Adverbial Faith

An old acquaintance obsessed with classical literature used to observe that her generation was “killing the adverb”. The vocabulary of her schoolmates had degenerated to the point that they no longer modified or qualified their verbs with the eloquence and succinctness possessed by the writers of previous generations.

She would not have found that in the New Testament, even in the most modern English translations. Far from being dead, the adverb is everywhere in the Christian life.

Do What You Do, Do Well

To the Lord Jesus, how we do something is sometimes as important — or in a few cases, even more important — than doing it in the first place. The Christian faith is an adverbial faith.

Paul sent the slave Onesimus back to his former master Philemon in hopes that Philemon would free him to return to caring for Paul. It wasn’t enough for Philemon to do what Paul was asking because his friend was asking it; it was equally important to Paul that he do it willingly. I suspect Onesimus probably trekked from Rome to Philippi and back. The adverb was that important to Paul.

Likewise, elders are to feed the flock willingly, as opposed to out of some perceived coercion, and those they serve are to esteem them highly. Preaching the gospel is a universal Christian obligation; preaching it willingly comes with reward. Sure, stammering out the mystery of the gospel may get the job done on occasion; proclaiming it boldly is how it really ought to be done. The word of truth must be handled rightly.

What You Do and How You Do It

Christians are not just to show affection to one another, but family-level affection; not the distant fondness felt when you open a Christmas card from someone you haven’t spoken to in years, but brotherly love. It is not enough merely to desire the higher gifts of the Holy Spirit; no, they are to be desired earnestly, with passionate intensity. It is good to endure suffering for Christ’s sake; better to endure it patiently. How about accepting the plundering of your property joyfully? Could you go that far? Understanding partially is cause for excitement; understanding fully is the real goal. Worldly grief and godly grief produce entirely different outcomes; you don’t want to wallow in the former, but the latter is regret-free.

Is it better to sow sparingly or bountifully? The question answers itself. If you can manage that, try adding “cheerfully” to the mix. Serving the living God and waiting for his Son from heaven is cause for thanksgiving, but we know the Spirit is really working when we wait eagerly. Walking in love is good, walking wisely in love even better. How about walking properly, meaning without depending on outside help?

How We Compete

Timothy was unique among the apostle Paul’s fellow workers because he never phoned it in. When he expressed interest in someone’s welfare, he was genuinely concerned. Rejoicing is better done greatly than sparingly or reservedly. Praying steadfastly beats praying intermittently, as does praying earnestly and fervently. Every Christian wants to know the will of God, but wouldn’t you like to be fully assured of it? I know I would.

Would you rather be warned or solemnly warned? You might pay more attention to the latter. Make sure you work for a living but also, do it quietly, not as if you are making some great sacrifice. If you are going to believe, believe firmly. The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Does the sensual conduct of the wicked distress you greatly? If it doesn’t, it should, or else you are not even keeping up with righteous Lot. Finally, believers are to love truthfully and share the truth lovingly.

There are more of these. I could go all day. It’s not enough to keep our eyes on the prize, we need to pay attention to how we compete for it.