I can't see your Faith Brother (brothers part 1)

Commenting on someone's faith, no I would rather not do it.  This becomes the inevitable conclusion of trying to minister in categories and ministering in categories is the inevitable conclusion focusing on sheep and goats. This is why election discussion are nor truly helpful from a pastoral perspective. We can only approach people as potential followers or potential followers. This is why my last blog about the learners is really more philosophical than practical. It is good to know for own sanity but it shouldn't set policy. We can understand that some fail to launch but apart from trying to help all we can do is give it to God. We can't really minister as such without creating different levels of believers.

This is too easy to do. It is easy to look at someone's life and declare they either look like me or they don't. This is hard because I know that we are instructed to look at the fruit. But what conclusions are we allowed to come to? Am I as a Christian allowed to look at a fellow believer and say that they are not on the path or that they are?

Whenever I hear this type of speak I am reminded about Romans 14:4

Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Here is the current problem in the church, this "hey man don't judge me" mantra has infiltrated the church.  But the verse is for the judges not to judge, not for the judged to not repent. Those in need of repentance must repent and be made whole. But the speck finders also need an inspection. 

The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin.  

 8And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Their ultimate problem is belief in him and the Holy Spirit will bring this conviction albeit perhaps in response to preaching the Gospel. They will be convicted of righteousness in that their own fails in comparison to Christ and he is vindicated as the standard because he was welcomed by the Father. Finally the ruler of this world that they are still under is judged so they have nothing to which to hold onto or stand on.  

 So God does the judging not I. This also makes me think of the prodigal's son parable.

¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to^[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’^{[b] 22} But the father said to his servants,^[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

I don't want to be the older brother in the parable, it is too easy to do. It is too easy for the church to be the older brother. When it comes to someone else's walk. There are two brothers with two sins here. The younger flaunts it and the older with pride hides it. But they both are in danger of destroying their relationship with the Father if they do not return. 

The problem is the younger recognizes his faults and the older does not. Only God can come along and clearly say where the person is at on their journey to, from, back or away from him. I think as a real brother would have chased after the younger as Jesus explains that a good shepherd does. He leaves the 99 in search of the one. What good does it do for some of the 99 still comfortable in the pin to comment about how much of a sinner number 100 is?  But in order for the shepherd or good brother to chases the wayward soul down, he must have words about the need to return. 

This is the hard part we need to encourage our brothers to return, not write them off as sinners without hope. Brothers come home, but does our home welcome and do our hearts welcome?

It is easy to point out sinners, but brothers should treat each other differently. It is our treatment of each other that speaks of being Christ's disciples. Christ disciples are each others keepers. When we are tempted to act like Cain remember: Cain was bad. 

He was jealous of his brother's offering being accepted by God just like the prodigal's brother was jealous and angry that his brother received forgiveness for his behavior. This brother is similar to Jonah who knows God's forgiving nature and decides that these people should not receive it. 

The Law's purpose is is to illumine our need.  Paul says its purpose was not to make righteous because only God can do that. It's purpose was for us to understand that we need help and that help is available. The question really is are we willing to admit that we are a damsel in distress or not?

We must never communicate the world's sin problem in a way that is more than a mirror to show them their need for a savior. It is never to discourage them away from a relationship with God. They are prisoners who can't see the bars. The message is always to return. So when your brother is in need say "Brother please, come let us return unto the Lord."

Brothers are there for each other even when they are different and on different paths. Just like Jake and Elwood Blues, we are on a mission from God, let's stay the course. 

thanks

Wrestling with 1 Corinthians 5

Where is the grace Paul?!

1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

3For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

6Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

So we judge the person inside the church who claims brotherhood not those who do not. Why? Because we lack grace? No because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Addressing sin in the church is not about legalism it is about maintaining the witness to the world of salt and light. The witness that does not openly condemn the world with words but by our deeds are the unrighteous put to shame. If we allow our good deeds to be clouded by prevailing sin then our message is totally silenced. This is why sin in the church needs to be addressed not because we are loosing our salvation or because we have a poor balance of works and grace but because our testimony is tainted. 

But doesn't Paul like, talk about grace, like, all the time?  Grace is what this man needs from God in order to address his sin. If this man believes that he can change on his own then he misses the point. Paul's point is not to get this man to fix himself but to recognize what he is doing needs correction and that he needs to reach out for grace. This guy is already trying it his own way and he needs the grace of God to help him change, if he will only lift his head. This is Paul saying you have started looking elsewhere and you need to rely on God. 

But doesn't grace mean being nice, why is Paul yelling? He sounds upset.

See we have to let the Bible define grace for us. Jesus actually talks very little of it. Paul gives us most of the information about grace. In Titus 2 he explains that grace enables us to have salvation for sure, but what it does it teach. It teaches us obedience and self-control. It informs out behavior, it enables and teaches us to be Godly. It is not blanket favor that means God looks the other way. 

The problem is we can't see the heart. For someone lost in sin trying to come to God and actively needing grace, he is granted it, but we do not see it when we see someone lost in sin saying they want God but not changing. 

Let's be honest Grace is hard to spot when someone is walking through it and forgiveness is hard to grant. We can't see people's heart but we can see their deeds. It is deeds that spread and influence in the church. Paul is concerned because the atmosphere is one where the people are arrogant and not instead grieved over the sin. The leaven had spread and the testimony was silenced. "Why go to the church? The people there are involved in more vile sin that we are." In other words the Gospel is ineffective. The message is undermined the mission is pointless and we are all wasting our time. At least that was probably what Paul was thinking. 

Thankfully Paul wasn't content to leave it there. He wanted change because there is more grace to go around. There is favor from God that enables salvation and teaches his people Godliness.

Paul absolutely does not want the Gospel of Jesus undermined by the behavior of the church. This is something that we need to take very seriously. This is why it is a big deal when a very prominent Christian leader or any leader falls into moral sin. Their sin has ramifications, their behavior has influence. Their sin speaks about the condition of the church and the condition of the Gospel. Paul is all about about grace, but grace is never supposed to undermine the message. 

Our good deeds are to put the world to shame, not that our sinfulness seems inviting. Because frankly it is not, it is off-putting. Church sin is only appealing to the nominal and hypocritical it is never appealing to the outside world. At least in the sense we think, In fact they love it because it silences us.

Paul speaks about this again in Titus.

 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Peter says it as well.

16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Paul is all about grace. Christianity is all about grace, but do not undermine the movement. Do not undermine the message. Do not undermine the Gospel. Let God's grace teach you. 

So where is the grace? It flows down to under-gird his people and the gospel. It does not flow down to help keep the leaven alive to spread throughout the body. The little book of I John is all about this. He is faithful and just to forgive all our sins, so don't for a moment claim that you are without them. 

So Paul has grace for the repentant and harsh words for the hard of heart, but all are forgiven when we humbly come to the mercy seat of God. Grace teaches and enables salvation. 

thanks 

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

Is this news Good?

With Easter come and gone I have been thinking about our message and why it doesn't always sound as good as it is supposed to sound. 

The Gospel.  The cornerstone of our faith. Romans gives us a great summation of how to have faith. The Romans Road as some have dubbed it is a series of verses that is still very helpful for explaining the Gospel. Some may think it archaic in presentation; to simply present the verses and then an expect a full conversion after hearing it; I would agree, but the content of the verses are still very useful and true.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Wait what? Is God maybe not OK with this?
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.
OK we should want to avoid this and want that, a bit harsh?
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in that while we still sinners Christ died for us.
Ok, Hey this does sound good, so what's the catch?
Romans 10:9 That if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
Ah but here is the rub, if someone isn't offended by the first point then this one brings issue. In Christian circles we think that this is so simple, just believe! Be saved! Make it to the finish of Romans 5:1 Therefore since you have been justified through faith you have peace with God through Christ. Right? Easy? Easter!!!

I have seen the problem, which has always been the problem. The recognition of sin and our fallen state is a hard pill to swallow at first.  But then confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing in his resurrection is admitting some other things about ourselves. This is admitting that perhaps we have been an offense to God. That perhaps my sin is separating me from him. Did my sin somehow contribute to his death?  Is that something I am really prepared to come to terms with despite how good the end of this road is. Am I prepared to be humble before an accusation that I am not OK?

For a Christian this is good news. For someone who has already agreed to these terms this is very good news. For someone prepared to come to these terms, this is very good news. For someone who is not, then the Gospel is not so good.  It is not so exciting, because there is a veiled accusation. There is a veiled message that I am not cool with God the way I am. This is the reality of the Gospel, it does have a catch. We have to be humble and accept the truth it points out in us. In faith we repent of trusting in ourselves and we place our trust in him.

People love the idea of a loving Jesus with all the acceptance. But Jesus' acceptance comes on the other side of my repentance. Again the repentance is a turning in my mind from going it on my own to going on because of him.  This is my acceptance that I am not OK, that I might even be on the pathway to hell. That I am currently dead and an offense to God.  Now we do not even have to present this amount of detail in the message but rest assured that someone who is offended has come to this realization. They have put two and two together and they don't like. This is why the Bible even tells us that this is offensive.

If it is offensive, doesn't it push people away? So what is the answer? How do we fix this?

We don't. This may be easy for some and not for others, but the ones it is harder for have to work through it. We are not free to soften the message's impact.  It has eternal consequences, it is supposed to.

Despite this, what has happened is we have tried to help the Gospel out anyway.

The solution? To present a less offensive Jesus. Now it is not this overt, which is why it is difficult to talk about. But I hope I can show here that it is true. The method? Let's only focus on one aspect of the gospel, the love. And I know the moment I say that people will say "What do you have against love?" Well, I don't have anything against love, but the Gospel's true love is on the other side of something. It is on the other side of our coming to terms with truths from the Romans Road verses above. Wait, didn't God display his love to us while we were still sinners? Yes, yes he did, but that is a general offer, that is his loving nature. But for it to be efficacious, the love of God's forgiveness, he asks of us something. John 3:16 has an "if" clause. If it didn't we would have universalism and evangelism would be moot.

If people were already OK and loved then we wouldn't need to tell them. But if they are not, then I had better help them see and point them in the right direction. Our presentation of "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life" has started to sound like original sin is no longer a thing, which people love!

But what this has done to the gospel is what the angry mob said to Jesus on the cross in Mathew 27.
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

They would believe in Jesus if he simply came down from the cross. The King of Israel has no business on a cross. The King of Israel has no business dying an insurrectionist's death. The King of Israel has no business being a substitution for our atonement. This is similar to what Satan tempted Jesus with. "I will give you the world, if you just worship me", without all that going to cross and suffering. But Jesus had to go through the path he went as the Bible says to learn obedience, he was the suffering servant. He was born to die. And he asks us to take up a cross and follow.

We think we are doing people a favor by avoiding sin and the death part and making the Gospel more palatable. But we are really joining with the angry mob and with Satan when we downplay Romans 10:9. God raised Jesus from the dead because sin caused his death. Our sins, not his. A payment had to be paid. It required the death penalty. God's love is freely offered but is was not free of charge. The cross speaks volumes. The cross has meaning. The cross speaks of our need and his answer. The good news cannot be offense free. Somebody had to die, because somebody did something worthy of the death penalty. This is offensive because it points to us. We have to acknowledge this exchange.  

Running past the cross to the love is not simply a case of the cart before the horse. This is making the goodness of the good news not that he died for us, but that he accepts us the way we are, as we are, where we are.  But He doesn't, we have to be cleansed. To not do this takes away the rescuing element. It is affirming us as we are, and who wouldn't love that? But the gospel is not affirming it is undermining. It undermines our security in our self.  It is a painful reminder of our need for salvation. It is a mirror to the face with a bright light revealing all our blemishes. It does not cover up, it tears down all defenses and then asks "Am I welcome to continue?" It causes vulnerability.  As we say yes, then in our nakedness before God he reaches out and embraces us at our worst, fully exposed but fully welcomed. This is the Good news.

"But Gabe no one is questioning this, we just want to reach more people!"

Cool, but the issue is that people in the church have still taken up the "Hey man don't judge me mantra." This is evidence that the offense of the cross and our part in it has been circumvented.

Without humility, and a recognition our sin, then the Gospel is an imposition. If it is an imposition than our response is not repentance but anger. This is a result of an anemic Gospel, hence this blog entry. Our job is to be clear on the Gospel not soften the blow.  It is not our job to change this.

I am not adding works to the Gospel. I am simply returning to it what we have subtlety stripped away. I know this makes it sound like I am trying to make the Gospel harder, but I am not I am trying to make the message clearer. We focus on love and rightfully so, but its aim is always to draw people to repentance, drawing to repentance means an honest confrontation with the cross. So let love live on but as Paul McCartney sang Live and let Die.

In order for us to live we have to allow Christ to die. Don't worry he rises again, it's awesome!

thanks