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.

Bathroom Reading

I am a firm believer in taking every moment captive for Christ's use, and to me that includes time on the can. Recently I had a chance to look through, though not all the way through, Whiter Than Snow, a book of meditations by Paul Tripp. The chapters are very brief and can be read over in a couple of minutes. Despite its brevity, the content is incredibly rich. I'm not sure what Tripp would think of me calling his book bathroom reading, but hopefully he'll realize that a potty break needs as much redemption as any other moment in my life.

Jesus Wants the Rose

A few weeks ago I referred to a story told by Matt Chandler about Jesus desire for the rose. Well, here is the clip of the original telling.