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Theology

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Ask Roger

How Can I Know God Exists?

by Roger Barrier & Brie Barrier Wetherbee
written by Roger Barrier & Brie Barrier Wetherbee

How Can I Know God Exists?

Dear Roger and Julie,

I have wrestled with questions about God for as long as I can remember. How do I know for sure that He is real?

Sincerely,

Joe

People of all ages have serious questions that cry out for answers. “Why does God seem to answer some people’s prayers and not others?” “If God is all loving and all-powerful, why does He allow so much suffering in the world?” “How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?”

But the one we hear most often is this:

HOW CAN I KNOW THAT A GOD I CAN’T SEE REALLY EXISTS?

“Without faith it is impossible to please God. Those who come to God must believe that he exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)

“Does God exist?” is an age-old question. Many of us were educated in schools and universities where we were taught that everything in the universe evolved by chance. We were made to feel that to believe in God is to be mentally weak, unintellectual, or not politically correct.

What a shame. We don’t have to check our brains at the school room door. Any reasonable person can easily defend the existence of God.

LET’S TALK ABOUT PROOFS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.

  1. The Causal Proof: Creation requires a cause.

Imagine that I am holding a hula hoop and everything in the universe is located inside this circle. Ask the question, Who or what caused all of this to exist?

The answer can lie in only one of two places. The ultimate cause must either be located inside the circle or outside the circle.

If the cause of everything is located inside the circle, then you still must ask, “Where did that cause come from?”

The only rational explanation for all that lies inside the circle is to locate the cause and source outside the circle!

See the universe; there must have been a Creator outside of it who caused it.

Does the Bible have anything to say about this? Take a look at these two verses:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV)

“Jesus is over all creation. All things were created in Him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. All things have been created by him and for him. Before anything was created, he was already there. He holds everything together.” (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV)

Everything has a cause.

  • The Teleological Proof: God must exist because every design has a designer.

Look at the intricacies of the universe. The teleological proof answers the question: “Who is responsible for the design, symmetry, and order that we see all around us?”

The teleological proof also challenges the modern argument that life and the created order came into existence by chance.

For centuries, man looked at the complexities, beautiful intricacies and symmetry of the universe and assumed that there was a master designer behind it all.

This view was totally unchallenged until the 1800s. During the Age of Reason, many believed that science could explain everything. God was taken completely out of the equation and the supernatural was explained away in terms of the natural.

Hebrews 11:3 teaches that God created the universe. It had a cause and design: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Scientists teach that the universe is a random chance collision of floating gases set into motion by a random series of events that produced random amino acids which swirled together to produce a molecule and eventually evolved to us today.

How reasonable is this theory?

No scientist can adequately explain where the gases came from in the first place. Many blush in embarrassment at the mathematical probabilities of a chance collision of gases producing even a single structured molecule …  let alone a process as complex as photosynthesis or as breathtaking as an eagle in flight.

Here is our challenge for you. Take the back off your laptop computer, look at the tiny circuits, crystals, switches, and components—then go and sit out under a tree and ask yourself if that laptop computer was designed and assembled by an intelligent being, or if it was the result of a random explosion in a metal factory?

This will give you an appreciation of the teleological argument for the existence of God who alone can account for the order, symmetry, and beauty we see around us every day.

Next time you hold a baby, ask yourself: Is this fantastic, complex being really the result of a cosmic accident?

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above declares His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1 NIV)

3. The Ontological Proof: The existence of humankind implies the existence of God.

Consider the question: “Why do we find men and women all over the world worshipping a higher being?”

Our very existence points to God. Every culture believes in a higher power; someone or something that is greater than we are. Deep down, we all know that we are created beings … that we come from somewhere.

C.S. Lewis once said that it takes much more faith to be an atheist than to believe in the existence of God. In other words, it is much harder to believe we came from nothing than that we come from something … or Someone.

Does the Bible talk about this?

“So, Paul saw all of the Greek idols and proclaimed “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:22-23 ESV)

4. The Anthropological Proof: God must exist because all humankind has a moral code that reflects a moral Creator.

God must exist because a universal moral code is stamped on the hearts of all human beings, transcending culture, race, language, and location. The existence of this moral code demands that humankind was created in the image of a moral God.

If human beings simply evolved from chance collisions from primeval gases, if we are simply grown-up germs, or a recent improvements of apes, how does one account for the fact that around the world we find a moral code of truth over deceit, kindness over violence, loyalty over backstabbing, love over hate, justice over injustice?

Can chance produce a consistent moral code?

Pose the moral code question to an atheist: “What is your theory regarding the moral code of humankind?”

No one has an answer, ever.

“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” (Romans 2:14-15 NIV)

The four classical proofs above are all very reasonable. Thousands of scientists, theologians, and philosophers have written to support each one. In concert with them, we believe that any reasonable person must examine them and conclude that God exists.

But I know that most people don’t come to God out of reason. They come out of experience.

To the four classical proofs, I will add a fifth.

5. The Religious Experience Proof: Millions of people have had a personal experience with God.

God must exist because hundreds of millions of well-adjusted people all over the world claim that they have experienced the love, forgiveness, peace, comfort and presence of God.

This can’t be taken lightly, especially when we consider the similarity of those experiences across the ages. There are also many, many experiences with God recorded in Scripture, from His visual and verbal interaction with Moses at the burning bush to His heart-to-heart conversations with David to Jesus’s time with the disciples.

A loving God has attempted on many occasions to establish contact with every living creature on the face of this earth.

Honest people can all remember an occasion late at night when God came near and said, “Come on, come on, you know that I am real. Stop pretending that I am not, that you don’t need me. Open your mind and your heart and see what I can do with your life.”

Every person here can remember a visit from God sometime in your life journey. The question is, what did you do with it? How did you respond? What action did you take?

Now, put all five arguments (cosmological, teleological, ontological, anthropological, and religious experience) on the scale and watch the scale tip in favor of the existence of God.

People who don’t believe in God have a lot of explaining to do.

That is why, ultimately there are only two religions in the world.

 Man saves or God saves. Every world religion other than Christianity comes down to “Man saves by earning God’s favor.”

Christianity is accomplished by God, not God and man. God sent His Son for us. Through His Son, He bestows perfection and righteousness as a good gift … the free gift of eternal life.

You must respond. The biblical requisite for heaven is faith—trust. Transfer your faith from you to the cross.

Well Joe,

We hope that these proofs are very helpful to you as you work through your own beliefs regarding God’s existence and as you discuss your thoughts with others.

Love,

Roger and Julie

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VariousArticles

What Do Our Teens Believe?

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

Are you encouraged or discouraged about teens? If you’re a teen, what is your perception of your peers? Are you hopeful? Or pessimistic? Not long ago, One Hope released a massive global study on the state of teens worldwide.[i] In the report, we find reasons to be encouraged and causes for concern.

 

Spending time reflecting on what teens believe and do ought to help shape the way we pray for them and relate to them. I’ll process five sections of the report: Christian practice, struggles, social media, sexuality, and the meaning of life in teens’ lives and then draw some conclusions.

 

On Christian Practice:

·        51% of US teens claimed to be Christian, yet only 8% display the beliefs and habits of a committed Christian.

·        46% of Christian teens never read the Bible.

·        58% of Christian teens believe they don’t have a responsibility to share their faith.

 

I appreciate that One Hope didn’t just crank out their survey with a Christians vs. non-Christians binary, they dug into beliefs and practices. Much more important than whether one identifies as a Christian or not are their beliefs and practices. One Hope defined a committed Christian as one who: 

·        Believes that God exists and they can have a personal relationship with him.

·        Believes Jesus is the Son of God.

·        Believes that forgiveness of sins is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.

·        Believes the Bible is the Word of God.

·        Prays at least weekly.

·        Reads Scripture on their own at least weekly.

These are pretty strong criteria. If I had my druthers, I would have included weekly church attendance and a higher standard of praying and reading the Bible than once a week. But only 8% of teens qualified as committed Christians even by these fairly loose restrictions.

 

As parents, one of the most important things we can do is to have regular family devotion times that include prayer and reading the Bible. We are setting up our teens for failure if we put the responsibility on them to have quiet times on their own. While I would certainly want to encourage my teens to have their own quiet times, I think that creating familial rhythms is much more sustainable than putting the pressure on them to carve out healthy spiritual practices on their own.

 

 

On Struggles:

·        60% of teens and 30% of committed Christian teens struggle with depression.

·        35% of teens and 12% of committed Christian teens struggle with suicidal thoughts.

·        50% of teens and 36% of churchgoing Christian teens struggle with pornography.

·        48% of 13–15-year-olds have viewed porn in the past 3 months.

·        51% of 18–19-year-olds have viewed porn in the past 3 months.

·        Unmarried Christian teens are more likely than non-Christian teens to be sexually active.

 

This should sober us. Many older people critique teens and young adults as entitled or lazy without first empathizing with them. It is staggering that 60% of teens struggle with depression and a jaw-dropping 35% of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts. There are a lot of ways that the world is easier today than it was 50 years ago, but mental health is not one of them.

 

Take a look at how these challenges are hitting young teens. 13-15 year-olds struggle the most with suicidal thoughts. Note also that porn usage is basically flat among teens. If parents believe that they don’t need to be leaning into heavy-duty conversations about sexuality and suicide until their teens have their permit, they’ve waited far too long. Kids are exposed to porn and are struggling with mental health at startling young ages.

 

There is no small encouragement here that rates of depression and suicidal thoughts are more than half for committed Christians. When we ground ourselves in the truth of the gospel and root ourselves in the Word and prayer, there is a real impact on mental health.

 

The world looks at pastors and biblical counselors and shakes their collective head at our naivete in encouraging those struggling with depression to read the Bible, pray, and gather in worship and community. We live in a pharmacological age, where we think the primary solution for mental health is found in labs. A good pastor and biblical counselor doesn’t deny that there may be a physiological component to mental health that may require medication, but insists that there is always a spiritual dimension to mental health. To be clear, there are certainly cases where medication is helpful, but it is always the case that we ought to press into spiritual answers remedies.

 

Finally, it is important to note that while our teens are battling pornography better than the world, their sexual activity in relationships is no better (it’s slightly worse!). We ought to be reminded that merely knowing something is wrong does little to change our behavior. How can we speak to our teens’ hearts better in this matter and shape their affections?

 

On Social Media:

·        Teens in the US spend an average of 7 hours and 35 minutes online daily.

·        65% of teens say that social media improves their life satisfaction.

·        Depression rates for heavy internet users (10+ hours daily) is 20% higher than light internet users (below 4 hours daily).

·        Suicidal thoughts are 28% higher for heavy internet users than for light internet users.

 

It’s startling to me that 65% of teens say that social media improves their life satisfaction when study after study tells us of the significant negative mental health impact of social media. Adults need to recognize that those adverse impacts are even worse for teens and model healthy behavior. In addition, we need to be more proactive in creating healthy boundaries for our teens.

 

On Sexuality:

·        30% of teens believe that marriage should be exclusively between a man and a woman.

·        36% of Christian teens believe that marriage should be exclusively between a man and a woman.

 

It isn’t surprising that so few teens believe in a traditional understanding of marriage, but it is a bit sobering that so few Christians have a conventional view of marriage. We should never assume that our teens are absorbing a biblical worldview. We need to have proactive and biblically saturated conversations about worldview with our kids from a young age.

 

On the Meaning of Life:

·        45% of Christian teens say that their family is the most important influence on the meaning of life.

·        8% of Christian teens say that the Bible or pastors are the most important influence on the meaning of life.

 

It’s encouraging that Christian teens say that their parents influence them more than their non-Christian peers. If you are a parent, your teen likely still listens to you more than their friends (even though they might not act like it). More discouraging is just how low our teens’ view of the Bible is. Very few view the Bible as the ultimate authority in their lives. It’s unsurprising, then, that they would read the Bible so infrequently.

 

Conclusions:

More than anything, I hope that you read these findings with sympathy and care for Generation Z. They are growing up in a confusing time with massive challenges. There are so many reasons to be grateful for the technological innovation of the past twenty years. The opportunities for the spread of the gospel and communication across the globe cannot be understated.

 

For those of us whose first exposure to porn was through magazines and not the internet and whose identity was shaped by face-to-face social interactions and not social media we ought to be less critical and more supportive of this generation. May we come alongside in prayer, in relationship, and in service that God might grab hold of many struggling hearts for his glory and their good.

 

And finally, let us be hopeful. In every generation, the path of discipleship is costly and difficult. And yet, God’s ways are the best ways and he pursues us no matter the cultural and individual obstacles.

 

[i] Over 8,000 teens were surveyed by One Hope: https://onehope.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/US-GYC-Report-3.pdf

www.thebeehivelive.

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Sermons

Why Four Gospels?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Imagine four people on four different street corners who simultaneously witness the same automobile accident. We know that their descriptions will not match, because each one saw from a different perspective.

We now know that four observers standing on the same corner will not see the same thing. The brain is not like a tape recorder. It observes the high points of what it sees and fills in what it assumes happened between the high points. The brain is quite unreliable for deciphering exactly what happened. Matt Bradley, Genome

According to the Old Testament law, two or three witnesses were needed to verify an account. Just think; God gave us four—that’s two extra Gospels for good measure!

One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (Deuteronomy 19:15)

Next, the word “Gospel” means “Good News.” It’s good news that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins.

Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

The Gospels Are Not …

The Gospels are not biographies. For example, we know basically nothing about the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. The gospel writers give only enough information about Jesus’ background to prepare us for His death, resurrection, and ascension—and the significance of all three.

The Gospels are in no way objective, and they were never intended to be. They are powerfully, persuasively written to convince people that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world (John 20:30-31).

The Gospels are not in chronological order. Each gospel writer organized his material under the influence of the Holy Spirit for best presenting the “good news” about Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew is a great example of the use of this literary tool.

God superintended the writing of each gospel, but He didn’t dictate them. He utilized the personality and individual style of each gospel writer.

The Gospels Are Divided into Two Groups

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “Synoptic” Gospels. “Synoptic” means “to see together.” These first three Gospels record the life of Christ from much the same perspective; they look alike and follow one another. John’s Gospel is not at all like any of the other three.

How Mark Wrote the Gospel of Mark

About 60 A.D., Mark decided to write down an account of Jesus’ life and ministry from his perspective.

Mark used Peter’s sermon to Cornelius (Acts 10:37-42) as the outline for his book:

You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

Papias (130 A.D.) wrote: “Mark is a copy of one of Peter’s sermons.”

Irenaeus (180 A.D.): “Mark transmitted to us in writing the things that Peter preached.”

In summary, Mark presents Jesus Christ as a servant: “The son of man came to serve” (Mark 10:45).

Perhaps that’s why Mark has no birth story. Mark has no genealogy. Who cares about the ancestry of a servant?

The book just begins. Mark uses the word “immediately” often, as the servant moves rapidly from one task to the next. Mark provides little interpretation or teaching. Jesus’ actions and miracles simply speak for themselves.

By the way, Mark puts his signature on the book in Mark 14:51-52. He camouflaged himself in the Garden in order to witness the arrest of Jesus. A Roman soldier grabbed him by his robe; but Mark wiggled out of his robe and ran home naked. Only Mark could have known this story.

How Matthew Wrote the Gospel of Matthew

About five years after Mark wrote his account, about, 65 A.D., Matthew used at least four sources to compose his gospel:

  1. He had a copy of the Gospel of Mark.
  1. He had in hand a copy of “Q.” Q source is a thought to be a collection of the sayings and teachings of Jesus which both Matthew and Luke used in writing their Gospels. Since the material in Q is identical to both Luke and Matthew, there is a very good chance that Q existed and was available to them when they wrote their Gospels. Nothing from Mark or John is found in Q. Also, we have not discovered the Q sources itself … yet.
  1. Matthew used the birth narratives from Joseph’s side of the family. Matthew alone tells us about wise men, kings, gifts, messenger angels, moving stars, King Herod, worship and killing babies—the kind of things in which kings are interested.
  1. Matthew records his own personal experiences with Jesus (most of which appear in no other gospel).

Matthew was a Roman tax collector who was interested in the power and authority of Rome. He began his gospel with a lengthy genealogy that validated Jesus’ royal lineage for the Jewish leaders. Ernest Hemingway wrote that if he were composing the Gospel of Matthew, he never would’ve started with a boring genealogy. He obviously would begin with the resurrection story to get everyone’s attention.

However, it’s important to note that Matthew’s genealogy includes five women, which was unheard of in those days. He included Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, “Uriah’s wife” Bathsheba, and Mary, all women who followed God in difficult circumstances.

Matthew alone presented five teaching sections describing how to live in the kingdom, spread throughout his gospel.

Finally, Matthew alone included the Great Commission Jesus gave to His followers in the same way that a king would give orders (Matthew 28:19-20) to his subjects;

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

How Luke Wrote the Gospel of Luke

About five years after Mark wrote Mark and during the time that Matthew wrote Matthew, about 65 A.D., Luke used at least four sources to compose his gospel:

  1. He had in hand a copy of the Gospel of Mark.
  1. He had access to Q source (see above).
  1. Luke shares the birth narratives from Mary’s side of the family. Luke alone tells us about shepherds, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the visit from the angel Gabriel, Mary’s positive choice to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit, the singing of shepherds and angels, and Mary’s song which she sang after visiting Elizabeth.
  1. Research from those who met Jesus personally. (Luke is the only gospel writer who never met or saw Jesus.)

Luke was a Gentile physician born in Greece. He had a heart for people in need. The book has a special emphasis on women and children. He tells the birth story from Mary’s side of the family. Luke includes things that she would be interested in—like shepherds, mangers, baby clothes, singing and angels.

Luke’s genealogy is from the human side of Jesus. It’s obvious that some of the material in Luke was the result of talking to others who knew Jesus personally.

The Good Samaritan parable is unique to Luke, as are the stories of the lost sheep and coin.

Finally, the Gospel of Luke is the first volume of a two-volume work written by Luke known as “Luke and Acts.” He addressed it to a man named “Theophilus,” which means “God Lover” (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-6).

How John Wrote the Gospel of John

By 95 A.D., most of the original followers of Jesus were dying out. One reason that John wrote his Gospel was to get a written record in place before all the eyewitnesses had gone to heaven.

He also wrote to fill in some of the gaps omitted by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

John utilized essentially no material from the Synoptic Gospels, except for the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 which is recorded in all four accounts.

More than any other Gospel, John presents Jesus Christ as God. For example, John didn’t include a genealogy because God doesn’t have one.

John also included long discourses and teachings by Jesus which are not included in the Synoptic Gospels. He also left his signature as “the one Jesus loved” (John 13:22-25).

One of the most unique, persuasive elements in the Gospel of John are the eight miraculous signs he selected to prove that Jesus Christ was God.

  1. Changing water to wine (John 2)
  1. Healing the centurion’s son (John 4)
  1. Healing the lame man at the pool (John 5)
  1. Walking on the water (John 6)
  1. Feeding the 5,000 (John 6)
  1. Healing the man born blind (John 9)
  1. Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11)
  1. The miraculous catch of fish (John 21)

What Did Jesus Look Like?

Just for fun, I want to share with you the Letter of Lentulus, which was likely written from the Governor of the Jerusalem to the Roman Senate to give a physical description of Jesus Christ. It dates back to the second century A.D. and is obviously a forgery. Nevertheless, there’s a good chance that it contains a reflection of Jesus’ real “appearance”:

There has appeared in our times, and there still lives, a man of great power (virtue), called Jesus Christ. The people call him prophet of truth; his disciples, son of God. He raises the dead and heals infirmities.

He is a man of medium size; he has a venerable aspect, and his beholders can both fear and love him. His hair is the color of the ripe hazelnut, straight down to the ears, but below the ears wavy and curled, with a bluish and bright reflection, flowing over his shoulders. It is parted in two on the top of the head, after the pattern of the Nazarenes. His brow is smooth and very cheerful with a face without wrinkle or spot, embellished by a slightly reddish complexion. His nose and mouth are faultless. His beard is abundant, of the color of his hair, not long, but divided at the chin. His aspect is simple and mature; his eyes are changeable and bright.

He is terrible in his reprimands, sweet and amiable in his admonitions, cheerful without loss of gravity. He was never known to laugh, but often to weep. His stature is straight, his hands and arms beautiful to behold. His conversation is grave, infrequent, and modest. He is the most beautiful among the children of men.

However, St. Augustine has the final word. He wrote in the third century: “We are utterly ignorant of the earthly appearance of Christ.” Personally, I imagine a picture of Him in my mind, but I look forward to seeing Him someday!

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Bible Studies

Who Is Jesus, Really?

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

Have You Answered The Ultimate Question?

No matter who we are we must find an answer to the ultimate question of life: “Who is Jesus?”

Why is this the ultimate question? Because Jesus made some extravagant claims about himself which, if true, can have a life-changing impact. And not just for individuals, but for nations, as history has shown.

When asked who Jesus is I come up with three answers that seem to me to be most important. If these things are true about Jesus then we must wrestle with what that means in our lives. Discovering who Jesus is is not simply an academic exercise. It is much more. So, allow me to give you my three answers and then three ways we must examine the claims of Christ if we want to see a radical change in our lives.

Who is Jesus?

  1. He is the Son of God
  2. He is the Savior
  3. He is the Lord

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (Matthew 27:43; Mark 5:7; John 10:36, 14:28). The Jewish leaders who heard him understood Jesus’ claim to mean that he was equal with God (John 5:18). This is an extraordinary claim, unequalled in the world’s religions. But for an extraordinary claim to be proven true, extraordinary evidence is required. Jesus produced that evidence through miraculous hearings never before seen, like the blind and the lame being instantly cured (Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22; John 9:32, 10:38). His final proof of his identity came when he was raised from the dead (Acts 17:3,31; Romans 4:25).

If Jesus is the Son of God then certainly that means something significant. He means he is endowed with authority that no one else has. It means that if he requires something from us we would be foolish to ignore him or put him off. Indeed, he does require something from us, he requires something extraordinary from us. He requires that we believe in him (John 3:36; I John 3:23).

Jesus is our Savior (II Peter 2:20; John 1:29; I John 4:14). The term, savior, is a particularly Jewish concept. We’ve heard it so much in our modern day that we simply think of a savior as one who saves someone from something bad. But under the ancient Jewish context from which the term comes it means something much more. Savior refers to a blood sacrifice for sin. The terms has its root in the Old Testament passages that prescribe a system of animal sacrifices to atone for sin. By calling Jesus our savior we are effectively saying that he is the sacrifice for our sins. That is, in fact, precisely what the New Testament writers claimed (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17; I John 2:2).

Jesus is the Lord (Romans 10:9; II Corinthians 4:5; Colossians 2:6; Hebrews 13:20; II Peter 1:2) . What does it mean to be Lord? It essentially means that he is a ruler, a king. But he is not just any king. Jesus is the king of kings, the king over all creation (I Timothy 6:15; Revelation 19:16). Jesus claimed lordship for himself after his resurrection when he told his disciples, “ALL authority on heaven and earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).

If logically follows that if Jesus is lord, then he has authority to demand anything from us. To use a word from days of old we can say that Jesus is lord and we are his subjects.

Before I move on, stop for a moment and reflect about these three claims of Christ and what they mean. Jesus is the Son of God who has all authority. How did he exercise that authority? He died for our sin, becoming our savior and commands that we believe in him. These claims are extravagant, but his command is also very simple. Believe in him. If we refuse to believe in him then we deny his saving role, his lordship, and his deity.

Finding Personal Meaning In Jesus’ Claims

There are many people the world over and through history who have believed in these three claims of Christ, but his claims did not change their lives. That is because knowing who Jesus is is more than an intellectual exercise. Remember the words of James who said the “The demons believe and tremble” (James 2:19).

There are three areas of our lives in which we must come to a right understanding of who Jesus is. When we do this our lives begin to radically change. When we do this we will know and experience God’s love and forgiveness. These there areas are:

  1. Intellectually—This means that we must get to know the claims of Jesus and information about his life, death, and resurrection. We must know what are sometimes called the “true facts” about Jesus. But caution is in order. A knowledge of Jesus is not enough. We need more than intellectual knowledge.
  2. Emotionally—When we really discover what Jesus has done for us, suffering on the cross for the payment of our sin, we should be hit in the emotions. We should feel shame and guilt for our sin and what it drove God to do in order to save us. Discovering the truth about his resurrection should give us joy knowing that his death was not in vain and that through his resurrection we have an eternal hope. But even if we experience both an intellectual and emotional change, having strong feelings about Jesus is not enough.
  3. Responsibly—Knowing and experiencing is not enough. It is what we do practically in the world around us that demonstrates that our intellectual and emotional change is a real spiritual experience. The person who calls himself a Christian and even uses flowery words to describe their faith, but do not openly live for him are not Christians in the right sense of the word. James said, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). The Apostle John said, “Whoever says, ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (I John 2:4-6).

Conclusion

Have you answered the ultimate question? Have you grappled with the abundance of evidence for who Jesus is? A true understanding of who Jesus is will transform a person. It will transform you.

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Articles

Is Our Kingdom His Kingdom?

by Russell Moore
written by Russell Moore

Confession: I have a terrible problem of talking, and sometimes walking, in my sleep. It’s an old family trait that I’m carrying on, much to my family’s sometimes dismay. Last night, Maria woke me as I was standing upright in the bed, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. When she told me about it the next day, I mused that maybe my subconscious was just celebrating the Fourth of July weekend, and that if anyone ever questions my patriotism I can just say, “I literally pledge allegiance to that flag in my sleep.”

My dog Waylon is unpatriotic. He hates the Fourth of July. He gets into a nervous frenzy over the sound of fireworks in our neighborhood. Whether you’re an American or not, this is as good a time as any to think about what it means to have a patriotism that is shaped by the gospel, rather than one that is armed against it. 

For all human beings, there’s a temptation to over-react to the last bad thing, to try to stay so far away from the last disaster that one runs headlong into an equal and opposite disaster on the other side. The same could be true here. 

Most of us have seen the sorts of “Christian” services that are indistinguishable from a patriotic display on the national mall, just with prayers interspersed between the flags and songs. And, sadly, most of us have seen people re-work some of what they claimed to be their deepest convictions, not because they changed their minds by study of Scripture, but because one set of politicians won and another set lost. That’s dispiriting, and is leaving a wreckage of cynicism in its wake. I don’t deny any of that, and I’ve written and spoken about it constantly. But most people who read this newsletter don’t fall into that temptation. Some might even come (rightly) to see the rejection of this sort of civil religion as implying that one must choose between the kingdom of God and love of country. This would be a mistake. 

The gospel is not a means to an end. The gospel is not a tool to excite nationalistic passions or to form social bonds or to teach civics. The gospel is the announcement that God has raised the crucified Jesus from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places as the rightful ruler of the cosmos. Every other allegiance, then, is subordinate to his lordship. The follower of Jesus, then, is to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). Jesus’ words here contrasted the kingdom of God not with Baal worship or strip clubs, but with food and clothing. The teaching is not that seeking the kingdom leads to naked Christians on a starvation diet. As a matter of fact, Jesus teaches us to pray by showing us to ask, first, for the coming of the kingdom (Matt. 6:10) and then, immediately after that, to ask for daily bread (Matt. 6:11). The issue, in this case, is not either/or, but priority. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all the other things will be added to you. 

Love of one’s country is a good thing—just as honoring father and mother is a good thing, just as cherishing one’s spouse or children is a good thing. And yet, any one of those things can refuse to be subordinate goods, and can insist instead on being ultimate goods. That’s when they become idols. That’s, obviously, a spiritual problem for the ones drawn to the idolatry. But what we sometimes miss is that putting the kingdom first actually enables us to love these things better. 

I was surprised several years ago, in talking with cohabiting couples, about the reasons they would give for not marrying. I expected them to answer that question with a defiant cliché from some 1970s sexual revolution slogan about not needing a piece of paper to verify their love or about how marriage was slavery or some other nonsense. I found almost no one, though, who would say that. Most of the time they didn’t express a low view of marriage at all, but a very high one—higher, in fact, than the Bible teaches. Many of these people would talk about how they knew that there was their one soul-mate out there, who could meet all their physical, emotional, and sometimes even spiritual needs. This view of marriage doesn’t lead to happiness, but to exactly where it led to with these couples—to  the replacing of the goodness of marriage with a chase for a mirage. The happiest couples are those who can give themselves to their marriage, who can love each other, but who love Jesus more. 

The same is true of parenting. Some of you may have been the pinnacle of your parents’ lives—all their hopes and dreams pinned on you. No one can live up to such expectations, though, and it leads ultimately to resentment. The best parents are those who love their children, but who do not expect their children to be worthy of worship. That enables these children to be themselves, to make some mistakes, and to live their lives without carrying the weight of being the ultimate vindication of their parents’ expectations. 

You can love your parents best if you’re not crushed when you find that they make some mistakes, that they fail sometimes. You have a Father God who will never fail you, which means you can bear with those earthly echoes of that fatherhood who sometimes will fail. Those failures don’t mean they can’t be loved, just that they are not God. 

Putting these good things second actually helps us to love them more. I can have loyalty to my country if it is a secondary loyalty, not an ultimate loyalty. If my country becomes my ultimate identity, or my politics my ultimate vocation, then I will, in time, grow to hate my country because every idol, sooner or later, is seen to be too weak to do what’s asked of it (Isa. 46:1-2). 

But, with the kingdom first in our affections and in our self-identity, we can show gratitude for our country, and can serve her, willing both to criticize her missteps as well as to valorize her achievements. We can truly love the land in which we live, precisely because we know that our citizenship here is temporary (Phil. 3:20). 

You can sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” better if you love “Amazing Grace” more. You can be an American best if you are not an American first. 

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Devotionals

The “I Am’s” of Christ

by Drew Anderson
written by Drew Anderson

As the ancient Israelite people–suffering under the hands of the Egyptians–lifted their voices to God for help, He heard their cry and surprisingly responded by sending a fugitive, fearful, and fallen man to their aid. Moses was an unlikely choice to bring about God’s redemption, and yet that’s one of the principles our God employs in shaping and caring for His people.

We are, therefore, as Moses and the Israelites of old were, in need of trusting God despite our perspectives…because of who He is. God’s ways are not our ways, and His essence sustains even the most unlikely of scenarios.

In many ways, Moses was unfit as God’s deliverer of His people.

When God reveals Himself to Moses, he is an old man at 80 years old (Ex. 7:7), a murderer, a fugitive, and working for his father-in-law in an occupation despised by the Egyptians (Gen. 46:34). It is not surprising that even after God miraculously reveals Himself to Moses, he goes so far as to question God, “Then Moses said, “What if they will not believe me or listen to what I say? For they may say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’” Exodus 4:1

Nevertheless, it is Moses whom God chooses, and God quickly reveals the power and the efficacy behind His choice.

God has always existed in perfect wholeness. This fact God made clear as Moses fumbled through his fear. Wiping away all confusion, God informs Moses that He is the “I AM WHO I AM.” It was from this reality that Moses was to act, move, and respond. God is who God is, and that is enough. He is, in other words, perfectly whole, and from this wholeness, God reveals Himself.

Thus, because God is the I AM, the confidence the people of God has is three-fold:

  1. God is self-existent: God was not made and exists in completeness; therefore, everything is a derivation according to His good pleasure.
  2. God is self-sustaining: God is not dependent on anything; therefore, He is sustained within Himself.
  3. God is self-giving: From God’s wholeness, He creates and sustains for His glory and a display and experience of His goodness.

From this point, God is the I AM, that the Christian–like the Israelites of old–act, respond, and have our being.

In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son…born of a woman…born under the Law to redeem those who are under the Law. Therefore, those who look to Christ in faith for the forgiveness of their sin and reconciliation with the God who is I AM can objectively view Christ as the fullest expression of God as the “I AM WHO I AM.”

Jesus said…

  • “I AM…the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51)
    • Jesus feeds the hungry; therefore, we are satisfied.
  • “I AM…the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
    • Jesus gives light to the world; therefore, we have clarity.
  • “I AM…the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9)
    • Jesus opens the way to reconciliation with God; therefore, we have peace.
  • “I AM…the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)
    • Jesus both conquers death and gives life; therefore, we have hope.
  • “I AM…the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14)
    • Jesus cares for His people as the perfect Shepherd does for His sheep; therefore, we have protection.
  • “I AM…the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
    • Jesus provides the truth by giving His life so His people can walk in His way; therefore, we have direction.
  • “I AM…the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5)
    • Jesus brings bounty and abundance through His self-giving nature; therefore, we have delight.

God helps us healthily struggle with doubt as we consider God’s perfect wholeness as the I AM!

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Articles

Sexuality, the Bible and LGBTQ

by Andrew Walker
written by Andrew Walker

DEFINITION

Sexuality refers to God’s anthropological design and pattern for the procreative relationship between male and female and to the experience of erotic desire within that design. Gender refers to biological differences in male and female embodiment and the different cultural ways in which the creational distinctions between male and female are manifested.

SUMMARY

Sexuality refers to God’s anthropological design and pattern for the procreative relationship between male and female and to the experience of erotic desire within that design. Gender refers to biological differences in male and female embodiment and the different cultural ways in which the creational distinctions between male and female are manifested. The creational narrative of Genesis 1–2 provides the Christian with the foundational truths behind these distinctions: God created humanity, male and female, in his image for one another. To deny any part of this teaching is to subject God’s purposeful design to the desires of humanity. While much of modern culture desires to deny these distinctions and to untether gender from sexuality, the New Testament reaffirms the Old Testament’s teaching on this topic and brings the male-female distinction to its culmination in the Christ-Church relationship.

A Christian framework for gender and sexuality begins with understanding that each find their origin, structure, and purpose within God’s will for creation. Gender and sexuality, from a Christian perspective, are enchanted realities imbued with divine meaning and purpose. But as the drama of Scripture unfolds, gender and sexuality become impacted by sin. Yet, in light of redemption, the original design and purpose of gender and sexuality are reaffirmed and heightened as the New Testament explains their ultimate telos—to reflect the Christ-Church union. The assumption that gender and sexuality are ordered by God, and for God, stands in stark contrast to modernity’s view that divinizes gender and sexuality, understanding both to be ordered to, and determined by, consent and human will alone.

Sexuality and Gender in God’s Design

When speaking of sexuality and gender, what is meant by these terms?

Sexuality can have broad and narrow meanings. In a broad rendering, sexuality refers to God’s anthropological design and pattern for the procreative relationship between male and female. In a narrower scope, sexuality refers to the experience of erotic desire. Accordingly, in Scripture, sexuality is a constitutive part of human nature and human experience shaped by God’s will for creation; it is not the singular defining aspect of human identity itself.

Gender can also have broad and narrow connotations. More broadly, gender refers to biological differences in male and female embodiment. Narrowly speaking, gender refers to the creational distinctions between male and female manifested in culture (e.g., baby girls adorned in pink; baby boys adorned in blue). Gender should be understood as the cultural reality resulting from God making men and women biologically sexed and distinct. Christians need to understand that as partakers of God’s good creation, we are to acknowledge and participate in culturally-appropriate gender distinctions. This is because each culture discovers culturally-defined ways to reflect the biological and created difference of men and women. This means Christians should abide by the gender norms set by their culture insofar as what the culture dictates does not transgress God’s moral law for upholding the sex distinction between male and female (Deut. 22:5; 1 Cor. 11:3–16). For example, cross-dressing is sinful because it violates the creational boundaries between male and female that come to be expressed in culturally-appropriate gender norms. We ought to care about the gender distinctions our culture holds up since gender distinctions are a common grace mechanism for acknowledging the innate differences of males from females.

Sexuality and gender are first made known in the creational accounts of Scripture. In Genesis 1:26–28, we read of God creating man and woman in His image. Equal in their dignity, but different in their design and calling, the man and woman are then commissioned to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion.” Genesis 1 communicates both the identity of male and female, and that this identity is oriented toward a procreative union meant to populate the earth. Seen through this light, gender and sexuality are substantive pillars in fulfilling what theologians refer to as the cultural mandate.

In another rendering of humanity’s origins, we read in Genesis 2 that it is not good for man to be alone; that a helper was needed. This helper is both similar and dissimilar; similar in her humanity, yet dissimilar in her design. The man and woman—as counterparts—are intended to form a complementary union. In 2:24, it is written that “Then a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This language is at once both figurative and literal; figurative in that it describes the establishing of a distinct family unit; literal in that it testifies to the bodily union for which male and female anatomy are designed. This sexual pattern is the archetype for the Bible’s expectation for human sexual arrangements.

Several axiomatic truths related to gender and sexuality are found in the Genesis 1–2 narrative.

  1. God created. A Christian understanding for gender and sexuality begins with a foundational assumption about the universe itself. The Triune God is a God of order, not chaos, and random combination. Christians believe that the Triune God alone brings reality into existence. Reality and human experience are not self-creating or self-constituting. Christians confess that the God who creates the cosmos is the holy, sovereign, and just God who orders all aspects of reality—including sexuality and gender. Gender and sexuality are not evolutionary quirks; both find their origin in the creative will of God.
  2. God created humanity. A Christian understanding for gender and sexuality also begins with a foundational assumption about human nature. God is the creator of humanity, and as such, has the right to speak authoritatively over our lives. We are his subjects, and sexuality and gender are constitutive aspects of God’s rule over humanity. We are not self-creating or self-constituting. Sexuality and gender, then, are not plastic and endlessly malleable to fit human preference. Rather like the body, Christians believe that gender and sexuality are purposefully ordered to fit God’s will for humanity (1 Cor. 6:13). This means obedience and a commitment to living in line with God’s creative will is where holiness and human flourishing form an intersection.
  3. God created humanity in His image. Genesis speaks of God making man and woman in His image. Theologians debate all that being made in God’s image entails, but in general, we can say that we image God in our relational dimension, our structural design, and our functional capacity. While exercising caution to not reduce sexuality and gender as the defining marks of bearing God’s image, it is appropriate to assume that they contribute to the entirety of what it means to bear God’s image. Humanity existing in male and female iterations implies that our sexual design and gendered existence are participants in the fundamental nobility and dignity that human beings are said to possess because of being made in God’s image. To be made in God’s image means that no part of our humanity is purposeless or irrelevant to God’s creative intention.
  4. God created humanity male and female. When God created humanity, He did not make us sexless monads. He made humanity in male and female forms. This means that gender, and gender identity—if such a construct is at all intelligible—is an embodied reality. Male and female self-conception are not constructed from psychology alone. Male and female, according to the biblical portrait, are fixed, bodily realities; meaning they are not interchangeable or eradicable. They are objectively known; such that the identity of who we are as sexed humans is not a mystery. Lastly, male and female imply substantive differentiation. This differentiation is observed down to the chromosomal, anatomical, reproductive, physiological, and emotive levels. This physical difference starkly manifests itself in the anatomical design of male and female, which makes procreation possible and the fulfillment of the cultural mandate actionable.
  5. God created male and female for one another. God commands sexual activity to be experienced exclusively within the marital relationship of one man and one woman. The sexual distinction in Scripture bears witness to the sexual and procreative union that male and female bodies are capable of engaging in. In Scripture, sexual union ratifies the marriage covenant, signifying the existence of the marriage union intended to be permanent, monogamous, and exclusive (Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:16). Notice in Genesis 1:26–28 that the creation of man and woman in Genesis both is structural and dynamic. As male and female beings made in God’s image, their design is ordered toward a particular purpose—filling the earth, subduing it, exercising dominion. More specifically, that purpose is accomplished by male and female design—that the act of being fruitful and multiplying hinges on, and springs from, their respective sex distinction. In this account, general revelation parallels with special revelation. As each of us knows, sexual intercourse is capable of producing children, and this reality is exclusive to only one reality, male-female complementarity.

The Bible and Creation’s Manifold Witness of Gender and Sexuality

At least in contemporary debates on these issues, Christians are often tempted to treat our vision for sexuality and gender as ethical matters relevant and pertaining to Christians only. This is not a biblical way to approach such subjects. Such a view is a truncated account for explaining why Christians’s convictions on such matters are not only Christian, but universally applicable. The Bible casts a vision for sexuality and gender that is true on both special and general revelation grounds. As biblical scholar Richard Bauckham writes, “biblical commands are not arbitrary decrees but correspond to the way the world is and will be” (see God and the Crisis of Freedom: Biblical and Contemporary Perspectives, 70). When Christians discuss gender and sexuality, they must understand that the design for gender and sexuality in Scripture is the design that all humans are obligated to live within, even if they do not appear most the natural or easiest in light of sin. What Christians believe about sexuality and gender is not an “in-house” argument for debate among Christians only. The Bible understands gender and sexuality as creational realities that determine whether a society will organize itself in subjection to God’s authority or in rejection to God’s authority.

As ethicist Bernd Wannenwetsch writes, “The Christian doctrine of creation is precisely such a way of explaining why there are aspects of reality that are invested with normative moral significance” (see “Creation and Ethics: On the Legitimacy and Limitation of Appeals to ‘Nature’ in Christian Moral Reasoning,” in Within the Love of God: Essays on the Doctrine of God in Honour of Paul S. Fiddes, 209). This means that the Bible’s teaching on gender and sexuality are not sectarian. These teachings are not built on fideistic decrees or fiat. Instead, the Bible speaks to created reality in both a sinful and redeemed state—because the Lord Jesus reigns over creation and unites both creation and redemption in His gospel (see see Oliver O’Donovan, Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics). Gender and sexuality do not require an exclusively Christian epistemology for their authority or intelligibility, but insofar as sin warps human perception, the Bible’s teaching do require explanation in line with the full drama of Christian doctrine. A vision for gender and sexuality that fails to satisfy the demands set forth in Genesis will be subject to endless redefinition, which is why revisionist accounts of gender and sexuality—such as same-sex marriage and gender fluidity—retain no coherent limiting principle.

Sexuality and Gender in Revolt

The five axioms above are the backdrop that explain Scripture’s prohibition on sexual practices and gender displays that transgress God-ordained creational distinctions and creational boundaries. Sin’s impact demonstrates how each of the axioms are assaulted.

  1. Concerning axiom one, a culture of unbelief either rejects God’s existence or God’s authority. Man’s agency, in this paradigm, is the measure of all that is. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the never-ending redefinition of sexual morality and ensuing gender confusion. Since there are no binding rules, sexuality and gender are a matter of personal will and preference. Sexuality and gender are self-chosen, issuing from the autonomous self. Since humanity is not bound by a code of objective and universal morality, what Christians consider sexually immoral or out of step with God’s intent for gender expression, is shorn of all taboo and prohibition— whether pornography (Ps. 101:3; Matt. 5:28; Col. 3:5) , bestiality (Lev. 18:23, 20:15–16; Exod. 22:19), polygamy (Gen. 2:24), lust (Matt. 5:28; Mark 7:20–23) , adultery (1 Cor. 6:9–11), orgies (Gal. 5:19–21), non-monogamy (Matt. 19:1–10), rape (Deut. 22:23–29; Ezek. 45:9; Mark 12:31), pedophilia (Matt. 18:5–6), homosexuality (Rom. 1:26–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–11), fornication (Gen. 2:24; Deut. 22:28–29; Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:1–8), incest (Lev 18:8–18; 1 Cor. 5:1–5), prostitution (Hos. 4:14) cross-dressing (Deut. 22:5; 1 Cor. 11:3–16), effeminacy (1 Cor 6:9–10), androgyny (Gen 1:27–28;), illicit seduction (Gen. 34; Prov. 7:6–23), transgenderism (Gen. 1:27–28), and sexual abuse (Deut. 22:25–27; Mark 12:31).
  2. In axiom two, humanity denies that it is a divine creation born of an intelligent and divine will, or inscribed with any inherent, fixed meaning. Any sexual arrangement is thus allowable insofar as consent is present; and any gender expression is permissible insofar as it comports with a person’s self-perception. Since humanity may or may not be the creation of a divine being, saying that a particular sexual arrangement or gender expression is prohibited is simply a product of social convention.
  3. With axiom three, humanity divests itself of any particular calling in light of being made in God’s image. Since we are not special creations endowed with a mission to exercise dominion, we subsist by vain expressions of human autonomy and self-seeking justification. Our liberation from God’s constraints becomes our abolition.
  4. In axiom four, humanity denies that male and female are objective and fixed realities. Instead, gender fluidity and suppression of sexed realities paint a portrait of gender and sexuality that is endlessly malleable and psychologically grounded. This allows such sins as transgenderism.
  5. In axiom five, the beauty of male-female complementarity is denied, meaning that the creational guardrails for sexuality are nullified. This licenses such sexual sins as homosexuality. It is not that homosexuality is worse than all other sins; but that it narrates through vivid and graphic portrayal an expulsive rejection of God’s authority concerning creational design and boundaries.

In all five axioms, what is at the root of humanity’s assault on God-defined expressions of sexuality and gender? God’s authority over sexual desire and sexual relationships, and God’s design for how gender is conceived and expressed, is cast off. As it is with every issue of ethics and morality, the idea that any objective standard exists and is binding begins and ends with whether God exists and whether He intends to hold individuals accountable for their actions.

Sexuality and Gender in Redemption

While this essay has strived to present an argument for the Bible’s teaching on gender and sexuality that is true on both general and revelation grounds, it would be incomplete if it failed to examine how sexuality and gender are understood within the horizon of the gospel.

  1. The New Testament reaffirms the vision for gender and sexuality taught in Genesis. The gospel offers the promise of the Holy Spirit’s guidance to live lives of holiness; the gospel does not create a radically new or disjunctive expectation for sexual morality and appropriate gender expression. In Matthew 19, Jesus affirms that the creational pattern for male and female set forth in Genesis 1–2 remains authoritative and binding for humanity. In Acts 15, the earliest church leaders confirmed that obedience to Old Testament law was not expected for Gentle Christians, but Christians were expected to uphold the same standard of Old Testament sexual morality inaugurated at creation. The pattern for sexual relationship and gender expression laid out for the early Christians thus validates the pattern begun in Genesis. Furthermore, New Testament prohibitions on sexual practices (e.g., homosexuality, incest) are echoes of the Old Testament’s sexual ethic. This ethic is grounded in God’s moral law and cannot be discarded or excused as pertaining only to Israel. The New Testament makes clear that sexual rebellion and rejection of appropriate gender boundaries renders culpable before God’s judgement (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
  2. The gospel brings fulfilling clarity to the vision for gender and sexuality taught in Genesis. The storyline and arc of the Bible’s teaching on gender and sexuality is one that relies upon narrative climax. In Ephesians 5:22–23, Paul explains that the union of husband and wife is meant to foreshadow the most visceral union in the cosmos—the Christ-Church union. Nowhere is the explanation of the Christ-Church union meant to overwhelm, supplant, or eradicate the underlying validity of male-female complementarity set forth in Genesis. The story of the gospel’s relationship to created nature—which includes our sexuality and gender—is that created nature would be led in the direction it was always intended (see Wannenwetsch, “Creation and Ethics,” 210). Though sexuality and gender remain creationally intelligible despite the fall, as Christians, we believe that both are ultimately designed to reflect the union of Christ and the church.
  3. The gospel empowers Christians to live in accord with the biblical vision for gender and sexuality taught in Genesis. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ calls us to glorify God with our bodies because they were purchased by Him (1 Cor. 6:20). This purchase comprises the whole man (2 Cor. 5:17). We are called to honor the Lord Jesus and to submit to Him our sexual desires as well as our conduct (Matt. 5:28; Gal. 5:19–21; Eph. 4:22–24; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:1–8). We are to flee all forms of sexual morality (1 Cor. 6:18; Eph. 5:3–5; 1 Thess. 4:1–8). We embrace appropriate gender norms so as not to scandalize or give offense with impropriety of gender expression (Deut. 22:5; 1 Cor. 6:9; 11:3–16; 1 Tim. 2:9). Christians believe that we are not our own, and that we owe every facet of our existence—our gender expression and our sexuality—to Jesus Christ (Col. 1:15–20).

FURTHER READING

 

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Bible Studies

How God’s Word Changes Us

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

HOW GOD’S WORD CHANGES US

ABIDING

Read: John 14:23, 15:10; I 3:24, James 1:22 Becoming a spiritual young man begins by “Abiding” in God’s Word. We abide by:

Knowing God’s Word

(I John 2:14-17)

Knowing God’s word is the first step to performing its requirements. By spending time studying the Bible, we can begin to know what God thinks about certain things, and how he desires us to react to our world. In the passage above the writer moves from knowing God, to knowing God’s word, to knowing God’s will. How do you think these are related?

Keeping God’s Word

(I John 3:24)

To “abide” means to “live in the midst of.” John equates keeping God’s word with living in the midst of God’s word. The word, “keep” in Greek means to hold onto as if something is dear to you. With this in mind, re-read the verse. Is it possible to truly “keep” God’s word without having a heartfelt desire to know it? Why or why not?

Doing God’s Word

(James 1:22)

The passage in James is often interpreted as “doing” or “performing” God’s word. But its real meaning is much deeper. It means to “produce,” or “make” something, like an author who writes a play. Look at the verse again. How can you “produce” God’s word in your life?

Practicing God’s Word

(I John 3:7)

You may have heard the phrase, “practice makes perfect.” By practicing God’s word, we grow in righteousness, becoming more like Jesus Christ. How can you practice the passages you’ve read so far?

STRENGTHENING

Read: I John 2:14-17

As we practice abiding in God’s Word, we will become strong in the:

Knowledge of God’s Word

Knowing the truth is the first step to recognizing deception, or avoiding temptation. Give an example of a truth from God’s word that has helped you in your walk with God.

Love of God and His Word

(John 14:21-24)

Notice the order of events in verse 21. We demonstrate that we already love God when we keep His commandments. Verse 23 reverses the order, signifying that love for God and obedience to His word go together. We cannot have one without the other.

How can you express your love for God through His word?

Character

(Romans 5:3-5, Galatians 5:22-25)

Good character is equated with perseverance, and holding onto the love of God, which God has already
expressed for us.

What kinds of character traits can abiding in God’s word build in us?

Practice of God’s Word

(Philippians 4:8-9, I John 2:14)

Applying a steady, consistent practice of biblical principles in everyday life will strengthen us to face any challenge.

Since you have come to know Christ, how have you grown strong in God’s word? Can you provide examples?

OVERCOMING

Growing Strong in God’s Word enables us to overcome the:

The World

(John 16:33, I John 2:16-17)

Every person who has received Jesus Christ has already overcome the world (the operation of sin in the world). Jesus overcame the world through His death and resurrection. Embracing Jesus gives us the same victory. The world will pass away, but we will live forever. What kinds of things will pass away with the world?

The Evil One

(I John 2:13)

Young men overcome the Evil One (Satan) by abiding in God’s word—performing its commands from the heart. The Evil One has no power over the Christian who is abiding in God’s word. Why does God’s word help the Christian overcome Satan?

The Flesh (our sin nature)

(Galatians 5:19-25)

No one overcomes the flesh until death. This is a sad reality. God has saved our spirits, he is renewing our minds with His word, but our flesh is still corrupt and will not be saved until the resurrection. Only then will we fully, and finally, overcome our fleshly desires. However, God has made it possible for us to deny our sinful desires. In this sense, we overcome the flesh moment by moment, each time we say yes to Jesus and no to sin. What area of sin do you struggle with the most? How might you deal with it?

Application: Thinking on God’s Word changes the MIND (Philippians 4:8) Dwelling on God’s Word changes the HEART (Luke 6:45, Luke 8:15, Colossian 3:16) Expressing God’s Word changes LIVES (Hebrews 4:12)

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Bible Studies

Getting to Know the Holy Spirit

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

GETTING TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT
As a new believer in Jesus you have probably heard about God the Father and Jesus the Son. But have you heard of the Holy Spirit? Who is the Holy Spirit? What role does he play in the Christian’s life?

God is a Triune being. This means that he is one God, but he exists as three separate persons. The Father is God. The Son is God. The Spirit is God. Yet the three persons are the One God. This can be hard to fathom nonetheless it is true. God is very different from us, isn’t he?

What role does each person play? Very simply, the Father plans and commands, the Son performs, and the Holy Spirit guides and empowers. All three are equal, and all three are different, but all three are also one.

Before trying to wrap your head around these ideas, take a step back, through this study, to learn how the Spirit works in the Christian life and what your relationship with Him should be like. The filling of the Holy Spirit is a requirement to live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit lives in the Christian and he is the down payment we receive of our salvation. The scripture refers to him as the guarantee of our salvation.

This study will look at three aspects of the Spirit’s relationship with us:

• Who Is The Holy Spirit?
• What Is My Relationship To The Holy Spirit, and
• Being Filled With The Holy Spirit

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Read: Luke 3:21-22; Matt. 28:19; Genesis 1:2; John 14:16-17; 15:7-15

God is a Triune Being. He is one God existing in three persons, the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. (Luke 3:21-22)

In the passage in Luke we see all three persons of the Trinity present. The Father speaks, the Son receives, and the Holy Spirit empowers. Throughout the New Testament the Holy Spirit is spoken of as God.

Since the Holy Spirit is equally God along with the Father and Son, what do you think your response to him should be?

The Holy Spirit is equally God along with the Father and the Son. As such, he deserves our obedience and our worship. (Matthew 28:19)

Only God is worthy of worship. As Christians we are to act in his name. In Matthew 28:19 we are taught that the authority God gives us is the authority that all three persons possess equally.

Take a moment right now and pray to the Holy Spirit, that you will follow his lead and that you recognize his authority in your life.

The Holy Spirit carries out God’s plan. He was present at creation. He was present in Jesus’ ministry. He was present at our new birth. (Genesis 1:2; John 14:16-17; 15:7-15)

Without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing to please God. We need the Holy Spirit’s presence and filling in order to live the Christian life. That is part of his role—he empowers us to follow Jesus. Because he is present at all times we can always turn to him for guidance and trust that he will lead us and use us according to God’s plan.

What kind of relationship would you like to have with the Holy Spirit? As he prompts you from deep within your heart, what do you think your response to him should be?

WHAT IS MY RELATIONSHIP TO THE HOLY SPIRIT?

Read: II Corinthians 1:21-22; 5:5; John 15:7-15; Acts 5:32; I Peter 1:22

The Holy Spirit dwells inside every believer. He is the down payment on our salvation. (II Corinthians 1:21-22; 5:5)

A down payment means that God has given us a pledge of his promise to be fulfilled. Right now we have the Holy Spirit within us to lead, guide, and convict. But he is also present as the beginning of God fulfilling his promise to us for eternal life.

Take a moment to pray and thank the Holy Spirit that he is present in your life. Ask him to help you discern when he is working in your life to guide you.

The Holy Spirit convicts, teaches, and empowers us to live the Christian life. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is our helper and counselor. (John 15:7-15)

The concept of the Holy Spirit as our helper and counselor is a very humbling one. Imagine the God who created the whole universe declaring that he will be a partner with you and allow you to know him through his Spirit. What a privilege we have!

Think about your salvation experience. At what points in your life do you recognize the Holy Spirit as having worked to lead you to faith in Jesus?

We should have a love and obedience relationship with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 5:32; I Peter 1:22)

Because the Holy Spirit is God he deserves the same worship, devotion, affection, and obedience we give to the Father and the Son. He is no less God!

Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal more of himself to you. Pay attention to you life and see if you can discern when the Spirit is working in you.

BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Read: Romans 8:9-11; I Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 5:22-23;

The Holy Spirit expresses himself through us. Living the Christian life is the practice of living in the Spirit. (Romans 8:9-11; I Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 5:22-23)

Your life is not your own! Because you have been purchased with the price of Jesus’ blood, you belong to God. God longs to express his love through you just as he did through Jesus.

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to live his life through you, to guide you and give you his wisdom.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is a way of saying that he empowers us. (John 14:17; Ephesians 5:18)

The power of the Christian life is in the Holy Spirit. Imagine! You have the eternal, living God dwelling inside of you through his Spirit. He wants to express himself and live his life through you. When we live in submission to him we experience his power for living.

For what areas in your life would you like the Holy Spirit to give you strength of character and power?

We can be filled with the Spirit right now.

When we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us, teach us, convict us, and live through us, we are seeking his empowerment. As long as we do not have any unconfessed sin in our lives we can experience his power, through the expression of his character in our lives. Would you like to be filled with the Holy Spirit right now? Pray this prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to be filled with your Spirit and empowered to live the Christian life. If there is sin I need to confess to you, please reveal that to me. I want to be a clean vessel used by you for your glory. Thank you for giving me your Holy Spirit.

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Bible Studies

Knowing that You Are Saved

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

KNOWING YOU ARE SAVED

Read: John 1:12-13; Romans 8:38-39; I John 5:11-15;

We can know we are saved because of the promises in the Bible about our salvation. (Hebrews 10:23)

What we think about determines how we feel and how we behave. Therefore, the first thing we need when being assured of our salvation is to think upon the promises of God in the Bible. The Bible gives us many assurances that the one who believes in Jesus is promised eternal life.

Read again the promises in John and I John listed above. How do they give you assurance that you are saved? How does Hebrews 10:23 assure you that the promise of salvation is true?

We can know we are saved because of the witness of God’s Holy Spirit in our hearts.(Acts 5:32; Romans 8:15-16)

Everyone who has truly received Jesus as Savior and Lord has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. He is God’s down payment of our eternal salvation. We can know we are saved because the Spirit testifies to this in our hearts.

How does the Holy Spirit assure you that you belong to Him?

We can know we are saved because our desires are changing.

(Romans 12:10; Philippians 2:3-4)

Instead of living selfishly for ourselves, the Christian’s desires begin changing so that Jesus and others start becoming more important. When we sense our desires changing like this we can take that as one sign among others that God is changing our hearts. And if God is changing our hearts, then we can know that He has saved us from our sin.

How has God changed your desires since you’ve begun to know Him? How would you like God to change you? What are you willing to do to experience that change?

FEELING THAT YOU ARE SAVED

Read: Philippians 4:8-9; Ephesians 4:23; II Corinthians 10:5 The knowledge of our salvation changes our feelings.

(Philippians 4:8-9)

Have you ever tried to pull yourself out of a bout of depression? The depressed person thinks continually about things that make him or her feel bad. But often dwelling upon good things can turn that around. So too, when we dwell upon the promises of God for salvation we can change our feelings from insecurity to security.

Put this into practice today. Look up verses in the Bible about God’s love and dwell upon them. How does this practice make you feel?

The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives changes our feelings. (Galatians 5:22)

God’s Spirit is at work in you! The natural outgrowth of His work in you is a changed disposition. He naturally wants us to experience his joy. Therefore, submitting to the Holy Spirit’s work in you will change your doubts into security about His love for you.

What have you been thinking about? What does God’s Spirit want you to think about? How does God encourage you in this way?

The changing of our desires brings emotional assurance of our salvation. (Psalm 40:8)

What is your innermost heart desire? Is Jesus and the Word of God at the center of your life? When we change our desires for godly things we gain security that God is with us and will fulfill our desires for Him.

Think about the things you desire the most. Where are God and the Bible in that list? How can you rearrange your priorities so that your relationship with Jesus is the center of your life?

ACTING LIKE YOU ARE SAVED

Read: Matthew 22:37-38

Knowing and feeling we are saved changes our behavior.

(Romans 8:38-39)

Once we rest in the knowledge that God loves us and holds us in his hands our whole attitude about life will change. A full change in our lives in not possible unless what we know and feel about something works itself out in our outward expressions in the world around us.

How has knowing and feeling you are saved changed your behavior? Do you want to obey God’s commands? Do you want to share what you have experienced with others?

The Holy Spirit changes our behavior.

(John 16:7-14; II Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:22)

When the Living God comes to inhabit us there is no way we can come away from the experience and not be changed. The Holy Spirit changes our convictions and that works out to a change in our behaviors. When we are filled with His Spirit we will want to live a life that gives credit and glory to God.

Since becoming a Christian how has your life changed? As you look ahead in your life how do you think He will work further change in you?

Our changing desires changes our behavior

When we decided to place Jesus as the center of all of our affections we will not be able to resist the changes that will happen in our lives. Making Jesus the center of our lives changes us in remarkable and exciting ways!

Make a list of the things that are the most important to you. Where are Jesus and the Bible on that list? How can you reorder your life so that Jesus is at the center of your existence?

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Ask Roger

What I Believe and Why

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

I have often wondered what you believe about the Bible and how it influenced your life and ministry. Could you give me a short summary of just a few of the essentials of your faith? Many churches these days have stopped believing important parts of Bible doctrine. Please help me. I don’t want to go to a church who has allowed culture to compromise biblical truth.

A concerned church member.

Dear Concerned Church Member,

I am sorry you are struggling in this area. These biblical truths have guided my life since I first began my ministry. Did you know God called me to preach when I was seven? I preached my first sermon at 13. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home and a great church. However, it is not enough just to associate with good Christians. Every person must seek God and study the Bible to know what God has to say. I hope that every person God placed in my life heard these truths from my pulpit.

The doctrines I list below are only a few of the basic doctrines I hold. I stake my life on them. I pray these truths are deeply communicated each and every day. In fact, that is why God led me to develop Preach It, Teach It. I will also list a few links where you can find more basic doctrines on our site.

WHAT I BELIEVE

The Bible

We place our confidence in the divinely inspired Word of God without error. It is completely reliable as the final authority for all matters of faith and practice.

1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; and 2 Peter 1:20–21

 

God the Father

We acknowledge the Creator-God as our heavenly Father, all-knowing, all-powerful and always present, yet intimately acquainted with each one of us.

Psalm 103:19; Matthew 28:19; and 1 Peter 1:2.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ

We claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He who is fully God came to earth as a man, lived a sinless life, died to pay in full the penalty we owed for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and will come again someday.

John 1:1–3, 14; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 1:1–3; and 1 John 5:11–12

 

The Holy Spirit

We recognize the Holy Spirit as the third member of the Trinity who is constantly at work, convicting those who’ve sinned, comforting those who hurt and guiding those who believe in Christ.

John 14:26; Acts 1:5, 8; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; and Ephesians 1:13–14

 

The Depravity of Humanity

We confess that we are all sinners, by birth and by choice. Our relationship with a holy, sinless God can only be restored through Christ’s work of salvation.

Genesis 3; Jeremiah 17:9; and Romans 3:10–18, 23; 5:12

 

Salvation

We believe that God’s free gift of salvation is available to everyone. Those who accept it by faith, apart from works, receive the forgiveness of their sins and experience a restored relationship with God which results in permanent life-change.

John 3:16; Romans 10:9–10; 1 Corinthians 15:1–5; and Ephesians 1:4–12; 2:8–9

 

The Return of Christ

We anticipate our Lord’s promised return which could occur at any moment.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; Hebrews 9:28; and Revelation 19:11–16

 

Eternity

We are convinced that at the end of time, believers will enter into everlasting communion with God and unbelievers will be condemned to everlasting separation from God.

John 11:23–27; 1 Corinthians 15:51–57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; and Revelation 20:4–21:5

 

The Body of Christ

We are grateful to be a part of the church universal, which exists to proclaim God’s truth, to stimulate spiritual growth, to facilitate healthy relationships and to bring glory to God.

Acts 2:41–47; Philippians 2:1–4

https://piti.wpengine.com/ask-roger/detail/how-can-i-be-sure-that-the-bible-is-reliable/

https://piti.wpengine.com/ask-roger/detail/you-cant-be-a-christian-without-these-5-things/

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Sermon Starters

God: The Father with Open Arms

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Luke 15:11-32; Genesis 2-3

Aloneness reaches deep into the inner recesses of the human heart. No one likes to be alone.

I was flying recently to Orlando: girl on airplane: Celestine Prophecy: spiritual search. Why? Stillborn baby: I am going to tell you what she said, it is integral to the story. Comfort Catholics. What I am about to share happens at times in every church. RCC priest refused to baptize child. “I am so sorry.” Comforted her. She broke from anger to hurt to sorrow.

“Four miscarriages.” What do you think I am thinking? (Don’t try any more.) No. I’m thinking, “I bet she endured all four miscarriages alone. We husbands can be so clueless. So, I said to her, “I bet he had no idea what you were going through. You carried that baby. You were already getting close to that child. Your husband just kind of blew it off. He had no idea what you were going through.” She got real quiet. “I am so sorry.” Comforted her. What was I doing? “I was ministering to her aloneness. She endured some of life’s toughest events—alone.

Ministering to people’s aloneness reaches to the deepest recesses of the human heart.

: Genesis 3, Adam fell and God dealt with fallenness: “I will send a savior to die in your place in payment for your sins.”

: Before God ever ministered to Man’s fallenness, He first ministered to Man’s aloneness in Genesis 2.

Adam was alone and “it is not good to be alone.”

The struggle with aloneness is a big deal. We fight it throughout our entire lifetimes.

STORY of kid in airport in Orlando. Mom with 5-year-old and two year old toddler. Put them in play area with tv. Hear them playing and singing along with tv children’s video. Suddenly, this piercing voice, “Mommy? Mommy!?? Mommy!!!!!” Came running from the play area. He realized he was alone and he didn’t like it.

: See him grow up to teenage years. He still won’t like to be alone. Why do teenagers congregate in cliques? They don’t want to be alone. They will even see another teenager hurting and alone and they will even join with their clique in ostracizing and teasing mercilessly another if that is what the group does, just to stay part of the group—so deep is the need not to be alone.

I imagined him 80 years from now, old and frail, and his children sit down with him and say, “Dad, it is time to put you in a nursing home.” Sorrow, he is going to be alone.

It is not good to be alone.
Let me tell you the natural, human response to loneliness.

Self Reliance: “I am alone, well, I can make it on my own. I don’t have any needs and if I do I will take care of them myself, thank you.”

Self condemnation: “I am not good enough to have any friends. No wonder no one likes me.” Selfishness: “I have needs and to meet those needs I am going to take from you.”

: Let me show you something else. This is also what fallenness looks like. It looks just like our natural response to our aloneness: Self Reliance; Self condemnation; and Selfishness.

: The human response to loneliness of Genesis 2 looks just like the manifestation of our Fallen sin nature in Genesis 3. This stuff is all over the Bible.

This is why the fallenness of sin is so terrible. It isolates us from God and from others. It makes us alone.

The story of the Prodigal Son, the Elder Brother and their Dad is a story of self-reliance, self- condemnation and selfishness which brought loneliness and isolation among people who longed to enjoy closeness, support and companionship.

READ LUKE 15:11-12: Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

What symptom of fallenness do we see here in the younger son? “Give me” is selfishness.

This reminds me of the man at Casas who won a trip for two to Hawaii and was so selfish that he went twice.

What does this selfishness produce? (pause) Aloneness.

How do you think the father felt? Father’s feelings: “Dad, I wish you were dead.” Talk about separation. Now the boy is alone and the dad is very much alone.

STORY of selfish man at MacDonald’s at breakfast. Noticed couple coming in. Shabby dress. Looked for coins in telephone, and newspaper box. Man enters. Couple looking at menu and I hear him say, “Well, get out of the way. If you don’t know how to get in line, I do. I have to go to work and you don’t look like you are going anywhere. I don’t have all day.”

“Well, I guess, I don’t have anything much to do today.”
Silence in the room. Total separation. Sensed that the man was very much alone. “You look like you’ve had

a hard morning. May, I buy your breakfast?” I was ministering to his aloneness.
Was the selfish man alone? Yes. I was too angry at the moment to minister to his aloneness. He was hurting,

too.
Selfishness is a terrible thing.

READ LUKE 15: 13-15: “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

What is this? Self-reliance. Neediness presented itself so Prodigal handled it with self-reliance. Lost it all, “I will get a job and take care of this.”

Taken to its ultimate end, self-reliance produces extreme aloneness. Self reliant people won’t let you minister to their needs and they become very insensitive and intolerant of other people’s neediness. They end up

very alone.

Julie and I were in Albany NY several months ago leading a conference for pastor’s and wives on how to heal the hurts of ministry. One pastor’s wife was hurting and very alone. Handled her hurt and loneliness by self-reliance. She had recently written a poem about her feelings toward life. Based on Beatitudes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. No,
Blessed are the strong, who are always in control and never show weakness.

Blessed are those who mourn, No,
Blessed are those who deny their pain and deaden their hearts—they need no comfort.

: Blessed are the meek. No,
Blessed are the survivors who need no one and depend only on themselves.

: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, No,
Blessed are those who have killed their longings, who no longer have any expectations—nothing will

disappoint them.

: Blessed are the merciful, No,
Blessed are those who have minimized the damage in their soul so that there is no need for mercy or

forgiveness for “nothing bad really happened.”

Blessed are the peacemakers, No,
Blessed are those who keep the peace at any cost (even to the peril of their own soul) so that conflict, self-

revelation and the possibility of rejection is avoided at all costs.

What do you say to a woman like that? Fortunately, I know what to say. We will talk about that on January 2 as we enter the new millennium.

READ LUKE 15:16-19: He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’

What is this? Self-condemnation. Slopping pigs: “My father’s hired hands do better than this. But I am not worthy…” is self condemnation.

: READ LUKE 15:20a: So he got up and went to his father.
Picture the Prodigal: Selfishness failed. Self-reliance was a disaster. “I am not worthy.” Utterly defeated.

Completely humiliated. Utterly alone. It doesn’t get any lower than this.

Close eyes and allow the Lord to identify you with the Prodigal in your self-reliance, selfishness, and self- condemnation.

He imagines in his mind his father’s response.
Accusations: Where have you been? What have you done? What happened to the Money? Endless questions.
Comparisons between him and his elder brother.

Scolding and shaming him for all his sins

Now, look up here: What sets us free, folks, is the prodigal’s next experience: So much dysfunctional views of God that we don’t have the right view of the Father.

Look at the dad with outstretched arms. READ LUKE 15:20: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

Picture the Father as he comes running off the front porch, arms outstretched, wounded side, nail prints. Runs to embrace.

This is the picture Jesus gives us of the dad when we have allowed self-reliance, selfishness, and self- condemnation to make us prodigal.

READ LUKE 15:21-24: “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Father hardly heard the words.
Best robe, probably had it made up for him. Symbolic reminder. Never thought he’d use it. Sandals: he had no shoes.
Ring for finger
Feast: hungry.

This is how God accepts us back. If we see this picture with awe and wonder we can be free from self- reliance, selfishness, and self-condemnation.

: Meanwhile, all is not well at home.
READ LUKE 15: 25-28: “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music

and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

READ LUKE 15:29-30: But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

Father’s response: “But you had me.”
READ LUKE 15:31-32: “My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we

had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” He wanted a relationship with his dad and never saw it. If you look closely you will see again the problem of aloneness and fallenness with the elder brother: He was blinded by self-reliance, self-condemnation and

selfishness. Glenn will deal with the elder brother next week.

Let me go just a little deeper here. Reflect on the hurting heart of God.
Here is a picture of Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal.
Now, his younger son has come home; it is time for rejoicing —and the elder brother stands by in anger and

isolation—and the Father has to rejoice (what?) alone.
It is time to minister to his long-lost, son—and He has to minister (what?) alone.

This is why he pleaded with the elder brother to come to the party. He did not want to minister alone.

I want to read a poem written by my youngest child when she was in middle school. We found it on the floor one day after she had gone to school. It absolutely broke our hearts. It expresses the loneliness, isolation, self-condemnatory rejection felt by millions of Americans:

People come and people go, But never get attached

“Cause usu’lly by the time you do They drop you down the hatch.

People only care about what you wear As stupid people do,

But they never look inside of you To see the real, true you.

Older sisters let you know How awful that they feel

But sometimes it is in a way
That shoots straight for the kill.

I know that life is full of twists and turns And the occasional little loop,

But I feel I have to tell you That I really feel like poop.”

We were so busy that we had not seen this? Well, we knew she was hurting. Middle school is a tough time for a girl.

God said, “Roger, I really want to minister to Bronwyn. Do you believe that?” “Yes, God.” “Well, Roger, too often I feel like I have to minister to her alone. I need you to help me.”

Changed my whole view of parenting. My biggest job as a parent is to minister to her aloneness. When she called, we answered. Spent hundreds of hours with her. Now doing well in Germany. “I miss you, you and mom are my best friends.”

Imagine God is wanting to minister to your wife, child, co-worker and there we stand by in criticism and judgment and isolation.

God says, “You know what is breaking my heart? I want to minister to your wife, husband, children, friends, but, I am having to do this alone. I am pleading with you to help me.

: You know God wanted to minister to that alone child in the airport in Orlando. He did not want to do it alone. He needed a mommy.

You know God wanted to minister to the aloneness of the spiritually searching girl on the airplane—but He was having a hard time doing it alone. “Roger, why don’t you minister to her aloneness and then introduce her to Me again.”

When I ministered to the aloneness of the girl on the airplane, I had an open door to address her isolation from the father. I came down with the resurrection. Reached right into her heart.

There will be many lonely people around you: Don’t just look away •When we see the Father’s heart, we can be fully and forever free of our self-reliance,

selfishness, and self-condemnation.

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Bible Studies

Bible Absolutes, Spiritual Convictions and Personal Opinions

by Don McMinn
written by Don McMinn

What do you believe and why?

There is a difference between a biblical absolute, a spiritual conviction, and a personal opinion. It’s important to know the difference and not misapply them. This chart defines the three terms and explains how they differ.

Source Characteristics Proper attitude Example
Biblical absolute The Bible God’s eternal, objective truth applicable to everyone I embrace this and I encourage you to embrace it too. Thou shalt not steal.
Personal conviction The Holy Spirit’s conviction and leadership A personal conviction that I should follow I embrace this personal conviction but I don’t expect you to. We send our children to private, Christian school.
Personal opinion and preference Self A personal preference I have personal preferences, but I’m also willing, at times, to yield to your preferences. I prefer traditional worship, but I know many people prefer contemporary worship, so let’s offer both.

There are several ways to misapply these terms.

 

Sometimes, we call something a biblical absolute when it is not. Ex: “Christians should not drink alcohol.” There is no biblical prohibition for drinking alcohol. It may be your spiritual conviction, but it’s not a biblical absolute. We misrepresent God and confuse people when we label something as sin that the Bible doesn’t.

 

 

Sometimes, we erroneously elevate a spiritual conviction to the level of biblical absolute. Ex: “You must have a daily quiet time.” This is certainly a good idea, but it’s a spiritual conviction, not a biblical absolute. Don’t suggest that God will be displeased at me if I don’t have a daily quiet time.

 

 

While it’s good and normal to have personal preferences, at times we may need to hold them loosely and yield to the preferences of others. We should acknowledge and accept other people’s preferences.

Consider each of these statements. Is it a biblical absolute, spiritual conviction, or personal preference?

  1. Do not speak unwholesome words.
    2. We should sing only hymns in church.
    3. Forgive one another.
    4. I like living in the country.
    5. We should sing only praise choruses at church.
    6. I’m going to read my Bible every morning before I go to work.
    7. I would rather spend my extra money on nice clothes than a nice car.
    8. It’s important for a church to have Sunday night services.
    9. Be completely gentle.
    10. We feel strongly that our children should attend public school.
    11. Encourage one another.
    12. I’m going to participate in the anti-abortion rally.
    13. On my day off, I enjoy solitude.

Numbers 1,3,9 and 11 are directives from the Bible, so they are nonnegotiable. Numbers 6,10 and 12 are spiritual convictions. The remaining statements are preferences.

Know when to hold tight to your persuasions and when to hold them loosely.

Remember Romans 14: 8-13 before you judge another Christian. Paul writes:

“Living or dying we follow the Lord. Either way we are his. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he can be our Lord both while we live and when we die.

10 You have no right to criticize your brother or look down on him. Remember, each of us will stand personally before the Judgment Seat of God. 11 For it is written, “As I live,” says the Lord, “every knee shall bow to me and every tongue confess to God.” 12 Yes, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

13 So don’t criticize each other anymore. Try instead to live in such a way that you will never make your brother stumble by letting him see you doing something he thinks is wrong.” NLB

www.donmcminn.com.

 

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Bible Studies

A Guide to Understanding the Bible

by Drew Anderson
written by Drew Anderson

Reading the Bible can be a daunting task. Practically speaking, when we open our Bible, we can feel like we’ve been dropped in an unfamiliar forest in the middle of the night without directions.

As a result, we can just stop reading our Bible all together or just read it on occasion. We don’t want to stop reading, but without help we just do what we can. What we need is a synthetic understanding of the Bible.

In other words, we need to know more than mere stories of the Bible in isolation (Abraham had many sons, Noah built an ark, Jonah was swallowed by a fish, David killed Goliath, etc.). What we need is to see how all the stories fit together, and more importantly how these stories advance a bigger story of God’s redemption for humanity along in history. A story of God’s mission.

It’s helpful then to have a grasp of God’s mission. What is God’s mission?

God’s mission is to redeem and reconcile a rebellious mankind by creating a new humanity based on God’s free grace, love through the person and work of Jesus Christ, and regenerating power and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As we understand this mission, and how it fits the entire 66 books of the Bible together, then we can see how each book fits together and moves God’s
mission of redemption along.

Having said that, and in keeping the mission of God in mind, below are five basic questions that serve as a guide to thoughtful, discerning, heart changing, and enjoyable Bible reading, learning, and application to everyday life:

(1) “Where” does this letter/book fit in the biblical storyline?

Proximity is the heart of this question. When we pick up our Bibles and we turn to a book in the Bible, we often don’t know where it fits in the broader story of redemption. Perhaps even, we think it was written in isolation. In one sense it was written as a stand-alone letter. In a larger sense it was not. Isaiah certainly had a specific message for his audience, but Isaiah advances God’s redemptive message along in history. When we understand where it fits then we can ask the right questions and avoid the wrong ones. For example, Exodus does not offer insight into the temple of God. On the other hand, it does provide insight into God’s initiative to restore fellowship with a sinful humanity by providing specific details for the tabernacle that will serve as a type and an example of God providing a way to deal with sin.

(2) “What” is the message of the letter/book?

Context is the heart of this question. Is this poetry, history, an epistle, etc.? Knowing the genre or style of writing will help in understanding the message of the book or letter. When you understand the genre, then you can better understand the message. The first step in understanding the message is to read and then re-read and re-read. Shoot for 3-5 readings all the way through. What happens is that themes begin to bubble up. Make note of the words repeated or shifts in subject matter. For instance, when we read the poetic books (Job, Psalms, etc.) we feel something different than when we read history (Joshua, Judges, etc.).

Once we get the feel of the letter, then we can begin to see the message of the letter or book. We see the themes and the main points. At this point, you are reading to understand “what.” It’s a gathering of information and putting it in familiar categories. Is the author dealing with judgment, blessing, warning, encouragement, or all the above?

(3) “Why” was the book/letter written?

Connections is the heart of this question. This is where we answer “Why.” Why was the letter or book written? Why did he say what he said? It’s important to point out that this is one of the more challenging of these 5 hermeneutic questions, but it gets to the heart and purpose of why the letter or book was written. The most natural thing in working through this aspect is to revert to the “what” of the letter.

For instance, when Paul wrote in Galatians 1:1,

“Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),”

why did he say this? Why did he say that he is an apostle? Why would him being an apostle impact the rest of what he wrote to the churches of Galatia? We don’t merely say that he said that he was an apostle, but why did he say it?

As this question gets answered throughout the letter, the connections are made within the letter. In other words, it keeps you from segmenting select passages within the book and making them say something they shouldn’t say, and instead constraining the verses to the connections within the context of the letter. For instance, back to Galatians. When Paul refers to flesh in Galatians 5:13, 15, 17, 19, why does he say in the same context as the deeds of the flesh (immorality, impurity, etc.)? Is he referring to lustful things or is
he keeping the same connection of flesh to the law as in Galatians 3:3?

(4) “How” does it apply to the “original audience?”

Original intent is the heart of this question. When we move into applying the book to everyday life, our first step is not to make application for our life. Instead, we must start with the author’s intent to make application for the original audience.

For instance, when Paul confronts Peter in Galatians 2:14, he is dealing with a contextual issue in a certain contextual way. This is not a license to go publicly rebuking fellow Christians. Another example is the Sermon on the Mount. When Christ says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The first application isn’t to modern readers, but to the original audience. Christ’s audience was His disciples, and He was about to send them on a mission of sharing the good news of the kingdom of God. They needed to know that as they go out and share the news that God would supply all their needs. That’s the first application to the original audience. Once we get that down, then we can move on to our life, which would be really in principle in a lot of cases.

Thus, this fourth question forces us to slow down and see the application for the original audience before we start looking for applications for our own lives.

(5) “How” does it apply to “me” today?

Personal application is at the heart of this question. This is the part where we move into personal application for the modern reader. What I don’t mean by the previous sentence is that this application is historically contextual to our day and then changes 1,000 years later to another day. What I mean is that there are principles of application for the original audience that would apply universally to Christians today and into the future.

Take the two examples above, for instance. In the case of Paul’s public rebuke of Peter, we would principally make an application that standing for the gospel might mean that I confront a brother who is in open and public sin. My confrontation would be appropriate to the magnitude of the public sin and would be appropriate to the audience. In the case of Christ’s promise to His
disciples, we would draw a universal application based upon the principle that God will meet the physical needs of any of His followers as they carry His gospel message to the world. In other words, it’s not a blanket promise that God will always meet my physical needs in the way I want or think He should. It’s more than my understanding of my happiness, but instead about my willingness to be a vessel He carries and cares for as I advance His message to others.

In conclusion, as we gain a biblical vision on God’s Word and as we learn how to study God’s Word, we will find that our understanding of Proverbs
29:18 gets deeper and richer.

Bible Study Library Suggestions
There are many choices as it pertains to building a physical Bible Study library. Let me simplify by providing some recommendations below:

  • Bible Atlas
    • The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands
  • Bible Dictionary
    • New Unger’s Bible Revised & Expanded Dictionary
  • Bible Handbook
    • New Unger’s Bible Handbook
  • Commentary
    • Free and digital: www.soniclight.org
    • Technical: www.bestcommentaries.com
    • General:
      • Bible Knowledge Commentary (Old & New Testament)
    • Devotional:
      • Matthew Henry (Complete)
  • Concordance
    • New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance, NASB, New Strong’s Exhaustive
  • Study Bible
    • Zondervan NASB Wide Margin Bible
  • Other Resources
    • Nave’s Topical Bible; Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties
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Bible Studies

The End of the Matter

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

THE END OF THE MATTER

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

This morning, as we come to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes, I am going to talk about fear—and love.

“Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.”

(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

Solomon recommends two things that mix together rather well.

  1. Fear God
  2. Keep His Commandments

The “Fear of the Lord” is really important: It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverb 9:10).

The Greatest Commandment is really important. “Love God and Love your neighbor” (Matthew 22).

  • The term, “Fear of the Lord,” means more than, “scare the pants off of someone,” or be “filled with great dread,” –although it does encompass that.
  • The “Fear of the Lord” is more a descriptive phrase which identifies a particular type of lifestyle.
  • When you think about it, “Fear of the Lord” leads us away from sin and the things that might hurt us and directs us toward holiness.
  • The “Fear of the Lord” manifests itself in provision and protection.
  • When you fear God you won’t ever need to fear anything else. 
  • The “Fear of the Lord” is the beginning of wisdom,” but it is certainly not the end! “Perfect love casts out fear.”
  • We must be keep a proper balance of love and fear. We all respond better to love than to fear.
  • The cross of Christ shows the mixture of love and fear.
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Bible Studies

Knowing God from the Inside Out

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

 KNOWING GOD FROM THE INSIDE OUT

Ephesians 1:15-19; 3:14-19; Colossians 1:9-12

 

Imagine before we had the Bible, how would we know what God is like. Imagine you lived on the Yucatan Peninsula. Is God good? Loving? Kind? Capricious? It would be hard to tell from circumstances or certainly from nature.

 

Plant crops and great harvest; gentle rain and sunshine and great harvest. Would say that God is very good.

 

Hurricane hits, destruction and death; God is not so good.

 

Loved one sick and you pray and he lives, God is so good.

 

Loved one sick and dies – God’s not so good.

 

If we’re always trying to know what God is like by the circumstances around us, then we’ll never know what God is really like.

 

But we have a Bible. The Bible reveals to us what God is like, and He stays like that no matter what the circumstances.

 

Purpose of prater is to know God. Good to pray through Scriptures because we’ll get to know the character of God.

 

Man’s basic definition of prayer is to have our needs met. God’s basic definition of prayer is that we may know Him.

 

Too often we allow our view of God to be altered by the circumstances around us.

 

God always desires our greatest good. In tragic circumstances we often miss God’s hand in things and see only the painful moments instead of His overall holiness, love, and perfect plan.

 

Kathryn Kuhlman told of a young couple who found Christ through tragedy.

 

A few days before Christmas as Joe and Dora made preparation for the holidays. One morning Joe left for work as a TV repairman. Dora let Steve and Mike, their two boys, out to play on the front driveway. Boys soon return to warm cookies she was baking. Twenty minutes passed and terrified neighbor pounded frantically on the door. “Two boys fell into the pond – I think that they’re yours.”

 

Joe and Dora soon found themselves standing sadly in a funeral home, the boys lying in twin caskets. Following a solemn service, burial was held in freezing wind and rain.

 

Imagine asking God, “Why?”

 

Follow Dora home as she tries to forget. Enters kitchen and notices two little gifts Mike and Steve made at school the day they died. She silently reads, “To the best mom and dad in the world.” Dora now serves dinner, but two empty chairs rest beside the dining room table – two constant reminders. Goes to boys’ room and find a rumpled pile of little boys’ clothes. Pulls out drawers of nearby chest and notices all the things that little boys collect – bottle caps, empty shotgun shells, children’s books.

 

Consider Joe’s anxiety. Can’t sleep, eat, work begins to fail, eyes constantly bloodshot, body soon covered with huge boils. Reminds us of Job. Imagine his thoughts as a school bus full of children pass. Remembers times Mike and Steve snuggled close to him. Tears flow freely now.

 

“How can this possibly be the Father’s will?”

 

I have seen moms and dads and others change their whole view of God over less than this.

 

Yet, God is still the same, love, all-knowing, all-powerful God He was before the boys fell into the water!

 

Dad watches boy killed in train wreck. Anguished father grieves. “Where was God when my son was killed?” “I suppose where He was when his own Son died.”

 

They hold art of prayer… of spiritual maturity… is learning to transfer from the temporal to the eternal.

 

There is a reason behind all that God allows.

 

Juanita Bennett struggling when Nicholson baby rode tricycle into pool and drowned. Why? Where’s guardian angel? Why didn’t God have some adult walk out? Why? Asked Al Johnson. He replied, “What is God’s ultimate plan for believers?” “To be with Him.” “Where is that little boy?” “Now he’s with Jesus.” Ultimate plan already accomplished. That’s transition from temporal to eternal.

 

Recently Steve and I flew to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to interview a prospective Associate Pastor. Had some bad times in some churches but was so highly recommended that he was worth a look. Jack Harris. Recently resigned from second church because of trouble with some church leaders. Carpenter work! Praising God, many churches talking with him… more work than he could handle. Praising God for answering prayer and for His goodness.

 

He called me this week. “How are things?” “Not so good. $200 in bank, and $1000 in bills. No work! No churches…” “How’s your wife?” “She cries a lot. God won’t answer her prayers.”

 

How tragic.

 

Such a typical response. Soon the anger and the bitterness sets in against God.

 

How many bitter people do you and I know who hate God or who have rejected Christianity because God hasn’t made everything just right from their perspective?

 

Yet, God is just right whether we like our circumstances or not.

 

Show you difference between our humanity and God’s sovereign deity. Turn to 2 Corinthians 4.

 

My humanity says, “God heal my body… God fix these circumstances… God turn around this tragedy…” But God says, READ 1 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18.

 

There is a basic Biblical presupposition with which you and I must come to grips. God is all powerful. God is sovereign. Nothing occurs that He does not allow in our best eternal interest and for our best eternal good.

 

Most of us have trouble comprehending and complying when the Bible says, “Give thanks for all things” or “Rejoice in all things.”

 

*1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “Give thanks in all circumstances…”

 

*Ephesians 5:20 – “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.”

 

When tragedy occurs we are to praise and thank God for it. It’s hard. But when we finally praise and thank God for it we overcome a tremendous psychological and spiritual hurdle.

 

When we praise and thank Him for it we acknowledge His control and that He’s working it out for the best.

 

To fail to give praise or thanksgiving is to subconsciously or consciously say that here is an area which is out of God’s control… and it will not be long until the bitterness and anger begin to set in.

 

Effective praying… and effective living deals with the eternal aspects of life. Then comes our temporal needs.

 

READ ROMANS 8:28-29

 

We will never sustain our eternal prayer life unless we determine to develop an eternal perspective. We must never allow temporal discomforts to destroy our view of God.

 

The art of prayer is learning to transition from the temporal to the eternal.

 

That’s what Psalm 27 is all about!

 

READ PSALM 27:1-8, 13-14.

 

Transitioning from the temporal to the eternal is accomplished by learning to pray from the inside out.

 

READ 1 THESSALONIANS 5:23

 

Notice order of priority – spirit, soul, body.

 

Spirit – inner man; “pneuma”; God-consciousness; area where I am able to see and experience God. Holy Spirit deals with me and contacts me at the point of my spirit – eternal.

 

Soul – “psyche” or “nous” – mind, emotions, will, conscience, thinking interface between my spirit and soul at the point of my conscience.

 

Body – “some”, “sarx” – give senses, natural biological desires. Temporal.

 

God is much more concerned that we’re praying for our spirit which is eternal than for our body which is decaying and which will soon perish.

 

Read Prayer for Inner Man. Ephesians 1:15-19; 3:14-19; Colossians 1:9-12.

 

God allows and creates circumstances so that we may know Him better. He wants to sensitize our God-consciousness.

 

Satan wants to get our minds on ours bodies and circumstances in order to desensitize our God-consciousness.

 

When we pray in the area of our spirit, God answers a thousand out of a thousand times. “God make me like Christ… make me a man of God… give me your wisdom and discernment, etc.”

 

When we pray in the area of our soul, God is often hindered from answering our prayer. Problem here is my will. “God help me not to lust after women.” You know God wants that… but our will is involved and we see a pretty girl and think wrong thoughts. Harder to have answer here. God is hindered in giving what I ask for because my will is so involved. When my will is in line with His will, God can easily answer my prayer.

 

The body is the place where God has the most difficulty in answering my prayer. Reason is because my body is so temporal. We pray, “God, heal my body… make me well… change these circumstances…” We’re totally obsessed with removing pain and tragedies and problems; and God is totally obsessed with making us God-sensitized in our spirit because this is eternal. It is a great day in our growth to maturity when we understand that God often allows sickness and calamity and tragedy in our body and circumstances in order to make us God-sensitized. The body is decaying and temporal and created. God will even destroy the body in order to save the eternal. READ 1 CORINTHIANS 5:1-5 – “…allow flesh to be destroyed and his spirit saved.”

 

Here is an eternal Christian presumption: God is more interested in the eternal than the temporal. He reveals that all through His Word. He will sacrifice the temporal (body, situation, etc.) every time in order to develop and mature and save the eternal.

 

So we pray from the inside out. We pray for the development of that which is deep within us and interpret and pray for our bodies and circumstances in the light of how it affects our inner man.

 

Praying ineffectively for the temporal, be it body or circumstances will greatly damage our view of God.

 

Viewing physical illness and circumstances with man’s interests in mind will hinder our understanding of God’s purpose.

 

And it’s so easy for us to do that. After a great confession, Peter is commended by Jesus. Then Christ says, “I must suffer and die,” and Peter is horrified. “No, you won’t die!” was to Peter’s best interest, he thought, for Christ not to die. “Get behind me, Satan!” Peter was trying to put Christ’s eyes on man’s interests, not on God’s.

 

Praying from the inside out allows us to see things from God’s perspective.

 

Illustrated with praying for person with cancer. Pray and pray and pray for healing. Can be healed of cancer seven times, and they’ll eventually die. It is not eternally effective. Life is a terminal disease.

 

People get all hyped up over some healing. We’re all in a tizzy. But angels rejoice when bodies are healed? No. When soul is saved! That is the eternal thing.

 

We are to seek God and His desires first and then ask for whatever our heart desires. Our desires will be His desires.

 

Yet most people ask and beg and want things and situations changed and bodies healed and don’t have the slightest idea what God wants to do.

 

When my will is in line with His will God can easily answer. When my will is not in line with His will there is conflict. Guess who usually wins!

 

But not always. If you pray without being enlightened, without knowing His will, God will sometimes give you what you want with devastating results.

 

READ PSALM 106:14-15. Wanted quail. Tired of manna. God sent quail; got sick and died.

 

Story of woman with sick baby. Pray for my baby to be healed… lived to watch son mount stairs of village gallows to be hanged for murdering family of six next door.

 

Deal for just a moment with praying for the sick.

 

Three basic broad purposes for sickness.

 

*Unto death – John 11:4 – Some sicknesses are for the purpose of death.

 

*Unto chastisement – punishment for sin.

 

Jesus heals man at pool (John 5) and says, “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”

 

1 Corinthians 11 – Eating Lord’s Supper in unworthy manner. “Don’t you know that’s why many are sick and some have died?

 

Relates to sin – common cold relates to sin n Garden, reminds us of our sins before God. Puts our need for a Savior in proper perspective.

 

*Unto glory of God.

 

John 4:11 – Lazarus’ sickness for glory of God.

John 9:3 – Man born blind, for glory of God.

Luke 18 – Man at pool sick for glory of God.

 

Seek God’s face – Is this a sickness unto death?

 

Is it for chastisement?

 

If so, confess sin and God promises to heal. Confess with Psalm 139:23-24; Psalm 51; 1 John 1:9 – Instructions given in James 5:13-16. Deals with context of sickness caused by sin. Confess, elders, ask God to heal, pray in faith. God will heal. If no healing, sins not confessed and repented of, or maybe it’s for the glory of God.

 

Is it for God’s glory?

 

READ 1 CORINTHIANS 4:15-18

 

Paul’s thorn.

 

Stop asking for healing and seek God’s power and glory through the sickness.

 

Proper responses to adversity.

 

*Give thanks for all things. Praise God for all things. Remember that God uses all things to develop our inner man, the eternal. What could be better than that? Remember that praise transforms.

 

*Don’t immediately attempt to remove the adversity. Allow it to reveal our true weakness. READ 2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10, and see Paul and his thorn.

 

*Realize that we are dealing with unseen spiritual powers. We need to avoid focusing our attention on the outward physical circumstances and look at the spiritual issues involved. Ephesians 6:12.

 

*Seek God and have His heart and mind; then we have the power source to determine what’s going on from God’s eternal perspective – James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom” (about trials).

 

*Realize that Jesus Christ must live in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 2:20 – “I am crucified with Christ.”

 

*Find out what God’s doing and pray for Him to accomplish it. Does God intend to heal here? Does He want to straighten out this tragedy now? Later? Perhaps never? Why?

 

The holy art of prayer, or of Christian living, is to transition from the temporal to the eternal.

 

It’s accomplished by praying from the inside out. Let’s do that.

 

Pray theol

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Sermon Starters

Doubters Anonymous

by Craig Groeschel
written by Craig Groeschel

“Why do so many bad things happen to good people?”

Open up to Mark in the New Testament, Mark, chapter 10.  As you are doing so, I want to tell you a story about a good friend of mine named Mike.  Now, let me tell you about Mike.  Mike believes in God, but he’d be the first one to tell you that he’s not sold out to the whole church thing, nor a committed follower of Christ.  But, he is an incredible person.  He is a person that many people would say, “I am surprised that you are friends with this guy, because quite frankly, Mike is a wild party-er.”  But I’ve got to tell you that I am absolutely convinced with everything in me that if Jesus was walking on planet earth today, that Mike is the kind of guy that Jesus would be friends with, and Mike is the exact kind of guy that Jesus would invite to be His disciple.  I love him for his rawness.  I love him for his honesty.  I told this story before, but it’s worth telling again.  Some of you haven’t heard.  A while back, Mike had a party at his house, and everybody was getting toasted, wasted, and some people started making fun of preachers, and my name came up and they started making fun of me.  And, Mike chimed in to my defense, and they were saying, “Yeah, Groeschel, that guy’s getting loaded and rich off of all the profits of the DVDs and the tapes and this, that, and the other,” and Mike spoke up and told them truthfully, which is accurate, that I don’t take any money from that, nor does any staff member make any money on any of that stuff, and he defended me … and then, he started bragging on me to his drunk friends, so much so that they were finally convinced, according to Mike, that I am the real deal.  He had all of his drunk people at his party hold up their beers and toast Pastor Craig.  [laugh]  I like that a lot, and I like Mike a lot.  Mike is here today in this experience.  This is his fourth time at LifeChurch, and honestly, it’s his fourth time at church since he was a young boy, and he gave me permission to tell you why that’s so.  When he was twelve years old, his mom was taking a bath and had an epileptic seizure, and Mike, at the age of twelve, walked into the bathroom at his house and found his mom had drowned under the running water.  And, let me tell you right now, I cannot begin to imagine what that was like for him, but I can imagine what kind of faith questions that would bring into the mind of any twelve-year-old boy, who went through that.  And so, it’s to my good friend, Mike, that I dedicate this message today, and I really pray that God would touch him in a way that God wants to do.

Mark, chapter 10, we are going to look at Jesus, who had an encounter with a very rich and up and coming ruler, and this is what happened.  Verse 17, “As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before Him.”  Now, it’s interesting to notice, this guy was a leader.  This was a respected guy, so for him to run to Jesus, it reflected a real sense of urgency.  For him to fall on his knees, that reflected a sense of humility and genuineness.  This guy did so, and then, he called Jesus this.  At all of our campuses, would you say these words out loud?  He said, “Good,” what?  He said, “ ‘Good teacher,’ he asked,” and then he asked one of the most important questions, “ ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ “  Now, Jesus didn’t answer the question; instead, He did what Jesus often did, which was respond with a question, and He asked, “ ‘Why do you call Me,’ “ what?  He said, “ ‘Why do you call Me good?’  Jesus answered, ‘No one is good-except God alone.’ “  Now, that very phrase, or title, “good teacher” was a statement that was without parallel in Jewish history.  Nowhere in all of the ancient Jewish writings can you ever find any student calling any rabbi good teacher.  It was simply unheard of, and it would never, ever happen.  Why?  Because everyone knew that immediately, the only response that any rabbi would give would give would be, “There is nothing good but the law.”

Jesus, though, as no ordinary rabbi, over looked the law because He came to fulfill that, looked to the giver of the law, God, and instead of saying there’s nothing good but the law, He said, “There’s no one good, but God.”  Then, the son of a good God did something and said something to this rich, young man that, in my mind, does not seem fair.  Jesus said, “You want to have eternal life?  Obey the commands.”  And the guy said, “Check, I did that.”  Then, Jesus said to him, “Go and sell all your possessions and give them to the poor, and then come and follow Me.”  And scripture says, this guy went away very sad, because he was very wealthy.  In my mind, I’m asking some questions.  Why was that statement only one time, and why this guy?  Jesus never said that to anyone else.  Why did He say it to this guy, who was very, very sincere, humble, and searching for answers?  In my mind, that response doesn’t seem quite fair.  Now, I think through all that goes on in the world, and the list of things that are unfair just tumble into my mind.  The tsunami.  I ask myself, “Why all those people?  Why not others?”  The earthquake, just this week, a couple of thousand family lives shattered in, really, an instant.  I look at the poorest person that I know in our church, and on a global scale, we live in ultimate riches compared to so many people.  Why are we so wealthy, when there are children that are starving to death today?  And, why won’t we do anything about it?  It doesn’t seem fair.  Why is it that you can take the greatest Christian couple, who desires to have kids, and they can’t have any children, when so many other people have abortions?  Doesn’t seem fair.  Why is it that one of my best friends and one of my daughters have migraine headaches, and we prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed, and the God I read about in scripture can certainly and very easily heal these migraine headaches, and yet, He doesn’t.  And the list could go on and on and on and on about all the things that, in my mind, and certainly in yours, don’t seem fair.  Where is God in those events?

There are those of you that certainly, you are facing some tough stuff right now. You’ve got some questions.  You’ve got some pain.  You’ve got some suffering.  You’ve got some trials, and it’s during those times that one of two things will happen to your faith.  If you are taking notes, write this down.  Suffering trials and pain will either shake your faith, or it will prove your faith.  Either it will shake and rattle you, or it will take you to a deeper level of committed faith than you have ever known in your entire life.  Peter addressed the proving of our faith.  Now, any time you read Peter, you have to remember who Peter was writing to.  Peter was writing to a group of Christians that were, perhaps, some of the most persecuted and suffering Christ Followers who ever lived.  It was common in that day, for entertainment to this group, that they would take Christians, and they would bring them into a huge coliseum, and they would watch lions eat these Christians alive, and it was to these Christ Followers that Peter wrote these words.  I Peter 1:6-7, he said, “In this,” and he is talking about suffering.  “In this you greatly rejoice.”  He says, “Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your,” what?  Would you say that word out loud?  “These have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold … may be,” what?  Say it out loud.  “May be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”  These trials, these pains, these struggles have come with a purpose, that your faith, the most valuable thing that you have, more valuable than anything on this planet, your faith, though greater worth than gold, may be proved genuine.  You see, it’s easy for me to prove great faith when everything’s going the way I want it to go.  It’s more difficult to claim great faith when my world is falling apart, but it’s exactly in that time, if you continue to seek God, your faith will be proven.

So, let me tell you what I’m not going to do today.  In Mike’s situation, and in yours, I’m not going to try to defend God.  I’m not going to offer you cheap answers to expensive questions.  I’m not going to insult your intelligence by trying to simply explain things away.  I will not try to pretend like I know what you feel.  I don’t.  Instead, what I want to do today, in my mind, takes greater faith, and that is to point you toward a good God, and trust that in His presence, He will be enough for you.  So if you are hurting, or one day when you do hurt, keep these thoughts in mind.  How do you keep the faith in the fire?  A couple of Biblical principles.  The first one is this.  With the help of the Spirit of God, long to embrace God’s purpose in your pain.  Embrace His purpose.  In the middle of the pain, you may not see it, feel it, or even believe that it’s there, but take comfort.  God is a good and a sovereign God, who never wastes a hurt.  Look at what scripture says.  II Corinthians 4:17-18.  Paul said, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us a,” what?  Would you say it out loud?  “Are achieving for us an eternal glory that,” does what?  “That far outweighs all of the troubles,” he said.  There is a purpose behind the pain.  He goes on to say, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but instead, on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  For our light and momentary troubles, when we look at things in all of perspective of eternity that never, ever ends, all of a sudden, what seemed so huge to us today becomes a little bit lighter, and a little bit more momentary, when we start to realize that perhaps, behind the pain is something even broader and bigger than we could ever imagine, but it’s God’s purpose in the middle of our hard times.  Let me explain it to you like this, and admittedly, this is kind of a disgusting story, but that’s never stopped me from telling things like this before.  There was a bird that was one day flying south for the winter, and the little bird flew into the middle of an ice storm, and all of a sudden, his little wings got pelted with ice and they started to get heavy, and he couldn’t stay afloat, and he came in for a crash landing.  The ice and snow continued to pile on top of him, when all of a sudden, the little birdie was frozen stiff, and he thought to himself, “I never thought it would end this way.”  A few minutes later as he was preparing to die, a cow came and stood on top of him.  There’s really no good way to say this, but the cow made a deposit on top of the bird.  You could call it manure from Heaven, if you want.  And all of a sudden, the bird thought, “Great, now I’m going to freeze to death, and I’m going to stink while I’m dying, too.”  When, all of a sudden to his surprise, the warmth of the manure … yes, this is disgusting, but just hang with me … the warmth of manure started to cause the ice to melt, and the little birdie started to thaw out, and with excitement and joy, he started to sing, “Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip.  Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip,” when all of a sudden, Satan’s leading creature, a cat came along, heard the cheeping, dug the little baby bird out of the manure, ate the bird, dead.  Tragic story.  Cats.  Three morals behind the story.  First one is this.  Not everyone who drops manure on you is your enemy.  Not everyone who digs you out is your friend, and, when you are in manure, keep your mouth shut.  Glory.

Just because you are facing pain at this moment does not mean that God is not good.  You see, He is.  And, just because you would give anything for it to go away does not mean that eternally, that is the best thing for you and God’s kingdom.  Embrace His purpose in the middle of your pain.  There’s an encounter that a blind guy had with Jesus.  It’s recorded in John 9:1-3.  Everybody wanted to know why this guy was born blind.  Whose fault was it?  Scripture says this.  “As Jesus went along, He saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, whose fault is it?  Who sinned, this man or his parents?”  Where can we place the blame that he was born blind?  Watch what Jesus says.  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.”  We are not going to place blame, Jesus said, “But this happened,” check this out.  “So that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”  This was a pain with a purpose behind it.  This was a hurt that was not wasted.  This was something with a, from the foundation of time, this was a pain with a purpose behind it.  This happened so that the work of God might be displayed through his life, and Jesus went on to heal this guy, and boy, the true rumor started.  Everyone needs to know that Jesus is opening blind eyes.  Embrace God’s purpose in the middle of your pain.  In my family, it was probably about two months ago that my dad had a pretty serious stroke, and for those that have asked about him and then praying for him, thank you.  He looks like he will return to work in about a month, and we celebrate dad.  He’s doing well.  This is something that I would never, ever, ever, ever, ever wish on him nor anyone else, but let me tell you what.  In God’s mysterious ways, it’s been a gift to our family.  I can’t fully explain it, but God has done more good through that than you could ever imagine.  I would never wish that on anyone, but God had a purpose in his pain.

For those of you that are in pain right now, there’s a second thing, and I pray this would be true for you, as well.  In the middle of what you are going through, right now, at this moment, I pray that you could embrace God’s peace in your pain, that you could embrace a pain that goes beyond your ability to understand, right now, in the presence of God.  Paul penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit from a Roman prison, so put that in your mind as you read his words.  Philippians 4:6, he said, “Do not be anxious about,” how much?  All of our campuses, would you say that?  “Do not be anxious about anything.”  Okay, you guys can do better than that.  Let’s try it again.  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in,” how much?  In how much?  “In everything by,” what?  “By prayer and,” by what?  “By prayer,” with what?  “Petition, with,” what?  “With thanksgiving,” do what?  “Present your requests to God.”  Stop right there.  When you cannot make it on your own, when it’s too much, when you don’t have the answers, and when you don’t understand, all of a sudden, you may be divinely positioned for a gift, which is complete dependence upon God, and you present that which you are incapable of handling to a good God, and scripture says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,” which is impossible for us to humanly comprehend.  “It will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  The Greek word is the word eirene.  It’s translated as peace.  It can be translated as peace, as quietness, or as rest, and the peace of God, “which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts at this moment.”  I pray that this story would pass to you the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.

This is a true story about a man named Horatio Stafford, a Christ Follower, who lived in the late 1800s.  Horatio had many reasons why he could have doubted the goodness of God, but no matter what happened, his faith remained strong.  Horatio first lost his four-year-old son to scarlet fever.  Then, in 1871, he lost everything.  This famous and well-known Chicago lawyer lost all of his business, wealth, and property in the great Chicago fire.  Then, in 1873, he faced an event that could have shaken his faith, but because of God’s presence, his faith was once again proven.  In 1873, Horatio booked a trip to Europe for his family on a ship.  Business kept him behind, so he sent his wife, Annie, and his four daughters on ahead of him.  Midway through the trip, though, Horatio’s family’s ship collided with another ship, and within twelve minutes, the entire ship sank to the bottom of the ocean.  Horatio’s wife, Annie, her last memory was clinging on to his and her four daughters as she was knocked unconscious, and her daughters washed away to their death.  The only thing that kept Annie alive was that she was knocked out on top of a log that kept her afloat.  Twelve days after his family left, Horatio received a telegram from his wife that said, “Saved alone.”  We can only imagine his loss.  Horatio Stafford immediately boarded the next ship and traveled to be with his wife, and it was when the ship that he was on passed the approximate spot of his four daughters deaths, that’s when God gave him the words to the song that we sing today in worship.  [singing]  When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, “It is well, it is well with my soul.”

“Now, God, in Your presence, I ask that Your peace that passes all understanding, no matter what Your children are facing now, God, that You would guard their hearts and offer Your peace, and that we could reflect those inspired words.  Even though things around us are not well, in Your presence, it is well.  It is well with my soul.”

So, I think about Mike, and I think about all that so many people are going through, and people that raise the question, “Is God fair?”  And, my answer is unquestionably, “No, He is not.  He is not fair.”  He is good, and He is just, but the best news that I can tell you is this.  He is not fair.  You see, if He was fair, then we would get what our sins deserve, and that is death.  But because He is good in His mercy, He did something for us that we did not deserve.  He sent Jesus to forgive our sins and offer us a life that we are not worthy to live.  Psalm 103:10 shows us the reality of His truth.  He is not fair, but He is good.  “God does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  Praise be to God.

So, it was several years go that one of my favorite families in the whole church faced a tragedy that no one would ever, ever want to face.  This is truly one of the greatest families that I know, who had one of the greatest kids that I have ever known, and at fourteen, this young man, who was in a state of momentary confusion, made the stupidest decisions that anyone could ever make.  He took his own life, and it was my burden and my honor to do his funeral, and I planned it all out.  I sought God and had everything ready, and I stood up on the stage, but I’d forgotten one thing.  I’d forgotten to think of how to open up the funeral.  What words would I speak off the top?  Usually, pastors will say, “Dearly beloved.”  That just doesn’t work for me.  I didn’t know what to say, and so I stood there on stage in front of my grieving friends and family members, grieving myself, and I froze.  And I just stood there for an awkward, pregnant pause, and I prayed, “God, tell me what to say.”  And, I believe that God spoke to me.  It was not audible.  It was too loud to be audible.  And I felt like God said, “Tell them that I am good.”  Now, I’m not going to tell you I talk back and forth with God like some people do.  It just doesn’t work that way for me, but in my mind, I had an argument with God and said, “No, I’m not going to tell them that.”  And, for whatever reason or way, I am going to tell you, I felt very impressed by God to tell them.  I said, “No,” and finally, I just surrendered, and I thought, “I hope this isn’t a big mistake.”  And so, the very first words I said to this grieving crowd of my friends and family members was, “God is good,” and the moment I said that, I am going to tell you, simultaneously, everyone smiled and everyone cried, and the wind of the Son of God blew into this place, and everyone there said, “All the time, God is good.  God is good, all the time.”  And as long as I live, I will never be able to put it into words that the tangible presence of God was so much there, that in the middle of life’s greatest loss, all I can tell you is that God is good.  And so, for my buddy, Mike, and everyone who faces questions like he does, I come with no answers, no explanations, only a promise that is true, truer than anything I could ever say.  God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Let’s all pray together.  “God, we ask that in Your presence, You can do what only You can do.”

Would you take a minute and just kind of reflect on what we have talked about today. Just in a, groups this size, there are those of you facing major, major, major challenges, pain, questions, struggles, heartache.  Those of you that would simply say today, “Craig, would you just pray for me?  I am hurting, and I need prayer.”  At all of our campuses, would you just lift up your hands honestly, right now, and say, “Please pray for me.”  Hands going up all over the place right now.  Thank you so much for your honesty.  “God, I would ask that in Your presence at this moment that You would simply be enough, that You would be enough.  God, I pray for eyes to see You at work, whether at this moment, or months, or even years down the road that would could see Your purpose in the middle of our pain.  God, I pray that we would all take comfort, that You don’t waste a hurt.  That You are in all things, working them together for good to those who love You and who are called according to Your purpose.  And God, now as we seek You, I thank You that we will find You, and I pray just a prayer of faith, believing that You will do this.  That no matter what people are facing, we could echo the words of Horatio Stafford, “It is well with my soul,” because You are here, God.  In Your presence, no matter what we face, there is a peace that passes all understanding.  May it be so in the hearts of Your children here today. “

As you continue praying today, there are those of you right now, at this moment, that you are very aware that you are not in a relationship with God.  You may believe in God.  Great.  That’s a good place to start, but you are not, you are not a Christ Follower, and you know that.  Our greatest problem is that we are born with a sin nature.  The Bible tells us, all of us sin.  All of us, our hearts, the Bible says, they are deceitful above all things.  We even try to fool ourselves into thinking everything’s okay.  The Old Testament calls us sheep.  We are all like sheep.  The Bible says that we’ve gone astray from God’s plan.  We have all turned to our own ways.  The problem is, God is so holy that He cannot look upon sin.  The good news is, though, God is not fair, because the only thing that we deserve, because of our sin, is death, but God is good, and He is full of mercy.  You see, that is why He did something that we did not deserve.  He became one of us.  He became Jesus, born of a virgin, without the sin nature passed along, lived a sinless life, and shed innocent blood so that we could be forgiven.  He died and is risen from the grave, and now the scripture says whoever believes in that, that person would be changed forever.  No matter what your sin is, it will be forgiven.  No matter how bad you’ve been, He will forgive you, and He will separate your sins as far as the east is from the west.  He will remember them no more.  You will become brand new.

There are those of you here today, you may be at the bottom.  Guess what?  God may have let you get to the bottom.  There’s only one way to look, and that’s up.  You may be at the top right now, and you know what?  When you are at the top, it’s empty and there is nothing there, because that’s because there is a God-shaped void in your life, and you need to say, “Yes, take over.  I am a sinner.  Filthy. ”  No matter how hard you try to be good enough, you do not qualify.  It is impossible.  “Jesus, be that for me.  I believe You died so I could live.  Forgive me.”  Every sin will be forgiven.  At every campus, those of you that would say, “That’s my prayer.  Jesus, take over.  I trust you.  Forgive me.  Be the Savior and the Lord of my life.  I want to know You and follow You.”  Boldly lift your hands right now.  All over the place, lift them up.  Let me just meet you eye-to-eye, too.  Right over here, ma’am.  Right here, ma’am.  Let me just meet you eye-to-eye.  Right back here, God bless you.  Right over here in this section.  Thank you.  Right back over there, God bless you as you say, “Yes.”  Let me find … right back there, let me see.  Both of you right here together.  Praise God for you, sweetheart.  Right here in the middle section.   Sir, right here.  Right there.  God bless you together, both of you saying, “Yes.”  Ma’am, right over here, “Yes, I surrender, Jesus.”  Others of you. Sir, right there.  “God, touch his heart.  May he never be the same.”  In this section saying, “Yes, Jesus, I surrender.”  Others of you.  “Forgive me.  Be the Savior and the Lord of my life.”  Right here in this section saying, “Yes, I give You my life.”  Others of you today.  “Jesus, take over.  Forgive me.  Make me brand new.”  Right over here in this section, sir.  “Yes, God, touch his life.  Touch his life.”  Others of you.  Right here, sir.  Praise God for you.  “God, thank You for this man, who says ‘Yes’ to You.”  Others of you today.

At our other campuses, you guys, you campus pastors are free to go at your own pace.  Let’s pray together with those around you here, and then we are going to celebrate big God’s new life through Christ.  Would you pray out loud?  Pray, “Heavenly Father, I am ready for You to have my whole life.  I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and I need a Savior.  I believe Jesus is Your Son, who died for me, so I could live for You.  Forgive me.  Make me new.  Take my whole life.  I am Your disciple, Your follower, and Your child.  In Jesus’ name I pray.”  Would you guys worship God?  Would you tell Him thank You for new life through Christ …

www.lifechurch.tv./open.

 

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Articles

Abortion is Everyone’s Issue

by Matt Chandler
written by Matt Chandler

As the Church, we must not say of abortion, “This is murder,” without saying to pregnant women, “We will serve you.” If we’re doing the former without the latter, we aren’t truly understanding the gospel.

Conversations about abortion can be grim and bleak. There are a lot of facts we can’t shy away from or ignore.

The reality is that, from 1973 – 2015, 55 million babies were aborted in the United States alone. The majority of these abortions were performed for convenience, not because of a medical emergency. This is more lives lost than the Holocaust of World War II. More than the communist regime of Stalin in the former Soviet Union. This is a terrifyingly huge number, and it’s not even a worldwide number; we’re only talking about the U.S. here.

The reality is that, with a number like this, it would be naive to think this issue isn’t present here in the church we pastor—but it most certainly is.

Sin reaches everywhere. Consider some of the most lauded men of the Bible: Moses, David, Paul—these guys are famous even in the secular world. David was called a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). Yet he committed adultery and had a man killed to hide it. Moses killed a man with his bare hands. Paul, when he was still Saul of Tarsus, fiercely persecuted Christians like an ISIS commander. And even still, God used these men in mighty ways.

Do not be discouraged. Their sin did not disqualify them, and in the same way, your sin does not disqualify you.

Theology, Science, Theology

Psalm 139 is perhaps the quintessential text for discussing the sanctity of life. In this psalm, David (that adulterous, murderous man after God’s heart), praises God for his creation in the womb. Theologically, this leaves no doubt that the child in the womb is a human being, with days ahead of him already marked out by God (Ps. 139:13-16). God is deeply and actively involved in our creation. Theologically, life begins at conception.

However, this is not the big theology versus science debate some people tend to believe. The facts are not really disputed: At conception, a new DNA strand is created that is distinct from mom’s and dad’s, a new human life. At eight weeks in the womb, a baby feels and reacts to pain and has all of the organs necessary to support life. Yet, it is legal to end this life.

Interestingly, it is only legal under certain circumstances. If a woman is in the car on the way to get an abortion and a drunk driver hits her, causing her to lose the baby, that driver can be charged with involuntary manslaughter. That indicates that the unborn child is, indeed, human. However, you’re well within your rights to drive to that abortion clinic and end the life of your baby with no legal consequences. Our legal system does not make sense on this issue.

I used to think that science would solve this argument for us—but it hasn’t. The vital question is no longer, “When does life begin?” It is now, “When does the soul show up?” This question is not scientific, but moral and theological, and this is why we as Christians must be involved in the issue and actively pro-life.

Rape in a Throwaway Culture

Another question that often comes up in these discussions is that of children conceived by rape. Rape is a serious, tragic and horrific issue, and compassion and care for victims of rape is essential, but the child who was conceived and the murder of that child cannot be the price that is paid for someone else’s heinous act. And in truth, a very small percentage of abortions fit into this category, and the reality of rape doesn’t justify the widespread allowance of abortion.

We are living in a throwaway culture that exalts the autonomous self. Think about your parents’ or grandparents’ generation, and consider how people used to repair more often than simply replace. Rarely do you see a patched pair of jeans anymore. When something tears or breaks, it gets thrown away, and you buy something new. This is the way the current culture tries to solve its problems.

Sadly, this has fed the abortion culture, allowing the baby in the womb to be seen as a problem that needs to be solved, something that can simply be thrown away. Unfortunately, women and men who experience rape often feel unjustified guilt and shame. We want to come alongside them to help them heal. Encouraging abortion is ultimately only adding to their pain.

The Christian Response

Our first response to anything, as Christians, should be prayer. We must pray that God ends the injustice of abortion. We must pray for forgiveness for our role, whether we’ve had an abortion or been indifferent toward the issue. We must pray that those in power would be convicted to change things. Prayer is a powerful tool that we must not take lightly or forget about.

After praying, we must also participate. There are many ways to take action on these prayers. You can write to your representative, clearly and respectfully, laying out why abortion in this country must stop. Take advantage of your American citizenship; not everyone has the same ability to participate in government the way we do.

Get involved in ministries that serve women in crisis pregnancies. For example, Involved for Life runs two pregnancy centers and a mobile sonogram unit in the Dallas area, and YoungLives reaches out to teen mothers. Online for Life has a mobile app that will send you prayer requests and updates in real time.

As the Church, we must not say of abortion, “This is murder,” without saying to pregnant women, “We will serve you.” If we’re doing the former without the latter, we aren’t truly understanding the gospel. We must listen, love, foster, adopt, give money, babysit, donate supplies, mentor young women and support in whatever ways God has equipped us.

Here is the truth: Abortion is murder. And here in our church, there are murderers among us. Maybe you’ve had an abortion. Maybe you’ve funded an abortion, encouraged or coerced someone down that road. You’ve participated in the murder of a human being.

But here is another truth, one with tremendous promise: Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. This sin has not disqualified you from the kingdom of God. His grace, mercy and forgiveness are bigger than your sin. Lean into Him as you value every human life.

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Devotionals

We Are Empowered by God

by Abraham Kuruvilla
written by Abraham Kuruvilla

Paul’s divinely empowered role in the administration of God’s plan forms a paradigm for the ministry of all believers, as God is made known to the cosmos through the church. Ephesians 3:1-11

Paul begins in Ephesians 3:1 intending to utter an intercessory prayer but breaks off immediately, to resume in 3:14, where he repeats his opening phrase, “For this reason ….” The seeming digression of 3:2–13 describes the stewardship entrusted to Paul by God’s grace—the apostle’s ministry to the Gentiles and its relationship to the “mystery of Christ” (3:4)—and it becomes a paradigm of how believers’ individual and corporate ministries are integral to this glorious plan of God.

Paul labels himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus” (3:1). That’s true, but he is also the prisoner of Caesar, who in earlier chapters of Ephesians was extolling the triumph of the God he serves, the God who has exalted Christ as cosmic lord and is consummating all things in him. How can the ambassador of such a great God be a humble captive in the dungeons of a pagan emperor? Indeed, Paul’s captivity reflected the daily experience of God’s people—outnumbered, insignificant, weak, and suffering. If these saints were co-citizens being co-fitted and co-built into the dwelling of the glorious God (2:19–22), should not this privileged position of Christians be reflected in actuality now?

In 3:2 (and in 3:9), Paul sees himself playing a definitive role as a preacher to the Gentiles, a steward in God’s grand plan. “The consummation of all things in Christ” (1:10), God’s cosmic plan to bring all things to completion and in alignment to his will in the fullness of time, had now been “revealed” to God’s apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit (3:5), a company that included Paul himself, to whom the “revelation” was “made known” (3:3). The “mystery” here is specifically about those who were once outside now being introduced into a new sphere of life, into a new “in-Christ” realm (2:11–22; 3:6). Thus, despite his agonizing situation as a prisoner, in the wondrous divine action of consummating all things in Christ, Paul played a major role.

This use of Paul in this divine action was entirely a matter of grace (3:2–3, 7–8). Throughout this pericope, there is a preponderance of passive verbs: “was given” (3:2), “was made known” (3:3), “was not made known” and “has been revealed” (3:5), “was made a minister” and “was given” (3:7), “was given” (3:8), “has been hidden” (3:9), and “might be made known” (3:10). These (divine) passives underscore God as the subject of the divine actions: Paul was engraced by God to be a part of the grand divine program to consummate all things in Christ. And so it is for each individual believer—it is all by grace.

In fact, Paul labels himself “less than the least [literally, “leaster,” a word coined by the apostle] of all the saints” (3:8). This imprisoned, “less-than-the-least”-ranked saint—a prisoner!—is the one who is part of the grand plan of God (3:8). Despite Paul’s “leasterness” (3:8), God’s work is manifest.

And guess what? All God’s people, too, are engraced and empowered for great things, for it is “through the church”—i.e., the unity of this body—that God’s wisdom is manifested (3:10). If Paul, the “leaster” of the saints, could be so used, how much more the rest of the company, who have “boldness and access in confidence” to God (3:12). Therefore, believers are not to “lose heart” (3:13).

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Ask Roger

How Can I Be Sure that the Bible is Reliable?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

How can we trust that the Bible is reliable?
Sincerely, Alexa

Dear Alexa,

The Bible is an old book in a world where age is no longer considered an advantage. If we are going to trust the Bible, we must have sound, proven reasons to do so. At stake are issues as timely as our approach to sexuality, ethics, morals, values, money, the economy, marriage, work, welfare, abortion, government, and worship—just to mention a few.

Recently, I was looking through an old file cabinet from at least forty years ago that dealt with this subject. Using it as a guide, I have selected eight key reasons why the Bible is reliable. I hope that they will allow you to be bold in your evangelism, build your faith stronger, and help mature your spiritual life.

1. It is unusual to see the same theme consistently repeated over a span of 1,600 years without wavering.

The number of words written in the last 6,000 years (since writing was invented) are countless. The writings of humans are marked by disunity and contradiction. Words written by more than one author often contain glaring discrepancies in philosophy, facts, style, and ideas.

Josh McDowell, the Christian apologist, pointed out in Great Books of the Western World; “If you take ten authors from the same walks of life, the same time period, the same country, and the same language, and asked them to expound on one basic subject, would such a conglomeration all agree? Of course not.”

Yet, from start to finish, the Bible has one simple theme: Humankind is sinful and needs a Savior. Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive our sins and give us eternal life in heaven with Him.

Consider that the Bible was written:

– By 40 different authors

– In 66 books

– Over a time period of 1,600 years

– In three languages (Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic)

– On three continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe)

– By writers from all walks of life: prophets (like Jeremiah), priests (such as Zechariah), shepherds (like Amos), a doctor (Luke), a tax collector (Matthew), fishermen (like Peter), and preachers (such as Paul).

– With a gap of more than 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament.

Despite this wide diversity, the Bible is one book with the same theme from start to finish.

2. Hundreds of events, people, and things are prophesied in the Bible – all of which have come true.

Let me share a few fulfilled prophecies concerning Jesus:

Virgin Born – Prophesied Isaiah 7:14 – Fulfilled Luke 1:26-35

Birth in Bethlehem – Prophesied Micah 5:2 – Fulfilled Matthew 2:1

Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday – Prophesied Zachariah 9:9 – Fulfilled Matthew 21:1-11

Betrayed by a Friend – Prophesied Psalm 41:9 – Fulfilled Matthew 26:20-25

Falsely Accused by Leaders – Prophesied Psalm 35:11 – Fulfilled Matthew 26:59-68

Silent before His Accusers – Prophesied Isaiah 15:7 – Fulfilled Matthew 27:12-14

Hands and Feet Pierced – Prophesied Psalm 22 16 – Fulfilled John 20:25

Said “My God My God Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?” – Prophesied Psalm 22:1 – Fulfilled Matthew 27:46

Crucified With Robbers – Prophesied Isaiah 53:12 – Fulfilled Matthew 27:38

Lots Cast for His Clothes – Prophesied Psalm 22:18 – Fulfilled John 19:23-24

Bones Not Broken – Prophesied Psalm 34:20 – Fulfilled John 19:33

Thirsted on the Cross – Prophesied Psalm 22:15 – Fulfilled John 19:28

Buried in the Tomb of a Rich Man – Prophesied Isaiah 53:9 – Fulfilled Matthew 27:57-61

Said “It Is Finished”– Prophesied Psalm 22:31 – Fulfilled John 19:30

Is that enough? Or would you like some more?

3. The Bible is historically accurate at every point where it’s been tested.

At the beginning of the 20th century, many enemies of the Bible declared that the Bible was more fable than actual history. Since then, archaeologists have documented many existing historical places that were mentioned in Scripture.

For example, the Old Testament mentions the Hittite nation over fifty times. Archaeologists scoffed until they found archaeological evidence of the Hittite nation.

Or consider that Luke 2:2 says Quirinius was the governor of Syria when Joseph and Mary went to the city of their birth, Bethlehem, to be counted in the census. Historical records had absolutely no mention of a Roman governor by this name. Then, a number of years ago, a rock was discovered with his name on it. Once again, the Bible was proved to be historically accurate. Many more examples exist today.

4. When properly understood, there is no conflict between science and the Bible.

We need to remember that the Bible is a religious book, while science is a science book.

Francis Bacon, the famous philosopher (1561 to 1626) understood the separation:

“Let no one think or maintain that a person can search too far or be too well studied in either the book of God’s word or the book of God’s works.”

Many Science vs. Scripture arguments today center around the reality of a Creator versus naturalistic evolution. Instead of being forced to believe one or the other, many look to theistic evolution as a good alternative. In other words, God created the universe and used evolution as a tool. I would encourage you to spend time studying these concepts. Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org) is a wonderful resource.

Several passages do show a link between science and the Bible:

“The Lord sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22).

“By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

Much controversy comes into play around Genesis chapter one, which says that the world and everything in it was created in six 24-hour days. Many scientists think that that is ludicrous when they can examine the evidence which demonstrates that the earth is at least four billion years old and the universe close to 13 billion years old.

In contrast, some are convinced that since the Bible literally counted those days, then that is what we’re supposed to believe.

One way to handle the issue is to see that the discrepancies go away when we understand that not all of the Bible is literal. Sometimes it is written in poetry. When we read poetry we often think of rhyming words: “Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.”

On the other hand, Hebrew poetry rhymes thoughts: “Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia, I shall in triumph” (Psalm 60:8). God does not wash His hands, and He does not wear sandals. This is Hebrew poetry rhyming words and thoughts regarding God’s destruction of his enemies.

Moses wrote much of the book of Genesis in this Hebrew poetry style. Let me illustrate.

Genesis one says that the earth was “without form and empty”. So, God gave it form and then filled it.

On DAY 1, He formed light and darkness;
On DAY 2, He formed sun and sky;
On DAY 3, He formed land and vegetation;
On DAY 4, He filled the light and darkness with the sun, moon and stars;
On DAY 5, He filled the sky and seas with birds and fish.
On DAY 6, He filled the dry land and vegetation with animals and man.

Notice how days one, two, and three rhyme with days four, five, and six. You can also see that God formed the earth on days one, two, and three. Then He filled the earth on days four, five, and six. The thoughts “rhyme” across two different patterns.

Also, each of the created things mentioned here were Hebrew gods. Moses was encouraging God’s people never to worship anyone but Him. The Egyptian gods were nothing compared to Him!

Moses was not giving us a science book on how God created the universe. He was giving the Exodus-era Israelites a religious book to remind them and us that the Egyptian gods were not gods at all. Moses’ God created them.

5. Textual preservation guarantees that the manuscripts we have today are exactly what the original writers wrote.

The original documents are called “autographs.” None of those are in existence today. However, the copies can be traced back thousands of years. How certain are we that the original text has been preserved?

The earliest copies of the original Old Testament text dates back over 2,500 years. These copies are remarkably error-free. Biblical Hebrew scribes had an elaborate counting system for preserving accuracy. At the end of each page, the scribe counted the number of letters to ensure accuracy. They knew which letter was exactly in the middle of the text. If it did not match, they threw away that copy and started over.

The New Testament autographs were all written before the end of the first century. They go back in time to the original writers. Over 3,500 extant copies have been found and translated. Biblical Scholars say that by comparing all the various pieces, they know 99.9% of what the original writers wrote when they wrote. The 0.1 percent affects no major teaching or theology. The American Society Greek Bible covers all of this if you would like to pursue further study.

6. The Bible has a powerful impact on both society and individuals.

The Bible’s impact on society is dramatic. For example, most hospitals were started by Christians. Christians pioneered orphanages and were the impetus for child protective agencies.

The Bible has often brought new respect and freedom in places where women are treated little better than animals.

The sailors and women described in the book, Mutiny on the Bounty, were cast aside on Pitcairn Island in the Pacific Ocean and destined to die. The thirty or so unrestrained men and women were falling into moral debauchery when one of them found a Bible. They decided to follow its teachings, and everything changed for the better. In fact, when those who were marooned were later rescued the rescuers were shocked at the impressive moral society that had developed.

In the 1970s, the United States the Supreme Court outlawed prayer and the Bible in public schools. Our society has become more degenerate and filled with unrestrained anarchy ever since.

We live in a society where people are saying things like, “It’s my right to do anything that I want.” Our society doesn’t understand that we don’t have the right to do anything; the Constitution means that we have the freedom to do what is right.

And how often we hear the testimony of those whose lives were changed powerfully when they surrendered to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior!

Martin Luther, who sparked the Protestant Reformation, had his life forever changed when he saw in the Bible the words: “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

7. The Bible declares itself to be the Word of God.

The Bible claims that even though it was written by human authors, it was inspired by God. Therefore, it is completely trustworthy.

“Inspired” doesn’t mean a flash of insight that comes to us as we work on a particular problem or seek answers in a certain area. “Inspiration” means that the biblical writings were initiated and controlled by God through men like Moses, Isaiah, Matthew, and Paul. The Bible claims to be the very Word of God accurately given to man from God.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

8. Jesus himself taught that the Bible is 100% accurate.

Jesus Christ used the Bible continually in his ministry:

He called it “the Word of God” (Mark 7:13) and “the commandment of God” (Mark 7:8).

He accepted that the persons and events mentioned in the Scriptures were historical: Adam and Eve; Noah and the flood; Lot’s wife; Jonah and the big fish; and Satan during His temptations.

Let me conclude by encouraging you to dig deeply into the Word of God and pursue your own understanding of its teachings, origin, and authenticity. Search through piti.wpengine.com to find hundreds of articles, sermons, and articles about each one of these eight reasons, then decide for yourself.

I always find that searching for the truth myself leads to a stronger, more personal belief system that I can count on as I walk through life. I hope you will continue to build your own.

Well, Alexa,

I hope this helps you to understand how you can trust the reality of the Bible.

Love, Roger

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Ask Roger

Should We Have an Emotional Faith?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

I grew up in a church that emphasized emotional expression in worship. If I didn’t have an ecstatic, exciting experience in a service, I felt like I had disappointed God. I now go to a church that emphasizes Bible teaching but does not encourage any emotional expression of my faith. How should my faith and my emotion affect my Christian walk?

 

Sincerely,

 

Curious

 

Dear Curious,

 

What a great question! I really struggled with that issue growing up in a mainline denomination. I heard a lot of “fire and brimstone” preaching, but I wasn’t sure how to respond. Was I just supposed to pray to receive Christ (which I did)? Was I supposed to be reserved in worship services and just stick to singing hymnal lyrics to express my faith? The only emotion I felt was terror when my Mom caught me talking during the sermon.

 

When I went to college, I learned the simplest, most valuable explanation as to how my faith and my emotion were to interact. I read a little tract by Campus Crusade with a train on the cover. The train engine depicted Fact. Fact was the engine that pulled the train. The second car was Faith. Faith was the response to the truth of God’s Word, the “facts.” The caboose was “Feelings.” Feelings were an important part of the train, but they were not to supersede the truth of God nor our trust in Him.

 

I am a left-brained person. God used my organized, rational mind to study theology. I gave my life to Jesus as a seven-year-old boy. He called me to preach the same week. I always had a strong faith. But feelings? I never knew what to do with them.

 

God gave me some clear insights about the interaction between faith, fact and feelings. God is an emotional God. If I am made in His image, I must be emotional as well.

Here are just a few examples of how God the Father expressed emotion:

 

God was saddened when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden.

“Where are you?” He asked, disappointed. (Genesis 3:8-9)

 

In Genesis 6:5-6, the Bible said God was grieved that He made man:

 

“God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.” MSG

 

In Exodus 34:14, God said, Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. (NIV)

 

One of the most powerful expressions of emotion in Scripture is John 3:16-17:

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” NIV

 

Jesus took on human form. He expressed deep emotions in His time on earth. Because Christ was human, we should not fear to feel as He did.

 

He wept at the tomb of Lazarus.

“Jesus wept.” John 11:35 NIV

 

He grieved over Jerusalem and the Jews’ rejection of God’s prophets.

 

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” Matthew 23:37 NIV

 

He was furious with the Pharisees.

 

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” Matthew 23:13 NIV

 

He was enraged at the moneychangers in the Temple.

 

“Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling coins left and right. He told the dove merchants, “Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a shopping mall!” That’s when his disciples remembered the Scripture, ‘Zeal for your house consumes me.’” John 2:15 MSG

 

He was proud of the faith of the centurion.

 

 “Jesus stood there amazed! Turning to the crowd he said, “I haven’t seen faith like this in all the land of Israel!” Matthew 8:10 LB

 

He was disappointed with the rich young ruler walked away.

“Jesus sadly said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:21-22 NIV

 

Christ was despondent when the 5,000 left His side and only the 12 remained.

“But some of you don’t believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who didn’t believe and knew the one who would betray him.)

And he remarked, “That is what I meant when I said that no one can come to me unless the Father attracts him to me.”

At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him.

Then Jesus sadly turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you going too?”

Simon Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. John 6:64-68 NIV

Christ was indignant with the arrogance of Herod.

“Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, for he had heard a lot about him and had been hoping to see him perform a miracle.

 He asked Jesus question after question, but there was no reply.” Luke 23:8 NIV

God’s Son had compassion for the woman caught in the act of adultery.

Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

1 “No, sir,” she said.And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 NIV

 

He was overcome with sorrow as He prayed in the Garden.

 

Then Jesus brought them to a garden grove, Gethsemane, and told them to sit down and wait while he went on ahead to pray. He took Peter with him and Zebedee’s two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish and despair. Then he told them, “My soul is crushed with horror and sadness to the point of death . . . stay here . . . stay awake with me.” … Matthew 26:36-46 LB

 

He lovingly forgave the penitent thief on the cross.

Then the thief said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

And Jesus replied, “Today you will be with me in Paradise. This is a solemn promise.” Luke 22:42-43 LB

 

Remember this:

 

Emotions are good when they reflect the character of Christ,

Emotions are bad when they are dominated by the flesh.

Emotions can be twisted by Satan and his lies.

 

What are some emotions that DO NOT BELONG in our lives? Note that all of these emotions begin with SELF. Fear, anxiety, depression, bitterness cannot dominate your emotions when you are surrendered to Christ.

 

Self-satisfaction-legalism

Self-centeredness-I need….

Self-pity-depression

Self-promotion or pride.

Self-gratification or selfishness.

 

I used to repress feelings. I thought that truly spiritual people were above emotions. I can assure you that feelings that are submerged will come out in anger and thinly disguised contempt.

 

However, negative emotions must be replaced with positive feelings based on FACT (God’s Word) and FAITH.

 

The Beatitudes exemplify Christ’s character and feelings:

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.” Matthew 5:3-7 MSG

Paul learned to be joyful even in the Philippian jail.

“I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.” Philippians 4:12-13 NIV

 

So, my little train example is both true and profound. If you know the Word of God, you can believe what God says and feel what He feels.

 

I hope this will bless you today! Enjoy Him!

 

Love,

Roger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ask Roger

Why Are There Four Gospels?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

I’ve always wondered, why did God give us four Gospels? And why are they different in some places?

 

Sincerely, Bob

 

Dear Bob,

 

Imagine four people on four different street corners who simultaneously witness the same automobile accident. We know that their descriptions will not match, because each one saw from a different perspective.

 

We now know that four observers standing on the same corner will not see the same thing. The brain is not like a tape recorder. It observes the high points of what it sees and fills in what it assumes happened between the high points. The brain is quite unreliable for deciphering exactly what happened. Matt Bradley, Genome

 

According to the Old Testament law, two or three witnesses were needed to verify an account. Just think; God gave us four—that’s two extra Gospels for good measure!

 

One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (Deuteronomy 19:15)

 

Next, the word “Gospel” means “Good News.” It’s good news that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins.

 

Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12)

 

The Gospels Are Not …

 

The Gospels are not biographies. For example, we know basically nothing about the first thirty years of Jesus’ life. The gospel writers give only enough information about Jesus’ background to prepare us for His death, resurrection, and ascension—and the significance of all three.

 

The Gospels are in no way objective, and they were never intended to be. They are powerfully, persuasively written to convince people that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world (John 20:30-31).

 

The Gospels are not in chronological order. Each gospel writer organized his material under the influence of the Holy Spirit for best presenting the “good news” about Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew is a great example of the use of this literary tool.

 

God superintended the writing of each gospel, but He didn’t dictate them. He utilized the personality and individual style of each gospel writer.

 

The Gospels Are Divided into Two Groups

 

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the “Synoptic” Gospels. “Synoptic” means “to see together.” These first three Gospels record the life of Christ from much the same perspective; they look alike and follow one another. John’s Gospel is not at all like any of the other three.

 

How Mark Wrote the Gospel of Mark

 

About 60 A.D., Mark decided to write down an account of Jesus’ life and ministry from his perspective.

 

Mark used Peter’s sermon to Cornelius (Acts 10:37-42) as the outline for his book:

 

You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

 

We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

 

Papias (130 A.D.) wrote: “Mark is a copy of one of Peter’s sermons.”

 

Irenaeus (180 A.D.): “Mark transmitted to us in writing the things that Peter preached.”

 

In summary, Mark presents Jesus Christ as a servant: “The son of man came to serve” (Mark 10:45).

 

Perhaps that’s why Mark has no birth story. Mark has no genealogy. Who cares about the ancestry of a servant?

 

The book just begins. Mark uses the word “immediately” often, as the servant moves rapidly from one task to the next. Mark provides little interpretation or teaching. Jesus’ actions and miracles simply speak for themselves.

 

By the way, Mark puts his signature on the book in Mark 14:51-52. He camouflaged himself in the Garden in order to witness the arrest of Jesus. A Roman soldier grabbed him by his robe; but Mark wiggled out of his robe and ran home naked. Only Mark could have known this story.

 

How Matthew Wrote the Gospel of Matthew

 

About five years after Mark wrote his account, about, 65 A.D., Matthew used at least four sources to compose his gospel:

 

  1. He had a copy of the Gospel of Mark.

 

  1. He had in hand a copy of “Q.” Q source is a thought to be a collection of the sayings and teachings of Jesus which both Matthew and Luke used in writing their Gospels. Since the material in Q is identical to both Luke and Matthew, there is a very good chance that Q existed and was available to them when they wrote their Gospels. Nothing from Mark or John is found in Q. Also, we have not discovered the Q sources itself … yet.

 

  1. Matthew used the birth narratives from Joseph’s side of the family. Matthew alone tells us about wise men, kings, gifts, messenger angels, moving stars, King Herod, worship and killing babies—the kind of things in which kings are interested.

 

  1. Matthew records his own personal experiences with Jesus (most of which appear in no other gospel).

 

Matthew was a Roman tax collector who was interested in the power and authority of Rome. He began his gospel with a lengthy genealogy that validated Jesus’ royal lineage for the Jewish leaders. Ernest Hemingway wrote that if he were composing the Gospel of Matthew, he never would’ve started with a boring genealogy. He obviously would begin with the resurrection story to get everyone’s attention.

 

However, it’s important to note that Matthew’s genealogy includes five women, which was unheard of in those days. He included Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, “Uriah’s wife” Bathsheba, and Mary, all women who followed God in difficult circumstances.

 

Matthew alone presented five teaching sections describing how to live in the kingdom, spread throughout his gospel.

 

Finally, Matthew alone included the Great Commission Jesus gave to His followers in the same way that a king would give orders (Matthew 28:19-20) to his subjects;

 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

 

How Luke Wrote the Gospel of Luke

 

About five years after Mark wrote Mark and during the time that Matthew wrote Matthew, about 65 A.D., Luke used at least four sources to compose his gospel:

 

  1. He had in hand a copy of the Gospel of Mark.

 

  1. He had access to Q source (see above).

 

  1. Luke shares the birth narratives from Mary’s side of the family. Luke alone tells us about shepherds, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, the visit from the angel Gabriel, Mary’s positive choice to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit, the singing of shepherds and angels, and Mary’s song which she sang after visiting Elizabeth.

 

  1. Research from those who met Jesus personally. (Luke is the only gospel writer who never met or saw Jesus.)

 

Luke was a Gentile physician born in Greece. He had a heart for people in need. The book has a special emphasis on women and children. He tells the birth story from Mary’s side of the family. Luke includes things that she would be interested in—like shepherds, mangers, baby clothes, singing and angels.

 

Luke’s genealogy is from the human side of Jesus. It’s obvious that some of the material in Luke was the result of talking to others who knew Jesus personally.

 

The Good Samaritan parable is unique to Luke, as are the stories of the lost sheep and coin.

 

Finally, the Gospel of Luke is the first volume of a two-volume work written by Luke known as “Luke and Acts.” He addressed it to a man named “Theophilus,” which means “God Lover” (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-6).

 

How John Wrote the Gospel of John

 

By 95 A.D., most of the original followers of Jesus were dying out. One reason that John wrote his Gospel was to get a written record in place before all the eyewitnesses had gone to heaven.

 

He also wrote to fill in some of the gaps omitted by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

 

John utilized essentially no material from the Synoptic Gospels, except for the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 which is recorded in all four accounts.

 

More than any other Gospel, John presents Jesus Christ as God. For example, John didn’t include a genealogy because God doesn’t have one.

 

John also included long discourses and teachings by Jesus which are not included in the Synoptic Gospels. He also left his signature as “the one Jesus loved” (John 13:22-25).

 

One of the most unique, persuasive elements in the Gospel of John are the eight miraculous signs he selected to prove that Jesus Christ was God.

 

  1. Changing water to wine (John 2)

 

  1. Healing the centurion’s son (John 4)

 

  1. Healing the lame man at the pool (John 5)

 

  1. Walking on the water (John 6)

 

  1. Feeding the 5,000 (John 6)

 

  1. Healing the man born blind (John 9)

 

  1. Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11)

 

  1. The miraculous catch of fish (John 21)

 

What Did Jesus Look Like?

 

Just for fun, I want to share with you the Letter of Lentulus, which was likely written from the Governor of the Jerusalem to the Roman Senate to give a physical description of Jesus Christ. It dates back to the second century A.D. and is obviously a forgery. Nevertheless, there’s a good chance that it contains a reflection of Jesus’ real “appearance”:

 

There has appeared in our times, and there still lives, a man of great power (virtue), called Jesus Christ. The people call him prophet of truth; his disciples, son of God. He raises the dead and heals infirmities.

 

He is a man of medium size; he has a venerable aspect, and his beholders can both fear and love him. His hair is the color of the ripe hazelnut, straight down to the ears, but below the ears wavy and curled, with a bluish and bright reflection, flowing over his shoulders. It is parted in two on the top of the head, after the pattern of the Nazarenes. His brow is smooth and very cheerful with a face without wrinkle or spot, embellished by a slightly reddish complexion. His nose and mouth are faultless. His beard is abundant, of the color of his hair, not long, but divided at the chin. His aspect is simple and mature; his eyes are changeable and bright.

 

He is terrible in his reprimands, sweet and amiable in his admonitions, cheerful without loss of gravity. He was never known to laugh, but often to weep. His stature is straight, his hands and arms beautiful to behold. His conversation is grave, infrequent, and modest. He is the most beautiful among the children of men.

 

However, St. Augustine has the final word. He wrote in the third century: “We are utterly ignorant of the earthly appearance of Christ.” Personally, I imagine a picture of Him in my mind, but I look forward to seeing Him someday!

 

Well Bob, I’ve done my best to offer you a good understanding of why we have four Gospels. I hope you find it helpful.

 

Love, Roger

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Bible Studies

How Were the New Testament Scriptures Compiled?

by Jan Shrader
written by Jan Shrader

How was the New Testament Scriptures Compiled?

One day I was visiting with a friend who was raised in church, but a bit of a skeptic. He asked me, “Jan, did you know that it took the church four hundred years to determine which books should be considered scripture?”

“I did know that!” I spoke. “But do you know why I hate this historic fact?”

Then he said, “No! Why do you hate this ‘historic fact’?”

“Because hardly anyone who quotes this bit of history wants to tell you why the church waited four hundred years to meet and discuss what was scripture?” I answered him. “Floating this truth without telling the ‘why’ leaves out the best part of the story and can even be deceptive.”

By 120 AD all of the New Testament books were written. But the first Christian synod to determine which books should be included in the cannon and which ones should be rejected wasn’t until 393 AD. If we don’t know our church history these dates might at first appear suspicious.

For the first four hundred years after Jesus’ death Christians were systematically persecuted throughout the Roman Empire, and this menacing danger lasted until Emperor Constantine. Because believers were being hunted down, arrested and literally thrown to the lions in coliseums for sport, it was not prudent for Christian leaders to travel and meet openly. Constantine on his death bed made it legal to practice Christianity within the empire in 337 AD. But it took a while for this safe word to spread.

Under these years of persecution, when professing faith in Christ was risky, these courageous martyrs went to their death praying, like Jesus, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Their emboldened spirits haunted their tormentors, and eventually changed the heart of an entire empire.

Persecution and martyrdom, then, is the reason that Christian elders did not meet earlier to discuss what books should be included and excluded from the New Testament Cannon. With that background let’s look at how the New Testament was written.

All Scripture is God breathed.
The oldest books in the New Testament were the letters written by the Apostle Paul. His epistles were written to encourage individuals and the young churches that he had established as a missionary. We don’t know if he had a sense that he was writing scripture, but he did know he was teaching truths the church needed to hear. Paul’s letter to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16 said,

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” ESV

All scripture is God breathed. This is a very important statement. God wrote the scriptures. I can imagine that these attendees at the early synods then were looking for God’s breath in every manuscript they considered.

It might surprise modern Bible students to learn that in the beginning the early church showed little
interest in creating a written record of Jesus’ life and ministry. 1 Corinthians 15:3-7 says,

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” ESV

These five hundred eyewitnesses believed that Jesus’ second coming would be in days or weeks, not months or years. So, they devoted themselves to evangelism and missions, not the recording of Jesus’ words.

Many scholars now believe the first letter Paul wrote was to the churches in Galatia. If you compare the book of Galatians with the book of Romans, you will notice they share the same two-part outline.

First, Paul explains who we are in Christ. Before Christ it was impossible for us in our strength to please a holy God. But, now because of the power of Jesus’ blood sacrifice believers are forgiven, declared righteous, and reborn with a new spiritual nature. It is trust in this declared righteousness that enables us to love like Jesus loved. Just as salvation was by faith alone, our future spiritual growth and progress is only possible when we trust God’s work. Our old self effort tried to transform us from the outside in, but God’s eternal life will now change us from the inside out. Paul is emphasizing in this first section that even the strength to live for God comes from God, not our efforts.

In the second part of Paul’s outline, we see how we should now love because we have undergone such a radical spiritual transformation. If Paul was only articulating some moral code, he would still have been teaching the law.

If we compare the New Testament books of Galatians and Romans, we notice that the arguments Paul made to the Galatians are more crudely stated and at times are even inflammatory. In the book of Romans, Paul’s identical outline is employed, but is stated with more maturity and gentleness. Scholars believe Paul taught the same message wherever he journeyed and with time he refined his major teaching points. By the time he penned his letter to the Romans Paul’s persuasion skills were notably eloquent.

Not every letter written by the early church leaders were considered Scripture.

Interestingly, we do not have all the epistles that were written to the early churches. For example, we see in Colossians 4:15-16, Paul says this:

“Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.” ESV

Paul wrote a letter to the church in Laodicea that we don’t have and if you read 1 and 2 Corinthians you will notice that there were four books written to the church in Corinth. We only have the 2nd and 4th letter to the church in Corinth. We don’t know why these letters were not preserved or considered God’s word by the early church, but just because an Apostle penned a letter to a church it did not mean that epistle was considered scripture.

All Scripture reveals the personality of the writer.

When you analyze the different books of the New Testament you will see that while God breathed his inspiration into each writer, he also allowed each writer’s personality to shine through their words. The people who penned the Word of God were not robots that just received dictation. For example, in the gospels we see that different aspects of Jesus’ ministry intrigued each writer in unique ways.

It was only after many of these five hundred eyewitnesses of the resurrection started dying that the young church began embracing the need to record the life and words of Jesus. The first person to be inspired to do this was John Mark.

Today most scholars suspect that the first gospel written was the Gospel of Mark. We believe this because Matthew’s gospel includes 97% of Mark’s words and Luke’s includes 88% of Mark’s words from his gospel. So, by analyzing the content of each gospel there is strong evidence Mark was written first.

John Mark the author of Mark was an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry, but was probably only an older child or teenager at the time of Christ. Later as a young man, probably in his early twenties, John Mark was invited to go on a missionary journey with his cousin Barnabas and the Apostle Paul. We don’t know why he abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their first journey, but he did and returned to Jerusalem.

When it came time to plan their second missionary trip Barnabas again wanted to take young John Mark, but Paul was against it. Such an argument arose between them that Paul and Barnabas split and went on two separate missionary trips.

It is fascinating to study Paul’s opposition to John Mark. It wasn’t long before this incident, when the same Barnabas had defended Paul before the church elders in Jerusalem, who feared he was still plotting to kill Christians. Even though the Apostle Paul wrote large sections of the New Testament, and as a missionary moved with holy boldness, his attitude toward John Mark feels unmerciful. Fortunately, Barnabas was a Christ follower who believed in second chances.

With time John Mark’s faith did mature and he was inspired to write the first gospel. Look at Mark 14:51-52. Here is a passage where Mark may have written himself into his narrative. This event happened on the night Jesus was betrayed.

“And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.” ESV

This episode does not appear in any other of the gospels.

We do not know which of the next two gospels were written first Matthew or Luke. They were probably both written about the same time. Matthew the author of the gospel of Matthew was one of the original twelve Apostles and was definitely an eyewitness to the resurrection. Before he met Jesus there is evidence Matthew didn’t value his Jewish heritage because he had become a Roman tax collector. First century Jews often viewed tax collectors as being in cohorts with Rome’s occupation. Maybe money was his first love, but after meeting Jesus everything changed.

When Matthew begins penning his account of Jesus’ life, he wanted to portray Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. With his emphasis on Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies Matthew’s gospel makes a perfect transitional book from the Old Testament to the New Testament scriptures.

Luke is the only gospel writer who was not a witness of the resurrection. He is also the most educated of all the gospels writers. His Greek vocabulary and grammar usage are complex and considered more difficult to translate. Luke was a doctor by profession and a gentile convert. He intended his gospel to be the first book in a two-part set and his second book was the book of Acts. With these two volumes Luke would write the largest part of the New Testament.

Even though Luke was not an eyewitness, his Gospel is full of eyewitness’ testimonies. He either interviewed Mary the mother of Jesus or spoke with close family relatives. Without Luke we wouldn’t have the birth records of John the Baptist or of Jesus. Luke’s gospel has been called the feminist Gospel because he highlights the women and children who came in contact with Jesus. He also, emphasizes the prayer life of Jesus.’ He was a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul and includes himself in the “we” narratives of the book of Acts.

Look at Luke 1:1-4 to see what he intended.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all the things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. ESV

John the author of the Gospel of John was probably the last gospel writer. He most likely had a copy of Matthew, Mark and Luke in his possession when he began writing. His gospel’s tone is very different than the other authors. He includes many stories and teaching that the others neglected to include. You can almost hear him saying, “You guys left out the good stuff!” As an Apostle he was an eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection and refers to himself personally throughout his book as “The disciple that Jesus’ loved”. With his writing, John paints compelling word pictures of Christ like “the Living Water,” “the Bread of Life,” “the Lamb of God,” and “the Light of the World.”

John gives us his purpose in John 20:30-31:

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” ESV

When we investigate the lives of those whom God chose to write the New Testament, we see that they were a group of imperfect and flawed individuals. We come away more impressed with God’s ability to use them, than their righteousness. John Mark was an early failure as a missionary and Matthew betrayed his countryman by becoming a tax collector for Rome. The Apostle Paul persecuted the early church and sought to kill them before he had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus.

What events might make someone feel disqualified in our day to speak for Jesus?

Our stories matter. Just like the early church, our life experiences, and the circumstances God has used to draw us to himself are unique. No two testimonies of redemption are exactly alike. Unfortunately, when we withhold our story, we are withholding the glory of God that is uniquely ours to give. So, like the early church let us be emboldened, and not be hindered by our past mistakes. Let’s make ourselves available to God and embrace with confidence the breath of God found in his word, so we can share our own legendary tales.

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Bible Studies

Beginner’s Guide to Basic Bible Reading

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

Do you want to experience all that God has in store for you? The gateway to much of that experience is in the scripture. The Bible says of itself: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

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Sermon Starters

Pain: God’s Biggest Problem

by Skip Heitzig
written by Skip Heitzig

Perhaps the biggest impediment to believing in God (as stated by those who don’t) is the presence of pain and suffering in the world. How can there be a God who is benevolent and omnipotent with the sheer volume of grief, misery, travail, and torment at any given moment? Today we explore the theme of a loving God in a universe pockmarked by pain. As Jesus was in Jerusalem with His disciples, they came across a blind man. I’d like to show you four features of this most common and universal of human experiences.

www.skipheitzig.com.

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Articles

Blogging for God’s Glory in a Clickbait World

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

This book was co-authored with Benjamin Vrbicek and may be purchased at www.amazon.com.

Why Am I Blogging, and Who Am I Trying to Reach?

We were off, each of us writing facsimiles of The Hobbit. Only, he had the imaginative horsepower to create something that could stand on its own two feet. He wove into his story students in our class, our teacher, and our principal. When he took the storytelling stool, he sat up straight, his eyes sparkled, and the class leaned forward in anticipation. got the itch to write when I was a fourth grader in Ms. Reeves’s class. We had free writing time and once a week we read our creations to the class. I was reading J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit for the first time and had a serious case of Middle-earth-itis. Another boy in my class had caught the Middle-earth bug as well.

Listening to this fourth-grade master at work, I dreamt of captivating the class (nay, the school!) the way he did. But try as I might, my writing was just a ten-year-old blurry copy of Tolkien’s world. As I climbed the stool and read my unimaginative re-telling of The Hobbit, I watched my classmates’ shoulders drop and caught glimpses of yawns over the top of my cursive-filled pages.

My competing fourth-grade author had figured out something I hadn’t yet: how to write for an audience. His secret sauce was writing with the listener in mind. I wrote for the anticipated accolades.

Write for the Audience You Already Have

Why are you considering blogging? Who do you hope will read what you write? You need crystal clear answers to those two questions.

I often listen to Jeff Brown’s podcast Read to Lead. It’s an interview-style podcast where Brown hosts authors and speakers. At the end of the podcast he asks the same set of questions to each interviewee, including “What tips do you have to give an impactful speech?” One of the most common responses to that question is an encouragement for the speaker to get to know his or her audience. Multiple authors have said the same thing: “get to the conference early,” “sit down over coffee with other attendees,” and “be present.” It’s great advice and no less true for an author than a speaker.

The most successful authors know their audiences. Readers who feel known become invested and loyal. Readers who feel like a number become disinterested and flighty.

So, who is your audience?

When I ask that question, I want you to think of real people you know, friends and family. Don’t leap to an imaginary audience before you deal with the readers you actually know. Who are the first two dozen people who will subscribe to your blog? What do they have in common? What interests, beliefs, and hobbies do they share? In Seth Godin’s book Tribes he defines a tribe as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”[1] The three legs of Godin’s stool are very helpful for discerning your readership: define the group, understand yourself as a leader, and define the idea to which you will continue circling back. Learn these characteristics of your audience, and craft posts for them.

My first audience is my congregation. I serve as a co-lead pastor at New Life Bible Fellowship in Tucson, Arizona. I write as a ministry for the local church God has called me to serve.

The first church I pastored was in New Jersey in the same town as the seminary I attended. Two professors who instructed me in seminary now sat under my preaching. They were godly men whose understanding of Scripture far exceeded my own. My stomach twisted in knots as I thought about standing in front of these men whose approval I desired. So I envisioned them as the audience of my first sermons and worked hard to make them proud. That was a mistake. They were far from representative of the congregation God had called me to shepherd. Bloggers can make an equivalent mistake. Don’t write your blog for your favorite authors or public figures; write it for those who will be your first cadre of readers.

Once you have your who established, you can begin to shape your why. The two are connected. You can have a powerful why, but if that why doesn’t connect with your who, your blog will fall flat.

There is an internationally known author who has challenged and helped me develop my theology in many ways. However, he often seems to misunderstand his audience. This extremely sharp author appeals to an educated Christian audience, yet one of his hobby horses is bashing a type of paper-thin Christianity that believes faith is merely punching one’s ticket to heaven. His critique rings true enough, but I doubt many in his audience are guilty of this theological crime.

I recently heard this author on a podcast lambast this type of Christianity. It was clear that he was trying to convince his audience that this wasn’t what Christianity was about, that Christianity was living the life of Christ in the context of one’s community. He went on and on about all of these Christians who thought Christianity was just about getting to heaven, about how these Christians were neglecting the heart of the Christian calling, and how the New Testament shows us a very different type of Christianity. I scratched my head, “Who is he talking to?” I don’t rub shoulders with the type of Christian he is talking about, and I certainly doubt that type of Christian is listening to this podcast.

The host of the podcast then directed the conversation toward the difficult topic of how Christians should respond to the issue of homosexuality. It’s a topic that I’m certain this author’s audience has a wide range of views on and a topic on which this author is particularly well-suited to provide wisdom and direction. In fact, the author said he had devoted countless hours of study to the topic and “has a whole bookshelf of books on the subject.” But he dodged the question, refusing to provide any wisdom on a timely subject that mattered deeply to his audience, though he was uniquely equipped to answer. As soon as the host asked the question, I’m sure listeners everywhere turned up their iPhones and stopped multitasking only to be disappointed.

This author, as brilliant as he is, misunderstood his audience. For an hour he spoke past his audience to an imaginary one and then refused to engage an issue that would have actually mattered to his listeners.

Don’t ignore your true audience for the audience you want, however noble your desire is to engage that imaginary audience “out there.” Your blog isn’t the field of dreams. “If you build it, they will come” is unlikely to work with your blog. Build your blog for those who are already there. Serve them.

What’s Your White-Hot Why?

If you’re reading this book, you have a passion to make a difference with your words. What difference do you want to make? That is your why.

Do you want to encourage moms of young children? Offer tools for Christians to grow in stewardship? Help Christians make wise choices with media? Inspire other Christian artists to create art that glorifies God? All worthy goals.

Connect that why to your who and you have a powerful tool for real change.

Why do I blog? Under the authority of the Great Shepherd, I blog as an extension of my call to faithfully shepherd God’s people at New Life Bible Fellowship. I blog as a way to extend my discipleship of God’s people through exhortation and encouragement. What’s my why? Shepherding. And my who is the people of New Life Bible Fellowship.

What is your why? How does that connect to your who?

One reason this exercise is so important is that it can help protect you from selfish motives in blogging. If we are to blog in a way that honors God, we must demonstrate the character of Christ in doing so. A quick scan of the “how-to” literature on blogging reveals two primary motives for blogging:

1) to build one’s platform, and

2) to make money.

While it is possible that blogging can serve to build your platform or perhaps earn you money, if either one of those is your chief why, then what you are doing is not likely to glorify God. If your blog is to honor God, it must serve others first, not yourself. I love Kevin DeYoung’s honesty when he reflects on his ministry. He looks at his own heart and says, “Do I want money and recognition? Do I feel the need for validation? Do I like it when I look successful? Or do I want people to learn more about Christ and honor him with their lives? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I pray that my heart is mostly concerned with the last yes, but sometimes it’s hard to tell.”[2] My heart is a swirl of affections and desires. What does it look like for me to fan the flame of the most God-glorifying desires of my heart?

I was late to blogging. I toyed with the idea of blogging years before I began. If you would have asked me a decade ago why I was considering blogging, I believe I would have answered along these lines: “To extend my shepherding ministry to a broader audience.” By “broader audience,” I mostly meant building my platform.

Fortunately, I felt sufficiently uneasy about my motives and held off. I’m glad I did. What eventually compelled me to begin my blog wasn’t a desire to increase my platform but to deepen my shepherding influence on the people of New Life beyond Sunday morning. I felt that one of the best ways I could serve New Life was through my writing.

Before I began my blog I thought long and hard about whom I wanted to reach. I knew God had given me the gift of writing, and so I felt that at this stage of my life I needed to steward that gift better. But most of the bloggers I followed wrote for large, national audiences. While the thought of writing for a large audience was attractive, I realized the audience “out there” was disconnected from my primary pastoral call to my local congregation.

As I began to reflect more on my pastoral ministry, I realized that my audience wasn’t some mythical group of people “out there.” Rather, it was the congregation I served week-in, week-out. The gift of writing for this group is that I know them. I know their passions, and I know their struggles. I also believed that in a world where we get roughly thirty-five minutes a week (for the super-faithful, weekly attenders) to speak God’s truth into their lives, having another venue to pastor them would be invaluable.

This became my white-hot why—deepening the discipleship of God’s people at New Life. If my blog reaches others beyond New Life that is great, but my first audience will always be the people God called me to in Tucson.

Why Paul Offered Himself to Corinth for Jesus’s Sake

Of all the churches Paul ministered to, the church at Corinth might have been the most difficult. They were bull-headed and rebellious. Despite how difficult they were to love, Paul explains his aim in 2 Corinthians 1:24, “we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.” Everything Paul writes in 2 Corinthians is for the sake of helping the church at Corinth to stand firm in their faith.

No matter what type of blog you’re writing, your blog is a very personal endeavor. You can’t write without being personal. So, as you begin to consider what type of blog God is calling you to write, also consider who you are and what God is doing in your life.

As with any endeavor, if your blog isn’t authentic to you, over time your audience will sniff it out. And if it’s not authentic, you have little chance of doing the hard work of grinding out material and developing and maintaining a consistent, trustworthy voice.

Paul shares in 2 Corinthians that his desire isn’t to shine the light on himself. He wants the light of Christ to shine into the hearts of the Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 4:5, he says, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

You might be surprised, then, that Paul shares as much about himself as he does in 2 Corinthians. If Paul’s purpose isn’t to proclaim himself, but Jesus Christ, one might assume that Paul wouldn’t share about himself. But that isn’t the case at all; in fact, 2 Corinthians is Paul’s most autobiographical letter. He shares much of his own story not because he is narcissistic but because he knows the church is struggling to trust him and he needs to build rapport.

Where can you offer yourself to your audience for the sake of proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord? How can your life become a bridge for the gospel to travel? What work has God done (or is doing) in you that will encourage others?

Shaping Your Call

One of the most disconcerting trends of many books on blogging is the encouragement for authors to go after trendy and bankable topics (most of these types of books include the words “for profit” in the title). Don’t fall into this trap. Don’t feel compelled to chase whatever is hot. Be true to who God has made you to be. Paul flips our impulse on its head, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Cor 12:14). Don’t use your audience. Be spent for them.

Here are some questions that might help you discern the voice God has given you to minister to the audience he has given you.

  • If no one ever reads your writing, what do you hope to achieve? How do you want the habit of blogging to form you? How do you want your commitment to blogging to shape your character?
  • How has God worked in your life? How is he working on your life today?
  • How much are you willing to disclose in your writing? How much is appropriate to disclose? Are there those near you whom you will need to ask for permission to share parts of your story?
  • What is your passion for the church? How are you serving the church today?
  • What has God taught you that you want every person you meet to know about him?
  • Imagine two years from now: you query your faithful readers to describe your blog in one sentence. What do you hope they would say? What do you want your primary benefit to your audience to be?

When I began my blog I didn’t know how many people would read it. But I felt compelled that failing to steward the gift of writing God had given me to disciple his people would be disobedient. Even if I was writing just for a handful of people, faithfulness to God meant writing faithfully to his people.

Chasing Your Call, Not the News Cycle

Understanding your why and your who also helps you know what not to write about. When I know why I’m writing and whom I’m writing for, all sorts of topics fall off the table. I’m a huge sports fan and a particularly nerdy baseball fan. I’ve written drafts of posts introducing casual fans to concepts like Wins Above Replacement, WHIP, and ERA+. I’ve actually written drafts where I have projected the expected regression of teams based on their run differential. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, congratulations, you are much cooler than me.) I’ve written posts dissecting the changing political landscape. I’ve written posts on theological minutiae. And no part of any of these posts has seen the light of day. I’m sure my audience remains grateful for that, both because I’m not an expert in any of those fields and because my audience (in general) doesn’t really care about those areas or about my opinion on those matters.

I’ve read plenty of posts on topics that I do know a fair bit about (the Bible, the church, etc.) from those who don’t have in-depth knowledge of what they’re talking about. Such posts only hurt the author’s credibility. Don’t go out of your depth in areas where you’re not a strong swimmer. Do you need to be an expert to talk about something? No. But do you need to know more than the average person and do some decent fact-checking? Absolutely.

Perhaps the biggest lure to any blogger is the power of the 24-hour news cycle. Many blogs are held captive to the latest comings-and-goings of the world of headlines. It feels fresh to engage the topics of the day. People are more likely to click on your headline to read your take. It can provide you opportunities that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Many years ago news concerning Tiger Woods’s infidelity captured the public’s eye. I posted a reflection on his demise on a friend’s site and it blew up (by my modest standards). It was exciting to see the number of readers spike for the blog and see it shared fairly widely. It was a great dopamine hit. I could keep going after that hit. I could write about a new scandal every week. But I’ve realized over time that responding to the news cycle rarely fits with my purpose and audience.

Why not? Because I primarily want to write posts that have an evergreen quality. I want to write posts that can be read a few years later and still be meaningful to the reader. Second, while engaging culture, I want to provide a voice different than the news cycle, which can so quickly pull us in its undertow. Third, I want to follow, to the best of my ability, Paul’s admonition to think upon that which is pure, lovely, and commendable (Phil 4:8). If I can put that in business terms, I want my brand to be about building up, not tearing down. The reality is that the vast majority of articles bound to the news cycle lend themselves to tearing down. I know my own nature is to tend toward cynicism and biting sarcasm. Another early post I wrote basically tore to shreds children’s and toddler’s Bibles on the market. I wish I never published the article. Are there things that deserve criticism? Certainly. Do I want to make sure that I’m judicious about when I choose to be critical? Most certainly.

While such trend-worthy stories can provide some tinder for your fire, they are a poor substitute for the substantial logs that give off the warmth your readers need.

God may be calling you to write in a way that addresses the issues of the day. My point isn’t to criticize those who do. I think of Russell Moore and Joe Carter as examples of those who respond in a wise and grace-filled manner to the news cycle. But, my perception is that too many bloggers rely on the news cycle to generate interest. It only takes a day on Twitter to realize there are far too many who feel compelled to offer their opinion on every scrap of news that hits the internet.

Having a strong why and who doesn’t mean every post will look the same. Creative communicators realize the need for different approaches to drive their message home and to keep their audience engaged.

A Balanced Meal

In their book Content Rules, authors Ann Handley and C. C. Chapman liken this to a meal.[3] You need to serve your audience a varied meal. Dan Carlin’s podcast on history is excellent, but every episode is roughly three-to-four hours long and every topic spans several podcasts. A very niche audience will slog through five three-hour podcasts on the Gaelic Wars. All Carlin serves is steak. Steak is great, but it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to create a successful blog with just steak. I know a handful of great bloggers out there who only serve steak, but I have to carve out just the right time to be able to read their meaty blog posts. You want your audience to know you are going to offer substance while also being relatable. Don’t be afraid to smile when you write.

On the flip side, you don’t want to serve up popcorn and soda for every post. Popcorn, candy, and soda are great accompaniments to a movie, but if the trio has become the staple of your diet, you’re in trouble. Feel free to include fun, even clickbait-y, posts from time to time. You don’t have to take yourself too seriously. But serve up hearty meals on a regular basis to go along with the popcorn and candy. I don’t necessarily mean intellectually heavy, but I do mean something substantive, something that moves your audience toward the heart of Christ.

God has gifted you with a unique personality, calling, and audience. How are you going to steward those for his glory? Where is the intersection of your why and who? Dig your shovel into this soil that God has given you to garden.

 

[1] Seth Godin, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (New York: Penguin, 2008), 1.

[2] Kevin DeYoung, “The Fetid Pool,” The Gospel Coalition, January 27, 2010, https://www.the gospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/the-fetid-pool/.

[3] Ann Handley and C. C. Chapman, Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2012), 245–47.

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Ask Roger

Who is the Holy Spirit and What Does He Do?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

 

Dear Roger,

We hear a lot about God the father and Jesus the Son but we seldom hear anything about God the Holy Spirit. The subject of the Holy Spirit came up in one of our recent Bible studies and most of us had no idea what He did. Can you give us a short summary of his work, His responsibilities, what He does for us and how He interacts with us?

 

Sincerely, Kendall

 

Dear Kendall,

 

The Short Answer Is That God The Father Was The Architect Who Designed The Universe. Jesus The Son Was The Contractor Who Built the universe. The Holy Spirit Is The Person Who Keeps It All Running.

 

THE PROMISE OF HIS COMING

 

“Now I am going to him who sent me . . . Because I said these things you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I’m going away. Unless I go way the counselor will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you (John 14: 6-7).

 

Up to this time, Jesus had always been there.  Now He’s going away.  While the disciples were filled with consternation, He said that Another Person just as divine, just as helpful, just as compassionate as he was coming to take His place.

 

There was nothing encouraging about his leaving that sounded good to his disciples.

 

The Greek word “parakletos” is the word Jesus used to describe the one that he was sending. The word may be translated in several ways; “comforter; one called alongside another; encourager; counselor or exhorter.”

 

Up to this time, Jesus had been their “parakletos”, their divine friend always near and at hand. For example, on one occasion, they were perplexed on the subject of prayer, and they said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray,” and He taught them to pray.

In his earthly body Jesus could only be in one place at one time. When he was talking to Nicodemus in Jerusalem (John 3: 1-21) He couldn’t simultaneously be with the woman at the well in Sumaria (John 4:1-36).

 

When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost and indwelt 120 Christ Followers, the Holy Spirit could be with all of them, everywhere, all the time (Acts 2:2-4).

 

By the way, the Holy Spirit is the one who actually regenerates and indwells our soul at the moment of our salvation.

 

When we are leading someone to Christ we often say, “Let Jesus come into your heart.” That’s not exactly correct. The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration. It is the Holy Spirit who now indwells our spirit at conversion as we receive Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

 

Then, where is Jesus? Jesus is now at the Right Hand of the Father in heaven (Acts 7: 54-56).

 

Don’t over or under react to the idea of whether or not it is all right to tell someone that they can the invite Jesus into their heart. Since both Jesus and the Holy Spirit are God, there is no contradiction (John 3:20).

 

It is the presence of the Spirit in one’s life which makes him a Christian.  He permanently indwells every believer.  His entrance is not to be repeated (Romans 8: 28-35).

 

THE DISPLACED MEMBER OF THE GODHEAD.

 

Since the passing of the first few generations of Christianity, no doctrine of Christian faith has been so neglected as that of the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle’s Creed contains ten articles on the Person and Work of Christ, but only one on the Holy Spirit.

 

Practically, most of us Christians could well identify with the answer of the Ephesian disciples of John the Baptist to Paul when Paul asked them:  “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  The Ephesians replied:  “No, we have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2).

 

HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT INTERACTS WITH US

 

  1. Living the Christian life is a daily focus on walking in the spirit, listening to his voice and doing what he says. The Holy Spirit is the “enabler” who makes it possible for the Christian to live daily for Christ.

 

  1. The “filling of the spirit” means a full surrender to the life of Christ. Our experience upward in the life of Christ is in direct proportion to our experience downward in ceasing from self.

 

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to democracy. Instead, be filled with the spirit” (Ephesians 5:17-18).

 

  1. The fullness (or filling) of the Spirit is a variable and must be repeated often (Ephesians 5:18).

 

  1. Sin dirties our souls and inhibits our ability for the Holy Spirit to work in and through us. Quenching the Spirit closes our ears so that we are unable to hear his directions.

 

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

 

  1. The Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8:26). He is actively making intercession (praying) for us before God the Father.

 

“And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

.

 

When we pray with our minds we pray about what we know. When we pray with our spirit we enter into the very throne room of God during which we speak to God human spirit to Holy Spirit.

 

“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit; but I shall also sing with my mind” (1 Corinthians 14:15).

 

  1. The Holy Spirit teaches us. Can it get any better than for the author of the Bible to teach and interpret it for us!

 

“But the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I’ve said to you” (John l4:26).

 

  1. The basic work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ (John 16:14).

 

“He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you” (John 16:14).

 

One of the best ways that we glorify God is to let people see how we handle victoriously our troubles and trials.

 

  1. From a practical standpoint, if the Holy Spirit is considered as merely an influence or power, our thought will constantly be, “How can I get hold of the Holy Spirit and use it.” On the other hand, recognizing Him as a person, our thought will be, “How can the Holy Spirit get hold of me and use me?”

 

  1. The Holy Spirit is intricately involved in the convicting dimension of evangelism.

 

He convicts people of the sin of not believing in Jesus. He convicts of righteousness to show people that they’re not good enough for heaven. He convicts of judgment to come because Satan now controls the world (John 16:8-11).

 

AT LEAST SIX SYMBOLS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT HELP US UNDERSTAND THE TRUE NATURE OF HIS WORK.

 

Read each symbolic description carefully and then picture yourself living out each characteristic in conjunction with the Holy Spirit.

 

Then, think of some practical ways that you can actually experience each symbol along with God the father, God the son, God the Holy Spirit – and yourself – in daily walking with the Spirit.

 

  1. A DOVE

 

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my son whom I love; with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:l6).

 

In Scripture the Dove has many traits:

(1) Love (Song of Solomon 5:2)

(2) Purity (Song of Solomon 5:2)

(3) Peace (Genesis 8:8-12)

(4) Modesty (Song of Solomon 2:14)

(5) Innocence; (Matthew10: 16)

(6) Beauty (Psalm 68:13)

(7) Gentleness (Isaiah 59:11)

 

  1. WATER

 

Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit (John 7:37-39).”

 

The Spirit is like a spring overflowing.  As the Spirit is in the believer, he/she overflows like spring water to refresh and quench the thirst of him/her and others.

 

Jesus offered the woman at the well (John 4) a bucket of running water which would last forever. It took her a while, but finally she understood what he was offering. The bucket overflowed to reach an old town with salvation.

 

  1. WIND

 

 

“You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again. I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.. . . The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear it’s sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit” (John 3:8).

 

Air is everywhere, touching and sustaining all things.  As wind can get into every nook and cranny, so the spirit is able to move throughout a believer’s life analyzing, judging and empowering whatever their need might want what was the matter be.

  1. FIRE

 

Fire in the Scripture mainly represents the presence of God. For example, this is seen in the burning bush (Exodus3: 1-3) and from Elijah’s calling down fire from heaven to defeat the 400 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 17 and is climaxed with the Holy Spirit coming as tongues of fire on Pentecost.

 

The fire is also a symbol of God’s purifying action.  So the Holy Spirit is seen as showing God’s presence as well as his work of cleaning and burning (purging, if you will) the sins out of the life of every believer (Acts 2:3).

 

  1. OIL

 

Oil in the Bible is usually used to signify power for service and as illumination.

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18).

 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you . . .” (Acts 1:8).

 

The mighty works of Jesus were done in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18; and Acts 10:38).  We have no power in ministry before God without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

 

We may equate the anointing of the Holy Spirit with the filling of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:18.

 

Just so, upon us the anointing of the Holy Spirit must come (Acts 1:8) in order for us to provide for powerful service and for shining the true light that has come into the world (John 1:4-9).

 

Oil is also used to give light.  In the Old Testament, holy oil alone continually lighted the temple.  In the same way, the Spirit lights and illumines Christ before our eyes.  The most beautiful illustration of the work of divine oil is found in Zechariah 4:2-6.

 

  1. OUR GUARANTEE

 

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

 

The word “guarantee” in Greek is “arrabon”, which refers to a down payment or first installment.

 

The Holy Spirit is God’s first installment of a greater life which is waiting for us in heaven.

 

Our inheritance, our salvation, our glory, our fellowship with God, our likeness unto Him, our freedom from sin and its evils, are all down payments represented and assured by the “first installment or guarantee of the Holy Spirit.

 

Well, Kendall, I hope this answers your question. If you have more, please let me know.

 

Love, Roger

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Sermon Starters

Mirrors

by Mark Batterson
written by Mark Batterson

Mirrors come in all sizes and shapes. Sometimes it’s a prophet who helps us see the blind spots in our lives. Sometimes it’s an epiphany that pulls back the veil and reveals the glory of God in new ways. But the greatest mirror, the mirror that gives us the truest reflection of ourselves, is Scripture.

The best form of self-examination is simply reading Scripture. Or maybe I should say, meditating on Scripture. After all, the Bible wasn’t meant to be read. It was meant to be meditated upon. And Psalm 51 is the quintessential example. You can’t just read it with your mind. You’ve got to feel it with your heart. And the way you feel it is by putting yourself in David’s sandals. The best way to identify with his guilt is by identifying your own guilt. Some truths can’t be accessed by left-brain logic. They are only unlocked in your heart of hearts. And that requires more than a glance in the mirror. Just as you study yourself in the mirror before an important date or important meeting (and I know you do), you have to meditate on the reflection you see.

The book of James likens the Bible to a mirror. Meditating on it is the way we can get an accurate picture of who we are. And it not only reveals the sin in our lives. It also reveals the image of God in us. As we meditate on the Bible, the picture of who we are in Christ develops like a Polaroid print.

When I was a kid, our family used to frequent a restaurant called White Fence Farm. There was always a wait, but I didn’t mind because the waiting room was like an amusement park. They had games to play. They had a car museum. And there were crazy mirrors, like at carnivals, that would distort your face and figure. I’d spend fifteen minutes contorting myself into every shape imaginable.

In a sense, every mirror is a crazy mirror except Scripture. Scripture is the only perfect mirror because it reveals how our Designer sees us. Most of our identity problems are the result of looking in the wrong mirrors. For many, culture is the only mirror they consult. They allow culture to define them in terms of what is right or wrong, good or bad, acceptable or unacceptable. For others, their primary mirror is the opinion of other people. And those mirrors, no matter how well meaning those people are, will always result in a distorted image. The only perfect mirror is Scripture. And the more you read it, the more you will reflect God. Why? Because the Bible is where God is revealed.

We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)

If you want to discover your soulprint, you’ve got to begin and end with Scripture.

If you aren’t reading your Bible as much as you could or should, you’ll have identity issues. And let me go out on a limb. If you aren’t reading your Bible like you could or should, it’s probably because of some sin issue in your life. You don’t want to look in the mirror because it’s convicting. You’d rather ignore the diagnosis. But if you ignore it, it’ll get worse. And the Bible is more than an MRI that reveals what’s wrong. It’s also the best preventative medicine. It’s not only the best cure for identity problems. It’s also the best prevention.

www.markbatterson.com.

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Articles

Why You Need to “Cut and Bleed” the Bible

by Tommy Nelson
written by Tommy Nelson

The Bismark was the pride and terror of the German Navy in WWII.  It could outrun and outgun anything in the English Navy.  But when being pursued by the British on May 27, 1941 the Bismark began to sail erratically and then headed back into the British ships who sunk it.  What happened to render the great ship useless? A torpedo had hit the Bismark on its rudder.  It could no longer be directed.  It sunk as now an easy prey.

Such is a Christian who does not know his Bible and cannot make intelligent and informed decisions.  Like the Bismark he has power and great potential but no direction.  He soon will sink.

“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom….”( Pr 4:7) A discipline must begin in a Christian’s life of the disciplined regimen of the acquiring of the mind of Christ – the Bible.

Solomon said “you cannot put a net in the eyes of a bird” (Pr 1:27), because a bird can see all things from its lofty perch.  So it is when a person knows that which is the revealed will of God.  They can’t be fooled or misled.  But no matter how talented a person is, or how wealthy or intelligent or charismatic, magnetic of personality or endowed with noble heritage, when they are ignorant of the Bible they will have no guidance in the areas that can give true joy or true disaster.  And usually the reason that a person does not have a biblical reference point is because they are self-confident and simply do not feel a need of Gods wisdom.

David said to God in the Psalms, “… I am a stranger with You.” (Ps 39:12) Meaning that David in life felt like an alien in a foreign land.  Such is life without God.  Like a man in a foreign country David was helpless.  He was in desperate need of God’s guidance through a dangerous life of which he was in himself ill-equipped.  Have you ever been in a foreign country and felt that you were hopelessly out of touch with what was happening about you?  That is how David felt without God’s guidance.

Adam walked with God in the cool of the day.  Man is simply not made to be without God’s word and guidance.  Death is to be alien to the counsel of God.

Point being, successful living means that one must make choices that are wise and good.  These choices may not be instinctive because of man’s fallen nature.   Thus, man had best know his bible.

It is quite simple.  The man whose delight is the law of the Lord shall be “like a tree firmly rooted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does he prospers. The wicked … are like chaff which the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1) Learn your Bible.  Genesis through Nehemiah is a continuous story with hundreds of incidents – all meaningful, with hundreds of characters (good and bad) – all meaningful.  The story is connected and interpreted in the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.  Learn them.  The Prophets from Isaiah to Malachi speak of God’s responses to man’s responses to His word.  Learn them all.  The Gospels look at God Incarnate.  “The life manifested full of glory…”  The gospels are only three years of snippets and sound bites as that is all we can digest.  The Book of Acts looks at the beginning of Gods’ ways in the first generation of the Church Age.  Learn the ways of the Spirit of God.  The Epistles are a commentary on all the previous story of the Bible.  Learn each verse.  The Book of Revelation shows what is coming.  If you read the previous 65 books, Revelation will be your reward.  You will know things to come.  Learn it.  It is not that difficult.

Get to where when you are cut you bleed Bible.  When jostled you spill Bible.  When squeezed one hears Bible.

Live Bible – succeed.

Stay ignorant – fail.

Success, however, will be in the areas that matter.  God’s word does not attempt to direct one into vast wealth, popularity, good looks, or social status.  All the things which are coveted by men are treated as minor issues in the Bible.  What scripture does is give direction on the areas of the truth of God, the love of one’s fellow man and moral choices dealing with purity.  These are the areas that produce true joy and stability or when violated are the areas that can devastate a life.

David said of the scriptures, “By them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.” (Ps. 19:11)

Do you know your Bible?

Do you read it?

Me personally?  I have never recovered from the fascination and power of the Bible.  My wife and I read our bibles through every year.  It is there where I and the eternal King meet over truth and delight and worship and resolve.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

It is the highway to the successful life…as God deems success.

www.dentonbible.org. Used by permission.

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Articles

Does the Bible Contradict Itself?

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

Atheists.org begins its post on Biblical Contradictions[i] with this statement: “It is a central dogma of all fundamental Christians that the Bible is without error. They teach this conclusion by “reasoning” that god cannot be the author of false meaning and he cannot lie. Is this true? If written by a perfect being, then it must not contradict itself, as a collection of books written by different men at different times over many centuries would be expected to contradict each other.”[ii]

It’s a well-stated premise. I heartily agree. If the Bible’s forty authors who wrote the Bible over a span of approximately 1,500 years and three continents contradict one another (and let’s be honest, how could that kind of motley collection of authors not contradict one another!) it would be a sure sign that the Bible is a human, not divine document. The Atheists.org post goes on to list its top 15 contradictions in the Bible.[iii] Those are:

1)      The Permanence of Earth: we are told “the earth abides forever” and that it will be “burned up.”[iv]

2)      The Holy Lifestyle: should we celebrate “with a merry heart” or be sober-minded in our living?[v]

3)      Seeing God: have some seen God face-to-face or have none?[vi]

4)      The Sabbath Day: we are told that the Sabbath day is to be kept holy and later that “every day is alike.”[vii]

5)      Personal Injury: is “eye for an eye” punishment the rule, or non-retaliation?[viii]

6)      Circumcision: are we to be circumcised or not?[ix]

7)      Family Relationships: are we to honor our parents or to hate them?[x]

8)      Incest: is incest blessed or disallowed?[xi]

9)      The Power of God: is God all-powerful or is his power limited?[xii]

10)   Trusting God: does trusting God bring us blessing or difficulties?[xiii]

11)   Human Sacrifice: are human sacrifices encouraged or forbidden?[xiv]

12)   Punishing Crime: does the punishment of sin fall upon the children of the offenders or not?[xv]

13)   Temptation: can God tempt or not?[xvi]

14)   Resurrection of the Dead: can those who die be resurrected or not?[xvii]

15)   The End of the World: was God supposed to return quickly when the New Testament was written or not?[xviii]

Let’s deal with these apparent contradictions with three responses.

1)      PROPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE VERSES

The first group of alleged contradictions can be sorted out by properly understanding the meaning of the verses that apparently contradict one another.

Apparent contradictions one (the permanence of the earth) and two (the holy lifestyle) both quote from Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes is a book written from the perspective of life “under the sun” a phrase used twenty times in the book. Both apparent contradictions are no longer contradictions when one understands that the point of Ecclesiastes is to contrast the apparent truth from the temporal earthly perspective with the ultimate sovereign perspective.

One can make sense of apparent contradiction in scripture about whether or not we can see God’s face (number three) with understanding the context of the Genesis 32 passage. In that passage, Jacob claims to have seen the face of God while John says that no one has seen the face of God. If one reads what precedes Jacob’s declaration in Genesis 32:30, the wrestling match Jacob has with a man who is some sort of manifestation of God, it is clear that while Jacob has encountered God, he has not come face to face with the fullness of God.

2)      THE FULFILLMENT OF JESUS

Some of these apparent contradictions misunderstand the progressive revelation of the Bible and the fulfillment of Jesus.[xix] Jesus came not merely to destroy the law nor merely to keep the law, but rather to fulfill the law. And he came as the new lawgiver with a new covenant sealed by his blood and empowered by the Holy Spirit. That means that there are times that Jesus heightens the law and other times Jesus overturns the law altogether.

This clarifies Paul’s interpretation of the Sabbath (apparent contradiction four) in Romans, where he says some interpret particular days (like the Sabbath) as more important and some interpret every day as alike. To this Paul allows both interpretations: “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Paul goes on to encourage the two groups to demonstrate humility and charity to one another. The reason that both can be right is that the law (including the Sabbath) is fulfilled in Christ. That means that our Sabbath-keeping is an invitation. Christ is our rest who also invites us into patterns of rest both daily and (perhaps) on special days.

This does not demonstrate a contradiction, but rather that the coming of Jesus ushered in a new era where the followers of God, through the power of the Spirit of God, lived a life that adhered to a higher moral standard. This explains the apparent contradictions five (personal injury), six (circumcision), and seven (family relationships).

In a world where God’s relationship with his people calls the people to muster up the resources of obedience internally, God does not ask for obedience that reflects his flawless character perfectly.

Once Jesus has come, he pays the cost of our breaking of God’s law and gives the Holy Spirit to his followers. The Holy Spirit is the instrument of change and transformation and enables Jesus’ followers to follow a higher law. It is because of this that Jesus exchanges “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” with a message of non-retaliation. It is because Jesus circumcised our hearts, that physical circumcision is no longer required.

3)      A NUANCED READING

Finally, many places of apparent contradiction involve a wooden literalistic reading of the Bible that doesn’t allow for the literary nuances of the writing.[xx]

The claim that the Bible endorses incest (the eighth apparent contradiction) leans on a literalistic reading that is void of cultural nuance. As is the case in much of the biblical narrative, the presence of sin in the narrative does not mean that God endorses the sin. The Bible is brutally honest about the sin of God’s people. Abram is married to Sarai before God calls him, and additionally, the law against incest comes later in God’s revelation to his people.

When one considers the verse about the ninth apparent contradiction about the limit of the power of God, it is best understood by God’s choice to connect Israel’s military success to their obedience (or lack thereof). God’s choice to self-limit his power does not demonstrate his lack of power.

The same could be said of the tenth apparent contradiction, that the Bible says that trusting God will grant one favor (Proverbs 12:2), while there are times where God allows suffering to befall those who love him. As is clear in the course of the Bible, obtaining the favor of the Lord is not ultimately a matter of earthly health and wealth.

The eleventh apparent contradiction, that God both condemns and endorses human sacrifice is perhaps the worst misreading of the Bible in the bunch. God clearly disallows human sacrifice. The telling of the story of Jephthah in Judges 11 is no endorsement of human sacrifice, but rather an indictment of the rashness of Jephthah.

The twelfth apparent contradiction, that God visits iniquity down through generations (the results of the parents’ sin impact their children) is not the same as children bearing the responsibility of the sin of their parents.

Likewise, the twelfth apparent contradiction, that God tempted Abraham, requires a nuanced reading of the text. The entirety of Scripture helps inform a reading of the text that God while tests, he doesn’t tempt. Such tests can be felt as a temptation from our human perspective (the perspective much of Genesis is written from), but isn’t, in fact, temptation.

Texts regarding the resurrection of the dead and the end of the world (the fourteenth apparent contradiction) are also understood when one reads the texts in the manner that is intended with the biblical-theological framework given to us by the Bible. In the book of Job we see Job wrestling throughout the book with what the eternal state is and what our life beyond this life looks like. At other points in the book we find Job reflecting on life after death and him facing God for this judgment.

Meanwhile, the claim that the Bible’s authors were wrong about the imminent return of Christ (the fifteenth apparent contradiction) misunderstands the scope of the redemptive plan in the Bible: a very long arc of history as well as misunderstanding God’s eternal nature. What is 2,000 years to the eternal God?

I understand that this post cannot adequately address in detail each of these concerns, but I hope that you get a sense that with some basic tools of interpretation, there are answers to many of the apparent contradictions in Scripture.

The purpose of this post is not to dimension the reality that there are challenges and tensions in the biblical text, but to show that such challenges and tensions don’t necessarily mean that the Bible is full of contradictions. On the contrary, it is more than remarkable that a book written by prophets and kings, by the most learned and the most common, by the richest and poorest, by people inhabiting different cultures at different times would produce a book that is so unified in its understanding of God and human beings.

Are there difficult passages to understand in the Bible? Certainly! Ought we be more surprised by those challenging passages or by the unity we find in the Scriptures? I believe it is the latter that is what is truly jaw-dropping.

[i] https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/biblical-contradictions/

[ii] https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/biblical-contradictions/

[iii] This is the list exactly as it can be found on the above post with the only difference being that I’ve renumbered the list to be able to deal with the misunderstandings more simply.

[iv] Ecclesiastes 1:4 and 2 Peter 3:10

[v] Ecclesiastes 9:7 and 1 Corinthians 7:30

[vi] Genesis 32:30 and John 1:18

[vii] Exodus 20:8 and Romans 14:5

[viii] Exodus 21:23-25 and Matthew 5:39

[ix] Genesis 17:10 and Galatians 5:2

[x] Exodus 20:12 and Luke 14:26

[xi] Deuteronomy 27:22, Leviticus 20:17, Genesis 20:12-12, and Genesis 17:15-16

[xii] Matthew 19:26 and Judges 1:19

[xiii] Proverbs 12:2 and Job 2:3

[xiv] Leviticus 18:21 and Judges 11:29-34

[xv] Ezekiel 18:20 and Exodus 20:5

[xvi] James 1:13 and Genesis 22:1

[xvii] Job 7:9 and John 5:28-29

[xviii] Matthew 16:28, Luke 21:32-33, Romans 13:11-12, James 5:8, 1 John 2:18, and 1 Peter 4:7

[xix] See New Life’s series Level Up where we explore Christ’s teaching on the new law in the Sermon on the Mount. See also Reisinger’s But I Say Unto You.

[xx] See https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/biblical-contradictions/ and https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2013/08/19/an-incredible-interactive-chart-of-biblical-contradictions/. of the contradictions also involve a lack of understanding of the relationship between the Old and the New Covenants. See New Life’s series Level Up where we explore Christ’s teaching on the new law in the Sermon on the Mount. See also Reisinger’s But I Say Unto You. A few of these contradictions just simply misunderstand how to properly read scripture (for instance the interpretation that Judges 11 supports human sacrifice) or that the Lot narrative supports incest.

www.thebeehive.live. Used by permission of the author.

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Ask Roger

How Do We Take Up Our Cross and Follow Jesus?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

I’ve always wondered what Jesus meant in the Gospel of Luke about taking up our cross and following him. Just what is this cross and how do we pick it up?

Sincerely, Mandy

 

Dear Mandy,

 

Of course you are referring to a referring to Luke 9:23:“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me”.

 

Luke 14:27: “Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”

 

This cross doesn’t mean following him to be a missionary in Brazil, or following his plan for us to enter into politics, or enduring some painful or difficult problem for his sake, or anything else like these.

 

Our cross is his cross.

 

What did he do with his cross? He carried it to Golgotha, and what did he do there? He died on it.

 

Jesus Christ is talking spiritually here about our own cross which we take the Golgotha and die there as we follow him at any price

 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor who was executed by the Germans three days before the end of World War II, put it best: “When Jesus Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

 

The purpose of the cross of Calvary is to mature us to look like Jesus.

 

I’d like to make this practical for you.

 

There are three aspects of dying on a cross which describe the cross we carry to Calvary.

 

First, dying on the cross hurts.

Second, dying on the cross takes time.

We can’t crucify ourselves.

 

FIRST: DYING ON A CROSS HURTS.

 

He wept in agony at Gethsemane.

 

He was tried and convicted illegally and then beaten by the Pharisees. He was betrayed by his disciples and ridiculed and mocked by King Herod. Then he experienced the rejection of the crowds as they yelled “Crucify him! Crucify him! Then, he was scourged by Pilate and forced to carry his cross up to Golgotha. Can we imagine the pain? I think not.

 

He must have screamed as three spikes were pounded into his flesh. Then, the cross was lifted vertically and the bottom dropped into a stabilizing hole. He gasped and shook violently as the cross bottomed out.

 

Three hours later he cried, “My God My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 6:34). Imagine the pain of separation. For the first time in all eternity he was separated from fellowship with his father. That hurt.

 

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46).

 

Crucifixion hurts!

 

As we struggle atop Golgotha, God brings us to a place of God dependence. He does this by allowing all sorts of trials and troubles.

 

After all, Hebrews 5:8 tells us that, “Although Jesus was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” If Jesus needed trials in his spiritual development (Luke 2:80), how much more do we!

 

Alexander McLaren used to say, “Please be kind to everyone you meet, because everyone is fighting a battle.” Many of our battles are God designed to bring us to maturity. That hurts!

 

Peter described the process of what happened on the cross: “Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by the fire, may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

 

In the same way, God uses the heat of the cross of Golgotha, to melt off our impurities and mature us to look like Jesus.

 

At the beginning of 1 Kings 17 Elijah is known as “Elijah the Tishbite”. First, he battled with King Ahab. Then, God led him to the brook Kerith where he was fed by God-sent ravens. Next, the book dried up. The word “Kerith” means “to cut.” Next, God led him to the smelter at Zarephath where he was humiliated by having to ask a woman for a meal. The word “Zarephath” means “to melt”. Then and only then, is he called, “Elijah, the man of God.”

 

“God can never use a man greatly until he first hurts him deeply.”

 

SECOND, DYING ON THE CROSS TAKES TIME.

 

It takes 100 years to grow a mighty oak tree. God can turn out a squash and six weeks!

 

God is in no hurry. He is working for eternity.

 

“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

 

God doesn’t measure time as we do. He has his own timetable.

 

One day, I got to thinking about Psalm 90:4. “For 1000 years in your sight are like a day that just passed by.”

 

I decided to calculate that out. I figured that one year on earth equals approximately 84.6 seconds in heaven. Let’s imagine that your friend dies and you outlive them by 10 years. What that means is that your friend dies and you have 10 more years. Fifteen minutes later you show up in heaven! Your friend is most likely still standing in the line to meet Jesus. They will most likely give you a “cut” In line.

 

It is often God’s way to set a person aside so that self-confidence may die down.

 

It is well documented that Paul was called to be a missionary when he was 32 years old. However, he began his missionary ministry at the age of 49. God worked on him for 17 years before he set him free to minister.

 

A survey was made of spiritual men of the last generation, like Samuel Goforth, George Mueller, Hudson Taylor, F.B. Meyer, Mad’am Guyon, and Robert Murray McShane, asking the question, “How many years was it from the time you entered your life’s work until you begin to know Christ as your life? The combined average was 15 years.

 

This is not to discourage us, but to help us settle down with our sights on eternity.

 

“Not that I have already . . . been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me . . . But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining forward toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which Christ God has called me heavenward in Christ” (Philippians: 3:12-14).

 

Spiritual growth is a gradual process. The finer the organism, the longer the process.

 

THIRD, SELF CRUCIFIXION IS NOT POSSIBLE.

 

No one ever committed suicide by crucifixion. Think about it, we may be able to nail in one hand, and both feet, but there’s no way we nail down the other hand.

 

Crucifixion is God’s work not ours!

 

Stop trying to figure out how and when God intends to do his work in your life.

 

Since we are all different, and need different processing, He custom designs the plan that he will use with us.

 

Some need more processing than others. Some he simply needs to bend. Others he must break.

 

The amount of processing is often a reflection of the work that he has for us to accomplish in the Kingdom. Some are called to be martyred in Pakistan. Others are called to take care of babies in the church nursery. Obviously, both are needed. However, how he applies the cross to one group will be different from how he applies the cross to another.

 

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).

 

Remember, the problem with a living sacrifice is that it always wants to crawl off the altar!

 

Miles Stanford wrote: “It is more than comforting to realize that it is those who have plumbed the depths of their own failure to whom God invariably gives a call to shepherd others. This is not a call given to the gifted, the highly trained, or the polished as such… It takes a man who has discovered something of the measure of his own weakness to be patient with the foibles of others.”

 

Mandy, I hope this answers your question and gives you insight into how we take up our cross daily and follow Christ at any price.

 

Love, Roger

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Articles

Can Yoga Ever Be Practiced by Christians?

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

Would it surprise you to know that according to at least one study, 20.4 million Americans practice yoga?[i] Can Christians do yoga? Should Christians do yoga? When my wife approached me with an interest in considering practicing Holy Yoga (Christian yoga) I admit my default position was skepticism. For me, it smacked of the Oprah Winfrey-ization of contemporary American Christianity. I expected it to be seeped in self-help-ism and having the thinnest of Christian veneers.

Others have even stronger objectives: how can yoga, a practice developed first by Hindus, be able to be used by Christians? Isn’t that akin to Christians sacrificing on pagan altars? Stronger still: doesn’t yoga open Christians up to the presence of demonic presences?

Yoga means “to yoke.” In a Hindu context, it is understood that the goal of yoga is to free oneself from attachments to yoke together mind, spirit, and body with the Divine. For Hindus this is accomplished by emptying oneself to become part of the Supreme Consciousness.

Hindu yoga practice believes that the postures in yoga pay homage to open oneself up to spiritual energies (chakra theory). Some believe that Ishvara, who is mentioned in the Yoga Sutras, is a personal god (others argue Ishvara refers to a “special self” or “spiritual self”.[ii]  Some argue that the often-repeated “Om” breath in traditional yoga refers to Ishvara.[iii] It is argued is not a “religiously neutral practice that Christianity can be plugged into.”

Some argue that yoga predates its relationship with Hinduism,[iv] but whether or not that is true, it is clear that Hinduism was the ground that yoga grew up in and was propagated. Furthermore, there is no doubt that yoga, as traditionally practiced, is not religiously neutral.

It is also true that God doesn’t mess around with paganism or idol worship. As Christians, we don’t believe false religions are something to be toyed around with and we believe that the forces of evil are real and present.

Furthermore, yoga, even as practiced in your local gym, almost always has as one of its core elements Eastern meditation practices. Even “non-religious” yoga practices emptying one’s mind and opening oneself up. In Christianity, meditation means filling one’s mind with thoughts of God, not emptying one’s mind.

As Christians, this hardly seems like fertile ground for healthy spiritual practices, that we can all agree on. And yet, without Christ, I am hardly fertile ground for the work of God. Just like yoga, none of us are spiritually neutral without God. Outside the work of the Spirit, all of us are enemies of God, we are not fertile ground awaiting his work. And two pagan festivals hardly seem fertile ground for the celebration of Christ’s birth and resurrection.

In the same way, I believe God can even use something with as sketchy a past as yoga for his purposes. To be sure, one needs to be thoughtful and intentional to do so, but I believe that when yoga is thoroughly transformed by Christ it can be a powerful tool. I know that I have experienced it in this way.

How does one transform yoga, then? How is it possible that a practice grounded in the worship of false gods can be used for Christianity?

1)      God is the Lord of all

While some Hindus might believe that certain postures give praise to certain gods or that certain postures open us up to spiritual forces, the reality is that there is only one God who created us. Our God created our physical bodies and called them good! Our God will one day give us new physical bodies that will be good! No matter the origin (good, bad, pagan, or otherwise) of any physical exercise (baseball, golf, karate, running, swimming, Pilates, etc) it can be done for the flesh or for the glory of God.

One of the passages that clarifies this truth is Paul’s consideration of whether meat sacrificed to idols was tainted or not (see 1 Corinthians 8). If anything was going to be tainted by pagan worship, certainly meat sacrificed to idols should it. It was, after all, considered to be food that was offered up to and consumed by gods. Paul is clear that while one shouldn’t eat the meat if your conscience is weak, the meat itself is completely fine to eat. Why? Because false gods are not stronger than the true God! The meat is God’s, not the idols! The same can be said about yoga. Nothing is beyond the grasp of God’s redemption.

2)      Stretching is good

I couldn’t touch my toes when I started yoga. Like many men, I was very inflexible. I didn’t give much time or attention to stretching even when I was in good rhythms of exercise. While some of the benefits of stretching have been overblown, the medical community still largely agrees that stretching improves “range of motion, alignment of bones and joints; and strengthening of connective tissues.”[v] I’ve seen a significant increase in flexibility and have found yoga to be a wonderful complement to my workout routine at the gym.

3)      Meditation is good

Throughout scripture, we are told to meditate. The book of Joshua begins with the call to meditate on God’s Word.[vi] The book of Psalms tells us that a righteous person meditates on “the law of the Lord.”[vii] The book of Psalms as a whole invites us to meditate on God both in prayer, in song, and in his Word. We are told that the Psalmist meditates on God “in the watches of the night,”[viii] that he meditates in song,[ix] that he meditates on God’s “mighty deeds,”[x] and on God’s precepts and ways.[xi] In fact, in Psalm 119, a doxology to God’s word, the Psalmist mentions meditation no less than eight times.

Now, to be clear, biblical meditation is not emptying one’s mind for the sake of openness. That is deeply problematic. But we can all agree that in our fast-paced, never-stopping world, meditation is a challenge for all of us. How often am I truly still and reflecting on who God is (Psalm 46:10)? I have found in the practice of Holy Yoga a wonderful space to meditate on God’s Word, his works, and his character in ways that are very healthy for my relationship with God.

To quote my wife, Angel, who instructs Holy Yoga, “The practice of biblical meditation helps me to claim that inheritance so that he may dwell in me and “being rooted and grounded in love, we may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17b-19).”[xii]

In this way, Christian yoga can do a 180-degree turn from classic yoga practices and create a beautiful space to seek God.[xiii] It is with this understanding, Christian yoga practice can say that it reclaims the idea of yoking oneself on biblical grounds. In Holy Yoga, we reject the yoke of slavery to oneself and false beliefs (Galatians 5:1) and take up the call of Jesus to take his yoke upon us (Matthew 11:28-30). Just like Christmas and Easter (and you and me!), yoga can claim what once was of the kingdom of darkness and transform it into a vessel of light.

One final question remains: but what about those who hear about Christian yoga and it makes them stumble? Shouldn’t we call Holy Yoga by another name because of the origins which might mislead and confuse young Christians?

That is the strongest argument there is. I take Paul’s admonition to care for the weaker brother and sister in 1 Corinthians 8 very seriously. And, if those who were bringing critique against the practice of Holy Yoga were young Christians, I would want to pause and consider whether a name change might be in order. My own experience is that the couple of people who have expressed concern about my wife’s Holy Yoga practice have been seasoned Christians. Meanwhile, many who are benefiting from her practice are young Christians. And I’ve never once heard someone who has actually come to the practice say that they believe that it is any anyway anything other than thoroughly God-honoring and Christ-exalting.

I don’t think Holy Yoga is for everyone any more than I think softball or basketball is for everyone. But if you’ve had reservations, I hope this has helped to clarify the biblical grounds for the practice.

[i] https://www.yogauonline.com/yoga-news/yoga-journal-study-20-million-americans-practice-yoga ; this study (https://www.thegoodbody.com/yoga-statistics/_ has that number at 36 million, while this study (https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/sports-and-exercise-among-americans.htm) pegs the number quite a bit lower at 2% of the population or about 6.5 million.

[ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_Sutras_of_Patanjali

[iii] https://www.truthbehindyoga.com/;  See also Seven Reasons I No Longer Practice Hatha Yoga by Mike Shreve for an argument for why Christians should not practice yoga.

[iv] https://holyyoga.net/about/what-we-believe/

[v] http://theconversation.com/why-stretching-is-still-important-for-weight-loss-and-exercise-97814

[vi] Joshua 1:8

[vii] Psalm 1:2

[viii] Psalm 63:6

[ix] Psalm 77:6

[x] Psalm 77:12

[xi] Psalm 119:15

www.thebeehive.live. Used by permission.

[xii] https://www.wholehopeyoga.com/theology

[xiii] https://www.wholehopeyoga.com/theology

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Articles

Here Are Ten Things That AREN’T Church

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

In an age where everyone is looking for alternatives to gathering together, here are 10 things that—helpful as they may be in some respect—aren’t church.

If it gets a bit feisty in the points below, just know it’s because I’m challenging the gravitational pull I feel sometimes in me and I see all the time around me.

So here goes. Here are 10 things that still ain’t church.

1. WATCHING CHURCH ONLINE

Watching church online has exploded in the last decade.

We have an online campus at our church, which I love, because for many people it’s a step into church can be if it’s a step back in if you’re  out of town or on vacation, but for too many people people church online is a step out of church.

It’s a step toward lower devotion, not greater devotion. And to less mission, not deeper mission.

If we’re really honest, for too many people church online is a step out of church, not into church. It’s a step toward lesser devotion, not greater devotion.CLICK TO TWEET

Here’s a little exercise I want to propose. If you’re watching online because it’s easier (or honestly, you’re just lazy), get yourself into a real human community.

Yes, a real church is going to be worse than your online experience. You will have to sit next to people you don’t like and who aren’t like you.

You could get hurt. You’ll have to do something. And you may have to give.

You’ll get into awkward conversations with people as you invite them to come with you. And you may damage the friendship as a result and feel all worried.

This is church. (Have you ever read 1 Corinthians? I mean really….)

Dating is easier than marriage. Especially first dating. But marriage is where the real reward is after you’ve disliked each other long enough to fall in love again and remember that in the midst of the mess God is writing a deeper, more powerful story than you could ever write on your own.

A C+ real life church experience is better than an A+ online church experience because real life is messy, and it’s going to force you grow.

So go find a real-life C+ church and get involved. And remember, you are not the solution to the C+ church’s problems. You’re part of the reason it’s a C+ church. So am I.

A C+ real life church experience is better than an A+ online church experience because real life is messy, and it’s going to force you grow.CLICK TO TWEET

2. LISTENING TO A PODCAST

If you want to 1.5x speed God into your life while you’re on a run or driving to work, go ahead.

I love podcasting, but in the end, what it gives you is information and not much more.

Podcasting (and church online) should function like online dating. Everyone I know who met online and fell in love gets married. You rarely meet someone who says “We met online, have been married for five years but we’ve never actually met.” Of course you meet, that’s the point.

And I think that’s the point of church podcasts and church online…they lead to something greater: real human interaction around a mission bigger than you.

But 1.5xing a sermon podcast every week probably only gives you a .5 dose of God.

1.5xing a sermon podcast every week probably only gives you a .5 dose of God.CLICK TO TWEET

3. VIRTUAL PASTORS

Because there are thousands of churches online and thousands more who put their content online via podcasts, many people have multiple preachers they listen to and think of as their ‘pastors’.

It’s great that you’re listening,  or that you follow 10 megachurch pastors or local pastors on Instagram, but that’s not church.

You may have a charcuterie board of favourite speakers and feel full, but true discipleship is not measured by how much you know, it’s measured by how much you love, and how much that love flows out of you and into the lives of others.

True discipleship is not measured by how much you know, it’s measured by how much you love, and how much that love flows out of you and into the lives of others.CLICK TO TWEET

4. THAT CHARITABLE THING YOU STARTED

We live in an amazing time where it’s easy to start almost anything you imagine, including a charity.

Charities are amazing, but they’re not church.

When the church gathers in worship, prayer, community, joins together on a mission to baptize people and grow people into the likeness of Christ…well that’s church.

I have a company outside the church that helps produce this blog, my podcast, books etc. Guess what? I think of it as a ministry, and it has huge ministry implications, but it’s not the church.

It never will be. Sure, we think of it in many ways as a ministry. And yes, we’re on mission to help leaders. But it ain’t church.

5. COFFEE WITH FRIENDS

If you stop attending a local church, it’s easy to come up with substitutes for it, like having coffee (or meals, or whatever) with friends.

The early church didn’t change the world by gathering with friends for coffee.

By all means, be social. Hang out. Cultivate deep friendships. Hang out. Connect. But don’t fool yourself—that isn’t church either.

6. THE GATHERING AT YOUR HOUSE

I understand that this one will be a little controversial, but most of the time, that gathering in your house ain’t church either.

Even if you gather to pray, study scripture, fellowship and celebrate communion, it may still not be the church. Why?

Too often house church functions as a community of people who are fleeing the church, who have been hurt by the church, or who are rejecting the local churches in their neighbourhood.

Rarely (I mean rarely, it’s not like it never happens) do I see a house church really embrace the full mission of the church, which would include evangelism  baptizing new disciples, community service, giving financially beyond itself and an outward focus that brings more people into the Kingdom.

If that happens—and occasionally it does—then that is church. The problem of course, is that when you embrace all of that, it won’t be long until you outgrow your living room…and you start gathering in public space because you can’t squeeze into a home anymore.

But if it’s just the eight of you year after year after year after year…it probably ain’t church.

7. A WALK IN THE WOODS/ON THE BEACH

I love nature. My wife really loves nature.

Almost all of us feel closer to God in nature. And some personality types feel extremely close to God in nature—maybe even closer than they feel in church.

But your subjective feeling is no substitute for a timeless mission. God didn’t just call us to feel him. He calls us to serve him.

Your subjective feeling is no substitute for a timeless mission. God didn’t just call us to feel him. He calls us to serve him.CLICK TO TWEET

8. FAMILY DEVOTIONS

I love my family. You love yours. And family devotions are wonderful.

When you’re on vacation, I get that you may do family devotions on a Sunday rather than a long drive into a local church.

But a steady diet of family devotions—even daily devotions—isn’t church because your family isn’t baptizing people, reaching out into the community, serving, or even moving beyond itself to engage the world for which Christ died.

Authentic mission has to go beyond you to someone else and embrace and include them.

Family devotions may be sincere and convenient, but they’re no substitute for the Kingdom of God.

9. CHURCH SURFING

Church shopping is one thing. But I’ve met a growing number of people who are doing what I can only call church surfing.

They may go to the 9 a.m. service at one church, and then sample the later service at another, and then they switch it up against next weekend, adding maybe a third church into the mix.

It’s like serial dating with no engagement, commitment or even investment.

Once again, it’s an expression of a consumer culture—take, but feel no obligation to give.

Of course, a significant life is rarely measured by what you consume. It’s measured by what you contribute.

Church surfing contributes almost nothing to the true mission of the church.

A significant life is rarely measured by what you consume. It’s measured by what you contribute.CLICK TO TWEET

10. ANONYMITY

So let’s say you show up at the same church whenever you attend, but you sit in the back row, anonymously. You don’t engage, don’t serve, don’t invite, don’t join the mission. You just…sit.

That’s not much different than just consumption, except it’s analog, not digital.

It’s hard to build the future of the church on someone who consumes and never contributes. And it’s hard to build a meaningful, resilient life, when all you do is consume, not contribute.

So contribute. Serve. Invite. Give. Do community.

You’re called to be the church, not just attend one.

You’re called to be the church, not just attend one.CLICK TO TWEET

THREE QUESTIONS

If you find your church attendance declining or evaporating, ask yourself:

  • Are my current patterns leading me to greater devotion to Jesus?
  • Am I serving, inviting, giving and helping to make new disciples?
  • Is this really about me, or is it about seeing the Kingdom of God flourish and expand around me?

If you’re a church leader, I hope this helped frame or at least spark some thinking on what’s happening around us, within us and in our culture.

In an era where everything is become hyper-individualist and hyper-convenient, it’s wonderful to get together and participate in something that inconveniences me, challenges me, stretches me, grows me, makes me uncomfortable and does something great for the world in the name of Jesus.

When the early church did just that, it changed not only millions of lives, it changed history.

www.careynieuwhof.com. Used by permission of the author.

 

 

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Articles

In Defense of Modern Worship

by John Beeson
written by John Beeson

It was during a family dance party to Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” that our patriarch commented about the vapid lyrics. “They just don’t make them like they used to,” he concluded. I teased back: “Sure, because ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Duke of Earl’ were so profound!

Musical preferences are profoundly etched into us. One generation’s trash is another generation’s treasure.

Modern worship has a bullseye on it. It’s a fairly regular occurrence that I read a blog or a reflection in a book decrying the insipid lyrics we sing in our churches or hear a complaint from a congregant about modern worship.

Last week I defended the treasure of hymns for the church. This is my defense of modern worship.

A few disclaimers:

1)      I am not claiming that all modern worship is good: there is a plenty that isn’t good;

2)      I am not making an argument that modern worship is any better than any other era of music;

3)      I am not making an argument that your church should primarily sing modern worship; there’s nothing wrong with a church that chooses songs that are several decades or several centuries old.

With that said, here are four reasons that we should enjoy modern worship:

1)     Modern worship obeys God’s command to sing a new song.

We are commanded to sing new songs to God. The Psalmist tells us, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!”[i] There will never be a moment for all of eternity that the well of worship will run dry. God is infinite and so our praise is endless. We are called to participate in new expressions of praise to our limitless God and join in singing with all we are!

2)     Modern worship is musically fresh.

Modern worship’s structure is typically: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus. This lends to music that is slightly more musically diverse than classic hymns, but slightly less lyrically diverse. Why do I say that? Because there are typically three musical sections of a modern worship song, with a chorus that repeats, while most hymns repeat the same tune three to five times, but have different lyrics for each verse. So hymns typically have more lyrical content while musically, modern worship is more varied.

It should be noted that if you go back further into the church’s musical tradition (early church music and Gregorian chant), those were primarily based on the Psalms and were, in general, far less lyrically rich than even modern worship.[ii] In fact, in some of the Psalms themselves, you find quite a bit of repetition: see Psalm 100 and 150 for example. But modern worship engages a broader swath of music and does so with more diversity in each song.

3)     Modern worship is jubilant.

One surprise when you dig into what Old Testament worship looked like is that it was loud. In the Psalms we are told to “Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.”[iii] We are told to “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”[iv] And, every drummer’s favorite verse: “Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!”[v] While there are certainly hymns that live up to this call, on the whole, modern worship excels in jubilant worship.

This of course isn’t to state that worship shouldn’t be reverent and even somber at times. A healthy worshiping body includes both calm and contemplative moments as well as dynamic moments of praise and weeks that are more reverent and weeks that are more jubilant. Most of us have a mode of worship that is more comfortable for us: quieter and meditative or louder and jubilant. It’s healthy for us to grow in both directions as worshipers.

4)     Modern worship is theologically strong.

This declaration might surprise you the most. In fact, the most pointed accusation I hear against modern worship is that it is theologically weak. Granted, by its very nature, modern worship has not been vetted by time as our favorite hymns have been. However, it takes only a cursory glance at hymns to find hymns that are very theologically weak and likewise it takes only a cursory glance at modern worship to find theologically rich songs.

Let’s consider a few theologically weak hymns. In “He Lives,” we sing that we know Jesus lives because “He lives within my heart”: that places the foundation of our beliefs in our feelings, not on the Word of God.  In “Away in a Manger” we sing that “the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes”: that smacks of a Savior who is not fully human. “I’ll Fly Away” can encourage escapist theology. “In the Garden” is sentimental and leans toward an individualistic faith when we sing “And the joy we share as we tarry there none has ever known.”

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not for a minute suggesting that the hymns don’t contain some of the most powerful and rich lyrics ever composed. They do! “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Amazing Grace,” “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise,” and on and on! Gems all! And certainly there is dross in modern worship. But there is a lot less dross you might think if you examine modern worship closely.

A sampling of the top of the charts of modern worship finds songs rich in biblical truth. Consider some of the rich theology in the following modern worship songs:

What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong

You were the Word at the beginning
One With God the Lord Most High
Your hidden glory in creation
Now revealed in You our Christ

This is Amazing Grace by Phil Wickham

Who brings our chaos back into order
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter
The King of Glory, the King of Glory

Lord I Need You by Matt Maher

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
Where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

King of My Heart by Bethel

Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh, He is my song

Cornerstone by Hillsong

When darkness seems to hide His face

I rest on His unchanging grace

In every high and stormy gale

My anchor holds within the veil

 

If heaven is a place where every tribe and tongue are gathered, heaven will be a place of worship that is diverse beyond our comprehension. It is to our credit, then, when our musical preferences grow. I have been richly fed by Gregorian chant, traditional hymns, classical music, spirituals, urban and traditional gospel, bluegrass worship, as well as contemporary and modern worship. In heaven we will get to appreciate them all—and more!

Let’s appreciate the gift of all types of worship God has granted the church, and lean into preparing for heaven a bit more by appreciating more and more of the songs we get to sing for eternity!

Next week, I want to pick up one final objection against a subset of modern songs that I didn’t have room to properly address here: that they are too intimate and turn Jesus into a heavenly boyfriend.

 

The other two parts of this three-part series can be found here:

In Defense of Hymns

[i] Psalm 96:1

[ii] https://www.worshiplibrary.com/library/music-and-the-arts-in-christian-worship/music-in-worship/a-brief-history-of-music-in-worship/

[iii] Psalm 33:3

[iv] Psalm 47:1

[v] Psalm 150:5

 

www.thebeehive.live. Used by permission.

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Articles

Six Important Ways to Know God

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

Have you ever considered the words of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who, when told by Moses to let Israel go, responded, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). As rebellious as Pharaoh was, this was actually a good answer. To Pharaoh, the Lord was an alien god, not part of the Egyptian pantheon. He, literally, did not know him. But, through a series of judgments, God worked miracles against Pharaoh stating, “By this you will know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 7:17). Through his judgments, God took Pharaoh from knowing nothing of the Lord to knowing who he was, though he ended up condemned.

What process have you gone through to come to know the Lord? I’d like to suggest that there are six stages we go through to come to the knowledge of who God is, and specifically, to come to know him intimately. In your Christian experience you should be able to identify where you are on this scale.

Now, I don’t want you to think that this is some gnostic means of gaining some secret knowledge. Not at all. What I’m about to share is nothing more than a helpful description designed to aid us in coming to know the Lord intimately. It is not exhaustive, but it can be helpful.

Here are the six levels of knowledge that we grapple with as we come to know the Lord.

  • Theoretical knowledge
  • Learned knowledge
  • Revelatory knowledge
  • Experiential knowledge
  • Practical knowledge
  • Intimate knowledge

First, a little background. During biblical times, people of the Old Testament had a view of knowledge that was a bit different from ours. “The people of Old Testament times viewed knowledge as a relational understanding of the present based on an experiential understanding of the past.” (1) Most things, to ancient people’s, were an expression or working out of a deity’s will. For Ancient Near East people, whatever happened on earth had a parallel to what happened in the heavens. The two were not as separate as what we think of today. This is very much like African or Asian animism is today. Animism believes that whatever happens in the spiritual realm has a corresponding event in the earthly as well.

In New Testament times, the ancients carried the Ancient Near East ideas forward, but expanded upon them with a different kind of knowledge sourced from the Greeks. “For the Greeks, knowledge was based on reason and philosophy. The most common verb meaning ‘to know’ (????, oida) in the New Testament literally means ‘to have seen’ and as such is related to the audience’s having experienced something in the past prior to knowing it in the present.” (2) In other words, something could not be known in the present without also having knowing it in the past. The Greeks also believed that true knowledge was that which was reasoned out in the mind, but not necessarily experienced. So, where does this take us biblically?

Biblically speaking there is knowledge we can learn, but there is some knowledge that without the aid of God, can never be attained. This is Revelatory Knowledge. Let me break down the six kinds of knowledge with a little definition to help you understand what the Christian goes through in the development of his knowledge of God.

Theoretical knowledge applies when we speculate about spiritual things but have no true knowledge of them. This includes wondering about the afterlife, if God exists, what God might be like, and so on. Interestingly, the unregenerate person doesn’t usually wonder about knowing God. He usually wonders about going to heaven or some celestial place after he dies. It’s not about God. It’s about himself. It is also the beginning of inquiry. Many people wonder about spiritual things but never move beyond asking questions that seem to them to have no answer.

Learned knowledge is when we begin to research spiritual things, specifically, reading the Bible to learn about God, or come to know other, seemingly, spiritual people and interact with them about what they think are spiritual things.

Revelatory knowledge is the knowledge of God we get when he reveals himself to us. We cannot discover God on our own (Romans 8:8, John 14:6), he must reveal himself to us in order for us to gain knowledge of him (Matthew 16:17). Without revelatory knowledge there is no way anyone can know God personally. 

Experiential knowledge comes when we have made a commitment to Christ and begin to apply scripture to our life. We begin to experience God’s love and grow in the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts during the process of revelatory knowledge (John 16:8-11), but as we grow in Christ that conviction continues as the Holy Spirit brings to our minds issues that need addressing, such as sin to repent of or situations where we can express trust in God or share our faith. 

Practical knowledge comes as we mature in Christ and discover the practices of the faith and how to live day-by-day in a way that pleases God. This happens over time until we hit the ultimate in knowledge.

Intimate knowledge is to become close to the Lord in our relationship and in the application of scripture. God wants us to know him intimately. This is more than knowing about God. This is knowing God personally. This is when our thoughts, feelings, and actions continually turn toward the Lord, his ways, his word, and his kingdom. Christ becomes first in all things in all we think, feel, and do. This is true love for the Lord.

The key to all of this is right in the middle, Revelatory Knowledge. Many people, having never come to Christ, go through these five other steps (in a general way) if they are interested in what they think are spiritual things. This applies to any religious idea or system: Buddhism, Islam, even atheism. They seek, they learn, they experience what they learn, they apply it practically, and even become intimate or well-educated about it. But without the revelation of Jesus to us by the Holy Spirit, all of this so-called spiritual knowledge is incorrect, wrong. No one gets to God through wrong knowledge. That would be like a stranger knocking on my door asking for Peter. I’m not Peter. He may have made a series of discoveries that led him to my home, but not knowing me correctly means I’m not letting him in the door. So too, God does not let us into his heaven without a right knowledge of who Christ is. 

Now, the ultimate goal of this progression of knowledge is the last of the six. God wants us to have intimate knowledge of himself. This is because Christianity is not simply a matter of rules or philosophy. Christianity is a matter of relationship. God not only wants us to know him personally, but to know him intimately. “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24). 

Intimate knowledge requires time to know God in a deeper way. “I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning” (I John 2:14). “From the beginning” indicates a long period of time. 

Application

Now, where does this take you in your relationship with the Lord? Have you ever thought in terms of Intimate Knowledge of God? For many people who claim to be Christians, this is where they stumble. We study the scripture, but don’t have an intimate knowledge of God. Jesus talked about this when he rebuked the Jewish leaders, saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). 

All of these types of knowledge are actually tied together. We cannot have an intimate experience with the Lord without Experiential Knowledge or Practical Knowledge. If we think we can, then perhaps we don’t know the Lord at all.

So, where are you on this scale of knowledge? Where do you want to be? What is the Lord convicting you of right now?

——

 

(1) (2) Garrett, J. K. (2016). Knowledge. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Bro
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Ask Roger

Six Important Ways to Know God

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Have you ever considered the words of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who, when told by Moses to let Israel go, responded, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). As rebellious as Pharaoh was, this was actually a good answer. To Pharaoh, the Lord was an alien god, not part of the Egyptian pantheon. He, literally, did not know him. But, through a series of judgments, God worked miracles against Pharaoh stating, “By this you will know that I am the Lord” (Exodus 7:17). Through his judgments, God took Pharaoh from knowing nothing of the Lord to knowing who he was, though he ended up condemned.

What process have you gone through to come to know the Lord? I’d like to suggest that there are six stages we go through to come to the knowledge of who God is, and specifically, to come to know him intimately. In your Christian experience you should be able to identify where you are on this scale.

Now, I don’t want you to think that this is some gnostic means of gaining some secret knowledge. Not at all. What I’m about to share is nothing more than a helpful description designed to aid us in coming to know the Lord intimately. It is not exhaustive, but it can be helpful.

Here are the six levels of knowledge that we grapple with as we come to know the Lord.

  • Theoretical knowledge
  • Learned knowledge
  • Revelatory knowledge
  • Experiential knowledge
  • Practical knowledge
  • Intimate knowledge

First, a little background. During biblical times, people of the Old Testament had a view of knowledge that was a bit different from ours. “The people of Old Testament times viewed knowledge as a relational understanding of the present based on an experiential understanding of the past.” (1) Most things, to ancient people’s, were an expression or working out of a deity’s will. For Ancient Near East people, whatever happened on earth had a parallel to what happened in the heavens. The two were not as separate as what we think of today. This is very much like African or Asian animism is today. Animism believes that whatever happens in the spiritual realm has a corresponding event in the earthly as well.

In New Testament times, the ancients carried the Ancient Near East ideas forward, but expanded upon them with a different kind of knowledge sourced from the Greeks. “For the Greeks, knowledge was based on reason and philosophy. The most common verb meaning ‘to know’ (????, oida) in the New Testament literally means ‘to have seen’ and as such is related to the audience’s having experienced something in the past prior to knowing it in the present.” (2) In other words, something could not be known in the present without also having knowing it in the past. The Greeks also believed that true knowledge was that which was reasoned out in the mind, but not necessarily experienced. So, where does this take us biblically?

Biblically speaking there is knowledge we can learn, but there is some knowledge that without the aid of God, can never be attained. This is Revelatory Knowledge. Let me break down the six kinds of knowledge with a little definition to help you understand what the Christian goes through in the development of his knowledge of God.

Theoretical knowledge applies when we speculate about spiritual things but have no true knowledge of them. This includes wondering about the afterlife, if God exists, what God might be like, and so on. Interestingly, the unregenerate person doesn’t usually wonder about knowing God. He usually wonders about going to heaven or some celestial place after he dies. It’s not about God. It’s about himself. It is also the beginning of inquiry. Many people wonder about spiritual things but never move beyond asking questions that seem to them to have no answer.

Learned knowledge is when we begin to research spiritual things, specifically, reading the Bible to learn about God, or come to know other, seemingly, spiritual people and interact with them about what they think are spiritual things.

Revelatory knowledge is the knowledge of God we get when he reveals himself to us. We cannot discover God on our own (Romans 8:8, John 14:6), he must reveal himself to us in order for us to gain knowledge of him (Matthew 16:17). Without revelatory knowledge there is no way anyone can know God personally.

Experiential knowledge comes when we have made a commitment to Christ and begin to apply scripture to our life. We begin to experience God’s love and grow in the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts during the process of revelatory knowledge (John 16:8-11), but as we grow in Christ that conviction continues as the Holy Spirit brings to our minds issues that need addressing, such as sin to repent of or situations where we can express trust in God or share our faith.

Practical knowledge comes as we mature in Christ and discover the practices of the faith and how to live day-by-day in a way that pleases God. This happens over time until we hit the ultimate in knowledge.

Intimate knowledge is to become close to the Lord in our relationship and in the application of scripture. God wants us to know him intimately. This is more than knowing about God. This is knowing God personally. This is when our thoughts, feelings, and actions continually turn toward the Lord, his ways, his word, and his kingdom. Christ becomes first in all things in all we think, feel, and do. This is true love for the Lord.

The key to all of this is right in the middle, Revelatory Knowledge. Many people, having never come to Christ, go through these five other steps (in a general way) if they are interested in what they think are spiritual things. This applies to any religious idea or system: Buddhism, Islam, even atheism. They seek, they learn, they experience what they learn, they apply it practically, and even become intimate or well-educated about it. But without the revelation of Jesus to us by the Holy Spirit, all of this so-called spiritual knowledge is incorrect, wrong. No one gets to God through wrong knowledge. That would be like a stranger knocking on my door asking for Peter. I’m not Peter. He may have made a series of discoveries that led him to my home, but not knowing me correctly means I’m not letting him in the door. So too, God does not let us into his heaven without a right knowledge of who Christ is.

Now, the ultimate goal of this progression of knowledge is the last of the six. God wants us to have intimate knowledge of himself. This is because Christianity is not simply a matter of rules or philosophy. Christianity is a matter of relationship. God not only wants us to know him personally, but to know him intimately. “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24).

Intimate knowledge requires time to know God in a deeper way. “I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning” (I John 2:14). “From the beginning” indicates a long period of time.

Application

Now, where does this take you in your relationship with the Lord? Have you ever thought in terms of Intimate Knowledge of God? For many people who claim to be Christians, this is where they stumble. We study the scripture, but don’t have an intimate knowledge of God. Jesus talked about this when he rebuked the Jewish leaders, saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).

All of these types of knowledge are actually tied together. We cannot have an intimate experience with the Lord without Experiential Knowledge or Practical Knowledge. If we think we can, then perhaps we don’t know the Lord at all.

So, where are you on this scale of knowledge? Where do you want to be? What is the Lord convicting you of right now?

——

 

(1) (2) Garrett, J. K. (2016). Knowledge. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Bro
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Articles

The Rise of Deception from Adam to Israel

by Tommy Nelson
written by Tommy Nelson

“What is truth?” Pontius Pilate

The greatest pursuit of mankind has been that of truth.  What is truth? How do we know? How is it lived? Truth is that which is really present.  The correct interpretation of what truly exists…what corresponds to reality.

More specifically, it is what gives meaning to the observable world.  We see matter and its mechanics but where does it come from?  Why is it here?

And specifically, man and morality.  What is man and what makes him different?  What is right and wrong, and says who?

Some call it upper story and lower story.  Down here is “substance”… up there, “forms”.  Down here the visible something … up there an invisible something or someone who determines right.  What is there?  Who is there?  And how do we know?

Down here, we observe … up there, we either reason or establish contact in some way via meditation? hallucinogens? a direct revelation?… or an incarnation of God to man.

One’s solution to finding these answers is their claim to truth and that claim will be the fountain from whence that civilization proceeds, because all things will be judged, evaluated or permitted by its perspective of truth or its “world view.”  Whether for good or evil the claim of truth will frame society and prophesy what is to come.

“God is true.” Jesus Christ

The claim of the Bible is that God is true.   He is the source of all that is.  He establishes the laws, physical and moral, by which all things are governed.  His word, His revelation to man – The Bible claims for itself “truth.”  “The sum of Thy word is truth.”

                    “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”

                    “The scripture”, said Jesus, “cannot be broken.”

God will not lie, mislead, err, or fail to communicate His word truly, or be so weak as to not preserve it. It is the only means by which we know the essential answers.

What He commands is in keeping with His nature, thus “truth” will always correspond to the way, the best way, to live.

        “…let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.”

Therefore, Satan, the enemy of God and of man, logically speaking, needs only to lie and misdirect man against God’s word to bring about man’s destruction.  What opposes God will oppose truth and finally oppose man.

Let me summarize the Biblical Worldview.

Creation, it is written, bespoke of “order” from God’s “invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature… being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse.” (Rom 1:20)

Man, it is written, was set atop the crown jewel of earth to view the visible universe; he was material as the animal world, but immaterial and spiritual in the image of God.  The divine and the created came together in the person of man – as no other creature. He was God’s mediator to creation. He was given mind, reason, conscience, choice, and will to choose righteousness or depravity. To be the best or the worst.  Truth was self evident, instinctively knowable.

“A Priori”
As birds were built to navigate the air
worms the sod
fish the oceans, and
beasts the land
man was designed to navigate the question “why” –  to navigate choices. He could find some answers in creation; that God was above and before all things.  But, the specifics of who God is, how He created?  Why He created? That would require special revelation. A word from God. And that, Adam had.

Final, unknowable truth was made knowable to Adam by God’s initiative and goodness.  Sadly, a problem occurred. The Fall. The event of man’s alienation from God.

The Fall: Man’s Autonomy

Man was given choices.  Such is the will as part of the image of God.  The choices were represented in two trees. The tree of life.  In man partaking of it he would receive immortality as a gift from God.  But in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would assert independence from God, and thus, to then be able to choose for himself good or evil and find (he supposed) a happy, safe and good life without God.  He would be the arbiter of good and evil within himself.  He would be as God and know no authority but himself.

Adam and Eve were tempted and lied to.  Deceived by a person. A rebel. A fallen angel called Satan and the devil.  “A liar and the father of all lies” who had opposed God and sought his own glory in the destruction of God’s image in man, replacing it with his own.  He would be man’s father. The world, his.

Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s truthfulness by accusing God’s very character.  That God wanted obedience so that man would have to be beneath Him. God simply did not want a rival in independence.  If they would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would be fully enlightened, free and independent of God, to live life on their own.  God was their restriction to life.  The serpent was the “fan of man.”  They ate and indeed became alien to God … and died.

Man’s mind, heart, and will became alien and even hostile to God and truth. Man’s flesh, passions, and mind were now bent toward rebellion.

Smeagol had become Gollum, clutching “precious” independence. An independence that would disfigure man and destroy him.  Man was now dis-integrated. Life lost its unity.

Man was spiritually, mentally, and physically magnetized toward rebellion, self-gratification, lust, pride, and violence.  The children of darkness would now bring forth a brood of Gollums. Man was adrift from his moorings.

The Metastasizing of Error

But this is not simply a study of the Bible, but its claim to truth.  A great deal of time occurred in between Adam and Noah but, suffice it to say, that Satan ruled and the world became a stench in its violence and murder.  God sent the flood and a new beginning. Noah was in a sense a new Adam…but the post-flood world became corrupted in the rebellion of the Tower of Babel.  Man’s rebellion in a tower to his glory, “a tower into the heavens.” Man again was God. But God slowed man’s evil by the confusion of languages.  Man’s unity was removed, and as man dispersed in the Fertile Crescent mankind formed 70 different language groups that married within the languages and became the nations, and races and peoples of the earth.  And as their idolatrous religions arose, an even deeper corruption now formed in the earth…that of superstition and “systems” of lies. Religions, man fashioned “gods” of his own imagination whom man could placate to his own benefit.

Israel: Nation of Truth

But amidst these lies the truth sprung up from the earth.  A man named Abram was called from the idolatry of Ur, the leading city of ancient Chaldea, to go to Canaan, to have Isaac, who would have Jacob, then the twelve that would become the 12 tribes, who would incubate 400 years in Egypt, then, through Moses come out a great nation then travel through the wilderness into Canaan and become two million – Israel, a holy nation, a nation in covenant with the only TRUE God.  The only orthodox nation … a nation reflecting the truth that had been diluted and lost since Eden. At Sinai they were given moral law, written down to be learned and passed down, and a religious sacrificial system depicting salvation. And a promise given of a man to come. A Jew, from King David of Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah, who would die and rise and reconcile man to God and return and rule the earth – the “Christ,” Messiah.

Indeed “Salvation is of the Jew.”

Truth lived again through the beginnings of the Bible – a written record of the truth to be progressively continued then given to all of mankind.

In Genesis, the first book of Jewish law, all the vital questions would be answered in an hour’s reading.

The lower story of nature would rest on its strong truthful upper story revelation of God.  What a glorious nation it could be …
…amidst pantheism – the belief that all is one and all is god.
…amidst polytheism with its many gods and idolatry
…and animism – the belief of spirits in nature
…amidst henotheism with its master god among many gods
…alongside dualism – equal opposite gods of good and evil in conflict
..amidst Buddhism with its moral improvement and conquest of sin through meditation and discipline.

A shaft of light broke – Israel with its teaching tribe of priests.

        “… come out from their midst and be separate.”

        “Thou shalt be unto Me a holy nation… a kingdom of priests.”

But alas … as with Adam, as with the sons of Noah, so also with the sons of Abraham, the children of The Book, who wandered from God and mingled with the darkness around them and learned their idolatrous ways.  From the Assyrians of the 7th century B.C. to the Romans of the 1st century A.D., the prophets of God warned the nation and called it to repent lest God’s wrath scatter them just as Moses promised.  But Israel turned a deaf ear.

www.dentonbiblechurch.org. Used by permission.

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Articles

Job: A Man or a Myth?

by John Piper
written by John Piper

Here is an enlightening answer to a seldom-studied character in the Bible: Job.

The book of Job is a profound work on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study and reflection. But was Job himself a real, historical character (like John Bunyan), or is Job a mythic legend (like Paul Bunyan)? And does it really matter in the end that he was — fact or folklore? The question comes to us from Lori.

 

“Dear Pastor John, I have enjoyed your messages on the book of Job. Recently, I was at a memorial service at a Reformed church in which the pastor said Job was a fictitious character. The lessons of the book, he said, are still helpful. But what do you think? Was Job a real person or not? Why or why not? And do you think it matters?”

Fact or Fiction?

Yes, if I heard my pastor make the confident statement that Job was a fictitious character, I would seriously consider finding another church. (Now, I want to be sure here that I’m not assuming that Lori got it right — that she’s really quoting her pastor accurately. She may not be.) I say that I would consider finding another church not because the pastor’s statement can’t be true and the Bible still be infallible. I say it because there are no grounds for being dogmatic that Job is fictitious. That’s my first reason.

“If I heard my pastor make the confident statement that Job was fictitious, I would seriously consider finding another church.”

My second reason is that the inclination to take the book as fiction with a moral truth betrays a mental leaning that I think throws the pastor’s biases into question. That’s the way I would put it for myself. I’d say his biases are leaning in the wrong direction. That’s my concern.

Now, are there good reasons for taking the book of Job as an accurate account of events that really happened, or do we just say, “Well, it’s a draw”? I read some commentators who said, “It’s just a draw. We don’t know if it’s a parable or if it’s history. It doesn’t matter,” they say. Let me give three reasons for taking the story as real history rather than a parable with good morals and good theology.

Man from Uz

First, take the way the book opens: “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job” (Job 1:1). Now compare that with the beginning of Judges 17:1, which begins a story: “There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.” Or compare it to the beginning of 1 Samuel: “There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah” (1 Samuel 1:1).

Now, one of the ways to assess whether a piece of writing is history or whether it bears the traits of fiction would be to compare how the books are written. The fact that Job begins the way those chapters begin, which are not presented as parable or fiction, is at least one pointer to the way readers would have taken it as they began to read this book. They would have taken it the way they took Judges or 1 Samuel — as an account of things that really happened. That’s my first argument.

Linked to History

Second, in Ezekiel 14:12–20, where the prophet is showing how helpless Jerusalem is under God’s judgment because of how much immorality there is in the land, it says this:

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. . . . Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:12–14, 19–20)

Now, I know that there are more or less conservative scholars who say that these names — Noah, Daniel, and Job — are mentioned here not because they’re historical, but because they’re all eminently righteous in the books that tell their story. Nevertheless, the case of Jerusalem is so bad that this writer, Ezekiel, chooses three people, two of which are manifestly historical, and the other we would presume is historical.

Think with me as we notice two things. Noah and Daniel are unmistakably historical. The Bible does not treat them as fictional ever, and Job is listed with them with no distinction made at all. That would be really strange if Job were not like them historically. Here’s the second thing to observe: Ezekiel entertains the hypothetical possibility that Noah and Daniel and Job might be “in the land.” It is a real stretch to think he is saying Noah and Daniel, the historical persons, might be in the land as real people, but Job has to be thought of as in the land in a totally different way.

In other words, it just seems to me that we would need very strong reasons to think Job is fictional if we’re going to take Ezekiel 14:14 and 19 in such an unnatural way. Two historical figures and one fictional functioning in the same way? I doubt it.

Testified by James

Here’s the last point. In James 5:10–11, James says this:

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets [that’s important] who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

“The readiness to treat the book as fictional signifies a mindset that leans more easily toward critical trends than I think is healthy.”

Now, again, there are those who say, “This proves nothing about Job’s historical reality. He’s just being used as a fictional character the way we might use Shakespeare’s Hamlet as an example of tragic indecision, for example.” Job, they say, is being used as an example of perseverance.

Really? I mean, James says, “Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job.” He’s not speaking about Job in a vacuum. He’s treating Job like one of the prophets. He’s putting him in the category with others in history who remained steadfast.

Why It Matters

I would say that we have at least these three lines of evidence that Job is historical: (1) the internal similarity to some of the other historical works, (2) the treatment of Job in Ezekiel, and (3) the treatment of Job in James.

Then Lori asks, “Do you think it matters?” Of course, fiction can teach real flesh-and-blood truth. The parables of Jesus do that. It’s not wrong to write fiction to communicate truth. So it’s not as though the theology of Job would have to be sacrificed if the book were inspired fiction.

But I would say it matters for other reasons. Given the way Ezekiel and James treat the book and the person of Job, the readiness to treat the book and the man as fictional signifies a kind of mindset, a kind of soul inclination, which leans more easily toward critical trends than I think is healthy. That would be a concern to me.

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/was-job-a-man-or-a-myth

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Ask Roger

Job: A Man or a Myth?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Here is an enlightening answer to a seldom-studied character in the Bible: Job.

The book of Job is a profound work on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study and reflection. But was Job himself a real, historical character (like John Bunyan), or is Job a mythic legend (like Paul Bunyan)? And does it really matter in the end that he was — fact or folklore? The question comes to us from Lori.

 

“Dear Pastor John, I have enjoyed your messages on the book of Job. Recently, I was at a memorial service at a Reformed church in which the pastor said Job was a fictitious character. The lessons of the book, he said, are still helpful. But what do you think? Was Job a real person or not? Why or why not? And do you think it matters?”

Fact or Fiction?

Yes, if I heard my pastor make the confident statement that Job was a fictitious character, I would seriously consider finding another church. (Now, I want to be sure here that I’m not assuming that Lori got it right — that she’s really quoting her pastor accurately. She may not be.) I say that I would consider finding another church not because the pastor’s statement can’t be true and the Bible still be infallible. I say it because there are no grounds for being dogmatic that Job is fictitious. That’s my first reason.

“If I heard my pastor make the confident statement that Job was fictitious, I would seriously consider finding another church.”

My second reason is that the inclination to take the book as fiction with a moral truth betrays a mental leaning that I think throws the pastor’s biases into question. That’s the way I would put it for myself. I’d say his biases are leaning in the wrong direction. That’s my concern.

Now, are there good reasons for taking the book of Job as an accurate account of events that really happened, or do we just say, “Well, it’s a draw”? I read some commentators who said, “It’s just a draw. We don’t know if it’s a parable or if it’s history. It doesn’t matter,” they say. Let me give three reasons for taking the story as real history rather than a parable with good morals and good theology.

Man from Uz

First, take the way the book opens: “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job” (Job 1:1). Now compare that with the beginning of Judges 17:1, which begins a story: “There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.” Or compare it to the beginning of 1 Samuel: “There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah” (1 Samuel 1:1).

Now, one of the ways to assess whether a piece of writing is history or whether it bears the traits of fiction would be to compare how the books are written. The fact that Job begins the way those chapters begin, which are not presented as parable or fiction, is at least one pointer to the way readers would have taken it as they began to read this book. They would have taken it the way they took Judges or 1 Samuel — as an account of things that really happened. That’s my first argument.

Linked to History

Second, in Ezekiel 14:12–20, where the prophet is showing how helpless Jerusalem is under God’s judgment because of how much immorality there is in the land, it says this:

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness. . . . Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my wrath upon it with blood, to cut off from it man and beast, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord God, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:12–14, 19–20)

Now, I know that there are more or less conservative scholars who say that these names — Noah, Daniel, and Job — are mentioned here not because they’re historical, but because they’re all eminently righteous in the books that tell their story. Nevertheless, the case of Jerusalem is so bad that this writer, Ezekiel, chooses three people, two of which are manifestly historical, and the other we would presume is historical.

Think with me as we notice two things. Noah and Daniel are unmistakably historical. The Bible does not treat them as fictional ever, and Job is listed with them with no distinction made at all. That would be really strange if Job were not like them historically. Here’s the second thing to observe: Ezekiel entertains the hypothetical possibility that Noah and Daniel and Job might be “in the land.” It is a real stretch to think he is saying Noah and Daniel, the historical persons, might be in the land as real people, but Job has to be thought of as in the land in a totally different way.

In other words, it just seems to me that we would need very strong reasons to think Job is fictional if we’re going to take Ezekiel 14:14 and 19 in such an unnatural way. Two historical figures and one fictional functioning in the same way? I doubt it.

Testified by James

Here’s the last point. In James 5:10–11, James says this:

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets [that’s important] who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

“The readiness to treat the book as fictional signifies a mindset that leans more easily toward critical trends than I think is healthy.”

Now, again, there are those who say, “This proves nothing about Job’s historical reality. He’s just being used as a fictional character the way we might use Shakespeare’s Hamlet as an example of tragic indecision, for example.” Job, they say, is being used as an example of perseverance.

Really? I mean, James says, “Take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job.” He’s not speaking about Job in a vacuum. He’s treating Job like one of the prophets. He’s putting him in the category with others in history who remained steadfast.

Why It Matters

I would say that we have at least these three lines of evidence that Job is historical: (1) the internal similarity to some of the other historical works, (2) the treatment of Job in Ezekiel, and (3) the treatment of Job in James.

Then Lori asks, “Do you think it matters?” Of course, fiction can teach real flesh-and-blood truth. The parables of Jesus do that. It’s not wrong to write fiction to communicate truth. So it’s not as though the theology of Job would have to be sacrificed if the book were inspired fiction.

But I would say it matters for other reasons. Given the way Ezekiel and James treat the book and the person of Job, the readiness to treat the book and the man as fictional signifies a kind of mindset, a kind of soul inclination, which leans more easily toward critical trends than I think is healthy. That would be a concern to me.

https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/was-job-a-man-or-a-myth

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Sermons

God in the Hands of Angry People

by Mark Batterson
written by Mark Batterson

In the beginning, God created humankind in His image. We have been creating God in our image ever since. But what you end up with is a god who looks a lot like us! That’s the God we’re dismantling in this series so we can discover the true God, the God of the Bible. And that God might surprise you.

Preached at National Community Church. Used by permission.

 

 

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Articles

Feminism: Did Jesus Value Women?

by Kevin DeYoung
written by Kevin DeYoung

We often hear that those who don’t affirm modern feminism are “anti-woman.” Christians are no exception. We sometimes get tagged with this epithet, and once the label sticks we’re either total sellouts (the women) or knuckle-dragging Neanderthals (the men). 

In light of this claim, it’s remarkable to consider how the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ, interacted with women in his own day. I don’t exaggerate when I say that Jesus’s approach to women was nothing less than revolutionary. Affirming true God-designed complementarity has almost always challenged the status quo.

A Revolutionary Ministry 

Out of a cultural background that minimized the dignity of women and even depersonalized them, Jesus boldly affirmed their worth and gladly benefited from their vital ministry. He made the unusual practice of speaking freely to women, and in public no less (John 4:27; 8:10–11; Luke 7:12–13). He also frequently ministered to the needs of hurting women, like Peter’s mother-in-law (Mark 1:30–31), the woman bent over for 18 years (Luke 13:10–17), the bleeding woman (Matt. 9:20–22), and the Syrophoenician woman (Mark 7:24–30).

Jesus not only ministered to women, he allowed women to minister to him. Women anointed Jesus and he warmly received their service (Matt. 26:6–13; Luke 7:36–50). Some women helped Jesus’s ministry financially (Luke 8:2–3), while others offered hospitality (Luke 10:40; John 12:2). A number of women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Mary the mother of James and Joses, Salome, Mary and Martha—are mentioned by name in the Gospels, indicating their important place in Jesus’s ministry. Many women were among Jesus’s band of disciples. And perhaps most significantly, women were the first witnesses to the resurrection (Matt. 28:5–8; Mark 16:1–8; Luke 24:2–9; John 20:1–2).

Tender Treatment 

Underlying Jesus’s ministry was the radical assumption that women have enormous value and purpose. The clearest example is his mother Mary, who’s called highly favored in Luke 1:28. Moreover, Jesus used women as illustrations in his teaching, mentioning the queen of the south (Matt. 12:42), the widow of Zarephath (Luke 4:26), women at the second coming (Matt. 24:41), and the woman in search of her lost coin (Luke 15:8–10). He held up the persistent widow as an example of prayerfulness (Luke 18:1–5), and the poor widow’s offering as an example of generosity (Luke 21:1–4). 

Jesus addressed women tenderly as “daughters of Abraham,” placing them on the same spiritual plane as men (Luke 13:16). His teaching on divorce treated women as persons, not mere property (Matt. 5:32; 19:9), and his instruction about lust protected women from being treated as nothing more than objects of sexual desire (Matt. 5:28). And in a time where female learning was suspect, Jesus made a point to teach women on numerous occasions (Luke 10:38–42; 23:27–31; John 11:20ff).

Consistent Complementatian 

Jesus’s revolutionary treatment of women was, nevertheless, consistent with God’s original design for role distinctions. The most obvious example is his selection of an all-male apostolic leadership. Granted, that Jesus chose only men to be apostles doesn’t prove conclusively he was a “complementarian,” but it does indicate that his revolutionary attitude toward women stopped short of including them in all forms of leadership. 

And it won’t do to say that Jesus was simply going along with the social customs of the day. He had no problem breaking social taboos, which is why he mingled with tax collectors, ate without washing his hands, redefined the Sabbath, reinterpreted the Temple, condemned the Pharisees, and even honored women! The fact is that while he overturned some Jewish interpretations (e.g., about divorce, lust, retribution, etc.), Jesus never rejected biblical teaching from the Old Testament (Matt. 5:17). Jesus honored women in a countercultural way without rejecting everything he inherited from his Jewish-Old Testament background concerning men and women.

Further, that Jesus called only Jewish males as apostles doesn’t mean that for Jesus to be making a statement about normative male leadership he must also be making a statement about normative Jewish leadership. The Jewishness of the apostles is linked to a particular moment in salvation history, while their maleness is not. After Pentecost, the kingdom Jesus ushered was no longer for the Jews alone.  Gentiles like Luke and Titus assumed positions of teaching and leadership. But when the disciples needed a successor to Judas, the apostles looked for a man who had been with them (Acts 1:21–22). 

In summary, Jesus honored women and empowered them for ministry, but when it came to selecting those for positions of leadership and authority, he chose only men. Our Lord had no trouble being radically pro-women and unequivocally complementarian at the same time. Neither should we.

www.tgc.org. Used by permission.

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Articles

You Hate Jesus If You Hate Jews

by Russell Moore
written by Russell Moore

Dr. Russell Moore’s most popular and profound article this year came on the heels of a synagogue shooting. Here are his profound observations:

“On the Jewish Sabbath this week, a white nationalist terrorist murdered eleven worshippers within Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, in what is being called the deadliest attack on Jewish people in American history. Sadly, in a time when it seems that every week brings more bloodshed and terror in this country, we should not let the news cycle move on without a sober reflection of what this attack means for us as Christians.

Such is especially true as we look out a world surging with resurgent “blood-and-soil” ethno-nationalism, much of it anti-Semitic in nature. As Christians, we should have a clear message of rejection of every kind of bigotry and hatred, but we should especially note what anti-Semitism means for people who are followers of Jesus Christ. We should say clearly to anyone who would claim the name “Christian” the following truth: If you hate Jews, you hate Jesus.

Anti-Semitism is, by definition, a repudiation of Christianity as well as of Judaism. This ought to be obvious, but world history, even church history, shows us this is not the case. Christians reject anti-Semitism because we love Jesus.

I will often hear Christians say, “Remember that Jesus was Jewish.” That’s true enough, but the past tense makes it sound as though Jesus’ Jewishness were something he sloughed off at the resurrection. Jesus is alive now, enthroned in heaven. He is transfigured and glorified, yes, but he is still Jesus. This means he is still, and always will be, human. He is still, and always will be, the son of Mary. He is, and always will be, a Galilean. When Jesus appeared before Saul of Tarsus on the Road to Damascus, the resurrected Christ introduced himself as “Jesus of Nazareth” (Acts 22:8). Jesus is Jewish, present tense.

Indeed, much of the New Testament is about precisely that point. Jesus is a son of Abraham. He is of the tribe of Judah. He is of the House of David. Jesus’ kingship is valid because he descends from the royal line. His priesthood, though not of the tribe of Levi, is proven valid because of Melchizedek the priest’s relation to Abraham. Those of us who are joint-heirs with Christ are such only because Jesus is himself the offspring and heir of Abraham (Gal. 3:29).

As Christians, we are, all of us, adopted into a Jewish family, into an Israelite story. We who were once not a people have been grafted on, in Jesus, to the branch that is Israel (Rom. 11:17-18). That’s why the New Testament can speak even to Gentile Christians as though the story of their own forefathers were that of the Old Testament Scriptures. We have been brought into an Israelite story, a story that started not in first-century Bethlehem but, millennia before, in the promise that Abraham would be the father of many nations. Whatever our ethnic background, if we are in Christ, we are joined to him. That means the Jewish people are, in a very real sense, our people too. An attack on the Jewish people is an attack on all of us.

The reason this is critically important to reassert is because the blood-and-soil movements often want to claim the word “Christian.” The way they define this, you will notice is in opposition to some other group. They are “Christian” instead of Jewish, or “Christian” instead of Muslim or some other religious identity. What they usually mean is “European white identity” defined in terms of “Christendom.” This murderer had posted social media rants not only against Jewish people, but also against Jewish people’s efforts to help refugees and migrants fleeing Latin American persecution.

Such types have long been with us. Notice the way the “German Christian” movement wanted to maintain “the church” and “the Bible,” just whitewashing them of their Jewishness. A Bible with its Jewishness wrung out of it is no Bible. And a Christ with his Jewishness obscured is no Christ at all. We cannot even say his name, “Jesus,” or “Yahweh saves” without immediately confronted with our Lord’s Jewishness.

We groan anytime an innocent human life is taken. We weep every time there is a murderous terrorist attack. We should do so this time as well. But we should also make very clear that those who carry out such repulsive attacks on the Jewish people is an attack on the image of God, an attack on Jesus as a son of Adam. But such attacks are, even more specifically, an attack on Jesus as a son of Abraham. When you lash out at a synagogue’s rabbi, you are attacking our Rabbi as well.

If you hate Jews, you hate Jesus.”

www.russellmoore.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ask Roger

How Do You Know the Bible is Inspired?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger, 

My friend is a faithful church attender, but she doesn’t believe the Bible is the Word of God. She believes it’s a good book with moral teachings. How was the Bible inspired?

Sincerely, 

Confused 

Dear Confused,

 

I’d like to show you that the Bible as we know it today is fully inspired and quite reliable as the Word of God.

 

I’m convinced that there’s nothing more important for the Christian than a thorough comprehension and understanding of the Bible. You see, the Bible is our sole authority for living the Christian life.

 

I remember talking with friend in college about salvation. He told me what he thought about God, his opinions, his worldview. I finally told him, “Look, I don’t care about your opinions! You’re not my authority. I want to know “what does the Bible say?” (I was much more tactful than that!) That’s what matters to me.

 

People describe great feelings and experiences that have happened to them and then tell me they are from God. I can tell quickly whether or not they are from God. If their experience is not in accord with the Word, I am sure that their experience was not from God.

 

The Bible is our standard: our standard for living, for determining whether an experience is from God or Satan; it’s our roadmap to heaven. Yet, how can I be sure that it’s really God’s Word and not just a collection of writings by a group of men over the years?

 

The name “Bible” – simply means book. The Bible never calls itself the Bible. The word is used in MATTHEW 19:7:

 

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” NIV

 

In LUKE 4:7, Satan tempts Christ and every time the Savior answers:

 

And Satan said to Jesus, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ NIV

 

Jesus was tempted by the Devil three times. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3; 6:13; Psalm 91: 11-12. Jesus responded to Satan every time with “It is written…”

 

The name “Bible” is from Biblos – one of two places where papyrus grew. They made books from papyrus.

 

How was the Bible inspired?

 

What’s meant by “inspiration”?

 

2 PETER 1:21:

 

21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. NIV

 

Although by human pen, the Bible is God’s message to man rather than a message of man to his fellow men. This is important because some say that Bible is nothing more than human writing.

 

2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17:

 

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. NIV

 

The word “inspiration” here is the only time used in the Word of God. It literally means – “God breathed” – this verse indicates that Scripture is God-produced; however, it in no way indicates the means of God in producing it.

 

I remember as a child, wondering how God spoke to New Testament writers to give them the Bible. Were they machines that God punched like a computer to write out exactly what He wanted as he dictated it to them? How did God actually inspire the Bible?

 

Theories of Inspiration:

 

1  Dictation theory – This theory claims that the writers were simply stenographers. The writers were passive and just wrote down whatever God said. This has been the view of the Roman Catholic Church for centuries.

 

The problem with this premise is – If God wrote it all by His dictation, then it should sound the same throughout Scripture.  When you read Isaiah, it doesn’t sound at all like Ezekiel, or Mark contrasted with John. It’s not the same style, vocabulary. Yet the authors injected their personal feelings, wishes and tone. Paul’s heartfelt prayer for Israel in Romans 9.

 

Romans 9:1-3:

 

I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel.  NIV

 

This impassioned prayer would lose its meaning if it were dictated by God. Nevertheless, some dictation did occur, as in the case of the Ten Commandments and the Law.

 

2  Partial Inspiration – This premise teaches that the Bible contains the Word of God: part from God and part from man (God inspires what can’t be known by natural means – i.e. creation accounts, some prophecy, etc.) The Bible has errors but communicates truth.

 

3  Naturalistic Inspiration – This tenet teaches that the writers of the Bible were no more inspired than were other men throughout history. They were no more inspired than Shakespeare or Milton was inspired. The Bible is just another book on religion – destroys all claim for divine authority.

 

4  Dynamic Inspiration – The truths come from God but He allowed the writer to use his own words and personality in communicating that truth. This explains the differences in style, (Mark 16:1-9; 9:20), individuality, expressed moods and fears, etc.

 

In summary, concerning how God inspired the writing of the Bible:

 

1  All Scripture is God-inspired and therefore is the sole authority for living.

2  God superintended the writing but didn’t dictate it.

3  He used human authors and their own individual styles.

 

Well, Confused, I hope this helps. 

Love, 

Roger

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Ask Roger

Beating Anxiety and Fear

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

I worry a lot. My friends and family call me a “worry wart.” I have to agree with them. My worrying makes me miserable. Yesterday, our pastor preached about the time that the disciples almost drowned in a terrific storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus asked them, “Where’s your faith?”

 

I work on the church staff and today some of us were discussing worry and anxiety. We all agreed that worry is a sin and that if we just had more faith and belief in Jesus that we wouldn’t have this problem.

 

I’ve tried all sorts of tricks and coping mechanisms to get victory; however, I’m not having much success.

I’ve read on “Ask Roger,” where you’ve mentioned your struggles with worry. Do you still worry a lot? Can you help me overcome my anxieties so that I’m not so miserable?

 

Sincerely, Susan”

 

Dear Susan,

 

Anxiety and worry are two of my besetting sins.

 

I’ll give you an example of how I can worry. Driving down the street I hit a bump and 100 yards later think that maybe I ran over somebody. My rational mind is telling me of course that’s not true. But my worry mind says that I’d better go back and check to be sure. Can you believe it? I’ll go around the block and drive back to the bump just to be sure I haven’t hit somebody. Talk about miserable!

 

 

I try to gain victory by casting all my cares on Jesus. I think about Matthew 6 and how the birds of the air have no cares because God carefully cares for them. So, I should be here free from worry like the birds; unfortunately, that approach doesn’t seem to work very well. I’ve worked hard to learn contentment as Paul described it in Philippians 4. I’ve tried to meditate on passages like, “Whatsoever is right, pure, lovely, clean, holy, righteous,… think on these things” (Philippians 4:6). I gained some relief but not much. I needed more help.

 

About 20 years ago I began to get some victory when I went to my doctor and mentioned in passing my problem. He said, “Roger, I’m so sorry that you suffer like this. When did it all begin?”

 

“About my junior year in high school.”

 

“Let’s try to help that,” he said, as he gave me a little white pill.

 

“What is this?” I asked.

 

“It’s an anti-anxiety, anti-depression medicine. Try it for month or so and let’s see how you do.”

 

My, how things have changed! today, I figure that at least 80% of my worry and anxiety have dissipated. Now, for the first time I am able to use the passages above in a helpful and significant way. I found that I was beginning to control my worry and anxiety instead of them over-controlling me. The anti-anxiety medicine was adjusting my brain chemistry to lessen the impact of my besetting sins.

 

It breaks my heart that so many Christians are adverse to using anti-anxiety, anti-depression medicines–when they are so miserable. Christians who have high blood pressure and/or heart rhythm problems seem to have no qualms about taking medicines to help care for their hearts. Christians with thyroid problems seem to have no qualms about taking thyroid medicine to straighten out their endocrine system.

 

Therefore, in the same way, there is nothing wrong with taking medicine to help mediate the negative effects of brain chemistry issues.

 

I remember a man who came to me for counseling regarding his depression. He mentioned that he’d been going monthly to counselors for over fifteen years. I listened to his tale and thought of all the money that he had spent. I thought of the suffering he endured for so many years. So I said, “Go talk to your doctor about an anti-depressant and let’s see how you do. Two months later he sat back in my office relating the dramatic change in his outlook on life. What 15 years of counseling could not accomplish, a simple anti-depressant did.

 

Please don’t misunderstand; I still struggle with worry and anxiety. At times, it gets the best of me. But, at least I feel that I am on an even playing field.

 

It may help if I describe in simple terms the brain processes concerning worry and anxiety. Three, what I call, “brain modules,” are involved in the process.

 

The first module is the “alert-module”. It monitors the negative things going on around us to warn us of any dangers lurking nearby.

 

The second module is to “fix-it module”. When something needs our attention the alert module communicates with the fix it module and the fix it module starts to fix the problem.

 

The third module is the “all-clear module.” This module tells us that the danger is alleviated and we need be anxious no more. All is well. We can stop worrying.

 

Any, or all, or any combination of the three can cause us to be filled with worry and anxiety.

 

Imagine that you have an over reacting “alert-module” that is relentlessly telling you things are going wrong when in fact everything is fine. You will tend to struggle more with anxiety those whose “alert-modules” are more “normal”.

 

Imagine that your “fix-it module” is malfunctioning. It receives the alert that something is wrong but it doesn’t fix anything or even try to. You’re still filled with anxiety.

 

Imagine that the first two modules are functioning normally but your “all-clear module” is not doing its job. You will still struggle with worry even though the danger issues are eradicated.

 

Of course, there are many combinations and levels of intensity accompanying all three modules. For example, the “alert-module” may not be sensitive enough which brings in a whole new set of issues for us to consider.

 

God’s design is for the “alert-module” to work at the right level; for the “fix-it module” to prompt us to take the necessary steps to alleviate the worrisome problem; and for the ” all-clear module” to remove any need for worry or anxiety.

 

By the way, our brain chemistry is capable of initiating an anxiety attack when there is no reason for any threat or worry. In other words, we are not always at liberty to overcome a worry or anxiety episode started by our brain chemistry and not by our own conscious thinking.

 

Now, let me share with you some of the ways that I find victory over worry and anxiety.

 

1. I stay in close contact with my medical doctor to keep my brain chemistry as balanced as possible.

 

If you sense that your worry-anxiety system is causing you problems, then I suggest that the first thing you do is ask your doctor for diagnosis and some help.

 

2. I sing a lot.

 

The Bible has numerous references to the positive impact of changing sour attitudes by consciously updating our countenance to look happy, and act happy, even if we don’t feel that way at all (Song of Solomon 2:14; Proverbs 15:13).

 

3. I try to cultivate an awareness of God’s presence and care.

 

Hebrews 11:27: “Abraham persevered as seeing Him who is invisible.” Also read Isaiah 41:10 and 43:1-3.

 

4. I refuse to imagine the worst that can happen. I capture my “run away” thoughts by saying, “Stop It” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

 

My daughter taught me this one; although I could have learned from Paul, but I didn’t. Whenever I catch my imagination running wild I firmly say to my mind, “Stop it!” Both Jesus and Paul talked about the significance of thinking sweet-positive thoughts. So, I consciously change my thinking. Usually I do this by beginning to sing.

 

My mother was a living victim of worry and anxiety. When Julie and I brought the children for a visit, the first thing she did was have a fire drill so we all knew which window to exit depending on where we were in the house. This was not a one-time thing. We had our drill every time we visited’

 

She only had two locks on the outside doors but when my dad died she added four more for a total of six locks to keep the house secure. She was always afraid that lightning was going to strike the house and burn it down.

 

Her advice for me as I grew older was to handle my worry and anxiety by taking time to think of the most terrible thing that might happen. Then, pull back and realize that it probably won’t. That was supposed to make me feel better.

 

She was not helpful. I want to keep the worst things that might happen as far away from my mind as possible.

 

By the way, she soon got lonely with my father gone so she sold the house she had lived in for 55 years and moved into a retirement facility. Can you believe it? Three weeks after she moved a lightning bolt hit the house and burned it to the ground. The fire marshal told her at the initial bold hit in her bedroom where she used to sleep every night.

 

5. I work hard to avoid “Borrowing,” which is bringing concerns of the future or of the past into the present.

 

6. I’m not good at compartmentalizing, I keep opening the lid to look inside. So, I find victory by cremating my problem and placing the ashes in a mental casket and burying the ashes deep underground.

 

If ever I am tempted again to worry about that problem, I look at the cremated ashes scattered over the bottom of the casket. My problem is dead and gone.

 

7. I replace worry with prayer (Philippians 4:6).

 

Finally, Psalm 151 is my “go to” principle for handling best my worry issues.

 

As you read the Psalm it quickly strikes you that David has full control over whether or not he lets worry and anxiety infect his life and behaviors. He has the choice of living in worry and anxiety or of calming and quieting his soul. The same choice is ours.

 

“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and too marvelous for me.

 

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a child quieted at its mother’s breast;

like a child that is quieted is my soul.”

 

 

Susan, thanks for bringing up this subject. You are not alone in your struggles. I hope that my thoughts are helpful to you and many others.

 

May God give you a peaceful and grace-filled life.

 

Love, Roger

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Articles

Confessions of a “Christian” Abortion Doctor?

by Russell Moore
written by Russell Moore

Can an abortion doctor really be a Christian? I don’t think so. But this physician disagrees.

Willie Parker is an abortion doctor.

He says he’s not ashamed of that. Willie Parker also says he is a born-again follower of Jesus Christ. That one’s more complicated. His new book on why Jesus would support his abortion practice shows us the end-result of a cultural Christianity in which the self can redefine anything: Jesus, the gospel, morality, justice, even life itself.

Parker is a kind of circuit-riding abortionist, spending time at various abortion clinics all over the South. The book, Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Choice is one part an autobiography, and one-part a political manifesto for the legality—and even the goodness—of abortion. Even as one who has to wade through all sorts of material assaulting human dignity, I found that I would gasp at the lackadaisical nature of Parker’s reflections.

Parker writes about his profession of faith in Christ. He even discusses listening to some beloved Christian writers—C.S. Lewis and Thomas Merton, for instance—on his long drives between abortion clinics. Jesus, Parker tells us, has no issue with Parker’s vocation. And, apparently, neither does Parker. He writes, chillingly, about aspiring to learn how to do abortions. He said that he would go to the Planned Parenthood clinic “and perform abortions, over and over, like the athlete who goes to the gym after practice to shoot three-pointers.” He would sometimes do fifteen abortions, sometimes thirty “I wanted to get to the point where the procedure was automatic, a synthesis of muscle memory and mental vigilance,” he writes.

He learned not only how to do these abortions, but also how to quiet his conscience along the way. Parker doesn’t hide the grisly mechanics of abortion. He writes, step-by-step, of what he does in an abortion, and in the aftermath. “I inspect what has just come out of the woman’s body: what I’m looking for is the fetal sac, which at a later gestational age, becomes the placenta, and, after nine weeks, every one of the fetal parts—head, body, limbs—like a puzzle that has to be put back together.” This job of “recreating the fetus in the pan,” Parker writes, is what “assures me that I’ve done my job completely and well.”

The nonchalance of the metaphors is no accident. The aborted “product of conception” is a puzzle; the act of aborting him or her is like learning to shoot basketballs. Parker writes of how he calms women down as they approach the abortion, sometimes with guilty consciences. He talks to them about Dr. Seuss books or southern cooking, Parker tells us, “and if all else fails you can talk to them about football.” More specifically, he writes, he talks to them about whether they are fans of the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide or Auburn.

He admires a similarly casual approach to abortion in his patients. He praises the woman who asks to see the remains of the abortion, nods her head, and goes back to her crackers and juice. He admires the woman who asks to see the ultrasound afterward but seems unmoved by it. He chastises a woman who sees the joking about the abortions by fellow patients on the table around her as lacking respect. “When she wrote a letter to complain of the atmosphere in our clinic,” Parker writes, “I was unmoved.”

And on his enemies list to be attacked in the book are not only pro-life Catholics and evangelicals but also pro-choice feminists who speak of abortion as a tragic, if necessary, choice. “Most of the women I see are utterly matter-of-fact about what they’re doing,” he writes.

In fact, he writes, the problem is, in part, “liberal women with children who themselves became enraptured with the sonogram images they saw at the obstetrician’s office and who wept when they heard the fetal heartbeat.” This is, Parker argues, a “fetishization of motherhood and children that I don’t quite understand.”

Parker issues what amounts to a kind of altar call at the end of the book. He asks the reader whether he or she is truly committed to abortion as a moral good. “Or are you secretly squeamish about abortion rights now that you’ve seen the sonogram images of your precious and beloved children in utero?” he asks. “Do you find yourself agreeing, a little that life might begin at conception, that abortion is tragic?” If so, he implies, repent and believe in the wonders of “reproductive choice.”

How, you might ask, would one be able to boast in a practice condemned by the Christian church from the very beginning in the Roman Empire, while simultaneously claiming to be a follower of Jesus Christ? Well, one does so, first of all, by moving the locus of authority away from the Scriptures. Parker will, at some places, attempt to argue that the Bible doesn’t actually prohibit abortion.

Still, these arguments don’t get him quite to where he needs to go—toward undoing the Bible’s prohibitions on not just killing but on sexual immorality as well. Parker then describes the Bible as misogynistic and patriarchal. Even God must be redefined. Parker writes of God in impersonal, cosmic terms and argues that the Christian vision of a personal God who judges the living and the dead is “a tendency to anthropomorphize” God. Not coincidentally, he argues through the book that to call a “fetus” a “baby” is to “anthropomorphize” the entity in the womb.

The biggest hurdle, though, for Parker, is to redefine life itself. Like many in the abortion movement, Parker scoffs at the possibility of fetal personhood because the child is small, “no bigger, from crown to rump, than the first two digits of my pinkie finger,” and because the child cannot live, in most cases, on his or her own outside the womb. He seems to recognize though that lack of size and lack of power won’t be persuasive on their own, so he continues to what he sees as the real problem: the idea that life is “a miracle.” Parker writes that to say that “conception, or birth, or even death is ‘miraculous’ does an injustice to God.” Life is, instead, he argues, merely “a process.”

As I read this abortion doctor’s repeated inveighing against the metaphor of “miracle” for human life, I could not help but be reminded of Wendell Berry’s manifesto against scientism and materialism, which he says demotes humanity from creature to machine. The rejection of the miracle of life, Berry wrote, leaves us with the coldness of abstraction.

“The giveaway is that even scientists do not speak of their loved ones in categorical terms as ‘a woman,’ ‘a man,’ ‘a child,’ or ‘a case,’” Berry wrote. “Affection requires us to break out of the abstractions, the categories, and confront the creature itself in its life in its place.”

Berry concluded. “We know enough of our own history by now to be aware that people exploit what they have merely concluded to be of value, but they defend what they love.” It all turns on affection.

To dehumanize the unborn child, to reduce the child’s mother to her ability to make “choices” about the life and death of others, is to dehumanize Jesus. In Christ, after all, God has “anthropomorphized” himself. And we are introduced to Jesus in the biblical story, just as John the Baptist was, as an unborn child (Luke 1:44). To keep doing his job, Parker must depersonalize the women and children he encounters. He must depersonalize God into an unblinking, non-judging cosmic abstraction.

The good news is that God has dealt with even guiltier consciences than Dr. Parker’s, and he has done so in mercy. The good news is that Willie Parker may one day see a different vision of himself, and of God. He might one day be found in Christ Jesus, a new creation. That’s happened many times before, to many of us. And this new birth is not just a process but a miracle.

www.russellmoore.com.

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Ask Roger

Which Bible Books Made the Cut and Why?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Hi Roger,

A New Testament author says that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, etc. …” The New Testament is good for all those things and although we view it as inspired and regard it as Scripture, I don’t think the author was referring to his own words when he wrote that. What tests do Bible scholars use to determine whether or not a particular writing should be accepted as Scripture? I’ve wanted to know that for a long time.

Thanks, E.

 

Dear E,

You have asked two questions. I am glad to help you with both. First, the passage you are referring to was written by the Apostle Paul: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Of course, Paul probably never considered that he was writing what would one day be collected and bound up in the book we call the Bible!

 

When Paul wrote the only Bible he had was the Old Testament—what is basically today (with several variations) known as the Jewish Bible which includes the Torah (the first five books), the books of prophecy and the writings which include most of the historical narrative passages. So, when Paul referred to the “Scriptures” he was referring to what we know as the Old Testament.

 

In regard to your second question, the list of Books included in our Bible is often referred to as the “Canon” of Scriptures. The word “canon” means straight line or ruler.

 

During the first three centuries after the resurrection of Christ many gospels, acts, epistles and revelations flooded the landscape. Some were included in the Bible; but most were not. For example, there were the four Biblical Gospels; five separate works known as gospels among the Gnostics (The Gospels of Truth, Thomas, Philip, Egyptians and Mary); two more gospels are found in the Pseudapigrapha (which means “false writings”). Recently, another gospel, the Gospel of Judas, dated 225-250 a.d. was found in Egypt and hailed by many as giving new insights into the “real” Jesus.

 

There are numerous Acts, like the Acts of Paul and Thecla and multiple “Revelations” in existence. Numerous epistles exist, like the Shepherd of Hermes.

 

With so many choices to choose from, you wanted to know the criteria (the “canon”) for selecting which books are included in the Bible and which were omitted. Four forces drove the effort to define which documents bore unique authority for Christians.

 

1. The books considered authoritative were either written by an apostle or by one close to an apostle. For example, the four New Testament gospels are the only historical documents that can be shown, with certainty, to be first-century documents. All the other supposed “gospels” were composed well into the second and third centuries. The New Testament gospels were basically eye-witness accounts.

 

2. The books considered as Holy Scripture were consistent with both the Old Testament and with the teachings of the Apostles. Even a cursory reading of the books not included in the canon reveals that most were written with a Gnostic bias. Gnosticism was an early Christian heresy that took root in the second century. The word Gnosticism comes from the Greek term “gnosis”, meaning “knowledge”. Gnosticism sought salvation through secret knowledge. However, the Bible declares that the gospel is given openly and for all to see. According to Gnosticism not all people have a divine spark, only the intellectuals who had the real “gnosis”. Everyone else was doomed. Under Gnosticism, there was no hope of salvation for most of the human race. This theology stands in stark contrast to Jesus declaration in John 3:13: “…and whoever believes in Him shall not perish…”

 

3. The books included in the Bible were the ones which experienced widespread use in the churches. Some books just stood out “head and shoulders” above the rest. In other words, the cream rose to the top. These particular books stood out as “God Breathed” while the others did not.

 

4. Finally, persecution quickly determined which books were more likely God breathed than others. Some books were more easily surrendered to persecuting soldiers—others were worth dying for.

 

By the way, E, no group ever officially voted on which should be considered as Holy Scripture. However, by the early fourth century the 27 books now included in the New Testament were first mentioned in a list by the Council of Nicea as being God breathed. Those 27 New Testament books along with the 39 books of the Old Testament now make up the 66 books in the Holy Bible of today.

 

The divine nature of the Old Testament Books was set in place by the Jews beginning about 1200 B.C. As far as the cannon was concerned, the Old Testament was finalized by 400 B.C. with the Book of Malachi.

 

Numerous books were written during the intertestamental period from 400 B.C. to the time of Christ. These are called the Apocrypha (from the words meaning “false” or “spurious”). Both Protestant Christians and Jews reject the Apocryphal Books. The Roman Catholics include them as Biblical truth.

 

I hope you find this helpful.

Love, Roger

 

P.S. “The New Testament Books: Are They Reliable,” by F.F. Bruce is one of the most finely detailed on why the New Testament Books are divinely inspired—and why others are not.

Roger

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Ask Roger

Were There Any Women Bible Writers?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

 

Dear Roger,

There seems to be much emphasis these days on the role of women in ministry. I like that because when I was young women definitely took a back seat in church affairs. Recently, I’ve began wondering if any of the books of the Bible were written by women.

Sincerely, Curious

 

Dear Curious,

 

The Bible contains a variety of 66 books written by approximately 45 different writers over a span of about 1200 years. The fascinating thing is that the Holy Spirit carefully inspired all the authors so that their books dovetail together with the same main theme. The first 12 chapters of Genesis tell us that mankind is in trouble because of Sin and the Fall. The rest of the Bible, from Genesis 12 to Revelation 22, describes how God will fix the problem and eventually restore man to the glorious place and existence that he had before the Fall. A red thread (signifying the shed blood of Jesus to forgive sins) runs through every book in the Bible. A 1,200 year-unified-stream of salvation is nothing less than remarkable!

 

All the Bible books were definitely written by men—with one possible exception. I’ll say more about that exception in a moment.

 

Some books have disputed authorship. The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses. Even Jesus says so (Mark 12:26; Luke 24:27; et. all.). However, that does not keep from some questioning whether or not Moses was the author. You may read some day of the “JEPD” theory which postulates different compilers (redactors) who wove together the different sections of these books. “J” stands for the author who brought into the mix the Hebrew passages which refer to God as “Jehovah” (YHWH). “E” stands for the author who wove in the Hebrew passages which refer to God as “Elohim.” “P” stands for some unidentified priests who added in their own material. Finally, “D” is the author who wrote the entire book of Deuteronomy. “JEPD” is intriguing food for thought; however, it pales to significance in contrast to the stamp of approval that Jesus placed upon Moses as the author. I will side with Jesus.

 

We really don’t know any of the authors of the historical books in the Old Testament like Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Nehemiah or Esther. They were all written in the third person.

 

The authors of the Poetical books are fairly well known—except for the book of Job. Again, writing in the third person, the author tells Job’s story. It is not the author’s story.

 

David wrote about seventy-five of the 150 Psalms. Asaph wrote some. The Sons of Korah wrote others and even Moses wrote one.

 

Proverbs was written by King Solomon except for Proverb thirty-one which was composed by King Lemuel—whoever that was.

 

Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon were both composed by Solomon.

 

The last seventeen books of the Old Testament are known as the Prophets—major and minor. The author of each book is the man for whom the book is named—like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. By the way, Lamentations was written by Jeremiah as he grieved over the absolute destruction of Jerusalem around 598 B.C. There are two exceptions to prophetical authorship. Parts of the book of Daniel are written in the first person thus automatically identifying Daniel as the author of these sections. The other exception is quite a surprise The pagan Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar wrote Daniel chapter four.

 

The New Testament is rather straightforward. The gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. John also wrote three epistles and the book of Revelation. Dr. Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Paul wrote the books from Romans all the way to Philemon. James wrote James. Peter wrote his two epistles. Jude wrote Jude.

 

The only book I have yet to mention is Hebrews. The authorship of this book is very much in doubt. Hebrews is a dissertation presenting Jesus as better than the creation, the angels, and all the Old Testament laws and priesthood—both Aaronic and Mosaic. He is the High Priest who made one final sacrifice for sin when He died on the cross. He then entered Heaven with an offering of His own precious blood and sat down at the right hand of God. He is the final sacrifice; there is no need for another. By the way, just a few short years after Hebrews was written the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and there has not been a sacrifice there since.

 

The book of Hebrews is often called the “fifth” gospel. One thing is certain about the person who wrote Hebrews, he or she certainly did love Jesus. Love for Christ flows forth from every page.

 

Now, let’s consider who wrote the book. No one has any sort of definitive answer whatsoever as to authorship. I have always thought it hilarious that the King James Bible, translated in 1611, prefixes Hebrews with the identifying moniker, “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews.” Then the translators closed the book with a footnote that says, “Written to the Hebrews from Italy by Timothy.” They would have done well to leave well enough alone. I would imagine that the translators voted as to who was the author. Since there was no clear consensus, they wrote in the two top contenders—one at the beginning and one at the end. They just guessed.

 

One of my assignments at Baylor was to translate and parse the entire book of Hebrews. One thing I noticed was that the Greek grammatical constructions, phrases and vocabulary were different from those used in Paul’s epistles. Hebrews just doesn’t sound like Paul’s writing.

 

One strong contender for authorship is a man named Apollos (Acts 18:24-26) who was a well-educated Jew who powerfully preached Christ. What intrigues me is that a married couple named Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and gave him deeper insight and instruction regarding the glory and nature of Christ Jesus. In Greek culture and writing the man was always mentioned before the female. However, Dr. Luke was careful to consistently reverse the order (Acts 18:18-19) so that Priscilla’s name always precedes her husband’s. Priscilla was quite significant in the early church as a Bible teacher, church leader and preacher—as evidenced by, among things—that Paul left her and her husband to lead the church in Ephesus.

 

Throughout history, especially in recent history, Priscilla has been suggested as the one who authored the Book of Hebrews. If so, she is the only woman who authored a book of the Bible. I suppose that in this life, we will never know for certain the real name of the author. But this we do know, whoever wrote this book about Jesus, certainly loved Jesus.

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Articles

Ten Reasons Why Committed Christians Attend Church Less

by Carey Nieuwhof
written by Carey Nieuwhof

Why do committed Christians go to church less often? The statistics are in!

1. Greater affluence

Money gives people options.

If your church is at all engaging the middle class, the upper middle class, or a suburban demographic, an interesting trend is developing. The middle class is shrinking, but as this New York Times report shows,  it’s shrinking (in part) because more of the middle class is becoming upper class. Both US and Canadian personal disposable incomes are at all time highs.

There are simply more affluent people than there were decades ago, which may in part explain why so many “average’ people indulge their obsessions with granite counter tops, designer homes and decent cars, even without being mega-wealthy.

Naturally, this leaves a huge theological void about ministry to and with the poor, but it helps explain what’s actually happening in the suburbs and increasingly with the re-urbanization of many cities as the affluent move back downtown. Please…I’m not arguing things should be this way. I’m simply showing that this seems to be what’s happening.

And again…people with money have options. Technology options. Travel options. Options for their kids. And, arguably, that affluence may be one of the factors moving them further away from a committed engagement to the mission of the local church. It’s perhaps fueling some of the reasons outlined below.

2. Higher focus on kids’ activities

A growing number of kids are playing sports. And a growing number of kids are playing on teams that require travel.

Many of those sports happen on weekends. And affluent parents are choosing sports over church.

It’s as simple as that.

3. More travel

Despite a wobbly economy, travel is on the rise, both for business and pleasure.

More and more families of various ages travel for leisure, even if it’s just out of town to go camping or to a friend’s place for the weekend or a weekend at the lake.

And when people are out of town, they tend to not be in church.

4. Blended and single parent families

Fortunately, more and more blended families and single parent families are finding a home in church.

So how does this translate into attendance patterns?

Church leaders need to remember that when custody is shared in a family situation, ‘perfect’ attendance for a kid or teen might be 26 Sundays a year.

Similarly, while the affluent might not be in church because of access to reliable transportation, single parents (who, not always, but often, struggle more financially) might not be in church because they lack access to reliable transportation.

So here’s the strange twist. People who have a car are often not in church because they have a car. People who want to be in church are often not in church because they don’t have a car or because it’s not their ‘weekend’ for church.

Sadly, people who want to get to church simply can’t.

By the way, I lead a church that virtually requires a vehicle to get there. I love how we often see people with reliable transportation helping out those who don’t have a vehicle. That’s at least a partial remedy to this problem.

5. Online Options

Many churches have created a social media presence and many podcast their messages like we do at Connexus. Churches are also launching online campuses that bring the entire service to you on your phone, tablet or TV.

There are pros and cons to online church and there’s no doubt that churches with a strong online presence have seen it impact physical attendance.

But whether or not your church has online options doesn’t make the issue go away. Anyone who attends your church has free access to any online ministry of any church.

Online church is here to stay, whether you participate or not.

6. The cultural disappearance of guilt

When I grew up, I felt guilty about not being in church on a Sunday.

The number of people who feel guilty about not being in church on Sunday shrinks daily.

I regularly meet people all the time who haven’t been in months but LOVE our church.

If you’re relying on guilt as a motivator, you need a new strategy. (Well, honestly, you’ve always needed a new strategy…)

7. Self-directed spirituality

People are looking less to churches and leaders to help them grow spiritually, and more to other options.

We live in a era in which no parent makes a visit to a doctor’s office without having first googled the symptoms of a child’s illness and a recommended course  of treatment. Just ask any family physician. It drives them nuts. (Google, doctors will tell you, is not a complete replacement for medical school.)

Similarly, when was the last time you bought a car without completely researching it online?

In an age where we have access to everything, more and more people are self-directing their spirituality…for better or for worse.

Similarly, another characteristics of the post-modern mind is a declining trust of and reliance on institutions.

The church in many people’s minds is seen as an institution.

I don’t actually believe that’s what a church is. I think it’s a movement…not an institution. But many churches behave like an institution, and the post-modern mind instinctively moves away from it as a result.

8. Failure to see a direct benefit

People always make time for the things they value most.  If they’re not making time for church, that tells you something.

Even among people who say their love the church and who say they love your church, if declining attendance is an issue, chances are it’s because they don’t see a direct benefit. They don’t see the value in being there week after week.

That could be because there isn’t much value (gut check). Or it could be because there is value that they simply don’t see.

Either way, failure to see a direct benefit always results in declining engagement.

So what are you doing or not doing that leaves people feeling like there’s not that much value?

9. Valuing attendance over engagement

When someone merely attends church, the likelihood of showing up regularly or even engaging their faith decreases over time.

At our church, I find our most engaged people—people who serve, give, invite and who are in a community group—are our most frequent attenders.

More and more as a leader, I value engagement over attendance.

Ironically, if you value attendance over engagement, you will see declining attendance.

10. A massive culture shift

All of these trends witness to something deeper. Our culture is shifting. Seismically.

Church leaders who fail to recognize this will not be able to change rapidly enough to respond to the shifts that are happening..

Change is unkind to the unprepared, so prepare.

Careynieuwhof.com. Used by permission.  

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Ask Roger

Do We Have Guardian Angels?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

I’ve been wondering about guardian angels. Are they real? Do they really protect us? I met someone at a funeral Recently I attended a funeral service for one of my long-time friends named, Randy. There came a moment in the service where the minister invited people to share testimonies of how Randy had touched their lives and what he had meant to them.

 

The first one to speak was Randy’s brother, Will, who proceeded to share that he had a guardian angel named, Ralph, and that Ralph had a message of love for all the people. Will then shared Ralph’s message that God loved them. It all seemed a little quirky to me that Will had a guardian angel named, Ralph.

 

His speech brought up several questions. Do Christians have guardian angels? If so, what do they do? Do they have names? Can they tell us their names? Several of my friends think that departed loved ones actually return to “watch over” them in their lives here on earth. What do you think? Do people become angels when they go to Heaven?

 

Sincerely, “J”

 

Dear, “J”,

 

As I read your question, my first thought was, “A guardian angel named, Ralph! Are you kidding me! Sounds crazy! Then, I got to thinking, maybe there is more here than meets the eye. If I can name my life-dependent pacemaker, “Repeat,” then maybe Will can name his guardian angel, Ralph!

 

Jesus answered the question, “Do we have guardian angels?” in Matthew 18:10: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” In discussing the worth and value of children, Jesus mentioned that each of us has a guardian angel who is apparently assigned to us when we are children—probably when we were born.

 

While angelic activity fills the pages of the Bible, the Bible is not very forthcoming when talking about the particulars of the ministries of guardian angels. The purpose of the book of Hebrews is to declare the preeminence of Jesus Christ. In the opening chapter the writer to the Hebrews demonstrated the superiority of Jesus’ ministry to the ministry of the angels. angel ministry is powerful; but, of course, not as powerful as Jesus’ ministry.

 

What do angels do? In verse thirteen the one who wrote Hebrews defined the job responsibilities of angels: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

 

One thing they do is give us spiritual and physical and spiritual protection.

 

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

 

I’ve heard scores of personal stories from people who have interacted with angels who protected them from physical danger. For example, in our first house Julie and I had a large, floor-level, sunken tiled bathtub when the children were little.

 

I was working in the front of the house when Julie screamed for me to run to the tiled bathtub. As I raced down the hall way I ran into Julie also racing for the tub. As we reached the bathroom, our two-year-old was tottering on the raised-tile edge about to fall head first into the three-foot deep pool. We grabbed her away from danger.

 

I said to Julie, “Why did you scream for me when you were already on the way?” She said, “I didn’t scream for you. You screamed for me.” I said, “I never screamed for you.” At that moment we both thought we saw a wisp of white robe departing the room. We were stunned. As we later debriefed the incident, the only conclusion we could draw was that Brianna’s guardian angel was “wide awake” and on duty and screaming for both of us to run to the bathroom as quickly as possible

 

It may be a shame that we can’t see the protection provided by our guardian angels in the spiritual battles going on behind the scenes for our souls. We would have much more appreciation for our guardian angels. In Job chapters one and two God and Satan were fighting over the righteousness of Job. Job’s life was directly influenced by the ebb and flow of the battle behind the scenes. From this we discover that we are in a spiritual struggle with Satan.

 

Some demons are assigned to attack individual Christians. Others are designed to destroy nations. The demonic hierarchy includes many levels (Ephesians 6:10-18).

 

“Then he [the angel Michael] continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia” (Daniel 10:12-13).

 

I assume that our guardian angels are always on duty and ready to help. I imagine that their help takes many forms.

 

For example, when I am at the hospital praying with someone before surgery, I always pray for that person’s guardian angel to do everything necessary for a successful surgery and complete recovery.

 

Julie and I pray for the guardian angels assigned to us by Jesus at our births to fight strongly on our behalf in the spiritual warfare realm and to provide protection in the physical realm as well.

 

While we seldom get feedback on how successful our prayers are in these arenas, we both feel certain, based on the verses mentioned above, that they are on duty on our behalf.

 

Was Will totally wrong about his guardian angel bringing a message for him to share at the funeral. As strange as it may sound, the word in Greek for “angel” is ?(“angelon”) which means “messenger.” For example angels brought a number of messages to Daniel. Gabriel brought messages both to Mary (Luke 1:26-35). Why couldn’t Ralph bring a message to Will?

 

Those who think that a departed loved one returns as some sort of spirit to watch over them, need to rethink their thinking. Once we die, we die. Either we go to Heaven or to Hell depending on whether we received God’s free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12 and 3:16). It is impossible for those who have died to return to earth in any form whatsoever (Luke 16:19-31).

 

Julie and I tease that our guardian angels really have names. My guardian angel’s name is “Bring It.” Julie’s guardian angel is named, “Wing It.” Just kidding!” While angels do have names (Gabriel in Luke 1:29 and Michael in Daniel 12:1), Julie and I have never been told ours—but wouldn’t it be nice to know!?

 

Despite conventional wisdom, humans are not transformed into angels when they die. For example, in a discussion of whether or not marriage exists in Heaven, Jesus said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matthew 24:38). Note that we are like angels—but we are not angels. Paul teaches on many occasions that we keep our own identities, personalities and enough of our earthly features to be recognized by others in eternity (1 Corinthians 13:11-12). While we will be transformed into the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2), we will remain distinctly who we were on earth—and we will not be angels.

 

Sincerely, Roger

 

 

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Articles

Why Does Anyone Become a Christian?

by Tim Keller
written by Tim Keller

Many say that Christians who maintain the historic, traditional doctrines are behind the times, are too exclusive, and are “on the wrong side of history.” Two recent books that cast doubt on this view are from historian and biblical scholar Larry Hurtado, Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World (Baylor University Press, 2016) and Why on Earth Did Anyone Become a Christian in the First Three Centuries? (Marquette University Press, 2016).

The earliest Christians were widely ridiculed, especially by the cultural elites, excluded from circles of influence and business, and often persecuted and put to death. Hurtado says that Roman authorities were uniquely hostile to them, compared to other religious groups.

Why? It was expected that people would have their own gods, but that they would also be willing to show honor to all other gods as well.

Nearly every home, every city, every professional guild, and the Empire itself each had its own gods. You could not even go to a meal in a large home or to any public event without being expected to do some ritual to honor the gods of that particular group or place. To not do so was highly insulting, at the least, to the house or the community. It was also dangerous, since it was thought that such behavior could bring the anger of the gods. In particular, it was seen as treason to not honor the gods of the empire, on whose divine authority its legitimacy was based.

Christians, however, saw all these rituals and tributes as idolatry. They were committed to worship their God exclusively. While the Jews had the same view, they were generally tolerated since they were a distinct racial group, and their peculiarity was seen as a function of their ethnicity. Christianity, however, spread through all ethnic groups, and most of them were former pagans who suddenly, after conversion, refused to honor the other gods. This created huge social problems, making it disruptive or impossible for Christians to be accepted into most public gatherings. If an individual in a family or a servant became a Christian, suddenly they refused to honor the gods of the household.

Christianity’s spread was seen as subversive to the social order, a threat to the culture’s way of life. Christians were thought to be too exclusive to be good citizens.

But in light of the enormous social costs of being a Christian in the first three centuries, why did anyone become a Christian? Why did Christianity grow so exponentially? What did Christianity offer that was so much greater than the costs? Hurtado and others have pointed out three things.

First, Christians were called into a unique “social project” that both offended and attracted people. Christians forbade both abortion and the practice of “infant exposure,” in which unwanted infants were simply thrown out. Christians were a sexual counter-culture in that they abstained from any sex outside of heterosexual marriage. This was in the midst of a culture that thought that, especially for married men, sex with prostitutes, slaves, and children was perfectly fine.

Also, Christians were unusually generous with their money, particularly to the poor and needy, and not just to their own family and racial group. Another striking difference was that Christian communities were multi-ethnic, since their common identity in Christ was more fundamental than their racial identities, and therefore created a multi-ethnic diversity, which was unprecedented for a religion. Finally, Christians believed in non-retaliation, forgiving their enemies, even those who were killing them.

Second, Christianity offered a direct, personal, love relationship with the Creator God. People around the Christians wanted favor from the gods, and eastern religions spoke about experiences of enlightenment, but an actual love relationship with God was something that no one else was offering.

Third, Christianity offered assurance of eternal life. Every other religion offered some version of salvation-through-human effort, and therefore no one could be sure of eternal life until death. But the gospel gives us the basis for a full assurance of salvation now because it is by grace not works and by Christ’s work not ours.

I hope that by now you can see the relevance of these studies. The earliest church was seen as too exclusive and a threat to the social order because it would not honor all deities; today Christians are again being seen exclusive and a threat to the social order because it will not honor all identities. Yet the early church thrived in that situation. Why?

One reason was that Christians were ridiculed as too exclusive and different. And yet many were drawn to Christianity because it was different. If a religion is not different from the surrounding culture, if it does not critique and offer an alternative to it, it dies because it is seen as unnecessary. If Christians today were also famous for and marked by social chastity, generosity and justice, multi-ethnicity, and peace making — would it not be compelling to many? Ironically, Christians were “out of step” with the culture on sex to begin with, and it was not the church but the culture that eventually changed.

Another reason Christianity thrived was because it offered things that no other culture or religion even claimed to have — a love relationship with God and salvation by free grace. It is the same today. No other religion offers these things, nor does secularism. Nor can the “spiritual but not religious” option really capture them either. These are still unique “value offers” and can be lifted up to a spiritually hungry and thirsty population.

The early church surely looked like it was on the “wrong side of history,” but instead it changed history with a dogged adherence to the biblical gospel. That should be our aspiration as well.

www.timothykeller.com

 

This blog was first posted in the Redeemer Report.

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Articles

Why is There Such Evil in the World?

by Max Lucado
written by Max Lucado

Does the news overwhelm you? Every day mass murders leave us reeling; struggling to make sense of such tragedies. Where the Bible may not tell us the why of the tragedies, it is quick to tell us who.

Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world (Ephesians 6:12 NCV).

The Bible names a real and present foe of our faith: the devil. He is not just a symbol for evil, he is the source of evil. He doesn’t live in myths and fables, he is an actual being who stalks our planet. He knows his time is short so he seeks to wreak havoc on every occasion.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He comes “only to steal and kill and destroy” (John. 10:10). You’re enjoying happiness? Satan wants to steal it. You’ve discovered joy? He’ll try to kill it. Love your spouse? Satan would love to destroy your marriage. He is the enemy of your God-given destiny and longs to be the destroyer of your soul.

Don’t dismiss him.

Agree with the witness of Scripture. From the Bible’s earliest to final pages, we are confronted with an arrogant anti-God force of great cunning and power. He is the devil, the serpent, the strong one, the lion, the wicked one, the accuser, the god of this age, the murderer, the prince of this world, the prince of the power of the air, Beelzebub, and Belial. He oversees a conglomeration of spiritual forces: principalities, powers, dominions, thrones, princes, lords, gods, angels, unclean spirits, and wicked spirits.

Satan appears in the Garden at the beginning. He is cast into the fire in the end. He tempted David, bewildered Saul, and waged an attack on Job. He is in the Gospels, the book of Acts, the writings of Paul, Peter, John, James, and Jude. Serious students of Scripture must be serious about Satan.

Jesus was. He squared off against Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). He pegged him as the one who snatches the good news from the hearts of the hearers (Matthew 4:15; 13:39). Prior to the crucifixion, Jesus proclaimed: “Now shall the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). Jesus saw Satan not as a mythological image, not an invention of allegory. He saw the devil as a superhuman narcissist. When he taught us to pray, Jesus did not say, “Deliver us from nebulous negative emotions.” He said, “Deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

We play into the devil’s hand when we pretend he does not exist. The devil is a real devil.

But, and this is huge, the devil is a defeated devil. Were Satan to read the Bible (something he is wont to do), he would be utterly discouraged. Reference after reference makes it clear: the devil’s days are numbered.

“Having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Jesus] made a public spectacle of [the forces of evil], triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:13-15). Jesus stripped Satan of certain victory. He and his minions are being held on a short leash until the final judgment. On that day, the Great Day, Jesus will cast Satan into a lake of fire from which the devil will never return (see 2 Peter 1:4; Jude 1:6). Evil will have its day and appear to have the sway, but God will have his say and ultimately win the day.

Be alert to the devil, but don’t be intimidated by him.

Learn to recognize his stench. Since he comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), wherever you see heists, death, and destruction, turn to God in prayer. Since his name means “divider”, wherever you see temptation, rejection, and isolation, you know the culprit. Go immediately to Scripture. Stand on the promises of God regarding Satan.

God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world (1 John 4:4 NCV).

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (I Corinthians 10:13).

Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7).

[The devil] is filled with fury because he knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12).

Put on God’s full armor … with the belt of truth tied around your waist and the protection of right living on your chest. On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows of the Evil One. (Ephesians 6:11, 14-16 NCV).

The Roman soldiers of Paul’s day knew better than to saunter onto the battlefield wearing nothing but a robe and sandals. They took care to prepare. They took every weapon into the conflict.

So must we! Every day brings conflicts with Satan and his forces. For that reason “though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3–4).

What are these weapons? Prayer, worship, and Scripture. When we pray, we engage the power of God against the devil. When we worship, we do what Satan himself did not do: we place God on the throne. When we pick up the sword of Scripture, we do what Jesus did in the wilderness. He responded to Satan by proclaiming truth. And, since Satan has a severe allergy to truth, he left Jesus alone.

He will do the same with you. God’s victory over Satan is certain.

The next time you smell the devil’s stinky breath, remind him of the promise he is loath to hear. “The God who brings peace will soon defeat Satan and give you power over him” (Romans 16:20 NCV).

Satan may be vicious, but he is not victorious.

© Max Lucado, 10/02/2017

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Ask Roger

Is God a Man or a Woman?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

I have a question and it should probably go to a pastor. The Bible most commonly refers to God in the masculine. Therefore, many Christians believe he is male. That does bring up one question in my mind, though (and I’m looking for some biblical examples/references). When someone loses their father, they can turn to God the Father. However, how might God the Father heal or help someone who has lost their mother and will live without her for the rest of their life?

Unsure

Dear Unsure,

You have asked two questions. What does the Bible say about the gender of God? Is God male or female? And how can God comfort you?

God chose to reveal Himself in masculine terms, primarily. God is never described with sexual characteristics in the Scriptures, but He does consistently describe Himself in the masculine gender.

God’s Gender Described as Masculine

While God contains all the qualities of both male and female genders, He has chosen to present Himself with an emphasis on masculine qualities of fatherhood, protection, direction, strength, etc. Metaphors used to describe Him in the Bible include: King (Psalms 5:2; 24:8), Father (Isaiah 63:16; 64:8), Judge (Psalms 7:11; 94:2), Husband (Isaiah 54:1; Jeremiah 3:14; 31:32), Master (Malachi 1:6; Colossians 4:1), and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6; 2 Corinthians 1:3).

Jesus taught his disciples to call God “our Heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:48; 6:14). Therefore, the loving relationship Christ has with the Father from eternity now extends to those adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:15). The father-son relationship is the most intimate personal relationship, one marked by reciprocal love and respect, and it is God’s supremely personal and loving nature that the term father is meant to underscore.

Feminine Descriptions of God in Scripture

Feminine images are used throughout Scripture to describe God’s compassionate and loving nature. Examples include the frequent images of God protecting and comforting his children (Isaiah 66:12–13; Hosea 11:1–4). But it’s important to note that God is never addressed as Mother. This phenomenon is unique compared with the cultures surrounding the original biblical writers. Most ancient Near Eastern societies had a goddess as the main cult figure or at least to complement a male god—Asherah in Canaan, Isis in Egypt, Tiamat in Babylon. If patriarchy is responsible for cultures portraying God as male, then we would expect goddess worship to reflect a matriarchal society—one in which women are given superior status or at least are equal to men. But this is not the case. Even today, many societies devoted to goddess worship remain oppressive toward women.

Those who argue that God is feminine usually base their premise on the virgin birth of Jesus. Some theologians and philosophers argue that the birth of Christ implies that Jesus was unique in his genetic makeup. They postulate that males have XY chromosomes, while women have XX chromosomes. Each parent contributes their set of chromosomes to the fetus. Since Jesus was virgin born, they believe He couldn’t have had a Y chromosome. The Spirit, they teach, who is responsible for impregnating Mary, has consistently been understood throughout Scripture as feminine. Both the Hebrew word (ruah) and the Greek word (pneuma) for Spirit are female gendered. They teach that the literal acceptance of Jesus’ virginal conception would conclude he cannot biologically be a male, although he obviously was physically a male as attested to by his crucifixion, and much earlier, his circumcision (Edward L. Kessel, “A Proposed Biological Interpretation of the Virgin Birth,” Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation [September, 1983]).

You also must refer to the prophecy about the virgin birth from God Himself. The angel Gabriel spoke these words to Mary:

“You have found favor in the eyes of God. You will conceive and give birth to a child, and you will call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord your God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will forever rule over Jacob’s descendants, his reign will know no end” (Luke 1:26-35)

I tend to agree with C. S. Lewis’ assumption that God is much higher than we imagine and that sexuality has a deeper meaning than we comprehend. For instance, He suggests that God is so masculine that we all are feminine in relation to Him. If this is true, it might explain why the church is referred to as the bride of Christ, though it is composed of both men and women.

Genesis 1:27: “God created humanity in God’s image, in God’s image God created them, male and female God created them.” You can find worth and dignity in the image of God!

You can find comfort in a God of compassion! Psalm 68:5: “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling.” 

I am so sorry about the loss of your mother. The shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Jesus didn’t weep for Himself. He knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead. He wept for Mary and Martha in the loss of their beloved brother. When you grieve, God is grieving with you because He loves you.

 

 

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Ask Roger

Can Christians Hate Their Political Leaders?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

I am a Christian and I hate (Is “hate” too strong a word?) our governmental leadership. I don’t trust our political leaders or the news media either.

I know, as a Christian, I am to love and forgive. But, come on, when can Christians stand up and stop the madness? Or, are we going to sit idly by and let our freedoms circle down the drain?

I want a biblical answer, not a political one. I don’t expect you to expose your political leanings. What does God say, and, as a Christian, what am I supposed to do?

Sincerely,

Disgruntled and Depressed Christian

 

Dear D.D.Christian,

 

I sympathize with your pain and fear. But before I continue, I must remind you that God has given us a wealth of Scripture to use to pray for our country and for our leaders. One of the very best sites is a list of Scripture prayers. It is a comprehensive and extremely helpful guide.

www.prayingscriptures.com/government.shtml

 

Regardless of who leads our country (or any country), I wonder if we are getting what we deserve. In the Bible book of First Samuel, Israel began asking for a king (1 Samuel 8-12). The Lord God Jehovah had protected Israel and given them great victories. However, the people clambered for Samuel to give them a king like all the other nations.

 

God said to the people, “OK. If you don’t want me then I’ll give you a king. Let me tell you what the king will do to you. Your enemies will take your fields and your vineyards. He will take your sons and make them serve in the Army where they will be killed and mutilated. He will take your daughters and they will be raped and made slaves. The king you want will take a 10th of all your grain and of all your wine. He will take for his own use the best of your flocks, donkeys and cattle. And the day will come when you will cry out for relief, but I will not answer you”.

 

On the day of anointing, Saul, the King Elect, was nowhere to be found. Three days later he was located hiding among the donkeys. Poor leadership here! Such was the first king of Israel.

 

In my (and Jesus’) opinion we are not to hate our leaders, nor speak ill of them. But we certainly can sympathize with them.

 

Without a doubt, our nation’s problems (and the world’s) seem insurmountable. Without a doubt we have the right to disagree with policies, leadership, attitudes and refusal to compromise. By the way, it is not the job of one party or another to blame their opponents for refusing to negotiate. Securing beneficial compromise is one of the first orders of business. Solomon wrote in Proverbs that we are to seek wise counsel, and fear God.

 

Everything that God said to Israel came true. As the years passed, and the people continued rejecting God, the entire nation slid into chaos. You can read all about Israel’s inadequate leaders in the Book of Judges. The nation was a wreck.

 

Many Christians are wondering when God is going to judge America for its sin and debauchery. According to Romans Chapter One, our nation is already under the judgment of God. “If you don’t want me, then you are on your own,” says God.

 

Mrs. Billy Graham said, “If God does not judge America, he will have to explain why not to Sodom and Gomorrah.”

 

In my opinion, when great leadership and integrity was called for, Israel got King Saul instead. For years, we may have gotten the leaders we deserve.

 

However, some believe that Christian leaders have more influence in this government than they have had in many years.

 

Many Christian groups and churches proactively pray for our nation and its leaders. One example is the Presidential Prayer Team: www.presidentialprayerteam.com. Don’t fret alone. Find a prayer group and get busy.

One of the characteristics people look for the most in their leaders is integrity. We want a person who is honest and fair.

 

In Genesis chapter eighteen we see that God will stay his hand as long as there is a greater proportion of God-followers compared to God-rejecters.

 

We are entering what sociologists are calling “Generation None”. The rise of the “Nones” suggests the end of religion as we know it. Forget churches; forget priests and pastors; forget the Bible; forget Jesus, and on goes the list. None of us know the time schedule when, finally, the weight of the Nones out balances the number of Christians in America. But when that day comes, the fire will fall.

 

I don’t believe that it’s hopeless. You ask what should we Christians do to stand up to this madness?

 

Let me give you several suggestions of what we can do.

 

First, we can pray and do all we can to support our government and its leaders (Romans 13:1-7).

We are to obey our elected officials, the laws of our land, and the Constitution. Paul tells us that governments are ordained by God to keep law and order. So we pray for our president and politicians because when life is easier for them, the better it will be for us.

 

Of course, civil disobedience is always a consideration in a democracy. When a government leans toward totalitarianism, it has lost its right to lead.

 

Second, We Can Run For Political Office and Vote.

 

At the very least we can volunteer to help politicians who have the same values as we. Everyone knows that the real power in America is at the grassroots level which determines who wins and who loses.

 

Third, Remember Love.

 

This is our best chance to win our country to Christ and bring in the Kingdom of God on earth.

 

D.D. Christian, I sense much emotion in your email. I think that the bottom line of your question revolves around loving the man, or at the very least feeling compassion for him, while hating the things he does that you don’t like.

 

I hope that you find my response helpful. We could talk politics for hours. My greatest hope is that our political leaders will lay aside personal agendas, return to godly values and lead with wisdom, humility and integrity. Otherwise, we will slip further and further into abysmal destruction. We need God’s mercy and a revival.

 

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

 

Sincerely,

Roger

 

 

 

 

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Hands of Woman Raise up a Bible for Praying with Blurred Shape of Cross and Heart
Articles

Eight Essentials for Leading Worship

by Richard Muenckler
written by Richard Muenckler

Worship is a subject very close to my heart. I’ve been drumming in adult worship services since I was fourteen, and received my BA in Music. I only mention this to describe my close affiliation with worship music and the church, and the passion I feel for God to be honored when we worship Him.

 

How has worship music changed?


During my life, I preferred a sort of “Golden Age” of worship back in the  early and mid 90’s. During those days, worship music was inspired by a powerful move of God and the outgrowth was a host of great music written with authenticity and passion by Christians, produced by Christians, and genuinely released to serve God. In my estimation, the pressure was not placed on artists to release “that next big hit.” Not so anymore. People don’t realize that Christian music, which encompasses Contemporary Christian Music, Gospel, and solo artists, is the top selling music genre ever (then country, then rock, then rap)! It is a multi-million dollar industry. Secular businessmen go where the money is and now many studios are run  with profit in mind. When that happens, authenticity is lost. Artists are now forced to create while they may feel uninspired to meet a demand.

How have worship services changed?

 

Also during this time mega-churches were popping up everywhere. You think part of it it had something to do with good worship music? You bet! The purpose of a  Sunday morning worship service is for the entire congregation to come together and worship God collectively. Even medium-sized churches were attracting more people and moving to two, three, and even four services. Remember when worship used to last from forty-five minutes to one hour? Not anymore. Now you need to move people in and out of the worship center to have time to cram in all of the services. The time for worship suffered the brunt of it. Many churches now have only fifteen to twenty minutes of music! That means in as little as fifteen minutes the worship team is supposed to lead people into God’s presence and accomplish the type of worship connection with God that is often hurried and frantic rather than personal, intense or reflective.

 

With these factors in mind, I’d like to make some suggestions to worship leaders everywhere. I’ve been to a lot of churches and have sat in the drummer’s seat watching the congregation’s response. These are some common denominators I have observed, and some suggestions I would make.

 

1.      Try to identify what songs work for your church. If you play a song and everyone stands there looking glazed over like a herd of cattle, don’t use that one again. If the opening note strikes and immediately the hands fly up…. USE IT NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!! Remember, it’s not about what you or the band likes to play. It’s about what serves your congregation best.

 

2.     STOP TALKING! We as the worship team often only have fifteen to twenty minutes to lead people into worship. Talking can take away from that time. Expressing authentic worship works better than talking about it. I think worship leaders feel compelled to talk, so what they say can be awkward or detract from the mood they are trying to set. Also, quit trying to give exhaustive explanations of what worship is. Spend more time explaining it by example-model worship for your people. Believe it or not, even non-Christians understand genuine praise and worship when they see it. If they don’t, they’ll ask their friend, and what a great opportunity that is! One Sunday morning the worship leader at the church where I  was playing told stories and talked at length between songs. When I received the service CD back, I timed the yakking. It literally lasted fifteen minutes. We played only three songs that lasted around eleven minutes. Plus, the worship leader told an awkward story that had nothing to do with anything! The church already hired a guy to talk… the pastor. And we’re going to listen to him for about 30-45 minutes. So choose your words carefully. Just worship!

 

3.   Utilize keys that people can sing in! It’s simple, yet everyone feels like they have to sing in the key in which Chris Tomlin wrote. He’s a pro vocalist, not the average Joe. He, along with other gifted artists, wrote these songs in the keys in which their vocals sound best. It’s hard to participate in worship when the notes are so high you have to pop a vocal chord to reach them! Bring it down a notch to where most people can participate.

 

4.     Stop using entirely different songs every Sunday! It’s hard to for a congregations to worship when they don’t know the music. It’s as simple as that! People need something familiar to really participate in worship. When you use different songs every week, no one is engaged. It’s okay to repeat a song/songs two Sundays in a row. People actually like that! Also, introduce new songs to the set list slowly or if not use songs that everyone has heard on the radio. One Sunday the band was preparing for worship and something came up that required us to scrap the entire set of songs just before the service started. Instead, we did all familiar Chris Tomlin songs. I had never seen the congregation so alive with praise. The leader and band even commented when we went back stage. But the next week, it was back to songs no one knew and the congregation became observers rather than participants.

 

5.     Quit playing songs that are musically challenging or tricky! I’m talking about singing and playing so many songs with odd phrasing or mixed meter. It throws people off. We’re not trying to trick them; we’re trying to lead them. If there are songs you’d like to add to your rotation or set list that you familiarize the congregation to, fine. But when you throw in some complicated congregational songs, be ready for confusion both in the pews and sometimes on the stage too!

 

6.   Use songs with good theology! I’m surprised at the number of songs these days that do not have a strong Biblical foundation. One worship song that shall remain nameless has the phrase “you give and take away” referring to God. The phrase refers to the first two chapters of Job, where Job lost his family, his wealth and his health. But if you study the passage more closely, Job one and two reveal that God gave and Satan took away. This is a very subtle example. Be careful with skewed passages such as this. Not all traditional hymns had great theology, but the level of Biblical content was a significant goal of the writers. Many pastors wrote hymn lyrics. Music is a powerful tool and will imprint people’s minds and hearts faster than anything! As Paul said, “Set your minds on things above!” Let the songs in your head lead you to God’s throne!
           
               

7.    Another comment regarding the lyrics of songs selected. Avoid using so many “self” centered songs! “I do this, We do that.” What about God? What about His attributes? Songs of heaven, of Christ’s miracles and healing, His death and resurrection, His victory over sin? “Oh, how He loves me” is a very important concept, but lyrical substance should be included to deepen the experience of the worshipper.

 

8.    Quit playing songs you wrote unless they are disgustingly good! If you’re honest with yourself as worship pastors, you know what I mean. if you do try some of your original worship music, be very sensitive to how the congregation responds. If they are non-responsive, don’t use it again (Also learn from it. It will help you to figure out what works in writing and what doesn’t).

  

I think that about covers it. Try out these suggestions. See if your worship doesn’t become more meaningful and powerful!

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Simple Ways to Get on the Same Page as Parents

by Kevin Leman
written by Kevin Leman

Andrea and I grew up in homes that had very different views on eating. Andrea’s family had a value of healthy living. My (Doug’s) family came from a carefree and celebratory view of eating, especially when it came to candy and other sweets. When we got married, we did not agree at all on this issue. Eventually, we found some resolution, but not completely. We still can get into minor skirmishes about it. Andrea has agreed to lovingly come closer to my views. I, on the other hand, need to stop pushing for his way all the time.

Candy and sweets are not a major issue of parenting. Yet, parenting differences play out in fights in many families.

I want to give you action steps for getting on the same parenting page.

Step 1: Recognize why you don’t agree.

When we say that our spouse is undermining our efforts to parent our kids correctly, we are really saying that we have not submitted to each other. We aren’t going to give in to the other person.

It is like saying, “I am right and you are wrong.”  Here is the key: You must realize that you may be wrong. Or. . . you might be making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Competitive parenting never works, because someone is winning and someone is losing. Competitive parenting leads to a competitive marriage–which often ends badly.

One reason you may not be on the same parenting page is because you refuse to agree with them. Try opening yourself up to listen and consider the possibility that you may not be right.

Step 2: Get on their page.

Once you open yourself up to listen to them, try getting on their parenting page. In fact, get on their parenting page EVEN if it is the wrong page.

By getting on the same page, you do three things. One, your child no longer can run wild between your differences. Secondly, you will stop fighting with each other and start looking at the behavior of the child. Lastly, your spouse can no longer blame you for parenting incorrectly. Their parenting style is now on full display.

You may need to will yourself to their page. You will likely need to bite your tongue.

Remember, if their parenting style is abusive or they have destructive behaviors like alcoholism, then don’t jump over there. Be reasonable, and of course, keep your kids safe.

Step 3: How to talk about parenting issues

Now that you are on the same page with your spouse, when a behavior problem arises, ask your spouse for their input on how to solve it. Use the words like “maybe” and “we”.

If your spouse grounds your son, Bob, and doesn’t realize the effect on you, try asking them this, “Dear, thanks for engaging Bob. Do you think MAYBE we could talk about grounding him before you ground him? This way we could explore options together and consider the ramifications.”

Now that you are using their play book, when your kid behaves really badly, feel free to walk away and let them deal with the consequences. Go to the bathroom or leave for a short walk. By letting them deal with it, they will likely realize this isn’t working.

When it gets bad enough, ask if maybe the two of you together could explore different options. Ask them to find the solution. If they don’t have time to research other options, ask them if it would be okay if you did some research and brought a summary of what you found.

Build the plan together. It won’t happen overnight, but being on different pages is destructive on many levels. Work to get on the same page.

Action Steps to get on the same page:
Be open to their different opinions
Get on their page, even if it is the wrong page.
Wait and be silent as you parent on their page.
When things get bad enough, ask if there is a different option to explore together.

Parenting Tip/ Pocket Answer

Get on their page, even if it is the wrong page.
&
Parenting is not a competitive sport.

From www.birthorderguy.com. Used by permission.

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The Bible is Alive and Active

by Tim Keller
written by Tim Keller

Western society used to be basically divided between people who (1) respected the Bible as “the truth” but didn’t follow it, (2) believed and followed it devotedly, or (3) rejected it as simply a book of legends and myths. Things are changing. 

To begin with, the first group is rapidly declining in size. And the relationship between the second and third group has become charged in a new way. In the past, if you believed in the full authority of the Bible, your skeptical neighbors would have disagreed and explained why they couldn’t accept the Bible, and maybe even laughed at you in private. But they would not have felt the need to examine your ways of understanding and regarding the Bible and loudly ridicule them and try to shame you for them. 

Today, as never before, the character of the Bible is publicly attacked as cruel and oppressive and those who uphold the historic view of its truthfulness are seen in the same light. There’s enormous social pressure on Christians today to abandon the historic understanding of the inspiration and authority of the Scripture and the role it should play in our lives. 

Both believers and skeptics are unfamiliar with what the Church has historically believed about the Scripture and what the Bible says about itself. Coming to grips with this is always crucial, but, in our time it is more important than ever.

We must not, however, be so intent on getting our doctrine of Scripture right that we neglect its proper role in our lives. At Redeemer we have no desire to swell the ranks of people who believe in the truth of the Bible in principle but do not know its power in our lives. Jesus told the elites of his day that they “understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Hebrews 4:12 says that the Bible is “alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” How is it alive and powerful? There are many ways, but here are two. 

The Word of God is the primary way we come to understand the truth about God. The second of the Ten Commandments forbids the making of images — pictorial representations of the Triune God — for use in worship. Why, we might ask? If pictures and statues of God help you in prayer, why would the commandments forbid them? For centuries, the Protestant church (and especially the Presbyterian and Reformed churches) have argued that it is through the reading and teaching of the Word of God that the Holy Spirit is given free reign to illumine the mind and heart with the truth. Images hijack that truth, and present a pre-digested version of God’s character.

The New York Times recently ran an article “Turn the Page, Spur the Brain”that presented empirical findings showing that reading to children, even infants, was crucial for brain development. They found that exposing children to a video or a picture short-circuited the child’s imagination. One expert said: “They’re not having to imagine the story [for themselves]; it’s just being fed to them.” Another pointed out that children who were exposed to reading “showed significantly more activity in the areas of the brain that process visual association, even though the child was listening to a story and could not see any pictures.” In short, verbal communication makes your mind and heart do the work of grasping and imagining the story for yourself. Images tend to feed you what some other person’s imagination has created. 

I am not denigrating visual arts in general. But this simple article about reading to children supports an ancient Protestant understanding about the power of the Word to capture our hearts with the truth in a way nothing else can. 2 Corinthians 3:18 and 4:6 says, remarkably, that right now by faith we can “behold the glory” of Christ. And this beholding is linked to the Spirit’s work in our hearts as the Word of God is read and heard (2 Corinthians 3:12-16). 

For years I thought that God could be active in my life through the Spirit and that the Bible was a book I had to obey if God was going to come in. I now realize that Bible is the way that, through the Spirit, God is active in my life. 

The preachers at Redeemer this month will be leading the congregation to consider this topic, so culturally and personally critical to us all.

www.timothykeller.com/blog. Used by permission.

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Does God Do Evil? A Surprising Answer

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

What are good and evil? More specifically, how shall we define moral evil, functional evil, functional good, and moral good?

Moral Evil is behavior, thoughts, and feelings that violate God’s law, will, and character. These are behaviors that we always consider to be wrong and can never be right (Exodus 20:1-17). For instance, lying is a moral evil and is never considered a moral good. Adultery is always a moral evil and there is no context in which it can ever be good. The same is true with idol worship, theft, homosexuality, murder, coveting, etc.

Functional Evil is that which occurs in nature or within man’s world that can cause harm, death, destruction, trouble, etc. In some cases, functional evil can lead to moral evil. An example of functional evil would be an earthquake that results in material destruction in a city and/or death. Functional evil is not a moral concern. Functional evil is not an attribute of personal behavior. Functional evil happens outside the will and control of man (unless initiated by man). Therefore, functional evil is not considered wrong in a moral sense. God sometimes uses or initiates the use of functional evil, but this does not make God morally evil (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Moral evil and functional evil do not operate in the same sphere.

Functional Good is that in nature or within man’s world that behaves according to its intended design and is considered to be beneficial to nature and/or man and is pleasing in some respect. We get the concept of functional good from Genesis, where God completes each creative act and calls the finished result, “Good” (Genesis 1:10,12,18,21,25,31), meaning that it functions according to his intended design, but is not described in terms of moral good. A sunny day is not a moral good, but is a functional good.

Moral Good is that which in the realm of personal behavior is considered to be true, right, selfless, loving, kind, faithful, loyal, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23). Biblically speaking, these are character traits that reflect the beneficial character of God. We are designed to be like God in our character (Genesis 1:26-28; Leviticus 11:44). Thus, when we behave in this way, we reflect the goodness of God’s character and live according to his righteous will. Moral good is sometimes facilitated by functional good. For instance, a beautiful day outside would be considered a functional good. A father who takes his children to play outside in that beauty is a moral good.

Understanding The Nature Of Good And Evil

There are three categories in which we can place the types of good and evil for the purpose of our examination. These are:

  • Perspectival
  • Relational
  • Covenantal

Perspectival—Functional good and evil is perspectival. This means that our perspective is the determining factor in whether we think something that has happened is good or bad. As an example, if a tornado hits a populated area and causes damage, we regard that as bad. But if the tornado stays in the countryside and causes no damage to people, animals, or property, then we don’t consider it bad. Our perspective in terms of its effect on human life is the determining factor for us to refer to it as good or bad. However, we must not forget that God’s perspective reigns supreme. God experiences and knows all perspectives, including possible, but not actual, perspectives. Many things that happen which we regard as functionally evil may also have a functionally good role to play in our society. This is especially true of death.

Relational—Moral good and evil are relational. But it should also be mentioned that moral good and evil are also absolute. That which is morally wrong or right is always morally wrong or right. This evaluation is never dependent upon perspective, but is instead based upon God’s eternal, unchanging character. However, moral good and evil are only exercised in relationship; either with God or with man. This differs from functional good and evil which, although they can be exercised in relationship, are not always relational. An earthquake is not relational. But the divine reason for an earthquake may be relational, or perhaps better said as covenantal.

Covenantal—Moral good and evil are also covenantal. The declaration by God of his rules and laws is always done so in a covenantal context. Covenants, by nature, are essentially relational. There is no expression of relationship from God to man in the Bible that is not governed by some kind of covenant. This was true of Adam and Eve when God gave them the covenant of blessing and forbid them from eating from the tree of good and evil. It was repeated to Noah. Abraham experienced this in the covenant of promise, as did Israel under Moses and David, and even our relationship with Christ is governed by the New Covenant. I address the importance of covenants in our relationship to God in the article, The Importance Of Covenant Fidelity.

Outside of relationship, moral good and evil do not exist. Yet, it is important to note that moral good existed long before moral evil.

Moral good existed prior to the creation. In eternity past when all that existed was the Trinity acting in relation to its members, they committed many acts of moral good. Goodness is an essential character attribute of God. Therefore, goodness has always existed as God has always existed and his very nature is goodness. However, moral evil did not exist prior to creation. Only through the creation of free moral agents was moral evil allowed to come into existence. Moral evil began when free moral agents decided to violate their created natures and commit thoughts, feelings, and actions in violation of God’s command and character. This began first with Satan in the angelic realm (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:13-17) and was followed by Adam and Eve in humanity (Genesis 3:1-24).

The Genesis Of Functional Good & Evil

Forgive the play on words, but it is appropriate in this case. Our first indication in scripture of functional good and evil comes straight out of Genesis 1 and 2. Six times in Genesis 1 God refers to what he created and called it “good” (Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,25,31). This form of goodness I refer to as functional good, and not moral good. As mentioned earlier, moral good is always exercised in relationship. While a case may be made that moral good was committed in the creative acts as the three persons of the Trinity cooperated in the creation of the world, I think there is a stronger case to be made for a designation of functional good in the creative acts.

Each time God finished an act of creation he evaluated the work he did and pronounced it good in terms of fulfilling what it is he wanted his creation to do. In other words, it functioned according to the design that he intended. The seed bearing plants bore fruit (v.12), the sun and moon and stars fulfilled their function of acting as signs for times and seasons (vs.14-19), the sea creatures did the same (vs.20-22), and the same with the land animals (vs.24-25). Functionality was in view, not morality. Morality comes into view with the creation of Adam and Eve.

Yet, there was one instance where God declared something “not good,” which was also prior to the advent of sin in the Garden. This is important because the declaration of something “not good” is prior to the fall of man, and the declaration is about man. In Genesis 2:18 God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” What did God mean by this? Was this a moral declaration or a functional declaration?

I maintain that God’s declaration is functional, not moral. If the declaration was moral and Adam had not yet sinned, then we could only be left with the conclusion that God had somehow sinned in making man a solitary creature. But scripture elsewhere is unyielding in saying that it is impossible for God to sin. Thus, we are only left with a functional declaration.

In this context, “Not good” in Genesis doesn’t mean moral good or moral evil. It means incomplete or unfinished. Contextually, we may look at the creation of mankind as an incomplete act without the creation of woman. God never declared the creation of man to be good until woman was formed (Genesis 1:27). Thus, the creation of mankind was a two-stage process. First the man was formed, then the woman was formed from him.

The possibility for functional evil was also established in the Garden of Eden when God planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden. God withheld the fruit of that tree from our first parents. Certainly the act of eating the fruit was a moral evil in that it was an intentional violation of God’s command not to eat of it. But it began as a functional evil in that it was established as a point of testing for Adam and Eve. The purpose of the tree was to give evil an opportunity to arise. This does not mean that God tempted Adam and Eve. The two likely lived a very long time in the Garden before being tempted by the devil to eat. The presence of the tree was, therefore, not a temptation itself. Only through the actions of Satan in the Garden was the tree used to create an opportunity for evil to arise in man, which it did.

God’s Use Of Functional Evil

When we think of evil things that happen in the natural world we try and shy away from saying that God has caused something to happen that is harmful. Out of caution in not wanting to blame God when a disaster or disease strikes, we often blame Satan for the natural evil and declare God innocent. But is this really true? I’m not saying that Satan isn’t sometimes used by God to enact an evil plan. That indeed does happen. Nor am I imparting guilt to God.

II Chronicles 18:18-22 tells the story of a spirit who offers to God to deceive King Zedekiah. God tells the spirit, “You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.” God not only approves of the plan, he orders it to be successful. Yet, he does this without incurring guilt himself.

We find another short example in I Chronicles 21:1 where Satan moves David to number Israel. Yet the parallel passage in II Samuel 24:1 tells us that the Lord moved David to number Israel. Even before these instances we have a lengthy declaration by Moses that God would perform acts of functional evil against Israel if they persist in violating the Mosaic Covenant.

God declares in several places in scripture that he will bring functional evil upon those who break the covenant, and he will even take pleasure in it. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 lists dozens of horrible things that God would unleash upon the covenant violator. These include natural disasters, disease, starvation, and relational evils. But notice the structure of language used by Moses in Deuteronomy 28:63, “Just as it pleased the Lord to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you.” There’s no way to get around the use of language in this passage. God will be pleased to destroy the covenant violator. It will please him. He will be happy to do it. Personally, I think this is the most terrifying passage in the whole of the Bible. God always takes pleasure in doing his will; all of his will, whether we view those actions as functionally evil or functionally good. Since God’s will is always exercised justly, whether for blessing or for cursing, God always takes pleasure in doing what he must justly do.

Joseph & Job

The life of Joseph is probably the most well known example of how God uses moral evil and functional evil to establish something good. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery—a morally evil act. But later in life, when Joseph expresses forgiveness to his brothers he tells them, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20). I think, in this passage Joseph is referring to functional good and moral good simultaneously. God used Joseph to create the conditions which would save lives (functional good), while moral good was fulfilled in the act of preserving life itself.

The same thing may be said about Job, though the book of Job is sometimes difficult for many Christians to understand. After loosing his livelihood, children, and health, Job sits in pain, bewildered about what has happened to him. Most of us, if we were in Job’s place, might shake our fist at God. But not Job. Notice the language that Job used when he rebuked his wife for suggesting he curse God. Job said, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Job identified God as the source of something bad that happened to him. We might think of this as Job saying that God is the source of moral evil. But this isn’t what Job said. And this isn’t how God perceived it because the rest of the verse says, “In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” So, what conclusion are we to draw from this episode other than God unleashed evil upon Job—but it was not moral evil. Rather, it was what we call, functional evil. From one perspective—Job’s—what happened to him was bad. This is undeniable from a human perspective. Yet, what this did in Job’s character was functionally good. Job was held up as a righteous man and God blessed him in greater ways after his terrible trial was ended.

Did God do anything wrong? According to Job, no. God was never guilty of moral evil. But he did use functional evil to accomplish a functionally good and morally good end.

Fair Or Just?

Did God treat Job unfairly? According to Job, at first, he wondered about this, but later came to the conclusion that God was just. In fact, we might even reverse this notion in Job’s life before his trail. Job was highly blessed and called the greatest man of the east (Job 1:3). So, we might ask the question, “Was job blessed unfairly?” His latter blessings were even greater than the earlier blessings. Was it fair to bless Job that way? In one sense we might say that God dealt with Job fairly in that the greatest man of the east withstood the greatest trial one could suffer. In that sense the swinging pendulum of Job’s life was fair.

But let’s take a step back and look at this from God’s perspective. Fairness, as we normally apply it, does not enter into the equation. God’s works are not a matter of fair and unfair. Fairness is a human perspective (and often a selfish one). God does not deal in fairness or unfairness. He does his will for whatever purpose he wishes to accomplish for the sake of redemption and sanctification. For some that means trials and difficulties and for some that means blessings and challenges. Life is not a matter of what is fair. It’s a matter of what is good, that is, what is functionally good for what God purposes to do.

Job’s trial was perspectival in that he was the person enduring the trial. From Job’s perspective what he received was bad. But from God’s perspective what Job received would make him an even more godly man—which is God’s chief concern (Romans 8:28-29). This is another case of God using what is functionally evil to accomplish what is functionally good—even morally good.

Caution!

When the scripture says that God is not the author of evil and cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13) it is not referring to functional evil, rather, it refers to moral evil. As we’ve already seen, God will indeed use functional evil to accomplish his purposes. But functional evil and its use are not in the same category as moral evil. God does not express moral evil because he is unable to do so. Let that sink in for a moment. It is impossible for the eternal God to commit an act, any act, of moral evil—he doesn’t have the ability to do it. Because his nature is eternal, all of God’s actions are predetermined and have no room for any kind of expression of moral evil. The scripture says that God does not change (Numbers 23:19, Psalm 55:19, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17). Since God is essentially good and does not change, then all of his acts from eternity past, to present, to eternity future do not change as well. Thus, it is impossible for God to act with moral evil as he is forever good.

The Cross: The Ultimate Moral And Functional Evil And Good

The cross is the ultimate example of moral evil, functional evil, functional good, and moral good. God is not above using horrible things to reach a wonderful outcome. This is very true in the case of the cross of Jesus.

Jesus was wrongly condemned by the Sanhedrin and the Roman authorities (moral evil). Jesus was crucified (functional evil). Jesus died innocently, he was murdered (moral evil). Jesus rose from the dead (functional good). His death provides forgiveness of sins (moral good). His resurrection justifies those who believe in him (moral good).

Someone might object that the crucifixion itself was a moral evil. However, I think that while moral evil may be a valid assertion, functional evil is in view here. Jesus’ crucifixion was prefigured by the Mosaic Law’s prescription of animal sacrifice for atonement. God set up the sacrificial system. He did not set up a morally evil system. If so, he would have been guilty of sin. But that is not the case. The sacrificial system was both functionally evil and functionally good, depending upon which perspective it was viewed from.

The scripture tells us that Jesus’ execution was planned from before the foundation of the world (I Peter 1:18-20). The reason why this plan doesn’t fall under the morally evil category is because Jesus was a willing participant in the Father’s plan for him to die for our sins. He was innocent, but he was not without choice in what he did (Matthew 26:53-54). He went to the cross knowing full well what he was doing. His act of atonement was the ultimate moral good.

How God Gets Glory From Functional Evil

God receives glory from certain acts of moral and functional evil because he uses these things to work out an outcome that is according to his plan for redemption and sanctification. This is held up in Paul’s famous words to the Romans when he said, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God…And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:18,28).

So, the next time we must endure a functional evil, let us be careful not to accuse God of committing a moral evil against us. Sometimes the bad things that happen to us are events along a road of life that will produce in us a greater measure of godliness, and God uses them as a witness to others. So, to answer our question in the headline, God does not do evil. But he does use evil, both moral and functional, to accomplish his plans.

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2015 Sees Sharp Rise in Post-Christian America

by David Kinnaman
written by David Kinnaman

While the United States remains shaped by Christianity, the faith’s influence—particularly as a force in American politics and culture—is slowly waning. An increasing number of religiously unaffiliated, a steady drop in church attendance, the recent Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, and the growing tension over religious freedoms all point to a larger secularizing trend sweeping across the nation.

But how do the numbers stack up? Is America, home to the largest Christian population in the world, actually becoming a “post-Christian” nation? Currently, 78% of Americans describe themselves as “Christian,” but in order to dig deeper than just self-affiliation, Barna Group looked at a variety of key faith indicators for both belief and practice.

To measure a person’s level of irreligion, Barna Group tracks 15 metrics related to faith (you can find the full list of 15 at the end of the article). These factors speak to the lack of Christian identity, belief and practice. These factors include whether individuals identify as atheist, have never made a commitment to Jesus, have not attended church in the last year, or have not read the Bible in the last week.

These kinds of questions—compared to ticking the “Christian” box in a census—get beyond how people loosely identify themselves (affiliation), and get to the core of what people actually believe and how they behave as a result of their belief (practice). These indicators give a much more accurate picture of belief in America.

 

Where Are We as a Nation?

Whether one believes this decline of “Christian America” calls for a time of lament, or presents great opportunity (or both) for the church, one cannot help but accept the changing landscape. In just two years, the percentage of Americans who qualify as “post-Christian” rose by 7 percentage points, from 37% in 2013 to 44% in 2015. Across the United States, cities in every state are becoming more post-Christian—some at a faster rate than others

Post-Christian Metrics
To qualify as “post-Christian,” individuals had to meet 60% or more of the following factors (nine or more). “Highly post-Christian” individuals meet 80% or more of the factors (12 or more of these 15 criteria).

1.     Do not believe in God

2.     Identify as atheist or agnostic

3.     Disagree that faith is important in their lives

4.     Have not prayed to God (in the last year)

5.     Have never made a commitment to Jesus

6.     Disagree the Bible is accurate

7.     Have not donated money to a church (in the last year)

8.     Have not attended a Christian church (in the last year)

9.     Agree that Jesus committed sins

10. Do not feel a responsibility to “share their faith”

11. Have not read the Bible (in the last week)

12. Have not volunteered at church (in the last week)

13. Have not attended Sunday school (in the last week)

14. Have not attended religious small group (in the last week)

15. Do not participate in a house church (in the last year)

 

Christians, let’s get to work!

© 2015, Barna Group

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What Millennials Believe About the Bible

by David Kinnaman
written by David Kinnaman

Much has been made of the growing post-Christian sentiment among America’s youngest generation of adults. But how has this well-documented turn away from religion affected Millennials’ views of Christianity’s most sacred text?

When it comes to Scripture, practicing Christian Millennials—self-identified Christians who attend church at least once a month and who describe their religious faith as very important to their life—are quite orthodox and continue to hold the Bible in very high regard. In fact, nearly all of them believe the Bible contains everything a person needs to know to live a meaningful life (96%). The same proportion claim the Bible is the actual or inspired word of God (96%). Among these young adults, a plurality say, “The Bible is the actual word of God and should be taken literally, word for word” (46%); an additional four in 10 agree it is divinely inspired and has no errors, though “some verses are meant to be symbolic rather than literal” (39%); and 11% say the Bible is the inspired word of God, “but has some factual or historical errors.”

 

Additionally, practicing Christian Millennials cite the Bible as their greatest source for moral truth. Of the practicing Christian Millennials who believe in absolute moral truth (71%), four in 10 point to the Bible as the main source from which they have learned or discovered absolute moral truths and standards (39%). This far outpaces any other source, with church coming in second at only 16%, followed by parents at 14%.
 

The survey also sought to discover how Millennials prioritize Bible reading among their faith practices. Respondents were asked whether Bible reading is more important, less important or of equal importance to a variety of other spiritual disciplines. While Millennials as a whole say reading the Bible is of equal importance to the other spiritual disciplines assessed by the survey:

 

Practicing Christian Millennials consistently rank Bible reading as more important than other disciplines. For example, practicing Christian Millennials rank Bible reading as more important than church attendance (55% say Bible reading is more important), silence/solitude (50%), prayer (49%), worship (51%), acts of service (48%), communion (44%) and evangelism (42%). 
Among practicing Christian Millennials, the Bible still holds a high—if not the highest—priority in their faith life.

Non-Christian Millennials, unlike their Christian counterparts, are much more likely to believe the Bible is just another book of teachings written by men that contains stories and advice (45%). Only a combined 27% of non-Christians say the Bible is the inspired or actual word of God. A significant disparity between Christian and non-Christian beliefs about the Bible is to be expected, of course; however, non-Christian views of the Bible often tip from benign indifference toward strong skepticism. While a plurality of non-Christian Millennials relegate the Bible to merely a “useful book of moral teachings” (30%), nearly half agree with more negative characterizations: About one in five say the Bible is “an outdated book with no relevance for today” (19%) and more than one-quarter go so far as to say the Bible is “a dangerous book of religious dogma used for centuries to oppress people” (27%).

 
When asked to identify words they associate with the Bible, non-Christian Millennials are most likely to place the Bible within cultural mythology than to describe it in terms of the sacred or divine. Their top five word choices are “story” (50%), “mythology” (38%), “symbolic” (36%), “fairy tale” (30%) and “historical” (30%). Very few choose words that reflect divine origins: Just 12% of non-Christian Millennials picked the word “sacred” to describe the Bible, one in 10 chose “fact” and even fewer selected “revelation” (8%), “infallible” (3%) or “inerrant” (2%).

 
More than six in 10 non-Christian Millennials have never read the Bible (62%), but what do they think about those who do read it? For most, it seems to evoke feelings of alienation and distance. When they see someone reading the Bible in public, non-Christian Millennials say they assume the Bible reader is politically conservative (22%); that they don’t have anything in common with the person (21%); that the Bible reader is old fashioned (17%); or that they are trying to make a statement or be provocative (15%). Fewer than one in 10 non-Christian young adults indicate any kind of positive response, such as encouragement (7%) or joy (7%). Only 9% of non-Christians say they feel curious about what’s in the Bible when they see someone reading it—a disappointing statistic for those who hope their Bible reading could spark spiritual conversation with non-Christians.

 
On the other hand, for non-Christians whose Bible reading has increased in the past year (11%), the second most-cited reason for that increase is seeing how the Bible changed someone they knew for the better (27%). So, while seeing strangers reading the Bible in public may not be a positive catalyst, personal interactions with those who are affected for the better by the Bible are a strong recommendation for the Bible itself.

Screens have affected almost every part of modern life, and that includes religious practices. While all Millennials—significantly more than all adults—have, by and large, incorporated other mediums for engaging with the Bible, none of these trump reading a print version of the Bible (81%), or even hearing it read aloud at church (78%). In comparison, two-thirds of Millennials say they use the Internet on a computer to read Bible content (66%) and a little more than half read the Bible on an e-reader (51%).

 
What do Millennials think when the Bible comes to the big screen, little screen or whatever screen is currently in front of them? When it comes to the Bible as Hollywood entertainment, Millennials have mixed feelings. While nearly half appreciate the Bible being incorporated into entertainment today (49%), a sizable percentage sees it as Hollywood trying to make money (36%). Non-Christians, in particular, express this skepticism (58%).

 
When Bible-themed content does come to Hollywood, practicing Christians are the group most likely to view it. For all the shows surveyed (Noah, The Bible miniseries, Son of God, God’s Not Dead andHeaven Is for Real), practicing Christians were far and away the largest audience. In fact, only 14% of practicing Christian Millennials had not seen any of the movies, compared to 42% of all Millennials and a full 62% of non-Christian Millennials. Stated differently, a majority of Millennials has seen at least one biblical depiction on the small or large screen in the last year. Exposure to televised or movie versions of Christian content has penetrated to more than four out of five Christian Millennials and to more than one-third of non-Christian young adults.

 
One common way Millennials have taken to engaging with the Bible in a digital age is to post Scripture passages on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Unsurprisingly, practicing Christian Millennials are most likely to engage in this practice. A combined 81% have posted Scripture online in the past year: 30% do so a few times a year, 25% a few times a month, 13% a few times a week and 13% do so daily.

 
This practice evokes primarily positive emotions among practicing Christian Millennials and ambivalent or negative emotions among non-Christian Millennials. The most common responses from Christians when someone posts Scripture to social media are to feel encouraged (56%) and inspired (53%). Just over one-third find it bold in a good way (35%).

 
Non-Christians’ most common response is to say it bothers them if the verses are used naively or out of context (35%), which is interesting since most admit never having read the Bible themselves. Slightly fewer non-Christians say it’s “okay sometimes if you are religious” (33%). About the same number say they find it irritating and one-quarter assume the person posting it is judgmental (24%). About one-fifth believes the person is trying to evangelize (21%) or that the practice will push others away (18%). Of all the responses, non-Christians were least likely to feel inspired (9%) or encouraged (7%) when they see Scripture posted on social media.

“Many Christians and Christian leaders are concerned about the next generation of Christians,” says David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group. “And for good reason. There is certainly a well-documented trend of Millennials leaving church or turning away from their faith. However, this current study on perceptions of the Bible gives church leaders some very good news about the Good Book: Active young Christians are holding true to historical and orthodox views on the Bible. In many ways, their commitment to the Bible stands in stark contrast to typical stereotypes of younger Christians.

 
“For the most part, the Bible is flourishing in the screen age, particularly among the faithful. Practicing Christian Millennials, in particular, are eager to see Bible-based content on the big screen and to engage with the Bible on the little screen by reading Scripture online and posting it to social media.

 
“However, these practices aren’t always appreciated by others in their generation. While many Christians might hope that Bible-based films or sharing Scripture online would reach non-Christians, our research suggests the opposite. Non-Christians tend to be more skeptical of biblical films and often feel turned off or alienated by seeing Scripture shared via social media. On the other hand, in the rare cases when non-Christians have increased their Bible reading in the past year, they often did so as a result of seeing how Scripture changed someone they knew. Such responses emphasize the importance of meaningful relationships and evidence of life transformation.

 
“Finally, for non-Christian Millennials, the ‘brand’ of the Bible is a negative one,” Kinnaman continues. “The depth and range of these perceptions signal difficult challenges for younger adults who still believe in the Bible. As Bible skepticism increases in their generation, Christian Millennials will have to face those criticisms head on and wrestle with the implications for their own beliefs. Yet when it comes to the Bible—more than many other areas of their faith—Millennial Christians are starting off on comparatively solid ground.”

Practicing Christians describe themselves as Christians who attend church at least once a month and believe their religious faith is very important in their life today. 
Millennials (or Mosaics) are the generation born between 1984 and 2002; Gen-Xers (or Busters), between 1965 and 1983; Boomers, between 1946 and 1964; and Elders, in 1945 or earlier. 

Has the “brand” of the Bible suffered or significantly shifted among young adults?

 

In a recent study among Millennials, conducted in partnership with American Bible Society andInterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Barna Group sought to discover how changing ideas about Christianity might be affecting perceptions of the Bible. This study—the largest Barna Group has ever done on a single generation’s view of the Bible—looked at Millennials’ beliefs, perceptions and practices surrounding Scripture. Three significant—and surprising—insights emerged. 1) Practicing Christian young adults maintain a traditional, high view of Scripture. 2) In contrast, non-Christian Millennials hold ambivalent and sometimes extremely negative perceptions of the Bible and of those who read it. 3) And while the screen age has impacted Bible engagement, print remains Millennials’ favored format for Bible reading.

 

1. Practicing Christian Millennials Maintain a High View of Scripture 

 

2. Non-Christian Millennials Hold Ambivalent and Sometimes Extremely Negative Views about the Bible

 

3. Millennials Still Prefer to Engage the Bible in Print

 

© Barna Group, 2014. Printed by permission of David Kinnaman, Barna.org.

 

 

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Blemishes in Christian Character, Part 3, Change and Grace

by Tim Keller
written by Tim Keller

Some Christians, in their effort to stress holiness of life, do not put a great deal of emphasis on God’s gracious acceptance of us despite our sins. Others, in their effort to avoid legalism and rejoice in grace, are reluctant to call people to close, exacting self-examination and deep repentance. But the 18th century pastor John Newton is remarkable in giving equal weight to self-examination and grace. Here are some of his premises:

1. People often try to fill their hearts with the danger of what they are doing. You can tell yourself “if I keep doing this it will cause problems for me.” That may be true and could be good smelling salts to get you to recognize your problem. But if that is all you say to your heart, it (as it were) bends the metal of your heart but doesn’t really soften and permanently reshape it. The motivation is ultimately selfish and it only brings short-term change. 

We need to go deeper to the only lasting way to change our hearts—take them to the radical, costly grace of God in Christ on the cross. You show your heart the infinite depths to which he went so that you would be free from sin and its condemnation. This fills you with a sense not just of the danger or sin, but also of its grievousness. Think about how ungrateful it is, think of how your sin is not just against God’s law but also against his heart. Melt your heart with the knowledge of what he’s done for you. Tremble before the knowledge of what he is worth—he is worthy of all glory. 

2. People often sin not simply out of a rebellious desire to be their own masters, but also because they are looking to things besides God to satisfy and fulfill. While Newton was good at pointing out the danger of having too low or light a view of one’s sin, he was also good at pointing out the opposite problem—too light a grasp of what Jesus has done for us. Newton wrote to a man who was discouraged: 

You say, you find it hard to believe it [is] compatible with the divine purity to embrace or employ such a monster as yourself. [In thinking this, you] express not only a low opinion of yourself, which is right, but too low an opinion of the person, work, and promises of the Redeemer; which is certainly wrong….

Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. He sometimes offers to teach us humility; but though I wish to be humble, I desire not to learn in this school. His premises perhaps are true, that we are vile, wretched creatures—but he then draws abominable conclusions from them; and would teach us, that, therefore, we ought to question either the power, or the willingness, or the faithfulness of Christ. Indeed, though our complaints are good, so far as they spring from a dislike of sin; yet, when we come to examine them closely, there is often so much self-will, self-righteousness, unbelief, pride, and impatience mingled with them, that they are little better than the worst evils we can complain of….

You have not, you cannot have, anything in the sight of God, but what you derive from the righteousness and atonement of Jesus. If you could keep him more constantly in view, you would be more comfortable. He would be more honored.…Let us pray that we may be enabled to follow the apostle’s, or rather the Lord’s command by him, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice. We have little to rejoice in ourselves, but we have right and reason to rejoice in him. 

– “Letter XI, to the Rev Mr S”, Works of John Newton, Vol. 6, 1985, pp. 185-187.

If we are going to grow in grace, we must stay aware of being both sinners and loved children in Christ. We need a high and due sense of our sin before God and a deep and profound sense of our union with and acceptance in Christ. 

In the end, it’s the joy and wonder of the gospel that will change you permanently.

The final result of all this is that people cannot see their sins because they are looking only at their virtues. For example, someone may say: “I’m not abrasive, I just speak very directly.” It is true that a direct-speaking person may do good because direct, blunt comments are sometimes needed. But overall the abrasiveness is ineffective and the person’s boldness and confidence comes to some degree from pride and a lack of love. And for this reason, many (or perhaps most) Christians do not work on the supernatural graces of the spirit that are not natural to us, and that mitigate or eliminate the dark side—the besetting sins—of our nature. 

So how can we be shaken out of our lethargy and awakened to our need to grow? Here are some principles that I have gleaned from Newton’s letters over the years. 

1. Know that your worst character flaws are the ones you can see the least. 

By definition the sins to which you are most blind, that you make the most excuses for, and that you usually minimize—are the ones that most have you in their grip. As we said before, one way we hide our blemishes is that we look at places that our natural temperament resembles spiritual fruit. For example, a natural aptitude for control and self-discipline can be read as ‘faithfulness’, and a natural desire for personal approval could look like ‘gentleness’ or ‘love.’ Or we mistake a bubbly, sanguine temperament for joy, and a laid-back, phlegmatic temperament for peace. We give ourselves spiritual credit for these things, when actually we aren’t growing spiritually at all. The lack of other fruit shows that real supernatural character change is not happening.

2. Remember that you can’t learn about your biggest flaws just by being told—you must be shown.

There are two ways we come to see our sins and flaws more clearly. One way is that we are shown them by troubles and trials in life. Suffering is God’s gymnasium—it reveals our spiritual weaknesses just as a workout reveals physical weaknesses. 

Secondly, we learn by Christian role models. Sometimes the best conviction comes when you are brought near a person who is living as you should be living. You may not think of yourself as impatient, or abrasive, or over-sensitive until you are brought into close proximity to someone much more patient, irenic, and content than you. What this means is that we should make use of these opportunities to grow. They are painful—even being near very holy people can be uncomfortable! But it is at such times, when we most feel the need for grace, that we find God’s grace most desirable.

3. Be willing to listen to correction and critique from others. 

We just said that no one ever learned about his or her sins by being told. We have too many layers of self-justification to grow without hard knocks. But in addition, as a complement, we need critique and accountability from brothers and sisters. 

There are at least two kinds. First, you can create your own Hebrews 3:13 community. Hebrews 3:13 says we are to “exhort one another daily” so we are not “hardened by the deceptiveness of our sin.” Take some other believers that you trust and give them “a hunting license” to talk to you about where you need to grow. 

Secondly, don’t forget the “Balaam’s donkey” principle (Numbers 22). You must learn how to profit from criticism even given by people who are badly motivated, or who you don’t respect. Even if only 20% of what they say is true, it may be God speaking to you. 

www.redeemercitytocity.com. Used by permission. 

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Is God Angry, Sadistic or Mean? Our Father…

by Leonard Sweet
written by Leonard Sweet

If you’ve listened to fairy tales, or if you’ve watched early classic Disney cartoons, one thing becomes clear: a lot of “poor little” princes and princesses shared a common family tragedy. In an overwhelming number of these stories the mothers were gone, dying long before the child in question could be influenced by them or even remember them. The single dads in these tales almost always had dreadful taste in women the second time around — bringing a whole host of evil stepmothers onto the fairy tale scene.

Sadly, until later in the twentieth century, the chances of children losing their mothers and being raised by stepmothers was common. The overwhelming threat to a woman’s life was childbirth, especially if any sort of infection set in after delivery. For example, John Milton’s first 2 wives, Mary Powell and Katherine Woodcock, both died in childbirth.

Among upper middle class in 17th century London, one mother died for every 40 births. By the early decades of the 20th century, things hadn’t changed much. In 1929, the wife of the Prime Minister of England, Lucy Baldwin, pointed out that pregnant women were as likely to die as soldiers had been in the trenches in the 1914-1918 war. When a woman gave birth, she said, it was just like “going into battle – she never knows . . . whether she will come out of it alive or not.” (As quoted in A. Susan Williams, Ladies of Influence: Women of the Elite in Interwar Britain [Allen Lane The Penguin Press, 2001]).

The single father raising motherless children was an all-to-common occurrence.

Single parent households are even more prevalent today, but for different reasons. Most single parents raising children on their own today are women. Medical advances have made childbirth safer, and have raised women’s life expectancy above that of men. But good hygiene and antibiotics haven’t helped keep families together. In any given American classroom a conservative estimate finds at least one-third of those kids living in a home without a father.

Whether by death or divorce, choice or chance, more and more children are growing up in a home that has no consistently present father figure.

Along with the abuse of sheer absence, which is bad enough, there is the worse abuse of presence. Although child abuse is not confined to one gender, an abusive father figure has a huge affect on children. And a father who is “occasional” as well as “abusive” magnifies all the negatives of his influence.

Why is the lack of positive father figures such a critical issue for the Church?

Consider this: the prayer Jesus gave to his disciples, the prayer we are all taught as children, begins with the audaciously familiar “Our Father.” What happens to our images of God when our images of “our fathers” are so tattered and torn?

Ideally the Christian community, the presence of Christ on Earth, should be able to provide all the images, all the examples, all the experiences of God “The Father” that would bring the children of God together in prayer and praise. So why are there so many growing, thriving churches who market God as nothing more than an abusive or absentee parent?

These are churches that elevate rules and regulations over compassion and relationships. These are communities that only develop portraits of God as judge, God as punisher, God as angry, disappointed, wrathful and vengeful. If simple human parents know that in every childhood argument and altercation there are shades of grey, why do so many churches insist that God the Father can only see in black and white?

What kind of God image does Jesus hold up to his disciples when they beg him to teach them how to pray? Jesus does not instruct his disciples to prostrate themselves and confess their worm-wooded-ness and wickedness. Jesus does not caution his disciples about approaching an exalted, all-powerful, omnipotent Being. Jesus invites those who follow him in hope and faith to pray, even as he himself prays, to “Father,” to “Abba,” immediately putting Deity and disciple into an intimate, mutual relationship.

There are, of course, human requirements for this relationship to work.

The first line of Jesus’ prayer recognizes the greatness, the otherness, of God — “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” Acknowledging God is “large and in charge” is part of establishing this relationship.

But immediately Jesus invites his disciples to make demands on this hallowed, kingdom-building God: “Give us each day our daily bread.” God the Father rules the Kingdom, but God the Father also cares for our physical comfort. As any loving parent knows physical needs must also be met with love — nourishing meals, clean clothes, cuddling session, teaching times, laughing breaks, sleeping hours. A child needs all of these — they are all part of the “daily bread” we require.

Not tending to the basic needs, the physical, emotional basics of our children, is letting “the enemy,” the powers of evil, gain a foothold in our families. In Luke 10:19 Jesus reminded his disciples that he had given them “authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.” Now he contrasts the goodness of a loving father with one who “if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?” (11:12).

Are you teaching your children that God is the distributor of snakes and scorpions? Or are we teaching our children that God is the provider of daily bread, love, forgiveness, and mercy?

In her study of the images of God grown men and women harbor, mental health nurse Juanita Ryan has found fearful, primal pictures populating people’s minds.

“God is waiting around the next corner with a club to punish me.”
“God has a mean face. I don’t like to think of him looking at me.”
“God is big, he is angry for some unknown reason.”
“God is demanding and sadistic”
“You can never be sure if you’ve pleased him.”
“He carries a club or a two-by-four that he intends to use.”

Hello!?! Where do we get these images of God? What has happened to our biblical images of a God who “tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young” (Isaiah 40:11)? Where is the God who has been revealed as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding love” (Psalm 103:8)? Paul wondered at “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18), the one who was sent by the Father.

In Jesus’ prayer, “The Lord’s Prayer,” we are reminded of God’s greatness, God’s graciousness, and God’s goodness. God’s name is unutterable by the Jews. But Jesus directs his disciples to call the one whose name is “hallowed” and “exalted,” “Father,” “Abba” (a diminutive not unlike “daddy”). God is bringing in the Kingdom, directing all creation. Yet “our Father” cares for each one of us and will provide us our “daily bread.” God is all-powerful, righteous, and just. Yet the most God-like act we can practice is to “forgive everyone indebted to us,” even as God forgives our sins.

Let’s stop creating God in the image of our brokenness, in the image of families where parents are absent, or abuse is common. Let us accept the image of God Jesus gave to us with his message, his mission, his prayers.

How can a God who suffered the ultimate sacrifice on the Cross be a God who seeks out pain and suffering for a new generation?

Jesus’ final promise in today’s text is that God will “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Paraclete or Defender, the giver of every good and perfect gift. And as John Calvin warned, “in despising the gift, we insult the giver.” (Institutes, 2/2/15)

That is the gift of the Father who loves all his children. And in the words of St. Augustine, “God’s goodness towards us is such that God wants His gift to be our merits.”

What a Father!

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10 Reasons Why Reaching Muslims for Christ Should Be a Priority for Every American Christian

by Alex McFarland
written by Alex McFarland

Church history shows us that in key periods of time, God gives specific assignments to His followers.  In times past, when God’s church has been at its most prayerful, courageous, unified and culturally engaged, the Lord has used His people to:

 

•    Fight slavery

•    End segregation

•    Fight human trafficking

•    Fight child labor

•    Promote literacy

•    Oppose gladiatorial combat / death games (in ancient Rome)

•    Fight infanticide (throughout history)

•    Oppose child marriage (in 3rd world countries)

•    End temple prostitution (Rome)

•    Stand against child sexual abuse and child prostitution

•    Fight the view that wives are mere “property”

•    Fight for fair treatment of prisoners

•    Promote the equality of mankind

•    Build hospitals, create relief agencies, and invest for the betterment of the human condition …etc., etc.

 

Clearly, when followers of Jesus link arms for cultural engagement, the trajectory of history is changed.  As Christians we must ask, “What may I do in my lifetime that will count for eternity?  How may my life and abilities be invested in Christ’s Great Commission?”

 

For the following ten reasons, the conversion of Muslims must be a top priority for Christians in America.

I also want to share with you HOW to win a Muslim to Christ. Reaching them with Jesus’ love is the only way to truly change the world.

 

1. Love of Truth

Christians are called to love what is true (Philippians 4:8).

The truth is:

•    Mohammed was not a true prophet, because he taught things that contradict Scripture;

•    Allah is a false god, because there is only one true God, the father of Jesus Christ;

•    The Quran is not a holy book, as Scripture clearly warns against adding anything to God’s Holy Word;

•    The message of Islam does not correspond to reality, as its ‘truth claims’ or doctrine are false. These include its interpretation of history, its views of the Jewish people, and its murderous perspective of non-Muslims.

Christians must oppose Islam because it is demonstrably false. Because we are called to love what is true, as Christians, we should want to see Muslims come to know the truth as well.

 

2. Devotion to Jesus Christ

One of the biggest differences between Islam and Christianity is the view on the nature and mission of Jesus.

 

Muslims often show respect for faithful followers of Isa (Jesus). And in some places, Islam affirms Christ, called “Messiah,” the Word of God, Spirit of God, “born of the virgin Mary.” Muslims are to honor prophets, and Jesus is called a prophet, and the Koran even says that Jesus performed miracles, and raised someone from the dead.

 

The prophet Mohammed is given none of these accolades in the Koran.

 

However, no Christian can affirm Islam because of its clear denials and distortions about Jesus. 

 

Islam denies:

•    The deity of Jesus

•    The incarnation of Jesus

•    The Trinitarian understanding of Jesus

•    The crucifixion of Jesus

•    The atonement for sin by Jesus

•    Jesus’ physical resurrection from the grave

Scripture provides a clear way to test whether a prophet is true or false. A true prophet will not deny the deity of Jesus Christ (Col. 2:8-9), and a true prophet will not deny the humanity of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:1-2). Because Islam denies Jesus’ deity, a Christian cannot consider Islam a true religion.

 

3. Commitment to Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16 clearly teaches that all Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by God, and as Christians, we are called to be not only hearers of the Word of God but also doers, lest we deceive ourselves (James 1:22).

 

Adherence to God’s Word in its entirety is not optional for true believers in Christ. As a result, ‘watering down’ the truths proclaimed in Scripture and acceding that all religions are equal is clear disobedience to God’s Word.

 

4. Compassion for Lost Souls

One of the most important reasons we must pray and work for the conversion of Muslims is that we should be heartbroken that 1.6 billion souls are lost and without hope. There is no other name but the name of Jesus by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12).

 

5. Respect for Human Rights

The abuse of women and children in Islamic culture is well-documented, as is the persecution of so-called ‘infidels.’ Forced marriage of young girls and the overt repression of woman is often not only accepted but welcomed. Islam upholds no intrinsic value of human life as created in the image of God, but values only those lives that bring ‘honor’ to the Prophet. There is supposed ‘honor,’ however, in killing those who dishonor him.

 

In The Clash of Civilizations, Harvard University Professor and former Carter Administration cabinet member Samuel P.  Huntington wrote:

 

“Wherever one looks along the perimeter of Islam, Muslims have problems living peaceably with their neighbors. Muslims make up about one-fifth of the world’s population, but in the 1990’s, they have been far more involved in inter group violence than the people of any other civilization. The evidence is overwhelming…There were, in short, three times as many intercivilizational conflicts involving Muslims as there were conflicts between all non-Muslim civilizations. (Huntington, Samuel. The Clash of Civilizations. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996. p. 256-258.)

 

As Christians, we are called to esteem others more highly than ourselves (Philippians 2:3); therefore, we should be dedicated to urging Muslims to turn away from a belief system that abuses human rights.

 

6. Belief in God-Given Liberty

Because America is the land of the free, our nation has been able to send missionaries worldwide to share the love of Jesus Christ, and here at home, we have been able to minister to the poor, help the downtrodden, and practice our faith freely. As Christians, if we believe in this God-given liberty and freedom of conscience, we must work to convert Muslims to faith in Jesus, or else, we stand to lose our liberty.

 

Consider that there are 2.4 million Muslims in US today. Two-thirds of these are immigrants, having come here from 68 countries. According to a USA Today article from May 23, 2007, “The USA’s 2.4 million Muslims hold more moderate political views than Muslims elsewhere in the world.”  However, “pockets of sympathy for Islamic extremism (exist in the US), especially among younger people.” Additionally, “47 percent of Muslims consider themselves Muslims first and Americans second.”

 

Huntington also wrote: “It is hard to find statements by any Muslims, whether politicians, officials, academics, businesspersons, or journalists, praising Western values and institutions.”  (Huntington. The Clash of Civilizations. p. 213.)

 

7. Patriotism toward America

Our primary allegiance as Christians must always be to Christ alone; yet, as we have been given the blessing to live in a free nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles, we also have the responsibility to defend our freedoms, as they provide the best opportunity for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

When Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal about his life purpose as well as his understanding of God’s hand in his actions, his words read that he was “devoted to the holy Christian faith and propagators thereof, and enemies of the sect of Mahomet (Mohammed) and of idolatries and heresies” and that his purpose in traveling to parts of India was “to see those princes and peoples and land and the character of them and of all else, and the manner which should be used to bring about their conversion to our holy faith…”

 

Columbus also frequently quoted Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great Commission) and Acts 1:8 (“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” NIV) in relation to himself, and he believed God had a divine plan for the North American continent and that he was a part of it. And central to this plan was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

Contrast this with the belief of Islam regarding America. Listen to the words of extremist leaders:

•    “The real matter is the extinction of America, and God willing, it will fall to the ground.”  Mullah Mohammed Omar, January, 2002

•    “The White house will turn black with God’s help, and America, England, and Israel should be destroyed.” Jerusalem Mufti (the highest Islamic religious teacher in Jerusalem)

•    “Jihad is our path, let us damn America, let us damn Israel.” Sami Al-Arian, Kuwaiti native and University of South Florida professor

•    “Have no mercy on the Jews, where ever you are, kill those Jews and the Americans who are like them.” Sheik Ahmed Abu Halabiya, in a sermon broadcast on Palestinian Authority television

Consider this: An October 2001 survey of over 500,000 people from so-called “Moderate” Islamic nations yielded more than one-half million responses affirming that Osama Bin Laden—the mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks on America— is viewed as  “a folk hero, and a righteous Muslim.”

 

If we love our nation, Christians must pray for the conversion of Muslims.

 

8. Concern for our Descendants

 

Recent billboards in Cairo, Egypt read: “The Muslims are coming! We are going to change the face of the world by Islam, and rule by the Koran!”

 

Dave Phillips is a campus minister to international students, and he works with many Muslim youth, both American and immigrant. In his words:

 

“Muslim parents tend to pass down the good, and bypass the darker stories of the past. They never mention the Christian youths persecuted by Muslims and forced to convert and become the Janissaries, during the Ottoman Empire. They never mention the hundreds of thousands of Armenians killed in Turkey in 1915. Even today, they ignore the Sudanese government which imposes Sharia law on Christian black tribes… through starvation and military attacks.” (Taber. Muslims Next Door. p. 60.)

 

The bloody legacy of Islam has already impacted our generation:

•    Pan Am Flight 103

•    World Trade Center bombing, 1993

•    US Military bombings, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia

•    American Embassy bombing, Africa

•    USS Cole bombing

•    World Trade Center Towers, 9-11-01

•    Jihad killings of 3,000,000 in Sudan (at one point, 800,000 Christians were killed in under 90 days)

Unless the advance of Islam is halted, this is the future our children will face.

 

9. Quest for Self-Preservation

“It [Islam] is the only religion that was started in conscious opposition to Christianity.” (Hume, R.E. The World’s Living Religions. New York, New York:  Charles Scribner & Sons. p. 213.)

 

In his book, The World’s Living Religions, R.E. Hume, Ph.D. writes, “Mohammed was a domineering, warring, autocrat. He prescribed war, and advocated violence toward all non-Muslims.” (Hume 218). And perhaps even more sobering is Hume’s observation: “Nowhere in the world is there a notably successful self-governing national administration which has been started by Muslims.”

 

Yet, today, we see Muslims not only refusing to assimilate into Western culture in terms of accepting Western law but also attempting to infiltrate Western culture with Sharia law. Islam has one goal: dominance. Yet, such dominance can exist only when self-government is obliterated.

 

10. Worship of God

 

In all of this, our highest motive for wanting to see the conversion of Muslims is not so the world will be less violent. It’s not even so 1.6 billion people will avoid hell. For the Christian, our desire to see the conversion of Muslims is also motivated by our desire for there to be more worshippers of the living God!

 

John Piper said that “…missions and evangelism exists, because worship of the true God does not currently exist among all peoples.”

 

Conclusion

A great spiritual battle is taking place in our nation, and it’s one that will not resolve on its own. We would do well to remember the worlds of Benjamin Franklin, spoken to the delegates working through a period of crisis during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia:

 

“We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord Build the House they labor in vain that build it.’ (Psalm 127:1). I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages.”(Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Volume I. p. 451-452.)

 

How Do We as Christians Respond to Islam?

Certainly, there is a theological response to Islam. For example:

•    Jesus’ claims about salvation were confirmed by an unparalleled degree of proof. Christ physically rose from death, confirming who He was and what He taught. Mohammad’s teachings were not accompanied by supernatural confirmation, and the Muslim prophet himself said he did no miracles.

•    Compelling data affirm the trustworthiness of the Bible. Muslims believe the New Testament is not trustworthy because the original documents allegedly have been altered over the years. However, no one can point out the alleged “changes” or when they were supposedly made. The corruptions simply aren’t there.

•    John 3:16’s literal meaning matters. Whether a Bible translation reads that Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son” or “one and only Son,” this verse does not imply that God had physical relations with Mary, as Muslims believe. The original language asserts that Jesus is, literally, “of the same nature” or “essence” as the Father.

•    Christianity is unique in that Jesus is a loving and sinless Savior. The Koran’s suras 40:55 and 48:1-2 teach that Muhammad was a sinner. Because Jesus possessed both full divinity and sinless humanity, He was qualified to die sacrificially and capable of rising by His own power.

•    Christians have an intimate personal relationships with Jesus and great joy knowing they are secure in Christ (John 10:28-29). Where one stands with God is the most important issue of life—more important than culture, family background or social customs.

There is also a practical response:

•    Pray! Prayer is indispensable. Indeed, Scripture teaches that God the Father is the One Who draws people to Jesus.

•    Be very kind to Muslims.

•    Be very humble, and avoid an air of superiority or cockiness at all costs.

•    Be patient, and be ready to re-explain certain things several times.

•    Quote the Bible freely. Muslims have a degree of reverence for the Bible.

•    Focus on Jesus Christ.

•    Emphasize that Christians have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 15:1-8, 1 John 1:3; 1 John 5:11-13; Revelation 3:20).

•    Emphasize that Christianity is unique among the world’s religions.

•    Share that Christians have great joy in knowing that they are SECURE in Christ.

•    Point out that where one stands with God is the most important issue of life.

Oh – and did I mention, pray.

 

“…That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” Romans 10:9-10

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Articles

A Homeless God

by Frank Viola
written by Frank Viola

“As you come to Him, the living Stone – rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him – you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.”

~ 1 Peter 2:4-5a

Part of my roots are in the Charismatic movement. In that experience, I was repeatedly encouraged to seek God for a “visitation” from heaven. As a result, I harbored the illusion that if God visited our church, He was pleased with it. I later discovered that God is not looking for a place to visit. He is looking for a place to dwell.

The pages of history are littered with the sobering fact that God is no longer present in the places He once visited. Go to the landmarks of past revivals, and you’ll quickly discover that the crowds have diminished. The joy is gone. The life has evaporated. In many cases, those places are but hollow shells today.

Why does the Lord leave?

For me the intriguing question is: Why does the Lord leave? The answer is telling: Because He was not completely welcomed.

He was allowed to visit, but He was not permitted to be head. That is, He was not granted the right to make the decisions.

Visitations bless us for a short season. But a dwelling place for God is something for His interest and His desire. Blessing is merely a byproduct. It’s not the prime product.

Contemplate this thought: If God “visits” a church, it betrays the fact that it doesn’t belong to Him. A homeowner doesn’t visit his own home. He lives in it. In a divine visitation, God will bless His people. But He will eventually move on and search for a home that He can call His own. Thus if the headship of Jesus Christ is not fully yielded to in a given place, the best the Lord can do is visit. He cannot take up residency.

Our Lord is in a quest for a place to lay His head, a place where His headship is operative, a place where He does what He wishes, a place where He can feel comfortable and find rest. This is the indelible mark that a particular church is in fact God’s house. Anything else is but a layover for Him.

Like any homeowner, God builds His house in His own way. If the home is His, He arranges the furniture the way He wishes, for He is the master of His own home.

The burning intent of your God is that all of His living stones be built together with other living stones to form His house

In this connection, I want you to imagine countless living stones scattered all over the earth. I want you to see innumerable living stones living their own individual Christian lives. I want you to see scores of living stones who love God, but who are isolated and independent of other living stones. Many attend religious services, but there is little to no “building together” among the members.

That is precisely the situation we find ourselves in today. And what is the net effect? God is still homeless.

The burning intent of your God is that all of His living stones be built together with other living stones to form His house. Not for themselves, but for their Lord. To be the house of God, by God, and for God.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians  4:16)

Jesus Christ did not die and rise again just to forgive you of your sins. He died in order that His Father could obtain a home. The Lord saved you and me for this high and holy purpose.

Without people who are being assembled together, God is a wandering, homeless God. And we are wandering, homeless Christians.

Your Lord wishes to build Himself into a people, and He wishes to build a people into Himself. He is after a building, not a rock quarry. He wants a house, not a heap of stones nor a group of scattered rocks. The Lord Jesus Christ is looking for willing vessels who will abandon their Western-style individualism and live a shared life with others under His exclusive headship. This is our high calling.

This Week

Make a home for the Lord in your life. Each day, give Him complete headship to arrange your life as He wishes. Then begin to connect with other “living stones” by building relationships with fully-committed believers who are interested in fulfilling His eternal purpose.

Excerpted from From Eternity to Here © 2009 Frank Viola (David C. Cook).

Originally published in Life Today with James Robison, December 2009.

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Articles

Five Requirements to Be Used by God

by demo
written by demo

What kind of person must I be to be used greatly by God? 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect toward him, so that he can show his great power in helping them.”
If you want God to use you greatly, here are five things you need to do to make yourself usable by Him.

1. Keep your life clean.

The first step to being used by God is always personal cleansing. Without exception, when you find someone whom God is using in a great way, they’ve dealt with the personal sin in their lives before God.

It’s not about your past or your status in the world your your talent. God uses small vessels, plain vessels, and even broken vessels. But He will not use a dirty vessel. 2 Timothy 2:21 says, “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you’ll be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” (NLT)

2. Keep your eyes open.

One of the most misunderstood words in leadership circles is the word vision. We think of vision as prediction, but none of us can know the future the way God does. Vision is seeing God at work in your present situation and moving with Him. It’s about getting in on what God is doing in the world and being a part of it where He has placed you.

If you make up your own vision, you’re already off course. The psalmist said, “Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence.” (Psalm 105:4 MSG)

3. Keep your heart grateful.

God uses grateful people. Further, gratefulness is one of the keys to longevity in ministry. Doctors refer to gratitude as the healthiest of all emotions because of its physical benefits. If you don’t stay grateful, you’ll become cynical.

Paul said, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” (Romans 12:11 NIV) We need to constantly remind ourselves what a privilege it is to serve Jesus. Never get over the things that God does in, through, and around us entirely because of His grace.

4. Keep your purpose firm.

Remember the basics. You were planned for God’s pleasure, formed for God’s family, created to become like Christ, shaped for service, and made for a mission! These aren’t just good points for teaching others or for leading a church. These are the purposes for which God made you!

One of the verses that has kept me going through all the years of my ministry is Acts 13:36, “David served God’s purpose in his own generation.” That’s my desire! And that’s my desire for you.

5. Keep your mind on Jesus.

Meditate on this verse, “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed – he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.” (Hebrews 12:2 MSG)

God’s purpose for your life is far greater than your problems. Don’t give up when it gets tough. Go to Jesus. Keep your mind on Him!

From www.pastors.com. Used by permission.

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Sermons

Who Do I Want to Be?

by Glenn Barteau
written by Glenn Barteau

When we talk about life, we are talking about a deep belief that God has created all of us to be exactly what He envisions for us to be. Our main problem is not what we think about God but what God thinks about us. We often see Him as demanding, distant or disappointed. The truth is, He delights in us!

Sermon begins @ 30 minutes, 20 seconds.

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International human rights day concept: Silhouette alone woman standing on cave of heart and meadow sunset background
Sermons

It Doesn’t Get Any Simpler

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

The simple message of the cross is a stumbling block to nonbelievers. The formula for a divine transaction is found in Romans 4: faith plus nothing equals the righteousness of God. What God simplifies, man complicates.

 IT DOESN’T GET ANY SIMPLER

Romans 4:9-25

S-1705

 

Recognize high school and college graduates.

 

  • sLIDE: (HS picture) Cowboys; Red necks; macho jocks; cheer leaders; egghead brainy types, freaky nonconformist; geeky computer nerds?

 

Let’s take a survey—not by the group you were in, but by the group you wanted to be in.

 

We know which group is at the top of the heap in many high schools: the jocks and cheerleaders.

Return at 10 year reunion and the geeks and eggheads have all the money.

 

  • sLIDE: In High school, it is all about acceptance.
  • sLIDE: No one wants to be a loser, left out, excluded.

 

  • sLIDE: It is built into our nature to want to be loved and included.

Cell phones and the internet have overtaken our lives. Why? It is all about acceptance and connection.

We don’t have to stand in line to get to talk to someone. We can stay on line, or on the phone with a friend.

 

In many ways we never grow up. It is not just High school, Life is a longing to be accepted—fear of being rejected.

 

Romans 4 is all about belonging. It is all about acceptance. It is all about moving into the family of God.

 

  • sLIDE: Considering deeper dimensions of life, we long for those same needs to be met in an intimate relationship with the eternal, open and vulnerable God of our universe.

 

  • sLIDE: Things like: amplify these and make them attractive

 

Acceptance—“Accepted in the Beloved”

Approval—“There is now no condemnation in Christ Jesus”

Attention—“Behold I am with you always”

Comfort—“The God of all comfort who comforts us”

Encouragement—“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”

Security—“I will never leave you nor forsake you”

Support—“I will hold you in my right hand”

 

  • sLIDE: Community of relationships in Christ

 

  • sLIDE: AN OVERVIEW OF ROMANS

 

Romans 1-3—No excuse: atheists; agnostics, good people, religious people. All sin and fall short.

We saw that salvation is not by religious rites or works – Not by circumcision or baptism or partaking of the Lord’s Supper or by law or works.

It is justification by faith alone! Only way to win the game with God is simple Faith.

 

Want to go on to Sanctified, victorious Christian life in Romans 5, 6, 7, 8 – but it’s almost as if Paul says, Whoa, whoa. Hold on. Want to be certain that you understand justification by faith.

 

Romans 4 is the last time Paul will emphasize that nothing but faith saves!

 

Romans 4 reads like a legal document. Lets make it simple.

 

READ and EXPLAIN ROMANS 4: focus on FAITH verses.

 

I am going to sum up Romans 4 in a simple formula.

  • sLIDE: A SIMPLE FORMULA FOR A DIVINE TRANSACTION

 

OVERHEAD: F + 0 = R

 

Where F = Faith in Christ

0 = nothing

R = righteousness

 

As I speak this morning some of you will feel a strange stirring inside—that is Jesus Christ Himself stirring your inner soul to come into a loving relationship with Him.

Give you an opportunity to respond to His prompting latter this morning.

 

Now let’s explore this truth about finding acceptance and belonging with Jesus Christ.

 

  • sLIDE: WHERE “FAITH” EQUALS FAITH IN CHRIST

 

READ ROMANS 4:17b: *”The God who gives life to the dead”

 

Refers to the time when God promised to produce many descendants and even a world-wide Savior through the loins of Isaac. Then before Isaac could even have any children, God told Abraham to sacrifice him on an altar.

 

  • sLIDE: READ ROMANS 4:23-24.

The Lord said something special in resurrection. His resurrection is the proof of our justification!

 

READ ROMANS 4:25.

On the cross Jesus Christ paid the debt for our sin in full! His resurrection is our receipt.

 

  • sLIDE: ●The amount of our faith has very little to do with it in the initial stages. Jesus told us that even if we have a tiny faith—like a grain of mustard seed—we have enough.

 

You can surrender your life to Christ with very little faith. You can do it today.

 

  • ●Christians will experience doubts occasionally. Trust Christ and immediately Satan begins to attack and to assail.

 

Even John the Baptist doubted Jesus: “Are you the one or shall we look for another?
Jesus (didn’t scold him for doubting) said, “The lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear,” etc.

Every Christian doubts at times – but as he grows in maturity, doubts become fewer and less frequent.

Doubts don’t cancel out faith. Faith enables a man to overcome his doubts and to answer them.

 

  • : ●Faith is a cold-blooded choice to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

Rational choice. Julie doesn’t need this—the emotional closeness with Christ is all she needs.

 

  • WHERE “0” EQUALS “0”

 

What Might People Add To The Formula?

 

  • Circumcision is a sign and a seal. Sign of a covenant between God and Israel. If you were circumcised, you were automatically right and accepted by God.

 

Man comes onto the office of Ray Stedman – Bible in hand. “I’ve been reading the Bible,” he didn’t know a lot about it, but he asked, “Will you circumcise me?” Stedman gasped, “Why?”

“Well, I’ve been reading in the Bible about all these folks who were circumcised and it seems that if you want to know God you have to be circumcised.

Faith comes not by religious rites.

 

Circumcision doesn’t save. Abraham was justified by believing the promise about Jesus fifteen years before he was ever circumcised.

 

Talking to Tom Austin – nine year old – “If you were in the desert with your brother and only a little water left. You’re just about to die. What would you do?” “Drink the water.” “No, just a little, no hope of living.” “I don’t know.” “Baptize your brother and yourself – otherwise you’ll go to Hell.”

 

Circumcision was like a wedding ring. It is an outside symbol of an inside change.

 

The modern equivalent of circumcision is baptism. Baptism doesn’t save. It is a symbol of our salvation! Baptism is an outward symbol of something that’s happened on the inside.

 

If you are still regarding baptism, or the Lord’s Supper, or mass, or christening, or confirmation, as having anything to do with God declaring you righteous and making you fit for Heaven, then you are totally insecure in your relationship with God.

 

Need a personal relationship with Christ based on a personal encounter of surrender by faith.

 

The Law: all sorts of special behaviors and requirements

 

Suppose I say to you, “If you get off your pew and start flying around the sanctuary, I’ll give you $5,000.”

You’d have to say, “Forget it. No one can do that in their natural strength. You are asking me to do that which I can’t do.”

 

The promise of the law is: Do all of this and live! But the promise that comes with the law is useless. No one can live up to it!

 

  • WHERE “R” EQUALS RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

(“credited to him as righteousness”; “The just shall live by faith.” “I will give him a white robe and tattoo my name in his forehead.”)

 

Righteousness is a justified standing with God.

 

Righteousness is a gift which enables us to interact intimately with the Living God.

 

  • : Don’t mess with the formula.

 

READ GALATIANS 1:6-12: 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

 

OVERHEAD: different gospel = hetero

which is really no gospel at all = allo

 

Butter Pecan Ice cream cone: get me heteros: Julie brings me another butter pecan cone.

Get me heteros: she brings me carrots—not ice cream at all. I spit out carrots when I wanted butter pecan.

Greek word “allos” would be more appropriate. She brought me “allos.”

 

You are not believing the same gospel at all. You have turned to a monstrosity.

 

“Eternally cursed” = “anathema”

 

READ GALATIANS 1:10: Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

READ GALATIANS 1:11-12: I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

 

Mormons

F + 14 things = third heaven

 

  • sLIDE: The MESSAGE OF THE CROSS IS REALLY Simple.

 

God simplifies; man complicates.

 

Complex religions with all the things we have to do to find God, perform before God, check off lists

 

  • sLIDE: One inch formula in a complex universe

E=mc2

 

Einstein: “God made the universe simple. If you cannot explain it in simple terms then you are not speaking the language of the universe.

 

Einstein worked on a unified theory of everything.

OVERHEAD: WNF, SNF, EM, G: Strings included gravity

 

String theory: twang it and get proton, electron, quarks, mesons, pi mesons—sparticles.

11 dimensions: universe unstable in 10, collapsed and expanded with our four—6 distorted space time and rolled up.

Math to describe it now down to a one inch formula.

 

F + 0 = R is simple.

 

  • The minute our religion gets complex, or hard to figure out, we are moving further and further away from God.

 

  • Use the formula with your friends.

 

  • sLIDE: THE SIMPLE PICTURE OF THE MESSAGE

 

How many know John 3:16?

How many know John 3:14-15? – READ JOHN 3:14-15

 

In John 3:14-15 Jesus referred to the uplifted Bronze Serpent as the perfect picture illustration of salvation by faith.

 

Go to Numbers 21.

In Numbers 21:4-9 we see that faith in the uplifted Christ is the only remedy that God has provided for dealing with human sin!

 

READ NUMBERS 21:4-5

Dangerous thing to mumble and murmur against the Lord. He hears our murmurings and doesn’t appreciate it at all. (That’s another sermon.)

 

READ NUMBERS 21:6

God sends fiery serpents to punish them. Imagine, sleeping in bed and waking up to find poisonous snakes covering the floor of your tent!

Getting up, step outside – snakes as far as the eye can see. Can’t move without stepping on one.

If bitten by snake – death. They’re doomed to die.

 

Jesus referred to this as a picture of sin

 

Old Testament picture of what sin does to us. Sin is coursing through our spiritual veins racing directly toward our spiritual heart.

The wages of sin is death.

 

READ NUMBERS 21:7

Repentance abounds – we’ve sinned.

God knows that only a surrender heart can enter properly into fellowship with Him.

 

READ NUMBERS 21:8.

 

“Just look at the uplifted serpent and you’ll be healed.

Seemed like strange request – but Moses obeyed.

What good will that do? God is teaching faith and belief in the Word of God.

Bitten, life ebbing away, look, new life.

 

READ NUMBERS 21:9.

 

Many dying that day.

Imagine man at back. Can’t understand – how is looking going to save? Isn’t that just like a preacher. Here I need his help and he asks me to do what I can’t understand.”

Can’t see how just looking is going to save me. But, it is so simple. Anyone can do it. Looks and lives.

 

Another man – I wish Moses had come sooner. Too far gone to be saved. If he’d just come sooner I now I’d be saved, but there’s no way now. But, it is so simple. Anyone can do it. Looks and lives.

 

Third man, also dying. Poison gets closer and closer to his heart. “Can’t understand this, but I know that Moses is a man sent from God. If Moses says all I have to do is look, well, I can’t understand it, but I’m going to look.” As hr drops to the ground, he looks up and is saved.

 

READ John 3:14-15.

 

Just as people got new life from looking at Moses’ serpent in the wilderness, you can gain new life from believing on the cross where I’m soon to die.

We all are bitten by poisonous snake – sin is in his spiritual bloodstream.

 

“I’m soon to be lifted up on the cross to die, just like Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness – if you’ll look to the cross and believe, you can find new life – you can be born again.”

 

May not understand.

May think you’ve sinned too much.

Just look to the cross and believe – saved.

 

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Sermons

Watch Out for Those Who Lead Us Away from the Truth

by John Piper
written by John Piper

We must love people but also love the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:4). Paul teaches we need purity for the sake of unity. We must watch out for those who cause divisions and avoid them. Leave room for loving your enemies. False teachers seem nice, but serve their own appetites.

By John Piper. ©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org. Used by permission.

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Ask Roger

Why Does the Bible Use the Number 40 So Much?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

 

What is the significance of the number 40? It pops up all the time in scripture.

Sincerely, Wondering

 

Dear Wondering,

 

The term “40” is a general time period referring to something “around” or close the number “40.” For example, we know that a month has 28, 30 or 31 days; but instead of being so exact, we tend to use the word “month”. “We’ve been married about a month.” OK we know that is about 30 days. “It rained for 40 days and nights,” is like saying, “it rained for about a month.” The Israelites wandered around in the desert for 40 years” means that they were out there for around 40 years—plus or minus a few.

 

Just for fun, we can take your question a step further and move into the realm of Biblical numerology.

 

Many believe that numbers in the Bible have built-in significance. I have always thought that there is some truth to this consideration. Two or the most often recurring numbers are 7 and 40. On the basis of Genesis 7:2-4 and other passages, many consider 7 to be the number of completeness or perfection:

 

If 7 is the “perfect number,” many connect the number with God Himself. God’s number is said to be 7. Revelation 5:6 seems to infer this. The “Lamb” referred to in these verses is, of course, Jesus.

 

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God (Revelation 5:6).

 

The number 6 is thought to be the number of man. Man was created on the 6th day; man labors 6 days a week. Man’s number is one less than perfection. We know that the Anti-Christ’s number is 666 (Revelation 13:18). Man consistently fails to measures up to God. Imperfect can never make perfect. By the way, 666 may stand in juxtaposition to the number 3. Three is often seen as representing the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 666 is seen as representing the unholy trinity—Satan, the Beast and the Anti-Christ.

 

Some associate the number 40 with the idea of probation or trial. The Israelites wandered for 40 years (Deuteronomy 8:2-5); Moses was on the mount for 40 days (Exodus 24:18); 40 days were involved in the story of Jonah and Nineveh (Jonah 3:4); Jesus was tempted for 40 days (Matthew 4:2); there were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:3).

 

Perhaps there is some truth in this position; but once again, don’t overlook the fact that the term, “forty days” is primarily a general term referring to a general time period—like our term month.

 

To me numbers in the Bible are just numbers and I deal with them accordingly. However, it would not surprise me at all to discover that once again God is utilizing ordinary things (numbers) to teach all sorts of Biblical truth.

 

Wondering, I hope this helps to answer your question. Thanks for asking.

 

Sincerely, Roger

 

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Articles

How to Do What You’ve Never Done!

by Chet Weld
written by Chet Weld

Jim Rohn says that small disciplines move us toward success and lead to more disciplines.  He advises that we read, journal, and turn our philosophies (e.g., “I am a spiritual and moral being before I’m anything else”) and values (e.g., “I highly value service to God and man”) into activity. 

 

“It is not what we get that makes us valuable, it is what we become in the process of doing that brings value into our lives” (“The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle”).

 

Rohn agrees with the biblical ratio of work to rest: Six days of work and one day of rest.  “Rest should be a necessary pause in the process of preparing for an assault on the next objective and the next discipline.  The punishment for excessive rest is mediocrity.” 

 

Facing our present reality contains the kernel of miracles, says Rohn.  Robert Schuler said, “Anyone knows how many seeds are in an apple, but only God knows how many apples are in a seed.”  When we face reality, still not knowing specifics of the future, that’s a good time to move forward!   Acting with faith and integrity, we can enter into all that God has for us.  “You can’t get what you’ve never had unless you’re willing to do what you’ve never done” (“212˚,” by Parker & Anderson).  Be proactive.  Just do it!

 

In the recent Winter Olympics, Michael Phelps won the 100 meter butterfly by .01 seconds.  While second place glided to the finish line, Michael gave it one more stroke and won by a fingernail.  Michael’s time was 50.08 seconds while Milorad Cavic’s time was 50.09.  Of course, Phelps won more Olympic gold medals than anyone in history.  Michael just kept doing it!  He said about that one race, “If I would have glided, I would have lost the race.”  We can’t glide to the finish lines of our lives and expect to excel. 

 

Christ said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48).  In Matthew 25, Christ tells a parable of the rewards of good stewardship over what God has given us.  Christ highly valued our activities and said that we could know who people are by looking at their “fruit” (Matthew 7:16, 20).

 

God rewards both faith and industriousness.  Of course, productive activity begins with God’s grace to give us faith.  If our activities are to have eternal significance, they must proceed from relationship with the Giver of Life and from godly, noble values.  With God’s help, this is how to achieve a life that blesses others, pleases God, and is truly a joy to live!

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Sermons

Wk 3: The God Who Is Near

by Glenn Barteau
written by Glenn Barteau

The poetry of Genesis is drawing us in… showing us that Elohim is different from the gods of Mesapotamia and Sumer.  Elohim is a present God. When I feel alone, when I hurt, when I feel threatened I am not alone, forgotten, or abandoned.

When you face challenges and feel tempted to fear or control your life or the lives of others, remember there is a Sovereign God who has the highest and best plans for your life.

 

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Sermons

Wk 1: From Idolatry to Faith: Who is the Creator God and Why Should I Love Him?

by Glenn Barteau
written by Glenn Barteau

The society of Moses when he penned Genesis came out of Sumerian culture and beliefs. Sumerians believed that the physical realm had always existed. There was no beginning of the universe. Creation was simply the aftermath of an epic clash betweens the gods who were contained in the physical universe. They were immortal and had special powers, but were still limited to being a part of the physical world. Sumerian theology was based on the “Wheel of life and the hub of death.”

In contrast, Genesis one teaches that we have a God who existed before time; the God who stands outside the physical realm, and created the universe from nothing. The cosmic God is not limited to space and time as all the other gods were. 

The God of Gen 1:1 is cosmic god, who is not contained at all, rather, the entire cosmos is contained with in Him. He is an infinitely powerful God beyond our understanding and yet is deeply interested and involved in each of our lives. Humans have not been abandoned, or forgotten by God, rather they are a part of his creation… Elohim breathed life into them!

 

 

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Articles

Overcoming Loneliness: Strength in Community

by Mark Batterson
written by Mark Batterson

Social scientists tell us that 70% of happiness is the byproduct of relationships, yet a lot of us look in a lot of different places for happiness. We will often look at money, thinking that might solve all our problems. Or we look at a job or a hobby or an accomplishment, if we could do this or be there, that somehow that would change our life. The essence of life, what it really boils down to, is relationships with God and others.

I was reading a book by Alan Deutschman called Change or Die and in the book he sites a study published by the Justice Department in 2002 that tracked 272,111 inmates after they were released from state prisons in 15 states. It’s the largest study of its kind ever done. Honestly, the findings were discouraging because they found that 30% of former inmates were re-arrested within six months, and two-thirds were re-arrested within three years. Something is not working. With that as a backdrop, consider this. One of the chapters Deutschman devotes to a non-profit called The Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. It is a halfway house of sorts, about 500 inmates that live together, their own community, and essentially, Delancey helps these prisoners complete their high school education, and they all learn three marketable skills and they use them in the business that Delancey has started. They have the top-rated moving company in the Bay area, they run an upscale restaurant,  a bookstore café and a print shop, among other businesses. Here’s what’s amazing. While taxpayers are spending about $40,000 a year supporting a single prison inmate, Delancey is self-supporting on the profit it makes from its businesses. It has never taken money from the government.

Not every inmate makes it, but after staying at Delancey for four years, 60% of these former inmates go on to lead productive lives as law-abiding citizens. So in the justice system, we’re losing about two-thirds, Delancey’s ex-cons have about six out of ten turn out good. So really the $64,000 question is what are they doing? There are a lot of factors. The education piece, teaching skills, but here’s what was absolutely fascinating to me – all the inmates are put into a small group! Small groups made up of ten with their fellow inmates! It is not a hierarchical system, they are accountable to each other, and they also teach each other. They have this motto: Each one teach one. So if you can read on a 6th grade level, you’re probably going to teach someone who can read on a 4th grade level and learn from someone who can read on an 8th grade level. And the groups meet three times a week. It is actually based on minions. It’s a Jewish tradition that ten members of the congregation may join together and hold a prayer service without the leadership of a formally educated or ordained rabbi. That was the inspiration for it. So, they are in these small groups, they live together, they learn together, they work together and after studying Delancey, this is the conclusion that Alan Deutschman comes to – changing your own life often means changing your community.

Most of us think that we need to break old habits and create new habits, and that is certainly one way that we experience change. However, he says that really, if you look at it, you’re probably going to have to sever some old relationships and create some new relationships if you really want to experience lasting change in your life. You’ve got to surround yourself with the right people. So that’s what Delancey has done, created a new community. I think what I’m trying to get at is this – small groups are important. It doesn’t matter whether you are an inmate or a roommate or a mate, what matters is that you have got to be intentional about putting yourself in the right communities, having the right relationships.

A relationship with Christ is not a solo flight. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus surrounded Himself with 12 disciples? Doing life together, ministry together. That is why we put so much time and energy into this. For some of you, you are lonely, and it is so hard taking that first step. You might have to be proactive in finding a small group, and it might take a couple of weeks, but if you really can muster up the courage, I believe you will find some new relationships that will make a huge difference in your life. I pray that you would come out of that prison of loneliness and surround yourself. Yes, it takes a measure of courage to connect with others, but you need to surround yourself with a group of friends and it will help you grow spiritually.

 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV

From “Overcoming Loneliness, Negativity and Greed” by Pastor Mark Batterson

www.theaterchurch.com

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Articles

Extend Hospitality in Troubled Times

by Don McMinn
written by Don McMinn

In our first 20 years of marriage, my wife and I seldom welcomed guests. Our parents had not modeled this in our childhoods, and we didn’t realize how wonderful it is to offer hospitality to others. Now hardly a month goes by that we don’t fellowship regularly around our table with old and new friends. In these tough economic times, we find this relaxed but meaningful ministry can do much to ease the isolation and tension some of our friends are facing.

Even though all of God’s people should be hospitable, it is an especially important part of being a church leader. Caring for people by offering them fellowship and a meal is a meaningful part of ministry. Spontaneous or planned hospitality allows people to get to know each other on a deeper level so that we can pray for one another. With practice we can reach out in natural, unstructured ways so that our homes become frequent stops for friends and even strangers. (Heb. 13:2)

Offering hospitality has two main objectives. First, we can graciously provide for the physical needs of others – food and lodging. Second, we can provide an environment where relationships can be nurtured and developed. Whether we are on the giving or receiving end, hospitality is a blessing.

Unfortunately, we allow many excuses to interfere with this blessing. Here are some practical suggestions that have worked for our family.

 

  1. Don’t worry about the size or condition of the house. One family I know has a dollhouse size kitchen and eating area, but they entertain small groups frequently. The home is clean, the family is prepared and that’s all that matters.
  2. Plan ahead and give guests clear instructions and directions. Make sure people know the date and time well in advance, who else is invited, driving directions, if they are expected to bring anything, appropriate dress, the telephone number, the general plan for the evening and if children are included.
  3. Consider carefully the size of the group. Keep in mind that the ministry aspect of showing hospitality increases as the number of invited guests decreases. Small groups provide more intimacy; large groups provide opportunity for meeting more people. Both kinds of events qualify as hospitality, but consider the emotional/spiritual difference between them.
  4. Keep the meal simple. Do I hear an “amen” to that? Remember, the meal is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Physical nourishment is secondary to emotional and spiritual nourishment. When we have people for dinner, we usually serve a simple meal that includes a casserole, salad, bread and dessert.
  5. Make the evening a joint effort among family members so that one person is not unfairly burdened. Decide ahead of time who takes responsibility for cleaning, meal preparation, serving and cleanup.
  6. Greet people when they arrive. This pivotal moment conveys friendliness and puts guests at ease. Make sure they are introduced to others, offered refreshment, can locate the restroom and know the plan for the evening.
  7. During the meal, direct the topics of conversation. Without some direction, conversation can drift to trivial, meaningless, even questionable topics. The host can steer the conversation by initiating certain topics. We can ask people to share about themselves or their family, how they got involved in the church or where they call “home.” Avoid topics that could be uncomfortable for some guests. Asking everyone to share their testimony would be risky unless the host knows everyone would be comfortable with that. Likewise, asking everyone to share about a favorite vacation could leave out someone who is unemployed and can’t afford a vacation.
  8. Control most of the conversation. Don’t let some people dominate the conversation while others sit in silence. Try to vary the topics so more people have a chance to find a topic of interest. Imagine how a non-musician would feel if the entire evening is focused on classical music.
  9. After the meal, engage in additional “one anothers.” When we move to the den, we might share a short devotional and pray for one another, making sure ahead of time that no one feels obligated to pray aloud. During this time we may find opportunities to comfort someone who is hurting or encourage someone who is raising children.
  10. Provide closure to the evening. Let people know when it is okay to leave without disrupting the evening’s agenda. We can invite them to linger for fellowship, but some guests may have other obligations and are looking for the courteous moment to say good-bye.
  11. Personally affirm each person as he leaves. Make sure guests know how much their presence has meant.

 

Showing hospitality may also involve offering lodging. Whether for a night or an extended time, here are some house rules for making sure things run smoothly. Make sure husband and wife are unified in the offer of hospitality and that everyone else in the house knows who is coming and for how long. Clearly define how long the houseguest will stay and what meals and transportation will be provided. It is not fair to you or your guests to be unclear about these arrangements. Communicate house rules that will make you and your guests comfortable. For instance, no food in the living room, don’t let the cat out, breakfast on your own, what to do if the phone rings, etc.

Hospitality is a two-way street. Here are some hints for being on the receiving end.

 

  1. Graciously receive and quickly respond to an invitation.
  2. Offer to bring part of the meal.
  3. Be on time and park without blocking a driveway, etc.
  4. If appropriate, bring a simple gift.
  5. Respect the house rules.
  6. Respect the host’s leadership. Don’t hijack the conversation, turn on the TV or leave early without notifying the host.
  7. Don’t dominate the host’s attention.
  8. Leave at a decent time.
  9. Express gratitude verbally and follow up with a written note.

 

Too often we think fellowship involves excessive amounts of time and money. Perhaps our focus is on being impressive instead of on being hospitable. Generally, our guests remember how warmly they were treated long after the meal has been digested. 

 

Don McMinn, Ph.D. (with Kimberly Spring)
Executive Director of theiPlace.org
The 11th Commandment: More Insights into the One Anothers of Scripture

 

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Sermons

Choose to Believe

by Glenn Barteau
written by Glenn Barteau

Science itself points to a non-physical reality. Making something from something is talent. Making something from nothing is miraculous. God Himself broke into our natural world in the person of Jesus Christ. We must come to a place where we choose to believe in God even if there are things that are beyond our understanding. That is the essence of faith. 

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Ask Roger

Where Did Cain Get His Wife?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

If Adam and Eve had only boys, how did their children reproduce to create the world’s people? Incest?

Sincerely, Questioner in Casas’ “What’s Next Class”

Dear Q,

According to the Bible incest is as good a guess as any. Let’s look at several options. We shall begin with the Biblical Foundations.

According to Genesis 4:1-2 Cain and Able were born to Adam and Eve: “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.

Of course, we know that Cain murdered Able and was banished to distant lands according to Genesis 4:15-16: “Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Then, in Genesis 4:17 we discover that Cain had a wife: “ Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.

Finally, in Genesis 4:5:4-5 we find that the first human parents had other sons and daughters besides Cain and Able: “After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.”

So, where did Cain get his wife? Let’s consider three options.

First, Cain married one of his sisters. This was incest. Of course, it makes sense that the fallen, broken, human race begins populating itself by incest. No wonder there are so many mentally and physically challenged people in our world!

A second option is that when Cain went off to Nod he found a woman there and married her. Where did she come from? She was his distant cousin. You know the exponential potential of multiplying 2 X 4 X 16 X 32 X 62 X 128, etc. as each succeeding generation doubles, quadruples, and on and on. Not many generations are needed for the earth to be filled with people. With the length of time the early patriarchs lived (see “Ask Roger” regarding the long years in Genesis), it is easy to imagine a populated earth with multitudes already living in Nod not too many years after Adam and Eve began having babies.

Finally, some have proposed the “Spike” theory in response to the idea that human kind may have erupted on the scene in various locals at the same time—like in both the Rift Valley of Africa and in China. This idea postulated several Adams “spiked” by God into a variety of locations simultaneously and gives insight into where Cain may have found his wife. Unfortunately, this theory raises many more serious questions than the initial one of where did Cain get his wife in the first place, and by adopting this theory the literal interpretation of Scripture is called into question.

Well, Q, I hope my answer throws some light on the issue of Cain and his wife. Numbers one and two above seem plausible to me. Number three seems rather strange. Probably the real answer is behind Door Number Four which we will open on the other side of Heaven’s gates!

Love, Roger

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Articles

When the Bible Goes Missing

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

What happens to you when you read the scriptures or go through a Bible study? Many people take their time with the Word as a perfunctory ritual to assuage a guilty conscience. I am guilty of that sometimes. Other Christians avoid time in the Word, not wanting to be confronted with some transformational truth that will challenge their complacent lifestyle. I’ve done that more times than I want to admit.

 

One of the difficulties for many Christians when it comes to spending time in the Scriptures is not that they don’t understand what they are reading, or don’t want to learn, it’s that the Scriptures do more than unfold principles about Christian living. The Scriptures unavoidably and unmistakably point us, in all things, to the person of Jesus Christ.

 

In my own spiritual journey I’m beginning a recognize a new development. As I go into the Word or go through a study or book that emphasizes scripture strongly, I feel a compelling, absolute need to share it with others, write about it, teach it—specifically how it relates to the person of Jesus. I’ve felt such strong feelings before, but not approaching this level. Has that ever happened to you?

 

Recently I’ve visited several churches in the states. In one church in particular, I invited friends and we settled in for the service as the auditorium began filling up. We noticed how people entered the church with joy, even expectation. The worship was exuberant and thankful. When the pastor arose to speak I noticed he had his notes prepared and laid out before him. He spoke passionately and with conviction. He told Bible stories. I’d say that at least half of his message was stories from the Bible. It was impressive. I can’t think of a sermon I’ve ever heard in the States that had so many stories. But there was one thing missing.

 

The Bible.

 

Some pastors, even though they are quite familiar with the scriptures, do not bring the Bible to the pulpit. They tell stories from the Bible, but only abbreviated or summarized in their own words. Often pastors will not read from the Scripture, or have almost no referencing to the Scripture itself, and fail to lead the congregants through the text of the living Word of God. It has been heart-breaking to see this trend because listeners I have observed in many congregations furiously scribble notes, eager to learn from their shepherd. The hunger for spiritual truth in the room is often intense! Imagine the level of transformation that could come if the Bible didn’t go missing.

 

In thinking about these recent experiences I was reminded of a passage from the book, God is the Gospel, by John Piper. In it Piper asks:

 

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?”

 

He then provides what should be the answer for us:

 

“Christ did not die to forgive sinners who go on treasuring anything above seeing and savoring God. And people who would be happy in heaven if Christ were not there, will not be there. The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God. If we don’t want God above all things we have not been converted by the gospel.”

 

This is not to say that anyone who does not have Christ as his or her supreme affection, at this moment, will not go to heaven. Rather, the transformation wrought by the Gospel through our spiritual growth should have the affect of making Christ our supreme affection. And can we be on such a path if the Scriptures do not become to us as breath and blood?

 

Too often, way too often, the Bible has been missing from my life. I remember it, remind myself of its commands and stories and attempt to live by its precepts. But that’s not the same as giving myself over to the living word of God. Because when I open the pages and consume what is before me it is incredibly different than the occasional mental reminder. It is much deeper than that. It becomes absolutely compelling and the desire to let it transform me and come out of me becomes overwhelming.

 

James admonishes us in James 1:22, “Prove yourselves to be doers of the word.” That little Greek word for “doers,” is powerful. In virtually all other Greek literature of the period it was used to mean, “maker” or “producer,” as in someone who produces a stage play, or someone who creates something with inborn talent. Let that sink in. “Prove yourselves to be makers and producers of the Word.” That only happens when the Word of God populates our being so fully we cannot help but naturally and normally live lives with the intention of being the living, walking embodiment of what that word says.

 

For Christ to become our supreme affection we must have “Christ formed in [us]” (Galatians 4:19). That happens when we give God’s Word primacy in our lives, because, “The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

 

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Articles

Dalai Lama, Buddhism and Aloneness

by Tom Terry
written by Tom Terry

Last week, the Dalai Lama, Buddhism’s spiritual leader made this astounding quote,

“Too much attachment towards your children, towards your partner,” was “one
of the obstacles or hindrances to peace of mind.”

The whole idea of suffering, desire, and detachment in Buddhism has had an effect on Buddhist societies that most Buddhists themselves do not recognize. Buddhism not only fears suffering, but actually contributes to suffering. By emphasizing detachment and the elimination of desire, Buddhism puts an unnatural barrier on relationships that stifles the fullest possible expressions of mercy and sacrificial love. Certainly there is love in Buddhism, but not the kind of love that we see in the demonstration of Christ on the cross. That is Buddhism’s greatest tragedy. The fullest possible expression of love cannot be experienced without suffering and sacrifice. Buddhism fails to understand this, and thus is a system that has an outward expression of love that is void of a truly impassioned heart.

  • Buddhism has love without passion,
  • Islam has passion, but not love,
  • Christianity loves passionately.

Nothing expresses love in the way that Jesus’ sacrifice for us does. Buddhism and Islam deny this truth. Buddhists must work for their version of “salvation”—non-existence! Buddhism is a philosophy where the living hope for an eternal death. But Christianity presents the spiritually dead with the hope of a joy-filled, conscious eternity. There are no mediators in Buddhism or Islam to stand in for the sake of a person’s eternal destiny. But Christians have the joyful advantage of having salvation given to them freely by a God who took their punishment in their place.

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Ask Roger

Has God Called Me?

by Roger Barrier
written by Roger Barrier

Dear Roger,

Did you always know that God wanted you in the ministry? How did you balance the feelings of what you knew to be the desires of your heart, with God’s timing to fulfill that desire?

Sincerely, Mark S

Dear Mark S,

I became a Christian when I was seven. Several weeks later I was sitting in church when I felt God call me to be a pastor. In fact, it was almost like an audible voice behind my right ear: “When you grow up, I want you to be a preacher.” Growing up I always knew what I was going to do with my life. Airplanes have always fascinated me. Since Dad was an airline executive we flew all over the world in my younger years. I thrilled at the idea of flying airplanes when I grew up—yet, all the time I knew that God had made my future life’s work abundantly clear. As college approached I toyed with the idea of attending Northwestern University and becoming an aeronautical engineer. But, I knew that would never come to pass. I was going to preach. I wanted to play professional football; however, I knew that would never happen. God had laid out a different course for me—and I was excited about it! I preached my first sermon when I was thirteen. Throughout my life, I have preached 1800 sermons for over forty-five years. That is a lot of sermons and I have never regretted for a moment the call God put on my life! Preaching and pastoring is the delight of my heart!

I was fortunate, God laid His will for my life right before my eyes. My experience is that He doesn’t operate that way with most of us. The Lord has numerous methods He uses to direct our lives; one of the most delightful is the one I call, “ Delighting in the Lord.”

Now, let me address the second part of your question regarding Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” I believe God speaks in a variety of ways—but, my favorite is when He speaks by putting the right desires in my heart.

Delighting in the Lord has multiple aspects. For example, it connotes the idea of intimacy in the presence of God. This experience is exhilarating! However, it is not the only dimension of finding delight in our Lord!

We might define delighting in the Lord as obeying His will for our lives. He must get much pleasure from our obedience—and we will find much delight in aligning our lives with the desires of His heart.

The Bible reveals six things that are the will of God for us:

1. It is God’s will that we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord (2 peter 3:9).
2. It is God’s will that we keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:17-18).
3. It is God’s will that we be pure and holy—sanctified—set apart from what dirties up our lives (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).
4. It is God’s will that we submit to every authority—even when submitting brings pain or suffering (1 Peter 2:13-15).
5. It is God’s will that we suffer for doing something good—not something bad (1 Peter 3:17; 14:19).
6. It is God’s will that we be joyful, prayerful and thankful always (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

When we are delighting in the Lord He delights in us and the door is open for Him to load the right desires He longs for us to experience right into our hearts! When we consciously engage with these six things then we can do whatever we want—trusting that God has placed the right desires in our hearts according to Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

I believe that many misuse this verse by saying things like: “Just praise God and He’ll give you whatever you want?” NO! NO! The Hebrew construction reveals differently! It’s not that He gives us what we want; He gives us the correct wants. Then, we simply follow the leanings and longings of our hearts.
Well, MS, I hope my answer is helpful. The proper understanding of “delighting in the Lord” has brought me much delight since I sensed God’s call for me to preach when I was seven.

Love, Roger

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