Think on this little poem by S. W. Gandy for a few minutes. Don't pass over it once you think you got it. Mull it over and then read Hebrews 2:14. And then rejoice and proclaim if you know you have been set free.
He hell in hell laid low,Leon Morris says, "Jesus broke the devil's grip on his people when in death he became the death of death" (Morris 1990, 86).
Made sin, he sin o-erthrew,
Bowed to the grave, destroyed it so,
And death, by dying slew.
Now that's a Christian t-shirt that could bring in the big bucks. If I could only find a way to twist a scripture, convincing my fellow believers that they are out of the will of God if they don't buy my new "Eschatology is Life: The Rest is Just Details" t-shirt, I could make millions. Or maybe I can make it look like one of those totally sweet Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts--It could become a racy Christian fad (to the glory of God, of course) for teeny boppers and old gray haired men who are torn between their love for eschatology and a desire to dress their age (a love for eschatology always wins in the end). If I were only a marketing specialist, I would be in a place where I wouldn't even have to trust God or ask for my daily bread. The possibilities are endless.
For those of you who don't know me, this is what I like to call satire.
Anyway, onto the outcome of our latest poll on eschatology (the study of the end times). I was surprised by the outcome: 1 Historical Premil, 8 Amil, 0 Dispensational, 1 Postmil, 4 Don't know's, 0 Don't Care's, and 0 Have never heard of these terms.
I did not realize that there are so many of like mind who come to this blog. Personally, I voted "I don't know." I really am torn between the Amil and Historical Premil positions. In this post I am not going to take you through what the Scriptures teach about eschatology. Rather, I am going to just say a few important things about eschatology in general.
1. Fellowship should never be broken over eschatological views. Great grace and humility should accompany a person's end times position. There is no eschatological view which is essential for saving faith. End times issues should be considered debatable, non-divisive issues--in the same category as things like sabbath observance, predestination, politics, spiritual gifts, music, and other issues like this. Christians can and will think differently on these things because we see dimly as through a mirror in this time between the times. Sheer immaturity is what causes Christians to divide over issues like eschatology (and the other issues listed above).
2. Just because eschatology is a debatable issue does not mean that it is unimportant. Many neglect eschatology as if it were never talked about in the Scriptures. Eschatology is talked about in the Scriptures just as much as any other doctrine. It is the primary theme in the book of Revelation and in 1 and 2 Thessalonians. It is talked about in detail in the Gospels, and here and there throughout the letters of Paul and Peter. It is also discussed in some detail in the Old Testament--Daniel, Ezekiel, etc. No, we should not divide over it, but we should take it very seriously. We should also speak out against (but not divide over) certain eschatological views that seem to go against other important doctrines of Scripture. For example, I would never refuse fellowship with a full-fledged dispensational, but I would speak out against their view that the sacrificial system will be reinstated during the millenium because it goes against the entire book of Hebrews.
3. In our study of eschatology, it is just as important, if not more, to know why the author (of whatever book) is talking about eschatology than it is to know the specifics of what the author is actually saying about eschatology. This may seem like splitting hairs, but I do think it is important. Many get so bogged down with trying to nail down the exact chronology of end times events that they fail to understand why end times events are talked about in the first place. End times events are hardly ever talked about in the Scriptures for the express purpose of giving us a detailed chronology of what is going to happen. It is written to help Christians live their everyday lives in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. End times doctrine is first and foremost to help us in our everyday lives.
4. It is of utmost importance to know how apocalyptic literature works before we go to the book of Revelation to gain a better understanding of what the Bible has to say about the end times. Apocalyptic literature functions a certain way. Unless we know how it functions, we do not have a point of reference when it comes to interpreting it. Apocalyptic literature is a literary genre like poetry or narrative. And, just like poetry and narrative, it can only be read and interpreted correctly when done so following the rules of interpreting that particular literary genre. Thus, apocalyptic literature cannot be read in the same way that we read the Gospels, or Paul's letter, or the Psalms.
For my class on Isaiah, I am reading a book by D. Brent Sandy entitled Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic. I am only on chapter 2, but have found it to be an excellent read thus far. Sandy gives a general overview of prophecy in the first chapter.
One of the things I love about prophecy is the cutting edge, extreme language of the prophets. When the Old Testament prophets speak of the holiness and wrath of God, it makes you want to run and hide in a cave. But when they speak of the love of God your heart revolts. "NO WAY! There is no way God could be that kind! How could He possibly still love and redeem such an obstinate, sinful people?" I love the prophets because the character of God is so clearly portrayed.
In talking on this same subject, Sandy said,
"As a billboard for God's hatred of sin, prophecy speaks boldly to the point. Anyone who fails to see the message is terribly near-sighted. And as a sign of God's everlasting love, prophecy speaks tenderly to the heart. Unfortunately, those who fail to read the billboards advertising God's anger probably miss the signs announcing his love as well. One cannot be understood without the other."I give a hearty "Amen" to Sandy here. I am afraid that in an attempt to protect the warm fuzziness of the love of God from the heat of the wrath and anger of God, many have ended up losing the love of God. It is simply impossible to understand the love of God apart from an understanding of how much God hates sin. One simply cannot understand the love of God apart from an understanding of what sinners deserve as a result of their rebellion. The love of God losses its meaning when divorced from His hatred of and wrath toward sin.
"Our happiness in something is entirely built upon an intellectual understanding of how long the happiness will last. The happiness that drunkenness, money, and sex can provide is often real happiness, but it is not ultimate happiness. In reality, the question is, “how can we find ultimate happiness?” Ultimate happiness can only be found in something that can offer the promise of eternal satisfaction. With this in mind, looking for ultimate happiness on this temporal earth will only lead to despair. Ultimate happiness can only be found in God, because only God can deliver on the promise of eternal satisfaction.
God is the only infinite entity in all of existence. The love, beauty, glory, justice, and happiness of God simply cannot be exhausted, therefore we can be assured that we will never run out of that which makes us happy. The problem is that right now, because of the effects of the fall, even our finding happiness in God can (and does) have physical draw backs (if you disagree, talk to those undergoing persecution for the name of Christ), which can limit our temporal enjoyment of it. How then can Christians defend the thesis that ultimate happiness can be realized when one finds his/her happiness in God? It all has to do with hope.
We live in the already/not yet. Our confidence and surety is that a time is coming when our unabridged enjoyment in Christ will be actualized. We but get a mere taste of it now, but will be wrapped in it for an eternity once Christ welcomes us to our heavenly abode. The mere taste of what we now enjoy (by faith) is much sweeter than what those who are finding their happiness in the temporal satisfactions of the world are tasting, and yet it is not even comparable to the satisfaction of what we will enjoy in heaven."
The Lord has graced us by allowing us to live in the day and age of technology. Technology can be both detrimental and useful for the Gospel. Many of our modern day theologians have capitalized on the advantages of technology. R. C. Sproul has particularly made use of technology by parading his beautiful face on his website. That's right, you heard it, you can now see Sproul in his GQ--Kenish beauty heralding the Gospel at www.ligonier.org. I do not agree with everything Sproul says, but anyone who does not cherish the gift God has given us in Sproul is overly picky and in need of a good old fashion piece of humble pie (and a big boy spankin). He is not the Pope, but he is mightily gifted of God. For those of you who are intimidated by theologians--Sproul has the ability to communicate the most complicated truths in simple terms. I seriously encourage all of you who read this to watch as many of his 20 min lessons as you possibly can. Test everything to the Scriptures, but enjoy this gift that God has given you. It will not take you long to come to the realization that, "Hey, I guess I have been wrong all these years, not all theologians are ugly."
It has been a long while since I have given good ole C. S. Lewis a hearing. I transferred to Liberty University and am finishing my degree online (I will be done in August–Lord willing), and I am taking an apologetics class. For this class I get to read "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis. I read the great majority of it about four years ago while getting my undergrad degree. It is such a blessing to revisit it. Lewis was such a brilliant man. I want to post a quote from "Mere Christianity" regarding the deity of Christ. I wish I could introduce this quote with as much profundity (haha–what up, that’s a real word, and it’s profound) as Lewis penned it (yep, silly to even try). Anyways, behold the glory and authority of our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the God-man.
"One part of the claim tends to slip past us unnoticed because we have heard it so often that we no longer see what it amounts to. I mean the claim to forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the speaker is God, this is really so preposterous as to be comic. We can all understand how a man forgives offences against himself. You tread on my toe and I forgive you, you steal my money and I forgive you. But what should we make of a man, himself unrobbed and untrodden on, who announced that he forgave you for treading on other men’s toes and stealing other men’s money? Asinine fatuity is the kindest description we should give of his conduct. Yet this is what Jesus did. He told people that their sins were forgiven, and never waited to consult all the other people whom their sins had undoubtedly injured. He unhesitatingly behaved as if he was the party chiefly concerned, the person chiefly offended in all offenses. This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. In the mouth of any speaker who is not God, these words would imply what I can only regard as silliness and conceit unrivaled by any other character in history."
So, on what basis does the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John assure his readers that they have eternal life? Lets take a look. In 1 John 1:6-7 John says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." If you do not walk in the light, then you can have no assurance that the "blood of Jesus His Son cleanses" you from your all your sin. What does it mean to walk in the light? It is very clear from the context that walking in the light has to do with obedience to the commands of God. The question is, Do you walk in the light; Do you walk in obedience to the commands of Christ? If not, you can have no assurance that you have eternal life. We must look at this in a positive light as well. After all, John wrote this to provide his readers with assurance. If you walk in the light, if you live in obedience to the commands of Christ you can have great assurance that you have eternal life. Rejoice!
John in no way is here teaching that you must flawlessly walk in the light. NO! John is not teaching that only those who live lives of perfect obedience can have assurance that they have eternal life. This is such a big deal that John, in the very next verse, says that "if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We also know that John is not here saying that assurance of salvation is given only to those who flawlessly walk in the light because just 4 verses after saying this he says, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1).
This is such a difficult thing to communicate to people today because of a tendency to oversimplify things. Yes, we do have an advocate with the Father if we do sin, however it is true that you can have no assurance that you have eternal life if you, as a lifestyle, walk in the darkness. We all falter, we all mess up, however those who truly have eternal life, as a lifestyle, walk in the light.
So let us ask the beloved Apostle John, "JOHN! How can I know that I have eternal life?" Hear the words of the Holy Spirit through his Apostle, ""If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:6-7)
Let us move on to 1 John 2:3-6, "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked."
I do not know how John could have made this any clearer. "Beloved John, how can I know that I have eternal life, how can I know that I have saving faith?" Let me ask you a question, "Do you keep the commandments of God? If not, then you can have no assurance that you have eternal life, however if you do keep His commandments then rejoice for you have eternal life." Once again, John is not saying that keeping the commandments of Christ in some way merit salvation, rather he is saying that keeping the commandments of Christ is that which gives the professor of faith assurance that they have true saving faith.
Notice how emphatic John is here when he says, "The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep his commandments, is a liar." Let us imagine that John were to somehow be thrown into our present day context. Well, one day he decides to go to Starbucks to enjoy the wonderful flavors of rich espresso. He goes the counter, get his drink, and then takes his seat on one of those oh so wonderful wooden chairs with the wide seats to fit our large bottoms. After sitting for a few minutes sipping his cup of joe he notices a well dressed man come in through the door. As the man walks by the Apostle John stops him and says, "Hello friend, are you a Christian?" The well dressed man smiles at John and says, "Why yes, I am. I excepted Jesus into my heart a few years ago." John then looks at him and says, "Would you like to sit and drink coffee with me."
After ordering his drink the man comes back to the table and the two begin to talk. Their conversation starts by them telling their testimonies. After hearing about this man’s entrance into Christianity John then asks him, "Brother, so tell me how you life has changed since you have believed on the Lord Jesus." The man sort of hangs his head and says, "Well, I don’t have much time for my faith. Even though I am a follower of Christ I really haven’t changed all that much since I first accepted Christ. I mean, I know and love God and everything, but to be honest, the only real change in my life is that I have a semi-new set of beliefs and I go to church once or twice a month. I mean, I still get drunk most weekends, never read my Bible, and am not all that honest with my wife, but hey, none of us is perfect."
What would John’s response to this man be? Well, look at what he says in this verse. I suspect that John would say, "What, you know and love God? No you don’t, you are a liar, because the evidence that you know God is that you keep His commandments." John actually calls the one who claims to know God and yet does not keep His commandments a liar. Once again, John here speaking of a life style of disobedience to the commands of Christ. The one who sincerely struggles in their battle with sin need not go away thinking themselves damned to hell.
However, the one who is using the reality that they are imperfect and the reality of a graced based salvation as a crutch they use to justify their sin ought to be concerned for their soul. The one who, as a lifestyle, lives in disobedience to the commands of Christ ought to be concerned for their soul.
More on this later.
John very clearly states his purpose for writing the book of 1 John in 1 John 5:13. "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." John here is not answering the question, "what must I do to be saved?" He is answering the question, "how can I know that I have eternal life," or "how can I know that I have true saving faith." John is here dealing with those who are doubting their salvation. If John were answering the question, "what must I do to be saved," he would definitely answer, "by grace through faith." But this is not John’s purpose, rather he is writing to give his hearers assurance that they truly have eternal life.
This is a question that those who profess Christianity have always asked, "Pastor how can I know that I have eternal life?" It is an amazing thing that John wrote the book of 1st John to answer this question, and yet pastors/believers never use it to give assurance to those who are questioning their salvation. In today’s context, rather than using the clear teaching of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John, Pastor’s deal with the doubts of their people with the popular teachings of modern day Christianity.
The way we answer those who are doubting their salvation ought to be conformed to God’s Word. Most pastors neglect the great amount of teaching in the Scriptures on this subject and simply opt to do their own thing. If someone were to come up to you and ask you, "I have received Jesus as my Lord and Savior but I am doubting my salvation, how can I know that I am truly born again," what would you say? If what you say cannot be found in Scripture then you might need to change your answer. Many do not want to change their answer because the way John deals with these doubts is so foreign to the way the majority in America deal with them today.
I want to stress again that John is not calling into question the fact that faith is enough to save. Salvation is by grace through faith. John is asking the question, "how can I know that I have the sort of faith that saves?" In today’s Christianity if someone were to approach a pastor and say, "Pastor how can I know that I have eternal life?" The pastor would respond by saying something similar to this, "Well, was there ever a time in your life when you prayed to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior; have you ever prayed the sinners prayer?" If the person answered, "Yes I have," the pastor would then say, "Well, did you sincerely mean it?" If then the person said, "Yes" again the pastor would then say, "You have nothing to worry about, you have eternal life."
Many who are reading this would have absolutely no issue with this sort of pastoral counseling because this is such a common way of counseling one who is doubting. However, we must realize that this sort of counseling is absolutely foreign to the Bible. The Bible never eases the fears of professing believers by having them recall a point in time in the past when they prayed a heartfelt prayer. When John deals with these very same fears he says nothing about a heartfelt prayer prayed in the past.
The question we need to ask is this, "on what basis does the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John give assurance to the professing believer who is doubting his/her salvation?" We need to seek to not give someone assurance that they have eternal life if the Holy Spirit does not do so in His Word. So many Pastor’s act as if the Holy Spirit simply has not spoken on this subject, but He Has! The Holy Spirit saw this as such an important issue that he put it into the heart of the Apostle John to write a whole 5 chapter letter on it.
Lets say, for the sake of the argument, that a Mormon came up to me and said, "Hey Jimmy, I want to know if I have eternal life." Imagine how you would respond if I were to say, "Well, my dear Mormon neighbor, let me ask you a question, have you refrained from the consumption of coffee and other caffeinated beverages?" For the sake of the illustration lets say that he says, "Yes!" So I respond to him, "Did you do so with a smile on your face?" Again my Mormon neighbor says, "Yes." Immediately after he responds I say, "Then you have nothing to worry about, you have eternal life." I assume that everyone who is reading this knows that this is a hypothetical situation. How would you respond to my counseling practice here? Would you not consider me a heretic? I would hope so! Why would you consider me a heretic? Would you not because I am doing this man a great disservice by giving him false assurance divorced from Scripture. Essentially, I am giving him a false assurance.
Never for one moment think you are being a biblical minister because you are easing the fears of those who are doubting their salvation. Biblical counselors and ministers seek to give assurance that is based upon a clear understanding of the Word of God. God is not pleased with those who simply ease the fears of the people. In fact, this is why He railed against the false prophets in the OT saying, "You proclaim ‘Peace, Peace’ where there is no peace" (Jer 6:14). What is God saying here? He is saying that His biggest issue with the false prophets is that their only purpose is to provide assurance and peace without a care as to whether the peace preached is true or false.
I do not want to make a hard connection to genuine modern day pastors and OT false prophets, however both essentially are committing the same error. They both give false assurance to their hearers. OT false prophets did everything they could to convince the Israelites that they had nothing to worry about, they tried to convince them that their enemies were not going to come and destroy them, but they did not have one biblical reason for doing so. Modern day pastors do everything to convince those who have simply prayed a prayer that they have no reason to question or doubt their salvation, however they say this without having one biblical reason for doing so. It would be completely different if the Bible was not full of information on how one can have assurance as to whether they are truly born again or not. The fact is that God has given us more than enough information when it comes to counseling the fears of those who are doubting. But, pastors counsel as if God has not said one thing on this issue.
More on this later. For the time being, check it out. Dig your big fat noses (kidding) into the book of 1 John to see how John deals with these fears and concerns. Dig your big fat noses into the book of 1 John to see on what basis the Holy Spirit gives assurance of salvation to the one professing faith in Christ.
When I was a youngster my mom would never leave the house without making a list of chores for me and my two brothers. I am sure many of you were afflicted in this same way. When my mom came home the chores were usually done. However, sometimes my brothers would get side tracked and mom would come home to a pig sty (notice that I said "my brothers." Usually they would try and con me into doing their chores). About 10 min before mom was supposed to get home we would scurry around the house trying to finish what we could. When mom would walk through the door we would hear her yell, "Luke! Clint! Jimmy! Get down here!" We would walk with our heads down knowing we were in trouble. Mom would then say, "Boys, why are your chores not done?" Usually we would come up with all sorts of excuses. Many of which were down right lame. What do you think mom's response would have been if we would have said, "Duh Mom, you never told us to clean the kitchen, mop and vacuum the floors, mow the lawn, and make our beds you wrote it. We would have done these things if you would have told us to do them, but you didn't. All you did was write us a list." First of all, this would have royally ticked my mother off. My Mother usually never loses her head when she is angry. I am sure that her response would have been something like this, "What? You know full well that when I write something it is no less from my mouth than when I speak it. You are merely looking for a way to not do your chores. GET THESE CHORES DONE NOW!" We all know that both speaking and writing are forms of communication. When my mom wrote us a chore list it was just as much from her mouth as if she had spoken it. Writing, in a sense, is speaking in written/codified form. This is why you would go to jail if you recieved a letter from President Bush commanding you to go to court house and sign up for the draft and did not do it. Just because President Bush did not tell you to go to the court house with his mouth does not mean that he did not tell you to go. He told you in written form.
The Bible is God's Word. God has spoken. The Bible is no less the very words of God because it is in written form. Imagine if right now God were to come down to you in the form of an angel and command you (in His God voice) to go to Wal-Mart and buy as many tubes of toothpaste as you could fit in your shopping cart. Would you not immediately drop whatever you are doing to go to Wal-Mart to do what He told you to do? Of course you would. I mean come on, God actually told you to go to Wal-Mart. Only a fool would not take it seriously. Why then do we not take seriously what God has said in His Word. That is right, what God has said in His word is no less from His mouth than if He were to appear to you in the form of an angel and specifically tell you something. Why do we seem to have this disconnect today? Why is it that we do not equate the authority and truth of the written Word with the spoken Word? Do you take God's word as seriously as you would if He were to come to you in the form of an angel and tell you something? Would you take the command to "not store up treasures on earth but in heaven" more seriously if God were to manifest Himself to you and speak to you audibly? Probably, because God is invisible, we do not take His written Word as seriously as we do His spoken Word.
Once we realize that the Bible is the very Word of God there is no going back. Once this is realized, why would we want to look anywhere but to the Bible for answers. If I want to know how to shoot a basketball I am not going to call Bill Gates. No, I am going to call Michael Jordan. If I want to know how to shoot a basketball I am going to call the basketball expert. If I want to know how my wife is feeling I am not going to call her brides maids. No, I am going to go to the source and ask my wife how she is feeling. If I want to know who God is, how He works, what He thinks, and what He expects of me I am going to ask God. So many people today develop their idea of who God is without taking into consideration what God has already said about who He is. Did you catch that? They have not taken into consideration what God has already said about HIMSELF.
Who is God? What does He expect of you and Me? Well, I could really care less what you or I think. What I want to know is what God thinks. This may come as a blow to your self esteem, but your thoughts on God are worthless to me and should be worthless to you. I do not say this because I think I am smarter than you. No, I say this because God is smarter than you AND He has spoken. What counts is God's thoughts on Himself, because He is the expert on who He is, how He works, and what He expects of us. Your thoughts on God are only good in so far as they are shaped by what God (the expert) has said. Sorry to be so up front, but if your ideas conflict with God's then you are wrong. This is why innovative theology is worthless. As a theologian, it is my goal not to come up with new ideas, but to conform my ideas to those of God's. It is my goal, as a theologian, to think God's thoughts after God. To do anything else is down right silly.
More on this later...
Just to warn you, this is a long one. I encourage you to take your time with it and really try to understand everything stated. Since the day Baby James was born, Kristal and I have been meditating on what the Word of God has to say about suffering, prayer, and the will of God. One of the things I have come to see during this time is that many have an over-simplified view of suffering. Some attribute suffering solely to Satan. Some attribute it solely to the judgement and/or plan of God. Some attribute it solely to human sin. This post is the result of Kristal and I trying to be faithful to the whole counsel of God's Word. Many may be suspicious of what we are saying because we are a bit detailed about it. However, being detailed is not always bad. Often times, and in this post, detail is the result of attempting to be faithful to the whole counsel of God's Word.
For starters, we must all understand that prayer is real communication. Prayer is not a magic button we push to get stuff. Some people believe that if you pray in a certain way and say just the right words then God will somehow be a bit more apt to answer your prayers. This is downright wrong. Surely there are wrong ways to come to God, but this is not my point. There is no formula to prayer. Prayer is real lively conversation between a finite person saved by grace to an infinitely wonderful, loving, just, faithful, wrathful, merciful, kind Savior who died for sinners. Whenever this aspect of real living conversation is divorced from prayer we miss the whole of what prayer is. Prayer is asking God for stuff, it is petition. God has the perogative to either give what we ask for or deny it. However, we have the knowledge that if God denies us something it is not because He was not able to give it or because He doesn't delight in blessing His kids, but rather because He has something much better in mind. Some people believe that if they pray a certain number of minutes or hours that God is somehow obligated to give them exactly what they asked for. Some people believe that if they end their prayer using the words "in Jesus name" God is somehow obligated to give them exactly what they asked for. Prayer is when a believer desires something and asks the Father in faith knowing that God will not disappoint. Prayer is a believer petitioning the Father for something in faith believing that God's promises are true no matter the outcome.
Think with me for a moment about our situation with Baby James--Kristal and I fervently prayed for 9 whole months that our baby be born healthy. We prayed that our baby be born with no complications. I guarantee that we prayed more before his birth that there be no complications than we have since his birth that he would survive and fully recover from his brain injury. However, Baby James was not born healthy. There were complications with the birth. Do not for one minute think that God did not hear our many many many prayers for Baby James. God did not disappoint Kristal and I. We know that God heard every single prayer we offered up for an uncomplicated delivery. Why then was he born with complications? Did God fail? Did God not answer our prayer? Did Satan get a victory? Were our prayers useless because God was not able to defeat Satan? Did we somehow fail in our praying? We have had so many people over the past few weeks tell us that our baby is going to heal 100%. Their reasoning for this is because everyone is praying. But we all must remember that for 9 whole months we prayed fervently that Baby James be born without complications and yet he was born with complications. So if God did not answer our prayer the way we asked before he was born, how can we have confidence that he is going to answer our prayers the way we ask now that he is born? I am not writing this to bring up doubts in your minds about the power and efficacy of prayer. I am writing this to help us get a biblical view of prayer. How then is this dilemma solved? God promises to answer prayer, yet He seemed to not answer our thousands upon thousands of prayers that Baby James be born without complications. The question is why. Why was this prayer not answered the exact way it was prayed? Many people do not like the thought that this might have happened because God willed it to fulfill His purposes; they do not like this answer because it seems to make God out to be an agent of evil. Others do not like the thought that this might have happened because of the work of Satan; they do not like this answer because it seems to limit the power of God and ruins our hope that God actually can answer our prayers. Still others do not like the thought that this could have been because of human sin; they do not like this answer because it makes God look like an angry cuss.
Why, according to the Bible, was Baby James born the way he was? Why did the Lord not answer our prayers for a uncomplicated delivery the way we asked? Ultimately, Why do bad things happen to God's people in spite of their fervent praying?" I have come up with 7 reasons from the Scriptures. Each reason given is a clear reason given in Scripture why something bad happened to God's children.
Reason #1: It could have been the result of the fall. We know that God cursed mankind as the result of the fall. God specifically told Adam and Eve in Gen 2:15 that if they were to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. Well, Adam and Eve ate of this tree. When they ate of this tree, God's promise of judgement was enacted upon humanity. Many people have a problem with this because they want to attribute all death and disease to Satan. But to do so would be a mistake. Notice that it was not Satan, but the Lord, who said, "If you eat of it you shall surely die." Death is first and foremost the work of the Lord. It is God's judgement not only against specific individual sins, but also God's judgement against humanity for sin in general--it is the result of the fall. Many have a hard time with this because they want to whole heartedly believe that God would not judge his own people. The common response is this, "What do you mean, I thought God took all judgement toward His own people away on the cross? How are you going to say that an all-loving God would continue to judge His own people?" I can sympathize with this rejection of what I am saying, however I do not think it is biblical. God surely has promised to not judge His own people, but we must make a distinction between temporal/earthly judgement and eternal/hell-bound judgment. God has promised to save his people from Hell, but He has not promised to save us from temporal/earthly judgement. This is why we get all pumped up and thankful when God supernaturally heals--we realize that this is not something He always does. The difference between Christians and non-Christians is that God works his judgement for the good of His children. The judgement of God against non-believers works against them. Do not all Christians die regardless of their piety, prayer life, faith, and good deeds? Every single Christian who has ever walked the face of this earth has died. And if you are still alive, unless you live to see the second coming, you will die as well. Has Satan won a victory every time one of God's kids died? Whenever a person dies, are we to simply attribute it to their lack of faith or prayer? Of course not! Think about the most godly person you know. One thing is true of that person. He/she will die. Why will he/she die? Because God meant what he said when He said, "if you eat of it you shall surely die." Never forget that diseases, wounds, deformities, pain, labor, and death are the work of God's judgement against mankind because of the fall. Of course, He often saves His people through healing, but He never promised to save His people from all diseases in this temporal/earthly life. He has also never promised to save His people from death. He has also never promised to save his female children from His work of judgement expressed through the pain of child birth (Genesis 3:16). How many godly, faithful women do you know who experienced absolutely no pain in labor? He also never promised to save his male children from His work of judgement expressed through the toil of working the ground (Genesis 3:17). This is God's judgement. Yea, judgement that God's children experience even after their conversion.
Reason #2: It could be the result of a lack of faith. After Jesus first started his ministry, He went to His hometown (Nazareth), but he did not do many miracles there (Matthew 13:58). Why did he not do many miracles? Because of their lack of faith. I am not saying that this was the case in our situation, but it is an option. It could be that when Kristal and I prayed for an uncomplicated delivery, God did not answer because of a lack of faith on our part.
Reason #3: It could be the result of a specific sin. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba she became pregnant. To cover up his mistake, David sent Bathsheba's husband to the front lines to be slaughtered. Whatever happened to the child conceived as the result of David's adultery? He died. In 2 Samuel 12:1-22 we see a conversation between David and Nathan. God had Nathan tell David that He was going to judge him for his sin (of adultery and murder) by taking the life of his child. David prayed and prayed and prayed and yet the Lord took the life of his child. Once again, notice that this was not the work of Satan, but rather the work of the Lord. I am not saying that this was the case with our boy, but it is an option. God could have been judging Kristal and I for some specific sin. Once again, I am not saying that this is the case, but I am trying to lay forth all of the reasons why God did not answer someone's prayer the way they wanted Him to. We must remember that God is faithful to both His promises of blessing and judgement. When God promises to meet out judgement, He will bring it about. We always talk about the promise of heaven, but we also must remember that Hell is promised to those who do not turn to Christ in faith. God met out judgement upon David because of the specific sin of adultery.
Reason #4: It could have been the work of Satan. We see in the first chapter of Job a conversation between God and Satan. Satan came to God to ask him permission to bring calamity upon God's most faithful servant. Notice that Satan had to ask God's permission. Throughout the book of Job, anytime Satan wanted to up Job's suffering he had to keep going back to God to get further permission. This is why Satan is described best as a dog on a very short leash. God knew his servant and gave Satan the permission to wreak havoc on Job's family, servants, and property. Here we do see that Satan's plan was death, diseases, and ruin. Baby James' livelihood could have been attacked by Satan. Although this may be the case, we must not overlook the fact that after all of this happened Job said, "The LORD gives and the LORD takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." The Lord then affirms Job's words by saying, "And in all of this Job did not sin with his lips." You see, the Lord did not simply allow Satan to do this. Job understood that life and death are not ultimately in the hands of Satan, but in the hands of the Lord. As strange and as uncomfortable as it sounds, the Lord caused this calamity to come upon Job. Notice how Job attributes all the deaths in his family to the Lord when he says, "The Lord takes away." He does not say, "Satan takes away." Yet, it was very clear that it was the work of Satan in Chapters 1 and 2. So was it Satan or was it the Lord? I think we have to say that it was both. Both Satan and the Lord caused it. But we must ultimately attribute it to the Lord, because Job did not sin with His lips when he did so. God uses Satan like he used Babylon to destroy Israel. In Jerermiah 51:20-24 the Lord speaks about using the wicked nation of Babylon as a tool of destruction. He actually used Babylon to destroy Israel as a farmer uses a hoe to break up the ground. In Isaiah 10:5 we see that God used Assyria in the same way. It is interesting to point out that after God used Babylon to destroy Israel, He destroyed wicked Babylon for destroying Israel out of an evil heart. Strange, but biblical. This is a good illustration of how God uses Satan to further His purposes. He uses Satan as a tool to bring calamity upon people. This does not mean that God and Satan are partners in crime, but it does mean that God sovereignly uses Satan's work of destruction to fulfill his purposes. This is most clearly evidenced by Satan's evil work of putting Christ on the cross. Although Satan causes trouble everywhere he goes, he cannot escape sovereignty. He cannot escape the Divine plan. Every little thing he does furthers the purpose and plan of God. This does not mean that the Lord is not opposed to Satan. NO! He is opposed to Satan in the same way that He was opposed to Babylon. He is opposed, but God is so wise and big that He has worked the evil actions of Satan into His predetermined plan. Notice that Satan is not even mentioned past Job 2. The rest of the book of Job is about Job blaming God with injustice for causing such destruction to him and his family. Never does God deny that He caused Job's destruction. No, He affirms Job's understanding of His own sovereignty in Job's suffering. His issue with Job is that he is accusing God of injustice. Think with me for a moment about the sin of Judas. Judas handed Christ over to the authorities that they might put Him to death. John 13:2 specifically states that the Devil put it into the heart of Judas to hand Christ over to be killed. So here we see that it was Satan who enticed Judas to sin. However we see in Acts 2:23 and again in 4:28-29 that Jesus was handed over according to the predetermined plan of God, the foreknowledge of God, the hand of God, and the purpose of God. So who did it, Satan or God? Well... both. But the Scriptures seem to put God forward as the primary agent of action. So once again, you see that although Satan was actively involved in the death of Christ, it was ultimately the work of the Lord. I am in no way trying to trivialize the work of Satan, rather I am trying to put it into it's right perspective. Satan truly does work. Satan is a true adversary. It is his work to steal, kill, and destroy. Yes, Satan does have a hand in some of the suffering in the world. Yes, Satan does have a hand in some of the death in the world. Yes, Satan is a true force. However, we must understand the work of Satan in the context of the sovereignty of God. I once heard an excellent illustration describing how the work of Satan fits into the plan and purpose of God: There were once two people who lived next to each other. The one was a Christian and avidly sought a friendship with his neighbor who was a non-believer. The more the believer pursued a friendship, the more his neighbor hated him. The man's anger toward his Christian neighbor grew so great that he decided to go cut down his Christian neighbors' favorite Oak tree in the back of his property. So, he got himself an axe, tromped over to his neighbor's house, and began hacking away. After he finally chopped through the trunk of the big beautiful oak, the tree fell on top of him. He was trapped and could not get away. Later that day the Christian went out back of his house surprised to see his beloved oak chopped down. He quickly ran over to his trapped neighbor. He cried out, "Are you ok? What happened?" His neighbor replied, "I chopped your favorite oak down because I hate you and it fell on me. But I don't care. I would do it again because I hate you." The Christian neighbor then looked at the man with a smile on his face and said, "Sorry that my tree had to fall on you. But thanks! I was planning on cutting it down sometime this week because I was planning on using it to build a deck on the back of my house." You see, in an attempt to do evil against his Christian neighbor, he ended up serving his neighbor. This is a helpful way of looking at the work of Satan in our lives. Satan simply can try and try and try to defeat our Great God, but he cannot. Not only can he not successfully be a threat or a problem for our God, everything he does actually fulfills the purposes of the Lord. This is why in Romans 8:31, Paul says, "if God is for us who can be against us." What Paul is saying is that no one can successfully be against the people of God. How can you successfully be against an infinitely wise, sovereign, and powerful God? Everything Satan does, as strange as it seems, furthers the purpose and plan of our God. Everything Satan did to Christ fulfilled prophecy which proved the validity of the claims of Christ. Yes, Satan could be a factor in our situation, but we must remember that Satan only does that which the Lord allows. We must also remember that God is the ultimate actor on the stage of this earth.
Reason #5: The Lord could have brought this about so that He might bring glory to His name. In John 9, Jesus came into contact with a man who was born blind. When this man met Jesus he was 40. Everyone knew of this man. Everyday as they went to the market place they saw him on the side of the road begging for food, money, and shelter. One day as Jesus and His disciples were walking by this man one of the disciples asked Jesus, "Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Was it because he sinned, or was it because his parents sinned?" (John 9:1) Jesus' response is not quite what we would expect it to be. He does not attribute this man's blindness to Satan. He does not attribute it to his lack of faith or his lack of prayer. The Lord attributes this man's blindness to Himself. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life" (John 9:2). The purpose of this man's blindness was to bring glory to God. God desires to show Himself to be the great physician. God loves to flex His muscles. God loves to show off his ability to bring hope to a hopeless situation. In our situation with James, has not God revealed Himself as the one who is mighty to heal? Has He not revealed Himself as the one who cares for us? Has He not revealed Himself as the one who "does what He pleases? (Psalm 115). Baby James' complications were not a mistake. God did not drop the ball. He was creating a situation by which He might get glory. I understand that this is a hard pill to swallow. Many may say, "Jimmy, what are you saying? Are you saying that God orchestrated things to happen the way He did? Are you saying that a loving God put you, your wife, your family, and your baby through large amounts of pain and trauma for the sake of showing off His ability to heal and answer prayer?" To put it a bit bluntly, Yes! That is exactly what I am saying. Never forget that the man Jesus healed was blind for 40 years. He experienced 40 full years of darkness. He experienced 40 years of difficulty. Being blind in the 1st Century is completely different than being blind in the 21st Century. Being blind in the 1st Century meant leading a life hardship and begging. This is not to say that being blind in the 21st century is not fraught with problems, but because of technology, welfare, and a generally more sympathetic society a life plagued with blindness today is much easier. The Lord purposed 40 years of hardship for this man "so that the work of God might be displayed in Him."
Reason #6: The Lord could have brought this about for the simple reason of providence. The Lord has mysterious ways about moving people where He wants them. In Acts 7 we learn about the stoning of one of the spiritual giants of the early church. In Acts 8 we see that on the same day that Stephen was martyred for the faith, "a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem" (Acts 8:2). What was the result of this persecution? Read the rest of Acts 8:2--"all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." And then we see in 8:4 that "those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went." Who would of thought! Persecution, as bad as it was, actually advanced the Gospel. Jesus, addressing the disciples in Acts 1:8, said that they would be "my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Jesus' words were fulfilled when the disciples fled from Jerusalem as a result of persecution. If it were not for the persecution, the majority of the disciples would have remained in Jerusalem. Persecution forced the disciples out to preach the Gospel to the rest of the world. I have no doubt in my mind that the Lord brought this situation about so that Kristal and I may have a Gospel impact on those we would have otherwise not been in contact with. For example, If we had not of gotten pregnant, we would still be in Kansas City and we would not have been in contact with the people we are now in contact with. The Lord moves His people where He wants them so that He might impact specific people in a specific way. Kristal and I have had numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with doctors and nurses that we would not have had if our circumstances were different. Because of the effects of Baby James' injury and disabilities, we will be around people we would not otherwise be around. It is our job as ambassador's for Christ to be faithful evangelists to those the Lord sovereignly puts in our path. Do not think this was a mistake. Do not think that the Lord did not know what He was doing by bringing this all about. He has such wonderful plans for His people. He has His eyes set on specific people and He wants to use us to bring them to the hope of eternal life. The Lord may not move His people where He wants them the way we would choose, but remember that "His ways are not our ways" (Isaiah 55:9).
Reason #7: This could have happened for the sake of our Spiritual growth. Paul, in Romans 5:3 says, "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Suffering is one of the greatest tools the Lord uses to bring about Christ likeness. It is suffering which reminds us that the treasures that this earth has to offer are incomplete and ultimately unsatisfying. It is suffering which convinces us that it is better to "store up treasures in heaven." It is also in suffering where we find intimacy with our savior Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3 Paul says, "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection." So many people stop here and convienently forget to read the rest of the passage which says, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Notice that we fellowship with Christ by "sharing in his sufferings." I have no doubt in my mind that the Lord brought this about so that Kristal and I (and others of course) might grow more and more into the image of Christ. We, as Christians, are not to love trials in and of themselves, but we all ought to love what they bring about in the lives of God's people. The Lord is fashioning Kristal and I into His image, because "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint" (Romans 5:3-4). Trials for unbelievers work against them, but trials for believers bring about a hope that "does not disappoint."
I know that there are other reasons from the Scriptures, but this was a semi-thorough list of why bad things happen to God's people regardless of their great faith and prayer. Once again this is not to call into question the power and efficacy of prayer. All God's Kids believe that God answers prayer. However all God's kids also believe that not every prayer prayed is answered the exact way it is prayed. The difference between Christians is their belief as to why these prayers are not answered the exact way they are prayed. This is why I wrote this post--so that our idea of how God responds to our praying might be shaped solely by the Word of God. God is faithful to His promises. If God does not answer a prayer the way it is prayed, it is not because God could not deliver. God is not the sort of God who makes promises that He cannot keep. If God does not answer a prayer the way it is prayed, it is not because God has somehow failed to be faithful. In our situation with Baby James, we can be certain of one thing--God was completely faithful to respond to our prayers the way He did. Continue in steadfast prayer for Baby James knowing who God is and how He works. God has not dissapointed us! Pray knowing that God is going to do what is best for His name, His people, and His Gospel. God is so gracious and so kind. God has left a line of communication open for us to cast all our cares upon Him. God is able to do abundantly more than we could ever imagine or ask. God is the most wonderful God. God is in control and nothing stands in His way. He does whatever He pleases. This is a good thing, because He is only pleased by what is best for His name, His people, and His Gospel. Kristal and I have confidence in the fact that God will not disappoint us. Kristal and I have confidence that God answers prayer according to His good, loving, and wise plan. Let us together seek to place our faith in the whole counsel of God's Word. Let this be one of those things that occupies our days for the rest of our lives.
I just read this article by my former pastor Jim Elliff. It is so absolutely important. I encourage each and everyone who has been reading my blog to check it out at http://www.ccwonline.org/doctimp.html
In this article he is talking about one of the greatest downfalls of modern day Christians--an Intentional Doctrinal Imprecision. We live in a day where most people, Yea, most Christians, celebrate uncertainty. Most Christians pride themselves on not busying themselves with doctrine. They pride themselves on being "practical" Christians as opposed to doctrinal. This is a false dichotomy. This neglect of doctrine, according to Jim, is not an option. Doctrinal precision is mandated by God in His Word.
In the last post we discussed what is most important when it comes to church shopping. We discussed how to go about determining what is most important. The conclusion was to look at what is most stressed in Scripture. The way to determine what is most important in Scripture is to do a study on the themes of the books of the Bible. The three themes that are most prevelant in the letters of the New Testment are 1. Unity/love, 2. Persecution brought on usually by evangelism, and 3. Doctrinal purity. In this post we will discuss the first of the three themes of the New Testament epistles (letters)-Unity.
Before we do this however I want to make one observation. Notice in the last post that the emphasis was on the Bible. A good one-sentence summary of the last post could be: If you are shopping for a church, look for one that is built upon the firm foundation of the Bible. What are you to look for in a church? You are to look for a church built upon the Bible. A church built upon any other foundation is unstable. Now, what we will be doing in the following posts is discussing what a church built upon the Bible actually looks like.
The first characteristic of a church built upon the Bible is Unity. This characteristic will take a lot of explaining, because we live in a society that worships unity. Unity, in our culture, is the end all be all of our society. What is the problem then? It is not good enough to simply use Biblical words. Athiests and God-haters use Biblical words all of the time, but they pour their own twisted meaning into these words. One of the best ways of learning the reality of this is by sharing the Gospel with a Mormon. Mormon's use the same exact words that Evangelical Christian's use. Words like justification, sanctification, regeneration, glorification are constantly being used by the Mormons. This is the main reason why Mormon's have found greatest success in converting Baptists. They use the same words, but the meaning they put on these words is completely different.
You see, it would not mean all that much if I said, "I believe in God," if by "God" I meant "trees." In actuality (if this were the case) I do not beleive in "God" I just believe in trees, but I say that I believe in "God" because I am making "God" and "trees" synonymous. Almost everyone who lives in America claims to believe in "God." But their definition of who God is is not the same as ours. So in reality, although they claim to believe in God, they actually do not. They believe in something other than God and then just use the name "God" to identify it.
In like manner, almost every individual in our culture claims to be sold out for unity. Most Christians who hear this get excited and say, "Wonderful, because unity is what Christianity is all about." When I hear a person say that they are sold out for unity, my first question is, "Ok, so what is your definition of Unity." 99% of those who say they are sold out for unity are not actually sold out for unity, they are sold out for something other than unity, but then, out of ignorance, call it unity.
Let me illustrate. I go up to a man on the street named George. I say, "Hey, what is the most important element of a healthy society?"
George answers, "Unity!"
I answer, "Unity? Cool! Let me ask you though, what is unity?"
George answers, "Hmm, I guess I haven't thought much about that. But if I would have to nail it down I would have to say that unity has to do with accepting the fact that there is no absolute truth. Unity can only be accomplished when we embrace the fact that no one is right and no one is wrong. We are all on the path of learning. Unity has to do with accepting and embracing everything said by another person or group."
Do you see the problem? George claims to herald unity, but in actuality he does not herald unity. He heralds something other than unity, but then calls it unity. This really is what the call of Sola Scriptura is all about. Being Biblical does not just mean using Biblical words, but using them the way that the Bible does.
So when the Bible speaks of unity, what is it talking about? First of all it is important to point out that unity has nothing to do with being ok that you disagree with other Christians on doctrinal matters. Christians are not to embrace doctrinal/theological diversity. I am not saying that we cannot be unified with those of different theological persuasions, rather I am saying that unity does not involve embracing doctrinal diversity. I find that so many in our culture embrace such diversity.
I do not know how many people I have heard say something similar to this, "It is good for Calvinistic Christians to be around Arminian Christians so that they won't over emphasize the Sovereignty of God. It is also good for Arminian Christians to be around Calvinistic Christians so that they will not over emphasize the freewill that humans enjoy. Without these two theological camps coexisting in Christianity we would probably be in a big mess." The same sort of statements are said about charismatic and non-charismatic circles of Christianity. "It is good for Charismatic Christians to be around Non-Charismatic Christians so that they will not get too caught up in experience. Likewise, it is good for Non-Charismatic Christians to be around Charismatic Christians so they will not turn the Trinity into a Dualinity by neglecting the role of the Holy Spirit."
This logic, at the outset, sounds good. The only problem with it is that it is not grounded on the logic of the Bible. The Bible does not prize doctrinal diversity, rather the Bible prizes doctrinal purity. Think about it. If Christians disagree on Christian Doctrine (which is what has to be true if we are doctrinally diverse) then at least someone has to be wrong. God never rejoices when Christians embrace false doctrine, no matter how helpful it can be in bringing balance to the rest of Christianity. God rejoices when Christians are faithful to the Bible. Christians are never to rejoice in untruth.
If doctrinal diversity is not embraced by the Scriptures, what then is the correct response to dealing with doctrinal disagreements? Pursue doctrinal unity! What is the difference between doctrinal diversity and doctrinal unity? Doctrinal diversity is where two Christians hold mutually contradictory truths. Doctrinal unity is where two Christians believe the same things. What I am saying here will not fair to well in a culture that idolizes diversity (in thought and practice).
Christians are commanded in Scripture to "think the same thing" (Phil 2), to "Be of the same mind toward one another" (Rom 12). Unity is not had through putting our brains in our pockets. True unity has to be worked for. True unity is something that is only accomplished through blood, sweat, and tears. Being committed to doctrinal unity does not involve overlooking your doctrinal differences. It has to do with working together to come to a deeper knowledge of the truth. Do you agree with your Arminian or Calvinist brother or sister? Don't pretend that you are pursuing unity with them by putting your differences aside. Fight for unity! Fight for being like minded. This, of course, does not involve forcing your Christian brother or sister to your position. It involves working as a team to better understand the Bible for the sake of the glory of God, the edification of the church, and the salvation of souls.
Do you see how far off we can be? Our ideas are shaped by our culture in ways that we do not even realize. It is of utmost importance that we are continually going to the scriptures to be told what to believe, to be shown where we are wrong.
We are commanded in the Scriptures to be like minded. This is not an option. We are to work for unity--true unity--unity based on thinking the same things. I am not saying that unity is not accomplished till you have worked out all of your doctrinal disagreements. What I am saying is that true unity produces a desire for like mindedness. True unity drives Christians to want to think the same things.
We have all heard people say similar things, "It's not about being right. It's about love." As in any lie, there is an element of truth in this. Love surely is the greatest commandment. However, true love rejoices in the truth. True love does not sit back with a smile when he knows that his bro/sis in Christ is holding to false doctrine, because false doctrine leads to anxiety, sin, a lack of confidence in God, an earthly mindset, deciet, false practice, false assurance, broken relationships, and many other things. True love pursue's the truth in unity.
The purpose of this post was to introduce the topic of unity. This introduction only focused on one small aspect of unity. I wanted to expose one of the most common misunderstandings of what unity is. The majority of Christians who are "all about unity," are actually not "all about unity." They are are "all about" something other than unity (doctrinal diversity) and then call it "unity." In the next post, we will look further into unity, what it is, how it is accomplished, and how to identify it for the sake of finding a biblical church.
My wife and I just moved from Kansas City, Missouri to New Hampshire. One of the things involved in every long distance move is church shopping. Kristal and I have been scoping out Church websites on the internet since we decided to move. I have been faced with the challenge of finding the right church 4 times in the last 6 years or so. This is my fifth. This series will most likely have many parts to it (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 etc.). There are so many very important things to consider when looking for a church.
The most important thing to consider when looking for a church is Sola Scriptura! What does Scripture lay forth as the most important and fundamental elements of a healthy church? There is a time to get picky when looking for a church, but this has very little to do with that. I am asking, "What is most important? What should I be most concerned about?" When most people look for a church they are looking for all of the wrong things. Why? Because they are not basing their idea of what is most important on the Scriptures. Their main concerns are not the main concerns of the Scriptures.
I will give two illustrations. Have you ever heard someone say something similar to this, "What can this church offer to my kids? Do they have a good children's program, youth group, young adult ministry?" This may be important to some folk, but one must remember that children's ministries and youth groups are not even mentioned in Scripture. I am not saying that youth and children are not important, but I am saying that Scripture never puts an emphasis on classes for each and every age group.
Here is another aspect of church that many are most concerned about. "Well, we really like Church X, but I just don't get much out of their worship. I want a church where the worship is alive!" Once again, this can be a very important aspect in church life, but should this be of utmost importance when it comes to looking for a church? Of course not! How much emphasis does the Bible put on the style of music? Does the Bible even lay out the specifics of worship? Not really! You will find in the Psalms some talk about praising God with all sorts of instruments. Jesus tells us that His true worshippers will worship in Spirit and in truth. But this verse has very little to do with corporate worship. Frankly, the style of worship is never laid out as a test of the health of a church. Why then are people so concerned about it? Because something other than the Bible is shaping their idea of what is most important to look for in a church. This really is sad. Because nearly the entire New Testament is geared toward informing us of what is most important in church life.
It may seem that I am leaving the discussion here for a moment, but hold on, I will come back. At this point it must be asked, "Ok Jimmy, when I am looking for a church I must look to the Bible. But how do I know what is most important in the Bible? You tell me to look for those things that the Bible emphasizes, but how do I know what the Bible emphasizes? I mean, common, it is a big book." This is an excellent question. How does one know what the Bible emphasizes? The answer to this question is very easy, but it is hard to put it to practice.
The simple answer to this question is, "Well, what does the Bible talk most about?" The greatest way of discovering what is emphasized most in the Bible is by doing a study on the themes of the Bible. What was it that Paul saw as so important that he wrote a whole letter about it? Remember that the majority of the books of the New Testament are letters. Yes, when you read the New Testament you are reading someone else's mail. For instance, the Book of Galatians is a letter that Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia. Why did he write this letter? Because there were certain problems and situations going on in Galatia that Paul deemed important enough to address before his next visit. Isn't that interesting. We go to the Bible looking for what we think is most important. We read and read and read until we find something that appeals to us. This is completely wrong. We are to go to the Bible to be told what is most important. What did Paul deem most important? What did Jesus deem most important? We must adopt their view of what is most important if we want to be Biblical.
What we American Christian's usually do when we read the Bible is we sit down and read a chapter here and a chapter there. Many do not even do this. Rather they do topical studies (they study different topics that are in the Bible. You know, things like marriage, relationships, giving etc.). The nature of a topical study is to look at a whole bunch of verses that refer to the same topic. The majority of the time these verses are pulled straight out of context for the sake of bolstering the author's point.
Do you want to know the themes of the Bible? It isn't going to happen through topical studies (as helpful as they may be). You see, when the author of one of the books of the Bible sees something as so important that he writes a whole letter about it, we should lean in close. We should have our eyes and ears glued to him hanging on his every word. Why? Because the Apostle of the Lord is speaking. He is informing us on what we should deem as most important.
We often forget that the letters of the New Testament were written by real people, to real people, about real life situations. When Paul sat down to write the book of Galatians he did not say, "I want the Galatians to know where I stand on theological issues." When Paul wrote Galatians he said, "Oh poop! The church I planted in Galatia is being attacked by false teachers that are promoting disunity in the church. I need to warn them. I need to give them a heads up." The letters of the New Testament are not theology journals. The letters of the New Testament are dealing with real cutting-edge church life.
Let me illustrate what the Apostles were doing when they wrote their letters. I just moved from Kansas City. I sat under two of the most able Bible teachers I know of. I moved half-way across the country to New Hampshire to start a church. I stay in contact with the elders of my previous church. They see me as one of their brethren. They see me as one of their students (because I did an internship under them). I end up starting a church in New Hampshire. Well, the two elders I was under at Kansas City hear that there are some very influential men who have come into the church and start causing discord. They start teaching all sorts of strange things. How would (or should) the two elders in Kansas City respond? Lets pretend that we are in 1st Century Palestine before they have phones and email. The two elders in Kansas City are concerned about the well being of the church. They are concerned about their former student. So they get out a piece of paper and pencil and begin to write me a letter instructing me what to do. The letter may look similar to this.
"Dear Jimmy and the Church in New Hampshire,
Greetings from Kansas City. Christ Fellowship Greets you.
We have heard that many terrible things are happening in your church. We know how wonderfully you started out and are terribly grieved to see what is happening. There are a few things that we suggest you do... (so they give us some ideas on how to stop the false teaching), and here are some scriptures that might help you.
Please! Oh please do not let this discord continue in your church. You must love one another from the heart. Do not look down on one another. Kick that false teacher out of your assembly. Kick him out of the service before he does anything worse.
We are praying for you. Oh and greet the saints there. Last time we visited we had such a good time. Tell Sara that we are praying for her lost family still.
Love,
Christ Fellowship"
Does this at all look familiar? Does this not have the same form and feeling of the letters of the New Testament? Of course this would look a bit different today. We would probably just call each other up on the phone to save on postage. But this essentially is what the New Testament is. The letters of the New Testament are written to churches about church life. They are not written to individuals about their personal relationship with God. Even those letters written to individuals (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon) are still about corporate life. It could even be argued that 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus contain the most foundational church life material in the Bible. This is what the Bible is. The Bible is not a theology book. Surely the Bible lays forth theological truth, but it is always for the sake of church life in some way or another.
What should we look for in a church? Well, what did the Apostles so vehemently push for? What were those things that the Apostles could not keep silent about in their letters addressed to, get ready, Churches!
Also, it is not enough to just hold to things that Bible holds to do. We must know why the authors of the Bible see these things as so important. This is why context driven interpretation is so important. For example, the book of Hebrews speaks more about the cross than almost any other New Testament book. WONDERFUL! But why? It is just as important that we know why Hebrews talks about the cross so much as it is that we just simply know that Hebrews talks about the cross. This is how we get to the themes of the books of the Bible. It is an asking, "Why would this specific author talk about this specific doctrine to this specific church that has this specific problem?"
We have a hard time in American Christianity seeing this corporate emphasis because we live in a culture that prizes individuality. But we must see that even those scriptures which are directed to individuals have as their main thrust some sort of corporate application.
I hope to, in a later post, do a study on the themes of the New Testament letters. In short however, what are the major themes of the New Testament letters? I believe there to be three main themes. Notice that some books have more than one theme. FYI: I am not putting these in the order of importance--They are all equally important.
1. Unity (love). This really is the major or minor theme in the books of Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, James, and 1 John. It is a sub theme in Hebrews, 2 John, 3 John, Jude.
2. Enduring Persecution, and usually in the context of evangelism. This is the major or minor theme of the book of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews, 1 Peter, Revelation. One of the main sub themes in these books are a hope for heaven based on the finished and effective work of Jesus Christ.
3. Doctrinal Purity- This is the major or minor theme of 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude. The emphasis in these books is being able to discern false teaching.
These are the three things that the author's of the New Testament were most concerned about. If you are considering a chuch that cannot be characterized by all three of these things then you need to look elsewhere. I am not saying that you should be looking for a perfect church. I am saying that you should be looking for a church that emphasizes what the Bible emphasizes. These are the three main criteria I use when I am searching for a church. Why do I use this as my criteria? Because these are the things that the New Testament authors pushed for with utmost importance in their letters to churches about church issues.
In the next few posts I will be discussing each of these three areas (Unity, evangelism, and Doctrinal Purity) in greater detail.
