GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

What Prevents Me From Being Baptized?

2011-10-29T14:16:00.008-04:00

This post, is, needless to say, a long time coming. For lots of reasons. First, let me tell you how gracious the God of the Universe is in Jesus Christ. May I? He is unbelievable. While I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. He died!

I have always been drawn to the passage in Acts 8 about the Ethiopian eunuch who was ignorantly reading the prophet Isaiah, and Philip came along by the leading of the Holy Spirit, and explained to him about Jesus, and about the gospel, and the eunuch believed. He then came across water, and asked the question, "What prevents me from being baptized?" It was, and is, a good question.

I read the Bible ignorantly for 21 years. In college, in the context of a fraternity house, I was explained the gospel and about the Person of Jesus Christ. I believed, and have since that time always read the story in Acts 8 with hesitation but deep conviction. I have tried to answer the eunuch's question for me since the time I first believed the gospel of Jesus Christ and was saved. Yet, ultimately, I have been unable.

I grew up in the Episcopal Church, was baptized as an infant, and confirmed as a teenager, per the traditional process of many Christians over the years for as long as the church has existed. So one seemingly good answer for me to the eunuch's question would be the personal and theological one surrounding infant baptism. I have already been baptized. What, if anything, would being baptized again possibly accomplish? Other than perhaps, confusion and disrespect not only to my parents, who made the decision for me, under the authority of God and a church, to count me as part of the New Covenant family through the sign of baptism, but also to those outside my family, or even outside the church, who know I have already been baptized and even been a Christian outspokenly for a number of years. What prevents me from being baptized? Well, the fact that I already have been, thanks to my loving parents, and the grace of God, who saved me, outside any merit or action of my own.

Then there is the theological predicament, and the precedent of much of church history. The issue of infant baptism is passionately defended and practiced to this day, and those that uphold its Biblical importance are not naive or ignorant. If I myself defended my own infant baptism as sufficient for my obedience even after my adult salvation, I would certainly be in good company. Even now, I have quite a lot of trouble thinking that R.C. Sproul, Tim Keller, Sinclair Ferguson, Ligon Duncan, among others, could misinterpret Scripture in this way, not to mention those who have come and gone earlier in church history that were worthy heralds of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What prevents me from being baptized? A pretty legitimate, frequently practiced, and widely held theological argument that because I already have been, as I should have been, doing so again is unnecessary.

Still, the question has not been adequately answered. I know that even to defend infant baptism, and look to my own as sufficient, does not clear up the issue of salvation, and identification with Christ and His church. The argument in support of infant baptism does not even claim that the act itself, or the physical water, is the means to saving you, reconciling you to God, accomplishing your justification, or covering you in the sacrificial blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. It has never been practiced for that reason. Neither then, is baptism that is delayed until a conscious decision for Christ is made, and repentance is shown, practiced or believed for this reason. So why is baptism so important, and why is it mentioned so much in the New Testament? Is this an either / or issue? For those who have been baptized as infants, and continue to do the same for their children, why can't that be sufficient for them? And for those who believe that baptism is meant only for those who consciously accept Christ in faith accompanied by repentance, why can't that be sufficient for them? To each his own. Right? Either way, God is accomplishing salvation in people outside the act itself. That is what is the most important. So I'm good to go.

Unless, one way more clearly demonstrates authentic faith, not just for the individual, but also for the church. In other words, if one way more clearly identifies you with the Savior, and more clearly identifies you as part of His body, and the other way, perhaps, confuses or blurs not only your ultimate association with Christ's body of believers, but also confuses your association (or union) with Him, then surely the former way should be preferred.

John MacArthur explains that at the end of the day, a professing Christian really has only a few possible answers to the Ethiopian eunuch's question. None of them are good. One is ignorance - either having not been taught or wrongly taught. Another is pride - not willing to be obedient to what is clearly a Biblical mandate. A third is indifference - not considering obedience a priority. Fourth is deviance - unwillingness to obey. And finally, a professing Christian may resist baptism because they are not truly converted and therefore have no desire to publicly demonstrate the significance of baptism on behalf of the honor of Christ.

God has brought me to a place where I believe He greatly desires to be glorified through what He has done and is doing in my life. Specifically, now, in the context of a local church body of believers in Indianapolis - College Park. It is at this church where I will be getting married in March. Married! What an answered prayer and what a great joy! It is at this church where I am completing, with my future wife, the process of membership, which includes submission to the authority of the leadership, who are under the authority of Scripture, and identification with the congregation of believers here, among whom I am anxious to selflessly serve based on the Spirit's leading. And it is at this church where I am to be baptized.

And I do so humbled, and excited, with no good reason or answer to the Ethiopian eunuch's question, but with one very profound answer to another question: What drives me to be baptized? And the answer is this: a deep desire to publicly confess and visibly demonstrate, in front of my local church, the reality that I have been bought by the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross on my behalf. And I have died to sin. Died! It has no dominion over me, even as its presence remains in this life. And I have been raised to new life in Christ. I'm alive! United in Christ, in His life, in His death, and in His resurrection, only by His grace, and all for His glory. This is not an abstract truth that is only objectively true for all believers. It is real, and it is also subjectively true for me. That God has provided a way to publicly demonstrate this supernatural and glorious reality is beyond gracious. It is wonderful. And I do it willingly.

The Book of Acts in 26 Months

2011-08-04T15:08:00.004-04:00

In June 2009, a small group of people and I embarked on what was promised to be not your average weekly bible study. We began with Acts Chapter 1, Verse 1.

Tonight, August 4, 2011, we conclude Acts Chapter 28, Verse 31. Twenty-six months in one book of the Bible. What have I learned? For one thing, this is not enough time. So much more we could have covered. I'm not joking. The Acts of the Apostles is an amazing narrative and theological example for Christians today to enjoy, be challenged and convicted by, and hold on to as we continue the very account that ended in Verse 31. I know I will never leave this book. Hope the same for you! Special thanks to everyone who was a part, and to John MacArthur, who preached diligently through this book from 1972 to 1975. The lasting application will never cease to amaze me.

Meanwhile, it appears that there are quicker ways to survey this book. Who knew.

The Whole Counsel of God

2011-04-17T15:16:00.057-04:00

This topic has been heavy on my heart in recent weeks. Am I proclaiming the whole counsel of God? Most of it at least? Part of it only? Am I living the whole counsel of God? Are you hearing the whole counsel of God? Am I innocent of your blood? What is the whole counsel of God?

Three things have set me on this journey. The first is the natural progression of a Bible study through the Book of Acts that I help lead, and the confrontation with the text of Acts 20: "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God."

The second is the firestorm over and the very existence of the book Love Wins, by Rob Bell, which offers some surprising interpretations on the Bible's teaching on judgment and salvation. The third is my experience at The Gospel Coalition conference earlier this month in Chicago, which focused on preaching Christ and the Gospel from the Old Testament. So, in other words, the first part of my journey has involved a thorough study of the biblical exhortation to declare the whole counsel of God; the second part has involved an encounter with a very bad example of this in practice, and the third part has involved the experience of a very good example. God has brought me closer to Him in this journey, and closer, I think, to understanding what the whole counsel of God is, how to proclaim it, and how to live it.

WHAT ABOUT MY GRASS?

Why should you care? I try to always ask that question in my posts, because it is a legitimate one. What are you doing on here? How did the interwebs lead you here? Why are you reading these strange words? Why I am taking the time to write them? The Spring has sprung. It's beautiful outside. Do you see how long my grass is right now? I don't have time for counsel. Seriously, my mower doesn't have a setting high enough to conquer the field outside my window, and I'm about to reek havoc on my blade and many other things, not least of which my allergies; uncontrollable sneezing is about to commence. I don't have time to delay the inevitable. The longer I wait, the more miserable it is going to be. Are you with me? So what is the point here? The whole counsel of God? Come on. My grass looks like a jungle. I don't care about this elusive "whole counsel" of God, and I don't have time for it. Or, you might have just had, or are very soon expecting, a baby. A human being. This is not assumption, as I know many people this month or the next few months who are expecting children. This is a big deal. Obviously a bigger deal than an untrimmed lawn. But, I wonder, how does the whole counsel of God apply to your newborn? Are you going to explain it to them? Shouldn't you?

Oh, that you would care, and have time, and explain it! As usual, what I write here is not sufficient to explain such a massive topic. But I hope it plants a seed. I hope it helps your reading of the Bible. I hope it encourages your love of people. I hope it allows you to rejoice at the deepest level. I hope it secures your joy in suffering. The Bible is the special revelation of the God of the Universe in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. When you read it, this is always the point, and it always will transform your life. Confusion about these things is not God's will for us. So, let's get into it.

SOVEREIGNTY AND RESPONSIBILITY

Some of you might not be aware of a pretty fundamental disagreement within the Christian Church. I want to expose you to it, but with great care, because I don't mean to confuse you or distance you from the Savior; I mean to draw you closer to Him in awe and surrender, where He is waiting for you with open arms. This disagreement centers around salvation. One extreme says that God predestines those who will come to faith in Him and does the entire work in saving us. The other extreme says that we come to salvation based on our free will decision. Many label those that believe completely in predestination as "Calvinists" (even though this description can include a much wider, and more specific, interpretation of the nature and grace of God). Many label those that believe completely in human free will as Arminians (even though, in my experience, those that lean this way are largely less informed about the difference, by their own admission). A wise man, and a friend, once explained in a Bible study I was in, a simple answer to this question when it came up. It has stuck with me like a super-glue backed post-it note on my brain: both are 100% true. Whoa. Right? God predestines us, and we are responsible for the free will decision. That some read the Bible and don't see this is quite perplexing to me. The fact that is makes no logical sense whatsoever is irrelevant to its presence in Scripture and very clear truthfulness.

Reading Acts has been very revealing about this reality of both being equally and completely true at the same time. "Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?' Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself." (Acts 2:37-41)

"When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48)

"A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." (Acts 16:14)

Charles Spurgeon, no slouch when it comes to Bible teaching, offers the balance of these two truths as a central part of what it means to preach the whole counsel of God. In other words, if you favor one at the expense of the other, you are falling short of God's complete truth (whole counsel), and leading people astray. God predestines us, and we are completely responsible. Sorry if that is confusing. I didn't make this stuff up. Its just true. Listen to Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers (read his entire address here):

"To proceed then:—I question whether we have preached the whole counsel of God, unless predestination with all its solemnity and sureness be continually declared—unless election be boldly and nakedly taught as being one of the truths revealed of God. It is the minister's duty, beginning from this fountain head, to trace all the other streams; dwelling on effectual calling, maintaining justification by faith, insisting upon the certain perseverance of the believer, and delighting to proclaim that gracious covenant in which all these things are contained, and which is sure to all the chosen, blood-bought seed... We are told that the times have changed: that we are to modify these old (so-called) Calvinistic doctrines, and bring them down to the tone of the times; that, in fact, they need dilution, that men have become so intelligent that we must pare off the angles of our religion, and make the square into a circle by rounding off the most prominent edges. Any man who doth this, so far as my judgment goes, does not declare the whole counsel of God.

"But beloved, a man might preach all these doctrines to the full, and yet not declare the whole counsel of God. For here comes the labour and the battle; here it is that he who is faithful in these modern days will have to bare the full brunt of war. It is not enough to preach doctrine; we must preach duty, we must faithfully and firmly insist upon practice. So long as you will preach nothing but bare doctrine, there is a certain class of men of perverted intellect who will admire you, but once begin to preach responsibility—say outright, once for all, that if the sinner perish it is his own fault, that if any man sinks to hell, his damnation will lie at his own door, and at once there is a cry of 'Inconsistency! How can these two things stand together?' Even good Christian men are found who cannot endure the whole truth, and who will oppose the servant of the Lord who will not be content with a fragment, but will honestly present the whole gospel of Christ. This is one of the troubles that the faithful minister has to endure. But he is not faithful to God—I say it solemnly, I do not believe that any man is even faithful to his own conscience, who can preach simply the doctrine of responsibility. I do assuredly believe that every man who sinks into hell shall have himself alone to curse for it. It shall be said of them as they pass the fiery portal: 'Ye would not.'...

"I do not see that the whole counsel of God is declared, unless those two apparently contradictory points are brought out and plainly taught... Espouse but one phase of the truth, and you shall be cried up to the very heavens. Become such a Calvinist that you shut your eyes to one half the Bible, and cannot see the responsibility of the sinner, and men will clap their hands, and cry Hallelujah! and on the backs of many you shall be hoisted to a throne, and become a very prince in their Israel. On the other hand, begin to preach mere morality, practice without doctrine, and you shall be elevated on other men's shoulders; you shall, if I may use such a figure, ride upon these asses into Jerusalem; and you shall hear them cry, Hosanna! and see them wave their palm branches before you.

"But once preach the whole counsel of God, and you shall have both parties down upon you; one crying, 'The man is too high,' the other saying, 'No, he is too low;' the one will say, 'He's a rank Arminian,' the other, 'He's a vile hyper- Calvinist.' Now, a man does not like to stand between two fires. There is an inclination to please one or other of the two parties, and so, if not to increase one's adherents, at least to get a more ferociously attached people... Therefore, it was no mean testimony that the apostle asked for himself, that he had not shunned to declare the whole counsel of God.

"But, then, let me remark further, while there is this temptation not to declare all the counsel of God, the true minister of Christ feels impelled to preach the whole truth, because it and it alone can meet the wants of man. What evils has this world seen through a distorted, mangled, man-moulded gospel. What mischiefs have been done to the souls of men by men who have preached only one part and not all the counsel of God. My heart bleeds for many a family where Antinomian doctrine has gained the sway. I could tell many a sad story of families dead in sin, whose consciences are seared as with a hot iron, by the fatal preaching to which they listen. I have known convictions stifled and desires quenched by the soul-destroying system which takes manhood from man and makes him no more responsible than an ox. I cannot imagine a more ready instrument in the hands of Satan for the ruin of souls than a minister who tells sinners that it is not their duty to repent of their sins or to believe in Christ, and who has the arrogance to call himself a gospel minister, while he teaches that God hates some men infinitely and unchangeably for no reason whatever but simply because he chooses to do so. O my brethren! may the Lord save you from the voice of the charmer, and keep you ever deaf to the voice of error."

CAN WE MESS IT UP?

Clearly, Spurgeon's point was that you can mess it up, and fail to declare the whole counsel of God, if you talk about and model God's predestination only, or man's responsibility only. But predestination and responsibility need more explanation themselves to get at what is included in the whole counsel of God, and to keep us from messing it up.

There are many ways to get at this. John Piper, for his part, describes certain truths in Scripture that must be included to declare the whole counsel of God. He says that people need to understand something about God - his holiness, his role as Creator; something about Man - created in God's image; something about Sin - our falling short of the glory of God; something about Christ - His virgin birth, sinless life, deity, example; something about the Cross - Christ's death in our place for our sins, his resurrection to give us hope and secure our future; something about the Holy Spirit - its supernatural transformation of our heart, and its presence in our lives as a deposit of eternal life; and something about Faith - our trusting in Christ and repentance as a necessary step for this salvation.

That is a lot. And, Piper says, you can go wrong concerning these things in a hundred different places. As luck would have it, contemporary culture has offered a very relevant example of one of those places in recent months. I wish it hadn't.

My last post was about Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, specifically its denial of the existence of hell, as traditional Christianity has understood it, and its portrayal of salvation as a universal promise, with or without trust in Jesus. I have now read the book. Let me tell you, it is not very good. I say that with as much respect and love for Rob Bell as I can muster. It's horribe. I'm just sayin'. Seriously, its bad, bad, bad. I'm not kidding around. If you must read it, immediately after you do so, check out Scot McKnight's careful critique. Then, listen to, watch, or read, Mark Driscoll's bold and pastoral message on the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16. Seriously, please watch it. Then, check out John MacArthur's less gentle, but equally fair, analysis of the book and the overall theology of Rob Bell. That should give you the basics. If you still want more, go to Kevin DeYoung and his massive review. If still not satisfied (at this point you're a glutton for punishment), maybe some snippets of what I found as serious issues with the book will be helpful to you:

- He doesn't talk about individual sin, and almost never his own sin. All sin is corporate from his perspective. This is unhelpful to me, an individual sinner.

- Although he explains Bible verses, he does very little Bible exposition. In other words, he doesn't let the text speak for itself; instead he uses it to make his points, some of which are not coherent. This is unhelpful to me, as I am not a Bible scholar, yet I care about what the Bible actually says.

- He shows downright apathy towards the reality of judgment day. Of the verses he references to explain hell, none of them are the ones that mention a day of judgment. This is unhelpful to me in my preparation for judgment.

- He offers no explanation for the character of John the Baptist and his warnings. What I am to make of this rough, hairy, locust-eating man?

- He ridicules immature, ignorant, unnamed Christians as he communicates his frustration with traditional Christianity's articulation of hell. Mature believers would never talk the way he accuses. What would he say to the articulation of hell by lifelong Bible teachers who preach it with trembling, and plead with their hearers to trust in Jesus?

- His explanation of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 is the worst form of moralizing. Ok, so I should pay attention to the poor people begging outside my door. That is convicting. But what am I to make of the torment, agony, and flame that the rich man faces?

- In general, he responds to an under-realized eschatology with an over-realized eschatology. God's kingdom has come to Earth, but its not fully here yet, but it kinda is. Or is it? If it is, why is there still death?

- He considers sin the rejection of the life God designed, not rejection of God himself. This is not a helpful description of my longing for a Savior or my guilty conscience, or much guidance as to how to live the life God designed.

- The only invitation he offers is to trust that we are loved, and that a new story is being told about us. I don't know many skeptics or unbelievers that would take the time to consider such a mediocre version of good news. His attempt to make the Gospel more palatable probably won't even work.

- He explains Hebrews from the perspective of the end of pagan sacrifices, instead of the fulfillment of Old Testament sacrifices. This makes the Book of Hebrews even more confusing to me.

- He can't understand hell outside the assumption that it represents that God has "changed gears" in his redemptive purposes. This assumption is not necessary and inconsistent with biblical truth, and makes Ephesians 1, for example, unintelligible to me.

- He actually utters the words, "We shape our God, then He shapes us." We shape our God? What? This does not give me any assurance at all that I will shape God anywhere close to how He is actually shaped.

I have a folder on my jump drive with more than 100 articles about this book from all over the Internet. I can find very few in support of it. Like I said above, Scot McKnight, a discerning Evangelical who has been sympathetic to the Emerging Church over the years, offers what I see as the most telling effort at correction. Please let me know if you would like other resources on this topic. I think I've said more than enough, and to be honest, I'm tired. The issue is now more so about the content of the controversy rather than the nature of it, and not even really about Rob Bell anymore. As John Piper hastily but prophetically stated in reaction to the promo video, Bell has now officially distanced himself from the Evangelical community, with which he, for some reason, still identifies.

Bottom line: if you diminish a doctrine as fundamental to the Gospel as the judgment of God, and ignore the glory that is seen in Jesus taking that punishment in our place, not only are you falling short of declaring the whole counsel of God, but also you are setting the stage for gradual disintegration of just about every other truth that makes the Gospel coherent, and wonderful. Don't do that.

DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT MATTER?

Did you watch the video above yet? It is way more important than anything I am writing here. I have been watching it every day. The Bible is not about me? The Old Testament characters point to something (ahem, Someone) more significant than a moral lesson on how to overcome obstacles or treat people more nicely? Even Jonah and the whale? And Esther? And David and Goliath? And the temple? And light? And bread? And the lamb? Its all about Jesus Christ? That is illuminating, life-changing, endlessly helpful, and a great relief. The Gospel Coalition conference featured brillant proclammations of this reality from very difficult to understand Old Testament passages. Here is an inadequate synopsis of some of the highlights:

John 5: 31-47 -- Albert Mohler

Mohler opened the conference with an overview of this passage in John and the practice of studying the Scripture and finding Jesus. He went through a fast-paced explanation and interpretation of the Book of Hebrews that I could never begin to summarize. He highlighted some of the ways that the general public dismiss the Old Testament, such as 1) considering it a different book (Hebrew Scriptures vs. Christian Scriptures), 2) considering it about a different deity (Angry God the Father vs. Loving Jesus), 3) denying that it has continuity with New Testament, and 4) presenting it as a moral dilemma. He then mentioned ways that preachers handle the Old Testament, such as 1) Avoid it altogether, 2) Use it as background only, and 3) moralize. By moralize, he meant turn every passage into a moral lesson, which in some ways is a good thing to do. "The only alternative to a moralizing preacher is a sociopath - but for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Moralizing is not wrong, its not just the main point, and it is tragic to end there."

After debunking a lot of these ways of handling the Old Testament, he showed how John indicates that Moses, John the Baptist, Scripture, and the Father Himself all bare witness to the centrality of Jesus Christ; how the purpose of the law was to foster hope; and how we need the New Testament to understand the Old. It was an amazing introduction.

Exodus 14 -- Tim Keller

And then came Tim Keller. This message was a game-changer. Just incredible. Do you ever think about the crossing of the Red Sea? I mean, really think about it? Maybe you don't believe it actually happened. That's fine. But when you start to realize its foreshadowing of our deliverance from bondage into the presence and salvation of Jesus Christ, all by grace, the struggle with whether or not to believe in the literalness of it fades away. And then, amazingly, it becomes more believable.

Keller asked and answered 3 questions:

1.) Q: What do we get out of? A: Bondage with layers
2.) Q: How do we get out? A: Cross over by grace
3.) Q: Why is it possible for us to get out? A: Because of a mediator.

Bondage with layers? You don't think of yourself in bondage, do you? If you're not a Christian, you are in bondage to sin, guilt, and to the law. If you are a Christian, you're still in bondage. Did you know that? "You can take people out of slavery, but you can't take the slavery out of the people." Even though there is now no condemnation for you, Keller says, subjectively we all know deep down that we're supposed to be perfect. We always default back to works righteousness, or trying to earn favor from God. And we fall short. Beyond that, we are in bondage to our sin nature. Justification delivers us from the penalty of sin, but sanctification is a gradual process of delivering us from the power of it. Think about this: every time you sin, you make it that much harder to resist that sin going forward. Every single time. Sin is suicide. We're in bondage! Finally, Keller explained how we are in bondage to idols. Even after we trust in Christ, our "old masters" come back after us, like Pharaoh in this passage, and try to convince us that we have to serve them or die. We all know this. An idol is something, besides God, that when it gets taken from you, you want to die. It is something that tells you that you will die if you don't "serve it". And you try, but it fails you. And then you're devestated.

So, how do we get out? We cross over by grace. By grace! Towering down on either side of us is a chaotic wall of water of God's wrath, unstoppable in its force, save by the power, willingness, and grace of God. And like the Israelities, and like Paul, we cross over, in an instant, and are changed. One minute we're in the bondage, the next minute we have crossed over by grace. Some of us may have crossed over in great confidence, some of us in great fear. No matter; we are equally saved. Keller explained how when you ask someone whether they are a Christian, and they answer something like, "Well, I'm trying", that shows they don't understand Christianity at all. Not at all. We are not saved because of the level of our faith but by the object of it - Jesus Christ. "After that, every problem is a flea bite in comparison to what has already been accomplished for you. And that's how you deal with the flea bites!"

Why is it possible? Because of a mediator. Greater than Moses, who stood aligned with God, as he spoke for Him to the people, and also aligned with the people, as he shared in their guilt, as a mediator - is Jesus Christ, who is our perfect mediator, living a sinless human life, taking the punishment we deserve, and rising from the dead as fully God to give us hope and assurance of salvation. Keller explained how in the Bible, from the very beginning, water represented chaos, and the Flood in Genesis is referred to by some as "decreation". When we turn away from our Creator, we get chaos and disintegration. That is what happened during the Flood, the Exodus, and even today. The Israelites had a mediator during the Exodus, Moses, who in the power of God held back the water walls of judgment. For us today: "Jesus Christ, on the cross, was being decreated so that you and I can be recreated."

Jeremiah 23:1-8 -- Conrad Mbewe

Hear the "African Spurgeon", Conrad Mbewe: "Brethren, this is the promise of the whole Bible. If God was to simply raise human shepherds over His people, sin would always bring about their downfall. The great promise of God is that He is sending Another, with a capital 'A'. And who is this? He is referred to in this passage as a branch, a Righteous Branch.

"What is it that destroyed Israel to the point that God would send them into captivity? It was the unrighteousness in leadership that seaps through and becomes the unrighteousness of the people. Therefore, if there is to be a real restoration from a place of judgment, than the wrath of God, which is essentially the justice of God, has to be lifted off from the people that were under its chastisment. And that could only be done with the satisfaction of justice through another. And beyond that it must be that this new leadership must be in himself righteousness. Because any other position would still mean that there is a debt to be paid, and consequently, (the people) would be right back to square one. So, who is this, who provided leadership to Israel on the basis of righteousness? You don't need to search very far to realize that there is only one across the whole of history who answers to this description....

"Whoever this person is, is God. For He is described in (Isaiah 9:6) not only as Wonderful Counselor, but also as Mighty God! This child, who is to be born, who is to be given to us, is the infinite and most glorious being, that angels have worshipped from eternity to eternity! The one who through His hands has brought into being the universe as we know it! He who governs all the rolling spheres across the entire universe, including the minutest details of our lives! And He will ultimately judge the living and the dead, including all of us in here. This is the Person being spoken about as the King. He is the Person who one day in the midst of all the confusion and sinfulness that was there in Isreal, was born as a little baby."

Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14 -- Matt Chandler

"Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes." - Ecclesiastes 11:9a. Amen to that! Right? That's in the Bible?? Ok! Let's party! Seriously. We all know how to rejoice right? This is easy. Realize, though, that our rejoicing is deeply broken, and its on the surface. It's shallow. We rejoice in our youth, in our strength and energy, when underneath God designs that we rejoice in His grace that sustains our energy and youthfulness. We are wicked people.

"Yet, know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things." - Ecclesiastes 11:9b. Oh. Not as much Amen. That gives us quite the gut-check to the brokenness of our rejoicing, does it not?

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, 'I have no pleasure in them'." - Ecclesiastes 12:1. Is there, then, Matt Chandler asks, a way to remember that redeems out rejoicing, and allows us to rejoice beneath the surface, deep down where God created us to rejoice, in Him? If so, how?

Read Scripture. It is everywhere in the pages of the Bible. There is a "gospel rhythm" throughout the Old Testament that points us to Jesus, and reminds us to remember our Creator, and our Savior, and His deliverance for us. Repent and believe in Jesus. Your remembering won't do much redeeming if you are not born again, saved by the blood of Jesus. Approach the throne of grace with confidence. "The litmus test of how well you understand the Gospel is how you respond when you fail." Meditate on the Gospel, constantly. Don't assume it! "If you assume the Gospel, all people will hear is moralistic therapeutic deism! That's all they'll hear." Finally, walk by the Spirit. Don't let a moment come when you are not overwhelmed, and marvelling at the Lord Jesus Christ and His accomplishment and love for you. Not a moment!

WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD

So, in conclusion, the whole counsel of God is something along the lines of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's really all. Jesus Christ really did come to earth as a baby, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He really did live a perfect, sinless life. He really did bring a taste of the Kingdom of God to earth. He really did demonstrate the power of God in healing, and He represents our prime example of who God is, and how He wants us to live. He really went to the cross, willingly, in accordance with the eternal plan of the Father, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He took our sin upon himself, and He really was forsaken by the Father and tasted the cup of His wrath, the punishment we all deserve. He really did die, and was buried. He really did rise from the grave, in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, giving us confirmation of His deity and that His sacrifice was approved by the Father, and giving us assurance of salvation and hope that we too will rise in Him. And He really is coming back to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom really will have no end. He really did appoint and elect, before all time, those that are His own and would come to believe, and we really do still need to respond in faith and repentance. To those who by perseverence seek for glory and honor and immortality, He really will grant eternal life. But to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He really will grant wrath and indignation. There really is a heaven, and there really is a hell. Heaven really is way better than you could possibly imagine, and hell really is more agonizing than we could ever describe. And Jesus really is the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by Him. No one. Really. But, by the grace of God, there really is salvation. Really! Today is the day!

Hell? Yeah!

2011-03-01T11:35:00.048-05:00

I could include a scary picture or video to start this post to get your attention, but that would not adequately communicate my purpose, so instead I'll stick to words, of which I have many. The purpose of this post is to humbly, and with much trembling, state a harsh biblical truth that will sound like very bad news but is actually very good news. Please pay attention! To some, it will sound deeply offensive. It will make some people throw their computer across the room. It will make some people deeply despair. Some will claim it's not so cut and dry. Some will consider it unnecessarily judgmental, intolerant, or fundamentalist. Some will say they are not ready to hear it. Some will say you are not ready to hear it. Some will smirk. Some will yell. Some will cry. Some will laugh. Some will ignore. Some will fall on their knees. I don't know what your reaction will be, but I hope it will be a healthy mixture of boldness and compassion, grace and truth, fear and confidence, and, as Piper would say, I hope it makes you "tremblingly, soberly....hopeful."

What the hell am I talking about? Well, I am talking about hell. I am talking about (deep breath) the reality as explained in the Bible that for those who do not put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, in this life, there awaits for those individuals the terrifying experience of the eternal wrath of God. This may not be something you think about a lot, even if you believe it. But you need to, and not because you need to be afraid, but because you need to see and understand God for who He really is, as revealed in Scripture, so you can really experience joy. And joy matters, doesn't it? Meetings, emails, presentations, exams, games, toys, news, economics, money, shopping, conversations with friends, date nights, time with your kids, bible study, service to the poor - all these things are not the same without authentic, lasting joy. Right?

See, when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible teaches that He, among other things, absorbed the wrath of God that we deserve for our sin and rebellion against our Creator. The wrath of God He absorbed was infinite, and more than we could ever imagine. Physically and spiritually. He was flogged, beaten, and bloodied, even before He was crucified. He was forsaken by His Father, the God of the Universe. Jesus in this way was our substitute, because God could have not been just and left our sins unpunished, so in the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf, He became both just and the justifier of those who put their trust in Him. To those who don't put their trust in Him, this sacrifice does not apply, and the Bible says that the wrath of God remains on them. For every human being, this wrath has to either be satisfied on the cross, or eternally in hell. To vindicate a Holy, Loving God, there could be no other way. Our sin is that bad. If you doubt the reality of sin, consider this challenge from Mark Driscoll, "All who think people are good at their core need to stop being hypocrites and take the locks off all their doors."

This all is not some wild concoction from the brain of some human being sometime in history meant to oppress people. The Bible is very clear about this reality, and it is meant to liberate people. Tim Keller once said when asked about what he believes about hell, "One thing I believe is that probably, the biblical imagery of hell fire is metaphorical... It’s metaphorical for something probably infinitely worse than fire." Whew (Deep breath). What you are hearing and understanding right now as bad news, making you perhaps angry, is actually the greatest news in the universe. Yes, I'm serious. Has no one ever told you that?

WHAT THE HELL, ROB BELL?

This topic has become especially relevant recently because of the pre-release of a controversial book by talented communicator and famed pastor, Rob Bell. You may know him for his catchy book titles like Velvet Elvis and Sex God, or his inspirational Nooma videos. His publishing company issued a promotional statement, he released a video preview, and then all hell broke loose (pun intended) on the Internet and in social media because of some vague, perhaps heretical implications Bell seemed to be making. There is so much you could read on this, and likewise there is so much I could say. The New York Times and CNN have even weighed in, among others. I'll try my best to be concise, because what I really want to communicate is the clarity of Scripture and the hope of the Gospel that Bell is not doing justice to, and in turn not serving believers or unbelievers very well, whether he is a heretic or universalist or not. Some words of summary:

Be cautious of those who are commenting or criticizing the nature of the debate, instead of the content of the debate. In other words, those who are blaming the "Reformed Resurgence", including men such as Justin Taylor and John Piper, for defensiveness, fundamentalism, and lack of compassion and charity in dialogue, are likely unwilling or unable to intelligently engage the content of the issue, which, don't be mistaken, is a matter of life and death, heaven or hell. For an example of calling out theology-minded "Neo-Calvinists" in a naive way that both misunderstands and also doesn't address the theological issues in question, see Jarrod McKenna: Love Wins: Rob Bell and the New Calvinists, or worse, Brian McClaren: Giving Us All a Wonderful Opportunity, or even, the Good Morning America coverage.

However, also be cautious of those who are merely stating the biblical truth about hell, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ for salvation, and the wrath of God, without also humbly offering the hope, grace, and compassion that comes through these truths. For an example of how not to communicate the wrath of God, reference the Westboro Baptist Church picketing of military funerals to draw attention to their provocative view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. This is absurd, hurtful, and unbiblical, and even if the Constitution supports it, the Church certainly shouldn't.

For an example of a good balance in addressing the nature and the content of the debate, and specifically a helpful explanation about the streams of "universalism", check out Scot McKnight: Waiting for Rob Bell, and Waiting for Rob Bell 2. McKnight says, "To talk about wrath apart from this depiction of the grace-consuming God is to put forward a view of God that is not only unbiblical but potentially monstrous. And, to put forward a view of God that is absent of final judgment, yes of wrath, yes of eternal judgment, is to offer a caricature of the Bible’s God. No one should begin to talk about hell without spending fifteen minutes in pausing prayer to consider the horror of it all." Another good and balanced write-up is from Mark Galli at Christianity Today: Heaven, Hell, and Rob Bell.

Tim Keller says, "The Christian understanding of Hell is crucial for understanding your own heart, for living at peace in the world, and for knowing the love of God." This is the point! Oh, that all would understand this! Rob Bell is right with the title of his book that "love wins". But the love that wins is not a love that rips the justice away from the character of God, because that love would not be very loving, and it would not be very God. Further, it doesn't make much sense when we compare it to history or the natural order. Keller wrote in The Reason for God, "The belief in a God or pure love - who accepts everyone and judges no one - is a powerful act of faith. Not only is there no evidence for it in the natural order, but there is almost no historical, religious textual support for it outside of Christianity. The more one looks at it, the less justified it appears."

TO HELL WITH QUESTIONS

Bell asks a lot of questions in his preview that Christianity and the Bible have clearly answered for 2000 years. Why does he ask them? Because they are good questions and people are asking. That is a good reason. However, his asking of them rhetorically is not helpful. You might say, don't we have to wait for the book to see his real purpose in asking these questions and his real answers? Don't we have to wait to see if he is going to answer them the way that orthodox Christianity has been answering them for years? Maybe. But consider the following suggestion from Kevin DeYoung, who shows the power of questions to communicate a point, in a way similar to what Bell is doing in his book promotion.

Rhetorical questions from Rob Bell:

Gandhi's in hell? He is? And someone knows this for sure? Will only a few select people make it to heaven? And will billions and billions of people burn forever in hell? And if that’s the case, how do you become one of the few? Is it what you believe or what you say or what you do or who you know or something that happens in your heart? Or do you need to be initiated or take a class or converted or being born again? How does one become one of these few?

Then there is the question behind the questions. The real question [is], “What is God like?”, because millions and millions of people were taught that the primary message, the center of the gospel of Jesus, is that God is going to send you to hell unless you believe in Jesus. And so what gets subtly sort of caught and taught is that Jesus rescues you from God. But what kind of God is that, that we would need to be rescued from this God? How could that God ever be good? How could that God ever be trusted? And how could that ever be good news?

This is why lots of people want nothing to do with the Christian faith. They see it as an endless list of absurdities and inconsistencies and they say, why would I ever want to be a part of that? See what we believe about heaven and hell is incredibly important because it exposes what we believe about who God is and what God is like. What you discover in the Bible is so surprising, unexpected, beautiful, that whatever we have been told and been taught, the good news is actually better than that, better than we could ever imagine. The good news is that love wins.

Rhetorical questions from Kevin DeYoung to show the power of questions to communicate:

Will God save everyone? Does everyone go to heaven no matter how bad they were and no matter what they believed? Is Hitler there next to Bonhoeffer enjoying the same eternal bliss? What kind of God would that be? How would we make sense of Jesus’ strong language about hell or the chilling scenes in Revelation? Would that God still be holy and just?

And what would that do to our understanding of the gospel? Would Jesus’ death still be necessary? Would faith in him really be that important? Why would we still send out missionaries and evangelists? What would be so good about the good news if, in the end, there is no bad news? And if there is no hell, or we can’t really be sure anyone is there, why have almost all Christians in all of history believed there was such a place of eternal suffering? Have we found something that historic orthodoxy has missed all these centuries?

What if the things you’ve heard recently are not the truth about Christianity? What if the warnings in Scripture are real warnings? What if God is purer than we thought, we’re worse than we imagined, and hell is as real as the nose on your face? What if the “only way” means the only way? What if God is glorified in salvation and judgment? What if the God of love and the Father of mercies is also a righteous Judge, a holy Sovereign, and a conquering King?

Is both cases, DeYoung asserts, the questions tell you what the speaker thinks is foolish and what he thinks is wise. That much is plain. So, in this way, the asking of the questions by Bell, on its own, gives very credible cause to offer correction based on his implications. Albert Mohler explains:

"We must await the release of the full book in order to know what Rob Bell is really saying, but his advance promotion for the book is already saying something, and it is not good. The material he has already put forth does demand and deserve attention. The Emerging Church movement is known for its slick and sophisticated presentation. It wears irony and condescension as normal attire. Regardless of how Rob Bell’s book turns out, its promotion is the sad equivalent of a theological strip-tease. The Gospel is too precious and important to be commodified in this manner. The questions he asks are too important to leave so tantalizingly unanswered. Universalism is a heresy, not a lure to use in order to sell books. This much we know, almost a month before the book is to be released."

Even though Bell doesn't technically identify himself with the "Emerging Church", and therefore its "slick and sophisticated presentation", he is playing around with essential truths such as the exclusivity of Jesus for salvation, the existence of Hell, and the reality of the wrath of God, all of which the Bible is very clear about, and all of which the Gospel of grace is incomplete, insufficient, unloving, and unhopeful without!!

HELLUVA LOTTA LOVE

So that brings us to what matters. Back to Keller's quote: "The Christian understanding of Hell is crucial for understanding your own heart, for living at peace in the world, and for knowing the love of God." Do you believe that? Hell and wrath are good. Yes, I'm serious! Has no one ever told you that? To shy away from them for fear of offending people is crazy. It is crazy because in your effort to not offend them, you actually are crippling them in the battle for joy, and robbing them of the most glorious message in the universe, because without wrath and hell the Gospel of Jesus Christ is just a fairy tale love story that has trouble holding water. It is also a theologically ignorant point of view, because it assumes that a loving God cannot coexist with the concept of Hell and judgment. The Bible does not make that assumption and in fact reveals that such an assumption is false, dangerous, and less glorious. As Keller says, "Ironically, people by getting rid of the idea of judgment and hell, try to make God more loving, and they make Him less." Let's get into it.

UNDERSTAND YOUR HEART

This is amazingly helpful. Please read! Why is a Christian understanding of Hell crucial to understanding our heart? I can’t say it better than Keller and C.S. Lewis, so I’ll just quote:

“I believe one of the reasons the Bible tells us about hell is so it can act like 'smelling salts' about the true danger and seriousness of even minor sins. However, I've found that only stressing the symbols of hell (fire and darkness) in preaching rather than going into what the symbols refer to (eternal, spiritual decomposition) actually prevents modern people from finding hell a deterrent. Some years ago I remember a man who said that talk about the fires of hell simply didn't scare him, it seemed too far-fetched, even silly. So I read him lines from C.S. Lewis:

Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others . . . but you are still distinct from it. You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. But there may come a day when you can no longer. Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it, but just the grumble itself, going on forever like a machine. It is not a question of God 'sending us' to hell. In each of us there is something growing, which will BE Hell unless it is nipped in the bud.

"To my surprise he got very quiet and said, ‘Now that scares me to death.’ He almost immediately began to see that hell was a) perfectly fair and just, and b) something that he realized he might be headed for if he didn't change. If we really want skeptics and non-believers to be properly frightened by hell, we cannot simply repeat over and over that 'hell is a place of fire.' We must go deeper into the realities that the Biblical images represent. When we do so, we will find that even secular people can be affected.”

Are you affected? Keller goes on, "Even your good things enslave you, they're starting to disintegrate you, they're starting to isolate you, so that when something gets in the way of them, instead of just being afraid, you're paralyzed; instead of just being angry, you're implacably bitter; instead of being despondent, you endlessly hate yourself for ever and ever. This is the fire. Do you not see it in yourself? Do you not see where its going?....Are you willing to look as deep into yourself as the doctrine of hell is calling you to look?"

LIVE AT PEACE

It is true that some people disdain others who they believe to be in, or on their way to, hell, because of their rejection of Jesus. Rob Bell mentions someone who did so to Gandhi, one of the great humanitarians in history, also a Hindu. This disdain is rightly frowned upon, and is actually evidence of a really bad understanding of what the Bible says about hell. There also may be others who impose the reality of hell on people in a violent way, but this also is not biblical, as we see specifically in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 16, where Abraham speaks down to the rich man in hell, and says, "son". Not "sinner" or "evil person", but "son". The understandable objection from many in our culture that the doctrine of hell creates an environment where people oppress, look down on, or disdain those they believe to be headed there, does not adequately account for the love and justice of God. Consider victims of injustice. How are you going to prevent someone, who has had their house burned by enemies, for example, from falling into a cycle of violence and vengeance? Are you going to tell them that violence doesn't solve anything? Keller says:

"Not only will such moralizing not touch their hearts, but also it shows no concern for justice! Miroslav Volf (a Croatian familiar with this kind of injustice in the context of the wars in the Balkans) said, 'The only resource I know of powerful enough to both pacify the human heart's desire for justice, and at same time keep us from being sucked into the cycle of blood and vengeance, is to say that there is a God, and He will put everything right....If you don't believe that the doctrine of God's judgment is a powerful resource for living at peace on Earth, then you've lived a sheltered life."

KNOW GOD'S LOVE

Finally, the understanding of hell and God's judgment is necessary in order to see God's love. It is to this point that the development with Rob Bell and his new book is the most ironic. To repeat Keller again, "Ironically, people by getting rid of the idea of judgment and hell, try to make God more loving, and they make Him less." First question that comes to mind is, why do we do this? Probably, either because we care too much what people think, or because we do not adequately understand what we are talking about. I can't really help you care less about what people think. But you should. There; that is my best effort. But I can, hopefully, help you understand what the hell you're talking about (pun intended again).

The second question is why and how is this so? In other words, why and how does the reality of judgment and hell show God as more loving? It is actually quite simple when you think about it. Again, I'll let Keller explain for me. Stay alert! This is so important for you to grasp!

"In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says that no physical destruction can be compared with the spiritual destruction of hell, of losing the presence of God. But this is exactly what happened to Jesus on the cross - he was forsaken by the Father (Matthew 27:46.) In Luke 16:24 the rich man in hell is desperately thirsty (v.24) and on the cross Jesus said 'I thirst' (John 19:28.) The water of life, the presence of God, was taken from him. The point is this. Unless we come to grips with this 'terrible' doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him he was experiencing hell itself. But consider--if our debt for sin is so great that it is never paid off there, but our hell stretches on for eternity, then what are we to conclude from the fact that Jesus said the payment was 'finished' (John 19:30) after only three hours? We learn that what he felt on the cross was far worse and deeper than all of our deserved hells put together.

"And this makes emotional sense when we consider the relationship he lost. If a mild acquaintance denounces you and rejects you--that hurts. If a good friend does the same--that hurts far worse. However, if your spouse walks out on you saying, 'I never want to see you again,' that is far more devastating still. The longer, deeper, and more intimate the relationship, the more tortuous is any separation. But the Son's relationship with the Father was beginningless and infinitely greater than the most intimate and passionate human relationship. When Jesus was cut off from God he went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. He experienced the full wrath of the Father. And he did it voluntarily, for us.

"Fairly often I meet people who say, 'I have a personal relationship with a loving God, and yet I don't believe in Jesus Christ at all.' Why, I ask? 'My God is too loving to pour out infinite suffering on anyone for sin.' But this shows a deep misunderstanding of both God and the cross. On the cross, God HIMSELF, incarnated as Jesus, took the punishment. He didn't visit it on a third party, however willing.

"So the question becomes: what did it cost your kind of god to love us and embrace us? What did he endure in order to receive us? Where did this god agonize, cry out, and where were his nails and thorns? The only answer is: 'I don't think that was necessary.' But then ironically, in our effort to make God more loving, we have made him less loving. His love, in the end, needed to take no action. It was sentimentality, not love at all. The worship of a god like this will be at most impersonal, cognitive, and ethical. There will be no joyful selfabandonment, no humble boldness, no constant sense of wonder. We could not sing to him 'love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.' Only through the cross could our separation from God be removed, and we will spend all eternity loving and praising God for what he has done (Rev 5:9-14.)

"And if Jesus did not experience hell itself for us, then we ourselves are devalued. In Isaiah, we are told, 'The results of his suffering he shall see, and shall be satisfied' (Isaiah 53:11). This is a stupendous thought. Jesus suffered infinitely more than any human soul in eternal hell, yet he looks at us and says, 'It was worth it.' What could make us feel more loved and valued than that? The Savior presented in the gospel waded through hell itself rather than lose us, and no other savior ever depicted has loved us at such a cost."

So does hell exist? Hell yeah! And we are better off because of it. Praise God that Jesus experienced that horror on our behalf so we wouldn't have to, though we deserve it very much. And then he rose from the grave to give us hope that His sacrifice can apply to and save us, if we trust in Him. This message is good news! And hell is an essential part of making sense of it. We will try to get rid of hell at our own peril, and doing so will take away our joy, even before it waits to destroy our soul. God forbid! Trust in Jesus!

Doctrinal Boot Camp

2011-02-28T14:27:00.011-05:00

It is greatly encouraging to read something that echoes the word that God has being putting on my heart and in my reading and writing so often of late. This is Chuck Colson from Christianity Today:

"The psychology of boot camp is instructive. The first six weeks are spent—figuratively speaking, mostly—beating out of recruits every habit, attitude, and preconceived notion about life and the world. You are told you are worthless and are 'not a special snowflake,' as Campbell says. You are now part of the Marine Corps and will do what the drill instructor says. Period.

"After the drill instructors get rid of the old man—there's a good analogy—the instruction changes dramatically. They now tell you that you're a marine and can achieve anything if you live by the rules. Though it was half a century ago, I vividly remember what it meant to be a marine. I found confidence in myself that I'd never had before. But I also learned that the man next to me had my back. And I had his. We could trust each other with our lives. There was camaraderie, indeed a fellowship, unlike anything I've known since.

"This is what becoming a Christian means. We put off the old man, get rid of the old habits, and embrace a new set of beliefs and standards defined in Scripture and lived out over 2,000 years. Just like the Marine Corps, the church has learned what works and what doesn't, what is right and what is wrong. And the goal of Christian discipleship is to conform to the truths of the Christian faith, just as a marine has to conform to the truths of the corps.

"Come to think of it, isn't the church today in a far more serious battle than any the Marines have fought? Aren't we called to make disciples who will advance the kingdom of God in an extremely hostile world? Haven't we inherited 2,000 years of very hard-earned lessons? The more I've thought about the parallels, the more I am convinced that we have failed younger evangelicals and new believers generally. We have told them or at least implied that they can live happily ever after, that Christianity is all about what's good for them—not necessarily about what is true. Things just go better with Jesus.

"If we want to see revival in the church, we need to be at least as serious as the Marines are about preparing men and women for battle. Perhaps we ought to rethink Sunday school, dust off the catechisms, and start teaching the Bible and theology to our young people again. If the theologically attuned young Reformed crowd is any indication, they can handle it. But it's not just for Calvinists. Every successful Christian movement has embraced ways to effectively pass on the faith entrusted to the saints once for all."

"The church is looking for a few good men and women. Is anyone ready to enlist?"

This is going to become especially relevant in our generation. In large part, because some will de-emphasize its importance, or redefine its content. Some will avoid the parts of the Bible and the parts of Christian doctrine that seem to offend people. And while they think by doing this they are shielding believers, they will actually be crippling them. While they think they are wooing unbelievers, they actually will be robbing them of the most glorious message in the world. Tim Keller said, "Neglecting the unpleasant doctrines of the historic faith will bring about counter intuitive consequences. There is an ecological balance to scriptural truth that must not be disturbed."

More to come. Stay alert.

Immortal Until Your Work is Done

2011-01-08T12:29:00.042-05:00

J.C. Ryle said the following of George Whitefield, the great preacher and church planter during the Great Awakening in the 18th Century, in reference to his unmatched and rigorous ministry schedule: "He was immortal till his work was done." Whitefield was thought to have preached 18,000 sermons in his lifetime, and for much of his life that equated to 13 per week. If you have ever prepared and then preached a sermon, this reality is either ridiculous and foolish to you, or impressive and humbling beyond measure. No doubt, these sermons were either really bad, or really good. Read even one of them and you will quickly know which is more accurate. On the effectiveness of Whitefield's preaching, Ryle says, "I believe that the direct good which he did to immortal souls was enormous. I will go further - I believe it is incalculable. Credible witnesses in England, Scotland, and America have placed on record their conviction that he was the means of converting thousands of people."

Much of this preaching was in the open air, which exposed him to ridicule and in some cases physical persecution. The church at that time was not ready for Whitefield, "too asleep to understand him", and so they shunned him, and in turn "lost the use of his services". Ryle's description of him as immortal may have been an understatement. "That any human frame could so long endure the labors that Whitefield went through does indeed seem wonderful. That his life was not cut short by violence, to which he was frequently exposed, is no less wonderful." He lived through what many would have outright avoided because of its physical and emotional cost. He had pieces of dead cats thrown at him. No joke. Ryle's words represent to us a powerful and convicting challenge for the Christian life.

DO YOU THINK OF YOURSELF AS IMMORTAL?

Do you? Our days are known by God, and we will not go home early or late. Therefore, we can be sure that while we have breath, we have work to do. That "work", a.k.a. our normal life surrendered to Christ, which consists of, among other things, family, vocation, and participation and service in a Christian community and in our spheres of influence, does not promise to be easy. In fact, many times, this work, or normal life, is accompanied with great risk and suffering. But it will not separate us from the love of God and it will not take our life prematurely. The Sovereign God of the Universe counts our days and gives us breath enough to finish our work, which is ultimately for His glory and our joy.

So, if that is true, we should feel a lot less anxious in the midst of risky, sacrificial service to God (which includes sacrificially loving your family and your neighbors, and persevering at your job as if it were Christ you were serving, even when its hard or boring), then we feel in the comfortable corner of minimal sacrifice and risk, cleverly disguised as the American dream. In other words, if you feel like you have little left to accomplish, and prefer to avoid risk and seek comfort and self-preservation, your days are likely numbered.

Isaiah 54:17 says, "No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgement. That is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD." Is that your heritage? Are you a servant?

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians, "If I am to go on living in the body, it will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith." These thoughts alone make me tremble and rejoice simultaneously.

WHAT IF JAMES BOND WAS A CHRISTIAN?

All this has been marinating in my mind for awhile in the form of a definition of what it looks like to live the Christian equivalent of the U.S. Army Special Forces lifestyle. Hang with me here. Allow me to offer a definition of spiritual discipline from the words of a retired Delta Force Commander: "We trained our bodies and our minds to a level that gave us supreme confidence in our capability to be successful in any situation, anywhere in the world."

What if we trained ourselves to that level spiritually, so that we could have that confidence as we face spiritual warfare, ridicule, maybe physical persecution, emotional pain, loss, depression, mental fatigue, boredom, spiritual apathy, stress, doubt, discouragement, or temptation? What if we became so familiar with God from his Word, and so close to Him through prayer, that we really believed that He is always for us and working in all situations and struggles for our good? And so much so that we would not necessarily be prepared for every situation, as if there is a blueprint or manual for everything we face, but that we would be adaptable, and able to apply biblical truth and the presence of God to every situation, anywhere. That would be awesome, and I think what God is calling the Christian to be. Anything less may simply be laziness and disobedience.

Just imagine, if disciples of Christ were like covert warriors, completely fearless, trained in body and mind, not intimidated at all by people smarter or richer than them, with impeccable judgment, adaptable and unshaken by unpredictable circumstances, confident that their Lord himself was praying for them (John 17), and focused without wavering on the mission. Worst case scenario, our mortal bodies expire, and we go to be with Jesus as the immortals we are. At that time, there will be, for us, no work left to be done. And says our Lord, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

CHRISTIAN BOOT CAMP

How am I ever going to be qualified for this? you ask. How am I ever going to be disciplined like this? Maybe your vision is poor. Special Forces soldiers don't wear contacts, just in case you were wondering. Maybe you have asthma or sinus issues. These aren't normally conditions that elite soldiers deal with. Maybe you are not a people person or very articulate in even your first language. CIA spies don't usually get nervous talking to people, even in second or third languages (Ever heard of Moses?). Maybe you don't have a very good short-term memory. Covert operatives don't usually forget detailed instructions when their life depends on it. Maybe you can't run a mile without stopping to walk. Maybe you are not a quick thinker. Maybe your navigational skills are embarrassing. Maybe the most "adapting" you have done in the last week is switching lines in the grocery store.

Can I tell you something? There is no boot camp for Christians. There is no elite selection process. You don't have to be a perfect specimen. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It says that God has granted to us everything we need for life and godliness. It says that we were created to do good works, prepared in advance for us. Bearing fruit is not probable for the Christian; it is assured. Why aren't we doing it? My only answer is that we are not disciplined. We do not yield to the Spirit, receive the Word, and understand grace. These things are hard, and risky. Harder than learning multiple languages. Riskier than hiking a mountain range in pursuit with limited nutrition. We have to live the disciplines of grace. Not the disciplines of physical fitness or defensive driving or complex reasoning or hostage negotiation. The disciplines of grace.

BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT?

I have talked before about the dangers of assuming you can, or thinking you have to, become perfect in the Christian life. I'll save that this time other than to say, no! The only thing worse than thinking you can or have to become perfect is thinking you shouldn't strive for it. Confused? Consider George Whitefield. He was just a man. Immortal only in the sense that he had eternal life in Jesus Christ and the God of the Universe had control over the timing of his entrance into the heavenly kingdom. As He has over us all as well. But Whitefield was still a sinner, and it is worth taking note of his imperfect qualities. The Mars Hill Church blog said the following:

"George Whitefield lived in a religious culture where celibacy was the highest calling and marriage was allowed only within carefully prescribed emotional and sexual limits. Sex existed primarily for procreation. Therefore, he had no children with his wife, Elizabeth. The Methodist code shaped and influenced Whitefield, who was convinced that no passion or emotional commitment could be stronger than the 'spiritual marriage' to Christ and his church. This meant for Whitefield, impassioned feelings between the sexes had to be suppressed to prevent the possibility of idolatry. His wife miscarried several times and became ill but Whitefield traveled for months by himself. Moreover, Elizabeth largely remained in silence, which was reflective of the role of women and marriage at the time, and she did not receive much attention even by later biographers of Whitefield. Whitefield’s priority list would have been Jesus, ministry, and marriage last, whereas marriage should have been a higher priority than ministry in a biblical man’s life."

This sense of priorities is not commendable. However, does it cancel out his passion and ministry? Maybe you can relate more with not prioritizing ministry at all and perhaps idolizing you spouse or family to the neglect of God's kingdom. Does that cancel out your love for them? Maybe you can relate more with idolizing work to the neglect of your family, and then also your ministry. Does that cancel out your dedication at work? Do any of these unbalanced examples give us reason to be so dominated by our sin and guilt or confused priorities that we mope and pout all the time, and ignore the call of God on our lives in family and vocation first, then ministry? God forbid! If you idolize your family over God, His reshaping of your priorities will not necessarily include an abandonment of family. If you idolize your job over your family and ministry, His reshaping of your priorities will not necessarily include altogether neglect at work. Does that make sense? God has given you everything you need. We just need help applying that the right way sometimes. And that likely means focusing more passion in certain areas, not less in others. God is not calling you to love your family or your job less. He is calling you, probably, to love Him and his ministry for you more.

SPIRITUAL HEROISM

This last week the news has been dominated by yet another tragedy resulting from a crazy and evil-intended young person with access to a weapon and some confused priorities. It is no less tragic than shootings that have dominated the news before, maybe more. Six people were killed and 14 wounded, among them Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Gifford. It was not a crazy shooting spree only. It was an assassination attempt. Yet, emerging from the story are ordinary heroes who made a big difference. Take 61 year old white-haired Patricia Maisch.

CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports we may never know why the shooting started, but it ended because Bill Badger, Joe Zamudio and Patricia Maisch saw a chance and took it. With the gun aimed at his head, Badger, a 74-year-old retired army colonel, made a lucky move. Badger indicates the back of his head, saying, "I turned my head and the bullet went right though, right above my ears right above here." He points across the back of his head. The gunman turned to Patricia Maisch. "I was really expecting to be shot," she says. "And just then the gunfire stopped and two men jumped on him." One of those men was Badger, wounded and bleeding. "I got him by the throat," he says. "The other guy has him on his knee right on the back of his neck." The gunman was down but trying to reload his 9mm handgun. "So I grabbed the magazine before he could and held onto it," says Maisch.

A 61-year-old woman wrestled an ammunition clip from the Arizona gunman as he tried to reload his weapon. That is amazing. She was not a former Special Forces soldier. She was not professional law enforcement personnel. She was disciplined enough to trust what she did have, and use it for good.

God has equipped us with everything we need for life and godliness. What acts of spiritual heroism has God designed you for? What disciplines do you need to master? You're immortal until your work is done, so get to it, trusting the constant grace of a Sovereign and loving God to protect and provide for you along the way. You don't have to be a perfect specimen. Or a perfect person. All you need is perfect grace. You will receive it in Jesus Christ.

10,000 New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-31T17:24:00.003-05:00

Let's go big or go home in Twenty-Eleven. I didn't have much time, but I wanted to keep up my monthly blogging schedule. So I ran across a very timely article on this last day of 2010, which I thought I would share:

Trading One Dramatic Resolution for 10,000 Little Ones

Paul Tripp, at his best. Here are the highlights. It is basically a summary, articulated far better than I ever could, of the purpose and heart behind this blog. God is in the details.

"Well, it's that season once again. It's the fodder for blogs, newspaper articles, TV magazine shows and way too many Twitter posts. It is the time for the annual ritual of dramatic New Year's resolutions fueled by the hope of immediate and significant personal life change.

"But the reality is that few smokers actually quit because of a single moment of resolve, few obese people have become slim and healthy because of one dramatic moment of commitment, few people who were deeply in debt have changed their financial lifestyle because they resolved to do so as the old year gave way to the new, and few marriages have been changed by the means of one dramatic resolution.

"Is change important? Yes, it is for all of us in some way. Is commitment essential? Of course! There is a way in which all of our lives are shaped by the commitments we make. But biblical Christianity—which has the gospel of Jesus Christ at its heart—simply doesn't rest its hope in big, dramatic moments of change.

"The fact of the matter is that the transforming work of grace is more of a mundane process than it is a series of a few dramatic events. Personal heart and life change is always a process. And where does that process take place? It takes place where you and I live everyday. And where do we live? Well, we all have the same address. Our lives don't careen from big moment to big moment. No, we all live in the utterly mundane.

"Most of us won't be written up in history books. Most of us only make three or four momentous decisions in our lives, and several decades after we die, the people we leave behind will struggle to remember the event of our lives. You and I live in little moments, and if God doesn't rule our little moments and doesn't work to recreate us in the middle of them, then there is no hope for us, because that is where you and I live.

"The little moments of life are profoundly important precisely because they are the little moments that we live in and that form us. This is where I think "Big Drama Christianity" gets us into trouble. It can cause us to devalue the significance of the little moments of life and the "small-change" grace that meets us there. And because we devalue the little moments where we live, we don't tend to notice the sin that gets exposed there. We fail to seek the grace that is offered to us.

"In these small moments he is delivering every redemptive promise he has made to you. In these unremarkable moments, he is working to rescue you from you and transform you into his likeness. By sovereign grace he places you in daily little moments that are designed to take you beyond your character, wisdom and grace so that you will seek the help and hope that can only be found in him. In a lifelong process of change, he is undoing you and rebuilding you again—exactly what each one of us needs!"

So, make the little moments count this year. And look for grace in them. That is not a cliche. That is the way that the amazing grace of a Eternal God transforms human beings for their joy and His glory, all the time, when we deserve much different. Happy New Year!

The Daily News

2010-11-12T09:05:00.028-05:00

This picture was chosen bascially at random. I searched for old newspaper pictures on Yahoo, and this is one I found. It works well though, I think, for two reasons. First, I shared in my last post about a story that I felt had lasting impact. Here it is again:

"A man stood up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada four years after the sinking of the Titanic in a testimony meeting and this is what he said. He said, 'I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought a man toward me in the sea and his name was John Harper. He was hanging to a piece of wreckage. And as he neared me, he said, Man, are you saved? No, I'm not, I replied. He said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And the waves took him away. But strange to say, they brought him back a little later and he said, Are you saved yet? And I said, No. And he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And I watched him go down. And there, alone in the night, with two miles of water under me, I believed and I was saved. And I was John Harper's last convert."

Are you saved? Second, the message of salvation in Jesus is daily good news. The reason I included a picture of a newspaper is that I want to inquire as to what is the news you are daily exposing yourself to. There is a lot to choose from. If you're George Constanza, the New York Daily News is the reason you get up in the morning. You may be a local news guy, and have plenty to say about the need to build a new school in your district. You may be a national news guy, and always know the political situation currently facing the country and know exactly what the President did that day. You might be an Internet news guy, and have some favorites you scan each morning to give you the basics. You might use Twitter (I do!) to summarize what's going on in the world in 140 characters. You might read magazines (I do!) but are likely months behind the breaking news stories (I am!).

But through it all, I want to urge you to discipline yourself every day to take in the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ. Do it. Even if you originally responded to this news some time ago. You need it now more than ever. Same thing tomorrow. And the next day. Here are some resources to help you start:

Growth by Remembering

"Christian growth, in other words, does not happen first by behaving better, but believing better–believing in bigger, deeper, brighter ways what Christ has already secured for sinners."

The Gospel Everyday

"Since Jesus secured my pardon and absorbed the Father’s wrath on my behalf so that 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,' how does that impact my longing for approval, my tendency to be controlling, and my fear of the unknown?"

The Ongoing Need for the Gospel

"Richard Lovelace says that most people’s problems are just a failure to be oriented to the gospel–a failure to grasp and believe it through and through. Luther says, 'The truth of the Gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrine….Most necessary is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.' Paul says that the gospel only does its renewing work in us as we understand it in all its truth. All of us, to some degree live around the truth of the gospel but do not 'get' it. So the key to continual and deeper spiritual renewal and revival is the continual re-discovery of the gospel. A stage of renewal is always the discovery of a new implication or application of the gospel–seeing more of its truth. This is true for either an individual or a church."

The Gospel is for Christians

"One of the most important discoveries of my life has been that the Gospel is not just for non-Christians; it’s for Christians too. I used to think the Gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But what I’ve come to understand is that once God saves us he doesn’t then move us beyond the Gospel. Rather he moves us deeper into the Gospel. The Gospel, in other words, is every bit as important for growing as a Christian as it is for becoming a Christian in the first place. The Gospel is the fuel that makes Christians go."

GOSPEL LIKE OXYGEN

Let me take it further. I need the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ like I need oxygen. That means multiple times a day. It means constantly. Do you feel the same? Oh, that you would! I breathe out of my mouth, mostly, so oxygen is a coveted commodity. It doesn't come to me as easily as it comes to others. Haha. But seriously. It takes some effort. And so it is the same for me with the Gospel. I have to remind myself of it. After I react poorly when interrupted at work (God forgives). Or in the middle of a trial that seems to have no light at the end (God never forsakes). Or on a mundane day that feels like nothing special (God ordained that day for you). Or in the middle of a situation where you feel like the world is against you (God will judge, and there is no condemnation for those in Christ). Jesus died and rose again to make all this real for us.

See He remembers the first day that He made you
Molded your lungs for the breath that He gave you
Not to mention the day He saved you
Or when He opened your eyes by the spirit Christ was raised through
Did I mention that He forgave you?
And had his flesh ripped off for the sin you were enslaved to
Now it seems you're too far gone
You want to turn back, but you're unsure if you'll be welcome home
So you figure you'll just leave it alone
But you're addicted to yourself, we both know you can't see it alone
This is an intervention, Jesus intervened
He intercedes on behalf of a sinner's deeds
This is an intervention because the Lord hurts
Before it gets worse, start making a reverse....

But I love you even when your light's off in your dark shame
When you lay down and profane me
Or when your bloodstream contains the things that would defame me
When nobody knows that you claim me
Or when you mess your life up, get mad, and wanna blame me
I still want you back
I won't punish you
I took that on the cross, because I wanted you
I might discipline and chastise
But if you got what you deserve you'd be in hell with other bad guys

-Lecrae, New Reality

There are a lot of things that people think they need like oxygen. In fact, everyone has something, or some group of somethings, that they seek as if those things were as important to them as oxygen. Spiritually, these things would be referred to as idols. Our hearts are idol factories, Calvin said. Some examples, as highlighted by Tim Keller, are: money, romance, children, family, truth, gifts, morality, reason, science, technology. Any of these strike a chord? By saying there are "idols" in our life is not necessarily saying that such things are bad things. If they become ultimate things, then they become destructive. You can tell how ultimate you have made something from your reaction when it is taken from you. If you lose oxygen you will die. Likewise, if you lose the Gospel, you will die. That is what I want to prevent! Everything else, while maybe good, is not ultimate. Physically you need oxygen every moment. Spiritually you need the Gospel every moment. God, by his grace, intends for you to have both. Don't close your mouth! Don't stop breathing! Don't close your Bible! Don't ignore the daily news of grace!

Walk it Out

2010-10-22T08:29:00.047-04:00

This image is NOT the mental picture I want you to have of walking by the Spirit (or certainly of dancing at all), which is what I am focusing on in this post. And, I am perhaps foolishly referencing and modeling this rap song and cultural dance phenomenon with a naive understanding of what it actually means. No, I can't completely explain what is going on with my arms, and no, I have no specific reason why my pants are rolled up like that. But, no doubt, it got your attention. Mission accomplished. Besides, I've heard this song at godly, Christ-centered weddings, so it must be ok. And sometimes, we have to look like a fool in the Christian life as we humbly trust God, walk by faith, and rely on grace, in order to communicate and relate hope to lost people. That is ok (but takes discernment!). The Gospel is foolishness, so embracing that can be a godly thing.

Usually, I labor over a blog post for a long time. As you can see, I haven't posted since the beginning of September, and my goal is to do one per month. Since I'm not going to make that goal, and since the next post idea I have (continuation from the two previous) is going to take a lot of reading that I haven't yet been able to do, I decided that I would post some simple, though hopefully profound and helpful, thoughts.

MAN, ARE YOU SAVED?

So let me set the stage. First, are you a Christian? I mean seriously, are you saved by grace, through faith, in Christ? That is an important question. One you should consider, if you haven't already. If you have, maybe (hopefully) you have gotten to the same place as the Philippian jailer in Acts 16, who, after failing at the only thing precious to him (keeping prisoners in check behind bars), was brought to the brink of suicide before being interrupted and encouraged. Left with no answers to the miracle he witnessed, or to his remaining plight, he asks, "What must I do to be saved?" Have you asked that? Perhaps what is most precious to you (money? job? relationship? children? status? house? pet?) has not yet been torn away, or perhaps you are not yet suicidal. But still, have you asked that? Has someone interrupted or encouraged you in your brokenness, or in your perceived stability? If not, this is my attempt. Are you saved?!

Listen to this story shared in a sermon by John MacArthur in 1973:

"A man stood up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada four years after the sinking of the Titanic in a testimony meeting and this is what he said. He said, 'I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought a man toward me in the sea and his name was John Harper. He was hanging to a piece of wreckage. And as he neared me, he said, Man, are you saved? No, I'm not, I replied. He said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And the waves took him away. But strange to say, they brought him back a little later and he said, Are you saved yet? And I said, No. And he said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved! And I watched him go down. And there, alone in the night, with two miles of water under me, I believed and I was saved. And I was John Harper's last convert."

Do you grasp the power of a story like this? God is real. In 1912, through a horrible event that killed 1500 people and is probably as well know as any disaster in our history, God saved a sinking man through the boldness of another sinking man. Not "saved" like from the water (though He did), but "saved" eternally, from the wrath of a holy God, and into the presence of the most precious being in the universe: Jesus Christ. And then 4 years later, in 1916, this man told this story to perhaps hundreds of people. There is no telling how much that story passed on to and inspired others, God willing, to the point of salvation themselves. We do know that this story was told again, in 1973, through a sermon delivered to another hundred or so people, who in the context of the Word of God applied it to their minds, hearts, and actions, and, God willing, shared it with countless others who received salvation. Now, it has come to me, and through the blessings of the World Wide Web, I am sharing with an unlimited number of people, hopefully to the point of, or confirmation of, salvation to all reading.

God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, came to Earth as fully man and fully God some 2000 years ago, lived a perfect life, went to the cross and experienced excruciating (do you know where this word comes from?) pain and actual separation from His eternal Father, and died, taking the punishment that we deserve, and washed us clean from our sins through His blood. He then rose from the dead confirming our salvation and giving us hope, and is going to come back to judge the living and the dead, and will set things right for all time. The God of the Universe applied this eternal message and reality in the middle of freezing water in 1912 to a sinking man, who then shared his story in 1916, which was then related to a congregation in 1973, which has now, in 2010, been passed to you. That is unbelievable.

The message is clear. You are sinking, whether you realize it or not. You might feel quite comfortable and happy in your little box, and do not find God necessary or interesting, thank you very much. You might not understand how a good God could allow suffering, or why there are so many religions, or how to reconcile the evil that has been done in the name of Christianity, or how hell could exist, or why you have to surrender everything to Him, instead of just your time on Sunday. But your box is crumbling around you, because it is temporary, and all those questions are secondary. The primary one remains: Are you saved?!

What must I do to be saved? you ask. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. That is it. For real. Just believe. Believe what? you ask. Believe in Jesus. Believe that He is who He claimed to be (God in the flesh) and that He did what He claimed to do (suffered and died for your sins, rose from the dead to give you hope). John 20:31, "These are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through His Name." Romans 10:9 and 10: "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

NOW WHAT?

If you are a Christian (hopefully that is all reading at this point! If not, re-read above), the question becomes, now what? I'm believing, so now what? I'm saved, right? You said so. God promised so in His word. So, how do I remain saved? What all must I do to keep that salvation secure? Is there a list? What if I keep sinning? What is the "full armor of God"? How do I answer seemingly unanswerable questions from my unbelieving neighbors? How do I cope with suffering? How do I forgive those who have wronged me? How do I keep this good news relevant? What is God's will for my life? What about the poor?

I am going to offer 3 simple ways to deal with these things in the Christian life. They are simple, not easy. These are 3 things that I labor every day to keep hold of. It is a battle. But it is a battle to believe, not to perform. Misunderstand that, and the Christian life will be a mess. Understand it, and God's grace will transform you more into His likeness every single moment of every single day, and use you for His glory in the way for which you were created. The 3 things are:

1) Yield to the Spirit
2) Receive the Word
3) Understand Grace

Let me start with this passage from Galatians:

1For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

7You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

13For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 15But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Is that clear as mud? Maybe not. Some things Paul says are hard to understand. But that doesn't mean God doesn't want us to figure them out! Because as we do, we will experience the grace of Jesus Christ. God's Word is grace to people, on the spot. That is worth whatever effort it takes to understand it and live it. My imperfect experience has led me to three practical ways to bring the truth of this passage (and any passage) to bear in the Christian life. It is only by grace I can even discern these and offer them to you as a helpful resource.

YIELD TO THE SPIRIT

What does this mean? It means exactly what it says. You have to yield to the Spirit. You have to make a conscious effort to submit control to the Holy Spirit, which if you have saving faith, lives inside you. How do you do this? Prayer. What conscious effort might look like for you is verbally saying it in an out-loud prayer as soon as you get up in the morning. I don't know. But somehow, you have to yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, to convict you of sin, to comfort you in pain, to guide you in uncertainty, and to confirm to you truth and the promises of God in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is available to do all of that in your life. If you aren't consciously allowing Him to do this, just by simply asking and yielding, the Christian life is going to be way more difficult than it was intended to be. Yielding to the Spirit does not mean doing nothing. It does not mean sitting on a couch staring into nothingness and waiting for the Spirit to direct you. It means going about your day with a sensitive and discerning mind, open heart, and selfless hand, and trusting that God is on your side. This may not seem practical. That is ok. Just try it. Right now, yield, and then live. See what happens.

John MacArthur helps clarify:

"It's one thing to have the Spirit resident; it's something else to have the Spirit dominant. Let me give you an illustration of it. The word 'filled' is used in the gospels to speak of total control, for example, in John 16:6 it says 'Sorrow hath filled your heart.' In Luke 6:11 it says, 'They were filled with madness.' In Luke 4:28 'They were filled with wrath.' In Luke 5:26, 'They were filled with fear.'

"You see, mostly in our lives we can balance those things off. Like, for example sorrow; we have a little sorrow and a little joy. A little sorrow tipped this way and a little joy tipped this way and we try to balance it, so if something real bad happens we try to think happy thoughts and everybody tries to boost us up. When something horrible happens, total disaster, a terrible injury, a death or whatever - voom goes the sorrow side, and we're filled with sorrow. And in our lives, basically, the Spirit of God is there and there's a little for the Spirit and a little for us, and we kind of balance things off with the flesh, but there comes a time when we yield all to the Spirit and we're filled with the Spirit and the scale topples on His side. According to Romans 6 it's a question of yielding yourself in obedience to the Spirit of God. We are to be yielded to the Spirit of God in order that He may fill us."

RECEIVE THE WORD

What does this mean? It means exactly what it says. You have to receive the Word of God. You have to read the Bible, and while reading you have to understand what you are reading. How do you start? Prayer. You are not reading merely the words of man. You are not reading only a history book. You are not reading hocus pocus. You are not reading just about the grace of God in Jesus. You are reading the Word of God, which is coming to you as the grace of God in Jesus, on the spot. You have to receive it.

This, I know, is easier said than done. If you have tried to read the Bible with little success, or you read it religiously but feel little effect, I (or actually John Piper) would say this: Have a place, have a time, and have a plan. Stick to it, and trust God to speak. He will. If you still are struggling, remind yourself that the Bible you are holding in your hands is the breath of God (2 Timothy 3:16). Remind yourself that the entire Bible is ultimately about one person: Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is Jesus Christ concealed, the New Testament is Jesus Christ revealed. Look for Jesus in every passage. He is waiting there. Remind yourself that reading the Bible as if its about you will be absolutely confusing, but reading it as if its about Jesus will change your life every time. Seek biblical preaching that unpacks and expounds the Word in ways you might not have time or the proper gifting to do on your own. Let your plan follow this preaching, if possible. Pray constantly. And then see what happens.

Colossians 3:16 says to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Richly, it says. That is more than a daily verse via email. MacArthur says, "As the word about Christ dwells in you richly, His presence becomes manifest in your conscious mind, and as His presence dominates your mind the Spirit of God controls you."

UNDERSTAND GRACE

What does this mean? It means exactly what it says. You have to understand grace. You have to understand that grace is a gift that you don't deserve. You have to understand that God's grace saves you, and it keeps you saved. How do you do this? Prayer. Pray for deeper understanding. Paul Tripp paints an amazing picture of the implications and the nature of grace, daily, through the wonder that is Twitter. Here are just a few examples:

"Grace invades your strength and proves you are weak, then meets you in weakness and makes you strong..... Perhaps the things that you're going through don't look like they come from a God of grace because you don't have a biblical view of grace..... Everyday you give empirical evidence that even though the power of sin is broken, the presence of sin remains and for that you need grace..... God will call you to face the unthinkable in order to form in you what is unachievable apart from his grace..... Rest in the reality that there is never a moment when you don't need transforming grace and never a moment where grace isn't operating..... The grace of the cross assures that the difficulties God brings my way aren't punitive. They're always lovingly and personally restorative..... God's grace hasn't been given to remove all you troubles, but to employ those troubles to progressively transform your heart..... It's impossible for you to live as Christ lived, impossible to pay what he paid, impossible to defeat he what defeated. Your hope? Grace!"

GRACE!

We have to understand grace. In my experience, all the rules and man-made accountability structures in the world, while absolutely necessary in most cases, will not make the difference in discerning the will of God. What is the will of God? Our sanctification. In other words, going to church, reading the Bible, living in community, serving other people, practicing communion, avoiding temptation through various means, being held accountable by trusted friends, all by themselves will not make the difference in living a godly life in Christ Jesus. They are necessary! But they will not make the difference in sanctification, just like they won't make the difference in salvation. Walking by the Spirit includes more (and less!). Colossians 2 says,

20If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21"Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" 22referring to things that all perish as they are used—according to human precepts and teachings? 23These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

What, then, will make the difference? What, then, will have value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh? What, then, will help discern the will of God?

1If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

What is above? The God of the Universe, your Father, and His Son, your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And from Him is flowing the grace that saved you, and saves you. The grace that you don't deserve and you are completely dependent on, all the time. The grace that weakens you so you can be strong. The grace that humbles you so you can boast, not in your works, but in His. The grace that will make everything else in your life possible, including the instructions in the rest of Colossians 3. The grace that allows you to approach your earthly life with an eternal perspective. The grace that gives us hope. Do you understand it?

"The answer isn’t to try harder in the Christian life but to comprehend more fully and clearly Christ’s finished work for sinners and then to live in more vital awareness of that grace day by day. The main problem in the Christian life, in other words, is not that we don’t try hard enough to be good. It’s that we haven’t accepted the deep implications of the gospel and applied its powerful reality to all parts of our life." - Tullian Tchividjian

"No need to fear what's coming. The God who orders your life provides the grace necessary to face what he has ordained." - Paul Tripp

So walk it out! Walk by the Spirit!

Young and Restless

2010-09-01T08:17:00.058-04:00

"Now, the Internet, that's the one with email, right?" Hahaha! That joke will never get old. The world wide web is apparently here to stay, and it is changing everything. Hide your kids! (Not really.)

Consider this post an intermission in my written discernment of the Future of Religion. I began the last post with a survey of what salvation, and the reality of a Savior, looks like in other world religions, and will continue (hopefully soon) with a survey of the trends and happenings in the Christian Church in an effort to communicate and live the Gospel as the only truth that actually saves. This is a good preface to that I think.

I felt called to share an interesting collaboration of articles and resources I ran across pertaining to youth, college, and young adult ministry. Inevitably I added some commentary - I only write one of these posts a month, so they get kinda lengthy. If nothing else, just read the links! I hope they are an encouragement, challenge, and resource to you! To many that I hope are reading this, I don't have to tell you, but God is jealous to save and develop the 15 - 35 age bracket for His glory. What a blessing to be a part!

My synopsis: The hearts and souls of the young generation in our world is up for grabs right now. We are at a challenging time in history and we as Christians need to boldly proclaim and demonstrate, without compromise, the truth of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Acts 15). In the midst of overemphasis on social justice, spiritual revival, church culture, good works, etc., which are all something less specific than the Person and Work of Jesus Christ for salvation, we are the ones who need to carry on the biblical message of grace. BUT, we have to be careful, because at the same time we must model the biblical nature of Christian community, or church, not as an addition to grace, but as the necessary context for it and expression of it.

If we can appropriately live and model the biblical balance of a gathered AND scattered church, and if we can effectively watch our lives and doctrine closely, as we are called to do (1 Timothy 4:16), then I think we can be an effective vessel for God, provoking jealousy among the stagnant "church" in America, and extending salvation to the nations and peoples who are far from him (Romans 11:11). Or said another way, if we get this thing right, others will want what we have. If we speak the Gospel truthfully and clearly, and live it in community authentically and biblically, God will use us significantly. People outside will be saved, and people inside who have neglected the true nature of grace, will see it, and God will be glorified in their ultimate salvation as well. This is especially important among young people, who are waiting to influence the culture for decades to come, based on the nature and values of their upbringing, which at the present might be pretty scary.

In other words, we should emphasize church attendance strongly to young people. Church attendance does not only mean presence in a building on Sunday morning. But it does mean that. It also means consistent presence in a community of believers. Not because this presence with other believers by itself has saving value, but because it is the place where biblical Christian community exists most completely, where the Gospel is spoken and portrayed most clearly, where leaders are developed most effectively, and where believers can utilize their gifts most joyfully, of all other contexts in the "real world". It is folly to say that someone can become a Christian and not become part of a church, or that it is ok for young people to be "spiritual" but not "religious". Spirituality alone and lack of religion is waiting to swallow up people into destruction. There is no spirituality alone in Scripture. The whole church in Acts 15, after clarifying that salvation was by grace alone, instructed the people to follow certain religious obligations for their own good, not as a means for salvation, but to demonstrate obedience, love, and ultimately the authenticity of salvation. I encourage the same.

In the midst of a lot of confusion about what church should look like in our culture today, and about what it means to be a Christian (see Are Mormons Christian? for example), we have the opportunity to make clear what the Bible makes clear, to the joy and growth of believers and to the glory of God. Participation in a God-centered church is not the means of getting saved, but it is the evidence of it, and without it, Christians will starve, and non-Christians will be confused. The alternative to it is an increasing trend of men, especially, who look to the culture instead of the church for direction in life, get really confused and frustrated, and in turn put off adulthood, and squander their God-given gifts and purpose in the kingdom, for (in some cases) decades. God forbid!

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

This will get us going. Did you read C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters growing up? If not, get right on that. Here is the premise: there was this demon, Screwtape, who was writing from down below to his nephew, Wormwood, who was on earth tormenting subjects away from Christ. The letters were "encouragement" and advice to him as to how to be more effective at devilry. So, the reader has to read into the "encouragement" as ways to be sensitive to and discern the devil's schemes and stay strong for the Lord. Very creative and helpful stuff. Anyway, a young pastor, Kevin DeYoung, has attempted the same concept, in the context of young people and church attendance. Check it out:

A Lost Letter to Wormwood

A Lost Letter to Wormwood (conclusion)

Some highlights: Your teenage subject has all the usual paradoxes of American youth we like to see down here: rebellious, yet disinterested; slothful, yet impetuous; disrespectful to parents, yet an irresponsible drain on their resources; tolerant of religions he knows nothing about, yet fiercely intolerant of the one he knows best. All in all, a splendid few years my injurious Wormwood. Bravo!

It is because your work has proven so trustworthy over the last few years, that I now feel obliged to speak with you quite candidly about a matter of grave importance. Your subject is now enrolled in what the earth world calls “college.” I do not need to remind you what splendid opportunities these places afford us. But there is one particular danger, and you must see to it that it is avoided at all costs. And that danger is church attendance.

Though your subject seems safe from the clutches of our Enemy Above, you will recall that he has spent the majority of his Sundays, thus far, in church. The habit may not be easy to break. If he tries church for a few weeks, make sure it is a pointless endeavor. Do not forget our little rhyme: “If to church one must go, lead him to an empty show. And when all we can do is meddle, makes sure on one church he does not settle.”

Church attendance is bad enough, nephew, but consistent attendance at the same church spells almost certain doom for our cause. If your human persists in his church interest, you simply must devise some way to shuffle him around from congregation to congregation. See to it he never knows the people he is worshiping with. Keep reminding him of how rotten the music is over here, and how long the sermon is over there, and how bland the coffee is at that other church. Trust me, it won’t take much to get him floundering on church. Almost any excuse will do....

....Listen closely. Groups of students meeting together for prayer and study is, it’s true, a pernicious influence, but gladly, the influence is often short-lived. Soon, your subject will graduate and he will find that the rest of the planet is not like his university. He will not be surrounded by peers all his age with his same interests. It is to our advantage that he be unable to relate to anyone above the age of 25. This not only makes for misery, but it makes church involvement, and therefore the Christian life, much less likely....

....One more thing, students today love the idea of community. Do everything in your power to keep them loving the idea of community rather than loving their community. As long as they love their vision of community instead of loving the actual fleshly people around them, they will never have real community and they will stay far away from church.

I DON'T WANT TO GROW UP

Perhaps Screwtape, in this example, is overconfident that such a thing is happening to young people, and is overemphasizing the "danger" of church attendance to their "cause". Perhaps. Interestingly, though, the evidence in even the secular world is pointing the other direction. The New York Times recently printed an article entitled, What is it About 20-Somethings? Mark Driscoll and Albert Mohler offer two interesting commentaries on this article and this reality:

The World is Filled With Boys Who Can Shave

Sample: Men, you are to be creators and cultivators. God is a creator and a cultivator and you were made to image him. Create a family and cultivate your wife and children. Create a ministry and cultivate other people. Create a business and cultivate it. Be a giver, not a taker, a producer and not just a consumer. Stop looking for the path of least resistance and start running down the path of greatest glory to God and good to others because that's what Jesus, the real man, did.

Why Aren't Emerging Adults Emerging as Adults?

Sample: Every family and local congregation has its work cut out for it in facing this challenge. The church would demonstrate the power of the gospel in a whole new way by assisting young people into the successful and faithful transition to adulthood, celebrating this transition as a matter of spiritual maturity to the glory of Christ. These young adults are desperately needed for the cause of Christ, and many are indeed making their way into authentic adulthood with faithfulness, energy, conviction, and excitement. Let’s pray that their example is infectious.

All that to say, the church can help these confused and frustrated young people from wasting their lives, which left alone to the inconsistencies and complexity of our culture, is exactly what they will do.

WATCH YOUR LIFE AND DOCTRINE

If you needed further evidence that the culture (read pop music, celebrities, athletics, politics, secular education, etc.) is the wrong source of guidance for young people, consider Glenn Beck. Now, for the purpose of this post, I don't care about his politics, and I'm not concerned specifically with his challenge to the country to turn back to God (I obviously agree with that challenge). What I do care about and what I am concerned with is his confusing tone and articulation of Christian faith.

A week after describing the difference between what it means to be a Christian (articulated very well, using terminology like salvation by grace alone through faith alone) vs. the faith of Barack Obama, based on statements the President has made, he hosts a massive, mostly spiritual, rally in the nation's capital, in the aftermath of which he reveals that he is a Mormon. Really? I said the same thing about Barack Obama several months ago, and it seems to be creating exactly the confusion and damage I feared, and is fueling people like Glenn Beck to become more vocal, but less clear, about things of faith and specifically the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. "Watch your life and doctrine" means being clear about what you believe, and then demonstrating it accurately with how you live. To talk about spiritual revival in the general context of Christianity, shortly after criticizing the President for a confusing explanation of his faith, all the while believing and practicing the teachings of Mormonism, is maddeningly unhelpful. And its not watching life and doctrine very closely. The church needs to be careful here, and followers of Jesus should not budge and should be ready to clearly explain who their Lord and Savior is, and who He is not. The most devastating of consequences is at stake if we let Glenn Beck, for example, do it for us. No joke. And not entirely because of his Mormonism. Let me try to explain. Actually, let me let Russell Moore explain:

"It’s taken us a long time to get here, in this plummet from Francis Schaeffer to Glenn Beck. In order to be this gullible, American Christians have had to endure years of vacuous talk about undefined “revival” and “turning America back to God” that was less about anything uniquely Christian than about, at best, a generically theistic civil religion and, at worst, some partisan political movement.

Rather than cultivating a Christian vision of justice and the common good (which would have, by necessity, been nuanced enough to put us sometimes at odds with our political allies), we’ve relied on populist God-and-country sloganeering and outrage-generating talking heads. We’ve tolerated heresy and buffoonery in our leadership as long as with it there is sufficient political “conservatism” and a sufficient commercial venue to sell our books and products.

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Leaders will always be tempted to bypass the problem behind the problems: captivity to sin, bondage to the accusations of the demonic powers, the sentence of death. That’s why so many of our Christian superstars smile at crowds of thousands, reassuring them that they don’t like to talk about sin. That’s why other Christian celebrities are seen to be courageous for fighting their culture wars, while they carefully leave out the sins most likely to be endemic to the people paying the bills in their movements.

Where there is no gospel, something else will fill the void: therapy, consumerism, racial or class resentment, Utopian politics, crazy conspiracy theories of the left, crazy conspiracy theories of the right; anything will do. The prophet Isaiah warned us of such conspiracies replacing the Word of God centuries ago (Is. 8:12–20). As long as the Serpent’s voice is heard, “You shall not surely die,” the powers are comfortable."

Do you understand the problem? If we, in our churches, do not become the Christian leaders that our young people need, those outside the church (in politics, entertainment, celebrity culture, etc.) will fill that void and the result will be disaster. So we need to get them to church so they will be exposed to the leaders they need. Not the leaders who pose as Christians for political or cultural reasons but in reality practice "mammon worship" and are twice the sons of hell compared to the people they criticize; but the leaders who resolve to speak one thing - Christ, and Him crucified. The inevitable helpful application to the everyday lives of young people will pleasantly surprise all of us. The Bible is not stale.

FAKE CHRISTIANS?

If you don't believe this is a risk for young people today, please read this CNN article about a new book by Kenda Creasy Dean called, Almost Christian. Better yet, read the book. Her premise: parents and pastors are getting lazy and passing on a self-serving strain of Christianity that teenagers are embracing by the thousand because the promise and the hope is, at the core, raised self-esteem. She refers to it as "moralistic therapeutic deism" (a phrase used before), and cites it as one reason teenagers abandon churches. They practice this watered-down faith, they "earn" favor and therapeutic blessings from God, then something bad happens to them, and they bolt, angry that God would abandon his promises. Or they bolt, because they can find the same temporary promises of pleasure and happiness in college, or worse.

Matt Chandler has been warning us of this for years, and is now in the position to throw teenage misconceptions like this into the wind. He is more than 6 months into treatment for Stage 3 brain cancer and is not budging from the message "Jesus is enough! Jesus is better!" We would do well, and young people in our sphere of influence would do well, if we followed Chandler's lead in our churches and our families preaching and living a message of grace, centered on Christ, and centered on the Cross; more lasting than any trend or emotion, and strong enough to get us through any suffering, praising Christ throughout.

"Some adults don't expect much from youth pastors. They simply want them to keep their children off drugs and away from premarital sex. Others practice a "gospel of niceness," where faith is simply doing good and not ruffling feathers. The Christian call to take risks, witness and sacrifice for others is muted, she says.

"If teenagers lack an articulate faith, it may be because the faith we show them is too spineless to merit much in the way of conversation," wrote Dean, a professor of youth and church culture at Princeton Theological Seminary. More teens may be drifting away from conventional Christianity. But their desire to help others has not diminished, another author says."

Increased emphasis on helping others is great! But it will not save. We have to be clear on this to young people, and witness service flowing from authentic salvation, as opposed to a means to merit it. Our leadership in healthy churches can prevent young people from putting their hope in anything other than salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ, ALONE, and being disappointed or angry when life doesn't go their way, or their service doesn't make the difference that they selfishly seek.

THIS MAY BE BOLD TO SAY

I leave you with the hip-hop version of a call to get involved (for real) in a church. This may sound bold, but I think it is necessary. 1 Corinthians is very clear about Christians' call to "judge" those inside the church. Hence church discipline. It is not our business to judge those outside. It should be our business to get those outside, inside, and then hold them (and encourage them!) to the biblical call of followers of Christ. In the meantime, clearer definitions of what it means to be "inside" the church, or what it means to be a Christian according to Scripture, would certainly be helpful (these are the two questions I've been trying to address with this blog for a long time, so feel free to reference back if you can). We need the whole Bible to get at these clearer definitions. Not just the Gospels. Not just Acts. Not just the Epistles. Not just the Old Testament. All of it. If we look there, it will benefit everyone. Worst case scenario is we'll save both our self and our hearers.

Listen, this is written for long term visitors
non-committers who get the word, but never get to work
at least not in conjunction with a church
they stay away and say they afraid of getting hurt but
pain is never excuse for disobedience
church wasn't created to cater to your convenience
And God didn't give you gifts to be greedy with
mission without the church is missing a main ingredient

I know I rushed in without much of an introduction
but membership is what we're discussin'
committing to a community through a cov'nant
and doing the 'one another's of scripture with brethren
(membership!) it actually happens at salvation
but practically it happens in active participation
if 1 is a fact then 2 the demonstration
for the maturing Christian nothing should separate them
If 1 is the truth, then number 2 is the proof
if it's aloof, then number 1 is a lion without a tooth
If not the elect, who's inspecting your fruit?
Just a select group of heads from your crew? (that's not a test dude!)
It's more like a bad science experiment
with no control groups in the lab and bias experiences
It's foolish to laugh denyin' it's serious
when the only proof that you have is kinda mysterious

This may be bold to say
but if you're not a part of a church, how do you know that you're saved?
the chances are you're prob'ly not a bit
the objective evidence is sayin' the opposite
A body without biblical membership
is sick, and their health depends on them getting' it
so though you claim to be in it kid, please consider this
if you is, then show us (How you livin' it?)

We live in the days of the consumer
shopping's a coveted skill and bloggers write reviews up
no one commits, people leave when they choose 'cause
ain't nobody tryin' to be tied down, with too much
labor only lasts as long their passions
cats dip sayin' they feel bad with no sadness
they want the good stuff without the attachments
like friends with benefits of the ecclesial fashion
playin the church like the girls that you date then
you criticize her like you're Seinfeld (or Satan!) (explain)
You sit in the back makin' your accusations
but you ain't willin' to aid in her sanctification?! (hypocrite.)
I know that I'm gettin' a little hype but
you gotta understand the church was purchased by Christ's blood
And if Levi got jealous for Dinah
of course the Levite's gon' be zealous for the Bride cuz
we see that Haggai and Zechariah
were willin' to work wit Israel, not just prophesy stuff
You can check for yourself in Ezra 5:1
then wrestle with verse 2 until you're ready to die (What!?)
(Yup) I didn't stutter, you heard me right bruh
dyin' is the price for being up in the cypha
It's all or nothin', cat's are puttin' their life up
but you be isolated like you don't even like us

This may be bold to say
but if you're not a part of a church, how do you know that you're saved?
the chances are you're prob'ly not a bit
the objective evidence is sayin' the opposite
A body without biblical membership
is sick, and their health depends on them getting' it
so though you claim to be in it kid, please consider this
if you is, then show us (How you livin' it?)

Membership is not a check in a box
or an altar call response when the sermon is hot, it's
privileges bought with His blood on the cross
and it separates the flock from the world that is lost kid
membership is being a part of the body
but how can you be a body part when apart from the body?
(and furthermore) How could you possibly think it's godly
when God is 1, or even 3 in 1, but He's not 3?!
I know the reality's universal
but practically it has to be tangible to the world too
so how do we gather to spur the virtues
when our anatomy has been scattered throughout the Earth dude?
the local church has entered the picture
the form of the assembly most mentioned in scripture
this is who you were given spiritual gifts for
to Voltron with a squad and add your steez to the mixture
They're also the tools used to fix ya
iron sharpens iron, sparks flyin', it's sick stuff
but don't try to punk out when it gets rough
Satan's like a roaring lion tryin' to vic' ya
He's waitin' for you to faint when it gets tough
straggle at the back of the flock and you might be his lunch
Or maybe you'll prove you were never His bruh
1 John 2:19 homie, you with us?

This may be bold to say
but if you're not a part of a church, how do you know that you're saved?
the chances are you're prob'ly not a bit
the objective evidence is sayin' the opposite
A body without biblical membership
is sick, and their health depends on them getting' it
so though you claim to be in it kid, please consider this
if you is, then show us (How you livin' it?)

- Music and Lyrics by Stephen the Levite

Reason to Get Up in the Morning

2010-08-02T17:08:00.065-04:00

As I usually do, I consulted The Economist recently for perspective on a political issue that is getting significant buzz these days. In this case, I mostly wish I hadn't. Nevertheless, it opens the can of worms, which in hindsight is what I needed. This issue matters for Christians. Be advised.

Build that mosque

To your surprise, I'm sure, this post is not about what I think of the idea of a mosque built at Ground Zero. But the debate itself, and the way that the Christian church in America handles it, sets the table for what I wanted to highlight. I'm prepared to accept the fact that not many people, even Christians, care about, or have the time to be concerned about, the trends and developments in the contemporary Christian church in America today; or more generally, in the future of religion. Perhaps you have little to no interest in church or things of God or spirituality, in which case I understand that you don't care. Or perhaps you have just never had anyone tell you that you should, and you are quite sure that the "future of religion" is irrelevant. Consider this me saying you should. It is relevant.

Recently I worshipped at Veteran's Memorial in downtown Indianapolis, among thousands of people of different backgrounds and ethnicities. Shortly after I was introduced first hand to the reality of homelessness in my city, and listened to the challenges and victories of ministry to the forgotten from someone who would know, because he lives with them. The church in our generation has the capacity, and in increasing measure the willingness, to make a huge difference in our world. In light of this reality, and because we know from the Bible that this kind of opportunity will surely face opposition and persecution from the inside and the outside, I deeply care about how the church is adapting.

It fascinates me to read about and be a part of history in this way. Its humbling to carefully discern when to follow "movements" or "trends" because they are Spirit-led and biblical, or when to boldly and unapologetically raise caution flags to the church and the culture because the current direction may be temporary, man-centered, and eternally unwise. That this is a unique time in history is not specific to religion or church. This video (Social Media Revolution) hopefully indicates to you in shocking fashion that our culture is changing and technology is advancing at a pace that is seemingly impossible to understand, and even harder to keep up with.

As I wrote about in an earlier post, it is total confusion on earth right now. Politics, weather, celebrity culture, sports, education, world affairs, economics - they are all a mess. No matter your stance on the mosque idea, you cannot deny that it is shocking. This is feeding both sides, which is dangerous and chaotic. We have to keep perspective. To paraphrase Alistair Begg, the difference between me, and the guy who tonight is boozin' it up in some saloon, is not that I'm smarter than him but it is the grace of God to me. And as my new friend in homeless ministry says, there is no difference between the guy living in the luxurious suburbs who gets drunk every night and the guy living on the streets doing the same. We are all in the same situation. We all have the same hurts. We all have the same sin. The church is God's vessel of grace to people. How are we doing with this commission?

It is amazing and humbling to see that Christianity is not the only worldview that interprets this confusion and applies it to people and the future. The church, though, is at risk of being in the same boat of confusion as everyone else and offering a poor (and untrue) interpretation of history, culture, and the future. This is a problem for Christians because it damages our example and confuses people as to our motives in society, the Sovereignty of our God, and the exclusivity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as an objective truth not a subjective opinion. And this is a problem for non-Christians, because Christianity, whether you like it or not, has influenced and continues to influence many things that are important to us.

I, for one, would like to try my best to keep up with how God's people are adapting so that I will not spend my life unsure whether the direction I am following is God-centered, biblical, and effective for people, or whether it is borderline blasphemous and dishonoring to the Creator of the Universe. Christians are at risk of wasting their lives in this way if they allow themselves to be naive and disconnected from what is going on around them. That is a lot of pressure, I know. You are busy meeting deadlines at work, taking care of your family, finding a job, or whatever. You can't be expected to figure all this out. Reading your Bible and going to church and providing for your family and loving your neighbor should be enough.

Yes it should. But I am convinced that the enemy wants us to be sheltered in our comfort zones while chaos erupts around us. He wants us to be vague on the Gospel so that it has no power and deteriorates into social action only. He wants us to be marginally committed to the authority of the Bible, so that it offers no grace to people's lives and becomes a good history book only. He wants us to be splintered in our understanding of what the church should look like and what our mission as Christians is, so that we make no difference in our communities and meet in our homes only and argue about mission for years without ever doing anything. He wants our "Christian life" to be altogether separate from our "work life" and our "family life" and our "personal life". He doesn't want us to be having these types of conversations around the water cooler, or over a cup of coffee, or or on a road trip, or on the internets. He wants the uniqueness of Jesus and the nature of the Christian Gospel to blend in with every other religion so that well-educated and well-meaning people make ridiculous, inherently illogical, claims like "all religions lead to God" or "pluralism is the answer".

Hopefully this will be a helpful and fairly quick way to expose yourself to all of this. If you're in ministry, I pray this is top priority for you. Your people will need some clarification at some point in the next few years I can assure you. If you are not clear, they will flounder in a culture that is waiting to devour them. You won't be able to just say, "I know, it's crazy, but God loves you, so go love others", and be done with it. If you're not in professional ministry, I pray that you share this with someone who is, and ask them what they think about it, and along the way gain a dose of sanctifying spiritual discernment yourself. You don't have to be a professional Christian to make a difference. If you don't care about ministry or the church or religion at all, I pray you will give Christians the benefit of the doubt and do us a favor by carefully observing all this and hopefully see our hearts and the grace of Jesus Christ shine through. I believe that no movement or trend in the church or anywhere in society will make much difference or offer much lasting benefit to people if its core purpose and ultimate result is not increased glory to God in the face of Jesus Christ. If you see that at any level here, than this post will not have been in vain.

THE FUTURE OF RELIGION

The website Patheos.com is doing an interesting series on the Future of Religion. Actually, not just interesting; incredible. Check it out. Devour it. Share it with your pastor, or your rabbi, or your friend, or your psychic, or whoever. There are enough articles to keep you busy for months. Nevertheless, read them. My next post will unpack the Future of Evangelicalism, in light of a lot of the other perspectives, since that is the "religion" with which I identify. Unfortunately, my purpose here is not to defend that Evangelical Christianity is the most true, the most God-centered, and the most heaven-bound religion. If that interests you, check out some Ravi Zacharias. He will get you going. This post is to expose you to the future of religion in general, and the thoughts and actions of people today, hopefully to help you (and me) discern how Jesus Christ really is the center of history past, the center of life now, and the ultimate culmination of the future as the creator and sustainer of all things.

As I look at perspectives from different faith systems, and the complex traditions and beliefs that exist within them, and that influence people, seemingly for good, one question resonates in my mind: what about a Savior? As I get more involved with people who are living on the street in downtown Indianapolis and talk to them and try to discern what scraps of hope they might have left, I wonder: do they know there is a Savior? To the people that don't acknowledge they need saving, I have very little to say. Except maybe that their efforts in identifying with a religion and trusting in faith at some level, and expressing their innate desire to worship, seems to indicate that they are seeking just that. Even if their "faith" is in the prediction that there is no God, or their "faith" is in the chance that the bottle will help them permanently forget their situation, and their "expression of worship" is gaining knowledge, or escaping reality through intoxication. Outside of Jesus, it just seems obvious to me that people searching are not finding any salvation that lasts or even makes much sense.

I want to give just a few examples of that from sporadic articles on Patheos, and then let your thoughts run wild, hopefully landing you safely back at the cross. As timing would have it, the articles on the Future of Islam, which is partly how I started this post, have not been written yet. Stay tuned to that site and this blog and I'll update when the time is right. What I believe to be confusion about God in other faith systems is not a reality that is unknown, or outside of the control of, the Sovereign and Triune God. So I will not pretend that there is not an answer to explain the existence of so many religions, or a definite assurance that Jesus is the only way. There is an answer and an assurance and Jesus is the only way. This is not mean because it is true. Please hear my heart in that. This is good news because you can know this. Not wonder it. Not believe it halfheartedly. Not just hope for it. You can know it.

A man named Stephen Prothero has just written a book called God is Not One. Surprisingly, the existence of this book I think is a good thing. I haven't read it. But its premise is that the idea that all religions are the same is ludicrous and dangerous, and the better approach is to embrace and celebrate the differences. To Christians, this opens a door to conversations about how Christianity is different in a unique and saving way. That is a good thing.

HOPE FOR THE LOWER CASTE

Hinduism. Thankfully, it seems that Hindus realize the inherent evil in the caste system, and most specifically the sufferings of the lowest caste. And apparently, reconciling this injustice is an acknowledged challenge and goal for Hinduism in the future. The question, then, is what hope does the Hinduism tradition offer to the poor?

"In India, the biggest challenge that Hinduism faces and has faced for centuries is the continuing presence and influence of the caste system in rural areas. While urban India has moved beyond the negative effects of caste in many ways and most Hindu communities outside the Indian sub-continent have rejected the system completely, it nevertheless continues to operate in villages. This persistence hampers the ability of people to work together to improve the lives of the lowest castes.

"Currently, a great deal of tension exists between Christian missionaries who seek to exploit the caste situation to promote conversion among the low castes and Hindus who are attempting to make Hinduism more relevant and more accessible to the same groups so they have no reason to convert. Foreign-based Christian NGOs have actually been active in the rural areas since the 19th century, while it has only been since Independence that Hindu NGOs have been formed in any significant numbers to provide an indigenous religious vehicle for addressing rural needs. Although the success of these efforts will surely have an influence on the future religious ethos in rural areas, Hinduism will continue to provide the vast majority of village Indians with their sense of self-identity and of belonging in a vastly changing economic and social landscape." Ramdas Lamb

Well, Jesus offers more lasting hope than the shaky prediction of an improved economic and social landscape and the sense of belonging that might come from it. Jesus offers eternal community with himself, and eternal community with other believers. In downtown Indianapolis right now, there is a network of Christian communities forming among the homeless who are living with hope and joy in Jesus, and not hope in an improved economy, which at the present time could be a false hope anyway.

HOPE FOR THE FAITHFUL JEW

Judaism. I would do well to more humbly understand and practice the devotion and faithfulness of the Jewish people today. Their reverence for God and desire for obedience is remarkable. I see it everyday at my place of employment. In doing this, my heart's desire would be that I would understand what hope looks like for people who sacrifice so much and try so hard to live in such a God-centered way. In the Old Testament, the promise of a Messiah who would deliver them, and save them, and eternally provide for them was the hope. Wasn't it? Now, it is apparently something different.

"In contrast with the Christian and Islamic traditions, Rabbinic Judaism asserts that prophecy ended with the last three prophets of the Hebrew Bible (Hagai, Malachai, Zechariah) and that therefore Jews no longer have prophets; they have rabbis who preserve and interpret the traditions handed down at Sinai. We also have no Messiah, or more precisely, our Messiah is permanently delayed. As Franz Kafka put it, 'the Messiah will arrive only on the day after he is supposed to get here.' Over the centuries, claimants to the role of prophet and/or messiah arose, but they were rejected and marginalized by the normative Jewish tradition, and the followers of some of them -- Jesus and Shabbtai Zevi, for example -- founded their own sects or religions. Thus the Messiah was delayed -- until the Zionist movement and the establishment of Israel suggested a new understanding of Messianism...

"In the face of the return of the biblical and the messianic, the challenge for the future of Judaism is how to think about Israel in a rational considered fashion, a fashion not influenced by the supernatural and the messianic." Shalom Goldman

Is the future of Judaism really centering their hope somewhere besides on their promised Messiah, and even somewhere outside the God they obey? How can that be? Where will that lead?

HOPE IN SELF

Buddhism. John Piper once said, "I could not survive psychologically in my sin if it weren't for the cross." This is a far cry from the main tenets of Buddhism that advocate looking within for meaning and purpose, and apparently, for hope. Yet it cannot be denied. As Tim Keller says, if you don't believe that you are originally sinful, just give it some time. It doesn't take me even a day to be completely assured of this truth. So the fact that "Buddhism is clearly moving from the fringes of American religious life into its mainstream", could indicate that what appears on the surface to be peace resulting from self-discovery and oneness, could underneath actually be a generation and culture of people dying a slow death psychologically. We have to acknowledge this possibility and confront it.

John MacArthur, in a sermon on Acts, talks about how adding anything to salvation by grace through faith alone eventually reveals itself as ridiculous. For example, at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, Jewish Christians come saying that all the new Gentile believers must be circumcised to be saved. There were thousands of them. Can you imagine the local medical clinic's reaction to this possibility? (I have an inappropriate joke I could tell at this juncture. I will resist.) Similarly, Buddhism speaks of oneness, and the encouragement to seek this as a method of self-help to find peace. I'm not trying to be mean, but this logic is ridiculous. Natascha Bruckner explains it this way:

"In the great kaleidoscope of life, none of us can exist without all the others. But it gets deeper: each of us is all the others. So, really, there are no others.

"Brother Phap Niem explained: 'Inside of you, you can find everything. There is only one thing you do not contain -- a self.' This is a Zen master's way of saying: a) you're purely made of stuff that isn't you, and b) everything that seems to be outside you is actually part of you. The fancy spiritual term is nonduality, also known as oneness.

"Some people have had direct experiences of oneness. They've realized their true self, inclusive of everything and everyone, in moments of divine interconnected bliss. I occasionally access this oneness in fleeting instants, when I feel someone else's emotions, or know what they're going to say before they say it.

"Practicing Reiki (hands-on energy healing) brings me closest to that feeling of oneness. In Reiki, my body becomes a conduit for energy, like a hollow straw. Healing energy pours through my palms into the other person. Sometimes I let my consciousness extend out through my hands, into the other body, and I sense colors, shapes, dark blockages, currents. I see dreamlike images. Once while giving Reiki to a client, I envisioned her practicing non-violent martial arts, not in self-defense but to cultivate inner strength and integrity. After the session I asked if she had ever done martial arts. She said no, but she'd been wanting to take a class. Many other times I've seen and felt clients' inner truths. How could I perceive these visions if we weren't all one?"

"But my mind protests. Even if we're all one, we are also separate. I don't feel pain every time somebody stubs a toe (thank goodness). It's a bewildering paradox. How is it that we are separate bodies, and also all one consciousness, one vast ever-moving organism?"

Seems a strange mental battle to be fighting. Seems very far off from an understanding of reality that completes the narrative lines of our life and fulfills the desires of our soul. Seems to not offer much of a lasting salvation that can have any assurance at all. But what do I know? Maybe Tiger Woods is on to something.

WHY DO WE NEED RELIGION?

I mentioned above about the book God is Not One. From the synopsis and table of contents (sorry, haven't had time to read it), it is clear that the author's summary of the major world religions is that each defines a human problem and human solution. This is helpful. In Islam the problem is pride and the solution is submission; in Buddhism the problem is suffering and the solution is awakening; in Judasim the problem is exile and the solution is return to God; in Confucianism the problem is chaos and the solution is social order; in Hindusim the solution is devotion; in Daoism the solution is flourishing: in Yoruba Religion the solution is connection. Et cetera. In Christianity, as he defines it, the problem is sin and the solution is salvation. I'm no scholar, but it seems all the problems are sin, and all the solutions are attempts at salvation by human means. They cannot all be the same, as the author himself argues, so they can't all be effective. So it seems to me that all the human solutions are temporary and not assured, as history would attest, and the one divine solution makes a lot of sense.

Kramer once asked George, "Do you even have a reason to get up in the morning?" George, broken and depressed, answered through held-back (comedy) tears, "I like to get the Daily News." That's one reason. Surely there are more. In a recent USA Today article, columnist Oliver Thomas concluded, "It's not so much about this doctrine or that, Mass or the Lord's Supper or even Ramadan or Yom Kippur. It's about purpose, meaning and whether I ought to get out of bed in the morning." Well, let me say this: you outta. And the only honest and sure reason I can give you as to why has nothing to do with The Daily News, or self-realization, or economic recovery, or political cooperation, or geographic agreement, or salvation by any means other than grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Don't waste your life searching for anything less eternal and don't get blown off course by developments in our culture leading people in any other direction.

As Sure as the Sun will Set

2010-07-01T15:57:00.097-04:00

Life moves pretty fast, huh? The sun is already setting again. And it will be again very soon. And again. Of that you can be sure. If you can't already tell, I really like sunsets. I really like that they happen every night and many times they make the sky beautiful and take my breath away. I like that the sun rises again in the morning, and will go through the same process in the evening. I like that I can be sure this is how it is going to happen night after night. No doubt.

Sometimes, probably like you, I feel uninterested in work and all the phone calls, emails, meetings, and projects I am behind on. I just want to play outside. Sometimes, I feel unmotivated to go do the hard thing and serve other people. I just want to go on vacation and be pampered. Sometimes, I feel uninspired by the things of God and with church. I just want to sit on the couch and watch TV mindlessly. Sometimes, I feel unconcerned with the fact that I am going to die someday. I just want to enjoy and love my family and friends right now.

This is totally normal, right? I have said for a long time that I wish I could better connect all the parts of my life together, so that transitioning from different moods, or different activities, or different excitement levels would be very smooth, and basically transparent. I just want to live, and not worry about if I'm in the mood to go to work, go to church, read the Bible, serve other people, play outside, spend time with family, or relax on the couch or on the beach. I want to be equally in the mood for all these things at the same time. Can you relate? Is this possible?

In the midst of all these "goings on" - babies and marriages and work and vacations and service and family and friends and relaxing, all of which I love (see Family and Friends blogs on the right) - I desperately want to encourage you to consider one thing in life as more important than all the rest. By saying I want you to consider this more important, I do not mean that I want you to consider everything else less important. Not at all. I want you to consider everything else even more important than you do now. More all the time. I just want you to consider this even more important yet. Increasingly. Forever.

ASSURANCE OF SALVATION IN JESUS

I am talking about assurance of salvation in Jesus. I could just say that I want you to consider Jesus more important than everything else. That would be true. I could just say that I want you to consider salvation more important than everything else. That would also be true. But in this day and age, misunderstandings are like breathing, and so I say salvation in Jesus to clarify that Jesus is not just a good example for us, but he is our only hope. And I say salvation in Jesus, because we will strive in vain for salvation by any other functional, temporary means.

And I say assurance of this because I want you to know without any doubt that this is (or can be) true for you. You can be sure, and you can be sure forever, that you are saved in, and because of, Jesus. If you are not sure, or you are sure, but sure only in the fact that you do not have this salvation, this post is my plea with you to work it out. Not "work it out" like earn it; but "work it out" like figure it out. Make it sure. Look for fruit. Pray. Ask others. "Stop texting so much and get in the text. Stop facebooking so much and get your face in the book." I have a free Bible I can give you if you need one. It is how you can be sure. And once you are sure, everything else is just life, and it is all eventually and ultimately good. What a profound blessing. The struggles along the way are not worthy to be compared to the glory coming later. Believe that. It will prepare you for anything. Don't believe that, and you will be floundering for the rest of your life, unprepared for everything.

Assurance of salvation in Jesus does not mean you think you probably should go to heaven because you are a good person and hope you are right. It does not mean that your family went to church growing up and you were involved in youth group, and you plan to get "involved" again once you get married and have kids. Assurance of salvation in Jesus does not mean there is a date on the calendar when you said a prayer, or a picture in an album of you being baptized, and based on this proof you can feel fairly confident that your ongoing rebellion makes no difference. Assurance of salvation in Jesus does not mean that you feel good about yourself because you helped somebody one time or because you give money to the poor every Christmas. Assurance of salvation in Jesus does not mean that you trust in Jesus, read your Bible, love your neighbor, and hope for the best.

Assurance of salvation in Jesus means that you can know - know that you are in right standing with the a holy God despite your innate wickedness, and know that you will spend eternity with the most precious being in the universe, Jesus, and with his people, in paradise. This is possible, and it is more important than anything else going on in your life right now. Without this, everything else in your life can not be enjoyed, or endured, with the kind of confidence and joy that was meant to accompany it.

CARRY IT WITH YOU

The Bible says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, to make your calling and election sure, and to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. In this process there are three major myths and one great tragedy I think we have to avoid. First, as an aside, please remember that what I'm saying here I'm trying to say with an urgency, relevance and excitement level that should match anything else you are doing or thinking about right now. Are you tracking with that? I started this Fourth of July weekend, in between time at the pool, breakfast outside, fireworks on the prairie, and fun with family and friends, and was still working on it in on vacation in Michigan, in between sunsets, golf, tennis, whitefish, dance parties, and sand dunes. Bad timing, right? This topic should be dry and stale to me right now. And to you. But it is not. Please hear that.

In other words, maybe you took a break from a thousand emails in the office to read this blog. Maybe you are holding and feeding your baby while reading this online. Maybe you are reading this surrounded by screaming children, flying cheerios, and breaking glass. Maybe you are on your lunch break or in the airport and are viewing this on your iPhone. Maybe you are on vacation and catching up on things on the Internet before dinner, and stumbled on this blog. Maybe you are just sitting around the house thinking about a million different things going on in life right now. Maybe you are at the hospital visiting family or a friend who is hurting, and you needed a distraction.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, my intention is to say these things in a way that will be instantly relevant to you, and in a way that when you finish reading and go back to whatever you were doing before, you will take these things as lasting encouragement, and be able to directly apply them to that other activity that probably seems more exciting or important right now than deep soul-searching theology. My intention is that when you stop reading you will not just say, "hmm, that was interesting", and forget about it, but that you would go back to feeding your baby or answering your emails and be able to carry with you a truth and a hope that will sustain you and give you joy all the time. Does that make sense? I will need the Holy Spirit to be able to communicate this way. Maybe the timing is bad for you right now. If so, read just a little (it is LONG), let it marinate a bit, and then come back and read more later. But please come back. I care about you and this is important.

THREE MAJOR MYTHS

Back to the myths. There are three myths to avoid when "working out your salvation" or obtaining assurance of salvation in Jesus. I beg you not to learn the hard way about the danger of each of these unbiblical, false myths. The first one is believing that you can reach perfection in this life, and that you will only obtain assurance once you have that perfection. Completely incorrect. So dangerous. This can bring you to the point of wanting to blow your brains out. No exaggeration.

John Owen says, "The vain, foolish, and ignorant disputes of men about perfectly keeping the commands of God, of perfection in this life, of being wholly and perfectly dead to sin, I meddle not now with. It is more than probable that the men of these abominations never knew what belonged to the keeping of any one of God's commands and are so much below perfection of degrees that they never attained to a perfection of parts in obedience or universal obedience in sincerity. And therefore, many in our days who have talked of perfection have been wiser and have affirmed it to consist in knowing no difference between good and evil." John Owen is not always easy to understand, but hopefully this is: thinking you can accomplish perfection in this life will lead to despair, will likely reveal our own pride in striking clarity, and is not honoring to a perfect God.

The second myth is that we can at one time believe and be secure in Jesus, and then at a later time, perhaps because of some action of ours, or lack thereof, we can lose that salvation. That is so wrong. We miss the whole point of the universe and make Jesus look like a failure if we accept this possibility. This is a common, and old, theological error. It comes from the belief that man contributes something to salvation, namely good works, and if those good works lessen, then that salvation can be lost. Instead, the Bible teaches that if good works lessen, the salvation was likely never real. I can't think of hardly anything more man-centered than believing that we, as sinful, helpless, and finite beings, can contribute anything to our initial salvation. And therefore, I can't think of hardly anything more man-centered than believing that we can contribute anything to our ultimate salvation. If we are truly God-centered, then we understand that God is the Author and the Perfecter of our faith. Not just the Author. Eternal does not mean anything less than forever, so if we have undeserved eternal life, we can know we have it forever.

John MacArthur says, "So where you have in Roman Catholic theology man involved in salvation, or where you have in Arminian theology man involved in salvation, you have the absence of security because man can default. But where you have in historical biblical theology that salvation is all the work of God, you have the concomitant doctrine of security which leads to assurance. The basic question involved here is whether one is saved by grace alone, or one's salvation depends in part on his or her meritorious good works. If the latter is true, one can never be sure of salvation. If, however, the former is true, as the Reformers taught, then one can be sure of salvation even though he or she may not always be in full possession of that assurance." That is good news.

The third myth is that perseverance in faith to the end of our life is automatic, and once we have assurance we can just coast until we get there and receive our reward. If we fall into this trap, we won't get there and our reward will be torment. This does not contradict the other things I just said because if we are coasting, it is probably the most clear indication that our salvation is not assured, and may not be real. Only those who are truly saved will persevere to the end, and only those who persevere to the end were ever truly saved. That isn't as confusing as it sounds, I promise. Unbelievers are saved through the Gospel, and the Gospel keeps believers saved (Romans 1:16). That is an exhortation to saturate yourself in the Gospel. Find assurance, and then confirm that assurance every day with your perseverance in faith, love for the Gospel, and good fruit. But the action of finding assurance of salvation, and then confirming assurance of salvation, will never be the source of that salvation. Is that clear as mud?

John Piper says, "The battle of the Christian life is one to believe, not to perform; to believe that moral transformation is the fruit, not the root, of justification. Settle this. Because otherwise you’re going to be knocked off balance page, after page, after page in the Bible, because there are dozens and dozens of paragraphs and sentences that make heaven contingent on believer’s obedience. They’re all over the place (i.e. 1 Corinthians 6:9). You’ve got to get this clear. If not, you’re going to be thrown off balance every time you read one of those and say, ‘I don’t know whether I believe justification by faith is really true. It looks like works are really mingled in with the foundation here, because they’re made conditions of the final outcome.’ Evidence, confirmation, fruit - get a hold of that - they're different than justification. You can only please God with active obedience that is rooted in the confidence he’s already 100% on your side. You can only please God with some kind of act or behavioral attitude that is flowing from the confidence he is already TOTALLY on your side. That is the only kind of fruit that will glorify Christ."

ONE GREAT TRAGEDY

There also is one great tragedy that comes from this topic of assurance of salvation in Jesus. That is, that some people have false assurance. In other words, they are sure when they shouldn't be. Somewhere along the way they were told, or began to understand, incorrect things about salvation and put their hope in something short of the once-for-all atoning work of Jesus on the cross, and may have changed behaviorally for a time but never experienced Spirit-led heart change. This may be you. I don't say that to be mean, I say that because I care about you. We know this is a reality for some because Jesus says that there will be some who say to him, "Lord, Lord!" and he will say, "Depart from me; I never knew you." And we know this is true because the Apostle John said that some would depart the faith: "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."

WHY WE LACK ASSURANCE

This is important for you, as an overworked businessman, or a newly married couple, or a single mom of three, or a lazy high school student, or a retired widower, or an unemployed man on the street, or whoever; because you may not have this assurance and you may have never thought through the reasons you don't, which are like unknown boulders in your path to complete joy right now.

WILL I EVER BE ENOUGH?

To paraphrase John MacArthur, there are many reasons that people lack assurance. One reason people (maybe you) lack assurance is that they have sat under really strong, convicting preaching about God's holiness. Convicting preaching creates doubt. Maybe you doubt because you have heard from the pulpit that God is holy and you are from it, so the chances of you living up to God are futile at best. Maybe the preaching you have heard about God's holiness has not been biblically complemented with God's mercy. J.I. Packer says, "The preaching of the Word is the supreme means of God's grace." Preaching that ignores this reality could likely leave you wondering about your condition.

AM I FORGIVEN?

Another reason some lack assurance is that they can't accept forgiveness. This gets real. Maybe knowledge of past sin, or present sins, so dominates your mind that you can't accept that Jesus paid the complete, eternal penalty for your sin - past, present, and future - and that there is no condemnation if you are in Christ. None. That can be difficult to accept. But if you (we) don't accept that, we will never get to assurance, and we will lack the joy that God intended for us, and we will likely not experience the moral transformation we so earnestly strive for on our own strength. You might not accept forgiveness because you understand the concept of justice and your conscience convinces you that you are guilty. And you would be correct in thinking that justice requires a much different fate for us than forgiveness. But if you do this, you "crown the devil king". Listen to MacArthur, "If you buy it you crown him king and you say guilt rules, condemnation rules, sin rules. Christ is not king. Grace does not rule. Mercy does not rule. Forgiveness does not rule." But Christ, grace, mercy, and forgiveness does rule. Take that to bed with you tonight.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

Yet another reason that some lack assurance is because they don't comprehend the Gospel and the plan of salvation. Do you believe that you are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone? Or do you still think that you have to do something to accomplish salvation for yourself? Settle this. Reread John Piper above. "You can only please God with some kind of act or behavioral attitude that is flowing from the confidence he is already TOTALLY on your side." Do you believe that God knew you were a sinner before you were born, and he chose to save you anyway? Do you believe that your sin is completely gone? Oh, get this! Put your iPhone down for a minute and be sure of this. It matters. In a meeting, in your kitchen, on the golf course, at the pool, it matters.

Encouragement from MacArthur: "You can have security and not have assurance. A lot of people do. I say that to people who don't believe you can have assurance. They say, 'Oh, I don't know that my salvation is secure.' Well, fine, you have security, sorry you can't enjoy it. You can deny it all you want, you still have it. You can live in doubt all you want, you are still secure. Security is the objective fact that all who are forgiven by grace in Christ are forgiven forever, it is irrevocable. Assurance is the confidence that I am one of those forgiven."

WHEN WAS I SAVED?

A fourth reason some lack assurance of salvation is because they can't remember the exact moment that they were saved. Kids from Christian homes, please hear this! If you became a Christian when you were really young, listen! This is so encouraging. Don't get caught up with "decisional regeneration". Your life in Christ does not depend on knowing the exact moment you entered into an eternal relationship with Him. It depends on your trust in Him being the sacrifice for your sins, and your life right now demonstrating that trust by your obedience and fruit. I could paraphrase MacArthur, but instead, I'll just quote him:

"Some people lack assurance because they don't know the exact time of their salvation. They can't remember when they believed. They can't remember the moment of their salvation. And because they can't remember when it was, they don't know whether it was. Which is like saying, because I can't remember my birthday, I'm not sure I'm alive. I see. Or because I can't remember when my plane landed, I don't know if I'm here. We have made such a fetish out of decisionism, we have so isolated and identified this little formula and this little prayer that you pray at some point as being the moment of salvation that if you don't have that little moment that you signed a card or raised your hand or walked an aisle or prayed your prayer or did your little formula thing, you can't identify when it happened, so maybe it never happened.

"I had a car accident when I was a freshman in college, but I can't say that was the time of my salvation. I remember praying a prayer with my father on the steps of a church in Indiana when he was holding a revival meeting, his sermon convicted me because I had done some things that week that were not right. I don't know whether that's the moment I passed from death unto life. There were times as a little child when I prayed prayers. There were times as a teen-ager when I went to camp, I remember as a fourteen-year-old going forward and throwing a pinecone in a fire, teary-eyed and wanting to make my life right with God. I don't know when I passed from death unto life, I know I did, but I don't look for a past event to make it real, I look for a present pattern of life. There are some people at this particular point who have a false assurance because they can remember a past event, but the reality of it is there isn't any present righteousness."

WHY DO I STILL SIN?

Oh man, I can't do this one justice. But people don't have assurance of salvation sometimes because of the battle that still rages to put off the old self dominated by sin. Believe it or not, in this life, Jesus takes the penalty for your sin, but he does not completely take away the presence of it. That sucks, I know. But it is true, and first we have to understand that. Second, we have to see the difference with sin before Christ and sin after Christ. The real question is, have I really repented? Have I really turned away from my sin? If so, why do I keep doing what I don't want to do? Hear MacArthur quoting a pastor on true repentence in the context of Romans 7:

"Now test yourself in this way. You once lived in sin and loved it. Do you now desire deliverance from it? You were once self-confident and trusting in your own fancy goodness. Do you now judge yourself a sinner before God? You once sought to hide from God and rebelled against His authority. Do you now look up to Him, desiring to know Him and to yield yourself to Him? If you can honestly say yes to these questions, you have repented. Your attitude is all together different than what it once was. You confess you are a sinner, unable to cleanse your own soul, and you're willing to be saved in God's way. That's repentance. And remember, it is not the amount of repentance that counts, it is the fact that you turned from self to God that puts you in the place where His grace avails through Jesus Christ. Strictly speaking, not one of us has ever repented enough. None of us has realized the enormity of our guilt as God sees it, but when we judge ourselves and trust the Savior whom He has provided, we are saved through His merits. As recipients of His loving kindness, repentance will be deepened and will continue day by day as we learn more and more of His infinite worthy and our own unworthiness."

WHERE IS GOD WHEN IT HURTS?

I am sorry this is so long, but aren't these things helpful? Isn't it good to hear articulated the struggles we have holding us back from true joy in the confidence that we are saved from sin, from wrath, from hell, and safe in God's hands forever, regardless of our circumstances? What is more helpful than that? Yet another reason (there are so many, blame John MacArthur, not me) we lack assurance is because we can't see or understand God's place in our suffering. There it is. You are a Christian, you experience loss of a loved one, loss of a job, a broken relationship, whatever, and you ask that dreaded question that Christians are never supposed to ask: "Why?!" Right? Why me? I love you God, why would you let this happen? You don't want to ask these questions, you know that you should know, but they come anyway. And because they come you worry that you must not be a Christian or else you would be spared this calamity.

We lose so much of the grace of God if we don't see his hand in suffering and let it create in us confident joy. I can't do this justice, and am nowhere near satisfied in my understanding of this reality. But I've seen enough that my mind is blown and my heart is soft by God's unending grace. The thing that should convince us of God's hand, and our security in it, when trials come is not that we are saved from them, but that even those trials do not separate us. Romans 8. Read it. Even though we are persecuted. Even though we are naked. Even though we are broken. Even though we are hungry. Even though we are distressed. We are not separated. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither height nor depth, neither the present nor the future, no powers, nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We have assurance not when we are spared from trials, but when we face them and realize even they cannot separate us. That is powerful. Tell that to your children at the dinner table tonight.

CAN ANYONE TESTIFY THAT I'M REAL?

Yes!! Oh, praise Jesus, yes. At the end of the day, when the world, when the devil, when your friends or family, when a stranger on the street, tells you that God is not able or willing to save you, and the heaven you think you are going to either doesn't exist for you or doesn't exist at all, there is someone who testifies that you are secure. There is one voice and one comforter that will outlast all these claims. The Holy Spirit. Oh, don't downplay the reality of the Holy Spirit to your own confusion! Through all the pain, all the mistakes and sin, all the confusion, even all the excitement and joy in life, at the end of the day the most trusted source of assurance is the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life constantly affirming your adoption as God's child saved by the blood of Jesus. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you likely are not really saved. As devestating as it is to say, many lack assurance for this very reason. "Some lack assurance because they do not walk in the Spirit and it is the ministry of the Spirit to affirm the believer's salvation." For some, they don't walk this way and don't receive this affirmation because they have not the Spirit because they are not saved.

But like Paul says, we are confident of better things in your case, things that accompany salvation. God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6:9-12)

So then there are some who don't walk in the Spirit and don't receive this ministry of affirmation even though they possess that Spirit. Why? I'm going to go out on a limb and say the biggest reason in our culture why this happens is because people aren't reading the Bible. That's it. MacArthur says that the biggest way that the Spirit affirms our salvation is through illumination of the Word of God. If we don't open our Bible, we won't experience this illumination, and we won't receive this affirmation. Painfully simple, isn't it? For example, did you know that in Ancient Rome, adoptions required seven witnesses to be approved? In other words, because there was legitimate concern that a crook would step up after someone died and claim their inheritance as the "adopted son", there had to be seven witnesses, so that even if six of them died, there would still be someone left to testify that the adoption was real. Well, did you know that in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere in Scripture it talks about the sevenfold Spirit of God? The one who testifies to the legitimacy of your adoption to God ministers as a sevenfold Spirit. I hope the Holy Spirit blew your mind just now.

AM I WILLFULLY DISOBEDIENT?

John MacArthur: "Some lack assurance because assurance is the reward for obedience and they are willfully disobedient. If you live in sin and disobedience, you will not enjoy assurance. Sin will cancel it out. There is a gulf between sin and peace, sin and joy, sin and assurance. To live in sin is to live in doubt. When you sin, coming alongside of it is doubt about your spiritual condition and the Spirit of God withholds the good gift."

Sinclair Ferguson: "High degrees of true assurance cannot be enjoyed by those who persist in low levels of obedience."

Charles Spurgeon: "Whenever I feel that I have sinned and desire to overcome that sin for the future, the devil at the same time comes to me and whispers, 'How can you be a pardoned person and accepted with God while you still sin in this way?' If I listen to this I drop into despondency. And if I continued in that state I should fall into despair and should commit sin more frequently than before. But God's grace comes in and says to my soul, 'Thou hast sinned but did not Christ come to save sinners? Thou art not saved because thou art righteous for Christ died for the ungodly.' And my faith says, 'Though I have sinned I have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous and though I am guilty yet by grace I am saved and I am a child of God still.' And what then? Why the tears begin to flow and I say, 'How could I ever sin against my God who has been so good to me? Now I will overcome that sin.' And I get strong to fight with sin through the conviction that I am God's child."

John MacArthur: "If you fall into sin and you resolutely say I will conquer that sin, Satan may pound you with these kinds of questions. You fall back on the forgiving grace of God and it will strengthen you for the battle. Whatever the cause for the loss of assurance, whatever makes you doubt, whatever causes you to lose your joy and to become useless in Christian service, empty in worship, cold in praise, passionless in prayer, vulnerable to false teachers, whatever the problems are there is a cure. The cure is to walk in the Spirit. The cure is to walk in obedience."

O DESPAIRING SOUL!

I'll close with an amazing final encouragement from Puritan Thomas Brooks, drawing us back to Scripture. If you've come this far, please finish.

"Manasseh is saved, O despairing souls, the arms of mercy are open to receive a Manasseh, a monster, a devil incarnate. He caused that prophet Isaiah to be sawed in the midst with a saw, as some rabbis say. He turned aside from the Lord to commit idolatry and cause his sons to pass through the fire and dealt with familiar spirits and made the streets of Jerusalem to overflow with innocent blood. The soul of Mary Magdalene was full of devils and yet Christ cast them out and made her heart His house, His presence chamber.

"Why dost thou then say there is no hope for thee, O despairing soul? Paul was full of rage against Christ and His people and full of blasphemy and impiety, and yet, behold, Paul is a chosen vessel. Paul is caught up in to the heaven and is filled with the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. Why should you then say there is for you no help, O despairing soul? Though the prodigal had run from his father and spent and wasted all his estate in ways of baseness and wickedness, and yet upon his resolution to return, his father meets him and instead of killing him, he kisses him. Instead of kicking him, he embraces him. Instead of shutting the door upon him, he makes a sumptuous provision for him. And how then do you dare to say, O despairing soul, that God will never cast an eye of love upon you or bestow a crumb of mercy on you?

"The Apostle tells you of some monstrous miscreants who were unrighteous, fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners - and yet these monsters of mankind through the infinite goodness and free grace of God are washed from the filth and guilt of their sins and justified by the righteousness of Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of Christ and decked and adorned with the graces of Christ. Therefore do not say," writes Brooks, "O despairing soul that you shall die in your sins and lie down at last in everlasting sorrow. Did it make for the honor and glory of His free grace to pardon them? And will it be a reproach to His free grace to pardon you? Could God be just in justifying such ungodly ones and shall He be unjust in justifying you? Did their unworthiness and unfitness for mercy turn the stream of mercy from them? No. Why then, O despairing soul, should thou fear that thy unworthiness and unfitness for mercy will go and stop and turn the stream of mercy as that thou must perish eternally for want of one drop of special grace and mercy?"

I pray as the sun sets tonight, you will fall asleep with a joyous confidence and assurance that God is working together all things for good for you, because you are among His beloved. So that if you wake in the morning to greater chaos, and perhaps greater pain, than you left the night before, you will be able to embrace the day, and the sunrise, with joy and endurance. Or if you begin your day happy as a clam without thinking twice about God or Jesus or salvation, I pray that an affirming voice will speak to your heart that salvation in Jesus means more than church attendance or good deeds or a prayer you once said. It means assurance that everything will be ok and that you will make it. Through the parties and the vacations and the meetings and the families and the friends and the frustrations and the hospitals. With joy. To the very end.

Jude 24-25

Romans 8

2 Peter 1

John 6

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

1 John 5:13-15

1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Ephesians 1

Other Men's Brains

2010-06-15T16:54:00.025-04:00

I thought maybe it would be helpful to you to know who I consider to be the most important Evangelicals in our day. That is, the people I take the most seriously as I read and study the Bible, trust in Christ alone, and walk by the Spirit through the joys and struggles of the Christian life. These people are not Jesus, and they cannot die for my sins. Always remind me of this. But they are important, because I believe God is using them in unique ways to bring glory to His name and people into His presence. As Charles Spurgeon says, “The man who never reads will never be read. The man who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains proves that he has no brains of his own.”

The names below represent, in my opinion, and based on my exposure, the most intelligent, biblical, relevant, and understandable voices in the Evangelical world. They are not important in the sense that they are necessary, as if God needs anyone. They are not important in the sense that they are influential only, for there are many influential people who are influencing others in very negative ways. I believe them to be important in the sense that they are uniquely gifted, placed, and willing to be used by God in very positive ways in our time, and to mobilize others to do the same. This is not an exhaustive list, which is to say it does not include everyone who could be described with one of the four adjectives I chose. But it is a complete list, for me, which is to say that after extensive reading and listening I do not expect to find anyone else who would “top” the importance of these names as it relates to the honoring of God, communication of the Gospel, and loving of people in our culture today.

I, of course, could be wrong, but for purposes of clarity and brevity, this list represents, in general, the people I first default to for wisdom from a Christian perspective, and whose endorsements I take the most seriously on the back of a book cover. Even if you have never heard of any of these people, I hope that this list and this post can still be helpful to you as you consider Scripture, engage the culture with the Gospel and the love of Christ, struggle through growth in godliness, and in the process look to experienced voices for perspective and guidance. I could list the names that when I see on a book cover I put it right back on the shelf, or names I would warn you to avoid like the plague, but that doesn’t serve much of a purpose except to judge where it is not my place. If you stick to some combination of the people below, and perhaps men and women who these people endorse, with your head and heart constantly glued to the Bible, I do not worry that you will be led astray. The link on their name takes you to a website that most completely directs you to their ministry contributions. For clarification, all of these people are still with us on earth. The amount and weight of the names I could mention of people who are no longer with us would be huge. That is another post, perhaps.

YOUNG, RESTLESS, REFORMED, AND MISSIONAL

Matt Chandler – proclaiming the Gospel in suffering
Mark Driscoll – provocative for Jesus and for the church
Ed Stetzer – ubiquitous and faithfully missional
Kevin DeYoung – unapologetically traditional for the glory of God
Tim Challies – effective communicator and translator of culture
Justin Taylor – blogger extraordinaire

This list represents men who I believe God is preparing to be the most important names in Evangelical Christianity in our generation. This list of names, if any of the lists I include, could grow. Hopefully. For example, I would love to be able to put an overseas missionary or radical defender of the poor, who is also biblically orthodox and gospel-centered, on this list. But these names will do for now.

They are young in the sense that they are in their 30s and 40s. They are restless in the sense that they do not assume the Gospel will be clear, the Bible will be understood, people will be transformed, or the Great Commission will be fulfilled, without some serious, selfless, sacrificial service. They are Reformed in the sense that they hold to the doctrines of grace and tenets of historical Reformed theology, as believed since the days of the Church fathers, initially articulated in this way in the time of Martin Luther, later clarified in the time of John Calvin, and passionately and humbly defended in our time by those most interested in the glory of God. These tenets are: sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola Christus (Christ alone), and soli deo gloria (glory of God alone). Contrary to popular belief, “Reformed theology” is not first and foremost about predestination; though it does hold to that teaching. It is first and foremost about the authority of Scripture, the glory of God, and justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

You will notice that all the men on the lists below are not by definition “Reformed”, nor need they be. While I consider myself Reformed, I am not so naïve as to think that those of different theological convictions are less intelligent, biblical, relevant, or understandable. But I do more quickly follow those that share my own specific interpretations of God, Jesus, the Bible, the Cross, and the nature and fruits of our salvation. And I see the names above as the most significant because of their humility, boldness, compassion, and effectiveness in ministry, which may or may not be directly related to their theological convictions.

Finally, these men are missional in the sense that they understand the church to be on mission for God and the context in which the Great Commission will be fulfilled and the Kingdom of God will be represented, and eventually realized, in our fallen world. And they understand that this requires careful, creative, and faithful contextualization to our culture of the promises and commands from Jesus in the Bible.

SEASONED BUT FRESH

John Piper – passionately God-centered and bible-saturated
Tim Keller – unmatched intelligence, master at Gospel application, urban ministry expert
Andy Stanley – everyday pastor and equipper of leaders with unique wisdom and influence
Albert Mohler – Gospel-centered voice for intelligent Christian conversation
Rick Warren – brilliant communicator and uncompromising pragmatist
D.A. Carson – pastor-like scholar
John MacArthur – faithful bible expositor
Ligon Duncan – soldier for historic evangelicalism
Mark Dever - qualified representative of the marks of a healthy church
Scot McKnight – Christ-centered, rational voice in the Emerging Church
Andy Crouch - culture-interpreter and culture-maker
Steve Saint - authoritative figure for missions and suffering

Definitely follow the link on these names to expose you to ministries and resources and perspective that are way beyond what I could ever do justice to in a blog post. But here is my simply summary as it applies to me:

John Piper pleads with me, and has driven me to not waste my life, to confidently deal with sin, and to trust in the risen Christ, and has reminded me to maintain an eternal perspective in everything.

Tim Keller reasons with me, squashes my doubts, overcomes my intellectual snobbery, and humbles me by his compassion, boldness, and sacrificial lifestyle.

Andy Stanley relates to me, and through his calm and collected storytelling of Jesus' life and ministry, he cuts to the core of my longings and desires, and equips me to communicate in similar ways to others.

Albert Mohler translates for me the confusing and unpredictable events and developments in our culture, and does so with an unflinching commitment to the Bible and the Gospel.

Rick Warren encourages me, speaks simple profundity into my life, and gives me purpose and clarity in service within the context of the nature and character of God.

D.A. Carson teaches me, and blows my mind with biblical insight that is good for the soul.

John MacArthur preaches to me, and expounds the text of the Bible with remarkable and enjoyable detail, and always takes me back to Jesus and the Cross, where I belong.

Ligon Duncan reminds me of the service and words of anointed men in the Church who came long before us who deeply loved God, the Gospel, and other people.

Mark Dever articulates for me the marks of a healthy church and helps me filter through a lot of the confusion and trendiness in forms of church today.

Scot McKnight exposes me to thoughts and ideas that are new, different, and sometimes dangerous, and does so cautiously and in a way that is challenging and Christ-centered.

Andy Crouch shows me the difference that Christians can make in our culture and invites me to participate.

Steve Saint inspires me by his perspective on suffering, his experience in missions, and his humility and wisdom. I met him in 2006, and although we didn't have time to chat, he told me that when we get to heaven he wants to hear my story.

IN THEIR TWILIGHT

J.I. Packer - most trusted Evangelical statesmen and theologian of our time
Billy Graham – leading Evangelist of the 20th century
John Stott – celibate, Evangelical Anglican pastor with far-reaching legacy
Elisabeth Elliot – former missionary and enduring model of love, forgiveness, passion, and purity

Saying I can't do these men (and woman) justice in a blog post is a grave understatement. So if nothing else, here are the names, and I'll trust God with the rest.

J.I. Packer's most famous work, Knowing God, has become the staple for Evangelical theology and apologetics. My personal experience with J.I. Packer is hearing his testimony of falling into deep despair at the teaching that perfection was obtainable in this life, and his rescue from this through the writings of John Owen. I shouldn't be thankful for someone exposing me to John Owen because of the energy and brain power required to read such a man. But I am anyway, because from Owen, and indirectly from Packer, I have drawn immeasurably closer to God at the realization that those who are truly saved will persevere to the end, and only those who persevere to the end were ever truly saved.

Billy Graham cannot possibly be left off of a list like this. His contribution to evangelicalism is unmatched. His boldness in sharing the faith, and his ubiquitous nature in Christianity and American history, while maintaining congeniality, but never compromising his convictions, is simply unbelievable. And glorious.

John Stott is a rare breed in that he is an Evangelical in the Anglican Communion. I grew up in the Episcopal Church in America, and after accepting Christ in an Evangelical parachurch organization in college, Stott's very existence is exciting to me. His classic work on the atonement, The Cross of Christ, sets him above almost all contemporary scholars on the most important doctrine of the Christian faith. His contributions to ministry and church life are paramount, and will endure.

The first book I read as a Christian in college was Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot. I was attracted to this book for two reasons: first, it was a story, and appeared from the title and synopsis to be exciting and like a movie, and probably wouldn't be questioned by my fraternity brothers like some generic Christian living book would; and second, the author shared my last name (though spelled differently). I came to find out it was more than a story, and the impact it had on my faith from the outset cannot be put into words. Elisabeth Elliot has that effect on people because of her story and her experience in suffering and with forgiveness. Her enduring model of love, passion and purity is an example that will forever show Jesus in a very special and profound way to all who encounter her life.

Tonight, on Earth, it's Total Confusion

2010-05-31T21:44:00.044-04:00

"Tonight, on Earth, it's total confusion. You see, the collapse of the city of man should not be seen as curtailing the building of the city of God. As distracting and as distressing as the actions of the wicked may be, when we focus on the fact that God is on his throne, then we can view the tottering foundations and the crumbling occasions in a totally different fashion. And at a time when there are unique opportunities for the Gospel; at a time when people are asking deep-seated questions because they recognize the foundations are crumbling too; and at the time when they are just about prepared to drink a cup of coffee and seek a sensible answer...."

What? What are we doing with this opportunity? Alistair Begg continues:

"The bombastic, ugly Christian is manning the barriers of right-wing politics. Joining coalitions. Endorsing political agendas. Advancing legislative remedies. And in doing so with every further move losing the ability to say with Paul that we don't wage war the way the world wages war. The Church cannot say it, because it wouldn't be true."

Can we say it? Are we ugly and bombastic? In some cases, yes. Many of us however, are doing nothing. We're not waging war the way the church is supposed to either. We're not even opening our mouths. We're not engaging in the conversation. We're just sitting there, nodding our head, agreeing, throwing our hands up, and saying, "I don't know. It's crazy." Myself included. Is there even any hope keeping up with the news, let alone pulling God-centered gospel relevance from it? I follow The Economist, The Indianapolis Star, The USA Today, and several pastors and cultural commentators on Twitter, and I probably shouldn't. There are crazy, unexplainable, world changing things going on every second. Did I need to know that? We all need a break so we can just stop, have a meeting as Christians, and figure out what the heck is going on, and formulate a cohesive statement, before the world implodes on itself. Right? Before we are left standing on a street corner holding our newspapers in one hand and our Bible in the other, and saying, finally, "Wait! I get it! God is holy! We are sinful! The Bible is true! Jesus is Savior! Look!" Before it is too late.

In the form of Twitter-like updates (ok, not quite less than 140 characters) and various pictures, consider some of the events so far in 2010:

HORROR IN HAITI

The year began with one of the biggest earthquakes in history reeking havoc and tragedy on the capital city of one of the most poverty-stricken countries in the world. The suffering has not ceased. Have we moved on?

TEA PAR-TY!

Early in February, surrounding massive government bailouts, looming health-care reform, and growing federal deficits, what began as an angry protest movement gathered formally in Nashville to establish itself as a legitimate force in electoral politics. This "colorful but quarrelsome hodgepodge of fundamentalist Christians, anti-tax activists, anti-immigration cranks, protectionists, and mainstream conservative Republicans" have united to take back the country from elitists in Washington, New York, Hollywood, and academia, opposing fiscal irresponsibility, bailouts, and even abortion, gay marriage, and removal of Christianity in the public square.

ERUPTION IN ICELAND

The volcano Eyjafjallajökull that erupted March 20, spraying ash for miles and grounding hundreds of flights throughout Europe to its south, is still said to be rumbling and risks further society-crippling activity.

ARIZONA PASSES IMMIGRATION LAW

Late in April, Arizona stopped waiting on the Federal Government and passed a law that allows local police to check papers and arrest undocumented residents with only "reasonable suspicion". Critics liken it to apartheid and legalized racial profiling. Supporters claim it is a long overdue measure to protect the border.

DEEPWATER NIGHTMARE

April 30, an underwater oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, exploded, resulting in an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has become the most devastating environmental disaster in United States history and has threatened the livelihoods of thousands of people. Four failed attempts later by BP, loosely supervised by the Obama Administration, no comprehensive solution is in site.

BOMB IN TIMES SQUARE

A "well-rigged" car bomb was found on the evening of May 1 in a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder at a crucial intersection in New York City's Times Square, and stabilized before causing fatal damage for blocks in a place all-too familiar with Islamic terrorism. Faisal Shahzad was arrested and found to be loyal to Pakistani militant groups after living a relatively common American life through college, a job, and a suburban house.

A MESS IN MUSIC CITY

Two days after a foiled attack in one of the world's most sensitive cities to terrorism, and weeks after an enormous oil spill that was still pouring massive amounts of oil into the ocean, unrelenting rainstorms pummeled Nashville leaving levees broken, trees washed away, businesses ruined, and 28 people dead.

ANOTHER KOREAN WAR?

The threat of escalation haunts the Korean Peninsula. On May 24th South Korea’s president, Lee Myung-bak, issued a sterner-than-expected response to an international probe which found the North guilty of firing a fatal torpedo that sank one of South Korea’s warships and killed 46 of its sailors.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY?

Investors are on edge. Fears are growing that the global recovery will falter as Europe’s debt crisis spreads, China’s property bubble bursts and America’s stimulus-fuelled rebound peters out. The danger is that these fears reinforce each other in a pernicious reversal of the dynamics of 2008-09.

CAN MAN MAKE MAN?

Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith, the two American biologists who unravelled the first DNA sequence of a living organism (a bacterium) in 1995, have made a bacterium that has an artificial genome—creating a living creature with no ancestor. I'm serious.

TODAY'S TWEETS

Just after lunch today (June 3), the following updates clogged my Twitter feed.

- Downtowners! Be on the lookout for a missing juvenile falcon. Bird last seen on moving car. -

- 'Golden Girls' actress Rue McClanahan dies. -

- Indianapolis Metropolitan Police have arrested a man who they say used a paintball gun to punish his stepson for not doing his chores. -

- A study released today shows that oil from the catastrophic spill in the Gulf of Mexico could foul thousands of miles of the Atlantic coast as early as this summer. -

- President Obama, who has attacked Arizona's immigration law as discriminatory, and Gov. Brewer, who says her state has to act because the federal government has failed to reform the immigration system, hold Arizona immigration summit. -

BE AT PEACE

No slowdown in sight. So, what is going on? How do we respond? Begg continues:

"The tragedy is, that since the foundations are being destroyed, and since activism is a very large part of this culture, the Christian then determines that they will become an activist. And it isn't wrong to become an activist. But it is wrong to be a slanderer; it is wrong to become combative and ugly; it is wrong to forget that the only difference between me and the guy who tonight is boozin' it up in some saloon, is not that I am smarter than him, but it is the grace of God to me. So until the church learns how to cry, the church loses any right to shout. Until we learn to do what we have been asked to do, we dare not start to do what has been granted to us no mandate at all."

What have we been asked to do? Well, for one, to be at peace. And that is probably nothing close to what you think it is. Peace is not the absence of war. For the Christian, peace is the confidence that the war is already won, and in our fighting and suffering we become more like, and people see more clearly, the Person of Jesus Christ. Do not suppose that Jesus came to bring peace to the earth. He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, and division. He does not give as the world gives. Let not your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. Peace he leaves with us. His peace he gives us. We know the message that God sent to the people of Israel: good news of peace, through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

The wonder and beauty of the Bible is that all this can be true about peace at the same time. It is not a contradiction. He did not come to bring our peace, he came to bring His. Our peace is selfish. His peace is selfless. Our peace is comfortable. His peace is perfect. Our peace is about us. His peace is about Him. Considering that we are sinners and helpless and confused, and He is holy and loving and sovereign, this is very good news.

What does it mean to fight? We wage war, as individuals, internally with the strange inclinations and temptations we somehow have to lie, steal, kill (hate), lust, and covet. Maybe we don't wage war on these things and that is why we see politicians unapologetically cheating on their wives, terrorists killing innocent people, and ordinary Americans putting their hope in a mortgage and being disappointed and suicidal when it is taken from them. But if we do wage war, we likely become beaten down and burned out, wishing for peace. We look all around for it, and pray for it, but as we look in the wrong places our efforts become depleted and our well-meaning, moral foundations become skewed and we do the same things that the bad people do. Our lack of peace and resulting search for peace leads to confusion about peace. Begg concludes,

"When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? Well, they can flee. They can fight. Another one is they can follow whatever is going on in the culture, marry the spirit of the age, do Broadway musicals, you know. Try to soften them up, butter them up; turn your church into a social club, turn it into a singles bar. Eat the cultural trends, play anything you want to play, play the game, get them in at any cost. Marry the spirit of the age, and become a widow in the subsequent generation.

"No. The great mystery tonight is not that the wicked would be condemned to an eternity that they have chosen for themselves by determining to deny God. The great mystery is that such a God would come, and seek out men and women to inhabit his heaven. See the tempter came to them and said, hey, you're not going to believe all that judgement stuff, that prohibition stuff, are you? You're not going to believe that you really die? Don't be afraid of the consequences. God is trying to frighten you. Do as I tell you. Believe me! You'll be perfectly happy, you'll have this amazing knowledge and understanding, you'll be like a god yourself! And man bought it. And he buys it again tonight: Oh, don't go and listen to that stuff, don't obey the Bible, don't believe that stuff about the judgement of God. Get out and live your life!

"The ultimate tragedy, loved ones, tonight is this: First, that man rejects the diagnosis in relationship to sin. And secondly, that despite the most dire of predicaments, he continues to avoid the only one who can really help. You can go in any coffee shop you like, and get agreement on the crumblings of the foundations. But once introduce the notion that man's predicament is not in relationship to his environment, is not in relationship to his parents, that his grandmother locked him in a closet, but is in relationship to the fact that he himself is perverse and goes his own way rather than God's way, and you'll find that people will get up and move to another table. And they'll cry themselves to sleep, for want of a Savior, but they will not come to the only one, who has the answers."

John MacArthur says peace for the Christian is a reality. Peace for the unsaved man is an impossible dream. It can't happen. And the Gospel is peace, because it makes this salvation and freedom and clarity a reality. Let us pray for that, and in the meantime observe, explain, and understand the "crumbling of the foundations" in our society and world as birth pangs for something better, and Gospel pleas for a lasting hope, instead of throwing our hands up and shaking our head saying, "I don't know sometimes. It's crazy."

Jesus is Enough

2010-04-30T19:53:00.008-04:00

The video below, which in the fullness of time I promise that you have 50 minutes to watch and that it will be worth your while, is of Matt Chandler, 35 year old pastor of Village Church in Dallas, Texas, speaking at the Together for the Gospel conference earlier this month in Louisville, and telling his story from the last four months in the context of a talk on "Preparing Your Church for Suffering".

"I woke up on Thanksgiving morning and poured myself a cup of coffee, just like I always do. I walked in to sit down, my wife asked me to feed our six-month old at the time, and so I grabbed her and a bottle and sat down on the couch and fed her. My kids were up, they were watching a little television; I fed my youngest her bottle, burped her, put her in her Johnny-jump-up, and that’s my last memory until I woke up in the hospital. I turned and as I headed back to my chair - apparently, I’m told by my wife - I had a Grand Mal seizure on the way to that chair in front of my two oldest children. Apparently, as they were restraining me and trying to take me to the hospital, I became combative. So they drugged me, I actually punched one of the EMTs, and that erased my memory until I wake up at the hospital. By the time I woke up in the hospital, they had already done the CT scan, and said there was some signaling they were concerned about, stuck me in the MRI, and then when I came out of the MRI they said I had a mass on my right frontal lobe."

Long story short, after initial optimism that the tumor was encapsulated, and despite a successful surgery only a week after his seizure, Matt Chandler has Stage 3 cancer and a malignant, un-encapsulated tumor in his brain.

Praying for his children at the end of the talk: "Whether your will for me is an extended period of suffering, or healing outright, or an early death, that you would guard their hearts against the lies of the enemy that would embitter and confuse them, but that they would love the God of their father, and that the wickedness that has been in the bloodline of the Chandlers for centuries would go into the ground with me, whenever that is, and that a legacy of faith might be left behind. I don't control that and I don't get to speak into that, but I do ask you as your servant to be merciful and to extend to them salvation."

T4G 2010 -- Session 8 -- Matt Chandler from Together for the Gospel (T4G) on Vimeo.

"What I always knew, I now know."

Jesus is better.

Jesus is enough.

The end of this video, after C.J Mahaney gives a short talk, shows John Piper and the other speakers at this event praying from Chandler. It is powerful and real. Please pray for healing for this unique, gifted, anointed, Godly man, not for his sake only, or his wife, or children, but for the Church and for the sake of the glorious name of Jesus Christ.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, will give him a snake? He may not give us bread, and he may not give us fish, but what he does give, will be better yet. Only good is coming. Thank you Jesus.

The Other Side of Cardboard

2010-04-19T09:19:00.057-04:00

For the last several weeks in the "Life Church", or mission-oriented bible study, that I help lead, we have been going over the conversion testimony of the Apostle Paul as described in Acts 9, Acts 22, and Acts 26, and the reality of transformation. There is a LOT to reflect on in these passages, and much that is deeply encouraging and helpful for every single person on earth in every single situation that could possibly be experienced. In other words, it is relevant to you, so I hope you will read this post, and more importantly, those passages in the Bible.

But I first wanted to be clear about my own transformation for new readers, or maybe even just as much for old ones. I don't necessarily want to be specific about the events surrounding my testimony, but rather the nature of it, so that there is no confusion as to what happened and what it means.

Before 2002, I was the spiritual equivalent of a homeless man on the street with a bag of junk, a shaggy and unwashed face, and a piece of cardboard that said:

"HUNGRY, PLEASE HELP."

That may surprise you, but it is true. More in my context, it probably said something like:

"ARROGANT, SELF-CENTERED, UNSATISFIED FRAT GUY."

Same thing. I "became a Christian" in the context of the proclamation of the Gospel by a pledge brother in my fraternity and the fellowship of a ministry specifically established to bring Jesus to the often stereotyped world of Greek students on college campuses. When I say I "became a Christian", there is a lot that I do NOT mean by that. Please hear me on this. I do not mean that I got more involved in the activity of religion or Christianity or fellowship (although I did). I do not mean that I sought the comfort of God, religion, church, and loving Christian people in the midst of suffering or loss of life (although I did). I do not mean that I came to an intellectual assent and understanding of the truth claims about Jesus as revealed in the Bible (although I did). I do not mean that I had an emotional experience at a conference or a camp or heard a sermon or sang songs that moved my heart in a way that led to a voluntary response (although I did). I do not mean that I became convicted to think more about others and less about myself and was driven to a life of service (although I did). I do not mean that I realized my experience of church as a child was a really good foundation that I should reacquaint myself with as an adult (although I did).

What I mean is that the Holy Spirit of God - through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the once-for-all message that God came in Jesus and lived a perfect life, died as my substitute on the cross securing my forgiveness, and rose from the dead to give me hope and assure my forgiveness - miraculously changed my heart and gave me new life. Not "new" like a new suit on the same man. "New" like a new man in the same suit. That's what I mean.

The other things are true, but they are in the periphery of my testimony, not at the center. I am clear about this in my own life because I know that for you (Christian or non-Christian) there is a grave risk of misunderstanding the meaning of the Bible, the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, and the nature and purpose of the modern church and the Christian religion because of lack of clarity on this reality in people's lives. This type of misunderstanding is happening every day in classrooms, bookstores, websites, coffee shops, boardrooms, bars, and churches all over the world. It is tragic and eternally dangerous. I don't want it to happen here.

The "miraculous change" that I experienced was completely outside of me. I contributed nothing to it. What that means is that if you are trying to experience God-centered transformation, for the purpose of comfort, or joy, or moral correction, and you are doing it primarily by involving yourself in religion, or acquiring knowledge through reading, or singing worship songs at church, or hanging out with nice people, you are not going to get there because you will be missing the forest for the sake of the trees. Or, if you are avoiding religion, or reading, or worship, or nice people because you think they won't get you where you want to go (which is true), and are chasing after money, power, or sex for joy and satisfaction, and are expecting transformation through cosmetic surgery, deodorant soap, new clothes, therapy, or a financial windfall, you will be disappointed. Greatly. Forever.

As with Paul, real transformation happens through the word, and person, and work of God in Jesus Christ, and no other way. All we can do is put ourselves in the trajectory of that word, person, and work, and seek and trust the Holy Spirit to transform us in His perfect timing. Like with Paul, sometimes we never even know that we are in that trajectory. More often though, it just so happens that church, religion, reading (specifically the Bible), worship, fellowship, and service to others is the right trajectory for this transformation. But it is not the source of it. It would be very difficult for me to give a more clear explanation of how to rightly put yourself in this trajectory without mistaking the context for the source of transformation itself. That is essentially the same as asking, how do I live the Christian life best? There is not an easy answer. So I will not try in this post. Until I do, what I would recommend is to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as he reveals the person and work of Jesus Christ to you in the Bible, then get involved in a gospel community (church) and think about others as more important than yourself in every context of your life. That will be a good start.

Instead, what I want to do here, is regurgitate to you some VERY helpful observations from John MacArthur, in a sermon series preached in 1973, as to the characteristics of a transformed life. These are from the perspective of Paul's experience and the texts in Acts 9, Acts 22, and Acts 26. Hopefully, these observations and characteristics will encourage you, convict you, and either begin, continue, or confirm real Holy Spirit transformation in your life. Nothing is more important.

#1 FAITH IN A SAVIOR

If you are transformed, you have faith in a Savior. Not faith in an idea, not faith in a religion, not faith in your performance, not faith in an event, not faith in your family, not faith in a job, not faith in a bank account, not faith in a community, not faith in a toy, not faith in food. Faith in a person. Jesus. God. Man. Cross. Empty Tomb. Lord. Savior.

Our culture tries so many things for transformation. And none of them are Jesus, so none of them work. Some people get a face lift so that physically they are transformed; a new person, right? Wrong. Ever heard of Michael Jackson? Some people say education transforms. Teach people more stuff. The only problem is, you teach a sinful person more stuff and they just become more sophisticated in their ability to hurt other people. What about soap? MacArthur says, "Will a new deodorant soap do it? Will a new deodorant soap transform us like they say? Listen to Jeremiah, he knew all about soaps. You didn't know that did you? Jeremiah 2:22, listen to what he said: 'Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Sovereign LORD.' Soap doesn't do it."

Some try discipline, some try therapy, counseling, some hope for financial windfalls. Not gonna do it. Even love, brotherhood love, will fall short. Jeremiah 9:4 says, "Beware of your friends, do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer."

I'm not trying to say don't trust your friends and don't take a shower. I'm saying don't expect to be transformed in these ways. None of them offer lasting transformation. None of them can die for your sins. None of them can save. None of them are Jesus.

#2 FERVOR IN SUPPLICATION

A truly transformed person will seek God continually and passionately in prayer, as an expression of dependence, among other things. Paul did this almost immediately after his experience on the Damascus Road, and didn't cease. As MacArthur says, it should be harder for a Christian not to pray, than it is to pray. Isn't that convicting? It should be harder to get to work without having prayed, knowing the millions of temptations and opportunities that are in front of you that day, than taking the 30 minutes or so in the morning to earnestly and quietly seek God in prayer. What if we did this? What a movement of God and the Holy Spirit there would be if we demonstrated our transformation daily in the act of dependent, warrior-like prayer. For the nations, for the poor, for the unsaved, for the hurting, for the spiritually blind, even for the healthy and wealthy, who like I heard from George W. Bush last week, need to be reminded about their need for God so that they don't get lazy and worthless as Christians. God is waiting to work through and in our prayers! Oh, what if we prayed. Lest our lack of prayer demonstrate that we are actually not truly transformed people. God forbid.

#3 FAITHFULNESS IN SERVICE

As we read in Acts 22:10, Paul immediately after his conversion asks, "What shall I do?" Wow. Immediately. Are we like this? Do we demonstrate our transformation by immediately serving God and his people? This is very convicting. MacArthur further convicts us when he describes the "some day" file that the God of the universe likely keeps. Some day we will serve, right? Not now, but some day, when we are settled. Or when we have our stuff together, or when we are better prepared, or when we are more educated, or when we aren't so busy, or when we are married, or once we have a family, or once our kids are grown or out of the house, or once we are retired, or.... Can you relate? Listen to this from J0hnny Mac:

"Lord, I'd like to teach a class of people. I'd like to start a Bible study, but you know as soon as I get over the hump on this new job, and somebody...some day. I'll put that one right over there, some day. I imagine that thing could fill all eternity, that some day file. God isn't interested in some day. I've always said this, God doesn't care about your future. Did you know that? You say oh that's heresy. No, it isn't, because you'll never live in your future. Why should he care about it? You'll live right now. Don't go to God and say some day God I'm going to do this, some day, some day, some day. That never happened. You never get there. God wants your love and the investment of your life now."

So why don't we serve right now? Well there are many reasons, I think. We're lazy. We're selfish. We have a lack of urgency to the need in our world. We have a lack of confidence that we can actually contribute, or maybe a lack of confidence that we will know what to do, or how to do it. You don't know how to drywall (I don't) so you don't volunteer with an inner-city ministry that rebuilds and refurnishes homes for the poverty stricken to help develop a safe and prosperous neighborhood. Right? Also, we lack control when we serve, so we don't like it. We want to control the results, who we are helping and how they are being helped. We don't like the idea that God is in control and is ultimately the one glorified in our service, and is the one who provides the strength anyway.

Or, we might not serve because we are not transformed. Oh, God forbid. I pray that once we realize, or are reminded, that we are essentially saved to serve, and not saved to loaf, as J Mac says, then we will respond by demonstrating our authentic transformation, and likewise see God change the world through us, one simple act of selflessness at a time.

#4 FILLING OF THE SPIRIT

This could get weird. But the Christian church as a whole could would do well, I think, to embrace the mysterious a little more. The Cross is foolishness. What we believe is scandalous. We didn't make this stuff up and we certainly cannot control it. There is a book that is the perfect, inerrant, inspired, authoritative word of the God of the Universe? Really? Almighty God came to earth as a baby? From a virgin? He was fully God and fully man, lived with temptation but never sinned? He willingly gave up his life, was crucified on a cross, accomplished for us forgiveness of sins, and then rose again from the dead? And he's coming again on a white horse? Yep, that's what we believe.

Al Mohler says, "We believe that God, the one true and living God, spoke words through rotten tooth, desert tribesmen, that we are obligated to receive as God’s own word today, and we’re going to preach it! These guys wore sheepskins! Wandering around the wilderness, and we’re gonna get up in the year two-thousand and ten, and say, here, now, is the Word of God. If you don’t feel that scandal, you don’t get it! If you do feel it, and it feels right, nothing is going to be a problem for you."

Part of being filled with the Spirit, I think, is embracing the scandal, and in turn embracing the Spirit power that comes through it for the salvation of people. A little bit of mystery and scandal and filling with God's Spirit shouldn't be that hard to embrace for us once we realize the whole message is foolishness anyway, and in own our strength we could not make it power unto salvation. If we do embrace the Spirit in this way, we will very likely see how important and necessary a demonstration of our transformation it truly is.

What being filled with the Spirit actually means, as observed by MacArthur, is an issue of control and power. Instead of our control and having an illusion of power by our strength, as we yield control to the Spirit he empowers us. For the Christian, you are either quenching or being filled every day, for your whole life. What Spirit transformation does in your life is refine what is useful, eliminate what isn't, and replace what isn't with what is. Look at Paul. He was a natural leader. He was using this to persecute Christians; Jesus refined this to make him the most influential Christian to ever live. He was also full of hatred. God eliminated this and gave him love. What has he refined in your life? What has he eliminated? What does he need to?

This process begins at conversion, and continues for the duration of our natural life. How do we know if we are filled with the Spirit? you ask. MacArthur answers, "In every case where individuals were filled with the Spirit they'd begun to do something." What do I do? "Make it a priority every day to yield control, develop a keen sensitivity to sin, study the word of God, and avoid grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit." Not taking these suggestions, or not being willing to, could be akin to not being transformed.

#5 FELLOWSHIP WITH THE SAINTS

We like people. You got a people? Everybody has a people. These are my people, we sometimes say. Christians are no different, and there is something eternally unique about the "fellowship" of Christian people together. In Acts 9:17, God calls the disciple Ananias to go to Paul (Saul) and after some resistance, he goes, and right away, he addresses him as "Brother Saul." Don't miss this. Saul was the ringleader in the persecution of Christians. He had been "breathing murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" and reeking "havoc", a word used in the Old Testament to describe wild boars destroying a vineyard. But Ananias, knowing of his encounter with Jesus, counts him a brother. We can't possibly oversell this point. Tim Keller refers to the reality of gospel community, or fellowship, or togetherness with other believers, as "beautiful, unified difference". There is no other community like it in the world.

And if you are transformed, you long for it with all of your being. The Bible talks about the reality of adoption into the family of God, and we understand this as true and more lasting even than our own worldly families, whom we adore. You read Paul's letters and you get an overwhelming sense of his love for his fellow believers and his deep concern for them. MacArthur says, "the Christian life is a tender plant that can exist fruitfully only in an atmosphere of holiness." First time I read that I thought it was really corny. But it is such deep truth in that it address both the desire that we as transformed people should have to be with others who share our convictions, and also the necessity of it. We can not even exist fruitfully without being in an atmosphere like this. An atmosphere that is only possible with the mutual encouragement, accountability, shared beliefs (not necessarily shared personalities or interests), with other transformed people. If you do not long for this, and recognize its importance, you may not be transformed. Oh, God forbid!

The hard part, then, is balancing what it means to seek this, and experience this, and still be "in the world though not of the world." Still engage with other people, love them, and bring the Gospel to them so that they can experience the same transformation. That is another lifelong question that I'm afraid I'm going to have to refer you to old posts on this blog, and future ones, to better understand. In the meantime, may the world see our transformation as they see our love for each other in fellowship and gospel-centered community, and desire to be a part.

#6 FERVENCY IN SPEAKING

We also like to talk. We have talk radio, and talk shows, and then we get together to talk about what they're talking about on these things. There are 24 hour news networks, and around the clock sports coverage to talk about current events and draft prospects, and then there is another segment after that to talk about what they just heard and either confirm or deny that the people before knew what they were talking about. A lot of education is centered around hearing someone talk. When we get together with friends we talk to get to know each other. You go to church and you hear someone talk. In business situations we are always talking about customers, products, and sometimes just golf and the weather. Small talk. I am an introvert and sometimes wonder when everyone is just going to shut up.

Alas, that is not God's will. Paul, in Acts 9:20, immediately preached Christ. Immediately. It is perhaps the most clear evidence of a transformed life to not be able to hold back talking about your transformation. This is huge. In all the talking we're doing, how much are we talking about our transformation at the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? We (I) should seriously evaluate what the heck we're talking about, and why we're talking about it, if its not Christ and him crucified and how that applies to people. I don't think God is honored by our talking more about our temporary transformation in a new job or big bonus or a wonderful vacation than our lasting transformation in Jesus.

A notable caution here, though, is that more important than our talking about what happened to us is our talking about who Jesus is and what he did. Notice that Paul doesn't really talk only about the Damascus Road, but about the Christ who encountered him there. MacArthur said, "Now there's nothing wrong with your testimony, it's just that your testimony is relatively inconsequential in terms of the importance of the presentation of who Christ is, you see? Your testimony as a supplement is fine. Your testimony as a witness itself isn't any good at all because it's got to be more than that. All good preaching and witnessing is doctrinal. And really, you know, the church has gone overboard on people's testimonies and people's experiences and we have created, what I'm afraid, is almost a subjective approach to Christianity.

"But mark it friends, Christianity is not a subjective experience. Let me put in another step. Salvation is basically a non-experiential fact. Christianity is based on something that didn't happen in your experience. It happened 1,900 years ago. It happened before you were born. It happened outside the experience of every Christian, of every sinner, of every man who ever lived. Christianity is based on an historical fact of God's redemptive history. It is only a matter of believing in that historical fact that redeems a man. It's outside yourself. It is not subjective, it is objective."

Let's talk about it. Lest our babel about everything else indicate our lack of transformation. God forbid!

#7 FEARLESSNESS IN SUFFERING

This is probably the most difficult. And the least fun. And the most complicated. But, wow, if people saw Christians approach suffering the way Paul did, what a powerful mark of transformation they would see. Jesus told Ananias that he would show Paul how much he was going to suffer for the sake of his name. Peter tells us that if you expect to live a Godly life you will suffer. Paul describes in excruitating detail his experience of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11. This passage in Acts already speaks of plots to kill Paul, almost immediately after his conversion. We may not have the same, but it probably is not hard to think about and articulate what suffering looks like in our life, even if it is small. Are we afraid of it? Do we take courage against it? Do we rejoice in it? Do we remember that our sufferings are a personal presentation to the world of the suffering of Christ? Do we forget that God will never leave or forsake us?

You can already see how each of these could warrant its own post, or its own lifetime study. But I hope at least the mention of each has been helpful and fruitful for you. I know that it has been for me. Are you transformed? For me, these characteristics are deeply convicting, and always will be. But I know God provides the strength and grace, so I will continually put myself in His trajectory and trust Him alone for ongoing transformation, which will be evidence of the once-for-all transformation I experienced at the hearing and acceptance of salvation in Jesus.

The other side of my cardboard says:

"HUMBLED, CHRIST-CENTERED, ETERNALLY SATISFIED DISCIPLE"

What about you?

What Do You See?

2010-04-02T10:50:00.004-04:00

Hear the CLINK! of the nails as they pierce His hands
And the...lash as they slash this man
Crash this man, hit and harass this man
Bash, stick and inflict mad gashes and
Mentally put yourself at the place and time
Use your faith as a way to trace the crime
Let your mind take you back, laps and laps
Back track till your mind sees back to back

All the things that happened to a silent Lamb
All in chains, trapped like a violent man
Like He forwarded a violent plan, but it was prophecy
That said God would be treated like unwanted property

You've got to see, the ill way that they flogged Him
Blood leaked, it was deep how they mobbed Him
Think thorns worn as a crown
Here the Jews say, "Crucify Him pass it down"

Hear the squeals as the steel comes crashin' down
Can't get pass the sound, teeth are gnashing' now
Veins snap, feel that, hot flashin' now
Draped in blood, covered in a cap and gown

So many cracks from the straps, it numbs the back
Crucifixion makes your lungs collapse
Watch His chest---see Him gasp for breath
Hear Him...and...till there's no gasp left

What do you see when you close your eyes?
What will you see when your life goes by?
Think hard, visualize the ill mob
Either you'll feel God, or your hearts real hard

Concentrate, your mind should stay in study mode
Tell your buddies, "roll" as you contemplate the bloody robe
Which was worn by the One beaten and torn
Killed by the same dust people He'd formed
But He emptied Himself---paused the wealth
Put independent use of His attributes on the shelf

Loving men who weren't loving Him, but were loving sin
Loving gin, lovin' a night at the club again
I'm rubbin' men wrong but souls will die
If my rhyme doesn't come in and blow your high
I'm right in the site of Jehovah's eye
So the gospel I'll tell till I'm old and dry
The world's cold like a frozen pie
With little sense like missing your ears, tongue, nose, and eyes

But back to the ugliest things you've ever heard of
The murder of the One who took more flack than Roberta
They came in droves, "cats" had His veins exposed
Played a game where they claimed His robe
Eyes swollen, even rearranged His nose
Only Providence helped Him sustain the blows

Are y'all seeing the One who owns it all
The King getting beaten in the Roman halls
Headed for a Roman cross, heaven was His home and all
But He wouldn't give His home a call
Soon to dislocate His bones and all
Still wouldn't wish for His opponents fall

Ahhh!---tired, and thirsty too
Blood lost on a cross in His birthday suit
As He droops, pooped from attempts to breathe
I grieve...tears stop my attempts to read
The sign hanging over Him limp and weak
It's (Memphis) bleak---How could this have been meant to be.

What do you see when you close your eyes?
What will you see when your life goes by?
Think hard, visualize the ill mob
Either you'll feel God, or your hearts real hard

No time to blink, but just continue to think of Scripture
Let it convict ya, focus get in to picture
Watch it blow you square off the rector
As it teaches you of Christ the real Victor
Who prevails, you hear the crucifixion details
Now ask yourself why's your life still derailed
And why we fail to live for the One that we nailed
This same Jesus, you know the One we Hail

With our lips but not with our lives
Time to see with the heart and not with our eyes
See the Son, the One, who was hung like a poster
Was buried, and popped up like a toaster
Got all the host of heaven makin' a toast to
The King of kings who brings God and men closer
Sin's roped ya, guns out the holster
Can't stay alive even with John Travolta
Now I hope to pull y'all off the sofa
Cut the TVs pause the CD's, the culture
Is in the midst of a raging storm
The rage is on, obituary page is long
Life is short, but casket sales are high
No surprise that the numbers in the jails are high
On the streets anything you want they'll supply
That's why beer, crack and weed sales are high

Love songs, making you wail and cry
Number of pregnant single females is high
Youth get high---deal just to get by
Doing street corner business with no suit & tie
It's "do or die", truth or lie, you and I
Refuse to try, trust the Crucified

Yo what do you see when you close your eyes?
What will you see when your life goes by?

- William Branch "The Ambassador"

Acts for the 21st Century

2010-03-09T09:20:00.015-05:00

So much could be said about the church. So much. I could write a book about it, but it would get lost in the shuffle, literally, with the thousands of other books written on the subject. I could write about the problems in the church, some of which give people (even now, as you're reading this) a bad taste in their mouth, and a bad (inaccurate) view of Christianity and maybe even Jesus. I could write about possible solutions to these problems in the church, some of which are really bad ideas, but are extremely hip right now. I could do and say a lot of things.

Instead, I'm going to give you bible study notes from the Book of Acts. Boring, right? Actually, you might be surprised. These outlines represent the skeleton of deep, penetrating, and transforming conversations that are going on right now among a community of people who are committed to trust and wait on a God who saves. These are the beginnings of a life-long dialogue about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel that is as relevant today, to all people, as it was in the days of the early church and the beginnings of Christianity. These are observations and convictions that confirm the Gospel and the function of the church. These are cries and praises of a community of people who are desperately and passionately working out their salvation with fear and trembling. These are the evidences that the Bible is not just about the grace of God, but it is grace, delivered on the spot, to its hearers. Much is not included in these "notes", as conversations of this depth cannot be easily summarized, and are more powerful in community. But they lay and describe the foundation of a real gospel community that is about the Bible, Jesus, the Cross, and the implications of these absolute truths to our time and our culture. You can fill in the blanks. The impact of this foundation is limitless.

I pray as you glance through it, and mediate on the themes, that the Spirit of the Living God would convict, empower, encourage, and transform you in a way in which you experience saving faith in Jesus Christ, be assured of it daily, and become equipped to be vessel of it to everyone you encounter. This post will be updated as we work through the book.

ACTS 1

I. General

a. Gospel balance – word and community; sermon and togetherness in Ch 2

b. Application
i. What’s the point? Personal holiness, passion or means to serve, give life meaning
ii. Eternal value
iii. Should happen naturally, shouldn’t have to force it
iv. Don’t stray too far from text

c. Scripture
i. God-breathed; grace to you on the spot

II. First book – v. 1

a. Luke
i. Luke 4:18-19
ii. Upside down kingdom, day of reversals

III. Began to do and teach – v. 1

a. It is finished, but still more to do
b. Balance of doing and teaching

IV. What disciples needed and what we need - v. 2-3

a. Commission from Holy Spirit
b. Verification of Resurrection
c. Further instruction about the Kingdom of God
d. Eventually presence of Holy Spirit

V. Acts 1:8 – outline of book

a. BUT
i. Romans 3:21, Romans 5:8 – Gospel is but
ii. God knows best, power is better than kingdom now

b. POWER
i. 4th thing disciples and we need – Lloyd Jones story of child and father

c. WITNESSES
i. Not about figuring out timing and details but about being witness; not about us
ii. Need empowerment from Spirit
iii. Plural

VI. Ascension – v. 9-11

a. What does it mean for us that Jesus is alive in heaven?
i. Working through us from heaven
ii. Power of God – exaltation of Christ, not just incarnation
iii. Continuity between ministry of Jesus, disciples, and then church
iv. Sending of Spirit – “better that I go”
v. Pledge of return – he’s coming back
vi. Missionary activity of church rests on presence in heaven, hope of return
vii. Christianity Today article in context of depression

VII. Prayer – v. 14

a. Why would it be hard to “devote yourself to prayer” for them?
i. Waiting on God (on Spirit), not ready to receive answer

VIII. Invincible power of Holy Spirit – v. 16

a. Why did Scripture HAVE to be fulfilled?
i. Psalm 69 and 109
ii. Lloyd Jones analogy of child and father’s face in time of crisis and danger

IX. Judas – v. 16-20

a. Why use Judas to demonstrate this?
i. Not out of control like canon – God is in control

b. Why talk about his replacement?
i. Not just about power but also teaching and work of historical Jesus

X. Matthias – v. 23

a. Why Matthias?
i. Spiritual calling in church – Assessments
ii. Think of yourself as Matthias

XI. Barsabbas (Joseph, Justus) – v. 23

a. Why not Barsabbas?

i. Spiritual calling outside of church
1. Hope International
2. Good Samaritan Network
3. Prison Ministry

ii. Casting lots was before Holy Spirit
iii. Think of yourself as Barsabbas

ACTS 2

I. Acts 2: 1-13

a. “Day of Pentecost”
i. God’s timing
1. Feast of harvest
2. Lots of pilgrims from across known world in town

b. “Suddenly”
i. We cannot make the Spirit come

c. “Wind”
i. Violent / mighty rushing
ii. Like a tornado – freight train sound
iii. They were inside – “house where they were sitting”

d. “Tongues of fire”
i. Presence of God in holiness and purity
ii. Experience of John White – vision at Bible study during prayer

e. “Rested on each of them”
i. Not a free for all release of Holy Spirit, but individual distribution
ii. Knowledge – passion – zeal
“Every remnant of timidity, hesitancy, weakness was swallowed up in experience of God’s greatness.”

f. Verse 4

i. Spirit-filling (various times) vs. Spirit baptism (one-time)
1. Pentecost, various times in Acts, conversion
2. 1 Corinthians 12:13

ii. Main points of filling with the Holy Spirit
1. Permanent indwelling
2. Formation of new body
3. Power

iii. Tongues vs. Languages
1. Not about tongues as much as harvest
2. Promise to speak in foreign language – Isaiah 28:11
3. Audience was different than in Corinth – people understood!

g. “Multitude”
i. At least 3000 – Verse 41
ii. Based on capacity of temple area, could have been 200,000

iii. Diversity
1. Racial reconciliation not possible without Spirit of Jesus Christ
2. Pentecost is reversal of Tower of Babel; human unity in God’s unhindered work
3. New social identity

h. “Mighty works of God”
i. They heard the Gospel in their own language
ii. Spirit-filled connection with Gospel proclamation and service, outreach

i. “Amazed and perplexed”
i. Division in Christian community: People who say “what does this mean?” vs. people who say “they are just drunk.”

j. Application
i. Openness to rejection
ii. Courage in relationships
iii. Live on God’s relational agenda

II. Acts 2: 14-41

a. “What does this mean?”
i. Embrace questions
ii. But there is explanation

b. Sermon
i. Should be exciting and leave you asking questions and talking about it after church

c. Are we in the last days?
i. Heb 1:1-2, 1 Peter 1:20, 1 Cor 10;11, 1 John 2:18, Matt 24:9-19
ii. God’s purpose is to empower people in last days

d. Was Joel’s prophecy fulfilled?

i. Why does it matter?
1. Because we are in the “Chapter of the Spirit”
a. Chapter of the Father – Old Testament
b. Chapter of the Son – Life, death, resurrection of Jesus
c. Chapter of the Spirit – empowerment, conviction of sin, Great Commission

e. What do you dream?
i. Not just at night
ii. Scripture said all would be prophets – old, young, men, women, servants, masters
1. Spirit-prompted, yet fallible – 1 Thess 5:19-22

f. Was Jesus the Messiah?

i. Miracles

ii. Resurrection
1. Verse 23 – God’s sovereignty and human responsibility

iii. Ascension

g. Did you crucify Jesus?

i. Do you reject God’s endorsement of Jesus?

ii. If so, either you or Jesus is a blasphemer
1. Worked signs and wonders through him
2. Planned his death for sins of the world
3. Raised him from the dead
4. Exalted him and subjected enemies to him
5. Declared worthy to receive and deliver power of Spirit

h. How often are you cut to the heart?
i. Daily repentance – thinking and action – 2 Chronicles 6:38
ii. When you see your rejection of God, you understand grace
iii. Cross-centered service – only kind that is uniquely Christian

III. Acts 2: 42-47

a. Fellowship
i. What maintains it?
1. All things in common – Christ, not personalities, traits, or backgrounds

b. Sharing – Acts 4:32
i. What motivates it?
1. Awe, fear in God and his promises
2. Materialism in our culture vs. hope in Jesus

c. Sincere heart – Hebrews 10:19
i. What assures it?
1. Faith in God’s promises
2. Encouragement – from each other, and from God
3. God’s Word – grace on the spot

d. Continuing to be devoted
i. Apostles’ teaching
ii. Fellowship – sharing not just possessions, but time, property
iii. Breaking bread – sharing meals
iv. Prayer

ACTS 3

I. Wonder and Word

a. From Acts
i. Wonder = healing of crippled man
ii. Word = name of Jesus Christ

b. From our lives and culture
i. Wonder - ?
ii. Word - ?

II. Attitudes towards disciples go from favorable to antagonistic

III. Wonder is not from our own power or godliness

IV. Perfect health / complete healing

V. Healing leads to proclamation of a saving power that goes beyond physical healing

VI. Questions

a. In what ways are we, or our culture, lame and crippled?

b. What do we / they really need? (What word?)

c. What is the name of Jesus to you?
i. Eternal life, love, salvation, grace, path

d. What is saving power? What does salvation mean? What does it have to do with fellowship?

e. What is the love of God?

f. Is it possible to understand this love without understanding sin, wrath, and the cross?

g. If not, how are we to love others?

h. What does fellowship look like when we understand this love?

i. What about when we don’t?

1 John

“Fellowship with God is essence of eternal life”

LIFE OF FELLOWSHIP

I. Resources of this life

a. Objective: External pattern to imitate – Jesus Christ
i. Light – walking in holiness
ii. Love – words and deeds, selflessness

b. Subjective: Internal power to experience – Jesus Christ
i. Light – sensitive to sin
ii. Love – see needs of other people

II. Values of realization of this life

a. Value for us
i. Realize life that God intended for us
ii. Intimacy with God perfects our personalities

b. Value for God
i. God enjoys fellowship with us
ii. Sees in us a way to manifest His glory, be instrument of His grace

III. Responsibilities in this life

a. Light
i. Obey – responding positively to knowledge of God’s will
ii. Seek – forsake darkness of obedience and keep walking in the light

b. Love
i. Yield to its impulse – don’t quench the Spirit
ii. Guard love’s purity – love never justifies sin

IV. Application

a. Individual – test whether we are living in fellowship with God
i. Is light of holiness shining brightly?
ii. Is love burning brightly or is life just about learning?

b. Church – keep priorities in line with God’s
i. Intimacy is His goal for us
ii. Rather have few committed disciples than multitude of compromising disciples
iii. Pure church is more important than large church

ACTS 4

SALVATION IN NO ONE ELSE

I. What is salvation?

a. Forgiveness of sin
b. New life
c. Comes from the name of Jesus

II. Why is this good news?

a. Healing – For people

b. Power – For prayer
i. “place was shaken”

c. Boldness – For Proclamation
i. Sovereign God

III. How is the warning that the Sanhedrin gave Peter and John similar to the warning that society gives us today?

a. Name of Jesus

IV. What is so bad about speaking or loving without using the name of Jesus?

a. Bad news, because it doesn’t lead to any of these things (healing, power, boldness)

V. What does boldness in life and fellowship look like for you?

VI. What have you seen and heard in your Christian life?

ACTS 5

I. 12 – 16

a. What is the significance of signs and wonders? Isn’t the Word of God alone enough?

i. The Spirit bears witness with signs and wonders to the saving power of Word of God

ii. Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones: “We can produce a number of converts, thank God for that, and that goes on regularly in evangelical churches every Sunday. But the need today is much too great for that. The need today is for an authentication of God, of the supernatural, of the eternal, and this can only be answered by God graciously hearing our cry and shedding forth again his Spirit upon us and filling us as he kept filling the early church.”

II. 17 – 21

a. What is “this Life”?

b. What characterizes your life?

i. Work, social, family, friends?
ii. Forgiveness of sins, eternal life, personal relationship with Jesus, gospel community

c. Sharing from beginning of Ch. 5 – what motivates it?

i. Awe, fear of God, trust in his promises

III. 21 – 32

a. What teaching?

i. Rose from dead
ii. Exalted at right hand of God
iii. Repentance and forgiveness

b. How did they fill that place with teaching?

i. Radical obedience to God

c. What created this radical obedience?

i. Power of God
1. Delivering vs. Dying power
2. Price and preciousness of power

d. What would it look like to fill Indianapolis with this teaching?

i. Boldness, telling about what we have seen and heard

IV. 33 – 42

a. Do we realize that God’s purposes won’t be overthrown?

i. Individually – facebook posts
ii. Church

b. Can we endure the price?

i. Flogging
ii. Ridicule, loneliness, public humiliation

c. Will we continue to proclaim?

i. Name of Jesus

ACTS 6

I. 1 – 7

a. Who, in our culture, like the Hellenist widows in this passage, do we neglect in ministry?
b. How can we not neglect them, but also not neglect the preaching of the word?

II. 8 – 15

a. One possible group of people we neglect in those who think their lives are fine without Jesus (wealthy, successful, happy, smart, blessed)

b. How do we convince them that they need Christ and should care about the Bible?

c. In verse 7, why does it say that the word of God spread, instead of that more widows were fed?

i. God’s word is real food
ii. J.C. Ryle from Future Grace
iii. Walter Maier from The Lutheran Hour

d. In verse 10, what does it mean that they were “unable to cope” with the wisdom and Spirit in Stephen?

i. Matthew 10
ii. Acts 5: 38-39 --- God’s will can’t be overthrown, even though Stephen eventually dies

e. Were the false witnesses actually revealing true things about what Stephen was proclaiming? How is this similar to false witnesses in our life?

i. People say that Christianity is rules and doesn’t let you enjoy food, drink, sex, money – Partly true because God knows you won’t be ultimately satisfied in these things

f. Why does Stephen give such a long speech in Ch 7 about people and events that the Jews already knew and agreed with (until the end)?
i. Took the things that they valued most and deconstructed it
ii. No neutral – were either going to repent or get really angry

III. Lessons

a. Real food

b. Worth dying for

c. Idols will let you down

d. Only Jesus can die for your sins

e. Only Jesus fulfills longings from past

ACTS 7:1-53

I. What is God doing in your life?

a. Continuing to confront idolatry in my life and helping me confront it in others through the Gospel

b. Decompartmentalizing my life through God’s consistent and sufficient grace

c. Serving others so as not to make my life about myself

II. Main points of Stephen’s speech:

a. God is not confined to a place or building

i. What does this mean for our compartmentalized lives?
ii. How do we really bring God to every “compartment” of our life?
iii. Pray for people as you walking around bar, street, mall, etc.
iv. Maintain same priorities Sunday morning, at night with your family, and Monday at work
v. Gifts at Christmas
vi. Ask “how are you” and care about answer

b. We continue to reject God’s will and his servants, namely Jesus

i. In what ways do we do this with our idolatry every day?

1. Work of our hands
2. Family, community
3. Money, prestige, place
4. Self

ii. Can you relate to selfishness being a direct rejection of God?

iii. How can a lifestyle of service free us from this? What does that kind of a life look like?

1. Don’t want life to be about myself
2. Struggles look different, easier to cope
3. Decisions / Discernment different

ACTS 7:54-60

Stoning of Stephen and the Coming of Jesus

I. Power and Grace from the Bible

a. Wish you could know and see difference btwn when I’m reading the Bible and nothing is happening, or I’m bored – and when I’m inspired to the point of having a lot to say. It happens every week.

b. Evidence that Bible is grace, living, and active.

II. A Christmas Story?

a. Advent Conspiracy
b. Creator of Universe
c. Center of history
d. How do you make Christmas about these things in context of stoning of Stephen

III. Stoning of Stephen

a. Someone who had context of history, and understood significance of Jesus in context of past prophets, workings of God
b. Gave up everything for Jesus
c. How can we give up everything for Jesus in the context of Christmas?
d. Will it be the same witness as Stephen?

IV. “Ground their teeth”

a. Who grinds their teeth at us today?

V. “Scattered”

a. Judea and Samaria – Philip

b. New believers – Saul to Paul

c. How are we scattered?
i. Pub Theology

d. What are we taking with us?

e. How do we enter the world?

f. How do we struggle with this?

VI. Luke 1: 26 – 38

a. How did Jesus enter?
i. Same and different as us
ii. Are we called to be Jesus, or show Jesus?

b. Characteristics

i. Virgin
1. Why? So he could be fully man and fully God
a. Divine (God’s son)
b. Human (Mary’s son)

ii. Jew
1. To fulfill prophecy

iii. Spirit
1. Impossible that creator of universe entered creation

iv. King --- What king of King?
1. Holy – rules in universal peace and perfect justice (CS Lewis)
2. Savior – 1 Timothy 1:15
3. Forever

c. How does this help us?

i. Less pressure to be Jesus, more confidence in showing Jesus

ACTS 8:1-8

I. “That day”

a. Day Stephen was stoned

b. Martyrdom led to building of church
i. Persecution --- Mission - Matthew 5:10
ii. The Cross – Matthew 16:18

c. Stephen not blamed for persecution

II. “Scattered”

a. Pub Theology
b. Work
c. Different local churches

III. “Except the apostles”

a. We are sent out, leaders of church follow behind us and confirm our ministry
b. Do we fell alone?

IV. “Devout men”

a. God-fearing Jews

V. “Ravaging”

a. Psalm 80:13 – wild boars destroying a vineyard

VI. “Preaching the word”

a. The Lutheran Hour reading
b. Power of God’s word

VII. Lessons

a. Danger of ease, comfort, and prosperity – Third soil in Mark 4:19
b. Word of God, Christ, Gospel --- Joy – Acts 8:4-8

ACTS 8:9-24

I. What is the difference between belief and faith?

a. Faith is risk

b. Belief is head only, faith is head and heart

c. Faith is active
i. James 2:14-26

d. Faith is saving
i. Matthew 7:21-23 -- I never knew you
ii. Luke 8:13 -- second soil
iii. John 2:23-25 – knew what was in man
iv. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 – there is a believing in vain

II. What is going on with Simon?

a. Child and bird in the window analogy – we focus on the pointing finger, instead of the object being pointed to

b. Confusing whether God exists to glorify man vs. man exists to glorify God

III. What things in our life distract us from the bird in the window (Jesus)?

a. Signs and wonders
b. Human talent; artistic or athletic
c. Sermons and worship
d. Gifts of God
e. Community
f. Service

IV. How do these distractions stifle our faith?

a. Man-centeredness
b. Harder to cope with failures of men
c. Unhealthy response to suffering
d. Not complete joy; contrary to how we were created
e. Not active, because you’re not seeking after someone; harder to follow Jesus

V. How is God calling us to follow him in faith, and put aside these distractions?

a. Individually:
i. desire to encounter Jesus in the Bible, nothing else

b. As community:
i. God centeredness
ii. We’ll become selfless the more we focus on God, and helping others will be natural outflow of this

ACTS 8:26-40

I. Isaiah 53

a. Read as if you have no idea what it could be about

II. “Rise and go toward the south”; “Go up and join this chariot”

a. Leading of the Spirit in personal life

b. Personal examples of spontaneous leading?
i. Story of punching stranger in the face

c. What happened to sufficiency of Scripture?
i. Scripture and supernatural guidance work together
ii. More focus on and better understanding of Scripture helps you discern and act on supernatural guidance

d. Leading of the Spirit in evangelism

III. “He was reading the prophet Isaiah”

a. Significance of reading the Bible at all
i. People are incurably spiritual --- examples?

b. Significance of reading Isaiah
i. Eunuch reference in Isaiah 56:3-5
ii. Isaiah 53:7-8 is center of Gospel

c. What is modern equivalent of someone reading Isaiah in chariot?
i. Wearing a cross
ii. Expressing awe at nature
iii. Laminin
iv. Practicing Lent
v. Books, songs, movies about Jesus

d. How can we help facilitate heart yearnings to head knowledge, so that it can then become authentic head and heart faith?

IV. “Philip ran to him”

a. Do we respond this way to the Spirit?

V. “Philip opened his mouth”

a. Different than description of Jesus in Isaiah
b. What does it look like for us to open our mouth?

VI. Who is this prophet talking about?

a. The Gospel according to Isaiah

b. If not fulfilled in Jesus, then who?

c. If Jesus not fulfillment of prophecy, then who was he?
i. Was the Cross a coincidence?
ii. Did it never happen?

d. What does Isaiah passage mean for us personally? What did it mean for the eunuch personally?
i. Personal salvation, forgiveness of sins

e. What does Isaiah passage mean for our community? What did it mean for community in Acts?
i. Power to save
ii. Power to keep on saving

Snowball in Hell

2010-02-18T18:32:00.013-05:00

Enough snow already. Seriously. I've heard from one person that there's $1000 in it for whoever can produce an autographed picture of Al Gore scrapping off his car. Read that sentence again if the humor was lost on you. But this is not a political blog. Actually, I have enjoyed the snow and the winter more this year than ever. Even have a snowman in my yard. I could explain that more, but this is not a personal blog either (sorry!).

John Piper said, "I don’t think you have a chance of a snowball in hell to be holy if you don’t meditate on the Word of God." True. Dat. I've found that you don't have a chance of much of anything without a centrality and consistent focus on the Bible for daily bread. Literally. Bread. Every day. A shame that even churches are shying away from this reality. What follows is a excerpt from a very old publication (1931), The Lutheran Hour, by Walter Maier, that hopefully drives this point home in a helpful way. In my opinion, life is too short to wonder whether the Bible is authoritative; the historical record of believing otherwise speaks for itself, and I personally would like to avoid the madhouse that could result.

"Men like to call Christianity and the Bible a failure. The fact of the matter is that, while everything else has failed, while all the processes which human ingenuity has advanced for the improvement of the world have turned out to be only pitiful and disappointing subterfuges, while educationalism, intellectualism, fraternalism, the study and application of the sciences, legislation, and theories of political economy as well as other similar methods and agencies have left the human heart unchanged and have done little or nothing to raise the moral tone of humanity, the invincible, everlasting victorious force of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the one transforming power in the history of the world that has tamed the wild passions of men, subdued their self-centered greed, and given them an outlook on life which has perpetuated the ideals of the Master in the practical forms of institutions of charity, enterprises for the alleviation of suffering, work for the restitution of the downtrodden multitudes that have fallen by the wayside and lie hopeless and helpless in the slimy gutter of life.

Babylonia, Greece, Rome, each in turn built up a civilization stupendous in proportions and lavish in wealth; but the fundamental conceptions of merciful charity and a sympathetic regard for the needs of one's fellow men - all this was quite foreign to their culture and quite unknown in their grandeur. And if you want to visualize the pervading power of the Gospel, picture to yourself the madhouse into which this country would degenerate if every trace of the influence of the Bible would be removed.

What was it that transformed some of the South Sea Islands and changed them from cesspools of cannibalism and heathen hideousness into garden spots of the world? What was it that wrought such a fundamental change on the life and habits of the people of Tierra del Fuego, who, when Charles Darwin visited them on his scientific journey around the world, were found to be so depraved and degenerate that they could hardly be classed as human beings, but who through the efforts of Christian missionaries became so utterly transformed that the so-called Father of Evolution gave the most eloquent possible tribute in the form of a subsidy to the Patagonian Mission? What is it that shook the stolid Eskimos of the frozen North, dwarfed in body and in soul, as they tried to kill their intrepid missionary, Hans Egede, poison his dogs, and destroy his food caches, but who learned to substitute truth and love and justice for falsehood and hatred and murder? How can these things be, we inquire? And once again plain common sense, without making any higher appeal, tells us that these twice-born men have not found this newness of life because of any delusion or fairy-tale, but because of the miracle-working truth of God. That is the power that our own America needs.

No truer word has ever been uttered by human lips than this warning of Daniel Webster, 'If we continue in the teachings of the Bible, our country will continue to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglects its teachings, then no one can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all of our profound glory in obscurity.'

But the greatest demonstration of the power of the Gospel, overshadowing all this, and the clearest proof of its divine nature is shown to us in its influence upon the souls of men. I challenge any system of human invention, any modern and enlightened conception of religion that sets the Bible aside, to give to mankind a definite and satisfying answer to the supreme issue of life, 'What must I do to be saved?' When the destiny of our immortal soul hangs in the balance; when a ruined life totters on and on, goaded ceaselessly by the ruthless demands of an aroused conscience; when a sin-born mortal stands before the yawning abyss which ultimately confronts every one of us, where is the truth, the light, and the hope that definitely gives him the power to face these veiled uncertainties confidently and unflinchingly? Death-bed confessions of unbelief and the moanings and cries of despair of infidels and skeptics in their dying hours reveal to us that this power cannot be found in any branch of human attainment, even in its highest form. It can not be found in the modernistic creed that is being proclaimed in Christ-denying churches, where the great questions of sin and salvation are answered with a suave question mark or with a polite denial of the Bible. But it can be found and will be found as long as men trustingly raise up their eyes to the hills of divine truth in God's word.

The power of this Word is operative whenever and wherever it is read and heard and believed. Let the host of modern infidels reject the Bible by rehashing the threadbare arguments advanced by unbelief since the Savior's day, we have evidence of its truth. If this Word has come down through the centuries, triumphing over organized opposition and mobilized wealth, then we can gain renewed assurance through the conviction that, if the treasuries of heathen expires, the tortures of royal friends, and the efforts of giants of human intellect have utterly failed in halting the march of progress of this deathless truth, so that today the Holy Scriptures are annually distributed in more than 36,000,000 copies, then the puny efforts of modern minds to revive this old opposition will be doomed to even more dismal failure. Let us not worry about the Bible. Its divine truth is amply able to safeguard its continued existence; for here is God's promise, 'Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away.'

So I ask you tonight to take this truth, to read it, to study it now, and you find between the covers of your Bible the divine cure-all for the ills and woes, the problems and anxieties, that may crowd themselves into your life. If you are out of work; if you have faced disappointment upon disappointment; if you have trouble and misunderstanding in your family; if you are weakened by sickness and disease; if you have not a friend in the world nor a penny in your pocket, find help and cheer by reading what this Book tells to those who believe it, 'All things work together for good to them that love God.' Hear the word of comfort Christ has given those who believe in Him for times of distress and tribulation: 'I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh away from you.' 'And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the ending of the world.'

If you look down deeper into the recesses of your heart and find enthroned there the idols of money and pleasure and impurity and selfishness and greed, and you hear the warning of the Judge of eternity, 'He that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption,' and the terror of judgement strikes your heart, then, by the grace of God's Holy Spirit, come with a contrite heart to the truth of this priceless volume and learn to know that there is one - and only one - 'Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,' 'who gave Himself a ransom for all.' Hear His pledge, given through the mouth of His prophet, 'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.' Here, in this ageless, priceless, deathless volume, you have the answer to every question, to the solution to every problem that may arise in your life; for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is still the 'power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.' Amen."

Changeless Christ in a Changing World

2010-02-02T15:40:00.008-05:00

Happy New Year! I'm about a month late, and I promise, there is reason for that. But, here I am, and here you are (hopefully), so let's get back at it. A year ago, I wrote the following in a blog post titled, A New Year with New Eyes:

2008 is over. By many accounts, it was not a great year. There were definite highlights, as with any year, but the feeling seemed pretty universal that it was time to send the year into the history books. Personally, it was a year of loss and some confusion. Economically, it was chaotic and not profitable. Politically, it was divisive, exhausting and historic. Theologically, it was exceedingly unbiblical and culturally violent. And now we look with optimism and hope into 2009, and are confident it will be better. And it will be. But in many of these ways I just mentioned it will be much of the same, and even worse, and that is wonderfully and gloriously OK. Because the Gospel is all that matters, and the Gospel will continue to be true, and the person and work of Jesus Christ will continue to be our only hope, and come what may; loss, depression, persecution, chaos, war, compromise; that will never change. In fact, my great hope and prayer is that the Gospel will continue to become more relevant and compelling and glorious as our culture battles, our economy collapses, and our world manages the inevitable chaos of a race plagued with overwhelming sin. The Bible is true and Jesus is everything. Let me say that again: the Bible is true and Jesus is everything. Do you really believe that? If you do 2009 will be amazing no matter what.

I could write the exact same paragraph for 2010. Praise Jesus! Specifically, though, I wanted to flush out how I think this reality applies to a couple devastating, but ultimately God-glorifying, happenings.

DON'T WASTE YOUR CANCER

Watch these clips, and you will get a small introduction into the person of Matt Chandler, pastor of Village Church in Dallas, Texas. He is special. God started using him in big ways in the contemporary evangelical church only a few short years ago. Now, He has seen him worthy to endure a heart-wrenching trial. Please; read this article in its entirety:

Brain Cancer Tests a Young Pastor's Faith

What do we do with that? We don't know him. We don't know his family. We can pray for them, but the tragic nature of such a thing is almost unbearable to us, and therefore easy to ignore. But if we do not ignore, we have the chance to be a part of something incredible. God can heal Matt Chandler. Do you believe that? He can take the cancer in his brain and make it disappear. But He might not. The way that Matt Chandler is responding, and can continue to respond, to the lack of certainty on which way God will answer his prayers, is the kind of thing that can transform lives and change the world. Because no one has as much credibility to speak into the sin and hurt in our lives with the unchanging message of the Gospel as someone who is experiencing suffering in a real way.

John Piper says it best: "God promises that his ultimate design in the degree of futility is hope for his children. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, IN HOPE... So whenever you feel overwhelmed by your own suffering, or the sufferings of the world as you look at it on television, always say there is design in this, this is not the final point of the universe. In this hope, you have been saved. But who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with perseverance, and groaning, and invincible JOY."

Matt Chandler, talking and living this way (which he is, right now) communicates this hope in a life transforming way. What a miracle.

LIVE WITH HAITI IN YOUR HEART

I have been at such a loss for words, and thoughts, for that matter, about the devastation in Haiti. This article, Live With Haiti in Your Heart, better than any, has helped me. Here is an excerpt:

But perhaps most of all, live with Haiti in your heart. In a week, when the blogs and news cycles die down a bit, or in a month, when our lives consume us once more with other things, or in a year, when most of us will have long forgotten the day the earth broke under Haiti, another disaster will strike, and we will be awakened once more to the realization that we care far too much about the trivial and far too little about the eternal. We’ll be reminded that the bones of dead men testify that our lives are but a vapor. In that day, we will remember that living with Haiti in our hearts means living with a longing for the One who will bring renewal and restoration to a planet and a people who desperately need both.

GRACE

Somehow, I think God is calling the Church through these tragic stories to stand up, and not get Him off the hook for the suffering experienced, but stand up and declare more than ever His sovereignty, His goodness, and His grace. And do so by loving and praying for and weeping with those who may always have a much more difficult time than us envisioning the hope that God subjected the world to futility because of, and the hope that saves. The question I am left with after these things is, how I do I, individually, and as community with others, process and experience the grace that God not only lavished on me in the death and resurrection of His son, but also that He continues to pour out day by day, and hour by hour, in such a way that communicates and transfers that same grace to others, specifically those who are suffering. I don't have an answer yet, but my asking the question alone encourages me that God has begun to show me.

"The great mystery tonight is not that the wicked would be condemned to an eternity that they have chosen for themselves by determining to deny God; the great mystery is that such a God would come, and seek out men and women to inhabit His heaven."

Praying for Tiger

2009-12-14T09:04:00.008-05:00

This whole thing breaks my heart. If it doesn't yours, something is wrong with you. But, I am resisting the reaction of surprise, because it continues to be clear that no matter how exceptional someone appears, or how firmly someone appears to be standing, they (we) can fall. Kanye West and David Letterman, and Mark Sanford and Bernie Madoff, among others, have already reminded us this year. I never would have imagined that I should have included Tiger in those posts. The fall of Tiger seems different. But it isn't. His recovery seems difficult. But it isn't, as long as you define recovery correctly.

I'm not sure how you've responded to all this. One of my friends, who I don't think would consider himself a Christian, right after the accident and before any of the infidelity was public said, "Show me a human being, and I'll show you skeletons in their closet." A frighteningly true statement. Others have been working on the stand-up bits. The Santa and Tiger joke is funny, I admit. But what I'm going to do is pray for him. Because, as Dr. Albert Mohler says, "Something of far greater consequence than an illustrious career in sport is at stake here. Tiger Woods the human being is of infinitely greater value than Tiger Woods the brand." Mohler continues:

"Tiger Woods now finds himself in a disastrous crisis of his own making. There is no one else he can blame for his trouble and there is no public account that can undo the past. In a truly breathtaking reversal, Tiger Woods has gone from being one of the most universally respected figures in sport to one of the most widely discussed subjects of scandal. Clearly, it does not take long to fall from a pedestal.

"In one of his advertisements for Accenture, the image of Tiger Woods appears along with the words: "It's what you do next that counts." Much now depends on what Tiger Woods does next. If the American people are truly scandalized by his adultery, they must now hope and pray that this marriage and family can be rebuilt and sustained. Something of far greater consequence than an illustrious career in sport is at stake here. Tiger Woods the human being is of infinitely greater value than Tiger Woods the brand.

"For Christians, there is an even deeper concern. The current travail of Tiger Woods points far beyond his need for marital recovery, career consultation, or brand management. Tiger Woods needs a Savior. I am praying that this devastating experience, caused so classically by his own sin, will lead Tiger Woods to understand that he is not so self-sufficient as he thinks. Tiger Woods now faces a problem that he cannot solve. Though he can do much to repair his marriage, his family, and his public image, he cannot atone for his own sins. My prayer is that there is someone who can reach Tiger Woods with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"In the end, all this must remind Christians of the universal need for the Gospel. We must remember our own sin and our utter dependence upon the grace and mercy of God made ours in Jesus Christ. Without question, this is the most important lesson drawn from the travail of Tiger Woods. On his deathbed, Martin Luther offered these last words: "We are sinners, it is true." Tiger Woods is one of us, after all."

Jesus is not corny, people. We need him. The Gospel is not irrelevant. It is power for salvation. It is what we don't have for something we need. We will try a lot of things in its place to our own destruction. Perhaps the heroic rise, and rapid fall, of Tiger Woods from a place of public fascination and adoration, is setting the stage for an incredible testimony. Even if not, I'm thankful for the reminder that I am the recipient of as dramatic a display of saving grace as what Tiger needs right now. And you are (or can be) also.

Limping and Dancing

2009-11-29T17:22:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving has passed, and now I'm full, and thankful, and excited for Christmas season. Christmas? Really? 2009 went three times as fast as any other year. But that's ok, because I like Christmas season; I just wasn't prepared for it. God is continuing to collide my worlds, decompartmentalize my life, and allow me to live the same way with the same motivation, same joy, and same focus on relationships Sunday afternoon on the couch, or Monday morning in the office, as I do on Saturday night out with friends in Broad Ripple or downtown, or at home with family, or anywhere in between. It is an exhilarating process, and I hope it is only beginning. Drinking beer while praying for and in conversation with both your friends and people you've never met is an amazing experience. Thinking about Jesus and the Cross the same moment you are witnessing a round of shots (or taking one yourself), or decorating the tree with your family, or making a sales call, or having dinner with friends, is awesome. More on that later.

Relevant to all that is this three part conference sermon series by Tim Keller. I strongly recommend taking an hour and a half to listen to all of it. It is vintage, and crucial in understanding the hold on and damage to our lives that idolatry can have; and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most helpful message to confront that idolatry with, both in our own lives, and in the lives of those who could care less. None of us are immune.

Gospel Realization

Gospel Communication

Gospel Incarnation

"Once you know that Jesus blesses you unconditionally, at the cost of his life (and now you can know!), it doesn’t matter how much you’re dancing and how great life is going -- you’ll limp; your head won’t get big because you’ll know its all by grace. And no matter how much you’re limping because everything is going lousy in life -- you’ll dance; because you’ll know it will pass, and you’ll have him forever."

I hope to take that reality everywhere I go this Christmas season, and in 2010, and for the rest of my natural life, and into eternity, with a keen awareness to the temptation of idolatry and a humble recognition of the reality of (future) grace. And I hope my awkward and Spirit-led balance of limping and dancing will be a clear demonstration to the world of the gracious person and sufficient work of Jesus Christ.

I'll see you out there.

God's Grace and the Moon

2009-11-09T20:50:00.026-05:00

I've recently discovered, with some help, the phenomenon of seeing the moon before dark; sometimes in the middle of the day. I can't explain this entirely, or why I just recently noticed and became fascinated by it. But true enough, on my way to work I stop the car in the middle of the entrance to my neighborhood when I see it, pull over, put my flashers on, and get out of the car and take a picture of the sky. Sometimes friendly neighbors ask if everything is alright and if I need any help. Perhaps you would say that such an action proves that everything is not ok and that I should have accepted the offer. But perhaps you are a jerk. Just kidding.

I'll spare you the science lesson on the cycles of the moon and the Earth's rotation in relation it, and why we can see some of it, all of it, or none of it at various points of the year in the night or day. Because I don't really know. All I know is that the gibbous moon is the best. Period.

Instead, I'll draw some kind of Gospel-centered spiritual conclusion, because that is what I do. You know how different days of the week have different feels? Jerry, Kramer, and Newman discussed this in a conversation you may remember. Monday has a certain feel; it's usually work or school or responsibility related, sometimes gloomy even if the sun is shining (i.e. "Someone has a case of the Moondays", no pun intended). Tuesday and Wednesday feel similar to this, but a bit brighter, perhaps busier with travel or scheduling of mid-week activities. Thursday is the weekend without being the weekend, Friday has a special anticipation and excitement about it, sometimes for no reason. Saturday usually feels like tradition, relaxation, or recreation (football, outdoor activities, family time), and Sunday feels unique altogether; the same things as Saturday but in a different way - perhaps more serious, God-centered, and urgent, knowing the week and its responsibilities is fast approaching. All the days have their allure and their downside. But they feel differently, right? You might be less concerned about not "going out" on a Tuesday night, but feel depressed or anti-social not "going out" on a Saturday night. Why is that? Working during the week seems natural, but over the weekend might be a total drag (depending on your job and required hours). Going to church on Sunday is not a big deal, but anything church-related during the week might just feel totally unnatural. What is wrong with us?

Well, one explanation I would offer is that we compartmentalize our lives to such an extreme, that we are motivated and satisfied differently in different circumstances. And this is dramatically unhealthy. It is unhealthy because we base our hope and joy in many different things, sometimes to our own confusion. When work spills into family life we forget the joy of playing with our kids on a Saturday (PS. I don't have kids), or when our social life spills into work we lose the motivation of a hard work ethic and end up under performing, or when we lose a job, a loved one, or a house, we shut down because we forget that our most lasting, consistent hope and joy should be in Jesus Christ who will never leave or forsake us. It is unhealthy because we delegate the operations of our head, heart and hands separately in our work life, our family life, our social life, and our spiritual life and it does not allow us to bring the controversial, eternal, and transforming reality of the Gospel into everything we do. So our usefulness for the display of the glory of God and the spread of his kingdom becomes a confused mess of half-hearted attempts to do our job, love our family, and live like Christ. Not half-hearted on purpose, but because our heart is divided, nothing gets all of our heart, and likewise, all of Jesus.

And from this perhaps we believe the lie that we are unable to be used by God, or that he doesn't have a purpose for us, or that we can never know what it is. We limp through our professional life, preoccupied with the possibility that it is not what God intended for us (it might not be) because of the lack of "fruit" that it seems to generate. We struggle through our social life, feeling guilty that maybe our actions do not entirely glorify God. We innocently face our family life, unsure what Jesus means when he says to leave father and mother for sake of him. And we insecurely approach our spiritual life, and our Lord and Savior, helpless for him to make us feel meaningful, loved, and whole in the midst of a confusing variety of compartments that seem to have no connection. And all the while God is pleading with us to see him as most precious, and everything else as a gracious gift whereby we can consistently, and simply, live and love according to the once-for-all-time reality of the Gospel: Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead. What this looks like specifically, for you, in every "compartment" of your life, I can not say. I just plead with you, as the Spirit is pleading with me, to be aware of the possibility and the potential of us not having a family life, a work life, a social life, and a spiritual life - but just a life, that is defined and motivated by the person and work of Jesus.

And you know what will happen? God's grace with show up. And it will be consistent, and sufficient, and life-saving. God through Jesus does not only wish to save us by his grace, though he desperately does. He also desires to keep on saving us by his grace, which he can and will do. And it will come in unexpected, but constant, ways - if you believe and trust in its coming and in its sufficiency. This is what I think our heart and soul needs, and what will connect all aspects of our lives into a glorious, realistic, fruitful witness where we can freely enjoy family, friends, work, and everything else, and in the process glorify our Father in heaven.

For me, the most visible metaphor of this consistent and sufficient grace has been the moon. It is not always visible, but it is always there. And when it is visible, it is beautiful. Sometimes, it is only a glimpse of the complete beauty that I know is coming, and sometimes even in its fullness I long for more. As some of these pictures hopefully show, the "face" or "man" that can be seen on the moon has such a relevant and helpful expression. It is one of awe (kind of looks like the Scream face). Every time I see it, I feel the same thing in my heart: awe that the God of the universe would supply such grace to me. And every time I see it, especially during the day, I have new hope that even when I can't see it, it is still there, and nothing will change that, unless I stop looking for it. So, I do need help, and if my neighbor asks maybe that is what I will say. I will say thanks for asking, but the moon that I am taking a picture of is to me the experience of God's consistent and sufficient supply of grace, and now that I have seen it, I am much better. Maybe that will lead to a conversation or friendship that will allow the display of that same grace in community, i.e., in life.

The Gospel is About God, Not Us

2009-10-20T22:35:00.012-04:00

And that is good news.

Last Sunday night at Peppers in Broad Ripple, at Pub Theology, the topic was "why do bad things happen to good people." A familiar one, and a very identifiable one. During the text message version of Q & A time at the end (which is always the best part), Daron Earlewine who leads it each week, completely took me aback by calling me out and asking if I would help him and another member of the band field the questions, that would no doubt be hard. Not my comfort zone, but I obviously wasn't going to say no. Later, a friend would tell me that if I really wanted street cred in a bar environment with many people who had little experience with church or God, that I needed to lose the glasses, get some ink (tattoo), and wear skinny jeans. Not likely, but duly noted.

I didn't say much, but definitely could have. God has not yet given me the discernment on how to speak the unchanging and eternal message of the gospel in a bar. But maybe he is working on that? In short, my answer to the general question of why do bad things happen to good people (or any people), would be something like this: God feels about sin the way we feel about the suffering in our lives. In other words, the same anger, sadness, and confusion we feel when something terrible happens to us or someone we love, is how God feels towards our sin. Even the really horrible stuff. Sin is that bad (actually its worse). But in Jesus Christ, we see God, who not only lived a sinless life that we could never live, but he died, in our place, and endured the most powerful and profound suffering, which we could never endure, so that we would not have to. And he rose from the dead assuring the forgiveness that he promises and the freedom from all kinds of sin and suffering that we will experience in time. For now, these light and momentary afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. And all of that is not just so that we can feel better (though we can, and do), but so that God can get the ultimate glory and we can forever praise the glory of his grace, seen in the gospel, which is the whole point of the universe.

Next time, hopefully, if given the opportunity, I will say something to that effect - in a bar, or wherever.

"God has done everything: election, predestination, creation, adoption, manifestations of wrath, power, justice, wisdom – all of it – to solidify and intensify your praise for the glory of His grace."

– John Piper, Ephesians 1

"Lord, I'd like to start by saying I can hate where I'm at

When this life is hard and situations take me aback

The fight is hard and I can hardly face it in fact

In life it's hard to get up like a bar with weights that's attached

It really seems the situations that I'm facing is wack

I been awakened but now I'm feeling forsaken and trapped

With no hope and I'm broken open for Satan to trap

I been bothered since You Father put this weight on my back

So please erase it's wack, cause when this pain it attacks

My weakness is at it's peak and I'm feeling strained and I lack

The trust in You I struggle through the ways that I should come to You

Lord, what am I gonna do? It's true this pain it distracts

But I see my only hope when my backs on the ropes

Is in You so I read through the facts that You wrote

The pain may fade away, but if that's my only hope

Then You don't get the glory alone not even close

Lord, it may get better but it may not

So when I pray God, I pray I

Would trust You whether or not the pain stops

So when the the pain falls, coming down like rain drops

I just gotta cling to You

Heavenly Father, in Your Word You say we can build

Because of Jesus and the blood that He graciously spilled

Lord, I thank You for real, cause my Dad's always there

I can cast all my cares plus the weight that I feel

My situation is ill, I ain't asking to be making a mill

But is all my money for paying my bills?

It gets crazier still, my soul's on dangerous hills

A target for the world, flesh, and Satan aiming to kill

While the wicked who be hating your will

Sit by the lake as they chill, taking in sensational thrills

Lord, Your Son I admire, He's the one I desire

I'll run through the fire if You say it's Your will

But at times it's hard to hear You, the world doesn't fear You

Lord, give me a clear view Your face is concealed

Help me to be patient until Your grace is revealed

And in the mean time, between time, be praising You still

Lord, it may get better but it may not
So when I pray God, I pray I
Would trust You whether or not the pain stops
So when the the pain falls, coming down like rain drops
I just gotta cling to You

Lord, You know I'm hoping that my situation will switch

That You'll show me You're amazing by erasing it quick

But I've noticed that my hope was in You changing it quick

Instead of knowing You're enough Lord I was chasing Your gifts

But then I opened up Your text and looked at David and them

Their situations was grim, but it ain't change them within

They prayed You'd take it away but sought Your face in the end

And found comfort in Your justice and the grace You extend

So in this life full of strife if my days get grayer

I'm content with the fact that You'll stay my Savior

No change in my King, man, it ain't no greater

Comfort than what's found in You that's so major."

- Cling to You, Trip Lee and Shai Linne

The Gospel is Relevant!

2009-10-07T09:50:00.006-04:00

I have good news for Kanye, who almost cried on the Jay Leno show a couple weeks ago and is taking time off to "analyze how he's going to make it through this life and improve", and David Letterman, who through nervous joking admitted to his confrontation with (some of) the frightening consequences of his mistakes. I wanted to pass it along. I hope they see it:

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

That's all. By the way, it is good news for all of us too.

The Fellowship of the King

2009-09-21T16:26:00.017-04:00

As with all my blog posts, this subject really matters. And this post title is pure awesomeness. To my new readers, yes, I am really that arrogant. To my old readers, do you really exist? My blog traffic has been less this summer, and coming into the fall, maybe that will change, maybe that won't. Either way, I'm not convinced that anyone has noticed. You should prove me wrong with a comment. :) On an unrelated note, I joined Twitter recently, and I can guarantee that if and when I ever "tweet", it will be sarcastic and probably won't matter. Per the commercial:

"I'm sitting on the patio."

"Dad, I know you're sitting on the patio!"

"Hehehe."

Not really. In all seriousness, as Tim Tebow says, God has already tweeted everything he needed to (its called the Bible), so why do you care what I would say at any random point in the day? On the other hand, the purpose of this blog is to try to articulate what God has already said in a way that is helpful and meaningful given the complexity of our culture and the complexity of what you might be tweeting about right now. So that is why it matters. But, knowing my initial hesitation and now affection for facebook, I will also probably make the same transition with twitter, and will probably tell you about how comfortable my couch is on a Sunday afternoon, hope you care, and also follow how comfortable your couch is, and definitely care. And I will probably try to tweet the Gospel in less than 140 characters, if that is indeed possible. So I'm not hatin' on twitter, just making sure our priorities are straight. Are we cool? My favorite "tweet" so far is by John Piper: "In Christ, the best is always yet to come. Always. No exceptions. Forever."

Wow.

FELLOWSHIP REDISCOVERED

So, fellowship. What the heck does this word mean, and why does it matter? To bring you up to speed, for most of the year, my posts have been working through and dancing around two main questions:

1. What is church, how should it work, and why does it matter?

2. What does it mean to be a Christian, and why does it matter?

I went to a pivotal conference in April called Entrusted with the Gospel, which was a exposition of 2 Timothy put on by The Gospel Coalition. I then began the journey of leading a "Life Church", or a unique version of a small group bible study that is meant to de-compartmentalize our lives so that all of our worlds can collide into a glorious mixture of Christ-like living that is both natural and transforming. And I was, and am still, committed to keep the balance of gospel word and gospel community in this journey, trusting that the transforming power comes from the gospel; not just any word and not just any community.

Four months in, I'm excited and challenged. We have not yet answered the question about how exactly to "do church" and we haven't yet found the passage in the New Testament that outlines it perfectly for us (a combination of Acts and 1 John is a great start). We have not yet walked and lived a perfect balance of biblical and relational communion. Some would like to have more fun and some would like to have less (that was partly facetious). We have not yet served with our hands and our lives the less fortunate in our community to the degree we need to. And we have not yet seen hundreds of people come to saving faith in Jesus.

But! We have been faithful to the Bible, and we have been patient with and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. We have offered a community to Christians and non-Christians alike where they can be welcomed, loved, convicted, and presented with the most precious and important message in the world. While prayer is being taken out of the schools, it is being brought in to the bars in Indianapolis. "Pub Theology" is opening the door for biblical and spiritual conversations to those who would never set foot in our churches. If you like beer, but not church, come hang out. We want to party with you. Christians are working out their salvation together across the city in authentic, consistent communities, and people are mutually encouraging each other's faith. God's word is speaking actual grace into people's lives. I am excited about what God is doing, and challenged about what more he could do with our faithful proclamation and demonstration of the gospel, and our gracious engagement into our culture.

MISSING OUT

But still I think that we should fully understand and practice the biblical concept of fellowship so that we don't miss out on what God desires for us. We could miss it, and I don't want that for anyone. At a recent "Life Church", the conversation in our group led me to ask the following questions (which of course, led to several other questions):

1. Are Christians generally more comfortable going to a bible study where they don't know anyone else, or to a social event (i.e. a cookout) where they don't know anyone else? What about non-Christians? Why?

2. Can a community of people who have nothing in common physically, emotionally, socially, professionally, financially, or culturally, but share a passion and unbreakable faith for Jesus Christ, experience fellowship?

3. If so, can a person who does not share a passion and unbreakable faith for Jesus Christ experience fellowship? If not, how should they fit into a Christian community?

Consider those questions. I won't answer them directly because I don't really know, and the answers no doubt vary. But I will follow them with some truths that I have been convicted of and that I think can be foundational in our experiment with and experience of fellowship.

In short, my main concern is mistaking fellowship as the casual, comfortable, perhaps shallow, social interaction that references the Bible instead of feeds on the Bible; or mistaking fellowship as starting with our relationships with other people instead of our relationship with God; or mistakenly excluding non-Christians because of their lack of experience, belief, or comfort level with the Person and Work of Jesus Christ or "churchy" things; or mistakenly welcoming non-Christians into community without ever making any mention of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the foundational and transforming power that makes fellowship authentic; or mistakenly never going deep and being real with our Christian communities and likewise missing out on the experience of on-the-spot grace from the Word of God; or mistakenly serving each other only (which we must do!) without ever serving the outside world. Basically, my main concern is getting fellowship wrong and in turn, doing a disservice to Christians and non-Christians alike, and bringing dishonor to God.

WHAT'S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE?

So, simply put, I have been convinced that authentic, biblical fellowship is the experience, proclamation, and demonstration of saving grace, not just common grace. Without getting too theological (that would be terrible!), what I mean is this: our fellowship should start as fellowship with God (this is what 1 John is about). Our fellowship then should be based on, and exist through, our love for people. Our love for people should be based on, and exist through, the love of God for us. And the love of God for us is amazing. God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. God's love for us is seen most fundamentally in the cross. God also loves the world so much that He allowed the sun to rise this morning; He gives us mouths to breath and eyes to see and ears to hear the wonders of His creation. He certainly didn't have to do any of that. The latter is common grace, and the former is saving grace. If we base fellowship on common grace only - that God loves you because He created you and created the world for you to enjoy and steward - and not base fellowship on saving grace - that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us - than we will not be basing it on the complete love of God, and people will likely not be transformed, and God will likely not be glorified.

Do you agree? I think it's going to be hard for Christians to love each other in fellowship the way God desires unless we understand His love first. And His love is not touchy feely; it is bloody. I've been convicted that anything but cross-centered love (and fellowship) is going to ultimately be self-seeking, temporary, and lacking. Because anything not centered on the cross leaves room for boasting because it is about what you are doing, and not what Christ did. In no other context but cross-centered ministry can you love others and do good deeds out of complete selflessness, knowing that you don't deserve ANYTHING; but God loved you anyway and died for you, which makes you want to love others the same, not necessarily so that you can die for them and so glorify yourself, but so that they can better see Christ who died for them and so glorify Him and save their souls.

IS THIS PRACTICAL?

Is this kind of cross-centered love practical? Yes! Of course. I posted on The Cross and Swine Flu a little while ago that took some ideas from Mark Driscoll's book Death By Love, and elaborated on them. Some of these were extreme cases. In more everyday life, what does it look like? Well, I've never liked the phrase "doing life together", and I'm starting to embrace the phrase "working out our salvation together" in its place for this Life Church model. The reason I don't like this first phrase is that I always wonder, what is it we are doing?

Life! you say. Well then, what is life? Is it your job? Is it watching football? Is it having people over for a cookout? Is it having conversations with friends? Is it having a family? Well yes, in your life you do all these things. But is life not most fundamentally sanctification, or growing closer to Christ's likeness, by seeking His Spirit through His word for guidance, and by leaning on other people for encouragement? Is it possible that practicing fellowship as "doing life together" could fall short of what God desires for us? Is it possible that "doing life together" gives an insufficient read on the eternal life that John was so passionate about describing? I think it is possible. Unless, of course, we are more specific about what "life" means, which is why I think a more helpful, biblical phrase is "working out our salvation together". This also allows fellowship to be practical without everyone in a certain group or church spending every waking moment together.

I still struggle a little with what it looks like for a non-Christian to easily transition into this type of fellowship. I think though, that if they see and understand our love for them that is based on the cross, where there can be no boasting, and where God offered his most precious treasure (Jesus) for the likes of our undeserving souls, and where they realize that they are undeserving also but that we (and God) love them anyway, than that love will not only be appealing, but also transforming (because it will not just be common grace; it will be saving grace). In this way, our bible studies should be such that anyone off the street should be at least as comfortable coming in to a group of people they don't know, as they would coming to a cookout of the same. Because they will see both love through us (that is common) and love through the Bible (that is saving). Love that is based on anything else but the cross (Jesus's life only, good works, spirituality, social togetherness, etc.) will not stack up. At least that is my conviction.

So stay tuned as I continue to wrestle with and experience this type of fellowship, that is first and foremost about, and with, the King. Please help me wrestle if you'd like, just try not to be like Gollum. That guy is messed up.

Poetic Paraphrase

2009-08-29T22:42:00.002-04:00

I love Christian rap. Here is a taste, without the music:

2 Corinthians 10 - 13

I’ve boasted of your readiness for a year.
Give them your heart and not the pressure of your peers.
They say I’m bold in letter, meek in face,
If I begin to boast, I boast in grace.
If they can boast then I can boast in position.
If they can boast then I can boast in tradition.
I can boast in my physical con-dition,
Stoned to beaten but to God’s glory my affliction.
I can also begin to boast in the vision
Of glory and paradise that I saw with precision.
But if I saw the vision
God made a decision
To put a thorn in my side but His grace is sufficient.
So if I’m unimpressive it’s for the glory of the Lord,
Me being humble is the whole purpose of the thorn.
And if you want evidence of my power in the Son,
Next time I come, I will not spare anyone.
Test yourselves, to see if you are of the faith,
‘Cause the runner knows he’s running, if they’re runners in the race.
Finally brothers, be complete and like minded,
The love and peace of God, will keep us united.

Artist: 116 Clique
Song: This is My Heart
Album: 13 Letters

God is Big and I am Small

2009-08-26T20:26:00.012-04:00

I've had writer's block. No big deal. So, back at it, the headline is as profound as I could get. Also, God is beautiful and I am ugly. God is good and I am not. As John Newton says, "Although my memory is fading, I remember two things quite clearly: I'm a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior."

There is not anything I know of (besides the Bible) that reminds me of these simple yet profound truths, and keeps them as the central and Spirit-led source of my sanctification, like breathtaking scenic landscape. I thought I would share some with you from my recent trip to Colorado Springs. Sorry that they don't do the actual firsthand view justice.

I am pretty small indeed.

Great reflection of the rock island and trees surrounding the Lost Lake off Cottonwood Pass, just West of Buena Vista, and at about 11,000 feet.

For some reason the dead tree absolutely makes this picture for me. Still working on the spiritual analogy.

This Fourteener (14,000 feet above sea level) was staring us down on the drive out to Lost Lake, and I was scared.

On top of Pikes Peak. The air was dry, thin and brisk, and it was awesome. I tried to take the whole mountain with me, but all I could fit in my carry-on was a small souvenir stone. Not the same.

With friend and fraternity brother Matt Jackson marking our climb....er....ride up to the summit via the Cog Railway.

Get Rid of Your TV

2009-07-22T23:12:00.015-04:00

What?! Prude! Legalist! Religious Pharisee!

I know. I was thinking the same thing. It seems ridiculous, indeed impossible, in our day and in our culture. But oh man is it convicting, especially to someone who struggles with laziness to the degree I know I do. I so want to be “jealous for my evenings”. And I’m not even married, and have no kids. If and when I do I hope I can be exponentially more jealous for my evenings, and my time in general, so that I can savor the time with them, and the time with God with them, instead of watching my brain be sucked out by Alec Baldwin on a commercial for Hulu.

So let me tell you what I’m going to try to do. If you watched this video exchange with John Piper and Mark Driscoll, and then hopefully read this article clarification of Piper’s heart in this matter, you probably find that you agree more with Driscoll. So do I. I don’t think I’m going to get rid of my TV (s) or stop going to the movies. It would be great for extra cash, but not necessary I don’t think. However, I do feel convicted to get a hold of myself and not let my TV watching push me over the cliff of wasting my short life, or lead me in the opposite direction of seeing and experiencing the beauty of Christ. No entertainment is worth either.

I’m going to gage everything I watch through the filter of Philippians 4:8 in an effort to discipline my mind. Is that reasonable? Is it ridiculous? Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, praiseworthy; this is what I should think on, and if what I am watching on TV is making me think about other things, it doesn’t make the cut. Help me, please. This is going to be crazy hard, but it’ll be worth it. Let’s see how this plays out in my normal TV watching habits:

SEINFELD

This is, and will always be, the best situational comedy on television. The simple brilliance of this show can hardly be described and will never be replaced. The casting of characters and raw acting performances were historic. I became somewhat obsessed with this show in high school, right around the time it was ending. Now, having seen each episode about ten times, I find myself referencing lines on the show in any and all circumstances. The comedy and timing of Jerry Seinfeld alone has had a huge impact on my communication style, for good or for bad. Certain parts still leave me on the floor. To me, it makes it all the more funny to know that maybe I’m the only one who thought that particular line was funny enough to leave me on the floor. Oh the subtlety.

As you know, this show is now known for the fact that it was about nothing. Essentially it was about four thirty somethings living life in New York City hardly working, complaining, drinking coffee, and screwing people over (as was so brilliantly culminated in the Finale). The nothingness of the show has been rightly described as a dangerous and ungodly portrayal of our culture and the meaning of life. Living anything like any of the characters on the show will surely be considered a wasted life when it’s all said and done. The little mention of the most glorious being in the universe (Jesus Christ) was only as a few punch lines (some fairly hilarious ones, though).

Still, it was a television show, so what would you expect? If viewed with the right amount of wisdom and discernment, lots of material from this show will present itself for use in biblical gospel presentations. I'm serious. Take for example the following dialogue between George and Kramer in the episode The Keys:

Kramer: Do you ever yearn?
George: Yearn, do I yearn?
Kramer: I yearn.
George: You yearn?
Kramer: Oh yes, yes, I yearn. Often, I sit, and yearn. Have you yearned?
George: Well not recently. I crave. I crave all the time; constant craving. I haven’t yearned.
Kramer: Look at you.
George: Oh, Kramer, don’t start!
Kramer: No, no, you’re wasting your life.
George: I am not. What you call wasting, I call living. I’m living my life.
Kramer: Oh ok, like what? No, tell me. Do you have a job?
George: No.
Kramer: Do you have any money?
George: No.
Kramer: Do you have a woman?
George: No.
Kramer: Do you have any prospects?
George: No.
Kramer: Do you have anything on the horizon?
George: Uh, no.
Kramer: Do you have any action at all?
George: No.
Kramer: Do you have any conceivable reason for even getting up in the morning?
George: I like to get The Daily News.
Kramer: George, its time for us to grow up and be men. Not little boys.
George: Why?

If you know this episode, you know that Kramer’s yearning led him to California to “find himself” after a key dispute with Jerry. Perhaps you’ve had a similar trip or period of life. I used this scene at a talk for Greek Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at IU once. My talk was on the relevance of Jesus in our joy, and my point was to tell the narrative of the Bible, to see the final accomplishment in the cross of Christ, and the final completion in the second coming of Christ, where we will have complete joy. I said that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only complete source of joy now, and the only source of complete joy in the future. And then I asked them the same questions Kramer asked George, and I said, even if your answers were yes, how is your joy? Is it on a trajectory of completion in Jesus, or is it precariously jumping from one temporary pleasure to the next, waiting, desperately, for something to cling to, perhaps in California like Kramer? His challenge is valid and relevant to us: are we wasting our lives?

So I will continue to watch this show, when the opportunity presents itself, and trust that God can use it to expose the gospel in my life and through my life. There is value in humorously viewing our brokenness in a way that leads to the glory of a blood-stained cross, and amazingly, I think Seinfeld can be the context for that.

THE OFFICE

So far I have not found any sermon illustrations in The Office (I'm still looking). As you probably know, this show is all kinds of awkward and usually outright inappropriate. But I think it is excellent, and so as per Philippians 4:8, I’m going to watch. It has its issues, and some episodes fall short of the description of “classic”. But some greatly exceed that description. The characters alone (most of them) just make me so happy. So I think, by the grace of God, I can watch this show (and you can too!) through the filter of Philippians 4:8. Plus I work in an office so surely some of the lessons transfer over. Wish me luck. Good luck.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

Yes, I watch this show. Does that surprise you? I’ve mentioned that I do before, and even showed a clip of my personal favorite audition. I’ve said that if the title of the show were a question addressed to me, my answer would unequivocally be NO. Sadly. In my book, though, it’s the best entertainment on television. And when I say entertainment, I mean the full spectrum: funny, creative, exciting, suspenseful, breathtaking, intelligent, glamorous, and professional. I’ve personally become very intrigued by the choreography. Not being an artist, I would say that it seems to be one of the most creative, difficult, and comprehensive forms of art. It showcases story-telling, technique, beauty, emotion, and creative expression in a way no other art form I can think of does. And it captures all that in a fleeting moment that you can’t hang on a wall. And it brings out parts of the creativity and brilliance of another, related, art form - namely music - that may not otherwise have been seen. I usually like a song a lot better after I have seen a brilliant routine danced to it.

Anyway, you should watch the show, because I think you will be amazed. Unlike Dancing with the Stars, which you may know, it features talent and diversity in style and training that is beautiful and unpredictable. Unlike American Idol, which you certainly know, it actually becomes more entertaining, instead of less so, once the auditions are over. Unlike just about any other reality show, it has purpose beyond the TV ratings, and seeks to expose to the world a unique art form and develop the industry that displays that art in a healthy way.

But it is not perfect, and its purpose is not primarily to display the beauty of Jesus, so viewers (like me) who care about not wasting their lives should take caution. What it does do, purposefully or not, is display beauty that only a Sovereign and intricate God could create. If you’re not moved by the elegant, and sometimes freakish, dancing in some of these routines you need to check your pulse. So in that sense, it displays the common grace that God has lavished on all his children by creating us in His image and giving us skills and abilities that show His glory in very unique, creative, and irreplaceable ways. That is praiseworthy.

Of course, the instant that beauty is attributed to the people and not the God that created the people, you are on a slippery slope. I’m not naïve – the show is also entertaining because of the beautiful people. They don’t have to be moving to be beautiful, but indeed the moving makes them more so; in some cases scandalously. If you grew up in a legalistic, strict church culture that didn’t allow dancing, you know what I’m talking about and I’ve either already lost you at this point or started to articulate for you finally your opposition to the rules all these years.

Perhaps if all this could be true about the beauty of the people without the costume design, or lack of costume design if you know what I mean, that is featured every week, than it wouldn’t even be an issue. But it isn't true without that, so it is an issue, and I’m totally aware of it and totally vulnerable to it. But with anything, there is a thin line between appreciating the beauty in order to praise your Father in heaven, and worshipping the beauty because of the temporary pleasure of eye candy. And walking that line and coming out closer to Christ in the end is honoring to God. But knowing that you are going to fall off the tight rope the minute you start walking, and still get on it anyway, is not honoring to God. I intend to walk the tight rope and come out praising my Father in heaven. But I am aware of the risk, hope you are too, and pray that together we can encourage each other to keep our balance.

NEWS

To me, watching the news is the classic example of balancing being in the world but not of the world. It is a very difficult balance. I watch, probably, not enough local news and too much national news. I don’t know why this is. When something “breaking” is going on, I’m pretty much hooked. The death of Michael Jackson, September 11, presidential debates, the plane that landed on the Hudson; the stories they talk about for days and days are usually the ones I watch. And I think that is good. Its good to know what’s going on, good to see the emotions and perspectives of people, good to be educated on what excites and affects our culture. But I have found, specifically with news of a political nature, that there is a point in my watching where it is no longer healthy. Have you experienced this? You know you are watching just to get mad at somebody or something. Even if your (my) anger is justified, I think this is the point the TV should go off, or at least changed, to Seinfeld, The Office, or So You Think You Can Dance (among perhaps other things).

But the news is important, and, I would say, mostly noble. It is not always true, but the more professional networks don’t mislead intentionally. So it makes it through my filter, but I will be careful. And I’m convicted to be aware of more local news so that I can more easily relate with my immediate community.

SPORTS

For me, my engagement in sports is simple. I play golf and tennis and basketball (and occasionally wiffleball, as of late). I watch NCAA basketball religiously, NCAA football consistently, NFL football moderately, golf and tennis on lazy Sundays, and everything else sparingly. I get emotionally involved in IU basketball. I get really excited for March madness and college football bowl season. I root loyally for the Colts. I like the Pacers and the Chicago Cubs, but my heart is not with them. After that, my amount of sports intake and knowledge is probably less than most men my age.

So probably I don't need to say much about this category. Two things I should mention though. First, some athletic stories are so inspiring and miraculous that watching them on TV may be one of the best things you can do with your time. People like Jimmy V., Tony Dungy, Tim Tebow, Tiger Woods, and others whose names you wouldn't recognize, give performances and examples that are certainly praiseworthy beyond words. I think it would be hard to understand the emotion and drive of people without being aware of and experiencing many sports stories like this. So you should.

But second, I know the danger of having a favorite team that you prioritize above everything else in your life almost on accident. I know what it is like to be actually depressed after a devastating loss and not want to do anything or talk to anyone. I am an IU basketball fan, so if you're needing to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for me (until the program recovers and we dominate again...). I still am not quite over the loss to Minnesota that added insult to injury after the debacle of Kelvin Sampson. I try to read this post frequently to maintain my perspective on the bigger picture.

Moral of the story is there is a lot more I could say about sports; more about the value and more about the danger of obsession. But I think you understand my point. Moderation. No team can die for your sins and no championship will satisfy your soul. So go Hoosiers, and praise Jesus.

MOVIES

This is a hard one for me because sometime in college I made the decision that I either was going to have a DVD collection, or I wasn’t. There was no reason to go halfway. So I began one, and now 300 movies later, I could easily spend the majority of my leisure time watching morally suspect content on a 50” plasma television. Over the years now I have been careful as to the content of my collection, and I very seldom watch a movie by myself, even if it is Shrek. I just have found that my time is better spent elsewhere. There is an All State commercial that talks about the wisdom of caring more about who is around your TV, rather than how big it is. So when I don’t have solid company around, the bigness of a TV is not reason enough for me to watch a flick in my spare time.

But I still do on occasion, and I still have a mammoth collection. So in the context of this post I have a fresh motivation to be intentional about this part of my life. And to quote John Piper, who says he hasn’t been to a movie in like 30 years (I don’t intend to do that):

“Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners. There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.”

There are so many movies that give a glorious occasion to present the gospel, like Seinfeld, and there are so many movies that demonstrate the brilliance and beauty of artistic talent, like So You Think You Can Dance. I will look for them, and by God’s grace use them for His glory (and enjoy them along the way, which is also just fine). But for now, the quote above will suffice to share my heart about the discipline I believe God is calling me to. For me it will specifically apply to movies on television – I spend absurd amounts of time watching parts of movies I have seen 100 times. Although this is fun, I’m determined to find a more productive form of relaxation. As a wise man once told me, it is quite embarassing as a Christian to know more movie lines than bible verses.

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?

If you don’t believe and find your treasure in Jesus, this post no doubt sounds ridiculous (it is a little). In your mind you might be trying to imagine how much more fun you have, how much more happy you are, and how much more fulfillment you receive from watching television than anything else you can conceive of doing with your evenings, especially anything of a “religious” or “spiritual” nature. You might be trying to compare the relaxation, amusement, entertainment, or escape you get from TV, with the unknown pleasure or satisfaction from anything else. And because it is unknown, you easily can feel perfectly content continuing with your habits and not feeling guilty or worried about what you might be missing.

What I’d like to try to convey to you is that what you are (and what I am) missing is infinitely more valuable, entertaining, relevant, fulfilling, enjoyable, lasting, and in some ways relaxing than what you are envisioning in your head right now regarding television. And I’m not telling you to give that up or to feel guilty about watching what you watch. My goodness, why are you even reading this blog if I made such ridiculous contentions as that? What I am telling you is whatever good it offers, it does not offer forgiveness of sins, or escape from righteous wrath, or reconciliation with the God of the universe, in whose image you were created, or authentic gospel community. Without those things, a lifetime of relaxation and entertainment will be little consolation to an eternity of separation and misery. And above that, it does not offer the giver of those things (Jesus), who is more precious than all the gifts combined. The separation from him because of our sinfulness and obsession with the temporary pleasures of television will be horrible, conscious, and forever. I’m not trying to be mean or scare you; I’m trying to rescue you (and me) from a wasted life.

Television is not the point, and neither are the things portrayed and glorified through it, namely greed, violence, drunkenness, sexual immorality, etc. These things are symptoms, and vessels, by which the real problem manifests itself. The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. Whether you (we) agree that these symptoms, or the vessel by which they come, are wrong or should be avoided is irrelevant. What is relevant, and indisputable, and the real problem, is that these things draw us away, and distract our attention, from the most glorious and infinite reality in the universe, namely, the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Television is an idol (and a killer) if it, and the entertainment from it, becomes ultimate, and not an additional, undeserved blessing from the treasure of our life (Jesus).

Please at least consider the risk you are taking unwinding your stress, losing your mind, and devoting your precious time to the unrealistic and fleeting world found broadcast through our television sets. You can still watch. Just consider. I know I am.

A Confused Culture and a Clear Christ

2009-07-01T21:36:00.024-04:00

Writing on a blog is hard. I really try to be clear and helpful, engage the culture in a timely and relevant way, and tie my posts together enough so that if you are a faithful reader, you can really see the connection and direction of my thoughts. But then I also want them to be independent and simple enough that if you are a first time reader they will make sense to you and be worth your time. And of course I try to be brief, but so far that has been a futile effort (sorry!). I guess for me, life is too short to be brief. I want to use the words in my brain and on my heart while they are still there. And then of course I try to be humble, knowing that my words are temporary, not original, and come from a highly imperfect man. But by the grace of God I know that they might possibly lead people closer to the infallible and eternal word in the Bible, and the irresistibly desirable and infinitely perfect Person of Jesus Christ found in it.

The last year or so on this blog, within the overall theme of offering the Gospel of Jesus Christ as simple and profound truth for a complex culture, I have been trying to do two things:

1. Discern and participate in the nature and developments of the “church” in America, and understand and live what the church really is and what it should look like. Why should I go to church? What church should I go to? What does “church” mean?

2. Discern and participate in the nature and fruits of a “Christian” person, and understand this in order to live and explain it in such a way as to be confirming for the Christian, convicting and loving for the non-Christian, and effective for all so the increasing reality of loving our neighbor in an authentic and God-honoring way is realized.

These two things are starting to come to a head in my life, and in current events, which is encouraging, complicated, and a bit convicting. Encouraging because it confirms that questions, answers, and insight I have experienced in the last several months have not been without purpose, and have been from God. Complicated because what it means to be a Christian in community, and individually, is messy, and not neatly outlined in the Bible to be understood and experienced without effort. And convicting because it is real; there really are churches that are unbalanced and unbiblical in a way that is detrimental to the kingdom of God; and there really are people who profess to be Christians but defraud the name of Christ by their unbiblical proclamation or hypocritical demonstration of the gospel. The Bible commands us to be aware of and respond to both these realities.

So what I am absolutely convinced of is that as followers of Christ we have to be clear, so that we can be helpful. We have to be clear in our truth. We have to be clear in our community. We have to be clear in our love. We have to be clear that God is holy, that we are sinners, that the Bible is preeminent, and that the cross is central, to all of life and human experience. We have to be clear that if we have not love, we have nothing. It sounds simple (even if you disagree). Alas, our sinful nature has made it horribly confusing, so much so that non-Christians aren’t even listening to our message and some Christians don’t understand its power, and too many are choosing a temporary, functional savior instead of the eternal savior who went through a bloody cross to the right hand of God.

SEXUAL SAVIOR

I'll spare you the news update on the fallen Governor of South Carolina, except to say that it is clear we don't seem to be at the bottom of his failure yet. He is not the first to fall in this way, and he will surely not be the last. Such a shame that he confused some into believing he was worthy of being in the 2012 presidential conversations. Such a shame that many trusted and respected him to lead them in a confusing time in our country, and for his party. Such a shame that the adultery was not the end of this story; deception was and is there also. Such a shame for his wife and children. Such a shame that there was a spiritual component to this journey, yet little true repentence and little mention of the cross of Christ.

But we shouldn't forget about those who have fallen before him: United States presidents, popular and influential pastors, and Old Testament heroes. Let anyone who thinks he stands firm take heed lest he fall! We scorn and rebuke his actions, as we should, but we also should appreciate the gut check. In our wordly hell of loneliness, tension, and unquenced desire for companionship, do we above all else seek for sexual escape and romantic fairytales, or do we seek the crucified and exalted Christ? Mark Sanford went through spiritual boot camp looking for an answer to his condition, but in the end, the escape and romance he found in Argentina was his functional savior, and look where it led him.

FINANCIAL SAVIOR

In all likelihood, Bernard Madoff will die in prison. 150 years is a long time. Most of us are glad and acknowledge that he deserves it. And he does. He deceived and stole untold amounts of money from people of all kinds and manipulated the system in ways I am certainly not bright enough to explain or understand. His crimes will trickle down and affect generations of Americans. 150 years doesn't seem that long when you think about all that.

Yet we shouldn't be quick to judge. What was at the bottom of Madoff's motives and deception? Was it not greed? In his worldly hell of fear and insecurity, he sought after the functional savior of monetary gain and financial wealth. Are we so different? What Madoff, and all of us, actually deserve is far longer than 150 years. And no amount of money will save us from that plight. Only a crucified and exalted Christ can. Bernard Madoff escaped a life of poverty to become one of the riches men in America, and look where it led him.

PHYSICAL SAVIOR

Breaking the trend of the two men mentioned above, this doesn't seem to be the time to discuss the controversy surronding the life, nor the confusion surrounding the death, of Michael Jackson. I grew up in the 80s and for my money entertainment does not get better than the gravity-defying lean in the Smooth Criminal video. He was an amazing talent and entertainer. I will not paint a picture of his sin and brokenness and then say look where it led him. Like some, I would like to believe the Sovereign God of the Universe opened the eyes of his heart and gave him the strength to believe in his last days. It is certainly possible.

But I think it is helpful to look at his life as an example and warning of the insufficency of functional saviors. Dan Phillips says it this way:

"What Jackson did to himself is what we all do to ourselves outside of Christ. The difference is that Jackson's failed attempts were all worn obviously, in public view, on the changing tapestry of his face, while we may mask ours better. As you shrink from the Frankenstein shock of Jackson's visage, reflect: mankind was created in God's image, and still bears that image. But in seeking to take God's place and make themselves gods, our foreparents did to their whole beings what Michael Jackson did to his face: they horridly disfigured themselves and all of us, leaving a repulsive mockery of what we were meant to be. The only solution for us is not a succession of endeavors to remake ourselves. Each attempt leaves a worse spectacle than the previous, and moves us further from what we truly need. We do not need new faces. We need new natures. We need the miracle of regeneration, not the tragedy of manmade makeovers."

In our worldly hell of confused identity, low self-esteem, and ridicule from men, do we seek the temporary, functional savior of glamour, physical makeover, and external beauty, or the eternal savior of the crucified and exalted Christ?

RELIGIOUS SAVIOR

Continuing to break the trend from the first two people mentioned, I am using Obama here merely as an example of what so many in our culture do. Obviously Barack Obama is not in the same category, and actually, in many ways, doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with these three men, certainly not the first two. But because of the timing and relevance of his journey as outlined in this article, I included him in this post.

The Obama family is looking for a church. Can you relate? There are mixed reports on whether they have found one, but I'm not sure that is the point. The point is that so many in our culture are in the same situation, and don't seem to think it is a big deal. Some never stop looking. Some stop and find one, but it becomes a religion only to them. In their worldly hell of legalism and self-justification they seek the functional savior of religion, and accomplish their salvation when they find a building to go in every week or so. But then when life gets hard, or the church changes the music, or real trial and tribulation come, they leave the church or become angry and confused as to why their religion did not bring constant reward. Like the elder brother in Luke 15, they (we) demand a celebration because of our goodness. And if we our lucky, we realize that our goodness is detestable to God (and not really that good), and our only hope is the eternal savior of a crucified and exalted Christ.

CHRIST THE SAVIOR

There is nothing uniquely special or uniquely immoral about these men. We are all human and are all sinners, so even the President (and certainly you and I) could be included in a list such as this to illustrate the relevance of the gospel to our broken condition. We all resort to confusing functional saviors when a clear everlasting savior beckons. Rebellion against the beauty and all-sufficiency of Christ for salvation, as a talented and legendary (but disturbed) pop star, or as a crooked and deceptive scam artist, or as an adulterous governor, or as the President of the United States, or as a middle-class Joe Sixpack, or as a well-meaning social worker, (etc.), results in the same separation from the desire of our souls and purpose in creation. If you don’t agree with that statement, not much else on this blog will make any sense to you. And that is not because it is confusing. It is because it is foolishness. But it is gospel.

Because repentance and trust in the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, for a talented and legendary (but disturbed) pop star, or for a crooked and deceptive scam artist, or for an adulterous governor, or for the President of the United States, or for a middle-class Joe Sixpack, or for a well-meaning social worker, (etc.), results in the same reconciliation with the desire of our souls and purpose in creation, and everlasting joy. That is the gospel.

So as the culture challenges its expectations and desires for “church”, and the “church” challenges structure and style with new ideas and programs and manages the reality of hypocrisy and false proclamation in its midst, ultimately the gospel and the fruit and love from it is the only thing that matters. My deepest hope and conviction is that focus on the gospel will reveal (and increase) those with saving faith, and organically create and maintain the biblical, effective, God-honoring concept of “church”, namely people living the gospel word in gospel community; until He comes back and establishes forever the reality that authentic Christians living in gospel community (church) have always meant to foreshadow.

Who Do You Say that I Am?

2009-06-18T22:34:00.014-04:00

Jesus asked this question to his disciples after his initial inquiry about what the general public thought of him. I ask it now to anyone reading this, or anyone not reading this, about what you think of me (or what you think of Christians). I am (and we are) not Jesus, clearly, so I do not expect your answer to be “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” But I hope through me, that is how you would answer this question about Jesus. I actually don't really care what you think of me (real nice, huh?), unless what you think of me affects what you think of Jesus. So the reason I am asking it is to give myself and fellow Christians a gut check as to the impression we are leaving with the people we interact with, and whether they are seeing more of Jesus or more of us in our example. If they are seeing more of us, that is very bad, because we are sinners who are completely bankrupt spiritually.

Ultimately this question cuts to the core of much of what I have been talking about. The church, or the “universal church” made up of all authentic believers in Christ, represented locally in the form of local congregations and communities of people, should be to the world a personal presentation of the holiness, preeminence, love, and community of the Triune God of the universe, who reveals and reconciles himself to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If the Body of Christ does not look like this to the world, it is not because the biblical vision of the church is inadequate or that the absolute truth of the gospel is powerless; it means that we have not been faithful to either and thus confused a broken world as to what we are really even trying to say and do.

It is quite obvious that most non-Christians look at Christians in a negative way. Whether it is because they perceive us as hypocritical, closed-minded, selfish, intolerant, arrogant, ignorant, bigoted, violent, boring, weak, uncool, etc. depends on who you ask and what topic you are considering. Somehow, I want to try to boldly respond to some of these perceptions in a way that hopefully is not only loving and sincere, but also reassuring and honest enough to maybe lead some to reconsider their negativity. And if nothing else, what I hope to do is make us decrease, so that Christ can increase, and so that I can present the irresistibly desirable Person of Jesus Christ to both Christian and non-Christian alike. If you have a problem with Christians, I am very sorry, and please know that your feelings are justified. If you have a problem with Christ, I am very sorry for you, because He is the only one who can ultimately justify you. I don’t say that to be mean. I say it because I love you.

UNCOOL WEAKLING?

The primary category of perceptions that I want to humbly respond to (in this post at least) is that Christians are ignorant, boring, weak, and uncool. In other words, I think it is fair to say that many in the outside world look at the typical Christian as Ned Flanders. I didn’t really watch the Simpsons much until college (what?!), and still am no expert, but Ned Flanders was the devout, overbearing Christian neighbor of Homer Simpson, who in reality was a really good person. Only he was a dork, a weakling, timid, and was to others so smart that he was dumb, especially considering his profession of Christianity. Whether we are actually like this (especially men), or we rollover whenever we are excused of being like this instead of defending ourselves, or we are not really like this at all, doesn’t much matter to those who perceive us this way.

Somehow, though, we have to humbly and lovingly kill this perception because it is not the way Jesus was, or is, and it is not the way his disciples were after they received the presence of the Holy Spirit, and it is not the way that God intends us to be. I think the easiest way to do this is in our sacrificial, bold, faithful, and compassionate love for others we have to leave people with more of Christ than we leave of ourselves. In other words, somehow in our service and proclamation and demonstration of the gospel in authentic community we have to get out of the way and let Jesus Christ remain. This way, even if we are ignorant, boring, weak, and uncool, it won’t matter because they won’t see us; they will Jesus, and He is none of those things. He is the Alpha and the Omega, Savior of the world, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

UNSUNG SOLDIER

I recently starting catching up on the TV Series The Unit, starring Dennis Haysbert (“That’s Allstate’s stand, are you in good hands?”). It is based on the books Inside Delta Force, and traces the life and missions of the elite Special Forces of the United States Army. I really get into this stuff, and as I’ve gotten through multiple episodes I can’t shake the fact that I really want to be like these guys. A real life, red-blooded, legit, (I’m going to say it) Bad - Ass.

Guys who are so brilliant that they can decipher in multiple languages the best way to resolve a crisis with nuclear implications. Guys who are so street savvy that they can cope with a broken mission and escape from a foreign country with no prior plan by talking their way through international barriers and police in pursuit. Guys who are so disciplined that they can endure physical and psychological torture without compromising their country or their mission. Guys who are so fearless and reckless that they accept life-risking missions every week for the thrill of the ride and the love of country. Guys who are so multi-talented that they can start a broken-down car, diffuse a nuclear bomb, and successfully navigate through an unknown South American town in the same day. Guys who are so decisive and accurate that they eliminate the danger for a baby being used as a shield held in the arms of a terrorist. Guys who are so confident that even when all the forces seem against them and their doom seems imminent, they trust their training and their strength, and a power and a will beyond their control, and return home.

I want to be like that. Reckless, fearless, disciplined, brilliant, sold out to a cause, at the risk of my life. Ned Flanders was not one of those guys. And as I’ve watched this series, it has become painfully clear that the nature of this “unit” is that it doesn’t exist. If they succeed in their missions, they get no credit. If they fail, the government does not claim knowledge of their existence.

That’s kind of how I want to be. That’s kind of how I think Christians should look and act. No, we are not all brilliant, fearless, disciplined (whose fault is that?), navigational and mechanical geniuses, charming, or mentally and physically chizzled – shoot, I struggle changing a flat tire, or getting a bartender to wait on me at a crowded pub, or running from one end of the basketball court to the other, or navigating myself around a shopping mall. But His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness. We are fully equipped and have been deployed on a mission that will never generate credit or glory for ourselves, but will fulfill the promises and plans of a holy and gracious God and give Him all the glory He deserves. And our mission is not going to fail, despite the wars and rumors of war. It is not our mission, it is His. We fight the battles in the strength He provides and defer the glory. We need to start acting like the badass that God created us to be, knowing that we are nothing so that Christ can be everything. Then maybe the world will see us that way and praise our Father who is in heaven.

The Power of Community

2009-06-13T20:06:00.017-04:00

This is Part 3 in a series I’m trying to put together that is essentially a summary of the book Total Church, and a plea for balance with both gospel word and gospel community. The first part was about the power of words, the second part was a link between the two, and this part is about the power of community. The ultimate goal is to see the power of the gospel. You may find it interesting (I did) that the video above is created from a different book, The Tangible Kingdom, which I have already said is less balanced. Well, be that as it may, it is a really good video, and probably the best available to demonstrate the power of community in the context of the gospel. So there you go.

I always get ahead of myself when I preview my blog posts. There is no way I could summarize the power of community in anything close to a concise form. There is no way I really could even do it from the perspective of the book Total Church, which I finished and highly recommend still. It is kind of something that you could easily talk about without ever doing, which is what I want to avoid at all costs. Just to give you a little background, my church is experimenting with a house church model and neighborhood initiative that most fundamentally is an attempt to take the church to the people, instead of assuming the people will come to church. From the beginning, I have been cautious and concerned about the lack of emphasis on the centrality of the gospel word, namely the message of the cross, in this model, as well as the negativity towards the institutional church that seems to be the driving force behind it. But all that I have said enough about in previous posts. I find myself now engaging in the concept myself as a leader of a “Life Church”, and am very excited to work through what it means to be the church in all aspects of life, and to experience and proclaim the gospel in the context of authentic community, different from any small group or bible study I’ve been a part of before.

I wish I could just say this and be done: gospel community is not only powerful, but it is essential, and through the local church it is the way God intends for his people to experience, preserve, and model His gospel word, which is the power of God for salvation and the hope of all mankind. We are at a time in our country, and our culture, where this gospel community with a healthy focus on the gospel word is certainly not automatic, and requires our intentionality.

I wish I could just say that and have you understand and experience yourself the same passion and clarity that I have on this topic through the books I have read, sermons I have listened to, conversations I have had, and illumination from the Bible I have experienced. I am overwhelmed right now with resources like this that say I lot better than I am now the ins and outs of this reality. When I started this blog, my original idea was just to lead people to these resources, in a hope that those resources would lead them to the Bible, which would lead them to Jesus. So that’s what I want to happen, ultimately. What I say is going to burn someday, whereas the Word of God will last forever.

But then I realized that if you’re reading this blog you might be utilizing all the extra time you have, and expecting you to dig into other resources is a bit of a stretch (though if you’re reading this in place of reading the Bible, stop! Go read the Word and forget about me). But anyway, I have felt convicted to summarize these things for you the best I can. This has made my job harder and discernment through the Holy Spirit all the more crucial. Much of the below is verbatim from Total Church; I pulled out quotes from each section that seemed to summarize the theme in different aspects of what we consider roles of the "church" (community, not building). My words continue at the bottom with the explanation of the Gospel of the Cross.

EVANGELISM

"In view of contemporary culture, we should not underestimate the need for authenticity among the people of God. Perhaps this need is greater when cultures are being introduced to Christianity for the first time. The Western world has advantages from a Christian influence stretching back hundreds of years. But this longevity has also brought disadvantages, including a lack of credibility. People have rejected the gospel word in part because they have not been exposed to credible gospel community. Churches have often stood aloof from society. Evangelicals have tended to run away from marginalized urban areas to populate more comfortable suburbs. Christians are often perceived as irrelevant and self-righteous. If these perceptions have any basis, we should not point the finger too quickly at people's spiritual blindness. Jesus gives the world the right to judge the sincerity of our profession on the basis of our love for each other. In other words, we should face with humility the challenge of unbelief. Our response should be one of repentance and faith resulting in lives of authentic corporate existence lived boldly before a skeptical and apathetic world."

SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT

"God has a strategy to exalt his Son and magnify his grace. That strategy is to chose the foolish, weak, and lowly people of the world as his own.....The big question is, why is the church in the West failing to reach the poor and the marginalized in our society? If our churches do not reflect the reality Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 1, then we have to ask ourselves, concerning the message we have proclaimed, the way we have proclaimed it, the church cultures we have created, the expectation we have of church members, whether in some or all of these ways we have been untrue to the message of the cross. We have left room for boasting."

CHURCH PLANTING

"It is sometimes said that those committed to church planting fall into two camps. The first camp includes those whose primary concern is mission and who see church (in the form of church planting) as the most biblical or most convenient way to pursue their commitment to mission. The primary concern of the second camp is the church. They see mission (in the form of church planting) as the best way to pursue their radical view of the church......There is a third camp - those whose primary concern is gospel-centered communities, whose priority is the gospel, and who see Christian community as the natural expression of the gospel. The New Testament pattern of church life implies a regular transplanting of churches. This creates a missionary dynamic in which new leaders can emerge and the church can re-invent itself. Church planting is part of normal church life. At present church planting carries a certain mystique. Church planters are portrayed as a unique kind of rugged pioneer. But we need to create a culture in which transplanting is normal. Every local church should be aiming to transplant and raise up church planters."

WORLD MISSION

"At present the military and economic might of Western nations is struggling to counter the threat of international terrorism. It is proving difficult to defeat an enemy made up of local cells working towards a common mission with high autonomy but shared values. They are flexible, responsive, opportunistic, influential, and effective. Together they seem to have an impact on our world far beyond what they would if they formed themselves into a structured, identifiable organization. Churches can and should adopt the same model with a greater impact as we 'wage peace' on the world."

DISCIPLESHIP AND TRAINING

"Let us make a bold statement: truth cannot be taught effectively outside of close relationships. The reason is because truth is not primarily formal; it is dynamic. The truth of the gospel becomes compelling as we see it transforming lives in the rub of daily, messy relationships.....Our lives, individually and corporately, are all too often indistinguishable from those who are strangers to the grace of God. Jesus commanded his disciples to go and and disciple the nations by teaching them to obey all that he commanded. The reason we fail to respond to that exhortation is not that the commands of Jesus are hard to comprehend. The most significant obstacle in the interpretative process is sin! That is precisely why discipleship is essential. In becoming a Christian, I am a disciple, but that is an identity, not an event. I never stop being a disciple, and I never reach the point where I no longer require daily discipleship by the gospel word in gospel community."

PASTORAL CARE

"Marriage and self-harming are just two examples that reflect the myriad of issues faced by broken people in a fallen world. Often it is at these points of "crisis" when life is painful, difficult and messy, that the hiding places of our confidence are exposed.....In a community where the Holy Spirit is at work through the gospel, there is no better place to be than among the people of God when the word of God is skillfully applied by the Spirit of God."

SPIRITUALITY

"The invitation is to become part of the new people of God, the bride of Christ. It suggests a spirituality with much more communal orientation. Here is a spirituality in which we grasp the amazing dimensions of Christ's love 'together with all the saints' (Ephesians 3:18). We model and embody God's love for one another (1 John 4:12). I have a relationship with God because we have a relationship with God. There are persons of God because there is a people of God. What does this mean in practice? First, it means we should prioritize prayer with others over prayer alone. Second, we must not separate our relationship with God from our relationship with others. Third, we need to exhort and encourage one another daily."

THEOLOGY

"In Ephesians 4:11-16, Paul affirms the role of teachers, but suggests their role is 'to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.' Notice that we reach 'knowledge of the Son of God' together. Our understanding progresses as we grow together. My growth as a Christian is in some sense linked to your growth. Only together do we attain maturity."

APOLOGETICS

"Modern Christianity has developed a rational apologetic. We engage modern society with rational proofs of God's existence. We provide scientific data to defend divine creation. We have developed logical responses to the questions raised by suffering. All of these presuppose that modern people find the Christian faith intellectually weak. But the problem is not an intellectual problem. The problem is hearts that refuse to live under God's reign. We reject God. It is a relational problem. And if it is a relational problem, it requires a relational apologetic. What will commend the gospel are lives lived in obedience to the gospel and a community life that reflects God's triune community of love. People will not believe until they are genuinely open to exploring the truth about God. They become open as they see that it is good to know God. And they see that it is good to know God as they see the love of the Christian community. As Francis Schaeffer said, 'Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful. Christian community is the ultimate apologetic.'

"We need to persuade people that our story, the story of God, is true. But they will only explore its truth if we can first persuade them that it might be a better story. We need to address their hearts before we can begin to address the questions in their heads. We have a better story than any of the alternatives. We need to awaken a desire for God. We need to make people want Christianity to be true. Then we might be able to persuade them that it is true."

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

"Mutual responsibility between the generations is normative for family life and the way in which values are transmitted. Should that not be normative for church also? As those relationships develop and grow over the years, and as the child moves into adolescence, the strength of those inter generational friendships can be powerful means of grace. In the purposes of God they can be ways of keeping the young adult from becoming one among the hundreds who leave our churches each week never to return."

SUCCESS

"On the final day, what is unseen will be revealed (Mark 4:21-23), and what is small will fill the earth. But in the present, God's kingdom is secret. It grows unseen. It is small in the eyes of this world. We need to trust God's word and God's reign. Success is not defined in terms of what can be seen, for God's kingdom is unseen. The crown of righteousness is given not to those who have led large congregations, but to those like Paul who can say, 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.' (2 Timothy 4:7-8) Success is to be faithful to Christ and his word.....The future of mission does not lie in grand strategies or meta structures. Christ is building his church, for the most part unseen, in the shape of thousands of small congregations. This is the future of the church - the sovereignty of the risen Christ and the 'church of the poor'."

THE GOSPEL OF THE CROSS

(Back to my words) As I have been reading all these books and articles, and going through this journey with other Christians about how to balance the gospel word and authentic gospel community in a way that brings glory to God, joy and transformation to people, and a glimpse of God’s Kingdom on earth, this has become my prayer:

Lord, please do not let the problems I have with some of these approaches to or presentations of community (which you have convicted me are legitimate), become an excuse for me to avoid the challenges in these approaches and presentations that will make me whole and gain people access to your presence and the reason they were created.

For example, many definitions of “the gospel” in emerging and incarnational community literature are confusing, which is the same as saying they are inadequate. I do not believe that the gospel is salvation in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone, and anything else. The Gospel is not of Jesus Christ and. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Period. I believe in social justice and kingdom community and morality (etc.), but these things are not the gospel. They are the fruits and implications of the gospel, without which the gospel has no impact. But they are not the gospel. If they become the gospel, we lose the gospel; the fully sufficient work of Christ will be mixed with our own works (Mark Dever). We are saved into community; we are not saved by community. We are saved by Jesus. We are saved into a life of love towards others; we are not saved by our love of others, or their love towards us. We are saved by Jesus. We are saved into the Spirit-led process of holiness and sanctification; we are not saved by our holiness. We are saved by Jesus. The reason it is important to distinguish between the gospel and implication is that the gospel is most fundamentally about the cross of Jesus Christ. And if it is most fundamentally about anything else, it leaves room for pride.

Only the cross ultimately removes all boasting and leaves us helpless at the feet of Jesus. Only the cross completely destroys our pride and self-reliance and conquers our sin. Only the cross offers a sufficient answer to and hope for the question of suffering. The cross shows us not just touchy feely love for our neighbor, but sacrificial, radical, offensive love that enables us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. Only the cross completely saves us from both younger brother rebellion and elder brother religion. Preaching the message of the cross builds a culture of confession in churches and communities instead of an environment where hidden sin destroys from the inside out (Matt Chandler). Without the cross, how can love be anything but self-centered and works-based? Without the cross, the rock that Christ is building His church on will not be centered on the true character and nature of His person and work, but on our good deeds (which aren’t that good). As Ed Stetzer says, the church is not the Kingdom of God, but it is birthed by the kingdom and in its wake. The church exists, he says, to be a sign and instrument of the kingdom, so that when people look into your church (not the building, but the community) they see what the kingdom is like. But if this is centered on us and not the person and work of Jesus, than what they see will be just sinful human beings making an inadequate effort at love and good deeds.

The less we talk about the cross, the more confused the outside world becomes between the gospel message and the peace corps message. The less we talk about the cross, the more confused and crippled the Body of Christ becomes in the preservation and proclamation of the power of God unto salvation. Paul said he resolved to know only one thing: Jesus Christ and him crucified. He talked about other things, yes, but never in any direction other than towards the centrality of the cross. Why aren’t we talking about it more? Are we really worried about what the world will think? Are we trying to please men or please God? Do we think that God’s word will come back to Him empty?

Turning the Gospel into anything more than the substitutionary death and supernatural resurrection of Jesus Christ and resulting grace for those who believe, completely apart from works, will inevitably and eventually lead to works-based righteousness. If we bank our life on anything other than the unmerited gift of God through Jesus Christ, which destroys all pride and removes all boasting, then we are too sinful to prevent any alternative or additional hope from becoming self-centered and therefore devastating. I believe this deeply. It is not an assault on community or evangelism or mission to our culture, but it is a clarification so that our community, our evangelism, and our mission isn’t missing the most important thing, which is the only thing that leads to authentic conversion and reconciliation with God, and as implication, to kingdom community. The Kingdom of God is not people just doing life together without an understanding and experience of the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross. I’m sorry. It just isn’t.

NOT A PLACE TO HIDE

But!!! I don’t want my issue with confusing gospel explanations to become my excuse to ignore the biblical and profound challenges of living an incarnational and missional lifestyle. The Gospel of the Cross is not a place to hide, it is a place to live. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, and if I don’t account for that in my posture and proclamation, than I am beating at the air. Many have articulated this differently, but a full understanding of the human condition as presented in the Bible shows that people do not reject God out some kind of intellectual obstacle, but because of a moral resistance to live other than the way they choose. If I ignore the heart issue of unbelief, and only focus on the head issue, than my hearers or readers (you) will never want to believe, which means they will never be able to believe. The way they will want to believe is when they see an authentic gospel community that embraces them and loves them without any pretense, the way God loves us and demonstrated to us in the sacrifice of His Son on the cross. Jesus told the church in Ephesus to repent of their aspiration for truth that didn’t affect their heart, or He would remove their lampstand. I am very convicted by this.

I don’t want to remain in my comfort zone of books and blogs and sermons and not go across the street or downtown or overseas to help and love people who are searching for God. I don’t want to not listen to people at coffee shops because I am too busy writing and reading about theology. I don’t want to not live among people who are sinners, as if I was not a sinner myself. I don’t want to not love others unconditionally, or only love them when I think it will benefit me, because of my obsession with sound doctrine, as if the implication of sound doctrine was not love. I don’t want to neglect the relational aspect of communion with God, and miss out on the insight and transforming power of witnessing God working through others. I don’t want to eat meals by myself in a hurry so I can finish a book or go to a church service or watch a game or go to bed, and miss the fellowship and presence of the Holy Spirit when people gather over food. I don’t want to spend all my time at home and at work, and miss out on the spontaneous and authentic community that is experienced at a “third place”. I don’t want the time I do spend at home and at work to be any less intentional in my expectation of gospel community than at church events or meetings. I don’t want to excuse myself from mission and service out of selfishness, or busyness, or cowardice, and miss out on the front row seat to the coming of God’s kingdom that is seen by taking care of someone who is hurting.

I hope I can maintain my vigor for the gospel word and the centrality of the cross of Christ while experiencing the balance with, and power of, authentic gospel community. If I can’t, than I don’t think I’ll be the person God created me to be, or the living sacrifice He intends to use for His glory. I’ll just be either another religious hypocrite or another heretical peacemaker. Neither honors our Lord or models His grace for our dying world.