“You can do anything you set your mind to.” “If you work hard good things will come to you.” Growing up I heard phrases like this from teachers and other authority figures. The culture in America supports the idea that I can be a self-made man and that my potential is only limited by the scope of my dreams and the effort and discipline that I put into them. Humanity has done great things, curing diseases, vanquishing evil rulers, growing in knowledge and understanding of our world.
My world has told me that I am special and between my potential and those around me I can accomplish anything. It is an incredible message that has been ingrained into our society. And it is only compounded by the fact that my mind tells me the same thing, that the chief end is the exaltation of me. Church for a long time only helped, giving me rules and morals to follow, that way I could have a checklist to show I am better than everyone else and all the more deserving of praise.
Then one day this pastor started talking about grace, a strange idea where God did what I needed most not because of my rule-following and natural abilities but in spite of them. God’s grace told me that I could not live up to the requirements. What a powerful, liberating, and insulting message! Who is this God that he would say that I do not have the ability, intellect, or ability to take care of myself? To save myself?
Slowly it set in the reality is true, I never was quite as good at following the rules as I was at pretending I was following the rules. Even when I was at full capacity I could not out think or reason the parts of my being that weighed me down. The beauty of grace is that it is honest, when the world and my mind are not. It accomplishes what I never can, no matter the encouragement I may receive. Grace is beautiful because it gives me a savior that I cannot earn, please, or repay. And that on that fateful Friday he hung on the tree that I should hang on, his blood was poured out for the punishment and wrath that my selfish, prideful sin deserved. And by this grace I am saved unto a life that does not seek praise or acclaim for myself but for Christ, a life that is happy to be insulted by grace.
Does God Hate the Sin but Love the Sinner? -
Excellent blog that takes a look at a statement that has been taken as truth because we have heard it enough in church.
Another rapture and doomsday has passed and once again Harold Camping’s mathematical proof from Scripture has failed to yield the precise return of Christ. It is a strange message to focus on and the billboards and street prophets do not help. However I find this feeling on my gut of respect for Camping. I am not endorsing his desire to announce the day of Christ’s return or doomsday, his last prediction passed on October 21st without event. I believe that “no one knows about that day or hour.” While Camping might go a lot too far on predicting the return of Jesus, he does what most Christians are afraid to do– share the message of Christ’s foretold return.
Teachings about the end times, eschatology, the rapture, and the completion of this world have been at best ignored and at worst abandoned by pastors. Hope has changed from Christ’s glorious return to life getting a little better or the potential that lies in humankind. Writing and teaching on the subject has been left to popular book series that take great liberties with a handful of passages or Bible mathematicians who can take a number give it a meaning and then use a math equation to yield the exact date of Jesus’ return. All of this has clouded what orthodox Christianity has taught for generations, that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead.
We need to take a cue from Harold Camping and talk about Christ’s return. There is a great disservice being done in Christianity today because we have abandoned our creeds and beliefs about the hope of Christ’s return We should proclaim the hope that Christians have held for millennia, the hope that Paul describes in Romans 8. A hope that transcends the world we live in now. C.S. Lewis describes this world as an echo of the future reality.
This is why earthly desires never fully satisfy us, they always leave us wanting more, because there is something more that we were created for. We need to share that our great hope is not in living a happy life here, that our hope is not a cure for death or living the American dream; our hope is eternity with Christ. Not some ethereal, nonphysical world, but in the New Heaven and New Earth. Where there will be no more weeping and no more pain. We will worship the king with perfect bodies in a perfect world. Hope is not about our abilities, our potential, our dreams, it is ultimately about Christ because he can bring everlasting peace, joy, and love.
So secretly I respect Camping because he has the guts to proclaim the truth, that Christ will return. His method may be off, and his proclamation a bit strange but he broaches a topic too often forgotten. So I like Harold, just don’t tell anyone.
Despite being in my mid 20s, for years I have been keenly aware that my actions, affections, and ailments point to something quite different, old age. Even now I am aware of it as my back hurts and my reading glasses sit on the table next to me. Perhaps my preference for the simple adds to the diagnosis, I like my coffee black, my ice cream vanilla, and my books in physical form. But the most distinct of all of the indicators is my love for hymns, new worship songs always leave something behind, or portray faith as wanting to be romantically involved with Jesus.
Hymns do not try to be clever and care more for words than melodies. Praise comes through deep-seated theology that joins with the saints in the proclamation of who God is. I am not saying we should do away with new songs, Scripture is clear we are to sing new songs unto the Lord. I only hope that our new songs will continue the tradition that we have been given and that songs would sound less like a rock show and more like the great hymns that have been given to us.
A few years ago I was on a tour of Israel and Jordan, we spent Sunday morning at a church in Amman, the song leader got up and invited everyone to join him in song, some sang Arabic, the men behind me sang in Polish, and my friend next to me sang in Korean. We joined together praising in many tongues:
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
For 2000 years there has been only small innovations in the way we read the Bible until now. Buckle you spiritual seatbelts as the most inspired Bible ever hits the shelves: the 3-D Bible. Simply crack open the Good Book, put on your Inspirivision glasses and experience three dimensions of truth and insight. The important verses jump off the page, and those boring maps in the back come to life. This sword of the spirit you will never set down.
Now the 3-D Bible does not actually exist, except as a part of my collection of ideas that I could sell to Christians. However the favor and importance that we place on versions and translations permeates our churches, bible studies, and small groups. For many the NIV is the preeminent version, but which NIV? Zondervan has twice tried to reintroduce the version in the past 30 years. We also cannot ignore the King James Version, which certain sects refer to as the only perfect or inerrant version (they would even take issue to the fact that I called it a version). No matter your need or purpose publishers have provided us with a version of the Bible to read, for those looking for readable you can pickup the New Living, if you want accuracy the New American.
The adoration of versions goes beyond just the translation and into the type of Bible. For many the archeology study Bibles are the best, or perhaps a key word study Bible that way we can sound smart by saying what the Greek or Hebrew word is. I can look at my bookshelf and see the 20 Bibles on the shelf, yet most collect dust on the shelf because I really only read the ESV and its study Bible version.
I fear that the importance we place on these versions has risen to an almost idolatrous level. Instead of worshipping God for the spiritual growth that we experience we attribute it to a translation. I am not saying that everyone should learn Hebrew and Greek or that having a preferred Bible is wrong. Instead we need to see the Bible for what it is, God’s chosen mode of self-revelation to humanity. That in Scripture we see Christ as the fulfillment of Old Testament anticipation and the savior who did for us what we cannot otherwise do. We grow because of the work of the Spirit in our lives and through the revelation of God’s plan, action, and commands that are found in Scripture.
I have been a Calvinist for about seven years now. I have had many discussions and a few arguments over the matter. I became a Calvinist after reading John Piper; I remained a Calvinist because of reading Jonathan Edwards.. Calvinism however seems to be a bad word and I would simply like to confess my faith in tenets (no, not tenants, I do not rent these beliefs) that are often considered (by some) to be un-Calvinist: free will, missions, full atonement, and the power of prayer.
Free Will- I make choices, every day. To argue that I do not would be in and of itself a faculty of my will, choosing to argue. I believe that every person is free to make choices, including the choice to follow God. Scripture speaks to human responsibility for our actions and our choices. I do also believe in predestination, which is an outworking of God’s sovereignty. One might ask, how can you believe in both? I believe we make choices based on the options available to me, I order waffles not pancakes at Waffle House because pancakes are not an option. God is sovereign over options and the beauty of options; I chose to follow Christ because he was revealed to me in all of his beauty. If it were a question of if I would choose a steak from Ruth’s Chris or a hamburger from McDonalds (price not being an issue), I will always choose the steak because it is more delicious. When Christ is truly revealed there is no other choice to be made. The beauty is this that the Son humbled himself and took on human flesh bore the sins of the world in the place of our punishment that we could take on his righteousness.
Missions- The modern missions movement, Hudson Taylor going to China, William Carey to India and many others, came out of Calvinist churches. They believed that spreading the Gospel is a clear command of God. Certainly God has the power to save any that he chooses; however this does not mean that God does not use people as instruments. God’s sovereignty does not only extend to the person being saved it includes missionaries, preachers, evangelists, and any that carry out the mission of God. God in his sovereignty can choose to use my words to bring about the salvation of another person, and that is a privilege and a joy to be a vessel for the Lord Almighty.
Full Atonement- I purposefully left out the words limited and unlimited because those are aspects of the same concept. I believe in both of them. In one sense the atonement is unlimited, Christ’s death is sufficient to save every person who has ever or will ever live. The death was a substitution and it can be a substitute for all. However it is not a substitute for all, it is clear that not all people believe in Christ; take a look at the New Atheists if you have any doubt. So it is limited in its efficiency, it is only efficient for those who come to faith in Christ, not those who reject God and in many cases hate God (would a loving God really bring to heaven someone who hated him?).
Power of Prayer- I am asked to pray several times a day, many times for people who are deathly ill. I willingly offer prayers to God in hope that they will be answered. The reason I pray is the same reason that I share my faith. I believe that God uses prayers as instruments of his will. In God’s will he can use my prayer to bring about healing. Sovereignty does not exclude the abilities and words of people; it embraces and uses them to bring about God’s sovereign plan.
A friend pointed me to the fact that Zondervan, which published Bell’s first four books and Nooma videos, did not accept the Love Wins book proposal. This blog does a good job of explaining why. The change is not as pronounced as one would think seeing as Love Wins was published by HarperOne. Both HarperOne and Zondervan are owned by HarperCollins Publishers.
It Was Not Wicked for the Lord to Take Our Son -
This brought me to tears.
Many of my memories from high school have faded, however one feels like it was just yesterday. Nearly ten years ago, I walked into Ms. Tuttle’s second period creative writing class to a strange sight; the television, which other than school announcements was as useful as a poster, was tuned to national news showing smoke billowing out of one of the twin towers. In the next hours I would watch from my classrooms as another plane hit, then one at the pentagon, and then the towers collapsed. Over the next few days information came in and Osama bin Laden was a wanted man, dead or alive. Yesterday the U.S. Armed Forces fulfilled those promises by killing bin Laden.
This time however I did not get the news from a television, I got it from social media as twitter and facebook exploded with updates, information, and rejoicing. As I sat in my recliner listening to President Obama I struggled with the tension of how to respond to this death. On one hand, I was glad that we got him, on the other I thought to Jesus’ command to “love your enemies.” Soon I joined the frenzy of status updates gave my two facebook cents, “Matthew 5:43-47, Ezekiel 18:32. Murderer or not, the death of someone outside of Christ is far from beautiful and not cause for celebration.” I still believe that but my statement ignored significant truths from Scripture.
Not even a full day after I heard the news of bin Laden’s death I find myself wrestling with what does it mean to think Christianly about this death. Does a mass-murderer deserve death? Absolutely, God punishes the wicked (Leviticus 10:1-2; Psalm 5:5-6; Acts 5:10-11) Are governments right in taking action against evil-doers? Absolutely, “[A governing authority] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (Romans 13:4).” Osama bin laden deserved justice, his life work was devoted to murder, destruction, and terror. The right punishment for his actions is clear in my mind, death.
Justice has been served, but we must be careful in what we celebrate. Should we take pleasure in a death of a person created in the image of God? Should we celebrate a man spending eternity in torment? All of God’s attributes deserve praise including his justice, and one way that justice was demonstrated was through Osama bin Laden’s death. However praise for the Lord is far different than nation worship and dancing on graves. There is only one death I will praise, only one man’s blood that I will rejoice in. That death was the one which bore God’s wrath and justice in my stead, that death is the death of Christ.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.”