Introduction: When Peter opens his first letter, by the third verse of the very first chapter he has stressed that the Christian faith, because it is rooted in the personal, transcendent, living God, is a living hope. It’s not some pie-in-the-sky, hope-so theology. No, it is anchored in the God who is. This is no fairy tale bromide stuff.
Peter writes, “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). That’s as plain as day. Why is anyone who is born again in fact redeemed? Because God did it. It’s not something any of us decided for ourselves or worked ourselves into or up to. Peter makes that clear: He [God] has caused us to be born again. To what, exactly? To a living hope. Why? Because Christ has been raised. He is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
A living hope. That’s vital for us to remember. Why? Well, because if you look at the 50-meter target only, you’ll be tempted to give in to despair. When you see mobs overrun Boston, it’s sad. When you see Antifa continually destroy Portland, it’s sad. When you see murder after murder after murder in Chicago, it’s sad. Yet people don’t learn the lesson. The mobs continue to do what mobs do. They cannot do anything but steal, kill, and destroy—just like their commander: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10a).
Encouragement: Peter, in writing to believers enduring persecution, then and now, stresses this: yours is a living hope. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6). Our job is fidelity and courage in the interim.
Introduction: I love church history. That is, I love studying the history of Christian believers through the centuries. Why? Well, it’s easy to become myopic. That is, it’s easy just to be so self-absorbed that one only sees the immediate. To use a shooting analogy, it’s easy to just focus on the 50-meter target and discount all the other targets. It’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. For many folks in our day, God has been banished, and politics is their religion. It consumes them. They wake up craving the latest breaking news. They’re glued to what’s ‘happening now.’ They want to be tracking the latest posts or tweets or whatever they’re called now. They crave the latest gossip. They live lives perched on the limbs of the immediate. But they miss the historic, the enduring, and the true. Here’s what I mean. Follow me . . .
Scriptural Connection: In coming weeks, I will begin teaching through Peter’s two New Testament letters. Why? One reason is straightforward: I’ve taught line-by-line through Matthew for over a year now, and we’re nearing chapter 28 next week, Matthew’s ending chapter. The ‘Great Commission’ passage is there, and it’s often quoted but less often understood and lived out. Christians are to go out proclaiming Jesus as Lord because death could not and did not hold him. He walked out of the tomb, was seen by hundreds, was touched, spoke, ate, and taught. In other words, empirical evidence undergirds all of Christ’s earthly ministry. We Christians welcome honest investigation. Bring it.
And Peter, a pillar of the 1st century Christian church, opens his first letter by writing to persecuted, dispersed Christians scattered across the Roman Empire. Due to persecution by Rome, he encouraged them with this opening salvo:
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you” (1 Pt 1:1-2).
Questions: Do you see what all Peter’s introducing? First, he’s an apostle, an eyewitness of the Lord Jesus. Second, he’s writing to Christians (“elect exiles”) scattered across the region. Third, it’s all known to the omniscient God of Scripture. Fourth, he tells us why—“for obedience to Jesus Christ.” It’s all right there. Peter was an eyewitness and friend of the Lord Jesus; Christians are persecuted by their plights but are known to the all-good and all-wise God; and we’re to labor to be obedient witnesses.
Encouragement: Is the world a mess? Yes. It has been before. Just ask Peter. Just ask the 1st century Christians/elect exiles dispersed across the Roman Empire, being persecuted for being Christians. Nothing’s new, folks. Be of good courage. There’s a long line of saints who came before you and me. We’re not special. Our job, like theirs, is to be faithful in our time.
Introduction: I love the story of Mephibosheth. It’s really not so much about Mephibosheth as about the king who provided a seat at the royal table. Follow me . . .
Historical context: Wicked King Saul had several sons, Ish-bosheth and Jonathan, among others, but he also had a grandson, Mephibosheth. He was, per 2 Samuel 4, “crippled in his feet.” He “became lame,” Scripture says (2 Samuel 4:4). Cannot be a soldier like that, can you? Soldiers have to take care of their feet, especially in the days of the ancient Near East. Just like we soldiers today have to pack extra dry socks, and apply foot powder, etc. it’s an ancient, tried and true practice: take care of feet. If you don’t, you’ll lose.
What does this have to do with theology? What does this have to do with honor? Why the focus on the feet of Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth? Because what can a lame grandson of your archenemy expect from the king? Nothing, right? That’s what you’d think.
But here’s the thing; when it comes to a man of honor, it’s different. David was that man of honor. His star was on the rise not because he was inherently a good man, but because he was God’s man.
David was soon to commit horrible sins with Bathsheba, against Uriah, and more, but David would also pen Psalm 51, a pouring out of his soul in contrition and repentance before the Lord God.
David was a great sinner, but he was restored by the greater Savior, you see. And God used David to foreshadow the ultimate warrior-king, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Listen to how David, the king of Judah, promises to honor the grandson of David’s great enemy, Saul:
And David said, “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” (2 Samuel 9:1-7, ESV)
Encouragement/takeaway: “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10, ESV).
When I meditate on Mephibosheth, with the treatment he received by David, when David could have been spiteful towards him and made him a scapegoat, the lame man who had nothing to offer was granted a seat at the king’s table, you see, a picture of the gospel for all who see their neediness, their lameness, their absolute need of sovereign grace from the king. It was there then for Mephibosheth in his day. It is here now in our day. May the Lord grant ears to hear. May we see a rebirth of men of honor who understand the grace we’ve been shown in order that we might show it to others.
Context: Ever had one of those moments when a topic was lingering in the air unspoken but you felt it in your bones? It was perhaps as real as anything you could weigh and measure. That’s what’s going on with this government shutdown. It hit me, too, like a punch in the gut when my paycheck showed up for this pay cycle, but it was filled with all zeros. That’ll get your attention, I assure you, when it happens to you. You work, you serve, you still do your duty, and the political leadership repays you with zeros. It can alter your perspective. It can make you question things. It can shake your confidence. It can rattle you. Moments like this can make you step back and think. I mean, what does it reveal about a nation that is not paying its military? That’s pretty scary, right? If one has skin in the game, it is indeed scary.
Question: Where does one turn in times of uncertainty? I try to put myself in other people’s shoes in order to see things from opposing viewpoints when thinking through an issue. If I were secular, there’s no one to pray to, no one listening, and we are just cosmic accidents, random atoms without intention or design, origin, transcendent meaning, or teleology. If I were like that, I would indeed despair. There are only the human machinations to remedy what human folly has wrought.
But for the Christian, he/she knows that all events in heaven, on earth, and under the earth are under the sovereignty of God. As one of our historic confessions reads,
God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy. (WCF 5.1)
Encouragement/takeaway: This Sunday I will again stand before the saints and open the Scriptures and labor to teach faithfully the Word of God. I, too, submit to their authority. I do not trust in chariots or horses but in the God who rules them and all things. We can learn from this moment to stay close to the Lord, to look to Him in all things, not just in the bad times or lean times. For the secularist, he/she has nothing and no one but the very people who got us into this mess. For the Christian pilgrim, however, he confesses this great verity: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).
Introduction: Remember how King David longed to build a house for God (2 Samuel 7)? God allowed David to do many mighty feats but building the temple would be a feat reserved for David’s son through Bathsheba, Solomon. God granted Solomon more than he could have imagined: “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt” (1 Kings 4:29-30). And in 1 Kings 5-6, Solomon would indeed contract the best builders of his time to erect a temple for God. It wasn’t that God could be ‘contained’ inside anything constructed; rather it was to symbolize God’s presence among His people. Just as the tabernacle was central in Moses’ day, the Solomon’s temple was in his generations, as a way to symbolize God dwelling amidst His people.
But what so fascinates me in 1 Kings 4, however, is not the groundwork for the building of Solomon’s temple, but how the writer emphasizes the posture of the people to wisdom. In just the last six verses of 1 Kings 4, the writer emphasizes Solomon’s wisdom, understanding being “beyond measure” (v. 29), that his mind was like the “sand on the seashore” (v. 29), that his wisdom “surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt” (v. 30), that he “spoke 3,000 proverbs” (v. 32), that he even had wisdom regarding agriculture, horticulture, ornithology, sea creatures, and dendrology (vv. 32-34).
Again and again, the writer emphasizes Solomon’s staggering wisdom. But here’s the kicker: the people recognized that and sought him out. They weren’t misled by the pablum of mere babblers. They had enough discernment to distinguish talking heads from the fountain of wisdom.
Don’t Miss the Teaching: “And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom” (1 Kings 4:34).
Encouragement/takeaway: There’s no lack of entertainers out there—in Solomon’s day or in our day. But there’s a world of difference between distraction and wisdom. May God’s people be those of discernment and wisdom. Blateration is one thing; wisdom is something altogether different.
Bottom line up front: Solomon’s Prayer for Godly Discernment
Context: It was the 900s B.C. King David had died. His son Solomon was now king in the land. But he was young still and unprepared to lead in the way God would have him lead. There was already strife in the kingdom. Adonijah, e.g., tried to marry Abishag in order to usurp the throne. But Solomon had the wherewithal to at least prevent that (cf. 1 Kings 2). But the issue facing young Solomon at this point was his need of Godly wisdom. Could he just gin it up like one might whip up a quick meal? Was there a theological microwave he could employ in order to be ready to rule in 90 seconds. No, of course not. He needed Godly wisdom; he needed discernment. Where does that come from?
Solomon’s Disposition and Solomon’s Prayer:
And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people? (1 Kings 3:7-9, ESV)
God’s Response: “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this” (1 Kings 3:10, ESV).
Encouragement/takeaway: For a long time now, I have been fascinated by the life of Solomon. Many times, he went from hero to zero, and back again. But on this occasion, he hit bull’s-eye, center mass, perfectly. He knew he needed Godly wisdom. And he had the self-awareness and humility to seek it out from its source: God’s word. And God granted Solomon discernment and wisdom in order that he might “discern between good and evil.” May we, at least in this regard, emulate Solomon’s prayer for wisdom, for discernment.
Introduction: No matter how many times I read it, it breaks my heart. It’s the passage about Jesus praying on the Mount of Olives and His betrayer Judas comes, kisses Him as a sign to the other conspirators, and Jesus is arrested. If one has a heart, this passage will break it.
This morning I was reading Luke’s account of these events (see Luke 22:39-53). It’s the last verse here upon which I focus in this piece. The last verse in Luke’s account reads like this: “When I [Jesus] was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53, ESV).
The power of darkness. What interests me here is that Jesus, knowing all things, having told His disciples that He would be betrayed into the hands of sinners, having predicted His resurrection, still, amidst all of this, reminded them of what was unfolding in precise fulfillment of the Scriptures. Precise.
Right before Jesus says this, Luke records the following:
And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? (Luke 22:44-52, ESV)
It is all part of the plan. No detail is insignificant. Jesus’s prayers were evidenced via their resulting sweat being like blood. His disciples were sleeping, again. Then the crowd comes, and Judas’ role is playing out. Judas is responsible for his behavior, his betrayal, his damnation. Judas kisses the Lord Jesus. World history changes. The Holy One allows Himself to be arrested and mocked at the hands of wicked men. Holiness condescends to sin, allowing sin to run its course, as part of God judging it for the sake of His people.
It is, as Jesus says, your hour, “and the power of darkness.” But here’s the great encouragement, dear reader: A new hour was coming shortly, that even the power of darkness could not contain. You see, here’s what I mean: Light was coming, and the darkness cannot contain or overcome it.
Introduction: I think the Lord may be trying to get His people’s attention.
John MacArthur died in July of 2025. Now Voddie has died in September of 2025. R.C. Sproul died in December of 2014. Charlie Kirk was murdered in September of 2025, on live TV. These men were giants of Christian witness in their lifetimes.
Question: Who will fill their shoes? Or if you’ll old enough to remember George Jones’ great song in his plaintive cry, “Who’s Gonna’ Fill Their Shoes?”
Possible Answers: There are several ways this could shake out, of course.
First, maybe no one will rise to carry on the mantle of Christian witness, but I have serious doubts about that. Elijah felt that way, too, in his day, but God had a word: “Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:18, ESV).
Second, maybe there’ll be some heel-grabbers who’ll try to slither their way to evangelical prominence. There’s no paucity of such characters. Wicked King Saul was such a character (1 Samuel 19), as is the devil himself: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ (Isaiah 14:14, ESV).
Third, maybe some Christians are waking up because they’re being stirred by the Holy Spirit to do God’s will God’s way. That may take the form of finding and/or building a biblical body of believers in a home somewhere or starting a house-church. Maybe it’ll take the form of a revivial in Scripture reading and not just Sunday morning notetaking. Maybe there’ll be a groundswell of repentance. Maybe new biblical seminaries will be formed to train men for biblical depth and not corporation-building.
It Bears Asking Again: “Who’s Gonna’ Fill Their Shoes?” I tend to believe it’ll look something like a combination of traits in the third course of action listed above, but I’m just one man among what I hope is a Christian army, one who longs for God to use me and this generation to show forth His saving sovereignty.
Voddie, I finished reading another of your books this a.m., and I miss you already, dear brother. You have come into your reward now, but I just want to say what many are feeling: Thank you for your courage and commitment. It was all more than worth it, wasn’t it? Tell R.C., Johnny Mac, and Charlie, we’re pressing on.
Here’s a YouTube link wherein I speak on this theme:
Questions: Ever purchased something that appeared desirable but you later discovered it was rotten? Perhaps it was a bag of apples from the produce market. Perhaps it was a ‘lemon’ of a vehicle. The list is perhaps long.
How much more dangerous is it when it happens in our spiritual lives. That is why there are countless warnings in Scripture about having biblically qualified leaders rather than wonderclouts.
Here are just a few examples of some whose appearancewas that of righteousness but whose reality was wickedness:
Pharisees and Scribes
Judas Iscariot
Cain
King Saul
First, in Matthew 23:1-12 (ESV), Jesus shines His divine spotlight on the hypocrisy and spiritual bankruptcy of the religious leaders:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Second, in Mattew 26:14-16 (ESV), Judas Iscariot is revealed to be a child of Satan. Yet he’d worn the appearance of being a Christian for years before:
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.”
Third, the first murderer in the Bible is Cain. He murdered his brother Abel. Fratricide in Genesis 4:8-11 (ESV):
Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Fourth, King Saul. He was a liar from the beginning. He was insecure, cunning, and narcissistic. Just listen to God’s words to the Godly Samuel about how God was going to give the people what they wanted as a judgment for their lack of discernment:
And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7, ESV).
Will we notice the pattern? What do the scribes, Pharisees, Judas Iscariot, Cain, and wicked King Saul all have in common? They loved not the people; they loved themselves. They coveted the applause of men. They sought power over people. They were manipulators. They were narcissists. They were crafty. And they ruined others. Why? Because their love was self. They were self-involved, self-absorbed, self-centered people.
Encouragement/takeaway: Appearance vs. Reality is perhaps the greatest and oldest of themes. But what’s down in the well invariably comes up in the bucket. May the Lord grant discernment to His true sheep. Why? Because a wonderclout in the spiritual life is cancerous for all involved.
Here’s a link to the YouTube video of my addressing the same theme:
Failure-1640s, failer, “a failing, deficiency,” also “act of failing,” from Anglo-French failer, Old French falir “be lacking; not succeed” (see fail (v.)). The verb in Anglo-French used as a noun; ending altered 17c. in English to conform with words in -ure. Meaning “thing or person considered as a failure” is from 1837.
Introduction: Last week in my Sunday school class with the saints, a friend from class said something that struck me and the rest of the class because of its insight. His remarks came on the heels of my teaching from Matthew 26:30-46. This is the passage in Matthew’s Gospel where Jesus told His disciples that they would all bail at the moment of greatest testing. Here’s the text:
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” (Mt 26:30-46, ESV)
The remark was something along these lines. This is not a direct quote, mind you, but this was the gist of his insight: “This is one more piece of evidence for the divine origin of Scripture. The Bible is filled with examples like this of people in their failures. Peter swore he would not fall away, and he did. Three times in one night, even. It’s the same with others. David, great as he was, sinned grievously. Solomon, wise as he was at times, blew it. Moses, gentle and patient as he was at times, was also a murderer and had a serious anger problem.” You get the idea, I hope.
Jesus’ disciples all said they’d be faithful. And yet, that very night, Judas would betray Him into the hands of the Sanhedrin and other wicked men. Peter would deny Him three times and the prophesied rooster did indeed crow. And Peter wept. Bitterly. Peter was learning about Peter, and it broke his heart.
Encouragement/takeaway: Were the Bible a made-up book of tales, a concoction of moralism and/or fables, men would be portrayed as heroic. Instead, we get the truth. We men are much more often failures. We’re a lot more like Moses and David and Judas and Peter on their bad days than we are like Christ on any of His days.
We need to be careful about adopting a position of being anointed or special or above others; we’re the sinners. Christ came for those of us who are broken over what we are. We need redemption, and Christ is the Redeemer and Hero.
Let us be appreciative of the failures given to us in the pages of sacred Scripture. We’re much more like them than we might care to admit.
(Credit goes to D.D. in class for inspiring this piece. Thank you, brother.)
MIND & MATTERS 