The Anatomy of A Murder

"What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."

James 4:1-8a

My friend and his brother were murdered by radicals yesterday morning (See accompanying article. Warning the Pakistan Christian Post doesn't soften the blow by failing to tell the truth through pictures like our American press does. The site contains graphic pictures).

Pakistani Christian Post

That alone is enough to cause despair, but it is exacerbated by the reality that this kind of thing happens everyday in the world. As a matter of fact, as I kept perusing the internet for stories in regards to my imprisoned friends, I kept getting the headline story of a girl that was raped and tossed out of the window of her apartment building in Islamabad for being a Christian. My reaction was “That’s horrible; I can’t believe that! Now where is the information about my friends?” I kept wondering why they weren’t “Headline News?” Yesterday they became just that, and it’s all I have been able to think about!

As humans we are guarded with self-preservation mechanisms that allow us to filter the horror of everyday existence, yet ironically, scripture doesn’t let us do that. I have been reading through the horrific battles in the book of Joshua, and the Psalms and Lamentations (To name a few) that continually remind me of the reality of this world, and the suffering that always exists around us; but “Enlightened” thinkers changed all that by “Getting rid” of human suffering by selling us a version of the world that is progressing rather nicely. The funny thing about it is our churches are marching in step with the same sanitized message of “Progress,” because that’s the reality in a world run by humans. Aren’t we progressing? Isn’t the world becoming a better place? I suppose that’s up for debate, but I suggest holding your opinion until you weigh all the facts. Biblically we are told that the gospel is advancing at the same time Satan and sin vie for the hearts and minds of God’s creation. There is a spiritual war being fought rather fiercely, or did our soft sermonettes that espouse a blessed “Christian” life cloud our thinking (See Ephesians 6:10-18). Biblical eschatology dominated by either flying away Christians or victorious warriors ushering in an age of utopia are either too simplistic or were shaped in a post enlightenment idealistic elixir. There is no doubt Jesus is coming back to usher in His kingdom, but until that time there is suffering this side of paradise until that kingdom is realized, and Christians are not exempt from this tribulation.

Oh, of course we can just blame these little glitches in the Truman Show the way Christopher Hitchens and his band of “new Atheists” do; “This is just the work of religion, and once we rid the world of these nut jobs, then the world will be the way it’s supposed to be!” In one sense I firmly agree, religion most often is the bane to humanity, but isn’t this banter just exchanging one human mistake for another? Is humanity really the answer if it was humanity that created religion? Why would we suppose Chris and his boys have it right this time? Sure, we Christians should get on board that blame game and say it’s not “All” religions that are to blame, just those evil ones that don’t fit our ideas of God. "It's those Muslim folk that are really to blame.!" Of course to do so, wouldn’t we need to forget a long lined of inquisitions, burnings at the stake, abortion doctor murders, etc…? Oh, yeah, those weren't really “Christians!?” How convenient!

Or maybe the real anatomy of a murder lies in the heart of every human, who “desires” more than we can have, so our jealousies cause us to participate in a multitude of sins? Isn’t this what our text in James expresses? “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel” When do we stop blaming that tribe "Over there" in our attempts to conjure up solutions to the world's "Glitches" and realize this is what sin really looks like 24/7! Maybe it's time to stop trying to make ourselves look better, and realize the problem is within, and that we are all sinners in the need of God’s grace; but when we set up the "us vs. them" mentality that many Christians are as guilty of as Hitchens et al., we mitigate the power of the gospel, and create a hatred that continues this cycle of violence and hate that only the gospel (Both proclaimed and lived) can destroy! Let's stop acting as the world acts, which is a blame game for our world's toughest problems, and stop vilifying cultures that are different, and start living a bit like that Gospel ethic Jesus talked about in Matthew 5-7? Oh yeah, that's an ethic for the future, not now though!!

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3 Minutes to Live: What Would You Say?

As I was standing in the Cry Out! studio this past Friday, listening to the young emcees writing and spitting some freestyle, I stood up and read something on the wall. It was a challenge by Celestine and Tara. It simply asked, "If you had 3 minutes to live, what would you say?" I thought about this. Would I declare the love I have for my wife? For my children? What would I do? I think that what I would say, or what I think I would say would have a lot to do with what I worship or idolize the most. The one thing I do know about myself is that I am a finite sinner with zero prominence or power of persuasion. I won't be remembered much after I die. I won't have people bringing flowers to my grace in the thousands, like some famous celebrities. Because of this understanding, I figured why wouldn't I say something that has stood the test of time and has real power over the thoughts and minds of people? My wife and kids know I love them, as I tell them so much that my oldest son has repeatedly told me, "Dad, I get it...you love me..."

If I had 3 minutes, this is what I would say, what would you say?

“Men and women that have come to hear me speak or will read of this later, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through this earth and examining the objects of your worship, I notice that you all worship different things, with different thoughts and ideals. They seem to change yearly, if not daily. You worship money, you worship self, you worship your good deeds, you worship sex, and because of this, you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like the dollar, or gold, or an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a dirty tampon; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our sins, like the wind, take us away. Because of this, Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Now I make known to you, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my enemies, those unknown to me, the gospel, which I am delivering to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to Paul also. Afterwards, at the right time, appointed by God, Jesus spoke the truth into my heart and revealed to me His Gospel that was passed down from the prophets of old, to the church of history and to the continual truth bearers until Jesus returns. For I am the least of the children of God, and not fit to be called His child, because I persecuted the church of God and everyone else I came into contact with. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

What must you do? You must repent, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Turn to him and believe, knowing that there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Do this and know that you and I will worship the one true God forever in heaven. No work, besides the work of Christ will save you. Know that it is not because of who you and I are, but because of who Jesus was, is and always will be.

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The Church Sucks: The Response (Part 2)

In the first post, I showed the clear understanding of our condition as the church, namely, that we suck. The idea of this was to be clear and show that we shouldn't be too surprised at this understanding. Most people within the church, have had odd experiences where arguments seemed petty, the vision of the church wasn't focused on Jesus, but self, or have just been treated very harshly within the church. Now, when we get into this response, I am not trying to say that you should just deal with these issues and stay within a certain local church (I will write a post on when someone should leave a church), but what I am saying is that we shouldn't abandon the church gathered altogether.

The rave today is that since the organized church has taken advantage of people, seem to lose focus, has hurt me, has abused it's power, etc. etc. etc. then we should just abandon the church gathered and find Jesus, either on our own, or in small groups within our homes. (I am not arguing against house churches if they still look like the New Testament church discussed throughout Acts and the epistles of Paul). This response is wrong. We don't just leave something because we don't believe it is working. We must look back to the one who is all knowing and all powerful and focus on His work and not our own eyes. We must be as Paul tells the Corinthians:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58

I am not saying that Paul was trying to tell the church in Corinth to "keep meeting together as an organized church", but what Paul IS saying is that although our toils seem to be in vain we must continue to press forward in the will of God knowing that it isn't in vain. George Barna thinks he is starting a "Revolution" by leaving the local church, but what is actually doing is leaving the mission of God that God has within the local church.

But, why do I think this? Why do I think that although we are jacked, that we still need to continually pursue the church gathered? The reason is because I think God actually knows the future and is in control over it. God isn't surprised that our churches are a joke at times, abusive in other times and downright idiotic at times. So much so, that even before Paul takes aim at the local church in Corinth, notice he doesn't tell them to find themselves outside of the church but actually encourages them:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9

So, why is it obvious that God desires us to stay in the church, instead of leaving it and doing it on our own?

1. God Knows the Hearts of Man

God knows exactly who we are. We love to wander from authority and wander from the truth. This is what we always do and, although this is mostly spoken of in the form of us wandering from God, it can be seen that this is our make up and what we desire to do in general.

We see this in the Prodigal Son story, which tells of the boy leaving the truth, love and security of his father. We see this in Isaiah 53 that tells us that we are all like sheep who go astray. We love to out on our own and leave the authority established over us. This is why Paul has to tell us to be in subjection to the governing authorities (Romans 13:1), because we naturally don't want to be. We desire to be our own god, making our own decisions. We love to continually commit the first sin in the garden by usurping authority, to become our own. Whether we like it or not, we are all Adam's desiring to become our own God. This is our heart. God knows it.

2. God Establishes Our Leadership

Because of the first, that we are wanderers and love to be our own authority, God has always established leaders and authorities for us. Think about it. He established judges, he established kings, he established priests and he established prophets. Whether it was political or spiritual, God has always established authorities above us to rule us. There is no difference for the church. God establishes pastors, overseers, bishops, elders, deacons and teachers all to give us godly leadership examples. They are there for our good and to lead us. They are there to admonish us, to teach us the precepts of God, to guard us against heresy, to defend the truth and to lead us. (1 Tim 3; Acts 11:30,14:23; Titus 1:5-9; Acts 20:28; Phil 1:1; Eph 4:11-13;Acts 13:1; 2 Timothy 4) So much so, that God tells us to:

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith...Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
Hebrews 13:7,17

I know we don't like authoritarian people who rule over us. But, maybe that's the point? Maybe the point is that we were not made to be lone rangers, on our own, doing as we wish. Maybe we were made to be ruled over, to guard us, to protect us and to take care of us.

3. Why?

Think of this. Why would God do this on earth? Why would he give us people to rule over us, lead us, watch over us and care for our souls? The biggest reason "why?" is because these leaders are a picture of our God in heaven. Paul puts this plainly, when he states:

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1

Paul, being an apostle and a leader to the Corinthian people tells them to imitate him. This is very closely related to Hebrews 13:7 (from the same root word in the Greek) where it tells us to imitate the faith of those who lead us. The reason is because our leaders are to be showing us Jesus. Spiritually, we have always desired to go our own way, we desire to exchange the truth for a lie (Romans 1:25) and to leave the safety of our God. So, what God has done is given us imperfect saviours and leaders on this earth (i.e. elders/pastors) to show us and have us yearn for our perfect Saviour and Leader in heaven.

God does this in other areas as well, not only in church leadership, but also in marriage. We are told to submit to each other, to know our roles in marriage, but why? Because marriage is a shadow of the perfection of our Christ and his perfect leadership for the church of God (Ephesians 5:22-33). Honestly, because of the rejection of the roles in marriage, it is no surprise that church roles and leadership is now being rejected.

4. Admonishment

So, what have people been doing because leadership has been done imperfectly within the church? They have left it. This is wrong. Hebrews speaks to this when the writer tells us:

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:23-25

The church is the physical manifestation of what is our spiritual hope and promises. Yes, they are messed up, sinners, taking advantage of people and sometimes ruining lives. But, nonetheless, it is how God has guided his people to function. Even with all this, there is still much to praise the church for. It is not all bad, there is much good. We cannot allow some bad apples ruin the whole harvest. This is what I believe happened in marriage. Because some husbands have sucked in leading for the cause of Christ, the roles in marriage have been questioned and thrown out. But, just because it seems as though something isn't working, or we have been burned by it, we can't throw it out if it's been ordained by God.

Where does it stop? The next step from leaving the church gathered, is leaving the people of God altogether. Check out this verse and see how this plays out and the harsh words from John:

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.
1 John 4:20-21

I believe if one says that they hate the church gathered, that they are very close in saying that they hate God. That is a bold statement, but God has given us physical leaders and authority to show us the hope and perfection in God, our perfect Authority. He established this, knowing that this gathered church would screw up a lot, and screw up often, yet he still established it.

We are all sinners. Only when you believe your sin isn't that bad will you decide to leave the church altogether. You have put your hope in people instead of God. You have put people on the throne, instead of God. And, because people have become your god and they have disappointed you, you have left what God ordained.

But, if God is your only hope, your only God, your only Saviour, you will trust in what HE has established, and what he has given us and not in the actions of man.

Don't leave the church gathered, but love it regardless of it's faults. Sounds a lot like what Jesus did for you, or have you forgot?

as it is written,
"There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one."
"Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,"
"The poison of asps is under their lips";
"Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness";
"Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 3:10-18, 1 Peter 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21

In the last post, I am going to give some thoughts on when and why one should leave one church for another.

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The Church Sucks: The Facts (Part 1)

I debated whether or not to title this post, "Church Sucks" or "The Church Sucks", but figured, without the invisible church, there would be no visible church or church as an organizational structure. So, why not start at the root instead of the branches. I know some of you are throwing up in your mouth when you hear me refer to church as an organizational structure, but in some form, it definitely is. But, however I titled this post, the fact is, the church sucks. The reason I write this post, is because in reaction to this fact, people are abandoning the church and deciding to live out their faith without community, or in ways contra to the formal, organized church. Which I find to be an overreaction to the facts laid before us.

If you have been apart of the church for any number of years, you know that this is definitely true. There are petty arguments that we continually have that seem to have very little to do with the mission of Jesus and making him known. Most of us have been totally lost on how some people could act, what certain things are argued over and how some things seem to continually creep in. But, the fact to be argued isn't, "Does the church suck?" because that should be well established. The fact to be argued should be, "Why does this surprise us?"

Tim Keller was the first I heard talk about why the church sucketh so (In his book, "The Reason for God"...which is pretty funny when you think of it). He mentioned, and I am paraphrasing here, that the reason the church is so filled with hypocrites is because the church is filled with the worst of sinners.

Let's work through some of this together on why the church, meaning, the gathering of the elect of God, sucks so bad and sometimes is very hard to be around.

We have all had those times where we can't believe what is going on in the church. Whether it is figuring out a budget, the color of the carpet in that weird room in corner of the building that's called "the prayer room", whether or not we should "support" a missionary by giving them $50 a month or $75 a month, or whether or not the bulletin should have a picture of an old country church or sun rays coming through clouds. These arguments all seem retarded when thinking through the mission of God. But, since most of us aren't oddball Regulative Principle Wackos (that's a jab for all my friends who are...which I am sure they'll comment, and if they do...it better be funny or I won't accept the comment ;)), there are many things we aren't told in regards to what to do as the Church gathers. We aren't told:

- What day and time to come together as the church gathered (notice I didn't say worship, as this should be everyday)
- What kind of building we should be in
- What songs to sing
- How many songs to sing
- How long to preach
- What we should wear (although the NT only talks in the negative for those who dress up in church, and I'm pretty sure that Jesus is against those shirts with bible verses and sunsets)
- How to set up the chairs (or the pews if you are a Reformed Baptist)
- Which instruments to use and whether or not we should allow that lady to sing who's voice sounds like a used up car horn
- How often to take communion

I could continue this list for a while. The point being is that we are living in the NT, we are the church continued, and many details are left out, which means many chances for sinners to fight over weird stuff.

Not only are we not told many specifics, but look at how God refers to us:

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.
1 Corinthians 1:26-29

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-8

There are other passages that sing our filth and show our utter failures. But, God calls out the idiots of the world so that he is praised and we are not. Think of 1 Cor 1. He says we are dumb, weak, fools and the opposite of noble can mean vulgar, common or lowly. Not only this, but God shows in Romans 5 that he didn't come for those who believe that they are righteous, but those of us who know we are sinners and vile. Not only this, but the church gathered has always been a mess. The letter to the Corinthians should be enough for us to realize that we are a mess. Look at how Paul describes the Corinthians:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Look at that list! Is there any surprise that this church is a little crazy and off point? This church was such a mess that they were allowing family reunions to be date night, using communion as a way for free booze and using the gift of tongues as a reason to get up in the middle of the sermon and yell craziness. The same is with us. The problem is that for some reason, we go to a church and believe it is some sort of perfect country club with no issues instead of crappy sinners who have been saved by grace. The problem is that we think that heaven is realized now, instead of a not yet future perfection. We go to church and live in community with our church as though Revelation 21:3-4 should be our church now:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4

Revelation is a beautiful picture of what will happen as the bride is called to be with the groom in perfect worship of the Perfect One. I am sure you have seen Revelation 21 depicted on a t-shirt on that dude who won't stop smiling and shaking hands during the "turn and greet the people next to you bit after the first praise song where the same verse was repeated 19 times." I'm pretty sure that there is a verse somewhere against this. But, for now, we have to know that we are merely sojourners, living in the flesh as sinners with other sinners who are just as messed up as us. When we start losing focus of our sinfulness is when we see the church as more jacked up than it really is.

My second post will be what our reaction should be to this messed up, crappy gathering of sojourners. The answer is not to run, but to fight alongside and support. This is made clear in the Bible and I will show it's fullness tomorrow.

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The Most Prophetic Chapter in the Bible

Job chapter 9 has to be the most prophetic book in the Bible. The reason I say this is that Job is called the most righteous man to walk the earth by God himself in Chapter 1. After everything is taken away from Job he comes to the conclusion drawn in chapter 9. It is packed with wisdom from a man who knows his condition, knows God's goodness and perfection and is left to just complete bewilderment of what he can't do. The amazing thing is that there is only one person who can answer the most prominenant conclusion in chapter 9 by Job. It comes in verses 32 through 35 and it states:

For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.
There is no arbiter between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
Let him take his rod away from me,
and let not dread of him terrify me.
Then I would speak without fear of him,
for I am not so in myself.
Job 9:32-35

Read Job chapter 9 and just glean from its beauty. Amazing that this came from the man that God described as, "...none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Job 1:8b

Then Job answered and said:
“Truly I know that it is so:
But how can a man be in the right before God?
If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
He is wise in heart and mighty in strength
—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
when he overturns them in his anger,
who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the sea;
who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond searching out,
and marvelous things beyond number.
Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
“God will not turn back his anger;
beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.
How then can I answer him,
choosing my words with him?
Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.
If I summoned him and he answered me,
I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.
For he crushes me with a tempest
and multiplies my wounds without cause;
he will not let me get my breath,
but fills me with bitterness.
If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!
If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?
Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;
though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
I am blameless; I regard not myself;
I loathe my life.
It is all one; therefore I say,
He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.
When disaster brings sudden death,
he mocks at the calamity of the innocent.
The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
he covers the faces of its judges—
if it is not he, who then is it?
“My days are swifter than a runner;
they flee away; they see no good.
They go by like skiffs of reed,
like an eagle swooping on the prey.
If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’
I become afraid of all my suffering,
for I know you will not hold me innocent.
I shall be condemned;
why then do I labor in vain?
If I wash myself with snow
and cleanse my hands with lye,
yet you will plunge me into a pit,
and my own clothes will abhor me.
For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
that we should come to trial together.
There is no arbiter between us,
who might lay his hand on us both.
Let him take his rod away from me,
and let not dread of him terrify me.
Then I would speak without fear of him,
for I am not so in myself.
Job 9

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My Son's Story of Redemption: The Beginning

The story has only started, especially when one thinks of eternity, of my son's redemption. Of course we don't know when God started to pierce his heart inwardly, but outwardly, we have had two distinct times that we have noticed, one being when he turned to God for redemption.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15

My son is only 7 years old (as of January 30) and I never thought that he would start to understand and be affected by his sin at such a young age. Of course, understand and affected, are subjective terms that can never be fully realized until at the feet of our Saviour. But, about 4 months ago, my wife told me that my son, Caleb, was weeping over his sin. Not really sure what to think about this, my wife prayed with him, held him close and spoke to him about the gospel.

Fast forward a couple more months and about 6 weeks ago.

Caleb was having some issues and we sent him to bed after dinner because of his behavior. I prepared my grand sermon to give him and headed up the stairs to his room to allow him to hear my amazing wisdom. As I entered, I laid next to him in his bed and we started to talk, me looking for an opening to enter into my diatribe.

I just opened with, “How are you?” At this point, my son started to weep loudly. He asked me, “Dad, why do I keep sinning when I don’t want to sin? Why do I keep being so stupid when I know that I should obey?”

Taken back, I went to Romans 7. But, before I could, he said, “Why don’t you just tell me what you think, why do you always talk about the Bible and what it says?”

I simply asked him, “Who knows all things?”

Caleb: God

Me: Does daddy know everything?

Caleb (quickly responds): No.

Me: Isn’t it better to hear what God says about things instead of daddy?

Caleb: Yes.

Me: Where does God tell us about things?

Caleb: The Bible

I proceeded to tell him about Paul’s dilemma in Romans 7, and that the only reason that Paul had any hope was because he repented and believed in Jesus.

Caleb then stated, “But I really hate my sin!”

Me: Who else hates sin, even more than you do?

Caleb: God

Me: What did God do because he hated sin so much? Who did he send for us and what did He do?

Caleb: He sent Jesus to die on the cross

Me: Exactly

Caleb: But, why would God send Jesus who never sinned to die for me when I sin all the time?

Me: We aren’t completely sure why, but we do know that God loved us so much that he did. We also know that God did it because it glorified him most. Isn’t that amazing news? That you don’t deserve Jesus to die for you, but that God loved you so much that Jesus did die for you?

Caleb: Well…yeah!

Me: Speaking of your sin and you wanting to do good instead of sin, can you do anything apart from Jesus?

Caleb: No.

Me: Is your heart dirty or clean?

Caleb: Dirty. But, I want it to be clean!

Me: Do you want to ask Jesus to clean your heart?

Caleb: Well yeah, but tomorrow I will just sin again…am I supposed to just keep praying every day that Jesus would clean my heart and forgive me?

Me: Exactly. Caleb, know that a prayer won’t make you perfect. Is daddy perfect?

Caleb: No.

Me: Right. Daddy asks for Jesus to forgive his sins all the time and asks for Jesus to give him power over sin, but I still sin. We aren’t perfect, but with a clean heart given to us by God, through Jesus, we can then have the power by the Holy Spirit to do good things that please Jesus. But, the cool thing is that when we sin, we can go to Jesus and we can ask him to clean our heart and forgive us.

Would you like to thank Jesus for dying for you and ask him to clean your heart?

Caleb: Yes, should we do it right now?

Me: Yes. Go ahead, I’ll just listen…you can pray to Jesus and talk to him

At this point, Caleb thanked God and Jesus for all that they had done. He asked Jesus to clean his heart. In all, Caleb and I spent a little over an hour speaking about the things of God and the cross of Jesus Christ.

A couple of weeks ago, our church announced that they would be doing a baptism and said that if anyone else desired to be baptized that we should get in contact with them. I ended up meeting with one of our pastors and told him about Caleb. I told him that in past churches I have attended that they would never allow, or be very skeptical, of a 7 year old saying that he repented and turned to Jesus.

He simply asked, “What are we waiting for in baptism? Are we going to wait until we see enough good works before they get baptized? That’s not grace, that’s legalism. In the Bible, they never wait to see good works, but they based the baptism on the profession of faith because of grace, not on the good works of the individual.”

I completely agree. We cannot withhold baptism because we haven’t seen enough good works. We must understand that to withhold because of works, we don’t portray the goodness of the gospel, but the gracelessness of moralism.

My son even mentioned, “I shouldn’t get baptized because I am too young.” He then mentioned our previous church (this is not mentioned to be hateful to my last church in anyway...this is jus what my son picked up) and said, “They wouldn’t let me get baptized, so I’ll just wait until I am older.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and how much he had caught on. I quickly corrected him and we spoke of the gospel and then we read passages concerning baptism and I asked him, “Do you want to be baptized?” He quickly responded, “Yes.”

The past week, my son at the age of 7 was baptized. He professed, through his tears (probably my fault as I cried while introducing Caleb) his faith in his own words and we celebrated. My wife asked him what he thought and he said, “I’ll never forget this day.”

So, on February 14th, 2010, my son preached his first public sermon in the proclamation of what Jesus did on his behalf both in words and in the visual of baptism. From this day, I will continue to seek out what it means to be a repentant person in Christ and instill that in my son.

My wife and I have been praying for this before Caleb was born and entrusted him to Jesus. This entrusting doesn't end here, as we don't truly know if he is saved (as we as humans don't know who is truly a part of the invisible church), but continues from here and our job is to nurture his growth in grace through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The verse that Caleb read at his baptism, that he asks to read every night before bed (which has caused him to memorize it on "accident") is found in 2 Corinthians 7:10

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Soli Deo Gloria.

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Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin?

I have been having a little discussion with James in my post on the 10 Steps to Become a Legalist. He is doing well with the 10th point of becoming a legalist. He is following it well and even trying to state his case on why he is allowed to be a legalist in this area. Instead of answering his questions in the combox, I decided to make a post answering his last questions. You can check that post to see our discussion, but I wanted to get these answers to these common objections to drinking alcohol in post form. Again, I want to stress that if you have a conviction to not drink yourself, more power to you, I respect your decision. My problem comes when someone calls it sin or then tries to put that yoke on others. Below is the Q and A that we have been discussing. Sounds like a lot of my readers will be reading it while drinking and smoking a good cigar. Hope they both go down well.

James: Ok, here we go Seth:

I start with this verse.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise
Proverbs 20:1

Seth: This verse is one that is not that difficult when you look at its intent. The reason is that the first part of the verse gives the conclusion to what happens in the first part. Wine can become a mocker and strong drink is raging if someone is "deceived" or better put in what the original Hebrew is getting across, the NASB states that these things happen, when you are "intoxicated" by it. Here is how the NASB reads: Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. Which I agree with, don't get drunk with wine or strong drink because then you become mocked and beyond angry.

James: There was a day & time when it was commonplace for Christians of all denominations to abide by the Biblical conviction that no person should drink alcohol. In recent years, the radical grace movement, with it's extreme teachings concerning Christian liberty, has spread across America. With this self-centered view of Christianity many Christians have left behind their convictions concerning intoxicating drinks. The sale of Alcoholic beverages has risen by 40 percent, in the last 25 years, which is an epidemic problem that has made it's way into our churches.

Seth: This is almost a completely made up statement. History tells us that most Christians, for 2000 years, have always drank wine, beer, etc. It is only since the prohibition where people started to go against it, which they should have not taken drinks when it was illegal.

James: Leaders should avoid alcohol.
Proverbs 23:31 says,Look thou not upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth it's color in the cup, When it moveth itself aright. (fermenting) It says NOT to.

Seth: I wonder if you read context. The reason that it says to stay away from it, is because of the previous verses of those who misuse alcohol. Who get drunk with it. He just got done talking about those who "linger" over it. And then afterwards talks about wine making people see strange things, uttering perverse things, etc. Meaning that the person is drunk, not merely drinking some wine. The term "do not look at it when it is red" is speaking of it being inticing to a drunk that can't wait to get his hands on the drink. This comes from the most respected Hebrew scholars in Keil and Delitzsch. It could be this or just the use of hyperbole, because the context is clearly speaking of a drunk. Think of when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:13 that he would never eat meat again if it were to make his brother stumble.

James: There are many spiritual leaders who abstained from drink.
1. Nazarines (Nazarite vow) Numbers 6:1-4
2. John The Baptist (He followed the Nazarite vowel.) Luke 1:15

Seth: Are you going to also never cut your hair, pledge not to touch a dead animal or eat locusts and wear camel hair? Or can we be more knowledgeable and try and understand that the Nazarite vow is no longer a vow to be followed and John the Baptist was a special prophet among God's people? If not, can I be the first to buy a ticket to your circus in the desert while you wear camel hair, eat bugs and drink grape juice?

James: 3. Deacons/I Timothy 3:8

Seth: This verse says that deacons shouldn't be addicted to wine. What is your point? You can drink wine without being addicted.

James: Leaders should not encourage others to drink. (Habakkuk 2:15-16)

Seth: Did you read this verse? It is speaking of drunkenness. I don't remember the last time I saw someone sip on some wine at dinner and then get naked. Maybe our experiences have been different.

James also lists off Isaiah 5:11 & Proverbs 31:4,5

Seth:

1. Isaiah 5:11
Again, this is speaking of pursuing strong drink and being inflamed with wine, both showing an uncontrollable urge with drinking instead of fearing the Lord. Again, context. Look at verse 12...these people cared more about getting drunk than keeping the deeds of the Lord.

2. Proverbs 31:4-5

Again, keep reading. I never have known people to forget what they have said, when drinking in moderation. This again, is speaking of the dangers of getting drunk. Verse 5 speaks of someone forgetting what is decreed and perverting the rights of the afflicted. Again, drunk, not simply drinking.

James: * in ancient times, wine (as we would call it) was mixed with water in an eight-to-one mixture for purification purposes. The Bibles word wine does not have the same connotation as alcoholic beverages. When water purification was a problem, people would add crushed composites of a grape-type syrup called wine for the purpose of purifying water from parasites. When the Bible talks about wine it is not talking about intoxicating substance at all; it is speaking of treated water in some instances.

Seth: Where did you find this material? I have heard this to try and be explained, but just read the Bible to find it to be false. Because I find it interesting that you keep saying that the wine was not intoxicating, yet you just listed off many verses that speak of wine being intoxicating, making one forget, perverting justice, being a mockery, etc. So, which is it? Intoxicating or not?

James: In reference to spiritual leaders read I Timothy 3:3- Not given to wine...

Seth: Do you know what "given" means? It is the Greek word "paroinos" which means addicted or drunk. So, this isn't speaking of abstinence either.

James: More of what scripture says:
1. Condemns drunkenness/Eph. 5:18

Seth: We are speaking of drinking alcohol at all, not getting drunk. I agree that to get drunk is wrong.

James: 2. Warning/Pro. 23:19-21

Seth: Be consistant. It also speaks of gluttons here. So, are you going to abstain from food too? Just because some abuse it doesn't mean that you MUST abstain. Your logic is very flawed at this point.

James: 3. Recommended to go ahead and drink wine. Don't think this is a loop-hole. I Timothy 5:23- In this verse where wine is mentioned it is commended for medicinal use. Because of the condition of the water in that day, it is believed that Timothy suffered from infirmities relating to his stomach and intestines. so Paul told Timothy to use a little wine for his stomachs sake. Again, this instruction was related to the syrupy grape juice mixed in with water for purification and medicinal purposes.

Seth: This does nothing for your point. This same term of "oinos" which is the same term that people could get drunk on in Ephesians 5:18. Again, I will trust the original Greek instead of your thoughts on the matter.

James: Scripture warns of Alcohols dangers.
1. It hastens ruin/Pro. 23:31-32
2. It enflames lust/Pro. 23:33
3. Destroys families/Genesis 9:20-25

Seth: Correction. This isn't the dangers of alcohol, this is the dangers of the abuse of alcohol. There are also dangers of eating too much and overindulging in money as well (greed) are we supposed to abstain from these as well? How do you get around this?

James: Is today's wine the same as Bible times?
1. No it is not. The majority of the O.T. usages of the word wine comes from a Hebrew word that means "boiling up". Does that sound like intoxicating beverages, yes it does. But that is not what it means. "Boiling up" comes from the idea of boiling grape juice into heavy syrup to use as a mixture in water.

Seth: According to actual scholars in this area, which I quoted to you before, you are not correct here. The Hebrew word that is used speaks of being drunk with wine...again, how do you get drunk from grape juice? I mean, you just quoted a lot of OT verses where people get drunk, is this supposed to be people overindulging in grape juice? Just wondering. Also, for your information, the noun used in the Septuigant for the Hebrew word for "wine" was translated into the Greek as...yep...oinos. The same that is used throughout the NT.

James: Proverbs 23:30- They that tarry long at the wine; they go to seek mixed wine.

According to this verse, some people would drink to much of this mixture deliberately seeking to become intoxicated; but the original intent was for water purification. The second Greek word used for wine simply means "nonintoxicating syrup". We often read about wine in the Bible. When Jesus turned the water into wine, I do not believe that he turned the water into rotten grape juice(fermented wine)that would intoxicate any who drank it. He turned the water into a safe, purified, and refreshing beverage that was non alcoholic. I believe in John 2 when the scripture speaks of Jesus' good wine, it speaks of the drinks mildness as a water like substance. In ancient times the process of fermentation may have begun because of lack of refrigeration. Today's wines, beers, and mixed drinks are highly intoxicating and very dangerous for families, and they are processed to be such. This is definitely different from what the Bible refers to when it teaches about wine.

I hope this enough scripture and evidence for you Seth.
James

Seth: This is completely unfounded with what we find in the Scriptures. The original Greek could not be more clear in this area. Context and the many usages of wine speak of us enjoying wine in heaven (Isaiah 25:6-9; Jeremiah 31:12-14), that wine was given to us for our joy (Judges 9:13; Zechariah 10:7; Ecc 10:19) and that Christ drank this wine at the Last Supper and turned the water into wine at Cana. The warning is that this same wine, this same "oinos", if overindulged is a sin and is very dangerous. We see this in many other ways in the Bible with food, sex, money, anger and the tongue. But we are not told to abstain from eating, sex, making money, righteous anger or talking. Why do you think it is okay to present a double standard where your logic is completely fallacious? If you think it is wrong to drink because it leads to drunkenness, which is exactly what all of the verses you listed are saying, you then better live consistantly and stop having sex with your wife, stop eating, making money or talking.

At least be consistant.

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Death By Love

I have read much of what Driscoll has written and also listened to many of his sermons, including the ones that are associated with this book. But, it seems as though Driscoll shows thoroughly his love for his people in this book entitled, Death By Love: Letters from the Cross. Many people have had issues with Driscoll's past books, either with his choice of terms, descriptions of theological dialogues, and even some ways that he has "counseled" people in the past. But, it will be very difficult for pastors and congregants to have much to quibble about in this book.

In Death by Love, Driscoll lays out the theological implications of the cross in letter form. What he has done is chosen different counseling situations that he has encountered in the past and then writes a "formal" letter to that person so that they can see what Christ has done for them to get through the situation that they find themselves in.

What one will find is that this is classic Driscoll. He is kind when he is needed to be kind and he is very straight forward when that is needed as well. This is why many have enjoyed Driscoll throughout the years is because he doesn't pussy foot around tough issues but hits them head on. There is no difference in this book. This book deals with real people, in real situations, with very real problems. Driscoll handles this very well without demeaning the person or the glory of Christ. I would tell each and every person, pastor or layman that deals in counseling to pick up this book to see how a true man of God counsels in the most difficult situations imaginable. To give you a glimpse of what I mean, here are the chapter headings:


I. Demons are Tormenting Me: Jesus is Katie's Christus Victor

II. Lust is My God: Jesus is Thomas' Redemption

III. My Wife Slept with My Friend: Jesus is Luke's New Covenant Sacrifice

IV. I am a "Good" Christian: Jesus is David's Gift Righteousness

V. I Molested a Child: Jesus is John's Justification

VI. My Dad Used to Beat Me: Jesus is Bill's Propitiation

VII. He Raped Me: Jesus is Mary's Expiation

VIII. My Daddy is a Pastor: Jesus is Gideon's Unlimited Limited Atonement

IX. I am Going to Hell: Jesus is Hank's Ransom

X. My Wife Has a Brain Tumor: Jesus is Caleb's Christus Exemplar

XI. I Hate My Brother: Jesus is Kurt's Reconciliation

XII. I Want to Know God: Jesus is Susan's Revelation

Driscoll handles each one of these with a Reformed perspective with much grace. One chapter above is especially personal when Driscoll handles "My Daddy is a Pastor." This chapter is written to his one and a half year old son, Gideon. This is a great chapter to read where Driscoll lets the reader into his personal life and what goes on behind closed doors.

After each chapter above Dr. Gerry Breshears handles the common questions to each. He does this succinctly so that the answers are not over burdensome, but get straight to the point with much detail and precision.

Again, I highly recommend this to anyone who is handling counseling situations or has dealt with, or dealing with, any of the situations mentioned in the above chapters. For further information about this book, you can check out the homepage here. Link to Buy

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Jesus Christ Became Our Sin

My buddy Erik, over at Irish Calvinist, had a book review on Vintage Jesus a while back and brought up a theological question that I was a little perplexed on. The question come in the form of a rebuttal of Driscoll's thoughts on Christ becoming our sin. Here is the full quote from Erik, which includes Driscoll's thought on Christ's payment as well:

From a theological perspective I found the book to be pretty tight. It was your basic Protestant defense of biblical faith. However, I was shocked to find this quote in the middle of the book (I quote the context):

On the cross as our substitute, Jesus was made to be the worst of what we are. This does not mean that Jesus ever sinned. Rather, it means that he was made sin. As a result, in that moment when Jesus cried out that he had been forsaken by God the Father, Jesus became the most ugly, wicked, defiled, evil, corrupt, rebellious, and hideous thing in all creation. In that moment, Jesus became a homosexual, alcoholic, thief, glutton, addict, pervert, adulterer, coveter, idol worshiper, whore, pedophile, self-righteous religious prig—and whatever else we are.” (p. 114—emphasis mine).

Jesus became a whore? Jesus became an idol worshipper? Really? So now we have Jesus with a new nature? He is sinless human, perfect God and a pervert? This is not what the Scripture teaches. He became sin (that is he was imputed or charged with our sin) on the cross he did not become the sinner (2 Cor. 5.21). I realize that he says, “This does not mean that Jesus ever sinned.” But that is exactly what he says. He could have said Jesus was judged in our place, being charged with our sins. He was treated like the homosexual, alcoholic, thief, etc..should have been treated (though he was sinless). I do not believe this is theological semantics, but rather the heart of the gospel. The numerous endorsers and his co-author should have caught this error. It seems to me that Driscoll’s penchant for dramatic hyperbole got the best of him and unraveled his explanation of the gospel.

The reason I put this here is because I have been reading a book by Packer called, In My Place Condemned He Stood. The book is pretty good, although I would disagree with Packer on numerous occasions on his beliefs of faith being bought on the cross and then his misuse of both Bunyan and Edwards. But that is besides the point. Here is the real point. Packer quotes Luther on the very issue raised by Erik. It would seem that Luther would definitely back Driscoll on this note. Here are a couple of quotes that Packer uses by Luther:

This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ's: and the righteousness of Christ not Christ's but ours. He has emptied himself of his rightoeusness that he might clothe us with it, and fill us with it: and he has taken our evils upon himself that He might deliver us from them...in the same manner as he grieved and suffered in our sins, and was confounded, in the same manner we rejoice and glory in his righteousness.
Luther's Exposition of Psalm 21

All the prophets did foresee in spirit, that Christ should become the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, rebel, blasphemer, etc. that ever was....for he being made a sacrifice, for the sins of the whole world, is not now an innocent person and without sins....Our most merciful Father...sent his only Son into the world and laid upon him the sins of all men, saying: Be thou Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blashphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner which did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief which hanged on the cross; and, briefly, be thou person which hath committed the sins of all men; see therefore that thou pay and satisfy for them. Here now cometh the law and saith: I find him a sinner...therefore let him die upon the cross.
Martin Luther
(found at Galatians, ed. Philip S. Watson (London: James Clarke, 1953), 269-271; on Gal 3:13)

So, any thoughts on Christ's death based on Luther and Driscoll vs. Erik's observation?

I also find it interesting on whom Luther says that Christ died for. It would seem to point to all men, not just some.

Discuss.

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The Stepford Wife Christian

My mom called me on Friday to let me know of a very sad situation that happened to a couple in their church. A mom and wife, in her late 20's, decided to take a gun to her head. She left behind a husband and four daughters, ages 8,6,2 and 1. She came home from a friends house, put her daughters in their bedrooms and proceeded to go to her bedroom and shoot herself. No note, no goodbyes, just the sound of a gunshot.

I asked my mom why she thought that this happened. My mom told me that this mom was very depressed after her last child was born and although the church was taking food and helping in every physical way they knew how, my mom said that the mom would always say how it seemed as though she was the only one struggling, that all the mothers she knew seemed to have it together and doing just fine. She said that the other mothers said that they were doing "fine" and that "everything was going well" with their children and with motherhood. She thought she was a failure, she thought that God had gone back on his word (1 Cor 10:13) and had given her more than she could handle. So, she gave into the devil and shot herself, thinking it was better to take her own life than take her rage out on her own children.

The alarming thing is that this woman was not alone, but she was in the middle of a bunch of people (I don't know their church so I am assuming here) that lied about their condition. They weren't okay, they weren't doing just fine, but they also weren't willing to open their hearts up to a hurting mother and tell her that she wasn't doing anything wrong, but that motherhood isn't always filled with laughter and joy, it sometimes is filled with great sorrow and pain.

Yes, children are a blessing, but for mothers this isn't always in the forefront of their minds when the child cries all day and nothing seems to comfort them. To a mother this is a showing that they are the problem not motherhood.

What this really opens our eyes to is not this one issue only, but to the biggest issue in the church today: The Stepford Wife Christian.

The Stepford Wife Christian is the one who never has anything that others can pray about for them. The Stepford Wife Christian puts on a smile when they enter church, they never open up, they never show emotion, and they really become a hindrance to what the church and the gospel is supposed to be.

These people seem to think that if you love Jesus that your life is perfect. These same people will cry foul when they hear the "Prosperity Gospel" but what difference is there between them and Joel Osteen if they come to church with their fake grin on their face and the presumption that everything is okay in their closed off world of "love and happiness."

These people then turn the pastor into a superhero of sorts because they expect the pastor to be perfect as well. So, the pastor, instead of being able to be honest as he preaches has to act like he has it all together. That he practices everything that he preaches. That if he doesn't practice everything then he isn't a good shepherd. Guess what...he isn't Jesus. He isn't the one that you ultimately look to, Christ is. The pastor is supposed to direct you to the Christ, not to himself. Are they supposed to be above reproach and the leaders of the church that has been allotted to them? Yes, but this does not equal perfection, but the pointing towards the perfection only found in Christ.

Somehow we have lost this in the church. The church isn't filled with perfect people, even if everyone puts off that persona.

I think this is the biggest problem with today's church. The idea that you are to be perfect and not open up to others. GET OVER YOURSELF. YOU ARE NOT JESUS! You gave him your sin and he gave you his righteousness. This doesn't make you a righteous person, it only is declared that you are righteous by the Father. Big difference. It all comes to a wrong understanding of imputation and justification.

This story above made my heart wrench. It made me deeply saddened. The scary thing is that it is happening every day with people that go to church. They enter and see the Stepford Wife Christians who are all smiles on the outside but empty on the inside. Until we can open up and be honest with each other, we mind as well just be another community group that meets for snacks and cookies and tell each other how well our lives are going. Sometimes I feel like the church is like a high school 10 year reunion every week where we gather together to say how well our lives are, when in reality we are torn up inside looking for answers, looking for reality. When will this stop? How many people need to shoot themselves before we understand that being a Christian doesn't mean pointing people to our "perfect" lives, but pointing people to the only perfect life, the only perfect Saviour: OUR CHRIST. Let me give you some verses to look at today as you start your week and ask yourself, "Who am I supposed to be for others? Perfect? Or a sinner showing other sinners where my hope lies?" I hope you understand it is the latter and not the former. The sad thing is that I think most of the church is in the mindset of the former. Please be praying for this family as they are probably going to be very much in turmoil. Pray for wisdom and strength from the father. He has been a Christian for five years and is also in his late 20's. Pray that the church gathers around him and gives way to just putting their arms around him and pointing him to Christ.

Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
James 5:13-16

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
1 Peter 3:18

Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.
Acts 19:18-20

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The Lord of the Flies

In Sunday School we have been studying through the Old Testament and we came across the golden calf about 2 weeks ago and I thought of something that was of some interest. The story goes that Moses comes off the mountain and finds Aaron and all these morons dancing and worshiping around a golden calf. (See dancing is a sin...kidding...but still funny). Moses is pretty peeved and does something pretty interesting. It is found in Exodus 32:20

He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.
Exodus 32:20

Now, most commentators say that the reason that this happened was because of the bitterness that the gold would turn the water's taste into, hence, Israel could see the bitterness of their sin. But, what if there is more to this?

When looking at our sin, we see that it is very grotesque in the sight of the Lord. Not only this, but anytime we find false prophets, God loves to make an example of them, sometimes even making fun of them. Jeremiah says that they are "committing adultery with stones and trees" and Jesus calls false prophets blind, snakes and sons of the devil.

When we look to sin Paul is one of the most descriptive of his legalism in Phil 3:8 when he says that he counts all his fleshly honor as "rubbish." Which is a very strong word that means "dung" or "crap" or other very strong words meaning animal excretion. Isaiah even tells us that our righteous deeds are like "dirty menstrual rags" or for those less versed, they are like bloody tampons. If you want to know how terrible sin is just read Ezekiel's accounts (Ezekiel 16)of the sins of Israel as he tells them that are like whores with their legs open to any that pass by. If this all isn't enough, the five sacrifices mentioned in Leviticus 1-7 should be enough to convince us that sin is truly an ugly thing to our God.

When we start to piece some things together, I think that the punishment of the golden calf is a little more than we think. When Elijah is on Mount Carmel comparing Baal to God, he says some pretty funny stuff but he also makes a suggestion that is pretty grotesque. Here is the verse that I am looking to:

It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”
1 Kings 18:27

Pretty funny stuff. What is more funny is what Elijah suggests Baal is doing. The Hebrew word "siyach" or "occupied" is a term that was used of someone relieving himself. Elijah was asking if their god was on the toilet.

What connection does this have with Exodus 32? Here is the connection, and I believe God was giving the Israelites a word picture of what they did. 1 Corinthians 10:20 tells us that when the Gentiles sacrifice, or worship, someone other than God, they sacrifice to demons. We know that Satan is the head of the demons (Matt 12:24; Mark 3:22) and one of the words that is used of Satan in the New Testament is the term "Beezelbul" in Luke 11:18. When you do some searching you learn that this name is also used in the Old Testament and the term is of a god which means, "Lord of the Flies" or "Lord of Crap." Which shows why Elijah would make such a statement. Elijah saying that maybe their god is worshiping himself on the toilet.

Here is the picture that God is giving the Israelites. When the Israelites drink this water with their god in it, they will not pee this god out, but they will literally crap out their god. God shows the Israelites exactly what their god is, what he is god of and what good he is. God gives a great picture to the Israelites so that they will know exactly who is in charge and what kind of worth their golden calf is. Elijah suggested it, the Israelites had to experience it. Crazy stuff.

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My Weekend Rant

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Romans 7:15-20

I ask this of myself all the time. Why don't I do what God tells me to do? Of course, in my pride, I also ask, "Why doesn't the church do what they are supposed to do?" I was listening to either the Q & A or the sermon from the 2006 Desiring God Conference, whichever it was, Tim Keller was doing the speaking. He said something that I found a big help to this question and it is in line with some of my thinking lately as well.


Dr. Keller was speaking about the "deadness" of church attenders. Those who attend church, do some "churchy" things, like teach Sunday school, administer different events, maybe even give of their money to different church "causes", but never really actually do the work of an evangelist. Which, in my humble opinion, would be doing things like, helping the homeless, widows, orphans, those in prison, hospitality to those around our community and the like, all so that they can in the end show the people the love of Christ BOTH in word and DEED. What James preaches is TRUE religion. People love to sometimes just preach the word, or give monetarily to missions, but ask them to show the word, to live out the word, and that is just too big of a commitment.

Dr. Keller went about his explanation from Jonah. Notice that in Jonah, Jonah did everything in his power to flee from the people who needed God the most: the sinners. But, if we look at Jonah's life, when did he decide to follow God? When did he decide to go to the sinner to preach the gospel? It all comes to a climax in one verse, the verse that is said to be the thesis of the entire Bible: Jonah 2:9

...Salvation belongs to the Lord.

Dr. Keller exclaims that if one truly believes this, as Jonah did, the very next action taken by Jonah, will be the same for the church:

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh
Jonah 3:3

When one understands the gospel and the cross of our Christ they will truly understand conviction and call to pour out that love to those around them. Until this, our churches will be dead and we will be truly worshiping in vain. Until we understand that salvation belongs to the Lord, meaning it doesn't belong to us, to our methods, to our work, to our hands, to our wants, to our desires, but only in the faithful Creator of heaven and hell, only then will we stop being a weekly one night stand with God and whoring ourselves out the rest of the week to whatever fancies us along the way.

The verse that I have taken to heart to try and meditate on more, because I believe it is the verse that most encapsulates the entire Gospel is Romans 8:1

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

In this verse we have the showing of a deserved condemnation, because of our sin, but also the answer to that condemnation: Jesus Christ.

It is a great verse of balance between knowledge of sin and the salvation of Christ. When one understands the depth of their sin, but doesn't stop there and gives those sins to Christ, is washed in His blood, then how can one not follow what Christ says? Think about it! You should be going to hell, and if you are a Christian, you have no condemnation, no wrath, no death, no hell, but eternal life worshiping our God, heir to the thrown!

If this does not excite you into telling others and showing others what your Christ has done, are you sure you are an heir?

I agree with Dr. Keller in that if the people of this generation do not start to understand the depths of the gospel, we (the church) will continue to fall into decline and the gospel will continually be watered down and the people will continue to live for themselves instead of dying to Christ.

I would encourage you, as I test myself with this as well, to re-read over and over again Jonah 2:9 and Romans 8:1 and let that just fall deep into your soul of understanding. But don't stop there, live out your faith.

Again...if you are a Christian there is no condemnation! This should be like food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, shelter for the homeless and rescue for the lost. This should be our life's work: understanding the gospel more and more so that our lives bleed gospel always.

May your weekend be blessed in the name of our great and glorious Saviour, Jesus Christ.

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Playing the Whore

With all this talk about coarse language and taking a look at the biblical usage of coarse language in the prophetic books, it has made me come face to face with some pretty powerful passages. Just as I feel sometimes that we have heard the Gospel so much that it becomes like oxygen and loses its awe, so do I feel as though we have heard the people of Israel mentioned as a harlot so often, we forget this abominable name and the reason behind the name that is used so often to describe idolaters.

I will tell you that I am going to show some pretty coarse messages in the Bible from here on out so if you are uncomfortable with this language please don't read further. I know this is kind of like telling you NOT to think of a pink elephant, but at as Pilate said to his demise I will say the same, "I wash my hands of this."

We find the usage of this term "harlot", most poignantly, used of Israel in Ezekiel 16. I think harlot is a nice term that makes us not think of the complete abhorrence this term is supposed to convey. Maybe it would be better served to use some contemporary terms so you can see the disgust God has on us when we are idolaters. Some terms that might be better served would be whore, slut, skank, hooch, ho, tramp or hooker. In the "urban dictionary" one definition is exactly what I was thinking:

One of the female species that sleeps around. She is really a slut, but goes by harlot to save her own reputation .

I feel like we as Christians like to use the word harlot instead of the word that means more disgust to us, like whore or slut. Harlot probably carried more meaning and disgust back in the day, but for me it just doesn't carry the weight of this passage.

Continuing. Ezekiel 16 starts off by God wanting to make known to Jerusalem her abominations. God wants to make sure that there is no mincing of words, no second guessing, no questions in regards to the hatred God has towards Jerusalem being a whore and a slut to other gods.

The way that God does this is to first show Jerusalem who they were from their birth, how worthless they were and how the world could care less about them:

As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.
Ezekiel 16:4,5

This is how God found Jerusalem. Is this not how He found us as well? We are told in 1 Peter 2:10 that we were once not a nation, not a people, not a priesthood. When God found us, we are told that we were haters of God, children of wrath, sons of the devil and with absolutely no hope. Even so, God elected us to heir ship with His Son. God shows this redemption in Ezekiel 16:6

“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’

Is this not the same as God showing us in Colossians 2:13 what He did for us?

When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

God is showing Jerusalem, and in the end us, where He has not only found us lying in our blood, squirming without hope, but He also found us as we were left to die as if our mothers conceived us on the street and left. God is showing truly how hopeless we were. We were lying like a small newborn baby, crying without hope in our own blood on the streets with onlookers scoffing at us. Yet, God saw us (Read Ezekiel 16:7-14)and picked us up, cleansed us, adorned us with jewels and gave us heir ship on the thrown.

How did Jerusalem respond? By being a slut, skank and whore to the other dead, lifeless gods. How specific does God get in this description?

“You built yourself a high place at the top of every street and made your beauty abominable, and you spread your legs to every passer-by to multiply your harlotry.
Ezekiel 16:25

This is not speaking of the "escorts" in the paper only affordable to the rich business man, this is speaking of a "$1 whore." They don't care what you look like, how much money you have, if you use a condom or what your health issues are. They just want your nickel and they will do anything for it.

You uncomfortable yet? Good. This is how God wants us to understand what it means to be a whore for idols.

What do you love more than God? What eisegesis do you put on Scripture to describe God in ways that are not His true attributes? I used to love money, and still do at times, more than my God. I used to love my reputation, my family and my friends more than God. Are you afraid to speak the truth about God to other people? You make them and their thoughts of you and idol over your God. When you do this, and when I do this, I am a whore.

How can we ever do this to a God that picked us up out of our own blood to clean us and make us heirs to the thrown? How can we not live a Cross centered life in humility? How is this possible?

What happens when we are whores for idols? God says simply in Ezekiel 16:26

...make me angry

The scary thing is that in this anger God says that He delivered up the Israelites to their desires, does this not sound a lot like Romans 1? The scary part is maybe some reading this are not saved and God will turn you over to your idols and the desires of your whoredom without the possibility of salvation.

When going through this text it again reminds me of the complete honor, adoration and gratitude through worship and service that my God deserves. Above that, He deserves this, and Him alone!

If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Luke 14:26

I write this post to show the crassness of God when He really wants to get a point across to show His love and our failures. This crassness didn't just stop at His words but also in His actions. Sin was so deep and so nasty that even our righteous deeds are said to be like throwing a bloody tampon at God and acting as though we are giving Him a gift. (Isaiah 64:6) Our gift to God is a dirty, smelly, bloody tampon rag and God's gift to us was His pure, undefiled, perfect, almighty Son.

The question is: Are you a whore or a disciple?

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
Isaiah 53:4,5,10a

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Bunyan on Sin

Sin is the great block and bar to our happiness, the procurer of all miseries to man, both here and hereafter: take away sin and nothing can hurt us: for death, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, is the wages of it.

Sin, and man for sin, is the object of the wrath of God. How dreadful, therefore, must his case be who continues in sin! For who can bear or grapple with the wrath of God? No sin against God can be little, because it is against the great God of heaven and earth; but if the sinner can find out a little God, it may be easy to find out little sins.
Sin turns all God’s grace into wantonness; it is the dare of his justice, the rape of his mercy, the jeer of his patience, the slight of his power, and the contempt of his love. Take heed of giving thyself liberty of committing one sin, for that will lead thee to another; till, by an ill custom, it become natural. To begin a sin, is to lay a foundation for a continuance; this continuance is the mother of custom, and impudence at last the issue.

The death of Christ giveth us the best discovery of ourselves, in what condition we were, in that nothing could help us but that; and the most clear discovery of the dreadful nature of our sins. For if sin be so dreadful a thing as to wring the heart of the Son of God, how shall a poor wretched sinner be able to bear it?

Bunyan, J. (2006). Bunyan's Dying Sayings. (1:65). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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