The End Times

I Pet.4:7 - But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

It has fallen out of vogue in many evangelical circles to speak about, much less suggest the thought that we may be in what the Bible refers to as the “end times”. Indeed the segments of the church that have grown are those whose focus is on practical living, wealth, repackaging of the church to accommodate either the past or future, and other issues that leave any discussion of prophecy as fringe. And in many quarters the chronology and sequence of coming prophetic events consumes the arguments rather than a passionate and burning message of hope and warning. Look around us and assess the global events that literally consume the front page of our news stories.

The collapse of the global economy has been foretold by both famous and insignificant preachers for decades, and with lightening speed we have seen breathtaking prosperity turn into a shocking economic meltdown. The word “billions” as it applies to debt is now obsolete and has given way to the word “trillions”. And the leaders among us believe that accruing massive debt, more debt than can actually be imagined, will be the answer to our problems. This situation did come by the hands of Republicans or Democrats, this crisis is a revelation of the greed and hedonism of all men and we have believed the lies of the devil spoken through the lips of other deceived men who have told us we deserve to be kings. The consequences have only just begun.

In the midst of this grave situation, Iran continues to build a nuclear weapon and North Korea has just launched an intercontinental ballistic missile disguised as a communications satellite. Wars and rumors of wars traverse the airwaves, and disease, poverty, violence, and wickedness expand daily. All these things can be explained and overlooked as just part of the global process and the birthpangs of the new age, however this scenario may be too obvious to be recognized for what it is. Sadly, the church feels no urgency or unction to be stripped of our graveclothes and rise up in resurrection power.

There is no hope but Christ, and the age in which we live will continue to more violent, more perverse, more greedy, and more narcissistic in its pursuit to achieve a new level of human nirvana. And while this tidal wave of prophetic events continues to cover the world, God’s people have become enamored with America, politics, buildings, systematic theology, and all sorts of self gratifying expressions of so called orthodoxy. Some churches are consumed with gimmicks, others are self absorbed, others have constructed themselves as truth warriors, while others seem ambivalent to truth. And the overarching truth that indicts almost every corner of evangelicalism is the powerless state of the church.

We used to be just prophetic spectators, but now we cannot even claim that. Is there nothing that will awaken God’s church? Ride through your community and pass a score of evangelical churches at night. Pass the seeker churches, the mega churches, the reformed churches, the liberal churches, the Baptist churches, charismatic churches, go ahead and pass them all some weeknight and you will see one thing they all have in common. They are all practically dark and empty. While the world disintegrates and collapses upon itself God’s people are asleep. Where are the all night prayer meetings? Where are the nightly watches of intercession? Where is the feeling in the community that the Christians are stirring and repenting of their cultural bondage and are spiritually energized with God’s love and God’s warning?

And in this age of economic crisis we begin to see more sermon messages about finances and how to survive the economic crisis which completely countermands what the Spirit want to do and say during this crisis. God doesn’t desire to show us how to survive, He desires to change us and fill us with His Spirit so that we may preach His gospel in power and passion. Is that all we have in Christ, the ability to survive? Is that what the kingdom of God is all about, just wading through the ebbs and flows of this world? Are we as God’s church just supposed to bail out the water from our own boat or are we called to throw out the lifeboat to those already drowning?

The fear of terrorism has been largely a distraction from the underlying power of human sin. It has provided a nice strawman upon which we can be fixated while the enemy is sowing his deeds all around us. And while Americans proudly pronounced a success in no more attacks since 9/11, the entire economic foundation was decaying right under their self righteous noses. If you have any discernment, you will begin to see more violence, more workplace rampages, more mass killings, more high school murders, more corruption, more lying, more stealing, more adultery, and more open manifestations of sin that anyone could have imagined.

And during these coming days some in the church will proclaim it was just as bad in centuries gone by, some will say it will get better, but most will say very little of any value. God is calling His people to deeper waters, some will hear, but most will remain in spiritual Babylon, soothed by mini-victories that can be duplicated by self help groups, Muslims, and moral support groups. The call of the gospel will continue to bow low to accommodate a response without any inconvenience, and some will offer the gospel packaged in the demands of the law. Some will condone sin while others will hate sinners. Some will make truth irrelevant while others will make it a religious icon.

And during the decades some have used prophetic warnings to their own profit, while others have used them as self righteous tools to castigate sinners and saints alike. And Satan will use that to deceive us into believing that there is nothing to fear and every warning is a cry of “wolf” or an overreaction to current events. You may believe that if you wish, but perhaps something much more sinister is afoot here, and just perhaps the situation is desperate. But obviously we are not.

A knowledge of these things alone is as useless as being ignorant of them. Just enunciating the warning, like this post, is equally as impotent without corresponding action and Holy Spirit power. Warning a man that he is drowning without throwing him a lifesaver and having the strength to reach him is hollow. We need a massive awakening throughout every corner of evangelicalism. The question is this:

Is our desire for it even strong enough to energize a pursuit?

The Cross

The cross. To the natural eye we see a condemned Jew dying slowly, impaled on two Roman beams just outside the city of peace, Jerusalem. If indeed that is all there is then it is just a duplicate of hundreds of thousands of other executions throughout Roman history. With that view there is nothing special, nothing interesting, and certainly nothing divine about a son of Judah being punished for his crimes by crucifixion.

I believe a sinner can investigate and even search for a greater truth concerning this event, but only God the Spirit can illuminate a darkened heart to see the essence of redemption showcased in that act of violent death. And when a sinner sees and believes that this crucifixion alone is the redemptive gateway to reconciliation with his Creator, well then, words can only partially convey the experience the Scriptures describe as being “born again”.

In a world of ever expanding technologies and advances, the cross is still the only remedy for the sin that separates man from His God. The engineer, the landscaper, the politician, the convicted murderer, the P.H.D., and the 8 year old little girl can and sometimes do have one thing in common, they all can be eternally changed by simple faith in Jesus Christ and His work on that same cross. This event was and is to all who hear and believe, and there are no levels of salvation contained in its redemption. It is the simplest of messages as well as the most profound. The eternal conundrum is the cross where death brings life and life triumphs through death. What is called the “penal substitutionary” view of the cross simply means that Christ took the punishment that should have been ours.

One of the aspects of the Divine Person to which the Scriptures refer is His office as Judge, to whom we must answer. Let us remove and dismiss the Calvinistic view of almost anything since that is a straw man and does not actually represent most of evangelicalism, even those of us who espouse the penal substitutionary essence of that six hour event just outside Jerusalem. God is a judge.

Now the judicial essence of the Godhead is a mystery in many ways. If God is the Creator of everything and He is all knowing and all powerful, why could He not have made everything with an embedded truth that allowed Him to redeem through divine decree? And why could God not have created Adam complete with an inherent grace that would cover the sin God knew he would commit? And why would the Author of Life demand death as His eternal appeasement?

These questions both reveal our infinite limitations of understanding and our complete reliance upon the divine revelations for our truth. The atonement of Christ had a concert of participators.The Jews, the Romans, Pilate, humanity, the Father, and Jesus Himself all in some way coalesced to bring about the greatest injustice and the greatest judicial substitution of all eternity. Make no mistake, though, the plan was God’s before creation itself. It is indeed difficult to fathom, and surely most impossible to unravel completely through the words and thoughts of man.

But our calling by the words of Jesus Himself is to spread the core message of the gospel, that the sins of the world were paid for on that cross and that purely by faith - PURELY BY FAITH - EVERY SINNER can receive eternal forgiveness and be pronounced innocent before the God of all Holiness. It is indeed a counterproductive phenomenon to see many who demand a penal understanding of the cross, simultaneously limit the expanse and redemptive power of that same cross by suggesting an offer of atonement for a diminutive handful of divine lottery winners. But as I alluded to previously, Calvinism is illogical, unbiblical, fatalistic, and does violence to the unabridged human essence of God’s offer of atonement.

The justice that was fulfilled on Golgotha was understood even by the thief on the cross who acknowledged his own just punishment but also recognized the injustice being given to this Jesus of Nazareth. “He has done nothing wrong” is one of the truest statements ever made, but upon the illumination of the Holy Spirit we understand His death was a divine revelation that WE did something wrong for which He died.

There are several perspectives of the cross which are valid however I do not see how anyone can deny a punishment aspect on some level at Calvary. We cannot reject things primarily because those who espouse it use it as a badge of doctrinal hubris rather than a humble message that should reduce us all to selfless praise. This cross is not a doctrine that should be picked up and used to meet out a doctrinal justice that kills rather than redeems.

However you understand God’s wrath, or justice, or moral demands, however you see God’s divine emotions toward man, you cannot, you must not, ignore the colossal mystery that appeasement was eternally fulfilled through the human/divine blood of the Eternal Word called Jesus. No one can understand such an archaic method of punishment being the redemptive vehicle through which we can all find life, and it will always be THE divine mystery that rescued us from eternal damnation and will always redound to the glory of God. The loving horror that is the cross is infinite in its facets and glory, and we can and should revel in every aspects grace has afforded us.

THE CROSS

* It is penal
* It is substitutionary
* It is redemption
* It is salvation
* It is forgiveness
* It is sacrifice
* It is Passover
* It is love
* It is grace
* It is mercy
* It is eternal
* It is ransom
* It is deliverance
* It is emancipation
* It is liberation
* It is rescue
* It is life
* It is infinite
* It is the divine gift
* It is the divine expression
* It is the example
* It is our model
* It is our God
* It is our Savior
* It is finished
* It is the door
* It is the way
* It is the offering
* It is the paradox

And one day in God’s throne room we will see Him as He is, complete with the wounded history on His hands, and on that “day” we will realize that we have never even touched the hem of His garment as it pertains to that cross. And yet we argue as if the cross was our personal possession. Let us preach it as the eternal weapon of love, not a doctrinal subject that needs defending. To preach it and live it is all the glorious defense that is asked of us, and in that we are challenged beyond our earthly ability. Jesus Himself would not be consumed with defending Himself and being distracted from that cross, and so should we follow in His steps.

So instead of demanding a penal doctrinal purity that results in self righteousness and bitter division, we all should instead remove the shoes from off our spiritual feet and bow down in tearful glory and worship the One who rises infinitely above all that we can ever ask or think. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, and that is the gospel in all its fullness, and an 8 year old little AIDs infected African girl, who will never even hear the different atonement theories, can believe that in her heart and be just as saved as Calvin, Spurgeon, or the Apostle Paul himself.

May the Lamb that was slain receive the rewards of His suffering!!

The Supremacy of Scripture

When a teacher or preacher speaks of the Supremacy of Scripture he is almost always referring to a doctrine that understands Scripture as the supreme source for truth, and in fact the exclusive source for spiritual truth. In the language of the Reformation it is known as Sola Scriptura, which means that the basis for our beliefs is not tradition or experience or ecclesiastical dictate, it is the written Scriptures alone. And it is true that this doctrine has been eroding and that many religious organizations either completely deny it or dilute its essence.

Luther desired nothing but proof from Scripture when it came to doctrinal truth, and forms of that battle have continued into today. There are many books and messages that deal with the Supremacy of Scripture and the reasons for such a foundational doctrine. And this doctrine has provided a forum for what some call the "truth war" which indicates a battle between those who espouse the supremacy of Scripture and those who in one way or another do not. Some project their opinion with academic reasoning within Scripture while retaining some civility, while others speak and write with acrimony and self righteousness.

I am one who espouses the Supremacy of Scripture, for in the end the opinions of men are just that. But I continue to have a problem with some of those who are the leading and most outspoken proponents of that doctrine. Luther himself espoused the supremacy of Scripture at the possible expense of his own life, however after establishing the doctrinal foundation of Sola Scriptura he seemed to dismiss the core of that doctrine when it came to personal obedience. His reckless language, combined with his indulgence of alcohol, and his overt hatred for the Jews was in stark contrast to his doctrinal espousing of the doctrine of Scriptural supremacy. Without dismissing Luther’s importance in core doctrinal realignment, I suggest he did not strive to live up to the personal mandates of Scripture which are every bit an indispensible part of Scriptural supremacy.

What Luther’s example has shown us is that it is entirely possible to be an outspoken proponent of the doctrine of Scriptural supremacy while denying it wholesale in practice and tone. And such is the case in many quarters of today’s evangelical community. To what benefit is it to aggressively contend for the doctrine of Scriptural supremacy while overtly denying it in the methodology you use to defend it? That scenario becomes a paradox in orthodoxy which dismantles the very doctrine you are supposedly defending. The supremacy doctrine is never limited to the overarching eternal truths concerning the Godhead, it must include the admonitions and commands that are consistent with the personal manifestations of the Incarnate narrative, as well as the dictates of the epistles.

It is indeed counterproductive to argue doctrine in the abstract without the personal revelations, or at least the obvious and genuine pursuit, of the uncomfortable aspects of Scripture which are designed to restrict the carnal “end justifies the means” template of defending the truth. In the end, defending the doctrine of Scriptural supremacy by abrogating the preponderance of Scripture as it applies to love, grace, and personal humility is neither Christian nor Scriptural. It is an overt revelation of disobedience and rejection of the very doctrine you portend to defend. Christ Himself was the antithesis of masculine domination and powerful usurpation, which at its core is why so many were drawn to Him while others rejected Him.

So many today stand on the mountaintop of hubristic judgment of almost everyone who are at varying degrees of doctrinal variance, but are blind to their own Scriptural disobedience. The world knows nothing of our doctrinal squabbles, serious or secondary, but they can see clearly the tone and attitudes that are in direct conflict with the Christ we preach. The cross is the core of our redemption, but it also carries with it the essence of how we are to interact with the world and each other. These “Attila the Hun” expressions of doctrinal dialogues do despite to the Spirit of Christ, and may in fact win the debate but lose the Spirit.

What is our calling? Are we to win the “truth war” or are we to live and project Jesus Christ? And those who claim they are in fact one in the same are seriously misguided. Winning the “truth war” is indeed more about living Christ than it ever was about a round table discussion about doctrinal issues on YouTube that draw “amen’s” from the doctrinal Bourgeoisie and elevate the wisdom of men resulting in the applause of other men. The sounds of “did you see so and so on Larry King, didn’t he really give it to them” are only meant to create a greater self righteousness within those who have chosen sides at the expense of deep compassion for those who are blind and deep gratitude for those of us who have been enlightened by His grace.

We have been sold a doctrinal bill of goods that has camouflaged the truth inside a methodology that is in direct violation of the same Scriptural mandates. Would it be Scriptural to defend the doctrine of the Trinity by murder? Of course not, you say. Then how can it be Scriptural to defend Scripture by self righteousness, demeaning personal attacks, and hubristic dismissiveness? We cannot exalt the supremacy of Scripture if we ignore those Scriptures that apply directly to us.

And here lies the challenge. Are we humble enough to defend cardinal doctrines of the faith in such a way that leaves the outcome to God Himself, or are we to speak in such a way that leverages the battle upon the fulcrum of our own words and the core viciousness of our attacks? God looks after His own Word and His instructions to us are never in contrast to that same Word. Speak the truth in love, says the Spirit, not speak the truth in visceral hatred and that is in itself love. The constant stream of unchristian language directed at the same people over and over again reveals an unwillingness to trust God concerning His own Word and its defense. Is there a God, and has He spoken, and is He able to bring about His purposes in spite of those who have strayed doctrinally, or is He in dire need of our constant attacks and redundant reminders of the same Scriptural shortcomings of others? And is our Biblical teaching so fleeting, so shallow, and so temporary that without the continuing stream of identifying the same false teachers people will stray immediately?

The supremacy of Scripture is not some “pin the tail on the donkey” doctrine that we stick on others, no, it is also high time that we examine our own adherence to the personal aspects of that same doctrine. Doctrinal truth must be lived as well as preached.

Doctrine without works is dead.

A Living Resurrection

(Note: I am very technically challenged and I just discovered many comments that have not been published. I've published them all. Sorry.)

In keeping with the Lent theme (which I do not celebrate) it has become increasingly obvious that we observe the annual day of resurrection, commonly called Easter, as an historical event and not so much as a living power that drives our lives. The entire western world knows all about Easter, but how much resurrection power have they experienced by coming in contact with a living offspring of that same resurrection?

How many people are so moved by the wonder of our lives that they must ask us about “the hope that lies within us”? In so many ways we have made Christianity a religion, full of doctrines and organizational constructs, and have missed the weightier matters of the Spirit. Which is greater, the doctrines we espouse or the doctrines we live out?

And we are called to be grave diggers, that by the power of God’s gospel, preached and lived, are used of God to exhume dead corpses and breathe God’s very life and see the bones gain flesh and blood and join us as we go to another grave site. And so often we walk quietly by grave after grave with dry eyes and without the shovel of the Spirit, and worse yet some shovel more dirt upon the graves of the spiritually dead and call it “ministry”. Indeed.

I am old now and not in very good health but I long to have the Spirit do a fresh work in my life, one that will increase Christ and decrease me. A work that will, without manipulation and publication, lead those who know me to wonder what has happened.

* A work that drowns me in an ocean of forgiveness
* A work that opens new frontiers of grace
* A work that awakens me to a greater depth of God’s love
* A work that gives Scripture my life and not just my words
* A work that cannot be explained by facts and events
* A work that sees others high above myself
* A work that helps the Spirit touch people through me
* A work that both uses and insulates me in this very world
* A work that simply seeks, thirsts, and presses toward knowing Him

On April 12, 2009 most churches will observe Easter, and they will dress up and have palms and communion and many special pageantries to celebrate that event that changed everything forever. However let us not forget that today is a resurrection day for all of Christ’s followers. We are not bound by a date that changes every year, and we are not bound to an observance. We have most assuredly walked out of that same tomb, and we have come forth from the coldness of spiritual death.

We must be today’s representatives of today’s resurrection, you and I must be fresh from Joseph’s sepulchre today with the smell of resurrection power invading the dead air of our community. If we are different by today’s firstfruits then let it be known to all who we walk among that Jesus is alive forevermore, not just in April, but in the lives of all who have been changed by His resurrection power.

Have we not made the resurrection a point of doctrine and an annual observance and been blind to the glorious truth that it is surely not the day that we must observe but the Risen Christ Himself? And we do not observe the Risen Christ but He in reality lives through us. The “what would Jesus do” slogan should be “what is Jesus doing” as it pertains to our lives.

The resurrection does not approach, it is here, today. It beats in our spirits, it moves our hearts, and if released it can lift up the Son of God our Savior for all to see. And this question remains - What could God do through a people who did not see the resurrection as just an event, but also as a living personal experience? When will see us as bursting out from that tomb at the same moment that Christ came forth, and when will we see the eternal moment of that resurrection as fresh every moment of our very lives? Having our hearts attached to this world leaves us tethered to the inside of that tomb as dead men still lying on a slab shared by many.

But the resurrection must be manifested and revealed in such a dramatic way so as to elicit at the very least some interest, to say nothing of the power that is available. There is no life but Christ, and His life entered Bethlehem, walked in Galilee, died on Calvary, and rose triumphantly in a borrowed tomb. We are not just called to somehow defend the reality of that event, no, we are to live and breathe its reality through a life that should, must, reflect the unmistakable glory of being transported from death to life. The story is real, but the story lived out is as powerful today as it was in the lives of Peter and Paul. Our Easter pageants have been used of God to draw people to Jesus Christ, but every day should be personal and collective passion plays brought forth by the church of the living God.

Our story is that God came as a man, died for our sins, and rose from the dead to defeat the last enemy – death itself. God, the Creator of all things that are made, came and defeated the death we all fear, and we now are called to walk in the bold humility that both expresses its reality and our gratefulness. How excited would we be if indeed Christ had risen this very morning and we were returning from the empty tomb to spread the glorious news? What attraction would this world have to us had we just spoken with the Risen Lord on the Emmaus road? And what would interest us if we had just witnessed the Lord ascend from the Mount of Olives?

Men and women throughout the centuries have become so captured by this story that their very lives were His and His alone. The hazards of violence against them were opportunities to praise Him to be counted worthy to suffer for His sake. What do you give the Creator of everything? What would impress the One who is from everlasting to everlasting? He desires nothing but us…our lives. And those who lose their lives for Christ’s sake will find a life that they never dreamed existed. To live is Christ and to die is gain. So what can the world do to people who care nothing for their own lives and do not fear death?

The world is shaking, and everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and the human foundations of this present kingdom are crumbling. But in the midst of great fear and instability we, as the living creations of the resurrection, must be salt and light to the darkness of the world. We must show grace, we must show love, we must show redemption, and we must walk humbly in the ministry of that Good Samaritan, always watching the road for the battered lives of sinners ravaged by their own sin and the sin of others. Redemption is both our message and our lives, and we have an increasing opportunity to share both. Let us live the resurrected firstfruits, and as our lives are waved before God let us pray many seeds fall off our lives and get planted in the fields of people who are desperately searching for meaning and life.

To Him be All Glory

There is one and only one Name that will ultimately receive all the glory. All the glory given to kings and princes and presidents will be a hollow shadow and will be the embarrassment of eternity when all glory is finally laid at this One’s feet. All praise and all honor and all worship and all glory will be collected from the four corners of the universe and brought into the divine throne room. And at that moment all creatures great and small will be without sound as they watch this event unfold. By the desire of God, all the glory of all the ages past, present, and future will gather at His feet, and all attention will yield itself only to Him…and Him alone.

Oh we have seen great processionals and inaugurations and celebrations, but they are all pitiful whispers when compared with this event. The loftiest imagination of any man cannot even touch the hem of this garment’s glory, and this is not just new territory, this will be a new reality never breached by human expectation. The most moving event ever witnessed by mankind will be as mourning in the light of this spectacle of infinite proportions. It is the coronation of the King of all Kings and the revelation of the Lord of all Lords, openly and powerfully unfolding with a blood bought audience who will only then receive a glimpse into what grace has wrought.

Please, dear saint, do not put down your stakes upon this earth for you are on a journey across a wilderness that should not, must not, become your home. The power of God’s gracious redemption continues to propel us forward, but any joyful sights and sounds we experience here will evaporate upon the very first moment we see Him. He is our destination, not just a place, even the place wherein He dwells. Our thirst can never be quenched here, and in fact the small drinks we have been granted are overflows running backward from the eternal city we seek.

And oh what a city it will be, with the smell of eternity permeating the very amphitheatre of heaven’s glory. The angels of God, the seraphim, the cherubim, the six winged creatures hovering around the throne, and every awesome facet of the place we love to call heaven will bow to Him, the center and Creator of it all. Even the Father voluntarily takes a back seat to this the Son, and the light that illuminates this celestial city proceeds from His very face and overwhelms heaven’s throngs.

It is then and only then that we will realize that we were such fools to ever have given even a part of our hearts to this world and all that is in it, and we will then understand that it was all dung when compared to His eternal and overpowering glory. To say we will be content or fulfilled or even satisfied will be useless human verbiage when spoken in the midst of such surpassing glory, the glory of the Risen Lamb of the Eternal God. And our new hearts will burst within us as we attempt to express the worship due His name and Person.

How can we, the redeemed human representatives of His eternal sacrifice, find it with ourselves to offer unto Him the glory due only to Him? How can we praise enough, how can we shout loud enough, how many tears of gratitude can we shed, how long shall we bow, and with what tongues can we lift up the magnitude of His powerful name? Where can we find the words, not just the words we were granted upon this earth, but where we will find the words that will give Him honor within His very dwellingplace?

Washed in His blood and drenched in His grace, and with the heavenly voices of redemptive praise emanating from the hearts of sinners once dead and now alive, the corridors of heaven will redound with the sounds of worship never imagined before by finite man. We will never grow weary and never tire of praising the Eternal Lion of Judah, and every moment will give birth to another without end and into the never ending ions of eternity we will offer the glory for what He has done and even Who He is. No one can step forward and receive any praise for any act of kindness or even greatness they have done. God will reward the faithful, but those rewards will only reflect again the Giver, not the receiver. Everyone will be transfixed upon Him eternally.

John Wesley will bow before the Christ and reject any praise for the work he did on this earth. Spurgeon will be speechless and without adequate words with which to enunciate his worship. Luther will reject the reformer moniker and speak only of the Redeemer. Calvin will render all his doctrinal academics as folly in the light of the Christ. Edwards, Finney, Whitefield, Moody, Sunday, and Graham will all fall down in a broken expression of selfless awe and worship. Paul and Peter and John will now be grateful saints before His throne and without any expectation of the merits of their own works.

The future for the redeemed is Christ. Eternity for the saved is Him. The complete journey of us pilgrims of redemption is to be with the Finisher of our faith, even the Lord Jesus. So be not shackled with the burdens and affairs of this world, the world to come will be with Him. Our lives are now hid with God in Christ and our existence is eternally tethered to the Lord Jesus. This life is but a vapor, a poor player who struts and frets his hour upon this world’s stage, but the end is the glorious beginning.

And there will be no more pain, no more tears, and nothing evil can abide in the glory of His presence. No more remembrances of heartaches gone by and failed expectations and personal failures, and all the natural shocks that flesh is heir to. No more worries and no more struggles and disappointments; no more frustrations and no more bursted dreams; and no more bad news about wars and death. The eternal breath is fresh and inherent with the exhilaration of infinite freedom from sin itself. The eternal brighteness of a new day will be ours in Him forever. No more darkness, no more night, and no more death of any kind awaits those in Him.

So take heart you who call Jesus Lord and Savior, you are being guided into an expanse of His eternal glory. You will be given the opportunity to give Him all the glory in the presence of the mighty and holy angels. You will stand and bow in the midst of a great company of saints who have washed their robes in the eternal river of His blood. You will lay celestial eyes upon the Risen Christ and see the wounds that bear your name. You will stand in the wash of His grace and enter into His resting place, complete in and even like Him. No one will need to convince you on that day that all the glory is His, no, you will run to give it passionately to the Lamb of Glory. It is impossible to describe with the thoughts and words of an earthling the level of glory that will accompany being in His presence. But suffice to say it will be the crowning jewel on this journey God calls salvation.

And it does not appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. To be one moment in His celestial presence will be better than a million lifetimes of power and wealth on this earth.

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

The Unredemptive Blogs

The blog phenomenon is of great benefit in many ways, including offering great resources for spiritual growth and expression. Like most things, however, it has also provided a platform for destructiveness and merciless judgment, which was there before the internet, but now has an informational conduit with which to spread its venom. Such is the blog called Slice of Laodicea overseen by a woman named Ingrid Schlueter. She operates this blog as a spiritual correction to everyone and everything she deems in need of her doctrinal authority, including questioning the ordination and calling of scores, perhaps hundreds, of ordained pastors and preachers. She herself has only a radio program on a station started and I assume still overseen by her father. But her ecclesiastical usurpation aside, I want to address a broader issue that she, as well as other Christian bloggers, exhibit regularly.

Last year the governor of Alaska was nominated to run for vice president on the Republican ticket. Since I am non-political, including abstaining from voting, I have no political axe to grind and Ms. Palin seemed to be a nice woman who also professed a faith in Jesus Christ. During the campaign it became known that her 17 year old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant out of wedlock. As you can imagine the press had a field day with that from all perspectives within our culture. Some were absolutely horrible while others thought nothing of it.

Bristol Palin, with the guidance of her parents decided to have the child and not have an abortion. She is on the beginning of a journey that will have some unique struggles. Recently she decided to go with her mother and give an interview to Fox news about her situation. She tells of her desire to be an example of what not to do, and to even speak to teenagers on the subject. She expresses remorse in a 17 year old language, and nowhere does she say what she did was right, even though she does not regret the baby itself. How could she?

But now enters the “Christian” blogashpere, ready to pounce on her every word and demanding she show more shame and contrition, such as would meet their criteria. One such post emanated from the blog Slice of Laodicea, written by Ms. Schlueter. It is a treatise on condemnation and self righteousness, and presents in stark relief what Christianity looks like when redemption and grace is missing and replaced by self righteousness camouflaged as “Biblical morality”. It is not enough for people like Ms. Schlueter to speak disparagingly about preachers and churches, or to demean the ordinations and callings of pastors and elders, but she and others must investigate the moral failings of ordinary young women in the midst of a difficult situation and pile on with her caustic rhetoric regardless of the circumstances.

Some of these bloggers, if you can believe what I am going to share, actually subscribe to secular news outlets that give them daily e-mail reports, some with key words like “pastor” or “church” or other catch phrases so that each morning they receive secular reports about the moral failures of others. And when things like a pastor from Nowhere, USA is caught in adultery comes to their attention they immediately can spread it and add their self righteous editorial about the state of evangelicalism, excluding their own piety of course. And if you read the interview juxtaposed with Ingrid’s post you will see a mischaracterization, not to mention the “stick your nose in other people’s business” foundation of the post. So the internet can provide the perch from which anyone can write as if they had authority and divine direction, even when the love that should cover a multitude of sins is absent.

I cannot tell you how repulsed I was to read her self serving mischaracterization of that interview. She is absolutely obsessed with everyone else’s business, and shows no compassion whatsoever for hardly anyone. Her blog is a demonic tabloid. In reality, her post about Bristol Palin is nothing more than a lie and could even be legally slanderous. I preached strongly against premarital sex, but when my own daughter became pregnant before she was married our entire faith community gathered around her to forgive and restore her. No one had to tell her she had sinned, but “a bruised reed will He not break”.

As a father, I cannot put into words what I would have felt if some woman had used our family heartbreak as a launching pad for her vicious attack blog. Ingrid continues to reveal the depth of her self righteous darkness and she is without feeling for those she castigates.

Let it be known, without compassion and mercy there is no Christianity, just a hollow moral construct that self righteously suggests the heart of the one who judges is much better than the ones she castigates. Christianity is infinitely more than a set of moral commandments that are policed within the community by the modern midnight riders of the spiritual Klan, enforcing their own legalism by the outstretched tentacles of their viperous electronic tongues.

It has become apparent that these teachers of the law are deconstructing the very faith once delivered to the saints with every bit as much diligence as are some who reject some cardinal tenants of the faith itself. It has become a rejection of the cross, every bit as deceptive and deadly as those who reject the substitutionary essence of that cross. These moral storm troopers delight in the failure of others and are only too happy to inflict additional wounds to those who have fallen, and that, my friends, is demonic at its core.

Let us not be deceived, what some are projecting is not Christianity, it is a modern day revelation of the parable of the publican and the tax collector. Just because one seems outwardly moral, and goes to church to sit and revel in their own righteousness, and just because one checks all the doctrinal boxes on the theological test, does not mean that person is living out the Christian faith.

Discussing issues, even in uncivilized verbiage is unfortunate but understandable. Even attacking certain preachers with adolescent and ignorant labels and phrases is fleshly and carnal. But attacking, lying about, and using the sins and failures of young men and women to further your own twisted hubris is unconscionable and does despite to the Spirit of Christ. God’s Spirit is searching for a bride for God’s Son, and like Eliezer He draws this bride with gifts of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love, not a judicial construct that not only condemns the future Mrs. Isaac, but publishes her sins with an effervescent editorial that makes her as unattractive as possible and elevates the publisher as the owner of the tree of good and evil. There is nothing in that carnal “ministry” that remotely resembles the ministry of reconciliation, and in fact it works as the opponent of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So go ahead all you who desire to rid the culture of all unpleasantness and sin through the capture, tagging, and mounting of those sins on your blog room wall. Many continue to hunt for the sins of others, and with the skill of a taxidermist you preserve them as discernment trophies and invite as many visitors as possible to view the success of your transgression safaris. Go ahead and keep exhibiting your psychotic behavior by receiving daily secular updates on the sins of the world with which you can whisper that same gossip into the ears of your eager readers, presented with your own garnish of hyperbole, judgment, and twisted mischaracterizations.

All of you who do these things are working for the kingdom of darkness, not the kingdom of God’s Dear Son.

A Spiritual Mea Culpa?

What do your eyes see?

San Francisco – Some see Sodom, others see a mission field
Homeless – Some see a nuisance, others see compassion
Liberals – Some see the enemy, others see just an opinion
Economy – Some see panic, others see an opportunity
War – Some see victory, others see tragedy
Gays – Some see sin, others see redemption
Politics – Some see the answer, others see the problem

What does the world see?

The Church – Some see hate, others see love
The Church – Some see judgment, others see forgiveness
The Church – Some see self righteousness, others see humility
The Church – Some see law, others see grace
The Church – Some see an organization, others see an organism
The Church – Some see people, others see Christ

But what hardly anyone sees is a plethora of personal mea culpas emanating from within the body of Christ. No brokenness, no humility, and no spiritual responsibility. The fault of the spiritual condition of this land lies with the liberals, or the gays, or the music, or the government, or Hollywood, or anyone and anything other than at the feet of the Lord’s own people.

Is it not time to issue a blanket mea culpa that states, “Oh Lord, we have sinned, and we bear the responsibility of living in a dark world with a bushel securely placed over our light”?

The Soiled Landscape of Redemption

The Soiled Landscape of Redemption

In this modern world of technological advances and the marketing of the finished product, the church has become far too antiseptic, bleached, and spiritually unblemished. We have orchestrated a presentation that undermines the message of redemption and in many ways presents a mirage, even a lie. I read a comment this past week that stirred my innermost being.

The man said, “Our churches do not have enough blood on the floor, the blood of both wounded sinners and the Savior”.

Think on that statement, that indictment. Instead of a redemptive slaughterhouse, we have become a museum for the approval of the righteous, when in fact we should be a crimson lighthouse that attracts the wounded and provides them a place to bleed as well as a place to find the blood from which to heal. We spend much energy to project an image of wholeness and perfection, believing that is what attracts sinners. But most times that is exactly what drives sinners away, for by that image they are repelled as they shrink back in the reality of their own profound imperfection and sin.

We have hung drapes of morality that keeps the light of redemption from shining through and opening the hearts of the lost. Many people feel the necessity to get cleaned up before they can even consider becoming a believing follower of Jesus Christ, and we have encouraged that perception by the clean and pristine image projected by our spiritual communities. Sinners, demonstrative and open sinners, were drawn to Christ in His incarnation, and yet we continue to be aloof and insulated in our micro-communities of conservatism, moral causes, and our assembly lines to church membership.

But the process of redemption has always been messy. Think on the cross and see the gruesome visage and scarlet body, hanging and writhing in agony over the soiled landscape beneath this figure draped in horror. There is nothing antiseptic here, nothing that presents a neat, little package waiting to be opened beneath Rockwell’s Christmas tree. This is the soiled landscape of redemption, arrayed in all its gory glory, and lifted up for all to breathe in the smell of sweat and to behold the ghastly vision of a tortured God. This is the crimson mirror in which we see both ourselves and the love of God, but this mirror is smeared with the treachery of humanity mingled with the divine embrace of redemptive love. Messy, repulsive, and captivating.

And this event died and was resurrected and slipped the boundaries of Golgotha and spread around the world with energy and power. The hearts of sinners heard the story and saw this cross, and by revelation and the message of grace they were introduced to Hope. Could it be possible that they were included on that day of redemptive death? What must they pay and how clean must they become before they approach the power of its forgiveness? What is required before the crimson door swings wide open for them? Tell us dear believer, tell us what tribute must be paid to gain such grace.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Only believe, truly believe. That is everything.
What kind of love is this that offers itself without demanding a dowry? What kind of redemption requires such unimaginable sacrifice from its Author but offers its eternal benefits simply by faith? And by the millions they have come from every corner of the world, filled with the baggage of sin and the wounds that accompany those transgressions. As they come the landscape is soiled with the oozing wounds of their own hopelessness and the overflowing blood of the Son of God. Those that have already walked through the Door should rejoice in the scarlet flow that both messes and cleanses its new recipients. The redemption process is messy indeed as sinners go forward and fall back, and as their wounds heal and are reopened, and as their past and present imperfections and sins continue to soil the ecclesiastical atmosphere. The journey of the church is filled with the messiness of believing sinners and the redemptive slaughterhouse of the blood of the Lamb.

Let us guard our fellowships against the spiritual hygiene that bleaches the crime scenes and pretends everyone is fine and only moments from perfection. Our atmosphere must be filled with the blood of wounded sinners and the blood of the Savior, and our invitation must be centered on redemption over judgment. We must not place spiritual throw rugs in our midst so as to avoid the messiness that inevitably comes with shepherding imperfect sheep and loving wandering goats. So often believers are concerned when the unconverted are attending our church, when in fact that is the New Testament way. Jesus knew and allowed one twelfth of His eldership to be unsaved and loved him nonetheless.

Living and spreading the message of redemption is a messy business that bids sinners to “come and dine” and allows God to separate the sheep from the goats. And make no mistake, if you desire your church to present a “Leave it to Beaver” ambiance you can construct such a fiction and gather a collection of museum curators. But if you desire to present and live the Person of Jesus Christ, and if you are going to sound a call to all sinners from every genre of transgression, and if you will joyfully minister to the wounds of human beings both self inflicted and otherwise, then your ecclesiastical landscape will be significantly soiled with sin and redemption mingled in your midst.

There is no other way, the landscape of redemption is always soiled.

The Ministry of Being Wrong

I was born again in March of 1975. In 1976 I began Bible college at a conservative school affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. I learned many wonderful things at that school and appreciate the years I spent there. It was in those formative years that I learned the core doctrines of the faith and I learned how to study the Word.

But in those days most conservative evangelicals were taught not to think outside the box and to be suspicious of most conversations that contained any unfamiliar thoughts or ideas. And we were very suspicious of any emphasis on humanitarian works since our reasoning was that they diluted the message and came dangerously close to a “social gospel”. The fundamental system of how the church was to function was etched in stone and most everyone fell in line with it. It was so simple back then as we reclined inside the well worn parameters ranging from the King James Bible to our mandatory short hair and everything in between.

And with all our rigidity we created a self fulfilling spiritual martyrdom, and we felt so proud to be different and verbally persecuted, supposing we were favored by God. Sure we loved Christ and His Word, but there was an ecclesiastical clique that constructed an artificial wall of separation that Jesus never intended. In reality, in our genuine attempt to please God we had set up a New Testament law that in many ways abrogated grace and cultivated self righteousness. We did not mean to, but we did.

And now those of us who lived out those days are still around in this spiritual climate, and we are faced with some searching issues that demand perspective and honesty. That is not to say that the dangers of spiritual and Biblical departure are gone because they will always be with us, but it is to suggest that the church of the living God could be, MUST be, entirely more expansive in its revelation of the person of Jesus Christ. It is pitiful to pat ourselves on our backs because we lift up Christ in our pulpits while the dark and blind world sees and hears very little of Jesus lived out in His followers.

I would now suggest some tangible things about which I was wrong.

I was wrong for criticizing lost sinners. Back in the fundamentalist heyday we were accomplished at preaching against rock stars, movie stars, and an array of public sinners who provided much sermon fodder and elicited many a self righteous “amen”. We would castigate people like Madonna or Elton John or the movie star activists, and when I think about that type of self serving ungraciousness I realize that I was wrong. God’s love understands what sinners do and what condition they are in, but His example is the cross. His answer wasn’t to come into the world to condemn the world, no, He came so that the world through Him might be saved.

This issue goes all the way back to the Anita Bryant crusade against homosexuals and the church championing her as a hero of the faith only to see her own marriage crumble in divorce. Churches would hold youth record burnings with the latest “out of the closet” rock star becoming the target, and all the while we had our ears and eyes on moral targets and not on Christ Himself. This type of "attack Christianity" galvanizes the base but leads us all astray and veering far off the redemptive journey set before us by our Redeemer.

We do a disservice to Christ and His message when we take cheap shots at the unbelievers, regardless of who they are and what they do. It breeds self righteousness and denigrates the concept of grace wherein we all stand. Our message is the everlasting gospel and our motivation is love, love for Christ and love for the sinner. We need to teach about sin in our midst, but we need to march outside the camp with a banner of loving redemption unfurled before us.

I was wrong for being political. Perhaps no other issue has clouded the greatness of the gospel and the concept of justification by faith than the church’s participation in politics. During the 70’s there arose many religious right organizations whose expressed purpose was to change the morality of a nation through political leverage. Millions of unbelievers have gotten the idea that to be a Christian you must be moral, and specifically you must be aligned with certain issues like abortion and homosexuality. While those issues may be pertinent within the church, they are the spiritual carts before the horse among the lost.

In many ways the church has projected America as God’s new Israel, and patriotism has become a tenant of discipleship. Supporting conservative causes has become a part of Christian moralism, and in fact this view has led the church to join “forces” with a range of denominations including Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, conservative Judaism, and all sorts of organizations that we would not agree with spiritually but cooperate with morally. This, as Paul noted, sends an uncertain sound and even projects a works based Christianity.

And it isn’t just those issues that have ecclesiastical sway, many believers project a conservative view of the government’s monetary policy, foreign policy, and many tangential issues that again are not germane to the gospel of Christ. We cannot be spiritual Martha’s, always worried about earthly issues that cannot be solved at the ballot box, no, we must walk in the footsteps of Mary and sit before the Savior and learn of Him. The government is in God’s hands, we must be about our Father’s business.

I was wrong for downplaying humanitarian issues. I came to believe that feeding the poor, helping the sick, and generally reaching out to people’s earthly needs were unattached to the gospel and minimal in God’s redemptive economy. I failed to see the importance and the attached spiritual revelation that good deeds can have when passionately invested in people and accompanied with a redemptive fragrance that unmistakably comes from Jesus Christ. I sincerely believe I have missed many opportunities to walk through doors that would have been opened by a more fervent outreach to people in need, motivated by God’s eternal love.

I now wonder how I could have been so blind and entrenched. Why could I not see that helping and ministering to people’s physical needs was a partner in the proclamation of the everlasting gospel? Maybe it was because we were always so worried about the “social gospel” that we eschewed the notion of worldwide humanitarianism energized by the love of God and ushering in the life changing message of the Risen Christ. We were so reactionary in those days, and we cultivated a climate of the “defense of the gospel” when in reality it was often just defensiveness.

No one can be saved without faith in Jesus Christ, that is clear throughout the New Testament, but we have become so obsessed with avoiding the social gospel we have sometimes become blind to binding up the wounds of people first and allowing the Spirit to open their hearts to the Savior later. Loving and prayerful process has given way to pigeon holing and windshield tracts. All of such attempts to spread the gospel are legitimate and necessary, but meeting people’s needs are our calling as well.

I was wrong about doctrine. I believe doctrine, which just means the study and organized expression of God’s truth, is important. Without doctrine, based upon the written Scriptures, we would have chaos. And it is no secret that there are always doctrinal aberrations that range from unorthodox all the way to rank heresy. So the core elements of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings concerning salvation by grace through faith are vital to the health of the body of Christ. But so often we have elevated the side issues of doctrine to a status they were never meant to have, and even used portions of doctrine as artillery toward others and self righteousness toward ourselves.

Everything we know, every truth that has been revealed to us is completely by grace through the illumination of the Spirit and surely not the spiritual prowess of our intellects. And yet we sometimes act as if we are the protectors of the Holy Grail and that we ourselves have sought and found God’s truth and have been assigned to protect it from the hordes of doctrinal barbarians. To be sure there are always movements and teachings that seriously change Biblical understandings of truth, but our calling is overwhelmingly a redemptive offensive and not protectionism.

And just a quick perusal of church history reveals a host of brothers in Christ whose doctrinal teachings were anything but satisfactory. Wesley brushes with legalism; Finney veers significantly off course; Luther carries over some Roman Catholic views; Calvin changes the nature of the atonement; Graham quotes the pope; and almost the entire catalogue of former and present evangelical preachers had their own doctrinal idiosyncrasies at best and variances at worst, but yet they were brothers in Christ and used of God. So the core doctrines are vital, but all the rest are not fellowship breakers and most assuredly not an excuse for careless and ungracious attacks .

I was wrong about love. The church has carefully crafted a counterfeit love that masquerades as the love of God but is in reality a self serving conscience salve that is no more the love of God than our love for sports. All believers know we are taught to “love the world” as God did and “love one another” as God commanded, so we are aware that we must project some teaching concerning these issues or risk being “unbiblical”. But if we are honest and sincere, and if we willing to let the Spirit speak to our hearts with conviction and discomfort, we will see that what we preach, and certainly what we practice, seriously misses the Scriptural mark concerning love and even exposes the love we teach as Biblically flawed and spiritually diminutive.

The love of God that we are called to emulate and practically illustrate is violently sacrificial and selfless, and when demonstrated in the power of the Spirit it must stand forth as incongruous to earthly love and a conduit that draws the saint and sinner alike to Christ. How is it that the body of Christ can claim to be walking in the power of God’s love and yet be so unnoticed and unremarkable in the midst of such a selfish and unloving generation? Why were sinners, so blatant in their sinful lifestyles that they were ostracized by society, drawn to Jesus? Why was a woman who practiced a sinful sexual lifestyle bold enough to approach Jesus with her worship, and yet sinners are driven away from our churches?

Where is the “God so loved the world that He gave” kind of love today? We were always so worried about rubbing shoulders with the world that we withdrew from them and in so doing projected a God that exhibits an aloof disdain rather than a gregarious love. We were more concerned with reputation than redemption, more concerned with acclamation than salvation, and more concerned with earthly separation than spiritual emancipation. We were reserved in our love even among ourselves, and if we cannot love each other with abandon how can we claim to love the sinner? In the end, we loved our ecclesiastical constructs more than we loved God and His Word.

There were other things about which I was wrong, and most assuredly things about which I am still wrong, but I ended on this one since if you are wrong about God’s love you are wrong about everything.

Grace for Gays

Tonight as I watched the television movie called ‘Prayers for Bobby” I again entered into a place of many emotions and many uncertainties. It is a true story of the Griffith family, and specifically their son named Bobby. Bobby battled with same sex attractions and held them secret for years, fearing his religious parents would not understand and might even reject him. He was right, they did not show him any compassion and eventually he could not endure the inward struggle and he jumped off an overpass, timing his jump to collide with a tractor trailer.

I completely admit that the Scriptures and the obvious physiological distinctions make it clear that God’s design was between a man and a woman. But what is not so clear to me is how we as the recipients and sharers of God’s grace should interact and reach out to those who cannot deny what they feel. Who would choose to force themselves into that attraction at the expense of losing your family, your church, and eventually your life?

I have no idea why that lifestyle seems to have become more prevalent in today’s world. Perhaps it is because most had to suppress it in former generations, or maybe it is because the continuing revelations of Adam’s sin are becoming more pronounced in these last days. I do not know, and neither does anyone else. But I do know that pat answers are easy and safe, and I also know that the church has for generations relied on our systematic theology, confident in the fact that we all agree on this particular sin.

It is exactly that safe haven that has kept us from a dangerous journey to hold open the door of grace through Jesus Christ, and allow the Spirit to move where He desires. I have been a Christian for 34 years now, and I know one thing for sure – everyone is a practicing sinner, and everyone practices sin they know is sin and sin they refuse to admit is sin as well. To be sure there are homosexuals who are now living a heterosexual existence, some with growing families and some are even preachers. To what extent they battle those same sex attractions probably varies with the individual, but I am sure many do.

But what kind of inward torture would drive a person to jump in front of an oncoming truck? Have we no compassion, and can we show no sympathy for their situation or are our theological positions enough to insulate us from experiencing their pain? And exactly what requirements are necessary before one can believe on Christ for redemption? How many sins do we have to forsake before we can approach Him, and must we be aware of how God views the entire catalogue of our sins before we can become a legitimate believer?

And during this movie, and I’m sure a scenario that is lived out in thousands of cases, Bobby heard his family and others refer to gay people in the most demeaning and unloving way, his grandmother even suggesting they “line them up and shoot them all”. And these people claimed to be believers and followers of Jesus. And the lineage of these callous people continues today with a complete array of invectives ranging from “Sodomites” to “bath house deviants” and all the rest. And we have to ask ourselves this question, are grace, mercy, and love incongruent to our Biblical beliefs about sin? I do not mean just informing a gay person about his sin, but exhibiting those spiritual fruits to someone in spite of their lifestyle.

No one should practice sin as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. But I have come to this conclusion, only practicing sinners will enter eternity under the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My heart grieves to watch a 20 year old young man leap to his death because he has been rejected by almost everyone he loves and within that experience he has come to violently hate himself.

That surely cannot be New Testament Christianity.

Unchristian Effects of Eschatology

Many evangelicals believe, and Scripture seems to support this view, that God has not forgotten the Jewish people and will offer redemption to the remaining Jewish people at the last days. That is not to say that the unbelieving Jews of today are any more saved than the unbelieving Gentiles, they are not. But there are numerous Scriptural glimpses that reference the 70 weeks prophesied by Daniel as a template in which God redeems the remnant left in the final chapter of ecclesiastical history. I am one who believes that as well.

But let us take a harder look at what that has come to mean against the backdrop of what that means Biblically. We as Christians, like the Apostle Paul, should have a love for the Jewish people since their forefathers were used of God and indeed provided the human vehicle through which Messiah was to come. We cannot ignore the fact that John the Baptist, Mary, Peter, James, John, all the disciples, Paul, and most of the believers on the Day of Pentecost were all Jews. The Church of Jesus Christ was birthed from the loins of God’s people, Israel. We should be grateful and have an earnest desire for their souls.

But our love for the Jewish people should not be understood as giving the nation of Israel a carte blanche support for all that it does. That same nation in the Old Testament was many times acting in rebellion towards Jehovah and even practicing idolatry, and this modern nation has for the most part rejected God’s Son. God’s people on the earth today are the redeemed congregation of Jesus Christ, those who by faith in His gospel have been born again and grafted into the Everlasting Vine. Romans chapter 11 is very clear that when Israel as a people were cut off, the church, primarily made up of Gentiles, was grafted in. Paul does make a mention of a regrafting in of the Jews, which could very well refer to the last days redemption.

But even though our eschatology includes some miraculous intervention by God for the remnant Jews, that must not allow us to show favoritism for them which sometimes causes us to show less compassion for their enemies and relegate those enemies to a subordinate position in God’s redemptive message. There is no Jew or Gentile in Jesus Christ, and outside the atonement there are only sinners with ethnic labels, but still just sinners. God loves and died for the Palestinian in the same way He loves and died for the Jew. There is no difference, and our view of eschatology must never mean that we show partiality in the affairs of the nations and to any one ethnic group.

The unfolding of these last day events are in God’s hands, and although reading the eschatological tea leaves may be in some way encouraging, they cannot be seen as authoritative. Matching Scriptural prophecies with current events is a profoundly non-exact science. We as western evangelicals have been taught to take Israel’s side on almost every issue since that is the side that God is on. That is unchristian but for no other reason than that God takes no sides, He calls everyone to come and take His side, which of course is in His Son.

When the church openly gives a blanket of approval to Israel, and with it teaches a divine favor to today’s Jews, we misrepresent the gospel and obscure the heart of God. In fact, we as believers should not be entangled with the affairs of this world since it only leads to confusion and strife over opinions and political perspectives. And just as we should show no preference to Jewish people, neither should we have a hint of anti-Semitism. Any hatred of any people or person is substantively unchristian and must be soundly rejected by each follower of Jesus Christ. We should show love to friend and foe alike, and our love should be authentic and with no respecter of persons.

But in some camps the pro-Israel fervor is so intense that unbelieving Jews are welcomed to speak in the pulpit of the church. Pastor John Hagee has had several unbelieving Jews speak from his pulpit, simply because they were Israelis. This is deeply unfortunate and outside the context of the New Testament, and reveals how an unbiblical support for the nation of Israel can produce a confused version of the gospel, teach believers to join with unbelievers on spiritual issues, and most of all give the wrong impression to unbelieving Jews that they are spiritually safe and in God’s favor, the last being the most grievous of all.

I have heard and read many disturbing comments from professing believers concerning the events in the Middle East and I believe it grieves the heart of Christ. Let me say that any nation has the right and responsibility to protect its citizens, however that is not the concern of the church neither is it our message. Here are some comments I want to share and address from some who are active and professing believers.

“Kill as many of those Palestinians as possible and we’ll all be better off.”

“If innocent women and children get killed, so be it.”

“When 9/11 happened they danced in the streets, so let them die now.”

“I have no compassion whatsoever for any of them.”

These quotes do not come from the Aryan Nation or some KKK member or even some atheist, these are direct quotes from an active evangelical Christian who made them on a Christian blog. And those are only a sampling of the overt, much less the latent, unchristian attitude that is spawned by seeing the world through the eyes of politics and not the redemptive eyes of Jesus Christ. This attitude seems to flourish when we, because of our eschatological views, approve of everything Israel does and have almost no awareness, much less sympathy, for the incredible suffering being endured in the Middle East. Israel has a right to protect itself to be sure, but we as a believers have a divine responsibility to show love and compassion to everyone without regard to nationalism, ethnicity, or how they might play in the unfolding of the end times.

Brothers and sisters, the coming events are in the hands of Almighty God, our calling, our commission, and our privilege is the sharing and living of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that message is without partiality and without respecter of persons to every human being on the face of the earth. The future will take care of itself, the present is calling. Let us show forth Jesus Christ in a genuine revelation to every nation that will cause sinners to say, “We’ve never seen it in this way!”

What is a Christian?

What is Christianity and what is a Christian. Those questions seem so easy, so time tested and so well defined two thousand years removed from the life and death of the Author and Founder of our faith. But there is much disagreement, and in fact rancor, concerning the answer to those two basic questions which should by now be settled but in reality continue to have a widening cross section of definitions. Let us examine the issues that surround what is Christianity and what is a Christian.

What is Christianity? That question must be answered fully within the context of who is Jesus of Nazareth. The exclusive source of authoritative information on this question comes only from the written Scriptures we call the “Bible”. All other supposed references are counterfeit and should not be given any weight, except those that add support to the Scriptures themselves. The postulate is this: If Jesus was God in the flesh and was sent to provide salvation for sinners, but He did not leave a clear and well articulated revelation concerning Himself and His mission, then how productive can it be to those who are in need of His redemption? The answer, of course, is that He did both – He came to die for the forgiveness of sins and offer eternal life, and He indeed left a written revelation of Who He was and what He did.

So a Christian is a sinner who has believed that Jesus was the Son of God, died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, and rose from the dead. This sinner has embraced by faith Christ Himself as His only redemption and has decided to follow Him in his life. Christianity is the true collection of these believers and not the visual, organized, and labeled denominations which can contain a mixture of outward professors and true believers. Only God can accurately discern that important difference.

There is much debate on what outward manifestations, both in quality and in quantity, substantiate and give the assurance that a sinner who speaks words of faith is actually born again into Jesus Christ. There is also vigorous debate on what a person has to believe to be considered a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. These two main issues continue to divide the community of believers to varying degrees, ranging from friendly disagreement to fierce rancor and judgment.

Now many draw certain doctrinal lines in unmistakable detail while others seem to have vague and uncertain lines. There are arguments about the role of repentance, the immediacy of conversion, baptism, church membership, predestination, tongues, and a laundry list of other issues both core and subordinate. There are certain issues that most evangelical believers feel are absolute and without room for compromise which include the deity of Christ, the substitutionary core of the cross, the bodily resurrection, and even the authority of the Scriptures. And these issues define Christianity at its foundation since a person can be profoundly committed to a caricature of Christ and not the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth. Truth is important, and levels of compromise usually breed more dangerous levels of compromise which can eventually lead to complete falsehoods.

The purpose of my article will begin to unfold at this point since I will not be dealing extensively with these articles of faith but of the life which projects and obeys Christ and His Word. The general understanding of how a Christian reflects Christ, separate from verbally sharing the gospel, centers on love, forgiveness, kindness, and other similar attributes within that same interactive genre. There are many unbelievers who exhibit such generous traits among the community of humankind, so it becomes more difficult to distinguish a gracious believer from a gracious unbeliever. But is should be expected, even assumed, that a genuine follower of Jesus Christ would live a life of graciousness, love, and impartial and universal hospitality. And to be fair, all of us fall embarrassingly short of that goal but some have become blind to that goal in and of itself. And that is the centerpiece of this post.

How can we as committed Christians, dedicated to following and emulating the example of the Incarnate Master Himself, roam about the community called humanity with an arrogance and erudite dismissiveness that does not reflect the essence of Christ’s life, to say nothing of Christ’s cross? The hollowness of ungracious and disrespectful words only create the echo of an unspoken paradox that not only is incongruous to our faith, but is indeed counter- productive to Christ’s overall mission and profoundly misrepresents the Redeemer Himself.

I have disavowed the arena of politics for many reasons, however one good reason is the lack of respect and graciousness the candidates afford each other. Throughout the primaries there are lies, innuendos, malice, rancor, gossip, character assassination, personal attack adds, and many times an obvious display of distaste among the different players, only to be externally swept under the carpet after the nominee is chosen, and the viewing public is supposed to accept the mirage that they have always had a deep affection for each other. It is that kind of disingenuous metamorphosis that has led many to define politics as only a platform for self aggrandizement and permeated by manipulation without much real substance or truth.


But the body of believers known as the church should not mirror that political mess. How can we tell the world we love each other when many times discourse is filled with rancor and attacks and with an obvious lack of respect for the other? And when people read Christian blogs that contain malice, wounding sarcasm, self righteousness, and a stream of demeaning rhetoric that leaves the issue and attaches itself to a human host with the intention of draining the God given life out of them, are we not mirroring the political process and calling it “Christian”? No one who engages in such behavior can claim to be doctrinally pure or Biblically faithful since the Scriptures are replete with admonitions of humility, grace, mercy, and the cornerstone – love.

There are these days many doctrinal truths that are being questioned and even dismantled, but in the midst of all of that there are other, more unrecognizable and clandestine truths that are being abrogated and dismantled. These are the core issues of Christlikeness that extend far beyond the average systematic theology library, these are the actual issues of the very life of Jesus Christ being translated through the prism of a believers life. It is surely not enough to pass a theology test and claim that in and of itself showcases the Savior in our lives, because the dark and unregenerate world knows nothing of Biblical theology, but just as the thief on the cross recognized, the world understands love, forgiveness, and supreme humble sacrifice for others.

The church continues to fracture concerning God’s Truth, however we who hold to the core elements of that truth must not ignore other truths as a way of substantiating our faithfulness to these selected and foundational truths. Like the builder who establishes a concrete and sure foundation for his house, but then proceeds to build upon it with paper mache, so are we if we align ourselves with the foundational truths of Christ and His redemption and then present them upon a platform of smugness, personal rancor, and an ambiance of self righteousness. In many ways that suggests that God’s truth needs our help and without the addition of our oratorical malice that truth lacks the power it needs.

“Speak the truth in love” is our command, and these backyard blog brawls must be rejected even when the truth that is promulgated is pure. The finest steak covered in arsenic sauce must not be eaten and arsenic covered by steak must similarly be avoided. As a follower and representative of Jesus the Christ our mission is to both spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and live the life of Jesus Christ as well. Both are not only partners, they must be Siamese twins, each completely dependent on the other for life.

Let us be ambassadors for Jesus Christ in word and in deed, to His eternal glory.

Politics - What Have We Learned?

And so ends the protracted presidential election season that runs practically for two years but usually begins much earlier. A freshman senator with only two years of national experience has been elected as president, and even with his youth and inexperience he has proven to a formidable candidate with an unusual degree of intelligence, patience, and political acumen. Regardless of our political persuasion, we can pray for his safety and that we as believers can lead a “peaceable life”.

But watching and listening during this entire political narrative has showcased many things. The fact that an African American has been elected as president in a nation where only forty years ago he would have been denied equal rights is amazing and speaks well of the racial progress that has been made here. As long as men are still fallen racism will exist, but tens of millions of white Americans cast their votes for Barak Obama which many people thought would never happen, at least not yet. To his credit Obama ran as a candidate, not a black candidate, which in the end was what many white people were looking for.

And within the political contest there was of course the usual back and forth, the rough and tumble of political seasons. Gossip and name calling, insinuation and character assassination, old stories and new ones, were a few of the aspects of a campaign that replaced substance with slogans and themes. Joe the plumber, change we need, not ready to lead, and chants of “yes we can” were much more effective than detailed plans of future action, which judging by previous presidential campaigns, are mostly worthless promises that will fade after the election. Ah yes, the satisfying ambiance of an American presidential election that has wasted over a billion dollars with travel, campaign adds, and a general strategic plan to manipulate the electorate to vote for the particular candidate. And throughout the process, we revel in our freedom that allows us to be manipulated not realizing that usually the candidate with the most money wins. Curious, no?

But what about us as believers? What have we seen during this campaign that would distinguish us as followers and imitators of Jesus Christ? Was our speech seasoned with grace and our attitudes clothed with humility? Did the church treat Barak Obama with respect and honor, even while disagreeing with some of his moral issues? And even though many of us would not consider him to be born again, could we rejoice in his journey which led him from very difficult circumstances to be where he his? Were we as believers able to be a shining city on a hill which projected the light of God’s grace in the midst of the carnal turmoil and the ungracious cacophony of political rhetoric? Or for the most part, armed with our moral righteousness, did we blend in and participate with a tangible collaboration with unbelievers?

I have heard the most unchristian and ungracious verbiage from believers this year, including many that are usually humble and gracious otherwise. Speaking as if they are speaking for God, many have been unkind and judgmental in their castigation of “liberals” which is a derisive term meant to project people as socially immoral and economically socialist while being unbiblical silent about the redemptive love God has shown for those very people. It begins with an unbiblical “love” for this country, and escalates into an entirely unredemptive discourse during election cycles. And believers by the millions will listen to carnal murmurers and complainers called talk show hosts who accumulate wealth by attacking others mercilessly. Is there anything less Christian?

Although I am decidedly non-participatory in politics, I could never vote for someone who espoused abortion, that would seem to me to trump all other issues. However the body of Christ has rejected being quiet and prayerful, exercising their right to vote in a demonstration of faith and obedience to God while remaining faithful to His commands about being humble, gracious, and being conduits of reconciliation. Instead the “religious right” has embraced Biblical morality and joined in the roar of the political war, and jettisoned the imitation the life of Christ and the sacrifice of the cross. The profound message of the gospel is sacrificed upon the altar of national morality, which usually is only given lip service by politicians whose biblical morality runs a fresher course in election years.

Where is the gospel in all this? And I recognize it is difficult for believers to extricate themselves from such a mess since we have been told since birth that the political process is our duty and Christians must be “engaged”. Well, we are not just engaged, we are now married to a process which represents the accuser to a much greater degree than it represents the Heavenly Father. In reality, the essence of Christianity, believing and imitating Jesus Christ, has been lost through a redefining and what it means to follow Christ which is now centered primarily on the righteousness of our moral views and not the painful crucifixion of our entire lives. We refuse to be defrauded or maligned, and we will retaliate with force and self righteous portrayals of our moral and economic enemies, including nasty and hurtful labels and a general dismissiveness of all their accomplishments. Some will even go so far as suggesting that our opponents are anti-christ..

It continues to be a disgusting display of rancor and unchristlike behavior that is counter productive to the gospel and the spiritual life of the church. And speaking from experience, I know what it is to feel nothing but disdain for people like Pelosi, Reid, Kennedy, and men like Barak Obama because I used to be caught up with politics. It seems to squeeze out the worst in people, and the evil one has succeeded in hiding the light of the church under the bushel of partisan politics. Can we not see, as well as feel, that our attitudes and speech are not emulations of Christ? Have we become so “politically active” that we have become blind to our own spiritual wretchedness as we mimic the unredemptive discourse that always fuels the political debate? The hypocrisy of our own candidate is minimized while the hypocrisy of the opposing candidate is maximized which illuminates the overwhelming hypocrisy within our own hearts.

I would suggest that all believers take inventory of the spiritual productivity of participating in the political process. But if you still feel an obligation, should we not do it with a different and unique spirit that is remarkable with the general context of that process? Shouldn’t Christians use the political season the preach the gospel “in season”? Should we not vote with humility and a profound sense of God’s sovereignty and protection? And in the midst of strife and attack, shouldn’t the church be participating in that unfortunate spectacle with the message of reconciliation and not with adding to the partisan strife? Call me old fashioned, call me an ostrich, but I believe that politics can and should be used as a vehicle for lifting up Christ, not for the continuing mirage that suggests that carnal mess accomplishes God’s will.

Should Jesus tarry, perhaps in 2012 we as believers can be used of God to spread the gospel to the lost hearts of people who must be by now hungry for change in their own lives. Up till now in political seasons we have only offered them the cotton candy of political elections whose “hope” dissolves soon after the final vote is counted.

A Monster Called Racism

One of the most astonishing and wondrous spectacles in the history of America, and even the world, has been the assimilation of the black race into mainstream America. I will attempt to illuminate only a few of the barriers that were placed in their paths, as well as the overwhelming odds that were against them. And then I desire to suggest that overt racism still exists in America, but hidden racism is much more prevalent. And, sadly, there is still racism within the Church of Jesus Christ as well.

For the most part the black race was introduced into America via the hulls of slave ships, and similar to the Germans dividing Jewish families, many black families were separated and sold to different slave owners. Many were forced to mate with strangers like a bovine attempt to construct genetically superior specimens. Many were used as concubines to say nothing of the free labor they provided. The black man was stripped of his leadership and even manhood, and the fruits of that are evident today. The horror of slavery on a personal level remains a savage mystery.

What I am describing is not just some antiseptic event in history, it was as evil as evil can ever be. Hundreds of thousands of slaves died from all sorts of diseases and starvation, many cast overboard before they even arrived in America. Many wished they had died on the trip. To describe the horror of those ships is impossible, and to understand the pain and suffering and abject fear that was foisted upon those people cannot be comprehended, and in fact, most people never pause long enough to ingest such thoughts.

The evil that man is capable of committing upon his fellow man is breathtaking, and most of us do not wish to learn about the shame of our slavery except as an answer on an American history quiz. Many whites feel very uncomfortable discussing the slavery issue because they fear some will paint the entire white race with culpability. I did not cause or participate in slavery personally, but that is no excuse for me being ignorant about that human exploitation, especially as it is tethered to some of the issues in the black community and family structure.

Hundreds of thousands of white men died attempting to preserve the institution of slavery, while many white men died attempting to preserve the union and by extension abolish slavery. But it would be a exageration to claim the nation's motives were completely pure. And when the slaves were set free, the government did precious little to provide vital ways to assimilate them into mainstream American society. To the contrary, they were ostracized and persecuted and separated from the general white population. Segregation had replaced outright slavery, and the national shame continued in a different form. Demeaning names were invented to further diminish the personhood of blacks, to say nothing of them aggressively being prevented from being full fledged citizens.

The government turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the continuing plight of our black neighbors. They were denied the vote, they were denied employment, they were denied adequate schools, they were denied justice when murdered, and in general many treated their dogs better than they treated the black race. The hatred and prejudice and in fact overt and malicious racism continued. Who can forget black women and children, as well as men, being beaten and attacked by police dogs because they marched to bring attention to their sub-citizen treatment? And many “white” evangelical churches practiced and preached racism from their very pulpits, some even teaching some tortured Biblical principle of God marking the black race with a curse.

And so through the difficult decades, slowly but surely, this relentless and resilient race of former slaves have gotten up time and time again and plowed forward in a society that never wanted them in the first place. To be sure there were rabble rousing blacks that were counter productive to the civil rights movement, but just as all the rest of us they were not perfect and foresighted. But some gave their lives so that others may see that “dream”, and so we come to today.

I could never vote for a pro-choice candidate, but that is not what I am addressing here. We now have a black Supreme Court justice, a black woman as Secretary of State, we have had a black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, black cabinet officers, and currently a black candidate for president. Millions of white people have now actually voted for a black man for president, and that should make us proud. I could not vote for Barak Obama, but I see in him Dr. King’s dream of equality, and his rise to national prominence is a testament to the magnitude of change that continues to happen in our culture.

I, though, have heard Christians who bear the “conservative” moniker make ever so delicate statements that slightly reveal a latent prejudice still breathing in evangelicalism. The white ears of America were listening intently to see if Obama would exhibit some “Jesse Jackson” type of rhetoric, while many black ears listened to see if he wouldn’t say those same things. In the end, I think this exceptional young man has carried himself well and has been uncommonly balanced when it comes to race. He hasn’t rejected the sordid history of the treatment of blacks, and yet he has had the courage to chastise his own race. He has walked a tightrope that frankly seemed impossible to navigate only a few years ago.

I would exhort all of us who name Christ as our Lord to pray for Barak Obama even if you cannot vote for him. There are still natural brute beats lurking among us who would gladly assassinate him, and even knowing that, he and his wife have still taken on that dangerous challenge. Racism is a monstrous sin that cannot have any place in either our lives or our hearts. All of us see another race as different, but we cannot allow that to translate into prejudice of any kind. I support no candidate, but both McCain and Obama are heroes of different sorts.

If we as believers cannot support Obama as a candidate, let us openly show him love and respect for representing an incredible journey of a race that began in the hulls of slave ships and now is running for the highest office in America. I for one appreciate the magnitude of this achievement. It is time for the church to rise up and show the gospel in the midst of a carnal battlefield in which hatred has made more than a cameo appearance. Our calling as followers of Jesus is a significantly different path than the one this current political atmosphere has generated.

Let us appreciate the racial benchmark of this election, but let us show compassion and intercession for the salvation of the ones we must disagree with on moral issues. They are the Mary Magdalene’s of our culture, and we, like Jesus, should shine the light of redemption and love so that against the backdrop of an ugly mess, we might shine forth as lights in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation. Barak Obama’s salvation is infinitely more important than his political career.

For what shall it profit a man if he is elected President of the United States and loses his own soul? God have mercy on him and may the Holy Spirit use believers as a colossal gospel light that breaks through politics and impacts sinners for the kingdom of Almighty God.