Hunting for the Gospel

As an addendum to my post "Apostasy - Do you see it or are you in it?" - I bring you this this message from Shane Hipps. As you read it please understand that Pastor Hipps has preached at Rob Bell's home church and he has been a guest speaker at one of Bell's conferences. See if you can find the gospel.

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We have a ton of fun stuff to get through today. We are today starting a sermon series on the Gospel of John. And my sermon series, as you know, are kind of…I let the Spirit lead; I never know how long they’re going to be and that basically depends on when the Spirit decides to shut off my interest in the subject. So, uh, no…I’m kidding. I will probably go through till about Advent and then we’ll suspend for Advent. We’ll follow the church calendar through Advent and then we’ll pick it up again after that.

Um…let me say a few preparatory comments about the Gospel of John; it’s a very unique gospel. Um…so the people who spend…first of all, there are four gospels, if you don’t know, there are four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They’re in the New Testament of the bible. Gospels are called gospels because they tell the story of the life of Jesus – the “Good News” of the life of Jesus; gospel means, “Good News.”

So, four gospels…three of them (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) were written earlier than John. And those three…scholars — the people who study this stuff for a living — call those three gospels “The Synoptic Gospels.” Synoptic…a delightful word…I encourage you to work that word into casual conversation in the coming week. (Audience laughter) I’m going to show you how – don’t worry. I know it’s intimidating. So, synoptic…syn, the prefix means “together”. Optic means “view” — “view together”. So, the synoptic gospels can be viewed together. And the reason is because they have this incredible commonality. Those three gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) draw heavily from the same sources, and so you can literally lay out all three gospels in three columns and you can see how they drew from the same sources, and in some cases not just the same stories, but the same words are used…very, very similar.

So, the way you work this into a casual conversation is you can say something like, “Hey, did you guys see the Presidential debates this last week or so?” The answer would be, “Yes.” “They had kind of a synoptic quality to them, wouldn’t you agree?” (Audience laughter) Sounds very sophisticated, does it not? All it means is you get to see two candidates together, but that’s not nearly as cool sounding…so synoptic…so use that. Again, my challenge to you…I have no spiritual challenge, only that challenge; (Audience laughter) find a way to integrate “synoptic” into your daily vocabulary.

Here’s the deal: so, for the non-synoptic gospel (the Gospel of John) John is a totally different kind of gospel. There are huge portions of John that are found nowhere in the synoptic gospels; and there are all kinds of stories and parables found in the synoptic gospels that are found nowhere in John. John has no parables at all. John is mostly a bunch of long conversations and debates between Jesus and Pharisees and Jesus and disciples, and so it’s…it has this sort of debate quality to it. It’s also…John does something else weird; he talks about really abstract things. Um…so one way to think about the difference between the synoptic gospels (your favorite new word) and John, is uh…one of the things that’s going on (this is a little bit of over simplification, but I think it’s helpful) the synoptic gospels are interested primarily in the exterior (or outer) dimension of the gospel…the exterior or outer dimension; that is those things that you can see, taste, touch, and feel. That’s the outer dimension of the gospel – something visible. John, on the other hand, is concerned mostly with the inner…interior dimension of the gospel; those things you cannot see or taste or touch – the inner dimension of the gospel.

So as a consequence they…they read very differently. For some people (depending on what you prefer in life and how you tend to relate to God), one of those sets of gospels is gonna’ resonate with you more than the other. Umm…so, for example …the interior and the exterior.

Today we’re going to celebrate communion. Communion is an exterior ritual. You’re going to hear some words, you’re going to see some movements, you’re going to move your body, you’re going to taste (in our case) grape juice, you’re going to eat bread; they’re physical, tangible qualities to this external aspect of that ritual. At the same time, when you do this act you will have an internal experience that is hidden from all of us. It is unique to you. So you may experience ….when you taste the bread and the wine you may experience transcendent joy, or nostalgia, or boredom or confusion (laughs). You may wonder why you’re doing it. But the point is that regardless of whatever that internal experience is, none of us can see it; that is what the Gospel of John is chiefly concerned with…exploring this inner dimension of the gospel. You with me so far? Good, great…thank you – I got a little bit of feedback. Uh, so here’s what we’re gonna’ do; we’re gonna’ jump in…I preface all this because what John does right off the bat (the very first set of verses) he does something very, very strange. Uh, so let’s read together John 1:1.

“In the beginning, was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” He (the Word that is) was with God in the beginning, in case you missed that first part (a little repetitive there). “Through Him all things were made, without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (Again, a little repetitive.) “In Him was life and that life was the light of all people.” (All people – not just Christians – all people.) “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” Light shines in the darkness…the darkness has not overcome it.

So here’s what’s going on (this is how John is very different from the other gospels), if you read Matthew or Luke, umm…they’re really interested (like John) in the origins of Jesus. Oh, I should say one other thing if you’re not familiar…that “Word” that John is talking about here in verse fourteen he goes on to say, “That ‘Word’ became flesh and dwelt among us.” So that “Word” that he is referring to is the “Word” and that “Word” becomes Jesus. So, John is talking about the origin of Jesus. Now, Matthew and Luke do the same thing; Matthew traces though the origin of Jesus’ human lineage – the external aspect of Jesus’ origin – his father, his father, his father, his father, his grandfather…all that. So, Matthew traces Jesus back to Abraham (the father of the faith). Luke traces Jesus back to Adam (the father of well, everything…all humanity, right?). But John doesn’t have any interest in that…he skips right over that…he talks about the inner origin of Jesus. So right off the bat you’re setting the tone of the gospel you’re gonna’ be reading.

Another thing that is really, really striking, this is one of the most innovative (that first verse) is one of the most innovative things I’ve ever seen. It’s an extraordinary theological innovation, “In the beginning was the Word.” Word…okay…this is so frustrating to people like me…the Greek word for word (you see, that’s hard to say…how am I supposed to…the word for word) that word, in Greek is “logos.” So anytime you see word it’s actually logos. So, in the beginning was the logos and the logos was with God and the logos was God. Logos! Here’s why this is problematic, uh…like in any language a word can be translated many different ways; and one of the ways you can translate logos into English is the word…”word.” But the problem with that is in our minds when we say the word “word,” you’re just thinking about the words I’m speaking. There is no way that what John meant by logos is what we mean by “word.” In a sense, there is no English equivalent to the word logos. So I actually think it would have been better if (I think it would serve us better) if we would just leave logos in our English bibles. This mysterious, odd, quasi-weird word that really we don’t fully understand, and the reason I think that we should have done that is because for the Jewish audience that’s how they would have read it. In the beginning was the logos? What? Logos had no connection to the Jewish or Hebrew imagination, none whatsoever. But John does something really fascinating…everything that follows is borrowed from the popular music, songs, and poetry of the Hebrew people.

So he takes this really weird word called “logos” that nobody really understands, but then he uses really common phrases and language and poetry and songs to describe what the logos is. So, if you go back into Jewish poetry or songs, what we find is something like this…you can go to a book called the Wisdom of Solomon. Wisdom of Solomon is not found in your bible, it’s found in what’s called the “Apocrypha”, I won’t get into the details of that, but it’s not in your bible, but it’s uh, basically a study of his celebration of wisdom. Listen to how they describe wisdom in this book, “Wisdom is like the light, she is found before it for after this comes night, but it shall not prevail against wisdom. And wisdom was with you Lord, it knows your works, it was present when you made the world.” Can you see the commonalities between their description of wisdom and John’s description of logos?

There’s this whole thing about the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not overcome it. Wisdom is like light; wisdom…darkness…night shall not prevail against it. The logos was with God from the very beginning of all time. Wisdom was with God from the very beginning of all time. The logos made all things of the world. Wisdom made all things in the world.

Let’s go to Proverbs speaking now again of wisdom, “The Lord created me…wisdom. At the beginning of His work, when there were no depths I was brought forth. When he established the heavens I was there, then I was the Creator by His side.” Isn’t that amazing? So wisdom…all these commonalities and parallels between wisdom and the logos.

So one of the things that shows us (just so we’re clear), for the Jewish imagination, the Hebrew way of thinking, wisdom wasn’t just, you know making good decisions or getting good advice…that’s kinda’ how we use the word wisdom…we tend to minimize wisdom. For the Jews, wisdom was the very DNA of God; the creative life force that gives birth to all things, that’s what wisdom was…really, really profound stuff.

So John basically comes along and says, “Wisdom was with God. In the beginning was wisdom and the wisdom was with God, and the wisdom was God and that wisdom became flesh.” Wow, beautiful, okay that makes…okay that helps, now I’ve got it connected. So why, (laughs) why wouldn’t John just use the word wisdom (Sophia in the Greek)? Why wouldn’t he just say, “In the beginning was Sophia (not logos)?” This is very confusing; and…and really confusing and it makes my life a whole lot harder cause now I have to try and explain it and you know, John clearly doesn’t think about my needs it’s all his needs (Audience laughter). And umm…so, anyway…whatever.

So, what’s going on? Here’s what John does, this is what when I say it’s one of the most exquisite theological innovations here…watch what John does; logos was not a word you’ll find very much in the Hebrew or Jewish literature…it’s just not part of how they think about things…however, at the same time that John was writing, there were a whole lot of Greek philosophers of religion. And, the Greek philosophers were…wrote extensively about this universal animating life force called the logos.

So John actually (in this case) borrows from the Greeks and says, “In the beginning was the logos,” and the logos was a whole lot like the wisdom that the Jews talked about. Interesting. Let me just say a word or two about logos…just to kind of help us get our heads around this. Again, weird kind of stuff they’re all trying to describe the life force…they’re dealing with the mysteries of, “Why are we all alive? Why are we all doing what we’re doing? Why do we have the needs we have? What is that behind all of this?”

The logos; they use two images to describe the logos…this mysterious, invisible thing…they use symbols to help see it. One of the symbols was “fire”…the logos was fire. Another symbol was they used the Greek word pneuma, which is “air” or “breath”; that’s where we get pneumatic pump from air, wind, breath. So two symbols…fire and breath or fire and air; now why would they use those two symbols to describe this mysterious, quasi-thing called the logos? The reason was fire is the ultimate illuminator. In that day and age without electricity fire is light…fire gives light; so the logos is light. And air, wind or breath is a symbol of life. The reason you can live right now is because you’re breathing in and out, in and out. So for the Greeks, breath was a hugely important understanding of life. So what that means is the logos is the light and life of the world…light and life. Now, watch what John does verse four.

In Him (meaning the logos) was life and that life was the light of all people. So not only does he slip in all these Hebrew/Jewish understandings of what wisdom is, he then goes on to say, “Hey, the Greek understanding of logos I’m just lifting that directly…the light and life.” Here’s why this is so beautiful; here’s what John does – John then goes on to say that logos (or wisdom) became flesh and was Jesus and dwelt among us. John is the ultimate unifier and integrator of two religious systems that have nothing in common; the Jews and the Greeks…nothing in common…nothing at all in common…didn’t even use the same language most of the time. So here John comes along and says, “Hey (to the Jews) you know that thing you talk about…that wisdom…that beautiful wisdom that you talk about? Yeah, that…right. You know that?” And to the Greeks he says, “Hey, you know that logos…that mysterious, beautiful thing with life and fire and light? That, yeah right?” Both of those things, wisdom and logos…they are actually one thing. And they found full and complete expression in the person of Jesus.

So here’s what’s so stunning: at a time when it was unthinkable to try and unify religions, John is basically saying your religion totally valid…I love it…I’m even using your language…and your religion…I love it…it’s beautiful totally valid…I’m even using your language, but I just want you both to know that there’s something bigger than what you’ve got.

There’s something that transcends what you have; it doesn’t nullify what you have, it doesn’t get rid of what you have. It just moves beyond it. So John does this unbelievably beautiful thing of basically saying, “I want to get past the religious divisions among us in our world. I don’t want to get past it…Jesus comes to bring us past it.” Jesus is the ultimate unifier in these various diverse ways of looking at the world. The only way that anyone could ever see that is by looking at the interior (not the exterior).

A black man and a white woman look very different on the exterior, do they not? They look very different from the outside, but on the inside the same longings, same needs, same need for love, for significance, for peace, same need for food…very little separates us on the inside. Now, this is really easy to talk about when you’re talking about people, isn’t it? Yes, people look different on the outside, but in the inside we’re all the same. That’s not what John is doing, he’s doing it with religions.

Mennonites and Muslims, they’re basically the same. No, no, no, no, we’re very different. I beg to differ, right? I mean when you try to do this with religious systems, you’re playing with very dangerous stuff because a religious system…what makes a religion a religion is the thing that makes it different from other religions. A religious identity is derived from what makes it distinct. A religious identity is derived from our boundaries; we sing music this way, that’s what makes us different. We believe Jesus did this and so we follow Jesus that way…that is what makes us different. You don’t even believe in Jesus; we’re different from you in that way. Even religions that have come along and said, “Our religion believes there are no distinction between religions” is in fact, a distinction.

So these…these external things…religion is about making these distinctions…and guess what? That isn’t a bad thing. Having a distinct religious identity marked by some boundaries, knowing how you’re different from other religions isn’t a problem. John isn’t trying to get rid of that, he’s trying to point beyond it. Keep it, but move beyond it.

To lose your religious identity is like losing a sail at sea. The sail is like religion, the wind is the Spirit. You need a sail to catch the wind…to harness the wind, but you gotta’ realize that that sail isn’t the wind. The sail is actually dependent on the wind. See, here’s the crazy thing, the Spirit (the wind), doesn’t need sails in order for it to move about the world.

The sails need the wind. So the Spirit in order for it to move and operate in the world has no need of religion, but we (those of us made the way we are) for some reason need sails in order to catch the wind. We need religious structures, external things we can touch and see and traditions and lineages that teach us so that we can better catch the wind. Now some sails are built better than other sails; some sails are bigger than other sails, some sails are better shaped than other sails and those differences matter. And sometimes, one sail is better than another sail in the same way that some religions are better equipped to catch the Spirit of God. Some religions are not as well equipped to fully capture and be compelled by the Spirit. So it matters what religion you choose. It matters why that religion…why you choose it. It matters what it looks like…how it’s shaped , but don’t ever confuse the sail with the Spirit…the sail with the wind.

Here’s what’s so confusing about this…John comes along and says, “Hey both of you guys you’ve got great sails…both look awesome.” I just want you to know it’s the wind that I’m interested in. He says Jesus became the fullness of that wind. And so along comes us and we create a sail around that person. We go, “Now we’ve got it!” Wooo! It’s just another sail. Just because we claim Jesus as the center of our religion does not make us one and the same with the wind of God. It just means we have another sail. I happen to think it’s a better sail than most other sails. I happen to think it’s a more effective sail than other sails (that’s why I chose this particular sail), but it ain’t the wind.

This is what John is doing and it’s extremely innovative and it’s very unsettling that he’s inviting us beneath and beyond the things that make distinctions between us. He’s pointing beyond the sail to the wind and he desperately wants us to experience the wind…the logos…that animating, creative life force that gives you breath right now in this very moment. That’s what John will be pointing us to, so as we go through this series, that’s what we’re going to be experiencing and exploring is this whole thing of the logos becoming flesh, and the difference between our…how we operate in the world and how God animates everything that is in the world.

And that’s why it says, “It was the life and light of all people.” It didn’t say the light and life of the people who believe in Jesus. This logos affects everybody including Osama bin Laden, as long as he’s got breath in him is a spark of the divine. “It was the life and light of all people.” It didn’t say the light and life of the people who believe in Jesus. This logos affects everybody including Osama bin Laden, as long as he’s got breath in him is a spark of the divine.

Now he has shielded himself from that probably and many of us have to ourselves. So, this morning we’re going to practice right now an external ritual. And my great hope this morning is that in these external elements of bread and grape juice whatever you taste and feel and experience physically with your hands and sight and eyes and mouths, that you will allow that to be part of a sail; that that will be designed to catch the wind of God in our midst this morning. My great hope is that this will propel you beyond these elements into the very presence of God. So I want to invite the leadership team members and people who have agreed to serve to man or woman your stations. We have two stations in the back…

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HT: Apprising Ministries

These types of messages, and these types of beliefs, are essentially non-christian mysticim. They are what is quickly infiltrating the evangelical church and deceiving the average pew dweller who is essentially Biblically ignorant or doctrinally ambivalant. And most disturbing is that this type of teaching is another form of universalism, which is a belief that all men are saved. The message is basically error frrom the first sentence until the last.

The Growing Apostasy – Part II

Scriptural Christianity should consist of the conversion of sinners and the continuing transformation of saints. This post is another perspective of a departure from that description of Scriptural Christianity. I would like to address a certain brand of apostasy that flies well under the discernment radar, and that is even embraced by many who would call themselves “orthodox”.

It is the sin of idolatry and we call it nationalism. It is loving a certain country, a certain economic system, and a certain form of government. And this idolatry has crept into the church and is openly taught as godly, when in fact, it is antichrist. This post is surely exhibit A as it pertains to nationalistic idolatry combined with a blatant carelessness about the teachings of Jesus and the souls of men.

It is a willful disregard for the facts to suggest that America was a Christian nation, and no one has ever provided me with any New Testament teachings that endorse violence by believers against any government for any reason. Hence the Revolutionary War was not Christian or ordained by God. In fact the New Testament never hints at divine support for any violence at the hands of believers. The teachings of Jesus are decidedly non-violent.

But let us examine the post to which I linked juxtaposed against the teachings of Jesus and the epistles of Paul. In this post the author makes a case for superior firearms, referring specifically to policemen. While his suggestion may be valid, it still cannot be tethered to the teachings of Jesus. But the comparison using policemen is not the core of the article, in fact far from it.

The author begins the second paragraph with, "Let’s apply this principle to nuclear weapons for a moment." From policemen to nuclear weapons in one giant leap. He takes the perspective that if America rids itself of nuclear weapons “the “good guys” of the world have essentially armed themselves with pop guns–worthless resolutions, sanctions and threats.” Who are these “good guys”? Are these the same fallen sinners that so many of the reformed persuasion insist are dead in their sins? Are they the same ones which fit the “there are none good” description? So the author is generally calling America and her allies the “good guys”.

Think on that for a moment, and compare that with the theology that the author espouses. Unregenerate sinners are fallen and totally depraved unless they are Americans and then they are the “good guys”. And reading further in the same paragraph the author suggests we fear the intentions of Iran and North Korea. Besides the Scriptural admonition that God hasn’t given us the spirit of fear, where has the New Testament commanded us to worry about the United Nations or the affairs of the fallen league of nations? Where does the gospel fit into all this?

In the last paragraph he makes this statement, “It’s nice to be liked, but when everything you stand for as a nation is at stake, popularity is worth sacrificing.” What does America stand for anyway? Political freedom? Hedonism? Abortion? Sexual freedom? Militarism? As you can see, Christianity has been jettisoned in favor of nationalism. The author ends with this:

“But if we are really willing to disarm and prostrate ourselves in front of possibly the most dangerous threats we’ve yet faced, we’ve already lost.”

Lost what? Christ? Our faith? He suggests that without nuclear weapons we will be disarmed and be prostrating ourselves in front of threats. That sounds similar to Someone who acquiesced to a Roman cross, and who scolded Peter for using a sword instead of telling him to get a bigger sword. Nuclear weapons are a scourge and should have no backing by the church. The entire narrative of the life of Jesus and all His teachings were non-violent. How can we read and believe the Sermon on the Mount and then support the destruction of millions of lost sinners?

Why does this sound so strange to your ears, and why does it seem so liberal and unpatriotic? Because for many decades Christians have been deceived into meshing nationalism with Christianty, and at the awful expense of our faith. We have become comfortable with war and we have allowed ourselves to trade spiritual power for political clout and military might. Our Christian schools brainwash our children from the youngest age to pledge allegiance to a flag, when they should have no other allegiance but to Christ. They are told a revisionist history that suggests that the forefathers were all committed Christians and godly men, and that God was behind the Revolutionary War itself.

And now we are supposed to teach our children that God desires us to be armed with nuclear weapons?? I have been called anything but a Christian from church people who will not entertain even the slightest Biblical perspective that suggests anything but complete and utter patriotism.

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And the disciples asked Him, “Who is our neighbor?”

The Master answered, “All who are naturalized U.S. citizens.”

“What about Muslim Americans?”, they asked.

“No!”, replied the Master, “They are taking over!”.

“What about American gays?”, they inquired.

“No!”, shouted the Master, “I came to call the righteous – don’t forget that!!”

“So should we nuke sinners?”, they wondered aloud.

“You betcha, especially if they are radical Islamists. I’ll make sure none of the elect are killed. I did not choose many Muslims anyway so relax”, said the Great Shepherd.

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Lord, where is the axe head…

Apostasy

Do you see it or are you in it?

Do you honestly and wholeheartedly desire to please the Lord Jesus? Are you genuinely committed to remain faithful to His Word? If you say you are, then read this post and decide once and for all, because the apostasy is here and it is gaining momentum throughout the evangelical world.

There are many new faces among the evangelical landscape with many new and interesting thoughts. Brian MacLaren, Doug Pagitt, Spencer Burke, Marcus Borg, Peter Rollins, Phyllis Tickle, Miroslav Volf, and many, many others. One notable name that has gained prominence, and who is interactive among all these I have mentioned is Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Michigan. He came from an evangelical background but has now has changed course and teaches an emergent message in a post modern reality.

Many mainstream evangelical churches are using his videos and material in their churches. But let us examine an interview and his responses to questions. These are not isolated answers that can be made more clearly orthodox by some of his other teachings. These are accurate representations of what he believes and teaches. He is a husband, a father, and a pastor. His character is not an issue, but his teachings must be confronted and challenged through the prism of Scriptural redemption and the core of the mission of Jesus and His church.

I want to make it clear that I am not attacking Pastor Bell personally or demeaning his office or in any way addressing him apart from what he is teaching. Against that backdrop let us examine this interview:

The interviewer asks: I’m struck by the fact that I don’t hear a lot of explicitly religious language, or mentions of Jesus, from you.

Pastor Bell responds: I think we have enough religious people who are going around trying to convert people. My guard is up when somebody is trying to convert me to their thing. Are you talking to me because you actually are interested in this subject, because you care about me as a human, or am I one more possible conversion that will make you feel good about your religiosity? I don’t have any embarrassment about my religion, and it’s not that I'm too cool, but I would hope that the Jesus message would come through, hopefully through a full humanity. If you have something to say, whether you're religious or not, if it is truly Christian and Jesus-centered, then it will help and be interesting and compelling to people, regardless of their world view. But I’m not just interested in talking to Christians. I'm interested in what does it mean to be fully human.

Bell is suspicious of people spreading the gospel in hopes of converting sinners? I find it difficult to even address that since it seems so at odds with New Testament Christianity. He goes on with, “but I would hope that the Jesus message would come through, hopefully through a full humanity”. Again, what in the world does that mean? Bell continues, “If you have something to say, whether you're religious or not, if it is truly Christian and Jesus-centered, then it will help and be interesting and compelling to people, regardless of their world view.” Are you getting the picture? Tell the martyrs about being interesting and compelling to sinners. Bell finishes with this, “But I’m not just interested in talking to Christians. I'm interested in what does it mean to be fully human” What does it mean to be fully human? Check out the current state of humanity around the world. Is that what it means to be fully human? Again the code speak that doesn’t even address the reason that Bell does not speak very often of Jesus, and armed with just that one fact, we can conclude that he does not teach a Christ centered message. As you can tell much of this new brand of religious jargon is a nebulous language that seems to purposely avoid – the cross. Let’s look at another question.

The interviewer asks: OK, how would you describe what it is that you believe?

Pastor Bell responds: I embrace the term evangelical, if by that we mean a belief that we together can actually work for change in the world, caring for the environment, extending to the poor generosity and kindness, a hopeful outlook. That's a beautiful sort of thing.

The ACLU believes the exact same thing. A hopeful outlook? The environment? That is what defines the belief system of Pastor Bell? Is Jesus any part of it? There is no mention of the gospel of redemption, and in fact, the environment takes the stage ahead of the souls of men. This is abominable and completely at odds with Biblical Christianity. In fact it is not Christianity at all.

The interviewer asks: Is religion a part of that?

Pastor Bell responds: At the heart of the Christian story is resurrection, the belief that this word is good, and that, as a follower of Jesus, a belief that God hasn’t abandoned the world, but is actively at work in the world. Even in the midst of what can look like despair and destruction there is a new creation present.

Men like Bell use the resurrection as some kind of metaphor for newness and recreating the world by solving its problems. As per his tradition, there is almost never any mention of the cross, much less a lifting up the cross as the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. As you can see Bell’s concept of Jesus is a solver of the world’s problems and not the Redeemer and Savior of men’s souls. I hope you get the picture.

And on and on goes this new emergent Christianity. But at what point do you even question what is being taught? Like a slowly dripping faucet many are allowing this departure since it has come with such clever verbiage and patient unraveling. I implore you to, with humility and with faithfulness, to examine what is being said with neither a charitable nor a judgmental preconception. Examine these teachings with what you know the Scriptures teach with an emphasis on whether Jesus and His cross is being given the prominence it deserves.

A Theory of Everything

The larger parts of the universe are basically understood through Einstein’s theory of relativity. The atomic levels of matter are usually understood through quantum mechanics. But recently scientists, predominantly Stephen Hawkings, have attempted to understand the large and small of the universe through one system that connects both worlds. They call this a quest for a “theory of everything”.

Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End”.

That statement outlines the only “theory” that connects all things created. Being an amateur astronomer myself, I was amazed beyond words when I gazed at the universe and its colossal grandeur. Before I came to Christ it was evident that creation had to have a Creator. But inside I was empty and without any purpose since there seemed to be a fissure in the foundation as it concerned the material universe. And then I noticed that animals did not question their purpose, or investigate the existence of a Divine Being. Only man looked into the heavens and ask “who and why”.

The Scriptures declare Jesus as the Creator. And He is also the Redeemer of men’s souls. When I was born again in 1975 and the Holy Spirit took up residence in my being I not only felt at peace, I realized that Jesus Himself was the theory of everything. It is He alone who brings all things together in understanding and purpose. Regardless of the science or the superior intellect of men anywhere, whether they are aware of it or not, they are searching for Jesus.

We as His followers must give them Jesus. We cannot afford all these new and philosophical constructs that deal thoroughly with almost everything but Jesus. We cannot toss around the name “God” in the abstract and believe we are serving Jesus and His gospel. Many of these new and intellectually sophisticated teachings in the church are nothing more than spiritual discussions that excite the intellect but leave the gospel untouched. But make no mistake, without a Christ centered message we have no message at all.

Please do not be detoured into going after men and their new and increasingly popular teachings that relegate Jesus to an aside. Do not fall prey to others who worship their theology but yet deny the humility and compassion that is Christ. Resist those who teach that sinners without Christ will eventually find grace through some other vehicle. Set your affections on things above, where your life is hidden in Christ with God. There are no other theories, and there is no other way to life but through Jesus. Listen carefully, denying your fleshly interests, and see if you are hearing Jesus lifted up.

And let us all not become satisfied with rejecting the new and emergent teachings, or the limited atonement teachings, or the health and wealth teachings, or all the other teachings that consign men to the adventures and desires of this present world. Let us cultivate aggressively and with humble brokenness our relationship with the Christ. We cannot afford to spend inordinate amounts of time watching and rehearsing the errors of others, we must tend to our own spiritual garden. The Spirit is drawing our hearts to deeper waters, and just being orthodox can be hollow and void.

Jesus the Christ is our everything.

And in the midst of an ever increasing technological world, He remains the answer to life.

We are His children, we are His followers, we are His worshipers, and we are His witnesses.

Amen.

The Feel Good Gospel

in Various Forms

In many circles you will find articles and teachings that confront what is colloquially called the “feel good gospel”. It generally refers to a gospel presentation that is shallow and directed at building one’s self esteem than it is in presenting the Biblical gospel and allowing the Holy Spirit to use that in the hearts of sinners. The general description would apply to many seeker churches that seem to create an artificial ambiance that lends itself to have favorable responses from sinners. That does not apply to all seeker churches, but that description does have some merit with many churches described as seeker. The same might also apply to some “Purpose Driven” church constructs.

However there are a number of other churches that exhibit a “feel good” gospel that fly under the discernment radar. These are the churches that preach the “true and complete” gospel and that dot every orthodox “i” and cross every orthodox “t”. They are very scrupulous in their doctrine, and they are assiduous in their presentation of the gospel. They teach by the expository method, and they have a systematic theology that substantiates everything they believe and dismantles the errors of others. But unwittingly many of these churches preach a “feel good” gospel as well. How is that you ask?

Well, the gospel they preach makes them feel good about themselves and about their orthodoxy, and in so doing, they have undermined the very essence of Christ and the nature of the gospel itself. It is possible to espouse and teach the true and everlasting gospel through the prism of self righteousness. And sometimes these churches form associations, or religious clubs, that are designed to make each other feel good about their brand. And when they hold conferences they are not designed to speak correction or to challenge each other concerning their shortcomings. They are not even meant to present the whited fields before their eyes and elicit compassion and a greater commitment to reach them. Many of their “get togethers” are formatted to preach their own doctrine to themselves and evoke those same good feelings about themselves.

And when most of the conference goers leave the gathering they feel much better about themselves, their doctrine, and their discipleship. And those good feelings are usually accented and enhanced by a number of exposés of the error of others. And so the orthodoxy becomes self righteous expressions of the truth, and God’s power and grace cannot anoint such doctrinal self aggrandizement. But all in all, it makes them feel good.

So the next time you hear someone apply the “feel good” moniker on someone’s gospel, see if that person revels in his own acknowledgement of the truth. Does that person take pleasure in the deception of others? Do they seem upset and concerned about others in error? Are they concerned for the plight of the deceived, or do they display an effervescence in exposing their error?

We did not come to Christ through the prowess of our own spiritual discernment, no, we were drawn and illuminated by God’s Spirit. And any realization of that grace should, no, must manifest a profound humility and a deep concern for those who still stand outside the redemption of Christ. We can joy in Christ and His gospel, but we should never use the errors of others to elevate ourselves to ourselves and make us feel good about ourselves. Let us feel good about Christ and His salvation alone, and ourselves still struggling journeymen of grace.

MESSIAH (χριστος) (משיח)

The Jews had used that word to refer to kings and priests who were anointed in their calling.There had been open pronouncements as well as hidden shadows, all pointing to a future coming of God’s chosen, God’s anointed, and God’s Messiah. Most of the human race felt a deep need to be rescued, and that feeling had produced numerous religions built upon superstition as well as human strength. But unmistakably woven throughout the Old Testament was a vision of a Rescuer, one that would come and deliver His people. The descriptions and metaphors were varied and sometimes confusing.


Some prophecies seemed to describe a powerful ruler, one that would vanquish all His enemies, while others seemed to portray a humble and unlikely servant. But orthodox Jews had always believed that one day a priest and a king would come and deliver Israel from all her enemies. This Anointed One would be after King David and would rule over God’s people from David’s throne. Their vision, although glorious in their sight, was a constricted view that confined the Messiah to Israel and the land that she was given. But that description would prove to be shortsighted and vastly insufficient.


This Messiah would not come to judge Israel’s enemies; this Messiah would come to judge the sins of each and every Jew who called themselves Israelites. No longer would God deal with Israel as a nation, He would now deal with every person individually. This Anointed One would come in disguise. His disguise would not be as a foreigner from another land, no, His disguise would be far more astounding that that, for He would come as one of them. And instead of the loins of Levi, He would come as a son of Judah.


While the Jews would look for Him in a palace nursery, He would arrive in a lowly stable. While they expected royal parents, He came to peasants. While their eyes were on Jerusalem, He graced Bethlehem. As they listened for the hoof beats of His great steed, He arrived through a virgin’s womb. And as they looked for His great throne, He rested in straw. Instead of a robe, he wore strips of common cloth. So came this Messiah.


The Jews assumed this Messiah would come as a Jew and for the Jews, yet the prophet would reveal Him as a “light to lighten the Gentiles”. His ministry would not be restricted to a tabernacle made with hands, and His priestly mission was to all men and women equally. He was sent to the entire earth. So many had predicted He would come with great power, and so He did.



But it was not the kind of power they had assumed, and His mighty power would be wielded through weakness and sacrifice. This king and priest would not be anointed with oil, but with the waters of John’s baptism and the blood of His own veins. His outward appearance would conceal the enormity of His mission and the unassailable dominance He would have over all His enemies.


This Messiah came and fulfilled His ministry and calling. And when He conquered death and the grave, He offered redemption to all sinners everywhere. We were all called to become members of another kingdom, a kingdom of light and not darkness. This Messiah opened a way for all who would to follow, and in His wake came a Spirit, a Spirit that would continue and finish the mission of redemption provided by the Messiah. This Spirit was one with the Messiah, and He would come and speak of the Messiah and provide power for others to speak of Him as well.


This Messiah, the one and only Messiah, still speaks in 2009. His voice is not stopped and His arm is not shortened. He speaks in the mountains of Pakistan and the deserts of the Sudan. He moves among the homes in China and on the Indian reservations of America. He is witnessed openly in Canada and secretly in Iran. He is lifted up high in the great rallies in Brazil and in the hush of prison cells in the United States. He speaks in the marriage ceremonies between two believers and in the memorial ceremonies of saints that have passed. He is testified before congregations by parents of an infant, and He is glorified as a once follower of Charles Manson goes home to His dwelling place.


As the world scurries to figure out how the schemes of men can save the world, this Messiah remains the one and only hope for all mankind. And the leaders of countries who profess to be believing followers of Christ seem to compartmentalize him as religious window dressing. But one day this Messiah will return to be acknowledged of all men. His power and countenance will shame the world and all will bow to His glory. The offer of this Messiah’s redemption remains “now”, but one day the door to His ark will be shut forever. What a thought – fearful and unsettling.


Men continue to play at their games and at their religion, but the Messiah’s return looms ever larger. It would do well for the church of the Messiah to lift Him up higher to a world in desperate need of salvation. While men exert such energy to find national peace and safety, we cannot affort to be distracted from our calling. We must not get entangled with the moral and cultural battles armed with the carnal weapons of political leverage. We are a peculiar people, a holy nation, a people that have been called out of that darkness and into His marvelous light.


We must be armed with the weapons of prayer, God’s Word, and lives that speak of Christ’s redemption. We must sound the clarion call to sinners everywhere – “Believe the gospel and be saved!!”. Spread the salt – uncover the light – build His city on the hilltop - and preach both the words of redemption and the living expressions of God’s grace! The Messiah has come, and He calls men everywhere to believe His gospel and prepare ye the way of the Lord. The time of His coming is nigh, and His glory shall be seen by all people everywhere.

A Sister goes Home

Susan Atkins of the Manson family infamy, became a born again believer in the early 70s. She went home to be with Christ this week. Her life is an amazing pictorial of God’s eternal grace.

This Day

There have been many miraculous and glorious events throughout creation’s history. The day God created all the universe; the day when the Creator reached down and made Adam after His own likeness; the day when God made Eve from Adam; the day when their first child was born; the day of the flood and the day when eight souls stepped out from the ark; the day the earth stood still; the day God called Abram from Ur; the day God’s people crossed the Red Sea; the day Moses received the law; the day God filled Solomon’s Tabernacle; the day Jesus was born; the day Jesus was baptized; the day Jesus was transfigured; the day Jesus was scourged; the day Jesus was crucified; the day Jesus resurrected; the day Jesus ascended; and the day of Pentecost.

But there is no day, in fact not even the sum of all glorious days, that can provide the smallest competition for one coming day. For that day will encompass and swallow up every day before or after it. This day will rise like rushing smoke, holy and powerful, and burn every fiber of everyone who will witness this day. This day will consume the attention of the universe, and this day will stop the hearts and mouths of all who are granted its witness. Endless throngs will fall on this day as if dead, only to rise in the power of the Spirit to offer up the most sacred and resplendent worship on this day.

This day will shake the foundations of heaven and will reverberate throughout the corridors of eternity. This day will unveil grandeur beyond the imagination of any created being, and this day will step aside to uncover unspeakable majesty. No one will consider themselves worthy to exist on this day, and even the meaning of grace will blush in seeming inadequacy. This day has been predestined for the predestined, and this day will be a holy gift from the Father to His Son’s bride. All of history, like billions of rivers, will flow into one colossal ocean in this day. All the many and varied spiritual journies of all the sinners made righteous will on this day find complete unity. This day will usher the redeemed into a prepared eternity that has been heretofore unexpected, unthinkable, undeserved, and completely unimaginable.

What is this day?

Let us remove our shoes and speak with a holy whisper.

For ...

This is the day that the Risen Christ is Revealed in All His Glory.

Your Life is Hid

The unbeliever lives “in the moment” and “in himself” while the believer lives “in forever” and “in Christ”.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Who Do You Seek?

Jn.18:4 – Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon Him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

Jn.18:7 – Then asked He them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.

Jn.20:15 – Jesus saith unto her, Woman why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?

That question is one of greatest importance in the life of a believer. Who do you seek, if you seek anyone at all? What is our passion and how much does it take to distract us from Him? Well, how can we know if we are seeking Him? How can we be sure we are seeking Jesus and not the desires of our own lives? And how can we be sure we are not just seeking doctrine and theology, but that those things are vehicles through which we are seeking and finding His presence?

Can we experience the presence of God today? And if we can, how can we? I do not speak of emotionalism that relies on a manipulated atmosphere, but I do suggest that even though God’s presence is assuredly with us at all times, there are times where God’s presence is manifested in unusual ways. If we desire to know the presence of God and the power of His resurrection, as well as the fellowship of his sufferings, we must seek to draw close to Him. It will require more than daytimer prayer; it will mean fervent and laborious prayer with tears, an open Bible, and a brokenness that crushes and circumcises our very hearts. In short, as we seek Him we must begin the process of death.

I have watched a documentary called “Grizzly Man” which is the controversial account of a man named Timothy Tidwell. He was consumed with Grizzly bears in Alaska, and he spent thirteen seasons watching and filming their activities. He was roundly criticized for being too close to those huge grizzly bears, but he so desired to know them that he was willing to endure the danger. One day the thing that many had feared became a reality, and one of the bears that so consumed Tidwell, consumed him.

We can only pray that we will get so close to Christ that we will be consumed as well.

A Tree Twice Planted

Somewhere

in Palestine,

several millennia

ago, a tree dropped

a seed to the ground,

and that seed became

lodged in the soil and

began to grow. It was planted by God and became a tree. One day

that tree was cut down and hewn into planks. Those planks were

nailed together and men planted that tree, now reshaped, once

more on a small hill

outside Jerusalem.

This time that tree

was planted by men,

and the God who had

planted it first, now

claimed it bodily. Now

this tree was planted

the second time to kill

God, but without realizing

it, men had planted

their own redemption.
The tree had been planted twice so mankind could live once. The

seeds from that twice planted tree continue to fall in good soil and produce

L

I

F

E

Modern Day Parables

There seems to be a resurgence in parables today, not the ones in the Bible, but new and modern ones. Many of these parables are philisophical constructs that are meant to be thought provoking rather than truth communicating. A man named Peter Rollins seems to be one of the leading story tellers, and his parables are cloaked in paradox and with a certain attempt to dismantle common Biblical thought. Many of his parables place a priority on human works and are almost void of Christ's redemption and His gospel.

Of course the western mindset is always excited to feast on mystery and cerebral challenges, but that same mindset now seems unattracted to and bored with Christ and His cross and resurrection. "We've heard that story, let's move on," seems to be the unspoken attitude. Well I have been led to from time to time present some parables of my own. Here is the first, which is generally in response to this one from Rollins.

****************************************************

The Deception of Good

In a land called Darkness, and at the entrance to a certain bridge called Redemption, there were five people who were suffering from AIDs, and adding to their discomfort they had not eaten in a week. But like an angel from heaven, one man decided to help these five poor people. He brought them nourishing food, he helped them bathe, and he brought them medicine to ease their pain.

Now as this man helped these five people, buses loaded with people kept passing by and crossing the bridge to a land called Eternal Life. Many buses stopped and asked the man if he desired those five people to get on the bus and cross the bridge. They told him that many people like the ones he was caring for were being cared for on the other side of the bridge. They warned him that it was widely believed that the bridge would soon be taken down, and that anyone left on this side would die, which would seem to ultimately countermand all his valiant efforts to help these people.

The man refused and said he wanted to continue to help these five people, after all they were very grateful for his help. Bus load after bus load passed them by and crossed the bridge. Finally God sent an angel to this man to show him where God had already asked everyone to cross the bridge. After listening to this angel read several parts of God’s Word that made it clear that God wanted everyone to cross the bridge that led to safety, the angel asked him one last time:

“Will you and the five others now leave Darkness, cross on Redemption, and go to Eternal Life? You can bring all your food and medicine with you.”

The man, still feeding those five people, answered,

“You do not understand, go back and tell God we are building our own bridge, and in fact, we already live in the land called Eternal Life.”

The angel shook his head in disbelief, astounded at such deception. The angel returned to God. God informed the angel that he had seen and heard all that this man had said and done. God looked at the angel and said sadly,

"Who would have thought that good has become a great deception?"

Whatever is not of Grace

is not of God

Acts 15:11 – But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Acts 15:28 – For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

The apostles gather in Jerusalem to discuss some extraordinary events that were taking place on the mission field. Rumors were surfacing that suggested Peter and Paul believed that Gentiles could believe on Jesus and be saved in the same way as Jews. This issue had to be discussed, and if it was indeed so, what commandments were these new Gentile believers supposed to obey? Were they supposed to obey the Jewish law? Remember this was during the embryonic days of the church and everyone was still learning and the Holy Spirit was still guiding the church into truths that would astound the early believers.

With James as the presiding pastor of the church at Jerusalem, the meeting takes place. Some of the issues were concerning baptism and circumcision, and just what outward commandments must be followed in order to be saved. The Spirit still had some work to do to completely extricate the early Jewish believers from any semblance of the Old Testament law, and James would prove to be still in that process.

So it was in this atmosphere that first Peter and then Paul gave witness to the salvation of Gentiles without the works of the law. And their testimonies were so convincing that James believed that Gentiles could indeed be saved and without the law. In verse 11 I have noted above that Peter himself strongly testifies of the gospel of grace without any preconditions of the law and without any commandments of the law after sinners are converted. Even the Jews, Peter says, are saved wholly by grace through faith.

This grace issue was a difficult concept to grasp back then, just as it remains difficult today. There is nothing attached to grace, either before salvation or after one is regenerated. Simply by faith in Jesus can a sinner be saved, forgiven, and the recipient of eternal life. Any hint of human works detracts, and possibly voids, the finished work of Jesus Christ when He died for the sins of the world. His sacrifice was offered freely to every sinner with the plea, “only believe”.

This gospel, this good news, is built upon grace alone and still men have tried their best to abrogate the very nature of grace by laying out a set of rules that must be obeyed before men can be saved. While it may be true that a sinner who is born again should exhibit some evidence of that spiritual reality, it has nothing to do with grace. It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to regenerate a sinner, as well as it is to know who is and who is not an authentic believer in Jesus Christ. It is possible to identify when a person is trusting in a wrong theology concerning salvation, but it is impossible to declare with certainty a person’s eternal standing before God.

And so continues the church’s vacillating handling of grace, sometimes embracing grace fully and other times revealing a disturbing infidelity to its very essence. We attempt to monitor and even control God’s grace through various systems of self righteousness that are designed to constrict its scope by identifying behavior that might be inconsistent with Biblical exhortations. However it is those very inconsistencies that provide a spiritual purpose for grace. Is it possible, even probable, that many professing believers will be exposed as not genuine? Of course, but God reserves the right for that final analysis.

As recipients of God’s grace we should strive to fellowship in His presence, absorb His Word, spend quality time with Him in prayer, and allow God’s Spirit to mold us into His image. But just like a family that has a child who seems unwilling to conform to his family’s wishes and rules, that child is still part of that family regardless of his rebellion. We need not give false assurance to openly disobedient sinners who profess Christ, but we also cannot discount them wholesale simply based upon their unwillingness to meet our standards.

This gospel will always be one of grace, and we as believers must embrace that grace even when we are tempted to apply our personal template to those who are struggling. Grace should never be an excuse for sin, but neither should self righteousness be an excuse to ignore grace. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God. Whatever is not of grace is not of God.

Whatever is not of grace is not of God.

Abject Arrogance

It is no secret that I reject Calvinism as a Biblical misrepresentation, and even heresy as it concerns limited atonement. However I have close friends who love Jesus and are Calvinists, and many of them are humble believers who do not make Calvinism a constant thorn to everyone they meet. I thank God for them, and I envy how some of them reflect the Lord Jesus in their lives.

However these friends readily admit that there are some Calvinist brethren who project something far different than humility and graciousness. They are quick to argue, quick to judge, and quick to recite the Calvinist party line. Read their blogs and some will rehearse how they were speaking to their pastor just this last Sunday about these groups or those groups and how they are distorting the Scriptures. The error of others seems to fuel their own zest for spiritual life, and the overt implication is that each little local reformed center is an outpost of heaven planted to defend the truth.

But I came across this post written by a man who is an unashamed Calvinist, which is not a point of contention. But I want to first address the quantity of his post which supposedly deals with the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will notice that there are many references to the Koine Greek in his post, and he has said he is now studying that language. That may be helpful in some ways, but there are mountains of research materials that have already translated the New Testament a thousand times over. Many times a person’s knowledge of the Greek gives him an air of superior interpretation, which is not only self righteousness, it is belied by the disagreement among Greek scholars concerning some passages. And if you do not know the Greek, you have to take his word for all his interpretations and verb tenses etc., etc..

Now if you can wade through the Greek, you will see the infinitesimal degree in which he dissects the meaning of the gospel. And he sets strict standards and parameters that God must meet in using any flawed form of a gospel presentation lest God dishonor His own gospel. And yet there are legions of Calvinists who were saved under an Arminian message, and some even under a profoundly flawed presentation. One of my best friends, a staunch Calvinist, was saved in a meeting conducted by a world renowned health and wealth preacher. But the author says this:

“The Gospel is defined very well for us in God’s Word. It is the one and only way God has set up to save His people. If it is messed with or edited in any way then it is no longer the Gospel.”

I readily admit that some like Peter Rollins teaches a social gospel, and I have never heard him present the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. However I have heard some emergents, some health and wealthers, and many others who I would not endorse, present the gospel. And all of us – ALL OF US – have in some ways “messed with” the gospel. Is the author suggesting that his elongated definition must be presented in order for it to the gospel? And if not, let him provide a Miranda-like form from which we can recite the pristine gospel lest we remove its power.

But most disheartening of all, and yet most revealing of all, are these statements:

“The person attempted to derail the content or focus of that article by implying that God could save people any way He wanted so why should we be so narrow and judgmental. The one complaining insisted that he knew of many people that were “emergent,” but who loved the Lord and were excited about serving him, et cetera. However, they would not fit the mold of what I would define as Christian.”

How is suggesting that God can save anyone He chooses, which is the cornerstone of Calvinistic theology, “derailing” that post? It just illuminates the complex and paradoxical nature of Calvinism. On one hand you fervently teach that God will save only who He chooses, and on the other hand you can rebuke certain people for actually believing that they are saved. On one hand you can rest that God is orchestrating everything, while on the other hand you can itemize all the things that are out of control. On one hand you can suggest God will only use your version of the gospel, while on the other hand you are not upset that your version isn’t being spread more pervasively. It is “cake and eat it too” theology on display.

But when the author said these words:

“The one complaining insisted that he knew of many people that were “emergent,” but who loved the Lord and were excited about serving him, et cetera. However, they would not fit the mold of what I would define as Christian.”
(Don’t you love his caricature of someone’s views as “complaining”)

Try and digest this statement that openly suggests that a person who “loves the Lord and is excited about serving Him” does not – get ready – "FIT THE MOLD OF WHAT I WOULD DEFINE AS CHRISTIAN”. Could there possibly be a statement and attitude that was more self righteous and that contained more doctrinal hubris than that one? That is cultish as well, since most cults have their mold which cannot be altered or left to God. There are so many tare harvesters in today’s evangelical world that are in direct violation of Christ’s own admonition.

Judging a person’s salvation is serious business and must be done with humility and love. But when you suggest that loving the Lord and desiring to serve Him is incongruent to your personal mold of what is a Christian, well, that approaches the zenith of arrogance. These types of repulsive expressions, usually driven by a culture of self righteous hatred, are not confined to Calvinists. Sadly, you can find them in almost every segment of evangelical practice.

The challenge to anyone who confronts error is to remain humble, do not question anyone's salvation, and to thoroughly and passionately project the absolute truth that we are shamefully far from being mirrors of Christ ourselves.

As like Dickens once wrote, unless this is clearly understood nothing good can come from what we do.

Exalting Jesus Through His Church

There is much discussion about the doctrine of Jesus. There are descriptions that identify a church by certain distinctives. Baptisms, communion beliefs, theology, and other things define churches. Cities and towns are in the name of many churches. Some churches bear an apostle’s name. Many have Christian, Christ, Savior, and other monikers in their church name. There are few churches that use the name “Jesus” in their name. Most believers use denominational titles to describe their genre of Christian.

But without attempting to be technical, are we not supposed to be believers, imitators, and followers of Jesus the Christ? Why then has He, His incarnate person and model, taken such a back seat in our theology and most assuredly in our practice? In fact, most of evangelicalism is very conflicted concerning how Jesus would behave and act in our modern day society. So in essence we do not even have an accurate Jesus-template against which to measure ourselves. What kind of religion wanders about without an accurate archetypal of their God to which they strive to emulate and obey?

And stuck with such a pitiful and dysfunctional vision of our Master we resort to all sorts of makeshift substitutes designed to fill in the spiritual void that should contain a distinct and unambiguous directive, simply by applying the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so many times the church has been satisfied with being one, nondescript gospel tract that is handed out from afar without the inconvenience of relationships, humanitarian efforts, or tangible expenditures of grace, compassion, and love.

But if we are to evaluate the church in light of the New Testament revelation of the life of Jesus Christ, what conclusions should we reach? Shouldn’t the church be a collective display of ministry that is known for its many and varied manifestations of love? Shouldn’t we be a worldwide continuum that flourishes in the spirit and activities associated with Jesus? If our message is to be taken seriously, shouldn’t our living expressions be at least supportive of our creeds if not in fact visual articulations of the same? The entire Christian narrative of redemption cries out to be released through graphic displays of loving comportments showered upon human kind through the people known as followers of Jesus.

So often we have assigned total power to the written Word without acknowledging the facilitating power of unmistakable and vivid lives that are noticed wholly based upon their selfless missions to minister to whosoever is in need of anything. And if we are restrained in our acts of benevolence through fear of presenting a social message then we have been deceived greatly. The social aspect of the church must be a natural blossom through which the very redemptive fragrance of Jesus draws sinners to the good news of forgiveness and rebirth. Like a relentless suitor the church must be unrestrained in her efforts to lavish the spiritual and material gifts of Jesus upon the loving objects of His cross. We as modern day Eleazars must seek out Rebekkah with the message of Isaac along with the temporal gifts that reflect the nature of her husband to be.

The command to “take up our cross” has been defined with such spiritual narcissism. The message of cross bearing has been preached and defined as either bearing one’s burdens or being separate from this world, and yet the fullness of that message is infinitely greater in scope and even in purpose. What was the purpose of the cross of Jesus, and who were the benefactors of that amazing act? Was Jesus bearing His own burdens on that cross or were His sufferings endured for others? Wasn’t the graphic pictorial we call “Golgotha” meant to be our model as well as our salvation? And if we are to emulate the spirit of Golgotha, then how selfless are we to be? What should be held back and kept for ourselves? And when we practice an antiseptic gospel that just verbalizes the cross of Christ without the living dramatizations of that crucified love, then are we not being unfaithful to the very cross we say we preach?

The church must be the very body of Jesus Christ, living, breathing, and ministering light in the midst of profound need and darkness. What has passed for representing the Savior has sometimes been an act of convenient cowardice. Preaching against sinners has replaced eating with sinners; judgment has replaced redemption; and law has replaced grace. His cleansing of the Temple has been magnified and misinterpreted, while His silently receiving the spittle of sinners has been ignored. Jesus allowed a promiscuous woman to worship Him while we construct our gatherings to insure certain sinners feel most uncomfortable.

The church has cultivated a club mentality and is now identified most prominently by its building and gathering location instead of its remarkable expressions of redemption that permeate the community. The average American church spends most of God’s money on building debt and staff salaries and whatever may be left over may be used as a conscience soothing food pantry. They usually pay no attention to widows, especially if those widows are not believers. Which church school offers free tuition to under privileged children in their community? Which church day care opens its doors to single mothers who cannot afford such “luxuries”?

Shouldn’t the weekends be littered with followers of Jesus who offer free rides to drinking sinners, or sandwiches to hungry drifters, or counsel to those in need? Which church searches out the names of teenagers in jail and reaches out to their families, making any and all of their services available, and assuring them that their loved one is being lifted up in prayer? And where is the weekly prayer meeting where all the needs of people, specific and general, are prayed for and where intercession is a passion? Do churches provide rides for people who have loved ones in the hospital and have no transportation? Will we watch children when a parent has an illness or been in an accident and one parent must do the work of two?

The point is have we as the church sought out modern day expressions of Jesus that stray far from the convenience of the couple of weekly gatherings at the local ecclesiastical edifice? Have we become satisfied with preaching and believing the truth but have painfully and shamefully diminished the fervent efforts to show our love for our neighbors? Have we redefined Christianity itself by confining it to a set of doctrines but have viewed the acts of love as electives?

Have you ever read a church brochure or church sign that claims to “exalt Jesus” at that church? Usually what they mean is that they believe and preach the true gospel and the true Jesus and that may be very true. But I submit that exalting Jesus is much more demonstrative than just what is preached in a church auditorium. Exalting Jesus must be much more public and much more unsterilized than a gathering of unified believers. Exalting Jesus to the darkened world will be filled with compromise and contamination; exalting Jesus outside the church building will require the spiritual soiling of our ecclesiastical reputations; exalting Jesus in the midst of lost sinners will be an inconvenient journey of much more giving than receiving; and frankly, if we are to exalt Jesus through the church, we will have to change everything.

Yes, everything…

The Exclusive Kingdom

II Cor.6: 14-18 - Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Much of modern Christianity has interpreted those verses to mean that we should avoid marrying an unbeliever, or going into business with an unbeliever, or joining in an endeavor with an unbeliever that would compromise your Christian testimony. All of those things are good warnings to us as followers of Jesus, but the admonitions of these verses are more comprehensive than just those things.

Paul refers to us all as “workers together with Him” at the beginning of the chapter, and his exhortation is for us to be without offense in all things so that the ministry is not blamed. That is the thrust of chapter six – that we are blameless in all things so we do not bring reproach and misrepresentation to the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in verses 14 through 18 Paul gets more specific about the Spirit’s reasons for our separate status. Of course Paul has made it clear that we are to have contact with sinners for the express purpose of sharing Christ and His gospel, but these verses warn against being tethered to unbelievers in any form of agreement or covenant that would dilute our Christian witness. This is not some healthy suggestion, this is a spiritual mandate that has seen and unseen ramifications.

When we are unscripturally connected with unbelievers we sacrifice the Spirit’s blessing and power needed to reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God desires to empower vessels that are set apart for His exclusive use. When we are yoked with unbelievers, especially in endeavors of moral reformation, we relinquish the power of the Spirit that is exclusively for the gospel ministry and witness. (Acts 1:8)

When we are unscripturally connected with unbelievers we are susceptible to temporal distractions.

Many moral and political movements bring our focus onto earthly issues and not issues of the kingdom of God. The salvation of souls is our desire and the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to see that come to pass.

When we are unscripturally connected with unbelievers we may be influenced by their fallen attitudes.

Politics and certain moral issues can and do influence believers to hate people whose views are different than those expressed in God’s Word. Mockery, self righteousness, demeaning satire, and a general atmosphere of disrespect and hatred are easily seen in the political arena. This is at odds with everything we know about our Master Jesus Christ.

When we are unscripturally connected with unbelievers we can allow ourselves to use their carnal weapons.

It cannot be denied that one way to leverage political advantage is to attack and demean your supposed opponent. Instead of showing love and grace many believers have adopted the ways of the heathen, even applauding them as “conservative” voices of morality. God’s kingdom uses prayer and His Word as His only weapons, and humility, grace, mercy, and love as the wielding of His weapons.

When we are unscripturally connected with unbelievers we may become blind to the reality of their spiritual standing.

Regardless of how a lost person espouses any moral issue, whether it be abortion or the sanctity of marriage, he is still eternally lost without Christ, and though he may have the most impeccable moral views he remains a rebel to the gospel and Jesus Christ. If we lose sight of that by joining with him we may well add to his blindness and ours.

When we are unscripturally connected to unbelievers we are attempting to bring two opposing kingdoms together.

Light and darkness cannot mix, and in fact, light always triumphs over darkness. When we join with the kingdom of darkness over anything we allow the darkness to have credibility. Those unscriptural associations place a bushel over the light of the gospel, and when the darkness agrees to a union with believers is exposes the weakness of the gospel light.

When we are unscripturally connected with unbelievers the gospel of Jesus Christ has been compromised and we have accommodated the lost world.

Why would we leave our resting place of divine life and redemption? Why would we succumb to the sirens that call us to Martha’s kitchen and leave the feet of the gospel’s Author? It seems so insidious, but it is in fact a dynamic that changes the entire landscape and infuses the followers of Jesus into the crowd of other causes and ultimately presents us as one of them, only with a little different take on religion.

It is time for a sweeping revival that awakens the church to the exclusiveness of God’s gospel kingdom. The early church did not set up lobbyists in Rome; the early church did not petition Caesar to pass laws beneficial to their cause; the early church did not spread the message of moral values; the early church preached and died for the message of the everlasting gospel and in so doing they shook the civilized world. It is this foundation from which we have strayed. The church now believes that politics and voting blocks can press forward God’s eternal kingdom when in fact it countermands the very message of redemption itself. People and nations do not need to come into compliance with God's moral dictates, and in a real sense they cannot do so. They need the redemption that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Many parts of the visible church in the west regularly attack past and present presidents concerning money, morals, foreign affairs, and a host of other earthly matters. And many display an attitude and rhetoric in direct violation to the mandates of the New Testament and the life of Christ. This just adds to the confusion about the gospel since on one hand the church teaches that men without Christ are dead in their sins yet they consistently admonish them for those sins and seemingly attempt to get them to stop by a variety of vicious slurs and creative vitriol. The gospel, therefore, is by default only a caveat and not the unrivaled and exclusive message that it should be.

And in the midst of all this political verbiage and conservative vs. liberal altercations, the gospel has not only been misrepresented, the Christlike pattern of life is abrogated in favor of hostility toward “political enemies” in general and many unscriptural alliances. The sum total is a powerless gospel that reduces redemption to moral and political legalism and is a de facto rejection of Jesus Christ and His gospel. It has pervaded the church and made us spiritually impotent and prisoners of the very culture we say we reject.

The Spirit has opened new caverns of disobedience in my own life and just avoiding political involvement and moral crusades will not be enough for me or any believer. We must seek a new and vast frontier in Christ that allows us to be clothed in humility, walking in the reality of His presence, and seeking the power of His Spirit through broken obedience, prayer, and the two greatest tenants of love. Please do not use me as an example or template, for I am just a pilgrim who continues to fall and learn, which brings me to realize more profoundly each day my utter dependence of God’s amazing grace. There is no other way than grace – there is no other way than grace.

There is no other way than grace. Selah…

Moral Movements

Moral movements, however noble and righteous may be the issue, are anti-gospel. Most of these movements misrepresent God’s will as being a moral crusade rather than a “seek and save that which was lost” commission.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

The Original Languages

I believe there is an overemphasis and even a self righteousness concerning the original langauges. There are many satisfactory translations which have done all the necessary linguistic homework for all of us. A pure and passionate pursuit of following Christ does not hinge on any knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Let us openly admit that we fall embarrassingly short of just obeying the English.

The Doctrines of Grace

It is one thing to believe a theology when you print it upon a clean piece of paper, it is quite another to believe it enough to imprint upon a dirty sinner.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

The Disciple's Light

What is our hope? I do not mean what is our ultimate hope, while we treat other things as temporary hopes with some power to save, deliver, and sustain life. The time has come, and indeed is long overdue, that the believing followers of Jesus Christ walk away from everything that keeps us from experiencing and modeling an outright fanatical, desperate, and peace filled confidence in Jesus Christ, our only Hope. How is it that our lives are so conveniently hidden within a world of darkness? Where is our light? And why don’t sinners ask us about our hope?

We have dispensed out our lives in so many different directions and with so many attachments that it has become impossible for others to see any remarkable difference in us. Our worries, our cares, our finances, our minds, our emotions, our time, and most of our energies are allocated to endeavors of this world. And even when we gather together for the expressed purpose of worshiping the Risen Christ we come without prepared hearts and are consumed with the event rather than the Christ. And five minutes after we leave the building we are well on our way to the same innocuous and insipid life we lived the previous week. In short, we have become locked into a changeless and indistinct existence that reflects so little light that Christ is obscure and anonymous in the very life from which He should radiate.

It is not wrong to be faithful to the mundane concerns of this world, but it a grievous wrong when those things are the center of our lives, and in some cases, the exclusive core of our entire lifestyle. To profess that the Creator of the Universe actually lives within us, and then to exhibit such little residual evidence of that truth is to live the most profound lie of all. What we say we believe is staggering, and if true, its impact should and must be extraordinary in the assembly line world of human ants struggling to achieve some level of significance and purpose. The life of a believing follower of Jesus Christ should be a beacon of love, grace, redemption, and one that is marked by prayer and commitment that would be unexplainable under any normal circumstances. But, sadly, our churches have so lowered the bar of Biblical discipleship that many millions can be faithful to the weekly gatherings without the slightest evidence of a Christ filled life and still feel the satisfaction of meeting their religious obligations.

As the culture has compromised and even swallowed up our Christian witness, the church has diluted its message and the depth of its challenge to accommodate, and in some cases integrate, the cultural effects. What then remains is a well managed and well rounded western lifestyle that acknowledges all the correct moral views and the gospel tenants, but is so homogeneous to its surroundings that is must be considered fully clandestine and completely inconspicuous. Again we are left with a lifestyle that is alien to the Book of Acts and inconsistent to many examples of church history that, instead of receiving the imprint of their culture, have left His mark upon their human environment.

So what does it mean to be a faithful, and even a passionate follower of Jesus Christ? What spiritual accoutrements that are reflections of the Incarnate life have we compromised and even discarded? And what cultural parasites have we allowed to contaminate and misrepresent what it means to be a follower of Christ, and in fact misrepresent Christ Himself? And the overriding question will be the motivating factor as to how far and how deep we reexamine our personal commitment to the Lord Jesus.

The question is this:

Is Jesus worth more, much more, than we now give and surrender to Him?

Think on that question which should be rhetorical as well as a convicting indictment. I will in the future address certain spiritual and Biblical truths juxtaposed against what should be our practical manifestations of those truths.

Seeing Politics

If at this point you still cannot see the utter carnality and spiritual hindrance of American politics, then it is just possible you never will.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Measuring Grace by Law

It is the highest convolution to measure God’s grace through the prism of law.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

The Eternal Paradox

Redemption's Grace

Redemption is delicately durable – ruggedly frail – and imperishably brittle. It can withstand the most monstrous sins and yet collapse at the first sign of good works.

The eternal paradox God calls grace.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

When His Blood Runs Cold

Any gospel projection of self righteousness, or moral elitism, or judgmentalism, makes His blood run cold. Literally.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Which Master Will You Serve?

Read this article.

This is part of the deep delusion that has followers in Jesus confused and deceived. One of the greatest deceptions is to work in and through those who claim to be uncovering and exposing deception. It is a profound paradox in which the Evil One operates and delights. There is little doubt that men like Peter Rollins are reducing Christianity to humanitarian acts and social justice, and those deceptions are insidious and deadly to be sure.

But some of the greatest distractions, and deceptions, are the political battles in which followers of Jesus become embroiled. Did not our Master weep over the city that would soon take His life? And where did our Lord divide sinners into political categories? But in the article referenced in my link you will find visceral hatred for a lost person named Obama, an unbiblical love for a country, and in a stunning display of hypocrisy a long quote from one who despised Christ. This is from blogger who frequently criticizes other believers who quote heretics and liberal theologians. The gander must be different than the goose.

But read this statement from the Declaration of Independence:

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security…”

I now present a challenge to all who read this post. Show me in the New Testament where Christ gives us license to take up arms against an unjust government, regardless if it is over taxes or laws against free worship. And the other challenge is for others to provide New Testament verses that present the followers of Jesus with a different course that endures hardships and persecution with joy and humility.

Are we not supposed to suffer for His sake?

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Are we not commanded to return good for evil?

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Did not our Lord command us to pray for those who despitefully use us?
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So which Christ should we follow – the one who as Jehovah Jireh provides us with bombs and guns with which to kill any government we feel is despotic – or the one who lays down His life for His enemies?

In Search of Jesus

Once upon a time, in a land and time far away, a human Seed was murdered. And as this Seed died and was buried He seemed to be gone forever. But after three long and dark days, the morning of the third day arrived. And on this morning this Man got up from death and left His tomb in a resurrected mystery. And the Seed that died alone, arose with a harvest of other coming seeds.

Now the path of redemption was now complete and wide open for all who would believe in this Man, Jesus. The message of the cross and resurrection was to be preached throughout the entire world, and the offer of redemption was to be to all men. And the call, for all who by faith would become born again followers of this Risen Jesus, would be a call to humility, love, and power.

These followers of Jesus would be peacemakers and gentle, seeking the good of everyone else above their own. They would be known for their love, and although they would not compromise the gospel message, they would present it in humble boldness and bathed in fervent prayer.

These citizens of a new kingdom would eschew all earthly endeavors meant to bring about change without Jesus. They would humbly be separate and different than others yet completely engaged in other ways meant to showcase the redemption of Jesus. They were free slaves of the Most High and were busy spreading the knowledge of their Savior and Lord. Their eyes were set on eternity and their sojourning here was meant to point to the eternal. And among a world of hatred and selfishness, their lives would be remarkably different and conduits for people to see the Creator and His offer of eternal redemption.

Their lives would substantiate the gospel message. That plan, that commission, has been abandoned in favor of earthly endeavors, political infighting, words of hatred, judgment toward sinners, and using Jesus as a doctrinal tug-of-war. The life of humble sacrifice is considered too timid. Expressions of divine love for lost rebels is considered compromise. Receiving attacks without responding is considered surrender. Showing grace is considered condoning sin. And if you line up 100 different evangelical groups, from the most staunch Calvinist to the most liberal emergent, you will not see a smidgen of difference in their living expressions of Jesus Christ. The only distinct difference will be battles of ink and paper.

So if a lost sinner would ask, “Where can I go to find Jesus on this earth?”what would we tell that person? Would we have to recite the gospel plan without being able to point to any dramatic lifestyles that could be used as evidence? And when that sinner says, “You mean to tell me that you actually believe you have eternal life with Jesus, and that all who do not believe in Jesus will live eternally in a very bad place, and yet your life doesn’t seem much different than mine?” how do we respond?. And then that perceptive sinner asks these questions:

“Why are you in debt if you are just passing through this life?”
“Why do some Christians speak so harshly of lost people if they need Jesus?”
“If there are so many lost people heading for eternal death, why do you never weep?”
“If you are content in Jesus, why do care what America does?”
“If everything you have belongs to Jesus, why do you fight so much to keep it?”
“Would you give your life for me?”

Are we witnessing the death of New Testament Jesus following?

The Gospel for the Immoral

The gospel is good news for the immoral, of which are we all.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

People of Peace

The only killing in which people of peace rejoice is the slaughter that took place just outside Jerusalem a few thousand years ago.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Politics

The church must never become embroiled with politics, and we must understand that the Revolutionary War was unchristian at its core.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Doctrinal Disputes

Doctrinal disputes are never over how we should love, or how grace is displayed, and most especially they are never over expanding the parameters of humility.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Calvinism

Calvinism is nothing but divine lottery winners being stingy with God’s redemption.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

A Mystery

It will remain the mystery of all mysteries why God’s love motivated Him to die for us and also prepared a place for us to live with Him…forever.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Sinners

There only two kinds of sinners: Those who struggle with sin, and those who struggle with sin and judge others who struggle with sin.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

The Love of Christ

If the love of Christ does not overshadow and even eclipse all other expressions of our religion, then our religion is a set of lifeless doctrines wielded as weapons of death rather than wellsprings of redemptive truth poured out to give life.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

This Life

Why would a man who has a full course steak dinner waiting for him eat from a dumpster; and why would a man who has eternal life waiting for him love this life?

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Foolish Truth

Suggesting that the blood of a dead Jew can afford people eternal life is the most absurd, unsophisticated, and foolish concept ever proposed, but its effects provide confirmation that the foolishness of that suggestion is in fact the truth upon which all truths must find their veracity.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Moral Causes

Moral causes can, and often do, overshadow, obscure, and misrepresent the gospel.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Judgmentalism

Judgmentalism is a spiritual parasite that consumes its host.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Compromisers

If we as believers ever even approached exhibiting the love of Christ, we would be considered the greatest compromisers in the church.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Light

Why is it that in the midst of such darkness the followers of Christ have so little remarkable luminescence?

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Christianity

The word “Christianity” is a pitiful and benign attempt to define the immeasurable redemptive mystery given to believing followers of Jesus the Christ.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Defending Truth

Defending certain Biblical truths by transgressing others countermands all Biblical truth.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

The Incarnation

The Incarnation is beyond human ability to explain or understand; we have been given the privilege to simply love Him.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Nothing

Without redemption there is no love, and without love there is nothing.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Warnings

Reject them; ignore them; assuage them; change them; soften them; doubt them; and refuse to present them, but in the end the New Testament still contains some very ominous warnings of future events.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Grace

A sinner, drawn by God’s Spirit, can believe on Jesus and be born again without changing anything about his life or even being aware of any future changes.

Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009

Interpreting Calamities

On August 19, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota a tornado made its way through the town and in its wake it broke a small church steeple high upon a Lutheran church. On that day and in that town one denomination that calls itself Lutheran were meeting to decide, among other things, whether or not to allow practicing gay people to become pastors. I would personally say that no openly gay person should have a leadership position in the church. But that is not the issue with which I will be dealing.

A pastor named John Piper, from Minneapolis, announced that the tornado was a divine warning to this Lutheran denomination concerning their discussion of the gay pastor issue. This is, of course, just another instance where preachers ascribe divine intent to any number of meteorological phenomenons, and the gay community seems to be most likely the target of God’s wrath, or at least in the inerrant estimation of many preachers. As if presenting the Person and grace of Jesus Christ is not already most difficult, these types of enunciations undermine our credibility and profoundly misrepresent the gospel of Jesus Christ in these last days.

Where are the tornados for adultery, greed, pride, divorce, and all the rest of the sins that run rampant through the evangelical community? Perhaps God uses different weather conditions to confront different sins. Floods = divorce. Dust storms = greed. Earthquakes = pride.

It is noteworthy that our God doesn’t send caring believers, or healthcare, or humble, pleading Christians to these gay sinners, no, tornados are His messengers to denominations already significantly astray. And are we to assume that if the ELC rejects the ordination of gay clergy it would satisfy God concerning that denomination? No tornados heretofore about some of the other Biblical departures in the ECL, but God is especially irked about the gay issue?

It is arrogant to suggest that anyone can actually know with certainty any divine purpose in tragedy, and it is more arrogant when that purpose is mostly targeted toward those who struggle with a sin you do not. God has in these last days spoken to us through His Son. And what is decidedly outlandish is that Pastor Piper is an outspoken Calvinist, so in his own theological economy, those gay sinners have not repented because God hasn’t granted them such repentance. Against the backdrop of this recent issue, I present some thoughts about the gospel as it applies to gay people.

The gospel. It is literally “good news” in that it offers a complete and free path to eternal life, already trodden by the Son of God, already finished by the Messiah, and already purchased for the redemption of “whosoever will” receive it by faith alone. “By faith alone”, or as the Latin offers it “Sola Fide”. Easy to say, but difficult to actually believe. We as earthly sinners have been taught to achieve, to compete, and to strive for acceptance and praise for our energy and commitment to almost anything. Practice makes perfect we are told, and in sports, and business, and even relationships we are continually exhorted to “work at it” because it is that work which is the essence of success and worth in everything in our lives, and in fact, we have come to believe that our striving and achievements authenticates us as people.

It is against this backdrop that we are challenged to unpack and define the grace of Jesus Christ and dangerously consider that grace in the light of practical application to sinners. That sounds so easy and so doctrinal, but when confronted with some situations and some sinners, a retreat to the safety of the doctrinal library will not suffice; in short, we are confronted with authenticating what we have said we believe. And this is the hypocritical paradox, we are requiring sinners to authenticate their faith by works and yet we refuse to authenticate the doctrinal beliefs we have so proudly espoused concerning grace. Many of us are not willing to even entertain the possibility that a person who has trusted Christ as the only Savior, can be in God’s grace without an approved set of substantiating works. Let us examine that in the light of ourselves and the church as a whole.

Any new born sinner who has embraced Christ can rejoice and identify with the profound change that accompanies this salvation, and every child of God can also testify of the imperfect post-salvation path we all have followed. We have a camaraderie that accepts chronic imperfection among God’s people as it pertains to certain sins, and even grievous sins such as adultery and divorce have a built in plan of redemption and restoration including entire ministries dedicated to minister to these type of saved sinners. Yes, we have catalogued the sins that a saved person can fall into and those that completely cannot be committed by a regenerate person.

Now the church has also suggested that no one can be saved who practices sin, which of course in the truest sense would make everyone unregenerate since we all practice sin. How many Christians regularly drive above the speed limit? How many regularly get angry? How many lust? How many practice unforgiveness? How many gossip? In the defining context of the accepted view of “practicing sin”, we are all guilty. And not only do we practice sin that we know is wrong, we practice sin about which we are deceived and refuse to see its sinfulness including changing sin into God’s will. The health and wealth and prosperity movements have excelled in this doctrinal venture and have turned greed into God’s will. They are deceived about their sin and so they practice it. And most American believers spend money on things unnecessary and save much money to lavish on themselves in later years in direct violation of Christ’s admonition about “laying up treasures for yourselves”. The spiritual gives way to the cultural.

We must never condone sin either in others or in ourselves, however we cannot dilute redemption by culling out and magnifying the sins of others, especially certain categories of sins. The gay community has been bludgeoned enough by those who represent Jesus Christ. The gospel is offered to all sinners without any prerequisites, and we can comfortably allow God to search the heart of others to find redemptive authenticity. Our own hearts provide us with enough spiritual labor.