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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The Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy

Since there is a certain reader that I have confused, which wasn't that difficult, I figured I would put up the articles of the Chicago Statement here. If one needs further clarification, click here, to see some other remarks as they considered these articles.

Articles of Affirmation and Denial

Article I.
WE AFFIRM that the Holy Scriptures are to be received as the authoritative Word of God.

WE DENY that the Scriptures receive their authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source.

Article II.
WE AFFIRM that the Scriptures are the supreme written norm by which God binds the conscience, and that the authority of the Church is subordinate to that of Scripture.

WE DENY that Church creeds, councils, or declarations have authority greater than or equal to the authority of the Bible.

Article III.
WE AFFIRM that the written Word in its entirety is revelation given by God.

WE DENY that the Bible is merely a witness to revelation, or only becomes revelation in encounter, or depends on the responses of men for its validity.

Article IV.
WE AFFIRM that God who made mankind in His image has used language as a means of revelation.

WE DENY that human language is so limited by our creatureliness that it is rendered inadequate as a vehicle for divine revelation. We further deny that the corruption of human culture and language through sin has thwarted God's work of inspiration.

Article V.
WE AFFIRM that God's revelation within the Holy Scriptures was progressive.

WE DENY that later revelation, which may fulfill earlier revelation, ever corrects or contradicts it. We further deny that any normative revelation has been given since the completion of the New Testament writings.

Article VI.
WE AFFIRM that the whole of Scripture and all its parts, down to the very words of the original, were given by divine inspiration.

WE DENY that the inspiration of Scripture can rightly be affirmed of the whole without the parts, or of some parts but not the whole.

Article VII.
WE AFFIRM that inspiration was the work in which God by His Spirit, through human writers, gave us His Word. The origin of Scripture is divine. The mode of divine inspiration remains largely a mystery to us.

WE DENY that inspiration can be reduced to human insight, or to heightened states of consciousness of any kind.

Article VIII.
WE AFFIRM that God in His work of inspiration utilized the distinctive personalities and literary styles of the writers whom He had chosen and prepared.

WE DENY that God, in causing these writers to use the very words that He chose, overrode their personalities.

Article IX.
WE AFFIRM that inspiration, though not conferring omniscience, guaranteed true and trustworthy utterance on all matters of which the Biblical authors were moved to speak and write.

WE DENY that the finitude or fallenness of these writers, by necessity or otherwise, introduced distortion or falsehood into God's Word.

Article X.
WE AFFIRM that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.

WE DENY that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant.

Article XI.
WE AFFIRM that Scripture, having been given by divine inspiration, is infallible, so that, far from misleading us, it is true and reliable in all the matters it addresses.

WE DENY that it is possible for the Bible to be at the same time infallible and errant in its assertions. Infallibility and inerrancy may be distinguished, but not separated.

Article XII.
WE AFFIRM that Scripture in its entirety is inerrant, being free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit.

WE DENY that Biblical infallibility and inerrancy are limited to spiritual, religious, or redemptive themes, exclusive of assertions in the fields of history and science. We further deny that scientific hypotheses about earth history may properly be used to overturn the teaching of Scripture on creation and the flood.

Article XIII.
WE AFFIRM the propriety of using inerrancy as a theological term with reference to the complete truthfulness of Scripture.

WE DENY that it is proper to evaluate Scripture according to standards of truth and error that are alien to its usage or purpose. We further deny that inerrancy is negated by Biblical phenomena such as a lack of modern technical precision, irregularities of grammar or spelling, observational descriptions of nature, the reporting of falsehoods, the use of hyperbole and round numbers, the topical arrangement of material, variant selections of material in parallel accounts, or the use of free citations.

Article XIV.
WE AFFIRM the unity and internal consistency of Scripture.

WE DENY that alleged errors and discrepancies that have not yet been resolved vitiate the truth claims of the Bible.

Article XV.
WE AFFIRM that the doctrine of inerrancy is grounded in the teaching of the Bible about inspiration.

WE DENY that Jesus' teaching about Scripture may be dismissed by appeals to accommodation or to any natural limitation of His humanity.

Article XVI.
WE AFFIRM that the doctrine of inerrancy has been integral to the Church's faith throughout its history.

WE DENY that inerrancy is a doctrine invented by scholastic Protestantism, or is a reactionary position postulated in response to negative higher criticism.

Article XVII.
WE AFFIRM that the Holy Spirit bears witness to the Scriptures, assuring believers of the truthfulness of God's written Word.

WE DENY that this witness of the Holy Spirit operates in isolation from or against Scripture.

Article XVIII.
WE AFFIRM that the text of Scripture is to be interpreted by grammatico-historical exegesis, taking account of its literary forms and devices, and that Scripture is to interpret Scripture.

WE DENY the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or quest for sources lying behind it that leads to relativizing, dehistoricizing, or discounting its teaching, or rejecting its claims to authorship.

Article XIX.
WE AFFIRM that a confession of the full authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture is vital to a sound understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. We further affirm that such confession should lead to increasing conformity to the image of Christ.

WE DENY that such confession is necessary for salvation. However, we further deny that inerrancy can be rejected without grave consequences, both to the individual and to the Church.

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Can a Woman Baptize People?

Last night I taught on water baptism and then I opened it up for questions. We had many good questions about baptism but the one that struck me was the question of, "Is there anything wrong with a woman who baptizes someone?"

From my studies on baptism I noticed one thing that was apparent in Paul's ministry. He did not put much attention on the one doing the baptism. So much so, that he made sure to condemn those who were caught up and bragging about who baptized them.

Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
1 Corinthians 1:12-17

Paul is trying to explain that the person who baptized you is not the most important, but as he says in verse 17 speaks of, the gospel is of the utmost importance, not baptism. Paul says that Christ sent him specifically to preach, not baptize. This does not mean that baptism is not important, but the gospel is of first importance.

In my old churches that I have spent time in it was always the lead pastor who baptized people, which is fine, but he is not the only one who should be allowed to baptize. We find in the Scriptures that Philip the deacon baptized the Eunuch in Acts 8 and that in all probability Ananias baptized Paul (even though we do not know for sure). Ananias was just called a "disciple" meaning he was no more than a mere Christian in the early church and yet he was commissioned to baptize someone who was going to write most of the New Testament.

The point is that those who we find baptizing people were not only elders in the New Testament. We also find no where in the Scriptures that forbids the woman baptizing anyone. What we do find is that those who lead the person to a faith in Christ was more than likely the one who would baptize someone. Because I have no issue with women teaching Sunday school, sharing the gospel and being on the mission field, there would be many instances where someone would feel compelled to have that woman baptize them.

In the end, I have never seen a woman baptizing another, but as long as she is humble, like any man should be when baptizing, I find no Scriptural basis on why a woman couldn't baptize someone.

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10 Steps to Become a Legalist: Step 10

Well this is the last of the steps. I am sure there are many more steps one could take, but these are the ones that I could think of as I have lived my life and watched others live theirs with angry scowls at me as I don't live the way they want me to. This post is one that is going to require you to have a sense of humor, especially if you abstain from alcohol. I will say that the people that I am writing about today are not those who abstain because of their own conviction, but those who not only abstain, but try and convert others to become hall of famers with Welch's Grape Juice alongside them. I will be following this post up with a conclusion, but this will be the last of the steps.

This last step is "People need to abstain from everything...well except food and money"

To be a good legalist, you really have to major on the minors and minor on the majors. If you are scratching your head in confusion because you don't understand the last phrase, your tie is on too tight and you need to put down your King James Bible. Maybe if I said, "If thou desireth to becometh a good legalist, make sureth you overemphasizeth the smalleth things and underemphasizeth the largest of things." Got it? Alright good. For sure this is what will take place as look to how to become a legalist in our last step.

To be a good legalist, find something to abstain from. Whether it be alcohol, smoking or for most of you, sinners. Find something to abstain from, and don't just abstain from them but be a good legalist and find converts for the cause of yourself. You could be the yoke around their neck...errrr...I mean banner of love over them that brings them from sinner to saint. To do this you will have to take verses that speak to certain points and overemphasize them to show that you are right and everyone else is wrong. You will have to take verses and outlaw every use of things to make them sin by just participating instead of what the verse is meant, which is to be careful of over consumption or overuse.

One of the most popular things to abstain from is alcohol. Now, those people that merely abstain for personal conviction are not true legalists, and the reason that you are reading this is not to become a person of conviction, but a person with yokes to hand out. So, take the verses that speak of drunkenness and make it so that it speaks of consumption in any way. Come up with theories that speak of the wine in the biblical times of being watered down and more like grape juice than today's wine. Find these things and harp on them. Make them the center of your ministry and make sure that those who go to taverns, bars or those type of dirty sinful establishments understand that they are going to the den of thieves and robbers. These places are merely the gates to hell. It is your duty to stand on your stool outside, yelling through your bull horn while handing out tracts with the flames of hell on them.

Remember, because the Bible only speaks of drunkenness being wrong, you must take those verses and make them sound like drinking of any kind is sin. Not only do you have to do this but you must make up some very good stories of why we will be drinking wine in heaven, why it was made for our joy, why Jesus drank wine and why he made water into wine as his first miracle. This can get tedious, but if you're desire is to be a good legalist and you have followed the first 9 steps, you should be well on your way of speaking out of both sides of your mouth while proof texting your 1611 King James Bible.

If this isn't going to be your soap box there are many more things that you can abstain from. Smoking is a good one as well. Although smoking is never mentioned in the Bible, don't people know that their bodies are the temple of God? Never mind the passage is dealing with prostitution, remember ignore that and focus on the "temple of God" part. If you quote it enough with a scowl and a finger pointed at people, anything can sound right. Especially if you throw in a "don't be like the world" at people. Just be careful because they might point a certain finger right back at you.

Speaking of "don't be like the world" this comes to the next thing that you can really set your life apart with. Abstain from sinners. Now, you can preach at them, and casually talk to them at the bus stop, but don't let them be your friends. Because if you are friends with them, people might think you are just like them. I mean, what would Pharisees, oops, I mean your congregation, think if they saw you with sinners. Abstain from the sinner, don't let them corrupt you and your family. You are to be holy, not like them or with them. To do this you will have to ignore that most of the apostles were gross sinners and most of those that Christ hung out with and befriended were the worst of sinners. But hey, you have become just like Thomas Jefferson at this point, just cut out those parts of the Bible that do not fit within your new found Christianity. You might have miracles and Jesus in your Bible, but you will have to cut out all the people that were affected by the miracles. No big deal though, God doesn't do miracles anymore anyways, he has you, why would he need miracles?

So, find something to abstain from. Whether it be alcohol, smoking or sinners, find something. Preach on it like Benny Hinn does on money. He might not be in a dark suit, but he could really teach all us legalist how to focus on one thing and make it our ministry.

Alright, enough of the actual post and a little more thoughts on the issue as a whole. I find it interesting that people abstain from alcohol and smoking (I have some close friends abstain, but they aren't legalist in their convictions) don't use the same logic with other things that are spoken of in the Bible. If we are to abstain from alcohol because someone might stumble if they see us drinking, why don't we stop eating around fat people? Why don't we stop spending money in front of people that struggle with greed? You see gluttony and greed are actually named as sin in the Bible where merely drinking and smoking are not. But, what I find is more people have conviction over alcohol and smoking than they do with those things that are mentioned far more often and actually named as sinful. This is a huge deal that is overlooked. What is usually pretty funny is that it is fat preachers, in pin stripe suits, with big houses that tell you that you shouldn't drink or smoke.

Not only are most legalist saying that you must not drink or smoke in front of those who struggle with it, but you must abstain completely even when you are not with those who struggle. So you are to never smoke or drink. Again, take this same logic with those that struggle in other ways. Am I to never eat, because my brother that struggles with gluttony? Am I to never make money or spend it because my brother struggles with greed? Am I never to have sex with my wife because my brother struggles with lust and sex? People need to use some logic here. What about this. I have a neighbor who is a vegetarian. He is not saved, but when they come over, we always eat vegetarian with them. They have told us it is no big deal, but we want to make sure that we are being a good witness of brotherly love. Does this mean though, that I never eat meat? No, but I do it as a witness to them when they come over.

In the end, what seems to happen is that the overuse of anything becomes sin. For whatever reason people have chosen to really harp on smoking and alcohol. Some say it is because they have had some personal experience in dealing with its affects. I have to ask again, "do we do things and put yokes on others because of experience or the Scriptures?" We have to remember that some people have had their lives ruined with money and parents dying because of overeating and heart attacks. Does this mean we have a campaign against eating and money? This would never happen. Historically, drinking alcohol has been a part of life for everyone, but since the prohibition, it seems as though this "sin" has been elevated to an extreme part in people's ministry as they forget the other parts of the Bible.

I have no problem if someone has a personal conviction to abstain from anything. I just beg the question, "Why do you have to put that on others?" Use your own logic with other things and you will find that your personal conviction is just that...personal.

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What is Calvinism?

If Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism are as described here, then what is Calvinism?

In my personal beliefs of correct, historic Calvinism, it would be:

The house that is built with Christ as its cornerstone, the prophets, apostles and saints as its bricks, with the Messiah as the door, God its builder and the Holy Spirit the sign welcoming all to come in and take rest.

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Hyper-Calvinism and Arminianism

Hyper-Calvinism is all house and no door; Arminianism is all door and no house.
John Duncan

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Phrase Abuse: Part II

My first post focused on a couple of the phrases that I abuse most often, and now I turn the table on a couple phrases that I hear all the time that have seemed to lose some of their meaning. I would ask people what they mean by these two phrases, or if they truly mean it when they use them, but then I would be seen as more of a jerk than I already am. So, I just stay silent and hope that they "mean it" when they say it. The two phrases that I hear most often that make me wonder on their meaning are "God is good" and "Thank God". One has a lopsided use and the other I just don't know if its use is really appropriate.

The first one that we'll look at is "God is Good"

We know that this is definitely true. Literally, God IS good. He gives meaning to what is good and what is evil. He is not merely an abstraction to the term, He is the term. Without Him there would be no case for what is good and what is evil. They end in their definitions with Him. So, the term is not in itself a bad one or a false one, I just believe it is lopsided in its use.

Being that God is eternal, knows what we need, what we do not need, He desires for our joy to be full and knows how to and will determine the means for our greatest good on this earth, we need to accept, that although some bad things happen to us, God is ALWAYS good.

What I find most often within this term is someone saying that God is good, because God has made something good happen within their lives. So, you get a raise, "God is good." You find a job, "God is good". Your wife washed your underwear, "God is good". But, what about when we get pay decreases, we lose our jobs or our underwear wasn't washed by the underwear fairy? What then? When we do not exclaim, and truly believe that God is good during these times , we are practically refuting Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Although a situation or trial may come and look truly evil to us, and actually could be in of itself evil, we should still exclaim that our God is good and that in turn he will transform this evil into good, because we love him. These are the times that make the world turn their heads. When evil happens and we stand firm that our God is good. What good is it to only make claims of God's goodness when we find favor in our lives? How are we different than those caught up in the health and wealth gospel that treat God as a holy ATM worthy of our praise if he keeps spitting out Benjamins?

We must be steadfast in our understanding that our God is good at all times. Struggles and trials come daily but our God is immutable in His goodness. When we exclaim this to the world, that is when they see the glory of our God.

The second phrase that is abused is the term, "Thank God."

I wonder if this is a phrase that is used in reverence or blasphemy? When people use it, it seems to be more in the way of slang instead of reverence and thankfulness to the Creator who made their mouths. Although, saying "thank goodness" is not a great substitution either, which seems to suggest thanking some kind of pantheistic being or karma for our good fortunes.

What bothers me about the phrase, "Thank God" is when the Christian uses it without really thinking about what they are saying. Are they truly thanking God for what he has done in their lives, or are they using an empty phrase because it is habit?

I would find another way to use this phrase or truly emphasize the thankfulness one has to God when using this phrase. It seems like it is used like "God bless you" after one sneezes. Which I like Jerry Seinfeld's suggestion on that one, let's start using the term "You're sooooo good looking." At least we aren't making God seem like a small figure in our lives and language.

I might be getting nitpicky with these things, but it just seems like the name of our God has become small, when in history His name has been used primarily for reverence. His name was the only thing that was used of the term "awesome". His name was determined to be unpronounceable by the Jews, hence YHWH. Scribes would use different quills reserved only for His name when transcribing the Torah and New Testament. When Scribes were doing their, errr, scribing, they would not look up when the king walked in the room because reverence for merely writing the name of God was far more important than showing respect for a king. Which would normally carry a sentence of death.

Where is this reverence now? If Starbucks still has my favorite Christmas coffee when I go in I say, "thank God". When someone is saved I say, "thank God". When I find the new release at Blockbuster, "thank God". When the Seahawks actually win, "thank God."

Does this not seem a little off? Does this not seem as though God's own name has lost its luster? Take a look at this found in Isaiah when God speaks:

For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
Isaiah 29:23

Maybe we don't understand the work of God's hands, because if we did, we would sanctify his name and stand in awe of the God of Israel. Just a thought.

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Some Places to Find Me...

I am not sure what most of you log into when you get on your computer, but I figured I would give you some different ways to get in touch if you would like. New for me is twitter. I am going to give it a try and see what comes of it.

But, here are the ways you can hit me up for some conversations, etc.

Contend Earnestly Blog Network

Facebook Profile

Twitter Profile

MSN Messenger: sdmcbee at hotmail dot com

Yahoo Messenger: istillhatepayrod (don't ask)

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Thinking About Some Urban

I need some thoughts on something that I have been thinking about for a while. I work in a suit and tie everyday, I hate it, but what can you do? What I have been doing for the past 6 months is taking a bus to work. When I transfer in the afternoon it is in Renton which is very urban and very hip hop. White, black, whatever, but very urban, with many young junior highers and high schoolers who are hanging out at the transfer station. As I stand there sticking out like an intelligent person at Yankee stadium, I have been thinking about how I could reach them. I look like a dork. I stand there with my laptop bag and suit, reading theology books, but banging hip hop on my iPod. Pretty funny picture if you think about it.

I have seen some faithful guys from Way of the Master stand around trying to hand out tracts, but to be honest, little happens within the kids trying to just kick it with their friends before they head home. My question is, "How do I reach them?"

I wonder if I should try in my suit, or if I should just try to visit at a different times dressed like I usually do. It's not totally urban, but it's not a monkey suit with pin stripes either.

I have been thinking about picking up the "Before You Die" tract from ReachLife Ministries. I have one that I picked up at the Resurgence Conference and it is very good. I am just not sure how economical it is to spend $3.50 per tract (there is a CD insert) but this is probably exactly what I am looking for.

Anyways...any thoughts from my readers? Or you could just go to the site and order me some. :)

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Hip Hop and Christianity Finally Mix

In my years I have been a huge fan of everything urban, the scene, the people, the music, etc. The problem is that the music was so obscene I have had to stop listening to most of it. I had given up on the Christian scene within hip-hop after someone tried to convince me that DC Talk was a good alternative. Ummmm...no.

It actually took Lecrae and Tedashii coming to Mars Hill's Resurgence Conference for me to see that hip hop has made up major ground within the Christian context. What is interesting is that the guys who are making a major impact are Reformed. The beats are sick, the lyrics are on point and the gospel is being spat. I know most of my readers are not fans of hip hop, which is fine, but these guys make most of the Contemporary Christian Music scene look like nursery hour in a seeker church. I highly, I mean highly commend their records and am very excited that their CD's are making moves on the iTunes best sellers for hip hop overall. Talking about making a dent for Christ. Keep it up guys. Not only are they putting out records, but they are having conferences, putting out curriculum, having concerts and also have tracts for the gospel. These guys are legit in every sense of the word. So legit that they have Piper, Mahaney and Driscoll piped into their songs with excerpts of their preaching. Piper has had interviews, Dricsoll has had interviews...I am telling you, they are making a huge impact. Below is where you can find them and the records that I personally own that have very much enjoyed.

Reach Records

Lecrae: Rebel

Trip Lee: 20/20

Sho Baraka: Turn My Life Up

Reach Life Ministries

Reach Life Tract

Lamp Mode Records

Shai Linne: the Atonement and Storiez

Shai Linne's blog

Cross Movement Records

Flame: Our World Redeemed (he's up for a grammy)

Go check these guys out. What is great is that when you read the lyrics they are spot on. So, not only do you get good beats, but good lyrics.

Hope you enjoy.

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The Witness of Christianity

I know that we will always say, "why can't we be like those people" etc. and it always seems like we live in the very worst times of Christian piety. I also know that there have always been issues with the witness of Christians among the pagan world as shown clearly to Paul's letters to the Corinthian church. I also know that our shortcomings are even more clear today because of the sheer number of Christians in the world and the media who love to portray us in the most negative sense possible. But, I still find this quote from probably the 2nd or early 3rd century one that probably would not be repeated by 90% of the unsaved.

For Christians cannot be distinguished from the rest of the human race by county or language or custom. They do not live in cities off their own; they do not use a peculiar form of speech; they do not follow an eccentric manner of life. This doctrine of theirs has not been discovered by the ingenuity and deep thought of inquisitive men, nor do they put forward a merely human teaching, as some people do...They busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require. They love all men, and by all men are persecuted. They are unknown, and still they are condemned; they are put to death and yet they are brought to life. They are poor, and yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute, and yet they enjoy complete abundance. They are dishonored, and in their very dishonor are glorified; they are defamed, and are vindicated. They are reviled, and yet they bless; when they affronted, they still pay due respect. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; undergoing punishment, they rejoice because they are brought to life. They are treated by the Jews as foreigners and enemies, and hunted down by the Greeks; and all the time those who hate them find it impossible to justify their enmity.

Anonymous, "Letter to Diognetus"

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A Christian Manifesto

This book was definitely one of the more political ones of Schaeffer's. This came towards the end of his life when he was very upset, understandably, over Roe v. Wade and the abolition of anti-abortion laws by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was done well and one that had many great arguments of why we shouldn't really be surprised at what is happening because of the allowance of secular humanism becoming so rampant in our schools and among our society as a whole (in practice anyways).

Like most of Schaeffer, he does very well at showing historically why we are dealing with these issues as a whole. He shows how this country was set up, although not as a Christian one, one that obviously drew from a distinctively Christian mindset. From there, he shows the historical shift that began to take place when the humanist manifesto made it's debut in 1933 and from there the downfall was set in motion. From there, the 1st amendment started to be interpreted differently than the Founding Fathers had in mind and then the 60's started living out the humanist manifesto and we, as a nation, never looked back.

Schaeffer shows why it is necessary for countries to believe in a moral law giver and not in the humanist call that every man decide, in their context, what is right and wrong. Schaeffer actually shows masterfully why abortion is the greatest way that the humanist manifesto has shown itself in our culture. What else should we expect from people who believe that it is up to the person to decide what is right and wrong? Now one can murder their child, because they deem that it is right within their context and for their life. Although deplorable, should not surprise us.

From there Schaeffer gives a historical and biblical understanding of when it is okay to show civil disobedience to a government who goes against God's decrees. Although I don't agree with all his points and he even admittedly states that some will take what he writes beyond the bounds he means them to go, I can see the fruitfulness of this discussion and his reasons.

The one thing that I found to be disturbing within the context of abortion is that he gives four defenses that all Christians should take up for the child. The problem is that these four defenses are all against the government and none against the actual people murdering their children. He points to how to try and fight against a government who allows this murder to happen, but does not show anyway to rise up against the actual murderers of their children. He does this throughout the book on the whole though. He talks about government as a whole, instead of the individual. This is definitely a short coming in the book. Until people are transformed, we can try and change as many laws as we want, but we will come up well short of the overall goal: transforming people to live for the glory of God.

Overall, the book is definitely a political one more than an apologetics book. It is a book where I found myself in agreement and also disagreement, but overall found it useful. As usual Schaeffer wrote this and it sounds like he was living today and not close to 30 years ago. Most of what Schaeffer has forecasted is now happening and it is very close to come to a place to where the Christian voice will be silenced completely. Until then, we must preach, teach and transform the lives of people, not just government. Recommended. Link to Buy

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Porn-Again Christian by Mark Driscoll

I took some time yesterday to read Driscoll's online book, Porn Again Christian. This is a small booklet speaking about an issue that most pastors get caught doing more than they preach against it.

Driscoll who took a small hiatus from crass and sharp words in his book "Death by Love" comes back hard against all the pansies with their hands down their pants while looking at women that aren't their wives. I mean Driscoll brings it hard and I personally believe that this kind of wording is exactly what these guys need that are hooked on porn.

Driscoll shows why porn is a sin, both outside of marriage and outside of marriage. he not only shows why it is wrong, but he also shows some of the affects of porn on society as a whole and some aftermaths because of it. Namely in the story of Ted Bundy, prostitution, sex slavery,etc.

Driscoll lays out first and foremost some straight up theology on the fear of the Lord. He starts here as this is where wisdom begins. He then works from here to why porn is wrong within the context of understanding that it is intertwined with lust which is condemned by Christ. After this he goes into masturbation, both the ways that it is sin and the way that it is NOT sin. The ways that he deals with in the context of correct usage of masturbation is within the context of marriage.

The next chapter deals with some very frank questions and answers that are harsh at times and just straight up funny. One of the questions comes from a husband that asks, "What do I do if my wife wants to have more sex than I do?" Driscoll answers, "Don’t tell your buddies or they will mock you incessantly for the rest of your life after staring at you blankly without blinking for about an hour in total silence. Do have sex with your wife as often as she likes and thank God."

He ends his main part of the book with those who believe they are the exception to lust and porn. He does this by putting forth an excerpt of James Dobson's interview with Ted Bundy before he was to be executed. I have seen the interview before, but the reminders were astounding to read once more. For one to think they are the exception to the rule with porn is a slippery slope to get to.

After the last chapter, Driscoll has an appendix with 5 different topics. He does this because of how many of his readers and listeners are overseas in the military. He really drives home the point of the prostitution and sex slavery that happens around the military bases. These different appendixes were very eye opening and disturbing as well. The hope is make sure that the military men stop with these acts of indecency, understanding that they are not only hurting themselves but actually supporting sex slavery around their camps.

This book does not hold back. I would reserve this for men who are at least 18 years old to read on. The only time I would think it would be okay for someone younger is if the parent is willing to read and discuss with their child as well. I greatly appreciate Driscoll for not caring what is the norm with preaching but instead, doing what he knows is right in the eyes of God. This subject affects about 50% of males, so to not talk about it is like ignoring half the flock of God. Highly Recommended (with caution).

Read Online: Porn Again Christian

Download PDF: Porn Again Christian

Buy the Book: Porn Again Christian

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Joyful Noise: Flame; Lecrae; John Reilly

Thanks to Pastor Dave for making me spend another $10 on an album, but this song is sick. Enjoy. For all you reformed white dudes...sick means that this is a song that you won't find in the Psalter but is still godly and off the hizook. Ha ha...enjoy.

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Phrase Abuse: Part I

I don't know about you but I use some phrases without really thinking about what I am saying. Some of them are shared with society and Christendom and some are just my own terrible usage and abuse of them. I like to point these things out to portray my true self for the use of repentance and also to hopefully open the eyes of our filthy selves to see how brutal we can be at times. Today I will put up some of the terms that I say flippantly and then will turn the tables to point out some that the evangelical community abuses too often.

The first term that I abuse often is the simple, "How you doing?"

Honestly, I really don't care how you are doing. I am just being nice so that there isn't that awkward silence as you walk by someone in the halls. Whether in church or at work as I pass by people I simply smile and ask, "How you doing?" and then I keep walking hoping that they simply say, "good". I should simply say, "hello" so not to give the thought that I care how one is doing as I hurriedly go about my day and the tasks that I have at hand. Because when someone surprises me with an "okay" and are noticeably upset, instead of stopping and speaking with them, I just smile and keep going like I am on speed in need of my next fix.

Instead of changing my phrase, I need to change my attitude and understanding of my role in the scheme of God's plans. I need to be ready to stop what I am doing and speak to the person who is not really okay, but is in need of a gracious ear. The problem is I really don't care for the person, but I need to start. I know this sounds brutal and blunt, but you know you do the same thing but you are just pasting your smile on your face and faking it. :)

As I start my day, I need to simply pray that God would use me how he would want me. I need to expect my day and my running to the bathroom to be interrupted with a real person with real problems. I need to not only do this, but I need to even ask the question, "How you doing?" with sincerity in my voice so that the one that I would usually trample over on the way to Starbucks has the sense that I really want to know how they are doing.

So, the next time you see me and I ask, "how you doing?" shock me and say, "okay" to see if I respond or walk by like a dog getting a stick without a care for you. I pray that I will actually care, but I can't make crazy promises like that yet.

The second phrase that I abuse way too often is, "I'll pray for you"

If you get me to actually stop and talk to you, which is difficult, and you have some things that need to be prayed for, I will definitely tell you, "I'll pray for you". I have to be honest. I probably won't. This just what I say so that I look spiritual. I mean I am supposed to be spiritual. I preach, teach, write, I am a lay leader and the youth director at our church. If I were to actually tell you, "I hope that works out for you" you would probably look at me like you would if you saw a republican helping the poor or a democrat caring about an unborn baby. (sorry, I love potshots) The spiritual thing at this point in the conversation isn't "I'll pray for you" but "Can I pray with you right now?" I speak to many people who tell me many things that need prayer and I can't possibly remember them all. So, I just lie and tell them that I will pray for them and then go about my day that will definitely involve reading about theology and ministry and forgetting about the theology and ministry that is happening right in front of me.

I know this sounds just brutal. But, if you read this blog at all, you know I am honest. This is something that bothers me a lot with myself. I need to be diligent in keeping a prayer journal and regular and sporadic prayer times. I need to act like an Arminian and believe that if I don't pray that God can't do anything. I need to believe that if I don't pray then then the hand of God can't move. I need to be that diligent, but sadly I am not. I actually, in practice, become a fatalist. Which sucks.

So, how do I fix this? I need to really stop at any point and simply ask the person if we can pray right then and there. Yes, my coffee might get cold, but prayer is much more important and if God predestined my coffee to get cold, whom am I to stop it? I also need to keep a pen and paper with me to write down prayer requests as people ask. I then need to continue to pray for them and ask for updates to the prayer requests. How odd would it be if someone asked me to pray and I actually did! Not only that, but I followed up with them to see what God's answer was to our praying together. This would seem that this would only make our relationships stronger, but would also make our understanding of prayer and the sovereignty of God more accurate. We could weep together, take joy together or just wait for God's answer together.

These are my two most abused phrases that I personally use. I know they are brutal and probably make you respond in either laughter or "I can't believe he just admitted that!" Either way, I hope that you will actually pray for me in these areas and not just tell me your on your way to getting your latte.

Let me know also what your most abused phrases are and we can all start praying that we take every thought captive and not just spout off whatever rolls off the tongue.

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On the Incarnation

I was parusing the local "Christian" book store, I put that in quotes because when you have TD Jakes on the shelf one has to wonder where this store draws the line. I am guessing it is drawn on profit margin. Anyways, I found a small book on their "classics" bookshelf by Athanasius. I wanted to pick up this book so that I could read one of the greatest defenders of God incarnate in our history. I have read many quotes by Athanasius and also read some biographies on Athanasius, but I had never taken up the task to read any of his works. I am glad I decided to do so.

On the Incarnation is very well put together and I wish that more people would put together their argumentation for Christ in this way. Athanasius wrote this book sometime probably in his youth in the early 4th century to his friend, new to the faith, named Macarius.

To prove the incarnation of God the Word, Athanasius starts at Creation and the Fall, continues with the Divine dilemma and its solution in the incarnation, the death of Christ, the resurrection and then ends with refuting the Jews and Gentiles.

The letter to his friend is very easily set up and the use of logic as a defense and offense of argumentation is done very well. He not only does this, but also uses the Scriptures (a lot) and external proofs to lay out his argumentation for the incarnation of God through Christ.

I was expecting this read to be very laborious, but the translation is done very well and makes for an easy, yet edifying read. By the time the reader gets to the refutation of the Jews and Gentiles the arguments have been laid out so well that these arguments are not difficult to prove. Although some of these would not hold water now, as Athanasius does employ the fruits of conversion of people as proof. Using this same logic one could point to Mormomism and Islam in the same light. Even with this, the way that he shows these proofs is still very interesting to read and look to as great reminders of what Christ and the Holy Spirit were doing in the early years of Christianity.

What I like most about this book is that I was still able to glean much truth from it even though it was written 1700 years ago. I was able to take a glimpse into life in the 4th century and to see what was happening in early Christianity and watch a messenger of God put forth the great Gospel truths.

This book is still for readers and apologists today and shows why Athanasius was one of the most intelligent and used men of God. Highly Recommended.

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Athanasius on the Death of Christ

I am reading "On the Incarnation" by Athanasius for personal study and found an interesting section this morning on the death of Christ. I thought I would put up the quote for all to look at. I have found this small treaties on the Incarnation to be very profitable and will put up a review when I am finished. But for now, here is a quote on the atonement:

Even the very creation broke silence at His behest and, marvellous to relate, confessed with one voice before the cross, that monument of victory, that He who suffered thereon in the body was not man only, but the Son of God and Saviour of all. The sun veiled his face, the earth quaked, the mountains were rent asunder, all men were stricken with awe. These things showed that Christ on the cross was God, and that all creation was His slave and was bearing witness by its fear to the presence of its Master.

Thus, then, God the Word revealed Himself to men through His works. We must next consider the end of His earthly life and the nature of His bodily death. This is, indeed, the very centre of our faith, and everywhere you hear men speak of it; by it, too, no less than by His other acts, Christ is revealed as God and Son of God.

We have dealt as far as circumstances and our own understanding permit with the reason for His bodily manifestation. We have seen that to change the corruptible to incorruption was proper to none other than the Saviour Himself, Who in the beginning made all things out of nothing; that only the Image of the Father could re-create the likeness of the Image in men, that none save our Lord Jesus Christ could give to mortals immortality, and that only the Word Who orders all things and is alone the Fathers' true and sole-begotten Son could teach men about Him and abolish the worhship of idols. But beyond all this, there was a debt owing which must needs be paid; for, as I said before, all men were due to die. Here, then, is the second reason why the Word dwelt among us, namely that having proved His Godhead by His works, He might offer the sacrifice on behalf of all,surrendering His own temple to death in place of all, to settle man's account with death and free him from the primal transgression. In the same act also He showed Himself mightier than death, displaying His own body incorruptible as the first-fruits of the resurrection.

You must not be surprised if we repeat ourselves in dealing with this subject. We are speaking of the good pleasure of God and of the things which He in His loving wisdom thought fit to do, and it is better to put the same thing in several ways than to run the risk of leaving something out. The body of the Word, then, being a real human body, in spite of its having been uniquely formed from a virgin, was of itself mortal and, like other bodies, liable to death. But the indwelling of the Word loosed it from this natural liability, so that corruption could not touch it. Thus it happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord's body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished. Death there had to be, and death for all, so that the due of all might be paid. Wherefore, the Word, as I said, being Himself incapable of death, assumed a mortal body, that He might offer it as His own in place of all, and suffering for the sake of all through His union with it, "might bring to nought Him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver them who all their lifetime were enslaved by the fear of death."
On the Incarnation, Athanasius, Chapter 4; The Death of Christ; pgs. 48-49

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Martin Lloyd Jones on Resolutions

I have been stealing a lot lately. Here is another theft I stole from Piper, enjoy my crime:

Reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ classic Spiritual Depression would be a strong way to start the new year.

The title can be a tad deceiving. It’s not merely a book for those with a pronounced sense of spiritual depression. It’s a book for all Christians—for the daily spiritual depressions we all face this side of heaven.

Lloyd-Jones ends his second chapter with these challenging and refreshing words:

Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you
have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. Realize that it
has been covered and blotted out in Christ. Never look back at your sins again.
Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ’. That is your first
step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and
look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are
possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better
life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say:

I rest my faith on Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone

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Contend Earnestly Remix Tape 2008

For my younger readers the above picture is what we used to call a "tape." Long gone are the remix tapes and such, and now we have "Playlists" and MP3's. But, for this year I want to throw it back to give a remix of Contend Earnestly this past year. It has definitely been a busy year and also at times controversial. But, what would Contend be without being controversy? It is interesting the people that read my blog. It is definitely a hodgepodge of people. I have pastors, missionaries, atheists, Arminians, Calvinists, tree huggers, democrats, republicans and yes, I even have cult members that check in once in a while. Oh yeah, shout out to my Aussie readers.

This year has been busy and one that I won't forget for a while. At times I love blogging and at times I hate blogging, but in the end I am like a fat kid with cake, I can't get enough. Who cares if I don't like the flavor, I can't stop forcing it down my throat. This post is all about the remix of 2008. The highs and lows of the blog that you probably either hate or love, and you have definitely been made fun at times. You have either laughed or posted a comment anonymously and went off at me. Which just makes me write more about you that makes others laugh.

I had a lady at my church, whom I love to mess with and she loves to mess with me (she reads the blog) and she told me that one of my posts she was really wanting me to make a misstep so she could blast me, but I didn't. I asked her, "what bugs you, cause I will make sure I post on that next time." I just like messing with people to get them to think. That is probably the number one reason that I blog and I hope that is the reason you keep checking in. Just to see, "What will Seth write that will challenge my thinking on the theological implications of my life?"

You might agree, you might disagree, but I hope you never come to this blog without getting pushed to make you think about your convictions. That is my desire. I don't care if we agree, I just hope you can have a defense biblically for why you are convicted about certain things.

So, to give you a reminder of where we have been this year, let's take a look:

Probably the number one thing that this blog has ever contributed and is hopefully going to get published is the 10 Steps to Become a Legalist. Guaranteed you have been offended at some point while reading these. I still have the 10th step to get to and the conclusion so if you haven't been offended, you either need to read them again, or I will try my best to get you with the last two posts on the subject. I have received many emails, comments, etc. on these posts and have enjoyed writing on the subject because I used to be, and continue to be, a legalist in certain areas in my life.

Another thing that completely hit off the charts was the live blogging I did at the Resurgence Conference which then lead to MacArthur making comments against contextualization that were absurd and lead to a world wide blog war against MacArthur, Busenitz and Phil Johnson. Like most things, it was edifying to work through the issues, too strong at points and just plain funny on other points.

I definitely covered a wide variety of subjects this year. From smoking, boring preachers, contemporary Christian "music", divorce, politics, etc. But, the two that definitely brought the most attention was harsh language and calling James White a hypercalvinist.

I still stand by my posts on harsh language and the video that Paul Tripp did for the Desiring God Conference this year. Much was said, much was debated, but I was right and most of what others said against it was crap. We learned further that Steve Camp is headed down the proverbial road to crazyville and taking his clones with him. Sad where he has headed on this road. But, you know what they say, if you believe you are a leader and you turn around and no one is following you are just out on a long walk. So, I hope he has fun trying to continue to bash Tripp, Piper and Driscoll on this matter. But, I hope that he goes at it alone.

The second one was calling James White a hypercalvinist. Strange what happens when you use those words. What is interesting is we saw what kind of guy he is. He challenged me on his radio show, made some pretty crass remarks, asked me to prove my point, which I did, and he never followed up. He seems to like to do this. He calls people out and doesn't follow up, which is disheartening. I know he moved on to deal with others that made similar remarks, but if his challenge wasn't serious I wish he would have just left my blog out of it. Oh well, you know what they say, any publicity is good publicity. I guess this "young man" who hasn't read any of White's books (?) will stay anonymous (I wonder why he has a double standard with Turretinfan?) and just keep blogging about things that are over my head. I am sure that James White will want to debate someone on the subject, as that is the only way to make him happy: to have a debate. We should debate sometime on why debating doesn't really get anywhere but usually ends up just tearing each other up.

It has definitely been a fun year with more to come. I hope you keep reading and challenging my convictions and conclusions. And know that if you comment anonymously I will poke fun at you because you are probably from my church. So what have we learned this year on Contend?

We have learned that God's desire is for us to edify each other with harsh words because we are all in some way legalists, but God desires for us to all love him.

So, my conclusion for 2008?

Shut up and quit being a legalist. Oh yeah, God loves you. Even you, you cult leader, trying to lead my readers astray. You know who you are.

Til next year. Have a good one.

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Who is Saint Nicholas?

I jacked this from Driscoll, but liked it so I figured I would repost it here. Have a Merry Christmas.

The larger-than-life myths surrounding Santa Claus actually emanate from the very real person of Saint Nicholas. It is difficult to know the exact details of his life with certainty, as the ancient records are sparse, but the various pieces can be put together as a mosaic of his life.

Who was Saint Nick?
Nicholas was born in the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. He was born into an affluent family, but his parents died tragically when he was quite young. His parents had raised him to be a devout Christian, which led him to spend his great inheritance on helping the poor, especially children. He was known to frequently give gifts to children, sometimes even hanging socks filled with treats and gifts.

Perhaps his most famous act of kindness was helping three sisters. Because their family was too poor to pay for their wedding dowry, three young Christian women were facing a life of prostitution until Nicholas paid their dowry, thereby saving them from a horrible life of sexual slavery.

Nicholas grew to be a well-loved Christian leader and was eventually voted the Bishop of Myra, a port city that the apostle Paul had previously visited (Acts 27:5-6). Nicholas reportedly also traveled to the legendary Council of Nicea, where he helped defend the deity of Jesus Christ in AD 325.

Following his death on December 6, 343, he was canonized as a Saint. The anniversary of his death became the St. Nicholas holiday when gifts were given in his memory. He remained a very popular saint among Catholic and Orthodox Christians, with some 2,000 churches named after him. The holiday in his honor eventually merged with Christmas as they were celebrated within weeks of one another.

Reformation Controversy

During the Reformation, however, Nicholas fell out of favor with Protestants, who did not approve of canonizing certain people as saints and venerating them with holidays. His holiday was not celebrated in any Protestant country except Holland, where his legend as Sinterklass lived on. In Germany, Martin Luther replaced him with the Christ child as the object of holiday celebration, or, in German, Christkindl. Over time, the celebration of the Christ child was simply pronounced Kriss Kingle and oddly became just another name for Santa Claus.

Santa Myths
The legends about Santa Claus are most likely a compilation of other folklore. For example, there was a myth in Nicholas’ day that a demon was entering people's homes to terrorize children and that Nicholas cast it out of a home. This myth may explain why it was eventually believed that he came down people's chimneys.

Also, there was a Siberian myth (near the North Pole) that a holy man, or shaman, entered people's homes through their chimneys to leave them mushrooms as gifts. According to the legend, he would hang them in front of the fire to dry. Reindeer would reportedly eat them and become intoxicated. This may have started the myth that the reindeer could fly, as it was believed that the shaman could also fly. This myth may have merged with the Santa Claus myth and if so, explains him traveling from the North Pole to come down the chimney and leave presents on the mantle over the fireplace before flying away with reindeer.

These stories of Santa Claus were first brought to America by Dutch immigrants. In the early 20th century, stores began having Santa Claus present for children during the Christmas season. Children also began sending letters to the North Pole as the legends surrounding an otherwise simple Christian man grew.

At the Resurgence, we keep the center of Christmas focused on Jesus; it’s probably what Nicholas would have wanted.

Original Post can be found here.

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The Joyous Faith of the Magi

This is a re-post from last Christmas that I thought I would put out there once more because I believe it gives us some good questions to ask. Have a great X-Mas, Christmas or Holiday.

One of the things that I appreciate a lot about holidays in general is that they put a stamp in time for us. We can remember back on exact dates and remember who we were and what we were up to. What I usually do around this time is think back to this time last year and simply ask myself, “Do I love Jesus more than I did this time last year?”

The incorrect question would be, “What works have I done?” so that the question becomes, “Does Jesus love me more than last year?”

Jesus loves you the same if you are one of His own. This doesn’t change. The problem is that we have so many religious people and their list of rules to follow that it becomes more about the list than loving Jesus who saved you.

As we come to this Christmas season, ask yourself, “Do I love Jesus more?” “Do I commune with Jesus more?” “Do I fellowship with Jesus more?”

Maybe a better question: Do I even know Jesus?

Let's take a look at the Magi, or wise men. I want you to ask these questions: Do I know Jesus? Am I saved from my sin? If I can say yes, “Am I closer to Jesus this year?” and “Where do I need to grow?”

Look to Matthew 2:1-12

We will look to two things:

The Prophecies of Christ
Reacting to Christ


Prophecies of Christ

As we come to this text, we have something occurring that is causing an uproar and that is found in the Magi, or wise men, coming and asking where the King of the Jews was because of prophecy.

Remember where we are here in the context of history. What just happened for 400 years between the prophet Malachi and John the Baptist? Nothing. God was silent.

And there was a great tribulation in Israel, such as was not since the day, that there was no prophet seen in Israel.
1 Maccabees 9:27

Israel went through a time of silence and this was really just like any other day. Then, all of the sudden, Magi come in and start inquiring, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?”

They come based on prophecy. So, what was this prophecy that they spoke of?

“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,
And tear down all the sons of Sheth.
Numbers 24:17

There are all kinds of speculation what this star was, but I believe that it was more of a supernatural star, like the Shekinah glory seen in Exodus 13:21,22 because of the movement of the star and because it didn’t have a central location:

The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Exodus 13:21,22

The next prophecy we see is when Herod is getting nervous and asked where the Messiah was to be born, and they stated: in Bethlehem of Judah.

This comes from Micah 5:2 and John 7:42 also shows that this was all of Israel’s expectation:

2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
Micah 5:2

This ruler to come is told even more specifically in Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6 where it states:

14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

Think of this: The ruler that was to come was going to be coming from eternity, from Bethlehem, born from a virgin, called Immanuel, or God with us, and will be called Mighty God, Eternal Father.

All this was going to be coming when the star rises from Jacob. This is the one who will be king, ruler, and who will save His people from their sins.

So, what’s the reaction? Maybe better put: what is our reaction to this?

Reacting to Christ

We have two types of people here: The powerful and religious and the pagan. Let’s look at the two:

First, the powerful and religious: This would include Herod, the scribes and the chief priests.

When the Magi come, what happens with Herod and the religious people? They are troubled.
This word is also translated in other places in the New Testament as meaning to be “terrified, to be stirred up, to be anxious”

So, we know that the first thing that these people do is become troubled instead of exceedingly joyous that the Messiah might be here. For Herod it was a power trip not wanting to give up his place of power. For the religious, I think it was something a lot more deep. They were anxious because they knew their deeds and knew that they were dark:

Look to 1 Thess 5:1-11

Notice that Paul is telling us here to be ready for the day of the Lord, for we do not know when it will come. Be alert, be sober, and with these in Thessolonica, keep doing as you are doing as you are encouraging and building up one another.

How did the Magi, who were pagan’s with no right to heaven, or God, if you asked the Jews, how did they react to the star, the prophecy that was coming true?

Look at Matthew 2:1 again:

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:1-2

Notice that it does not say that they went straight to Herod or even the priests, but they arrived and were "saying" in Jerusalem. This word “saying” means to "continually inquire". They were going from place to place, asking the people, “Where is the Messiah?” They couldn’t wait to see him, they couldn’t wait to see God, they couldn’t wait to see the babe born of a virgin who was from eternity.

Why did they want to see the baby? They desired to worship Him. They were here, they were pagans, but they believed that the God, who created the universe, was here to be their king of all the earth, so they wanted to worship God.

The Magi are the godly ones here. They are the ones who were waiting for the star to appear for hundreds of years, yet notice what the Scribes and Priests say:

Oh, yeah…the Messiah…here is what the prophecy says

It is almost carelessness. There is this great commotion and it would seem that the religious could care less that the One that they have been reading about in the Scriptures could actually be amongst them. Notice what Herod does: he gathers all the religious people and it says that he “inquires” where he is to be born: This word inquire can denote “demanding”

Then look what happens. The scribes and priests give their report and Herod sends for the Magi. These Magi search diligently in Jerusalem for the child, so they can worship Him. They search so much that Herod gets wind of it, sends for them and still the Magi don’t back down. They come to the courts of the ruler of Jerusalem and tell him that they want to go and worship another ruler, another king, another who will be king of the earth. These Magi have so much tenacity to worship Jesus they don’t care what they have to do to find Him.

So, who would you think would be the most excited about the coming of the Messiah? Those who have devoted themselves to God’s Scriptures or those who are pagan and devoted themselves to the devil’s magic?

Who ends up doing the Lord’s work of worshiping the Messiah? The religious or pagan?

This is the difference of religious people and those who truly follow Jesus: Religious people are really there for themselves trying to please God without Jesus, but with their own works and views of who God is and wants, where those for Christ just want to worship, be with Jesus, and ask Him what He desires!

Notice here:

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:8-11

We find out in verse 13 that Herod is a liar and self motivated to find the child so that he might kill the Christ, the promised One.

So, Herod’s response to the child is not only terror and ignorance, but now we find his response is to try and kill the baby. What he didn’t realize is that his wishes would come true, but it would not happen for another 33 years.

So, do we have the religious going to see Jesus, to see the Christ? No…we see the Magi.

When the Magi again see the star and it is over where the Child is, look what happened. They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. This was what they were searching for, this is what they couldn’t wait to see. Their mission was almost over. Their lives almost complete. This joy is the same joy that is of a believer when he realizes that he has been sealed with the Spirit of Christ. This is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 of love, joy, peace, patience. This is the joy that John the Baptist said he had in just hearing Jesus’ voice. This is the joy that Christ prayed in the high priestly prayer in John 17 that all his people would have.

Who has this joy? The religious that should have been joyous, or the pagan Magi, who have nothing to do with Jesus? It is the Magi. For the religious, instead of joy, are troubled, not joyous. Know for certain, the Magi’s joy is not a reaction to the star, this isn’t simply happiness, this is an overwhelming joy of completeness. To discern a full description of the Magi and us is found in John 1:10-13:

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:10-13

So, because of this joy, what do the Magi do? The fell down and worshiped. This is not just a ceremonial worship reserved for worldly kings, but we see with the determination, the seeking, the rejoicing and joy, they could finally do the one thing that they said they wanted to do: worship the King.

This term “fell” connotates the fact that they literally fell prostrate like a dead man. They saw the Child and they were overwhelmed with the fact that after 1400 years (that was the approx. year Numbers was written) that God should choose these specific Magi to be the ones to find the Christ child, to be able to see Him face to face, to stare into his eyes, to see God face to face, to see the Word that became flesh, the One who was to bring salvation, the One who would be their King. These Magi had probably been handed down this prophecy of the Christ child from generations to generations and they were the ones whom God chose to finally take part.

So, we have the Magi, who probably numbered in the hundreds, standing outside this small house, they see the Child who was promised long ago and they couldn’t bear it, they couldn’t control themselves, so they fall like dead men, like a wave in the ocean, probably close to 200 men, fall in unison, to worship Jesus.

Have you heard the song by Mercy Me, “I Can Only Imagine” when they sing:

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

To these questions from this Christian band, I believe we find the answer in Matthew 2. I think we will find ourselves a lot like the Magi. For if you are a Christian, you must take after these Magi. You have journeyed for days and years, you have wanted to just be with Jesus and see His face. You want to see the One who saved you from your sin, you want to see the One who was sacrificed like an animal on a stake so that you can be in God’s presence, you want to see the one who saved you out of the bondage of paganism into the loving arms of your God. You want to be with the one who will wipe away all your tears, who loves you because you are His own.

And when that time comes. When you see the Lamb, we will do what we have only dreamed of doing: worshiping Him at His feet as we fall like dead men.

After the Magi get done worshiping, which I can’t imagine how long they were on their faces. After all, what compels a man to finally get up and stop worshiping at the feet of Jesus, the Promised Christ? Whatever it was they got up and presented Jesus with gifts. Some make more out of these gifts than is appropriate, for they are simply gifts that were custom to give to a king. The Magi show that they believe that this King deserves full kingship and following. They believe He is the King of kings, Lord of lords, so what better way than to lay dead at his feet and worship him and give this small baby, the gifts only deserving for a king.

Notice that these Magi don’t ask anything from the Christ, yet they offer gifts to Him. They realize that just by Christ coming is enough, Jesus needs not to give them anything more, His life is enough.

Conclusion

What is Christmas to you? What are the things that we dwell on? When you think of the Christ, the Messiah, are you more troubled because you are not ready for Christ to come or are you diligently seeking Christ so that your joy may be made full, so that you can worship him with exceeding praise?

Are you more like the religious of the days that only do religious things but never have turned your life over to Jesus. Or, are you like the pagan Magi who only cared to see the Christ so that they could worship Him?

See what Revelation 22:20,21, the last verses in the Bible say:

20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Revelation 22:20-21

Is this us? Is this you? Do you say, Come Lord Jesus, so I can worship you, so my joy may be made full at the seeing of your face. Or does this simply trouble you, does this terrify you? Does it terrify you that Christ could come today and ask you “Why should you enter into my holy place?”

If you don’t know Jesus, let this Christmas be the Christmas that Jesus gives you a gift. Let this Christmas be the Christmas that you can confidently say, “Come Lord Jesus.”

Be like the Magi, look for Jesus so that you can worship Him at his feet. So that you can hail Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. Listen to the last words spoken of in the Gospel of Luke:

and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. “You are witnesses of these things. “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.
Luke 24:46-53

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Putting "Christ" Back Into Christmas?

Tell some Christians "Merry X-Mas" or "Happy Holidays" and they will react as bad as they would if you preach with jeans on or try and contextualize the gospel to their children. They simply lose it. I have seen some, when told "Happy Holidays" in the supermarket, snapping back, "Merry CHRISTmas!" Wow. They'll tell you that if you use these terms that you are not being a witness for Christ during this special part of the year. Don't you know that if you rearrange the letters of Santa you can make the name of Satan! Or, I will put the name of Christ back into Christmas, while you put the "ho, ho" back into the term ho-liday.

I find it odd that people hold so dear the term Christmas while not really thinking of the other terms or who is using them. They also parade the term like it is as biblical as the Trinity. While Christmas is definitely a special time of year and one that I do enjoy because Christ is definitely on display in many places, the fact is that never in the Bible are we told to remember the birth of Christ.


While the consumerism does bother me quite a bit during Christmas, so does the Christian who marches around with a chip on their shoulder like they are taking on the world that hates Jesus during the Christmas time. They find it funny when people spray paint red on fur coats and yell, "murderer" but what they don't understand is they look just as ridiculous with their "Merry CHRISTmas" as they try and be a witness when yelling at the clerk that is just trying to keep his job by following the boss' orders to say "Happy Holidays."

Here are a couple of reasons that the terms "Merry X-Mas" and "Happy Holidays" don't bother me at all and could care less who uses the terms or why.

1. Merry X-Mas is Merry CHRIST-mas

This is actually pretty funny. Most people get angry when they see the "X" in place of "Christ" in Christmas. They say that people are taking Christ out of Christmas or that people are crossing out Christ for Christmas. These same people crack me up because they also have 5 different kinds of "Jesus Fish" on the back of their car and every one of the i's on their t-shirts are dotted with the Ichthus as well.

If they just did some looking around they would notice that in the Ichthus that the second letter in the Ichthus is the Greek letter "x" that stands for...yeah...Christ. This shortened term for Christ seems to go all the way back to the 4th century and one of the most endeared symbols in our Christian history uses it in the Chi Rho by Constantine.

I actually laugh every time I hear someone get upset about someone using "X" in place of Christ. If they stopped making T-Shirts saying "Put Christ Back Into Christmas", take off their earphones blasting "Christian" music and step out of their bubble they would realize that when someone uses "X" in Christmas it gives us a great opportunity to speak about what the "X" stands for. I would ask that people do research on how the "X" was used and then be ready to speak to others about its importance. I think we would all be surprised at the usage and also the reaction of knowing the importance of the term and the realization that they haven't taken Christ out of Christmas, but kept Him there and given us a great way to contextualize the gospel to others.

2. Happy Holidays!

The second thing that really irks people are stores or people that say, "Happy Holidays!" What is the big deal? We have always said that this is a great "holiday season" and the term means "Holy Day." And by the way, whether we like to admit it or not, there is more going on during the solstice than just Christmas. We also have Kwanzaa, Hanukka and don't forget the best of all the holidays, Festivus for the rest of us. Now, I am not saying that these holidays are to be revered in any way or are they correct in any way. But, we must realize that since we are not a Christian nation but we are a nation of many religions and many diverse people, that stores who pigeonhole people to the term "Christmas" are not very smart in the way that they market.

Let me ask you dear Christian: Would you shop at a place where Kwanzaa was the only thing celebrated there or would you boycott it? Don't answer that question.

What I would say that instead of getting crazy about people saying Happy Holidays, why not simply say, "Happy Holidays" back? I have to say that you are not doing any good, and actually pretty shameful by making "Merry CHRISTmas" very pronounced when you snap back.

Start thinking before you snap back and ask how you can use these two terms, Merry X-Mas and Happy Holidays for the cause of Christ instead of making yourself sound very odd. By the way, if you do snap back and hear someone laughing loudly, turn around because it's me and I might just spray paint your "CHRIST-mas" sweater red for fun to make a point.

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