Why International Missions isn't Foreign

Recently I had the privilege of teaching a lesson on international missions at my church here in Carrollton, Georgia.  The lesson itself was on missions going on in Thailand.  In many of the international missions lessons in local churches congregations learn about the demographics of the country, they hear about a few specific missionaries, and then they are told how they can pray for those missionaries specifically.  While there is nothing wrong with this method, and in fact there is a lot of very useful information to be learned from this method of teaching, I decided to take the lesson in a different direction.  My goal in the lesson was not simply that the congregation would learn facts about Thailand, but that they would understand that Thailand is not that different from Carrollton, and that international missions is not just something "over there," but that it affects us here at home, and what we do here at home affects international missions.

This post is a follow up to that lesson.  The fact is international missions ought not be some foreign concept or idea.  International missions should flow directly from home missions, from local missions, and from every Christian's personal mission in the world.  International missions is the spread of Christianity to every tribe, people, tongue, and nation, fulfilling the command of Christ to go and make disciples of all nations.  (Matthew 28:18-20)  Therefore, the mindset of international missions should be part of every Christian, as we strive to be faithful to what our Lord has called us to do.

There are two specific reasons I want to address as to what International missions is not foreign: people, and Scripture.  If we understand the reality of who we are serving, and who we have a mission to reach, we will understand that these are not just people who live thousands of miles away, but they are brothers and sisters, and no matter how far away family may be, family is not foreign.  Likewise, if we understand Scripture, then we will understand how what we are to minister is never foreign, it is the wonderful Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that all men might be reconciled to God, redeemed from sin and free to live to the glory of God.  The message is not foreign, and the people are not foreign, even if the culture is totally alien to us.

It may seem like a bit of a contradiction to say that the people are not foreign if the culture is foreign, but people are not just their culture.  Specifically, in terms of international missions, every person is exactly the same.  What I mean is that what Paul says about humans, he says about all of us, he makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian.  Paul says, "As it is written:

'None is righteous, no, not one;
   no one understands;
   no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
   no one does good,
   not even one.'
'Their throat is an open grave;
   they use their tongues to deceive.'
'The venom of asps is under their lips.'
   'Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.'
'Their feet are swift to shed blood;
   in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.'
   'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'

Every human has sinned.  No one fears God naturally.  Not one of us is innocent, and all of us are condemned before God, according to what Paul says here.  Therefore, when we go to minister to humans in any place, any time, and any culture, we are ministering to sinners.  Just as you, if you are a Christian, were a sinner who received the Gospel from someone who ministered to you, so they are sinners in need of ministers who will bring the gospel to them.  There is nothing foreign in sin, we who walk in the light know the ways of sin, because we walked in sin ourselves.

But, not only are people the same, Scripture is the same.  Yes, translation is an art and a science.  And yes, there may be challenges in bringing Scripture to different cultures.  Due to linguistic barriers and the lack of a written language, it may be very hard to explain Scripture or make it widely accessible to certain peoples.  But, despite these challenges, Scripture itself does not change.

The reason Scripture does not change is because God does not change.  Scripture is the personal revelation of a personal God.  Unless God changes, his revelation will not change, and God has said of himself that he does not change. (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6, James 1:17)  Therefore, in every culture we minister the same Scripture, the same message, and the same God, that all men may know of the Lord who made them and desires that they should come and fellowship with him.  This Gospel does not change, because it is the same to everyone, no matter who they are or where they are.

There are a lot of things that can be foreign in international missions, from language and culture, to location and climate.  But, the things that really matter, the needs of people and means of addressing those needs, do not change.  Every person needs to be reconciled to the God who made them, who requires worship from them.  And the only means of reconciliation is faith in Jesus Christ.  Therefore, international missions may involve going to foreign places, eating foreign food, learning foreign languages, and living under foreign shelters, but there should be nothing closer to home than the ministering of the gospel to those who desperately need to know of the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.

A Perfect Inheritance (Part 2)

I noted yesterday that God has provided a perfect inheritance for us in Christ.  Today I'd like to develop that a little more.  Not only has God provided a perfect inheritance for us, he has provided us with a means to receive that inheritance.  God has given us Christ, he has provided us with a perfect savior, redeeming us from the curse of the fall.  He has also given us sonship through Christ, providing the means by which we are able to receive that which he has prepared for us from before the foundation of the world.

In Ephesians 1:5 we read, "He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved."  Our position before God is not dependent on our prayers or our works or our thoughts, they are dependent on God's determination.

Yes, we who are sons will pray to God, because we will want to speak with our Father, and to tell him of our troubles and ask him for his help.  Yes, we who are sons will seek to do the will of our Father, not because of our great debt to God, which we can never repay, but because we desire to please our Father and show him our love for him.  And yes, our thoughts will be upon the mercy of God, the goodness of God, everything good and noble and worthy of the Lord, because it is only normal and natural to think about that which is most important to us, which ought to be, and will be, God.  But, none of these things makes us sons of God through Christ, instead it is the will of God that brings us to himself through Christ that makes us his sons.  The Lord is responsible for our position before him, so that we cannot take credit for that which he has done.

But, consider that our position before God, being dependent on God, will never falter if we fail or fall.  God has already ordained that we are his sons through Christ, if we are indeed in Christ, so that it does not matter if we stumble and fall, he still calls us sons.  This is what Ephesians 1:4 & 7 tells us: "he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him," and, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses."  We have this forgiveness now, not that we shall have it, but that already it is done.  Already we are holy and blameless before God, and continually so, because God's word does not change. We are not now holy only to be unholy tomorrow, we are not now forgiven so that tomorrow we will be condemned.  Our holiness and righteousness is not dependent on us, it is dependent on God alone, because it is what he has proclaimed.

Consider how this works in contrast with the choices of the Old Testament.  In Deuteronomy 11:26 we read Moses words to the People of Israel that he was setting before them blessing and curse.  In Deuteronomy 30 we can read how this blessing and curse would work out.  Deuteronomy 30:19 tells us that the blessing and curse can also be called life and death.  Moses tells the people to choose life that they and their children might live.  But, here, in Ephesians, notice that Paul does not call us to a choice, instead he tells us of the choice that God has made for us.

We are not a people who have to choose blessing or curse, our choice has been made for us.  If we are in Christ, if we are those whom God has called to him, predestining us to receive his Son, then blessing has been chosen for us.  It is not a matter of our will, so that our positions as sons before God depends on our continuous choosing.  God has spoken, he has declared what will be, so that our adoption is sure, our redemption is promised and is ours now, and will be ours eternally.  How wonderful it is to know that we can relax, we can trust in God, we can have faith in him, and we can enter into his rest, no longer striving but knowing that God holds us in his hands eternally.

Once we stop striving to save ourselves something more amazing comes into view.  We who have been adopted and have been forgiven also have been told what God wants.  We who have received the adoption of God through Christ have been told of God's amazing plan, to bring all things together in Christ at the end of all things.  This is a wonderful blessing because it means that we don't have to wonder at what God wants of us.  We don't have to worry about whether we will choose wrongly, because we know that our goal ought to be God's goal, and God will accomplish his goal, even if it seems we have butchered it.

What I mean is that we who have been redeemed and forgiven do not need to worry that we are not going to accomplish what God wants.  We ought not be lazy, because laziness is not pleasing to our Father.  We ought not be paralyzed by fear of making the wrong choice, because such a fear betrays a mistrust of the Lord.  We ought to be busy doing the work of him who sent us, even as he sent Christ, because it is wonderful and good work, and it is this work which provides us with fulfillment in life.  God's purpose for all of creation is to bring all things together under Christ, so what more meaningful lives can we live than lives that seek to bring everything we do under Christ today?

God has given us redemption through his Son, and he has given us purpose through Christ.  We know that what we do in this life, done with the purpose of bringing all things, our money, our thoughts, our work, our culture, and our friends and neighbors, all under Christ, will prove of eternal worth.  We may never see an ounce of movement, but we do not need to be discouraged, because the work is not ours, it is God's.  This is not the plan of men, it is the plan of God, and it will be accomplished.  The God we serve made the universe, saved us according to his will, and arranged all of history to his purposes; how then can history not end up where he has directed it, so that Christ is glorified and the Father receives all glory through him?

Because of all this there is one more thing we are able to rejoice in, and that is spoken of throughout this passage: we have an inheritance.  If all things will eventually be united in Christ, and we are now in Christ, then eventually all things will be united with us in him as well.  That means we who are in Christ will eventually receive all things.  I'm not speaking out of line here, I assure you.

Consider the promises made to the churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea.  We will be made pillars in the temple of God, in the new Jerusalem.  And we will sit down with Christ on his throne, even as he sat down with his Father on his throne.  When you consider that there is no temple in the new Jerusalem, for God himself will be our temple, then the promise takes on its full import.  We will be joined to God in a way that will be like being pillars in the midst of him, we will never leave from him or go out from him.  And we will reign with Christ over all creation.

Paul says that we will judge angels!  What is there left that is outside of our authority if we are in Christ then?  We will reign with him, we will dwell in the presence of God eternally, and even angels will be under our authority and judgment.  We who are in Christ, who stand forgiven and redeemed before God, who know the will of our Father, also have a great and wonderful (consider the real meaning of this word: full of wonder) inheritance in that we shall receive everything through Christ.

What do we have left that we should need then?  You do not have a place to rest your head tonight?  Don't worry, the whole of creation will be given to you, if you are faithful in Christ.  Do you hunger, are you thirsty?  Do what you can to eat what you need and drink so that you can be healthy, but remember, the point of life is not fine dining and expensive wine, it is to bring all things together under Christ, so that one day all things will be yours in Christ.  Look forward to your inheritance, not for your physical appetites and the satisfying of your lusts, but because God has given you his own presence, he has given you Christ, he has given you a perfect inheritance, and this is your hope.

Live a life worthy of this, seek wisdom now that you will know how to rightly administer the inheritance that is to come.  Give God the glory, praise him for all he has done.  And share the good news of what you have, so that your rejoicing may cause others to rejoice and add again to your joy in Christ.  What do you lack dear Christian?  This world is not your home, do not fall in love with it, because you have a better home coming, a better inheritance than you can even imagine.

Confident Insufficiency

I'm reading through Dr. Bryan Chapell's book Christ Centered Preaching again.  I haven't read the book in probably a year or so, since going through seminary.  Even in seminary I read the book because I had to for a book review, and while it was good, I have a feeling that I didn't get out of it what I could have, so now I'm going to read it again, so I can be reminded of the great truths that Dr. Chapell has distilled in this wonderful volume.  If you haven't read it, and you want to preach, I entreat you, read it.

One of the earliest truths that Dr. Chapell discusses is the fact that preachers are insufficient to the task of preaching.  But, it's okay that we be insufficient to the task, because the real task of preaching is the winning of souls to God.  The presentation of the Word of God with power to the goal of converting sinners to Christ, and empowering Christians to live their lives, in every way, in deeper relationship with God.  What mortal man could be sufficient to this task?  All of us are too sinful, too imperfect, too limited to accomplish the goals we should have with every sermon.

But, that's okay.  In fact, that's a good thing.  Because we are insufficient we are able to do exactly what we need to do.  Because we are imperfect, we are able to call upon God, who perfects his power in our weakness, that he might do that which we cannot, and glorify himself through the foolishness of preaching.  I told my wife one of the first lines in that book that made me chuckle is that Dr. Chapell notes that Paul commends the foolishness of preaching, but not foolish preaching.

A good preacher, a good pastor, is not called to stand up and be foolish in what he says, but he is called to be wise and give forth the Word of God.  This is foolish precisely because we expect somehow that mere words will have effective power to change the lives of those that hear them.  But, this is the means by which God has determined that his power should be shared.  He works through his Word.  The same Word that created the world holds all things together now, it raised Christ from the dead, sent the Spirit into timid fishermen and rejects from society, and even now is working powerfully in the world to accomplish the will of God.  This Word no man is worthy to proclaim, but we are called to go forth and do that which we are not worthy of, because God is powerful enough to redeem the fallen.

Isn't this the same thing that applies to all of us?  What are you sufficient to do on your own?  Banking, physics, driving, shoveling, what is any of that in the eternal scheme of things?  Yet, in Christ when we are obedient, those things which are nothing in the eternal scheme become important, because God does amazing things with insufficient people.

None of us is sufficient to fulfill the task to which we were called, because we were called to conform to the image of Christ.  I don't know about you, but I have found that no matter how much I may try and force my heart to be more faithful, I don't seem to have a lot of power to change my very nature.  I can control my actions, I can choose not to dwell on the sinful thoughts that enter into my mind, but I seem to have a nature that keeps on wanting to go back to sin.  I am insufficient to change myself, to conform myself, to the image of Christ.  But God is sufficient, and he will do that which I am incapable of doing, I just have to be faithful to him.

Likewise, Christ called upon us to go out into all nations and proclaim the gospel, making disciples of every people, tribe, tongue and nation.  We were told to do this not because of the great power that was given unto us, but because all power in heaven and earth has been given unto him.  Our commission does not rely upon our sufficiency, but upon the sufficiency of our God.  He alone is able to do all things, without him, we can do nothing.

Take comfort in your insufficiency.  Be confident that whatever God has called you to do, you are incapable of doing.  And that is to his glory, because what you cannot do, he can.  Where you are insufficient, God, my God, is more than sufficient.  When you are faithful to God, and you work with all the strength which he gives you, then you can do great things, because you are not sufficient to do it on your own.

But, that means that you don't need to worry about whether you will save your best friend.  You don't need to worry about whether your life will be perfect enough to stand against those who would test you and examine every aspect of you.  You have sinned, and though you have (hopefully) put that sin behind you, you will never attain perfection in this life.  You don't need to worry about those things, because the reality is that this is who you are, imperfect, insufficient to achieve the great tasks which God will set before you.

But, because God's Word is sufficient, because his power is able to do all things, when he commands you, if you are faithful to do what he says, then he will accomplish his purposes.  Your life will never save anyone, only his word will.  You will never have the power to save any man, only Christ can do that.  You can take comfort in knowing that God is not relying upon your insufficiency, he is giving you the chance to join with his power to accomplish his purposes.  This same God who made all things, who raised Christ from the dead, is able to raise the dead people we speak to, but we are not.

Praise God for our insufficiency, that he may be glorified.  I will never save any man with my preaching, and that's perfectly fine with me.  I may stumble, I may fall, I may make a fool of myself in the pulpit, and that's okay.  As long as God's Word is proclaimed, that is all that matters.  I may be a stuttering fool, I may lack all eloquence, I may be monotone and forget my outline, but if I am obedient to what God has called me to do, if I proclaim his Word, then he will be faithful to himself, and he will use his Word to accomplish his purposes.  It is God who gives a man ears to hear and a mouth to speak.  If he gives me an eloquent tongue, then so much more to his praise, but if not, I do not need to worry, I may be insufficient, but that's just the kind of person God wants me to be.

Have you thanked God for your insufficiency today?  Have you praised God that you do not have the burden to accomplish what you cannot accomplish?  Have you thanked him that he chose to let you join him in accomplishing his will?  Our God is awesome, his power is beyond description.  If you do not know this God, please, write me that I can share his Word with you.  Seek him while he may still be found, for all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

The Right Thing for the Wrong Reason?

By now, if you've been watching or reading the news, you should be aware that the pastor who was going to burn Qur'ans tomorrow has decided to call off the event.  Unfortunately his reasons for canceling the event were not due to concern for his fellow Christians who are serving as missionaries over seas.  Nor did he call of his plans because he saw the offense it would cause within the Muslim world and the way it would negatively impact the spreading of the gospel.  His reason, according to the news, was because he claims the Imam who is building the community center and mosque at Ground Zero promised him that the mosque would be moved.

In short it appears that the right thing is being done, but the reasoning behind these actions is all based on worldly concerns.  It ought to always be the goal of the Christian to glorify God and to spread the gospel.  This pastor seems to confuse American with Christian.

Too much has been made of this event by the media, so that a fringe lunatic became an international sensation.  But, one thing that has come out of this event is that we were able to be reminded that there is a stark differences between what concerns the world, and what concerns the church.  While the world was concerned about social and political unrest, and rightly so, what they missed was the profound spiritual impact of this event.  The cross of Christ truly is nonsense to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God to salvation.  Let us always remember that our focus needs to be different than the world's.

What Can Wash Away My Sin?

If someone told you they thought George Washington was a good President, not because of what he did or did not really do in history, but because they had experienced the good effects of his presidency in their own lives, what would you say?  Can we make any realistic claims about knowledge, about anyone or anything in history, based purely on our own experiences?  Taken in another way, if someone said to you that he believed in Jesus, not because of anything in the bible, but based purely on the fact that he had experienced some transformative event in his life, would you say that is sufficient?  The question really is, what is sufficient for salvation?  The reason I phrase the question in this way is because I am hoping that none of us would say that it is sufficient for people to say they think they are saved without having a good reason for that claim (and of course the only good reason is because they have hope in Jesus Christ).

I'm going to let the cat out of the bag here and just state upfront that I think that anyone who claims to have a relationship with Christ, not based on what Scripture says but on what they have experienced, has either been deceived, or is deceiving himself.  My reasoning is because no one can know they have a relationship with Christ unless Scripture has told them.  Also, no one can have a relationship with Christ unless they know Christ.  You cannot have a relationship with someone you don't know, after all, how would you know the relationship is real?  Personal feelings are not a sufficient ground for salvation.

The only sure and trustworthy ground for believing one is saved is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  That means that no one is saved apart from the revealed truth of Scripture.  Paul says, "[The gospel] is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)  In John 17:3 Jesus says himself, "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent."  Peter says, "since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God..." (1 Peter 1:23)  In no verse in Scripture do we see that anyone can come to faith in Christ and be saved without a knowledge of the gospel.

Knowledge itself, of course, does not save us.  Faith saves us.  But, faith in what?  We cannot have faith in a Christ we do not know.  "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)  Unless we have heard the word of God, we cannot have the faith necessary for our salvation.

I bring this up because I think we sometimes all need a reminder of why we should spend time with God's word.  God is powerful, he is able to do abundantly more than we could dream or ask, but he has also stated his divine plan and the means by which he will save his people.  We cannot save anyone if we do not tell them the word of God.  The most powerful tool we can use in evangelism isn't a tract, it isn't a witty opening question or a brilliant segue into "spiritual" things.  The most powerful tool we can have for attempting to save a lost world is a good working knowledge of the word of God.  That doesn't mean we have to become experts, but there is also no reason we ought not attempt to become as expert as we are able, after all, it couldn't hurt to know more about the bible if we intend to witness to others.

But, there is a second caution here too: we cannot be saved apart from belief in the word of God.  When we begin to throw out sections of the bible, or when we begin to say that this or that miracle couldn't have happened, then we begin to enter into truly dangerous ground.  After all, if we reject one miracle, what is the rationale for holding on to any miracles?  If it is impossible that God could have done any specific amazing thing, then why assume he can do anything at all?

As we begin to dismantle the word we also have to necessarily lose passages like the ones above.  After all, if we say that one part of Scripture must be thrown out, where do we stop?  Do we throw out John because we find his references contradictory to Matthew?  Do we accept Matthew but then throw out Mark because different details are listed about Jesus' life?  Do we argue that Acts teaches a different concept of Christ's divinity than the one that is found in Galatians?  If we do any of these things, then which Jesus are we left to accept?  Which gospel have we embraced?

If there is no salvation apart from the gospel of Christ, and the written word of God is the only trustworthy source of information for that gospel (surely we aren't going to say that tradition is more accurate that Scripture?  If we go that route we are really in for some trouble and contradictions!) then we are in serious theological trouble when we start dividing that word into what we find "acceptable" and what we will reject.  When we assume the role of judging the word of God, instead of allowing it to judge us, then we have rejected the authority of Scripture in our lives.  To reject the authority of Scripture is to reject the one who gave Scripture that authority.  When we are the lords of Scripture, then the Lord of Scripture cannot be our Lord.  If that which we have received is faulty, then we have received a flawed gospel, and a flawed gospel does not have the power to save, for only the true gospel of Christ has the power to save.

If we do not have the gospel, then what hope do we have?  Are we so wise that we can reconstruct history as though we were there when all the documents we have are flawed?  Is our knowledge so great that we can correct what claims to be eyewitness testimony from 2000 years ago?  If that is the case, why do we need the bible at all?  We may as well make our own gospel, for in our wisdom we are quite sure to only find the gospel we want when we get to decide what parts of the bible are true and which are false.

Christians and Politics

Where do we draw the line in political disagreements?  For instance, there are those in conservative political circles today who make comments such as "the Kenyan in Chief" and "the African in the White House."  While I will put aside the arguments people make in regards to whether these comments are racist, (I personally think people who utilize arguments like this intend certain racist implications) I do think Christians need to think about whether such comments should ever be heard coming across our lips, or seen coming across our keyboards.  Regardless of whether you support or dislike any leader or President, don't you have a Scriptural command to submit to his authority as leader and to show him the respect due him as the one God has placed in charge of the country? (Romans 13:1-7, pay special attention to verse 7, "Respect to whom respect is owed.")  Christians do not have the freedom to say whatever we like, we have an obligation to obey Scripture in regards to the words that come out of our mouths.

James says that the tongue can set things on fire, and is itself set on fire from hell. (James 3:6)  What did he mean by that?  Simple, our hearts are not pure.  Christ says that from the abundance of a man's heart he will speak. (Matthew 12:34)  Therefore, recognizing that we are undergoing sanctification, even while we are not yet perfect, we must be slow to speak.  Our hearts are still idol factories, as Calvin put it, and therefore they are prone to lead us to speak devilish words as devilish idols fill them, unless we take the time to first bridle them with by the power of the Spirit of God.

Speaking hastily and disrespectfully of our leaders leads to our disgrace.  Those who we might have had the opportunity to speak the gospel to are turned away because we are so busy denigrating the President, that we do not realize they still hold him in respect.  Even if they do not hold him in respect, they may still think that the office of President is such that it is worth respecting, regardless of the one who sits in the chair.  Is our personal animus or anger toward any individual worth losing the opportunity to speak to someone about Christ?  (Yes, I think this admonition should apply to those currently in the position, and those who previously held the position.  Are we any more justified in calling Bush an idiot than we are in calling Obama a traitor?)

In addition to this, our words demonstrate that we do not trust the sovereign God who establishes all authorities.  In Ephesians chapter 1 we read that Christ has been placed high above all authorities and has all things under his feet.  Is the American electoral system then able to thwart the will of God?  Can we possible vote into office someone who God did not intend so that his will is not being accomplished?

Some may say, in response to all this, "Does that mean that we should support the anti-Christ when he appears?"  We ought to always pray for all of our leaders.  Scripture does not give us any indication that there is anyone we ought to exempt from our prayers.  Likewise, if the anti-Christ has authority over us, then in every way that we are permitted to do so from Scripture, yes, we should submit to him (that is, in every way that we can obey him without disobeying God, we would be required to render obedience).  This does not mean we submit to him in everything, it does not mean that we agree with him at all, but it does mean that we recognize that God has given him authority for a time, and we must submit to God's good will in recognizing whatever authority he has put in place.

Consider the relationship of Pharaoh and the Israelites.  Could God have commanded Moses, "take your people and flee, do not regard Pharaoh as having any authority!"  He could have, but he says that he raised Pharaoh up for the very purpose of displaying his might.  God wanted that Pharaoh (whichever he was) to have authority at that time so that the Lord could demonstrate his might over all things in bringing Israel out of Egypt.  If we are spiritually Israel, then why should we assume that God would never want to do the same with us?

Note also that in Revelation it is said that those who overcome do so through not loving their lives.  They overcame him by the blood of the lamb.  The martyrs in heaven, who die for the faith, they are the victors.  It is not the "Christian rebel" here on earth who overthrows a government through weaponry and violence who is given accolades in the throne room of heaven.  It is the one who is faithful to Christ, who shares the witness of Christ, and who dies honoring God who is seen as victorious.  (As I spoke with another brother about, this does not mean that men like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who tried to assassinate Hitler, we wrong in using violence in their situations.  I think the particularly situation in that place and time was such that Bonhoeffer did what he thought was the most moral thing he could because of the horror of the reality he was faced with.  And I think he was right.  But such situations are so far from the norm that giving justice to such considerations would require a whole other blog post.)

Politics is important.  God has given Americans a way by which the average person may exercise some level of authority in how we are governed.  We should never take that for granted or say, "I won't vote because I trust God will cause the person he wants to be elected."  Such a fatalist position is never encouraged or defended in Scripture.  But, at the same time, our words ought not be offensive when we speak of political opponents.  More important than any election is the kingdom of God and spreading the gospel here on earth, and we must watch our tongues to that end.

What is the value in calling the President an impostor or a fraud?  Why only insult or denigrate, when there is opportunity to build up?  Remember, we are called to be people of encouragement, not people of discouragement.  There are appropriate ways, and times, for making your disagreements with a particular politician or position known.  But, is it worth it to damage your witness and lose the opportunity to represent Christ just for the sake of blowing off some steam?  Let us act wisely in regards to what we say and how we say it, particularly in regards to such a divisive topic as politics.

A Missing Conscience

Most people don't think they are evil.  I can't remember where that quote came from, but I find it to be true.  Usually a thief will have some reason he steals, that is he justifies himself by saying that he has no choice, or he needs what he takes, or something of that nature.  Likewise with almost anyone who commits a crime, and likewise with us too.  We find plenty of reasons to excuse our actions, our thoughts, and our attitudes, after all, we're only human, right?

I worry that this generation seems to be even worse than previous generations at justifying nearly every act imaginable.  I know that every generation seems to be the worst generation ever.  I'm sure that 1500 years ago someone somewhere was making comments about how the kids don't respect their parents any more, hanging upside down half-naked from the pear trees in the yard instead of dutifully doing the chores they were assigned.  But, we really do seem to have a moral disconnect in this generation, where people just don't understand that there are such things as good and evil.  If I'm right, then that poses a certain difficulty for the church, because now we have to train people not only in Christian behavior, but in thinking about morality in general.

Don't get me wrong, this generation, the one I belong to and the one right after mine (I shudder sometimes when I realize that I am now old enough to note that there is a generation after mine, I suppose it is the inevitable result of the passing of time, but one does not think of that in youth) aren't complete moral anarchists.  We still understand that stealing is wrong, usually.  We still understand sleeping with another person's spouse is wicked, most of the time.  We still get the fact that there are others around us and we should be considerate of them, with exceptions.  I guess the real problem is that we've learned (wrongly) that nothing is really absolute, and so everything becomes relative, even morality.

Living in such an age isn't an entirely bad thing though.  The truth is that for Christians we live in perhaps a better time than our parents grew up in, because of immorality.  When we live and act according to the way Christ has commanded us, we really can be radically different.  That doesn't mean that there are no good people left in the world, that only Christians have ethics, but that our ethic is distinct in this time and age.  Our ethic is different because it calls upon us to consider others as better than ourselves, it requires us to be sacrificial in how we treat those we do not know.  We live in a great age to demonstrate the difference between Christ and the god of this world.

I know some will ask, "What commands are you talking about?"  Christ makes clear that love is the defining principle behind all the law and prophets.  He says, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and and with all your soul,' this is the great and first commandment.  And the second is like it, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"  He also says, "Whatever you would have someone do for you, do that for them.  Upon this hangs all the law and the prophets."  (Pardon if I messed up a word there, I'm quoting off the top of my head and I get my translations mixed up, sometimes combining them.)

But, I want to make clear my affirmation to what Paul says also, Christians are not under the law, we are under grace.  We do not have to serve the law of love as though it will somehow make us righteous, rather because we are under the grace of Christ how we act ought to show that the law of love flows from us.  We are no longer children, enslaved under the law so that love is a burden and a challenge, we are the children of God, coming to maturity in Christ, so that love is a gift given to us by our holy and righteous Savior.  Why should we slave under the law, finding it a burden and a challenge, when we can embrace with great joy the opportunity to fellowship with the Spirit of God in doing good works?

Remember, we do those works which God has prepared for us to do, which he does through us.  We are not struggling to be moral, we are righteous and forgiven, therefore how can we act in any way but that which is moral?  To be immoral is to turn back to the flesh from which we were redeemed.  Why should we now be enslaved again under that which we have been freed from by the awesome power of God?

We have an opportunity to live lives that really do set us apart from others.  We can love like no one else.  We can put others before ourselves and serve to the glory of God.  We will be taken advantage of, we will be mocked and insulted, but we will also reach some who have been forgotten by a generation that no longer remembers how to think about morality.  But, we need to think about what would do, we need to bring our minds under the control of the Spirit, that we might see how we can serve others, we need to be a people to whom morality matters.

If we would be a moral people, we cannot excuse ourselves or justify ourselves for anything, but we must acknowledge our failings.  We have to reflect upon the fact that we do not always act morally, so that we can learn from our mistakes.  Paul commands us to be not conformed any longer to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Unless we reflect upon our own thoughts and our own deeds, we can never fully reflect the glory of Christ as he would have us to do.

We are justified in Christ, so we have no need to condemn ourselves for our actions, but we also have no need to excuse our actions.  We can face our immorality because we are forgiven.  We can acknowledge our evil before God and pray that he will change us, so that an unjust generation might know the justification we have experienced.  We can love because we are loved, and we must love or we make our God a liar.  Let us contemplate in each action and in every situation, what does love look like in this situation; let us be consistent in loving God and loving our neighbor, not under the enslavement of law, but because we are free.

Hero Worship

I remember before graduating seminary talking to my wife about heroes.  I was wondering if there was any culture, any civilization, that did not have some kind of heroic myths that were passed from generation to generation.  Granted, I don't know every culture that has ever existed, and though my background is in history, most of my historical studies have been constrained to Medieval Europe, and have been more focused on technology, philosophy, and religion than stories.  But, every civilization I can think of, from the ancient Greeks to the medieval Chinese, to the American Indians, all of them had stories about heroes.  The heroes could differ from situation to situation, sometimes a man and sometimes a woman, sometimes a great warrior and sometimes a cunning trickster, but they were all heroes.

It seems to me a hero has to do at least two things in order to be a hero.  A hero has to accomplish some great task that others were incapable of achieving, and a hero has to save either a person or a group of people.  More than that though, the task accomplished has to be somehow attached to the act of saving.  What I mean is that a hero cannot perform some incredible feat of evil, and then go on to save a group of people in a minor act and still be considered a hero.  A true hero has to achieve an act of great nobility, and it must be the noble act which saves people.

I told my wife that Hamlet, I think, is a great example of a hero (though a tragic one).  Think of Hamlet, a man who is born to a position of power and authority, who has that taken from him by a conniving and wicked uncle.  Then, as his father's apparition confronts Hamlet with what has happened Hamlet realizes that he has basically two options: he can commit suicide, or he can try and avenge his father.  To avenge his father Hamlet acts crazy, tries to drive away Ophelia, though he is unsuccessful, and ultimately dies.  Yes, Hamlet is a tragic character, and his death could have been avoided, but he accomplishes a great good in that he slays his father's murderer and he rids the throne of Denmark of the stain that would have tainted it had Claudius lived.

I started thinking about heroes again because of the prevalence of comic book movies.  I liked comics when I was growing up.  I enjoyed Spider Man, X-Men, and any number of other heroes.  I didn't care for the sometimes sermonizing and patronizing way some of the stories were written, but I liked the characters.  Every kid imagines having amazing powers, but what I liked about the comics I read was that despite the characters' amazing powers, they always had a powerful evil they had to fight against.  It was never enough that they had to fight some external foe, they always had some internal struggle they had to face at the same time, and conquering the latter would often lead to conquering the former.

It seems like that same formula is common with most heroes.  Hercules became great because of the great deeds he performed, but he performed those great deeds because of his sometimes stupid actions.  For instance, in one telling of the story of Hercules rescuing Alcestis, he traveled to Hades and wrestled with Thanatos (death) because he had been drinking instead of mourning with his friend.  Similarly, it was because Hercules had been overcome with madness and had slain his own children that he was sentenced to perform the 10 labors (that became 12).  Hercules great deeds were in response to his own failings, so that his actions were overcoming his personal faults.

I bring this up because it seems like we all need a hero.  We need to believe in someone who demonstrates that men can overcome their own limitations and achieve greatness.  We need to believe that we can strive to be like that person; we can be better than we are and do something great.  We may think heroes are just myths, but it is the ideal of the hero that inspires us to try when it seems like all hope is lost.

As I thought about the heroes that have come down to us, and the heroes we have created I began to wonder something.  Obviously, heroes live from generation to generation not just because they teach us, but because they inspire us, we want to believe in the heroic, even if we don't believe in a specific hero.  But why?  Why do we believe in the heroic?  I wonder if it isn't because that is the way we were made by God, I wonder if he did not build the desire for heroes into us.

If God did build in that desire for heroes it would make a lot of sense.  After all, one of the historic teachings of Christianity is that God calls all men to come to him for salvation.  And what greater hero story can we have than the story of Christ himself?  God took on the form of man, he took on the weakness and needs of humanity, faced temptation, refused to sin, and despite it all he was killed by men who were sold out to wickedness.  But, even in the face of defeat, Christ rose from the dead, he rose and became the victor, though to every appearance he was the greatest loser of all time.

Because of the death and resurrection of Christ we can be better than we are without him.  God gives us the Holy Spirit, so that we can live victoriously despite every defeat we seem to suffer.  We have a true hero, who demonstrates to us that we can be heroic too.  Not that we achieve anything apart from Christ, but we can do all things through him who died upon the cross for us.  We long for heroes because we need a hero, we need someone who really can rescue us from every danger, even death itself.

I guess my point is that hero worship is okay.  It is good for culture to have heroes, to believe that the sacrifice of one can be sufficient to rescue many.  When people understand this they are more prepared to understand the gospel of Christ.  We don't need to rage against the imperfect hero, but we need to point people to the perfect that inspires all other imitations.  Christ is the archetype of the hero, suffering, a man like us, yet powerful, more than we could ever be, God himself in human form, our savior, our true and perfect hero.  Hero worship is okay, when we are worshiping the one who really is our hero.

Christian Guilt

In Hebrews 9:13-14 we read, "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."  We, are no longer bound by guilt, by shame, or by trying to earn salvation before God.  That also means that we, who are in Christ, are no longer bound to try and redeem ourselves before men.  If God has forgiven us our sins, then what can a man say to bring shame upon us?  We, who stand washed in the blood of Christ, have a perfect forgiveness, no one can hold any sin against us, because all our wrongs have been paid for by the perfect Lamb of God.

Before I go on, I do want to say that this forgiveness does not mean that we are not responsible for the wrongs we have committed against others on earth.  A murderer who comes to faith may be forgiven by God, but to claim before the authorities, "I'm innocent of this murder because Christ has forgiven me" is just foolishness.  Yes, we may be able to stand before God and have bold assurance that he will not hold our sins against us, but if we refuse to seek the forgiveness of those we have wronged, or if we refuse to go before the authorities and pay for our crime, then we are still sinning in that we are not submitting to that authority which God has placed over us.  The forgiveness of Christ does not change our past, it makes us a new creation, so that we have an assurance of salvation before God, and a confidence of our forgiveness even when men may condemn us.  Worldly condemnation does not mean we must bow under the burden of guilt, but it means that we must take responsibility for what we have done.

This forgiveness should affect us deeply.  We should be able, and willing, to go to those who have been wronged, acknowledge that they have been wronged, and then tell them that we want to make right what we have done.  We may not have money, but we can help with time and with many other resources that are available to us.  What we have confessed before God though, we do not need to be embarrassed to confess before those who know they have been wronged, but in humility we can show that Christ really is living in us by how we live our lives.

I bring this up because I look around much of the deep South in America today and I realize that as of  yet there has not been racial reconciliation for wrongs that occurred 150 years ago.  I had family on both sides of the slavery issue, and I had family on both sides of the treatment of American Indians, so I understand that this is long standing and deeply painful issue.  But, we who are Christians can take the steps to begin reconciliation at least within our churches.  We do not need to be a divided people with black churches and white churches where "different worship cultures" keep us separated.

Racial differences seem to make a lie out of what Scripture says, that in Christ there is neither slave, nor free, male nor female, Greek nor Jew.  I recognize that Paul is not talking in absolutes in that section of Scripture, as we certainly see that men and women do not become androgynous when they become Christians.  But, Paul is saying that the forgiveness we have through Christ unifies us all under him, so that when I look to my brother or my sister, I should see an image of Christ, a part of his body, not a black man or a white man, not an Asian woman or a Hispanic woman.  As we continue to divide our churches based on racial and social lines, we continue to perpetuate the system that brought about such guilt, lasting until less than a generation ago.

Slavery may have been ended with the defeat of the South in 1865, (though it was not officially outlawed in all Northern states until a little later) but the Jim Crow laws that sprang up after the end of Slavery continued into the 1960s.  The racial divisions of the South were not done away with until after both of my parents were teenagers or young adults.  Even at that I can remember my grandmother using rather incorrect language in reference to people of different races, not because of any animosity she may have felt, but because that was simply the vocabulary with which she grew up.  The harm done by the American system of slavery has been long lasting, and it will not be quickly forgotten.  The fact that many people still make quite a living off of racial tensions should demonstrate to us that racial reconciliation still has some distance to go.  Just because slavery came to an end does not mean that equality was its immediate successor.

However, now we are 40-50 years past the time of Jim Crow.  I grew up going to integrated schools, and I have never known a time where I did not have a friend, or multiple friends, of different colors and racial backgrounds.  I have seen how Christ has unified us, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, Indian (here I refer to Asian Indians) and many other races besides.  The church does not have to be held by back guilt any more, thinking that because we have wronged those of another color that we cannot find reconciliation with them.  Moreover we have the opportunity to be a church that reaches out and says that what was done in the past was wrong, and we are looking to help every Christian come to full maturity in Christ, whatever the color of his skin may be.

I know I'm not the first to have this idea.  The fact is that many churches are already opening our doors, but we are doing it very slowly.  Integrated churches are still few and far between.  I can honestly say that I have only known a couple of churches of the Southern Baptist tradition that have had more than one or two non-white members out of a congregation of 100-200 or more.  This should stand to our shame.

We have been forgiven in Christ.  We do not need to be ashamed of the sins of our past.  But, we need to acknowledge the sins of our past and begin to make reconciliation, reaching out to those who have been wronged and trying to make things right.  We need to take responsibility for what has happened in the past, but we do not need to be enslaved by that history.  The blood Christ is sufficient to forgive us of all our sins, we do not need to let anyone use those sins to shame us, but we need to be faithful in serving the one who bought us.

The Challenge of Justice

One of the best arguments for the reality of moral standards is, I think the argument from injustice.  What I mean is that everyone seems to know when they have been wronged.  No one needs to teach someone when they have been wronged.  In fact, more than that, we have to be taught to reign in our emotions when we are wronged, lest we get into even more trouble.

For instance, imagine you were in medieval China, where the local lord had absolute authority over the life and death of those who lived in his territory.  Imagine that you are wearing the correct colors, (yes, Chinese peasants had certain colors they were allowed to wear, and certain colors they weren't) you bowed and showed proper obedience when he went by, and you even went out of your way to show respect to the local lord by bringing the taxes you owed early.  Basically, imagine if you were the perfect Chinese peasant.  How would you feel if the local lord intentionally rode his horse next to you and tromped through some mud, just to get the dirt all over your face?  How would you feel if you were disrespected despite the fact that you had fulfilled all your obligations and had honored your superior to the best of your ability?

I think of an example from my own life.  I was fighting with one of my brothers (not an atypical event) and he was winning (also, not an atypical event).  The difference was that in this particular situation I was actually entirely innocent!  Normally when I got into a fight with my brothers I was at least somewhat to blame, but not this time.  This time, and I can't even remember what the fight was over, I was totally innocent, and my brother knew it.

I was defeated and beat up by someone stronger than me, and I was outraged.  I was also despondent, because no matter how hard I might try, there was no way I could avenge myself.  I could go to my parents, but I had no evidence that I had been wronged, and without evidence I did not know any way I could get justice.  There was no appeal to any higher or stronger power for justice, except that I could plead with God that my brother would admit he was wrong and apologize for what he did to me.

My point is that because we all know when we have been wronged, we also need justice.  Any society that cannot convince its people that is laws are basically just will ultimately fall, because the people of that society will not support those who wield power.  If people believe they are constantly being wronged, they will seek to get justice for themselves in whatever little ways they can.  Justice is essential, not just for a society, but to each individual in society.

Because justice is so essential, both to society and to us as individuals, I found a recent article very interesting.  Apparently, there is a judge in Saudi Arabia who has asked hospitals if they would be able to paralyze a man by damaging his spinal cord in some way.  I kid you not.  Read it for yourself here: "Saudi Judge Considers Paralysis Punishment."  He is doing this because one man accidentally paralyzed another man, and now the paralyzed man and his family want justice, based on the concept of  "an eye for an eye," which means the other man must also be paralyzed for there to be any justice.

I'm not intending to harp on how barbaric Islam is that it could be reasonable to paralyze a man because he accidentally paralyzed another man.  Admittedly, the idea of paralyzing a man for the sake of justice is a pretty horrible idea.  The fact that any society would think that corporal eye-for-eye punishments would result in an equitable solution for crime seems ridiculous on its face to me.  What I mean is that if you cut off a man's foot because he accidentally (or intentionally) cut off yours, now you have introduced a situation where he is limited in how he can serve society, and how he could help pay for the disability he caused.

Here is the real problem for each of us though: Justice is essential.  If we recognize that we have been wronged, and we recognize that our indignation is real, not just a contrived construct of society, then there is some standard that serves to define justice and injustice, both.  Ultimately that standard has to be the absolute moral righteousness of God, for anything less is not absolute and has no true weight when placed on the scales of reality.  But, if we have been wronged then we must admit we have wronged others, and if we have wronged others, we have also wronged God, because whenever we wrong someone else we not act unjustly against them, we violate the justice of God, since he is the one who established what is right and wrong.

What can we do though?  Justice, when rightly performed requires that there be a repayment, an exchange that rights the wrong performed.  At the very least, in the case of a slight wrong, there must be an apology.  But, an apology only works between men because one humbles himself and appeals to the other, admitting that he has acted improperly.  Forgiveness, in such a case, is not really justice, it is an act of grace whereby the one who forgives chooses not to require justice, but to act as though the wrong has been repaid.  The problem is that if we humble ourselves before God and ask for forgiveness, we only assume our right position before God.  And, if God chooses to forgive us then he would be in violation of his own justice, choosing to act as though repayment has been made when it has not.

If we tried to repay God we would find that to be impossible also.  Even if we acted perfectly for our entire lives we would never do more than we should do.  Even if we to live morally perfect lives in every way, such that we even sacrifice ourselves to save others, we would still not be doing anything more than living as we should live from that moment on.  Justice requires not simply that a man should stop stealing, but that he should also repay for what he has stolen.  How then can man repay God, when we cannot live morally perfect lives, and even if he could, that would not be enough to make him perfect, because after one wrong act the blemish would always exist.

The necessity of Christ becomes clear when we consider the justice of man.  If even those without Christ understand that perfect justice is accomplished through exact repayment, then how much more should we understand what Christ paid on our behalf?  Our iniquities, our injustice, our immorality, had to be atoned for, but only one who had no blemish could suffice for such a payment.  Perfect justice requires a perfect payment, and so Christ, who was perfect, suffered, endured the wrath of God, poured out upon him on a device of human torture, so that in every way our unrighteous acts might be atoned for, paid for exactly by the Son of God himself.

When my brother got done beating me up he left me alone, and I cried and prayed that God would make him come back and apologize to me, because my brother knew he was wrong, I knew he was wrong, and more than that, God knew he was wrong.  I did not really expect an apology, but I asked God that he would make right what was wrong.  After I had regained my composure, I sat on my bed feeling sorry for myself, and my brother came back and told me that he was sorry.  He knew I was innocent, he knew that he had no right to beat me up, and he was sorry for doing it.  The very words I had prayed to God were spoken back to me from the mouth of brother.

Life does not always workout like things did with my brother.  Sometimes we are wronged and there seems to be no recompense.  Sometimes it seems like we ourselves have gotten away with murder.  The fact is though that there is a righteous God who sees all things, and who will have justice one day, because his laws demand it.

The joy of being a Christian is that we already know our payment is complete.  Christ, who died upon the cross, has born our sins, and we bear them no more.  God's righteous justice is matched by his loving grace, because he did not have to provide Christ for us, but that it was what he chose to do.  Because we have been forgiven, we can forgive those who wrong us, and when they stand puzzled at why we do not demand justice, we can let them know that justice has already been met, and that Christ suffered even for them, if they will confess him as Lord and Savior.  Justice demands repayment, and grace allows us to tell people that a perfect payment has been made on their behalf.  Have you considered how great a payment Christ's death was for you?  Have you considered what a blessing it might be to endure injustice, how wonderful it could be to forgive someone else, so that you can tell them of the wonderful payment Christ made on their behalf?

If we have died with him, then we have been resurrected with him.  He was declared the Lord of all things by his resurrection, so who are we to deny him?  If his death was sufficient to pay our debt where we had wronged God, how much more should it suffice to pay for the petty grievances we might hold against those who have wrong us?  Let us endure injustice, but let us be bold to confront those who have wronged us, that we might share with them the grace of the one who died and rose again.  Our egos might be bruised, our toes might get stepped on, but let us see that the real challenge is not to demand justice, but to share the mercy of God with everyone who would hear.

Peace Making 101

Have you ever done something stupid?  Have you ever done or said some stupid thing that hurt someone else by accident?  How about on purpose?  I'll bet if you think hard enough you can probably come up with an idea of sometime when you did.  I know I can.

I have two older brothers, one about 2 years older and one about 4 years older.  Because we grew up as three boys, and because we basically grew up in an area where there were no other children until I was 8, we did stupid things that got each other hurt.  I remember one time emptying out a 2 liter bottle of some kind of soda, then I held it up to my eye and acted like I could see something really cool in it.  When one of my brothers took it and looked into it I hit it.  Now, I meant to knock it so he would be surprised, but I didn't think about the fact that bottles have little openings, so instead of just hitting around his eyes, I basically hit the bottle right into his eye.  As you can imagine, he didn't think it was funny, and it ended up hurting him a bit more than I thought it would.  (As you can also imagine, I got into trouble for it.  Lesson to all you kids out there: stupid actions do not make you immune to the consequences.)

My point?  Well, apparently even adult Christians are not immune from doing stupid things.  I came across an AP News Article that reports that a church in Gainesville, FL plans on burning copies of the Quran on September 11.  Now, I'll grant you that I'm not entirely up to date on exactly why they plan on burning copies of the Quran, I have an idea but I haven't actually talked to anyone from the church about it, but I'm going to state that this is a categorically stupid idea.  Not only is it stupid, it is unchristian.

Why is it unchristian?  Well, what does it accomplish?  Does it present the gospel to a lost and dying world?  Does burning copies of the Quran engage with Muslims in the area or abroad and present to them the reality of their sins and their need for redemption?  Basically, this move in no way exalts God, because all it does is burn pieces of paper.

Okay, it isn't just pieces of paper, its copies of the religious holy book of another religion.  So what?  Will burning those copies of the Quran prevent the spread of Islam?  Will burning copies of the Quran have any effect on Islam in any way, shape or form?  Of course not.  Burn ten copies, burn a thousand copies, burn a million copies of the Quran, it won't change a thing, because more can be printed and will be printed.  Unless everyone who is enslaved by Islam around the world embraces the freedom that is offered to them in Jesus Christ, destroying copies of the Qur'an is a meaningless event at best.  At worst this event will simply harden the hearts of people who desperately need to know about Jesus, and thus this church will be helping Satan lead these people to hell.

Maybe this church figures that because bibles are routinely destroyed in Muslim countries they are simply doing what Muslims have been doing for years.  But that isn't what Christ commanded us to do.  He told us to do to others what we would have them do to us.  That means despite the fact that we are insulted, we do not insult back  Despite the fact that Christians are wronged, our Scripture is insulted and our people are murdered, we do not respond in kind, because we are called to love those who hate us, and to bless those who curse us.

I had a whole rant prepared for how we are God's Israel, and how our battle is against spiritual powers and a sinful system that enslaves and oppresses those who do not know Christ.  But I don't really need to do that rant.  I don't need to provide an argument for what we are called not to do, because there is a simple statement that tells us what we should do in situations like this: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.  (Matthew 5:9)

If we are called to be peacemakers, is this church being obedient to the Word of God?  Is burning the Qur'an going to help spread the gospel of Christ so that his peace will reign in the hearts and souls of men?  Anyone who honestly looks at this can only say, "No".  Instead of being peacemakers this church is quite intentionally stirring up controversy.

I'm not saying that we should not confront Islam.  I think we should.  But I think we need to do it in the same way Christians are commanded to confront any false religion, any sin: through biblical, personal outreach.  We need to demonstrate that what we are doing is being done from love, and that we want to rescue the hurting.  Speaking gently, confronting with compassion, and standing on the authority of God's Word are the means of confronting any sin, not burning effigies and screaming at people.

I wonder if this church realizes how much harder they might be making things for Christian missionaries in Muslim countries.  I had a friend who was going to go and be a missionary in Indonesia, he told me that he sometimes had people come to him and say they wanted to know what it would take for them to go with them.  He told me that his response was that they shouldn't bother to pack suitcases, but instead, buy a plain pine coffin, pack their clothes in it, and have it sent with them as their luggage because most likely they would need it if they came with him.  He went knowing that it was entirely possible, if not probable, that he would die sharing the gospel with a lost and dying people who were at war with God.

That is what being a peacemaker means.  Being willing to accept that the gospel of Christ is of more importance than material possessions, your own life, or even your own anger and venom.  I do not doubt that this church that wants to burn Qur'ans believes that Islam is evil and dangerous.  I believe Islam is evil and dangerous.  But what if, instead of burning Qur'ans, this church did a joyful, peaceful servant project to a local community that had a high population of Muslims, and tried to develop personal relationships that would allow them to speak truth into the lives of those enslaved by lies?  What if on 9/11, and every day, instead of throwing fuel on the fires of hatred and resentment, we reached out to a dying world with love?

Why Should I Care? part 2: Obligation

I noted previously that I care about the issues that I am addressing because of love, I would like to also acknowledge that I care because of obligation.  The two do not have to be mutually exclusive, obligation and love.  There are times when I do something because I love my wife, but at the same time I have an obligation to do that very thing.  In those times I become much like Paul, wherein I cannot claim to a right for boasting in what I have done, saying, "look at me, I love my wife this much!" because someone could just as easily come back with the fact that I was obligated to do it the whole time.  In the same way, I am writing these arguments and sharing my thoughts out of a feeling of obligation.

I know that some of what I am about to write may sound conceited or arrogant.  I can only ask you to please understand that it is not my intent that anything I write should be read as such.  Instead, I am simply trying to be honest about what I feel I am obligated to do.  Obligation, in one sense, removes pride, because I cannot say that what I am obligated to do is because of my power or my might, but it is all because of the power and might of the one who has called me.  That which God has commanded me to do is what he empowers me to do, and therefore it is not my might which I point to in stating my obligation, but it is the awesome and wonderful power of God, which no man can comprehend and which no man may refuse.

To whom do I feel obligated?

I feel obligated to my friends.  There are so many people I miss and have not had the opportunity to talk to in a while since my wife and I moved from Louisville.  I feel like I owe them some contact, some way of trying to share with them what I'm thinking about day-to-day.  I used to be able to talk with them at church, or in hallways of seminary, or just on the phone or at dinner.  In any number of ways I used to be able to talk to my wonderful brothers and sisters about what I was thinking about in the faith, to encourage them and to find encouragement from them.  I do not have that opportunity any more, and I want to be able to continue to share with them, that perhaps they will be encouraged.

Beyond just the wonderful family I had at church I have had the opportunity of being born in a "digital age."  There are friends I have never met personally, people I have never been less than 1000 miles away from whom I have had the opportunity to talk to, to laugh with, and to share with.  Because of changing circumstances I am not able to be online to share time with those people any more.  I know I spoke of my faith to them when I had the opportunity, but I hope for those who still have interest that they will find more information here, something to encourage or help them, maybe even something to challenge them.  While I have never seen some of my friends in person, I still think of them as friends and I hope that some of them are able to enjoy reading this blog.

I feel obligated to those I do not know, who may be struggling with any of these issues.  Just because I have never had the opportunity to sit down to lunch with someone does not mean that I should not care about them.  The fact is there are many people I have never met, but I know that if I had an opportunity to get to know them, I would find that what they are going through is painful and worth taking the time to speak to them about.  So, I hope that those people whom I have never had the opportunity to meet with will find something of value in what I write.

I feel an obligation to the church.  I have had opportunities that the majority of Christians will never have.  I was blessed to be able to go to one of the premier seminaries in the world, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  I have been able to spend years reading and studying.  And, because I have been given these wonderful opportunities, I feel obligated to try and use what has been given me to help others, either in logic or in faith.

I know that not many people may ever read anything I write here.  I know that most people who read this are those who think similarly to myself already anyway.  But, I know also that I have had great and many opportunities to learn and to be built up in knowledge.  To refuse to use that which I have been given for the benefit of others would be both selfish and foolish.

What benefit is knowledge to a man if he keeps it to himself?  What benefit can I be to the cause of Christ if I never try and share the great gospel of Christ and the outworking of Scriptural principles with others?  I am obligated to share because my life is not my own.  Christ died for my sins, he daily intercedes for me with the father, and he has given me the Spirit of God so that I might die to sin, and live for him who called me.  Therefore, because God has given me wonderful opportunities, I must serve others even as Christ commanded.

I have limited money (as do we all).  I have limited time (as do we all).  I have no congregation to minister to, and am separated by distance from many friends and family.  But, I have an opportunity to utilize the resources of the modern world to try and fulfill my obligation, which is the obligation of every Christian: to use my gifts to build up the church.  Yes, I need to use my gifts within the local church context, and I am seeking to do that as well, but if I can by some means do more than that, why not try and do more good than I could do otherwise?

Perhaps all I'm doing is for naught.  Perhaps no one but one or two, who already agree with me will ever read this.  Even so, it does not matter.  As I said before, this is not about my pride, and if no man ever sets eyes on anything I have written, then at least I believe I have been faithful to the God who called me.  May God be served by what I write, for in the end the most important reason for everything I do is my love for him, and my obligation to him who saved me.

May we all find that our obligation is to love God more and more each day.  May we each find a way to fulfill that obligation through our lives and in our hearts.  For he is worth it.  He is worth everything.

Why Should I Care?

Recently comments from the lone responder to my posts have grabbed my attention and forced me to re-think my initial position in writing this blog.  I started off thinking I could perhaps add to those who wanted to have a reasonable defense for conservative Christian positions of all kinds.  For those who are not Christians and who do not want such a defense I thought maybe I could demonstrate that there is a logic and wisdom in the positions for which conservative Christians argue.  But, Anonymous got me thinking, perhaps I should have entered this discussion with an introduction.  Instead of saying what I think, perhaps it would be better if I state why I care, and thus why those who read this blog should care.

First off, I care because I really do love this country and the many people I have had the opportunity to meet and to know so far.  I do not love every action of my country, and I do not love every action taken by the citizens or the leaders of my country, but it is the country I was born in, and it is the culture that God placed me in.  I love the rich history of these United States, the drive for liberty and freedom that was present in the average man's mind.  There are horror stories that could be told, slavery, violence, oppression, but those horror stories exist in every culture and in every people.  At the same time as there are these horror stories though there is the greater reality of a drive for excellence, a desire for a better life, and the goal of somehow being good people.

Because of my faith in Christ I have come to the conclusion that the goals of America cannot be achieved by Americans.  What I mean is that we will never have a perfect society.  Logic and knowledge will never carry us across the threshold of sinful behavior and immorality.  People do not do wrong because they lack opportunity or because they don't know better, they do wrong because it is easy, it is gratifying, and it is what we want to do.  But that does not mean that we should stop trying to be a better people, it does not mean that we should stop trying to build a perfect society.  For many people, hopefully still the majority of people, our goals are noble, even if we cannot agree on what the ultimate outcome should look like.

However, because of our sin, immorality has crept into our nation.  I believe that abortion, the murder of unborn children, and homosexuality are morally wrong.  I also believe that a nation that promotes promiscuity and reckless sexual activity in all age groups will always have the problems associated with that behavior, such as unintended pregnancies and disease.  Therefore I write to try and encourage Christians to look at culture, to acknowledge the problems of culture and to try to reach out and better that culture.  I do not want to address the mere symptoms, but I want to address the underlying diseases, and the system that promotes the rampant immorality of our times.

I'm not a fool though.  I do not somehow think America has never had problems with sexual immorality, drug and alcohol abuse, and other problems throughout its history.  Of course our parents struggled with many of the same problems we had, but they also had a guiding moral compass.  The cultural Christianity that took hold of America in the Great Awakenings acted as a deterrent to many of the behaviors that today are common.  I do not want us to return to a cultural Christianity so that the gospel is watered down to mere moral commands, which I know is far too often our easy response.

I want to encourage Christians to be aware of the real power of the gospel.  But I want them to be aware that our arguments are based in observable reality.  That is, the moral order of God and the commands of Christ are not just good in theory, but they have real consequence in a fallen world.  Likewise, as I tried to demonstrate with some of the earliest posts on this blog, the arguments against immorality also stem from logical and philosophically sound positions.  We are not constrained to simply say, "Well, if you don't believe the bible I guess I can't prove this is immoral."  Christians serve the God who created all things, and therefore the order of our God is woven into the tapestry of reality.

I care because Christianity is real.  I do not mean just that there was a man who lived and died some 2000 years ago who became known as the Christ.  I do not mean mere historical facts are real.  God really is the creator of all things, he really did put things into a wonderful order, and we really can understand that order based on what he has revealed to us.  And we really can be free in Christ, we can change the world with the power of the gospel, not because of what we have done, but because the gospel is the power of God to save those who are lost.

I believe that in the last times there will be a falling away, and faith will grow cold.  But, why must we resign ourselves to say that those times must be now?  God has given us revival before, and God can give us revival again.  There is no reason to look and say that our nation or our culture is lost and we cannot make a difference.

Culture is not just some universal entity out side of our ability to control or manipulate.  Culture is people.  When we right off culture and say that we have given up on trying to reach into a fallen culture to change it, we are giving up on millions of people.  In America alone we are giving up on hundreds of millions of people.  I know we cannot save them, I know that is the work of God, and I know that the reality is that we will not save everyone, but each person we save, and each person we can get to start walking according to the obedience that comes by faith, is one more part of culture we have snatched from the jaws of Satan.

I am a Christian, I love my nation because I believe that this is a nation that God wants to save.  I believe that Christ wants to save every person, and the only way for a man to be saved is if he faithfully accepts the gospel of Christ.  That means I have to be able to engage culture.  I need to be able to see where culture has gone wrong, and what it should look like.  As I can point out to people the things that are wrong, perhaps I can get them to ask, "What can be done to make this right?"  And from that question I can point these people to the grace of a loving God, and hopefully some will be saved.

The Necessity of Heaven

Previously I noted that we, as Christians, need to be serious about explaining the reality of sin and its consequences to people.  Today, I would like to look at the flip side of that, the reality of heaven, and the amazing grace and love of God.  Paul says that Christ died for our sins, and on the third day he was raised from the dead.  There is an amazing shorthand going on in that statement, that Christ was raised from the dead, that Paul explains more thoroughly in Ephesians and Romans.  Christ has risen, and he has not just risen in the since of physically coming back to life, but he has risen in taking authority over death, so that in him we have life.

Salvation entails two aspects: you have been saved from something, and you have been saved to something.  Take, for example, any of the great myths.  The hero saves the day, he slays the monster, and he rescues the land.  But, what is the outcome?  It is not just that someone is saved from the monster, but they are saved to peace, life, and happiness.  So also in Christianity, we are saved from our sins, but that means we are saved to being righteous and holy before God. (2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 4:24, Philippians 1:11)

Because we have been saved to righteousness, we now have an expectation of heaven, as opposed to our previous expectation of hell.  And just as it is important to point out the reality of hell, so also it is essential that we talk about the reality of heaven.  While we often talk about God's love, and we talk about the idea of being in heaven, we do not talk about the reality of heaven.  What I mean is, that if you asked the average person what heaven would be like, most people would tell you wonderful dreamy ideas of clouds, and comfort, and being with friends, but they would not be able to describe for you the image that Scripture paints for us of heaven.

If we miss what Scripture says heaven will be like, then we honestly do not know what we are supposed to living for.  Our reward in heaven is described for us so that we might know that heaven is not just an ephemeral idea, it is a very real place.  So, for instance, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 , Paul notes that Christ appeared to Cephas, to the 12, to James, to all the apostles, and then lastly to Paul himself.  Paul gives us these details so we would be reminded that the resurrection of Christ is not just a good thought, it is not just some grand idea, it is reality itself.

What then is the reality of heaven?  The first reality is that it includes our bodies.  We will rise again from the dead, just as Christ rose from the dead.  We will have bodies, just as Christ has a body.  What our bodies will look like, what they will be like, may be a mystery, but the fact that we will rise and we will have bodies is not a mystery, it is a promise.  (Job 19:25-27, 1 Corinthians 15:12-49)

Not only will we have bodies, but we will live on the earth.  Revelation states that there will be a new heaven and new earth, and men shall dwell there, and God will dwell in our midst.  Thus there will be heaven on earth in a literal sense, as God will dwell fully among men with no separation any more.  So our hope is not just for bodies, but for a new earth, a land in which we shall live. (Revelation 21:1-4)

Heaven is real, and it is our goal.  Heaven is not simply being with friends and family, it is not seeing our favorite pet or playing our favorite sport for all eternity.  Heaven is the worship of God.  When we remember the reality of heaven we are encouraged to continue struggling and rejoicing on earth.

When we remember heaven there is one more thing we should be encouraged with, and that is living among the saints today.  If heaven is the goal, and in heaven we will worship and rejoice with all those who are called by the name of Christ, then why aren't we doing that now?  Some who claim to be Christians neglect worship, they do not want to spend time with those today who they are supposed to want to spend time with eternally.  When we are reminded that heaven is a very real place, we are challenged to worship God now in light of the promise that is to come, and there is no better way to worship God than to do it as a family, amongst his people.  Live like you believe in heaven: rejoice over what God has done in your life, share your hope and your faith with others, and hold to your brothers and sisters in Christ, for this is what our eternity will be, shouldn't we begin getting prepared for it now?

The Necessity of Hell

What is the gospel?  According to Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, the gospel can be summarized as, "[that] by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.  Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me."

Two things in particular I want to derive from this text: first that the gospel is that by which we are saved, and that Christ died for our sins.  I bring this up because I previously stated that the best society a Christian could seek would be one that would promote the sharing of the gospel.  I also stated that part of what that would entail would be a society with a strong moral center.  Most people do not think of themselves as particularly wicked or evil, instead we rationalize what we do, so that we seem innocent in our own eyes.  The problem with people who think they are innocent is that they do not perceive their need for salvation because they do not see that they have anything from which to be saved.  People who are innocent of wrong doing do not need the good news that Christ can save them from their sins.

Because most people do not think of themselves as wicked, it is important that Christians need to be reminded of the very real threat of hell.  We need to be reminded and we need to bring people's attention to the fact that there is a place of punishment and separation from God.  There is a hell that awaits those who do not know Christ.  While it ought not be our goal to try to scare someone into salvation, as though it would be sufficient only that men want to escape hell without loving God, we also do no favors if we neglect to mention the reality of hell with those we tell about the gospel of Christ.

I am reminded of a friend of mine who I shared the gospel with who understood the implications and said that she wanted to believe, but at the same time she did not want to believe that so many of the good people she knew were going to hell.  For her there was a significant conflict created, because she saw that without Christ there was no salvation, but she also did not want to admit that those she knew and loved would be destined to go to hell.  Ultimately I pointed her to the justice of God, that she knowing the reality of hell would not be spared from it any more than them, and that the grace of God was sufficient to save whoever would trust in him, including those she did not want to see in hell.  I had the opportunity to pray with her, eventually seeing her come to faith in Christ.  Her heart was broken, but she knew that she was saved, and was able to pray to God fervently for others about whom she cared.

Would I have done her any favors if I told her that she did not need to worry, that hell was only a myth?  Would I have done her any favors if, over the course of our relationship, I had wept with her about the reality of sin and a coming judgment?  It was the fact of judgment that made her serious in seeking to know what she could do to avoid it, but it was the love of God that brought her to Christ.  A man may be saved purely through hearing about the love of God, but I wonder what he thinks he is safe from.  A man who knows of both the love of God and the awesome justice of God is fully able to appreciate his salvation, and understand the importance of telling others.

We live in a society were sexual immorality is seen as innocent, covetousness is seen as motivation, and idolatry is rampant.  Yet, at the same time, some of the largest churches in America do not ever tell people the reality of sin.  Pastors talk about the love of God, they tell people how to live good lives in the world today, and they do it all while holding bibles, but the reality is that they are leading people straight to hell.  If we have not considered the very serious nature of sin as it effects our world and continues to attempt to gain foothold in our own lives, then we are fools.

If we say we want to share the gospel, but we refuse to tell people of the peril they are in, that they are sinners, and that God will judge them and send them to hell because of their sins, then we do not really want to share the gospel.  Men can understand love, we see it all around us.  Men can understand justice, for we all know what it is to treated unjustly.  What men do not understand is that they are guilty, and that hell is fully just and God is fully righteous.  Part of the duty of a Christian who seeks to share the gospel is making that clear to people.

One final reason that we must stare the reality of hell directly in the face: because we do not live like we believe it.  The vast majority of Christians in America will never share their faith.  They claim to believe in the gospel, but they will never tell anyone else of the good news, they will never attempt to save even one soul from hell.  We need to remember hell not only because it is necessary that men should understand what they are saved from, but because we need a constant reminder of why we should care about those who have not heard.  If you do not have a passion to share Christ, let me ask you this: Have you really looked at your neighbor?  Do you really love your neighbor?

We need to be loving, we need to be compassionate, we need to be merciful and have words that are seasoned with salt, so that men would want to come and speak to us.  But, we also need to be honest and we need to be brave.  We need people to understand that when they say, "I'm not that bad," they are wrong.  When you speak the gospel, can it be said of your hearers: "Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'" (Acts 2:37)

Can There be a Christian Society?

My last several posts have strongly indicated what I believe the best general social response to the current question of how to address homosexual relationships in society, now I would like to address the Christian rationale behind my position.  My position hinges on three concepts: the order of God, the necessity of love, and the reality of sin.  Because God has designed the world with a specific order in mind, one that is physical, logical, relational, and moral, there is an optimal social and moral order that is best for all humans to live under.  Because of God's mercy he has revealed to us the best way to interact with one another, and that is through loving relationships.  But, because of the reality of sin love cannot exist without both confrontation and correction, and so we as Christians should embrace these aspects of relationship and work to build up one another and society.  There is a specific rationale that leads me to conclude that culture is best served by strengthening marriage as an institution and limiting it to monogamous heterosexual couples, and I intend to demonstrate that this rationale is derived from the Word of God and not simply my personal preferences.

Is there evidence in Scripture that God has designed the universe with certain physical, logical, social, and moral laws?  Certainly there is no doubt that God has designed the universe with certain physical and logical laws.  For instance, in Genesis 1 God creates light, the separates light and darkness, so that the two are not intermingled, he then does the same with the waters, (the exact meaning of this event is disputed, maybe food for a future post?) and then does the same with the oceans and the land.  Likewise we see in Jeremiah 51:15 that God created the earth with power, wisdom, and understanding.  The world was not made to be chaotic, but to have form and function, and God, as a   The world was not made to be chaotic, but to have form and function, and God, as a God of order, placed within creation certain physical and logical laws that cannot be broken.

But, just as God created the world with certain physical and logical laws, such that we ignore them at our own peril, (you cannot jump off a building and claim it is God's fault you got hurt because you ignored either the laws of gravity or the laws of logic that dictated that your jump would result in pain) so also he created the world with certain social and moral laws.  For instance the 10 Commandments, and the law as it is explained to the people of Israel, explain not only forms of worship, but also social norms that should govern them.  Theft, for instance, is not only a religious wrong, it is also a civil wrong, and so the laws discussing theft deal primarily not with the right sacrifices for atonement before God, but how the thief should be made right with his neighbor.  Likewise with the other commandments.  What we see is not necessarily that we should adopt the law and punishment system that was dictated to Israel, which was given to a certain nation at a certain time and assumed a covenantal relationship that we do not have with God, but that the principles behind the system--that there are social and moral laws that we should seek to uphold--these apply to all people at all times, whether Jewish, or Greek, or Christian or pagan.

I do not want to go into a long examination of exactly what principles we can derive from the law so as to govern our behavior, but I would be willing to bet that most of us in the West today would be able to quickly agree on the majority of those principles.  For instance, who would want to argue that theft, adultery, chattel slavery, (yes the bible condemns man-stealing) and arson should ever be acceptable?  We may cite certain extreme situations, such that an immoral action was compelled from an individual under threat of torture, death, or some other horror, but in such situations we still recognize the evil of the person who compelled the action.  Immorality is generally easily recognized and we do not debate it, even though some may wish to argue for moral relativity, no one actually lives in a committed fashion as though morals were anything other than absolute.

Well, what do we do with this then?  How do these principles dictate that Christians should engage with society?  For an answer to that, we look to what Christ said about the law.  In probably one of the most over quoted and misused passages of Scripture (second to John 3:16) Christ says, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."  In addition we read, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  Thus, as a quick shorthand for any situation, we can understand that our obligation, as Christians, is to love others; and what love looks like is doing to others what we would have them do to us.


While we practice love, though, we must be aware of the reality of sin.  For instance we read in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and in Romans 1:28, "God gave them up to a debased mind, to do what ought not to be done."  What we must conclude, therefore, is that even if we act in love, people will not always receive what we do as loving.  And, even if something is wrong, that does not mean that culture will always recognize that it is wrong.  Moreover, if culture does recognize that something is wrong, it is possible that our culture will act in a manner that is far harsher than we should act, such that even though the culture is right in proclaiming something to be immoral, the response is wrong.  I would argue that the latter is what we see in Muslim societies when a thief has his hand cut off, which further prevents him from being able to work to provide for himself or to repay society for his theft.  Likewise, I would argue that those who argue for things like killing homosexuals, killing adulterers, and similar arguments, are going beyond what the Scriptures would have us do and are abandoning the requirement we have to love one another.


Yet, because humans are sinful, we will produce societies that encourage at least some level of sinfulness.  For instance, who could argue that modern American society encourages promiscuity, lust, and covetousness?  All of these are seen as immoral from a biblical perspective, yet our society embraces them and lifts them up as either virtues or, at best, non-moral issues.  Our response to such situations ought to be both loving and honest.  In fact if we are not honest, if we do not tell those with whom we have the opportunity to engage, can we even say that we are being loving?  Therefore, what is the best society that we can promote for the sake of love?



The best society we can create is that society which most recognizes sin as sin, but, at the same time, promotes love as the highest standard for interpersonal relationships.  For instance, I would maintain that Christians are best served, society is best served, and all individuals are best served, by promoting a society in which homosexuality is still seen as immoral, but at the same time promotes a loving response to homosexual individuals.  What this loving response means will vary from situation to situation: in families it may mean a loving confrontation and in church it may require discipline to bring about repentance, while at work and in most civil areas, such as shopping and engaging in day-to-day life, it should be no one's business.

The reason that this is the best society is because it most promotes our opportunities, as Christians, to share the gospel, while also allowing for the greatest amount of personal freedom for individuals to live that does not restrict the rights of others.  Our opportunities for sharing the gospel are maximized because we do not have to spend inordinate amounts of time trying to prove to people that they have sinned.  By promoting a strong ethical code people will be able to recognize sin in their own lives and others.  This then allows us to quickly move on to the reality of the sacrificial death of Christ, that he died for sinners, that whoever places their faith in him may be saved.  From that, of course, we can move to the resurrection and the promise of this new life to those who come to Christ, that the sinner may be reborn and enter into a right relationship with God.  Conversely, if we promote a society with loose moral values then we promote the idea that people are innocent, they have done nothing wrong, and there will be no future judgment for sin.

Every man who lives in a society with a strong ethical foundation will still be a sinner, but at least more people in such a society may recognize sin.  In a society wherein the ethical code is very lax and most people have rationalized away the reality of sin, Christians will have to spend more time proving the reality of sin in order to make people understand the necessity of salvation.  It is because of our sinfulness that we need Christ, and to offer salvation without first getting someone to realize that there is condemnation seems backwards.  After all, what is it the man is being saved from?  For what purpose has he placed his faith in Christ?  A man may know that Christ lived, died on the cross, and rose from the dead, but, if that man does not know that he has sinned, then how can he ask for forgiveness so that he can be made right with God?


My argument is not that this is how society has been, nor it is that this is what we can bring society to be, but that this is what we should see as the ideal, and therefore is that for which we should aim.  That society which best conforms to the reality of the world as we see it in Scripture is going to be the best society.  Because we are called to love one another, we should promote a society in which love between individuals is encouraged.  Because all people are sinful, we should promote a society that recognizes sin and hold people accountable for their sin.  As Christians in America today we have the opportunity to exercise influence in society in many ways, shouldn't we aim for the best society possible?