PhilThreeten

One Long Look

2007-04-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

In a discussion I was involved in recently regarding men's view of women, the comment came up that 'the first look is natural; the second is sin.' We had been talking about where natural sexual desire ends and the sin of lust takes over – a difficult line in the sand to draw primarily because the tides of conscience keep coming in and erasing the line.

Since many Christians would agree that the second look is problematic, if not sinful, let's be forthright about that first look. If its only natural that men have visual sexual attraction to women, then why not allow that first look to last as long as possible? We don't want to turn away and look back, because that gets us into messy questions about lust and coveting and sin issues. But that first look, if its natural, should be allowed to last as long as possible – right?

Well, the argument goes, of course not. If you look too long, then you are simply allowing yourself to fall into the sin of lust. The long look must, according to this argument, devolve into lust at some point as a man begins to either think wrong thoughts or have wrong attitudes towards the woman.

So, when does the first look, however long it lasts, deteriorate into the second look. Not an easy question. Is it when the man begins to think sexually about the woman? Is it when he first notices that she is pleasing to the eye? Is it the first stir of adrenaline?

More troubling to me are the means that men employ to avoid the second look. There is the 'look away,' ‘the stare ahead,’ ‘the don’t-look-at-anything-but-her-eyes,’ and a host of others. OK…so the sarcasm is probably not necessary. And I do recognize that there is some benefit to making a covenant with our eyes not to look lustfully. However, I think that if this is our only protection against lust, we are in for some deep trouble.

Here’s why. Think of the lustful looks as a top level problem. We become convicted of this top level problem and realize that we need to do something about it. So, we look for the underlying cause. In the case of lustfully looking at a woman, we recognize that the underlying problem is that we are looking at the woman which allows us to think lustful thoughts. So, we avoid looking at the woman.

But if this is as far as we go, then before long we find ourselves avoiding looking at any women. That simply won’t do, so we find ourselves saying that we need to look at women but not feel our feelings. That’s doomed to fail and so we fall back on ‘the first look is natural and the second is lust.’ Not a bad proposition.

But we haven’t gone deep enough. We said the first level is the actual sin of lust and the cause of it – the second level - is our looking at women. However, I would suggest that there is a third level that we rarely desire to go to. It is the heart issue. And it is here that God desires us to change.

You see, it is possible to be convicted of the sin of lusting after women and to avoid looking at women lustfully (or, at least, I’m assuming that the authors of the books that state this have mastered this ability) but without dealing with the heart issue, the sin will simply come up in another way. Its like weeds in your yard. If you don’t get the root, they just come up someplace else. If you don’t get to the heart issue of your sin – the root – it’ll just show up someplace else.

Let me give an example. Say you realize that you lust after women. After great remorse and spiritual exercise you are able to control your looking so that you avoid the sinful thoughts about women. In time, however, you find that you have a deep anger towards your boss who happens to be a male. Now, you might say that there is absolutely no connection between the two and that you are dealing with two different sins. And maybe you are, but its just as likely that you are dealing with the same root sin. The anger is as good as murder (Matthew 5:21-22), murder is a failure to value the image of God in others (Genesis 9:6), and what is lust after a woman but the failure to see the image of God in her?

So, I disagree with the ‘First look natural, second look lust’ mindset because it fails to account for what the first look is telling us about our hearts. That first look tells us that we don’t recognize the image of God in whoever we are looking at because if we did, we would not look with lust. To say that men are more visual than women in their sexual thoughts does not absolve the man from looking at women as though they were in the presence of God.

Now, how you get your heart to look at people in that manner…..

Categories: Thinking

A Fear of the Lord Beyond Fear

2006-11-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

I was talking with some believers this past week about ‘fearing God.’ I’ve always wrestled with this. Not because I don’t think that God is worthy of fear – He is. Its just that most of the time when I hear what believers have to say about the fear of God it just comes down to being frightened of Him.

Now I don’t doubt that in our sinfulness, coming before the presence of God is a frightening thing. We see this in Adam and Eve, in Isaiah, and in the disciples. Because of our sins, coming face to face with God is a frightening event.

But here’s what provides such hope. God doesn’t want it to remain that way. In the case of Adam and Eve, He seeks them out! He shows them that He is still, even in their sinfulness, their provider. God also provides for Isaiah by bringing the coal to cleanse him so that Isaiah would be prepared to be the prophet that God wanted him to be. One of the most repeated phrases that Jesus tells people in the Gospels is ‘Do not be afraid.’

Coming face to face with God is a frightening event…but God does not seem content to leave it at that. He seems to want something else out of our relationship with Him. An understanding of God based solely on the fright that creatures have before the Creator is inadequate.

The normal description of the fear of the Lord that I’ve heard is that it is being awed with or respecting God. Now, much like being frightened by God, this is not incorrect as much as it is insufficient. I can be awed by someone and respectful from a distance. Nor does this awe and respect necessarily change who I am. But the fear of the Lord goes beyond this since the fear of the Lord is life changing.

So, I offer this as an understanding of the fear of the Lord. The other day, we were telling my son that he needed to take a shower before going to bed. His response was that he wanted to take a shower in the morning before he left for school. Anyone who has attempted to get a six year out of bed, fed, clothed, combed, and out the door understands the complexities of adding any additional events to this schedule – not to mention the bustle of other children in this mix.

Trying to graciously counter this request, we asked him why he wanted to shower in the morning. It was a simple answer. Daddy does. My son wants to be like me. Knowing who I am, that scares me to some degree, but it is what it is. In his world, to not do it the way that Daddy does it is the wrong way. There is a fear – albeit, at his age, irrational - in his little life that says that it should be done the way that Daddy does it because he wants to be like Daddy. He fears that doing things differently than Daddy is just not the way that things should be done.

Now notice how this goes beyond fright. Though there are times that I will use discipline to help him understand the best way to go, he’s not changing his shower schedule because he fears punishment. Notice also how this goes beyond awe or respect – he’s not just saying, ‘Wow…my Daddy is a great guy because he showers in the morning.’ No…this is something different that drives my son to fear what is different than what I do or who I am.

I would suggest this is closer to an understanding of the fear of the Lord. A mature fear of the Lord doesn’t cower before God in fright. Oddly enough, those who ought to cower before God’s justice don’t because they don’t know Him and those that do know Him have no need to cower because they have been justified. A mature fear of God goes beyond awe and respect at a distance.

A proper and mature fear of the Lord is one that says, ‘I want to do – think – feel – be such and such because that’s what my Daddy does.’ May we all look like our Daddy.

Categories: Thinking, Living

You're Going the Wrong Way

2006-11-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

I think one of the funniest parts of any movie ever is in ‘Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.’ The movie features Steve Martin and John Candy as two men trying to get beyond a host of unbelievable events in an attempt to make their way home for the holidays. It’s a classic comedy.

At one point in the movie Martin and Candy are driving along the highway late at night. Both are tired and unwittingly lost. Additionally, they are driving the wrong way on the highway. Two people in a car on the other side of the highway roll down their window shouting to Martin and Candy that they are going the wrong way. Martin and Candy laugh about what the people are saying, thinking that they’ve been drinking. Candy has the classic line – ‘How can they know we’re going the wrong way – they don’t even know where we’re going!’

In a far more serious manner, the whole Ted Haggard debacle reminds me of this movie. Ben Witherington has an excellent post about how something like this seems so often to hit men in their 40’s and 50’s. His article got me thinking…

How is it that we get ourselves embroiled in these messes? How is it that we allow sin to so insidiously creep into our lives? What are we thinking when we in full rebellion towards God leap into sin that we know isn’t even close to His will for our lives?

Understand this – I’m not talking about Ted Haggard. I’m talking about all of us. We are all encumbered with the flesh and it wars against our souls – seeking to do things which are so clearly not how God would have us live. What are we thinking?

So…let me put myself out there. When I am in this state I’m going the wrong way. I’m not thinking about how my sin is so easily spread to every life that I touch (Haggai 2:10-14). I don’t think about the impact it will have on my wife – my children – the people I work with - the people who serve with me in my church ministry – my neighbors. I don’t think about any of these people. I’m going the wrong way

I don’t think about how the consequences of small sins have a tendency to grow far beyond their original measure – much like yeast. About how a fix of relief from ‘the new’ leads to a life imprisoned by materialism. About how a wandering eye leads to an alter ego that appears revolting even to oneself. About how the assuaging of grief with the pleasure of blessed food becomes an addiction as bad as any drug. I don’t think about these things. I’m going the wrong way.

I don’t think about how one day I will stand before my Savior, holding before Him the talents He has given me. Some I have invested well. Some I have not even buried but instead have selfishly spent upon myself. I don’t think about what my Savior will say then. I’m going the wrong way.

I find myself going in the exact opposite direction than I should be. Rather than looking ahead and seeing the outcome of what my sins will be, I find myself looking backwards - wishing that somehow, through my sins, I could return to days gone by. Return to days when I could spend indiscriminately without worry of payment because ‘someone’ would get me out of my debts. Return to days when the appeasement of my hormones was matched with opportunities for appeasement. Return to days when somehow my metabolism worked overtime so I could eat anything and still lose weight. But in all these pursuits, I’m going the wrong way.

Of course, when I look back on those days, I see the irresponsibility of my actions. Debt catches up and if people love you, they will eventually not bail you out. There are consequences to promiscuity. Metabolism is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card for an unhealthy treatment of God’s temple.

If I’m going the right way, I’m moving towards spiritual maturity. I begin to see life from a broader perspective. I see the consequences of sinful desires, bad choices, and dumb behavior – and hopefully, combined with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit can empower me to be Christlike, I will leave those things behind.

I’ve been challenged in all this – which way am I going?

Categories: Living

A Glimpse into a Person

2006-08-30T11:38:00.000-04:00

I’ve been reading some materials on the importance of the church to be rigorously intellectual. The argument from these articles is that we’ve moved away from intellectual pursuit in exchange for emotionalism and that to return to intellectual acumen would be a return to historical Christianity. I understand the argument, but disagree with it on many fronts.

But in thinking it over, I came up with a picture of anthropology that I thought was helpful (at least to me :) Without getting into the arguments surrounding how many parts makes a person, I’m going to use the heart, soul, body, and mind breakdown used in several places throughout scripture (here and here). Let me start with some definitions:

The heart is our will. It is what propels us through life in whatever direction we go. It is what pursues the food we eat, the relationships we have, and the fulfillment of a million other types of desires.

The soul is our personality. It is what makes us who we are as opposed to being someone else. Most would say it is our body that separates us from others, but that is not true in the case of identical twins. Though our bodies help to differentiate us, there is something more to it than just the physical. Our soul differentiates us from all other people. I believe that the biblical term ‘spirit’ is interchangeable with this part of us.

The body is…well…our body. It is the material aspect of who we are. Interestingly, it is not alive. In fact, scientists have known for quite some time that if you took all the different cells that make up our body and disconnected them, they’re all just dead. This is why a soul/spirit is so critical to mankind since without it, we are lifeless matter.

The mind is our intellect. It is our ability to think – which includes reasoning, extrapolating, propositioning, communicating, learning, and dreaming.

The dangers of articles that focus on any one area of a person – such as the mind – as being the primary focal point of our spiritual walk is that they are compartmentalizing a person. We are not such simplistic creatures.

Does the mind impact the heart, soul, and body? Undoubtedly. But cannot also the heart mislead the mind? Can’t the soul cause the body to act in a particular way? Can the body not effect the heart? We are far more holistic creatures than some appear to understand. Thus, a pursuit of the panacea of spiritual development that does not take all the aspects of our being into consideration – or even worse, takes one part of our being and makes it penultimate over all other parts – is doomed from the start in providing the answer being sought.

Conspicuously missing from my definitions were emotions. It is purposeful. Is it possible that the emotions are an indicator of where a person is in their spiritual walk? That the heart that pursues things (greedy), the soul that is predisposed to anger (hatred), the body that is sick (apathy), the mind that determines its superiority (pride) are all communicated through our emotions?

Lest one think that I’ve fallen into my own trap, I’m not suggesting that emotions are the panacea or penultimate pursuit of spiritual development. They simply are an indicator of areas in our life – heart, soul, body, and mind – that require our attention if we are to live the lives that God will find pleasing.

Does this seem like a picture of men and women that parallels what Scripture tells us?

Categories: Thinking, Living

When God Says No

2006-08-29T11:10:00.000-04:00

It’s a simple statement – I want to serve God in whatever capacity He gives me to serve Him. It communicates my willingness to submit myself to God’s will in my life. It leaves the door wide open for Him to work in ways that are far beyond my expectations. It recognizes that He is God and I am His to do with as He pleases.

But it’s hard to live.

Recently I was approached for a new ministry opportunity. I was excited. They were excited. It looked as though things were going to move forward. I think it would have changed the way that I serve God in both significant and valuable ways. I trust that He could have used me to impact people in a positive way that would have helped them to spiritually mature and in all things to bring Him glory.

But God said ‘No.’

Well…technically, I guess the church said ‘No.’ But all my prayers that revolved around this were of the sort ‘If it’s not your will then don’t allow this opportunity to start.’ And they said ‘No.’ So, I see that as God saying ‘No.’ And there is a part of me that is content with that because, ‘I want to serve God in whatever capacity He gives me to serve Him.’

But it still hurts.

As I thought through why it hurts so much, I keep coming back to Isaiah 6. I haven’t had the same vision that Isaiah had, but I’ve had much the same experience in my life. I’ve seen God’s glory in a many practical, epiphanal, and evocative ways. I’ve been made aware of my own sinfulness before Him. I’ve fallen down before Him declaring along with Isaiah ‘I am a man of unclean lips.’ The very holiness of God has touched me through Jesus and my guilt has been taken away and my sins have been atoned for. I’ve heard the call of God, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ With great enthusiasm I stand up and with an almost Horshack-like demeanor wave my hand and yell out, ‘Here am I. Send me!’

But then its like God says, ‘You – put your hand down. I wasn’t looking for you, I was looking for the person right there - behind you…’

And that’s what hurts. Feeling as though God is asking for me to be prepared to go on to…something - but not knowing what it is that He wants me to go on to. I guess, my statement should really state, ‘I want to serve God in whatever capacity He gives me to serve Him – NOW!!!!!’ Lord, I need patience…

But God is still in control.

I was reminded of that recently during a sermon. God is in control. I may not understand the end that God is directing my life towards. I may not understand all the reasons why He brings the successes, failures, joys and hardships into my life – but He does. He sees the end that He is bringing me to. When I stand before Him one day - and am everything that He ever created me to be - I will understand better.

So, for now, I grieve a bit. I rejoice a bit. I remain thankful that God even considers me to have a part in His kingdom. When God says ‘No’ I remember that He has only ever said that in the past when it was for my best. He sees more than I do… And so, I want to continue to serve God in whatever capacity He gives me to serve Him.

Categories: Living

A Sigh of Relief – A Tinge of Disappointment

2006-08-29T11:06:00.000-04:00

Every so often I get an opportunity to speak to groups of people. Sometimes, it’s within a church or church-like environment (i.e. amongst mostly believers). During those times, I get some stomach jitters. Usually these are not too bad because I know how to ‘fall back’ on shared terminology and past lessons if something goes wrong. I can pretty much dig myself out of most holes that I might get myself into in these environments.

At other times, though, I get a chance to speak to non-believers. These times bring on the jitters BIG time. I want to communicate the hope that I have in Jesus, the reality of our relationship together, and do it in a way that neither skimps on the truth nor loses the aspect of ‘good news.’ Not always an easy task to do, in my opinion. Some might say ‘Just proclaim it!’ but that doesn’t seem to comport with the finesse that Jesus, Peter, Paul and many others in scripture used when communicating to widely divergent groups of people. I think a proclamation of the gospel requires as personalized a presentation as possible and thus can’t ‘just be proclaimed.’

I practice every word for these events. Every nuance of what I will say, how I will say it – I get more meticulous for these events than almost anything else I do.

Thus, when I was asked recently to give a ‘faith message’ after a local sporting event, you can imagine the ramp up to this. Nine innings of good baseball completely wasted on me because my mind was on the post-ninth inning happenings. A great night out with my children and a good friend – not so much lost as much a glossed over. I didn’t enjoy the night at all because my mind was in constant preparation mode.

The announcement is made that if anyone wants to stay to hear testimonies and a faith message, to go behind the first base dugout. I head onto the field still preparing for what might happen not realizing I was completely unprepared for what would happen. Nothing happened. Not a single soul shows up behind the first base dugout. We wait. A second announcement is made. There does not seem to be any reconsideration from the crowd of people still in other parts of the stadium. No one shows.

And I let out a sigh of relief. The nervousness, the tension – it all instantly releases. Not in the same way as if I had delivered the message. The release is different. All of it – the preparation, the apprehension, the anxiety – it now all seems so…pointless. But I’m still relieved. Not so overwhelmed by relief that I don’t remember to look somewhat sullen to the person coordinating the event as she tells me that we should probably cancel. I think she sees through it.

And what is God thinking and feeling in all this? If my relationship with my children in any way reflects my relationship with Him, I would guess that there is a tinge of disappointment. I’ve been in those situations – I’m looking forward to some exciting event that my child will participate in. They are anxious about the whole event and when it is cancelled, they can hardly hide their relief. But I feel disappointed – not in them per se, as much as in the fact that somehow I’ve missed seeing a part of who they are come to life.

I realize it’s different with God – He knows all. There’s really not any part of me that He misses or doesn’t see. He knew this event wouldn’t happen so there probably shouldn’t be a sense that He ‘missed’ anything. But I still wondered as I walked back up into the stands - still relieved - what He must be feeling… does He take enjoyment from seeing parts of me come to life the same way I do with my kids?

Categories: Living

And On the Eighth Day…

2006-08-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

I’ve been reading through the Catholic Catechism lately and have found little nuggets of value scattered throughout. Here’s an example.

Under the section about the creation of the visible world the catechism speaks about how God created the world in six days. It goes on to describe the Sabbath rest that God instituted on the seventh day.

So far so good with the Protestant theology I was raised on. But then it goes on to talk about the eighth day! Here’s the quote:

“349 The eighth day. But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendor of which surpasses that of the first creation.”

This idea does fit quite nicely with the creation account in Genesis 1. Prior to God’s creation our lives are “formless and empty” with “darkness over the surface” of our hearts. But even in the midst of that hopelessness, the Spirit of God hovers around us.

What a beautiful way to think of the redemption – that God’s creative work has begun over again in the redemption of Jesus. Paul says as much when he tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the new has come!” Sunday represents the beginning of the new creation!

Perhaps this is what the writer of Hebrews was also hinting at when he said that “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”

Not only do we find on the eighth day a new creation for those who are in Christ, but we look forward to a final Sabbath rest together with God. But if the first creation started in the simplicity of ‘light vs. darkness’ and culminated in the complexity that is man and woman – body, soul, heart, spirit, mind, emotion, not to mention the relational aspects – then what do we have to look forward to on that day when we will all finally rest with God for eternity…?

Categories: Thinking, Emerging

The Lesson of Job

2006-08-08T11:00:00.000-04:00

We never stop trying…We’re just like Job. We start out much like him – “God, why. Why the brokenness in this world? Please have mercy on me and tell me why…” (Job 7:17-21)

Tim over at Challies attempts the same in his recent post on mercy. Well, to be fair to Tim, he doesn’t actually ever say whether he agrees with this in either the article or the comments. But either way, a pursuit of THE answer as to why God has allowed sin into His plan is a futile pursuit at best.

The quote that Tim uses suggests that it was necessary for God to allow sin into His plan so that He might show mercy, an attribute that He had no outlet for within the Trinity. I’m not sure that I can agree with this approach for two reasons. First, God has always been who He is for all of time and the timelessness that existed before time. He must have been known to Himself as merciful, just as much as He was known to Himself as loving. To state that He had the attribute of mercy but no outlet for that mercy comes dangerously close to suggesting that His creation of mankind in some way ‘completed’ God (by providing an outlet for mercy that He did not have in Himself), something that does not fit within an orthodox understanding of God. Thus, if God is merciful (and I believe He is – I know who I am!!), then He must have been able to be merciful within the relationship of the Trinity. How – I don’t know. But the alternative is unacceptable to me since it undermines God’s total self-existence.

My second reason for disagreeing is that it is a pursuit of one single overarching reason for God allowing sin. Does it have to do with mercy? I’m certain it does. Does it have to do with God desiring to have relationship with us in Jesus? I’m certain it does. Does it have something to do with Him receiving glory? I’m certain it does. God’s reasoning for what He does is far more complex than we can begin to imagine. I don’t mean to suggest by this that we cannot know reasons – and the emphasis there is on the plural – but that we cannot connect all the reasons together into one penultimate final answer. God is more complex then that.

Sadly, a pursuit of those penultimate answers – and we pursue them not only in our questions about sin, but in our questions about salvation, God, the incarnation, etc. – leads us to end up where Job was – “I deserve to have God tell me why there is brokenness!” (Job 31:35-37)

Categories: Thinking

Book Review: A Short History of Nearly Everything

2006-08-01T11:14:00.000-04:00

By the end of this book I had a layman’s grasp on quantum physics, a beginner’s understanding of how the universe works, and a far deeper appreciation for God. That last one was probably not Bill Bryson’s intention. But for Christians, this book is an important book to read.

First of all, it’s simple. Almost ridiculously too simple. Until, of course, Bryson points out that the reason it can be simple is because we understand so very little about the universe around us. For all the huff and puff of knowledge that people generate on a continual basis, most of it boils down to the fact that much of it is a big guess. So, Bryson narrows his material down to what can be mostly agreed on and then gives brief explanations of how different theories spring off of that knowledge.

Second, it’s funny. After reading that last paragraph those same bowel throbbings that are the precursor of all-out panic that you regularly felt during high school and college science classes likely returned. Let them subside. Bryson handles the material not only in a simple way but he adds some really good humor! I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. And its not just Bryson’s humor about the topics that is so addicting – he tells the stories that you’ll never find in science textbooks because…well, they’re just too embarrassing.

Third, it’s encompassing. He really does touch on nearly everything. From the distance of stars to the structure of atoms – from the movement of continents to the movement of clouds with brief stops in the measurement of mountains and the depths of the sea – he seems to touch upon just about every topic of science that you can reasonably wonder about. So although there are over 475 pages (not to mention notes and bibliography) it all seems to flow nicely.

Two things that need to be pointed out (especially for Christian readers). First, you need to get past the evolution. Bryson is not presenting his material from a God-perspective – in fact, I think its safe to say, that its from just the opposite perspective. However, there is SO much other good material in this book worth reading that it is something that is worth putting up with.

Additionally, because God is not in the picture, it causes Bryson to make some logical leaps that are, quite honestly, sad to see in an otherwise well-documented, honest presentation of what science knows and doesn’t know. For instance, on page 13, he says, “Others attribute the Big Bang to…something that introduced a measure of instability into the nothingness that was. It seems impossible that you could get something from nothing, but the fact that once there was nothing and now there is a universe is evident proof that you can.” Thankfully, later on the same page, he quotes someone who admits that these questions of original causation are very close to religious questions.

But those are all minor points in the overall usefulness of the book. I’d highly recommend it to anyone and for Christians especially to just sit back and be prepared to be awed by your God who created and understands all these things that we are just dabbling in.

Categories: Readings, Thinking

A Jump Into Heresy

2006-08-01T09:51:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy several months. What with family, vocation, and just a boatload of reading, I haven’t been able to get to much blogging :( But I came across two interesting thoughts the past week that I had to quickly put together and get on the blog.

Somewhere in the midst of the reams of blog articles and books that I’ve been reading, I came across this website . It has the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church online. I’ll wait for some of you to pick yourselves up off the floor…

Not that I expect any time soon to find myself in the Catholic fold – I’m just not liturgical enough. Liturgy-based worship for me is a lot like New York City – I derive great enjoyment from visiting but would kill myself if I had to live there. Mostly I’m reading it because if I am going to disagree with some of their theology its only fair that I actually understand that theology.

Two points of interest have surfaced as I’ve begun reading. First, I am impressed with how it begins. I’ve read other Catechisms (and was nursed on the Heidelberg Catechism) and each starts its own way. Some ask the purpose of man, some start with the importance of Scripture, and others focus their initial attention on God. What I appreciated about the CCC is that it starts with faith .

Now I realize that starting that way can lead to all sorts of stuff being clumped into the theology and demanding it be believed because it is ‘the faith.’ But no lesser dangers exist with the other starting points: too much attention on God and the role of mankind in God’s plan is lost; too much attention on Scripture and we lose sight of the incarnation; too much focus on man and we lose sight of God. Somehow, the starting with faith reverberated with something inside me.

The second point that impressed me was the explanation for the close of canon . I’ve heard many arguments about how the church recognized (didn’t choose) the canon and that revelation ceased with the prophets, etc. But what the CCC points out is that there are many covenants in Scripture. Each covenant represents an unfolding of God’s revelation. But in Jesus the perfect covenant and revelation have come. There can be no addition to the canon not because there is no longer revelation from God but because the culmination of His revelation has already come. Again, the wording of it reverberated with something inside me.

I’ll keep you updated as I come across other sections that I find interesting…

Categories: Thinking, Readings

Book Review: Velvet Elvis

2006-04-13T13:24:00.000-04:00

What can I say about Velvet Elvis? I love Rob Bell. I think his preaching is Spirit-inspired, relevant and applicable. I think the Nooma series will prove to be one of the most powerful tools for the church to use in the 21st century. In short, I think that Rob Bell is one of the people that God has been and will continue to use in powerful ways within His body over the next 10-20 years.

Perhaps it is this effusiveness of respect that caused me to be under-impressed with Velvet Elvis.

There’s not much that I would disagree with Bell in this book. In fact, his insight into some of the Jewish understanding of Jesus’ teachings is critically enlightening. His point of the church constantly seeking new ways to communicate an unchanging Gospel lest we become Velvet Elvis’ is poignant. I agree with him that doctrine is not the point Jesus was primarily trying to make but rather a relationship with Him. He is right on when he says that Jesus didn’t just say words so that we could interpret their meaning but because He wanted us to wrestle with how to live like Him today. It is refreshing to hear him write about how we find Jesus in everything because everything was made to point to Him. But because everything is now broken, it needs to be brought back into harmony with Him. Amazingly Jesus has faith in us to do it. Not because individually we could do it but because Jesus sees us also as the church, united together into something that not even Hell can overcome.

It is a great message; it is a message that is desperately needed today; it is a message that will no doubt be found by some to be inspiring. And yet, I didn’t find the book to be much more than mediocre.

But it’s also not a book that you shouldn’t read. But perhaps better than reading this book, it would be helpful for you to go and download some of Rob’s sermons. Better yet, go buy or borrow his Nooma series. Velvet Elvis is OK, but not in comparison to these items.

So I recommend it only if you promise to download or purchase the other items. Otherwise, there are probably better written books out there that would communicate the same message.

Categories: Readings

Jarhead

2006-04-11T13:42:00.000-04:00

It was about 20 years ago today that a representative of the US Naval Academy stood before me and offered me a scholarship. I’m not sure today whether it was a full scholarship, a partial scholarship, or just a token scholarship. Regardless, it was a scholarship that would have put me into some position on a naval nuclear submarine. I couldn’t even tell you what position it was that they recommended for me. Sadly, that was the state of mind I was in.

Of course, anyone who is even remotely aware of what type of person I am would cringe at the idea of me being in any way associated with the word ‘nuclear.’ Forget submarine – forget naval – forget armed forces and all that those terms connote. Just the idea that my person could be within an operable radius of anything nuclear would send most people who know me into a funk that would make Sartre look like an optimistic hippie.

I am not a jarhead. I am not a marine. I cannot imagine myself killing people nor being in any profession that is even remotely associated with said killing.

I watched the movie ‘Jarhead’ tonight. I realize that the purpose of those who made it was to paint a less than admirable picture of the Marines. In my own case, it had the opposite effect. Rather than making me recoil from the thought of these people, I must say I am grateful.

I cannot agree with the mindset. I cannot understand how a Christian can place themselves into this position. Everything I see of Jesus’ teaching suggests the opposite of what the Marines stand for. And yet…

I am grateful for these people who make it possible for me to lie on my couch and watch this movie while my children sleep in their rooms above me. I am grateful that these men and women make it possible for me to write and say whatever I want about them – whether I agree with them or not. I do not understand the psyche or turmoil that they must put themselves through so that they can endure the hardships that they must face so that I can live in my suburban life completely untouched by the hardships of the rest of the world.

I know some might say that if I were a true follower of Jesus, I would stand up against them because Jesus would not support violence. I know that some might say that no one – even if they volunteer it – should go through the conditioning and life that they undergo. I understand the argument that says that protecting our own shores does not necessitate the infringement on the shores of other nations – historically ignorant as that argument may be. I understand all this, and yet I remain grateful.

For the men and women who make my job possible. For those that make this blog possible. For those that I turned away from 20 years ago.

Thank you!!!!

Categories: Living

Book Review: Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport

2006-04-04T12:07:00.000-04:00

Richard Mouw accomplishes exactly what he sets out to do in this book – a description of how best to be a Calvinist in the 21st century. I could almost entirely embrace Mouw’s form and approach to Calvinism – which is no small statement for those of you who are regular readers of this blog!!

Starting out with an overview description of TULIP, Mouw gives a fairly typical description of the five components of Calvinism. That’s where the ‘typical’ ends. Mouw jumps to Limited Atonement next, recognizing it as a strongly logical link between TU and IP with Biblical support.

But, refreshingly, Mouw acknowledges that the passages that speak of Jesus dying for all the world seem to really mean that He, in some sense or another, really did die for all humanity. Rather than trying to justify the L or remove L altogether, he simply lives with the tension! This allows him to offer a truly free invitation to all. He makes an astounding point that sums up his position well:

“The other four adjectives have a somewhat expansive feel to them: ‘total,’
‘unconditional,’ ‘irresistible,’ ‘persevering.’ And then right in the middle the
Calvinists plunk down the word ‘limited’…surely there is something wrong with
giving the impression that the one important thing we want to emphasize about
the atoning work of Jesus Christ is that it is ‘limited.’”

His next point is to discuss the sovereignty of God. While maintaining that God ordains/permits everything that comes to pass, he admits, that if we are going to follow Biblical examples, we don’t simply have to accept that fact. “We can complain to God rather vigorously about the things we have a hard time accepting.” Again, this is an energizing approach to the truth of Sovereignty since it avoids emphasizing God’s separateness from us to the detriment of His relationship with us. Mouw goes on to explain how we grow and understand God more through His sovereignty.

Mouw moves on to tackle election. While admitting that the Jewish concept of election is corporate, he holds to the traditional Calvinist teaching of individual election. This, unfortunately, would be the only part of Mouw’s Calvinism that I would still wrestle with since I am convinced that Scripture doesn’t teach an individual election (other than the individual election of Jesus). However, I do appreciate Mouw’s approach to election – rather than focusing on the exclusiveness of election he places strong emphasis on the purpose of election. For him, this means that “God elects us to participate in a covenant community that shows forth his sovereign rule over all areas of life.” Well put!

Mouw also wades through the quagmire of whether a majority or minority of humanity will be saved (or, are elect). He points to both A.A. Hodge and the Westminster Confession as examples of strongly Calvinist positions that held the possibility that a great majority of people would be saved. Most interesting for me was this point he makes from the Westminster Confession:

“’Elect infants, dying in infancy’ – and thus not having arrived at a conscious
understanding of the claims of the gospel, nonetheless – ‘are regenerated and
saved by Christ through the Spirit, who worketh when, and where, and how he
pleaseth’…but the Westminster writers refused to…limit their generosity to
‘elect infants.’ This makes it all the more intriguing when they add this
observation… ‘So also are all other elect persons who are incapable of being
outwardly called by the ministry of the Word.’

He notes that this is a pretty wide door for writers of the Confession – not especially known for leaving gray areas in their writing – to leave wide open.

He finishes up by noting some of the weaknesses of Calvinism. This is especially a poignant section since Mouw considers himself to be a Calvinist. He notes the need for humility – not just in the personal approach to these matters but also in how Calvinists approach those who might disagree. He also convincingly shows that Calvinism is not the end all of theological systems. It is an important system in understanding the sovereignty of God. However, there are other areas of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy that Calvinism could learn from.

This book has been a blessing. Being raised in a Reformed family, I was eating TULIP before I was drinking milk! I’ve tried both on my own blog and on other blogs to work through the difficulties that I see within Calvinism. I’ve been met with a variety of responses:

Calvinism is the highest form of spiritual maturity, so when I become more mature, I will become more Calvinist (especially Garvis Cambpell’s 10:19 and 12:51 comments).
Calvinism = the Gospel, thus, if I am not a Calvinist, I am proclaiming an inferior or false gospel
If I hold to any other form of Christian theology other than Calvinism, I am at best a semi-heretic. Either of the examples above will suffice as the term semi-Pelagian is thrown around quite freely. Why aren’t those who disagree with some of Augustine’s teachings (and utterly disagree with Pelagius’ conclusions) instead called semi-Augustinians…?

None of this is found in Mouw’s book. Praise the Lord!!! I have only ever met one other Calvinist who I can sit with, have theological conversations with, and not feel as though it is an ‘I’m right and you’re wrong’ battle. Instead, we both recognize our shared deep commitment to live our lives in faith to God. I wish I had more Calvinist friends like this.

I get the sense that Mouw is the type of person that I could sit down with and I would be impressed with his humility, spiritual maturity, humor, and flexibility. That would not only make me willing to listen to what he has to say about Calvinism – I might even be drawn to it!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone desiring to figure out a more embracing approach to Calvinism.

Categories: Readings, Reforming

What Will My Children Remember?

2006-03-30T14:14:00.000-05:00

I recently received an article from my father about how the Christian faith, at any given time, is only a generation away from falling into great weakness. He was grieved that he saw some of this happening in his own day and in his own family.

I disagree with the author about the extent that Reformed doctrine equates with a faith heritage. Also, my trust that God will sustain His church leads me to a less defeatist outlook on the church. But I do feel his and my father’s concern for the present and coming generation. It seems that it is almost non-stop that we hear of another story – someone has believed the lie that death, in the disguise of pleasure, will bring them the life they seek. I suppose these stories have been occurring and prevalent throughout all of history since Eden – but still they seem to be coming fast, furious, and from every direction.

We forget. We forget too easily what it is that God has done for us. Of course, God knows we forget. That’s why throughout Scripture He keeps reminding us. I have been struck lately at how repetitive Scripture is. And I understand that different authors may have had different intentions for including similar material and so we need to understand the similarities in context so that we can wedge another truth out of Scripture yada, yada, yada…We sometimes seem to approach God’s revelation like a cosmic shell game – the shells all look the same but there are different nuggets of truth under each one. What if God repeats a lot of stuff because we just forget too easily? When I send my son up to his room to get his socks, it’s remarkable how many times I have to tell him to go back again because he forgot to get his socks…

But words are simply not enough. God commands people throughout history to raise up memorials that will be a testimony to what He has done and who He is. That’s exactly what God did when the Israelites crossed the Jordan. Take 12 stones and set them up on the bank of the Jordan to be a reminder of what God had done. And when their children would ask, “What do these stones mean.” – stop there! It’s wonderful to know and remember what God has done. But additionally, we need to be pointing them to the memorial stones. We have to bring our children to them in order for them to say ‘What do these stones mean?’

What will my children remember? What heritage will I pass on to my children? When I get to the end of my life, will I feel as though I have passed on to them the most important parts of my life – both thoughts and deeds – so that they might then take up the baton for the next generation? What about God – who He is and what He’s done - would I want my children to remember?

What remembrance stones will I point them to? To that end, I’ve added a new category – probably one that I will be dwelling on for at least the next series of posts – called Heritage. There are other remembrance stones that I must point them to in order to be faithful to the faith that has been passed on to me. But this category will be one of the places where I can say to them, “This is who God has shown Himself to be – this is what He has done in my life.”

Categories: Heritage

Book Review: Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation

2006-03-23T10:45:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, the best that I can say of this book is that it should only be purchased after Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. His treatment is still, by far, the best and most comprehensive material on these matters.

However, there are a couple of redeeming qualities in Ruth Haley Barton’s book. After reading Foster’s book, first skip to Chapter 8 in Barton’s book. This is the chapter on Sabbath that I think that Foster is missing from his material. Though he touches on it, I think that Barton offers a more extensive understanding and begins the process of recognizing Sabbath lifestyle as something that goes beyond either Solitude (as in Foster’s material) or just a day-long process.

Second, go to Chapter 9 and read about the Rule of Life. In this chapter Barton discusses how to go about developing a rhythm of disciplines in our own life. Again, this is a missing component to Foster’s book and is really a necessary process to make sure that a person does not become overwhelmed by what Foster presents.

The Appendix C on choosing spiritual disciplines that correspond to our needs is helpful, but not nearly elucidated enough. Barton has more here that she could have written.

Overall, I would not recommend this book alone but see it (or actually, see the last two chapters) as a needed addition to the excellent work that Foster has already done.

Categories: Readings

Book Review: The Most Important Year in a Woman’s/Man’s Life

2006-03-23T10:37:00.000-05:00

Susan and Mark DeVries and Bobbie and Robert Wolgemuth have not only put together a helpful first year companion for newly marrieds, they’ve done it with creativity.

This one book is really two books in one. From one side, women can read about what to expect, how to handle, and generally what constitutes a good first year in a Christian marriage. From the opposite side of the book, men develop the same type of material. As you’ve probably already surmised, Susan and Bobbie write the women’s side and Mark and Robert write the men’s side. Then, in the middle, are questions and ideas to bring the two sides together.

By approaching both sides of this equation from within one resource, the authors have created a significant tool for newly-married couples. Topics in the book include needs, spiritual unity, families, roles, communication, conflict, money, sex and in-laws – just about everything that is bound to surface in the first year of marriage. They tackle these topics from a balanced, Christian perspective and give tremendous insight into both sides of the marriage relationship.

The only issue I had with the book was that from the woman’s perspective (yeah, I peaked in on that side :), there is great emphasis placed on the woman’s ability to change the man. Though typical of our culture today, I think this is the only (though not necessarily insignificant) unbalanced part of the book. I would have liked to have heard on both sides of the book how both the husband and wife provide complimentary change into each other’s lives. And rather than this being seen as a power play (which seems to be insinuated on a number of occasions in the book), to see the potential that God sees in the spouse and work together to become that person. This then focuses on mutual change, dreams, and submission.

Even with that problem, I think I could recommend this book to newly married couples as a good guideline on how to build a strong foundation for a life-long commitment to an imperfect person.

Categories: Readings

Book Review: Monsieur Monde Vanishes

2006-03-22T11:44:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine recommended Simenon books to me. The first that he gave me was ‘Monsieur Monde Vanishes.’

The story is about a successful, middle-aged man who, obsessed with pursuing another life, one day decides to remove himself from everything that he has called his own. Leaving no trace of himself, he uproots himself and heads off in no particular direction. As he continues on his adventure, he encounters a number of enemies and companions all of whom help him realize a new self-awareness. But in the midst of this new comfort, his old life invades. He must then decide not only which life to embrace, but which self he will be.

Though this is the only book I’ve read so far from Georges Simenon, I’m certain it will not be the last. I appreciated his ability to write with a great economy of words and yet penetrate deep into my imagination. His style is simple, his story is believable, and the questions he raises are not easy to answer. All around, a good, challenging book.

I would highly recommend this book and, if Simenon’s other books are even half-way as good, any others as well.

Categories: Readings

Book Review: How To Have That Difficult Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding With Your…

2006-03-22T11:15:00.000-05:00

Henry Cloud and John Townsend have been writing for quite some time. Most everyone knows them as the Boundaries writers and if anyone is familiar with the boundaries series, you’re familiar with the plethora of books associated with the series. Apparently, at some point in the past, there was a book called, Boundaries Face to Face.

Thankfully, Cloud and Townsend changed the title to something a bit more practical. Though I would never pick up ‘Boundaries Face to Face’ I immediately picked up ‘How to Have That Difficult Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding With Your Spouse, Adult Child, Family, Boss, Coworker, Friend, Parent, or Someone You’re Dating.’ Perhaps the new title is a little bulkier (in the vein of a 747 being bulkier than a balsam wood model plane) but it certainly cuts to the question that rattles around my head when a difficult conversation looms on the horizon.

Having a lot of opportunities to listen to people who are wondering how to have difficult conversations with others, this book will become a permanent, staple reference. It is simple, practical, and gives godly wisdom on the art of confrontation and communication. It discusses why having the conversation is better than not, what are some essentials to a good conversation, gives a multitude of examples throughout, how to prepare for the conversation, and some particular guidelines for some of the people listed in the long title.

Overall the book is great. I think a little more attention could be paid to dealing with people who refuse to stay on topic, but this is really a very minor point throughout the book. Overall, it is an excellent guideline for biblical confrontation with others and I would highly recommend it.

Categories: Living, Readings

Book Review: Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth

2006-03-22T11:07:00.000-05:00

Since I’ve just finished the 25th Anniversary edition to this book three years after it was printed, I’m guessing that there have been an excess of reviews that have been written on it. I’m not sure that there is much to add…

Richard Foster has truly written a classic here. I approached it with some apprehension having heard that he is new-agish and unbiblical. I could detect neither in this material. Instead, I found a brother in Christ attempting to understand God with something more than just his mind using methods that are Biblical, orthodox, and practical for every believer. The sad chasm that seems to exist in some peoples anthropology between the mind and every other aspect of a person (actions, emotions, desires, etc.) is a false one. After reading Foster’s material, I find those who believe that the pursuit of God is only or even primarily intellectual to be the ones leaning towards unbiblical pursuit.

Foster recognizes thirteen disciplines that have been practiced both Biblically and throughout Christian history. That in our day the only or primary discipline is the discipline of Study is not a sign of strength in the Christian walk but an indication of the drought of understanding of how God has created people and the ‘above and beyond our imagination’ redemption of those people. Though one cannot be a truly balanced Christian without a renewal of the mind and the discipline of Study, to focus on any one discipline to the virtual exclusion of others has always led to extremism that future generations will look back on and warn about – even as we do today to those earlier extremes in Christianity.

There are only two things that I think would have made Foster’s book better. One would have been an inclusion of the idea of Sabbath (not as a legalistic day but as a lifestyle) or rest. Though he only briefly touches on it in Solitude, I think he could have done more on it or even seen it as a complete discipline in itself. It certainly is a discipline in deep need in our own day.

Additionally, I think that Foster would have done well to include in the book a means of developing a rhythm of disciplines. I don’t think that a person looking at the Biblical and historical evidence for Foster’s material can deny that he is on to something, but how does one go about including the disciplines into their life without becoming overwhelmed with all thirteen of them and just ending up giving up? To this end, Ruth Haley Barton’s book ‘Sacred Rhythms’ is excellent. The book itself in its discussion about disciplines does not even begin to compare to Foster’s, so, sadly, about 80% of the book is an inferior attempt to communicate the same message. But Barton’s discussion on how to implement the disciplines into one’s life without becoming overwhelmed by them is an excellent compendium to Foster’s material.

Overall, this is a highly recommended book and puts to words many of the pursuits that I have been yearning for in my own life for several years now. I’m glad that God brought this book across my path.

Categories: Readings, Living

Just a Little Patience...

2006-03-22T11:01:00.000-05:00

It’s been almost a month since my last post and most of those prior to that had been book reviews. The last several weeks have been…dry, busy and twilight zonish.

There have been a host of decisions, developments and responsibilities from home, work, and personal interest that all seem to have popped up at the same time. Thus, the lack of writing.

I’ve had some ideas of what to write, but just haven’t found the time to do so. Hopefully, these will be fodder for some future posts. Additionally, I’ve been finishing up some books, so you’ll be seeing some book reviews soon (like…today:).

But mostly the lack of posting has come from a recoiling from much of what I’ve seen on the blogs. So much of it is reactionary. So much of it is simply nitpicking differences in theology that Scripture is either not clear on or rely on presuppositions that are supportable on both sides of the argument.

So I’ve been wondering where to go next with my own blog. How do I keep myself from being engulfed by the cacophony that is blogdom? And to figure that out, I’ve needed to be quiet. I’m still not completely sure what the ‘answer’ is, but I’m thinking that it will need to be more proactive in encouraging others to live a life of faith before God – whether that life looks exactly like mine or not.

But I’m still stewing over it, so be patient if all you see are book reviews for the next…

Categories: Living

Book Review: New Testament History: A Narrative Account

2006-02-06T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ben Witherington’s New Testament History: A Narrative Account is a helpful and easy reading book about the New Testament era. For those looking to begin wading into the life and times of the first century, this is a great book.

Like many New Testament histories, Witherington starts out with the history before the first century – specifically, the rise of Greece. Though this is typical of other New Testament histories, it is necessary in order to understand the politics of Rome and Judah during the first century.

Unlike heavier history books, Witherington does not weigh the reader down with an undue number of dates and names. Though most historians will probably gnash their teeth over this, for the typical person looking for an understanding of the history that effected Scripture, this is exactly what is needed.

Witherington also gives a good explanation for his order of canon writing as well as the authors that wrote them. Though I’m undecided on his ‘Judean John’ idea (that the books of John were not written by the apostle John), I think overall, he gives good arguments in this area as well.

I guess that its weakness lies in that it didn’t grip me. My hope was that a narrative account of history would in some way be different than typical presentations of history. It wasn’t. It was a good read. It was historically and Biblically accurate. But it didn’t seem to me to be much different than other Christian history books that I’ve read (Walker, Cairns, Hastings, Gonzalez, etc.). Though there was interesting material presented that I had not seen elsewhere, overall, I’m not sure that Witherington couldn’t have pointed us to another author rather than simply put another book out about New Testament History that doesn’t add much to the conversation that’s already out there.

If you’ve never read a good New Testament history book, this one is certainly recommended. But, if you have, then you will probably not gain any significant additional insight from this book.

Categories: Readings

I Hate Death

2006-01-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

I hate death. I could write that statement a thousand times over, post it, and still it would not communicate the depth of my feelings. I hate death.

This evening I visited a godly woman from our church who is slowly moving towards death. She’s been slowly moving for many years now, but all the medical consensus seems to point to simply a few hours left before she passes on. She’s a saint. Not the type that has an angelic presence and pious smile. No, she was an earthy saint - the type that spoke the truth that came to her mind and obdurately clung to Jesus. In her sickness she has blessed as many people with her grace and humility as she has in her health – maybe even more so. As I looked on her broken body tonight, the feeling came back again. I hate death.

My earliest memory of death was my grandmother on my mother’s side. Her husband had passed away some years earlier, but I was really too young to completely grasp that. But when my grandmother passed away, I was 9 or 10 and old enough to attend all the grieving events associated with a North American death. All I remember is uncontrollably and inconsolably weeping all day long. I remember that it took weeks for me to get back to some semblance of normalcy. I wasn’t that close with this grandmother even though she had lived in our house for the last year of her life while cancer took over more and more of her body. And yet, even at that age, I recognized that something had gone horribly wrong. And to this day, I wonder how much comfort I am to families that I visit during times of death. My own broken voice during readings of Scripture or prayers and barely held back tears as I embrace them communicates too easily what I feel inside – that something is still horribly wrong. I envy the composure that the pastors of our church have during these times. I hate death.

My grandfather on my father’s side had a great influence on my life. He passed away quite suddenly. We knew that he had a blood clot at the beginning of the week, he went in to surgery by the end of the week and died on the operating table. It was a sudden, unexpected death of someone that, at the time, I didn’t realize how much I dearly loved. I remember being at the viewing and looking at his body in the casket. I was overwhelmed with the fact that it was a shell. The body was his and yet it was not him. The soul that made him the fun, faithful, follower of Christ had gone on to be in the presence of his God. It was only a shell – as fragile and useless as the cicada shells that are scattered around our yard throughout the summer. I hate death.

Several years ago, a close relative committed suicide. I was the first person to be called by the family member who found him and, thus, the ‘first responder’ to his place of death. I took it upon myself to make sure that no one else in the family came barging in and saw the vileness of what had been done. It is a picture in my mind that will forever be associated with the heinousness of sin. Though he was a believer and so we have hope of being reunited with him again, that picture in my mind will never be reconciled – at least not in this life. I hate death.

I take comfort that God grieves with us. To know that Jesus wept at the tomb of his best friend as He looked at the brokenness before Him, is a great solace. And then, it hit me. This isn’t even mine! This world isn’t mine. These people are not mine. They are God’s. If I can be so moved by something broken that is not my own, how must it affect God? How it must move Him to mend the brokenness! How it must cause Him to do anything – ANYTHING – to bring about the ‘very good’ that He began with, even if it means His own death. And that is the grand irony of the whole universe – the paradoxes of paradoxes - that the very thing that defines the brokenness is the very thing used by God to bring about wholeness.

I hate death. But it is because of death that I have life both in this life and the life to come. It is because of death that I can rest in assurance that my loved ones who are part of the family of God have gone on to be in the presence of their Lord. They, along with me, look forward with great anticipation to the day when they will have new bodies that have no disease and live in a new creation that is free from death – for ever and ever. Amen. Come Lord Jesus!

Categories: Living

Life and Death; Good News and Bad News

2006-01-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

Tim Challies has posted articles over at challies.com (here, here, and here) that are supposed to give encouragement and direction about a person’s assurance of salvation. It, unfortunately, does anything but that. I was going to comment on his site, but realized that it would take up almost an entire post to comment on the various issues, so I decided to post it here instead.

- nsbeal states in the comments that,
“In the first installment, you said that Packer's definition of regeneration is "thoroughly Reformed, and so thoroughly biblical." I think equating any theological system to the Bible is probably arrogant, regardless of how close it gets, because if the theological system is really that valuable, with all of its neat definitions and ways to solve all the mysteries of the Bible, God would have just written that down instead of the perfect, infallible Word He gave us. To equate any logical associations of ideas with the Truth from God's Word will ultimately lead to system-driven conclusions, not biblical ones.”
I couldn’t agree more. We’ve been down this road with Tim before. His statements equating Reformed theology with Biblical theology seem to overlook one of the core components of Reformed theology – the depravity and brokenness of man. None of our theologies can be equated with Biblical theologies simply because our theologies will always distort God in some way. My guess is that he would grate his teeth if I were to state “I pull thoroughly Biblical truths from both Reformed and Arminian theologies and thus hold to a thoroughly Biblical theology.” One hopes that he doesn’t realize how his own statement comes across.

- Tim states,
“The second view is that the Holy Spirit regenerates a person at a time of God's choosing. We could call it "monergistic regeneration" to indicate that it depends solely on God. This regeneration does not depend on man or on any desire or decision on his part. The Spirit moves in the person, giving him a new nature and allowing him the capacity to express faith and a desire to know and trust God. This view is closely associated with Calvinism and the Reformed faith and its high view of God's sovereignty.”
As I’ve noted in the past with Tim, though Calvinism may hold to this, there is no Biblical support for it. In RC Sproul’s book “What is Reformed Theology,” he spends an entire chapter stating that regeneration must come before faith, but gives not one verse that states this ‘truth.’ In reality, this is a required logical necessity brought about by Calvinism’s propositions. Here is the logical order that Calvinism demands:
- Holy Spirit regenerates a person giving them a new nature – they are no longer dead in their sins and in some way are given life but not eternal life (even though Scripture never speaks of another kind of spiritual life that isn’t eternal) – this regeneration without faith can last, based on Acts 17:11-12 for at least two partial days (assuming Jewish day-reckoning in this passage). It is also noteworthy here that although the Holy Spirit is working on a person, He is not in a person since the indwelling comes after faith. Thus, a person has spiritual life but neither eternal life nor the presence of the Holy Spirit in them.
- Faith is either given to them (which has no Biblical support) or they are enabled because of regeneration to exercise faith – most Calvinist monergists that I’ve come across prefer the former since it leaves out any ‘work’ on the part of the person even though Scripture never equates faith with being a work that can earn salvation.
- A person because of their faith is given eternal life – but, remember, this eternal life is different than the life that was given to them at regeneration even though Scripture never suggests life prior to faith. It is also at this point that the Holy Spirit indwells the person.
Against all this, of course, is the fact that everywhere in Scripture where faith and life are spoken about together, life is always placed after faith. Calvinists, Tim included, cannot simply stonewall on this and state that regeneration MUST come prior to faith because of their other theological beliefs. Then we would be interpreting Scripture through our theology rather than allowing Scripture to interpret our theology.

- Tim confuses salvation and faith. For a person to believe that Jesus has saved them through His death and resurrection is not salvation. It is the means – the requirement that God has ordained – for the application of the salvation that has already been purchased for them. Faith does not redeem us or forgive us – God has done that through the work of Jesus. A person who believes that the individual exercises faith is not synergistic. God completely saves a person through the death and resurrection of Jesus. By His grace He applies that salvation on all who will believe in Him – but it is His perogative to decide whether He will apply it on all, some, or only those who fulfill a requirement that He has ordained – faith. There is no synergism here. So the monergism argument that Tim always pulls out is a false argument.

- Tim writes,
“When the final judgment comes, there will be many who will be shocked to learn that they are not true believers. They will go to the grave confident that they are saved, but come to the judgment and find that they are to be cast out of Jesus' presence.”
In the context of Matthew 7, and prior to this point in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about the life that is lived in faith towards God. The people that Tim quotes here could do many miraculous things, but they did not live their lives in faith towards God and thus are not known by God. Jesus’ point here is not about assurance at all. His point is that just because a person calls Him Lord does not make Him their Lord. If He truly is their Lord, their lives will show it. To apply it to assurance is certainly applying it in a way that Jesus does not seem to intend here. Even worse, the implications of Tim’s statement is that no one can have assurance. If he is going to rely on his first statement that the Holy Spirit works in my life to assure me, then this adds no further assurance. I can fabricate feelings of the Holy Spirit’s guidance in my life. I can certainly do actions that look fruitful. I can rationalize all sorts of assurance in my mind if need be. And I can gather others around me who will tell me that they see the Holy Spirit and fruit in my life. So, based on what Tim writes, how can anyone have any assurance? How can I know for certain that I am saved? It must come through my own personal faith in God. That faith believes the promises of God, motivates me to live for Him, and is the means through which God renews my mind.

- The good news is no longer any good news. The Calvinist holds that there is nothing wrong with telling all people ‘Everyone who believes will be saved,’ because they state that this is a true statement. Only those who are regenerated can believe and so everyone who believes will truly be saved. However, if Tim is correct that there are those who are deceived into believing they are saved through faith that is false faith until the day they die, then have we not contributed to that by this type of Gospel? By not calling the person to action – to believe – have we not given people a false hope? But how would we ‘call people to action’ in a Calvinist model? Should we not tell people the whole truth? ‘You will not believe until God regenerates you after which point it is a foregone conclusion that you must believe.’ This would avoid the false hope that is given and make sure that it is not by our miscommunication that people go through life with false hope. But, the Calvinist says, that is not what Scripture says. It tells us to tell people that everyone who believes will be saved. So, we push the blame back onto God. And what we have is no longer good news for all people, but good news for some people – bad news for everyone else.

All this being said, Tim ends well. I appreciate his final post and his emphasis that assurance comes by faith in God’s past actions and promises to us. But Tim forgets that one of those promises is that everyone who believes will be saved. This statement is true not because it presumes regeneration but because God really has purchased salvation for all mankind and the good news is that it is available to everyone.

For more of my articles that deal with these and other issues with Calvinism, go here.

Categories: Reforming

Succumbing to the World of Marketing

2006-01-12T15:01:00.000-05:00

As you may notice, I now have an ad space at the side of the blog. I’ve signed up for a free service where I can advertise my blog on other people’s blog if they are allowed to advertise on mine. I get nothing out of this, so there is no financial remuneration here. But hopefully it’ll bring in some more traffic.

Here’s where I need you, though. If as you read my posts you see an ad that you think would in any way be offensive, please e-mail me immediately by clicking on my profile link in the the sidebar. Though I’d like to see more traffic, it will not be at the integrity of the material that is viewed on the site.

Thanks!!

PhilThreeten

A Family Portrait

2006-01-09T12:09:00.000-05:00

I’ve been thinking lately of what roles the church is designed to fulfill. How does one go about finding a good church (especially if they are moving to a new area)? There are four qualities that I believe a local gathering of believers must have in order to effectively function as the presence of Jesus in this world. What follows is a description of each of those qualities. Every gathering of believers will fulfill these qualities in diverse ways, so what I propose below is not a detailed description of how it should be done in every church – there is no one cookie-cutter model. It is important to recognize the people and culture that every gathering has been placed within and then live out the Gospel in a way that communicates that good news to all those around. So, what follows are broad brushstrokes rather than detailed steps – it remains for each individual gathering to define how God has called them to fulfill these qualities with the gifts and talents He has given them.

Personal Discipleship – Our goal as disciples of Jesus is holiness. We are to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called. This holiness is not a strict legalism though there are commands to follow. It is not separatism from the world though it is not being like the world. It is not anti-cultural though it is counter-cultural. It will set us apart but in such a way that causes people to desire to have what we have – a personal relationship with the God of the whole universe. It is a life that is lived – mind, heart, soul and strength – in a completely pleasing, worshipful way to God. Such a life cannot be accomplished or lived alone. This is where corporate worship services are so important. These are times for the church to come together as a gathering of believers to worship God in His holiness and be challenged and called to holiness ourselves. But nor can the individual complexities of each person’s walk be addressed in a corporate environment. This is why it is also important for spiritually mature believers in each gathering to serve the younger by walking alongside them and challenging them to live like Christ. This can be done either one-on-one, through small groups or through larger fellowship groups. It is accomplished through the declaration of Jesus as Messiah through the Scriptures, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God. Each person, through this discipleship, will be encouraged and challenged to take the gifts and talents that God has given them and to serve Him and others. These acts of obedience and faith will begin to develop each believer so that more may become mature followers of Jesus.

Unity with the Body – All true believers trust that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again that we might have life. However, many true believers will differ with us in doctrinal areas. These differences can (and should) be debated. But to separate ourselves from working together with other believers over doctrinal differences does little to further the Kingdom of God. Thus, it is important for local gatherings to work together in whatever way they can to help the lost realize God’s love for them. This working together does not necessarily result in a removal of doctrinal distinctives. Instead, it is a recognition that those who also have placed their faith in Jesus are our brothers and sisters and that it is better to work together rather than against, separate from, or at odds with them. Thus, it is important for a gathering of believers to begin the process of reconciliation with other local gatherings so that together they might impact the world for God’s glory. This love, even in the midst of diversity, will be a strong testimony to the world of the life-change that comes through Jesus.

Reclaiming the Community – The church is not designed to be a reclusive abode. Instead, it is to be a light in the midst of darkness, salt that brings flavor to a bland world. To this end, every gathering of believers should be actively involved in reclaiming their community for Christ. At times, this will be done through ‘church sponsored events,’ however, it can just as easily be done through the interaction with non-believers at any level. More often than not, Jesus was found eating and socializing with the non-religious. If we are to be His followers, we need to find ourselves where He is found – and that is among the lost. On an individual basis, this will mean actively encouraging believers to be involved in the lives of neighbors (though neighbors may not necessarily be the person living next door – it may be the person in the cubicle next to you or the other parent on your child’s town sports team). On a corporate level, it will mean being involved in community building activities (These activities may or may not be specifically tied with a religious organization. Examples of these types of outreaches might include committing to: providing servers at a local homeless shelter; volunteering in an AIDS hospital; visiting a local nursing home). As the believers from the gathering intermingle with those not yet followers of Jesus, our light is shone, our salt is sprinkled, and people will be introduced to God’s compassion, care, and mercy. They will see that what we believe truly does make a difference in how we live.

Transforming the World – Scripture is peppered throughout with images of a world completely under the rule of God. Whether politically, naturally, relationally or spiritually, these glimpses of the future are radically different than the sinful world we now live in. However, I do not believe that God has given us these pictorial foretastes simply so that we can wait for Him to bring it about. In just about every context of these glimpses into the future, the question is asked (phrased in various ways) ‘Since this will occur, how then should you now live?’ I believe that these challenges to live differently today because of what will occur tomorrow are challenges for us to bring about these realities in our world today. Like our pursuit of holiness, we will never fully accomplish this – only Jesus’ final transformation of the world under His rule will. But nor does that lower the level of expectation on our part to attempt to bring about these qualities in our day. Every gathering should be actively involved in bringing about justice for the disenfranchised, purifying God’s creation, mending social and international relationships, and pursuing a world where every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

I'm sure that some will feel that I've missed important components...in many ways, describing the church is like describing your wife - you always focus on important attributes that are meaningful to you, but if you got someone else's opinion, you might see a completely different person. For what its worth, this is what I'd like to see the local church be.

Categories: Thinking, Living, Emerging

Book Review - Open Secrets

2006-01-08T18:07:00.000-05:00

Looking at a church from the outside can leave an interesting first impression. Seeing a church up close (especially the microscopic upcloseness of those who have been leaders in ministry) can be downright ugly. Richard Lischer in his book, Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through a Country Church, shows us the microscopic ugly side and then helps us see that ugliness from a totally different – I believe more God-ward- perspective.

The book is the true story about his first pastorate in a small country church in Illinois. As he shares the three years he spent at this church, he discloses both the dirty glory of people that at times shine the love of Christ as well as the mixture of immature and inexperienced mistakes he made as a young senior pastor. Without glossing over reality, he tells a touching, subtly humorous story about how God works in marvelous ways through His body, the church.

There were several parts to the book that I appreciated:
- In one chapter, Lischer introduces the idea of pastoral gossip. While denouncing non-pastoral gossip as sinful, Lischer also recognizes that if there is no talk whatsoever about the struggles that people are going through that rather than helping them, we are abandoning them to a life of solitude at the point when they most need the community of the church. He gives a good example of when gossip that is pastoral is not only appropriate but necessary if we are to build up and encourage the church. I found this very helpful.

- I was also struck by how he showed that behind every life there is a story. It is too easy to see only what is occurring right in front of our faces without realizing what is behind the pain or sin that we see. I was told once as a ministry leader that the work (a controversial change to the ministry) that I was doing was of the devil. While recognizing that statement actually put me in pretty good company, it still hurt. After reading Lischer’s book I am still convinced that the person was wrong in stating that, but I am more inclined to recognize that there is more to the statement than the statement itself.

- Additionally, God is at work and sees lives differently than we do. What seems so broken down and, if we as ministry leaders are honest, useless may very well be his next Moses, Samson, or Peter (among hundreds of others that we could mention). This book is a good reminder that we as ministry leaders are serving – God is the one working through His church to accomplish His glory.

- One of the main themes of the book is that any ministry leader must understand the culture that they are ministering to. Sometimes, that will be impossible to completely get our hands around, but if we are going to minister to others, it is necessary to understand their history, their language, their hopes and fears. Without this, we will find ourselves more at odds than working together.

Overall, I found this book a very enjoyable book – the kind that you can just sit in front of a fire and read from beginning to end. It reminds us (and this is a necessary reminder especially for those of us in the blogosphere) that when the theology is all hashed out and we know we’re right, that it then needs to be applied to real life – unfortunately, the two don’t always meet well and it is then that we must rely on God to give us direction – whether to capitulate the theology for the sake of a person’s life or stand firm for the sake of a person’s soul. The answer is not as black and white as one might think and this book makes that clear. Finally, from a ministry perspective, it captures the heart of anyone that has done any leadership in ministry. I highly recommend it.

Categories: Readings

Book Review - Revelation

2006-01-05T14:53:00.000-05:00

My foray into Ben Witherington III books continues with the reading of his book, Revelation which is part of the New Cambridge Bible Commentary series. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed the other books that I’ve read by him, I had real trouble getting through this one.

His other books provided great insight into contemporary writing styles and, thus, insight into what the original text would have meant to the original hearers. Obviously, this is critical to an understanding of what Scripture means to us. Scripture cannot mean something to us that it did not mean to the original hearers. That does not mean that Scripture isn’t applicable and relevant to circumstances that didn’t exist in the first century. It is, instead, the simple hermeneutical principle that we cannot allow our own biases, cultures, and theology to determine the meaning of Scripture. What determines its meaning is what the author originally intended it to mean.

However, in Revelation, Witherington has not done a good job of connecting us with what the hearers of Revelation would have understood. Part of this is the difficulty of Revelation itself. With all its symbolic language, visions of the future, and pictographic explanations of the past, there is much to stumble over. Determining how the original hearers would have understood all this can be an intimidating venture.

Unfortunately, Witherington stumbles in a number of areas. Because of the generality of some of the images, Witherington suggests several meanings but then leaves us hanging as to what he thinks could be the accurate depiction. Though this is not problematic if done occasionally, there are so many pictures that Witherington is unwilling to definitively state his ideas on that we are left wondering what he believes. Though an interesting read to find out the ‘what could it mean’ perspective, Witherington gives no consistent explanation of his take on the whole book.

There are, however, some noteworthy strengths:
- I was intrigued with his proposition that rather than a simple short-term chronology for the seals/trumpets/bowls immediately prior to the millennium (dispensational pre-millennialism), Revelation actually is describing an overlapping, long-term chronology of God’s judgment over time, culminating in the Great Tribulation prior to the millennium. Perhaps it’s just me, but some visuals for how these items overlap would have been helpful to me since I had a hard time abstractly understanding where he was going with this.
- I especially appreciated his work on the images of Babylon vs. New Jerusalem. I think he makes a valid, and often missed, point that much of the latter half of the letter is a verbal comparison between the best that Satan has to offer and the best that God has to offer.
- I am convinced that Witherington is correct in saying that the letter is written to churches under persecution as a means of encouraging them to stand firm – that God is far more in control than can ever be seen from earth’s vantage point. This adds an important theme to the material that gives greater meaning and purpose to it. However (and this is in no way Witherington’s fault), I think the material could have been that much more powerful if written by someone who had actually been through modern persecution and was able to write from first-hand experience about the hope that Revelation brings to those going through persecution. Perhaps one day one of our brothers or sisters from the persecuted church will take up this project and help the rest of us who have no clue what true persecution is like.

Overall, although not a bad commentary, I did not find that it sparked my interest enough to be expectantly turning each page to see what other truths he could illuminate for me. Though I’m not unconvinced by his propositions, I’m not sure he’s made the best case for those propositions.

Categories: Readings

How Would We Respond to Them?

2005-12-29T15:52:00.000-05:00

This article at www.haartz.com tells a wonderful story of respect. Each year there are letters from all over the world, including Muslim nations, which are addressed to a variety of deities that have their religious basis in Israel. Most notably for most of the readers of this blog, obviously, are the letters to Jesus.

Rather than dumping these letters to Jesus in the undeliverable mail, the Israel Postal Service takes the letters to the Western Wall and, in line with Jewish tradition, deposits the letters there. The wonder of this, of course, is that non-believing Jews do not recognize Jesus as God. So, why would they do this?

Perhaps there is a respect here that we as Christians could learn from. What would we do to letters sent to our churches addressed to JHWH? Would we have the respect to lift up the prayers contained therein or would we throw them out? When some Christians think it is impossible or unorthodox to even talk to Jewish people, one can’t help but wonder how much respect we would have for their misappropriated mail.

I would challenge those believers that disagree with me that there is something bigger here for us to learn from the Israel Postal Service. They could easily throw these letters out and be justified. It would cost them less in both time and money. The God (or god, as the case may be) that these letters are addressed to are not the JHWH that they worship. Instead, they allow God to be the judge of which prayers He will listen to and which He will not. They recognize that God is bigger than their own understanding of Him and that if He desires to ignore a prayer brought to the Western Wall, then He can do that – but, of course, the emphasis is on HE can decide that.

Do we allow God to be that big? Do we allow Him to be the judge? Do we allow Him to decide whom He will listen to and whom He will not? Before an assault of comments come saying that I am watering down the Gospel, please understand that I think it is our responsibility to proclaim what we in faith believe. But can God work in mysterious ways or in the most unusual of circumstances through the most unusual of means? I think He can.

This story challenges us to bring before God not only the prayers of non-believers…I’m sure that many believers already do that. Instead, it challenges us to bring people before God, in whatever state they may be, and allow God to deal with them. We are not in the reconciliation, redemption, or remaking business – that’s God’s job. Our job is to faithfully introduce Him to others. We get our jobs mixed up sometimes…

Categories: Living

The Answer to Your Year-End Church Financial Problems

2005-12-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

In an age where the Christian’s responsibility to financially support the local body of believers is becoming less and less acted upon, it’s evident that churches need to seek other avenues of reaching their budget. Some might suggest a discussion of the difference between wants or needs or, to put it more spiritually, worldly pursuits and kingdom pursuits. Others might suggest a Scriptural exhortation to the congregation on the Biblical commands to give generously as an act of worship. These are all good as far as they go, but there is a better way!

Say it with me – Corporate Sponsorship!!

As I considered the conundrum that a vast majority of congregations have with raising funds to support the activity of the church and the resulting shortfall, my mind wandered back to my early youth. How did those churches stay running? There didn’t seem to be this great dearth of finances then? What did they do?

And then I remembered – the fans. You remember them. They invariably had a picture of our Savior praying at the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane looking upward to His heavenly Father who shone a light down on Him. He was often dressed in red robes (though apparently he also had a blue pair) that looked like they had six layers under them (presumably, for warmth in the chilly Israel nights). But it was the back of those fans that put me on to this epiphany. The fans were ALWAYS sponsored by the nearest funeral home. If enough people were dying in your community to support several funeral homes there were competing fans. The traditional of course couldn’t be beat – the simple light cardboard fans worked as they always had. Of course, someone had to improve and as soon as the technology was available, popsicle handles were added to these fans giving them added leverage (though, unavoidably, bringing up questions of the spirituality of people who tried to fan more than God had originally provided and intended...). Of course, the richest funeral home had to show off and provide some churches (whose parishioners had given exceptional business) with the fans that had the plastics clips that would keep an origami folded fan closed.

But all the fans were corporate sponsored. So why don’t we do this today? It would cover the costs of the ministry and remove that annoyingly embarrassing moment that every parishioner has to go through when the plate is being passed in front of them. Think about it from our parishioner’s perspective - do they nonchalantly place the money in as a sacred act of worship, do they throw it in as they separate themselves from wordliness, do they put the envelope facing up in the plate so that they don’t seem to have false humility or do they place it face down so that others can’t see what they’ve given. It’s a rather ulcer-inducing moment.

So, here are some ideas for corporate and identity sponsorship:

• Pews – This has already, in a limited manner, been going on for quite some time in the Episcopalian and Catholic circles, but Protestants simply have not plumbed the depths of opportunity here. Naming rights for individual pews could be a huge boon for identity sponsorship. Having your own pew would not necessitate that no one else can sit in it, though, for a small additional contribution, a locked gate could be put on both ends. No more trying to see around people or not hearing the sound system. Pick the best seat in the house. And don’t write off the corporate sponsorship here either! By purchasing blocks of pews in prime locations, businesses could gain some high product visibility for those who are allowed to use their commodity.

• Ministry naming and product rights – The possibilities here are as limitless as your imagination. Picture if you will the Nike Youth Gathering being mentioned during the church services inviting young people to both pray AND play hard. And for those who do pray hard, Nike will provide at a discounted price knee pads that can be used during both prayer vigils and volleyball tournaments. Two functions for the price of one!! And don’t forget the choir! Their sponsorship could come from Amazon.com’s music site . Run an additional LED banner above the choir so that people can write down the discount code when their total CD purchase is valued at $35 or more!! Additionally, this program can be extended to more mundane parts of the ministry like the parking lot. Help your parishioners remember where they parked by creating sections tied into corporate brand awareness.

• Building name rights – Again, this has been used to some extent but there is so much more possibility here. For growing organizations with limited building resources, it is crucial to get the most out of this (a great possibility would be the AG Edwards ‘Take Control of Your Future’ - slogan in the front of your sanctuary)! But for those organizations with multiple facilities, this can be a goldmine of opportunity. Make sure you go for the conglomerate corporations who can use several different subsidiaries to name different buildings while keeping the entire campus within the corporate family.

• Changing billboard signs at baptisms – Think sports billboards here. Every 90 seconds or so, a different sponsor’s corporate information is shown. The same can be done during baptisms for each baptized person. You will find that fans of the baptized (primarily family members and friends) will have a greatly increased retention of the product if viewed while their family member/friend is being presented to the congregation.

• Points in the sermon – Not everyone will be able to afford these larger sponsorships. That’s why, in the vein of traffic and weather reports, points of the sermon will have a 30-second plug opportunity. These segue in seamlessly with what the pastor is preaching. “Do you want to know what God’s will is from this passage? Well, that information is brought to you by [insert corporate name here] who [explain list of services here]. Thanks to them, we find out in this passage that God’s will is…” Not only will this encourage smaller company involvement with your organization, but it will lead to more expositional preaching as every pastor seeks as many practical points from a passage as is humanly possible.

• Funerals – Of course, this will depend on the expected number of people coming during the viewing, service and internment. But for those drawing larger crowds, there’s a lot of financial support to be gained here. But as we’ve already noted, the funeral homes have been doing this for decades already and would probably be willing participants.

Well, there you have it. No need to worry any longer whether your people lack either money and/or faith. Let the corporations take away your anxiety in this area and in the mean time support the ministry of God. It’s like stealing from the devil to give to God! And an added side benefit is that rather than having committees that focus on monotonous material, an exciting bidding atmosphere can give life back to these meetings. Its just a win-win all around.

Categories: Fun

Book Review – Paul’s Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary

2005-12-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

On the front of this book , in large, friendly letters, should be the words, ‘Don’t Panic.’ Anytime someone sees scholarly words like ‘socio’ and ‘rhetorical’ - especially when they are combined with a hyphen - I’ve found that they will normally go into a catatonic state that can only be broken by a beer or two.

All kidding and titles aside, this is a great book about Romans. I appreciate Ben Witherington’s writing style and so, for me, this was an easy book to slide into. Unlike many commentaries, Witherington presents his material in the same blocks of thought as the original writer rather than dissecting every single verse into individual components. That’s not to say that he doesn’t give information critical to individual verses. But, refreshingly, he does this in a manner which maintains the overall thought structure of the material.

Witherington’s main proposition is that Romans was written to Gentile Christians who were having a hard time recognizing the value of their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters and thus causing disunity within the church in Rome. Witherington maintains that the book is written in a rhetorical format that was designed to prove a point – namely that the wonder of the new covenant is that it equally includes both Jew and Gentile.

Using rhetorical guidelines from Greek writers, he shows how Paul was not only well-schooled in Greek thought (which may explain why we in Western Christianity have such an affinity to him), but communicated with the Gentile believers in formats that they would have easily understood. I think Witherington does a brilliant job of showing that Romans was never intended to be ‘The Systematic Theology of Paul’ but instead was both a letter of preparation for his visit and an exhortation as the apostle of the Gentiles to Gentiles. Paul isn’t introducing his theology to a church that doesn’t know him as much as he is trying to begin dealing with a problem in a church that Paul sees as critical to the future of his own ministry.

I especially appreciated two aspects of Witherington’s commentary. First, because of the manner in which Witherington interprets the material, Romans 9-11 becomes not an addendum or footnote to Chapters 1-8, but instead becomes the centerpiece of the book. This, to me, makes far more sense than the traditional explanation of these chapters. I also deeply valued his insight into the use of personification and how it relates to the material in Romans 7. Through this, Witherington shows that Paul isn’t saying that it’s OK or normal to struggle with sin. Instead, Paul is pointing to both Adam and those in Adam prior to describing the wonder of those in Christ in chapter 8. Romans 7, then, is not the norm for believers but for non-believers.

Like most of Witherington’s other material, I still have not been convinced by him that a person is able to lose their salvation, which is a topic that comes up periodically in this commentary. However, it is not so imbued into the material that one cannot still attain great insights and gems of truth.

I would highly recommend this commentary to any student of Romans.

Categories: Reading

To A Thousand Generations...

2005-12-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

I have always respected my grandfather. Growing up, he just seemed like a really neat guy. He was always ready to play with us - always ready to smile - more often than not getting yelled at by my grandmother because he was getting us too riled up. I can remember going to church every Sunday growing up, going up to my grandfather who was sitting and talking with the other older guys of the church, getting on his lap and getting a piece of candy. I can remember driving home with him from church when he and my grandmother came over for lunch. I can remember his work area in his basement. I can remember the crossword puzzles and the thunderous snoring. They are good memories.

He was a man who was greatly respected by people in the church I grew up in. To this day, ten years after his death, I still have people tell me what a wonderful person he was. He was a leader of the church, serving as an elder pretty much every time he was able to. He reached out to those in need in the church and was not adverse to self-sacrifice for others. He was esteemed as a teacher and for the few classes that I got to sit in on his teaching, he certainly had a way of holding an audience.

He is the person who I most credit my faith in Jesus to (though, sadly, he never got to see the fruition of that faith). He was one of those early models of what it meant to be a believer and live out a real faith to the service of others and the glory of God.

My father never held such a position in my life. There were occasions that my father was present when someone would ask who most impacted my walk with Jesus. I would almost sheepishly respond knowing that I was passing over my own father in order to talk about the impact my grandfather had. It never felt quite right but nor could I honestly say that my father had impacted me in the same way.

My father and I didn’t get along very well growing up. We have different personalities in some respects and very similar ones in others. Unfortunately, the differences tended to drive us apart and the similarities tended to make us compete for mutual desires. As can be imagined, this didn’t facilitate what would be considered a very healthy relationship.

As I began to mature, and most certainly when I started having children, I began to see my father in a different light. He had not changed as much as I began to understand why he was the person he was. A particularly poignant mutual forgiveness helped to heal old wounds and deepened our relationship. I have been grateful of God’s grace in both our lives that have helped us to have a nourishing father/son relationship.

But even though the relationship is a good one, I still never saw my father as a spiritual leader, either in my life or the lives of others – certainly not in the same way as my grandfather was. But then over the Christmas holiday, I heard my father pray. I had heard him pray before, so it’s not like this was some earth shattering event. I had even heard him pray heartfelt prayers.

But something about this prayer was different. I was finally struck during this prayer of the very quiet way that my father has been a spiritual presence in my life. Perhaps he was not the larger-than-life person that compelled you to walk in his steps like my grandfather was. Perhaps he was not the motivator or discipler that other important men and women in my life have been. But he has always been there. He has always been faithfully providing an environment that would be most conducive to spiritual growth. He hasn’t been the sun or the water or the dirt or the nutrients that have helped me to spiritually grow. But he has been the quiet gardener that has tilled the soil, cut branches when necessary, even transplanted if that would help me to grow. He has been a quietly faithful man without whom I would not be who I am today.

And whispered through this thought I hear God’s wonderful promise – ‘to a thousand generations.’ My grandfather loved God. He obeyed Him. And God was faithful to His promise to bless the next generation. My father loved God. He obeyed Him. And God was faithful to His promise to bless the next generation. And now I stand in that line with my children. It is with certain assurance that as I love God and obey Him, that He will continue the blessing on to the next generation.

Categories: Living

The Cacophony that is The Blogosphere

2005-12-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

I haven’t written for over two weeks. It’s the longest that I’ve been silent since the summer. Some of you who receive this will appreciate the silence. It’s been eating away at me.

Not that things have been silent for me. The past two weeks have been a hectic time as it is for most of us in North America. So, to some extent, my silence on the blog has been about doing other things that are just more important. But I haven’t stopped reading other blogs and keeping up with what’s going on – and that’s where things have gotten noisy.

And there’s a lot of noise. I have been overwhelmed over the past several weeks in reading blogs. I knew this already – but it has really hit home now. Much of what passes for blogdom are a bunch of people talking past each other.

Take for instance the church closing ruckus. As I listen to both sides, I can understand both positions. Most people have become accustomed to going to Christmas Eve services (since most churches have moved what used to be Christmas morning services to Christmas Eve) and it’s unlikely that the CE (Christmas/Easter) attendees are going to change their habits. They’ll come on Christmas Eve (as they’ve become accustomed to) and probably not on Christmas morning. But it is not insignificant that this year God gives us an opportunity to worship Him and His taking on humanity on the same day that we worship His resurrection and the redemption of our humanity. I don’t think that closing church on Christmas this year should be taken lightly…but nor am I going to relegate those who have chosen to do so to some lower form of Christian maturity. There is just too much noise on this issue…

Or take the release of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It seems that with the release of this movie (which I haven’t seen yet) has let lose a whole volley of abuse on poor Dr. Lewis. Steve Camp hit the lowest that I saw, insinuating that Lewis may not have been saved. Of course, no where on any of Mr. Camp’s site do I see a thumbnail of Augustine’s troubling theology (baptismal regeneration, veneration of saints, church hierarchal structure) and asking whether Augustine was orthodox or heterodox. Perhaps if we were willing to question our own sacred cows first, it would help us to be a bit more balanced in our view of what others believe. Again, a lot of noise.

I often follow Challies.com to keep up with what the Fundamentalist Reformed (his description, not mine) people think. I’m certain I’ve become addicted to going to any of Ron Gleason’s writings on emergent. I go partly because every now and then Gleason makes an extremely, valuable, Biblical critique of emergent. But far more often than not, Ron so mischaracterizes what the emergents (at least the ones I know and read) are supportive of that its like looking at a freak of nature – its hard to pull your eyes away. And so I keep going back. But the back and forth banter of much that goes on there is once more, a lot of noise.

I am a person who thinks in pictures (great for remembering people I’ve met, bad for remembering any type of personal information including names – I can’t tell you how often I go up to people with a bold and heart-felt ‘Hi John’ only to remember afterwards that I was talking to Zach – for what its worth, I usually get the name genders right…). The picture that has been assaulting my mind as I’ve been reading the blogs is something like the floor of futures traders on Wall Street. A whole mass of people just screaming at each other – but of course on the futures floor transactions actually occur. Reading the comments of some blog posting, I’m not so confident that any meaningful transactions occur.

I’m as much at fault. I’ve had my 200+ posts on Calvinism where I’ve tried to defend my position – teaching (lecturing, really) rather than listening - posts where no transaction or learning has occurred. And that’s sad. One of the strengths of the blogs is that it creates a worldwide environment where interaction and growth is supposed to be stimulated. And with many posts, I am stimulated – till I get to the comments. Then too often it devolves into name calling, insinuations, and character assassinations. I’d love to talk about how we are supposed to be united as believers, but based on many comment sections, we can’t really seem to agree on what unity is or what we are supposed to be united about. I think it would be helpful to talk about how we are supposed to love each other in spite of differences, but based on comment sections, we can’t really seem to agree on what love is or how it is best illustrated to others. And so, sadly, over the past several weeks, the blogs have been more of a disappointment to me than an encouragement (I must say, that Internet Monk is a respite from all this noise – though sometimes the noisy comments come, he handles them very well…).

I wonder what God thinks of the time I’ve spent in those comments sections…

Or its possible that all this noise are just the voices in my head, in which case, you should graciously smile at me the next time you see me and ignore everything I’ve said…

Categories: Living

The Final Authority

2005-12-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

In a previous post it was noted how the idea of Scripture as the final authority in faith and life carried with it some problems. Included in these problems was:

• It is impossible for people to objectively interpret Scripture, which this premise rests on. This is not to state that there are not objective truths revealed in Scripture and that we cannot know the message of Scripture. Actually, the message is clear and is centered on Jesus and His death and resurrection. However, all people come to Scripture with subjective presuppositions that they base their theologies on. Thus, although the hermenuetical rules are almost the same regardless of theology, the outcomes vary diversely. There is no way of substantiating which theology is the closest to the final authority.
• Such a statement takes all the other authorities recognized throughout orthodoxy – namely the church and the Holy Spirit – and places them under Scripture. Though I’ve only gotten one friend to admit this, such a premise must hold that the Holy Spirit is then under the authority of Scripture. Thus, if I received two non-sinful commands from both the Holy Spirit and Scripture, one would have to follow Scripture rather than the Holy Spirit if they held to Sola Scriptura.

In this post, I would like to expand on this thought and present a possible option to this which does not completely discard the advantages of a Sola Scriptura teaching but also does not place the other authorities in roles that they should not be in either (i.e. the church over Scripture – sorry my Catholic friends :).

Sola Scriptura goes too far in its teaching. We have overstated Sola Scriptura neither because Scripture does not have authority nor even because it is not the final authority. We have overstated Sola Scriptura because we misunderstand the role of Scripture, the church, and the Holy Spirit.

I would like to suggest that Scripture is the final authority in establishing teaching (or doctrine), the church is the final authority in discipleship, and the Holy Spirit is the final authority in empowerment.

There are more than enough verses throughout Scripture declaring itself to be the authority over teaching. In addition, the apostles clearly used both Old and New Testament Scripture to define and reveal teaching and doctrine within the New Testament. This, so far, doesn’t sound too much different than what Sola Scriptura currently suggests.

However, it deviates from Sola Scriptura in two important ways. When one states Scripture is our final authority in life and faith, one expects that the answers to everything that we would need to know (I realize this is different than what we want to know) about life and faith are to be found in Scripture. Sadly, this almost guarantees that a person will approach Scripture with the wrong mindset and find something there that simply isn’t. Let me give an example. I was in a couples group once where we had one of the pastors of the church coming to give us insight into marriage. I quipped at one point how it would be nice if marriage came with an operator’s manual. The pastor held up his Bible and stated, ‘It has.’ Now, maybe I haven’t been married long enough, but I haven’t found the answer to every question in Scripture. Two questions to make my point will suffice. Is medicinal birth control moral? Is it OK to have an operation to prevent child birth? Simply put, Scripture does not answer these questions. Nor, actually, does it even give guidance because it would not be too hard to think of common scenarios where either of these questions could be seen in light of something morally acceptable and morally unacceptable. Scripture simply does not answer these questions or a myriad of other questions that come into our lives. He expects us to use other authoritative resources.

The second way that this position deviates from Sola Scriptura is best understood with another analogy. In today’s schools, kids are being taught math in a completely different way than when I grew up. That was when we had to memorize all sorts of tables and theorems and equations. This was technical math and it was absolutely necessary because without all these skills of memorization, a child could not go on to higher education to begin applying those things they had memorized to a whole variety of sciences. Nowadays it’s different. Instead, students are taught applied math from early ages. And it is a VERY different way of understanding math. The emphasis is much less on getting the exact right answer through working through problems. How can that be? Primarily because the memorization is not so critical – computers do all the work for us. Thus, it is more important today for a child to understand the application than it is the rote memorization.

Now, I am not suggesting that we have any means of bypassing the technical side of theology. My point in this illustration is to show that math can be seen from various perspectives. In the same way there are different components to the Christian life. What we think and know is one of those components and Scripture should be seen as the final authority in those areas. However, simply because it is the final authority in teaching does not mean that it is the final authority in every other area.

It is after this conclusion where we begin seeing that the church plays as important a role in the Christian life as Scripture does. Where Scripture has authority in doctrine, the Church has authority in discipling. Since this is part of the deviation from Sola Scriptura, a Scriptural example of what I am suggesting may be helpful.

In Acts 15 we have the first Church Council at Jerusalem. There was a problem where a requirement was being made of Gentiles that they first fulfill the Mosaic covenant, through circumcision, prior to their being able to being saved. Since this caused such difficulties, Paul and Barnabas decide to bring the issue before the apostles in Jerusalem. There was much debate and finally James, the first leader of the church, summarized the decision that they came to by requesting that the Gentiles abstain from certain practices. This abstaining was primarily to avoid offense to those who came from the Mosaic tradition rather than an adherence in any way to the Law.

What is significant in this whole account of 30 verses is that there is only one portion of Scripture that is quoted – and that in order to support the idea that the Gentiles were to be included in the proclamation of the Gospel. The decision of the Council as recorded in Acts is in no way dependent upon Scripture. I am not arguing that during the debate, Scripture wasn’t spoken about – I’m sure it was. If we are to be disciples, we must understand what Scripture teaches. But it is not insignificant that in the council’s response to the Gentiles, they do not even hint at the idea that they are making their decision based upon the authority of Scripture. They do place emphasis on their own authority in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. Thus, where we see Scripture as the final authority in doctrine, we should see the church as final authority in discipling.

There is distinct interaction between these two authorities of Scripture and Church. We should not expect that every authoritative statement made by the Church must be rooted in specific Scripture verses. It is possible to apply Scripture with wisdom without having to tie everything back into Scripture. We should do better at recognizing the church’s authority to tell the members of its body how to live the life of Jesus in their day and age, as well as the authority to hold them accountable to the life of discipleship. On the other hand, we should not expect that the Church places itself over Scripture. It is not the church or any authority in the church that defines the teaching and doctrine of the church – these are defined solely by Scripture since it is the primary means that God has used to communicate Himself to us.

The importance of seeing Scripture and the Church as equal authorities cannot be overemphasized. There is a significant reason for this - both are fallible. Well, let me rephrase that. I do not believe Scripture to be fallible (at least as originally communicated) because it was communicated by God. But as noted above, the way we interpret it is fallible. At least as fallible, and just as dangerous, as believing that somehow the church or its teachers are the ones to define what doctrine is. Doctrine is derived from Scripture and thus the authority of what we believe in doctrine is based upon Scripture. But, how we live out that doctrine and its practical applications to every day life are within the authority of the Church to declare.

Finally, there is the authority of the Holy Spirit. If there is to be a statement of what is our ‘final authority,’ I believe that it must rest here. But even so, it is interesting that two of the primary means that that Holy Spirit uses to exercise His authority in our lives is through Scripture and the Church. The authority of the Holy Spirit rests in giving the ability to both know God with the mind and to live the life of a disciple. Though this may include Scripture and the church, it can also include special leading (including promptings, dreams, or actual auditory sensory), circumstances, or the Holy Spirit working in our lives through the lives of others. And thus it is the Holy Spirit who is given the authority to empower us in our Christian life.

What we gain from this more balanced view of authority is the recognition that our lives are not just about learning Scripture or living a godly life (though our lives are about those things). Our lives are about being in Christ and thus being empowered by the Holy Spirit to both know the things of God and accordingly live a life that is both holy and pleasing to Him.

Categories: Thinking

Sola Scriptura or Et Scriptura?

2005-11-28T16:03:00.000-05:00

Here's the latest post from Hodos.

Having defined Hodos, described holiness, and identified worship, we are prepared to begin taking a look at the various markers that give us direction along Hodos. Though few markers are chronological (i.e. we will be presenting them in a sequence, but there is no reason that they need to be practiced in the sequence that we present them), I think this first marker is critical and ought to come first. It concerns the understanding and place of Scripture.

Let’s begin with the place of Scripture in the life of a believer. I believe that Scripture is authoritative. By that, I mean that it is one of several means that God provides to us to help communicate to us and give us direction. I believe that along with Scripture He has given us the church and the Holy Spirit. They also are authoritative. It is often stated that the difficulty with the latter two is that they are unreliable. Promptings by the Holy Spirit can end up being nothing but bad cheese for dinner or an adrenaline rush. And the church, as can too easily be shown historically, can abuse its authority. But Scripture, we are told, is God’s Word and it cannot be changed. Thus, Scripture is our final authority.

I have problems with this. The first is a rational problem. The assumption behind this is that we are correctly interpreting Scripture. By and large, I believe the main message of Scripture (that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again so that we might have life in Him through faith) is quite clear and is accurately interpreted throughout Christianity. And apart from this primary message, there are certainly corollary truths that are stated throughout Scripture. However, there are also many things touched on in Scripture that we would like to know about but which Scripture simply does not elaborate on. It is here where a Sola Scriptura mentality becomes most dangerous. Saying that Scripture is our final authority is dangerous because we can misinterpret (or perhaps a better way of saying this is over-interpret) Scripture just as easily as we eat bad cheese, get that adrenaline rush, or abuse authority. It’s just harder to point out to a person because Scripture never disagrees with their theology. If we were to lay out all the truths that Scripture explicitly and authoritatively states, we would find that there are still many gaps that we fill with ideas that too quickly become dogma. This is the problem of placing Scripture over other areas of authority.

This leads to the second issue. Sola Scriptura tends to place Scripture over and above the other two areas (the Holy Spirit and the church). Given the long history of how the church has not only wrongly used its authority but has misinterpreted Scripture, I can understand why some might want to place Scripture over the church. Unfortunately, this idea of Scripture over the church simply does not fix the problem since just about everyone agrees on proper hermeneutics but barely anyone agrees with the theologies that hermeneutics develop. Rather than doing the hard work of holding ourselves responsible for what the church has done and is designed to do, we have shifted our burden of responsibility onto Scripture. Though I may disagree with our Catholic brothers and sisters on some of their ecclesiology, I applaud them for not completely giving up on the role of the church and its authority in the life of believers.

Though I understand why the Reformers were remiss to state that the church was authoritative, is it possible that they threw the baby out with the bathwater and, thus, caused the mess that Protestantism is in today?

Even worse for me is the idea of Scripture having authority over the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. Now, I’m certain that most evangelicals would state that of course God is over Scripture. But, then how does the Holy Spirit work in the life of a believer and when the Holy Spirit does work, are we not to recognize His work as at least equal to the work of Scripture if not even more authoritative? But to discern what is the work of the Holy Spirit and what is bad cheese/adrenaline is no easy task. So it becomes easier to place Scripture over these things.

The statement - Scripture is our final authority - is just wrong. Is not God our final authority? Can He not work through the Holy Spirit, the church, or Scripture? How have we narrowed it down to just Scripture when we can’t even agree on what Scripture says? Can anyone show me from 'sola scriptura' the teaching of 'sola scriptura?' How is this any better than the uncertainty that accompanies authority with the church and the Holy Spirit? Each of these must be seen as equal authorities that counter-balance each other. The leading of the Holy Spirit, the authority of the church, the revelation of God’s Word - each of these can and should be sought.

The Sola Scriptura teaching of the past several hundred years in many ways has led to a Holy Spirit-less church. By this I don’t mean that people aren’t saved in our churches or that the Spirit isn’t at work. What I mean is that we’ve lost any reliance on the Holy Spirit to empower us. We are so confident of our understanding of Scripture that we no longer need the guidance of the Holy Spirit - we have the Word of God to guide us.

So as we discuss how to study, read, meditate, and listen to God’s Word, it is critical to understand that it must be done in the context of seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance and a local gathering of believers. We cannot do it without God - we cannot do it without other believers.

In my next post, I’m going to describe a method of Bible study that I have found helpful. It has helped me to slow down and begin to understand the language of Scripture and listen to the flow of the story that unfolds in each book. By immersing oneself into the flow of the story, much like immersing oneself into another language, one can learn the nuances of what is being said.

Categories: Thinking

Psalm of Thanks

2005-11-25T14:08:00.000-05:00

I came across this anonymous Psalm over the Thanksgiving holiday and wanted to share it with you. Enjoy!

Psalm of Thanks

Worship the LORD all peoples
Bow down before Him and give Him thanks

He is the God of all creation
At the command of His voice, all things came to be.

Almighty LORD has rescued us from destruction
From the shackles of slavery He has set us free.

Established on His throne, He is our King
Under His rule is justice and mercy for all.

Though we have abandoned Him, He pursues us
His discipline is love; He forever waits for our return.

He has taken on Himself our sins
Throughout all the earth He will be known as Redeemer.

We are assured of the hope of His salvation
We have full certainty of the depths of His righteousness.

Who else has done these mighty deeds for us?
Who else has loved us from the day we were conceived?

His light has shown in my darkest despair
He has brought hope by grace through faith.

Out of ruin and division He has snatched me
My trust in Him has become my righteousness.

Alone I would stumble; without help I would fall away.
But His powerful hand upholds me and guides me along His path.

I have become His servant to do the bidding of His will
To cut off injustice and bring mercy to those who are hurting.

I dance with joy because He has saved me from my enemies.
I lift up my hands to Him because He is my Savior.

He will cast off these tattered clothes and supply me with glorious attire
He will remove the brokenness by making all things new.

Worship the LORD all peoples
Bow down before Him and give Him thanks.

Categories: Readings

Book Review - The Problem With Evangelical Theology

2005-11-23T15:26:00.000-05:00

What is the problem in evangelical theology today? Probably more than at any other time in history, there seems to be a deepening chasm between Reformed, Dispensational and Wesleyan theologies. Not that the theologies have changed all that much. In fact, in many ways, they are the same as their founding fathers developed them. But the heels are digging in on all sides to make sure that nothing changes as time goes on.

It is into this battlefield that Ben Witherington III, Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, drops a bomb with his book The Problem With Evangelical Theology. He certainly helps evangelicals to look at where the other theologies may be going beyond Scripture. But more importantly, he also challenges each of these areas of Protestant theology to take long hard looks at themselves to see where their own theology comes up short of Scripture.

In looking at these three strains of Christianity, Witherington points out the following weaknesses in their theologies:

Reformed Theology

Witherington rightly recognizes the heart of Reformed theology – the sovereignty of God. However, just as rightly, he notes that much of the understanding of that sovereignty that Luther and Calvin built into their theologies comes from Augustine. He makes a good argument that although both Luther and Calvin went back to the original languages, much of what they saw there was filtered through Augustine’s understanding of Scripture in Latin. Recognizing that other early Greek church fathers saw very different readings of key passages suggests that perhaps Augustine was (nor is) not the best person to go back to and use as a key reference (although, Luther and Calvin, to have any validity for their theology in the eyes of the Catholic church, HAD to go back to a Latin father…).

In addition, Witherington does an excellent job of showing that election is corporate rather than individual, that our faith is recognized as righteousness rather than Christ’s righteousness being imputed to us, that limited atonement is correct in that not everyone will be saved but that the atonement is for all sinners, and he touches on how God’s sovereignty can still act in the midst of a call to freely respond to grace.

Dispensational Theology

Within this camp, Witherington points out the inconsistency with Scripture of a pre-millennial rapture since it necessitates ‘a theology of two peoples of God, two second comings, two categories of people in which we have fulfillment of prophecy,’ none of which has Scriptural support. Given the New Testament’s strong message of Jew and Gentile being one in Christ, he makes a good argument that to continue to distinguish between the church and Israel seems to push more into the text than is necessary.

He also points out that a better hermeneutic for prophecy needs to be developed that takes into consideration how a Jewish writer (the bulk of the NT writers) would write information to a primarily Gentile audience (the bulk of those who received the NT). Furthermore, he claims that modern methods of understanding literalness and symbolism have been imposed on the text in order to create a timeline that was never intended to be communicated. Though he remains pre-millennial, he takes issue with the idea that many dispensationalists have today that they have the end all figured out (and it doesn’t matter how bad it will be because they won’t be there…).

Wesleyan Theology

Here Witherington points out the excesses of Wesleyan theology that have brought us such concepts as free will (an unbiblical concept) and perfection (or entire sanctification). He points out quite well how the optimism and hope that ought to come out of an understanding of God’s grace is transferred to an optimism and hope in human nature. Sin, in addition, can commonly be too narrowly defined which leads to an understanding of perfection which is not advocated by Scripture.

Also in this section, Witherington looks at the step-child of Wesleyan theology, Pentecostal and Holiness theology. Here Witherington points out that the doctrines on ‘the character of the Spirit, the gifting of the Spirit (with tongues as a litmus test of being full of the Spirit), and the inclination to emphasize the concept of subsequence, a second and/or third definitive crisis experience beyond conversion’ simply do not have explicit, nor even implicit, Biblical support.

The Solution

Witherington makes an astute observation that there is much that believers can agree on in each of these theologies. However, it is normally in their distinctives that they begin to go beyond Scripture. He recommends strongly that we need to either be silent where Scripture is silent, or, if we are going to develop theology to fill in the gaps of Scripture, we need to hold to those doctrines much more loosely. Such loose holding to those areas that we simply don’t have Scriptural support for would allow us to be able to work together to develop a theology that is solidly Biblical.

Conclusion

One major area of concern for me throughout the book is Witherington’s insistence that it is possible to lose our salvation. He does a wonderful job of showing through Romans 8-11 how our covenant in Christ is as secure as the covenant that God made with Israel even though Israel is hardened right now. However, he does not follow that through with an understanding that there are also significant differences between the covenants whereby believers cannot be outside of the new covenant. The typical passages that he uses to describe those who fall away (or shipwrecked their faith, etc.) could just as easily describe the dire circumstances, the fire that God allows us – even causes us – to go through, is intended by God in order to finally purify us for eternity with Him.

If this point can be overlooked, much of the rest of Witherington’s material is excellent in discussing how the various strains of Protestant theology can be improved. Perhaps using his material as a starting point, it could help each of these factions in the family of God to mend their relationships with each other and begin preparing for eternity together.

Categories: Readings, Thinking

I Will Worship God All of My Days

2005-11-23T14:47:00.000-05:00

Our study of holiness noted that a significant factor in holiness is worship. Not only is that which is used in worship to God holy, God’s holiness is something that ought to cause us to worship.

By the end of this post we will begin looking at the various markers along the path that will help us in our pursuit of holiness. But before we can do that, I think it is important that we take a post to look at what is worship.

For many, the act of worship is simply the time spent singing songs to God. This is certainly a part of worship (Ps 66:4). But it is only a single part of worship. True worship of God goes so much farther beyond this, as we will see.

Let me suggest that worship can be defined this way. Worship is anything created by God being, acting, or thinking in the way that it was created to. Let me explain how I came to this.

I believe that rocks can worship God. They do this by being rocks. Most are hard, they sit there and do nothing and they don’t think. They serve a purpose in God’s creation and to the extent that they fulfill that purpose, they are worshipping God. That’s what I mean when I say that worship is anything created by God being the way it was created to be.

I also believe that dogs can worship God (cats, as an aside, NEVER worship God – cats are of the devil – but I digress). They do this, certainly, by being dogs. But dogs have something more than what rocks have. They have, at least to some limited degree, an ability to choose. They are not automatons (in fact, very few animals truly are, though instinct plays heavily in their choices). And, so long as they choose to act in a way that is in accordance with the way a dog was created to act, they are worshipping God.

I believe that humans can worship God. Now, much like rocks, they do this simply by being what they were created to be and, like dogs, acting the way that humans are supposed to act. However, as we are well aware, there is the additional component of the thinking mind that allows it to, among other things, reason and feel. Mankind has, apart from the inanimate and animal world, an image of God that has been stamped on each individual. We are not only His, we are created to be like Him.

Thus, when we come to the topic of worship, we must see it as something superbly more than simply singing, though that is part of it. Worship encompasses every aspect of our life. Every action, every thought, every word, every part of our body and soul – it all presents opportunities for us to worship the God who created us. From the very first moment that we wake up in the morning till the very first moment we wake up the following morning – everything in between – is an opportunity to worship God.

So, if Hodos is a pathway of holiness it must encompass every part of our lives. Not in a legalistic or overbearing way – we have not been freed from the slavery of sin to be chained to Hodos. But we are now slaves to righteousness which leads to holiness (Romans 6:16-20).

Thus, as we move further, we begin taking a look at some of the markers along the path that help us stay on track. The markers, generally, are practices that will help us to stay on the path. They will include Scripture (including understanding Scripture, memorization, listening to and obeying Scripture), prayer, confession to others, solitude and silence, practicing the presence of God, rest, diet, exercise, fasting, being filled by the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, service, giving, fellowship and witnessing (and, by all means, if I’ve missed any here, feel free to use the comments as a place to make additional recommendations). But since worship is so all-encompassing in our lives, we are going to be making challenges along the way to take inventory on how we spend our time, what entertains us, what we think about, what we pursue, and what we dream of. We will be making practical suggestions on how we can live our day to day lives in a way of holiness that evokes worship of God.

Our pursuit of holiness and the Hodos path is not to separate us from every unclean thing. If we follow in the footsteps of our Master, then it will have exactly the opposite effect. As we pursue holiness, it will cause us to worship the One who is Holy. As we commune with Him, we will begin to have a heart for what He has a heart for. If we follow His example, it will lead us to lay aside the glories and blessings that come from a relationship with Him and pursue those outside of holiness. We will begin to touch the unclean, eat with the unholy and speak to the strangers. In short, our pursuit of Hodos will help us to look like Jesus.

Categories: Hodos, Living

My New Home

2005-11-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

This is both an announcement and a test to make sure that the mailing feature is working. After a very short time over at MyBlogSky (which neither had all its features working or had any support) I've decided to make my home, with the rest of the world, at Blogger. Not ready yet to pay for my own site, but its possible that may happen down the road.

If you'd like to be removed from this mailing address, just send an e-mail to philthreeten@hotmail.com and I'll take you off.

Law vs. Law - Part II

2005-11-20T12:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we saw that the Law of Moses was never intended to be a means to attain righteousness. This is because righteousness can never be attained through works (because then God would owe mankind righteousness – instead, God always gives righteousness by grace through faith). Instead, the Law was designed to be an appropriate response to God for the Jewish people (including their children) who had been redeemed from the slavery of Egypt. The Law of Moses was on its best day intended to motivate a Jewish person to proper response for the redemption and grace that God had shown them in rescuing them from Egypt. On every other day, it agitated the sin nature into action causing a person to pursue personal desire over love of God. And this is where the Law was only a shadow of what was to come. On its own, it could motivate to holy living or agitate to deeper sinfulness, but it could do nothing more.

This is the argument that Paul is making regarding the Law in Romans 2-7. But what is the importance of understanding this for believers? Two important points.

First point: we cannot attain our righteousness through works. Most believers would state this but when pressed further fall back on a works-oriented righteousness. We can be holy through action (1 Peter 1:15-16) but we can never be righteous through action. Our righteousness is completely attained through what Jesus has done. Therefore, if anyone believes that they will attain righteousness – the ability to declare themselves ‘not guilty’ – before God does not understand the importance of faith. We can declare ourselves ‘not guilty’ – but it is because of our faith in Jesus not based on anything that we have done.

Second point: Nor are we free from the Law. We are certainly no longer under the Mosaic Law (Romans 6:14). But does this mean that we move into an antinomianism where we have no law? Absolutely not. This is where the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) comes in.

There is some debate as to what exactly is the Law of Christ that this passage speaks about. Some tie into Jesus’ summary of the law in Matthew 22:36-40, better known as the Great Commandment. Others tie it into the new command that Jesus gives to His disciples in John 13:34-35. Still others will state that every command given in the New Testament falls under the Law of Christ. Most of the book of 1 John is dedicated to these two concepts – love and obedience. Specifically, the love that leads to obedience is true love and obedience that is done in love is pleasing obedience to God. And so, we could say that it is not an either/or argument of which verses point to the Law of Christ but rather a both/and statement.

Regardless of how the Law of Christ is identified, an understanding of the Mosaic Law helps us to understand the place for the Law of Christ. It is not something that causes us to earn righteousness. It is for this reason that since the very beginning, prophets, apostles and teachers throughout the ages have been adamant that it is impossible to please God through any law – whether that of Adam, Moses, or Jesus. The laws were always designed to be God’s way of showing us an appropriate response to the grace that had already been shown to us. For Adam, the grace of being created. For Moses, the grace of being rescued from bondage. For Jesus, the ultimate grace of having our sins paid for by His sacrifice.

But here is the really exciting part. The Law of Adam failed. That’s not so exciting – but it is a truth that even when we are made ‘very good’ by God and placed in a ‘very good’ environment, that we are still susceptible to sin. The Law of Moses failed. That’s not so exciting either – but it is also a truth that although the Law was good in that it pointed people to a right response to what God had done, it could not empower them to do good.

That’s where the Law of Christ is different!!! That’s what is so exciting!!! We can obey the Law of Christ! Not because I no longer sin – my flesh still lusts after sin. Not because the Law of Christ has been revealed to me – my flesh is still agitated towards sin because of the Law of Christ. The difference this time is that I have the Spirit of God living in me empowering me to be obedient to the Law of Christ!

Where the other laws fall short because they are unable to give the strength necessary for them to be obeyed, the Law of Christ empowers us through the Holy Spirit. This is the argument of Paul in Romans 7:1-6. By the work of the Holy Spirit, which we receive through faith in Jesus, we are able to be obedient to God. This obedience does not justify us, or give us righteousness. Instead, it is the proper response to a God who already has given us the righteousness we so need. And so, we can be in a right relationship with God!!

But such a view of both the Mosaic Law and the Law of Christ brings us to another hurdle. We really are under a Law. It is no longer a law that binds us to condemnation, like the Mosaic Law. But it is a law nonetheless. Whether we believe the Law of Christ to be the Great Commandment or all the commandments of the New Testament (I believe that the latter are all subsumed under the former), it means that there are not just guidelines for us to live out or principles for us to believe. There are commands that God would have us to obey. Disobedience will lead to consequences.

Those consequences will not include a loss of salvation. But they can involve some very devastating circumstances – described as being shipwrecked (1 Timothy 1:19), falling away (Hebrews 3:12, 6:6), and expecting judgment (Hebrews 10:27). But Paul tells us in Romans 9-11 that Israel is an example of how God maintains His covenant with His people. If He is able to fulfill His covenant with Israel as He will one day do, even though they are hardened today, then we can be certain that He will fulfill His covenant to us through Jesus.

So take great comfort from this! You are under a law but not a law that causes failure. Instead it is a law that you are empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey. And this obedience is the proper response for the gracious gift that God has given us through faith in Jesus. Ask for God to empower you with His Holy Spirit!

Categories: Thinking

Law vs. Law

2005-11-19T12:14:00.000-05:00

If I live in a country, I expect to have to abide by their laws. There are laws that govern the land that I live in. Some laws I am meticulous in making sure I obey (e.g. tax laws). Other laws, I find difficult to comply with (e.g. 25 mph speed limits). If I am a citizen of the kingdom of God, then is there a law for me to obey, and if so, what is it?

In the New Testament, the concept of ‘law’ is so central to an understanding of the work of Jesus, that to misunderstand it is to misunderstand much of what Jesus is accomplishing in our lives. The Greek word ‘nomos,’ which is used over 150 times in the New Testament, can refer to both the general law of the land as well as to the Old Testament writings. In some cases, the word refers to the entire Old Testament including both the Writings (John 10:34) and the Prophets (1 Corinthians 14:21). Other times, it simply refers to what we could call the Mosaic Law (Luke 2:24). For our purposes, when I refer to Mosaic Law I am going to be referring to the material that was given to the Jewish people on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19 – Leviticus 27) and summarized in Deuteronomy.

Let’s start with what I’ve thought up until recently. God brings the people out of Egypt and to Mt. Sinai to enact a covenant with them. They will be His people and He will be their God. To facilitate this relationship, the people will need to live in a particular way. So, God outlines for them in the Law how He wants them to live. If they hold to this Law perfectly, they will be His righteous people. If they do not, then curses are sure to follow.

Of course, we know the story. Israel does not obey. Curses follow. Explaining this in the New Testament, Paul states that it is impossible for us to become righteous through the law (Romans 3:20) which is echoed by James (2:10). The Law was intended to show us our sinfulness and, having done that, we are under its curse. Since we cannot obey the Law, we are unable to be righteous before God on our own.

But God was not content with this. He sends Jesus to live a life fully obedient to the Law and thus able to place Himself as a sacrifice for our sins (Romans 8:3-4). Not only are the requirements for a righteous life met in Him but also He becomes the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Thus, if we have faith in Him, His righteousness is transferred to us, our sins are transferred onto Him, and we are able to be back in a righteous relationship with God.

Ben Witherington’s ‘The Problem with Evangelical Theology’ has helped me to see things a slightly different light. And I promise that if you follow this through to the end, there is a really exciting conclusion (actually, all I can promise is that it was exciting for me…but maybe that will be enough to get you to read :) Let me explain.

In the scenario that I’ve just laid out, the Jewish people (and ultimately, all mankind) are responsible to live obediently in order to gain righteousness. Much of this thinking comes from the theologians behind covenant theology. For instance, if one sees Genesis 2:16-17 as a covenant (I do not – I think more study needs to be done to define the differences between a promise, a command, and a covenant – though the third may include the first two, it does not necessitate that every instance of the first two creates the third), then based on the scenario above, Adam would have maintained his righteousness through works. Sproul says as much “The initial covenant God made with mankind was a covenant of works…The condition is personal and perfect obedience…Life is promised as a reward for obedience, for satisfying the condition of the covenant,” ('What is Reformed Theology', RC Sproul, pg. 109).

But righteousness can never come through works (Romans 3:28) either prior to sin or after. So then, what role does the Law play?

The Law was never intended to bring about righteousness. Instead, the Law was designed to be a response to God for the redemption that He had already given. Adam is a little different, since there was technically no redemption for him to respond to but there was a pretty significant act of grace on God’s part in creating Adam. The command that God asked Adam to obey was not to maintain Adam’s righteousness. He was righteous before God based upon Adam’s faith in God. Instead, the command that God gave to Adam was an opportunity, through obedience, to show Adam’s gratitude for God giving him righteousness.

The Law of Moses is no different. It was never intended to be a means to attain righteousness. Righteousness can never be attained through works (because then God would owe mankind righteousness – instead, God always gives righteousness by grace through faith). Instead, the Law was designed to be an appropriate response to God for the Jewish people (including their children) who had been redeemed from the slavery of Egypt. This is why prior to every major pronouncement of Law in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, there is at least the summary statement (sometimes more detailed), “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” The law was a response to righteousness that had already been given by God’s grace, not a means by which to attain righteousness. The Law of Moses is far more parallel to the New Testament concept of sanctification than it is in any way associated with justification.

The Law of Moses was on its best day intended to motivate a Jewish person to proper response for the redemption and grace that God had shown them in rescuing them from Egypt. On every other day, it agitated the sin nature into action causing a person to pursue personal desire over love of God. And this is where the Law was only a shadow of what was to come. On its own, it could motivate to holy living or agitate to deeper sinfulness, but it could do nothing more.

How this changes in the New Testament is the subject of tomorrow’s post.

Categories: Thinking

It's No Wonder They Hate Us - Updated

2005-11-13T12:05:00.000-05:00

OK....so when I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it. According to this article, the Southern Baptists acted better than what my article stated. I'll give them credit for that, though I'd still be interested, when push came to shove, how they would have dealt with handing out the Annheiser-Busch water.

But...don't be dismayed. While receiving this update from a friend, I got another article that proves the same point. Leave it to Robertson to save my butt and this post . We've now come to a point that we are willing to state that God's judgment will come upon anyone who doesn't vote along with us AND that if judgment comes, don't turn to God because He is no longer listening...Maybe I read the Bible too quickly, but isn't judgment from God almost always DESIGNED to cause people to turn to God....?

Below is the original article.

**********************************

John 15:18-19 tells us in no uncertain terms that if we are not of the world, if we are of Jesus, then we will be hated. To associate ourselves with our Savior is to put ourselves in complete opposition to the world. For this we will be hated.

However, I don’t think that Jesus meant that we should go out of our way to be hated. This article tells the story of why most non-believers hate Christians. Is it so necessary for us as Christians to focus on the pettiness while missing the big picture. Do we really believe that our God is that small that He couldn't use Annheiser-Busch to do some good (and before saying no, think Babylon, Persia, Rome, etc.)?

In the midst of devastation, when people are homeless, in shock, seeking any compassion they can, waiting in line for the bare necessities of life – food and water – along comes the SBC to declare to them, ‘We’re going to save you from the evil beer producers that are trying to give you water…’

Now, before anyone jumps down my throat, I recognize the vast amount of good that the SBC has done in relief work. They are easily in the top five organizations for disaster relief throughout the world. That’s no small feat. And I’m certain that there was far more good that was done by the SBC than was ever captured by the media, Christian or otherwise. But one bad apple spoils the bunch.

I am also fully aware of the SBC stand on alcohol. I must admit, though, that Internet Monk’s recent article on alcohol and the Bible was enlightening to me. Though the SBC can take the stance of teetotalism, they certainly cannot make the argument that it is the only stance that is Biblical.

So, why are they turning away help? Who cares if the water is from the Satanist club of Louisiana? If its there and it can help people, use it! Does Annheiser-Busch help to promote the epidemic of alcoholism in our country? Probably. Are they doing this purely out of the kindness of their heart for what the Katrina victims went through? Possibly. Is there an incentive to receive some advertising in the midst of their good? Undoubtedly. Are their intentions pure? Not many people or organizations are, so probably not.

But who cares!!! Its water! The people need the water to live and its there. Forget for a moment who produced the water and begin helping the people who are dying. The saddest part about this is that the people who have been denied this water will never again look at Christians and say how much they exemplified God, but instead will look at Annheiser-Bush and say what a wonderful company it is to help them in their time of need.

Solomon was no slouch when it came to wisely deciding the difficulties of life. He said this:

I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

Here’s a lesson to learn for the rest of us Christians if we are going to impact our culture. Next time you see someone in need of water – give it to them!!! Ask where it came from after you have cared for the person in need that is in front of you!!

Categories: Living

Three More From George Herbert

2005-11-12T12:05:00.000-05:00

OK...I promise this is the last of George Herbert's stuff!
The Alter
A broken alter, Lord, thy servant rears
Made of a heart, and cemented with tears
Whose parts are as thy hand did frame;
No workman’s tool hath touched the same.
A heart alone
Is such a stone
As nothing but
Thy power doth cut.
Wherefore each part
Of my hard heart
Meets in this frame,
To praise thy Name:
That, if I chance to hold my peace,
These stones to praise thee may not cease.
O let thy bless sacrifice be mine,
And sanctify this alter to be thine.

Grace

My stock lies dead, and no increase
Doth my dull husbandry improve:
O let they graces without cease
Drop from above!

If still the sun should hide his face,
Thy house would but a dungeon prove,
Thy works nights captives: O let grace
Drop from above!

The dew doth every morning fall;
And shall the dew outstrip they Dove?
The dew, for which grass cannot call,
Drop from above.

Death is still working like a mole,
And digs my grave at each remove:
Let grace work too, and on my soul
Drop from above.

Sin is still hammering my heart
Unto a hardness, void of love:
Let suppling grace, to cross his art,
Drop from above.

O come! For thou dost know the way:
Or if to me thou wilt not move,
Remove me, where I need not say,
Drop from above.
Sighs and Groans

O do not use me
After my sins! Look not on my desert,
But on they glory! Then thou wilt reform
And not refuse me: for thou only art
The mighty God, but I a silly worm;
O do not bruise me!

O do not urge me!
For what account can thy ill steward make?
I have abused thy stock, destroyed thy woods,
Sucked all thy magazines: my head did ache,
Till I found out how to consume thy goods:
O do not scourge me!

O do not blind me!
I have deserved that an Egyptian night
Should thicken all my powers; because my lust
Hath still sowed fig-leaves to exclude thy light:
But I am frailty, and already dust;
O do not grind me!

O do not fill me
With the turned vial of thy bitter wrath!
For thou hast other vessels full of blood,
A part whereof my Savior emptied hath,
Even unto death: since he died for my good,
O do not kill me!

But O reprieve me!
For thou hast life and death at they command;
Thou art both Judge and Savior, feast and rod,
Cordial and Corrosive: put not they hand
Into the bitter box; but O my God,
My God, relieve me!

Man

My God, I heard this day,
That none doth build a stately habitation,
But he that means to dwell therein.
What house more stately hath there been,
Or can be, then is Man? To whose creation
All things are in decay.

For man is everything,
And more: he is a tree, yet bears more fruit;
A beast, yet is, or should be more:
Reason and speech we only bring.
Parrots may thank us, if they are not mute,
They go upon the score.

Man is all symmetry,
Full of proportions, one limb to another,
And all to all the world besides
Each part may call the furthest, brother:
For head with foot hat private amity
And both with moons and tides.

Nothing hath got so far,
But man hath caught and kept it, as his prey.
His eyes dismount the highest star:
He is in little all the sphere.
Herbs gladly cure our flesh; because that they
Find their acquaintance there.

For us the winds do blow,
The earth doth rest, heaven move, and fountains flow.
Nothing we see, but means our good,
As our delight, or as our treasure:
The whole is, either our cupboard for food,
Or cabinet of pleasure.

The stars have us to bed;
Night draws the curtain, which the sun withdraws;
Music and light attend our head.
All things unto our flesh are kind
In their descent and being; to our mind
In their ascent and cause.

Each thing is full of duty:
Waters united are our navigation;
Distinguished, our habitation; Below our drink; above, our meat;
Both are our cleanliness. Hath one such beauty?
Then how are all things neat?

More servants wait on Man,
Then he’ll take notice of: in every path
He treads down that which doth befriend him,
When sickness makes him pale and wane.
Oh mighty love! Man is on world, and hath
Another to attend him.

Since then, my God, thou hast
So brave a Palace built; O dwell in it,
That it may dwell with thee at last!
Till then, afford us so much wit;
That, as the world serves us, we may serve thee,
And both thy servants be.

Categories: Readings

Additional Quotes from George Herbert

2005-11-11T12:03:00.000-05:00

I've just really enjoyed much of Herbert's material and so I thought I'd share some more of it.

The Church Porch

Verse 13
Lie not; but let they heart be true to God
Thy mouth to it, they actions to them both:
Cowards tell lies, and those that fear the rod;
The stormy working soul spits lies and froth.
Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie:
A fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby.

Verse 50
Entice all neatly to what they know best;
For so thou dost thyself and him a pleasure:
(But a proud ignorance will lose his rest,
Rather then show his cards.) Steal from his treasure
What to ask further. Doubts well raised do lock
The speaker to thee, and preserve thy stock.

Verse 52
Be calm in arguing: for fierceness makes
Error a fault, and truth discourtesy.
Why should I feel another man’s mistakes
More then his sicknesses or poverty?
In love I should: but anger is not love,
Nor wisdom neither: therefore gently move.

Verse 54
Mark what another says: for many are
Full of themselves, and answer their own notion.
Take all into thee; then with equal care
Balance each dramme of reason, like a potion.
If truth be with thy friend, be with them both:
Share in the conquest, and confess a troth.

Verse 59
Scorn no man’s love, though a mean degree;
Love is a present for a mighty king.
Much less make any one they enemy.
As guns destroy, so may a little sling.
The cunning workman never doth refuse
The meanest tool, that he may chance to use.

Verse 63
In alms regard thy means, and others merit.
Think heaven a better bargain, then to give
Only thy single market-money for it.
Join hands with God to make a man to live.
Give to all something; to a good poor man,
Till thou change names, and be where he began.

Verse 65
Restore to God His due in tithe and time:
A tithe purloined cankers the whole estate.
Sundays observe: think when the bells do chime,
‘Tis angel’s music; Therefore come not late.
God then deals blessings: If a king did so,
Who would not haste, nay give, to see the show?

Verse 68
When once thy foot enters the church, be bare.
God is more there, then thou: for thou art there
Only by His permission. Then beware,
And make thyself all reverence and fear.
Kneeling never spoiled silk stocking: quit they state.
All equal are within the church’s gate.

Verse 69
Resort to sermons, but to prayers most:
Praying is the end of preaching. O be dressed;
Stay not for the other pin: why, thou has lost
A joy for it worth worlds. Thus hell doth jest
Away thy blessings, and extremely flout thee,
Thy clothes being fast, but thy soul loose about thee.

Verse 71
Let vain or busy thoughts have there no part:
Bring not thy plough, thy plots, thy pleasures thither.
Christ purged His temple; so must thou thy heart.
All worldly thoughts are but thieves met together
To cousin thee. Look to thy actions well:
For churches are either our heaven or hell.

Verse 72
Judge not the preacher; for he is thy Judge:
If thou mislike him, thou conceivest him not.
God calleth preaching folly. Do not grudge
To pick out treasures from an earthen pot.
The worst speak something good: if all want sense,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.

Verse 73
He that gets patience, and the blessing which
Preachers conclude with, hath not lost his pains.
He that by being at church escapes the ditch,
Which he might fall in by companions, gains.
He that loves God’s abode, and to combine
With saints on earth, shall one day with them shine.

Verse 74
Jest not at preachers language, or expression:
How know’st thou, but thy sins made him miscarry?
Then turn thy faults and his into confession:
God sent him, whatsoever he be: O tarry,
And love him for his Master: his condition,
Though it be ill, makes him no ill Physician.

Verse 76
Sum up at night, what thou hast done by day;
And in the morning, what thou hast to do.
Dress and undress thy soul: mark the decay
And growth of it: if with thy watch, that too
Be down, then wind up both; since we shall be
Most surely judged, make thy accounts agree.

Verse 77
In brief, acquit thee bravely; play the man.
Look not on pleasures as they come, but go.
Defer not the least virtue: life’s poor span
Make not an ell, by trifling in thy woe.
If thou do ill; the joy fades, not the pains:
If well; the pain doth fade, the joy remains.

Categories: Readings

Preparing for Worship

2005-11-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

I live before the face of God. I am in His presence whether I want to be or not. As a believer, the presence of God is even more intimate as I am told that not only am I in His presence, but He is in me!

Throughout my day, I am in His presence. However, especially when I am in personal time with Him and also when I come together with the rest of the body in community worship, I am in His presence in a very special way. These special times of being in God’s presence should give me pause for how I am worshipping him.

He sees my face. He knows every detail of it – what it looks like when I smile or when I frown. He sees what my eyes look like when I am enraptured by His presence and what they look like when I am apathetic to Him.

He sees my heart just as visibly. He knows every detail of it – what it looks like when I know the joy of being together with God and my brothers and sisters to bring Him glory and when I am embittered and unforgiving to one of those same brother or sisters. He sees what my heart looks like when I have a deep desire to be with Him, celebrating and singing His praises and He sees what my heart looks like when I could care less whether He is there – or even worse whether I am there. He sees my heart as visibly as He sees my face.

He hears my voice. He can sense the ambiguity between a light sarcasm and a degree of cynicism. He listens to my singing, and although few others would enjoy it, He does because it is the sound of a child singing to his Father. He perceives the whispers that barely make their way out of my heart and across my lips.

He hears my thoughts just as clearly. He can sense the ambiguity in my thoughts between needing rest and needing patience. He listens to my thoughts as they sing praises – some that are to Him, but others that sing praises to many other created things. The former are also music to His ears. He knows the words to the parts of me that have no words – the parts of me that I simply cannot describe because there are no words or thoughts to describe them – He hears those things. He hears my thoughts as clearly as He hears my voice.

He watches my actions. He grasps better than I ever will that what I believe I will do and what I do is what I believe – my faith is watched by my God in my actions. He watches me when I boldly and actively proclaim His kingdom in my life and He watches me when I boldly sin on the off chance that not even He will be watching.

He watches my desires. He grasps better than I ever will that what I desire I will love and what I love I will desire – my desires are watched by my God in my love. He watches me when I passionately obey what I can only hope in faith is His desire and He watches me when I apathetically disobey what I blatantly know He calls sin. He watches my desires as noticeably as He watches my actions.

The deception comes when I forget these things. It’s easy to fake. It’s easy to show others the compassionate smile, use the right words emphasized in just the right way, give the gentle pat on the back. And so not only do I deceive others, but I deceive myself into believing that God can’t see the façade that these actions consist of and both the good and bad that is behind it.

But God sees. He hears. He watches. There is great fear in that. If He knows all that stuff – even better than I – then what must He think of me? Do I realize that when I come before Him to worship Him that every part of my heart, every thought, every desire is as though it were being worn on my face, being spoken out loud, being acted right there in the midst of not only other believers but before God Himself. This thought alone has helped me in my focus of worship over the past several weeks.

But the greater hope that exists because He sees, He hears, He watches – the hope that outpaces any fear – is that He knows all the stuff – even better than I – and He has placed it all on Jesus. So much so that I’m not even sure that God knows that it is any longer my sin – it is His sin. And I’m free. Free not to sink deeper into the dissipation of my sin – but free to come before Him – heart, mind, soul and body – and worship Him with my whole being. And I am certain that such worship causes God to smile, to speak, to act. And, thus, the conversation begins…

Categories: Living

I Am So Inadequate

2005-11-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

I am not up to the task. Those who know me may think differently, but I have been, not just once, but twice, reminded – no, I’ve been given complete certainty – in the last two days that I am insufficient for the role that God has called me to in our church.

Perhaps a little background will help. I have been given the responsibility from the leadership in our church to oversee some ministries. I don’t feel the best qualified for these responsibilities, but they seem to believe that my experience, abilities, and commitment to serve is ample resource for me to lead these groups. The focus of one of these groups is a combination of fellowship and discipleship.

Now, our church has many blessings – more than I could quickly list. But, like every church, it has its weaknesses. A strong, proactive focus on fellowship and discipleship are not one of its strengths. Not that either of these don’t occur at our church – both do. But they tend to occur more in spite of what we do rather than because of any planned pursuit on our part.

So, if you take those two paragraphs and begin combining them together, you’ll begin to see my dilemma. On the one hand, we have people who are passionate about fellowship and discipleship. On the other hand, we have a church that is generally apathetic towards fellowship and discipleship.

So, the first person comes up to me earlier this week and begins a 20 minute dumping on me that amounted to ‘our church, or its leaders, are living in sin if we are not actively dealing with the discipleship issues of a greater number of our people.’ Within 24 hours, the second person, in a far more diplomatic manner, also expressed grievances that ‘the church simply does not show enough support for the need for fellowship amongst its people.’

I can neither disagree nor deny – to do so would be a sin on my part! But nor do I believe that it is my part to cause division within our church. Also, as someone who is recognized as a leader appointed by our church board, I don’t believe its right for me to dishonor that leadership by speaking poorly of the church.

I understand that it is not, and probably never has been, the focus of this church to fellowship or disciple. They aren’t pursuing something else rebelliously – they just have been blessed in and focused on other areas of the Christian walk. And they are a strong and healthy church in many ways. Thus, going to the leadership of the church, which I’ve done in the past, will salve my conscience till the next person comes along with the same concerns but ultimately, really does nothing. And I don't blame them. It would be impossible to adequately meet the spiritual needs of every person that comes to our church.

Which is my catch-22 and what causes me such aggravation as I write this. I can’t fix this! I can’t agree with the people complaining because to do so would be ‘to cut the edge of the king’s robe.’ But going to the leadership of the church really won’t do anything either and will just cause me further frustration.

I know what the church leaders think (that I’m capable) and I know what the people I lead in ministry think (that I am a blessing to them) but it does not square with what I think. I don’t feel adequate for what either side thinks.

I don’t feel trained enough. I don’t feel smart enough.

I don’t feel as though I have the spiritual strength that either side thinks I do.

I don’t pray enough.

I study God’s word more than I interact with God through His word.

Spiritual disciplines seem to carry an ability to stabilize in uncertain times, but I practice none of them.

I’m barely thankful for the ways that God has used a broken clay jar to contain His glory because when things go right I revert back to believing that what is shining through is my own glory. I need to be more humble.

I’d like to know what words to say to the church leadership that would help them understand the agreement I have with these people and how critical I believe their concerns are. I’d like to shepherd the people God has placed in my care to a point where they can trust that God can work through broken leaders and imperfect churches in ways far greater than we think or imagine. I have neither the words nor the emotional fortitude to do either.

I’m tired.

I’m weak.

I’m not broken so much as I feel on the inside like Rocky Balboa looked on the outside at the end of Rocky I. I’m beaten up but not by the enemy as much as by the coach and fans from my own side.

I feel scarcely able, little, poor, laughable, lacking, insufficient, incompetent, ineffective, defective, imperfect, hopeless. I feel so inadequate.

Of course, that feeling of inadequacy simply points to a deeper problem. Somewhere in my sinful heart, I want to fix this. I want to be the one that rides in on a white horse and gives the perfect words of wisdom to the people I minister with. I want to be the one to fix all the problems that our church has. I want to be the one that when I walk into the room, a sense of relief comes over everyone and smiles appear and it is realized that all will, finally, be well.

I am not that person. Nor was I created to be that person. The only spark of hope in the midst of all this is that God has not called me because I am adequate. In fact, if I read the stories of Scripture correctly, He probably chose me specifically because I am inadequate. I will not be the shining knight on the white horse for either the people I serve or for our church because there is only One who rightly rides in on that white horse – any pity party that I feel for not being that person just shows the depth of my pride. So, Jesus needs to fix these problems. I need to be obedient. At some point in time, it may mean going to the leadership that I so fear going to and letting them know that although I will always publicly back them, that I must begin amongst them to vocally disagree with the direction they are going in. Perhaps at some point, I will need to take a stand for my leadership in the eyes of those I lead and help them understand the tremendous responsibility and burden that our elders and pastors have taken on themselves and that we are commanded to make it a joy for them and just spend some time getting that commandment right. But for now, I don’t know that God has called me to either. For now, my sense is that He wants me to be inadequate. He wants me to learn to trust Him. To take one step at a time and each step a step of faith. And that is where the glimmer of hope comes. Because if we are taking those steps of faith – whether it leads us to silence or speaking out or walking a very fine line between the both – then we are taking those steps with the only one who is adequate to sort all this out.

I am completely inadequate. Praise God that Jesus is the all in all!

Categories: Living

The Sacrifice

2005-11-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

This poem by George Herbert strikes me as a poignant introduction to any Lord's Supper. Its long but well worth the read. Enjoy!!
The Sacrifice
Oh all ye, who pass by, whose eyes and mind
To wordly things are sharp, but to me blind;
To me, who took eyes that I might you find:
Was ever grief like mine?

The Prince's of my people make a head
Against their Maker: they do wish me dead,
Who cannot wish, except I give them bread:
Was ever grief like mine?

Without me each one, who doth now me brave,
Had to this day been an Egyptian slave.
They use that power against me, which I gave:
Was ever grief like mine?

Mine own Apostle, who the bag did bear,
Though he had all I had, did not forbear
To sell me also, and to put me there:
Was ever grief like mine?

For thirty pence he did my death devise,
Who at three hundred did the ointment prize,
Not half so sweet as my sweet sacrifice:
Was ever grief like mine?

Therefore my soul melts, and my hearts dear treasure
Drops blood (the only beads) my words to measure:
O let this cup pass, if it be thy pleasure:
Was ever grief like mine?

These drops being tempered with a sinner’s tears
A Balsam are for both the Hemispheres:
Curing all wounds, but mine; all, but my fears:
Was ever grief like mine?

Yet my Disciples sleep: I cannot gain
One hour of watching; but their drowsy brain
Comforts not me, and doth my doctrine stain:
Was ever grief like mine?

Arise, arise, they come. Look how they run!
Alas! What haste they make to be undone!
How with their lanterns do they seek the sun!
Was ever grief like mine?

With clubs and staves they seek me, as a thief,
Who am the Way and Truth, the true relief;
Most true to those, who are my greatest grief:
Was ever grief like mine?

Judas, dost thou betray me with a kiss?
Canst thou find hell about my lips? And miss
Of life, just at the gates of life and bliss?
Was ever grief like mine?

See, they lay hold on me, not with the hands
Of faith, but fury: yet at their commands
I suffer binding, who have loosed their bands:
Was ever grief like mine?

All my Disciples fly; fear puts a bar
Betwixt my friends and me. They leave the star,
That brought the wise men of the East from far.
Was ever grief like mine?

Then from one ruler to another bound
They lead me; urging, that it was not sound
What I taught: comments would the text confound.
Was ever grief like mine?

The Priest and rulers all false witness seek
‘Gainst him, who seeks not life, but is the meek
And ready Paschal Lamb of this great week:
Was ever grief like mine?

Then they accuse me of great blasphemy,
That I did thrust into the Deity,
Who never thought that any robbery:
Was ever grief like mine?

Some said, that I the Temple to the floor
In three days razed , and raised as before.
Why, he that built the world can do much more:
Was ever grief like mine?

Then they condemn me all with that same breath,
Which I do give them daily, unto death.
Thus Adam my first breathing rendereth:
Was ever grief like mine?

They bind, and lead me unto Herod: he
Sends me to Pilate. This makes them agree;
But yet their friendship is my enmity:
Was ever grief like mine?

Herod and all his bands do set me light,
Who teach all hands to war, fingers to fight,
And only am the Lord of Hosts and might:
Was ever grief like mine?

Herod in judgment sits, while I do stand;
Examines me with a censorious hand:
I him obey, who all things else command:
Was ever grief like mine?

The Jews accuse me with despitefulness;
And vying malice with my gentleness,
Pick quarrels with their only happiness:
Was ever grief like mine?

I answer nothing, but with patience prove
If stony hearts will melt with gently love.
But who does hawk at eagles with a dove?
Was ever grief like mine?

My silence rather doth augment their cry;
My dove doth back into my bosom fly,
Because the raging waters still are high:
Was ever grief like mine?

Hark how they cry aloud still, Crucify:
It is not fit he live a day, they cry,
Who cannot live less than eternally:
Was ever grief like mine?

Pilate, a stranger, holdeth off; but they,
Mine own dear people, cry, Away, away,
With noises confused frightening the day:
Was ever grief like mine?

Yet still they shout, and cry, and stop their ears,
Putting my life among their sins and fears,
And therefore wish my blood on them and theirs:
Was ever grief like mine?

See how spite cankers things. These words aright
Used, and wished, are the whole world’s light:
But honey is their gall, brightness their night:
Was ever grief like mine?

They choose a murderer, and all agree
In him to do themselves a courtesy:
For it was their own case who killed me:
Was ever grief like mine?

And a seditious murderer he was:
But I the Prince of peace; peace that doth pass
All understanding, more then heaven doth glass:
Was ever grief like mine?

Why, Caesar is their only King, not I:
He clave the stony rock, when they were dry;
But surely not their hearts, as I well try:
Was ever grief like mine?

Ah! How they scourge me! Yet my tenderness
Doubles each lash: and yet their bitterness
Winds up my grief to a mysteriousness:
Was ever grief like mine?

They buffet him, and box him as they list,
Who grasps the earth and heaven with his fist,
And never yet, whom he would punish, missed:
Was ever grief like mine?

Behold, they spit on me in scornful wise,
Who by my spittle gave the blind man eyes,
Leaving his blindness to my enemies:
Was ever grief like mine?

My face they cover, though it be divine.
As Moses face was veiled, so is mine,
Lest on their double-dark souls either shine:
Was ever grief like mine?

Servants and abjects flout me; they are witty:
Now prophecy who strikes thee, is their ditty.
So they in me deny themselves all pity:
Was ever grief like mine?

And now I am delivered unto death,
Which each one calls for so with utmost breath,
That he before me well night suffereth:
Was ever grief like mine?

Weep not, dear friends, since I for both have wept
When all my tears were blood, the while you slept:
Your tears for your own fortunes should be kept:
Was ever grief like mine?

The soldiers lead me to the Common Hall;
There they deride me, they abuse me all:
Yet for twelve heavenly legions I could call:
Was ever grief like mine?

Then with a scarlet robe they me array;
Which shows my blood to be the only way
And cordial left to repair man’s decay:
Was ever grief like mine?

Then on my head a crown of thorns I wear:
For these are all the grapes Zion doth bear,
Though I my vine planted and watered there:
Was ever grief like mine?

So sits the earth’s great curse in Adam’s fall
Upon my head: so I remove it all
From the earth unto my brows, and bear the thrall:
Was ever grief like mine?

Then with the reed they gave to me before,
They strike my head, the rock from whence all store
Of heavenly blessings issue evermore:
Was ever grief like mine?

They bow their knees to me, and cry, Hail king:
What ever scoffs and scornfulness can bring,
I am the floor, the sink, where they it fling:
Was ever grief like mine?

Yet since man’s scepters are as frail as reeds,
And thorny all their crowns, bloody their weeds:
I, who am Truth, turn into truth their deeds:
Was ever grief like mine?

The soldiers also spit upon that face,
Which angels did desire to have the grace,
And prophets, once to see, but found no place:
Was ever grief like mine?

Thus trimmed, forth they bring me to the route,
Who Crucify him, cry with one strong shout.
God holds his peace at man, and man cries out:
Was ever grief like mine?

They lead me in once more, and putting then
Mine own clothes on, they lead me out again.
Whom devils fly, thus is he tossed of men:
Was ever grief like mine?

And now weary of sport, glad to engross
All spite in one, counting my life their loss
They carry me to my most bitter cross:
Was ever grief like mine?

My cross I bear my self, until I faint:
Then Simon bears it for me by constraint,
The decreed burden of each mortal saint:
Was ever grief like mine?

O all ye who pass by, behold and see;
Man stole the fruit, but I must climb the tree;
The tree of life to all but only me:
Was ever grief like mine?

Lo, here I hang, charged with a world of sin,
The greater world of the two; for that came in
By words, but this by sorrow I must win:
Was ever grief like mine?

Such sorrow as, if sinful man could feel,
Or feel his part, he would not cease to kneel,
Till all were melted, though he were all steel:
Was ever grief like mine?

But, O my God, my God! Why leavest thou me,
The son, in whom thou dost delight to be?
My God, my God –
Never was grief like mine.

Shame tears my soul, my body many a wound;
Sharp nails pierce this, but sharper that confound;
Reproaches, which are free, while I am bound.
Was ever grief like mine?

Now heal thyself, Physician; now come down.
Alas! I did so, when I left my crown
And fathers smile for you, to feel his frown:
Was ever grief like mine?

In healing not my self, there doth consist
All that salvation, which ye now resist;
Your safety in my sickness doth subsist:
Was ever grief like mine?

Betwixt two thieves I spend my utmost breath,
As he that for some robbery suffereth.
Alas! What have I stolen from you? Death.
Was ever grief like mine?

A king my title is, prefixt on high;
Yet by my subjects am condemned to die
A servile death in servile company:
Was ever grief like mine?

They give me vinegar mingled with gall,
But more with malice: yet, when they did call,
With Manna, angel’s food, I fed them all:
Was ever grief like mine?

They part my garments, and by lot dispose
My coat, the type of love, which once cured those
Who sought for help, never malicious foes:
Was ever grief like mine?

Nay, after death their spite shall further go;
For they will pierce my side, I full well know;
That as sin came, so sacraments might flow:
Was ever grief like mine?

But now I die; now all is finished.
My woe, man’s weal: and now I bow my head.
Only let others say, when I am dead,
Never was grief like mine.

Categories: Readings

A Definition of Hodos

2005-11-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

“Victory can never be won by passive defense; only sustained offensive action, or the threat of unfailing offensive action brings success.” – Adm. Henry Eccles“In war, the only sure defense is offense and the efficiency of offense depends on the warlike souls of those conducting it.” – Gen. George Patton “Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.” – Sun Tzu We are in a war! If you do not realize this, you have not read much of Scripture. It is a war that has lasted for millennia. We were pulled onto the enemy’s side by deception and willing rebellion. But the King never gave up. He continued to pursue and persuade those who were His enemies to join His side. And then one Friday, several thousand years ago, He dealt the crippling blow to the enemy. Astonishingly, it involved Him paying the price for the rebel’s crime – by taking their punishment on Himself so that He could openly welcome them back to fight with Him. The King died for us. Then, to validate what His death had done, He rose from the dead. And then He began appearing to those who were under the rule of the enemy and began inviting them back into His kingdom – to join the side that is certain to win the war. This is what Jesus did for us: For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. – Romans 5:10 While we were still His enemies, He died for all our rebellion – for all our sins – He paid the price so that we might be reconciled to Him. We would like to earn this reconciliation but He is clear that the price of His life is too dear a price for us to purchase. No…we must trust that what He did is sufficient for us and accept the free gift that He offers to us. When we have done this, then we are placed into His kingdom. We become part of a long line of others who have gone before us who now are engaged in fighting the enemy of our King while all the time pursuing and persuading our former compatriots to put down their weapons and come back to their King. But how do we fight this war? Since our war is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual realm, how can we prepare for this battle? This is where Hodos will be of help. It is designed to give the soldier in this spiritual war the gear, weapons, and skills to fight the battle. As in real war, different people will be more adept in different areas. But, to fight the battle, we need to be knowledgeable in each of these areas. Though we may not use them all the time, when the appropriate time comes, we must have enough familiarity with them to use them at a moment’s notice. Hodos was not meant to be a cool subculture of Christianity but instead a counterculture to the world. We are not revolting against that which has gone before us – we would not be here if those before us had not been before us. Relevant Magazine (the link no longer works for the article) said it well, "We are to be a counterculture – in and not of the world, accepting yet not acquiescent, flexible but not compromising, progressive though not by the world’s standards…True relevance is seeking the true faith that transcends all boxes and labels. Our goal, as Os Guinness states…should be “to become truly relevant without ever ending up as trendy, trivial and unfaithful.” Hodos is also not meant simply to be a set of actions that can be performed but leave the heart cold and hardened to the King. Take care with looking at Scriptures and saying, “Oh, I need to be more hospitable – better invite some people over.” Or “I’m to love my brothers and sisters – better bake a cake.” Yes, we’re to be active but we’re also to let that exposure by God’s word affect our hearts. If not, it is frighteningly easy to settle into Pharisaic righteousness by looking at all we’re doing and ignoring our secret attitudes that need to be brought under subjection as well (2 Cor. 10:5). "It’s too easy to be cloaked in religion and deceive ourselves. Reading the Bible every day, inviting folk over, visiting the sick, preaching every other Sunday or leading the women in devotions, teaching the younger sisters, clothed modestly – all while envying that brother’s preaching or that sister’s cooking or outright hating this brother or that sister. Frighteningly easy to stand tall and tear up your brother (or sister) because of some supposed Christian failing while being driven by anger or self-seeking. (Bible Archive – Religion and Righteousness – James 1:26-27)"
The actions of Hodos are nothing without the heart behind it. If you do not find yourself loving God more because of what you do with Hodos, stop doing it. Find some other way to express your devotion and love for God. But don’t fall into the deceivingly simple mindset of having the right actions while harboring a darkened heart towards the King. If this occurs, then Hodos has failed for you. Find something else! What Hodos is meant to be is a community of Jesus-followers distinctively living the holiness of God so that others might be introduced through their lives to Jesus. Let’s quickly look at each of the points of that definition. Jesus-followers – Hodos cannot be done by those who are not already followers of Jesus. The expectations of Hodos require the work of the Spirit in the life of a person. Hodos done by those who do not know the King will only result in them believing that they have earned their reconciliation. Community – Hodos cannot be done alone. No spiritual growth or discipline can be done in exclusion from other believers. Hodos is no different. Distinctively– Hodosians pursue a lifestyle, including mind, spirit, and body, that will cause others to wonder about our lives – some yearning for what we have, others repelled. Living – Hodosians believe that God has placed us where we are in life. Though for the sake of holiness, we may sometimes need to change that place, we believe that by and large, we are to walk this path where God has placed us. Also tied into this word is the idea that Hodos is not a one-time, short-term program. It is a lifestyle that will take a lifetime to master because growth takes time. The holiness of God – It is God that we are trying to model as He has modeled Himself in Jesus. We want to be holy as God is holy. This will not only include our actions but also our heart and will engage our mind, body and spirit. Others might be introduced by their lives – As noted in ‘distinctively,’ one of the goals of living this life is for the sake of others. However, it is not so that others would see us, though it is our lives that they will see. Jesus – This is the very central aspect of Hodos – why all of it is done. It is not for us, but for Him. It is not to earn His love – it is to live the love we have already received. It is not so that people will see us, but so that through us they will see Him. It is our desire that living in this way will cause others to want to flee the enemy and join their King. There are many monastic orders that have gone before Hodos and Hodos certainly follows in that tradition. However, we don’t go back to something in the past to develop what we are doing today. As Darren at Nicene Theology points out, to seek to go back suggests that those earlier saints had the Holy Spirit in a more powerful and intimate way than we do today. We learn from those who have gone before us but the constantly changing, ever developing component of the church is to present the Gospel to the culture in which it is presently planted. Believing that this generation (at least in America) has yet to see a consistent model of what people entirely committed to living God’s holiness looks like, we believe that living Hodos will create an opportunity to present to the people of our day something that no other pursuit or religion can give – a vibrant, life-changing, relationship with the living King! Are you ready to go on the offensive in this war? Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. – Philippians 2:14-16

Categories: Hodos, Living

A Pathway for Remonasticism

2005-11-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Christianity Today has an article that discusses whether a Protestant form of monasticism would help or hinder the church. In the article, CT points out that many areas of the church have been infiltrated with the influence of the world. How are Christians distinct today from other people who are not Christians? If we followed the lives of 10 random people for a day, would we be able to pick out the Christians by anything more than a prayer at meal time and a visit to church throughout the week? Perhaps…but maybe not as quickly as we’d like to think.There are a whole host of reasons why it is wrong for Christians to be indistinguishable from the world. The greatest in my mind, however, focuses on the person of Jesus. It seems clear from Scripture that if you engaged Jesus on a religious topic, that it was impossible for you to leave Him without being affected. Maybe not always for the positive, but you were going to leave Him changed.Less scripturally based is a hunch I have. If I came in contact with Jesus and spent the day with Him and didn’t talk one ounce of religion with Him, my guess is that I would still leave at the end of the day affected. Again, maybe not for the positive, but I must leave Him changed. Now, if you don’t feel there is enough Scriptural evidence for this or you just utterly disagree with the statement I have just made, then you can simply stop reading here because the rest of what I will say is going to be predicated on that premise.We are to be like Jesus. That means that if people talk to us about religion, we should be able to challenge them (holding to the Truth, but still invitingly and lovingly speaking to them) so that they leave us affected. But just being around us should cause them to know we are different. Are people coming in contact with us – whether they speak about religion or not – and leaving us affected? If not, then we still are not impacting them the way our Master impacted people.This is where I think that a remonking of the church would help. I believe that the prevalent influence of the world has infected Christians to such a degree that an objective observer would have a hard time figuring out who are believers. Instead, it should be so obvious that it is without doubt. Generally, I think we believe most of the right things (though there is always room to grow, expand and change – semper reformada) – I don’t think we practice it. Well…let me not condemn you. I don’t practice it. So, my hope is that this blog, as we dialogue together, will help us to take the doctrine that I know too well and begin putting into a practice that is appallingly lacking.I liked many of the thoughts in the CT article that gave some parameters of what it meant to remonasticize the church. Here’s a summary:- Remonasticism must involve community. It would mean regularly coming together as a community of individuals that are on the Way together to confess, encourage, and worship.- Remonasticism is not trying to remove itself from the world. Unfortunately, this became the end result of many of the older monastic orders. This is unacceptable. However, much of the church in North America has made itself so enamored with culture that there is no distinctive. This is just as unacceptable. The goal of remonasticism is to see the distinctiveness of believers again on display, wherever God has placed the person, for God’s glory.- Remonasticism is not to draw attention to oneself but should be designed to point people to Jesus. Dan Allender in his book ‘To Be Told’ notes that God writes a unique story into each person’s life. However, if the story that we tell others does not point them to Jesus, then we are not telling God’s story. Remonasticism’s goal is neither obsession with personal purity (though personal purity is an aim) nor spiritual pride (though spirituality is an aim). Instead, it is living our life in such a way that it is impossible for people to walk away from us without being changed…much like the impact our Savior had. This impact on people must be done in such a way that when they walk away, they are changed by Jesus and not by us.- Remonasticism’s goal of holiness is for the further goal of calling others to holiness. The Old Testament example of this would be the Nazirites. The vow that the Nazirite voluntarily pledged themselves to was an example to others of setting oneself aside for purity before God. Remonks would be a reminder to other believers to ‘be holy as God is holy’ – to continue to strive to live up to the calling that the church has been given.- Remonasticism is not trying to recreate the older monastic orders. There is much to learn from those who have gone before us, so this does not suggest that we will not be influenced by earlier orders. Instead, it is designed to learn how to live holy lives in the midst of the world we live in. There are no unchanging rules in the remonastic path because we recognize that the world continues to change and so our expression of holiness will change with it. To this end, unlike older orders, the markers along the way would be periodically reevaluated on the basis of whether they are still appropriate to the world that they are being engaged in.- Remonasticism must recover the life of prayer. For some, this will be easy. My guess is that for many it is something that is desperately needed in their lives. This will probably mean a departure from some of the busyness and hectic days that define North American living. If, in its place, it puts times of silence, devotion, and interaction with God, then the exchange ought not to be a difficult decision (though acting on it may be harder than we can imagine).For lack of a better name, I’m going to call this journey Hodos. Hodos is the Greek word for ‘the way’ and represents the pathway that we are taking as we walk with the Lord. I am also going to avoid the language of older monastic orders that spoke of rules. Partially, this is because of the world we live in and the meaning affixed to that word. But even more than that, rules tend to suggest the only right or accepted way of doing something. When Benedict first wrote his rules the world took a lot longer to change. Today, changes occur in months, sometimes years….forget about decades. So, my hope is to develop a path that can be changed as the times change without changing the purposes. Thus, we will speak of markers along the path that give us direction.I welcome your input. I don’t presume to have this path blazed yet and so I am learning as I think these things out through my keyboard. Your input into all this would be greatly appreciated. We begin as travelers. Perhaps in time, we will become sojourners. Eventually, if we continue, we will be called to be guides to others who will walk this path.I don’t know where this will lead me. I’d like to believe that I’ll even follow the path that I set out here. Ultimately, however, I’m not sure where God will bring me through this – my prayer is that I walk neither ahead nor behind, but hand in hand with Him….

Categories: Hodos, Living

Holiness Word Study

2005-11-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

Some points at the outset:

· You may disagree with the headings that I’ve provided here. I’ve tried to make it as consistent as possible throughout, but if you feel changes need to be made on any particular passage, please let me know.
· I did not spell/grammar check this, so any mistakes in that vein should be pointed out so that I can change them
· This is only a cursory study. By that, I mean that all I did was find all the English instances of the word holy in the NASB. A search in another version would produce somewhat different results. In addition, I did not do the underlying Hebrew or Greek word studies to find the domain of meaning of each word. I felt that what is below would be a helpful start. But, again, any recommendations for additions would be appreciated.

Holy Through Presence of God

Ex 3:5 Standing on holy ground
Ex 15:13 Guided to holy habitation (Mt.Sinai)
Ex 26:33 Holy place and Holy of Holies (Tabernacle/Temple)
Ex 26:34 Holy of Holies (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 28:29 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 28:35 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 28:43 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 29:30 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 31:11 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 35:19 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 39:1 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ex 39:41 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 6:30 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:2 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:3 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:16 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:17 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:20 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:23 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Lev 16:27 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Num 16:3 All the congregation are holy and the Lord is in their midst
Num 28:7 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Deu 26:15 Your holy habitation (heaven)
Josh 5:15 Standing on holy ground (God's presence?)
1 Kin 6:16 The most holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Kin 7:50 The most holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Kin 8:6 The most holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Kin 8:8 holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Kin 8:10 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Chr 6:49 The most holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Chr 23:32 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 3:8 Holy of Holies (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 3:10 Holy of Holies (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 4:22 Holy of Holies (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 5:7 Holy of Holies (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 5:11 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 8:11 God's presence makes something holy
2 Chr 29:5 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 29:7 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
2 Chr 30:27 His Holy Dwelling (heaven)
2 Chr 35:5 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Neh 11:1 The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the Holy city
Neh 11:18 All the Levites in the holy city were 284
Psa 2:6 My holy mountain (Zion)
Psa 3:4 Answered form holy mountain
Psa 5:7 Psalmist will bow at holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Psa 11:4 The Lord is in His holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Psa 15:1 Who may dwell on your holy hill (Zion cf v. 1a)
Psa 20:6 Will save anointed from His holy heaven)
Psa 24:3 Who may stand in His holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Psa 28:2 Lift hands toward His holy sanctuary (tabernacle/temple)
Psa 43:3 Let them bring me to your holy hill (Zion)
Psa 46:4 The holy dwelling places of the Most High (Jerusalem)
Psa 47:8 God sits on His holy throne (heaven)
Psa 48:1 His holy mountain (Jerusalem)
Psa 65:4 Your holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Psa 68:5 Is God in His holy habitation (heaven)
Psa 79:1 They have defiled your holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Psa 87:1 His foundation is in the holy mountains (Zion)
Psa 93:5 Holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore
Psa 99:9 Worship at his holy hill (Zion)
Psa 102:19 Looked down from His holy height (heaven)
Psa 138:2 Bow down toward the holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Eccl 8:10 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Isa 11:9 They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain (Zion?)
Isa 27:13 worhip the Lord in the holy mountain (Zion/Jerusalem)
Is 52:1 O Jerusalem, the holy city
Isa 56:7 Even those I will bring to my holy mountain (Zion because of temple)
Isa 57:13 will possess My holy mountain (Zion)
Isa 57:15 I dwell on a high and holy place (Zion/heaven?)
Isa 63:15 Look down from heaven…holy habitation (heaven)
Is 64:11 Our holy and beautiful house where our fathers praised you
Isa 65:11 Who forget my holy mountain (Zion)
Isa 65:25 They will do no harm in all my holy mountain (Zion)
Isa 66:20 Bring sacrifices to my holy mountain Jerusalem (Jerusalem)
Jer 25:30 utter His voice from His holy habitation (heaven)
Jer 31:23 O Holy Hill (Jerusalem)
Jer 51:51 aliens have entered the holy places of God's house (tabernacle/temple)
Ezek 20:40 on My holy mountain Israel will serve me (Zion)
Ezek 28:14 You were on the holy mountain of God (Zion/Temple/Heaven?)
Ezek 41:4 the most holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ezk 45:2 Out of this there shall be for the holy place a square
Ezek 45:3 The most holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Ezk 48:12 It shall be an allotment to them from the allotment of the land, a most holy place
Dan 8:13 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Dan 8:14 Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Dan 9:16 Your holy mountain (Jerusalem)
Dan 9:20 the holy mountain (Jerusalem)
Dan 9:24 Your holy city (Jerusalem)
Dan 11:45 bteween the seas and the beautiful Holy mountain (Zion)
Joel 2:1 Sound an alarm on my holy mountain (Zion)
Joel 3:17 My holy mountain (Zion)
Oba 1:16 My holy mountain (Zion)
Jon 2:4 look toward your holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Jon 2:7 my prayer came to you into your holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Mic 1:2 The Lord from His holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Hab 2:20 But the Lord is in His holy temple (tabernacle/temple)
Zep 3:11 My holy mountain (Zion)
Zec 2:13 His holy habitation (heaven)
Zec 8:3 the holy mountain (Jerusalem)
Mat 4:5 into the holy city (Jerusalem)
Mat 24:15 standing in the Holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Mat 27:53 They entered the holy city (Jerusalem)
Act 6:13 speaks against this holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Act 7:33 Standing on holy ground (God's presence)
Act 21:28 defiled this holy place (tabernacle/temple)
1 Cor 3:17 for the temple of God is holy and that is what you are (tabernacle/temple)
Eph 2:21 in whom the whole building is gr4owing into a holy temple in the Lord (tabernacle/temple)
Heb 9:2 this is called the holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Heb 9:3 Holy of Holies (tabernacle/temple)
Heb 9:12 the holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Heb 9:25 as the high priest enters the holy place (tabernacle/temple)
Heb 10:19 since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus (tabernacle/temple)
Heb 13:11 the holy place (tabernacle/temple)
2 Pet 1:18 we ourselves heard this utterence when we were with Him on the holy mountain (???Transfiguration)
Rev 11:2 they will tread under foot the holy city for forty two months (Jerusalem)
Rev 21:2 I saw the Holy city (Jerusalem)
Rev 21:10 showed me the holy city (Jerusalem)
Rev 22:19 God will take away his part from the holy city (Jerusalem)

Holy Through Consecration/Dedication/Giving

Ex 29:37 You shall consecrate it then the alter shall be most holy
Ex 30:29 You shall consecrate [entire tabernacle and items] that they may be most holy
Ex 40:9 Then take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in and shall consecrate it; it shall be holy
Ex 40:10 Anoint the alter and all its utensils and consecrate the alter and the alter shall be most holy
Lev 27:9 Any [animal] that one gives to the Lord shall be holy
Lev 27:10 If he exchanges animal for animal, both shall become holy
Lev 27:14 If a man consecrates his house as holy to the Lord
Lev 27:21 A consecrated field
Lev 27:23 Money received for a consecrated field is holy to the Lord
Lev 27:28 Anything devoted to destruction is most holy to the Lord (?)
Lev 27:30 Thus all the tithe of the land is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord
Lev 27:32 The tenth [animal] shall be holy to the Lord
Lev 27:33 If he exchanges animal for animal, both shall become holy
Num 5:9 Every contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts (?sacrifices?)
Num 5:10 So every man's holy gifts shall be his (?sacrifices?)
Num 6:5 The Nazirite shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he seperated himself to the Lord
Num 6:8 All the days of separation he is holy to the Lord
Num 16:37 take up the censors out of the midst of the blaze for they are holy
Num 16:38 since they did present them before the Lord and they are holy (?should be service?)
2 Chr 31:18for the whole assembly consecrated themselves faithfully in holiness

Holiness as an Attribute of God

Ex 15:11 Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?
Lev 10:3 By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy
Lev 11:44 for I am holy
Lev 11:45 for I am holy
Lev 19:2 for I am holy
Lev 20:26 for I am holy
Lev 21:8 for I am holy
Num 20:12 Because you have not treated Me as holy
Num 20:13 He proved Himself holy among them
Num 27:14 You rebelled against My command to treat Me as holy
Deu 32:51 Because you have not treated Me as holy
Josh 24:19 You will not be able to serve the Lord for He is a holy God
1 Sam 2:2 There is no one holy like the Lord
1 Sam 6:20Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?
Ps 22:3 Yet you are holy
Ps 60:6 God has spoken in His holiness
Ps 68:17 The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness
Ps 77:13 Your way O God is holy
Ps 89:35 Once I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David
Ps 98:1 His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory (strength)
Ps 99:3 Holy is He
Ps 99:5 Holy is He
Ps 99:9 For holy is the Lord our God
Ps 105:42 For He remembered His holy word
Ps 108:7 God has spoken in His holiness
Is 5:16 And the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness
Is 6:3 Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts
Is 8:13 It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy
Is 52:10 The Lord has bared His holy arm
Jer 23:9 All my bones tremble because of the Lord and because of His holy words
Ez 20:41 I will prove myself holy among you
Ez 28:22 And I will manifest my holiness in her
Ez 28:25 And will manifest my holiness in them
Ez 36:23 I will vindicate the holiness of my great name...when I prove myself holy among you
Am 4:2 The Lord God has sworn by His holiness
Jn 17:11 Holy Father, keep them in Your name
Eph 4:24 the new self...Which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness fo the truth
Heb 7:26 Us to have a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, seperated from sinners and exalted above the heavens
Heb 12:10 He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness
1 Pet 1:16 Because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy
Rev 3:7 He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David
Rev 4:8 Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty
Rev 6:10 How long, O Lord, holy and true, will you refrain from judging
Rev 15:4 For you alone are holy

Holy by Declaration or Action of God

Ex 19:6 You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation
Ex 20:11 Therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy
Ex 22:31 You shall be holy men to me (?acted by God or man?)
Num 16:5 The Lord will show who is holy
Num 16:7 The man the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy
Deu 7:6 For you are a holy people…the Lord your God has chosen you
Deu 14:2 For you are a holy people…the Lord your God has chosen you
Deu 14:21 for you are a holy popele to the Lord
Deu 28:9 The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself
2 Kin 4:9 I perceive that this is a holy man of God (?)
Ezr 9:2 So that the holy race has intermingled with peoples of the land
Ps 78:54 So He brought them to His holy land
Is 4:3 He who is left in Zion will be called holy
Is 35:8 A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness
Is 62:12 And they will call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord
Is 63:18 Your holy people possessed your sanctuary for a little while
Jer 2:3 Israel was holy to the Lord
Jer 31:40 The whole valley shall be holy to the Lord
Ez 43:12 Its entire area on the top of the mountain shall be most holy (?presence?)
Ez 44:23 They shall teach the difference between the holy and the profane; between clean and unclean
Dan 8:24 He will destroy mighty men and the holy people
Dan 11:28 But his heart will be set against the holy covenant
Dan 11:30 Therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action
Dan 11:30 So he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant
Dan 12:7 And as soon as they finish shattering the power fo the holy people
Joel 3:17 So Jerusaelm will be holy
Ob1:17 And Mount Zion will be holy
Zech 2:12 The Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem
Lk 1:35 For that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God
Lk 1:70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from old (?service?)
Lk 1:72 And to remember His holy covenant
Lk 2:23 Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord
Acts 3:21 About which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets
Act 4:27 There were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed
Act 4:30 Signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus
Rom 1:2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures
Rom 7:12 So then the Law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good
Eph 1:4 Just as He chose us in Him that we would be holy and blameless before Him
Eph 3:5 The mystery has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit
Eph 4:24 Put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth
Eph 5:7 He might present to Himself the church…but that she would be holy and blameless
Col1:22 He has now reconciled you…in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach
Col3:12 As those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of …
1 Ths 3:13so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father
2 Tim 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling
Heb 3:1 Therefore, holy brethern
1 Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession
2 Pet 3:2 you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets (?service?)
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection

Holy because Sacrificed to God

Ex 28:38 Aaron shall take away the iniquity of the holy things which the sons of Israel consecrate (?consecrated?)
Ex 28:38 with regard to all their holy gifts
Ex 29:33 Thus they shall eat those things; but a layman shall not eat them because they are holy
Ex 29:34 It shall not be eaten, because it is holy
Ex 30:10 The sin offering is most holy to the Lord
Lev 2:3 A thing most holy, of the offerings to the Lord by fire
Lev 2:10 A thing most holy, of the offerings to the Lord by fire
Lev 5:15 If a person acts unfaithfully and sins unintentionally against the Lord's holy things
Lev 5:16 He shall make restitution for that which he has sinned against the holy thing
Lev 6:17 Grain offering is most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering
Lev 6:25 Burnt offering is most holy
Lev 6:29 Burnt offering is most holy
Lev 7:1 Guilt offering is most holy
Lev 7:6 Guilt offering is most holy
Lev 10:12 Grain offering is most holy
Lev 10:17 Sin offering is most holy
Lev 14:13 Guilt offering is most holy
Lev 19:8 Peace offering eaten unacceptably has profaned the holy thing of the Lord
Lev 19:24 All its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord
Lev 21:22 He may eat the food of his God, both the most holy and of the holy
Lev 22:2 Tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts of the sons of Israel
Lev 22:3 Approaching the holy gifts while unclean causes cutting off
Lev 22:4 No descendant of Aaron may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean
Lev 22:6 No descendant of Aaron may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean
Lev 22:7 He will be clean and shall eat of the holy gifts, for it is his food
Lev 22:10 No layman is to eat the holy gift…a sojourner shall not eat of the holy gift
Lev 22:14 But if a man eats the holy gift unintentionally…shall give the holy gift to the priest
Lev 22:15 They shall not profane the holy gifts of the sons of Israel which they offer to the Lord
Lev 22:16 And so cause them to bear punishment for guilt by eating their holy gifts
Lev 23:20 Wave offering are to be holy to the Lord for the priest
Num 6:20 Wave offering are to be holy to the Lord for the priest
Num 18:8 I have given you charge of my offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel
Num 18:9 This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire
Num 18:10 As the most holy gifts you shall eat it
Num 18:17 Firstborn offerings unredeemable (cannot be purchased back) they are holy
Num 18:19 All the offerings of the holy gifts have been given to priests
Deu 12:26 Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings
2 Chr 35:13So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire and boiled the holy things in pots
Ezr 2:63 They should not eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Unim and Thummim
Neh 7:65 They should not eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Unim and Thummim
Neh 10:33 Contributed for the purchase of the holy things (sacrifices)
Ezk 22:8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my sabbaths
Ezk 22:26 Her priests have profaned my holy things and have made no distinction between the holy and profane
Ezk 42:13 The chambers of the temple are where the priests are to eat the most holy things; there they shall lay the most holy things
Ezk 45:1 You shall offer an allotment ot the Lord, a holy portion of land; it shall be holy within all its boundary round about
Ezk 45:4 It shall be the holy portion of the land
Ezk 45:6 Alongside the allotment of the holy portion
Ezk 45:7 The prince shall have land on either side of the holy allotment; adjacent to the holy allotment
Ezk 48:10 The holy allotment shall be for these, namely for the priests
Ezk 48:12 It shall be an allotment to them from the alltoment of the land, a most holy place
Ezk 48:14 They shall not sell or exachange this portion of land for it is holy to the Lord
Ezk 48:18 The remainer of the length alongside the holy allotment
Ezk 48:20 You shall set apart the holy allotment
Ezk 48:21 And the holy allotment and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the middle of it
Hag 2:12 If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment
Rom 12:1 Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice which is your spiritual service of worship

Holy because a Day/Time Set Apart By God

Ex 12:16 On the first day you shall have a holy assembly and another holy assembly on the seventh day
Ex 16:23 Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord
Ex 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy
Ex 31:14 Therefore, you are to observe the sabbath, ofr it is holy to you
Ex 31:15 But on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord
Ex 35:2 But on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the Lord
Lev 23:2 The Lord's appointed times which you shall proclaim as a holy convocation (?)
Lev 23:3 But on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation
Lev 23:4 These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations
Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation
Lev 23:8 On the seventh day is a holy convocation
Lev 23:21 You are to have a holy convocation (?Pentecost?)
Lev 23:24 In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest…a holy convocation
Lev 23:27 On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you
Lev 23:35 On the first day is a holy convocation (?)
Lev 23:36 On the eight day you shall have a holy convocation (?)
Lev 23:37 These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations
Lev 25:12 For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you
Num 28:18On the first day shall be a holy convocation
Num 28:25On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation
Num 28:26Also on the day of the first fruits (Feast of Weeks) you shall have a holy convocation
Num 29:1 Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall slao have a holy convocation
Num 29:7 Then on the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation
Num 29:12Then on the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation
Deu 5:12 Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy
Neh 8:9 This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.
Neh 8:10 For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength
Neh 8:11 Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved
Neh 9:14 So you made known to them your holy sabbath
Neh 10:31 We will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day
Is 58:13 If because of the Sabbath you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on my holy day
Is 58:13 And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable
Jer 17:22 But keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers
Jer 17:24 But to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it
Jer 17:27 But if you do not listen ot me to keep the sabbath day holy by not working

Holy by Action of People

Lev 11:44 Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.
Lev 11:45 Thus you shall be holy, for I am holy
Lev 19:2 You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy
Lev 20:7 You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God
Lev 20:26 Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy; and I have set you apart to be Mine
Num 15:40 So that you may remember to do all my commandments and be holy to your God
Deu 23:14 Therefore, your camp must be holy
1 Sam 21:5and the vessels of the young men were holy
1 Chr 16:29Worship the Lord in holy array
Prv 20:25 It is a trap for a man to say rashly "It is holy" and after the vows to make inquiry (?consecration?)
1 Cor 7:34 The woman who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lrod, that she may be holy both in body and spirit
1 Pet 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior
1 Pet 1:16 Because it is written You shall be holy, for I am holy
1 Pet 3:5 For in this way in former times, the holy women also used to adorn themselves
2 Pet 3:11 What sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness
Jd 1:20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit
Rev 22:11 And let the one who is holy, still keep himself holy
2 Cor 1:12 In holiness and godly sincerity, we have conducted ourselves in the world and especially toward you
2 Cor 7:1 Therefore, let us cleanses ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God

Holy because Used in Service to God

Ex 28:2 You shall make holy garments for Aaron
Ex 28:4 And they shall make holy garments for Aaron
Ex 28:36 You shall make a plate of gold and engrave on it, Holy to the Lord
Ex 29:6 You shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban
Ex 29:29 The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him
Ex 29:37 Then the alter shall be most holy
Ex 30:25 You shall make of these a holy anointing oil…it shall be a holy anointing oil
Ex 30:31 This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me
Ex 30:32 The oil is holy and it shall be holy to you
Ex 30:35 With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure and holy
Ex 30:36 The incense shall be most holy to you
Ex 30:37 The incense shall be most holy to you
Ex 31:10 The holy garments for Aaron the priest
Ex 35:19 The holy garments for Aaron the priest
Ex 35:21 Everyone brought the Lord's contribution for the holy garments
Ex 37:29 And he made the holy anointing oil
Ex 39:1 From the blue and purple and scarlet material they made the holy garments which were for Aaron
Ex 39:30 They made the plate of the holy crown and inscribed it Holy to the Lord
Ex 39:41 The holy garments for Aaron the priest
Ex 40:9 Anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it and it shall be holy
Ex 40:10 Anoint the alter and all its utensils and the alter shall be most holy
Ex 40:13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him
Lev 8:9 He also placed the holy crown just as the Lord had commanded Moses
Lev 16:4 He shall put on the holy linen tunic, undergarments, sash, turben (these are holy garments)
Lev 16:32 The priest shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments
Lev 16:33 And make atonement for the holy sanctuary
Lev 21:6 The priests shall be holy to their God for they present the offerings…so they shall be holy
Lev 21:7 For the priest is holy to his God
Lev 21:8 The priest shall be holy to you
Num 4:4 This is the work of Kohath concerning the most holy things
Num 4:15 When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects…so that they will not touch the holy objects and die
Num 4:19 But do this to them that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy objects
Num 4:20 But they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment or they will die
Num 5:17 The priests shall take holy water in a vessel
Num 7:9 Theirs was the service of the holy objects which they carried on the shoulder
Num 10:21 Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects
Num 31:6 Moses sent them and the holy vessels
Num 35:25 And he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil
Jos 6:19 But all the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy to the Lord
1 Kin 8:4 They brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils
1 Chr 22:19So that you may bring the ark and the holy vessels of God
1 Chr 23:13And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy to burn incense before the Lord, to minister to Him, and to bless in His name forever
1 Chr 23:28For their office is to assist the sons of Aaron and in the purifying of all holy things
1 Chr 29:3 Above all that I have already provided for the holy temple
2 Chr 5:5 They brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the holy utensils
2 Chr 20:21He appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praise Him in holy attire
2 Chr 23:6 They may enter for they are holy
2 Chr 24:7 For the sons of Athaliah had broken into the house of the God and even used the holy things of the house for Baals
2 Chr 31:14Kore was over the most holy things
2 Chr 35:3 He also said to the Levites and who were holy to the Lord, 'Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon built"
Ezr 8:28 You are holy to the Lord and the utensils are holy
Ps 89:20 With my holy oil I have anointed him
Ps 96:9 Worship the Lord in holy attire
Ezk 42:13 The chambers are holy chambers…for the place is holy
Ezk 42:14 Without laying there their garments in which they minister for they are holy
Ezk 44:8 And you have not kept charge of my holy things yourselves, but have set foreigners to keep charge of my sanctuary
Ezk 44:13 They shall not come near to any of my holy things to the things that are most holy
Ezk 44:19 They shall put off their garments in which they have been ministering and lay them in the holy chambers
Ezk 46:19 Then he brought me into the holy chambers for the priests
Zech 14:20 In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, Holy to the Lord
Zech 14:21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord
Mk 6:20 For Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man
1 Pet 2:5 You also are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices

Holy through Contact with Something/One Holy

Ex 29:37 Then the alter shall be most holy and whatever touches the alter shall be holy
Ex 30:29 You shall consecrate the tabernacle items, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy
2 Chr 8:11The places are holy where the ark of the Lord has entered
Hag 2:12 If a man carries holy meant and touches something, will it become holy? And the priests answered No
1 Cor 7:14For otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy
Ezk 44:19 Then they shall put on other garments so that they will not transmit holiness to the people with their garments
Ezk 46:20 In order that they may not bring them out into the outer court to transmit holiness to the people

Holy Described Contra Unholy

Lev 10:10 And so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, between the unclean and the clean
Ezk 42:20To divide between the holy and the profane

Holy Name

Lev 20:3 Because he has given some of his offspring to Molech so as to defiel my sanctuary and profane my holy name
Lev 22:2 Tell Aaron to be careful with the holy gifts so as not to profane my holy name.
Lev 22:32 You shall not profane my holy name
1 Chr 16:10 Glory in His holy name
1 Chr 16:35 To give thanks to your holy name
1 Chr 29:16 All this abundance that we have provided to build you a house for your holy name
Ps 30:4 And give thanks to His holy name
Ps 33:21 Because we trust in his holy name
Ps 97:12 And give thanks to His holy name
Ps 103:1 All that is within me bless His holy name
Ps 105:3 Glory in His holy name
Ps 106:47 To give thanks to your holy name
Ps 111:9 Holy and awesome is His name
Ps 145:21 And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever
Is 57:15 Who lives forever, whose name is Holy
Ezk 20:39 My holy name you will profane no longer with your gifts and your idols
Ezk 36:20 They profaned my holy name
Ezk 36:21 But I had concern for my holy name
Ezk 36:22 It is not for your sake O house of Israel that I am about to act but for my holy name
Ezk 36:23 I will vindicate the holiness of my Great name
Ezk 39:7 My holy name I will maek known in the midst of my people Israel
Ezk 39:7 I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore
Ezk 39:25 And I will be jealous for my holy name
Ezk 43:7 The house of Israel will not again defile my holy name
Ezk 43:8 And they have defiled my holy name by their abominations
Am 2:7 And a man and his father resort to the same girl in order to profane my holy name
Lk 1:49 For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name
Jn 17:11 Holy Father, keep them in your name

Holy Spirit

Ps 51:11 And do not take your holy spirit from me
Is 63:10 And grieved His Holy Spirit
Is 63:11 Where is he who put his Holy Spirit in the midst of them
Mtt 1:18 Before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit
Mtt 1:20 For the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit
Mtt 3:11 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Mtt 12:32 But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him
Mtt 28:19 Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Mk 1:8 but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
Mk 3:29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness,
Mk 12:36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit
Mk 13:11 for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit
Lk 1:15 and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb
Lk 1:35 The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you
Lk 1:41 and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
Lk 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied
Lk 2:25 And the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Lk 2:26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death
Lk 3:16 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Lk 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove
Lk 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordon and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
Lk 10:21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit
Lk 11:13 how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?
Lk 12:10 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven Him
Lk 12:12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say
Jn 1:33 this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.
Jn 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name
Jn 20:22 Receive the Holy Spiirt
Act 1:2 after He ahd by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles
Act 1:5 but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now
Act 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
Act 1:16 Breethern, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance
Act 2:33 and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit
Act 2:38 and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
Act 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them
Act 4:25 who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant said
Act 4:31 and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness
Act 5:3 Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit
Act 5:32 and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him
Act 6:5 and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit
Act 7:51 You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit
Act 7:55 But being full fo the Holy Spirit
Act 8:15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit
Act 8:17 Then they began laying their hands on them and they were receiving the Holy Spirit
Act 8:19 Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit
Act 9:17 has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit
Act 9:31 and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase
Act 10:38 You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power
Act 10:44 While Peter was stil speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message
Act 10:45 because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also
Act 10:47 Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?
Act 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning
Act 11:16 John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit
Act 11:24 for he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
Act 13:2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
Act 13:4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to
Act 13:9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him
Act 13:52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit
Act 15:8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us
Act 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials
Act 16:6 having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia
Act 19:2 Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?...No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit
Act 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them
Act 20:23 Except that the Holy Spirit solumnly testifies to me in every city
Act 20:28 Be on guard for yourselves and fo rall the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers
Act 21:11 This is what the Holy Spirit says,
Act 28:25 The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers,
Rom 1:4 according to the Spirit of holiness
Rom 5:5 because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us
Rom 9:1 my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit
Rom 14:17 but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
Rom 15:13 so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Rom 15:16 so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit
1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you
1 Cor 12:3 and no one can say, Jesus I sLord, except by the Holy Spirit
2 Cor 6:6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindnes, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love
2 Cor 13:14and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all
Eph 1:13 In Him…you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise
Eph 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God
1 Ths 1:5 but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction
1 Ths 1:6 having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit
1 Ths 4:8 So he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you
2 Tm 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us
Tts 3:5 by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit
Hb 2:4 nd by gifts fo the Holy Spirit according to his own will
Hb. 3:7 Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says
Hb. 6:4 and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit
Hb 9:8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this,
Hb 10:15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying
1 Pt 1:12 but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven
2 Pt 1:21 but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God

Holy One

2 Kin 19:22 Against whom have you raised your voice? Against the Holy One of Israel
Ps 16:10 Nor will you allow your holy one to undergo decay
Ps 71:22 To you I will sing praises O holy one of Israel
Ps 106:16 And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord
Prv 9:10 And the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding
Prv 30:3 Nor do I have the knowledge of the Holy one
Is 1:4 They have despised the Holy one of Israel
Is 5:19 And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near
Is 5:24 And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel
Is 10:17 And the light of Israel will become a fire and His holy one a flame
Is 10:20 But will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy one of Israel
Is 12:6 For great in your midst is the holy one of Israel
Is 17:7 And his eyes will look ot the holy one of Israel
Is 29:19 And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the holy one of Israel
Is 29:23 Indded they will sanctify the holy one of Jacob
Is 30:11 Let us har no more about the holy one of Israel
Is 30:12 Therefore thus says the holy one of Israel
Is 30:15 For thus the Lord God the Holy one of Israel has said
Is 31:1 But they do not look to the holy one of Israel, nor seek the Lord
Is 37:23 Against whom have you raised your voice? Against the Holy One of Israel
Is 40:25 That I would be his equal says the Holy one
Is 41:14 I will help you declares the Lord and your Redeemer is the holy one of Israel
Is 41:16 You will glory in the holy one of Israel
Is 41:20 And the holy one of Israel has created it
Is 43:3 The only one of Israel, your Savior
Is 43:14 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the holy one of Israel
Is 43:15 I am the Lord, your holy one
Is 45:11 Thus says the Lord, the holy one of Israel, and his maker
Is 47:4 Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, the holy one of Israel
Is 48:17 Thus says the Lord your Redeemer, the holy one of Israel
Is 49:17 Thus says the Lord the redeember of Israel and its holy one
Is 54:5 And your redeemer is the holy one of Israel
Is 55:5 Because of the Lord your God, even the holy one of Israel
Is 60:9 And for the holy one of Israel because he has glorified you
Is 60:14 The Zion of the Holy one of Israel
Jer 50:29 For she has become arrogant against the Lord, against the Holy one of Israel
Jer 51:5 Although their land is full of guilt before the holy one of Israel
Ezk 39:7 And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the holy one of Israel
Hos 11:9 For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst
Hos 11:12 Judah is also unruly against God, even against the Holy One who is faithful
Hab 1:12 Are you not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my Holy One?
Hab 3:3 God comes from Teman, and the Holy One from MountParan
Mk 1:24 I know who you are - the Holy One of God
Lk 4:34 I know who you are - the Holy One of God
Jn 6:29 We have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God
Act 2:27 Because you will not abandon my soul to Hades nor allow your Holy One to undergo decay
Act 3:14 But you diwoned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a a murderer to be granted to you
Act 13:35 You will not allow your Holy One to undergo decay
1 Pt 1:15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy
1 Jn 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you all know
Rev 16:5 Righteous are You who are and who were O Holy One because you judged these things

Miscellaneous/Questionable Applications

Ex 29:31 boil the ram in a holy place
Lev 6:16 unleavened cakes eaten in a holy place
Lev 6:26 sin offering eaten in a holy place
Lev 6:27 blood on garments in a holy place
Lev 7:6 eaten in a holy place
Lev 10:13 eaten in a holy place
Lev 16:24 bathed in a holy place
Lev 24:9 eaten in a holy place
Deu 33:2 And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones
Deu 33:3 All your holy ones are in your hand
Ezr 9:8 gave remnant a peg in His holy place
Job 5:1 And to which of the holy ones will you turn
Job 15:15 Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones
Ps 29:2 Worship the Lord in holy array
Ps 89:5 Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones
Ps 89:7 O God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones
Ps 110:3 In holy array, from the womb of the dawn
Is 6:13 The holy seed is its stump
Is 48:2 For they call themselves after the holy city
Is 64:10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness
Is 65:5 For I am holier than you!
Ezk 7:24 I will also make the pride of the strong ones ceaseand their holy places will be profaned
Dan 4:8 Whose name is Belteshazzar [Daniel] according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods
Dan 4:9 O Belteshazzar [Daniel], since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you
Dan 4:13 I was looking in the visions in my mind and behold an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven
Dan 4:17 This sentence is by decree of the angelic watchers and the decision is a command of the holy ones
Dan 4:18 But you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you
Dan 4:23 In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven
Dan 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods
Dan 8:13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking
Mic 3:5 But against him who puts nothing in their mouths they declare holy war
Zch 14:5 Then the Lord, my God, will come and all the holy ones with Him!
Mtt 7:6 Do not give what is holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine
Mk 8:38 the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels
Lk 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days
Lk 9:26 and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels
Act 10:22 was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to hi shouse and hear a message from you
Act 13:34 I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David
Rom 11:16 If the first piece fo dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too
Rom 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss
1 Cor 16:20Greet one another with a holy kiss
2 Cor 13:12Greet one another with a holy kiss
1 Ths 5:26 Greet all the brethern with a holy kiss
1 Tm 2:8 I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension
Heb 9:24 Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands
2 Pt 2:21 than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them
Jd 1:14 Behold the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones
Rev 14:10 and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb

Categories: Hodos, Thinking

Why I Am Not Emergent!

2005-11-06T10:33:00.000-05:00

Michael Lee at Addison Road does such a great job of explaining why we should turn from the Emergent Movement that I felt compelled to make it available to everyone who comes to this site. Based on his observations, I will also be making the radical move away from the Emergent church....

Categories: Emerging, Fun

No More Curse

2005-10-27T10:33:00.000-04:00

Whether it’s the turn of a century or the new millennium or a combination of both, we have witnessed in two short years the end of baseball curses that have held for over 80 years.

Last night, the White Sox overturned the curse from the Black Sox who had players on the team who conspired to lose the game so that they could get paid money from the gambling industry. Last year, the Red Sox overcame the curse on their ineptness when they traded away Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

It has been fascinating to me both this year and last watching the development of these two historic events. The fans of both teams have done everything in their power to help their team along (including prayers to various deities and superstitious practices). During the games, the fans have cheered on their teams, standing for them, shouting encouragement, and generally enjoying the reversal of something that has haunted them for decades. One can even see in the intensity of the players their desire to see history change. And as each team stepped closer to that final out, one couldn’t help but feel as though there was less and less tension and more and more joy. As it became apparent that both teams were in a good position to sweep the series, anticipations were high.

The wonder of the Gospel is that we all look forward to that day when there will be no more curse (Revelation 22:3). I wonder, though, whether we are as excited about its removal as the average Red Sox or White Sox fan. Do we see the end of the curse of sin in our lives as something to be excited about? I generally disagree with the analogy of believers being fans, but do we cheer those who are hard at work in bringing this about on? Do we do everything we can do (including prayers to the only deity and holy practices) to help bring our team along?

What sort of anticipation do we have that the curse is coming to an end?

Categories: Living

Humbled By An Unknown Person

2005-10-25T10:32:00.000-04:00

This past week I was reminded about the Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. I don’t mean the mamby-pamby persecution that we talk about in America (you know…someone makes fun of you because you think that abstinence is not only smart but commanded by God…). I mean the real stuff.

And it got me to thinking. What would I do if I were a believer in a persecuting culture? What would I need to do to survive as a believer? It’s easy to say that I’d go to jail or be tortured. First because its unlikely to happen to me, but also because in order to go to jail or be tortured in persecuting cultures, there are many steps that lead up to that moment.

Bibles are generally scarce in persecuting countries. Many believers need to memorize large portions of Scripture since carrying around the book will get them killed. But they are, to date, still allowed to carry around their brains. Sometimes, a church of believers will take portions of Scripture to memorize so that no one of them has all of Scripture memorized but together they can recite it all. What a beautiful picture of the body at work!

Which part of Scripture would I memorize? I don’t have the brain for any of the Law books, nor for Proverbs. I have a tough time memorizing those types of details. But I can imagine myself memorizing either the Psalms or the narrative portions of Scripture. I think in pictures and those portions of Scripture tend to fit well with how I think, so my guess is that they would be the best suited for me to memorize.

In most cultures of persecution, people learn to pray. They pray in all sorts of different ways. Sometimes, it is silently together in the midst of a group of non-believers. Sometimes it is long, late-night hours. And I can understand the comfort and assurance that comes from bringing their prayers before a God who not only hears but responds. Perhaps not in the ways that we always would expect or desire – but He responds and He is at work and somehow He is using our prayers to do it!

A consistent characteristic for many believers in persecuting cultures is that there are both a healthy number of people who go and who send. I’m not sure which I’d be – probably the latter. Not because I don’t want others to know about Jesus. I do. Its just that I’m not so sure that when talking about giftings that I could list ‘evangelist’ among them. But still, would I speak to my neighbors knowing that they might sell my friendship to the local authorities? Would I tell my family members knowing that they might prefer to see me dead rather than believing what to them seems incomprehensible? So many in persecuted cultures do just that.

And then there is the faith. In the midst of the struggle, the joys, the tragedies, the heartache and pain, there is faith. An unalterable, firmly convinced, total assurance, won’t-back-down-attitude that God is God and He is in control and He loves me so much that neither death nor life nor spiritual beings nor height nor depth nor anything in all of creation will EVER separate me from His love. Its a faith that states that I’ll live for as long as God has me here but with the unmistakable passion that death will actually bring more life than ever was lived in this body.

And I think of all these things about my persecuted brothers and sisters and I can’t help but ask the obvious question – so what’s stopping me?

What’s stopping me from memorizing large portions of Scripture…even the ones that I would be best at memorizing? What besides my own laziness, apathy, and arrogance prevents me from hiding a portion of God’s word in my heart so that I might not sin against Him?

What’s stopping me from praying fervently….even if it goes late into the night? What besides my own upside down priorities, cynicism towards answered prayer, and a vending-machine-God relationship stops me from getting down on my knees and praying without ceasing?

What’s stopping me from telling others about Jesus…even if I’m not an evangelist? What besides my own greater fear of others over God, a cold heart, and lack of love thwarts me from telling every person I get to know about how the risen God has appeared to ME in my life!?!?!?

Where is my faith? There are believers in countries far less blessed than my own moving mountains that I would be crushed by because I would try to move them under my own strength. So much of me….so little of Him!

And do I really believe, even for a moment, that I will be able to stand before God and in a pathetic whimper say, ‘But I would have if only you had sent more persecution my way…’ In the mixed up, upside down, first becomes last and last becomes first kingdom of God, it is these people whose names will never be known on this earth who will stand out with crowns of glory – crowns that will make my crown, gained through whatever paltry accomplishments I feebly produce for the kingdom, look like the crowns one gets at a fast food restaurant.

I get humbled by the wrong people. These people who are willing to risk all for their Savior because their Savior gave all for them – these are the people that should humble us, that we should be looking to as mentors and leaders to be followed….these are the ones who are truly passing on the faith to another generation. May God help us to be humbled by them.

Categories: Living

Al Mohler is Just Plain Wrong

2005-10-24T10:31:00.000-04:00

In an article titled Preaching is the heart of worship (part one), Al Mohler makes the assertion that preaching is the heart – the very central aspect - of worship. Using little Biblical support for this assertion, Mohler leaves us with more questions than answers with his statements.

- Though I understand that Mohler is talking about corporate worship (the gathering together of believers for communal worship), he never seems to make a distinction between this time of worshipping together and our own personal worship that is accomplished through the very living of our lives. While it is clear that the corporate worship impacts the individual worship, does the individual worship impact the corporate? Mohler never really addresses this.

- Mohler states that “A media-driven culture of images has replaced the word-centered culture that gave birth to the Reformation churches.” He clearly realizes the significant shift that occurred with the invention of the printing press and the impact that it had on a culture that had not been word-centered before. The Reformation churches, working within this culture and using its primary thrust (the use and proliferation of words), began to see some of the abuses that the church had been propogating and rightly called their attention to changes that needed to be made. However, the fact that medieval culture was not word-centered does not make it inferior. Interestingly, the church did not fail in its role of spreading the Gospel. They continued to teach the people what they could not read. In addition, missionary work abounded in these years and one would assume it was done through a proclamation of the word to others. Thus, an image-driven culture does not negate the use of word-centered teaching. Though culture has begun shifting again away from a word-centered culture, what is the church to do with this? Are we to force them to learn our language first before we present the gospel to them? Or do we learn their language and present the gospel in terms that they will understand? Mohler does not struggle with this reality.

- Mohler seems to suggest that somehow music and singing is less significant in worship than preaching (actually, if his assertion that preaching is the only central component, then he has implicitly stated this). He states that “music filling the space” is somehow less glorifying to God than someone preaching. I’m not sure how one supports this from Scripture. Revelation 5 speaks of every created being singing (one would assume quite loudly) to God – can we not begin that today in our worship services? This, of course, says nothing of the commands that God wants us to worship Him with song (uhh….pretty much the whole book of Psalms). Mohler decries the amount of investment and preparation into these acts of worship and, no doubt, there are terrible abuses within Christianity. But those abuses aside, should we not worship God well? Will that not take investment and preparation? Mohler’s denigration of music for his preference for preaching simply holds no Biblical support.

- In a statement that goes far beyond imagination, Mohler states that “the centrality of preaching is the theme of both testaments of Scripture.” If an emergent stated that community or care for the poor is the central theme of Scripture, people would be all over them that they have changed the gospel. However, Mohler apparently can make an unsubstantiated claim like this. The closest he comes to giving Biblical evidence of this statement is Nehemiah 8. There, the verbal translation of Scripture from Hebrew to Babylonian suddenly becomes a passage on expository preaching when nothing of the sort can be pulled from this passage. I find this just to be sloppy on Mohler’s part which I find unusual since he tends to avoid eisegesis of this degree.

- All that aside, Mohler does make a few important points. I agree with him that the church hopping that is so prevalent in American Christianity is wrong. Perhaps, however, if churches were working together more instead of constantly attempting to distinguish themselves from each other, there would be less of an ability of parishioners to make the slip from one flock to another. I also agree that a silent Bible or a preaching time that is consistently relegated to sermonettes is not only a weakening of the local body but would go against Scripture.

Perhaps my title is too strong. Mohler is not so much wrong as much as he is too extreme. There is no Biblical basis to place preaching over and above music, evangelism, or ordinances. In essence, he has done what he probably would see as a weakness of the Catholic church – placing a component of worship (the sacraments in the case of the Catholic church) above all other aspects of worship. Each of these components (interestingly, prayer is completely avoided in this article…) are all commanded by God and God does not anywhere claim that any of them is greater than another.

I can hear the arguments now – ‘But the only way you know what worship is supposed to be is through the use of Scripture.’ No doubt – but I’m not arguing that we should have no Biblical preaching nor that Biblical preaching is somehow lesser than the other components nor even that it doesn’t play an important role in communicating God’s revelation to us. What I take issue with is Mohler trying to state that Biblically, preaching is more important than the other components.

Rather than taking the simple road of stating one component of worship, perhaps Mohler needs to do the harder work of understanding how each of these components are an integral, indispensable, central part of our worship of God.

Categories: Thinking

Lessons from the Ocean

2005-10-18T10:30:00.000-04:00

One of the favorite places that my kids like to go is to the ocean. It’s not too hard to figure out why if you think about it – sand, water, and free reign to dig, splash and get as dirty as they want with cleanliness literally lapping up at their feet.

This past summer there were some lessons that impressed me as I spent time at the beach. Here are two of them:

- We are an arrogant bunch, we humans. As I watched children playing in the waves, they invariably played the ‘I’m Stronger’ game. If you’ve never played this game, let me explain it. As the waves approach the shoreline, there is an impending sense of doom in the mind of every child. Will they be swept away? Will they be upended? Can they hold their ground? The waves are so much larger than they are! And so, with the posture of a steroid-induced body builder, these children will stand firm against the waves, breaking the mighty waters in two as the surf swirls around them and moves on to find less sturdy victims. But it’s all an illusion. It is obvious to anyone who has attempted to build castles at the edge of the water. Eventually the tide comes in. And regardless of how powerful and magnificent the castle built – it will crumble. The real power is not in the child standing against the waves or in the castle that has been built, but in the waves. We need not even talk of broken levees or hurricane induced flooding to speak of the power of nature. Man is so fragile. We have lost our position. The creation that was once made to submit to us as we submitted to God no longer does so. Instead, it harms its master, though never more than its Master allows. And so, though it is a fun game for the children to play, let us not delude ourselves into thinking that we are more powerful than the waves on the shore or the Creator that can shut up the sea behind doors that don’t break.

- The other game that is inevitably played on every beach by just about every child at some point is ‘Avoid the Water.’ This game also is a simple one - as the waves come in, the child runs away to avoid the water. When the tide pulls the water out, the child runs as close behind as possible. The point of the game is to avoid getting wet. We don’t ever completely grow up…we just change who we play games with. Sadly, this one we play with God. We see this game being played when we run from God. Whether it’s because of tragedy in our life, rebellion or a myriad of other reasons, we all find ourselves trying to make sure we don’t get wet with God. We avoid Him. We try to avoid the circumstances – both the good and the bad – that He allows to occur in our lives. If we are really childish, we will believe that we have outrun Him. 'I haven’t gotten touched by pain because I have outrun the pain.' 'I don’t have to listen to what God says to do in my life because I can outrun His reach.' These dreams that we create fade away when we realize that God decides how far the waves come (Job 38:11). We don’t outrun the heartbreak in our lives. We don’t outrun His discipline. If it fails to reach us, it is because God has commanded, “Thus far you shall come, but no further.” But the children playing this game also imitate life in running at the water. How we want to get close to God…but not too close. We don’t want the fear of being swallowed up in His power and His pull. And so we run to Him, but not into Him. We try to get as close as possible, but then, as He turns to move towards us, we run away. It is fearful to give our whole lives over to God. Part of us will drown because part of us must die in order to live in Him. But that is the promise that God gives us. Throw ourselves into Him and a part of us will die. But throw ourselves into Him and through Jesus the only part of ourselves worth keeping will live forever.

Throw yourself into God. He is stronger, wilder, more fearful than we could ever imagine…but He is also our life. To win the game, we must lose. And yet as God engulfs our lives, we become something other - more than we could ever have imagined.

A fascinating day at the beach…

Categories: Living

Are You Ready for War?

2005-10-06T10:29:00.000-04:00

“Victory can never be won by passive defense; only sustained offensive action, or the threat of unfailing offensive action brings success.” – Adm. Henry Eccles

“Seize, keep, and exploit the initiative. If the enemy strikes first, without warning, it may be necessary to stand on the defense long enough to block his thrust and build up your own forces, but such defensive operations can only prevent your defeat. Victory requires offensive action, carrying the war to the enemy and into his own territories. An army on the offensive has the initiative and therefore the freedom of action; it can strike where and when it chooses. If its operations are skillfully planned and sustained, the enemy will be too busy trying to stay alive to manage a counteroffensive…Soldiers on the offensive commonly show higher morale and a more aggressive spirit than those on the defensive.” – Col. John Elting

“In war, the only sure defense is offense and the efficiency of offense depends on the warlike souls of those conducting it.” – Gen. George Patton

“Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.” – Sun Tzu

How serious are Christians about going to war? If you’ve gotten this far in this post and read all the quotes above, then you are probably getting a sense that I am not talking about a war on terror or the war in Iraq. I’m talking about the spiritual war that we are in.

“Victory can never be won by passive defense.” What is true in physical war is true also in spiritual war. We cannot fall into the delusion that we can keep out the enemy by shielding ourselves with strong barricades. Unless divine intervention changes the course of the battle, the enemy’s persistent attacks will wreak havoc, great losses and eventual surrender. Such outcomes are unacceptable in the spiritual war we are in.

This is not to say that there aren’t times to retreat and defend ourselves against the attacks of the enemy. In some instances it is important to flee. At others, it is good to shield ourselves from our enemy’s offensive attacks. But sooner or later we must go on the offensive. We must bring the war into the enemy’s territory.

There are two enemies that we fight. The one is not of flesh and blood. It is
against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].
It is against Satan and all those who follow him or are under his rule. Our goal in fighting this enemy is to bring under God’s rule another area of Satan’s kingdom – the greatest prize being the use of his own former soldiers fighting under the King’s rule. When I envision this part of the battle, I think of Berlin in 1944. Watching the approaching forces, it was the inevitable end of the Third Reich – yet, these final battles during Berlin’s fall turned out to be some of the bloodiest conflicts of the whole battle as the enemy grudgingly gave up what they realized they no longer controlled.

The second enemy, however, is ourselves.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. [We are] destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and [we are] taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
It is our own thoughts, our own lusts, our own desires, our own sin that we must battle against as well. We must take every thought captive in this battle for spiritual dominance.

But why do we shrink from this offensive action? Is it possible that we don’t want to go to war because we are too enamored with the enemy? Have we spent too much time behind enemy lines that we think that perhaps if the enemy were to win a little, that wouldn’t be so bad? Even a perfunctory look at the history of WW II shows that people deeply underestimated what Hitler was capable of. Do we underestimate the work of Satan and sin in our lives?

The book of Joshua is a wonderful example of how God would have us to live our spiritual lives. The steady removal of sin and its influences based upon a complete reliance upon Him. This will be lifelong. It will not be immediate. If it were, we could not deal with the consequences (at least, not in this life). But we are called to go on the offensive - to meet the enemy in his own territory and to take back and bring under the rule of The King all areas of our lives. Any belief that we can do this while engaged in a primarily defensive battle (by surrounding ourselves with a Christian church, Christian friends, Christian music, Christian family, Christian keychain and bumper sticker…), is foolishness at the very outset. To not engage the enemy is to prevent the advancement of the King’s troops, to succumb to heavy losses, and, eventually, to lose the battle. Though we are assured that war is to be won, we can never believe that our small part in it is insignificant.

Go to war!!

Categories: Living

Tower of Babel Christianity

2005-10-05T10:29:00.000-04:00

I was torn in titling this post…my second choice was ‘Do We Have As Much Faith in Humanity As God Does?’ However, when it all came down to making a decision, I decided to go with the title that would Google better . I think I've completely sold out!

Many Christians know the story of the Tower of Babel. The whole world has been destroyed by the flood. The descendents of Noah begin to spread throughout the earth and one particularly industrious group of Noah’s children settle in the plain in Shinar. There they decided to build a tower that would reach to heaven and thus make a name for themselves. The intention behind this seemed to be just the latest application of the same two phrases that had gotten man into trouble to begin with – ‘You will not surely die,’ and ‘You will be like God.’

Though man in his arrogance attempts to build a tower to God, this is such a small activity in the scheme of all that God sees that He has to come down to look at it – mankind’s mammoth building project was too small for Him to see from heaven! God then says something very interesting:

"Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.”

God looks at the intention of man’s heart, as demonstrated in the building of this temple to man’s ingenuity, and states that if they can do this, than they would be able to do anything. The only problem, of course, is that the ‘anything’ that mankind continually did up to this point in Scripture was not ‘anything’ that God wanted them to do.

And so God puts a stop to it by confusing them. He takes their one language and changes it into a multitude of languages and they are effectively scattered.

Fast forward. We find ourselves after Jesus’ crucifixion, after His resurrection, after His ascension. The disciples are hanging out one Sunday, celebrating the Feast of Firstfruits:

And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and marveled, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God. " And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, "What does this mean?"

People had gotten so used to the differences in language – had learned to function in the midst of the curse that God had placed on mankind those many thousands of years earlier. And when, at least for this day, that curse was lifted for these disciples of Jesus, the best explanation that they could give is that the disciples were drunk!

God changed something that day. He began reversing some of the effects of sin that were so painfully recorded in those first eleven chapters of Scripture. Based on this verse, I believe that when Scripture speaks of tongues, it is speaking of languages. So, I don’t believe it was either a permanent or even a normative reversal. But, at least for a time, it was a reversal. And more often than not, the miraculous events that occur in Scripture point to a spiritual truth.

Fast forward. I have had the privilege and blessing to have worshipped with believers in both Israel and Ghana, Africa. On each occasion, I was in a different culture, sometimes with different language, always with different customs and yet, as I worshipped along with these people, I realized that I was at home – as much so as if I had never traveled the thousands of miles to get to these believers. How is it that there is a sense of family that transcends the miles, the cultures, the traditions and makes me feel at home amongst these people that outwardly would seem to be so different than myself. These are my brothers and sisters because together we are in Christ.

And in a strange way, that perhaps is unexplainable, we speak the same language. Not the same words, not the same vernacular – but still the same language that transcends the differences in our verbal communication.

What ought the church be able to accomplish together as they speak one language? Certainly, even a cursory perusal of Christian history shows that this spiritual language has helped to propagate Christianity to the furthest reaches of the world. Praise God! What does He want us to do in our day? If God has such high expectations for sinful mankind speaking one language, what must He want to accomplish through us, His church, since He has now given us a common tongue? We have a great responsibility to live up to as believers. Will we be as committed to accomplishing together the task that God has set before us as those sinful people visited so long ago by God? God seems to have a very high view of sinful humanity…and a high view of what He wants to see accomplished through us.

Of course, all this talk of a single language is heightened when we consider that our world has gotten tremendously smaller, more technologically advanced, and more independent from God as we have adopted a primary language of communication amongst the nations.

"Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.”

Categories: Thinking, Living

A Blogosphere Request for Any and All Calvinists

2005-10-03T10:28:00.000-04:00

I struggle with TULIP. Not because I don’t like Calvinism (see my article here). Not because it is internally illogical or invalid. Not because I don’t understand the verses that are generally used to support each of the points of TULIP. I understand its argument and how it comes to its conclusions.

I struggle with TULIP because I believe that a system of theology must not only be internally consistent, but that all its implications should be consistent with Scripture. Many of the texts used to support TULIP come from portions of Scripture that we could consider propositional truths (a pronouncement of truth in statement form). This is not bad (so, please don’t misunderstand me to say that we should base all our theology on narrative or other genres – I AGREE that these propositional statements are clearer than the statements made in other forms of Scripture). It doesn’t make the argument weak – actually, I think that primarily using the propositional truths of Scripture as our starting point for developing theology is a wise and good thing.

However, I would also expect that when we get to the narrative portions of the text, we would clearly see the implications of our theology to be consistently played out in them. For example, one of the clearest statements that Jesus is God is found in either Colossians 1:19 or 2:9 (your pick….they both seem good). Based on that propositional statement that Jesus is God, we should expect that the less propositional portions of Scripture (narrative, prophecy, wisdom, etc.) would support this idea that Jesus is God. This is exactly what we see (e.g. John 8:58 or Isaiah 9:6).

Thus, if we have rightly understood the propositional statements that generally make up most of the TULIP material, then we would expect that when we see this same material confronted in the other areas of Scripture, that it would consistently adhere to the propositional statements. This is where I think there is a disconnect in the TULIP system.

Internally and by itself, it works. It is internally consistent. If you accept all of its propositions it is a nice, tidy way of explaining soteriology (the study of salvation). However, when you come to the stories of Scripture (which is what I will primarily, though not always, draw from), I think that we find that they don’t adhere as nicely to the TULIP system as we would expect.

So here’s my request. I need your help in interpreting various passages of Scripture in light of TULIP. I’m going to separate them into five different posts, since it will allow each post to run its own course without people answering questions about five different verses. The links for each component are below.

I will begin with a brief description of the point of TULIP in question taken primarily from RC Sproul's 'What is Reformed Theology.' I will then quote the verse from the NAS (if you don’t agree with how the NAS has translated, use whichever version you think better translates it, but then explain to me from the Greek within the verse why you think your translation is better - otherwise, we are probably just barking up the same tree). I will explain why I think it conflicts with TULIP. Then I will try to explain what implications this has on our understanding of soteriology.

What I need from you is an explanation of how the verse fits into the TULIP model without doing injustice to the verse or its context. I don’t care who answers – whether you’ve got several PhDs, written 100s of books, are an elder in your local church, or just graduated high school. If you can help shed some light on these verses for me, you would be doing me a great service.

Having had some of these conversations already, I have to ask that you refrain from the following:

- Simply quoting another verse in Scripture to end the discussion. I am probably aware of your proof text. In fact, it’s because of the proof text and how it is interpreted within the TULIP model that I’ve got questions about the passage to begin with. So, for example, I will present a passage that seems to suggest that unregenerate people did something that was pleasing to God. Please don’t quote Romans 8:8. I am familiar with the verse. My whole point is that if there is a story of the unregenerate pleasing God, then maybe we have misunderstood Romans 8:8. So, simply quoting another verse in Scripture to end the discussion is not what I am requesting. I’m asking you to engage the verse presented and to explain how it can fit into the TULIP model.

- Stating that I am wrong about my interpretation without presenting any alternatives. Because I agree with most of Total Depravity, I believe that sin touches every part of my life – including the development of my theology. Thus, I am very open to the idea that I am wrong in parts of my theology. Telling me so is a good first step. But if I am to change my theology to something else, I need to have a better, Scripturally based truth to replace it with. Please let me know where I am wrong, and how I can interpret it so that I stay consistent with the context of Scripture.

- Linking and/or cutting/pasting other people’s writings. It’s not that I don’t appreciate other people’s writings – I pirate and pilfer much of the material I use from people far smarter than I. However, if all you can do is link – or even worse, cut and paste them in – then my guess is that you probably have not thought enough about what they’ve written to rearticulate it into your own words. I want to know what you think…

- Condemning me to hell. In sharing these thoughts in both classroom and blog settings I have already been anathematized, condemned, and sent to hell. If you feel the need to give your own personal support of these past decisions, please take into consideration my lovely wife and four beautiful children who look forward with great anticipation to spending eternity with me (preferably in the heavenly realms). So, since I know of no Protestant theology that guarantees a person is headed to eternal damnation prior to physical death, please hold out hope that someday I might be saved from whatever heresies you see in my writing and respond in kind.

- Becoming a stick in the mud. If we’re going to be dialoging together, let’s keep it fun. Feel free to liberally use emoticons and anything else that will help us understand that along with our Father in heaven, you have a sense of humor (or at the very least, a sense of sarcasm – Job 38:5, 19-21). Though the topics we discuss are serious, please let’s not take ourselves so seriously that we forget that we are simply finite, infants discussing the mind of God.

Here are the links to the passages that I’d like to discuss. THANKS IN ADVANCE for the time and effort you spend here…

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Does Regeneration Come Prior to Faith?

2005-10-03T10:27:00.000-04:00

The ‘I’ in TULIP stands for Irresistible Grace. In this point of TULIP it is taught that prior to faith, God regenerates, or gives life, to the person. This giving of life allows them to again act according to the 'living' nature, rather than the 'dead' nature of sin. The natural inclination of the person who is spiritually alive is to believe in God, which every person regenerated by God does (some believe that faith, in addition, is also given by God at the time of, but logically after, regeneration). Thus, God’s grace is irresistible in the sense that once God regenerates a person, they will always positively respond to God’s call on their life towards salvation.

There is one glaring problem with this position. It holds absolutely NO Biblical support. In reading RC Sproul’s What is Reformed Theology I found this chapter interesting. To reinforce his argument that mankind, in their sin, is spiritually dead and unable to respond to God, he uses the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead (which, I believe is a misuse of the passage regarding spiritual death – but that’s another discussion) as an analogy of what occurs when a person is regenerated. However, in the whole rest of the chapter, though quotes abound of Luther and Calvin, absolutely no Biblical support is given for regeneration prior to faith (any explicit verse that states regeneration prior to faith would be helpful to me). This, to me seems to be a glaring hole.

It is especially glaring in light of John 20:31 (also John 3:15, 3:16, 3:36, 5:24, 6:40, 6:47, 11:25, 1 Timothy 1:16 – there are many other less explicit ones that could be listed especially if we presume that to be regenerated is to have the Holy Spirit in our lives). This verse clearly states that belief is logically prior to eternal life (as do the other eight explicit verses that I mentioned). If belief occurs prior to eternal life, then how could regeneration occur prior to belief? Is there evidence of a difference between regeneration and eternal life (so that a person could be regenerated but not yet have eternal life)?

So then, how does John 20:31 fit into the TULIP system? Is the eternal life spoken of by John different than regeneration? I understand that Irresistible Grace is a logical implication of Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, and Limited Atonement. But if there is absolutely no Biblical support for regeneration prior to faith and there is multiple explicit Biblical statements saying that faith is a precedent to life, then should we not change our theology? Help me understand how John 20:31 fits into TULIP…

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Did Christ Die Only for Some?

2005-10-03T10:26:00.000-04:00

The TULIP teaching on Limited Atonement is, perhaps, its most controversial. If a person has a problem with TULIP, then this is likely the place that it will be. However, if Total Depravity and Unconditional Election are accepted as defined by TULIP, then Limited Atonement makes sense. What this point teaches is that Jesus died for a particular people (i.e the elect). According to this teaching, if that were not the case, either all people would be saved (universalism) or God would have failed in His attempt to save all people. Since neither seem tenable, TULIP teaches that Jesus’ atonement is limited.

Unfortunately, 1 John 2:2 is about as explicit about who Jesus died for as any verse (not to mention 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and 1 Timothy 4:10). It states:

My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Some supporters of TULIP state that ‘our’ are Jewish Christians. However, there is nothing either within the letter nor in early church tradition that would suggest that John is speaking primarily to a Jewish audience or that a mixed/Gentile audience would immediately understand that he was talking about Jewish people here. So, that seems a bit of a stretch. Another explanation is that ‘our’ refers to John and the believers that he is speaking to and ‘the whole world’ refers to all other believers throughout the world. To bolster this, they will often point out that ‘pas kosmos’ in Luke 2:1 clearly does not mean all mankind (please understand that my argument below is not suggesting that pas kosmos cannot at some times in some contexts mean less than all mankind, so examples of these verses are unnecessary).

However, to do this last bit of linguistic gymnastics, supporters of TULIP must break one of the most adhered to principles of hermeneutics – context. One always first translates based on
immediate context (current thought, paragraph)
volume context (the rest of the book)
author context (any other writings by the same author)
Testament context (other writings within the same Testament)
Scriptural context (all of Scripture).

It becomes obvious when this is laid out that the supporters of TULIP, in order to translate 1 John 2:2, have skipped right over 1, 2, and 3 and go directly to 4. How does John define ‘our’ and ‘world’ within 1 John? Based on 5:13, we would say that the ‘our’ would seem to speak about believers. Based on 5:19, we would say that ‘pas kosmos’ refers to those who are under Satan’s control.

Here’s my request for any supporters of TULIP (keeping with our hermeneutical order). Before going to Luke to show that ‘kosmos’ need not mean all mankind, please show me anywhere in John’s gospel or epistles where he uses the word ‘kosmos’ to represent believers. In fact, while you’re looking for that, perhaps you could show me anywhere in John’s gospel or epistles where he uses the word ‘kosmos’ in any positive sense. You’ll note through your word study that the world is always seen as something opposed to God or something that is separated from Him (i.e. something He needs to come into). In every context! If there is one I’m missing, please point it out to me. ‘Kosmos’ is used 76 times by John! Why must we go to Luke to figure out what John means by this word?! Certainly not for hermeneutical reasons since John uses this word so consistently.

But then, do I believe in universalism or that God failed? Neither. Though Jesus died for the sins of all mankind of all time, it is only applied through faith. There is not enough space here to do so, but a study of the words used throughout Scripture for redemption (lutron, antilutron, agoradzein, lutroein, lutrosis, apolutrosis, lutrotes, exagoradzein) are consistently used in an objective (redemption is paid for) sense and a subjective (redemption is applied) sense. All the objective words are in contexts that seem to apply to all mankind. All the subjective uses are in contexts that only are speaking about believers. For more information on this, see C. Gordon Olson’s Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism (or, even better, do the study yourself ). Nor did God fail. He provided the means of salvation for all mankind so that anyone can rightly call Him their Savior if they trust in Him. If God intended from the beginning that the application of the salvation that He would secure for all mankind would only be applied through faith exercised by each individual, then He did not fail. He accomplished what He sought to accomplish.

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Can Unregenerate Mankind Believe?

2005-10-03T10:25:00.001-04:00

TULIP’s definition of Total Depravity rests on many verses but two bedrock references are Romans 3:12 and Romans 8:8. Primarily from these (and other verses), TULIP teaches that mankind is incapable of doing anything that would be pleasing to God. Given that mankind will often do things that seem to be good, TULIP teaches that although the outward appearance may be in conformity to God’s will, a person’s heart is still steeped in sinfulness and so is incapable of doing any good action that would be pleasing to God. TULIP teaches that these seemingly good actions are really not good because a person who is unregenerate is incapable of loving God and therefore every action that they do falls short of being done out of love for God. Thus, all actions of the unregenerate are inadequate for God’s pleasure.

An important way that this impacts theology is that makind is unable, in their unregenerate state, to exercise faith. The logic is simple: faith is pleasing to God; if we exercise faith, we have done something that is pleasing to God; Romans 8:8 says we can't; thus, mankind is unable to exercise faith.

But what about Mark 6:6? Here is the context:

And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.

Why does Jesus wonder at their unbelief? This word for wonder (thaumazo) is used 44 times in the New Testament. It consistently carries the meaning of ‘a reaction to the unexpected or unusual often with awe.’ But if this is how it is consistently used throughout the rest of Scripture, we have to ask what was so unexpected or unusual about these people’s unbelief that caused Jesus to wonder?

Some might say that what was unusual was that God the Son was standing directly in front of them and yet they did not believe. But how could they? If God did not elect them, regenerate them or give them faith – if they are spiritually dead and unable to hear, understand, or respond to anything of God – if this is what unregenerate mankind is according to TULIP, then what was unusual about them not believing Jesus? Why would Jesus find their reaction either unusual or unexpected to cause Him to wonder?

One might also say that He wondered at their stubbornness of unbelief. But such an answer suggests that Jesus did not have a complete understanding of Total Depravity (i.e. that their stubbornness took Him by surprise). Again, if He did understand this doctrine, then He would not have wondered at their stubbornness since it would be the usual response – the expected response.

Why did Jesus wonder at their unbelief?

I would suggest that Jesus in fact expected that His teaching and miracles should have been more than significant evidence for these people to place their faith in Him and when they did not that He wondered at this. But such an explanation implicitly suggests that the ability to believe lay in the hearts of the people. Thus, unregenerate mankind can believe once God has revealed Himself to them. During the ministry of Jesus, this was done by Jesus Himself. Post-Pentecost, this action of God would be done through the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

As for the passages in Romans, I believe that these passages speak of our ability to live up to God's expectations and 'earn' our salvation based on what we do. It is important to recognize that no where in Scripture is faith ever stated to be a work. In fact, faith is always presented contra works. Though mankind can exercise faith, it is never considered a good work that earns the individual his/her salvation. Instead, the faith of an individual is the means by which God has chosen to transfer the righteousness and life of a person to the individual and place them ‘in Christ.’ So, although faith is something that is pleasing to God, it does not 'earn' us our salvation - we receive our salvation through faith by grace.

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Is God's Election Unconditional?

2005-10-03T10:25:00.000-04:00

Unconditional Election, the ‘U’ of TULIP, states that God has chosen in eternity past all those who will be His children. This choosing is according to His foreknowledge, which, in Calvinism, is described as God’s personal, intimate knowledge of a person in eternity past.

However, election is not based upon anything that the person has done (thus, it is unconditional). TULIP teaches that if election were conditional (i.e. that God simply foreknew something that the person would do), then man would have a part that they played in their own salvation or, to put it another way, that man would have earned their salvation.

How does this square with what we see in Scripture? Matthew 11:21-24 seems to present a scenario that is contradictory to unconditional election. Here is the passage:

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. "Nevertheless I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you. "And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. "Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."

We know that all four of the cities that are mentioned here fell under God’s judgment (Genesis 19, Isaiah 23) and thus, it would be safe to state that the people in these cities were unregenerate and, thus, not part of the elect. However, Jesus states in this passage that if the people of those cities had seen His miracles, that they would have repented and remained to the day of Jesus. Now I don’t think that what Jesus is saying is that every person in all four of these cities would have repented, but He seems quite clear that enough of them would have to stay God’s judgment.

There’s only one problem. Such a scenario suggests that if they had seen Jesus’ miracles and believed, that they would have been part of the elect. How could they be non-elect (not an actual Biblical term, but I’m not sure what else to call them within the TULIP model…) during their day and yet Jesus suggest that they would have been elect if they had lived during His day? Doesn’t this seem to suggest that their election was conditioned on something? If it is unconditional, it cannot change under ANY circumstances (i.e. they would NEVER have believed). Jesus suggests that their election could have changed under different circumstances and says that their eternal judgment will be lessoned because of this (though, obviously, they are still responsible for the revelation that God had given to them during their day, and thus still justly fall under His judgment).

Two points need to be made. Is God unjust in not allowing the people of these cities to live during His day, and thus believe, instead of during their own day. No! They lived when they lived and they are eternally responsible for the revelation that God had given them which was sufficient for them to turn to Him for salvation.

If our election is conditional, does that not mean that we are the determiners of our salvation? No! I don't believe that we were the focus of election in eternity past. I believe that Jesus is the Elect One. We are only elect as we are associated with Him (Ephesians 1:4) which is through faith (Ephesians 1:13), a relationship that God foreknew in eternity past (this is how, for instance, Abraham could be elect since God foreknew that Abraham, through faith, would be placed in Christ and thus he was elect). So we have not earned our election by believing...instead, by believing, we have been placed in the Elect One and thus become elect.

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Can the Unregenerate Do Good?

2005-10-03T10:24:00.000-04:00

TULIP’s definition of Total Depravity rests on many verses but two bedrock references are Romans 3:12 and Romans 8:8. Primarily from these (and other verses), TULIP teaches that mankind is incapable of doing anything that would be pleasing to God. Given that mankind will often do things that seem to be good, TULIP teaches that although the outward appearance may be in conformity to God’s will, a person’s heart is still steeped in sinfulness and so is incapable of doing any good action that would be pleasing to God. TULIP teaches that these seemingly good actions are really not good because a person who is unregenerate is incapable of loving God and therefore every action that they do falls short of being done out of love for God. Thus, all actions of the unregenerate are inadequate for God’s pleasure.

However, when we get to the Bereans in Acts 17:10-15, we have an interesting story.

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily [to see] whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

Taken in its natural order, the story proceeds like this:

Paul and Silas arrive in Berea and go to the Jewish synagogue
The Berean Jews receive the message with great eagerness
The Bereans examine Scripture every day to see if what Paul is teaching is true
Therefore or because of these things (placing this statement logically after #1-3) many of them believed as did prominent Greek women and men.

Is the searching of Scripture with eagerness (in the same manner as the Bereans did here) something that is pleasing to God? If no, why not? If yes, then how could the Bereans search the Scriptures in #3 without having yet believed (#4)?

Some might state that their regeneration occurred when they received the message (#2) and thus their examination of Scripture is pleasing to God but only because they are already regenerate. But this solution brings up another problem - a person being regenerate for at least 12 hours but not being justified (spiritually alive but not saved – the text states every day so we have to presume at least two days and after that time they believed which brings about justification). In addition, since the Bereans where searching to see if the teaching was true, to state that they believed at #2 is to state that they believed in something that they did not know to be true (since they had to search Scripture to see if it were so).

It would seem that under a TULIP model that #4 should actually occur between #1 and #2 so that their belief comes prior to the good things that they did.

My own suggestion to all of this is that both Romans 3 and 8 are speaking about a person’s ability to live up to God’s expectations as exemplified in the Law. Both passages are right in the middle of Paul arguing about our inability to be declared righteous according to the Law. We are unable to submit ourselves to the Law or become righteous through it. But does this, then, necessitate that it is impossible for a person to do any good act? Certainly, we can NEVER do enough acts to live up to the righteousness of the Law and in this sense, no one does good nor can anyone please God so as to earn their salvation. But this does not negate, for instance, the Bereans receiving the message from Paul with eagerness and searching Scripture to see if that message were actually true. They still fell far short of the righteous expectations of the Law and so were not made righteous by their actions nor would their receiving or searching earn them salvation before God (thus, it did not please Him under the requirements of the Law). Upon finding what Paul stated to be true, they believed. This seems to maintain the natural progression of this passage while not doing any injustice to the passages in Romans 3 or 8.

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Six Months and Counting!

2005-09-30T10:23:00.000-04:00

It’s been six months since I started this crazy little thing called a blog! How time flies when you’re…well, busy desperately trying to scrounge together at God-forsaken hours of the night any idea for another post that could perhaps contain an intriguing enough thought for the ‘regulars’ at your site. Time also flies when you ignore every semblance of English education that you’ve ever received and deteriorate into one run-on sentence after another…but I digress.

I realize that six months in human years is a drop in the bucket. Talk to me 20 years from now and its very possible that you will need to produce tangible evidence that my blog existed in order for you to convince me of the possibility that I was even involved in it (if that seems far fetched, let me tell you sometime of the completely blank periods of history in my mind between the ages of about 5 and 24…).

But…in computer years, six months is an entire generation of computers. I’m like a grandfather of the blogosphere if you think of it in those terms. All those millions of whippersnappers that are signing up these days – they don’t know how good they’ve got it!

Yes, I know that there are those Methuselahs out there that have been doing this for years. But they really are the aberration more than the norm.

So, I’m quite excited that I’ve made it to six months!

When I think back to when it all began...scrimping and saving all my time (the blog hosting is free here, so, it would be meaningless to try and convince you that there was any type of financial burden) just to put out a simple post - all for the benefit of those 100 to 130 ‘distinct hosts’ that seemed to visit each month in those early days. Ah…to remember the start of it all. No pressure to perform. No admirers to appease. No comments left. It was all so much simpler.

But then July hit. A combination of trackbacks and involvement in the Christian Carnival attributed to a 400% increase in ‘distinct hosts’ for that month, 400% increase again in August and a bit of a leveling off (only 30% increase) for September. It’s actually humbling to think of thousands of people being interested enough to click on a link to my modest blog. Not saying that they actually read anything that I’ve written (the blog counters need to start keeping track of not only how many distinct hosts come to the site, but how much time they actually stay – but then my fear becomes that my average time would be about 10 seconds...just long enough to read the article and the first sentence before fleeing off to some other site of actual substance…).

As for the articles that have been the most popular, the top of the list with nearly 15% more hits than any other article was ‘What is Emergent?’ Who’d of thunk that an article with a title so lacking any creativity - scorned by the blogging muses - would end up being my most popular article? But, many thanks goes to Google for making this a popular article…apparently there are a lot of people typing that into their search engine. Ditto for the second most hit article ‘Open Theism and the Future’ and the third, ‘What Does God’s Family Get Together Look Like?’ (NOTE to new bloggers: Ditch the creativity! Figure out what people are going to type into Google, name your article after that, and watch the hits come rolling in!!! Unless you’re enamored with integrity, your article technically doesn’t even need to be about what the title says it is…).

Not that it matters much, but I do have my own personal favorites that sometimes rank well and other times tank. I like the ‘What is Emergent?’ article and so it certainly makes this list. But my personal favorites are ‘Anatomy of a Temptation’, ‘…But…’, and ‘Why Do I Need to Subscribe to Comment?’ Actually, that last one was just a blatant attempt to get you to subscribe as a reader at my blog (which you can do by clicking here). To date, there are an abysmally low number of people who are concerned enough about the material that I am writing to actually have an e-mail sent to them letting them know that a new article has been posted (NOTE to new bloggers: Don’t ditch creativity! Just because you get a lot of Google hits doesn’t mean the people are ever going to come back to your site again. And if your article has nothing to do with the title, you’ll only be engendering bad will towards Google which none of us who are shareholders want to have happen…).

I, of course, couldn’t do any of this without others who have helped me along the way. Those who leave comments always improve the conversation that I’m trying to stimulate. To that end, I must thank Rey from Bible Archive for all three of his comments over the last six months. They have all been a HUGE encouragement, knowing that someone was actually reading the material. Without him I would have probably given up a long time ago…

Also, many thanks to Harambe. He is, to my knowledge, the only blog that lists me on his main page as a link and consistently lists my articles in his posts. Though he rates near the bottom of referrals (sorry, Harambe…), his team spirit of sending people my way is deeply appreciated.

And, as already insinuated, Google comes ahead with the most referrals to this blog (Sorry, Tim…Challies is a distant second but third is far behind you if that’s any consolation – realizing that the few thousand who visit this blog are dwarfed by the numbers that you’re probably generating ).

Though never heard from, there is a person out there (you know who you are) who continually feeds me ideas on articles…many of them that go over quite well. I’d love to call him Deep Throat, but that name has become all but useless thanks to the adult movie industry. Talk about a phrase being stripped of its effectiveness…

There’s a part of me that is finding that I would probably be doing this whether there was anyone coming to the site or not. The articles, especially those of a personal nature, tend to help me think through what God is doing in my own life. In many ways, it’s a lot like when I teach a Bible class – I typically end up teaching myself more than I could ever convey to others. So, if viewing my personal walk with the Lord as recorded on this blog helps you to either a) walk closer to God, or b) avoid the pitfalls I find myself in, then I’ll be ecstatic to know that God is using me as His tool.

Finally, my prayer is that you’ve been as blessed reading my ramblings, hopefully, even more than I have been in writing them. And if that blessing has been in any way consistent, hopefully you’ll consider subscribing to the site so that we can keep our dialogue together going (yes…that was another blatant plug to get you to subscribe – which you can do here – in the midst of a deeply moving and spiritualized portion of writing).

In all seriousness, though. Any good you’ve seen on this blog is God – all the rest of the junk is me. He deserves all the glory for any good that you’ve been blessed with by visiting here.

THANKS!!!

Categories: Fun

I Appreciate Calvinism

2005-09-27T10:22:00.000-04:00

I appreciate Calvinism. I appreciate the impact it’s had throughout history. I appreciate the blessing it’s been to my family. I appreciate that God uses it to bring people to a saving faith in Him.

I appreciate Calvinism’s understanding of sin. I have yet to find another area of Christianity that has done as thorough and comprehensive of a Scriptural study on it. I love Platinga’s Not the Way Its Supposed to Be.

I appreciate Calvinism’s discernment of the impact of a sinful world on the mind and emotion of a person. I have profited greatly (as have those I counsel) by the work of Westminister’s CCEF organization both through seminars and their books.

I appreciate Calvinism’s insight into vocation. It is both freeing and challenging for people to understand their job as their ministry. Freeing because it brings meaning and intentionality to any job regardless of responsibility, function, or pay. Challenging because it extends the mission fields right into our own 9-5 lives.

I appreciate Calvinism’s emphasis on education. Calvinists from the very beginning have been at the forefront of educating both the current and next generation of believers in Biblical scholarship.

I appreciate Calvinism’s leaders. I respect Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitfield, Edwards, Sproul, Piper and MacArthur. As someone once said, “I will not see these men in heaven because they will be at work so much closer to the throne of God then I could ever hope to be.” They have impacted the Kingdom of God in many positive ways.

Because I appreciate Calvinism so much, I must apologize. In many of my posts, I speak about Calvinists and Calvinism when really what I am talking about is just a piece of Calvinism – TULIP. So to all the Calvinists and followers of Calvinism…I’m sorry ahead of time – if there were a better term to use, I would use it. I do not mean to infer from my usage of these terms that I reject all of Calvinism or all Calvinists.

But I do have problems with TULIP. I don’t have problems with it logically. So long as one accepts all its propositions, the whole system is tight – airtight. In fact, there is no other system of theology that is as airtight as TULIP. But just because the argument is valid does not make it true (validity simply signifies internal logical cohesiveness – truth suggests that it is a proper identification and interpretation of reality - though something true is almost always valid, something valid need not be true). I believe there are flaws within the TULIP system that make it, at the very least, in need of critical redefinition.

And so, although I deeply appreciate Calvinism, you will find many posts on this blog that attempt to point out the inconsistencies within the TULIP system.

Categories: Thinking, Reforming

Sudoku Theology

2005-09-24T10:21:00.000-04:00

I find myself consistently engaged in a new game that I found out about in the last several months. It’s a Japanese game called Sudoku. For those who have never played, it’s a fusion of the concepts behind crossword puzzles and logic puzzles. You don’t need to know trivial facts to play (just how to count between 1 and 9) but nor are you confronted with the ‘if train A leaves the station at 9am and train B leaves the station at 10 am…’ types of thinking.

Here’s how you play. There are 9 large boxes in a 3x3 formation. Each box is split into an additional 3x3 formation of individual units. Thus, you end up with a 9x9 individual unit final game area. To play the game, you need to fill every row, column and box with the numbers 1 through 9. Here’s the catch. You can’t repeat any number in any row, column or box.

If its sounds complicated, its not. I’d recommend you go to www.websudoku.com to try and play a game before reading further. The easy ones will probably take you less than 15 minutes to complete and it’ll give you a flavor for what I’m about to write. Even if you’ve played before, go ahead and play again so you get a fresh picture of the game in your head.

Go on...It'll really help as you read further to have just gone through it...I’ll wait…

Great! That was fun wasn’t it? Now let me suggest that the theologies that we develop ought to be a lot like the Sudoku game.

Imagine if you will, that your particular flavor of Christianity is one of the rows of boxes (the large units that are made up of 3x3 individual units). So, maybe Protestantism represents the bottom three boxes, Eastern Orthodoxy represents the middle three boxes, and Catholicism represents the top three boxes. I’m sure we all realize that even if we are part of a single church system (like the Catholic church), there is a tremendously wide spectrum of belief within that system. So, if we take Protestantism (which I am by far the most familiar with), we might say that one of our boxes represents Reformed thought, one represents Baptist thought and one represents Pentecostal thought.

Don’t get lost! Here’s where it gets interesting. The Reformed box has worked out its theology to fit within its box. The Baptists have done the same. The Pentecostals do the same. But, as they look at each other, they realize something’s wrong. Their individual boxes follow the rules – one through nine distributed in each individual unit with none being repeated. However, when they look at their box compared to the other boxes, they realize that the rows that are created across them don’t follow the rules – there are numbers that are either missing in the rows or doubled up.

Now, there are two approaches as to what to do here. On the one hand, we can demand that others only play inside of our box or using our box as a basis. That every other box must be wrong because our box works perfectly well (i.e. it seems to follow Scriptural teaching). Unfortunately, to do so means that we are no longer playing Sudoku. The whole point of the game is for there to be unity amongst the boxes.

The second approach is that we begin to figure out how to make the rows (the theological areas of thought) across our row of boxes (in this example, Protestantism) conform to the rules of the game. The problem here is that it is next to impossible to do without every box making concessions to change the formation of their numbers. Not impossible. But if all the other boxes are driven by one box, then it suggests that one box to be perfectly accurate as it stands.

If each row of boxes were to do this (and some are much further along than others...my guess is that Protestantism is the furthest behind in this respect), there would be significantly greater harmony within the three main areas of Christianity.

Here’s where it gets not only interesting but fun. What if we where not only working to make sure that our rows followed the rules (and, thus, greater theological harmony within each of the three primary divisions of Christianity), but that the columns that intersect the three main divisions of Christianity also followed the rules!

Now I realize that this makes things both more interesting and fun, but also more complicated. You see, although the rows of boxes may be able to conform to the format of one box, there is no way to solve the puzzle without every box making some changes. And, I guess, in a fallen, broken, sinful world, we may never be able to completely solve the puzzle. Yes, I realize that God places some 10’s and 11’s in the Bible that don’t even fit into our grid. I am not saying that people who try to slip letters into the sudoku game should even be allowed to play (they are really playing a different game).

But, it seems like it would be an exciting game if we all began playing sudoku theology…

Categories: Thinking, Emerging, Reforming

Anatomy of a Temptation

2005-09-10T10:20:00.000-04:00

It all starts with a simple, incredulous question. “Did God really say…?” God is a good God! Surely, He would not put such an onerous restraint upon such a good person as you. Perhaps you misunderstood Him? Perhaps He meant something different than what you think He said? What was it again that He said?

No, no. He told us. “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.” Well…that’s not completely true. He did say don’t eat it. There is certainly a healthy dose of wisdom in not touching it since it becomes pretty hard to eat without touching (though, anyone that has played bobbing for apples will realize, certainly not impossible). But He never actually said don’t touch it. Even so, it was a good idea to add that to God’s statement….wasn’t it? I mean, that’s only logical...isn’t it?

And then the condescending chuckle…the look of the veteran of life upon the child…a look that communicates the naiveté of what has just been said. Oh, my dear friend, no. You have it all wrong. “You will not surely die.” Think about it. Fruit is good for you. You eat fruit to give sustenance to your body. It tastes good. It looks good. There is nothing evil about fruit. No….you don’t understand what is behind the command. I’ll let you in on a secret.

Here is the truth (and, interestingly, it is the first truth that the serpent tells). “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” He’s holding back on you. There’s nothing wrong with eating the fruit...what is really at stake here is whether you will be like God or not. God knows. He knows the difference between good and evil. But He doesn’t want you to know. If you knew, you could make your own decisions as to whether to do something good or bad. You could decide what was best for your life. No more living under His thumb. No more of this silly submitting. You can be like God!

The fruit certainly looked good. She held it. It felt good. I’m holding it and I’m not dying. I’m holding it and there is no cataclysmic end to the world or my life. God said don’t touch it and I’m touching it and I’m OK. I’ll bet you if I bit into it, nothing would happen either. I wonder how far I can go before the world falls apart? How far can I please myself before death begins? If I touched it and its OK, then biting it must be OK. I don’t really trust God anymore.

And then the world stops (yes…I know, Adam ate also, but to be quite honest, I don’t know what he was thinking!)…it holds its breath because everything has changed. Adam knows it. Eve knows it. The serpent delights in it – there he is, chuckling on the side. Creation feels the manifold ramifications. And the Creator knows. And Adam and Eve suddenly realize all their shame, their nakedness, their fear, their separation from God – their death. And they realize that they have disappointed the one person in all of creation that they wished they had never disappointed. And so they hide in shame.

I’ve been thinking about all this over the past week or so. I’ve been struggling with my own temptation. Several ideas have come in and out of my mind during this time – some quietly like a whisper – sometimes loud like a megaphone. But over and over these three statements come across clearly.

“You will not surely die.” This is what makes the fruit so appealing - the belief that I can sin, at my own discretion and in my own way, and never pay the consequences. I can get away with it – I’m smart. I can hide it so no one knows. My wife will not be hurt. My children will remain blissfully ignorant. The family of God that I belong to, will be none the wiser. Who will ever know? And I – I get to get what is so satisfying, what is so pleasing to the eye and what is so desirable for gaining wisdom. It’s a win-win. I won’t die!

“You will be like God.” This one of course is more subtle. I would never voice such blasphemy. Every good Christian knows that a creature cannot be like the Creator. To hint at it is beyond imagination. Yes – Jesus did say that He and the Father are one and Paul was quick to point out that we should be like Christ and so I realize that if we follow and love and trust Jesus that in fact, we can be like God. But the fruit that dangles before me in my life is not from that branch. It’s not down that road that I will find the fulfillment that I seek. No, I will decide which way to take my life. I will decide about what is good and evil. I will be the judge. I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. I will be like God!

“God cannot be mocked.” And then, from somewhere within, there is that other voice. The voice that I so desire to please and follow and obey. Reminding me. Reminding me that I should not be deceived. Don’t believe the lie!! God cannot be mocked. I am a creature – He is the Creator. Without His help, I could not distinguish between good and evil if my life depended on it – and my life does depend on it! God knows better than I. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. There will be consequences. My wife will be hurt. My children will be stricken. The family of God will be plagued. And I will receive not satisfaction but death! The fruit tasted good, but it was only death in disguise. God cannot be mocked!

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am!!! Who will rescue me from this body of death!?!?! Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!!!

Pray that God would give me strength to leave the fruit on the tree…

Categories: Living

Don't Click Here!!

2005-09-06T12:27:00.000-04:00

The link said "Don't click here," but you did anyway. You had lots of other choices on the internet to choose from, but you deliberately chose to go where you were told not to. In the midst of many 'Yesses,' you were attracted to the one 'No.'

This is similar to another incident a long, long time ago.

God made a wonderful paradise and gave it to Adam and Eve. They could go anywhere, do anything, enjoy the whole creation - with a single exception. One tree - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - was off limits. However, just as you clicked on a button that said "Don't click here," Adam and Eve ate from the tree that was off limits. They chose to disobey God's warning.

When Adam disobeyed God, he brought sin into the world. Sin brought many terrible consequences, but the most terrible was death. Sin brought physical and spiritual death into the world. Death is not a cessation of life - it is a seperation: the physical from the spiritual; the spiritual from God.

The penalty for sin is death. But God was not satisfied to be seperated from the creatures that He had created - the creatures that He loved. Jesus, who is God, loved us so much that He left heaven, clothed Himself with humanity, and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Then He came back to life three days later to prove He had conquered death and that He is the only way to experience new life. He offers each one of us forgiveness of our sin. Jesus Christ is the only way to gain forgiveness so that we can live eternally in the presence of God. This new life immediately reverses our spiritual death and joins us back to God. This new life also will one day allow us to replace these broken physical bodies with ones that do not decay or struggle with our spirit. Through Jesus, death is reversed and life is given both immediately and with great hope for the future.

We must accept Jesus' gift of forgiveness, it cannot be earned. How do we accept this gift? Believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, the one through whom we gain access to God the Father. Your faith is all that is required.

If you have any questions about this or would just like to talk about it more, feel free to e-mail me at philthreeten@hotmail.com.

Categories: Living, Thinking, Emerging, Reforming, Readings, Fun, Hodos

Naked Worship

2005-09-02T10:19:00.000-04:00

How must the worshipper of God approach the corporate worship experience? With an attitude of reverence? With a desire to give praise and honor to God? With a sense of joy in coming together as a family to adore their Father? Yes…all of these.

How about topless? I don’t mean without a roof, I mean without a shirt… Would it be appropriate for us to approach God in worship, in essence, naked? I doubt that you could find many who would be in agreement with this style of worship (here, finally, a point of agreement in the Great American Worship Wars…).

But consider this. I have a friend whose ministry responsibilities at one time took him to a bush village in Brazil. When he got there, all the women of the village were topless (though they did wear bottoms…barely). The men dressed similarly. After some time there, my friend asked why the women of the village didn’t wear any tops to cover their nakedness. As the translator communicated my friend’s question, everyone present began to laugh. The response he got back? Only prostitutes wear clothes…

What would a worship service in this village look like? Would it be topless? Would it be wrong for it to be so? Is there something inherently wrong with being naked while worshipping God? Apparently not, if Adam and Eve teach us anything. I know the immediate response, “But it is just as clear that nakedness was spoiled when Adam and Eve sinned.” And so it is - in a Western mindset.

However, if these people are able to overlook the eroticism that Western minds have placed on nakedness and worship God without dress, ought we to stop that? Do we introduce something good into their culture when we bring our sinful baggage to them and make them change to recognize the sin that we are burdened with but that they naturally overlook? I think we would be hard pressed to state that it would be wrong for these men and women to continue to worship God bare-breasted. In fact, it may even be that they would have something to teach us about our views and thoughts on nakedness.

Someone might rightly point out that this incident happened over 30 years ago and that the same rural bush village now regularly wears clothing. However, this is simply an example of how Western culture has changed non-Western culture. Again, their change in behavior says less about the behaviors that have changed and more about the impact of another culture on their own.

I’m not suggesting here that this Brazilian village was a utopia. Sin still had its grip on the people in it – probably in areas that many of us Western believers do not struggle in. Nor am I suggesting that since they are able to worship God in a more natural way than we do, that we ought to adopt their style of worship in American culture. Our culture and mindset could not handle such a drastic change. Still, it is possible to recognize differences within their culture that, if we were able to learn, could actually benefit our understanding of God and our living for Him.

I bring all this up because often people have a tough time understanding the emergent mindset. What is so wrong with the theology that has been handed down to us from our Reformation fathers (and those that preceded them) that we need to begin looking outside of these men of faith for insights into our relationship with God? Why should we listen to Catholic mystics? What benefits do we gain by expanding our philosophy to include that of the Eastern Orthodox? What is the need for understanding a Pentecostal experience of the Spirit? How can the rationality of Reformed thought be a stabilizing factor in my theology? Will the passionate obedience of the Baptist really deepen my faith?

They are all important for the same reason that it is important for us to recognize the difference between Western culture and the Brazilian village. Each of these cultures of Christianity has something that we need to be wary of (in that they will either overstep Biblical truth or restrict Biblical truth) but they all also have perspectives on our relationship to God and others that we need to be aware of and learning from. These cultures, generally, are not so disparate as the Western culture and the Brazilian village. But that is where the real opportunity lies. Since they are all closer to each other in cultural norm than further apart, they are much easier to transition the strengths from one culture into another.

For many who are against the emergents, it’s like asking them to worship naked. I can understand how hard that would be for them. I realize that many don’t feel that the culture has made as dramatic a shift as emergents tend to suggest. But if it has (and there are many who do say that it has), then there must be a new way of communicating the Gospel – the Gospel does NOT change – but the language and traditions must change as it is communicated and assimilated into new culture.

One day, we will all contemplate the name of God and its meaning. We will all be invited into the relational love that defines the Trinity. We will all dance with the fervor that only the joy of the Spirit can cause. We will all understand the intricacies of theology. We will all passionately do what God asks just because He has asked us to do it. And there will always be more of each of these to plumb throughout all of eternity.

One day, we will all worship naked.

Categories: Thinking, Emerging

The Storms of God

2005-09-01T10:19:00.000-04:00

This is a dangerous time to write this. Hurricane Katrina just hit New Orleans earlier this week. Within the next month, there is bound to be a traumatic earthquake, possibly a devastating forest fire…undoubtedly, a deadly terrorist attack.

Does God cause all these events? The typical theological response is both a Yes and a No. Yes, God is in control of all these events. He may even cause some of them to occur. But, we all find it hard to come with a hard YES and so we temper it with a bit of a No. God does not, perhaps, actively cause these events…instead, he passively permits a sinful world to takes its course and allows them to happen. But, whether active or passive, there is a sense in this response that God, does, in fact, author these events. If He so desired, He could write the story differently.

I have not done an in depth study of the natural disasters that occur in Scripture, so I am open to anyone correcting me if I’m wrong here, but it seems to me that most of the natural events that are recorded or referenced in Scripture are directly attributed to the hand of God. In fact, a similar, non-in-depth study of human-inspired tragedy (wars, deportations, etc.) seems to suggest that God is directing those as well.

Those last two statements don’t sit well. Am I saying that God caused the disaster in Louisiana? That He makes sure that terrorists are blowing people up? Before I answer that, let me try and make two points and then come back to that question.

I recently heard a sermon that looked at why God allows people to age. It wasn’t about people getting to be 60 or 70. Instead, the sermon focused on why God allows people to go into their 80s and 90s with little brain activity and scrunched up in a fetal position for 15 years. The pastor who gave the sermon made several suggestions, one that especially struck me. He noted that one of God’s purposes in allowing such dreadful conditions to continue in the life of a person is not so much for the sake of the person who is suffering, but for those who are around the person. Is it possible that the only way that God can draw particular responses out of us that would please Him is to allow people around us to go through suffering? Is it possible that the elderly person in the nursing home is there to draw something out of my heart - to respond to that situation in a way that is glorifying to God but that I would never consider otherwise because I am too engrossed with the pursuit of things, distractions, and entertainment? Does God bring suffering into the world in order to awaken something in me?

Another development that I have been more and more aware of is the difference between how we perceive the world. We no longer see God in many events because those events can so intricately be explained. We can speak of warm fronts and cold fronts and the mixture of these over large bodies of water that cause hurricanes to begin. Seemingly, there is no finger of God in the midst of this – only somewhat predictable patterns of weather (though, as any storm watch will quickly prove, not as predictable as we’d like to imagine). Has science caused us to lose some of the mysticism of God?

I’m not suggesting a science vs. religion dichotomy. We ought to be able to study science, be awed at the creation that God has brought into being with the sound of His voice and the twiddling of His fingers, and yet still retain the mystery that God is in control of all this. We’ve believed a lie when it comes to science. We’ve believed that we know as much as we need to know, or close to all we need to know, or that someday soon it will be all things, or, or, or…we’ve believed a lie. And in believing the lie, we’ve traded the mystery of God. We’ve done this across the sciences, whether the science of meteorology or the science of theology. We’ve explained everything so well that we’ve robbed ourselves of the mystery of God. The answer, of course, doesn’t lie in knowing less but somehow balancing the knowledge we have with the knowledge that we not only don’t have but also will never have. I have no answers for how that balance occurs, but it certainly seems to be lacking in our day.

And so, a hurricane disrupts and destroys the lives of thousands of people and we explain how it all happened, thus robbing it of any mystery and then allow ourselves to be secure in what we have, be distracted by something else, or, most grotesquely, allow ourselves to be entertained by the misery of others.

Instead, God calls us to trust not in answers or apologetics or theology, but in the midst of tragedy to trust in Him and who He is whether we understand Him or not. He calls us to respond in a way that will show not only that we love Him (as He commanded) but that we also love our neighbors (as He also commanded). Knowing that we are too self-absorbed to do this through any interest of our own, He places calamity at our doorsteps and calls us to react in a way that shows what He created us to do. And, maybe even more importantly, as we realize how much we’ve lost the mystery and as we realize how little we desire to serve Him or others, to bring ourselves to our knees in repentance. As I look at many of the disasters that occur in Scripture, repentance seems to be one of the primary responses that God calls us to…

Categories: Thinking, Living

Additional Quotes From Pascal

2005-08-31T10:18:00.000-04:00

Additional quotes from Pascal’s Pensees that I found interesting…

368 – When it is said that heat is only motions of certain molecules, and light the conatus recedendi which we feel, it astonishes us. What! Is pleasure only the balance of our spirits? We have conceived so different an idea of it! And these sensations seem so removed from those others which we say are the same as those with which we compare them! The sensation from the fire, that warmth which affects us in a manner wholly different from touch, the reception of sound and light, all this appears to us mysterious, and yet it is material like the blow of a stone. It is true that the smallness of the spirits which enter into the pores touches other nerves, but there are always some nerves touched.

377 – Discourses on humility are a source of pride in the vain and of humility in the humble. So those on skepticism cause believers to affirm. Few men speak humbly of humility, chastely of chastity, few doubtingly of skepticism. We are only falsehood, duplicity, contradiction; we both conceal and disguise ourselves from ourselves.

382 – When all is equally agitated, nothing appears to be agitated, as in a ship. When all tend to debauchery, none appears to do so. He who stops draws attention to the excess of others, like a fixed point.

384 – Contradiction is a bad sign of truth; several things which are certain are contradicted; several things which are false pass without contradiction. Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the want of contradiction a sign of truth.

385 – Each thing here is partly true and partly false. Essential truth is not so; it is altogether pure and altogether true. This mixture dishonors and annihilates it. Nothing is purely true, and thus nothing is true, meaning by that pure truth. You will say it is true that homicide is wrong. Yes; for we know well the wrong and the false. But what will you say is good? Chastity? I say no; for the world would come to an end. Marriage? No; continence is better. Not to kill? No; for lawlessness would be horrible, and the wicked would kill all the good. To kill? No; for that destroys nature. We possess truth and goodness only in part, and mingled with falsehood and evil.

427 – Man does not know in what rank to place himself. He has plainly gone astray and fallen from his true place without being able to find it again. He seeks it anxiously and unsuccessfully everywhere in impenetrable darkness.

435 – Without this divine knowledge what could men do but either become elated by the inner feeling of their past greatness which still remains to them, or become despondent at the sight of their present weakness? For, not seeing the whole truth, they could not attain to perfect virtue. Some considering nature as incorrupt, others as incurable, they could not escape either pride or sloth, the two sources of all vice; since they cannot but either abandon themselves to it through cowardice, or escape it by pride. For if they know the excellence of man, they were ignorant of his corruption; so that they easily avoided sloth, but fell into pride. And if they recognized the infirmity of nature, they were ignorant of its dignity; so that they could easily avoid vanity, but it was to fall into despair. Thence arise the different schools of the Stoics and Epicureans, the Dogmatists, Academiacians, etc.
The Christian religion alone has been able to cure these two vices, not by expelling the one through means of the other according to the wisdom of the world, but by expelling both according to the simplicity of the Gospel. For it teaches the righteous that it raises them even to a participation in divinity itself; that in this lofty state they still carry the source of all corruption, which renders them during all their life subject to error, misery, death and sin; and it proclaims to the most ungodly that they are capable of the grace of their Redeemer. So making those tremble whom it justifies and consoling those whom it condemns, religion so justly tempers fear with hope through the double capacity of grace and sin, common to all, that it humbles infinitely more than reason alone can do, but without despair; and it exalts infinitely more than natural pride, but without inflating; thus making it evident that alone being exempt from error and vice, it alone fulfills the duty of instructing and correction men.
Who then can refuse to believe and adore this heavenly light? For is it not clearer than day that we perceive within ourselves ineffaceable marks of excellence? And is it not equally true that we experience every hour the results of our deplorable condition? What does this chaos and monstrous confusion proclaim to us but the truth of these two states, with a voice so powerful that it is impossible to resist it?

464 – We are full of things which take us out of ourselves. Our instinct makes us feel that we must seek our happiness outside ourselves. Our passions impel us outside, even when no objects present themselves to excite them. External objects tempt us of themselves, and call to us, even when we are not thinking of them. And thus philosophers have said in vain, “Retire within yourselves, you will find your good there.” We do not believe them, and those who believe them are the most empty and the most foolish.

465 - …Happiness is neither without us nor within us. It is in God, both without us and within us.

470 – “Had I seen a miracle,” say men, “I should become converted.” How can they be sure they would do a thing of the nature of which they are ignorant? They imagine that this conversion consists in a worship of God which is like commerce, and in a communion such as they picture to themselves. True religion consists in annihilating self before that Universal Being, whom we have so often provoked, and who can justly destroy us at any time; in recognizing that we can do nothing without Him, and have deserved nothing from Him but His displeasure. It consists in knowing that there is unconquerable opposition between us and God, and that without a mediator there can be no communion with Him.

497 – As the two sources of our sins are pride and sloth, God has revealed to us two of His attributes to cure them, mercy and justice. The property of justice is to humble pride, however holy may be our works…and the property of mercy is to combat sloth by exhorting to good works, according to that passage; “The goodness of God leadeth to repentance,” and that other of the Ninevites: “Let us do penance to see if peradventure He will pity us.” And thus mercy is so far from authorizing slackness that it is on the contrary the quality which formally attacks it; so that instead of saying, “If there were no mercy of God we should have to make every kind of effort after virtue,” we must say, on the contrary, that it is because there is mercy in God that we must make every kind of effort.

501 – First step: to be blamed for doing evil, and praised for doing good. Second step: to be neither praised nor blamed.

Categories: Readings

Quotes From Pascal

2005-08-30T10:17:00.000-04:00

I’ve been reading through Pascal’s Pensees and have been taken by a number of the quotes that he has. Many of these will probably show up in later posts as I try to do some of the unpacking of the truth that is in each one. But till then, I thought I’d share with you some of the insights that he provides. It takes some wading through sometimes, but in the end, the wisdom behind it seems worth the work. Enjoy…

100 – The nature of self-love and of this human Ego is to love self only and consider self only. But what will man do? He cannot prevent this object that he loves from being full of faults and wants. He wants to be great, and he sees himself small. He wants to be happy, and he sees himself miserable. He wants to be perfect, and he sees himself full of imperfections. He wants to be the object of love and esteem among men, and he sees that his faults merit only their hatred and contempt. This embarrassment in which he finds himself produces in him the most unrighteous and criminal passion that can be imagined; for he conceives a mortal enmity against that truth which reproves him and which convinces him of his faults. He would annihilate it, but unable to destroy it in its essence, he destroys it as far as possible in his own knowledge and in that of others; that is to say, he devotes all his attention to hiding his faults both from others and from himself, and he cannot endure either that others would point them out to him, or that they should see them.
Truly it is an evil to be full of faults; but it is still a greater evil to be full of them and be unwilling to recognize them, since that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion. We do not like others to deceive us; we do not think it fair that they should be held in higher esteem by us than they deserve; it is not, then, fair that we should deceive them and should wish them to esteem us more highly than we deserve.
Thus, when they discover only the imperfections and vices which we really have, it is plain they do us no wrong, since it is not they who cause them; they rather do us good, since they help us to free ourselves from evil, namely, the ignorance of these imperfections. We ought not to be angry at their knowing our faults and despising us; it is but right that they should know us for what we are and should despise us, if we are contemptible.
Such are the feelings that would arise in a heart full of equity and justice. What must we say then of our own heart, when we see it in a wholly different disposition? For is it not true that we hate truth and those who tell it us, and that we like them to be deceived in our favor, and prefer to be esteemed by them as being other than what we are in fact? One proof of this makes me shudder. The Catholic religion does not bind us to confess our sins indiscriminately to everybody; it allows them to remain hidden from all other men save one, to whom she bids us reveal the innermost recesses of our heart and show ourselves as we are. There is only this one man in the world whom she orders us to undeceive, and she binds him to an inviolable secrecy, which makes this knowledge to him as if it were not. Can we imagine anything more charitable and pleasant? And yet the corruption of man is such that he finds even this law harsh; and it is one of the main reasons which has caused a great part of Europe to rebel against the Church…

159 – Noble deeds are most estimable when hidden. When I see some of these in history, they please me greatly. But after all they have not been quite hidden, since they have been known; and though people have done what they could to hide them, the little publication of them spoils all, for what was best in them was the wish to hide them.

165 – If our condition were truly happy, we would not need diversion from thinking of it in order to make ourselves happy.

172 – We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate the future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its rapid flight. So imprudent are we that we wander in the times which are not ours and do not think of the only one which belongs to us; and so idle are we that we dream of those times which are not more and thoughtlessly overlook that which alone exists. For the present is generally painful to us. We conceal it from our sight, because it troubles us; and, if it be delightful to us, we regret to see it pass away. We try to sustain it by the future and think of arranging matters which are not in our power, for a time which we have no certainty of reaching.
Let each examine his thoughts, and he will find them all occupied with the past and the future. We scarcely ever think of the present; and if we think of it, it is only to take light from it to arrange the future. The present is never our end. The past and the present are our means; the future alone is our end. So we never live, but we hope to live; and, as we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable we should never be so.

251 - Other religions, as the pagan, are more popular, for they consist in externals. But they are not for educated people. A purely intellectual religion would be more suited to the learned, but it would be of no use to the common people. The Christian religion alone is adapted to all, being composed of externals and internals. It raises the common people to the internal, and humbles the proud to the external; it is not perfect without the two, for the people must understand the spirit of the letter, and the learned must submit their spirit to the letter.

253 – Two extremes: to exclude reason, to admit reason only.

259 – Ordinary people have the power of not thinking of that about which they do not wish to think. “Do not mediate on the passages about the Messiah,” said the Jew to his son. Thus our people often act. Thus are false religions preserved, and even the true one, in regard to many persons.
But there are some who have not the power of thus preventing thought, and who think so much the more as they are forbidden. These undo false religions and even the true one, if they do not find solid arguments.

267 – The last proceeding of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which are beyond it. It is but feeble if it does not see so far as to know this. But if natural things are beyond it, what will be said of the supernatural?

273 – If we submit everything to reason, our religion will have no mysterious and supernatural element. If we offend the principles of reason, our religion will be absurd and ridiculous.

277 – The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things. I say that the heart naturally loves the Universal Being, and also itself naturally, according as it gives itself to them; and it hardens itself against one or the other at its will. You have rejected the one and kept the other. Is it by reason that you love yourself?

278 – It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason. This, then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason.

280 – The knowledge of God is very far from the love of Him.

298 – It is right that what is just should be obeyed; it is necessary that what is strongest should be obeyed. Justice without might is helpless; might without justice is tyrannical. Justice without might is gainsaid, because there are always offenders; might without justice is condemned. We must then combine justice and might and, for this end, make what is just strong, or what is strong just.
Justice is subject to dispute; might is easily recognized and is not disputed. So we cannot give might to justice, because might has gainsaid justice and has declared that it is she herself who is just. And thus, being unable to make what is just strong, we have made what is strong just.

301 – Why do we follow the majority? Is it because they have more reason? No, because they have more power…

320 – The most unreasonable things in the world become most reasonable, because of the unruliness of men. What is less reasonable than to choose the eldest son of a queen to rule a State? We do not choose as captain of a ship the passenger who is of the best family.
This law would be absurd and unjust; but, because men are so themselves and always will be so, it becomes reasonable and just. For whom will men choose, as the most virtuous and able? We at once come to blows, as each claims to be the most virtuous and able. Let us then attach this quality to something indisputable. This is the king’s eldest son. That is clear, and there is no dispute. Reason can do no better, for civil war is the greatest of evils.

340 – The arithmetical machine produces effects which approach nearer to thought than all the actions of animals. But it does nothing which would enable us to attribute will to it, as to the animals.

352 – The strength of a man’s virtue must not be measured by his efforts, but by his ordinary life.

358 – Man is neither angel nor brute, and the unfortunate thing is that he who would act the angel acts the brute.

Categories: Readings