It was Inevitible

Before I begin let me say that enough ire has been exchanged and if possible I want to avoid that and be as cordial as possible. But some things need to be said when others have been already. This conversation has been clouded for so long that nothing of substance gets through our passions much anymore. But in an effort to bring something new to the table I will say that I harbor no resentment for the opposition. But a Christian must take a stand because we will all give account. 

Now having said that I don't usually like to comment on trends and politics specifically, but this one is so inherently Christian that I knew eventually I would write about it at some point and that time is now.  I am not trying to be melodramatic but once again Rob Bell has stepped into the light and shared what he knows will be popular with society and rub the Christian community the wrong way.  Thankfully I wasn't blogging back when Love Wins came out so I was then spared a comment, but that and this share a common theme.  Now I don't want to judge the guy's heart because I do not know him, but his technique seems to consistently be based around gathering a following rather than presenting the true Christian way of thinking.

And that is the problem for me anyway, not him, but the way that Christianity is affected. The Gospel's primary message is that because of Adam's sin mankind is infected and needs a redeemer. Part of the way that God draws people to repentance is his goodness to us in the offering of his Son. This was for the payment of our sins if we will only turn to him. Christianity, you know John 3:16?

So Rob Bell says "We're moments away, [from accepting gay marriage]" "I think culture is already there and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense..."

Hmm...If the church's primary concern was cultural relevance than he is right. If the church's primary goal was mass appeal then he is right. If the church's primary goal is making friends and networking then he is right. But if the church's primary concern is the promulgation of the Gospel then he is wrong. And while we are at it, the Gospel's best defense is also from letters 2000 year ago, should we abandon this cultural irrelevance as well?

See part of the problem is that this should be an in-house discussion. Sin in the world is always going to be there, it is not the church's job to run around cleaning everyone's nose. And if we are prepared to alter the Bible based on what an on-looking and free-commenting world says then our Bible will end up being much smaller. Thomas Jefferson already did this with the miraculous, the Jesus seminar did this with beads, now do we really want to do this with social justice issues? So because this is an in-house discussion it shouldn't matter what the world, or society, or fallen man thinks about it. But the church needs to understand it's own doctrine. When God  is clear on something then his people need to fall in line. That is if they want to be a part of the kingdom. If not then that is your choice, but stop standing up under the banner of Christendom and muddying the waters.

I know that this discussion, if I can call it that, is so polarizing that it hurts and distances people. I know that the church has had a big part in that. We have taken the healing balm of the Gospel and sometimes fashioned it into a hammer. We have failed to allow the Holy Spirit to do his job and convict the world of sin. Instead we have sometimes taken up the banner of the sin police and tried to force our worldview onto people who were not asking. Hearing that your sin distances you from God when you are not looking for God is angering to say the least. The problem is now that the discussion is so out in the open that we cannot communicate it in such a way that it doesn't sound like an imposition or an attack.

I know that this is will not be popular for me to say. My intention is not to harm but I have a responsibility to clarify when the Bible is misrepresented on issues the world would rather not be said. But this is especially true when the problem is so linked to what distances people from God.  Paul speaks in Romans of homosexuality as the capstone of fallen man in his journey away from God. This is not to say that homosexuality is the worst possible sin and there is no hope. That is not the message!  But the sin of homosexuality is a hallmark of a society that has turned its back on God. Our society is in trouble and that is why the Gospel is so important.

The church's current problem in America is that the country is responding to the Gospel as it was always going to, as Jesus promised the world would, with hate. Now unfortunately though, there is a bigger problem, it has been unmasked and revealed in our hearts. It is that we as Christians do not like that fact that Christianity is now historically on the unpopular side of culture. That's it. We loved being Christians when it was cool and popular and our politics felt so God honoring and uplifting and our wars felt like God's hand was behind them all.  But what has happened is we are no longer honored in the public eye. We are pariah. We do not like it. But then we are in danger of Galatians 1:10

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Rather than recognize the inevitability that the Gospel was always going to be at odds with the world, we have instead decided we have a PR problem. Why? because we want mass appeal again. But the Gospel is only going to reach those who the Spirit draws. In doing so it may just leave many of us without friends as Jesus has already said to his followers. Mathew 10:16-25

Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

The solution is not to soften the Gospel and hire a PR agent, but to realize the stakes of what we signed up for.  The answer is not to capitulate like Rob Bell is predicting the church will do. Unfortunately though he is right in that some have already and some will continue to do so. But that is not the Biblical response. Paul does not pull punches when he presents the condition of the world and it's need for Christ. This is the problem, Rob Bell isn't telling the world what the Bible says, he is telling people what they want to hear. He is trying to be a church PR representative and he is succeeding, at least for his own cause. But it is not a Christian position to ignore sin. Sin is what points people to God's goodness which leads them to repentance and them being born again. God's goodness is in his receiving sinners.

This is the point. I wish we could all be honest and say "This is Christian truth and you don't have to believe it". Instead we want to have our Christian cake and eat it too. We somehow think that disciples are supposed to be liked by the world, but Christ himself told us that we would not. We make the false dichotomy that because Jesus was liked by his followers that therefore everyone should like us. But the truth of the matter is that those who were following Jesus liked him, and those who were not following him did not.  He was put to death remember? In the end more hated him than followed him. We should not be overly concerned with being liked, because Jesus wasn't liked.  

But, when we are it should be for the right reasons. Because people are hearing the same message, the one that they didn't agree with when Jesus spoke it. Part of being a Christian is being at odds with the world, because we are jerks? No. But because our testimony is as Jesus' was; that all people need a savior from their futures apart from Christ. Jesus calls us to take up a cross remember?

In the same vein I wish homosexuals would be honest and say "This is the life we want to live and it doesn't matter what you believe." But instead they also want to be accepted and, rightfully so, doesn't everybody?  But they shouldn't expect us to fault on our Biblical truth any more than we should expect them to want to fault on their lifestyle. We should not expect non-Christians to live as Christians. Nor should they expect Christians to agree with non-Christians especially about sin.

Where we are in society is where the church was inevitably going to be in relationship with the culture, on opposing sides.

Might we actually achieve a more peaceful tolerance if we were more honest with our positions?  But the demand that the other side agree or accept the other side will only continue the fighting, or worse as Rob Bell predicted make hypocrites of those who capitulate to societal whims. When does the church ever give into societal pressure on issues of sin? I know the common argument is what about slavery? Well the obvious answers is those using the Bible to defend slavery were wrong. The Biblical system of slavery was to handle debt and included a time of jubilee (freedom) It was different. It included rules for treating the slaves (humanely). It was different. Paul encourages Philemon to grant freedom to Onesimus. It was different. Owner's were encouraged to treat slaves well and slaves were encouraged to get their freedom if legally possible. The New Testament furthers these treatments. Slavery was a reality in the world but the Biblical way to handle slaves was very different. Remember, those wanting to end slavery were using the Bible as well, just better.

We have been fighting a cultural war and loosing, as we were always going to. The battlefront for the Christian is not in public relations but in presentation of the gospel.  All we can do is hold to it whether society likes it or not.

Now this is turning out to be longer than I had hoped but let me take a moment to talk about rightfully placed ire in regards to Christians. This is not an excuse for what has also happened; where Christians forget that their truth is supposed to be seasoned with salt. That is love. Christians do not get a free ticket to bulldoze those who don't agree. If we cannot communicate in Christian love than we deserve all the ire we get. If we treat people poorly then expect opposition. Also if we desire to be loved and accepted when we bring a message that Jesus tells us is offensive, we will be frustrated. But, if we get anger as the result of an honest and humble presentation of the Gospel, all we can do is thank God for the opportunity to share.

Thank God for the opportunity to share

Sin the other church four letter word

Sin is such a vile word that the world hated Jesus for his use of it. Jesus admits this himself:

John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

Jesus also tells us that we will be hated like him because of our association with him.

Mathew 28:9“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

Why was Jesus hated? I thought he was about love? Are we going to be hated because of our association with Love?  If this is all Jesus was about then why all the hate? Hmm...could it be that perhaps that Jesus was not a one dimensional person only concerned with love the way we tend to portray him?

The pharisees didn't hate Jesus because he was so loving.  They hated him because he had the audacity to speak with authority about sin. He had the audacity to use that authority to point out that they were not as holy as they thought. This is why they kept pointing out his bad associations because they were desperate to find him guilty as well. The people who loved Jesus did not love him because he didn't talk about sin, they loved him because despite calling them on it, he still loved them. This is what led them to repentance. The difference was the way people responded to having their sin pointed out. Humility or pride. This is still the issue to this day, this has always been the issue. Hypocrites in the church get mad when sin is talked about and unregenerate souls do the same.

But why are Christians reacting this way?  

2 Corinthians 2:15-16
 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

Sin should not be a four letter word for a Christian. Sin itself is a problem because it separates us from God, it influences. But confronting sin, talking about sin should not be because Jesus made a way. Sin is the reality of the fallen world. Sin is what reminds us that we need a savior and the amazing things God did for us. This is why Paul says the purpose of the Law was to reveal sin. When confronted with sin the Christian falls on his knees and asks for forgiveness and rises again knowing his forgiveness is accepted and he his welcomed into God's presence. Christians acknowledge sin because sin separates and a Christian wants to abide with Christ. Sin becomes a problem when it is not revealed; sin becomes a problem when it is fostered. For a Christian the mere presence of sin is not the problem, because it is always going to be there in some form.  It is the hiding of sin that is. When someone points out our sin we should say "You are right and I need Jesus." The person bringing the charge should say "You are right, you do and so do I. It is a good thing that he is so forgiving."  Then they should go out to lunch or something.

Instead what we have is people in the church responding as hecklers at a tent revival. The abhorrence to the charge of sin that the world has, has infiltrated the church and now we can't be honest with ourselves. We fail to grow and produce fruit because we seem to think that grace means we don't talk about sin or that it is no longer an issue. It isn't, as far as eternal judgement, but it is as far relationships and growth. Romans 6 is all about this. But the church has fallen for the "hey man don't judge me line" that the world uses. The church should be the one who is well aware of her heart and her deeds. This awareness should be met with joy because God's availability to us in the middle of it. God's righteousness should cause us to rejoice because our sin's are dealt with in Christ, but righteousness should not make us indifferent to sin. Living together as broken people is what makes the church beautiful. That does not mean the multicolored stained sheet of unaddressed sin is beautiful, but the fact that the people are humble about it.

It is this humility that makes us prepared to share the gospel. We recognize our need. This is that whole "It is the sick that need a physician" thing. This humility makes us present the "good news of the gospel" as a remedy and not as condemnation.   

If sin is overwhelming and hateful to you one of two things has happened.  The first is that you are being overcome with guilt over your sin, you feel helpless about it because you feel condemned.  Now this also can go in two directions.  It can lead you to repentance or it can lead you to more guilt and despair. It is this latter that causes someone to react with such hostility about sin.  The first will lead you to Jesus. But the next thing that happens is your heart is hard and you do not want to repent.  So the idea of sin merely angers/offends you. This is the position of the unregenerate heart, but unfortunately this mindset has weaseled it's way into Christian speak among brothers. 

If as a Christian we react in this last way then there is a big problem in our heart.  It is the goodness of God that causes us to repent going back to the first problem. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit tells us we are doing well when we are in sin and that hopefully we will "come around."  It means that because God is good his spirit brings guilt to us so that we will want to repent and restore our relationship with him.  This is clear from what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7.
9As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.10For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

For the christian sin is supposed to bring us back to God not drives us away from him. I know that part of the problem may come from the way it is presented, but i would urge us to still reply that we know we need God too. Humility is quite a disarming thing. That way, if it was just said poorly we both are covered. A pastor has the responsibility to bring both the encouraging words as well as the challenging ones.  If we constantly war against the challenging ones, then the question remains what's going on with our heart?

Sin should not be a four letter word for a Christian, not anymore.

Thanks

And Justice for All (I need a Hero)

No, this is not about Metallica's hit album from 1988 nor is this about AL Pacino's movie from 1979. But Justice for All is what we all want, what we all desire. And rightfully so, God created us in such a way that we recognize the lack of it, and desire wrongs to be righted. 

Some may say they don't believe in evil but just pay attention to what's going on in the world for a day and see if that worldview holds up. 

I was recently thinking about my post on the violence and entertainment. In fact I started thinking about this while watching the new show Daredevil; about a guy who looses his sight and gains super powers of smell and hearing to fight crime. Now some super hero shows are light hearted and very flashy and entertaining and others have a more harsher tone. This one has the latter. I was thinking about the harshness of the tone and I realized it served a purpose. The more harshness of the material the greater vacuum it causes in the void of hope and justice. This creates the need and desire for justice, this then calls out for and almost demands that a hero stand up. It is a workable formula.

I realized the level of the harshness speaks to the level of my desire for it to be stopped. I realized I was being taken in by the delivery and being hooked into the narrative, this is good writing. But I also wondered if this maybe is supposed to carry over into reality. Now bear with me here for a second. Often the horrible tragedies of this world make us call out for God, like with 9/11. We see human suffering and we want justice. We see human pain and we pain ourselves, this is a good human response. Empathy.

But sometimes we see the harshness in the world and instead of desiring a hero we desire an explanation.
In humility we desire help, accountability, we look for a hero. In pride we want vengeance and an explanation that satisfies our demands.

Now God does not want chaos to rule the land and for us to simply wait out evil, this is not the message. This is why he left governments in control, to curb sin. Romans 13 tells us this. But this desire and even demand for an explanation drives us to the point of compounding the offense. When we cannot rest in the deliverance we rend in the reasons why. We tend to harden our hearts and lose hope.

But the Christian response is supposed to drive us to him and realize that he will do justice. God will repay all evil. God does not wink at sin. Vengeance is indeed his. But our level of rest and trust in him reveals our level of discomfort in the waiting, our annoyance at the lack of salvation. It does not in any way alleviate the suffering but my demands of reasons will be laid to rest if I truly believed that God was just. 

This is what the prophet Jonah struggled with in a reverse way.  As much as God is just, he is also a forgiving God.  Jonah did not want to preach repentance to the Ninevites because he wanted them to be judged. Even though vengeance is God's, God had a different desire for them, he wanted to offer repentance.

As much as it may comfort me that justice will come, God may want to show mercy. Ouch!  Do I want blood more than God does? This is that harsh reality that I am not God. I have to realize that I am not supposed relent to God's justice because he will get them in the end, but because he is just and good he will always administer just and true judgment. In other words if someone will repent who am I to demand that they be denied mercy? 

This is the reality of our world. It is a harsh place. It is meant to point us to a savior, it is meant to show us that we need God. The degree that we can come to terms with that is the degree we have accepted him as Lord.  That is not to say that all suffering is merely an object lessen, but it does contain one if we are able and willing to see it. The world contains evil because of mankind's fall into sin. These are the consequences. It is not because God doesn't love or doesn't have enough power but that this is the reality of living apart from God which we chose. This is the quality of life we continue to choose. As much as we say we don't like it God agrees and says "Come away with me.

I have always had little compassion for kidnapers. One of the recent episodes of Daredevil was about a kidnapping. I have no room in my heart for this. It strikes me as the most vile unforgivable sin. To steal a person from their home and victimize them into fear and leave the rest in constant fear and worry and pain is just so emotionally horrible to me. It pains me and makes me cry our for justice. The show offered a hero and my pain was satiated.

But life does not always offer a hero as our stories do. A masked man does not show up and take away the evil and punish injustice. We get to read about it on the internet. We get to watch in on TV and we get to experience it in out communities. Where are the heroes? I think this is why the movie Boondock Saints (1999) was such a cult classic, why it became so popular. "Maybe someone should just kill them all?"  This is our temptation.  If we can just get rid of evil people we would feel better. But does simply getting rid of evil repair the reason for it?  The reason for evil is that man's relationship with God is broken.

But our relationship with sin is so ingrained that evil begins to conjure desire for reasons rather than heroes. I should desire a time when wrongs are righted. I should be trusting in the one who will act justly whether with judgment or mercy. As a Christian I should rest in what Paul says from Acts 17.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

A Christian should never lament that there is no justice. This is to say there is no God. God will come again and he will render judgment. I do not need to worry about anyone getting away with anything, no matter how long ago it happened, or how the system worked or failed to serve justice. God will be just and he will balance the books. 

But do I believe that? As a Christian am I overly wrought with worry and overly distraught with the lack of justice? Do I scream at the evil in the world as a non believer does? Do I scream at the injustice in Washington as a non believer does? Do I really believe that things are so far out of God hands that nothing can be done? 

It is one thing to pain over tragedy it is another to harden our hearts because justice is never done. As the Bible says "Be angry but do not sin."

Justice is coming, a hero is on the way. All those who thought they got away with it. All those who we wonder if they got away with it. All those who still cause death and destruction. All those travesties that we read about and don't. All the victims we know about and don't. All the times we have to stop watching, stop reading, and stop listening because it is just too overwhelming. All the unchecked evil will give account. This is the Christian worldview. 

And when he comes he will stand on the Mount of Olives they will see him, him who was pierced for our sins and killed for our injustice. The world will bend the knee and every mouth will be stopped and every mouth will confess that he is Lord either willingly or not. 

I don't have to grasp at answers. I don't have to worry about injustice. I can rest in my Hero. 

thanks

A Sermon: Underwater Signage

This won't be long again as the meat is in the audio, but i gave this sermon on May 3rd. God has deemed it necessary to teach his people to remember.  Sometimes when knowing who he is is not enough to lift our heads, sometimes he points to the good things he has done. Joshua 4 shows us just how to remind ourselves of how our God is greater. And sometimes he gives us our own testimony, very personal and very real.  This is especially true and needed when we pray. So press the link and give it a listen.

https://archive.org/details/UnderwaterSignage

thanks