Christian Joe

Archive for the ‘Spiritual Meandering’ Category

I was reading the introduction to a book written recently concerning marriage and the family.  The author began with something that you will find in most Christian literature written today.  He began with the premise that we are living in a post-modern era and therefore living in a culture that believes truth is relative.  I used to believe this, but as we look at the spiritual, social, and political landscape around us, I have begun to wonder, “Is our society really post-modern?”  Another way to put it, “Does our culture believe that truth is relative?”  I am not so sure that is the case anymore; and yes, I do believe there is something worse than believing truth is relative.  What is worse than relative truth?  How about a reversal of truth whereby the culture proclaims that there is morality, there is truth, it is just that the truth they are talking about is the polar opposite of what God says is truth. One of the principles of a society where truth is relative is to suggest, “You have your truth, I have my truth-let’s just live and let be.”  But our society no longer thinks that way. As evidenced by the post yesterday, the society is not content to live and let be, but is determined to conform everyone to their standard of morality and truth.  Or the way the Word of God puts it, “Woe to them that call evil good and good evil.” (Is. 5:20).  In the “modern” era, men rejected absolute truth, in the “post-modern” era men ignored absolute truth, but now in the era we are living, men have redefined truth.  Now, it is not just that everyone can do his own thing, but if you insist upon Biblical truth, dogma, or Biblical literalism, you are not just considered wacky (post-modern)-you are considered evil.  If you desire to share the Gospel truth with an unbeliever, you are not just considered rude and intolerant, (post-modern) you are considered the enemy of “truth.”  Christians should do well to heed the reminder of Jesus, “Marvel not if the world hate you.”  I am still trying to think about what we should call this era if it is not post-modern, post-post-modern is just not creative enough, but whatever era we are living in now, we need to be on guard and arm ourselves with the mind of Christ.  Persecution is coming to those who hold to the God’s inspired Word (the Bible) as dogmatic truth.  The world has a gospel, it is just not the gospel of Jesus Christ found in the Bible.  In future posts, I would like to examine what the world’s gospel truly is.  Stay strong Christian.

I recently saw this commercial Audi Green Police (okay so it has been out for a while, but I guess I don’t watch enough TV and when I do, I am notorious for channel surfing during the commercials); and I get that it is just a commercial and supposed to be funny, but since when did totalitarianism become a hip way to communicate your message?  And then I saw this commercial Glee Recycling and was bothered by the subtle message being sent.  I am a supporter of recycling.  I am for energy conservation.  I get irritated and will cranky about morons who litter water bottles and granola bar wrappers along the trails I like to hike, but there is a trend within the world to adjust morality.  For years, the world has protested against standards of morality.  The world is amoral and toleration is supreme.  But I noticed an important message being sent in these commercials.  It is that there is a morality, but it is not a Bible-based one.  In the first commercial, it is a crime worthy of serious arrest to be found using plastic instead of paper for your groceries.  You are evil scum if you use an incandescent “normal” light bulb.  And the second video is less subliminal.  If you recycle you are good (note the ad. says nothing about doing good, but being good).  And if you do not, you are bad (not just doing bad, but your nature is bad (or evil). This adjusting of morals becoming so publicly blatant is evidence, that the cries of amoral tolerance and pluralism have been and are smoke-screens to hide the truth that the world is the enemy of true morality.  This is not about being responsible with our environment and created world, but is about what is right and what is wrong.  What really is morality?  Evidently society makes that determination, not an outside source of righteousness (God).  Some thoughts to consider.

I have been studying the use of the words “anger, wrath, hatred, fury, indignation” in the New Testament of the Holy Bible.  Although, there are several words used in the original languages (Greek) that correspond to these translations, there are three common Greek words and their derivatives. Orge-noun and orgidzo-verb which are translated wrath, anger, indignation, fury-but most commonly “wrath”; miseo/misos which is translated as hate, hatred, etc.; and thumos  which is translated passion, wrath, or anger (I only referenced the passages referring to “passion that stirs up anger”, not sensual passion).

Although these words are used at times interchangeably, they are not completely synonymous.  I won’t go into the details of the comprehensive word searching and studying of each passage, but I did want to draw a few applications  from my study.

Thirty one of the ninety-three instances (or thereabouts) refer specifically and uniquely to God’s wrath and anger in judgment.  Most if not all of those references refer to ultimate or final judgment upon unbelief. Fifty-one instances reference mankind and anger, wrath, or hatred.  I broke down these instances categorizing them as Command/Principle and Example/Illustration. Read the rest of this entry »

“But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus.”–Matthew 27:20

As I was reading the account of Christ’s passion this morning, I was burdened by this phrase.  What a contrast in persons! Barabbas had stolen from their tables, he was a thief.  Jesus had fed them with bread and fish, he was a giver.  Barabbas had mutilated.  Jesus had healed.  Barabbas had murdered.  Jesus had raised the dead.  Barabbas loved his own flesh and hated others.  Jesus had hated his own flesh and loved others.  Yet they spared Barabbas and destroyed Jesus.  We cannot miss the importance of this verse in all of the passion account.  This is the crux of the Gospel.  To doom oneself to hell, we must reject Jesus and embrace sin (Barabbas), but to have eternal life, we must reject sin and embrace Jesus.

What would drive the people to such a ridiculous choice?  Two verses prior gives the answer clearly.  “For envy they had delivered him.”   Jesus was a lot of things, but he was not what the people wanted him to be.  They wanted a political savior, a social hero.  They wanted a miraculous king.  They wanted a submissive puppet.  They did not want a bleeding sacrifice.

Fellow-Christians, Paul says that we can be partaker of his sufferings.  A part of those sufferings are rejection because of envy.  Some will reject you simply because you are not what they think you should be.  Some will reject you because they seek Barabbas but destroy Jesus.  Notice also, that it is the multitudes persuaded by the elders.  People are fickle. They will follow that which is most popular.  The elders knew that and knew that if the multitude was not behind them, they would get no where with their diabolical scheme.  So they bent the will of the multitude to destroy Jesus.

Burdened saint, don’t be discouraged if the “multitudes” are against you.  They were against Jesus Christ.  In a few short days, multitudes in Jerusalem would realize what had been done and 8000+ would repent and believe on the Lord Jesus.  The rejection of Christ by the multitude takes place only weeks before the greatest advance of the church in all of New Testament history.

Forward, Saints! press on!  In due season you will reap if you faint not!

I had the great opportunity to be in Ely, NV, last Saturday, Monday and Tuesday to be some assistance in our beloved Wally Higgins’ efforts to hold evangelistic meetings in that small town.  The current population of Ely is about 4000 people.  The demographic of Ely is mostly Caucasian (about 89%) with some Native Americans, Pacific Islanders and Hispanics rounding out the figures.  Ely is a Nevada boom town with Kennecott copper mine first having success there.  When the copper market crashed in the1970’s, Ely suffered like most boom towns.  In 2005 there was a resurgence of copper and mining boomed again.  Gold mining also plays an important part of Ely’s economy.  Like most Nevada towns, religion is not the “main thing.” The Mormons, Catholics, Methodists, and even a small group of Baptists have a presence in Ely.

My observation of this small Nevada town is not that much different than most “boom” towns.  There is a wide divergence between the classes of people in the town.  As we were walking the neighborhoods passing out fliers to the meetings, I noticed that the “run-down” areas of town were very dilapidated, while just down the street you had very well-manicured and wealthy homes.  But the most striking feature of any Nevada boom town is the overwhelming presence of “night life.”  Coming out from our gospel meetings Tuesday night, I looked down the street and the casinos, clubs, and bars were lit up and packed with patrons.  This is what people do, this is their life.  We had a few people in the meetings hearing the preaching of the gospel, while Satan has lured many souls bedazzled with the pleasures of sin for a season.  While in Utah, we realize the bondage of religion, but we cannot ignore the bondage of the entertainment/casino industry of our neighbor state to the West.  A comment my father made as we drove out of town resonated with me.  He said, “I wish there was some way to preach Acts 16 (the content of his message) to all those people in the casinos.”

Pray that God would deliver souls from the bondage of alcohol, drugs, gambling, and immorality in these little boom towns in the West.

Responsibilities of Pastors to the Church

God’s organized organism is the local church.  The local church is made up of sinners who have placed their trust in Christ alone for forgiveness and restoration of relational worship with God having become saints.  God has placed leadership over his church to guide her and protect her, not to lord and control the church’s saints (I Pet. 5:1-4).  God gave the church two categories of gifted leaders both to form the structure and to facilitate growth and expansion of the church (Eph. 4:11-13).  God’s ultimate intent is glory in and through the church (Eph. 3:21). God’s glory in building his church is accomplished when God’s leadership and God’s people function in harmony with each other.  There is a Biblical pattern for how this is accomplished.

Formative Gifts (Eph. 4:11)
Originally, God gave Apostles to form the structure of the church, this was the job of the twelve, Paul calls himself one born out of due time, and the least of the Apostles.  In other words, he recognized that the original twelve were apostles, and he was the exception to the rule.  God used the Apostles to give Spirit led structure and teaching to the church.  As the Apostles died off, so did their gift, but their teaching remains in the NT which really is God’s teaching as he led each one specifically in his writing (II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:20-21).  Prophets were other individuals God used along with the Apostles to form doctrine and correct understanding of God’s Word—Mark, James, Jude, Luke, were examples of Prophets.  As the Word of God was completed and the Apostolic age came to a conclusion, the prophetic gifts also ceased to be necessary for the church.   The Apostles and Prophets were used of God to form his church, and God used the next two gifted leaders to expand and lead his church.

Expansive Gifts (Eph. 4:11)
Evangelists or literally, gospelizers, were those individuals who were led by God to expand the ministry of the church by preaching the Gospel and organizing together those who accept the Gospel into local churches.  I believe many have misunderstood the gift of evangelists and have characterized them as itinerate preachers who travel in RV’s doing week long revival meetings.  I hardly believe that is what Paul had in mind when he told Timothy, the young pastor, to do the work of an evangelist.  The fourth tier of leadership God gave is called Pastor/Teacher. Read the rest of this entry »

My heart is full this morning.  My purpose in life is see God grow bigger in the eyes of his created humanity, and yet how can we do that in American Christianity when our focus on God and his glory and plan is so dim.  We are so inundated with Christianity and have been so blessed in this country that we have put Christ and his glorious gospel on a shelf while exalting man and his goodness.  This has happened all the while under our noses under the guise of spirituality.  The sweet Psalmist exclaims, “Let the nations be glad!” while we complain about the falling economy.  I sit and type on a computer in a climate controlled office with a plethora of Bible translations before me, studying to preach to people who have probably heard the same thing over and over again, while thousands of peoples in Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh have never even seen a Bible in their own language.  Have we really got it figured out in American churches where we argue over translation philosophy and a new translation is produced every year or so while these dear souls slip into eternity never reading any translation of John 3:16?  I need to watch what I eat otherwise I start to gain weight, we have a gluttony problem in our culture; while 12 year girls in Cambodia are sent by their fathers to sell their bodies to perverts and pedophiles in order to bring home food for the day.  Many of those girls will die from AIDS never hearing about the sacrifice of Jesus who said, “I am the Bread of Life, he that believes on me will never hunger.”  Small churches in India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kosovo, Albania, and many more nations will meet in secret with joy and gladness to sing, pray, and praise God–make Him great!  While our churches are filled, and if you don’t like the preacher, the music, the building, the tone, the instruments you can just drive a few more miles and find another one.  Believers in nations around the world will walk miles, ride in the back of wagons, rise while it is early just to get to hear the Word of God, while I complain about having to get up an hour earlier on Sunday because of Daylight Savings Time.  Our American churches are fat and plentiful and we have gorged ourselves on the Gospel to the point it bores us to hear it once again; we need entertainment, excitement, something or someone to stir us. . . we are no longer stirred by the simple phrase, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but through Me.”  Our buildings must be bigger, more modern, more technological, more flashy, and attractive.  We have lost our way, my brothers and sisters.  Where is the hunger for Christ; where is the passion for Truth?  Where is reckless abandon that Jesus spoke of?  Where is the risk that Christ exemplified?  Where is the bold advance of the Kingdom? I fear that American Christianity has become a novelty. . . something to do, something to experience, something to be wooed into.  American Christianity has been about extremes, we are a slave to our conservative traditions or we are entangled with worldliness.  We ascribe to a set of rules or we throw off all rule. We want our leaders to tell us what to do or we are so set in our ways no one can tell us anything.  And the worst part about all of it, it is me!  I am guilty! A God-ward focus in my life, just wanting to make God greater in the eyes of others is lacking.  Forgive me, my God.  Return me to see your glory.  Drive me to my knees, break me!  I am weak and you are strong, humble me and make me useful for your glory.  Restore to me the joy of your Salvation and renew a right spirit within me.  Drive far from me apathy, complacency, bitterness, and a warring spirit unless that war is against the gates of hell.  I do not know where my heart has left yours, but draw me back to You.  O God, your mercy endures forever and you are of a gracious heart, please heal my sick soul and bow me low before your throne.  Then will I be able to teach sinners your truth; then will I be able to show your glory!  Make me your simple servant and send me to your fields to work wherever and however you lead.  Make me die daily, that Christ might live through me!

As I continue to grow in God’s amazing grace, I am overcome with a sense of my own unworthiness to teach and preach the Word of God.  I am also amazed at my unworthiness to lead God’s people.  God’s sheep are so precious and I take them for granted so often.  Pastors, beware not just the wolves that might hurt God’s flock, but beware our own pride that elevates ourselves and makes us think we know more or are better than they are.  There is no clergy-laity distinction, we are all just sinners saved by Grace seeking to worship the King of kings as his family.  I am looking forward to this next month as we look at God’s Word and reflect on how we must love the church that Christ died for.  Lord, forgive me where I am proud and arrogant, make me a humble servant of yours; and church family, please forgive me where I allow my ego to rule rather than Christ.  O, for grace to be like Christ, truly the one and only Great Shepherd.  I plead with you my Lord and my God to make me more like You.

I would encourage you to read John Stott’s book The Cross of Christ.  This is one of Stott’s classic works and its thorough substantive handling of the atonement by Christ is worthy of perusing on a regular basis.  One chapter that challenged my thinking (which I thoroughly enjoy when an argument is thoughtfully and fully laid out) is chapter six titled “The Self-Substitution of God.”  In this chapter, Stott, suggests there is grave theological danger in making Jesus Christ out to be a third party in regards to the atonement.

We must not then, speak of God punishing Jesus or of Jesus persuading God, for to do so is to set them over gainst each other as if they acted independently of each other or were even in conflict with each other.  We must never make Christ the object of God’s punishment or God the object of Christ’s persuasion, for both God and Christ were subjects not objects, taking the initiative together to save sinners. Whatever happened on the cross in terms of “God-forsakeness” was voluntarily accepted by both in the same holy love that made atonement necessary. It was ‘God in our nature forsaken of God.’ (Stott, pp. 151)

At first glance, this might seem trivial, but Stott explains himself further in the chapter and it becomes clear that he is fighting the tendency of many throughout history to adjust the penal substitution of the atonement for a more “acceptable” view.  It has been the atonement, the death of Christ on the cross, that has contributed to the heretical view of the Triune nature of God called modalism.  And it has been the penal atonement truth that has caused some to err on the other side denying the deity of Christ.

It is my belief that our human, fallible minds and hearts have difficulty connecting the truth that Christ died in our place for our sins. And this is why some well-meaning souls do err when it comes to the atonement. Some complain that penal (penalty) view makes God the Father a violent judge and Jesus must step in as a third party to appease his wrath. This is the error Stott is arguing against, hence Jesus is either being violently punished by His masochistic Father or else He is soothing the wrath of the Father and persuading a reluctant Father not to punish.  This faulty understanding of the atonement is why some have scoffed at the penal, substitutionary atonement as illogical or “evil.”

I agree with Stott when he says,

We strongly reject, therefore, every explanation of the death of Christ that does not have at its center the principle of ‘satisfaction through substitution,’ indeed divine self-satisfaction through divine self-substitution.  The cross was not a commercial bargain with the devil, let alone one that tricked and trapped him; nor an exact equivalent, a quid pro quo to satisfy a code of honor or technical point of law; nor a compulsory submission by God to some moral authority above him form which he could not otherwise escape; nor a punishment of a meek Christ by a harsh and punitive Father; nor a procurement of salvation by a loving Christ from a mean and reluctant Father; nor an action of the Father which bypassed Christ as Mediator.  Instead, the righteous, loving Father humbled himself to become in and through his only Son flesh, sin and a curse for us, in order to redeem us without compromising his own character.  The theological words satisfaction and substitution need to be carefully defined and safeguarded, but they cannot in any circumstances be given up.  The biblical gospel of atonement is of God satisfying himself by substituting himself for us.

So what do you think?  Is this biblical?

Ever felt like this?  The Psalmist says it best.

Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing:
I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head:
they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty:
then I restored that which I took not away.

O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake:
let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.
For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;
and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.

But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time:
O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink:
let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep water;
Let not the waterflood overflow me,
neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good:
turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. . . .

But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah:
that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
The seed also of his servants shall inherit it:
and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

Psalm 69 (selected verses)

None comfort better than a good dose of Psalms.