"Multitudes of Christians within the church are moving toward the point where they may reject the institution that we call the church. They are beginning to turn to more simplified forms of worship. They are hungry for a personal and vital experience with Jesus Christ. They want a heartwarming personal faith. Unless the church quickly recovers its authoritative Biblical message, we may witness the spectacle of millions of Christians going outside the institutional church to find spiritual food." (Billy Graham, 1965, World Aflame, pp. 79-80)

Good works are not the root of justification, they are the fruit of justification.

The Lord opened her heart

A common allegory used in the Bible to describe the process of conversion is that of a seed that gets sown in the ground.  In Mark 4 Jesus tells the story of a sower who sows seeds.  Some seed landed on the ground and was immediately eaten by birds.  Some seed landed on rocky ground and so could not take root and was quickly scorched by the hot sun.  Other seeds fell among thorns which choked them off.  But some seeds fell on good fertile soil and produced a massive harvest.  The seed to which Jesus is referring is the message, called the Gospel, that Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the world (Mark 4:14).  The ground the seed lands on is the heart, and the hospitable condition of the heart is critical to the message's ability to take root and grow fruitfully.

Unfortunately due to sin the ground this seed lands on is dead (Ephesians 2:1).  It is inhospitable to spiritual life and the message cannot and will not take root.  Paul wrote, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)  Who is the natural person?  Anyone who has not been "born again" by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-6).  How does someone become born again?

The Pharisee Nicodemus asked Jesus this exact question.  Nicodemus asked, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (John 3:4)  Jesus responded, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:5-6)  Notice Jesus said "unless one is born of water and the Spirit"...  Being "born again" is described as a two-part process performed on the sinner: 1) being washed and cleansed and 2) being renewed.  In Ezekiel 36, God tells Israel He will first sprinkle clean water on them to cleanse them and then He will renew their heart by removing their heart of stone and replacing it with a heart of flesh:

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  Ezekiel 36:25-27

Likewise, in Titus 3:5 we are told God saved us "according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit".

The point here is in our natural state our hearts are hardened, dead, and unable to respond positively to the message of the gospel.  The truth of the gospel will not make sense to us unless the Holy Spirit first does a work of preparation on our hearts.  Jesus told his disciples, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all." (John 6:63)  In Acts 16, we are told the story of when Paul journeyed to Philippi.  He spoke and a women named Lydia heard him.  We are told, "The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul" and she was later baptized.  The Lord opened her heart.

"You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words “compelle intrare,” compel them to come in, have been so abused by wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation."  (C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life)

The law is only necessary because of lawbreakers

The second speeding ticket of my life occurred at 8:20am.  I know this because had it been 8:30am I would not have gotten the ticket.  I was driving home one morning after working out at the YMCA and I entered a school-zone.  The speed limit had been 40 mph but between 7:30am and 8:30am the speed limit dropped in the school-zone down to 25 mph.  I was pulled-over and given a ticket for going 45 in a 25.

Here's an interesting thing the speeding law I broke:  If people always drove less than 25 mph in school zones we would not need a law punishing people for going above 25 mph.  Laws are required only because people do bad things.  If people did not murder we would not need laws punishing people for murder.  If people did not steal we would not need laws punishing people for theft or burglary.

In Matthew 19:3-8, a group of Pharisees asked Jesus, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"  Jesus responded, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."  The Pharisees were testing Jesus and wanted to catch him in conflict with Moses.  So they asked, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?"  Pay attention to Jesus response here:  He said, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."

When Jesus said "from the beginning it was not so" he meant before there was sin in the world there was no divorce.  The sanctioning of divorce by Moses was a result of the Israelites' sin--what he called "hardness of heart".  The law permitting divorce was given only because there was sin in the world, but it is not the way God designed it from the beginning.

It is revealing that to answer the Pharisee's question about divorce Jesus did not refer to the Law that was given as a response to sin--the Mosaic Law--but to the pre-sin design that God ordained from the beginning of creation.  When God created Adam and Eve the creation was good and it existed in perfection.  As Christians that is our goal, our ideal, and so the "Law" we appeal to for guidance in our relationships with other people and God himself should be the design that was in place from the beginning--what Jesus did when he said "from the beginning it was not so."  The two greatest commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself are the linchpins of God's pre-sin design.  That's why Jesus said, "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:40)

“true Christians consider themselves not as satisfying some rigorous creditor, but as discharging a debt of gratitude"  (William Wilberforce, Real Christianity)

Don't hang on the dishwasher

Last night as I was unloading the dishwasher I walked across the kitchen and put some plates away.  When I turned around my son Lee had pulled out the top drawer of the dishwasher and was hanging on it like it was a jungle-gym.  Afraid he would bend it I yelled, "Lee, don't do that!"  Of course, Lee is less than two-years-old and so hanging on the drawer seemed like the fun thing to do.  As a parent I've come to realize I cannot blame my child for doing something wrong if I never told him it was wrong.  How else would he know?

The experience made me think about Paul's explanation about the purpose of the law given to the Israelites in the Old Testament.  There are a couple things I want to mention about the law and then apply it practically.

First, the law revealed what sin is.  If I had instructed Lee "Do not hang on the dishwasher" then he would know that behavior was wrong.  Without my instruction Lee wouldn't know.  Paul said, "if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' " (Romans 7:7)  What he means is God gave Israel the law to show them how they should live; to show them what is appropriate behavior and what is inappropriate behavior.  Paul calls the Law Israel's "guardian" (Galatians 3:24-26).  It functioned as a parent to a child:  instructing, guiding, and disciplining.

Paul also said the Law was given to increase sin (Romans 5:20).  If I drive 85 mph in a 25 mph zone I will probably get a massive speeding ticket.  I may even lose my license to drive.  Why is that?  Because people in my state's legislature passed a law that says speeding is illegal and speeders will suffer punishment.  However, if I drive 85 mph on the autobahn in Germany where there is no speed limit I don't have to worry about getting a ticket.  Where there is no law there is no transgression (Romans 4:15).  Consider the 430 years between Abraham and Moses.  For 430 years the Israelites did not have the Mosaic Law and so there were lots of bad things that happened that did not have consequences.  A teenager may have bad-mouthed their parent and people knew it was generally problematic but there was no specific commandment not to bad-mouth your parent.  Then the Mosaic Law is given with the commandment "Honor your father and your mother" and all of a sudden bad-mouthing your parent has consequences.  The sin of bad-mouthing one's parent became more sinful when it happened after the commandment was given.

Why would God want to increase sin?  Because He wanted to show us that we could not attain His promises through our own obedience.  It was only through faith that God's promises were available to us.  The law was given to show us our deficiency by increasing our sin.  That why Paul says,

12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.  (Romans 7:12-13)

I recently visited a paint store to buy some white paint to re-paint the molding and trim around my house.  I was amazed at how many variations of the color white there are.  There was an entire wall of paint chips with probably 40 or 50 different shades of white.  I picked up "Eggshell White", which looked white to me, but then I saw "Extra White" which was even whiter.  In fact, when I held "Eggshell White" and "Extra White" side-by-side, "Eggshell" looked yellow.  Then my eye caught "Bright White" which was even whiter than "Extra White".  "Bright White" made "Extra White" look yellow.  When I held one color up against the other I could immediately see the difference.  Likewise, when we hold our lives up against the law we can see our sin more clearly than ever before. The law is intended to give us a reference point to show us we're not as perfect as we think we are.  Paul said the law was "holy and righteous and good."  If the law rubs us the wrong way that's not an indictment of the law, it's an indictment of our heart.  And that reality will humble us and remind us to put our hope in Christ who perfectly fulfilled the law for us.  We are not righteous because of anything we do but because of what Christ did.  That is exactly why Paul says, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25)

That is the gospel.

A freeing reality

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  Galatians 5:22-23

Do you have good health but no peace?  Wealth but no joy?  The perfect spouse but no love?

I would rather have the worst of life's circumstances but have an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit than have the best of life's circumstances and have none of fruit.

It defies all logic, doesn't it?

Over the past week I've seen and read several attempts to answer the question of why evil exists in the world and how God can be good if He allows such tragic things to happen.  If we normally understand God to be loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful, the problem of evil seems to require at least one of those three attributes to be false.  Reason seems to dictate that if God foreknew twenty-eight people, including twenty children, were about to be killed and He had the power to stop it before it occurred then He cannot be loving because He did not stop the murder.  Or He is loving and all-knowing but was not powerful enough to stop it.  Or He is loving and all-powerful but He did not know it was going to happen ahead of time.  Something has to give, right?  Yet God's love, omniscience, and omnipotence are at the heart of his divinity.

It's worth recalling that in the Garden of Eden God created a tree called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil".  "And the Lord God commanded the man [Adam], saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'" (Gen 2:16-17)  Shortly thereafter, the serpent Satan tempted Eve by distorting God's command and making her distrust God's motives: "But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" (Gen 3:4-5)  Yet, as soon as Adam and Eve ate from the tree their eyes were opened and they indeed knew good and evil.  Now we all know evil.

This is a case study in how Satan works.  He tempts us to distrust God.  He sows distrust in our hearts and minds by undermining God's good intentions in order to destroy our faith in God.  We are justified by trusting God (faith) (Romans 5:1) precisely because distrusting God is the root of all sin in the world.  This is the front-lines of spiritual warfare.  Tragedies like what occurred in Newtown, Connecticut are used by Satan to sow distrust in the hearts and minds of people.  They give us all opportunity to distrust God by tempting us to diminish his divinity or deny His divinity altogether by saying He doesn't exist.

So why does God allow such bad and evil things to happen?  I do not offer an answer tritely.  It is a hard and difficult question.  But I feel compelled to grapple with it.  Indeed, we all must deal with it at some point whether consciously or subconsciously.  And though it is a difficult question, I believe the Bible answers it.  So I will offer one reason which I believe is shown over and over again throughout the Bible:  God allows evil things to happen because God's faithfulness is most clearly displayed when his children have faith in him under the worst imaginable circumstances.  God allows suffering because God's faithfulness is most clearly revealed when his children have faith in the midst of their suffering.  This is evident throughout the Bible, but perhaps none more clearly than with Job.  God allowed Satan to inflict Job with immense suffering simply because Satan accused Job of having fake righteousness.  God asked Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" (Job 1:8)  Satan responded, "Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." (Job 1:9-11)  So the Lord told Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life." (Job 2:6)

After Satan brought punishing suffering upon Job and his family, Job's own wife played the role of faith-destroyer.  She said to Job, "Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die." (Job 2:9)  Still, even after God permitted Satan to kill Job's children, steal his possessions, and inflict him with devastating sickness, Job's response was "Though he slay me, I will hope in him;" (Job 13:15a)  I hope you will meditate on those words, at least briefly.  "Though he slay me, I will hope in him."  Job understood the sovereignty of God.  Satan may have been the one inflicting Job, but Job understood that nothing could happen to him unless God's sovereignty permitted it, and so Job attributed his suffering to God's will.  Yet he never cursed God or blamed him of wrong.  Instead, he blessed God. "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

How do you hope in the one who is slaying you?  How do you praise the one who is taking from you?  It defies all logic, doesn't it?  It does, unless your hope is not in the temporary things, but in the eternal things.  God is so faithful even if he slays us today, he will still fulfill his eternal promises to us.  As Peter encouraged us, "let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good." (1 Peter 4:19)  We may very well be slayed, but that doesn't invalidate the promises, nor the One who promised.  Only God can take a tragedy Satan meant to destroy faith and use it instead to magnify God's faithfulness.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

'For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.'

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39)

James, the Lord's brother

I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.  Galatians 1:19

Consider this:  James, the brother of Jesus Christ, was a believer.  After growing up with Jesus, if anyone had reason to doubt his divine nature it was James!  And yet, he didn't.  So why would we?

The benefits of growing in knowledge of Christ

On "Olsen, Piper, tragedy and theodicy"

I'm a believer in God's sovereignty even over the evil and sin in the world.  Not only do I see overwhelming Biblical evidence of this, purely pragmatically I'd rather evil and sin be purposeful in accomplishing ultimate good than pointless--even if that ultimate good must for a time be awaited in faith.  That said, I do sympathize with people who have a difficult time grappling with God's sovereignty over the "bad things" in life.

I very much agree with the perspective of the author found in the blog post "Olsen, Piper, tragedy and theodicy" (http://blog.founders.org/2007/09/olsen-piper-tragedy-and-theodicy.html) and hope you'll take a few minutes to read it.

I want to highlight one comment on that blog post which impacted me immensely for the better.  I hope it will encourage you as well.

How to know if I am a Christian

The only way I know I am a Christian is that I have faith in Christ. The only way I know I have faith in Christ is that I bear good fruit.  Which means, if I look and do not see good fruit in my life I need to take heed that my faith is lacking.  If this scares me, good!  It is a healthy reminder to seek the Lord and ask Him for more faith-building grace.  If this does not scare me, then I have reason to be really scared.

When someone suggested to Dietrich Bonhoeffer that he should join the Nazi-run "German Christians" church to fight the regime from within, he replied, “If you board the wrong train, it’s no use running down the corridor in the opposite direction.”

The sovereignty of God

God works all things according to the counsel of His will.

also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,  Ephesians 1:11

The fall of a sparrow.

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  Matt 10:29

The rolling of dice.

The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the Lord.  Proverbs 16:33

The decisions of kings.

The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord;
He turns it wherever He wishes.   Proverbs 21:1

The authority of our leaders.

Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”  John 19:11

The failing of sight.

The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Exodus 4:11

The sickness of a child.

So Nathan went to his house. Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.  2 Samuel 12:15

The loss and gain of money.

“The Lord makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.   1 Samuel 2:7

The suffering of the saints.

Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.   1 Peter 4:19

The completion of plans.

Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”  James 4:15

The persecution of Christians.

4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?   Hebrews 12:4-7

The repentance of souls.

24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,  2 Timothy 2:24-25

The gift of faith.

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,   Philippians 1:29

The pursuit of holiness.

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:12

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  Philippians 1:6

The growth of believers.

1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, if God permits.  Hebrews 6:1-3

The giving in life and taking in death.

The Lord kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.  1 Samuel 2:6

The giving and taking away of blessings.

He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”   Job 1:21

The places we live and the length and time of our lives.

and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,  Acts 17:26

The calamity of people.

If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?  Amos 3:6

The well-being of people.

The One forming light and creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating calamity;
I am the Lord who does all these.  Isaiah 45:7

The sanctification and glorification of his children.

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.  Romans 8:28-30

The crucifixion of his Son.

27 For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.  Acts 4:27-28

"For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake" Philippians 1:29

Which is more shocking, that God would grant us to believe in Christ, or that God would grant us to suffer for Christ?

The difference Christ makes

I'm a very opinionated person.  My wife will confirm it.  I am overly inclined to debate or argue with someone about topics I'm interested in.  This is not always a good thing.

There are various reasons to debate and some are noble.  But I've asked myself, why do I need to persuade other people that I am correct?  What is the my underlying motivation?  Theologically we are all in a search for truth.  Some might argue that truth is relative--that there is no absolute truth--but even they will still search for that truth which exists relative to them.

I've found embedded in debating is a search for credibility.  How do we know what is true?  We attain information from credible sources.  This holds whether I'm talking about politics, my health, theology or any other topic.  When a friend recently had a scary health issue they called me and asked what I thought their problem was.  I told them, "I'm not a doctor, why would you ask me?  Go see a doctor."  I didn't tell them what I thought because my opinion on the matter had no credibility.  I've never studied medicine, and I've never had a similar medical experience out of which I could advise.  They should seek the opinion of someone who has knowledge and experience because their opinion would be more credible than mine.

If we are able to persuade someone else we are correct then it lends credibility to our view.  If you think I'm right then I must be right.  If you think I'm wrong, let me try to persuade you that I'm right.  When people agree with us it vindicates us.  When a political party wins an election, even by just a few votes, they feel empowered.  "The people have chosen," they exclaim.  Even if 49% of the population disagreed, the majority view is vindicated.

Here's the rub:  though I am wired to be opinionated and argumentative the gospel through the Holy Spirit frees me from the need to vindicate myself--and therefore frees me from the need to argue and debate.  I no longer need people to agree because I no longer feel threatened by being wrong.  The world is all about attaining power, but the gospel is all about surrendering power to Christ.  The world is all about who's right and who's wrong, but the gospel is all about who's godly.  Being right or wrong has nothing to do with being godly.  I can be right and be in sin and I can be wrong and be godly.

This raises the question, does truth matter then?  Absolutely!  It matters to everything I think and do.  Truth shapes worldview--and I wholeheartedly believe there is absolute truth.  The gospel exclaims I should be willing to die for truth but I should never be willing to kill for truth.

I'm not saying debating or arguing is innately wrong.  But debating and arguing must be motivated by love and not self.  The apostle Paul eagerly debated the Lordship of Christ in synagogue after synagogue because he knew the message had life and death consequences.  Yet people were so outraged at his message at one point he was stoned and dragged outside the city once the people thought he was dead.  His response?  He got up and walked back into the city.  (Acts 14:19-20)  Sharing the truth was that important to him.  Before Paul knew Christ he killed for truth, after Paul knew Christ he was killed for truth.

C.S. Lewis on Progress

"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive." (C.S. Lewis)

"Let Them Come Home" by Abraham Piper

"If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me."  (Robert Murray M'Cheyne)