Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
He is Jealous for Me
To begin, I must explain the absence of posts this month. I have been out of town, sick, and extremely busy off and on this month. So posting on either of my blogs has been delegated to another time! To top that off, this week has been a very rough week on me.
The line from Tenth Avenue North's song "Worn" describes me very well right now. "I'm tired; I'm worn; my heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on beating." Life just seems to drag on and on, with struggles popping up everywhere.
But tonight a line from one of my favorite songs hit me hard. "How He loves" by John Mark McMillan is one of my all time favorite songs (don't me started about David Crowder. Suffice to say, you haven't heard "How He loves" until you've gotten Crowder's version out of your head so you can fully enjoy McMillan's). It starts off with the line, "He is jealous for me."
On a night tonight when I'm struggling with being down after a long week of struggles, those words and that concept are like a breeze across my face. He's jealous for me. His love for me is so relentless and strong that He pursued me. Me, specifically. He wanted me. He desired me. He is jealous for me.
God, the almighty God of the universe, is jealous for me. He yearns for fellowship with me. He desires me. It's an incredible thought. He isn't tolerating me or just putting up with me because He said He would. His desire for me isn't the grudging fulfillment of a promise, but the joyful yearning of the One who created me, who knows me more intimately than I know myself.
He is jealous for me. God is jealous for me. Your Father is jealous for you. He is yearning for you. He desires you. It's an incredible thought, isn't it?
The line from Tenth Avenue North's song "Worn" describes me very well right now. "I'm tired; I'm worn; my heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on beating." Life just seems to drag on and on, with struggles popping up everywhere.
But tonight a line from one of my favorite songs hit me hard. "How He loves" by John Mark McMillan is one of my all time favorite songs (don't me started about David Crowder. Suffice to say, you haven't heard "How He loves" until you've gotten Crowder's version out of your head so you can fully enjoy McMillan's). It starts off with the line, "He is jealous for me."
On a night tonight when I'm struggling with being down after a long week of struggles, those words and that concept are like a breeze across my face. He's jealous for me. His love for me is so relentless and strong that He pursued me. Me, specifically. He wanted me. He desired me. He is jealous for me.
God, the almighty God of the universe, is jealous for me. He yearns for fellowship with me. He desires me. It's an incredible thought. He isn't tolerating me or just putting up with me because He said He would. His desire for me isn't the grudging fulfillment of a promise, but the joyful yearning of the One who created me, who knows me more intimately than I know myself.
He is jealous for me. God is jealous for me. Your Father is jealous for you. He is yearning for you. He desires you. It's an incredible thought, isn't it?
Monday, November 16, 2015
The Key that Unlocked Grace
When I first began embracing the doctrines of grace and studying theology for myself, I was attending the same church I do now, a traditional, conservative Baptist church. The turning point when I began to change from my formulaic thinking was a particular concept that has become the cornerstone of my disagreement with most of the messages I see and hear about grace today. With this concept comes most of my beliefs about my standing with God and my opposition of anything related to works salvation or works righteousness.
The idea is the imputed righteousness of Christ. Let me start this off with a question. When was the last time you heard a sermon on this topic? Okay, step closer. When was the last time you heard this phrase even mentioned in church? One more step closer. Do you even know what it means? If you don't, you, my friend, are in for a treat tonight!
We hear salvation described very frequently when we're kids as "Jesus died to take the punishment for our sins." And while the phrase is strictly true, it sadly leaves us with an incomplete view of what salvation is and means. We realize we're sinners, and we realize that I'm no longer in danger of hell. But we still miss a pivotal point.
But the problem is here. We understand that our sin forces us to have a deficit with God, but when the atonement is presented as simply payment, then it doesn't fully communicate grace. We leave with the idea that salvation deletes by debt and brings me to zero in God's eyes, no longer in debt, but neutral rather than righteous.
This was my understanding of salvation for years. It was also why I misunderstood the idea of God's grace for so long. My view of salvation was that my salvation in Christ paid my debt, and what happened next was on my shoulders. Now I'm free to do right or wrong, and that is where my standing with God comes in. Since I'm neutral, now God is proportionately pleased or displeased by my actions; when I do good, God adds it to the good side of the balance, when I sin, He adds it to the bad side. His favor depends on which side wins out. Sure, I knew my salvation wasn't dependent on it, but God's favor was.
But that definition alone is a crystal clear example of merited favor, favor dependent on my actions, which is exactly the opposite of true grace. And that's one reason why this concept is so pivotal to understanding radical grace. To understand how far reaching and how all-encompassing grace truly is, we have to understand just how far it goes in my salvation.
The clearest passage about this doctrine is 2 Cor. 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Let's look at this passage a little more closely.
Paul is speaking of our salvation found in Christ and what exactly Christ was doing on the cross in fairly clear, illuminating language. Jesus wasn't just "taking the punishment for our sins." He was literally becoming sin on the cross. The nature of Christ became sin. Christ was being punished for sin that He had not committed but were now committed to His charge, willingly.
And the corollary holds. If Christ became literal sin, the rest of the passage that speaks of us becoming the righteousness of Christ is also just as true. We aren't made figuratively righteous. We aren't just made pretty much righteous, or righteous enough. We are made righteous, pronounced innocent before God, because we have been given righteousness not our own.
A believer after salvation is not just a sinner brought to a balance of neutral in God's eyes, or simply another person who is a sinner but is no longer going to hell because Jesus died "for our punishment." That view is incomplete. It leaves us clear of hell, but short of heaven. We are, in fact, made righteous while still sinners. We still sin, and those sins, past, present, and future, are thrown onto a holy Jesus Christ who has been made sin for us.
When I first heard this idea, I didn't believe it was true. It was simply to radical. It was too far out for me to accept. It took me a couple months to actually come to grips with the idea that this was what the Bible taught. In Christ, I am perfect. In Christ, I am sinless. In Christ, I am viewed with as much favor as is possible. I can be no more despised if I sin or more cherished if I don't; my status with God is certain and set, based on the unchangeable nature of Christ's blood and His sacrifice alone.
It's a beautiful thought, one that thrusts the praise for my salvation forever out of my hands and into the hands of the One who has so wonderfully redeemed me. It is His righteousness I stand clothed in, not mine. It is His goodness that grants me audience with God, not mine. It was His blood that was shed, not mine. It was His intercession before God's throne, then and now, that continually grants me growth in grace, not mine.
My sin is His. His righteousness is mine. Can you understand now why grace has been called a scandal by so many? Can you see now why so many deny these teachings, claiming that if believers only knew them, there would be no striving for holiness? But how wrong they are!
A heart chasing holiness out of love, pure, changeless love is more beautiful and more steadfast by far than a heart chasing holiness out of fear of judgment or hope for reward. In the first, Christ remains the center, the star of the redemptive play and our continuing sanctification; in the second, the emphasis drifts from Christ as Savior to us as perfectors.
That is the scandal of grace. That is the very doctrine that will forever make some believers scream from the sidelines "License!" when they should be calling "Freedom!" Not freedom to sin, but freedom from the bondage of sin! Freedom to approach our Father unashamed! Freedom to embrace my standing with God, no longer as the hard Judge of every motive and intention of my heart but as the Father who offered His very Son for my redemption.
This is what grace is. It's not license. It's not "grace abused". It's true freedom. It's freedom that is found in the person and finished work of Christ on my behalf, a freedom that's both undeserved and forever unmerited. No work of mine could earn it then; no work of mine after can make me deserving. I stand forever in the debt of a relentlessly merciful God.
When I got this concept in my head, my journey toward an understanding of grace was sure. Yeah, there was uncertainty and certainly plot twists, but I had had a taste of life! I had a taste of what it meant to "rest in Christ", to stop striving to earn my way further into Christ's favor.
I am His.
He is mine.
That is enough.
The idea is the imputed righteousness of Christ. Let me start this off with a question. When was the last time you heard a sermon on this topic? Okay, step closer. When was the last time you heard this phrase even mentioned in church? One more step closer. Do you even know what it means? If you don't, you, my friend, are in for a treat tonight!
We hear salvation described very frequently when we're kids as "Jesus died to take the punishment for our sins." And while the phrase is strictly true, it sadly leaves us with an incomplete view of what salvation is and means. We realize we're sinners, and we realize that I'm no longer in danger of hell. But we still miss a pivotal point.
But the problem is here. We understand that our sin forces us to have a deficit with God, but when the atonement is presented as simply payment, then it doesn't fully communicate grace. We leave with the idea that salvation deletes by debt and brings me to zero in God's eyes, no longer in debt, but neutral rather than righteous.
This was my understanding of salvation for years. It was also why I misunderstood the idea of God's grace for so long. My view of salvation was that my salvation in Christ paid my debt, and what happened next was on my shoulders. Now I'm free to do right or wrong, and that is where my standing with God comes in. Since I'm neutral, now God is proportionately pleased or displeased by my actions; when I do good, God adds it to the good side of the balance, when I sin, He adds it to the bad side. His favor depends on which side wins out. Sure, I knew my salvation wasn't dependent on it, but God's favor was.
But that definition alone is a crystal clear example of merited favor, favor dependent on my actions, which is exactly the opposite of true grace. And that's one reason why this concept is so pivotal to understanding radical grace. To understand how far reaching and how all-encompassing grace truly is, we have to understand just how far it goes in my salvation.
The clearest passage about this doctrine is 2 Cor. 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Let's look at this passage a little more closely.
Paul is speaking of our salvation found in Christ and what exactly Christ was doing on the cross in fairly clear, illuminating language. Jesus wasn't just "taking the punishment for our sins." He was literally becoming sin on the cross. The nature of Christ became sin. Christ was being punished for sin that He had not committed but were now committed to His charge, willingly.
And the corollary holds. If Christ became literal sin, the rest of the passage that speaks of us becoming the righteousness of Christ is also just as true. We aren't made figuratively righteous. We aren't just made pretty much righteous, or righteous enough. We are made righteous, pronounced innocent before God, because we have been given righteousness not our own.
A believer after salvation is not just a sinner brought to a balance of neutral in God's eyes, or simply another person who is a sinner but is no longer going to hell because Jesus died "for our punishment." That view is incomplete. It leaves us clear of hell, but short of heaven. We are, in fact, made righteous while still sinners. We still sin, and those sins, past, present, and future, are thrown onto a holy Jesus Christ who has been made sin for us.
When I first heard this idea, I didn't believe it was true. It was simply to radical. It was too far out for me to accept. It took me a couple months to actually come to grips with the idea that this was what the Bible taught. In Christ, I am perfect. In Christ, I am sinless. In Christ, I am viewed with as much favor as is possible. I can be no more despised if I sin or more cherished if I don't; my status with God is certain and set, based on the unchangeable nature of Christ's blood and His sacrifice alone.
It's a beautiful thought, one that thrusts the praise for my salvation forever out of my hands and into the hands of the One who has so wonderfully redeemed me. It is His righteousness I stand clothed in, not mine. It is His goodness that grants me audience with God, not mine. It was His blood that was shed, not mine. It was His intercession before God's throne, then and now, that continually grants me growth in grace, not mine.
My sin is His. His righteousness is mine. Can you understand now why grace has been called a scandal by so many? Can you see now why so many deny these teachings, claiming that if believers only knew them, there would be no striving for holiness? But how wrong they are!
A heart chasing holiness out of love, pure, changeless love is more beautiful and more steadfast by far than a heart chasing holiness out of fear of judgment or hope for reward. In the first, Christ remains the center, the star of the redemptive play and our continuing sanctification; in the second, the emphasis drifts from Christ as Savior to us as perfectors.
That is the scandal of grace. That is the very doctrine that will forever make some believers scream from the sidelines "License!" when they should be calling "Freedom!" Not freedom to sin, but freedom from the bondage of sin! Freedom to approach our Father unashamed! Freedom to embrace my standing with God, no longer as the hard Judge of every motive and intention of my heart but as the Father who offered His very Son for my redemption.
This is what grace is. It's not license. It's not "grace abused". It's true freedom. It's freedom that is found in the person and finished work of Christ on my behalf, a freedom that's both undeserved and forever unmerited. No work of mine could earn it then; no work of mine after can make me deserving. I stand forever in the debt of a relentlessly merciful God.
When I got this concept in my head, my journey toward an understanding of grace was sure. Yeah, there was uncertainty and certainly plot twists, but I had had a taste of life! I had a taste of what it meant to "rest in Christ", to stop striving to earn my way further into Christ's favor.
I am His.
He is mine.
That is enough.
Friday, November 6, 2015
The Ramblings of a Frustrated, Confused High Schooler
I've spent the last couple nights researching colleges since I will be beginning that step of life next fall. Since I intend to pursue some sort of Biblical or Theological Studies major, the theology of whatever Bible college I decide to go to is important to me. One of the ways I have begun observing the practical theology of a college is by reading their student handbook.
Allow me to run down a rabbit trail for a moment. Everyone has doctrinal theology and practical theology. Doctrinal theology is your beliefs-about-God system; your practical theology is how that affects your life. It's possible to have phenomenal doctrinal theology (head knowledge) and fail miserably in the area of practical theology (practice and behavior). It's much less likely (and maybe impossible), but I suppose it is theoretically possible for someone to have poor doctrinal theology and good practical theology (their beliefs about God cause good practice and behavior even though their actual knowledge about God is skewed).
So, for example, I read the college's doctrinal statement to see their doctrinal theology. This is their belief system. I read the college's student handbook to see their practical theology. How do their beliefs about God affect how they live their lives and expect their students to live their lives? The last couple of day's have been an eye-opening experience in that area.
I'm a conservative Christian. In fact, strictly speaking, I'm even a fundamentalist (I believe the fundamentals of Christianity, such as 1. salvation by grace alone, 2. the virgin birth, 3. the bodily resurrection of Christ, etc.). However, I don't exactly fit the mold of a fundamentalist, conservative Christian, particularly not the stereotype that next comes to mind if you know that I'm homeschooled, raised in family integrated Baptist churches for most of my life, and have most of my Scripture memorization done in the KJV.
This makes looking for a college somewhat complicated. For example, I am probably too conservative to be comfortable somewhere like TCU or DBU. At the same time, I would get expelled from BJU or PCC in a matter of weeks, most likely. So in researching colleges, part of my aim is to find a college that I will neither be influenced wrongly toward liberalism or legalism.
That was a long story just to get you to this point, but I have been stunned by the sheer number of rules some colleges are advocating! I am not going to name the names of the colleges I pulled these rules from, but just to name a few, these are some direct quotes from college handbooks.
*Physical contact: On and off campus, physical contact between unmarried men and women is not allowed.
*Men and women should guard their testimonies; they are not to be alone together in a classroom, rehearsal studio, or other room.
*Students are not to patronize restaurants with a tavern or bar-like atmosphere or reputation or that do not have a dining room separate from live entertainment.
*In this Christian college setting, care must be taken to avoid association with companies (Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, etc.), lifestyles, and trends that oppose Christian values, including gothic dress styles, tattoos, body piercings or ear piercings, and unnatural hair colors (e.g., pink, green, blue).
*(Paraphrase) No tattoos, piercings, bracelets, or necklaces on guys; or facial hair on lower classmen.
Now, these schools have a perfect right to institute whatever rules they see fit on their campus (though many of these rules specifically said they applied off campus as well, which was an interesting dynamic. What, is campus police going to follow you home on spring break?), and students are perfectly free to attend these colleges. I have multiple friends attending these colleges, and many more destined to go in the next couple of years: good, godly young men who want to serve Christ.
But to me, I'm there for a Bible degree. My purpose at college is to be equipped in Biblical study techniques, theological viewpoints, Biblical languages, etc. I'm not a liberal looking at these colleges; I'm a fellow conservative observing these colleges. And one phrase comes to my mind: standards.
I got no issue with standards (despite what you may think from reading up to this point!). As I said, these colleges are welcome to implement whichever standards they wish on their campus. Individuals are welcome to implement whichever standards they wish in their personal lives. But I do believe these standards allow a quick glance into the attitude of the college's practical theology: a theology of standards and lines drawn in the sand.
These extra rules don't bring us closer to Christ; they separate us from the world, negate much of our influence and understanding on our own culture, and may even promote an attitude of self-righteousness (which is possible in any setting, liberal or conservative, I admit). That is not my desire in a school. In fact, I would like to do the exact opposite both in my Bible college experience and my church experience away from home for the first time: involvement with the world for the purpose of impacting our peers and lost friends for Christ, and learning in an atmosphere of humility, not spiritual arrogance born of higher standards and more enlightened spiritual eyes.
Do good things comes from these colleges? Absolutely. Every year, hundreds of students graduate these colleges with a genuine love for God and a genuine passion for Him having learned many great things. But my question is whether or not the extra standards we're generating are actually keeping us from the world or the world from us. Is this college a place where my beliefs will be challenged Biblically, or where my beliefs (as long as they are consistent with the outward appearance the faculty wishes to convey) are left virtually untouched and doctrine considered far less important than practice and outward appearance? Furthermore, will this college allow me to make an impact for Christ on those around me by being a part of my culture, or am I simply a pretty cover photo for the school's website, another clean-shaven, hymn-singing conservative?
Yes, I'm confused. I'm confused by the reasons behind the hard lines in the sand that we Christians draw. Just this week, I found that I was ineligible to enter a preaching contest I was going to sign up for at a Bible college because I have facial hair. Being stubborn, I refuse to shave simply so I can obey a stupid rule, so I will not be preaching, but the line drawn once again astounds me. The emphasis on the outward, on the dress standards, the hair color, the tattoos, the facial hair, the preferred musical style, or restaurant choice has me flustered.
Yes, it also has me frustrated. I watch as friends of mine, rightfully cautious of the liberality of many college influences, swing hard right to avoid them and instead swing straight into a rigid spirituality that Christ never taught. The options today are not (I hope) either let loose liberality or strict conservativism, complete with impassable drawn lines between us and the very people we're called to reach.
Yes, I also believe that observing a school's practical theology can tell me a lot about their doctrinal theology, no matter what is said in their doctrinal statement. Yes, I believe the hard lines of extra Biblical mandates do show an attitude of legalism. And yes, excessively strict standards are enough to drive me away from even considering some colleges. Being in a stifling religious environment affects you, rarely positively, I think it is safe to say more often negatively.
I do not have a particular reason why I wrote this post beyond to vent some of the feelings I have been having the last few days as my frustration at the colleges my circles recommend I attend has mounted. I truly believe that while some may decide to go to these colleges, they should go fully prepared to encounter legalism and moralism, demanding outward conformity over inward sanctification.
I do not intend this to be bashing toward certain colleges, the reason I didn't name any by name. I have no grudge against any college. But as a high schooler trying to go to a college that neither abuses grace toward liberalism or toward legalism, I'm frustrated. Rant over. :)
Allow me to run down a rabbit trail for a moment. Everyone has doctrinal theology and practical theology. Doctrinal theology is your beliefs-about-God system; your practical theology is how that affects your life. It's possible to have phenomenal doctrinal theology (head knowledge) and fail miserably in the area of practical theology (practice and behavior). It's much less likely (and maybe impossible), but I suppose it is theoretically possible for someone to have poor doctrinal theology and good practical theology (their beliefs about God cause good practice and behavior even though their actual knowledge about God is skewed).
So, for example, I read the college's doctrinal statement to see their doctrinal theology. This is their belief system. I read the college's student handbook to see their practical theology. How do their beliefs about God affect how they live their lives and expect their students to live their lives? The last couple of day's have been an eye-opening experience in that area.
I'm a conservative Christian. In fact, strictly speaking, I'm even a fundamentalist (I believe the fundamentals of Christianity, such as 1. salvation by grace alone, 2. the virgin birth, 3. the bodily resurrection of Christ, etc.). However, I don't exactly fit the mold of a fundamentalist, conservative Christian, particularly not the stereotype that next comes to mind if you know that I'm homeschooled, raised in family integrated Baptist churches for most of my life, and have most of my Scripture memorization done in the KJV.
This makes looking for a college somewhat complicated. For example, I am probably too conservative to be comfortable somewhere like TCU or DBU. At the same time, I would get expelled from BJU or PCC in a matter of weeks, most likely. So in researching colleges, part of my aim is to find a college that I will neither be influenced wrongly toward liberalism or legalism.
That was a long story just to get you to this point, but I have been stunned by the sheer number of rules some colleges are advocating! I am not going to name the names of the colleges I pulled these rules from, but just to name a few, these are some direct quotes from college handbooks.
*Physical contact: On and off campus, physical contact between unmarried men and women is not allowed.
*Men and women should guard their testimonies; they are not to be alone together in a classroom, rehearsal studio, or other room.
*Students are not to patronize restaurants with a tavern or bar-like atmosphere or reputation or that do not have a dining room separate from live entertainment.
*In this Christian college setting, care must be taken to avoid association with companies (Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, etc.), lifestyles, and trends that oppose Christian values, including gothic dress styles, tattoos, body piercings or ear piercings, and unnatural hair colors (e.g., pink, green, blue).
*(Paraphrase) No tattoos, piercings, bracelets, or necklaces on guys; or facial hair on lower classmen.
Now, these schools have a perfect right to institute whatever rules they see fit on their campus (though many of these rules specifically said they applied off campus as well, which was an interesting dynamic. What, is campus police going to follow you home on spring break?), and students are perfectly free to attend these colleges. I have multiple friends attending these colleges, and many more destined to go in the next couple of years: good, godly young men who want to serve Christ.
But to me, I'm there for a Bible degree. My purpose at college is to be equipped in Biblical study techniques, theological viewpoints, Biblical languages, etc. I'm not a liberal looking at these colleges; I'm a fellow conservative observing these colleges. And one phrase comes to my mind: standards.
I got no issue with standards (despite what you may think from reading up to this point!). As I said, these colleges are welcome to implement whichever standards they wish on their campus. Individuals are welcome to implement whichever standards they wish in their personal lives. But I do believe these standards allow a quick glance into the attitude of the college's practical theology: a theology of standards and lines drawn in the sand.
These extra rules don't bring us closer to Christ; they separate us from the world, negate much of our influence and understanding on our own culture, and may even promote an attitude of self-righteousness (which is possible in any setting, liberal or conservative, I admit). That is not my desire in a school. In fact, I would like to do the exact opposite both in my Bible college experience and my church experience away from home for the first time: involvement with the world for the purpose of impacting our peers and lost friends for Christ, and learning in an atmosphere of humility, not spiritual arrogance born of higher standards and more enlightened spiritual eyes.
Do good things comes from these colleges? Absolutely. Every year, hundreds of students graduate these colleges with a genuine love for God and a genuine passion for Him having learned many great things. But my question is whether or not the extra standards we're generating are actually keeping us from the world or the world from us. Is this college a place where my beliefs will be challenged Biblically, or where my beliefs (as long as they are consistent with the outward appearance the faculty wishes to convey) are left virtually untouched and doctrine considered far less important than practice and outward appearance? Furthermore, will this college allow me to make an impact for Christ on those around me by being a part of my culture, or am I simply a pretty cover photo for the school's website, another clean-shaven, hymn-singing conservative?
Yes, I'm confused. I'm confused by the reasons behind the hard lines in the sand that we Christians draw. Just this week, I found that I was ineligible to enter a preaching contest I was going to sign up for at a Bible college because I have facial hair. Being stubborn, I refuse to shave simply so I can obey a stupid rule, so I will not be preaching, but the line drawn once again astounds me. The emphasis on the outward, on the dress standards, the hair color, the tattoos, the facial hair, the preferred musical style, or restaurant choice has me flustered.
Yes, it also has me frustrated. I watch as friends of mine, rightfully cautious of the liberality of many college influences, swing hard right to avoid them and instead swing straight into a rigid spirituality that Christ never taught. The options today are not (I hope) either let loose liberality or strict conservativism, complete with impassable drawn lines between us and the very people we're called to reach.
Yes, I also believe that observing a school's practical theology can tell me a lot about their doctrinal theology, no matter what is said in their doctrinal statement. Yes, I believe the hard lines of extra Biblical mandates do show an attitude of legalism. And yes, excessively strict standards are enough to drive me away from even considering some colleges. Being in a stifling religious environment affects you, rarely positively, I think it is safe to say more often negatively.
I do not have a particular reason why I wrote this post beyond to vent some of the feelings I have been having the last few days as my frustration at the colleges my circles recommend I attend has mounted. I truly believe that while some may decide to go to these colleges, they should go fully prepared to encounter legalism and moralism, demanding outward conformity over inward sanctification.
I do not intend this to be bashing toward certain colleges, the reason I didn't name any by name. I have no grudge against any college. But as a high schooler trying to go to a college that neither abuses grace toward liberalism or toward legalism, I'm frustrated. Rant over. :)
Monday, November 2, 2015
The Sovereignty of God
There are few topics that are debated with same the vehemence that the sovereignty of God vs the free will of man discussion brings about. I happen to be someone who holds that both the absolute sovereignty God and the limited free will of man walk hand-in-hand throughout Scripture, yet I still find myself in discussions and debates (honestly, I often start them :) on the sovereignty of God.
Why is this an important topic? I mean, really, why does it matter? It matters because when we say we "trust" God, whether for protection or anything else similar, we assume that He is at work on earth and that He does have a plan that He can accomplish. We pray because we believe God does, in fact, involve Himself in the affairs of earth.
This is not the place for a raging debate on free will and God's sovereignty. Suffice to say, we see in Scripture verses that speak of man's free will, and others that speak of God's sovereignty. I will admit that I do not understand where the two mesh, but since both are found in the Bible, I must trust that they do. The focus of this post, however, is on what to me is one of the most comforting doctrines in the Bible, God's absolute sovereignty. It does not demand that free will no longer exist; it simply shows the affairs of earth from heavenly perspective. While what happens here on earth may appear to be simply choices made by men, an examination of the Bible quickly makes it clear that much more often (if not in every case), it is in fact, God's guiding hand at work rather than simply men dictating their own fates.
There are several passages I want to examine. First, Daniel 4:34-35 is the statement of a heathen king who has been brought low before a mighty God. Nebuchadnezzer, the most powerful of the Babylonian kings, is brought to his knees (literally) before God because of the pride of his heart for seven years. At the end of seven years, he is returned to his senses (the full story is in the entirety of chapter 4) and reinstated to his throne in Babylon. He immediately sends out a letter to all the provinces he rules over which is closed with these words.
"For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"
That is an incredible statement about the incredible, sovereign hand of God. He doesn't just have power to be involved in world affairs or enforce His will if He wanted to; He actively "does according to His will." Not just sometimes, or occasionally. It's an incredible thought!
The second passage is in Psalms (No great surprise there. David seemed to understand the greatness of God better than most.) 33:9-11, "For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart form generation to generation."
David draws an interesting parallel between God's plans and man's. Man's are at God's whim. He cancels their plans at will and frustrates their strategies whenever He pleases. On the other hand, His counsel is unstoppable, and His plans have stayed the same for generations.
One of my favorite testimonies of God's sovereignty is found in Job 1:8, 2:5 where Satan himself comes before God before being able to touch Job. God is so sovereign on earth that Satan himself needs permission from God before engaging God's servant Job! Another favorite is in Prov. 16:33, where Solomon identifies that even how a lot falls into a man's lap is from God's hand, not random chance or coincidence.
The undeniable end conclusion? God is sovereign. "For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps." (Ps. 135:5-6) God is God. He does what He pleases. Whatever we in our free will may decide is subject to change whenever and however God pleases.
Now, this realizations brings two thoughts to my mind. First, if God is absolutely sovereign, why do bad things happen here? Frankly, God does not grace us with an answer here. God's omnipotence dictates that it is within His power to change the world and men's hearts to only do and desire good. But God has not chosen to do that.
While we may not understand why, it is a Biblical fact that while man may try to get God to play by our rules, God rarely does. For example, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, the thieves beside Him and the crowds around Him taunted Him by mocking His power, demanding He pull Himself off the cross and save both Him and them! Yes, He certainly had the power, but He Himself saw the bigger picture that the crowd did not see: He was procuring a redemption for His people! Yes, in our limited human understanding, we would have rathered Him jump off the cross and extend His righteous anger upon the Roman soldiers, the Sanhedrin, and the gathered crowds! But God's mind is bigger than ours. In the larger picture, the goodness of God dictates His decisions, not man's desires.
Psalm 115:2-3 is another example of this. "Why should the nations say, 'Where, now, is their God?' But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever pleases Him." The nations around may challenge Israel and taunt, demanding a sign, demanding to see their God. But God isn't required to satisfy man. God simply does what pleases Himself, whether that is to show Himself to man or to hide Himself.
But another thought then enters my mind from studying this topic. If we believe that God is sovereign, then literally nothing can hurt us that has not come from God's sovereign hand. This truth shouldn't spur us to inaction; it should spur us to greater action! God's sovereignty means that He offers equal protection to us in a suburb of Atlanta or a suburb of Mogadishu. His will rules and reigns. Our number of days is in God's hands. The trials, the tribulations, the temptations are all things God can stop if He sees fit. I daresay He frequently does so.
But the ones He, in His sovereignty, doesn't stop, are the ones we know aren't meaningless. They aren't purposeless. A sovereign God allowed them to happen, because they are a part of a plan He is accomplishing throughout the earth.
We serve a God with all power, deserving of all glory. And as servants of God, we know that our days, our lives, our circumstances, our struggles are all in the hands of God. We can trust Him. We can rely on His goodness in His sovereign. Thank God!
Why is this an important topic? I mean, really, why does it matter? It matters because when we say we "trust" God, whether for protection or anything else similar, we assume that He is at work on earth and that He does have a plan that He can accomplish. We pray because we believe God does, in fact, involve Himself in the affairs of earth.
This is not the place for a raging debate on free will and God's sovereignty. Suffice to say, we see in Scripture verses that speak of man's free will, and others that speak of God's sovereignty. I will admit that I do not understand where the two mesh, but since both are found in the Bible, I must trust that they do. The focus of this post, however, is on what to me is one of the most comforting doctrines in the Bible, God's absolute sovereignty. It does not demand that free will no longer exist; it simply shows the affairs of earth from heavenly perspective. While what happens here on earth may appear to be simply choices made by men, an examination of the Bible quickly makes it clear that much more often (if not in every case), it is in fact, God's guiding hand at work rather than simply men dictating their own fates.
There are several passages I want to examine. First, Daniel 4:34-35 is the statement of a heathen king who has been brought low before a mighty God. Nebuchadnezzer, the most powerful of the Babylonian kings, is brought to his knees (literally) before God because of the pride of his heart for seven years. At the end of seven years, he is returned to his senses (the full story is in the entirety of chapter 4) and reinstated to his throne in Babylon. He immediately sends out a letter to all the provinces he rules over which is closed with these words.
"For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"
That is an incredible statement about the incredible, sovereign hand of God. He doesn't just have power to be involved in world affairs or enforce His will if He wanted to; He actively "does according to His will." Not just sometimes, or occasionally. It's an incredible thought!
The second passage is in Psalms (No great surprise there. David seemed to understand the greatness of God better than most.) 33:9-11, "For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart form generation to generation."
David draws an interesting parallel between God's plans and man's. Man's are at God's whim. He cancels their plans at will and frustrates their strategies whenever He pleases. On the other hand, His counsel is unstoppable, and His plans have stayed the same for generations.
One of my favorite testimonies of God's sovereignty is found in Job 1:8, 2:5 where Satan himself comes before God before being able to touch Job. God is so sovereign on earth that Satan himself needs permission from God before engaging God's servant Job! Another favorite is in Prov. 16:33, where Solomon identifies that even how a lot falls into a man's lap is from God's hand, not random chance or coincidence.
The undeniable end conclusion? God is sovereign. "For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps." (Ps. 135:5-6) God is God. He does what He pleases. Whatever we in our free will may decide is subject to change whenever and however God pleases.
Now, this realizations brings two thoughts to my mind. First, if God is absolutely sovereign, why do bad things happen here? Frankly, God does not grace us with an answer here. God's omnipotence dictates that it is within His power to change the world and men's hearts to only do and desire good. But God has not chosen to do that.
While we may not understand why, it is a Biblical fact that while man may try to get God to play by our rules, God rarely does. For example, when Jesus was hanging on the cross, the thieves beside Him and the crowds around Him taunted Him by mocking His power, demanding He pull Himself off the cross and save both Him and them! Yes, He certainly had the power, but He Himself saw the bigger picture that the crowd did not see: He was procuring a redemption for His people! Yes, in our limited human understanding, we would have rathered Him jump off the cross and extend His righteous anger upon the Roman soldiers, the Sanhedrin, and the gathered crowds! But God's mind is bigger than ours. In the larger picture, the goodness of God dictates His decisions, not man's desires.
Psalm 115:2-3 is another example of this. "Why should the nations say, 'Where, now, is their God?' But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever pleases Him." The nations around may challenge Israel and taunt, demanding a sign, demanding to see their God. But God isn't required to satisfy man. God simply does what pleases Himself, whether that is to show Himself to man or to hide Himself.
But another thought then enters my mind from studying this topic. If we believe that God is sovereign, then literally nothing can hurt us that has not come from God's sovereign hand. This truth shouldn't spur us to inaction; it should spur us to greater action! God's sovereignty means that He offers equal protection to us in a suburb of Atlanta or a suburb of Mogadishu. His will rules and reigns. Our number of days is in God's hands. The trials, the tribulations, the temptations are all things God can stop if He sees fit. I daresay He frequently does so.
But the ones He, in His sovereignty, doesn't stop, are the ones we know aren't meaningless. They aren't purposeless. A sovereign God allowed them to happen, because they are a part of a plan He is accomplishing throughout the earth.
We serve a God with all power, deserving of all glory. And as servants of God, we know that our days, our lives, our circumstances, our struggles are all in the hands of God. We can trust Him. We can rely on His goodness in His sovereign. Thank God!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
An Interesting Memory
I do have some longer posts in the works, but pardon my recent grouping of short posts and videos. I simply have been preoccupied by other things. Today, I was looking up the old Irish song "Bridgit Flynn" because I remember my oldest brother playing it years and years ago. I found this version, and it was incredible! If anybody else likes Irish music, maybe take a second and listen to it.
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Good Debate
This is the best debate I've ever had the pleasure of watching on the topic of predestination. Interestingly enough, I agree with points from both men (though more with Dr. White :), but I think both Dr. Michael Brown and Dr. James White presented excellent arguments in defense of their worldviews. Check it out when you have an extra couple hours.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Good Poem
"Did you tackle that trouble that came your way
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
"You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that!
Come up with a smiling face.
It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there-that's disgrace.
The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts;
It's how did you fight-and why?
"And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
But only how did you die?"
-Edmund Cooke
With a resolute heart and cheerful?
Or hide your face from the light of day
With a craven soul and fearful?
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
Or a trouble is what you make it,
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
But only how did you take it?
"You are beaten to earth? Well, well, what's that!
Come up with a smiling face.
It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
But to lie there-that's disgrace.
The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce
Be proud of your blackened eye!
It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts;
It's how did you fight-and why?
"And though you be done to the death, what then?
If you battled the best you could,
If you played your part in the world of men,
Why, the Critic will call it good.
Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
And whether he's slow or spry,
It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
But only how did you die?"
-Edmund Cooke
Monday, October 19, 2015
Why I Hope I'm Always "Into Grace"
When my mom introduces me to friends from church or other Christian people she knows well, she introduces me as her child who is "more into grace". In my circles (very conservative baptist), that's an allegation that usually results in some raised eyebrows or awkward silences. We've all heard the stories of those people who consider themselves "under grace" and thus free to sin, and I can see those stories floating through the minds of everyone who hears that introduction!
But there is a reason I've never asked my mom to stop introducing me that way, though it is awkward sometimes when you are visiting with someone who believes that what cards, staying up past 11:00, not praying before meals, and listening to music with a beat have in common is that they're all sin. Honestly, I hope I'm known that way my whole life; that Taylor guy who is really into grace.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hope I never get over grace. I hope I never get too mature in my walk or too established as a Christian to simply sit and ponder in wonder the grace of God. I've lived as a Christian who didn't really understand grace for too long not to appreciate the freedom, the liberty, and the incredible love God demonstrates to us through His unmerited favor.
My life is an unfolding testament to the grace of God. The day I get over grace is the day my spiritual life dies, because without grace, there is no life to our faith. Our faith is only alive to the point we realize how small we are and how great our God is. Off that point hinges everything.
In order to understand why I'm so "into grace", we need to take a moment and look at what exactly I was before grace found me. Let's see... most people would answer that as "we were sinners". But that doesn't really do justice to the full severity of our situation. The Bible more aptly describes us as "haters of God" and unable to do what is good. Slaves to unrighteousness and the flesh. Dead in sin. Cursed by the law, we were hopeless.
Ponder that for a moment. And if your situation wasn't bad enough yet, let's just examine what else we know with the specifics. We know that since each of us has sinned, we are guilty of having broken the entire law. In God's eyes, you, my formerly unsaved friend, were equal with the murderer, the thief, the rebel, the homosexual. You were guilty of the whole law and defiant of the good God who had prescribed it. You were incapable of doing good. Your nature, in fact, was not only bent toward evil, but enslaved to it! It took no free will to sin; in fact, by our free will, we chose to sin!
Is this picture black enough yet? I don't think so. So after thousands of years in sin, slaves under the law, finally the Redeemer comes, the one who can save us from all that. And what do we do? We crucify Him. We beat Him, torture Him, execute Him, mocking all the time. We blaspheme His name and position as God.
Do you see why I feel the injustice in summing up our fallen condition as "sinners"? That, my friend, comes nowhere close to the depth of our depravity before a holy God we spurned! Sinners, in fact, feels like a promotion after glancing over our old nature's resume. After reading that, we should feel quite happy with the title of "sinner".
But this is where grace; reckless, wild grace enters the picture. That God, the One we tortured? That God took our natures, our sinful, rebellious natures and took them on Himself. He became sin. In every way that sin is sin, Jesus Christ became literal unrighteousness for us. He became sin in order to once and for all destroy it for those who were murdering Him.
And in doing so, He grants us life. Not only does He take our sin, but He gives us righteousness. He, the ultimate perfection, grants us His own goodness and declares us righteous. Legally justified. Free. Redeemed. And He ushers us into the grace that forever declares us His, bought with the blood we so freely made flow.
But He doesn't stop there. As if that's not enough, He continues lavishing us, adopting us to become His children. The beneficiaries of His grace, His mercy, His love. Here we are, the sinners, redeemed. Here we are, the rebels, justified. Here we are, ragamuffins, lost in the grace of a wild God.
There's a scandal in that story, a scandal that causes many to turn their backs on the gospel of radical grace. See, our minds tell us that falling for that story makes us a sucker. It can't be true. God can't offer free grace. We have to do something. Maybe it's a teeny, tiny thing, but at least something! Anything to rid ourselves of the scandal of freely offered grace.
What's this scandal I keep referencing? Quite simply, God broke the rules. The world we like says tit for tat, fair for fair. But God broke the rules. God rewarded us for nothing we did. God did the unfair, the unthinkable; so unthinkable, in fact, that millions in America and across the world deny it because it's simply too radical to believe. God has made us as righteous as He? Not just theoretical righteousness, but real, literal goodness?
But what about me? What about my part? What about earning it? Don't I have to do something at least? Can't I do something to keep from this great debt? Maybe we'd prefer a business partnership, where I do at least something and God rewards me. But that's not how He works.
He rewards your nothing with everything. Nothing you did merited it. Nothing you can do can repay it. You're lost, hopelessly lost, in debt to a merciful God who saved you in spite of yourself.
I hope I never get over this. I pray I never forget who I was and who I am in Christ. I hope I'm always that guy who's into grace, who can't talk about it enough or listen enough about it. I hope I never stop enjoying it, the freedom it brings to serve Christ, to reflect Him through my faults and my weaknesses as He shapes me into His image.
Jesus + Works = Nothing
Jesus + My Acts of Love and Service = Nothing
Jesus + Pure Thoughts = Nothing
Jesus + High Standards= Nothing
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
But there is a reason I've never asked my mom to stop introducing me that way, though it is awkward sometimes when you are visiting with someone who believes that what cards, staying up past 11:00, not praying before meals, and listening to music with a beat have in common is that they're all sin. Honestly, I hope I'm known that way my whole life; that Taylor guy who is really into grace.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hope I never get over grace. I hope I never get too mature in my walk or too established as a Christian to simply sit and ponder in wonder the grace of God. I've lived as a Christian who didn't really understand grace for too long not to appreciate the freedom, the liberty, and the incredible love God demonstrates to us through His unmerited favor.
My life is an unfolding testament to the grace of God. The day I get over grace is the day my spiritual life dies, because without grace, there is no life to our faith. Our faith is only alive to the point we realize how small we are and how great our God is. Off that point hinges everything.
In order to understand why I'm so "into grace", we need to take a moment and look at what exactly I was before grace found me. Let's see... most people would answer that as "we were sinners". But that doesn't really do justice to the full severity of our situation. The Bible more aptly describes us as "haters of God" and unable to do what is good. Slaves to unrighteousness and the flesh. Dead in sin. Cursed by the law, we were hopeless.
Ponder that for a moment. And if your situation wasn't bad enough yet, let's just examine what else we know with the specifics. We know that since each of us has sinned, we are guilty of having broken the entire law. In God's eyes, you, my formerly unsaved friend, were equal with the murderer, the thief, the rebel, the homosexual. You were guilty of the whole law and defiant of the good God who had prescribed it. You were incapable of doing good. Your nature, in fact, was not only bent toward evil, but enslaved to it! It took no free will to sin; in fact, by our free will, we chose to sin!
Is this picture black enough yet? I don't think so. So after thousands of years in sin, slaves under the law, finally the Redeemer comes, the one who can save us from all that. And what do we do? We crucify Him. We beat Him, torture Him, execute Him, mocking all the time. We blaspheme His name and position as God.
Do you see why I feel the injustice in summing up our fallen condition as "sinners"? That, my friend, comes nowhere close to the depth of our depravity before a holy God we spurned! Sinners, in fact, feels like a promotion after glancing over our old nature's resume. After reading that, we should feel quite happy with the title of "sinner".
But this is where grace; reckless, wild grace enters the picture. That God, the One we tortured? That God took our natures, our sinful, rebellious natures and took them on Himself. He became sin. In every way that sin is sin, Jesus Christ became literal unrighteousness for us. He became sin in order to once and for all destroy it for those who were murdering Him.
And in doing so, He grants us life. Not only does He take our sin, but He gives us righteousness. He, the ultimate perfection, grants us His own goodness and declares us righteous. Legally justified. Free. Redeemed. And He ushers us into the grace that forever declares us His, bought with the blood we so freely made flow.
But He doesn't stop there. As if that's not enough, He continues lavishing us, adopting us to become His children. The beneficiaries of His grace, His mercy, His love. Here we are, the sinners, redeemed. Here we are, the rebels, justified. Here we are, ragamuffins, lost in the grace of a wild God.
There's a scandal in that story, a scandal that causes many to turn their backs on the gospel of radical grace. See, our minds tell us that falling for that story makes us a sucker. It can't be true. God can't offer free grace. We have to do something. Maybe it's a teeny, tiny thing, but at least something! Anything to rid ourselves of the scandal of freely offered grace.
What's this scandal I keep referencing? Quite simply, God broke the rules. The world we like says tit for tat, fair for fair. But God broke the rules. God rewarded us for nothing we did. God did the unfair, the unthinkable; so unthinkable, in fact, that millions in America and across the world deny it because it's simply too radical to believe. God has made us as righteous as He? Not just theoretical righteousness, but real, literal goodness?
But what about me? What about my part? What about earning it? Don't I have to do something at least? Can't I do something to keep from this great debt? Maybe we'd prefer a business partnership, where I do at least something and God rewards me. But that's not how He works.
He rewards your nothing with everything. Nothing you did merited it. Nothing you can do can repay it. You're lost, hopelessly lost, in debt to a merciful God who saved you in spite of yourself.
I hope I never get over this. I pray I never forget who I was and who I am in Christ. I hope I'm always that guy who's into grace, who can't talk about it enough or listen enough about it. I hope I never stop enjoying it, the freedom it brings to serve Christ, to reflect Him through my faults and my weaknesses as He shapes me into His image.
Jesus + Works = Nothing
Jesus + My Acts of Love and Service = Nothing
Jesus + Pure Thoughts = Nothing
Jesus + High Standards
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Good Quote
Thanks, sis, for an awesome book! This quote is from Michael Horton's book Putting Amazing Back into Grace, a book that so far has been excellent and eye-opening on several fronts. Thanks, Aimee!
"All Christians think of Jesus Christ as essential. But is he essential primarily as a teacher, moral example, and life coach, or as the Lamb of God in whom we find forgiveness, peace with God, and everlasting life? If we don't really think we need to be saved from the justice of a holy God, then we hardly need the kind of extreme rescue operation that the Bible announces. If we are basically good people needing a little direction, then the situation hardly calls for God to assume our humanity, fulfill all righteousness in our place, bear our guilt through a cruel crucifixion, and be raised bodily as the beginning of the new creation. Yet that is just the kind of salvation we need. It is not that Jesus Christ makes up for whatever we lack in the righteousness department but that his righteousness alone is sufficient to stand in God's judgment. The gospel is not Christ plus our spiritual disciplines, Christ plus free will, Christ plus our acts of love and service to others, or Christ plus our pious experiences, but Christ alone. All of our salvation is found in Christ, not ourselves."
-Dr. Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back into Grace
"All Christians think of Jesus Christ as essential. But is he essential primarily as a teacher, moral example, and life coach, or as the Lamb of God in whom we find forgiveness, peace with God, and everlasting life? If we don't really think we need to be saved from the justice of a holy God, then we hardly need the kind of extreme rescue operation that the Bible announces. If we are basically good people needing a little direction, then the situation hardly calls for God to assume our humanity, fulfill all righteousness in our place, bear our guilt through a cruel crucifixion, and be raised bodily as the beginning of the new creation. Yet that is just the kind of salvation we need. It is not that Jesus Christ makes up for whatever we lack in the righteousness department but that his righteousness alone is sufficient to stand in God's judgment. The gospel is not Christ plus our spiritual disciplines, Christ plus free will, Christ plus our acts of love and service to others, or Christ plus our pious experiences, but Christ alone. All of our salvation is found in Christ, not ourselves."
-Dr. Michael Horton, Putting Amazing Back into Grace
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Guest Post
My dear friend Lauren S. has been kind enough to write a guest post for my blog this week while I'm out of town. She runs an awesome blog over at Defying Depravity and co-authors with me over at Yearning for More. She's a friend I greatly respect, and I'm happy to be able to post her thoughts over here. Thank you, Lauren!
--------------------------------------------------------------
My great-grandmother said something to me in a recent
letter helped motivate me to write this. Actually, it was a combination between
her words and a conversation my mom and I recently that got me worked up a bit.
Here’s what my great-grandmother said:
“Every
day brings us closer to the day Jesus comes for His children. We need to live
our lives like it’s out last day on earth.”
Now, I had been the one originally
initiating the topic of conversation, but with snail-mail, I had forgotten
about it. Reading her words again as I was writing her a response made me stop
and think. It tied back to the conversation I already mentioned between my mom
and me previously.
We had been talking about the
shooting in Oregon that’s been in the news. We were discussing how hard it must
have been to be a Christian in that room at that particular time, knowing that
death was coming, and making that choice whether to defend your faith and hold
strongly to it till the end, or whether to back down and cower out of it.
We also spoke of Kim Davis’ arrest,
making an outward showing of her faith. This, too, lead on to what I’m about to
say.
You thought it was only for the
radical Christians, the brave-hearted foreign missionaries, the courageous
pastors in countries where Christianity has been banned. You thought it would
never happen to the people in your youth group, to the people sitting next to
you in the morning service at church. You never dreamed it would happen to such
a country as this, where all beliefs are welcome, where we wouldn’t dream of
judging one another for religious practices.
What we picture as
persecution, what we hear of Christians enduring in other foreign countries,
what we all imagined would come at some point – it’s here now. Christians are getting shot, arrested, persecuted
for their faith. Wake up, generation of Christians in America. Times aren’t
getting better; they’re getting worse. Everything you thought was only possible
in other countries, it’s here, in free America.
We laughed not so long ago – come on, this whole persecution
thing is for the Middle East, for Africa, for China. Not here, of all places!
But it’s true.
This is where our faith gets put to the test. Look at
Hebrews 11:36-40.
Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they
were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins,
destitute, persecuted and mistreated – the world was not worthy of them. They
wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
To look at the previous text, it lists many of the
heroes of faith who evaded tragedies by faith. This is what some of them
endured.
Whoa. Would our
generation of Christians (or “Christians”) be able to face persecution like
that? How many of us would, honestly, willingly
be sawed in half or live in a hole in the ground instead of renouncing their
faith or taking the easy route? I think I can truthfully say, not many of us
would.
But there’s a promise, a reward for enduring such hardships
and persecution. V. 39-40:
These were all commended for their
faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned
something better for us so that only together with us would they be made
perfect.
Wow. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There’s a reason for the suffering, the
persecution. Now, if only today’s Christian could see that…
So many Christians today are too concerned about their own
comfort in life to worry about how seriously they take their faith. Which is
overwhelmingly sad. God didn’t call for watered-down, half-hearted,
lukewarm-cold faith. He asks for everything you have, all that you are, or
nothing at all. There is no way to truly follow Christ without giving everything
in you, without doing so with radical abandon and dying to self.
In this time now, America needs Christians that are on fire. We need Believers who would
suffer unspeakable pain before they would ever even think about renouncing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
country is filled with lukewarm Christians. Lukewarm Christians will not stand
the test of faith, which is coming and is happening now. Lukewarm Christians
are the ones who are disillusioned, who believe that persecution is only for
the Middle East, China, or the very end times. We need to be ready now. We need to get our hearts and lives
straight and in line with God, walking close to Him and living lives solely for Him. Lay your own life aside;
your comfort, your cares, your dreams. Be a Christian that has a heart burning
for Him. Be ready for the trials, the persecution, the tests. Live your life
like it’s the last day on earth.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under
trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of
life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (Jas. 1:12)
Saturday, October 10, 2015
A Good Song
I just found another great song I've been listening to a lot, this time by an artist I had never listened to before, Colton Dixon.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
One Year
So in typical Taylor fashion, I forgot the birthday of my own blog. That is pretty much the way I do things... Anyhow, the one year birthday for this blog was October 4. So, late or not, I want to take the opportunity to thank all of you who so faithfully read and comment on what I write. Thank you for your patience with my pet peeves and typos!
And a special thanks to Lauren and Ryan for getting me started on blogging. Intentionally or not, you two got me hooked on blogging and started me on a journey from which I've learned a ton! Thank you both! Here's to another year!
And a special thanks to Lauren and Ryan for getting me started on blogging. Intentionally or not, you two got me hooked on blogging and started me on a journey from which I've learned a ton! Thank you both! Here's to another year!
Monday, October 5, 2015
Invited into a Sovereign Plan
I had the pleasure of being able to sit under the teaching this past Sunday of an African brother I met in Malawi. He made several good points, but one particular one stuck out to me: the idea of the sovereignty of God.
Frequently, I find myself thinking a false idea, usually one I know is false but is so engrained in my mind that it has become my default system of thought. This is one of them. I know it's false, I knew it was false, but it has somehow become my default view of God. I have found one of the best ways of deprogramming my thinking is to publicly speak out against it and clarify what I believe to be true. That is a large part of the reason for this post.
The false idea I frequently get in my mind goes something like this: God has a worldwide agenda He wants accomplished, the glorification of His name throughout the nations, or, as Dr. John Gillepse put it (and it will be forever stuck in my memory this way), to "make Jesus Christ famous in the earth." We exist to make Jesus' name and glory ring through the world. And up to this point, it's all true.
But then my false thinking comes into the picture. Based on what I said above, my next thought is usually that somehow, I am doing God a great favor by involving myself in His scheme. Though I would never have admitted it in these words, I am too often left with the feeling that I am so how blessing God with my following and any sacrifice I endure in His name leaves Him that much more in my debt.
Honestly, I think that's our default feeling. In an age (like every other) where entitlement is such a dangerous enemy, we feel we deserve the normal and comfortable life, and thus, anything beyond that in the service of Christ is radical Christianity, deserving of some kind of award or special favor from the most High.
How far off that is from the truth! In Matt. 28, we see Jesus give the command that ultimately sums up the world-wide mission of the church. But there's a subtle attitude change with the way many of us see those words that needs to change in order to fully grasp what is happening. Too often, we come to this command with the notion that I am doing God a favor by joining up and helping Him out with His plan, as if it needed human help in order to succeed.
However, that is simply not Biblical. In Lk. 19:40, the disciples of Christ usher Him down from the Mt. of Olives with cries and praises. When the Pharisees reprimand Jesus for His follower's actions and tell Him to command them to be silent, His response is that if these, His human followers, ceased to praise Him, then even the rocks would cry out in His praise. Similarly, in Eph. 2:10, Paul proclaims that every knee shall one day bow before God, and Rom. 14:11 says that every tongue shall cry His praises.
None of these statements have any regard to human help or will. Rather, even the unbelieving world will one day bow the knee and cry out praise before God. So, what is the logical conclusion from these verses that shatters a deathblow to our comfortable view of our aiding God?
Simply this. He doesn't need us. There, I said it. God has no need of human help in accomplishing His purposes. He said it himself in Lk. 19. If all mankind feel silent in their praise for God, then nature itself would cry out. And like it or not, every last one of us will bow down and glorify God. He will be glorified throughout the earth, both now by His elect and in the future by everyone.
That's a concept that should change how we view our service to God. He doesn't need our help. Even if every man on earth gave all the strength he or she had in thwarting God's intended plan, it would change nothing. God's will prevails, every time. God has no need for human aid.
So then, what is the purpose of our serving God if He has no need for our help? Very simply for two reasons. 1.) He is further glorified through the obedience of His servants, and 2.) We find pleasure and fulfillment in being obedient to Him.
There you have it. We don't serve God because He needs our help; rather, we have been invited into His sovereign plan that will succeed with or without yours or my help. The reason we have been invited is not because of our spectacular gifts or earth-moving talents. We are invited into the sovereign plan of God for our benefit.
Think about that! It's for our benefit! God doesn't need our help. He could just as easily attain the salvation of His elect by sovereignly revealing Himself to them in European cities and South American jungles as He could by sending human helpers in the form of evangelists and missionaries. In fact, it would be much simpler if He handled it all on His own.
But He doesn't. Instead, He invites mankind to join Him, to find fulfillment in making Him known. Our greatest efforts or our most intense opposition don't change God's plans in the slightest. But He invites us into a sovereign mission to make His glory known throughout the earth, for our benefit, not His.
Does that not give you a greater glimpse into the majesty and sovereignty of our God? He invites weak, fallible men to embark on a mission greater than they, then promises strength and grace for them in the midst of it. And as we, weak men that we are, find ourselves weak and in need of Him, He Himself is glorified in our weakness.
We serve a God who will be glorified, with or without us. But He chooses to glorify Himself through our weakness and allow us to find our peace and fulfillment in Him along the way. What a glorious God!
Frequently, I find myself thinking a false idea, usually one I know is false but is so engrained in my mind that it has become my default system of thought. This is one of them. I know it's false, I knew it was false, but it has somehow become my default view of God. I have found one of the best ways of deprogramming my thinking is to publicly speak out against it and clarify what I believe to be true. That is a large part of the reason for this post.
The false idea I frequently get in my mind goes something like this: God has a worldwide agenda He wants accomplished, the glorification of His name throughout the nations, or, as Dr. John Gillepse put it (and it will be forever stuck in my memory this way), to "make Jesus Christ famous in the earth." We exist to make Jesus' name and glory ring through the world. And up to this point, it's all true.
But then my false thinking comes into the picture. Based on what I said above, my next thought is usually that somehow, I am doing God a great favor by involving myself in His scheme. Though I would never have admitted it in these words, I am too often left with the feeling that I am so how blessing God with my following and any sacrifice I endure in His name leaves Him that much more in my debt.
Honestly, I think that's our default feeling. In an age (like every other) where entitlement is such a dangerous enemy, we feel we deserve the normal and comfortable life, and thus, anything beyond that in the service of Christ is radical Christianity, deserving of some kind of award or special favor from the most High.
How far off that is from the truth! In Matt. 28, we see Jesus give the command that ultimately sums up the world-wide mission of the church. But there's a subtle attitude change with the way many of us see those words that needs to change in order to fully grasp what is happening. Too often, we come to this command with the notion that I am doing God a favor by joining up and helping Him out with His plan, as if it needed human help in order to succeed.
However, that is simply not Biblical. In Lk. 19:40, the disciples of Christ usher Him down from the Mt. of Olives with cries and praises. When the Pharisees reprimand Jesus for His follower's actions and tell Him to command them to be silent, His response is that if these, His human followers, ceased to praise Him, then even the rocks would cry out in His praise. Similarly, in Eph. 2:10, Paul proclaims that every knee shall one day bow before God, and Rom. 14:11 says that every tongue shall cry His praises.
None of these statements have any regard to human help or will. Rather, even the unbelieving world will one day bow the knee and cry out praise before God. So, what is the logical conclusion from these verses that shatters a deathblow to our comfortable view of our aiding God?
Simply this. He doesn't need us. There, I said it. God has no need of human help in accomplishing His purposes. He said it himself in Lk. 19. If all mankind feel silent in their praise for God, then nature itself would cry out. And like it or not, every last one of us will bow down and glorify God. He will be glorified throughout the earth, both now by His elect and in the future by everyone.
That's a concept that should change how we view our service to God. He doesn't need our help. Even if every man on earth gave all the strength he or she had in thwarting God's intended plan, it would change nothing. God's will prevails, every time. God has no need for human aid.
So then, what is the purpose of our serving God if He has no need for our help? Very simply for two reasons. 1.) He is further glorified through the obedience of His servants, and 2.) We find pleasure and fulfillment in being obedient to Him.
There you have it. We don't serve God because He needs our help; rather, we have been invited into His sovereign plan that will succeed with or without yours or my help. The reason we have been invited is not because of our spectacular gifts or earth-moving talents. We are invited into the sovereign plan of God for our benefit.
Think about that! It's for our benefit! God doesn't need our help. He could just as easily attain the salvation of His elect by sovereignly revealing Himself to them in European cities and South American jungles as He could by sending human helpers in the form of evangelists and missionaries. In fact, it would be much simpler if He handled it all on His own.
But He doesn't. Instead, He invites mankind to join Him, to find fulfillment in making Him known. Our greatest efforts or our most intense opposition don't change God's plans in the slightest. But He invites us into a sovereign mission to make His glory known throughout the earth, for our benefit, not His.
Does that not give you a greater glimpse into the majesty and sovereignty of our God? He invites weak, fallible men to embark on a mission greater than they, then promises strength and grace for them in the midst of it. And as we, weak men that we are, find ourselves weak and in need of Him, He Himself is glorified in our weakness.
We serve a God who will be glorified, with or without us. But He chooses to glorify Himself through our weakness and allow us to find our peace and fulfillment in Him along the way. What a glorious God!
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