Give Wisely

Give to the needy, but here is a graphic on how to do it wisely.

Obedient Children

John Piper offers some good counsel on why parent should required unregenerate children to try to live like they are regenerate.

Epidemic

Here is a sobering but not too surprising report about the rise of porn. Justin Taylor also provides a list of aids in fighting this battle.

Romans 7:13-20

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. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7:13-20)

Depravity Redefined. When theologians speak of total depravity, many get a false and muddled picture of human sinfulness. Total depravity seems to indicate a wholesale fall into perversion. Man is as wicked as he possibly could become. However, neither the Scriptures nor experience support such a view. The fact is that the portrait of human evil is quite a bit more complex than this, and Paul gives a very helpful analysis of our predicament.

I want but I don’t. Oddly enough the depths of our waywardness is revealed by the good and healthy desires of our heart. We, like Paul, often find ourselves wanting to refrain from certain activities. We don’t want to grow bitter and resentful or to be controlled by greed or lust. In this our hearts “agree” with God’s law, which as creatures created in the image of God is engraved upon our conscience (Romans 2:15). However, there is no grounds here to grow confident in our own goodness, for Paul points out that although we reveal God’s imprint through healthy desires, we immediately reject those healthy wants and do what we “hate.” Bondage is not control that goes unresisted. When we speak of slavery, we speak of those unfortunate peoples forced into labors and duties that they would not choose for themselves and are offered no proper reward. In the same way, the bondage of sin is not a slavery that goes uncontested within us. The descent into depravity is an embattled one. Thus, the shackles of our wickedness is powerfully demonstrated by the fervent though impotent resistance of our hearts. We don’t want to do it, and we do it again and again and again.

Is it sin or me? Paul ends here by stating that it is sin and not “I” who does the deed that I do not want. It may, then, seem like Paul is removing himself and us from the culpability of our actions. Given the entire context of Romans, and Paul’s other writings, this clearly is not the case. In the very next section, Paul proclaims, “Wretched man that I am!” and not “Wretched sin that dwells in me.” “Sin” is his master, and at the same time sin is a part of him. It rules him, and yet it dwells in him and is not external to him.

Total Depravity. Thus, total depravity does not mean we are as bad as we can possibly be. It means that we want to live a good and righteous life, but we can’t want it enough. We are tortured souls ever living with the hatred of our own words, thoughts, and deeds, but powerless to speak, think, or act differently. And so we are perpetually condemned to valley of guilt, regret, and shame with a longing to climb out but lacking the strength to do so. If only there was someone willing to descend into this dark, deathly ravine, who also had the strength to carry us out.

Athens and Jerusalem: Church and Culture Part 2

“What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem? What between the Academy and the Church?” These are the famous words of the early church father Tertullian, and they mark the philosophy that he attempted to live by. He totally denounced all Roman authority, he exempted all Christians from civic obligations, he decried all forms of public entertainment, and he rejected the notion that any good could be gained from secular philosophy. What’s more, Tertullian promoted a rigorous ascetic lifestyle that sometimes went to unhealthy extremes. In short, Tertullian advocated complete rejection of all culture.

“What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Well, apparently more than Tertullian realized. It is well known that he was highly influenced by Stoicism as a young man. The Stoics believed that one needed to maintain an emotional detachment from the physical world, part of which they achieved through a strict asceticism. It is pretty clear that this Stoic detachment from pain and pleasure influenced Tertullian throughout his Christian life. For example, he believed that sexual pleasure of any kind was a sin and should be avoided. Stoic philosophy was so embedded in him that although he claimed to reject it entirely he actually filtered his Christian beliefs through it.

Tertullian’s blind spot does not provide the answer for the questions of Christianity and culture, but it does provide some significant warnings. First, total separation from culture is simply not possible. One can hardly imagine an individual going further extremes than Tertuallian, and even he could not escape. Culture is the air the we breath. Christians obviously need to be discerning of culture and must reject much of it. But to say that Christians should avoid all culture is a non-answer. The very motives for rejecting pagan culture may be pagan themselves.

Secondly, Tertullian’s blindness reminds us of our own blindness. What Tertullian viewed as righteousness was actually an ethic derived from a secular, pantheistic philosophy. This early church father tried to draw dark, bold lines between Christ and the world, and he failed. Can you draw the lines between Christ and the world? It seems that suspicion is in order. Perhaps the world isn’t out there. Perhaps the world is much closer than you think.

African Prosperity "Gospel"

Here is a heartbreaking report by Christianity Today on the spread of the prosperity "gospel" in Africa.

The Prosperity Gospel from The Global Conversation on Vimeo.

Early Christians and Culture

The subject of church and culture is one that I have been studying for some time. Of course, this is subject that is on the front burner of contemporary American Christianity, and in one form or another has always been front and center. Think of how significant and comprehensive are the questions regarding this issue. How involved should the Church be in politics? What is Christian art? Should Christian art even be obviously “Christian”? How far should Christians venture into “worldly” movies, music, and entertainment? What exactly is “worldliness”? What meaning is there in “secular” employment? How does the Church be “in the world” without becoming “of the world”? How does the Church proclaim a counter-cultural (by the way, what does “counter-cultural” mean?) gospel without becoming irrelevant to the culture (and what does “irrelevant” mean and should we care?). Enter John Barber’s The Road from Eden, which is an attempt at a comprehensive history of how the church has interacted with culture. As I slowly work through this book, I thought I would share some perspectives on church and culture from various points in Christian history.

Up first is a piece of early Christian art, the painting titled Raising of Lazarus. In the picture Christ is portrayed as a “large, senatorial, Apollo-type figure.” The Roman senate was the most distinguished and powerful class in the Roman Empire. Apollo was the god of power, and one the three most significant gods in the Roman mind. So why would a Christian artist fashion Jesus after a pagan god?

At first, this painting appears to be simple syncretism, a thoughtless absorption of pagan culture into Christianity. Christianity, even at this early date, appears to be blending with the Roman worship of power. But the situation isn’t that simple. In pagan mythology Apollo is extremely powerful, but he has his limits. And one particularly notable limitation is that he can’t raise people from the dead. But the painting is about raising Lazarus from the dead. Is it not ironic that such a picture would feature Apollo? Ironic or antagonistic? The painting sends a subtle and powerful message into its culture, Jesus is greater than Apollo. Jesus can do what neither the Roman empire, nor its gods could ever do. The Roman elite, the emperor, the pagan gods are not lord. Jesus is Lord.

The painting reveals that the early Christians understood well their neighbors and friends, but it also reveals their devotion to Jesus. They knew how to communicate to the pagan mind without compromising the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Not only did know the pagan culture, they were able to wield for the sake of Christ. This painting (and Barber actually lists several other examples) raises the question: Can Christians use pagan culture to proclaim a counter-cultural gospel?

Romans 7:7-12

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet 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.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

The Gift of Knowledge. The law does something very helpful for us. It lays out for us the way of life and the way of death. Once I drove a 2 ton truck loaded with construction material over a septic tank. The result wasn’t pretty. Of course, I didn’t know the tank was there. No one did. But a map that said ‘drive here’ and ‘don’t drive here’ would have been helpful. That’s what the law does. It points out the proverbial septic tanks of life. That’s good knowledge to have, and it may seem like that is all that we need, but it's not.

The Problem of Knowledge. Note that Paul doesn’t say the law makes us sin. He says the law informs us to what is sin. And armed with that knowledge, we not only break the law but are compelled to break it more and more. At first this sounds like a bit of an overstatement. Would I really covet less if I didn’t know that it was wrong? I know the cookie jar explanation (i.e. when you tell a child not to take a cookie from the cookie jar, you actually increase the temptation to do so), but it seems a little juvenile. But Paul’s argument is far from juvenile and shows deep and sophisticated insight into the human psyche.

Surprise Attack. Armed with the law it would seem sin doesn’t stand a chance. But the assault of sin is hardly ever frontal. It “deceives” as Paul says. The law keeps sin front and center in our minds. Take coveting for example. Of course, coveting is always there, but the law points it out. And suddenly with the gift of its knowledge I see coveting not only in a few isolated instances, but all over the place. Surprised by my own transgression, I dig in my heels. Coveting must go. But it doesn’t go at all, and soon I start coveting those who seem not to struggle with coveting. Then guilt starts taking root. Perhaps, I am a seriously flawed and sinful person. But there is an alternative. Who is to say that this “no coveting” law is the best way. There are many happy coveters in the world. I may even begin to resent God for making such an impossible rule. I may grow so resentful that not only do I give myself over to coveting, but I begin coveting with a vengeance. Now this is merely one path sin may take.

What’s Wrong With Me. This is the thought the text is driving into my heart. How can I be so messed up, that good information actually becomes my downfall. I was just having a discussion with someone about a person destroying their life with alcohol and drug addiction. “Some people,” I said, “have become so messed up that helping them actually hurts them.” I retract that statement. The truth is all people, all of us, are so messed up that the holy help of the law actually hurts us.

Ways Not To Be Missional

Jonathan Dodson is starting a new blogging series on ways not to missional. He starts with "event-driven evangelism." Read it here.

Lessons From Topsail

My wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary this past week by taking a trip alone to Topsail Island, NC. We rented a condo built right on the beach and overlooked the ocean. Though I took a week sabbatical from all serious study, I learned quite a bit a bit on this trip. Here is just one reflection.

A Great Day. I’ll never forget last Thursday. The day began with me taking pictures of the sunrise over the ocean at 7am. As it turned out, I was far too sleepy for the task and all the horizons were slanting up. Then I had breakfast on our deck overlooking the ocean, took some more pictures of a shrimping boat I thought our kids would enjoy, and read a bit. Shortly after Jen and I were on the beach. We played like children in the waves. Jumping over them, into them, getting pummeled by a good many of them. We reclined in our beach chairs with a good book in hand as the rising tide licked at our feet. We took small walks through the cool water and sand collecting shells and shooting pictures of crabs. For dinner we drove to a local seafood market, bought some shrimp caught that morning, took it back to our room and grilled some shrimp kabobs.

Not Enough. It was a great day. One of the funnest days I’ve had in a long time. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted more. Not that I’m complaining. I was flooded with perpetual gratitude that day that God would blend wind and water, sun and sky into such a glorious experience, that I have a wife who didn’t feel too adult to splash like a child in the foaming waves. And as I read in the midst of the ocean tide, sipping Sobe, and stealing glances at my beautiful wife, I constantly thought, “Can it get much better than this?” But at the same time, there was something sad about the experience. Sad because it had to stop. As it turns out, sun, wind, sand, waves, shells, and even my wife, though rapturously delightful, are also thoroughly exhausting. My frame came to the end of itself and could take no more.

“We shall be like him, because we shall see him as He is.” I gained a greater insight into this statement this past week. If the power and splendor of the ocean is too much for my frame to contain, then how much more its Creator. The tricky thing about joy is not that there is so little to be had. Even in this fallen world, wonders of delight abound all around us. The problem is that we cannot endure. They are too much for us. We think we grow bored, but in reality we are often just weary and spent. And if we were placed in the arena of unceasing pleasure, we would not be pleasured unceasingly. If there was no escape, pleasure would turn to torture. As the waves and wind break the rocks into specks of sand, so they would break us, pulverize us. What then would the infinite splendor of God do were we admitted into his presence?

“We shall be like him, because we shall see him as He is.” There are several layers to this statement, but one layer is certainly this. Only as we are transformed spiritually, morally, physically into a splendor ourselves could we enter into his splendor and find life rather than death. So I long for the day, when I stand in the seas and not grow weary, and when I can stand in the gaze of its Maker and pulsate with his unremitting pleasure.

Romans 7:1-6: Part 2

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:1-6)

A Bad Marriage. So what is the deal with Paul’s opening example of marriage? My guess is that this marriage is a bad one. That was not exactly an uncommon occurrence, and still isn’t. But in a culture where parents chose the spouse of their children, there were certainly plenty of Abigails legally bound to Nabals (see 1 Samuel 25). And here Paul points out that so long as the dud husband is alive, the wife has no choice but to be his wife. Prenups, no fault divorce, even divorce for that matter were virtually none existent for women.

Til Death Do Us Part. Sinners and the law make a bad marriage. They would completely bomb on the Newlywed Game. They are tragically incompatible. The law isn’t sleeping around on us; it just makes a really bad spouse. We may or may not be sleeping around on the law, but regardless we need a better marriage. However, apart from death we are legally bound to the law. We are faced with only two choices. One we try our best to stay faithful to the law, or two we run off with someone else.

A Bad Spouse. So why does the law make such a bad spouse? Living with the law is like living with a husband who perpetually points out your mistakes, uncovers your shame, and exposes your deepest flaws. And it does all that without a shred of mercy. So the law undresses our faults, and when we reply, “Okay, so I’m screwed up. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me” the law doesn’t just shrug and walk away. No, the law looks directly into our eyes and says, “I can’t do that . . . (long awkward pause). I can only give you what you deserve. I can only damn you.” Mercy simply isn’t part its repertoire.

Bad Fruit. So when messed up people are bound to the law, they end up conceiving some bad offspring. Demands without grace produces guilt and shame, which in turn produces isolation, anger, bitterness, hopelessness, fear, and pride. But again there is nothing wrong with the law itself. In reality, the law is nothing more than wedding vows. Wedding vows are great at forming the proper context of a lifelong relationship, but it is impossible to have a relationship with vows. Our main problem is that we are separated from the true spouse. We are simply left with vows. The damning, condemning vows that speak nothing but obligation, that give us no hope for redemption, that never speak a word of forgiveness.

The True Husband. Our hope is not in keeping the vows. Even if we do really good at adhering to them, we still don’t have the husband. Yet unless the vows are kept there can be no marriage. So Paul says that the answer to this dilemma is that in Christ we can die to the law. We can be set free from its legal obligation. Not that the obligation has vanished. Far from it. But the true husband has come. He has kept the vows on our behalf. He has died under the law’s cursed damnation. And only in our new relationship with him can we hear the most blessed words ever spoken to the guilt-ridden, “I forgive you.”

The Pharisee and Me

Great short post from Ray Orlund

The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” (Luke 18:11-12)

What was wrong with the Pharisee?

There was a lot right with him. He really didn’t do those bad things. He really did those good things. And he gave glory to God for it all: "God, I thank you . . . ."

So, what was wrong with him?

Just this. He sincerely believed he was “not like other men.”

Thank God I’m not like that Pharisee!

Romans 7:1-6: Part 1

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:1-6)

Yesterday was Labor Day, which means that along with a little barbecuing, some family time, and (at least in my home) the US Open, there was the annual Jerry Lewis telethon. Its not that I don’t have any heart for “Jerry’s kids,” but I have an almost impulsive repugnance for telethons. And I don’t just mean Jerry’s telethon. I pretty much despise all telethons in every form they come in. They generally provoke from me audible groans and sighs. Until recently I hadn’t given a lot of thought why this is, but then I realized the issue. Telethons are about the law.

Telethons and the Law. The universal strategy of telethons are as follows. First, explain to people what they should do (i.e. give their money to this obviously worthy cause). Second, keep them off balance by reminding them of their moral superiority one instant and then piling up layers of guilt in the next. “Americans are the most giving people in the world,” we’re told. Then we’re shown some tear jerker of a story and asked, “How can you not give to help X?” Subtext: “You are good enough to give what is necessary, and you’re an incredible jerk if you don’t do it.”

Universal Strategy of Law Alone. Such methodology should not surprise us. It’s what every charity, parent, teacher, etc. uses to push those in their sphere of influence to do the right thing. But this message is the message of the law. Here’s what I mean. God’s law by itself simply provides us with commands, rules, and instructions. The law is not bad in and of itself, as Paul makes clear later in Romans 7. But ripped from the story of God’s saving work, the law merely leaves us with a command and the implicit expectation that we can and should keep it. Does such a strategy work? Paul’s answer, and I think any deep thinking persons answer, is a resounding “no.” Living under the law produces the fruit of death (7:5).

The Delusion of Obedience. That seems a little bit extreme especially considering the fact that telethons raise millions of dollars every year. But they do so because salving our conscience with a small monetary gift is relatively easy. We can walk away assured that we are better people. But are we better? Or has our gift simply created a delusion of goodness that blinds us from our real problems. My marriage may be wreck. I may say spiteful things every day to my spouse. But obviously I’m not the problem. I give to Jerry’s kids. That takes some heart and real love. My wife just doesn’t see the good in me. How can I not get frustrated with her. So does the contribution reveal my goodness, or does it simply provide a rationale for my own anger and bitterness? Thinking these thoughts may be a little disturbing, but once we start down this path we are heading in the right direction.

Real Joy

Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. (Psalm 51:8 )

“Joy” and “Gladness” refer to more than just a delighted spirit or an internal yet calm satisfaction. These Hebrew terms are used in connection with singing, festive eating and drinking, playing instruments, dancing, frolicking, stamping the feet, clapping hands, etc. It is quite a raucous kind of joy. The kind that bubbles up and overflows into jubilant outward expressions. It’s the kind of joy at a wedding reception, or when you see your son hit his first home run. The psalmist wants more than just a warm feeling, or a sense of calm content. He wants a party. He wants singing, dancing, shouting, clapping. He is now morose and melancholy. Perhaps, even desperate and despairing. But he calls for foot-stomping joy.

Why are we so reserved in our joy? Why do we not seek to make our hearts, minds, bodies overflow in boundless enthusiasm and jubilance? Why do we not have a raucous, hooting, and hollering joy flooding our souls and spreading to our mouths, and feet, and hands? I think we feel it irreverent and ridiculous. But what is more irreverent or more ridiculous than knowing the God of the universe, feeling the power of his salvation, knowing the freedom of his cleansing from the bondage of sin, and not hoot and dance? Irreverent is the polite, shallow smiles of our Sunday mourning services. Ridiculous is hollow slap-stick remarks so characteristic of Christian entertainment. Fake joy or shallow goof-offs are the respectable forms of raucous joy. But this is not that kind of joy, because it’s based on something real. Joy for joy’s sake is no joy at all. Joy that arises in order to have joy in and of itself is empty. That’s why modern Christian joy is so emaciated. We want to be happy, and so we are happy, or at least we try to make ourselves such, just to say that we are happy. But real joy has a real object. It rejoices in a thing. Like a man rejoices in his lover, or a boy over his ice cream cone. We have the grandest of all objects, God. No amount of physical display is too much. You just can’t make too much of God. But you can make far too little.

Busy Christianity

Busyness is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. So I was greatly encouraged by these thoughts from Kevin DeYoung. Here is his conclusion.

A cross, yes. Jesus said we would have to carry one of those. But a cross that kills our sins, smashes our idols, and teaches us the folly of self-reliance. Not a burden to do the impossible. Not a burden to always do more for Jesus. Not a burden of bad news that never lets up and obedience that is always out reach.

No doubt some Christians need to be shaken out of their lethargy. I try to do that every Sunday morning and evening. But there are also a whole bunch of Christians who need to be set free from their performance-minded, law-keeping, world-changing, participate-with-God-in-recreating-the-cosmos shackles. I promise you, some of the best people in your churches are getting tired. They don’t need another rah-rah pep talk. They don’t need to hear more statistics and more stories Sunday after Sunday about how bad everything is in the world. They need to hear about Christ’s death and resurrection. They need to hear how we are justified by faith apart from works of the law. They need to hear the old, old story once more. Because the secret of the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us.

Romans 6:15-23

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23)

The Wrong Kind of Free. You’ve heard the expression, “Freedom isn’t free.” I have a good number of America’s “greatest generation” in my church, so I hear it a lot. And of course it’s true. The freedoms of press, speech, religion, self-government, etc. came to this country at the price of much blood shed. A sad fact of history is that it rarely comes in any other way. Yet freedom at the cost of blood shed is still freedom; however, freedom at the cost of slavery is not. Of course, a free slave is an oxymoron, but that is what we all are according Paul. If you are a slave of sin, then you are free to righteousness. If you are a slave to righteousness, then you are free to sin. Such language seriously challenges our assumptions about freedom. Can there be a freedom that is no freedom at all? Can there be a slavery that is really freedom?

Free to Righteousness. What exactly does it mean to be “free of righteousness.” Perhaps Paul means something like “contamination.” A “slave of sin,” which he says we all once were or currently are, is free from the contamination of righteousness. Righteousness does not creep into his life like a healing gangrene and spread its life-giving aroma. No, the natural man is absolutely free of such health, absolutely free from moral good. This might sound like an overstatement. Certainly, even apart from Christ, we are not entirely free of moral good. Even a rapist may send his mother a card on her birthday. But as I said in my last post, Paul is not concerned with good and evil merely at the level of the will. Evil is more than an action or a choice, and so is good. The fruits of righteousness are not the fulfilling of a moral obligation. They are love, joy, peace, patience, etc. That is, they are matters of the heart and soul. So for example, the natural man, the man apart from God’s grace, can perform an act of kindness, but he does so because of what sociologists call reciprocity. He gives because he knows that he will be given to, because he knows he needs to be given to. Others are really tools of the self. You give to receive. His motives are completely free from the contamination of righteousness.

The Wages of Sin. Romans 6:23 is oft quoted by Christians to non-Christians in hopes that they will see the dangers of living life their own way and the hope found in the gift of salvation. However, it is important to note that Paul is addressing believers, and Paul’s point is not primarily about the punitive effects of sin. His focus is on the fruit of sin. He is not thinking of the court room but of the garden. The problem of sin is not merely the problem of a guilty verdict (though that is his point in Romans 3:19-20); it is also the problem of a putrid fungus eating away at the life of a fruit-bearing tree. Sin produces death. God’s punishment is simply condemning it to face its own demise.

The Free Gift of God. But righteousness is not like sin. Self-destruction comes to us as the product of who we are as slaves of sin. Righteousness and the life that follows is not produced by us. It is given to us. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is the producer. Thus, Paul sets before us two roads. One is to walk in our efforts fighting for our own freedom from the authority of God. This is the road of shame with a destination of death. The second road, and God help us never to cease being amazed that there is a second road, is the road of Jesus’ efforts and the healing product of those efforts freely given to us. Is not the choice obvious? And if you do not wish to make the obvious choice, then at least admit that you are not free.

Romans 6:12-14

Finally back to Romans.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

“Let not sin reign.” That phrase should immediately signal to us that Paul’s notion of sin is quite different from ours. Sin is lying, hurting, gossiping, lusting, etc. Sin is about doing. Doing bad things. It’s a convenient theory. Reduce the amount of naughty things you do and the better you are. Then we read Paul, and Paul says, “Let not sin reign in your mortal bodies.” How exactly does an act “reign” over us? It doesn’t. But Paul isn’t talking about mere acts, for he says, “Let not sin reign . . . to make you obey their passions.” Sin is rather personal here. It is a power, a force with desires and passions. Sin isn’t just the results of our poor choices; sin is the cause of them. Sin is the desires that lie behind the choices we make.

Farewell Self-effort. This is literally a life-changing discovery. Becoming a better person can no longer be considered a battle of self-effort. Self-effort is about the strength of the will, but here we find that the will itself is corrupt. The will is not an independent force that we can muster against any and all that opposes the good. The will is subservient to the values and desires of the heart. The heart says, “I want something sweet,” so the will says “Let’s go to Starbucks.” The hearts declares, “But I’d rather not put on some extra weight,” and so the will says, “Make it a skinny.” It is not the reverse. The will does not say, “Heart, desire something sweet, so I can choose Starbucks.” The will doesn’t desire. The will chooses, and the will always chooses what the heart wants. You might think, “Not always. I really didn’t want a decaf, sugar-free, skinny latte, but I choose it.” True enough, but all you are saying is that you valued your appearance or your health (or both) more than you valued the enjoyment of fat and sugar. Therefore, gritting your teeth and marching forward in the determination to do better simply isn’t going to get the job done. You want to fight with the will, but the will is a slave to the heart. And if the heart is crooked, the will will be crooked also.

Under Grace. When you read Paul’s command, “Do not present your members to sin . . .”(8:13) you immediately conclude Paul is instructing you to toughen your will. And if sin were simply a bad choice, that would be sufficient. But as we have seen sin isn’t just a bad choice; it is distorted desires behind the choice. So although Paul gives a command, which seems like an appeal to self-effort, he looks elsewhere for the power to keep that command: “Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace”(8:14). “Law,” I think, refers merely to self-effort. But we are not under the demands simply to perform; we are under grace. Grace says you don’t have to perform because Christ already did. It says you are accepted even when you fail. The law by itself keeps us under the delusion that we can do it if we just try hard enough. Grace frees us from the delusion and tells us we can’t. The law by itself enhances the dominion of sin by enslaving us to the soul-destroying cycle of effort, failure, condemnation, guilt, effort, failure, condemnation, guilt, ad nausea. Grace frees us, for Christ took our guilt, absorbed our condemnation, paid for our failure, and redeems our efforts. The pursuit of righteousness then is no longer an effort of futility. Rather, under grace it is a pursuit in which we have nothing to loose and everything to gain. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Fight Clubs

Jonathan Dodson just released his booklet on accountability partners entitled Fight Clubs . It is a very gospel-centered, well thought out guide to accountability relationships. These relationships are essential for everyone, but most accountability relationships I have been in focus primarily on law and not grace, on our effort (or failure) and not on Christ's work. To me, this is must reading. You can download it for free here.

Connection Tools

Steve McCoy offers some great advice on how to connect with others. What I like about his advice is that he uses generosity, thoughtfulness, and self-giving as the means to make connections with people. I tend to be introverted like him, so I need avenues of kindness to win people over.

Home Grown Worship Music

Austin City Life, a church plant in Austin, TX and pastored by a friend (Jonathan Dodson) has recently released a worship album. I've known about this album for some time, but I haven't had a chance to check it out. I like to support churches in creating good music, but unfortunately many churches don't do it very well. ACL, however, has created a short but excellent collection of songs, and all but two are originals. The first song "In Your Name" is rare blend of gospel and mission, and local mission at that. You can read Steve McKoy's review or just go listen to it and download yourself.

World Christianity

Challies has an interesting post about Mark Noll's new book The New Shape of World Christianity. Looks like a really interesting read. Here are some interesting facts from the book.

This past Sunday it is possible that more Christian believers attended church in China than in all of so-called “Christian Europe.” Yet in 1970 there were no legally functioning churches in all of China; only in 1971 did the communist regime allow for one Protestant and one Roman Catholic Church to hold public worship services, and this was mostly a concession to visiting Europeans and African students from Tanzania and Zambia.

This past Sunday more Anglicans attended church in each of Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda than did Anglicans in Britain and Canada and Episcopalians in the United States combined—and the number of Anglicans in church in Nigeria was several times the umber in those other African countries.

This past Sunday more Presbyterians were at church in Ghana than in Scotland, and more were in congregations of the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa than in the United States.

The past Sunday more people attended the Yoido Full Gospel Church pastored by Yongi Cho is Seoul, Korea, than attended all the churches in significant American denominations like the Christian Reformed Church, the Evangelical Covenant Church or the Presbyterian Church in America.

This past Sunday the churches with the largest attendance in England and France had mostly black congregations. About half of the churchgoers in London were African or African-Caribbean. Today, the largest Christian congregation in Europe is in Kiev, and it is pastored by a Nigerian of Pentecostal background.

This past week in Great Britain, at least fifteen thousand Christian foreign missionaries were hard at work evangelizing the locals. most of these missionaries are from Africa and Asia.

For several years the world’s largest chapter of the Jesuit order has been found in India, not in the United States, as it had been for much of the late twentieth century.

Same Old Story

The battle over worship music is nothing new. Hymns were once the contemporary, cutting edge music rejected by many churches. Now they are the tradition, and the wars continue. May God help us to keep the gospel at the center of our churches.

Equal, Yet So Very Different

Mary Farrar offers a very helpful article on understanding male sexuality. It blows me away that a woman could have such an accurate picture of what it is like to be a man. The article is addressed to wives about their husbands, but it is informative and enlightening for men as well. In this day and age, articles like this are must reading.

Rewards: Part 6

Objections (cont.)

2. If we are all perfect, won’t we all be at the same level?
We tend to think that perfection is a static state. Once your perfect, you don’t get any better. Or so we think. But perfection is more flawlessness than being all that we could be. Think back to Eden. Our first human ancestors were created perfect, but were they all that they could be? Apparently not, for God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.” Following those commands would lead them into whole worlds of new experience like sex, romance, building, creating, etc. Over time they would grow better and better at these tasks and derive more and more joy. They have always loved perfectly, and yet as they grew in their knowledge of one another they came to a deeper understanding of what “love” is. God isn’t “the same yesterday, today, and forever” because he is perfect, but because he is infinitely perfect.

As I said before, our brokenness, both our broken and twisted hearts and our broken bodies, will be gone forever. In that sense, we will be perfect, but we will not be all that we can be. It’s impossible to imagine that with minds no longer clouded by the psychological, social, and emotional effects of sin, with bodies liberated from the weakness and diseases that have hampered them, while living in the presence of the Creator God and of the redeemed from tribes, people groups, and nations from all over the world and history, we would not grow in our knowledge of God, love for others, joy of new experiences, etc. Edwards said, and I quite agree, that eternal life will not be more static but more dynamic than this present life. Freed from all that weighed us down, we will not run slower but faster. And I cannot help but conclude that part of the reward is just how fast we will grow. And when shall we stop growing? God is infinite and infinity alone is where we stop. But we can never reach that infinite level, for we are finite. That means that we shall grow and mature, learn and develop faster than we ever have before, but we will never stop. We will only increase at ever widening paces into eternity.

3. If we can progress in eternal life, why start storing up rewards now?
This objection comes directly on the heels of the last answer. Why get serious about rewards now when we’ll have eternity to make up for lost time? How twisted is the mind that offers such an objection. I don’t say that to condemn, for I entirely sympathize with the question. That doesn’t make it less twisted, because I'm a twisted man.

However, once you take a moments reflection, you will observe the absurdity of this thought. One might as well say, “Why should I start fighting this cancer now, I always have tomorrow” or “Why should I eat my dinner this week. There will be dinner next week everyday, and every week as far I can see.” If you do not cherish the miraculous and indestructible gifts of love, joy, faith, and holiness more than the temporal and fading treasures of this world, I can promise you that you will not like an eternal dwelling with God. In other words, if you are not seeking rewards, than you are not seeking God.

4. Isn’t working for an eternal reward really acting selfishly?
I hope by this point that you can answer this question yourself. But sometimes our minds are slower than our hearts, so I’ll give a brief response. Put simply, to love others to get the reward of a new corvette is selfish. To love others to get the reward of more love for others is not. Seeking God to get a gift is selfish, but seeking God to get more of God, or to get one of his gifts that displays more of Him to you, is not.

I have read a helpful illustration by Randy Alcorn, but I’ll put my own twist on it. Let’s say my son is taking swimming lessons (which he is) and is terrified of water (which he is), and let’s say that I promise to take him out for ice cream (which I did) if he doesn’t scream, cry, and does what he is told during the lesson. Now is my son’s motivation for obeying entirely selfish? Not necessarily. At least I hope not, since I try not to teach my children to be self-centered. We can find out pretty quick what his motive is. If say I take him out for ice cream, and he says, “Dad, I want ice cream, but I really don’t want to eat it with you,” then his motive would have been selfish. But he didn’t do that, and that is because his love for me and his desire for a reward from me are all wrapped up together. To him ice cream is a display of my love for him. God’s rewards are not detached from him; they are displays of him. If you want the gift but not the Giver, then you have a problem. But if you want the gift because it’s from the Giver, then you are living exactly as Jesus commanded.

Rewards: Part 5

Objections

1. How can I be eternally happy knowing that I will be eternally less happy than others? Okay, so maybe I don’t have to spend eternity starring at Billy Graham’s palace from my cramped studio apartment, but I do have to spend eternity in the company of others far more joyful and immersed in God’s glory than me. How can eternity be eternal bliss knowing that I’m second rate?

There are several false assumptions lying behind this objection. First, it fails to take into account the perfect state of holiness we will be in. Why do you assume that another’s greater happiness will you make you less happy? Certainly, in this day when a good friend gets a raise or inherits $100,000 while we can barely afford our next tank of gas, we tend to grumble rather than rejoice over our friend’s good luck. And “good luck” it is, right? He certainly didn’t earn it. It’s not like he is better than me. I’ve probably prayed harder, have been more responsible, and need it more than him, but I suppose I should be happy for him. So our thinking goes. But is this the way we shall see those of greater raptures in the eternal state. Will we really be shaken by our envy of them? Sin and tragedy are the roots of grief. Jesus’ resurrection says that the roots will be pulled and the weeds of unhappiness with them. In a healed land populated by healed people, only happiness is possible. If your heart bursts with nothing but love for another, and that other is better off than you, you do not begrudge their richness. You rejoice in it. The fact that others will be better off than ourselves will not make us less joyful; it will increase our joy. They are our joy, and their betterment is our betterment.

Secondly, we tend to think that less happy means more unhappy, or that experiencing less of God means we receive less of God. These seem logical enough, but it does not necessarily follow that being less happy means being more unhappy. In addition to Scripture, much of my thinking on rewards owes to Jonathan Edwards. Edwards used the example of bowls. Take two bowls of differing sizes. Say one holds 10 oz. and the other holds gallon. Now in the smaller bowl does it follow that holding less water means it is more empty than the larger bowl? Of course not. The smaller bowl my be full to the brim and still hold less water. Think of eternity in a similar vein. All of us will be bowls of joy, but the size of those bowls will vary. Some will be 10 oz. and some 10 gallons. But every bowl will be full to the brim. You will never think, “Oh, I wish I could have so much more.” You will be bursting at your capacity for joy. You will hardly be able to believe that more joy is possible, and yet it will be.

Furthermore, it does not follow that experiencing less of God means we receive less of Him. Theologian Millard Erickson uses the example of attending the performance of a classical orchestra. Depending upon the understanding and love of classical music, two individuals may have very different experiences. One person may be totally engrossed while the other bored to tears. But it is not because they are hearing different things. They are both immersed into the same bath of harmony. In a similar fashion, God’s glory and love will not be more on display for some and less for others. We shall be immersed into the same bath, but like with the music some of us are greater connoisseurs of God. One’s vision will not be at all different from another, and yet it will be very, very different.

Rewards: Part 4

What Are Rewards(continued)
One of the glories of eternal life is to see God. So Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”(Matthew 5:8). John too writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is”(1 John 3:2). Now this is something to live for. I’ve been awed by mountain peaks, calmed by the ocean waves, amazed at the brilliance of coral life, but one day I will see the Maker of these and many other glorious visions I have not seen. And this Maker is infinitely more brilliant, awesome, calming, and beautiful than anything he has made. In fact, the vision of him is so powerful that John states that it will transform us: “We will be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” Thus, the degree of this sight, this vision, is in some part dependent upon the way we live our lives now.

Or take another example. Again the apostle Paul writes, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?”(1 Thessalonians 2:19) Paul is asking rhetorically what exactly does he consider his reward? And the answer; “Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” The reward is people! Jesus says something similar: “Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life (read eternal rewards), so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together.” The one who sows (i.e. first shares the gospel) and the one who reaps (i.e. has the privilege of leading that person to follow Christ) are gathering fruit for eternal life, and the fruit, it seems, are the people they are gathering. Here again the reward now and the reward future are one and the same. Our eternal joy is the same as our current joy, which in this case is seeing people’s lives transformed and brought into eternal life.

One more example. In Jesus’ parable of the talents, the master says to his faithful servant, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” That last statement is what strikes me. Part of the reward is the “joy of your master.” Certainly, eternal life means joy for all those who enter it, but the degree of joy seems to hinge on the degree of faithfulness. After all, the reward isn’t just joy. It is the “joy of your master.” Experiencing God’s joy in the future will partly depend upon the degree which I enjoy him now.

In James 1:25, he states that in obedience to God we will be “blessed in our doing.” He doesn’t say blessed “for” our doing, but “in” our doing. The obedience itself is a reward. Paul says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Obeying that command doesn’t just bring us a reward; it is the reward. So eternal rewards are not a bigger house, a fancy crown, or a standing ovation. The reward for seeking joy in God is greater joy in God, and the reward for loving others is more love for others.

Rewards: Part 3

What Are Rewards?
This, to me, is a huge question. I think one of the reasons rewards sound so distasteful is what we view rewards as. For example, suppose the reward is a 34,000 sq. ft. mansion, complete with its own olympic size swimming pool, a private waterfall and river, an indoor golf course, and of course an IMAX theater. It’s heaven, right? Why skimp? At least, that’s Billy Graham’s reward. I’m no Billy Graham, so sadly I have to live with a measly 1,000 sq ft. home and a koi pond. What’s more is that I become Billy’s neighbor, so everyday I walk out of my cramped two bedroom flat, dodge a mosquito from my pond, and see Billy living in luxury. Of course, I have the joy of the Lord, so it’s okay. The moral of the story would then be: Be good now or heaven’s going to be a real let down. Or to rephrase Jesus’ words, “Don’t buy a big house now where time and termites eat it down to rot and decay. Give your money away and store up for yourself a massive palace where there ain’t no termites.” Something seems a little wrong with that picture.

In Romans 2 we get a different picture. In verse 6, another “evaluation” passage, Paul writes, “[God] will render to each one according to his works.” Okay, so this is exactly the kind of passage we are looking for. Paul is arguing that God gives rewards and punishments, so what are they? “To those,” he says, “who by patience and well-doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality.” So he is talking about the good guys here, the ones who seek for eternal rewards, and the rewards they are seeking are “glory and honor and immortality.” And what reward do they get? He finishes, “[God] will give eternal life.” Well, that’s not exactly a detailed description of rewards. Eternal life is what every true Jesus follower receives. But I think this passage unlocks the mystery of these rewards.

Let’s start with what the good guys are seeking. What are “glory and honor and immortality”? “Immortality” seems easy enough. It would be real life, never-ending life, life as it was meant to be lived. But notice that overlaps with “eternal life.” What about “glory and honor”? We tend to immediately think of the applause and praise of others, but that cannot be the idea. The bad guys in this passage, the ones who don’t seek for eternal rewards, are those who are “self-seeking”(2:8). It would make almost no sense, then, for “glory and honor” to be personal recognition. Glory and honor do have that connotation, even in the Greek, but there is a more foundational meaning. Glory and honor are something that we can give, but they are also a quality. In Hebrew the word “glory” means “weighty” or “heavy.” It’s a word that refers to something of extraordinary value. This idea is the more foundational notion of glory and honor. After all, the reason you give a someone glory and honor is because they are glorious and honorable. The value of the person merits the honor or glory given. Therefore, to seek “glory and honor” is to seek that which has immense value, that which is tremendously weighty. All of this, I think, is wrapped up in the simple phrase “eternal life.” Therefore, Paul says that those who seek for the weighty things of eternal life receive them as their reward.

“Yes but again,” you say, “doesn’t every real Christian receive this?” True, but remember we are talking about degrees. We all receive eternal life, but the degree to which we receive that life will be different. This is a huge breakthrough, at least it is for me. Rewards are not additions to eternal life, but the degrees of which we enjoy that life. I'll gives some examples in my next post.

Love Your Enemies

Justin Taylor posted this a couple of days ago, and I thought it worth some reflection.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 118:
Suppose one reads a story of filthy atrocities in the paper. Then suppose that something turns up suggesting that the story might not be quite true, or not quite so bad as it was made out.

Is one’s first feeling, ‘Thank God, even they aren’t quite so bad as that,’ or is it a feeling of disappointment, and even a determination to cling to the first story for the sheer pleasure of thinking your enemies are as bad as possible?

If it is the second then it is, I am afraid, the first step in a process which, if followed to the end, will make us into devils. You see, one is beginning to wish that black was a little blacker. If we give that wish its head, later on we shall wish to see grey as black, and then to see white itself as black. Finally we shall insist on seeing everything — God and our friends and ourselves included — as bad, and not be able to stop doing it: we shall be fixed for ever in a universe of pure hatred.

Then Taylor offered this observation:

This certainly applies in politics, doesn't it? When George W. Bush was President, he was demonized daily by those who thought virtually everything he did was utterly scandalous and terrible. And now many conservatives--including, ahem, many Christians--are returning the favor with President Obama.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed by half the things that come out of Christians' mouth towards our current president. I didn't vote for Obama and probably never would, but I do get the feeling that many Christians are more interested in rooting for Obama's failure and looking for a fight, then they are in ways they can support him, pray for him, offer constructive and helpful criticism of him, and maybe, just maybe, learn something from him. Oh, that we would love our enemies and not look for reasons to hate them.

Michael Jackson - He died a while ago

Andrew Sullivan provides some thoughts on the pop icon's bizarre and tragic life. This line in particular gripped me: "He died a while ago. He remained for so long a walking human shell."

Brian Regan

Just felt like posting a couple of clips of my favorite comedian.

Enjoyment or Idolatry

Just last night in our small group we were considering when wanting a good thing can become a bad thing. John Piper offers a very insightful little article and discerning whether our enjoyment of something is becoming idolatrous. Here is a taste.

Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is starting to feel like a right, and our delight is becoming a demand. It may be that the delight is right. It may be that another person ought to give you this delight. It may be right to tell them this. But when all this rises to the level of angry demands, idolatry is rising.

Rewards: Part 2

Why Degrees of Reward Makes Sense (Be sure to read Rewards: Part 1 below)
Degrees of rewards just makes sense. If nothing else, diversity makes this necessary. Let’s say you are part of a building project. Only this project is very unique, because the people carrying it out are totally free from selfishness and sin. The planning, designing, and building is all done by individuals whose concerns and passions are only for Jesus and for his people. So how does a group of perfect people build a building? Perhaps you’re thinking the process would be totally democratic. No need for leadership, authority, organization, etc. After all, aren’t those things only necessary for people who want their own way or tend to be lazy and unproductive. None of that exists with this group. Everybody gets along perfectly and wants what is best for each other.

However, maybe our inclination toward democracy is more due to our Western mindset than it is to necessity. Democracy would work better in a perfect world, but so would a dictatorship or a monarchy. When it comes to human beings, even perfect human beings, leadership and organization will always be necessary. And the reason is diversity. All are not equally gifted at construction or architecture or creativity. Some like to construct a building, others prefer building visions, and still others like to take the vision of the leaders, combine them with skills of the builders, and organize an efficient team.

But let’s take this a step further. Suppose you have half dozen people on the design team. Each has his own vision of the structure and proposes it. Who decides which design is to be implemented? Surely the team will talk and probably combine ideas, but who decides which ideas are used and not used? Who moves the conversation along? And once the design is ready, how do the workers get organized? The biblical vision of our eternal home is billions of people from dramatically diverse cultures and backgrounds building, cultivating, and creating for Jesus and each other. Even in a perfect world, you can’t have those dynamics and not have leadership, authority, and organization. The alternative is that everybody thinks the same way, has the same ideas, and have the same abilities. Does that sound like eternal bliss or eternal torture? One of the reasons the popular idea of heaven is so repulsive is that life in a monochrome world sounds suicidally mundane. But the biblical picture isn't less diversity in eternity but more. Not only will we be from different cultures, nations, and territories, but we will be from different periods of history. Ancient Romans with medieval Britons with 21st century Brazilians and so on. Diversity of people means diversity of station. And it seems to me that our station in the new creation is in some measure determined by our works in this present world.

There's more to come.

Rewards: Part 1

This is the first installment of a series of articles I want to write on eternal rewards. I’m not going to make a big case for why this is important. If you want to read it, read it. If not, don’t. But I do want to let you know where I’m coming from. The debate over rewards was sparked again in my mind by reading Randy Alcorn’s The Treasure Principle. I always find this little book a provocative read on Christian finances. However, some of his arguments, and particularly those on eternal rewards, seem at first glance a little off. As one individual noted, it’s rather economical. Do good things now for a big pay off down the road. I personally have a friend who doesn’t believe in an afterlife because he is put off by the apparent self-focused attitude of earning eternal rewards. That’s interesting to me. I’ve read some of Alcorn’s other work on rewards, and he likes to pin the problem on faulty Christian teaching. That no doubt is a problem. But I’ve come across plenty of unchurched, non-Christians who find the thought of eternal rewards distasteful. Perhaps it’s just a cultural thing, but something about the idea of a supernal stock market is a bit off-putting.

At this point, you might be thinking I disagree with Alcorn. You’d be incorrect. While I find some of his interpretations a bit off, overall I think he is right. But I didn’t come to that position easily. Basically what follows from this point on are my thoughts on eternal rewards.

Degrees of Reward
This point is essential to establish. Just to observe that there is a “reward” for Christians isn’t sufficient to argue for “eternal rewards” in the sense that I am speaking. All Christ followers will receive the reward of eternal life. The question is are there degrees of reward. I believe the Bible gives a big nod to that one. But before I delve into the evidence, let me preface by saying that I realize this raises some objections which will be dealt with in due time.

There are several lines of texts that I want to look at, but the first are those found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. In first part of Matthew 6, Jesus warns against performing righteous acts like giving, praying, and fasting in order to confirm the suspicions of your adoring fans that you are indeed a spiritual giant. Rather Jesus commends righteousness done in secrecy, for “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The problem isn’t reward hunting. It’s just hunting in the wrong spot. The faux spiritual gurus hunt for it in human applause. We are instead to seek for in God. Jesus concludes: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay for yourselves treasures in heaven”(Matthew 6:19-20). So here Jesus could have said something like, “Guys, stop being so economical. Doing good to get a payoff! It’s just disgusting.” But he doesn’t condemn economics; he encourages them. He just says we need to stay in the right marketplace.

The second line of texts are what I call performance evaluation passages. Texts like Revelation 22:14: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done.” Jesus doesn’t say we have to give an account (though other passages suggest that); he says he is going to distribute payments for what we have done. Or read this text:

Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
(1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

Some scholars argue that the reward is eternal life and the loss is eternal punishment (i.e. hell). But the one who “suffers loss” will be “saved.” So the “loss” is apparently not incompatible with salvation.

The third line of texts are Jesus’ parables of the talents or minas (found in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27). Biblical scholars uncomfortable with eternal rewards often point out that there is a lot of unquestioned faulty interpretation of texts discussing rewards. Generally, I agree with that assessment, and these parables are a case in point. We tend to notice that the guys who double their money for the master are rewarded, and the guy who buries his money in the ground gets no reward. But Jesus goes a bit further than that. Jesus says the coward is a “worthless servant . . . cast into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” To be a worthless servant for Jesus doesn’t just mean the loss of a reward. It means eternal death. Jesus’ point is that his true servants (i.e. those called by God, filled with his Spirit, and destined for resurrected life with Jesus) do something with what they are given for Jesus. Implication: If you are not doing anything for Jesus, then you’re not a true servant. So what does this text have to do with rewards. A lot. Because at the end of the day, there are two faithful servants and there are two different rewards. In the Luke parable, one servant is put over ten cities and the other is put over five cities. Sounds like degrees to me.

Why Read Fiction?

Mary DeMuth offers a great little article on why Christians should read fiction. Here is one paragraph I found very insightful:

Some might argue fiction should always tout an obviously-redemptive message in order to impact the world for Christ. Barbara Nicolosi, the executive director of Act One, adds nuance to that notion, expanding the purpose of art to posing and allowing for questions that spark a spiritual journey. She writes, “Too many Christians think we are supposed to use the arts to give people the answers. We’re not. We’re supposed to use the arts to lead them into a question. And that is just one stage in their personal journey of divine revelation. Once they have a new question, they will be on a search—consciously or subconsciously. . . The arts can definitely send people delving.”

Proverbs 16:18 "Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Re:Sound

Here is some free music from Re:Sound. It's the music coming out of Mars HIll Church in Seattle. When Re:Sound launches fully on June 11th, all their music will be free.

Living Gospel Centeredly

J.D. Greear offers some helpful thoughts on staying centered on the gospel.

Romans 6:1-11

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Grace Doesn’t Abound So That Sin Can. The greater the sin the greater the grace required to overcome that sin. But the point of grace is not to increase sin but to destroy it. That in a nutshell is Paul’s main point here. In chapter 5, Paul declared that sin is a massive, universal epidemic killing all those infected with it. So profound are its effects and so tyrannical is its power that it disables all persons from resisting its destruction and death. Thus, a new man is needed. A true man, but a man unlike any other man, who is capable of absorbing in himself the destruction of sin for all humanity. This man becomes the ancestor of a new race of persons free from the dominion and death of evil. Thus, it is God’s grace delivered through this man, and through him alone, that sin is overcome. And the grace delivered through him brings total forgiveness and redemption for a lost race. So what do screwed up minds do with such grace. They either find a fault or a loop hole. Those wanting the opportunity to deliver themselves from sin’s power say, “But if the grace comes to us so independently of how good we are, then why not just disobey so that grace may abound?” Meanwhile, those wanting the opportunity to live the ways they always have think, “Ah, sin abounds, grace abounds. So my job is to sin and God’s job is to forgive. Sounds like a good arrangement.” So “are we to continue in sin that grace may abound”? There is almost no way to translate from Greek to English the force of Paul’s negative response to these thoughts, but it would something “#@LL NO!”

How Can We? That’s he what says: “How can we who died to sin still live in it?” He doesn’t say, “How could we” or “How dare we” or even “How would we.” This isn’t a lecture on how guilty we are or an argument for perfectionism. This is how God’s grace overcomes sin. The power of his grace unleashed on the cross doesn’t guilt or scare us into obedience. It loves us their. God grace brings us to the point where we cannot help but see our rebellion and say, “How can I do this? How can I stay here? Why would I?”

Sin Is Death. Sin isn’t just bad; it’s deadly. Forging that connection is key to understanding Jesus’ saving grace. Jesus didn’t just die to forgive the badness of our sin. He died to crush the destructive power of our sin as well. He rose not only to restore a relationship with God, but also to make us like him. You can’t have sin without death, and you can’t have life without righteousness.

A Guy's Guide To Marrying Well

This looks like a helpful little book for single guys. You can read it online or download a copy.

Clayton's Story

Romans 5:12-21: Part 3

Tired. I can genuinely say that at the age of 30 I am tired of this world. I didn’t say that I am tired of life. That is something different altogether, but I have grown weary of this world. I’m tired of broken things, broken marriages, broken friendships, broken spirits, broken hearts, broken bones, broken cars. I’m tired of seeing life sucked out this world through old age, decay and rot, thorns and weeds, disease and death. I’m tired of reading the newspaper, tired of watching the nightly news report, tired of hearing local, national, and international problems with no solution on the horizon. I’m tired of war, tired of poverty, tired of genocide, tired of racism, tired of baby killing. I’m tired of lies, spin, manipulation, hatred, spite, and rudeness. I’m tired of autism, cancer, Aids, malaria, and heart failure. I’m tired of blowing my temper, being self-absorbed, battling lust, failing again and again to love my family sacrificially. Honestly, I’m tired of me. That is, to us the biblical term, my “flesh.” And the more I live, the more tired of all of this I become. There is so much of this world that I loathe with pure, irrepressible hatred, which is why I find Romans 5:12-21 so comforting.

Much More. I say I’m tired of sin and evil, and Paul says “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” I say I hate death; Paul says, “much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” He doesn’t say that Christ’s death and resurrection neutralizes sin and death, or that it creates a level playing field of opportunity for us. He doesn’t even say that it merely obliterates evil and death. He says that through Christ the free gift of righteousness and life abounds much more. Jesus didn’t just pulverize our sin and condemnation; He turns it on its head. I picture the world on a numerical lines slowly drifting further and further into the negative. Negative 6, negative 7, slowly picking up the pace and moving ever further from zero. Through the massive work of Jesus, however, God takes the world and not only pulls it out of the negative, but places it around a thousand and sets it on an infinite progression in the positive.

Floods and Faucets. I find this so practical. Paul is saying that the degree to which I loathe the private and public, local, national, and international horrors of this world, is massively less than the degree to which I will rejoice in the new and coming state of affairs. I can hardly imagine an intensity of feeling comparable to the revulsion we feel towards say ethnic cleansing or child sex-trafficking, but one day we will feel something far more intense--joy. The good that is coming will make all the evil, suffering, loss, and pain of this present world seem like a very small thing. I don’t mean it will be less hated, or that it will be even less significant. In fact, I think that the horrors of today will be more revolting in the new heaven and new earth. But the torrential downpour of life, righteousness, and joy that will saturate us an all things will make this present darkness seem like a dripping faucet.

Piper on Abortion

With the abortion issue again gaining attention as the President is set to give a speech at Notre Dame, I think it is a good time to reflect again upon issue. I mean no ill will towards President Obama, and I don't think Piper does either, but how can anyone escape the clear moral logic presented in this video?

Romans 5:12-21: Part 2

As I stated in my last post, the thought of inheriting Adam’s sin and condemnation is a difficult pill to swallow. As such, when most modern individuals read this passage that is what they focus upon. But do notice that that is not what the apostle Paul focuses on. The only reason why Paul brings up inherited sin is to show that Christ trumps it.

He writes, “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”(Romans 5:16)

Again, “If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17)

And, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)

And, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20)

So here is what I'm thinking. I realize that it is entirely natural to resist the idea that I receive the consequences, and in this case eternally severe consequences, for another persons actions. But perhaps we should be careful what we wish for. Track with me. If it is unjust for one to receive the consequences of another’s actions, then that means I will only ever receive the consequences of my own actions. That to me is a problem. It’s a problem, for one, because I’m not all that great of a person. I’ve done plenty to screw up my marriage, my family, and my entire life. If any of that is going to be fixed it, I have go fix it. I have to identify the problems, many of which I don’t see, and find the solution. Furthermore, this position leaves me with no hope over insurmountable problems. I simply cannot overcome my son’s autism. I want to, and I do all that I can to help him, but there is only so much I can do. I couldn’t overcome my grandpa’s bad heart that killed him. I can’t overcome the disease and death that will take me, my wife, and my children. Wars, genocide, world hunger, sex trafficking, slavery, child abuse, etc. are all beyond me to solve. The only avenue for hope is if I can receive the good earned by another. So here is my point. If we say that inheriting Adam’s sin is unjust, then logically we have to say that inheriting Christ’s righteousness is unjust as well. If we can’t be damned in Adam, then we can’t be saved in Jesus. And that doesn’t seem like the best option to me.

Romans 5:12-21: Part 1

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12-21)

So I’m guessing that most of the readership of this blog are not real big Jane Austen fans. And there is probably little chance that you’ve seen say, Pride and Prejudice, and even less that you have read it. Well, I have, seen it that is. Two versions. And for the record I’m a Jane Austen fan. Live with it. So here is a little lesson on 18th century romances. Family shame is a big thing. In Pride and Prejudice, for example, the youngest daughter, Lydia, runs off with the philandering Mr. Wickham, which threatens the ruin of her four older sisters. Mr. Darcy would never be able to marry Elizabeth (the eldest sister and heroine) while she has a sister living in disgrace. This all seems very absurd to us. Why should one daughter’s indiscretion bring ruin upon any of the other daughters? I would suggest that the reason this logic makes no sense to us is the same reason many Western minded people find Romans 5:12-21 very difficult to swallow.

I’m not saying that all of 18th century pride and prejudice was good and right. But I do believe that we need to rethink our view of communal responsibility. Our culture is so extremely individualistic that the suggestion that a group of people should receive the consequences of one person’s failure is utterly foreign. Statements like “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,” or “many died through the one’s man trespass,” or “one trespass led to condemnation for all men,” seem harsh and unbelievable. But is our view the right view? Personally, I think Americans live in the midst of contradiction. We are a culture of individuals, but we are also a culture of victims. A culture in which it is okay, even right and proper, to blame my past, parents, peers, puberty, and many other things that don’t start with “p” for my mistakes. What’s that about? Does an individual’s actions lead to consequences for others or not? Is there communal responsibility or not? If the Bible says, “You inherit the consequences of Adam’s sin,” we’re appalled. But if Oprah does a show on depressed mothers who are victims of childhood sexual abuse, we grab the tissues. Maybe we need to be a little more open-minded on the issue and observe that American individualism is not the historical norm. In fact, in most of history and in most cultures, they have had a much more balanced approach to community vs. individual responsibility. If we can’t come to terms with our extremist individualism, we’ll never comprehend this passage.

Tips for Missional Living

Jonathan Dodson offers some great tips for daily missional living.

A Changing World

Two thoughts: 1) I am so thankful we serve a sovereign God, and 2) we have quite a mission

4.5 Hours A Day!

That's the amount of time the average American spends watching TV these days according to this recent USA today article. 31.5 hours a week. That means Americans spend over an entire day every week watching TV and over two months per year. I just keep thinking Neil Postman's phrase "entertaining ourselves to death." The article also states that although there are only an average of 2.55 persons per household, there are 2.73 TV sets. The reasons are obvious. First, you can watch TV anywhere, living room, kitchen, bedroom, basement, etc. After all, it is a shame to have to make supper or exercise or rest in bed without the constant, soothing stream of mind numbing entertainment (I'm getting sarcastice, I know. I can't help it.). Secondly, what if you want to watch the game, and your wife wants to watch American Idol. What a quandary! But with 2.73 TV sets the solution is simple. Divide and conquer.

I'm really trying hard not to go overboard on this, but the statistics are staggering. According to the research done in Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, one hour vegging before the tube reduces your social interaction for the day by 10%. So for the average adult there is 45% less social interaction per day. We complain about our hectic lifestyles, but maybe our problem isn't so much in the amount of stuff we have to do but the amount of stuff we think we have to watch. In any case, the next time we're tempted to say, "I just don't have the time," perhaps the reality is we just watch too much TV.

Gospel Coalition

I have been gone all week attending the Gospel Coalition conference in Chicago. It was a very helpful, challenging, and encouraging time. There were quite a few great messages, but Tim Keller's message on idolatry was profound. You can watch it here.

Susan Boyle

If you haven't heard about this yet, consider yourself officially out of the loop. Seriously, this video tells a pretty great story. After watching the video, check this article out on how the tv powers that be are reconsidering the role of ugly people. I'm not joking. It seems a stunning new revelation that unattractive people can actually do something of value. Hopefully, the realization lasts for more than a moment. There is a metaphor of the gospel in here (and no I'm not stretching), which is why I think the story is so powerful.

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent
by dwarthy

A Visual Metaphor

This looks to me like a visual metaphor of relational strife. What do you think?

Romans 5:6-11

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.(Romans 5:6-11)

What does your worldview tell you about your enemies? How about what you are to do to your enemies? And I mean all enemies from the jerk at work who incessantly mocks you to the terrorist who blows up your husband. None of us likes violence, arguments, or war. Some of us are even anti any war. In case you are wondering, this isn’t a defense or an attack of any war. I’m intentionally leaving out any political overtones. My point, though, is that it is easy to stay out of such things as war and violence, slander and malice, from a distance. But what happens when the attack is up close and in your face. What does your view of the world tell you that you should do?

Here is my observation. Many religions say that they are about peace. But at the heart of the faith is a certain sense of superiority. They’ve got the answers, and those who oppose their answers are opposing the work of God. Their enemies are God’s enemies, and what do you do with God’s enemies? On this point the secularists are all saying, “Amen! (or a secular version of amen)” And they are eager to point out that much of the unjust violence perpetuated throughout history has been in the name of religion. I hear them saying, with Lennon’s Imagine playing in the background, “As soon as you bring in God and ultimate truth you undermine the mission of peace and love.” But I have another observation. Secularists want their to be no universal truth, that is except for the truth that there is no universal truth. Those who believe in universal truth, they affirm, are dangerous. Which sounds a bit like saying they are enemies. And then my mind recalls that much of the violence over the past century have come at the hands of secularists (Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.). It seems that all worldviews tend to create a class of superiors and a class of enemies.

This all leads to a third observation. What happens when I move my gaze from nations to me? What happens when I’m cheated, ripped off, criticized, hated, rejected, beaten, raped, abused, manipulated, treaded upon, oppressed, etc. What happens when real life happens? What does my worldview tell me then? Because if the mission of peace and love doesn’t happen on that level, there seems no chance that it is going to happen on an international level.

Enter Romans 5:6-11. Universal truth creates a class of superiors and enemies, right? Well, what if the universal truth is that the Author of truth dies for his enemies? What if the ultimate truth is that the King of kings sacrifices himself for the opposition party? What will that tell me on a personal level and on an international level? Maybe Christianity does draw a line between those whom God has rescued and those still in rebellion against him, but God dies for his enemies. If Christianity singles you out as an enemy of God, then my role as a Christian is not to hate you or stand in pride over you. My role is to die for you as my God died for me. I know of no other worldview, religious or secular, that calls for a such a radical mission of peace and love.