The Will Of God

Have you ever been told you can't know the will of God? Or have you been counseled to run away from anyone who says he does know the will of God? In almost every case, those statements form the premise of an argument for rejecting some part of the Bible. They are a straw man argument in that they shift focus from the conclusion of the argument to supposed damning evidence in the premise. Think about it for a minute. If those statements are true, then they are denying that God's will can be known. If that's the case, then you might as well put up your Bible, for it would be a book of nice stories. If that's the case, then you might as well quit going to church to hear a sermon (at least a good, expository one) because the preacher can't possibly know that what he is preaching is true.

So...can one know the will of God? And can he do it without a doctorate from seminary? In a word...yes!!!

How? Simply by looking at the Scriptures and seeing what He is requiring of you. Love your neighbor as yourself...and you are doing the will of God. Love your enemy...and you are doing the will of God. Raise up your children in fear and admonition of the Lord...and you are doing the will of God. Take the Gospel to your neighbors...and you are doing the will of God. This is not hard. And anyone who is carefully expositing Scripture can discern the will of God. Of course, anyone who is claiming special revelation ("Last night God spoke to me...") commanding something...well...you better exercise some seriously critical discernment on that person. But if it is simply a matter of a person putting feet to the commands of Scripture...that is nothing more than pursuing the Lordship of Christ, and that certainly is the will of God!

Toward knowing His will more and more...

Individualism

America is known as being a land of "rugged individualists" who "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps." Movie heroes such as John Wayne epitomized the person who stood alone and took on their world.

But is that an accurate portrayal? Is individualism a good thing for our society? And even more importantly, is it a Biblical idea?

As for accuracy in portraying Americans as individualists, one would have to ask what time frame was being examined. When DeTocqueville came over from France to do his study of the United States in the early 1800's, he actually had to bring a word to describe "individualism," for it was starting to emerge here, but was so new we didn't have an accurate word to describe it in the English language. Prior to that time, people were typically known by their family. They were a part of a group larger than themselves, to which they owed allegiance and upon which their actions reflected. Individualism didn't really start taking hold until late in the 1800's.

But does it really matter? I would say it does. Individualism decreases some of the most important facets of societal life: the family and the community.

When families are collections of individuals without a familial identity and without a group allegiance, then they become entities that go in every which direction, burning their candles at both ends in attempts to please everyone and to give every child their launch to a successful "individual" life. As a Christian witness, they are ineffectual.

This problem with the family then spills over into the community at large. There is no commitment to the people of a community. There is no incentive to put up with someone's irritable personality for the sake of relationship...just move on! Everyone is doing their own thing. Woe be it to the community that suffers a catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina...or a terrorist attack. They no longer have the bedrock of relationship that would allow them to hold themselves together. Instead, they fall apart like so much dry clay...and then cry for the government to come in and pick up the pieces.

And it can also be argued that a lot of the issues in the culture war can be traced partially to a radical individualism that really came to fruition in the '50s. Judge Robert Bork wrote a compelling book in 1996 entitled, "Slouching Toward Gomorrah." His thesis was that the cultural problems of today could be traced back to two overarching cultural characteristics that came to a head in the 1950's: Radical Egalitarianism (the equality of outcomes rather than of opportunities) and Radical Individualism (the drastic reduction of limits to personal gratification). When you are part of any group (family, community, etc), limits to personal gratification come naturally because you have responsibilities to that group. If you want to be free from those limits, then you must break free from the group and do your own thing as an individual. I'll leave it to you to read the rest of the book...just know it's frightening reading.

What about the Bible? I can see it from a couple of perspectives. When it comes to salvation, the Bible is absolutely individualistic. Each person must come to a saving faith in Christ individually. No one is saved by virtue of membership in a group--racial, family, or otherwise.

But what about from a cultural perspective? I can't think of specific commands, but I can think of examples which would serve as a pattern. First is the culture of the original people of God: the Israelites and their Hebrew culture. That culture was based around family. Children were raised as part of that family, with the education usually coming from the family and culture handed down through the family. The second is the church as it was formed after Pentecost. Those people were from all walks of life. They needed each other. They had to minister to each other; monies were given to help those less fortunate. Paul reminds us using the illustration of the body, that all parts are required in order to function. That is the case with the church. We must help each other...and the only way to do that is to be in each other's lives. You can't do that as a bunch of individuals, even as a bunch of individuals who happen to meet together once a week as a small group.

We have to see ourselves first as members of our respective families with a single family direction. That family direction may make our family an "eye" or a "hand" or a "mouth" or a "foot." And then we must see our families as part of the larger group of the bride of Christ, preparing for the day of the wedding by adding our specialized direction to the church by actually being in each other's lives.

Neither of those will happen if we keep looking like a spiritualized version of the world. Being a family with a single direction that is then part of the church preparing for meeting our Bridegroom implies priorities that aren't currently at the forefront of most people's thinking. Both of those things imply a change of heart and an intentional change of direction from that of individuals to that of a Christian family...and a church.

And should both of those things come about...the pagans will see Christian love in action, for we will be known by our love for one another, which eventually spills out into the world. That's a far different witness than we now have...and what a spectacular witness that would be!

Praying for an end to individualism in the church....

(Note: I have added more thoughts as to how this plays out in the individual family over at my HomeDisciplingDad blog.)

Lordship and Salvation

One of the themes that seems to run throughout many of my posts on this blog is that of Jesus as Lord of a Christian's life. I recently was reminded of an article written by Dr. John Piper on the issue of "Christian Lordship," so I wandered over to Desiring God to reread it. The gist of the article (here's the direct link to the article, which will open in another page) is an answer to a friend's question about "two-step salvation." A very common testimony is that a person repents, prays for God to forgive them based on Jesus' atoning sacrifice...and then many years later they finally "make Jesus Lord of their life." John's letter is to dispel the idea that there was a time-gap in which a person was "saved" but in which Jesus was not yet "Lord." For those who have similar experiences, it is a good article to help you get a grasp on what has really happened in your life.

So how does that apply here on this blog? It applies because John also points out that Jesus MUST be Lord of a Christian's life, or that person is not saved. Period.

The sanctification process will bring a Christian closer and closer to obedience to that Lordship, so a mature Christian can look back and see a time when he didn't really behave as if Jesus was his Lord. Yet a person who has been a Christian absolutely must move in his life toward obedience to the Lordship of Christ, for obedience to the commands of God makes one more and more like Jesus, which is what sanctification is all about. Will we be perfect in this life? Of course not; to be so would be to be without sin. However, we will be moving in that direction, as obedience and Lordship are part and parcel of sanctification.

So the challenge to all Christians (but especially to those who have been professing believers for a while) is to ask yourselves if you are noting in the Scriptures the commands of God and are actively pursuing implementing them in your lives with the help of the Holy Spirit. If you aren't, then either your growth is stunted, or you need to seriously question your conversion.

Bottom line:
No Obedience=> No Lordship.
No Lordship=> No Sanctification.
No Sanctification=> No Salvation.
No Salvation=> A False Conversion!

Don't Worry About the Small Stuff?

In keeping with the line of thinking of Jesus being our Lord and with being serious about living our lives in a manner consistent with our faith and consistent with the commands of our Lord, I came across a really good article on "The Small Sins" written by Tim Challies (He often blogs really respected national conferences...and will be live-blogging Desiring God's conference at the end of September).

You can find the article here. I highly commend it to anyone reading my blog, for the small sins really DO lead to the large ones, and a person committed to holiness and sanctification cannot let this pass.

Is Idolatry REALLY That Serious?

In my earlier post on Ezekiel and idolatry, I mentioned that the first thought that came to mind when reading a particular verse was "Quit playing games!" Over and over again, God warns Israel to stop their idolatry and turn to Him alone. How serious is God about idolatry?

Look at Ezekiel 23 for the a clue to the answer. Samaria and Jerusalem are compared to women who are prostitutes. The language is graphically disgusting in its ugliness.

These women are said
..."to lust"
..."to be defiled by"
..."to flaunt her nakedness"
..."to long for the lewdness of your youth"
..."to commit adultery"
..."to be worn out by her adultery"
..."to whore after"
..."to whore after"
..."to whore after"
..."to whore after"

Going after idols is compared to the ugliest, most degrading action a woman can take: the intentional giving of her body to numerous men for money...with no regard to the holiness of the act. She is defiled. God says He "turned from her in disgust." Can you imagine? God turning away in disgust?! What does that say about the depths of depravity associated with the act?

This is idolatry. This is how seriously God takes it. How can we possibly gloss it over, ignoring the fact that God isn't reigning in our hearts and lives? Do we want God to turn away from us in disgust? That thought alone is terrifying!

Please...I plead with anyone reading this...implore God to search your heart and to reveal idolatry where He finds it. Then do as He instructed in Chapter 20...cast out the idol; stop defiling yourself. There is no doubt that it will be hard, for we love our idols; they are a part of us and a part of our lives. But the more we muse about what God is saying in Chapter 23 about the seriousness of idolatry, the easier it will be....

Toward more holiness and away from idolatry....

The Dominion Mandate

If we are to "stop playing games" as advocated in the previous post, one of the ways to do that would be to bring the Dominion Mandate to the forefront of our thinking.

In Genesis 1:28-29, God presents what is commonly referred to as "The Dominion Mandate," the command to take dominion over creation. This was an original command, presented in the Garden prior to the fall. It has never been revoked. Thus, it is still applicable for the Christian today and should guide his every thought.

"How is what I am doing today helping to take dominion over the earth and advance the Kingdom of God in my sphere of influence?"

How would a question like that affect our lives if asked and answered each and every day? How would it affect our spending patterns? How would it affect our prayer life? How would it affect our relations with our neighbors? How would it affect our recreational choices? How would it affect our choice of vocation? How would it affect our family relations? How would it affect the way we choose to raise our children? How would it affect...you fill in the blank!

When you consider the implications of our responsibility as Christians to take dominion and to work to spread the Kingdom, it should jar your thinking out of the rut that is our evangelical culture. What a massive vision! What an incredible responsibility! We have only been given so much time on this earth. Will we let another day pass without turning our hearts and our minds away from the trivial items which so often clog our lives to the big picture of what our Lord and God has commanded us to do? Will we let this command serve as a framework in which we organize our lives? Can you imagine what a different culture we would live in if all those who named the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior actually started living in such a manner that they took dominion and spread the Kingdom?

Hoping and praying for more Dominion-takers....

Quit Playing Games

As I am making my way through Ezekiel, I am struck by a couple of passages in Chapter 20. They can be found here and here.

Over and over and over again, God continually tells the Israelites through his prophets to quit worshipping idols, to tear them down. And over and over and over again, the Israelites turn back to worshipping the idols of wood and stone.

In verse seven, God is telling them to cast away their idols and to not defile themselves with them. Why? Because He is the Lord their God! That means he has every right to command them to cast away those idols, and they have the responsibility to do so because they know He is their God.

In verse 39, it appears God is through playing games. If the Israelites will not listen to Him, then he consigns them to serving their own idols forever. But He will no longer tolerate the double-mindedness of their attempts to be His people and yet worship and serve idols.

Let us never forget that Israel is a "lesson book for the nations"...and for all of us who claim the name of Jesus Christ. Their lives, as well as what God's direction for them and response to them applies right here and right now for each of us.

So what is my idol(s)? What is yours? I seriously doubt many of us bow down to a carved image of stone and wood. But what are we serving? In America, I can almost guarantee each of us struggles with serving money and materialism. We succomb to the marketing strategies of the advertisers that convince us that we are discontented with what we have. What are we serving? An idol doesn't have to be material; it can be anything that sits in the throne of our heart, the throne that is rightfully God's. When we allow that, and yet claim to be Christians, we are being double-minded. Scripture says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).

So what is the solution? Start with, "Quit playing games!" That is the first thought that came to mind when I read verse 39. God is tired of it. If we are listening to God, then turn away from the idols. Who exactly IS your God? The triune God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Or something else? Ask God to show you what is uppermost in your heart...that's what I did this morning, and it will be a continual request until I can say with confidence that the Lord alone occupies the uppermost of my affections. And as God allows you to discern your idols, do what He says in verse 7: Cast out your idols and quit defiling yourself. Idols may look nice, and we may even have them packaged in nice spiritual language...but they defile us in the eyes of God. It's going to be very difficult to continually be defiled by our idols and yet move toward our wedding day when we will be the spotless bride of Christ. We must take action. We must cast them out. We must make the conscious, active decision to live as one for whom Christ died.

May God grant each of us the wisdom and insight to identify our idols...and to quit playing games with them, turning wholly to God with ALL our heart!

Vacation and Brain Freeze

Well...
Go on vacation...
Have a great time...
Don't post for a while...

And watch your brain freeze up for topics!

"Stepping" Out in Faith

How many times have you asked God to "sanctify you," or to "change you?" And then you sit back and wait for the heavenly "zap"... and when it doesn't come, it's easy to assume God doesn't want you to change.

Sanctification is absolutely required for salvation. We must be becoming more and more like Jesus every day. Yes, we will still sin...but the overall trajectory is upward toward Christ-likeness. But the thing that most Christians don't realize is that sanctification requires action. It is not a heavenly "zap," but rather an action taken by us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, according to the guidance of Scripture.

A perfect example of the result following action/obedience is that of the Israelites crossing the Jordan. Joshua 3:13 (NASB) says, "And it shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above shall stand in one heap."

Note the priests weren't to stand on the side of the Jordan, waiting for God to stop the waters. They were to step out in faith...taking the step into the water, knowing God will do what he says in His Word. In this case, He had promised to stop the waters. In your case, what might it be? Bring peace to a relationship? Or deal with a besetting sin? Or draw closer to the Lord? Or disciple your children? Or, Or, Or.... If it involves sanctification (changing you into Christ-likeness) or obedience to God's commands, then you will have Scriptural guidance for how you are to act or what you are to do. You MUST step out in faith, doing that which Scripture commands, and then watch the Holy Spirit move to confirm your action!

No Matter What...

I was reading through Jeremiah today in an effort to "catch up" my OT with the rest of my read-through-the-Bible bookmarks when I came across a short section that really piqued my interest. It's the story in Jeremiah 42 of the remnant left after the exile of Judah to Babylon. You can get Jeremiah 42 in another window by clicking here.

The background to the event is that all of Jeremiah's prophecies concerning Judah have come to pass with the Babylonians taking virtually all of Judah into captivity, along with their king. A remnant of the very poor was left under the rule of a Babylonian governor. Jeremiah prophesies that a specific person is going to murder the governor. The governor doesn't believe him...and is murdered. The murderer takes the remnant captive...but they are freed by the actions of Johanan and return to Jerusalem. Chapter 42 opens with all of them approaching Jeremiah, asking him to intercede for them and asking him to find out what God wants them to do. In verse 6, they promise to obey the Lord, no matter what. So far, so good.

Jeremiah comes back and announces that God wants them to stay in Jerusalem and not go to Egypt out of fear of the Babylonians. He announces that God will destroy them if they should do so.

And he announces that God already knows they are going to disobey.... It was ten days from their original request to God's answer, and they had already decided on a course of action.

And of course, chapter 43 and 44 chronicle that journey and their destruction.

So what do we learn?

When we are in a tight spot, we often turn to God for help. We intend to listen and obey, since we believe He will help us out of that tight spot. However, we also have our own plan on the side...just in case...just in case we don't like the answer or don't like God's timing. Then, assuming we have actually gone to the Scriptures to ascertain God's position on our plight, we decide we really don't like God's way of doing things. It doesn't sound logical; it requires faith and trust. It isn't like what our "Christian" friends and neighbors counsel.

So what do we do? All too often, I'm afraid that answer is that we follow our own plans, ignoring God's. Is the result destruction like the remnant of Judah? Not usually. But the result is that we miss out on God's blessing, on the joy of seeing our faith worked out, on the witness to our trust in our Lord and Savior. And in essence, we have sinned using the original sin from the garden: wanting to do things our way.

God's way will often be a direction that doesn't look normal, that appears to leave us open to further harm. That was certainly the case for the remnant...they were defenseless against the Babylonians who may or may not believe they were responsible for the death of the governor! Yet, had they chosen God's way, He would have protected them. Good grief! They had just seen that Jeremiah's prophecies were accurate...yet they had already cooked up an alternate plan as they waited for God to speak through him.

So...how about you (and me)? What will we do? Follow God's ways through a careful study of His Word (commandments, patterns, precepts) or will we follow the oldest sin from the garden...and do things our own way?

No Spiritual Switzerland

Doug Wilson has a great essay (rather lengthy) from which I drew this section. I commend the entire essay to you to read (here's the direct link), but just this short section applies to the overall mission of my blog, to be serious about our faith. As you read through the latter parts of this quote, ask how the information applies first to the Evangelical Culture in which we partake, and then to yourself personally. The answer is convicting to me, that's for sure! The next question, though, is what to do about that conviction. Part of the EC is to acknowledge a convicting sermon, and even feel bad for a while...but then shrug it off and not actually change.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house. He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad (Matt. 12:25-30).

Jesus is speaking in the first place about the kingdoms of God and Satan respectively. He had been accused of fighting Satan even though His accusers said He was on Satan’s side. Jesus responds by saying that a house divided cannot stand, and so Satan would not be so foolish (vv.25-26). Jesus goes on to say if His power over Beelzebub was a demonic power, then what power was being used by His adversaries’ children (v. 27)? But if Jesus is empowered by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God really had come to them (v. 28). And, continuing the argument, if the kingdom of God has come, why should anyone be surprised that the strong man’s house was being pillaged? The strong man was bound, wasn’t he? And then Jesus says what we all need to hear—one who is not with Christ is against Christ. One who does not gather with Christ is attempting to scatter (v. 30).

The claims of Christ are therefore total. There is no way to read through the New Testament and miss this. The claims of Christ are total. He is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and over any creature that can be named. Christ is King. Jesus is Lord. This is the basic Christian confession (Rom. 10:9-10). And here, if you are not with Him, you are therefore against Him. There is no spiritual equivalent of Switzerland. In the cosmic war between in light and darkness, there are no neutral parties, and there is no third way. There are only two activities in every realm of human existence, and those two activities are obedient gathering and disobedient scattering. Only two.

Obviously, for modern and momentary man, these total claims on the part of Christ just won’t do. We need to have our personal space. We need to protect our favorite forms of autonomy. But at the same time, those of us who are religious, particularly in the Christian Lite Community of Faith, need to give some sort of lip service to the language of totality that comes up so often in Scripture. We should want to bring every thought captive, the apostle Paul says (2 Cor. 10: 5). Obviously, we have to figure out a way to use this kind of total language while ensuring that it remains partial in effect. God calls this sort of thing by the name of hypocrisy.

But we have developed various intellectual tricks for doing this, and we may describe these tricks as forms of American individualism, gnosticism, constitutionalism, or rationalism. A man can pick one of the following, or mix up his own combinations. Disobedience is protean and can take many forms.

Individualism: in this view, Jesus is Lord of my heart, and not that which is outside the realm of my heart. This is not thought of as partialism because the heart is what counts, right? But Jesus is Lord of your toes as well as your heart, and your world as well as your heart.

Gnosticism: in this perspective, Jesus is Lord of all spiritual things, not thought of as the Lord over foreign policy, sewage disposal, botany, law, and weed control. But Jesus is Lord of both heaven and earth, and every manifestation of culture.

Constitutionalism: this excuse points to the non-establishment clause of the First Amendment, misunderstanding that amendment in a grotesque fashion. But even if the amendment said what its distorters claim, that just makes it laughable instead of being bad constitutional interpretation. Regardless of what we, Congress, or the Supreme Court may think about it, Jesus is still the King of the United States.

Rationalism: this is the approach that appeals to natural law, but to a natural law that is sure to exclude the revelation of God in Christ. But natural law is fulfilled in Christ.

These evasions will not work. All culture is religious, and the only question to consider is whether it is faithfully religious or idolatrously religious. It has been said that all culture is religion externalized, but even this helpful insight can be interpreted in too weak a fashion. All culture is religion. Turning Henry Van Til’s insight around, we should say that all religion is culture internalized. So the question is not whether our culture has a god, but rather which god it has. The question is not whether we will impose morality, but rather which morality it will be. The question is not whether we will restrict blasphemy, but rather which blasphemy. And it is not whether we will embrace sexual politics, but rather which sexual politics it will be.

Apollumi...The "Ignored" Doctrine

At my other blog, I wrote a series on issues with raising children, culminating with a post concerning the drastic number of children from evangelical homes who turn from their faith once free from their home and the influence of their parents. That got me to wondering why Christian parents don't take more serious and more drastic steps to disciple their children, given the enormity of the problem and the implications of anyone (but especially one's own child) rejecting the Savior.

As I pondered, it came down to one major point: we don't really believe in the reality of hell. Sure, we give it lip-service...but when was the last time you pondered what it would really be like? (I'm writing to myself here as well!) When was the last time you heard a sermon on the subject? (Here's one by Dr. John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis.) It's been said that Jesus spoke more of hell than he did of heaven! At the 1990 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors, Dr. Sinclair Ferguson preached a message on the realities and justification of the doctrine of eternal punishment and hell. It was one of the finest sermons on the topic I've encountered (unfortunately I can't find it at the Desiring God website.)

So I thought this would be the appropriate blog to bring the topic of eternal judgment and hell to the forefront.

In Romans 1, Paul says he is under obligation both to the Greek and to the barbarian. This obligation is for the Gospel. It can easily be considered that we, too, are under that same obligation. If we really believed in the eternal conscious torment that is hell, then I truly believe we would structure our lives differently, for who would want anyone to end up there, especially those we love and care about? We would own up to our obligation and wouldn't be so casual and fearful about witnessing. We wouldn't be so casual about discipling our children. We wouldn't be so casual about our own faith!

An understanding of the reality of eternal conscious punishment at the hands of an infinitely holy and powerful God would take captive our every thought with concern for the lost. Is it not love for the lost that would bring about that concern? Would we not be fulfilling the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbors as ourselves, by seeking their salvation?

Give consideration to John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Note particularly the word "perish." In our language, "perish" often brings with it the imagery of annihilation. For example, when I squash the mosquito on my arm in the Minnesota summer, it "perishes"...it "ceases to exist." However the Greek word translated "perish" doesn't translate that easily into English. "Apollumi" literally means both "to destroy" and "to perish" but it carries with it a more complex understanding. Vines Expository Dictionary (pp 164) says this "...idea is not extinction but ruin; loss, not of being, but of well-being."

Think about the implications of ruin and loss of well-being for eternity. Think about an eternal, unquenchable fire in which you are burning but not being destroyed. Think about a devouring worm eating you, yet not consuming you. Think about existing in this pain and suffering in the midst of complete and total darkness. And then think about the absolute lack of hope amidst this suffering...it will never end!! A person can endure tremendous suffering when there is a glimmer of hope. This was illustrated by the years and years of torture endured by our POWs in Vietnam, and is currently being shown by the suffering of millions of persecuted Christians around the world. But take away hope...and I can't even find words to describe the utter despair that would ensue. And this would be for eternity...forever...infinitely. Maybe this is part of the reason the Bible describes it as a place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth." What else could one so condemned do?

At least in this posting, I am not going to argue the case for the justness of hell. My only interest here is to try to encourage both myself and others to consider its reality and then act accordingly. Reread the first portion of the previous paragraph inserting the words "my child" in place of "you." That brings a whole new gravity to the doctrine of hell, doesn't it?

Andre Seu once wrote an essay in "World Magazine" where she mentioned the preoccupation of some with the "rapture." Her point was that a silent "rapture" is happening each and every day, with untold thousands of people departing this world for eternity.

And in eternity, there are only two options: heaven because you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb...or eternal conscious punishment in the outer darkness of hell because you aren't. Do we love enough to do what is necessary to bring the Good News to our family and friends? And I mean doing it personally...not just in round-about ways or by bringing them to church in hopes that the pastor will do it. I mean living the Gospel in love and service to our neighbor. I mean actually regularly discipling our children. I mean going against both the worldly culture and the evangelical culture by being radically committed to showing the love of God in Christ to a lost and perishing world. So, I ask again, "Do we love enough...?"

Sadly, I think the answer is often, "no." Let us pray for God to change our hearts and give us the courage to do otherwise....

A Serious Conference

If you aren't familiar with Desiring God Ministries and the preaching/teaching of Dr. John Piper, now is an excellent time to change that. Desiring God Ministries is putting on its annual National Conference from September 29 through October 1 of this year in Minneapolis, MN. The topic is "Above All Earthly Powers: The Supremacy of God in a Postmodern World."

Here is a link to my other blog where I have linked to the conference information.

Our Savior and ...What???

How easily the words come out of the evangelical Christian's mouth once he has mastered the vocabulary of the modern Christian.

My "Savior and Lord."

They just roll off of the lips without another thought. And if asked, the response would be, "Well of course Jesus is my Savior and Lord!"

The problem is that the focus is mostly on the word "Savior." Is He a Christian's Savior? Of course. But He is also a Christian's Lord.

Lord. That word is devoid of most meaning within our modern American society. We don't have a societal concept for who or what a "lord" is. Sure, we may have read about it somewhere in one of our history classes when discussing the mediaeval times, but that's about as far as it gets.

However, the Bible does give us a little more indication. Jesus says in John 8:34 that whoever commits a sin is a slave to sin. I would venture that since we all sin, we are all slaves to sin. Now that is something we in America can relate to: slavery. To be a slave is to be under the complete control of another, to include your life, your well-being, the profits from your labor...in short, every facet of your earthly life. Prior to our conversion, we are slaves to sin. That would imply that sin completely controls us...our life, our well-being, our labor...everything. It may not have felt like it, but a Christian can look back from this side of redemption and see it.

The Bible also tells us we who are redeemed were "bought with a price." That price is the blood of Jesus Christ in His death...a very steep price, indeed. If we were bought, then it could be rightly understood that we as slaves to sin have been sold to another, to Jesus Christ Himself. We now belong to Him. We are not our own! Whereas we were once slaves of sin and unrighteousness, we are now slaves of Christ and His righteousness. He is our owner, our LORD! It is to Him that we now owe our life, our well-being, the profits from our labor...every facet of our lives!

In the days of slavery, a slave was obligated to do what his master commanded, to do the will of his master. There is no difference in that respect here. We are obligated to do that which our Master commands. Where do we find out what that is? Why, the Bible, of course. Over and over we are commanded to do certain things, to behave in certain ways, to respond in righteousness, and to believe certain things. We don't have the ability to pick and choose. We are to become like Christ, and to become like Christ means to live like He commands. It requires action and effort on our part, as well as the help of the Holy Spirit. But we must do it. After all, we acknowledge that He is our LORD.

Here are a couple of straight-forward examples from Ephesians 5 and 6.

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Who is responsible for discipling the children? The fathers. We don't have a choice in this. If our methodology of discipleship provokes them to anger, is that OK? Obviously not.

"let each individual among you also love his own wife even as himself;" Do you have a choice about loving your wife? No. What if she isn't acting in a way that deserves your love? No. You don't have a choice. If Jesus is your Lord, He commands you to love her anyway and you are responsible to act on that command.

"and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband." But she thinks he's a cad and an oaf and doesn't deserve her respect. She considers most of what he does and many of his ideas wrong-headed. Does she have a choice to not respect her husband? No. If Jesus is her Lord, He commands her to respect him regardless of his actions and she is responsible to act on that command.

This could go on and on. But as you read your Bible, start to take note of the times when we as Christians are given commandments to be, to act, or to do something in a particular way. And then consider how to actually OBEY that command in your life. Does it matter if that is the way our society does something? Does it matter if that is the way everyone else in evangelical culture does it? No. If the Holy Spirit illuminates a commandment in the Bible for you, then your LORD says to obey it, even if it means being radically different from everyone else, for that is how you become more like Christ.

Only then will you truly be able to say that Jesus is your "Savior and Lord." And then you will be showing Christ to your circle of influence by the way you are living your life.

Wisdom and the Doctrine of Self-Sufficiency

Musings on Job 28 and Isaiah 40

I am reading through the Bible using the technique advocated by my church and published by Discipleship Journal. We have a series of four bookmarks that have different parts of the Bible marked off for 25 days of each month (gives you some days to miss without getting horribly behind). Even so, I am behind/off schedule. But in God's timing He put Job 28 and Isaiah 40 together in one day's reading. Both together hit me like a ton of bricks. You can click on the links below and get the text of each in the English Standard Version (each will open in a new window so you can refer back as you like).

Job 28 (ESV)

Isaiah 40 (ESV)

In Job 28, God describes several capabilities of man regarding the dominion of the earth: mining of ore and jewels, smelting, agriculture, control of waters through dams, creation of light to dispel the darkness. In spite of all this, man cannot find wisdom. Why? Because it cannot be found in the land of the living...and even worse, man does not know its worth!! Let's face it...when man does not value something, he doesn't spend much time pursuing it. Since man doesn't know the worth of wisdom, he won't pursue it...and if he won't pursue it, he certainly won't find it!

And yet, wisdom is worth far more than all the things for which man continually strives: more than gold, silver, or jewels in any amount. What fools are we for not striving for wisdom?

So where is it? From where does it come? Job says it is hidden from all and only God understands the way to it and its place.

And yet, God does reveal that deeply held secret to us in verse 28: "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding."

Wow! That's it? That's all there is to wisdom, wisdom that is so incredibly important and worth so much as to be incomprehensible? Just fear the Lord? And it's counterpart, understanding, is to turn away from evil? Seems easy enough...

But...what does fearing the Lord entail? What does it mean to turn from evil? Oh, how deep those thoughts can be. In fact, I cannot begin to do them justice other than to say that fearing the Lord means to tremble before His might and His grace, to worship and obey, to contemplate His holiness compared to our sinfulness, to love and adore His Son. (Sidenote: Here is a link to a rather lengthy article on the fear of the Lord by John Bunyon, author of A Pilgrim's Progress, the second-most widely read book behind the Bible.) And it would seem that turning from evil would be a natural outgrowth of fearing the Lord. If one fears the Lord, then one would not want to turn TO evil, but would want to do that which pleases the Lord...turn FROM evil. When our eyes are on Him, our mind is in the Scriptures, and wisdom flows to us along with understanding. I think the Lord would be pleased, for someone with even a smidgen of His wisdom can do mighty works in His name.

So what about the Doctrine of Self-Sufficiency? How does that relate? A wonderful sermon by Bruce Ware, professor at Southern Seminary, on exactly what the Doctrine of Self-Sufficiency is can be found at Bethlehem Baptist's website. Click on the box on the right-hand side referencing "Toward the Fullness of God" sermons.

Why would that relate to this text on wisdom? I think it is primarily because the verses preceding God's revelation that wisdom is the fear of the Lord describe a portion of His self-sufficiency by discussing his power. Earlier in the verses, we are told of man's achievements and capabilities. Yet in verses 24-26, God is shown as one who is so far above man that He is incomprehensible. He even makes a way for the rain and for the lightning! The next time you see the lightning in a thunderstorm, consider that last statement. He obviously is not in need of us.

So shift to Isaiah 40, starting at verse 12. Read verses 12 through 28 nonstop. Then do it again. The impact of those statements when considered as a whole is huge! Who is this God who calls us to fear Him? According to these statements, He is one wholly and completely worthy of the fear and worship He commands. There are no other beings who can begin to do that which these verses describe.

And yet, "Do you not know? Have you not heard?" is repeated over and over. Just how dense are we? Do we not know? Have we not heard? The Lord, our God, is the Holy One, the Creator, the master of all things, completely self-sufficient, completely perfect, completely holy! How dense are we? Why do we continue to go our own way? Why does pride continually get the best of us?

Do I not know? Have I not heard? To use today's vernacular: "Well, duh!" Of course I know. Of course I've heard. And yet...I so often continue to go my own way. My own way is the way of death. My own way is the way of man's knowledge, not the way of wisdom. Knowing and hearing are not sufficient. Fear of the Lord is a more visceral condition, a condition of the heart, not just the brain. God's Word must penetrate my heart such that the knowledge gained from that Word results in fear of the Lord. Fear of the Lord causes a change, causes one to desire the way of the Lord, the commands of the Lord, the joy of the Lord. That fear makes one not want to be anywhere but in the bosom of our Lord and Savior. There is no better, no safer, no more profitable place to be!

When one is in the bosom of our Lord, one is waiting on the Lord, content in His way, content in His time. And what happens when we wait on the Lord? Finish Isaiah 40...we will renew our strength! We will run and not be weary! We will walk and not faint! In other words, we will be mighty for the Lord, doing massive damage to the kingdom of this world in the name of our Savior.

That sort of work/ministry requires strength. That sort of work/ministry requires wisdom. The root of both strength and wisdom is Fear of the Lord.

May He grant each of us the gift of fear....

Busy, Busy, Busy...

In this day and age, it seems we are busier and busier each and every year. Many times it involves activities with the children/teens: piano lessons, violin, dance, ski team, track meets, swim meets, practices, recitals, and on and on and on. The more children, the more activities. Then add church activities into the mix. Every one of them sounds so good; every one of them when viewed solely in the context of the event itself probably is good! But you add all this up and you end up with a daytimer that has no room left on which to write (or I suppose a PDA that has used up all its memory!).

So what's the problem? The problem is that we are focused on so many activities that we have lost sight of what is truly important.

God asks that we "be still and know that I am God." When can we do that? Pencil in 5-10 minutes between the morning workout and the morning shower? How is one supposed to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength if there is little or no time for Him?

A second issue is that the second most important commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, cannot be accomplished in-between events. How are we ever to serve our neighbor (the acting out of the love we profess) if we don't even have time to know our neighbor? How are we to help a neighbor when we have a ballgame to attend? What exactly is our witness when we are run ragged by our schedule and have no time for the relationships that matter?

So should we withdraw our children from all activities and sit around the house waiting for that special moment to arrive where we can help or serve our neighbor? Of course not. But we absolutely should prioritize our activities. If we don't have time to even know our neighbors, then we need to back off something so we can get to know them. Once we know them, we need to have a priority within our home to watch for needs...and when we see them, we as a family should be ready to help meet those needs, even if it means canceling one of our activities! A family that ministers together not only grows together, but makes a huge statement about the Gospel without ever saying a word!

Could we seriously consider Jesus' commandment to love our neighbor? Could we actually reprioritize our life to get to know them and to serve them? Could we do that as a family?

And could we watch God bless our neighbors...and maybe bring revival to our neighborhood?!!! Now, THAT would be more exciting than any activity we could imagine!!

Decision-Making: Culture or Scripture?

Every day we are faced with decisions...some trivial, some large, and occasionally some that are huge. In the long term, we are faced with the bigger decision of how to organize our individual lives. In what direction should we as individuals and as families go?

Often the answer to the above questions is a non-answer: we simply do that which we are used to doing because that is what our friends and our culture expect and do. Those of us who identify ourselves as "Evangelicals" often do not even realize there is an "Evangelical Culture" in which we swim. As in a previous post...we don't know we are "wet." Unfortunately this culture has its own set of problems.

First and foremost, it seems that the Evangelical Culture (EC, for short) is very, very similar to the overall secular culture. In general, we raise our children in a similar manner. We have the same overall goals for raising our children and for our later years in life. We are generally nice people. We are so focused on our children that we risk making idols of them (and then we wonder why they are so self-centered when they enter the teen years!). (See the series on Children or Idols on my Home Discipling Dad blog.)

So what's different about us? For one thing, we add to our schedule all the church activities, from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings to every extra good thing the church offers. The other thing we do differently is that we practice an "avoidance ethic." I heard Dr. John Piper in a sermon on http://www.DesiringGodRadio.org discussing how James and Paul can be reconciled. In this sermon he discussed the concept that our salvation is by faith, but that faith must work itself out it good works. He said that as evangelicals, we tend instead to "practice an avoidance ethic" and call it "good works" or sanctification. An avoidance ethic is nothing more than a series of rules, written or not, that we use to determine what to avoid in pagan culture. That is absolutely not sanctification, and it certainly is not good works.

As a pagan outsider (who may be a very nice person himself) looks at us, I have a hard time imagining why he would want what we have. He doesn't see anything terribly distinctive. He sees nice people living their lives in a busy fashion similar to himself, and then adding on church activities and practicing an avoidance ethic, causing them to be even more harried. What would be attractive about that? What would be distinctive?

The EC has failed us. We are not becoming more like Christ by participating in it. We must turn from determining our direction in life through our friends and our culture and instead look at Scripture. If we are truly becoming more like Christ by changing our lives to mirror His commands and by developing the wisdom that comes from a life immersed in Scripture, then we will definitely be distinctive. We will be different. We will be filled with joy. We will be able to handle the hard times when they come.

We must quit trying to bend Scripture to fit our culture and our ideas, and instead transform our thinking and our lives to fit Scripture. The EC will call that "legalism," especially when it involves actually obeying the commands of Scripture. What those who use that argument don't understand is that legalism is working to merit salvation. Obedience to the commands of Scripture after one is saved by faith isn't meriting salvation, but rather it is becoming like Christ. That isn't legalism.

We simply must transform our thinking through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12). We have to be willing to take the hard look inward, and then change accordingly. Will we look different? Absolutely. Will the EC try to pull us back? Absolutely. I heard a variation on the "boiling a frog to death" story that relates here.

A group of frogs were in a pot of water. The temperature of the water was slowly being raised. The frogs didn't realize it and sat comfortably in the water, even though it would soon reach a temperature that would kill them. But one frog noticed and started attempting to jump out. The other frogs were quite disturbed and tried to hold him back, both physically and through chiding and derisive statements. They didn't want their little world disturbed by a frog trying to leave it and be different. His being different called attention to the fact that they were doing nothing. Those are the members of the EC who don't want us actually looking to Scripture to organize our lives. It calls their lives into stark relief against what Scripture actually says. There will be numerous attempts of all types by many people, all trying to pull the "errant" believer who actually wants to follow Scripture back in line.

So...will we jump out anyway? Or will we stay and boil?

Two "Serious" Questions

I love the ministry of Doug Phillips and Vision Forum (www.visionforum.com and www.visionforum.org). Repeatedly he asks two questions that relate to the question of "Serious Faith."

1. "Does a fish know he's wet?"

If a fish could communicate, would he have a clue about the concept of "dry?" Obviously the answer is, "no." The fish is completely immersed in its environment and doesn't recognize that there is another out there that is completely opposite to its own. This is an extremely important concept when it comes to us and our culture. We are thoroughly immersed in our culture and thus have a very difficult time understanding that God calls us to be different in a manner that is very, very foreign to us. We don't comprehend "dry" in our natural state. We find out about "dry" by studying our Bibles and then actually putting into practice what God says. We must come out of the culture. We must be different. It is that very difference that shows the Gospel.

2. "If you were plopped down on a deserted island with no cultural baggage and only the Bible, how would you organize, orient, and live your life?"

This is a challenge that assumes the Bible actually does have everything necessary to live a life the way God wants it lived. Would the life that you set up on that island look different than then one you are living now? If so, then the one you are living now has some serious problems.

So, introspection is necessary. We must find out about "dry." We must consider our lives in light of the truth of God's word. We must be willing to change as necessary, regardless of what the culture has to say. That is sanctification and that is the path that leads to salvation.

To God be the glory!

A Dog's Life

I don't usually watch much TV, but I happened to click through (yeah...a guy thing!) and catch a portion of "The Glenn Beck Show" on CNN. He was doing a short piece on the latest and greatest for man's best friend. All I could do was shake my head in wonder at the lengths to which people will go to supposedly find contentment. The latest appears to be to buy expensive little pure-breds and the dress them up in the finest clothing available, give them spa treatments, and basically treat them like little people! This segment introduced us to two stores in New York...one a basic Ralph Lauren shop that had a whole section devoted to clothing for your dog! How about an alligator leash for a mere $500? A little poochie shirt with Ralph's logo on the collar for only $45? The other had whole lines of clothing, but specialized in "Day Care" to include hot oil massage in their spa!

My family owns a dog, and he spends his share of the takehome dollar, but not in the attempt to treat him like a person!

OK...I shouldn't be surprised at the length people will go to make themselves feel good. A small dog always loves you, and he never talks back (well...ours is a large dog, and he DOES talk back!). So what's wrong with spending big $$ to make little Fifi spiffy?

I can see the argument now...but you spend money on things that aren't absolutely necessary as well, don't you? I suppose I do. But at least I'm aware of it, and understand that the money has been provided by God, and I AM accountable for what I have done with it. And hopefully in that portion of the sanctification process, I am becoming more mature and seeing money as a tool to be used to God's glory.

Maybe I am blind, but I just can't see how God is glorified with designer clothing for a dog....

Augustine's Wisdom

As I was perusing the posts over at Together for the Gospel (see my links on the left), I came across a wonderful quote by Augustine as posted by Ligon Duncan. It pretty much sums it all up!

"If you believe what you like in the gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself." (Augustine)

Really? Seriously?

Are you serious? About what? About your faith, that's what! Many people are now of the belief that "Evangelical" can no longer be defined, and what amounts to American Evangelical Culture is woefully shallow and weak. Any honest evaluation of most people who call themselves "Evangelicals" would note that most look an awful lot like the culture around them, except that they've "spiritualized" it by adding church and all its attendant activities to an already harried lifestyle. On top of that, they have added the great, honored American tradition of the rugged individual to the mix..."my faith is mine and no one else has a right to critique it."

So why is it that the churches that are growing are doing so with mass marketing techniques? Why is it that these churches have very few "deep" Christians? Why is it that most Christians within these churches cannot argue the case for good doctrine? Why is it that so many Christians determine their direction based upon "feeling?"

I think the bottom line is that we have lost any and all respect for the doctrine of Sola Scriptura. God makes it clear through Paul in his letter to Timothy that all Scripture is profitable for all aspects of life. Sometimes determining how it applies to a given situation requires some study and work, but there is nothing under the sun that cannot be put in subjection to what God has told us in His Word.

The subset of Sola Scriptura is actual obedience to what the Word tells us. Jesus Himself tells us in the Gospels that obedience is tied to evidence that a believer loves Him. Paul writes in Romans that his goal is the "obedience of the Gentiles." James and John both dwell considerably on the topic of obedience. This is the doctrine of "Lordship." How often we use the title, "Lord," without actually comprehending what that implies. If Jesus is truly our Lord as well as our Savior, then we owe him the allegiance and obedience that a slave owes his master. Granted, Jesus loves us, and therefore serving Him should be a joy. But He is a master nevertheless. Our lives are not our own. We must set ourselves on the path to discerning what God has to say through Scripture and then actually doing it! It is through obedience that we show our love for our God. It is through obedience that we will be very different from our pagan neighbors. It is through obedience that we will show them the Gospel, rather than just telling them about it. It is through obedience that the love of God will shine through us to our family, our friends, our neighbors, and our world.

Does this obedience save? No. We are saved by grace, through faith. But Scripture also says that sanctification is required for salvation. And sanctification involves obeying the commands of Scripture in the power of the Holy Spirit so as to become more and more like Jesus.

So...are you serious? Are you ready to be different that then average evangelical Christian? Are you ready to see God's power in your life? Then do His will...which means living your life according to the commands, precepts, principles, and patterns of His inspired Word. We spend so much time trying to discern God's will for our lives or for a particular situation, and then often rely on feelings or circumstance to determine a direction. That is woefully inadequate. Any feeling or circumstance must be checked with Scripture. If it doesn't square, then it isn't a sufficient ground upon which to base a decision or a direction. If you want God's will, then do things His way...and you will be in His will!