Running the Race: Hebrews 12:1-3

Repost from July 15, 2007

Image via Wikipedia

Hebrews 12:1-3

This is the Sunday School lesson I prepared and taught this morning. I wanted to share. Enjoy!

In 11:39-40, we are told that the O.T. Saints have not been made perfect apart from us. The Greek word for this is telioo which literally means "to complete". Jesus had not come and died yet at the time of these saints, but they were looking forward to Christ. We have Christ to look back to. Together, the O.T. saints and the N.T. saints are complete in Christ. This is where we're at in Chapter 12 with the "therefore".

"great cloud of witnesses" -- This is obviously referring to all the O.T. saints mentioned in the previous chapter. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Gideon, David, and others not named are examples of people who lived by faith. Can you think of others since this book was written who are examples of faith? What about Calvin, Knox, Edwards, Moody, Spurgeon, Jim Eliot, Wycliffe? What about in your own life? A former pastor, family members? Us? Do we join that great cloud of witnesses?

John Piper says this about the witnesses, "So I take the witnesses of Hebrews 12:1 to be the saints who have run the race before us, and have gathered, as it were, along the marathon route to say, through the testimony of their lives, "By faith I finished, you can too!"" --http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1997/1005_Running_with_the_Witnesses/

John Calvin emphasizes this point by saying, "He says that we are so surrounded by this dense throng, that wherever we turn our eyes many examples of faith immediately meet us. The word witnesses I do not take in a general sense, as though he called them the martyrs of God, and I apply it to the case before us, as though he had said that faith is sufficiently proved by their testimony, so that no doubt ought to be entertained; for the virtues of the saints are so many testimonies to confirm us, that we, relying on them as our guides and associates, ought to go onward to God with more alacrity." --http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom44.xviii.i.html

A.W. Pink quotes another author, ""If all the saints of God lived, suffered, endured, and conquered by faith, shall not we also? If the saints who lived before the Incarnation, before the redemption was accomplished, before the High Priest entered the heavenly sanctuary, trusted in the midst of discouragements and trials, how much more aught we who know the name of Jesus, who have received the beginning, the installment of the great Messianic promise?" (Adolph Saphir). Herein we are shown that only then do we read the O. T. narratives unto profit when we draw from them incentives to practical godliness."

In other words, we are inspired by the faith of the witnesses in that they finished by faith, and we can too. And when we finish the race, we also join the witnesses so as to testify to faith.

"let us lay aside every weight" -- What weighs us down? What keeps us from running the race? This weight comes from a Greek word for "burden" or "a mass that is bending over from it's load". It's heavy. Is it easy or hard to run a race with a backpack on your shoulders? What about if the backpack is empty or loaded? This weight is not sin, but it could become sin, if we let it keep us from running the race. What are some weights that keep us from running properly? Television, car, house, family, sometimes church, cell phone, music, etc.

A.W. Pink -- "Let us lay aside every weight" is a call to the sedulous and daily mortification of our hearts to all that would mar communion with Christ: it is parallel with "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts" (Titus 2:12). Everything which requires us to take time and strength away from God-appointed duties, everything which tends to bind the mind to earthly things and hinders our affections from being set upon things above, is to be cheerfully relinquished for Christ’s sake. Everything which impedes my progress in running the race which God has set before me is to be dropped. But let it be carefully recognized that our text makes no reference to the dropping of duties which we have no right to lay aside. The performing of real and legitimate duty is never a hindrance to the spiritual life, though from a wrong attitude of mind and the allowance of the spirit of discontent, they often become so.

Many make a great mistake in entertaining the thought that their spiritual life is being much hindered by the very things which should, by Divine grace, be a real help to them. Opposition in the home from ungodly relatives, trials in connection with their daily work, the immediate presence of the wicked in the shop or office, are a real trial (and God intends they should be—to remind us we are still in a world which lieth in the Wicked one, to exercise our graces, to prove the sufficiency of His strength), but they need not be hindrances or "weights." Many erroneously suppose they would make much more progress spiritually if only their "circumstances" were altered. This is a serious mistake, and a murmuring against God’s providential dealings with us. He shapes our "circumstances" as a helpful discipline to the soul, and only as we learn to rise above "circumstances," and walk with God in them, are we "running the race that is set before us." The person is the same no matter what "circumstances" he may be in!

"sin which clings so closely" -- Sin, too, will keep us from running the race. We are told in Romans 8:3 that Jesus condemned sin in the flesh. In Romans 8:9-10, we are not of the flesh, but should have the Spirit of God. Sin can easily entangle us, but it does not have to. Romans 6:1-2 says that we are dead to sin and that we should not continue in sin, so that grace would abound. Sin keeps us from running the race that we are called to run.

A.W. Pink -- But how is the Christian to "lay aside" indwelling sin and its particular workings of unbelief? This injunction is parallel with Ephesians 4:22, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." And how is that to be done? By heeding the exhortation of Romans 6:11, 12, "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." In other words, by faith’s recognition of my legal oneness with Christ, and by drawing from His fullness. Indwelling sin is to be "laid aside" by daily mortification (Rom. 8:13), by seeking grace to resist its solicitations (Titus 2:11, 12), by repenting, confessing, and forsaking the effects of its activities (Prov. 28:13), by diligently using the means which God has provided for holy living (Gal. 5:16).

Both Calvin and Pink talk of the weights being external things of this world which weigh us down and sin being the internal corruption of the flesh.

This idea of running the race of the Christian life was put forth to us by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24. With the casting off of weights and sin, we can run with endurance much more efficiently. This word endurance is the same one used in Heb. 10:36 which says "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised." This is the same word that is translated "patient" in the King James, but could be translated as perseverance. So, we could read it as "let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us." As Pastor Rob said last week, there are many trials in the Christian life, but we are to persever in these trials. Romans 12:12 says persevering in tribulation. There will be many tribulations along this race.

Another point, also made by Piper, is that we are to run, not walk, not dawdle, not meander, but to run. This reminds me of The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan. All Christian had to do was stay on the path, but many distractions and tribulations took him away from it. There's not the idea of running there, but there is the idea of distractions. If you're running, then you're less likely to get distracted. If you're walking, you see more of the sights, and sins and weights will take you off course. So, RUN, RUN, RUN.

vs. 2 Who's at the finish line, waiting for us? Jesus Christ, who is the completer of our faith. In all things, we must not lose sight of Jesus. This is one of the key verses in John Piper's When I Don't Desire God. In fact, one of Piper's main themes in most of what he preaches is keeping Jesus at the center of everything you do. Keeping your eyes on Jesus. That is what the author of Hebrews is telling the audience here. We have this example of the witnesses and their faith, but the ultimate example is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our King, the Author and Completer of our faith (and the witnesses faith as well).

Jesus is what Pink says, "the Object of our Faith". He is the supreme example for all the other racers. When our strength fails, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, not to the left or right, but straight ahead. Pink also makes the point that Jesus here leads the way as the Author (leader) of faith. He created faith, but he is also the supreme example.

"the joy that was set before Him" -- Jesus was appointed to die, but He went to it with joy. The word used for joy here has a connotation of "cheerfulness" or "calm delight" or "gladness". We do know there was anguish in his heart as he prayed in the garden and sweat like blood poured from his brow, but this says that it was joy for Jesus to go to the cross. He was glad to lead and complete our faith.

"endured the cross" -- By faith Jesus persevered the cross. This is from the same root as the endurance mentioned in running the race. He knew it was coming, and he persevered until the end. Pink says this, "He endured the cross not sullenly or even stoically, but in the highest and noblest sense of the term:—with holy composure of soul. He never wavered or faltered, murmured or complained: "The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it" (John 18:11)! And He has left us an example that we should "follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21), and therefore does He declare, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross" (Matthew 16:24). Strength for this task is to be found by "looking unto Jesus," by keeping steadily before faith’s eye the crown, the joy awaiting us."

"despising the shame" -- It was shameful to be hung on a cross, but look what other scriptures say.

(Psalms 22:6, 7 ESV)

6 But I am a worm and not a man,scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

You know my reproach,and my shame and my dishonor;my foes are all known to you.

(Psalms 69:19, ESV)

He was despised and rejected by men;a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and we esteemed him not.

(Isaiah 53:3, ESV)

Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame, all because it was joyous for Him to do so. That's not to say that Jesus was a masochist. I'm pretty sure that he did not enjoy the pain and suffering that accompanied this. But for the sake of the elect, and the joy that was His in knowing who the elect were and that they would be joined to him one day, he suffered all these things and waits for us at the finish line and helps us even get to the finish line. Pink again, "How many are ashamed to be scripturally baptized and wear His uniform. How many are ashamed to openly confess Christ before the world. Meditate more upon the reward, the crown, the eternal joy—that outweighs all the little sacrifices we are now called upon to make."

"seated at the right hand of God" -- Hebrews 1:3 tells us this. The right hand is always seen as a symbol of power. Jesus suffered all these things and then sat down. He told His disciples in Matthew 28:18, that all power in Heaven and Earth had been given to Him. Because of that power, they (and we) could make disciples of all nations. Nothing could stop the followers of Jesus from making disciples because he has all power. What can stop us from running the race if Jesus has all power? What can even stop us from finishing the race? It's not about winning or losing. Jesus has already won. It's just about finishing, and it's finishing in the power of Jesus. Acts 2:33 speaks of Jesus being at the right hand of God the Father. David wrote about Jesus being on the right hand of power in the Psalms, hundreds of years before Jesus completed the work of salvation on the cross.

What is the author of Hebrews telling us in these two verses? To summarize it up, he is saying, "Having all these witnesses of faith before you, who have finished the race, run this race, putting off the old self, and putting on the new self (all those weights and sins need to go). Keep your eyes on Jesus, the Object of our faith, who suffered all things with Joy, and is now waiting for you to finish at the right hand of power, where the race is complete."

Pink - "The more we are "looking unto Jesus" the easier will it be to "lay aside every weight." It is at this point so many fail. If the Christian denies self of different things without an adequate motive (for Christ’s sake), he will still secretly hanker after the things relinquished, or ere long return to them, or become proud of his little sacrifices and become self-righteous. The most effective way of getting a child to drop any dirty or injurious object, is to proffer him something better. The best way to make a tired horse move more quickly, is not to use the whip, but to turn his head toward home! So, if our hearts be occupied with the sacrificial love of Christ for us, we shall be "constrained" thereby to drop all that which displeases Him; and the more we dwell upon the Joy set before us, the more strength shall we have to run "with patience the race that is set before us.""

Vs. 3 -- When you look at this verse, you see that if we should see all that Jesus had accomplished, that we should not grow weary or fainthearted. This is part of what it means again when Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him in Matt. 16:24. Jesus example should give us the strength to go on.

John Calvin sums it up this way, "He enforces his exhortation by comparing Christ with us; for if the Son of God, whom it behaves all to adore, willingly underwent such severe conflicts, who of us should dare to refuse to submit with him to the same? For this one thought alone ought to be sufficient to conquer all temptations, that is, when we know that we are companions or associates of the Son of God, and that he, who was so far above us, willingly came down to our condition, in order that he might animate us by his own example; yea, it is thus that we gather courage, which would otherwise melt away, and turn as it were into despair."

This is leading us into the next section of scripture, where we should be encourage by this passage to know that the sufferings we endure, we can endure because of the example of Christ.

Running the Race: Hebrews 12:1-3

Repost from July 15, 2007

Image via Wikipedia

Hebrews 12:1-3

This is the Sunday School lesson I prepared and taught this morning. I wanted to share. Enjoy!

In 11:39-40, we are told that the O.T. Saints have not been made perfect apart from us. The Greek word for this is telioo which literally means "to complete". Jesus had not come and died yet at the time of these saints, but they were looking forward to Christ. We have Christ to look back to. Together, the O.T. saints and the N.T. saints are complete in Christ. This is where we're at in Chapter 12 with the "therefore".

"great cloud of witnesses" -- This is obviously referring to all the O.T. saints mentioned in the previous chapter. Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Gideon, David, and others not named are examples of people who lived by faith. Can you think of others since this book was written who are examples of faith? What about Calvin, Knox, Edwards, Moody, Spurgeon, Jim Eliot, Wycliffe? What about in your own life? A former pastor, family members? Us? Do we join that great cloud of witnesses?

John Piper says this about the witnesses, "So I take the witnesses of Hebrews 12:1 to be the saints who have run the race before us, and have gathered, as it were, along the marathon route to say, through the testimony of their lives, "By faith I finished, you can too!"" --http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1997/1005_Running_with_the_Witnesses/

John Calvin emphasizes this point by saying, "He says that we are so surrounded by this dense throng, that wherever we turn our eyes many examples of faith immediately meet us. The word witnesses I do not take in a general sense, as though he called them the martyrs of God, and I apply it to the case before us, as though he had said that faith is sufficiently proved by their testimony, so that no doubt ought to be entertained; for the virtues of the saints are so many testimonies to confirm us, that we, relying on them as our guides and associates, ought to go onward to God with more alacrity." --http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom44.xviii.i.html

A.W. Pink quotes another author, ""If all the saints of God lived, suffered, endured, and conquered by faith, shall not we also? If the saints who lived before the Incarnation, before the redemption was accomplished, before the High Priest entered the heavenly sanctuary, trusted in the midst of discouragements and trials, how much more aught we who know the name of Jesus, who have received the beginning, the installment of the great Messianic promise?" (Adolph Saphir). Herein we are shown that only then do we read the O. T. narratives unto profit when we draw from them incentives to practical godliness."

In other words, we are inspired by the faith of the witnesses in that they finished by faith, and we can too. And when we finish the race, we also join the witnesses so as to testify to faith.

"let us lay aside every weight" -- What weighs us down? What keeps us from running the race? This weight comes from a Greek word for "burden" or "a mass that is bending over from it's load". It's heavy. Is it easy or hard to run a race with a backpack on your shoulders? What about if the backpack is empty or loaded? This weight is not sin, but it could become sin, if we let it keep us from running the race. What are some weights that keep us from running properly? Television, car, house, family, sometimes church, cell phone, music, etc.

A.W. Pink -- "Let us lay aside every weight" is a call to the sedulous and daily mortification of our hearts to all that would mar communion with Christ: it is parallel with "denying ungodliness and worldly lusts" (Titus 2:12). Everything which requires us to take time and strength away from God-appointed duties, everything which tends to bind the mind to earthly things and hinders our affections from being set upon things above, is to be cheerfully relinquished for Christ’s sake. Everything which impedes my progress in running the race which God has set before me is to be dropped. But let it be carefully recognized that our text makes no reference to the dropping of duties which we have no right to lay aside. The performing of real and legitimate duty is never a hindrance to the spiritual life, though from a wrong attitude of mind and the allowance of the spirit of discontent, they often become so.

Many make a great mistake in entertaining the thought that their spiritual life is being much hindered by the very things which should, by Divine grace, be a real help to them. Opposition in the home from ungodly relatives, trials in connection with their daily work, the immediate presence of the wicked in the shop or office, are a real trial (and God intends they should be—to remind us we are still in a world which lieth in the Wicked one, to exercise our graces, to prove the sufficiency of His strength), but they need not be hindrances or "weights." Many erroneously suppose they would make much more progress spiritually if only their "circumstances" were altered. This is a serious mistake, and a murmuring against God’s providential dealings with us. He shapes our "circumstances" as a helpful discipline to the soul, and only as we learn to rise above "circumstances," and walk with God in them, are we "running the race that is set before us." The person is the same no matter what "circumstances" he may be in!

"sin which clings so closely" -- Sin, too, will keep us from running the race. We are told in Romans 8:3 that Jesus condemned sin in the flesh. In Romans 8:9-10, we are not of the flesh, but should have the Spirit of God. Sin can easily entangle us, but it does not have to. Romans 6:1-2 says that we are dead to sin and that we should not continue in sin, so that grace would abound. Sin keeps us from running the race that we are called to run.

A.W. Pink -- But how is the Christian to "lay aside" indwelling sin and its particular workings of unbelief? This injunction is parallel with Ephesians 4:22, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." And how is that to be done? By heeding the exhortation of Romans 6:11, 12, "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." In other words, by faith’s recognition of my legal oneness with Christ, and by drawing from His fullness. Indwelling sin is to be "laid aside" by daily mortification (Rom. 8:13), by seeking grace to resist its solicitations (Titus 2:11, 12), by repenting, confessing, and forsaking the effects of its activities (Prov. 28:13), by diligently using the means which God has provided for holy living (Gal. 5:16).

Both Calvin and Pink talk of the weights being external things of this world which weigh us down and sin being the internal corruption of the flesh.

This idea of running the race of the Christian life was put forth to us by Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24. With the casting off of weights and sin, we can run with endurance much more efficiently. This word endurance is the same one used in Heb. 10:36 which says "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised." This is the same word that is translated "patient" in the King James, but could be translated as perseverance. So, we could read it as "let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us." As Pastor Rob said last week, there are many trials in the Christian life, but we are to persever in these trials. Romans 12:12 says persevering in tribulation. There will be many tribulations along this race.

Another point, also made by Piper, is that we are to run, not walk, not dawdle, not meander, but to run. This reminds me of The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan. All Christian had to do was stay on the path, but many distractions and tribulations took him away from it. There's not the idea of running there, but there is the idea of distractions. If you're running, then you're less likely to get distracted. If you're walking, you see more of the sights, and sins and weights will take you off course. So, RUN, RUN, RUN.

vs. 2 Who's at the finish line, waiting for us? Jesus Christ, who is the completer of our faith. In all things, we must not lose sight of Jesus. This is one of the key verses in John Piper's When I Don't Desire God. In fact, one of Piper's main themes in most of what he preaches is keeping Jesus at the center of everything you do. Keeping your eyes on Jesus. That is what the author of Hebrews is telling the audience here. We have this example of the witnesses and their faith, but the ultimate example is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our King, the Author and Completer of our faith (and the witnesses faith as well).

Jesus is what Pink says, "the Object of our Faith". He is the supreme example for all the other racers. When our strength fails, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, not to the left or right, but straight ahead. Pink also makes the point that Jesus here leads the way as the Author (leader) of faith. He created faith, but he is also the supreme example.

"the joy that was set before Him" -- Jesus was appointed to die, but He went to it with joy. The word used for joy here has a connotation of "cheerfulness" or "calm delight" or "gladness". We do know there was anguish in his heart as he prayed in the garden and sweat like blood poured from his brow, but this says that it was joy for Jesus to go to the cross. He was glad to lead and complete our faith.

"endured the cross" -- By faith Jesus persevered the cross. This is from the same root as the endurance mentioned in running the race. He knew it was coming, and he persevered until the end. Pink says this, "He endured the cross not sullenly or even stoically, but in the highest and noblest sense of the term:—with holy composure of soul. He never wavered or faltered, murmured or complained: "The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it" (John 18:11)! And He has left us an example that we should "follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21), and therefore does He declare, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross" (Matthew 16:24). Strength for this task is to be found by "looking unto Jesus," by keeping steadily before faith’s eye the crown, the joy awaiting us."

"despising the shame" -- It was shameful to be hung on a cross, but look what other scriptures say.

(Psalms 22:6, 7 ESV)

6 But I am a worm and not a man,scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

You know my reproach,and my shame and my dishonor;my foes are all known to you.

(Psalms 69:19, ESV)

He was despised and rejected by men;a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and we esteemed him not.

(Isaiah 53:3, ESV)

Jesus endured the cross and despised the shame, all because it was joyous for Him to do so. That's not to say that Jesus was a masochist. I'm pretty sure that he did not enjoy the pain and suffering that accompanied this. But for the sake of the elect, and the joy that was His in knowing who the elect were and that they would be joined to him one day, he suffered all these things and waits for us at the finish line and helps us even get to the finish line. Pink again, "How many are ashamed to be scripturally baptized and wear His uniform. How many are ashamed to openly confess Christ before the world. Meditate more upon the reward, the crown, the eternal joy—that outweighs all the little sacrifices we are now called upon to make."

"seated at the right hand of God" -- Hebrews 1:3 tells us this. The right hand is always seen as a symbol of power. Jesus suffered all these things and then sat down. He told His disciples in Matthew 28:18, that all power in Heaven and Earth had been given to Him. Because of that power, they (and we) could make disciples of all nations. Nothing could stop the followers of Jesus from making disciples because he has all power. What can stop us from running the race if Jesus has all power? What can even stop us from finishing the race? It's not about winning or losing. Jesus has already won. It's just about finishing, and it's finishing in the power of Jesus. Acts 2:33 speaks of Jesus being at the right hand of God the Father. David wrote about Jesus being on the right hand of power in the Psalms, hundreds of years before Jesus completed the work of salvation on the cross.

What is the author of Hebrews telling us in these two verses? To summarize it up, he is saying, "Having all these witnesses of faith before you, who have finished the race, run this race, putting off the old self, and putting on the new self (all those weights and sins need to go). Keep your eyes on Jesus, the Object of our faith, who suffered all things with Joy, and is now waiting for you to finish at the right hand of power, where the race is complete."

Pink - "The more we are "looking unto Jesus" the easier will it be to "lay aside every weight." It is at this point so many fail. If the Christian denies self of different things without an adequate motive (for Christ’s sake), he will still secretly hanker after the things relinquished, or ere long return to them, or become proud of his little sacrifices and become self-righteous. The most effective way of getting a child to drop any dirty or injurious object, is to proffer him something better. The best way to make a tired horse move more quickly, is not to use the whip, but to turn his head toward home! So, if our hearts be occupied with the sacrificial love of Christ for us, we shall be "constrained" thereby to drop all that which displeases Him; and the more we dwell upon the Joy set before us, the more strength shall we have to run "with patience the race that is set before us.""

Vs. 3 -- When you look at this verse, you see that if we should see all that Jesus had accomplished, that we should not grow weary or fainthearted. This is part of what it means again when Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him in Matt. 16:24. Jesus example should give us the strength to go on.

John Calvin sums it up this way, "He enforces his exhortation by comparing Christ with us; for if the Son of God, whom it behaves all to adore, willingly underwent such severe conflicts, who of us should dare to refuse to submit with him to the same? For this one thought alone ought to be sufficient to conquer all temptations, that is, when we know that we are companions or associates of the Son of God, and that he, who was so far above us, willingly came down to our condition, in order that he might animate us by his own example; yea, it is thus that we gather courage, which would otherwise melt away, and turn as it were into despair."

This is leading us into the next section of scripture, where we should be encourage by this passage to know that the sufferings we endure, we can endure because of the example of Christ.

Repost: Legacy of Jerry Falwell

Repost from May 16, 2007 (originally title, "Jerry Falwell dead at 73")

Image via Wikipedia

Perhaps I'll just be another blogger posting on Falwell's death, but I do have some things to say about this. To those who praise his death, making all sorts of obscene and unnecessary comments, SHAME ON YOU, your time is coming. To those who may feel like they cannot go on and are feeling down and out, I ask a question. Are you worshiping a man, or God? Falwell was just a man, and as such, was subject to death, just like all of us are. I may not agree with most of Falwell's theology (he was clearly an Arminian, and I am clearly a Calvinist), but he did appear to love God and love his fellow man. I was talking with a co-worker yesterday, who also happens to go to my church, who used to work for both the Moral Majority and the radio station at Liberty University. He said that when he got laid off from the radio station, Falwell sent him a personal not, asking if there was anything he could do. I believe Falwell went into the presence of Jesus yesterday, but I also believe he probably has some things to answer for and probably found out he was wrong on a lot of things.

1. His support of the current nation of Israel was wrongly placed. Whenever someone wholeheartedly supports Israel, I have to question the motives. Falwell is known to have received a Leer jet from the nation of Israel for his support in 1979 from Prime Minister Begin (the same Begin accused of the King David Hotel bombing in 1946). At one point, Falwell was also shown on the cover of the Jerusalem Post with the title "Israel's Best Friend." As a Christian, I am disturbed by all this. A careful study of how the current nation of Israel came into being will show all the deceit and lies it took to get to where they are. Millions of Arabs were displaced as the Zionists deceitfully were handed a piece of land. Did the Arabs react in a good way? No, they tried to attack. But to lie, and accept lies that there were none, or very little people, living in the land, is to deny that many of the Zionist leaders cared not for people of other races. I'm not against Jews, only Zionism, and especially Christian Zionism.
2. Falwell's sermons were little more than political ideology laced with scripture. If he wasn't preaching on supporting Israel, he was preaching on the judgment on the terrorists, homosexuals, and anybody else who seemed to be in sin. He did not seem to recognize (as most Christians apparently do not), that all sins are equal. Homosexuality is the same as lying. At least according to my Bible. Yet, Christians are quick to accept lies and start lies all the time. Christians are quick to accept collateral damage of civilians dying in the Lebanese war with Israel last Summer, because we dare not speak against Israel. Falwell was at the forefront of those supporting Israel's incursion. The kidnapping of the two soldiers by Hezbollah was wrong, but so was the response of Israel.
3. Falwell refused to do more study on Islam in order to be better informed. He relied on what Ergun Caner has told him about Islam. Ergun is a former Muslim who grew up in America. He may have grown up in a Muslim family with a father who was a cleric, but he has no idea what life is like among Muslims around the world. His view is a skewed view of Islam, that knows no practicality. He converted to Christianity when he was a teenager, but pretends that he is a foremost expert on Islam. He is yet another Christian convert who uses sensationalism to sell his conversion story. If I sound cynical, it's because I am. Ergun has also preached against Calvinism as if it is of the devil itself, with all sorts of misunderstandings. Falwell believed in Ergun's view of Islam, and as a result, I believe he alienated lots of Muslims from Christianity. We need to be careful not to judge Muslims because of a few radical elements. Falwell's and Ergun's views have hurt the cause of Christianity in the Muslim world.

Parting thoughts:
Falwell preached the Gospel of Christ. He was faithful to his family, church, and the school he founded. Falwell sinned. We all do. As I said, I may not agree with him on a lot of things, but he was a man as fallible as we all are. I pray for his family as they go through this grieving process and that they would not look at this as the end, but only a beginning. God Bless.

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Repost: Legacy of Jerry Falwell

Repost from May 16, 2007 (originally title, "Jerry Falwell dead at 73")

Image via Wikipedia

Perhaps I'll just be another blogger posting on Falwell's death, but I do have some things to say about this. To those who praise his death, making all sorts of obscene and unnecessary comments, SHAME ON YOU, your time is coming. To those who may feel like they cannot go on and are feeling down and out, I ask a question. Are you worshiping a man, or God? Falwell was just a man, and as such, was subject to death, just like all of us are. I may not agree with most of Falwell's theology (he was clearly an Arminian, and I am clearly a Calvinist), but he did appear to love God and love his fellow man. I was talking with a co-worker yesterday, who also happens to go to my church, who used to work for both the Moral Majority and the radio station at Liberty University. He said that when he got laid off from the radio station, Falwell sent him a personal not, asking if there was anything he could do. I believe Falwell went into the presence of Jesus yesterday, but I also believe he probably has some things to answer for and probably found out he was wrong on a lot of things.

1. His support of the current nation of Israel was wrongly placed. Whenever someone wholeheartedly supports Israel, I have to question the motives. Falwell is known to have received a Leer jet from the nation of Israel for his support in 1979 from Prime Minister Begin (the same Begin accused of the King David Hotel bombing in 1946). At one point, Falwell was also shown on the cover of the Jerusalem Post with the title "Israel's Best Friend." As a Christian, I am disturbed by all this. A careful study of how the current nation of Israel came into being will show all the deceit and lies it took to get to where they are. Millions of Arabs were displaced as the Zionists deceitfully were handed a piece of land. Did the Arabs react in a good way? No, they tried to attack. But to lie, and accept lies that there were none, or very little people, living in the land, is to deny that many of the Zionist leaders cared not for people of other races. I'm not against Jews, only Zionism, and especially Christian Zionism.
2. Falwell's sermons were little more than political ideology laced with scripture. If he wasn't preaching on supporting Israel, he was preaching on the judgment on the terrorists, homosexuals, and anybody else who seemed to be in sin. He did not seem to recognize (as most Christians apparently do not), that all sins are equal. Homosexuality is the same as lying. At least according to my Bible. Yet, Christians are quick to accept lies and start lies all the time. Christians are quick to accept collateral damage of civilians dying in the Lebanese war with Israel last Summer, because we dare not speak against Israel. Falwell was at the forefront of those supporting Israel's incursion. The kidnapping of the two soldiers by Hezbollah was wrong, but so was the response of Israel.
3. Falwell refused to do more study on Islam in order to be better informed. He relied on what Ergun Caner has told him about Islam. Ergun is a former Muslim who grew up in America. He may have grown up in a Muslim family with a father who was a cleric, but he has no idea what life is like among Muslims around the world. His view is a skewed view of Islam, that knows no practicality. He converted to Christianity when he was a teenager, but pretends that he is a foremost expert on Islam. He is yet another Christian convert who uses sensationalism to sell his conversion story. If I sound cynical, it's because I am. Ergun has also preached against Calvinism as if it is of the devil itself, with all sorts of misunderstandings. Falwell believed in Ergun's view of Islam, and as a result, I believe he alienated lots of Muslims from Christianity. We need to be careful not to judge Muslims because of a few radical elements. Falwell's and Ergun's views have hurt the cause of Christianity in the Muslim world.

Parting thoughts:
Falwell preached the Gospel of Christ. He was faithful to his family, church, and the school he founded. Falwell sinned. We all do. As I said, I may not agree with him on a lot of things, but he was a man as fallible as we all are. I pray for his family as they go through this grieving process and that they would not look at this as the end, but only a beginning. God Bless.


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Dispensationalism, Missions, and Israel, Part I

Repost from April 20, 2007

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For some reason, I'm having a real problem with people continuing to hold on to the false doctrine of dispensationalism, no matter what evidence is presented to them from the Bible that it does not exist. A few points:

1. According to dispensationalists, the church only exists in the New Testament. This is false. The Greek word, Ekklesia, literally means an assembly of the called out ones, or something to that effect. It's the word used by Jesus when He said that He would build the church upon Himself, the rock. I believe He was acknowledging the church as already existent, even though He had not sacrificed Himself yet. Perhaps the strongest case for the church existing in the Old Testament can be made from Psalm 22:22 and Hebrews 2:12. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 22:22 when Jesus says that He will tell of my name among the "congregation" (church). The word used in the Greek in Hebrews is Ekklesia. In the Septuagint (Old Testament translated to Greek), the word in Psalms for congregation is also Ekklesia. I could go further and show that all the words in the Old Testament used for congregation/assembly of Israel could be translated to also mean church, but I don't think I have to. I encourage you to do this study on the meaning of church in the Bible.
2. Individualism, I believe, is one of the biggest dangers to Christianity in the past 150 years or so. Ever since Charles Schofield published his notes on dispensationalism and the return of Christ from John Nelson Darby. We want to make the Gospel personal to each one of us. In some sense, it is personal, but God is a communal god, desiring community. This is why He is a trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God desires peoples to be saved, not people. Jesus Christ is not our "best friend," so to speak, as the American church likes to make it out to be. Dispensationalism is all about me, but it offers "cheap grace" to the sinner. By "cheap grace," I mean that, under the dispensational system, one is saved by merely professing, but typically there is no heart changed. You can continue in sin, but you are now saved. A few conditions are that you must support any nation that claims to be Israel, and you cannot speak against Israel. Your salvation might be in jeopardy if you don't. After all, God says that He will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel, right? Wrong. Go back and read Genesis 12:1-3 again. It doesn't actually say that.

This has been part 1, as I have not had time to fully put all of my thoughts down at this time. When I have more time, I will post part 2 soon. Of course, I will probably get labeled as a heretic and not loving God's people and such, but hey, that's life when you're attempting to destroy and 150 year old doctrine.

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Dispensationalism, Missions, and Israel, Part I

Repost from April 20, 2007

Image via Wikipedia

For some reason, I'm having a real problem with people continuing to hold on to the false doctrine of dispensationalism, no matter what evidence is presented to them from the Bible that it does not exist. A few points:

1. According to dispensationalists, the church only exists in the New Testament. This is false. The Greek word, Ekklesia, literally means an assembly of the called out ones, or something to that effect. It's the word used by Jesus when He said that He would build the church upon Himself, the rock. I believe He was acknowledging the church as already existent, even though He had not sacrificed Himself yet. Perhaps the strongest case for the church existing in the Old Testament can be made from Psalm 22:22 and Hebrews 2:12. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 22:22 when Jesus says that He will tell of my name among the "congregation" (church). The word used in the Greek in Hebrews is Ekklesia. In the Septuagint (Old Testament translated to Greek), the word in Psalms for congregation is also Ekklesia. I could go further and show that all the words in the Old Testament used for congregation/assembly of Israel could be translated to also mean church, but I don't think I have to. I encourage you to do this study on the meaning of church in the Bible.
2. Individualism, I believe, is one of the biggest dangers to Christianity in the past 150 years or so. Ever since Charles Schofield published his notes on dispensationalism and the return of Christ from John Nelson Darby. We want to make the Gospel personal to each one of us. In some sense, it is personal, but God is a communal god, desiring community. This is why He is a trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God desires peoples to be saved, not people. Jesus Christ is not our "best friend," so to speak, as the American church likes to make it out to be. Dispensationalism is all about me, but it offers "cheap grace" to the sinner. By "cheap grace," I mean that, under the dispensational system, one is saved by merely professing, but typically there is no heart changed. You can continue in sin, but you are now saved. A few conditions are that you must support any nation that claims to be Israel, and you cannot speak against Israel. Your salvation might be in jeopardy if you don't. After all, God says that He will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel, right? Wrong. Go back and read Genesis 12:1-3 again. It doesn't actually say that.

This has been part 1, as I have not had time to fully put all of my thoughts down at this time. When I have more time, I will post part 2 soon. Of course, I will probably get labeled as a heretic and not loving God's people and such, but hey, that's life when you're attempting to destroy and 150 year old doctrine.


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Let the Nations Be Glad!

Repost from January 4, 2007


I once read "Let the Nations be Glad" by John Piper in my Undergraduate program at Toccoa Falls College, but at the time did not care very much. As I have read Piper's books When I Don't Desire God and Brothers, We are not Professionals, I have become more attuned to what God wants from me. It's not my service. It's not my writings. It's not my websites. It's not my family. Don't get me wrong. All of this is good and desirable as long as it only does one thing. That is, it should all glorify God. It should lift God up and keep Him on the throne. When we do not glorify God, when we go away from what He has called all men to do, that is to worship Him, we fall into the a sin of unbelief in God. All nations are called to worship Him in all His glory. Remember the catechism, "What is the chief end of man?" and the answer, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Piper adds this, "What is the chief end of God?". The answer: "To glorify God and enjoy Himself forever." That is important to understand because God only desires His glory. That sounds egotistical and self-righteous, but we're talking about God here. Don't believe me? Read the book, and the Bible, particularly the Psalms. How can all nations be glad, when you have fighting in the Middle East between Arabs and Jews over a piece of land? Aren't we suppose to support the Jews in all that they do? After all, the Bible does say, "I will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel", right? The Bible absolutely does not say that or even indicate that. Perhaps I have a chip on my shoulder about this issue, but to even believe this is to deny God's salvation itself. Who saves? GOD! That is what is important. ALL NATIONS will have disciples based on Mattew 28:19-20. Why? Because Christ is sovereign and has all authority on both heaven and earth based on verse 18 of the same passage. Those who don't believe in missions or don't support missions or disobeying God. God calls us to either send or go. There is no sit and soak. We should be supporting missions with our time, money, and/or prayer. These are the very words of Jesus in Matthew 24, 28, and Acts 1:8. We will be witnesses to the very ends of the earth. Why? For the very glory of God. For Christ's name sake from Romans 1:5. We cannot be disobedient to the very call of God on our lives. If you sit and soak, you sour. That's all there is to it. Some other books I mentioned in the post are listed below. I also encourage you to check out the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible from Crossway.

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Unreached People Group of the Day

Let the Nations Be Glad!

Repost from January 4, 2007


I once read "Let the Nations be Glad" by John Piper in my Undergraduate program at Toccoa Falls College, but at the time did not care very much. As I have read Piper's books When I Don't Desire God and Brothers, We are not Professionals, I have become more attuned to what God wants from me. It's not my service. It's not my writings. It's not my websites. It's not my family. Don't get me wrong. All of this is good and desirable as long as it only does one thing. That is, it should all glorify God. It should lift God up and keep Him on the throne. When we do not glorify God, when we go away from what He has called all men to do, that is to worship Him, we fall into the a sin of unbelief in God. All nations are called to worship Him in all His glory. Remember the catechism, "What is the chief end of man?" and the answer, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Piper adds this, "What is the chief end of God?". The answer: "To glorify God and enjoy Himself forever." That is important to understand because God only desires His glory. That sounds egotistical and self-righteous, but we're talking about God here. Don't believe me? Read the book, and the Bible, particularly the Psalms. How can all nations be glad, when you have fighting in the Middle East between Arabs and Jews over a piece of land? Aren't we suppose to support the Jews in all that they do? After all, the Bible does say, "I will bless those who bless Israel, and curse those who curse Israel", right? The Bible absolutely does not say that or even indicate that. Perhaps I have a chip on my shoulder about this issue, but to even believe this is to deny God's salvation itself. Who saves? GOD! That is what is important. ALL NATIONS will have disciples based on Mattew 28:19-20. Why? Because Christ is sovereign and has all authority on both heaven and earth based on verse 18 of the same passage. Those who don't believe in missions or don't support missions or disobeying God. God calls us to either send or go. There is no sit and soak. We should be supporting missions with our time, money, and/or prayer. These are the very words of Jesus in Matthew 24, 28, and Acts 1:8. We will be witnesses to the very ends of the earth. Why? For the very glory of God. For Christ's name sake from Romans 1:5. We cannot be disobedient to the very call of God on our lives. If you sit and soak, you sour. That's all there is to it. Some other books I mentioned in the post are listed below. I also encourage you to check out the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible from Crossway.


http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=godatthecen-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=1581346522&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFF6D7&bg1=FFF6D7&f=ifr
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http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=godatthecen-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0875526438&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=FFF6D7&bg1=FFF6D7&f=ifr





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http://www.joshuaproject.net/upgotd_html.php

Evangelicalism?

Repost from November 7, 2006 on a previous blog of mine.

Image via Wikipedia

What is an evangelical? I'm struggling to figure this one out. Is it a Rick Warren type who pushes people to find a "purpose" to their life through God and the Bible? Or is a Joel Osteen type telling people to have the best life they can have now? Am I an evangelical? I think I am, but based on who the popular "evangelicals" are, I'm not so sure. Recently resigned National Association of Evangelical president, Ted Haggard, was supposed to represent all evangelicals in America. However, when I saw an interview with him on NBC, he said that he didn't talk about sin in his church. He accepted everybody and talked about their guilt. I'm not completely sure of what he meant on this, but that does not represent me. He seem to indicate that everyone's sin was done away with and that they did not have sin, but only guilt. Sorry, but everyone sins and has sin to confess, including Mr. Haggard as we have seen recently. Perhaps he did not see the sin in his own life because he did not preach against sin. To evangelize means to spread the good news of the Gospel with the intent of bringing someone to Christ. In that sense, I suppose I would be an evangelical as I desire to bring Muslims to Christ. In the sense of following leaders and such, I don't want someone who does not reflect my Biblical worldview and does not rely on the authority of Scripture to represent me. Muslims see "Christian" leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, and Jerry Vines and think that represents the Christianity in America. Maybe the popular Christianity, but not the true Christianity. Quotes like "Muhammad is a demon-possessed pedophile" (Jerry Vines) are insensitive, uneducated, and definitely not evangelical or Christian. If that is what being an evangelical is, then I want nothing of it. I would prefer to live my life as a Christian, sharing the Gospel in love, not hate and misunderstanding. Before branding Christians as evangelical, I think we must get our definitions right first.

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Evangelicalism?

Repost from November 7, 2006 on a previous blog of mine.

Image via Wikipedia

What is an evangelical? I'm struggling to figure this one out. Is it a Rick Warren type who pushes people to find a "purpose" to their life through God and the Bible? Or is a Joel Osteen type telling people to have the best life they can have now? Am I an evangelical? I think I am, but based on who the popular "evangelicals" are, I'm not so sure. Recently resigned National Association of Evangelical president, Ted Haggard, was supposed to represent all evangelicals in America. However, when I saw an interview with him on NBC, he said that he didn't talk about sin in his church. He accepted everybody and talked about their guilt. I'm not completely sure of what he meant on this, but that does not represent me. He seem to indicate that everyone's sin was done away with and that they did not have sin, but only guilt. Sorry, but everyone sins and has sin to confess, including Mr. Haggard as we have seen recently. Perhaps he did not see the sin in his own life because he did not preach against sin. To evangelize means to spread the good news of the Gospel with the intent of bringing someone to Christ. In that sense, I suppose I would be an evangelical as I desire to bring Muslims to Christ. In the sense of following leaders and such, I don't want someone who does not reflect my Biblical worldview and does not rely on the authority of Scripture to represent me. Muslims see "Christian" leaders such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, and Jerry Vines and think that represents the Christianity in America. Maybe the popular Christianity, but not the true Christianity. Quotes like "Muhammad is a demon-possessed pedophile" (Jerry Vines) are insensitive, uneducated, and definitely not evangelical or Christian. If that is what being an evangelical is, then I want nothing of it. I would prefer to live my life as a Christian, sharing the Gospel in love, not hate and misunderstanding. Before branding Christians as evangelical, I think we must get our definitions right first.


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Pray for this Unreached People Group of the Day

Pray for this Unreached People Group of the Day

http://www.joshuaproject.net/upgotd_html.php

Making gender a choice?

I first heard about this story on Albert Mohler's Daily Briefing and then ran across it in my news reader.

He, she, or it? Family keeps baby's gender a secret

The first question people ask after hearing of a new arrival is usually, “Boy or girl?”

Friends and family of one Canadian couple are getting no answer to this simple inquiry. Kathy Witterick and her husband David Stocker have decided to keep baby Storm's gender a secret.

“We've decided not to share Storm's sex for now — a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime (a more progressive place?),” the couple wrote in an email to friends and family after Storm’s birth, according to the Toronto Star.

Other than Storm’s parents, the only other people to know Storm’s gender are the couple’s two sons, Jazz, 5, and Kio, 2, the midwives who delivered the baby and a close family friend. They got the idea to raise a genderless child from a book they found in the library, and told the paper the secrecy is about giving their children freedom.

Seeing as how this story is coming out of Canada and in today's society when gender neutrality seems to be the way society is going, I'm not wholly surprised. Many of the comments on the article posted, however, show that many people still do believe that gender is not a choice. You are born either a boy or a girl. There are few exceptions with regards to certain birth defects, but overall, most babies are born either one or the other. 

The Bible says this:

[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.(Genesis 1:27 ESV)

Lady Gaga wants to sing about being born a certain way with regards to gender neutrality, but the fact remains that nothing we can say will override the fact that God has created us male and female in His image. He created gender and sustains gender. We cannot say that our child will choose gender they want to be. I just started a book by Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family that talks about this very issue with regards to raising our sons and daughters to be confident in the gender they were born with. 

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Making gender a choice?

I first heard about this story on Albert Mohler's Daily Briefing and then ran across it in my news reader.

He, she, or it? Family keeps baby's gender a secret

The first question people ask after hearing of a new arrival is usually, “Boy or girl?”

Friends and family of one Canadian couple are getting no answer to this simple inquiry. Kathy Witterick and her husband David Stocker have decided to keep baby Storm's gender a secret.

“We've decided not to share Storm's sex for now — a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm's lifetime (a more progressive place?),” the couple wrote in an email to friends and family after Storm’s birth, according to the Toronto Star.

Other than Storm’s parents, the only other people to know Storm’s gender are the couple’s two sons, Jazz, 5, and Kio, 2, the midwives who delivered the baby and a close family friend. They got the idea to raise a genderless child from a book they found in the library, and told the paper the secrecy is about giving their children freedom.

Seeing as how this story is coming out of Canada and in today's society when gender neutrality seems to be the way society is going, I'm not wholly surprised. Many of the comments on the article posted, however, show that many people still do believe that gender is not a choice. You are born either a boy or a girl. There are few exceptions with regards to certain birth defects, but overall, most babies are born either one or the other. 

The Bible says this:

[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.(Genesis 1:27 ESV)

Lady Gaga wants to sing about being born a certain way with regards to gender neutrality, but the fact remains that nothing we can say will override the fact that God has created us male and female in His image. He created gender and sustains gender. We cannot say that our child will choose gender they want to be. I just started a book by Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family that talks about this very issue with regards to raising our sons and daughters to be confident in the gender they were born with. 

What are your thoughts on this issue?

John Calvin's "Institutes" for $0.89 on Kindle

Tim Challies pointed out that Amazon has John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion on Kindle for only $0.89.  Click the link below to purchase and have it delivered to your Kindle or Kindle software.

[Book Review] "Dug Down Deep" by Joshua Harris

When I was around 21 years old, there was popular book out which I and nearly every guy I knew hated, though most of us had not read it. Nearly every girl we knew had read it and dating on Christian colleges ground to a halt. The book was I Kissed Dating Goodbye and the author was Joshua Harris. Needless to say, I still have not read the book, but I'm sure my views on the whole thing have changed since then, being married with three children and all. The review of Joshua Harris' latest book, Dug Down Deep, follows.

John Calvin's "Institutes" for $0.89 on Kindle

Tim Challies pointed out that Amazon has John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion on Kindle for only $0.89.  Click the link below to purchase and have it delivered to your Kindle or Kindle software.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=godatthecen-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B0017DGBCU

[Book Review] "Dug Down Deep" by Joshua Harris

When I was around 21 years old, there was popular book out which I and nearly every guy I knew hated, though most of us had not read it. Nearly every girl we knew had read it and dating on Christian colleges ground to a halt. The book was I Kissed Dating Goodbye and the author was Joshua Harris. Needless to say, I still have not read the book, but I'm sure my views on the whole thing have changed since then, being married with three children and all. The review of Joshua Harris' latest book, Dug Down Deep, follows.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=godatthecen-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1601423713Joshua Harris is the senior pastor at Covenant Life Fellowship in Gaithersburg, Maryland. As I mentioned before, he wrote the book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a book that turned Christian dating on it's head, advocating courtship over dating. Since then, he has become a pastor and written several books on the church. In Dug Down Deep, Harris takes on the pragmatism of most Christians when it comes to doctrine. It's sort of a toned down version of J. I. Packer's Knowing God for today's Christian.

Many Christians tend to eschew doctrine just for "following Jesus," whatever that means to people. Harris wants to correct that and have people focus on knowing what they believe and why they believe it. He talks about the person of Jesus, who He was, and why He died. He gives his own story of coming to faith as a homeschooled church kid. He tells his dad's story of coming to faith.  He recognizes all that he has done wrong and how having right doctrine helps in pursuing faith.

This book is written from the heart of a pastor wanting Christians to pursue God and grow in their faith. There should not be stagnant Christians. Doctrine does matter and Harris' point is for Christians to see that. This being my first Joshua Harris book, I really like his writing style. He writes how he speaks. It's in a down to earth style with terms understandable for the average person. In other words, this is a layman's primer for understanding basic Biblical doctrine. In the final chapter, Harris writes about humble orthodoxy, which is based on a sermon he preached. In it, he encourages Christians to be humble about what they believe, as they focus on the God who saved them. The more we see the glory of God, the more humble that should make us. It should not make us proud, but humble. This edition includes a discussion guide for each chapter of the book. Even as a book on basic doctrine, the most seasoned Christian will learn from it and be encouraged in their faith.
http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/bloggingforbooks/reviews/ranking/8828
Note: this book was provided by librarything.com for a review.

Tedashii Discovery Download on iTunes

iTunes is offering a free song from Christian Rap/Hip-hop artist Tedashii's new album Blacklight this week. The song is called Riot. I think you'll enjoy.

Download Here. (Opens iTunes).

Waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God

[3:1] This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, [2] that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, [3] knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. [4] They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” [5] For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, [6] and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. [7] But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
[8] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. [10] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
[11] Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, [12] waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! [13] But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

(2 Peter 3:1-13 ESV)

J. I. Packer on the loss of the True Gospel

In the Preface to John Owen's "Death of Death in the Death of Christ," J. I. Packer writes:

There is no doubt that Evangelicalism today is in a state of perplexity and unsettlement. In such matters as the practice of evangelism, the teaching of holiness, the building up of local church life, the pastor’s dealing with souls and the exercise of discipline, there is evidence of widespread dissatisfaction with things as they are and of equally widespread uncertainty as to the road ahead. This is a complex phenomenon, to which many factors have contributed; but, if we go to the root of the matter, we shall find that these perplexities are all ultimately due to our having lost our grip on the biblical gospel. Without realising it, we have during the past century bartered that gospel for a substitute product which, though it looks similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing. Hence our troubles; for the substitute product does not answer the ends for which the authentic gospel has in past days proved itself so mighty. The new gospel conspicuously fails to produce deep reverence, deep repentance, deep humility, a spirit of worship, a concern for the church. Why? We would suggest that the reason lies in its own character and content. It fails to make men God-centred in their thoughts and God-fearing in their hearts because this is not primarily what it is trying to do. One way of stating the difference between it and the old gospel is to say that it is too exclusively concerned to be “helpful” to man—to bring peace, comfort, happiness, satisfaction—and too little concerned to glorify God. The old gospel was “helpful,” too—more so, indeed, than is the new—but (so to speak) incidentally, for its first concern was always to give glory to God. It was always and essentially a proclamation of Divine sovereignty in mercy and judgment, a summons to bow down and worship the mighty Lord on whom man depends for all good, both in nature and in grace. Its centre of reference was unambiguously God. But in the new gospel the centre of reference is man. This is just to say that the old gospel was religious in a way that the new gospel is not. Whereas the chief aim of the old was to teach men to worship God, the concern of the new seems limited to making them feel better. The subject of the old gospel was God and His ways with men; the subject of the new is man and the help God gives him. There is a world of difference. The whole perspective and emphasis of gospel preaching has changed.

From this change of interest has sprung a change of content, for the new gospel has in effect reformulated the biblical message in the supposed interests of “helpfulness.” Accordingly, the themes of man’s natural inability to believe, of God’s free election being the ultimate cause of salvation, and of Christ dying specifically for His sheep, are not preached. These doctrines, it would be said, are not “helpful”; they would drive sinners to despair, by suggesting to them that it is not in their own power to be saved through Christ. (The possibility that such despair might be salutary is not considered; it is taken for granted that it cannot be, because it is so shattering to our self-esteem.) However this may be (and we shall say more about it later), the result of these omissions is that part of the biblical gospel is now preached as if it were the whole of that gospel; and a half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes a complete untruth. Thus, we appeal to men as if they all had the ability to receive Christ at any time; we speak of His redeeming work as if He had done no more by dying than make it possible for us to save ourselves by believing; we speak of God’s love as if it were no more than a general willingness to receive any who will turn and trust; and we depict the Father and the Son, not as sovereignly active in drawing sinners to themselves, but as waiting in quiet impotence “at the door of our hearts” for us to let them in. It is undeniable that this is how we preach; perhaps this is what we really believe. But it needs to be said with emphasis that this set of twisted half-truths is something other than the biblical gospel. The Bible is against us when we preach in this way; and the fact that such preaching has become almost standard practice among us only shows how urgent it is that we should review this matter. To recover the old, authentic, biblical gospel, and to bring our preaching and practice back into line with it, is perhaps our most pressing present need. And it is at this point that Owen’s treatise on redemption can give us help.