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.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Good Morals in Hard Times
Most Americans agree that abortion should be limited except in the case of the health of the mother, rape or incest. Most Christians agree with this also, fortunately, and many Christians are vocal and active in regards to trying to limit abortions. I would like to address the question of the morality involved in the issue though. Why do we think abortions should be limited, excepting for situations involving the health of the mother, rape, and incest? Are there any proper limits that should be applied to abortion?
Generally, Christians cite verses like, Job 31:15, Psalm 139:13, and particularly Jeremiah 1:5 in order to prove that abortion is wrong. The argument goes as such: God is the one who gives life, and he is the one who forms a child in its mothers womb, therefore, to abort the child is to kill the human life that God has created. The argument assumes that killing humans is wrong. Generally the idea that killing babies is wrong is accepted, as most people recognize that killing a baby would be murder, and murder is evil. But, not everyone agrees that human babies, while still in the womb, are babies.
Those who are proponents of abortion generally argue that it is not murder unless you kill a person, and while a fetus may be "human" it is not a person. Now, where the fetus starts being a person is under question. Is it when the fetus gets a heart beat? Maybe when the fetus has brain waves? Some have argued that it isn't really a human until a few days old, because prior to that it cannot function in the way we expect a person to function. Personally I find these arguments contrived and meaningless, resting entirely on speculation and with no real grounds for classifying a human as "person." To make such a division is simply to try and find a way to rationalize that which is immoral so you can sleep at night.
Therefore, assuming the Christian case is correct and compelling, I have two questions: "Why limit abortions where we have?" and, "What are the proper limits for abortion?" In addressing these two questions I want to examine the arguments for committing abortions in the cases of incest and rape, and then examine the mothers health. Then, after examining these positions, I want to examine the hard cases, those times when we are most compelled for the sake of compassion to go ahead with an abortion. My goal is help us reach a clearer idea of what we really believe, and what the results of our beliefs are.
In the cases of rape and incest then, why do we say abortion is acceptable? Usually the argument is that women who have been raped or who are victims of incest did not really choose the act that resulted in pregnancy. Thus, the woman was not consenting to the action, she should not be held responsible for the results. Because the woman should not be held responsible for the results of violence committed against her, she should not be forced to carry the baby in her. No one should be held responsible for the choices of someone else, particularly when those choices can have life changing and drastic effects on the innocent party.
The problem with this argument is that it ignores that the baby is also an innocent party. This is a response that has been made so often that it is basically a cliche, but it is still true. The baby, the one we are going to kill, the one we have established is in fact a baby, is completely innocent of the manner in which it was conceived. Therefore, to kill the baby, and remember, this is a baby we are talking about, because of the actions of the father would only be to add one crime to another. We cannot exculpate the the conscience of a woman for committing murder of a baby based on the crimes committed by the father.
As Christians particularly we are forced to acknowledge a problem with allowing for abortions in the case of rape and incest. We have already admitted that what is inside the woman is a baby. And all the Scripture we cited indicated that God is the one who decides on putting life into a womb. To say that we want to save babies when we want them, but not when we don't, is to admit that we know we are murdering a child, but it is okay in this instance because the child was not conceived in a way we like. There is thus no difference between a Christian who is willing to allow for an abortion in the case of rape or incest and the most hardened atheist who acknowledges that they are killing a human life, just because the mother does not want to bear the burden of carrying it.
Our problem is that either we accept that God gives all life, or we say some lives are not intended by God. We make ourselves judges of the lives of others, saying that we know that God would not bring about a life through a situation such as rape or incest. We presume to know the vast and infinite mind of God on matters such as who should be born, and who should not. That kind of arrogance has only one match: Satan himself.
Wasn't that the question uttered by Satan in the Garden? "Did God truly say..." Are we not confronted with that, and are we not the ones asking that question and giving that same lying answer that he gave to Eve? "Did God really say that he formed you in the womb? Did God really say that before you were formed he knew you? Did God really say that he knit us together himself? Surely God did not mean that in this case! No, God does not mean that he alone is the one who gives life, instead we can decide if he intended this one!"
There ought be no exception to abortion for the sake of rape and incest. Yes, the act of rape is horrible. Yes, incest is evil in every way. Abortion does not make it better, it only adds murder on top of abuse.
I know this is a hard teaching. Some will say that I am a man, and therefore I cannot understand what a woman in those situations would go through. I do not dispute that. I cannot claim that I have the wisdom and insight to be able to sit down and make a woman who has been raped feel "all better." But, whether or not I am even sufficient to comfort a woman who has gone through such a horrible trial does not change the fact of what the Word of God says about who puts life in the womb.
Our obligation then is to provide comfort, to provide assistance, and to provide love to women in such situations as these. In truth it is the obligation of Christians to provide comfort to any woman who is contemplating abortion. It is those who are most hurting who most need us to reach out to them and to help them. We may not win many to the gospel, but we should try. And, even if we cannot save their souls in the time we have to help them, at least we can try and save a life, one that God created, one he deemed to have value.
What of those pregnancies that risk a woman's health? If by "health" you mean that she could die from carrying or from delivering that child, then you have an honest moral dilemma. We live in a fallen world, things do not work like they should, and sometimes a pregnancy could kill a woman. My opinion is, and this is strictly my opinion with far less Scripture to back me up, if a woman would die, and the child would die, such as would happen in the case of the egg lodging in the fallopian tubes, then an abortion should be performed to attempt to save the mother's life (again, such as what happens when you remove a fallopian tube due to a tubal pregnancy). The goal, however, is not to abort the child, but to save the mothers life, the abortion is the horrible side effect of the treatment. If the mother is at risk, but there is a chance the baby could live, then that is a decision that is best made by the woman and her husband, based on the advice from their doctors and pastors.
Hard cases, like a child who is the result of an incestuous rape, who would be born horribly deformed, suffer for as long as he might live, and would never be mentally capable of rational though, make the hardest choices. We look and see nothing but a suffering life, and we say it is best to end such a life before it can even begin. But, the fact is that we are not God. If we believe that God can bring good out of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the murder of the Son of God at the hands of evil men, then why can't God bring good out of even the worst possible situation we could imagine?
We do not need to know the reason why God chose to bring a life into the world through horrible situations such as rape or incest. We do not need to know the purpose God has for those lives of suffering to which some are born. We do have to be compassionate to those who suffer abuse and wrong at the hands of others. We do have to stand on the Word of God and say that every abortion is the taking of human life. Will you take that stand in hard times, as well as good?
Generally, Christians cite verses like, Job 31:15, Psalm 139:13, and particularly Jeremiah 1:5 in order to prove that abortion is wrong. The argument goes as such: God is the one who gives life, and he is the one who forms a child in its mothers womb, therefore, to abort the child is to kill the human life that God has created. The argument assumes that killing humans is wrong. Generally the idea that killing babies is wrong is accepted, as most people recognize that killing a baby would be murder, and murder is evil. But, not everyone agrees that human babies, while still in the womb, are babies.
Those who are proponents of abortion generally argue that it is not murder unless you kill a person, and while a fetus may be "human" it is not a person. Now, where the fetus starts being a person is under question. Is it when the fetus gets a heart beat? Maybe when the fetus has brain waves? Some have argued that it isn't really a human until a few days old, because prior to that it cannot function in the way we expect a person to function. Personally I find these arguments contrived and meaningless, resting entirely on speculation and with no real grounds for classifying a human as "person." To make such a division is simply to try and find a way to rationalize that which is immoral so you can sleep at night.
Therefore, assuming the Christian case is correct and compelling, I have two questions: "Why limit abortions where we have?" and, "What are the proper limits for abortion?" In addressing these two questions I want to examine the arguments for committing abortions in the cases of incest and rape, and then examine the mothers health. Then, after examining these positions, I want to examine the hard cases, those times when we are most compelled for the sake of compassion to go ahead with an abortion. My goal is help us reach a clearer idea of what we really believe, and what the results of our beliefs are.
In the cases of rape and incest then, why do we say abortion is acceptable? Usually the argument is that women who have been raped or who are victims of incest did not really choose the act that resulted in pregnancy. Thus, the woman was not consenting to the action, she should not be held responsible for the results. Because the woman should not be held responsible for the results of violence committed against her, she should not be forced to carry the baby in her. No one should be held responsible for the choices of someone else, particularly when those choices can have life changing and drastic effects on the innocent party.
The problem with this argument is that it ignores that the baby is also an innocent party. This is a response that has been made so often that it is basically a cliche, but it is still true. The baby, the one we are going to kill, the one we have established is in fact a baby, is completely innocent of the manner in which it was conceived. Therefore, to kill the baby, and remember, this is a baby we are talking about, because of the actions of the father would only be to add one crime to another. We cannot exculpate the the conscience of a woman for committing murder of a baby based on the crimes committed by the father.
As Christians particularly we are forced to acknowledge a problem with allowing for abortions in the case of rape and incest. We have already admitted that what is inside the woman is a baby. And all the Scripture we cited indicated that God is the one who decides on putting life into a womb. To say that we want to save babies when we want them, but not when we don't, is to admit that we know we are murdering a child, but it is okay in this instance because the child was not conceived in a way we like. There is thus no difference between a Christian who is willing to allow for an abortion in the case of rape or incest and the most hardened atheist who acknowledges that they are killing a human life, just because the mother does not want to bear the burden of carrying it.
Our problem is that either we accept that God gives all life, or we say some lives are not intended by God. We make ourselves judges of the lives of others, saying that we know that God would not bring about a life through a situation such as rape or incest. We presume to know the vast and infinite mind of God on matters such as who should be born, and who should not. That kind of arrogance has only one match: Satan himself.
Wasn't that the question uttered by Satan in the Garden? "Did God truly say..." Are we not confronted with that, and are we not the ones asking that question and giving that same lying answer that he gave to Eve? "Did God really say that he formed you in the womb? Did God really say that before you were formed he knew you? Did God really say that he knit us together himself? Surely God did not mean that in this case! No, God does not mean that he alone is the one who gives life, instead we can decide if he intended this one!"
There ought be no exception to abortion for the sake of rape and incest. Yes, the act of rape is horrible. Yes, incest is evil in every way. Abortion does not make it better, it only adds murder on top of abuse.
I know this is a hard teaching. Some will say that I am a man, and therefore I cannot understand what a woman in those situations would go through. I do not dispute that. I cannot claim that I have the wisdom and insight to be able to sit down and make a woman who has been raped feel "all better." But, whether or not I am even sufficient to comfort a woman who has gone through such a horrible trial does not change the fact of what the Word of God says about who puts life in the womb.
Our obligation then is to provide comfort, to provide assistance, and to provide love to women in such situations as these. In truth it is the obligation of Christians to provide comfort to any woman who is contemplating abortion. It is those who are most hurting who most need us to reach out to them and to help them. We may not win many to the gospel, but we should try. And, even if we cannot save their souls in the time we have to help them, at least we can try and save a life, one that God created, one he deemed to have value.
What of those pregnancies that risk a woman's health? If by "health" you mean that she could die from carrying or from delivering that child, then you have an honest moral dilemma. We live in a fallen world, things do not work like they should, and sometimes a pregnancy could kill a woman. My opinion is, and this is strictly my opinion with far less Scripture to back me up, if a woman would die, and the child would die, such as would happen in the case of the egg lodging in the fallopian tubes, then an abortion should be performed to attempt to save the mother's life (again, such as what happens when you remove a fallopian tube due to a tubal pregnancy). The goal, however, is not to abort the child, but to save the mothers life, the abortion is the horrible side effect of the treatment. If the mother is at risk, but there is a chance the baby could live, then that is a decision that is best made by the woman and her husband, based on the advice from their doctors and pastors.
Hard cases, like a child who is the result of an incestuous rape, who would be born horribly deformed, suffer for as long as he might live, and would never be mentally capable of rational though, make the hardest choices. We look and see nothing but a suffering life, and we say it is best to end such a life before it can even begin. But, the fact is that we are not God. If we believe that God can bring good out of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, the murder of the Son of God at the hands of evil men, then why can't God bring good out of even the worst possible situation we could imagine?
We do not need to know the reason why God chose to bring a life into the world through horrible situations such as rape or incest. We do not need to know the purpose God has for those lives of suffering to which some are born. We do have to be compassionate to those who suffer abuse and wrong at the hands of others. We do have to stand on the Word of God and say that every abortion is the taking of human life. Will you take that stand in hard times, as well as good?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
What are we Preaching?
I know I'm not currently preaching in a church. I'm not a pastor of a church, nor can I claim to have years of preaching experience under my belt. However, I have been listening to sermons for years. I have set in the pews, heard men get up and preach, and I have listened to what they said. In combination with all this, I have also been reading my bible, studying Scripture, and seeking after Christ for probably longer than I have been a regular church attendee.
I note all of the things above, because I would like to talk about preaching. I want to discuss the right way, and the wrong way. I can only write from the perspective of someone who has read Scripture, taken classes, and had limited opportunity to, pardon the pun, practice what I preach. But, I believe I can write about preaching from three perspectives: the preacher, the hearer, and the Word.
The most important aspect of preaching is what the Word has to say about it. Here is a list of 26 verses that have to do with preaching in the Bible: Ezekiel 20:46, 21:2; Amos 7:16; Micah 2:6, 2:11; Matthew 3:1-2, 4:17, 11:1, 11:5, 12:41, 23:3; Mark 1:7, 1:35, 1:38, 1:39, 2:2, 3:14, 16:20; Luke 3:18, 4:43, 4:44, 7:22, 9:6, 11:32, 16:16, 20:1. I invite you to take your time and read each of these verses, and then to read the context around those verses to see to what "preaching" the author has in mind. My conclusion is this: preaching, in every section of Scripture, is proclaiming the word of God as it has been given to the individual proclaiming it. (Notice that those who "preach wine" are not preaching God's word, but are preaching their own word, a passage to which everyone who would preach would do well to devote their attention.)
For a prophet, preaching would be proclaiming the message God has given him to the people to whom he has been sent. For a modern day preacher, preaching is proclaiming the word of God as it has been handed to us in our particular formats to the people to whom God has sent us. This means that no preacher has actually preached until he has spoken the word of God. And the word of God has not been spoken until the whole counsel of God has been spoken on any subject. And, because Christ is the one whom God has spoken to us through, in these last times, (Hebrews 1:2) no modern preaching is complete if the hearers of the message are not brought to Christ.
When we stand up and read a section from Genesis, Leviticus, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Isaiah, or any other book of the Old Testament, if we do not show how that passage relates to Christ, we have not preached. We have not preached because, no matter what we have said, we have not really shared what the Word of God was saying. Notice that when Christ preached, he preached the good news (go back and re-read the vast majority of the verses listed above from the gospels if you want evidence). If we preach anything less than the good news of Jesus Christ, then we have not preached.
If we preach from proverbs then, and encourage men to have wisdom, but we do not point that wisdom is offered to us freely through Christ, then what wisdom have we encouraged men to have? If we preach from the prophets and show that God is a righteous God who judges his enemies, but do not tell them that Christ has suffered that judgment on our behalf, then what judgment are they expecting? No matter what section of Scripture we preach from, if we fail to show how these Scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that he offers men redemption before a holy and righteous God, then we have not preached.
Likewise, when we hear a sermon that tells us how to live a good life, or tells us about the great love of God, or tells us about the rapture of the church, or how to suffer through the tribulation, (pick any millennial position, for the sake of the example it doesn't matter) if we do not hear about the fact that we are sinners, and we stand separated from God, but that Christ died for us, and he rose again on the third day, and that anyone who places their faith in him can have eternal life, then we have not heard a sermon. If hearing a sermon means we have heard the preached word of God, then we have not heard a sermon until we have heard the good news proclaimed from the pulpit, because the good news is the Word of God to us today.
Hebrews 4:2 says that the good news has come to us, just as it came to those in the wilderness. God's message has always been the good news of salvation through faith. The law did not abrogate his promise. The law did not conflict with grace, but acted as an instructor to point us to the grace of God that was coming. And now, the grace of God has come, so it is the message that we need to continually preach and hear. My challenge to every pastor, and I hope my people will challenge me with this, is to preach the good news of Jesus Christ, because that is the only message that is worth preaching, anything less is just advice.
If your goal is just good advice, then get out of the pulpit. God has called pastors to be preachers, caretakers of the flock. Do you think your advice is better than his? Do you think your wisdom is superior to the good news of Jesus Christ? Pulpits are places for preachers, and preachers preach the Word of God.
I note all of the things above, because I would like to talk about preaching. I want to discuss the right way, and the wrong way. I can only write from the perspective of someone who has read Scripture, taken classes, and had limited opportunity to, pardon the pun, practice what I preach. But, I believe I can write about preaching from three perspectives: the preacher, the hearer, and the Word.
The most important aspect of preaching is what the Word has to say about it. Here is a list of 26 verses that have to do with preaching in the Bible: Ezekiel 20:46, 21:2; Amos 7:16; Micah 2:6, 2:11; Matthew 3:1-2, 4:17, 11:1, 11:5, 12:41, 23:3; Mark 1:7, 1:35, 1:38, 1:39, 2:2, 3:14, 16:20; Luke 3:18, 4:43, 4:44, 7:22, 9:6, 11:32, 16:16, 20:1. I invite you to take your time and read each of these verses, and then to read the context around those verses to see to what "preaching" the author has in mind. My conclusion is this: preaching, in every section of Scripture, is proclaiming the word of God as it has been given to the individual proclaiming it. (Notice that those who "preach wine" are not preaching God's word, but are preaching their own word, a passage to which everyone who would preach would do well to devote their attention.)
For a prophet, preaching would be proclaiming the message God has given him to the people to whom he has been sent. For a modern day preacher, preaching is proclaiming the word of God as it has been handed to us in our particular formats to the people to whom God has sent us. This means that no preacher has actually preached until he has spoken the word of God. And the word of God has not been spoken until the whole counsel of God has been spoken on any subject. And, because Christ is the one whom God has spoken to us through, in these last times, (Hebrews 1:2) no modern preaching is complete if the hearers of the message are not brought to Christ.
When we stand up and read a section from Genesis, Leviticus, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Isaiah, or any other book of the Old Testament, if we do not show how that passage relates to Christ, we have not preached. We have not preached because, no matter what we have said, we have not really shared what the Word of God was saying. Notice that when Christ preached, he preached the good news (go back and re-read the vast majority of the verses listed above from the gospels if you want evidence). If we preach anything less than the good news of Jesus Christ, then we have not preached.
If we preach from proverbs then, and encourage men to have wisdom, but we do not point that wisdom is offered to us freely through Christ, then what wisdom have we encouraged men to have? If we preach from the prophets and show that God is a righteous God who judges his enemies, but do not tell them that Christ has suffered that judgment on our behalf, then what judgment are they expecting? No matter what section of Scripture we preach from, if we fail to show how these Scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that he offers men redemption before a holy and righteous God, then we have not preached.
Likewise, when we hear a sermon that tells us how to live a good life, or tells us about the great love of God, or tells us about the rapture of the church, or how to suffer through the tribulation, (pick any millennial position, for the sake of the example it doesn't matter) if we do not hear about the fact that we are sinners, and we stand separated from God, but that Christ died for us, and he rose again on the third day, and that anyone who places their faith in him can have eternal life, then we have not heard a sermon. If hearing a sermon means we have heard the preached word of God, then we have not heard a sermon until we have heard the good news proclaimed from the pulpit, because the good news is the Word of God to us today.
Hebrews 4:2 says that the good news has come to us, just as it came to those in the wilderness. God's message has always been the good news of salvation through faith. The law did not abrogate his promise. The law did not conflict with grace, but acted as an instructor to point us to the grace of God that was coming. And now, the grace of God has come, so it is the message that we need to continually preach and hear. My challenge to every pastor, and I hope my people will challenge me with this, is to preach the good news of Jesus Christ, because that is the only message that is worth preaching, anything less is just advice.
If your goal is just good advice, then get out of the pulpit. God has called pastors to be preachers, caretakers of the flock. Do you think your advice is better than his? Do you think your wisdom is superior to the good news of Jesus Christ? Pulpits are places for preachers, and preachers preach the Word of God.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The God of all Provision
When I was 18, I moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with a friend for about 6 months, moved back home for a couple of months, and then moved back to Ft. Lauderdale again (my friend, once again, needed a roommate). When my friend first talked to me about moving the conversation went something like this:
"Do we have jobs?"
"Not yet."
"Do we have a place to stay?"
"I'm working on that."
"Do we have any money saved up?"
"I have enough for about a month."
Of course, with that kind of plan in place, I could not refuse the offer. So, we hopped in his car, I loaded up my 2 (maybe 3) boxes of clothes (all I owned) and we drove 8 hours to Ft. Lauderdale.
Now, in all honesty, I did not simply move because he asked me if I wanted to go and he had such an amazing plan. I went with him, in part, because I wanted to know what I really believed in. You see, I had come to faith in Christ at about the age of 9, and I grew up in a Christian home. My father had gone through seminary and my mother grew up as a Christian and was informed about her faith. But, because I grew up with parents who were so firmly convinced of Christianity, I had never really had anyone challenge me on my faith.
I realized that it was possible that I did not really believe, that I only thought I had faith, and that, in all reality, it was only the cultural influence of my parents and growing up in the deep South that had prompted me to think of myself as a Christian. So, in order to determine for myself what I really believed in, I decided that I would move with my friend to Florida, read and study, and seek God. And that is what I did. I sought God, read in the free time I had available, and tried to determine what the real evidence was for Christianity and whether I was a believer.
But, at the same time that I wanted to answer all the questions I had about my own faith, I had to survive. My friend was quite serious, he had enough money to get us through about a month. I had some money also, but I spent the money I had nearly immediately, buying the necessities for life. I bought food and cleaning supplies, cooking utensils and other necessities like that. But, even if you have the food and tools to cook with, if you don't have anywhere to cook it, you'll still go hungry. I needed a job fast, so I could afford to pay my rent.
Because we moved right around September I figured I would go to the local mall and look for a seasonal job. After a couple of days I was able to find a place to work, making $6.25/hr, as a holiday worker. At that time, $6.25 was about $0.50 more than minimum wage, but at the same time I had to pay one third of the living expenses for an apartment that cost something like $1050 a month, not including water, electric, and other amenities. And, shortly after we got there, we found the other guy we were rooming with didn't actually have a job, so my friend and I were covering half the expenses each. In case you are trying to figure things out, at 40 hours a week at $6.25 an hour I was making about $1000 a month, before taxes, around $800 or less after, of which over $500 was going just to rent. We still had to pay for food, electricity, entertainment, or any other possible expense, along with putting money aside for savings.
Yet, despite everything that could have gone wrong, from losing my job after the holidays ended, to having sudden additional expenses, none of it did. I was hired on permanently after the holidays, I was given massive amounts of over time (sometimes working 60-80 hours a week) and I was able to spend a lot of time reading, studying, and coming to know Christ more each day. God was demonstrating his care for me in providing every physical thing I needed. But, more than the food in my belly or the root over my head, God was demonstrating his care for me in revealing himself to me as I sought to learn more about him.
In Florida, I slept on the floor, used a towel as a pillow, and did not have a blanket. I worked in a CD store in a mall, making just over minimum wage and sought every opportunity I could for overtime. I walked about a mile and a half to work in the fall and winter heat of southern Florida. (I know, it used to be that people walked a lot more than that, most of us today don't want a mile a day though. I was fortunate too that it was winter, but please be aware, southern Florida only has heat, it is never cool.) Living in Florida was hard, I would be lying to say that I look back with nostalgia and long for those days again. Yet, despite it all, I never went hungry, I never went wanting, because God provided for me in the midst of all things.
A local pastor in the area I'm living in now reminded me of what Scripture says in Psalm 37:25: "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread." I have been young, I'm not yet old, but I can agree with David: I have yet to see the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. Even now, I'm unemployed and looking for work, yet God continues to provide for my wife and me. In hard economic times, and in good economic times, it is God in whom we place our trust, not our money, not our skills, not our own genius, but God alone.
"Do we have jobs?"
"Not yet."
"Do we have a place to stay?"
"I'm working on that."
"Do we have any money saved up?"
"I have enough for about a month."
Of course, with that kind of plan in place, I could not refuse the offer. So, we hopped in his car, I loaded up my 2 (maybe 3) boxes of clothes (all I owned) and we drove 8 hours to Ft. Lauderdale.
Now, in all honesty, I did not simply move because he asked me if I wanted to go and he had such an amazing plan. I went with him, in part, because I wanted to know what I really believed in. You see, I had come to faith in Christ at about the age of 9, and I grew up in a Christian home. My father had gone through seminary and my mother grew up as a Christian and was informed about her faith. But, because I grew up with parents who were so firmly convinced of Christianity, I had never really had anyone challenge me on my faith.
I realized that it was possible that I did not really believe, that I only thought I had faith, and that, in all reality, it was only the cultural influence of my parents and growing up in the deep South that had prompted me to think of myself as a Christian. So, in order to determine for myself what I really believed in, I decided that I would move with my friend to Florida, read and study, and seek God. And that is what I did. I sought God, read in the free time I had available, and tried to determine what the real evidence was for Christianity and whether I was a believer.
But, at the same time that I wanted to answer all the questions I had about my own faith, I had to survive. My friend was quite serious, he had enough money to get us through about a month. I had some money also, but I spent the money I had nearly immediately, buying the necessities for life. I bought food and cleaning supplies, cooking utensils and other necessities like that. But, even if you have the food and tools to cook with, if you don't have anywhere to cook it, you'll still go hungry. I needed a job fast, so I could afford to pay my rent.
Because we moved right around September I figured I would go to the local mall and look for a seasonal job. After a couple of days I was able to find a place to work, making $6.25/hr, as a holiday worker. At that time, $6.25 was about $0.50 more than minimum wage, but at the same time I had to pay one third of the living expenses for an apartment that cost something like $1050 a month, not including water, electric, and other amenities. And, shortly after we got there, we found the other guy we were rooming with didn't actually have a job, so my friend and I were covering half the expenses each. In case you are trying to figure things out, at 40 hours a week at $6.25 an hour I was making about $1000 a month, before taxes, around $800 or less after, of which over $500 was going just to rent. We still had to pay for food, electricity, entertainment, or any other possible expense, along with putting money aside for savings.
Yet, despite everything that could have gone wrong, from losing my job after the holidays ended, to having sudden additional expenses, none of it did. I was hired on permanently after the holidays, I was given massive amounts of over time (sometimes working 60-80 hours a week) and I was able to spend a lot of time reading, studying, and coming to know Christ more each day. God was demonstrating his care for me in providing every physical thing I needed. But, more than the food in my belly or the root over my head, God was demonstrating his care for me in revealing himself to me as I sought to learn more about him.
In Florida, I slept on the floor, used a towel as a pillow, and did not have a blanket. I worked in a CD store in a mall, making just over minimum wage and sought every opportunity I could for overtime. I walked about a mile and a half to work in the fall and winter heat of southern Florida. (I know, it used to be that people walked a lot more than that, most of us today don't want a mile a day though. I was fortunate too that it was winter, but please be aware, southern Florida only has heat, it is never cool.) Living in Florida was hard, I would be lying to say that I look back with nostalgia and long for those days again. Yet, despite it all, I never went hungry, I never went wanting, because God provided for me in the midst of all things.
A local pastor in the area I'm living in now reminded me of what Scripture says in Psalm 37:25: "I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread." I have been young, I'm not yet old, but I can agree with David: I have yet to see the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. Even now, I'm unemployed and looking for work, yet God continues to provide for my wife and me. In hard economic times, and in good economic times, it is God in whom we place our trust, not our money, not our skills, not our own genius, but God alone.
Friday, August 13, 2010
A New American History
On Friday (that being tonight) President Obama will host a iftar, a traditional meal during Ramadan. Here's an interesting quote from The Hill article reporting on it:
"Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality ... a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country."
I find it interesting that Obama would actually say "Islam has always been part of America." The earliest recorded impact of Islam on America I can think of is the 1801 Tripolitan war (we didn't actually declare war, Tripoli did).
If Obama wants to recognize a Muslim holiday in order to build up credibility with foreign leaders, or if he actually respects and loves Islam is irrelevant to me. What is relevant is the claim that Islam has had some integral history in America. The fact is that Islam has simply not been a major part of American history. Have there been Muslims in America? Sure, there were occasional slaves, a few foreign travelers, and some early explorers, but none of them actually lead to what we could call an Islamic impact on America. The President's written statement is simply untrue and ridiculous.
"Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality ... a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country."
I find it interesting that Obama would actually say "Islam has always been part of America." The earliest recorded impact of Islam on America I can think of is the 1801 Tripolitan war (we didn't actually declare war, Tripoli did).
If Obama wants to recognize a Muslim holiday in order to build up credibility with foreign leaders, or if he actually respects and loves Islam is irrelevant to me. What is relevant is the claim that Islam has had some integral history in America. The fact is that Islam has simply not been a major part of American history. Have there been Muslims in America? Sure, there were occasional slaves, a few foreign travelers, and some early explorers, but none of them actually lead to what we could call an Islamic impact on America. The President's written statement is simply untrue and ridiculous.
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?
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?
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