All it takes is the truth of death to make it obvious that something is wrong with the world. Everybody knows it, because we all have something within us that cries out for longevity. Something in us knows we weren’t made for this short of a life. Many people choose to not think about it because it is a daunting fact that we all will die. All we have is today, and we live for today and act like death will never come.
I could tell you that the problem is sin, that it has caused death, despair, hatred toward one another, selfishness, every evil thing in this world, and at its core separation from our Creator. But this truth doesn’t seem to affect many people today. They don’t believe in a good Creator because of the suffering and death that exists in this world; maybe there is sin and maybe we have rebelled against God and brought this all upon ourselves, but who cares? If God is good, he could have fixed that and stopped it all from happening.
In order to understand the real weight of our problem, we must know how things were meant to be and how they will all end up. If this world isn’t the way God created it, how was it created? And what why has God allowed it to go down the drain? And what will be its end?
God created the world perfectly. He created humans as image bearers of himself, which brings him glory and brings his creation joy and fulfillment. By enjoying the Creator above all else, we are able to enjoy all his creation the way he intended us to. But we decide to enjoy created things the way we want to rather than the way God intended. We take good things and put them in the place of God, and try to enjoy them in a way they were never meant to be enjoyed. When we understand how God meant things to be, we can begin to see how evil sin really is. It isn’t just breaking a rule, it is replacing God with things he has made.
But God is bigger than sin, bigger than our rebellion against him. He allowed sin and evil into the world, having a greater plan in store. God did not create the world and check out; he will not let the earth spiral down an endless vortex until it will eventually destroy itself.
God allowed sin and death and is currently working his redemptive plan in the world. He started this work the moment sin entered the world, and he planned this work before the world was even created. Death still exists, for God’s work of redemption has not reached its completion. But we can be assured he is working.
He paid the price for our sin through the life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus; Jesus is the solution to the problem of sin and death. In Jesus, we see how far God would go to redeem the world. He was so intent on redeeming the world that he sent his Son to die and pay the price. It is because of Jesus that the redemption of all things is possible; God thought redeeming the world was worth more than the life of his own Son, and Jesus thought it was worth it to give up his own life.
And all this will be resolved when Christ comes back to finish this work of redemption. He will come back and recreate the whole world. He will give new bodies that don’t die to all those who have faith in him, to live on a new earth, forever enjoying him. Jesus is coming back to reclaim the world for himself, to put in place his perfect kingdom which will never be overthrown again. There will be no evil, no sin, no selfishness. Death will be absolved forever. Mankind will exist to enjoy God, one another, and all his creation perfectly on a never-dying earth.
If this is God’s plan for the world, is the problem still unclear?
It is in light of God’s plan that we truly see the problem. And when we see the problem clearly, we are able to find even more joy and hope in the solution God has given and resolution God will bring.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Fitting In
Pride has been said to be the mother of all sin. Out of pride, we have all chosen to love created things more than God. We think we know what is best for ourselves, and we make decisions based on our knowledge instead of making decisions based on God’s knowledge, which happens to be much greater than our’s (in case you didn’t know).
In our pride, we do all that we can to appear the way we want to. We all live in cultures built around said or unsaid rules. Some cultures look at different “holy scriptures” and attempt to obey all the commands and rules. They do this in order to maintain an appearance of living the way they believe is right. Other cultures look down on religions, and the rules you must abide by in order to appear good in these cultures is to accept all people, no matter what they believe, say or do.
Said or unsaid rules exist in every culture, and in our pride, we do all we can to appear obedient to them.
The culture around us is going to try to shape us into its image, and in our pride, we are going to struggle with wanting to appear like them. We are going to want to look the way our culture does because we want to fit in.
But Jesus has created a new culture for his people, a culture whose foundation is him, a people who recognize they have been made in the image of God. Sin damaged us as image-bearers and made it impossible to reflect God perfectly. But Jesus came and lived sinlessly in our place and has given us his Holy Spirit so we can reflect him correctly! Made in the image of God, remade in the image of Christ: this is the person with faith in the Gospel.
So the Christian culture is one of humility and service. If Jesus humbled himself even to an undeserving death on a cross, we are to image this same humility to those around us. Jesus served us more than is possible apart from God. Nobody could pay the price for our sin, but God paid the price for us through Christ. The work of salvation is completed, and all that is left is for Jesus is to come back and redeem the physical world to himself. Jesus was the perfect servant. And we are able, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be servants as well, both to our church family and to the world.
This is the culture Jesus desires. There isn’t pride allowed in it. And though we are commanded to humble ourselves, we have actually been freed from the power of pride because of what Jesus has done. If you have had faith in Christ, you don’t need to appear a certain way to fit into the Christian culture. If you have had faith in Christ, his appearance has become your’s, and you are now able to image Christ’s example. As one preacher has put it, the Christian is becoming who he already is.
If you have had faith in Christ, you are sealed for salvation, and your life is one of imaging God, which brings him glory. We don’t have to image God in order to be saved, we get to image God because we have been saved. We get to display God’s loving and humble character to everybody around us by the way we live and speak. This is what we were created for, and this is what Christ has made possible for his church.
In our pride, we do all that we can to appear the way we want to. We all live in cultures built around said or unsaid rules. Some cultures look at different “holy scriptures” and attempt to obey all the commands and rules. They do this in order to maintain an appearance of living the way they believe is right. Other cultures look down on religions, and the rules you must abide by in order to appear good in these cultures is to accept all people, no matter what they believe, say or do.
Said or unsaid rules exist in every culture, and in our pride, we do all we can to appear obedient to them.
The culture around us is going to try to shape us into its image, and in our pride, we are going to struggle with wanting to appear like them. We are going to want to look the way our culture does because we want to fit in.
But Jesus has created a new culture for his people, a culture whose foundation is him, a people who recognize they have been made in the image of God. Sin damaged us as image-bearers and made it impossible to reflect God perfectly. But Jesus came and lived sinlessly in our place and has given us his Holy Spirit so we can reflect him correctly! Made in the image of God, remade in the image of Christ: this is the person with faith in the Gospel.
So the Christian culture is one of humility and service. If Jesus humbled himself even to an undeserving death on a cross, we are to image this same humility to those around us. Jesus served us more than is possible apart from God. Nobody could pay the price for our sin, but God paid the price for us through Christ. The work of salvation is completed, and all that is left is for Jesus is to come back and redeem the physical world to himself. Jesus was the perfect servant. And we are able, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to be servants as well, both to our church family and to the world.
This is the culture Jesus desires. There isn’t pride allowed in it. And though we are commanded to humble ourselves, we have actually been freed from the power of pride because of what Jesus has done. If you have had faith in Christ, you don’t need to appear a certain way to fit into the Christian culture. If you have had faith in Christ, his appearance has become your’s, and you are now able to image Christ’s example. As one preacher has put it, the Christian is becoming who he already is.
If you have had faith in Christ, you are sealed for salvation, and your life is one of imaging God, which brings him glory. We don’t have to image God in order to be saved, we get to image God because we have been saved. We get to display God’s loving and humble character to everybody around us by the way we live and speak. This is what we were created for, and this is what Christ has made possible for his church.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Finding Purpose In Killing Sin
The root cause of all sin is that we choose created things over the Creator. Jesus came to earth and, through the cross, dealt with our sin. Every sin we do can be traced back to this root. Tim Keller calls it the “sin beneath the sin.”
If I look at pornography and masturbate, the root sin is that I chose momentary pleasure over choosing God and his design for sexuality. If I am eating too much (gluttony), the root sin is that I am choosing to find satisfaction in food and not in God, who made food for me to enjoy and not to overindulge in. If I lie to a friend about why I can’t hang out, I am choosing to trust that I know what’s best in the situation and that God doesn’t know what’s best.
Pick a sin, and you’ll find it’s root is choosing something over God.
Many times, sin is a chain that extends with many different links all the way down to it’s foundation. We struggle with pornography because we have an inordinate desire for the male or female body. But this desire is not limited to just pornography; we also look at other people and lust after them. But it’s not just seeing people that makes us lust; there exists in our mind images of men or women that feed our inordinate desire. And when we masturbate or hook-up with somebody, it solidifies how much of an inordinate desire we really have.
This can be so overwhelming because it feels like an insurmountable obstacle. We can’t kill sleeping around if we don’t kill looking at pornography; we can’t kill looking at pornography if we don’t kill masturbation; we can’t kill masturbation if we don’t kill our lust for men or women. And not only this, but we aren’t truly killing any of these things unless we are choosing God over all of them.
We fall into a defeated mentality because we want the whole thing to go away. Killing any one part of the sin by itself seems pointless. After all, what’s the point of killing a sin that seems so far removed from it’s root?
But Jesus came to earth and dealt with the root cause of all sin. He chose God over his own desires and lived perfectly in our place. He took the punishment and wrath we deserved for choosing creation over the Creator. And he rose again, conquering sin and death on our behalf.
Once we believe in the gospel, God changes us and makes our desire and goal to glorify him by the way we live: in our thinking, speaking, actions, working, friendships, sexuality, and every other aspect of our lives. We have been reborn, as Jesus calls it. We have a new heart with new desires, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us to help us obey God’s commandments. And because of this, each day we are becoming more and more like Jesus, growing in holiness, and killing sin by the power of his Holy Spirit.
Killing sin in our lives is never pointless. In fact, it is the exact opposite because God is glorified anytime we kill sin. We become more like Jesus every time we put to death any sin. We have been given the Holy Spirit, and it is his job to make us more like Jesus. The Spirit is the one who gives us the power to kill sin. Every time we do, we are showing off the work of the Spirit and bringing glory to God.
Someone once told me we are like a white piece of paper that has become completely black with dots of ink. Once we have been saved, the Holy Spirit begins to take off the dots one by one. The whiter the piece of paper becomes, the more obvious the black dots appear.
I use this illustration to point out the truth that the more like Jesus we become, the more obvious it will be that we are not Jesus. Our sinfulness will become more obvious to us the closer we get to him. We know how perfect he is the closer we get to him, and his perfection casts light on our imperfection.
If you are weary, if you are burdened by the heaviness of your sin,take comfort in the fact that Christ has dealt and destroyed the root of your sin, that you have been reconciled back into a right relationship with God, and that you have the Holy Spirit who will not stop destroying sin in your life. Every sin killed is a victory that brings glory to God.
If I look at pornography and masturbate, the root sin is that I chose momentary pleasure over choosing God and his design for sexuality. If I am eating too much (gluttony), the root sin is that I am choosing to find satisfaction in food and not in God, who made food for me to enjoy and not to overindulge in. If I lie to a friend about why I can’t hang out, I am choosing to trust that I know what’s best in the situation and that God doesn’t know what’s best.
Pick a sin, and you’ll find it’s root is choosing something over God.
Many times, sin is a chain that extends with many different links all the way down to it’s foundation. We struggle with pornography because we have an inordinate desire for the male or female body. But this desire is not limited to just pornography; we also look at other people and lust after them. But it’s not just seeing people that makes us lust; there exists in our mind images of men or women that feed our inordinate desire. And when we masturbate or hook-up with somebody, it solidifies how much of an inordinate desire we really have.
This can be so overwhelming because it feels like an insurmountable obstacle. We can’t kill sleeping around if we don’t kill looking at pornography; we can’t kill looking at pornography if we don’t kill masturbation; we can’t kill masturbation if we don’t kill our lust for men or women. And not only this, but we aren’t truly killing any of these things unless we are choosing God over all of them.
We fall into a defeated mentality because we want the whole thing to go away. Killing any one part of the sin by itself seems pointless. After all, what’s the point of killing a sin that seems so far removed from it’s root?
But Jesus came to earth and dealt with the root cause of all sin. He chose God over his own desires and lived perfectly in our place. He took the punishment and wrath we deserved for choosing creation over the Creator. And he rose again, conquering sin and death on our behalf.
Once we believe in the gospel, God changes us and makes our desire and goal to glorify him by the way we live: in our thinking, speaking, actions, working, friendships, sexuality, and every other aspect of our lives. We have been reborn, as Jesus calls it. We have a new heart with new desires, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us to help us obey God’s commandments. And because of this, each day we are becoming more and more like Jesus, growing in holiness, and killing sin by the power of his Holy Spirit.
Killing sin in our lives is never pointless. In fact, it is the exact opposite because God is glorified anytime we kill sin. We become more like Jesus every time we put to death any sin. We have been given the Holy Spirit, and it is his job to make us more like Jesus. The Spirit is the one who gives us the power to kill sin. Every time we do, we are showing off the work of the Spirit and bringing glory to God.
Someone once told me we are like a white piece of paper that has become completely black with dots of ink. Once we have been saved, the Holy Spirit begins to take off the dots one by one. The whiter the piece of paper becomes, the more obvious the black dots appear.
I use this illustration to point out the truth that the more like Jesus we become, the more obvious it will be that we are not Jesus. Our sinfulness will become more obvious to us the closer we get to him. We know how perfect he is the closer we get to him, and his perfection casts light on our imperfection.
If you are weary, if you are burdened by the heaviness of your sin,take comfort in the fact that Christ has dealt and destroyed the root of your sin, that you have been reconciled back into a right relationship with God, and that you have the Holy Spirit who will not stop destroying sin in your life. Every sin killed is a victory that brings glory to God.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Being Misunderstood
Is it always bad to be misunderstood?
G.K. Chesterton said in his book Heretics “The man who is misunderstood has always this advantage over his enemies, that they do not know his weak point or his plan of campaign. They go out against a bird with nets and a fish with arrows.”
Consider the life and death of Jesus. Jesus is God who became a man. He explained that time and time again to people, through his words, through his kindness, through his miracles. Not even the people closest to him understood him correctly. Jesus was constantly misunderstood, so much so that he was beaten and murdered. People did not believe who he said he was. He claimed to be more than a man, to be God, and people killed him for it.
This looked like a great victory for Satan. This looked like God, THE GOD, was defeated. He was so misunderstood that he was killed by his very creation, and darkness overcame the light.
But Satan went for Jesus like a fisherman with arrows.
Jesus, by living perfectly, could not be contained by death. Jesus was ok with being misunderstood because he knew what was coming. He knew that his death would end in life, and not just for himself but for all those who would have faith in him. Jesus communicated perfectly. He was not the person who was misunderstood for miscommunication. He was misunderstood because he spoke the truth, and the people did not want to hear it.
This still happens today. We either understand or misunderstand Jesus. When we feel misunderstood by people, is it because we are communicating a God who came down to us to live perfectly because we have failed, who died and took our punishment upon himself, who was buried and rose three days later in a new body and ascended to the right hand of the Father, who is ruling and reigning over the earth right now and will return to resurrect those who have put their faith in him?
Sometimes we are misunderstood because we are mis-communicating. Are we communicating the truth or the lie? Are we communicating in ways that people can understand? Both questions are very important and if we fail at either, being misunderstood would be our own fault. But if we are misunderstood because of the truth we speak in a way that others can understand, we are probably just being like Jesus.
G.K. Chesterton said in his book Heretics “The man who is misunderstood has always this advantage over his enemies, that they do not know his weak point or his plan of campaign. They go out against a bird with nets and a fish with arrows.”
Consider the life and death of Jesus. Jesus is God who became a man. He explained that time and time again to people, through his words, through his kindness, through his miracles. Not even the people closest to him understood him correctly. Jesus was constantly misunderstood, so much so that he was beaten and murdered. People did not believe who he said he was. He claimed to be more than a man, to be God, and people killed him for it.
This looked like a great victory for Satan. This looked like God, THE GOD, was defeated. He was so misunderstood that he was killed by his very creation, and darkness overcame the light.
But Satan went for Jesus like a fisherman with arrows.
Jesus, by living perfectly, could not be contained by death. Jesus was ok with being misunderstood because he knew what was coming. He knew that his death would end in life, and not just for himself but for all those who would have faith in him. Jesus communicated perfectly. He was not the person who was misunderstood for miscommunication. He was misunderstood because he spoke the truth, and the people did not want to hear it.
This still happens today. We either understand or misunderstand Jesus. When we feel misunderstood by people, is it because we are communicating a God who came down to us to live perfectly because we have failed, who died and took our punishment upon himself, who was buried and rose three days later in a new body and ascended to the right hand of the Father, who is ruling and reigning over the earth right now and will return to resurrect those who have put their faith in him?
Sometimes we are misunderstood because we are mis-communicating. Are we communicating the truth or the lie? Are we communicating in ways that people can understand? Both questions are very important and if we fail at either, being misunderstood would be our own fault. But if we are misunderstood because of the truth we speak in a way that others can understand, we are probably just being like Jesus.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Though He Slay Me
Should a day come whence gathered my foes
And if they would harm me and tear down my prose
If they discourage and seek to deface
Even if armies surround me to slay
Then I would cry and call on your name
If stones of fire rain down from the sky
And boils spread over and cover my skin
If clouds block the sun and keep me from light
Even if cancer were found deep within
Still I would cry and call on your name
If all I had was taken from me
If all my money, possessions were gone
Even if my roof was only a tree
And everything right had been turned into wrong
You are still there, you are with me
What if my friends denied they loved me?
Rejected by lovers, and by family?
What if all I had was the hope of you?
Would I be thankful that you remain true?
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him
And if they would harm me and tear down my prose
If they discourage and seek to deface
Even if armies surround me to slay
Then I would cry and call on your name
If stones of fire rain down from the sky
And boils spread over and cover my skin
If clouds block the sun and keep me from light
Even if cancer were found deep within
Still I would cry and call on your name
If all I had was taken from me
If all my money, possessions were gone
Even if my roof was only a tree
And everything right had been turned into wrong
You are still there, you are with me
What if my friends denied they loved me?
Rejected by lovers, and by family?
What if all I had was the hope of you?
Would I be thankful that you remain true?
Though he slay me, yet will I trust him
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Comfort in Every Condition
One amazing thing about God is the fact that he meets all people where they are. He knows what each person needs individually and he knows how to meet their needs. He has different names and attributes that can comfort any person in any situation.
William Bridge, in his book “A Lifting Up for the Downcast”, says it like this: “Are you accused by Satan, the world, or your own conscience? Christ is called your Advocate. Are you ignorant? He is called the Prophet. Are you guilty of sin? He is called a Priest, a High Priest. Are you afflicted with many enemies, inward and outward? He is called a King, and King of kings. Are you in straits? He is called your way. Are you hungry or thirsty? He is called Bread and Water of Life. Are you afraid you shall fall away, and be condemned at the last? He is our second Adam, a public person, in whose death we died, and in whose satisfaction we satisfied justice. As there is no temptation or affliction, but some promise or other especially suits it: so there is no condition, but some name, some title, some attribute of Christ especially suits it.”
So often, when we are discouraged or downcast, it is because we focus on our conditions and circumstances instead of that which does not change, namely Christ and his promises. We never want to pretend that hard times don’t exist, that simply isn’t true; but we do want to cling to what does not sway with our ever-changing conditions. If Christ is unmovable, if he is unchangeable, if he is the same yesterday, today and forever (as Scripture says in Hebrews 13:8), then he is the rock we must build our lives upon. We must not build upon the sand, which shifts with the tides.
When you find yourself discouraged, remind yourself that you have no need to be, for Jesus is our all in all, our everything in every situation.
As the Puritan said, there is a name, an attribute of God for any condition you find yourself in that will give you comfort and peace. Do not be content in your discouragement, but seek out the encouragement God has for you in that time.
William Bridge, in his book “A Lifting Up for the Downcast”, says it like this: “Are you accused by Satan, the world, or your own conscience? Christ is called your Advocate. Are you ignorant? He is called the Prophet. Are you guilty of sin? He is called a Priest, a High Priest. Are you afflicted with many enemies, inward and outward? He is called a King, and King of kings. Are you in straits? He is called your way. Are you hungry or thirsty? He is called Bread and Water of Life. Are you afraid you shall fall away, and be condemned at the last? He is our second Adam, a public person, in whose death we died, and in whose satisfaction we satisfied justice. As there is no temptation or affliction, but some promise or other especially suits it: so there is no condition, but some name, some title, some attribute of Christ especially suits it.”
So often, when we are discouraged or downcast, it is because we focus on our conditions and circumstances instead of that which does not change, namely Christ and his promises. We never want to pretend that hard times don’t exist, that simply isn’t true; but we do want to cling to what does not sway with our ever-changing conditions. If Christ is unmovable, if he is unchangeable, if he is the same yesterday, today and forever (as Scripture says in Hebrews 13:8), then he is the rock we must build our lives upon. We must not build upon the sand, which shifts with the tides.
When you find yourself discouraged, remind yourself that you have no need to be, for Jesus is our all in all, our everything in every situation.
As the Puritan said, there is a name, an attribute of God for any condition you find yourself in that will give you comfort and peace. Do not be content in your discouragement, but seek out the encouragement God has for you in that time.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Killing Sin with Christ
God’s grace is truly an amazing thing. Right when one thinks they understand it, a new aspect of grace is revealed; like a cavern with an endless amount of connected caves and rooms is God’s grace.
Grace goes beyond the past: it covers the present and future as well. Grace doesn’t only cover our past sins, but also the ones we commit in the present as well as those committed in the future. Throughout all of eternity. God will be lavishing his grace on all those who have faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:7).
But how often do we act like we have only been forgiven for what we have done in the past? We act like we have to live perfectly, from the day we got saved forward, in order to maintain God’s favor.
William Bridge, in his book “A Lifting Up for the Downcast”, talks about how we so often have a mentality of needing to be clean before coming to Christ. We think that we need to deal with our sin in order to come to Jesus. “When you go to mourn for sin, begin aloft with Christ: and do not always think to begin below with sin, and so to come up to Christ; but begin aloft with Christ, and so by your humiliation, fall down upon sin.” In other words, the way to deal with sin is by coming to Christ first. There is no real way to mortify our sin but by the power of Christ through his Holy Spirit. We do not earn grace; we receive grace for no merit of our own, and from there we deal with sin.
If we try to deal with our sin first, we will ultimately fail. Even if we have temporary victories, all that will do is puff us up and cause great pride to develop in our hearts. Later, when we fail at killing sin, we will become discouraged and depressed. Bridge says, “There is many a poor soul that hath said, I will be first humbled for my sin, and then I will go to Christ; but he has stuck so long in the legal work, that he has never come at Christ.”
What a sad person, he who tries to attain peace with God by dealing with sin apart from Christ! He gets so stuck on the killing of sin, which won’t actually happen, that he never even gets to Christ. No ultimate good can come from trying to kill our sin apart from receiving grace first. How can we try to come to Jesus unless we have first received his grace? It cannot happen. Grace comes and grace stays. Grace justifies and grace kills our sin. Grace will have the last word for all those who have faith in Jesus and his work of salvation.
Be encouraged, that though you give into sin, it’s not something Jesus has not already forgiven. Walk in the grace God has given and will give you, and from there kill your sin.
Grace goes beyond the past: it covers the present and future as well. Grace doesn’t only cover our past sins, but also the ones we commit in the present as well as those committed in the future. Throughout all of eternity. God will be lavishing his grace on all those who have faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:7).
But how often do we act like we have only been forgiven for what we have done in the past? We act like we have to live perfectly, from the day we got saved forward, in order to maintain God’s favor.
William Bridge, in his book “A Lifting Up for the Downcast”, talks about how we so often have a mentality of needing to be clean before coming to Christ. We think that we need to deal with our sin in order to come to Jesus. “When you go to mourn for sin, begin aloft with Christ: and do not always think to begin below with sin, and so to come up to Christ; but begin aloft with Christ, and so by your humiliation, fall down upon sin.” In other words, the way to deal with sin is by coming to Christ first. There is no real way to mortify our sin but by the power of Christ through his Holy Spirit. We do not earn grace; we receive grace for no merit of our own, and from there we deal with sin.
If we try to deal with our sin first, we will ultimately fail. Even if we have temporary victories, all that will do is puff us up and cause great pride to develop in our hearts. Later, when we fail at killing sin, we will become discouraged and depressed. Bridge says, “There is many a poor soul that hath said, I will be first humbled for my sin, and then I will go to Christ; but he has stuck so long in the legal work, that he has never come at Christ.”
What a sad person, he who tries to attain peace with God by dealing with sin apart from Christ! He gets so stuck on the killing of sin, which won’t actually happen, that he never even gets to Christ. No ultimate good can come from trying to kill our sin apart from receiving grace first. How can we try to come to Jesus unless we have first received his grace? It cannot happen. Grace comes and grace stays. Grace justifies and grace kills our sin. Grace will have the last word for all those who have faith in Jesus and his work of salvation.
Be encouraged, that though you give into sin, it’s not something Jesus has not already forgiven. Walk in the grace God has given and will give you, and from there kill your sin.
Friday, February 4, 2011
All Truth is God's Truth
This is not some exhaustive treatise on all that could be said about truth. I’m sure there is much that could (and probably needs to) be expounded upon with each idea expressed. Understand my intention in writing this: we should use all truth to point to the whole truth, the ultimate truth, the authoritative truth.
Truth, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality.” God is the ultimate fact and reality (truth); therefore, all truth is God’s truth. If there be anything true, whether philosophically, theologically, scientifically, historically, or in any other way, it is true because God has made it true: because he owns all truth.
In Acts 17, Paul the Apostle uses the truths the Athenian’s believed to point to the greater truth of God. Quoting some of their own poets and philosophers, Paul says, “For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Paul uses the partial truths they believe to point to ultimate truth.
We, as Christians, need to take the beliefs that people hold, affirm what is true in them, and point those truths to the ultimate truth, which we find in Scripture. This does not mean affirming the sin they have by nature or the lies they believe. Having a part of the truth isn’t enough. If a person believes people are evil, but doesn’t believe Jesus lived perfectly in our place, they don’t have the whole truth. If another person believes Jesus loves everybody and therefore all people are accepted into salvation, but doesn’t believe people are by nature evil and deserving of God’s wrath, they don’t have the whole truth.
We can affirm in these things that yes, people are evil, and yes, Jesus loves everybody, but we need to point people to the whole truth, the big picture. Ultimate and authoritative truth is found in Scripture alone; all truth should be tested by and held accountable to Scripture.
Jonathan Edwards, in The Freedom of the Will, writes, “This great truth, that Jesus is the Son of God, was not spoiled because it was once and again proclaimed with a loud voice by the devil. If truth is so defiled because it is spoken by the mouth, or written by the pen of some ill-minded mischievous man, that it must never be received, we shall never know when we hold any of the most precious and evident truths by a sure tenure.”
The truth is the truth, regardless of who says it. Even demons and the worst of men can know the truth, but knowing isn’t enough. Faith is required. May we who have become new creations by faith through grace always be pointing people to ultimate truth so they too can become new creations. We are not only inviting people to know the truths of Jesus (even Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus, knew him), but to have a saving faith in him. We most certainly need to know the truth, for belief requires knowledge. But knowledge does not require belief. We are not saved by knowing the truth, but by believing it.
(I received help from Adam Smith in editing this post)
Truth, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality.” God is the ultimate fact and reality (truth); therefore, all truth is God’s truth. If there be anything true, whether philosophically, theologically, scientifically, historically, or in any other way, it is true because God has made it true: because he owns all truth.
In Acts 17, Paul the Apostle uses the truths the Athenian’s believed to point to the greater truth of God. Quoting some of their own poets and philosophers, Paul says, “For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” Paul uses the partial truths they believe to point to ultimate truth.
We, as Christians, need to take the beliefs that people hold, affirm what is true in them, and point those truths to the ultimate truth, which we find in Scripture. This does not mean affirming the sin they have by nature or the lies they believe. Having a part of the truth isn’t enough. If a person believes people are evil, but doesn’t believe Jesus lived perfectly in our place, they don’t have the whole truth. If another person believes Jesus loves everybody and therefore all people are accepted into salvation, but doesn’t believe people are by nature evil and deserving of God’s wrath, they don’t have the whole truth.
We can affirm in these things that yes, people are evil, and yes, Jesus loves everybody, but we need to point people to the whole truth, the big picture. Ultimate and authoritative truth is found in Scripture alone; all truth should be tested by and held accountable to Scripture.
Jonathan Edwards, in The Freedom of the Will, writes, “This great truth, that Jesus is the Son of God, was not spoiled because it was once and again proclaimed with a loud voice by the devil. If truth is so defiled because it is spoken by the mouth, or written by the pen of some ill-minded mischievous man, that it must never be received, we shall never know when we hold any of the most precious and evident truths by a sure tenure.”
The truth is the truth, regardless of who says it. Even demons and the worst of men can know the truth, but knowing isn’t enough. Faith is required. May we who have become new creations by faith through grace always be pointing people to ultimate truth so they too can become new creations. We are not only inviting people to know the truths of Jesus (even Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus, knew him), but to have a saving faith in him. We most certainly need to know the truth, for belief requires knowledge. But knowledge does not require belief. We are not saved by knowing the truth, but by believing it.
(I received help from Adam Smith in editing this post)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sneak Attack!!!
I was talking with my sister tonight, who is going to Nicaragua for a missions trip in a few days, and she was telling me about how much spiritual attack she is experiencing, both relationally with friends as well as with Jesus.
This made me think, why does it seem like Satan attacks us so much more when we are about to go on missions trips?
My answer is not one that is normally said. I would agree with those who would say that there is heightened spiritual attack to cause disunity amongst the group going on a missions trip, that Satan wants people to feel isolated and alone, that Satan wants people to keep their eyes on anything but Jesus, and that Satan wants to prohibit a work of God from happening on the trip by distracting the people on it.
But I believe there is a subtle sneak attack that Satan does to many people who go on missions trips when he makes them think they are being attacked more before going on a missions trip than normal. I think there possibly exists a greater deception that many people don’t see.
It is important for every Christian to understand that the whole of their life is to be lived on mission; and, I would say, especially wherever they call home. But many people who go on missions trips think missions consist only in going to other places, namely foreign countries. Satan loves this because it keeps people from living on mission where they call home. They associate missions apart from normal life.
This is the deeper deception that Satan promotes in many Christian’s lives, by attacking them more before missions trips. People think, “Satan is attacking me (or us) so much more when I go on mission. When I’m at home, he doesn’t attack as much; it’s because I’m not on a missions trip.” He furthers this idea, that mission is apart from one’s home, by associating big spiritual attack with going to other countries for missions.
How absurd. We are on the mission of Christ wherever we are, even if that is in our own neighborhood, ESPECIALLY in our own neighborhood.
Now that the secret is out, Satan’s subtle sneak attack, let us live on mission wherever we call home. Let us proclaim to truth of the Gospel of Christ where we live as though it actually can save the people we live with and around, not just those in other countries.
This made me think, why does it seem like Satan attacks us so much more when we are about to go on missions trips?
My answer is not one that is normally said. I would agree with those who would say that there is heightened spiritual attack to cause disunity amongst the group going on a missions trip, that Satan wants people to feel isolated and alone, that Satan wants people to keep their eyes on anything but Jesus, and that Satan wants to prohibit a work of God from happening on the trip by distracting the people on it.
But I believe there is a subtle sneak attack that Satan does to many people who go on missions trips when he makes them think they are being attacked more before going on a missions trip than normal. I think there possibly exists a greater deception that many people don’t see.
It is important for every Christian to understand that the whole of their life is to be lived on mission; and, I would say, especially wherever they call home. But many people who go on missions trips think missions consist only in going to other places, namely foreign countries. Satan loves this because it keeps people from living on mission where they call home. They associate missions apart from normal life.
This is the deeper deception that Satan promotes in many Christian’s lives, by attacking them more before missions trips. People think, “Satan is attacking me (or us) so much more when I go on mission. When I’m at home, he doesn’t attack as much; it’s because I’m not on a missions trip.” He furthers this idea, that mission is apart from one’s home, by associating big spiritual attack with going to other countries for missions.
How absurd. We are on the mission of Christ wherever we are, even if that is in our own neighborhood, ESPECIALLY in our own neighborhood.
Now that the secret is out, Satan’s subtle sneak attack, let us live on mission wherever we call home. Let us proclaim to truth of the Gospel of Christ where we live as though it actually can save the people we live with and around, not just those in other countries.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Blessed Assurance
I’ve been reading Jonathan Edwards’ The Freedom of the Will. In recent chapters he has been speaking on how, because God knows all future events, it is impossible for them to be otherwise. Whether or not God’s knowledge of the future is the cause of every single thing that happens or choice humans make is beyond the scope of this blog. The purpose of this entry is simple: the assurance of our salvation.
Edwards is refuting the thought of certain Arminians of his day that God cannot certainly know what will happen in the future because if he did, he would not be worthy of praise because he is the one who made the events take place. God can only be praiseworthy if he has no hand in the moral choices of people. Edwards thinks this to be a load of crap. The fact that God knows future moral choices people make does not make him any less worthy of praise.
He writes how it was prophesied that the Messiah would not give into sin (whether or not the Messiah was able to sin will not be addressed in this entry) and that he would be given glory, a kingdom, and success. He cites verses such as Isaiah 42:1-8, 49:7-9, 50:5-9, 52:13-15, 53:10-12 and Psalm 2:6-7, 45:3-4,110:4. Assuming Jesus was capable of sinning and losing his future glory and kingdom, it was still prophesied that he would not sin; therefore, in one sense, it was literally impossible for Jesus to have failed unless God did not know future events. Even if Jesus was on the brink of sinning, he could point back to the scriptures that guaranteed his victory and gain confidence by what was true. Even though he was tempted to the point of bloodshed, he knew it COULD NOT lead to sin because it had been written by God’s perfect foreknowledge that he would not.
The reason I say all this is because it has HUGE implications on his bride, The Church, Christians. Jesus promises The Church that the gates of Hades will not prevail against them (Matthew 16:18), The Church is promised that they will not be tempted beyond what they can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13), that they will be sustained and not moved (Psalm 55:22), that they HAVE eternal life and nobody can snatch them from Jesus (John 10:28), etc. There are many more verses that could be referenced. But these hold my point: that just like it was impossible for Jesus to fail, it is impossible for Jesus’ church to fail. We will persevere till the last day. We have a real hope that has been written down by the perfect foreknowledge of God, which nothing can change. What God has spoken, what God has written, cannot help but come to pass.
Be encouraged, that because Jesus did not fail, neither shall we who have faith and have been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have been clothed in the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the future is already set in stone for us! We will be raised into resurrection bodies. Death will be defeated. We will be glorified. Nothing can stop this from coming to pass. LET’S SPREAD THE WORD!!!
Edwards is refuting the thought of certain Arminians of his day that God cannot certainly know what will happen in the future because if he did, he would not be worthy of praise because he is the one who made the events take place. God can only be praiseworthy if he has no hand in the moral choices of people. Edwards thinks this to be a load of crap. The fact that God knows future moral choices people make does not make him any less worthy of praise.
He writes how it was prophesied that the Messiah would not give into sin (whether or not the Messiah was able to sin will not be addressed in this entry) and that he would be given glory, a kingdom, and success. He cites verses such as Isaiah 42:1-8, 49:7-9, 50:5-9, 52:13-15, 53:10-12 and Psalm 2:6-7, 45:3-4,110:4. Assuming Jesus was capable of sinning and losing his future glory and kingdom, it was still prophesied that he would not sin; therefore, in one sense, it was literally impossible for Jesus to have failed unless God did not know future events. Even if Jesus was on the brink of sinning, he could point back to the scriptures that guaranteed his victory and gain confidence by what was true. Even though he was tempted to the point of bloodshed, he knew it COULD NOT lead to sin because it had been written by God’s perfect foreknowledge that he would not.
The reason I say all this is because it has HUGE implications on his bride, The Church, Christians. Jesus promises The Church that the gates of Hades will not prevail against them (Matthew 16:18), The Church is promised that they will not be tempted beyond what they can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13), that they will be sustained and not moved (Psalm 55:22), that they HAVE eternal life and nobody can snatch them from Jesus (John 10:28), etc. There are many more verses that could be referenced. But these hold my point: that just like it was impossible for Jesus to fail, it is impossible for Jesus’ church to fail. We will persevere till the last day. We have a real hope that has been written down by the perfect foreknowledge of God, which nothing can change. What God has spoken, what God has written, cannot help but come to pass.
Be encouraged, that because Jesus did not fail, neither shall we who have faith and have been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have been clothed in the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the future is already set in stone for us! We will be raised into resurrection bodies. Death will be defeated. We will be glorified. Nothing can stop this from coming to pass. LET’S SPREAD THE WORD!!!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
What John Calvin thought of the Papists
“The papists, who are accustomed to set aside the true meaning of the Scriptures, and to spoil all the mysteries of God by their own fooleries, have here contrived an absurd fable; for they have falsely alleged that the oxen and asses in the stall worshipped Christ when he was born; by which they show themselves to be egregious asses. (And indeed I wish that they would imitate the ass which they have invented; for then they should be asses worshipping Christ, and not lifting up the heel against his divine authority.)” - John Calvin
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