, I’ve always used a different metaphor, that of chewing and digesting. I do have considerable experience at chewing, and I find great pleasure in it. And there’s always Jeremiah 15.16 to consider:

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

So there’s that.

End sidebar. ]

Paul’s primary prayer is straightforward:

We … do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Co 1.9).

The second infinitive, “to desire,” is, I think, simply a restatement of the first, “to pray.” (In Greek, the word “and” can often be translated “even,” as introducing an appositive, a restatement.) And what is that prayer, that desire? That they would know God’s will, or, more expansively, “be filled with the knowledge of his will.”

For the believer on the way to spiritual maturity, the essential thing is to be determined to live according to the will of God. That means, of course, not just knowing what God wants, but being oriented toward it (being “filled with it”) and then doing it. Paul is praying that they would obey God. That’s where it all starts.

And that’s why he immediately says, “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” These words have to do with more than just knowing. We must not picture the hypercranialized space aliens who just know all kinds of stuff and always win at “Jeopardy!” Wisdom and understanding have to do not so much with intellect, but with application: knowing how to use what you know to do practical things. I once read somewhere that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable; but wisdom is knowing that you don’t put ketchup on ice cream.

It’s more extensive than that, of course; wisdom and understanding include creative thinking, problem-solving, and what Bloom called synthesis. It’s the opposite of the ivory tower. It’s the ability to get stuff done.

So if Paul is attaching the concept of wisdom to the knowledge of God’s will, he is praying for us to do what we know, to live out who God has designed us to be.

Well then. We begin here.

But how? How are we to know the will of God?

To the college students I’ve taught for many years, the will of God has to do with three w’s: what (is my career going to be), where (am I going to live), and who (am I going to marry). Those are important questions, of course, but the teaching on the will of God in the Bible doesn’t focus on that. It focuses instead on the kind of person you’re going to be. For example, Paul writes elsewhere,

This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication (1Th 4.3).

And there’s more; grab your search software (or, if you’re over 75, your concordance—and a good magnifying glass) and have a field day.

God’s well-rounded people start every day, and the rest of their lives, with the question, “Based on what I know of the Bible, what does God want me to do?”

That’s a start.

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Filed Under: Bible, Theology Tagged With: Colossians, New Testament, sanctification, soteriology, systematic theology

How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 1: Introduction

August 21, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Decades ago one of my professors (the late Charles W. Smith, for those who may remember him) suggested that a good way to study prayer was to focus on Paul’s prayers at the openings of his epistles. I took note of that and started noticing the kinds of things Paul prayed for his churches. I found then, and I still find, that my prayers, particularly the requests, could use a significant upgrade. 

Why the need? In my case, it was because I was focused on the wrong stuff—or at least, my focus was too narrow: help this sick person feel better, provide more money for this person or that ministry, that sort of thing. 

Paul, on the other hand, is focused like a laser beam on the Big Idea: the spiritual growth and well-being of those to whom he ministers. Along the way, he’s not just asking God for things; he’s instructing his readers (including us) as to what kinds of “things” we should be giving our attention to. 

I’d like to pursue this idea here by spending a few posts working through Paul’s prayer in the opening to Colossians. This follows naturally on my recent meditations on the supremacy of Christ as the firstborn, which Paul lays out in one portion of this prayer (Co 1.15). 

The prayer itself is in Colossians 1.9-12, but at the end of it he moves quickly past a comma to offer an extended reflection on the works of God in our salvation, for which we should be thankful—a reflection that runs through the end of the chapter. 

When taken as a whole, then, Paul’s prayer lays out the works of God in our salvation, works that cover every facet of our “inner man”—what we often call the heart, the mind, the psyche, the emotions, the wishes, the dreams. God does a complete renovation of the house that we call our selves (2Co 5.1). There is nothing in us that his work doesn’t touch. Hence the title of this series: “How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians.” 

Note the subject and verb. I don’t intend this series to be a list of more stuff ya gotta do, or a list of virtues for you to work on, a la Benjamin Franklin. This is work that God does in you; you can’t do it without him. 

But the Bible does indicate that although justification is monergistic (God does it without our help), sanctification, or growth in Christ-likeness, is synergistic: we play a role in making it happen, by God’s grace. (Even Calvinists teach that. Yes, they do.) For example, Peter speaks of “making effort” toward spiritual growth (2P 1.5). Paul speaks of “presenting our bodies” (Ro 12.1), of “bringing holiness to completion” (2Co 7.1), and of “working out our own salvation” (Php 2.12); the author of Hebrews speaks of “striving for … holiness” (He 12.14). 

So it’s wise stewardship to know the goals that God is working toward in us, and to be purposeful is seeking opportunities to work with him in developing the characteristics that will get us there. 

That’s one purpose of this series. There is a second. 

If any of us finds that these characteristics are missing—not just imperfect, but missing, strange, out of the ordinary—then it’s time to go back to the beginning and ask the big question. Has God begun a work in us by justifying us? We know that he has if we have repented and believed (Mk 1.15; Ac 3.19; Ro 5.1). But in Western “Christian” culture it’s easy, particularly for those raised in Christian homes, to just go along, be agreeable, give the right answer to the questions in Sunday school—but never genuinely repent. 

This series is chance for all of us to inspect our inner selves and ask, is God in fact sanctifying me? Am I making progress in Christ-likeness? 

If the answer is “No,” there’s a free and simple solution. 

Next time, we’ll begin looking at Paul’s prayer for his Colossian readers, and for us. 

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Filed Under: Bible, Theology Tagged With: Colossians, New Testament, sanctification, soteriology

On Spiritual Decline, Part 7: The Outcome 

August 18, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Situation | Part 3: Jacob, not Esau | Part 4: Defective Leadership | Part 5: Defective Populace | Part 6: The Choice 

In Malachi’s brief prophecy God has stated his case against Judah for its arrogant inattention to his will and words. He has presented them with a stark choice: you can return to me, or you can continue further down the path you’re on. Now, in this closing chapter, he lays out the consequences of that choice. 

He begins with those who choose not to return to him. There is a day of accounting and judgment coming. He uses the image of fire, the burning of an oven (Mal 4.1), in which the wicked will be burned up. He cites a metaphor quite familiar to ancient Israel and to us. When developers clear a wooded lot, they cut down the trees, leaving behind the stumps and roots, as well as the stubble generated by the work of clearing. And then they pile all the unusable stuff up and burn it. It’s all reduced to ash. 

The fire image is used often elsewhere in Scripture. Jesus compares unbelievers to vines that don’t produce fruit; he says they’ll be gathered and burned (Jn 15.1-6). In his Kingdom Parables, he describes angels gathering unbelievers (“tares”) at the end of the world and burning them (Mt 13.30, 40-42). But elsewhere he adds an important note: these metaphors do not mean that the wicked cease to exist; “the fire is not quenched” (Mk 9.48). Images of God cannot cease to exist; the fire is eternal. 

But there is a different fire, also an eternal one, that awaits those who choose to follow God. It is the sun, brightening the sky, bringing life to earth. Here Malachi calls it “the Sun of righteousness” (Mal 4.2), the perfect, brilliant light of righteousness that God bestows freely on those who believe (1Jn 1.9). In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of his followers being “the light of the world” (Mt 5.14), a candle not to be hidden (Mt 5.15). Paul uses similar language (Php 2.15). This is fire that brings life, not death. 

Malachi describes this “Sun of righteousness” as having “healing in its wings” (Mal 4.2). This was a common image in biblical times; what we would call the “rays” of the sun, they would call its “wings” (cf Ps 139.9). Those who rise and go outside early enough can feel the healing warmth of the sun as it rises in the east and warms the air around them. 

That’s what righteousness does. 

We should spread that around. 

In that day, the power of those who attack and abuse God’s people will be destroyed, and there will be victory (Mal 4.3). 

So what does Judah do in the meantime? 

First, they “remember the law of Moses” (Mal 4.4), which is simply to say that they obey God. He has addressed the specifics earlier in the prophecy. That’s their part in all this; and it’s our part too, even though we are not bound by the law of Moses, but by the law of love (Ga 3-4). 

What’s God’s part? 

He will send Elijah. 

Jesus will later make it clear that the preaching ministry of John the Baptist is the “coming of Elijah” that God has promised through Malachi (Mt 17.12). John, of course, was a forerunner, who pointed to the ministry of Jesus, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1.29). 

God’s part is to bring salvation to all who will believe. 

These two figures—Moses and Elijah—represent the entire Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets. In four centuries they will stand on a mountain in Israel (Mt 17.1-8) and demonstrate submission to the Lamb, who is all, and in all (Co 3.11). 

With these final words, Judah waits—as it turns out, through four centuries of silence. And similarly, we wait for “the restitution of all things” (Ac 3.21) at the revelation of the Lamb. Even through an age of decline. 

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Filed Under: Bible Tagged With: Malachi, Old Testament

On Spiritual Decline, Part 6: The Choice

August 14, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Situation | Part 3: Jacob, not Esau | Part 4: Defective Leadership | Part 5: Defective Populace   

As God approaches the end of his message through Malachi—his last words to his people Israel before going silent for 400 years—he presents them with the big choice: will they serve God, or will they resent him? 

He begins by laying out Judah’s current attitude, which is resentful (Mal 3.13-15). “Your words,” he says, “have been stout [KJV; arrogant, NASB NIV; hard, ESV] against me” (Mal 3.13). The Hebrew word here is the one used of Pharaoh when he hardened his heart against God and brought down the plagues upon his country. To put it in today’s vernacular, they’ve gone toe to toe with God, defying him to his face. 

Astonishingly, they respond with gaslighting: “How have we spoken against you?” (Mal 3.13 ESV). 

And God, patiently, answers their insincere question. They have said by their actions, “It’s futile [NIV] to serve God. We gain nothing by obeying him” (Mal 3.14). Commentator Gordon Hugenberger (in the New Bible Commentary) observes wryly, “After the list of sins exposed already by Malachi, one may wonder to what requirements they could be referring.” It doesn’t appear that they have tried obeying God long enough to support their conclusion. 

What’s especially remarkable about these words is that in the immediately preceding passage (Mal 3.10-12), God has promised abundant, global, and eternal blessings for their simple obedience. This is a lack of faith, probably prompted by sheer laziness. 

And they’re not done. They complain further that the wicked have it better than they do (Mal 3.15; cf 2.17). If the wicked escape judgment, why should we bother? 

That’s the current state of Judah’s culture. 

But there’s another option. God lays it out in the last stanza of chapter 3. 

There are some, apparently a small minority, who fear God. They found each other—birds of a feather always do—and they encouraged one another to swim against the tide. (Sorry about the mixed metaphor.) 

And God, as he always does, notices. And he takes notes (Mal 3.16). 

This isn’t the only place in Scripture where he talks like this. He writes about his people even in their fetal stage (Ps 139.16); he writes the names of his people in a “Book of Life,” to be consulted at the judgment (Da 12.1; Re 20.12, 15). 

Now, God’s omniscient, and he doesn’t need to write things down so he doesn’t forget them. But he describes himself as writing these good things down; he delights in them, and he wants to keep a record. 

And for those written in the book, he describes his feelings toward them. He calls them “jewels,” (Mal 3.17), his personal possession, and even his sons. Peter says something similar in 1P 2.9. 

There’s an old gospel song based on this verse, written by William Cushing (1823-1902). We don’t sing it much anymore; some people may think it’s doctrinally light. But I’d suggest that there’s room for songs in the assembly that just express simple delight in God and in fellowship with him. Even “In the Garden.” (There. I’ve said it.) 

Here at the end of chapter 3 God has laid out the choice in stark terms. We can serve God, or we can deny him. There are two teams (Mal 3.18), and we have to join one of them. 

In the next chapter, and in the next post, we’ll see the eternal outcome of that choice. 

Part 7: The Outcome

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Filed Under: Bible Tagged With: Malachi, Old Testament

On Spiritual Decline, Part 5: Defective Populace 

August 11, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Situation | Part 3: Jacob, not Esau | Part 4: Defective Leadership  

Having addressed the leaders of Judah, God, through Malachi, turns to the sins of the people. 

They are extensive. 

Marriage 

He begins with a pathology in their deepest personal relationship, that of marriage. He sees two problems: first, that the Judahites have married foreign wives (Mal 2.10-13), and second, that they have divorced their original wives (Mal 2.14-15). 

God did not completely forbid marriage to Gentiles; Moses married a Midianite (Ex 2.21), and Boaz married a Moabite, Ruth (Ru 4.10). The Law forbade marriage to Canaanites (Dt 7.3) to prevent the worship of false gods, as later happened with Solomon (1K 11.4) and most especially with Ahab (1K 16.31). Here the problem is exactly that: Judah has married the daughter of a foreign god (Mal 2.11). Both Ezra (Ezra 9.2-15) and Nehemiah (Ne 13.23-29) record more details about this problem in this historical period. 

And further, Judah has dealt treacherously with the wife of his youth (Mal 2.14). That is, he has broken his most important promise. We have abundant evidence in our own society of the damage and pain that divorce brings. 

I’ll note that interpreting Malachi 2.15 is very difficult; it’s worth taking the time to consult a few different English versions, and some commentaries if you have access. But the driving point is clear: Judah’s divorce problem is evidence of a serious societal pathology. 

Injustice 

There’s a second problem, one hinted at by the previous one. A society that breaks its promises will want to justify themselves, and they do that by blurring their definitions of right and wrong (Mal 2.17). Further on, Malachi will get more specific: occult practices, adultery, perjury, and abuse of the powerless, including employees, widows, orphans, and foreigners (Mal 3.5). 

God reminds them that a delay in judgment does not signify approval; God is just, and justice will certainly come (Mal 3.2-3). I think this particular threat is a reference to the advents of Christ, who will come first to enable justice, and then later to enforce it. 

God expects better of his people. 

Disrespect 

Third, God turns to Judah’s failure to worship him as they should (Mal 3.6-12). God is in a unique covenant relationship with this people, which in Malachi’s day was a thousand years old. He had rescued them from bondage and given them a land and a promise of a coming king and, through them, blessing to all the world. They had sworn to be faithful to him. 

But they had never been faithful to their promises. And now, their unfaithfulness to their wives, to their most vulnerable citizens, and to their God himself had come to a head. Now they don’t know how to return to him, because they deny that they have wandered (Mal 3.7). 

Their failure to tithe (Mal 3.8-10) is simply the most objective indicator of their faithlessness. 

Astonishingly, God offers them an opportunity to repent and be restored, yet again. God will fill their storehouses with abundant harvests, if they will simply return (Mal 3.10-12). 

As noted earlier, we live in a different time and place. We are not Judah, but God is not speaking only to them (1Co 10.11). 

Should we tithe? That’s an open question for Christians; some say we should, and some say we operate on a higher standard, that of love. But nothing here encourages us to think that our relationship with God should be peripheral in our thinking; we love him, and because we love him, 

  • We love our spouses; 
  • We obey his Word; 
  • We love our neighbors; 
  • We gather with his people; 
  • We spend our money in ways that make a difference. 

Next time: a sea change. 

Part 6: The Choice | Part 7: The Outcome

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Filed Under: Bible Tagged With: Malachi, Old Testament

On Spiritual Decline, Part 4: Defective Leadership 

August 7, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Situation | Part 3: Jacob, not Esau 

Malachi’s audience has questioned God’s love for them, and God has demonstrated that their suspicion of him is both unfounded and inobservant; they simply haven’t been paying attention. 

Next God turns the tables on them, demonstrating that it is their love for God, not God’s love for them, that is in question (Mal 1.6-3.15). He begins with the leadership, the priests (Mal 1.6-2.9)—it being often observed that “the fish rots from the head down.”* (Of course, with the end of the monarchy at the Babylonian exile, the priests are the only real leaders Judah has.) 

How are the priests failing in their spiritual leadership? Malachi, quoting God’s words, identifies two problems, which we might call pollution (Mal 1.6-14) and perversion (Mal 2.1-9). I would suggest that these are common failures in leadership, ones that we should watch for in our own spiritual leaders. 

More on that in a moment. 

Pollution 

The priests’ work is polluted because they offer to God less than their best. God specifically names offering blind, lame, and sick animals (Mal 1.8). Apparently they keep for themselves the most valuable animals and fulfill their offering obligations with cast-offs, like what’s on the discounted “ugly table” at your local produce stand. 

The problem here is not that God is harmed or deprived of what he needs, for he doesn’t need anything. The problem is in not merely the action, but the attitude: “You say, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible’ ” (Mal 1.7). Try offering this stuff to the Persian governor, God says; he certainly won’t accept it (Mal 1.8). 

You priests, he says, are just doing your jobs for the money you can make; your heart’s not in it (Mal 1.10). You see all this ceremony as drudgery (Mal 1.13), something you despise, despite the fact that this work is designed to bring honor to the God of the universe, the infinitely worthy one, far higher than a mere provincial governor (Mal 1.11). 

Perversion 

Here there’s a chapter break, but Malachi continues to address the priests. But now he accuses them of a second offense: perverting, or twisting, the Law (Mal 2.8-9). This is in stark contrast to the earlier priests’ reverent and attentive behavior at the beginning of the priesthood (Mal 2.4-7). The result will be a curse from God upon their work (Mal 2.1-3). 

The curse is expressed in graphic terms. In their daily activity, the priests are butchering animals, a task that involves extracting and disposing of the entrails, which might include a significant quantity of fecal matter. In an outburst of rare intensity, God says that he will take that fecal material and spread it across the priests’ faces as a graphic demonstration of his curse (Mal 2.3). 

There’s a wordplay here: “I will corrupt your seed (Heb zera’) and spread (Heb zerah) dung upon your faces.” Even this little twist adds intensity to the statement as Malachi’s audience heard it. 

This is serious business. 

These days God doesn’t ask us for animal sacrifices, and we don’t have priests offering them; so how might we evaluate the quality of our spiritual leaders? 

First, do they display a carelessness, or a lack of seriousness, about the things of God? Do they handle the Scripture diligently? Are their sermons carefully prepared, or just thrown together? Are they just a string of jokes and perhaps moving stories designed to bring the congregation around to the preacher’s pet ideas? 

Are they just in it for what they can get out of it, whether in money or in influence? Do they seek power in the political sphere? Do they name-drop to makes themselves look important? 

Second, do they twist the Scripture to gain abusive power over those whom they should be serving? That is what the word minister means, after all. 

Enough of that. Let’s not endure it, tolerate it, excuse it. Let’s name it, expose it, end it. 

As long as such behavior is profitable, there are people who will seek to profit from it. But they can’t do that if they can’t get any customers. That’s our responsibility—ours, in the pews. 

In the next post, God turns to the sins of the people. There is plenty there for us to consider soberly. 

* The saying’s origins are lost in the mists of ancient time; some sources say it’s Turkish, others Chinese. Former presidential candidate Michael Dukakis claimed it was Greek. I would observe that it doesn’t seem to be literally true, but it’s sure memorable. 

Part 5: Defective Populace | Part 6: The Choice | Part 7: The Outcome

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Filed Under: Bible Tagged With: Malachi, Old Testament

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