The Refiner's Fire Today

As a backdrop for what I will share in this post you need to watch this.

Both Mrs. Tickle and Peter Rollins are emergent leaders and are friends and guest speakers at Mars Hill Church where Rob Bell is pastor.

Please do not tell me you do not feel it. If you cannot sense that something deeply spiritual is happening than you are not even close to the fire, and in fact you may be oblivious to it all. This move of the Spirit is beneath the surface and has yet to present itself as an observable phenomenon. Those of us that have been touched by the unmistakable calling have been thirsty for some time, and we have seen and heard all the new movements which purport to be the “next” move of God’s Spirit in the church. It cannot be denied that the evangelical church in America has become consumed by western culture and have satisfied their insatiable desire for hedonism by constructing evangelical formats that excite and fulfill a niche in a well rounded western lifestyle.

The evangelical construct has moved substantially away from being Christo-centric in practice and pursuit, to a model that is centered on the fulfillment of our present lives. From politics to family to finances to self esteem, the message of the gospel has become an appendage and not the absolute core. Of course most of the church would strongly suggest that we do place Christ first, but in practice and orthopraxy we have moved substantially away from pursuing Christ and His kingdom in our communities of faith.

Listen to the message themes, read the schedule of weekly activities, and notice what consumes the average believer’s life. Our church houses are prayerless shells that provide a place of meetings and activity, but many times lost in all that are the spiritual disciplines that are essential to spiritual growth and apprehension of Jesus Christ. How is it that the professing body of Christ can live without Him, or even live satisfied with what little they know of Him experientially?

And like pounding the bottom of an empty bottle of ketchup, the church continues to pound and pound the same wineskins hoping to get the last remaining drop of wine from the bottom of the same construct we’ve always used. We have succeeded on some level to cultivate a community of people who have a basic agreement in the Christian faith; however we’ve done it on the strength of organizing, buildings, activities, and the personality of the main preacher. But evangelical churches meet and exist by the scores in almost every city throughout America, tucked away nicely amidst a hedonistic and hollow culture, and yet without making any noticeable impact on their surroundings.

Where is this new and glorious life we say dwells within us? Why did the resurrection life of Jesus Christ overflow through the early apostles, but that life sometimes goes no further than the local church membership roles today? What if 10,000 people were transported to heaven for 5 years and were allowed to worship the Risen Christ and bask in His presence? And what if that same band of saints were given back their earthly bodies and delivered back into our midst again? Do you believe that their testimony and their lives would bear any resemblance to what passes as the church today?

Jesus Christ, the heart of the gospel, has either become a doctrinal issue to be discussed and argued over, or He is to be removed from a place of prominence in the “gospel” message giving way to acts of humanitarianism. Think again on those 10,000 saints that have spent the last five years in the presence of the Risen Christ, what message do you suspect they would preach? Would Jesus be the absolute life force of their preaching and would He be the goal of their living emulation? How is it, how indeed can it be, that millions of people in our communities claim to have the Eternal Savior living and abiding within their very being and yet the substantial revelation of such wondrous truth remains so tepid and unremarkable?

Is the power of Jesus Christ so impotent that His real and actual presence here on earth projects little more than one religion among many? And when the singular life of Jesus in His incarnate revelation was so powerful and so unique that His story continues to be told through the centuries, how can it be that those who claim to be following Him are so ordinary and insignificant within a culture that is devoid of the Spirit of God? Something is wrong, profoundly wrong.

Against that unexceptional reality of the Christian church, many have become disillusioned about continuing in that same hollow vein and they have set out to find deeper meaning to their Christian experiences. And so some have either openly rejected the Biblical truths of the Christian faith or they have instituted such a new and philosophical vocabulary that it is impossible to align it with basic gospel truth and it projects a fresh enigmatic way of saying nothing while pretending to say something. Riddles and parables and stories are at the heart of these new constructs of Christianity while the redemption of the cross of Christ is strikingly absent or at least reduced to an example of sacrifice for the needs of the people of the world. In short these new and emergent teachings have one major commonality, the outright focus away from the redemption provided by Christ’s cross for the sins of the world and the personal message of Christ’s eternal salvation.

The core of the emergent movement is a transfer of spiritual focus and calling from the actual gospel of Jesus Christ to a new expression of Christianity that is a bloodless ministry to the earthly needs of the world’s sinners. Religious philosophy is their Bible and their spiritual community includes non-Christian religions. Most American evangelicals remain so Biblically illiterate and so spiritually unconcerned that they will not be interested in becoming educated as to what is happening to say nothing of being concerned. For the most part we are concerned with ourselves and the prosperity and safety of the nation in which we live. But the real enemy has come, not in planes and tanks, and not with weapons of mass destruction, but he has come as a spiritual farmer and is busy sowing seeds of deception that grow and are eaten by unsuspecting sinners and saints alike.

And some of those who are deceived are eloquent and sincere, and they speak with a literary prowess that is wrapped in an effervescent philosophy that touches our human sensibilities but remains distant from invading the fields that the Holy Spirit desires to reach and change. The emergent movement has not just changed the approach, they have changed the message. While few would demand a King James verbiage, there must be at least a recognizeable communication of the gospel narrative. And even some who when pressed would utter some involuntary alignment with Biblical Christianity, hide the gospel away from the ears and hearts of those who follow their ministries. And many good men, men of God who sincerely desire to serve Christ, have been blinded to this deception. All this, dramatic and unmistakable, is happening with little notice from the body of Christ.

But what about those who resist these unbiblical intrusions? This is where the battle must begin, but not with whom we might think. It is true that we must expose and confront false teachings, especially in today’s compromised religious landscape, but the real battle will be with us. In some corners they exclude themselves from the spiritual fight, refusing to see their own need since the extensive error in others obscures their vision of self. That is very unfortunate and leaves the work undone.

To combat the mystical onslaught we must not only identify error, we must deepen the stakes and lengthen the cords of our own spiritual tents. To be sure, spiritual revival is significantly more than rearranging the furniture in a worship service; or reinstating some ancient practice; or presenting some avante garde ideas concerning what spirituality looks like today. The silly and ridiculous philosophies are worthless and men like Peter Rollins, who holds a masters degree in philosophy, say nothing in very creative and thought provoking ways. In the end he says nothing that can be remotely considered Biblical.

We are entering a new dark age in Christianity and men like Rob Bell who continue to gain notoriety are providing platforms for teachers like Doug Paggit, Phyllis Tickle, and Peter Rollins. This is not some game and it surely is not to be ignored. Churches all over the nation are watching and listening to these people and are believing they teach a new way to communicate redemptive Christianity. And when questioned about being more clear, they and their supporters strongly defend their words as orthodox and Biblical without the open evidence that would support that defense. Little phrases or obscure sentences still shrouded in uncertainty and doctrinal intangibles are usually what pass for evidence of their belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. “The way of Jesus” or “Following Jesus” or other nice sounding words have replaced the “Repent and believe the gospel” call for which many in years past have died.

I am not sure what is possible at this late date, but I do know that just rejecting and exposing these false teachers will never stem any tide, and in the end God will require much more at our hands. Perhaps the horse is already out of the barn, however we as individuals can still glorify our Father by a deeper and more passionate devotion to follow Jesus Christ. Exposing error is infinitely easier than living truth. Three years ago I would ask a fellow believer what he thought about the emergent movement and most would not even be aware that there was such a thing. And I would ask about MacLaren or Bell or Paggit and most had never heard of these men. Today mainstream evangelical churches are using Bell’s material and leasing buses to attend his tours.

You may desire to continue to sleep but your faith will be taken from you while you slumber. This end time falling away has been predicted by the Apostle Paul himself, and yet the church seems passive and unconcerned. Our own spiritual lives are so indifferent and undemonstrative, and many consider political involvement as proof of the depth of their discipleship. But we here in America have been devoured by this hedonistic western culture, even from the most orthodox reformed to the most seeker sensitive format. We are more concerned about proving our Calvinistic credentials that we are about all night prayer meetings and extended gatherings of repentance. Many churches are places of entertainment rather than sukkots of God’s presence.

We need more than harsh words that attack men’s persons; we need more than redundant examples of doctrinal mischief; and we need more than a continuing stream of discernment that beats the same doctrinal horse without ever addressing our own spiritual malnutrition. We need to receive strong rebukes aimed at our own powerless situation that so often exists unnoticed in a godless community. Being politically conservative has proven to be worthless in God’s kingdom, and the relentless drone of talk show hosts have piped a shallow song to which so many believers have danced. These are all childish things that must be rejected in favor of the higher calling of seeking Christ with all our hearts. No longer can we afford to be sidetracked by nationalistic endeavors; the time has come to leave behind our sin and all the unnecessary weights that keep us from running the race to which we’ve been called.

Abortion continues in the millions and the church continues to believe we can stop it with legislation and education when in fact only a sweeping move of God’s eternal Spirit can invade the gospel hardened hearts of American sinners and illuminate them to their sin. And before we wield God’s judgment on lost sinners, let us take inventory among ourselves as we realize that most of the problem must be laid at our evangelical doors. It is us who have lost our saltiness, and it is us who have hidden our lights under political and denominational baskets. It is us who have blended in with the Babylonian culture and it is us who wear the garments of Babylon. It is us who feel so vindicated by preaching against the sins of the lost among us and in that we are comfortably diverted from addressing our own sins. We cannot even hear God’s voice that says to Joshua, “Get up from off your face” because we are not even on our faces. Tens of millions of believers exit the morning gatherings on Sunday with dry eyes and with smiles directed at each other as they make their way to dine sumptuously and perhaps catch the soon beginning sports event. And we claim we have just done business with the Creator God. Who indeed are we fooling?

The world believes this is all there is to Christianity because this is all they’ve seen. And our children have been raised in an atmosphere of playtime and fellowship, but they not only have not seen the power of God move through drastically desperate believers, they do not even realize that such a thing is possible. And should Jesus tarry they will nestle down comfortably within a local assembly and hear beautiful exegetical messages that soothe the conscience and assure that nothing will change. We will continue to draw from the “us verse them” well which nourishes us with the self righteousness we crave. Billions of God’s dollars will continue to flow to secular banks and mortgage companies that support and finance the very institutions we so emphatically say we oppose.

The endless parade of “how to” sermon series will provide a Home Depot format that instructs as to how we can better our cultural existence. Believers will continue to watch more television than they do watch and pray. Night after night the church house will be dark and locked up without a hint of spiritual desperation. Prayer remains a doctrine rather than a way of life and the core of our gatherings. We, like Samson, do not even realize that we have lost our power and we have replaced the Risen Christ with an ecclesiastical mannequin. We can continue and be oblivious to the extent of our own embarrassing commitment and in so doing we pass on a legacy of spiritual impotence that presents a form of godliness but denies the power through contented human shells that dance like marionettes to ecclesiastical constructs, but are neither hot nor cold in God’s penetrating eyes.

The day is well spent and the time is far past. Awaken to the Spirit’s call to modern day Gideons that must both watch the horizon and yet drink from the river of God’s Spirit. Having read this post, or having written this post, what then is our response? Are we challenged or are we changed? Have we been stirred or resurrected? Is our Lord worth defending or is He worth living and dying for? Is our mission one that extends far outside our little evangelical cliques, and if so, where can we receive the power that is necessary to fulfill our commission?

Step into the Refiner’s fire this day and let Him melt you down and remold you completely.

Be advised, though, spiritual pain is part of the process, and humility is the ingredient that will harden your image into a useable servant of the Most High God.

The time must be now.

The Implications of Grace

At the heart of the Christian gospel is grace. And yet no other word has been so bandied about and so misunderstood than grace, and in fact, to completely understand God's grace is to misunderstand it. The boundaries of God’s redemptive grace can never be fully defined or understood, and to experience that grace only allows another incomplete level of understanding. The fallen comprehension of grace is so often tethered to some form of work, either before or after saving faith. It seems almost impossible for humans to believe completely in the unvarnished and raw definition of grace that stands forever quarantined from any hint of works. And yet grace and works are revelations of life and death, each abiding at opposite ends of redemption, and each mutually exclusive.

And so we come to an understanding of grace. Not just a simplistic definition that satisfies a Bible college theology test, and not just a pragmatic explanation that transforms grace into a wieldier doctrinal instrument among the ecclesiastical proletariat. Grace, God’s redemptive grace, is the longest journey and the priceless treasure to any seeking soul. How expansive is grace? How deep are the foundations of this grace? How inclusive is this grace? To whom is this grace given and from whom is it withheld?

We who have received of God’s infinite grace are often those who restrict and confine the grace that was bestowed upon us so freely. Our fallen natures refuse to allow a more expansive view of God’s grace built upon the definition of grace itself. We seem so incapable of seeing grace apart from human works of righteousness, either before or after a sinner’s profession of faith. We continue to cling to a ministry of evaluation and inspection that can only come through a prism of subjectivity and self righteousness. Blind to the depths of our own sin, even the damnable accumulation of one day’s transgressions, we suggest we are able to see the sins of others with spiritual clarity and even aided by the discerning ministry of the Paraclete Himself.

It has become fashionable to teach that a sinner cannot be saved and still commit certain sins. One of the most pronounced issues is that of gay sinners who profess Christ. The orthodox suggestion is that if a gay person believes on Christ and becomes born again he or she will most definitely be awakened to their sin and leave their gay lifestyle behind. Many gay people have indeed followed that pattern. But millions of sinners have received Christ, entered a local church, become active in their fellowship, and yet continue to practice their sinful lifestyles.

Some come in with a hatred toward a family member or some other person, and they will live their entire lives practicing that inward hatred. Some have become believers having been consumed with success and wealth, and they will to one degree or another continue in that vein. Millions of professing Christians now follow a sinful theology and lifestyle that suggests that God desires everyone to be rich. Is it possible for a person to be truly saved and continue in that hedonistic lifestyle? Millions of believers overeat and are overweight, is it possible to be saved and continue in that temple destroying lifestyle?

How can we confidently pass such judgments when almost all believers in America live a culturally compromised lifestyle in one way or another? We have projected to the world an “arrived” status, and we collectively pronounce moral judgments and condemnations upon a myriad of sinners from all corners of the sin committing world. But the church, the true spiritual church, must be the living, breathing redemptive life of Jesus Christ. To preach the message of redemption without a living expression of that gospel is hollow. The Chinese language comes forth from a Chinese man, and the gospel should come forth from a living gospel dressed in human flesh. Like touching the hem of His garment to be healed, so should sinners experience the divine healing and forgiveness of Jesus Christ when they are in our presence.

Too often we have touted a message of redemption that is incongruous with our lives, and in so doing we have made the gospel nothing more than religious rhetoric. The influx of morality into the church’s message has been both counterproductive as well as heretical. Grace with a caveat is not grace. The disarming and dangerous message of the gospel is that purely by faith any sinner can have eternal life. For instance, in the abstract no gay man has to relinquish his lifestyle in order for grace to be effective in the same way no sinner has to give up anything to be saved.

And this inspection process by other believers renders them blind to their own predicament of grace. It is necessary to surround yourself with a compliment of human targets so as to insulate yourself from any introspection concerning the depth of your own sin. The same believer who energetically quotes Corinthians concerning homosexuality will explain away the command of Jesus concerning saving up retirement treasures. In the end, much of the church has become a source for self gratification concerning a list of stances against sin and a list of orthodox tenants that we espouse to buoy our self righteousness.

A man rapes and murders your two year old little girl. As you sit in the courtroom waiting to hear the sentence of death on this monster, a man walks forward and tells the judge he will die for him. You are outraged since you demand that this murderer gets what HE DESERVES. You will not agree to any deal that lets the man off the hook.

The greatest compromise in history was the cross. It provides a way for every sinner to “get off the hook”, including you and me. It completely compromises God’s justice and without any restitution it eradicates your guilt. It is called grace, and we have yet to plumb the depths of its power. And yet why can that man, guilty before all, receive that grace and leave a free man, only to use his freedom to castigate other guilty men? Why does that free man of grace find a ministry in reading the indictment of others instead of singing the praises of the One who took his place?

The cross has done away with the law, and let this good news be spread, by faith and faith alone Jesus Christ will save the vilest among us with no past, present, or future strings attached. And if the body of Christ was living and breathing that in everything we do, sinners would run to us, as they did Christ Himself.

I am presently juggling many “what ifs” in my pursuit of redemptive truth. If a sinner cannot believe on Jesus Christ and receive eternal forgiveness by grace alone without producing a certain set of works to crystallize that grace, then it is not grace. What sins and how many sins result in either the forfeiture of grace or the revelation of the absence of grace?

Millions upon millions of professing Christians throughout the centuries have practiced sin and taught others to do likewise. Martin Luther was a rabid anti- Semite and actually taught that hating Jews was from God. Was he saved? Most southern believers before the Civil War practiced racism and taught others that it was God’s will for the white man to be superior. Were they saved?

Many if not most American believers save up thousands upon thousands of dollars for their own consumption and use and they teach others that this is God’s will for everyone’s finances. Are they saved? Many if not most American believers attend motion pictures with nudity and vulgarity and watch questionable television and they teach others that God approves. Are they saved?

My point is that many, if not most, believers are blind to some of their sin, even teaching others that the sin they commit is not sin, and they live their entire Christian life deceived about their particular sin. Are they saved? Many believers teach that baptism saves, are they saved? My point is this: If no one can be deceived about some sin in their lives for the duration of their Christian experience then no one will be saved. And if grace cannot cover that deception then it is no longer grace.

Grace is not defined by compliance, it is magnified by disobedience, regardless of what kind of disobedience is approved or disapproved. A practicing gay believer cannot be welcomed forever in a local fellowship, at some point he must be confronted in love. However, a practicing gay man can still be saved. It is curious though that in most American congregation’s believers are practicing hedonists and are actively teaching others to be greedy and pleasure oriented. In fact, many are leaders and preachers.

How many orthodox preachers lead and profit by “Christian cruises” and teach others to spend thousands of dollars on such frivolity while millions starve? Are they saved? They even teach that spending God’s money on such hedonism and overeating is God’s will. Have you any idea how much food is wasted and thrown out on these gigantic cruises that are called “Christian”? Are they saved? I refuse to let homosexuality be the justifying piñata that soothes the conscience of orthodox sinning believers.

If we are going to set man made guidelines based upon the Scriptures then that judgmental net will capture all of us. Without sin grace is meaningless. Without disobedience grace is invisible. Without transgressions grace is without purpose. And grace is not just activated because of our sincere attempt to refrain from sin, for that in itself would be a reward for works and at odds with the essence of grace.

The greatest sin the church has continued to commit is its projection of a grace that is conditioned on anything other than faith. Broken down to its final residue, that is the sin of self righteousness. The fruit inspectors are legion; the fruit bearers are few. Even the most orthodox believers among us would have been considered as compromising and even false brethren by our Puritan forefathers, and yet we quote them and assume they speak to others. In every generation there those believers who stake out the moral and theological higher ground, and from that vantage point they live in a land with many telescopes and no mirrors.

No one can be saved without faith in Jesus Christ. If the New Testament teaches anything it teaches the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins through faith in the cross and resurrection. We are saved by grace through faith. But just how deep and how comprehensive is this grace? Is this grace powerful enough to account for every sin? Is this grace strong enough to withstand the open expressions of a deceptive lifestyle by some who claim Christ as their Savior? The issue of open participation in local assemblies is another issue, but the salvation of sinners who struggle with truth about their own sin must be addressed within the glories of God’s infinite grace. Sin, including our own, cannot be taught as divinely approved, however sinners inside the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ have already been accepted in the beloved, even if they are rebellious children.

And so the implications of grace in Christ Jesus are unsettling to our self righteous natures. But if we are linguistically and theologically honest, and if we are transparent concerning our own experience, we will find that God’s grace remains resistant to our attempts to restrict its power and relentlessly elusive to being captured by our limited earthly perspectives. One day, on a hill outside of Jerusalem, grace was released upon the earth. Religion has tried to arrest it; good works have attempted to replace it; denominations have tried to own it; systematic theology has sought to define it; and believers have attempted to dispense it.

But the grace of God will never allow itself to be captured by the will of men. Its implications are profound and its expanse is beyond our intellectual horizons. In the light of God’s grace, should we not be people of grace?

Seeking You, Jesus

Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And where is the pursuit of the Risen Christ that burns the heart and is a holy irritant that relentlessly creates a discomfort with our present spiritual state? How is it we can live and breathe without the glory of His presence that both quenches and creates a thirst for Him? While the strength of things of this world chain us to this kingdom, we will never walk in a kingdom whose King makes Himself known to His following subjects.

God’s people are consumed with issues and morality and politics and money, and while we are entangled with the temporal the eternal is a lifeless musing expressed upon paper but void of the personal experience that might generate living manifestations that are completely at odds with this present world. In effect, we have become what we are supposed to help rescue. Why would a person in chains accept a key to those chains when it is offered from another person still in chains?

When and where did we lose the axe head of our pursuit to know Him? How could we be satisfied with meeting Him and receiving His redemption and then, as did Joseph and Mary, leaving Him behind? Does He receive honor from our weekly gatherings, scripted and time constricted, and never allowing the Spirit to move in our midst and most certainly in our hearts? Can a little more than an hour provide the necessary season for God to plow up the fallow ground that has been set aside in our hearts? When have we ended the day and slipped into bed only to realize we forgot to eat that day? And when have we slipped into bed, closed our eyes, and fallen fast asleep without even realizing, much less caring, that He has waited for us only to be disappointed?

Jesus, forgive and help us.

Who have I in heaven but You, Lord Jesus
What in this world can capture my heart but You, Lord Jesus
To whom shall I go to receive forgiveness but You, Lord Jesus
How can I live but through You, Lord Jesus
My comfort comes from You alone, Lord Jesus
All creation draws me to You, Lord Jesus
I have nothing but You, Lord Jesus
There is none like You, Lord Jesus
My breath comes from Your Spirit, Lord Jesus
My life is in You, Lord Jesus
All my hopes, all my dreams, all my desires, all my cravings, all my wants, all my needs, all my yearnings, and all my everythings are in You, Lord Jesus

I was, I am, and I will be nothing without You. It is no secret that You alone have made me into something different, someone that can actually know You, and someone who can actually serve You, and someone who can actually worship You. Apart from You I am a dead man walking in the midst of other dead men without a place to rest. There is nothing to return to, nothing at all.

So I will seek You with a thirst for You and Your presence. I realize some cannot understand and cannot comprehend the depth and meaning of Your presence. But one moment in Your tangible presence is worth more than living with kings and queens, and worshiping You is worth more than many ships of gold. Jesus, so often we speak and write of You as if You were still in history and stand far away, detached and observing as a disinterested spectator.



But in this post I speak directly to You and You alone.

I do not care who does or does not read this, and I am not embarrassed to come before You as a foolish child who is uncomfortably attached to his father. I desire You to take my heart of stone and create in my a heart of flesh that cannot help but seek Your very face. I have met You and I have spoken with You, but it is never enough and my spirit cries out for more, more of You. Captured within the confines of this world only strengthens my desire to be with You.

Houses and cars, money and things, and everything good that has come my way in this life vanishes as nothing when I am in Your presence and when my heart is completely set upon You, Jesus. When I first met you in 1975 it was so transforming that I could not communicate fully what had happened and Who I had met. You have been faithful to me through these 34 years and even through the worst of times You have been my stronghold and even my friend. I am consumed with being with You both here and someday in Your dwellingplace.

We have asked for signs and experiences that could serve as motivations for our spiritual journey, and yet what sign could be greater than the sign of the bleeding Messiah hanging dead on two Roman planks? All the far flung galaxies and all the wonders of this world could never approach the glory of your atonement. Let that atonement possess me in a way I can never imagine. I must only see your face through the crimson prism of your wounds and in my longing gaze I not only feel love, I see love; I see My Love. And that Love is my life.

I cannot be content with speaking about You or speaking about Your truth or even sharing Your gospel message, I must have You in my life as a spiritual reality, one that pursues me relentlessly and both draws me and creates a hunger for You as well. And all the daily tasks of this world as well as the sometimes endless Christian discourses do not satisfy, and in fact so often hinder me in my walk with You. I cannot enjoy this life without You and You ARE in a divine mystery my life completely. Everything seeks to tear me away from You, and even my own mind desires to wander around the worthless things of this world. Forgive me, Lord Jesus, you deserve total surrender from such as me who has been lavished upon with Your endless grace.

All these things I have written are genuine expressions of part of my heart, but in a part of my heart they are lies. But I will continue to pursue You, even in part, hoping that along the way my life will be consumed by the fire of Your presence and the reality of all You are. There can be no other way…

but You.

Attractive Words of Deception

or

Enticing Words of Men's Wisdom

I have just watched this interview of a man named Peter Rollins who comes from Ireland and is associated with the emerging movement on some level. It would be necessary and important for you to watch this interview since it will give you context concerning what I will share in this post.

Peter Rollin’s view of Christianity showcases a growing turning point in Scriptural Christianity, and with subtlety and deft of language he and others are steering people into a place of spiritual nebulousness. And in fact, as evidenced by Rollin’s words themselves, he and others would embrace that description of their movement. They seek to dismantle truth, claiming that if it is truth it will be reconstructed, but all the while they treat truth as a vacillating pursuit that cannot be fully understood, much less captured. His and other’s views of spiritual truth are an intangible paradigm that defies paper and pen and only serves as a philosophy in theory which is believed by behavior rather than believed and then revealed by behavior.

If you read or listen to other interviews or writings of his you will find he relies on clever stories or modern day parables that accurately identify some obvious fallacies and inconsistencies in all of us, but give no answers. Many of his stories are designed to undermine the concept of certainty and even the concept of seeking certainty itself. In Rollins’ world of spirituality he offers a reverse metamorphosis of regeneration. He suggests doing humanitarian works first, and as you do them they will change you and ultimately lead to belief, which he never identifies.

Rollins believes that the event of the resurrection is not as important as human beings reflecting the resurrection, which again means acts of humanitarianism. He both subliminally as well as overtly, suggests that people who do not necessarily believe in the event of the resurrection, but are deeply committed to caring for others, are in fact part of the expression of the original resurrection based solely on their care for others. And when politely asked what would he tell someone who asked him who is God, he politely replied that he never wanted to give that answer but he just tells people to go care for the needs of others and that is where you will find God.

Peter Rollins is an engaging and intelligent man. His theology is a disarming philosophy that magnifies the shortcomings of the church and uses that mechanism to leverage the church away from the central truths that are foundational to Christianity itself. In short, his engaging treatment of the careless behavior of the church juxtaposed upon the physical needs of the world is a clandestine technique which is employed to ultimately suggest that doctrine is a barrier to an authentic expression of Christ upon the earth. And combined with the guilt and compassion we should feel for needy people and the often excessive squabbles over fringe issues within the church, his new way seems like a breath of fresh air and a way to ease our conscience. But in the end, the redemption Rollins projects is found in human works and not in Christ’s cross.

I would suggest that the most brilliant strategy for deception can be found in using something that is good, unarguably good, and use that as a means to divert attention from redemptive truth. Delilah used marital intimacy to deceive her husband. The beautiful singing of the sirens deceived the sailors. The logic of Satan deceived Eve. It is not the overtly wicked that usually deceives; deception is most effective when it comes wrapped in goodness, logic, and peace. Peter Rollins is just one of many people who have become unwilling pawns in a spiritual transition within the visible church. His winsome way, his Irish brogue, and his informal appearance add to his attractive spiritual ambiance.

The essence of this new emerging movement is change, and by using the obvious shortcomings of the mainstream evangelical church this movement has been able to capitalize on many people’s discontent with traditional expressions of the church. And empowered by this discontent, this movement has begun to challenge not just church gathering constructs, but the mainstream truths that have been at the center of Christianity for many centuries. The teachings are in question form, and although they avoid these exact words, this movement suggests that the church has always had it wrong. Of course their verbiage would be more in line with saying Christian truth and expression is malleable with each generation, and with that they avoid saying anyone is wrong.

There are three distinct deceptions for us who would never entertain the direction of the emergent movement. The first is that we are blind to the shortcomings and sins that are indeed prevalent in our own church and lives. Some of the things that people like Rollins points out concerning mainstream evangelicalism, especially in the West, are true. We need to allow God to deal with them regardless of who brings them to light. The second deception would be to get so embroiled with watching and examining the emergent church and their teachings that we lose sight of our true calling, the gospel of Jesus Christ. We should take heed on both these issues.

But the third deception is if we ignore the growing apostasy that looms large on the horizon. By any standards, the Scriptures clearly indicate a coming period of turning away from the faith and the rejection of truth. Although there have been significant periods that may well have fit that description, they, by the passing of time, have proven not to be the last days. Perhaps those last days are here, and perhaps the deception has increased in volume, nuance, and growth. The Scriptures are not Christ, however without the truth they convey we cannot know Christ, and in fact God has suggested a power He has incorporated into the preaching of those words, or at least those truths, that may be used of the Spirit to change sinful humans.

What then happens if we change those truths? Where will we be led if we are following words that do not reflect the words and truths that are revealed in the written Scriptures? And if we cannot discern at least the core redemptive truths from Scripture then how will spiritual thought and ideas be tested? Who can we assume is the author of such theological confusion? The church must be humble and loving, gracious and merciful, and we must open our hearts to divine correction as it concerns our pitiful humanitarian outreach, but we must not ever be moved from the core of our faith. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world and resurrected bodily from the dead, and through that gospel alone can sinners find eternal life. Salvation can only come from faith in Christ, who must be preached to the ends of the earth until He comes again. That is and always has been our faith and our mission.

As you watched that video, if you did not feel an unease and even a concern for what Peter Rollins was saying, you may have already been affected by the spirit of the age in which we live. I feel no animosity for Peter Rollins and in fact he seems a brilliant and charming person who may be very sincere in his thoughts. But thoughts cannot be the final arbiter of truth, God’s Word has been and must always be the absolute reference source of truth. And although we may disagree with some points of interpretation, we must all agree on the core revelation of the gospel of redemption, simple and profound.

Stay humbly vigilant. Here is conference , sponsored by Rob Bell at Mars Hill Church in Michigan, in which Peter Rollins will be speaking several times. This is another example of how the different networks of associations can reveal things about men’s beliefs that would not ordinarily come out. It is indeed on some level guilt by association, as well as guilt by agreement. And make no mistake, Peter Rollins is just 36 years old; there will be those who come after him and those like him who have never been tethered to or maybe never even been exposed to mainstream evangelical theology. Like everything else, this emergent movement is not stagnant, it continues to progress into new frontiers of doctrinal thought and redemptive perspective. The gospel will continue to be unrecognizable amidst the musings of men like Peter Rollins and his supporters.

The emergent leaders no longer feel the necessity to include the gospel narrative within their brand of intellectual humanitarianism, and they have reconstructed another gospel which ministers to the earthly plight of mankind and ignores the eternal implications of John 3:16. It embraces God’s love for the world but ignores and in many cases rejects the “shall not perish” portion of Christ’s great proclamation. And by wrapping their theology exclusively with God’s love, they have effectively insulated themselves from criticism since they suggest, via a strawman, that any criticism of their gospel presentation is a criticism of God’s love and uncovers an ambivalence concerning the sufferings of people.

To the charge of us being less than we should be we plead guilty. To the charge of us not reaching people’s needs as we should we plead guilty. To the charge of us being too intransigent in some of our ways we plead guilty. But we can never, ever change the gospel of Jesus Christ into the works of men. The works of believers are the expressions of Christ within our lives, but those expressions are not the way to salvation. The only way to eternal life is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Humanitarian works are either manifested expressions of God’s love that enhance the preaching of the gospel, or if they stand apart from the gospel they are deceptions.

An atheist provides food for the hungry.

A Christian provides food for the hungry.

There is no difference unless one is provided in Jesus’ name.

A Lowly Masterpiece

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we his as it were our faces from Him; He was despised and we esteemed Him not.

Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh with no outward beauty that would draw us to Him, but sinners were still drawn to Him. Men look on the outward appearance, but God sees the heart. This 47 year old woman, never married and never been kissed, had a talent which she would reveal when given this one providential chance. As you watch this video, try and discern the spiritual lesson that can be learned from this one, humble woman.

Watch.

For the Time Will Come...

From the very instant of creation to this very moment, God’s redemptive narrative has been a steady, woven thread into the fabric of man’s existence, culminating on Pentecost with the miracle called the church. Founded upon Christ Himself, built upon the death and resurrection, and empowered by the Spirit of God the church continues until this very day. She is alive and she is God’s bride, but in the visible reflection of God’s church, which is all we can see, she is not well at all. And lest all the different camps say “amen” from their perspective which is aimed at the “others”, let us assess her plight with humility and introspection.

To avoid generalization is impossible since the visible church is a cavern of nuances and a confounding collection of incongruous doctrines as well as nebulous statements of faith. To further generalize, on one hand churches have strict doctrines which cannot be compromised and on the other hand are an array of expanded doctrines which have no core and some churches who avoid any statements of faith at all. And, may I add, everything in between.

Some camps are filled with angst and hatred, others with acceptance and tolerance, some with an overly expansive view of salvation, and still others with an extremely constricted view of God’s redemptive offer. Yes, the absolute assessment of the visible church must be left to God Himself, especially as it concerns who belongs to Him and who does not. We can take inventory of methods and Biblical teachings, but we must resist becoming the final arbiter of people’s standing before God. That must always be His and His alone.

I have made my feelings known as it concerns the self righteousness that is sometimes openly reflected in the “orthodox” crowd, as well as the visceral hatred they sometimes exhibit for sinners and saints alike. It is many times unchristian and leads to a clique type of entrenchment that gives way to common camp revelry concerning truth, almost like an inside joke. It strips away compassion and ignores the requirements of grace and humility. And in that atmosphere God’s Word is reduced to an instrument of destruction wielded by the arm of man rather than a lifeline of eternal rescue cast abroad by the power of God’s Spirit.

It is most unfortunate, though, that within that atmosphere some legitimate issues of truth are obscured by the unnecessary rhetoric that employs hyperbole, demeaning labels, and a disdain for people themselves. The enemy of our souls has his strategies in all camps and they are most effective when disguised as “instruments of God”. We must maintain a healthy and holy wariness of our motives and attitudes, and it must be ourselves that are first brought to the Spirit’s scalpel. When we ourselves remain unbroken, we may easily become unbridled vessels that break others with little or no redemption in our words and spirits. God resists the proud, even the pride of the most orthodox among us.

But having said that, and admitting I could have and will say more, I want to turn to the other general side of the visible church. This is all the different movements that have either neglected God’s Word or twisted it to form an ecclesiastical sculpture that neither resembles the Biblical Christ nor even strives to achieve His image. Sometimes they have good intentions and sometimes they are constructs of hedonism and merchandising. These tortured ecclesiastical models range from the health and wealth models all the way to the most aberrant emergent frameworks and everything in between. In my mind there are wide parameters between which evangelical churches can live and exist, but there are many today that have stepped outside what even fair minded believers can adopt as acceptable.

Some churches proudly proclaim that is doesn’t matter what you believe as it concerns salvation and your standing before God. They suggest the Scriptures and the truth they project are malleable and flexible according to the dictates of the era. These go beyond employing methodological conduits with which to convey these truths, these churches suggest a foundational reworking of truth itself by juxtaposing God’s Word against the current cultural practices and adjusting God’s Word to accommodate whatever behavior is at odds with the ancient scripts. Going further than just compassion, outreach, and extended redemption, many of these churches relieve the doctrinal tension by surrendering God’s truth to human behavior. Well intentioned though it may be, it creates an atmosphere which removes eternal redemption and replaces it with finite accommodation, and which can ultimately lead to spiritual death. It is tragic.

Now as we address some of these things we must be vigilant of our own complete standing by grace, and we must not succumb to an attitude of disgust that opens the floodgates to self righteousness and makes any hope of correction useless. Many times we have been guilty of viewing others as pawns in a spiritual game of Gettysburg that attacks the enemy with the carnal weapons of human swords and when the dust settles many lie wounded and dead while we congratulate ourselves in a work well done. Take a good, long look at the cross once more and see the challenge that lies ahead. How can we rescue the deceived that are drawing others into their deception while maintaining an attitude that painfully sacrifices our own motives and strategies? If you believe that can be done easily you are deceived as well. If you believe that will take much labor and will be very difficult you are still deceived.

To speak for God’s truth in the power of the cross is a human paradox, and if we cannot feel pain and our own unworthiness we have chosen a wrong path. If we are not drawn to tears, and even bouts of weeping, we are still speaking God’s truth in our own power. If we cannot feel desperate compassion for others, be they professing believers or not, we are just playing at God’s truth and not surrendering to the battle that can only be won on Mt. Humility. This is God’s battle, not ours, and we are His servants for Christ’s sake. We carry His truth, not ours, and must wield His Sword with love and wisdom, always attempting to slice the cords of deception while avoiding the throats of sinners.

I would like us to examine a specific example, although not alone and probably not the most grievous, of how far off good intentions can take us. One of the more well known expressions of an emergent church is one in Minneapolis, Minnesota called Solomon’s Porch. It is pastored by a man named Doug Pagitt who is an active participant in most things called emergent. The structure of the Sunday meetings is somewhat odd, but that is actually not what concerns me. What I would like to address, using Solomon’s Porch as an example, is the focus, the teaching, and the Biblical essence of this church and others like it.

Here is the video I am addressing.

And here are some direct quotes from that video:

” We just knew that the way we had done Christianity all of our lives was no longer a viable option anymore.”

“The issues Jesus would deal with today would be …racism, the environment, it would be globalization, and it would be feeding the masses….it would be these sorts of things.”

“I see the Bible changing…i do not see it stagnant and so for us, as a community of Christians to say, we need to believe this one thing and hold it tightly and make sure that it is never questioned?…That is a real waste of energy with all the things we could be doing in the world.”

“I have no agenda to go around and convince people of things they don’t want to be convinced of. That seems to be the least gracious, kind and loving thing you can do…is go and disturb someone who chooses not to be disturbed. I think places like ours are hope producing for people who are already disturbed and gives them another option.”

“There is no…like..statement of belief at this church or statement of faith..is not like a set in stone theology that everyone in this church has to adhere to.”

“I have heard that the kingdom of god is supposed to be like a party house so let’s do communion like a house party.”

The question is not the creativeness of the “way of Jesus” terminology, it’s what exactly does that mean? Does attempting to live your life like you think Jesus lived His actually provide you with redemption? Is salvation a process or is it an event? Is it a way of life that slowly but surely constructs redemption or is it a moment of regeneration ignited by faith, which then begins a process of living out the realities inherent in that event? That difference is not a parsing of words or semantical disputes that refuse to see the oneness of each description. No, this is the difference between salvation purely by faith and salvation by adjusting one’s life, usually defined by being nice and meeting the needs of others.

If indeed the way of Jesus, and not the redemptive work of Jesus, is salvation then the cross is purely an example of selflessness rather than the very core of redemption. If our lives can save, then His blood is simply the blood of a man and powerless to redeem. It seems that some have become disenchanted with the self righteous, doctrinal idolatry of many entrenched camps, and so they have misguidedly become doctrinally unhinged in an attempt to exhibit compassion for the earthly plight of so many. It is a noble endeavor; however it minimizes and almost ignores the very essence of gospel truth.

A man stands on one side of a great chasm and sees another man on the other side with a raging fire coming toward him. The man who is safe starts to call to the man and point him to the bridge, the only bridge that he himself took to safety. But before he directs him to this bridge the safe man sees the man in jeopardy has no shoes and he throws him his own shoes across the divide. With a feeling that he has demonstrated compassion, the safe man turns away and leaves the man without any instructions concerning the bridge. This a rough metaphorical narrative of what happens when the church replaces faith with works and raises humanitarian works as supreme at the expense of the gospel.

Many churches are attempting to meet the needs of westerners by offering a place of experience, a place where people can come and paint, interact, make things, and a host of activities most of which are not part of the gospel and God’s mission. You may visit the website of Solomon’s Porch and you will find a kind of community fair atmosphere with some religious verbiage mixed in. Many churches now hold dances and beer making workshops and other activities that are not usually considered part of a gathering of believers. The statement of faith at this church is called its dreams, and it is a list of very nebulous statements that lack any clear Christian mission, much less any gospel. The closest statement dealing with the Great Commission is this – “People who are not Christians become followers of God in the way of Jesus”.

Of course anyone who takes issue with that type of description are sometimes considered as nitpickers, however that expression lacks any mention of redemption through faith in the work of Jesus Christ both on the cross and in His resurrection. It is important to note that the New Testament was very specific, and the early apostles did not shy away from boldly proclaiming the gospel even among hostile Jews and ignorant Gentiles. I am not one who demands harshness or who refuses any methodology to reach the unsaved, however many churches are becoming so unclear, so nebulous, and so cultural in their verbiage that they can no longer be considered Biblical at all.

Now as you watched the video you saw people giving their opinions as to what a church should be. Some said beliefs are unimportant, one said communion should be a “house party” which the video shows as nothing more than a little cocktail party, and one woman said that if Jesus were here today He would be concerned with globalization and hunger and global warming and all the current issues. Although this church might be considered “cutting edge” emergent, it is being replicated throughout the country. No longer is the preaching of the Word held as central, and no longer is redemption by faith heralded as the only way to eternal life. The concern for people’s earthly needs is noble, and it would have been a wonderful movement if they had added that emphasis to the Christian message without tampering with the gospel itself, but as we can see that is not the case.

This kind of evangelical shift is seismic and cannot be dismissed as just methodology. Even one small step away from gospel centeredness is dangerous and can only lead to doctrinal mischief; however these types of churches seem to have moved completely away from the gospel. It is sad and tragic to see how the gospel has become irrelevant and uninteresting to this growing group of post modern communities. The mission now seems to be go and solve the world’s problems rather than go and preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Throughout church history Christians were persecuted and martyred for preaching the gospel of Christ, not for any humanitarian works they performed. The church used to preach “Come as you are” but some now preach “Come as you are and stay as you are”. The life changing gospel of Jesus Christ has given way to a community workshop/support group framework that views the Scriptures as good Christian literature and not the very Words of life. Most Christians know very little of the emergent movement, but it will continue to grow should Jesus tarry. It is God’s will that we as the body of Jesus Christ should go. We should, we must, be stirred from our stagnancy and lethargy, and surely our doctrinal entrenchments, however pure and right, must be given expressions through our very lives. But we must never downplay the fact that only through works-less faith can a sinner be born again into the family of God Himself.

I am shocked, saddened, embarrassed, angered, and emotionally affected in many ways when I see how the glory of the cross is being silenced by those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. I have no inside information concerning the salvation of anyone but myself, but I grieve to think that so many have been drawn to a Christian fad, a facsimile, and a powerless replica of what God intended for His people to be. We will never stem this tide by studying its many facets, or by becoming conversant with its errors, and certainly not by using demeaning invectives which make us fixated on the error of others and make us blind to our own Samsonesque weakness.

But it is also true we can never allow these trends to infiltrate the mainstream body of Christ. We must take up a sword in one hand with which to keep error at bay and a hammer in the other with which to build ourselves up in the faith. In must not go unnoticed that stripped of these types of doctrinal deviancies against which we appear much better, we would be exposed as the lukewarm people that we are, powerless as compared with other generations and comfortable to live well within this hedonistic western lifestyle. And let our words be of concern rather than caustic, and let our hearts be grieved rather than self righteous. We must resurrect our pathetic prayer closets until we bombard heaven beseeching our Great God to reign down His power upon us all. Our calling is not to be consumed with studying the enemy as he sows his tares, ours is to keep our eyes on Christ, hear His voice, and trim our sails to follow His direction.

Wise as serpents, but harmless as doves.

The Cross

The Eternal Agent of Change

And so the seasons change, bringing forth the revelations of a new world and the whispers of a kingdom. The old wineskins plead to remain and the new wineskins softly sing a new song. The sky looks dark, ever darker, and yet morning moves within her darkness. The eyes cannot see and the ears cannot hear, and yet the spirit rises to this morning that approaches without the evidence some demand.

The new heart hears music unplayed and sees glory unrevealed. Illuminated by faith alone the lone believer must succumb to its calling, wholly dependent upon the unseen promise of a life to come. Tethered to and yet free from here, the Christ traveler continues safe on this resurrected journey of faith. His missteps are woven into this journey by the wisdom of His Guide Who knows his plight and plans his way.

The victory hides in utter defeat, and the glory is covered in blood. Suffering is a step and persecution is a crown. Do not despair you pilgrims, the Lord of the Harvest will bring in His sheaves and reward His laborers far greater than they deserve. The King of All knows no slumber and has no weakness, and worry is foreign to Him. The end is the beginning, and the road to the City of God is paved with the branches of humility and love.

Trust not in the ways and words of men, but incline your ears to hear the steps of blind soldiers that carry out the divine will but who know not Who they slay. Who can separate us from this crimson covered act of love? If God Himself gives this kind of gift, what indeed will He withhold from those who receive it? This holy massacre reveals a love whose strength is without limits and whose length is without measure.

The grace that pours from these veins can and does cover the vilest among us, and this bloody shepherd knows who are His and answers not to the inspections of men. Walk through the door of faith once more, reacquaint yourself with His redemption, and you will find the room of grace without walls. Rejoice in His blood and revel in His sufferings for He has won. We have not won, He alone has risen victorious and we are made sharers in a victory that was not ours and a suffering that we had indeed caused.

Does it seem like a fairy tale to you? Oh, but it is! The story we tell today is a pitiful narrative told by sinful lips and finite minds. One day this fairy tale will vanish in the glory that cannot be described, and the reality will eclipse the fable. And on that day, in His glorious presence, we all will consider ourselves grateful fools as we see the ignorance of our best preaching, our best teaching, and our best understandings.

So do not despair, we play today in a sandbox of our own making, but one day we will be covered in the skin of glory which is Christ Himself, and we will be like Him. But until that day, let us keep looking forward together, to thirst and to hunger for that day, no, to thirst and to hunger for Him alone. He has made us one, with all our faults and misguided certainties; He has made us one…in Him, by the fellowship of His sufferings and the power of His resurrection.

The event we commemorate today caught me unawares in 1975. I had grown up in a Lutheran church with my mother as choir director. I attended catechism for three years and was confirmed as a believing member when I was 13 or 14 years old. I was profoundly lost. To say I was a used rose would be demeaning to used roses. I was a disgusting rebel who set about to expand the boundaries of personal hedonism. I resist revealing the extent of my drug and alcohol use but suffice to say I am fortunate to be alive. Not content with consumption I sold drugs into the high school at age 20 through my senior high girl friend.

At 6′4″ and 220 pounds I was violent and intimidated everyone I could and rode my van and/or motorcycle through the community recognized by friend and foe alike. I have a police record as well. So during a street fight I was seriously injured and had to lay up at my aunt’s house to heal. It was there I saw Billy Graham on TV and in March of 1975 I was saved by God’s grace. When I returned to the community to face some lingering charges against me the entire courtroom was mesmerized at my appearance.

No longer the biker look, I now looked like some choir boy. By some miracle I was acquitted of these last charges, and I went to one of my former friend’s apartment where about 10 of my friends gathered to drink beer and smoke pot. In that setting I shared my faith and having been the absolute ringleader they all listened intently to my story. I pleaded with them to investigate Jesus Christ apart from formal religion and see if He is the way to life eternal and abundant. Later on several of my friends came to Christ while others went to jail or even died.

I cannot fully project in words the change that God brought in my life. Words fail to showcase the work of the Spirit. But I was a rose with no petals and with a broken stem. But even though I do not observe days, today most of the Christian world commemorates an event that saved my life forever. I must testify of the saving power of that cross. Argue all you want about this view or that view, but a profound sinner like me knew nothing of those arguments, all I knew was that Jesus was God’s Son and He died for my sins. I have preached about that cross, I have shared about that cross, I have written about that cross, and I have read about that cross, and it has never lost its newness, its luster to me.

I have nothing but that cross and it’s captive. All my so called literary prowess is just worthless bluster compared to the Christ and His cross. I stand naked of any good works against the work of that cross. I cannot but speak of that which reached down and rescued a rebel like me and allowed me to even speak of Him. I would not desire Charles Manson to speak well of me, and yet Jesus allows me, and is pleased to hear me speak well of Him. It is a spiritual dream to imagine who I was and who I am, and sometimes it would do us all well to take a respite from all the doctrinal squabbles and return to that simple day when God found us.

Call me what you will, point out my many compromises, identify my living inconsistencies, accuse me falsely and accuse me rightly of sin, to it all I embrace my guilt as I embrace my Savior. Today is the day in which I will live forever.

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

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.