Oh to Have the Boldness of Luther!

I am reading The Bondage of the Will, by Martin Luther. It isn't the first book I would have picked up to read; I probably would have passed over it until I was at least 120. But a friend, one of the elders in our church, gave it to me, not because he had read it; it was new and he hadn't. I'm not sure why he wanted me to read it. But I'm almost halfway through it and one thing I can say: It is easy to see Luther's God-given passion for that which he believes and of which he is convinced. He is assured, unflinching, adamant, passionate. Erasmus has written a book on behalf of the Catholic Church (who Luther so thoroughly offended with his 92 theses), urging Luther to make peace with the head honchos there, and essentially saying that these issues are not worth the division that they bring. The weird thing about this book is that Luther's passionately argumentative style does not remind me of any Christian I know; it reminds me of my sister, who went on and on for pages in a letter once because she thought that from a passing remark I made that I don't like animals. (I don't mind animals; I just am glad not to have any.) She could be so passionate and attack me for pages over such a trivial issue; we as Christians on the other hand are entrusted with the mystery of the Gospel and the responsibility to care for one another. We have all the more reason to be passionate, and yet the Church today is pitiful in its weak and cowering attitude toward any opposition the Gospel brings.

Luther's writings show me how much that passion has gone from our Christianity. We know the truth (thanks in great part to Luther and his passionate stand for Bible truth: "Here I stand; I can do no other"), but most of us at best would give a flimsy sentence or two to anyone who opposed an issue that was central to our faith. Those of us who say more can expect to be called intolerant troublemakers, and divisive. This is one harm in our American Christian culture that definitely needs to turn completely around: the indignant opposition to biblical correction, admonishment, or exhortation of believers; it will cause us to miss out on a huge potential for growth and strength in our walk. The Church as a result can only expect to be poorly equipped when times of real persecution actually come. We seem to think that it is only God who should have the privilege of correction and admonishment, but this view only confirms our biblical illiteracy. The Scriptures are replete with passages that clearly exhibit God's desire for us to correct and be corrected in matters of the faith.

Christianity that is lived out elsewhere or which is historically evident and biblically prescribed differs so much from our American version. The differences are striking: Christians in other countries and throughout history have endured much more persecution and difficulty than we generally do; they face a very real possibility of dying for this faith that requires a clear and unflinching witness; because of these things, their Christianity is more surely authentic and their growth in faith and faithfulness is probably a far less gradual thing than here as a rule. I expect that people in other places and times grasp the harder lessons of the faith and have the passion to live a life of pleasing God and denying self. Part of this comes from the Scriptures, where people sold their property and gave the money and other belongings to the church so that no one had any lack (Acts 4:32-37), or sang when imprisoned (Acts 16:25), or shared the Gospel as soon as they were free (Acts 4:19-20, 5:42); where the witness of Christians results in thousands turning to Christ in one event (Acts 2:41). I know that wherever a believer lives, the struggle with sin and self-protection continues regardless of nationality. But persecution sifts the wheat from the chaff. Who is going to live casually or inauthentically for Christ in a hostile culture if living for Christ quite possibly means dying for Him?

Even though the American Christian doesn't generally have to fear much persecution, we are immersed in a narcissistic, private, self-protective, individualistic culture. So we don't readily welcome any inquiry or correction about ourselves, our sin nature (even though we all have it; that's one universal trait we have in common) and how we live our lives. Suggest to an American Christian that there's something amiss in their lives and their indignation and pushback is almost guaranteed. This isn't how the Scriptures paint the right response to correction. We are urged to address sin in others who claim Christ as their own; we are urged to welcome correction--both because speaking the truth can save a person from greater error and from wandering from the faith. I wish this were taught and encouraged more in the church. I wish it were expected and embraced among believers. It isn't, from my experience, and that will be to our harm and if it were possible, to diminish the glory that we are equipped to bring to Jesus Christ.

It appears in Ephesians that God put vocal people in the church to build it up, to raise new believers to maturity, to help put aside deception. We are to speak the truth to one another in love in order that the Church may grow into a functional whole:

Ephesians 4:11-15 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹² to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

It isn't just the pastor's job, or the Holy Spirit's job, to speak into the lives of the believers around us:

Hebrews 3:12-14 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

If we say something to someone that might turn him around in repentance, or correct a misconception about the faith, the results can be huge. This is definitely prescribed in the Scriptures:

James 5:19-20 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, ²⁰ let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

It takes courage to speak up, especially in this culture. Courage and boldness are basic requirements for effective ministry. We need to pray that like Luther, we all are courageous and bold; pray for your friends and have them pray for you, so that the truth might be addressed in your times of fellowship, so that the Church as a whole might grow strong and true, as God intended. 

We Live in a World of Supernatural Wonder!

I watched a video of an interview between Doug Wilson, a cessationist, and Mark Driscoll, a more charismatic preacher. It was a charming discussion regarding how they differ on how and whether the Holy Spirit is active today. By the end, my impression was that they agreed far more than they would have originally thought, and I loved how they remained friendly and funny all the way through, not becoming tense. That easy, friendly attitude comes more readily and you can allow for differences if you know that the basics of faith in who Christ is, and what He has done, are firmly in place in all parties of your discussion. Then you know that you still converse with a brother or sister in the faith, and the differences are just grounds for iron sharpening iron, a good and productive practice of fellowship in Christ.


Our family used to go to a cessationist church. Soon after we started there, the pastor started on a sermon series that ran about 20 or 30 sermons long on how the gifts of the Holy Spirit had ceased. At the time I believed him entirely and thought I had received a thorough and scholarly rendering of the subject. Later we started at another church, where our pastor lent me a couple of books by Jack Deere that came at it from the opposite point of view. I don't remember whether I thoroughly agreed with him by the time I finished reading his works, but I do remember re-reading 1 Corinthians 12-14 and realizing the Love chapter was nestled in like the pull-out corsage that was nestled in the midst of my bridal bouquet...the only problem being that most people pull it out and forget the bouquet surrounding it, all about the spiritual gifts. Why would God have so much in the New Testament about His supernatural works and what to do with them, if they were not going to be present for His church after the canon was closed? 


I know that my kneejerk response to these books would have been to never even read them if I had received them in the wrong timing. By the time I got them, though, I had come to realize how stifling the power of the Holy Spirit in the first church had brought about the series of events that had caused us to eventually leave: We had found that the pastor was plagiarizing sermons because he said emphatically that he was "not capable of writing a decent sermon." He had been working as a pastor for years, and had not been writing any of his own sermons in the process. Where is the power of the Holy Spirit? Could he not access His inspiration to come alongside and equip him for this vital work of service? No--he'd already established that the Holy Spirit is not very active in the present day, and he would not have even considered that possibility. 


There was one observation that Doug Wilson stated, that our world is a strange and magical place. I avoid the flippant use of the word "magic," but in this use it is well-stated. His stance is that the Holy Spirit is not so fully active as many Christians claim; but he knows that many supernatural things occur that no man can explain. Many of these are evil, and those fall into the category of magic, Satan's activity that is often a counterfeit of God's use of power; sometimes it is just sheer evil activity without so much reference to God as opposition to His work. Wilson acknowledged a few supernatural nudgings of the Holy Spirit that bring a Christian response, or that bring an unbeliever to salvation,  but other than that he didn't really have much to say about whether God works miracles in these days. 

I think that if a person would acknowledge that we live in a strange and magical place, but wouldn't acknowledge that God is doing anything supernatural, they would be saying that Satan is doing more to communicate with the people here than God is. I believe the opposite is true. Hopefully the Scriptures illustrate just how much the Holy Spirit is an essential worker in helping us to see God's divine hand. Our very understanding of the Scriptures is His doing, or it would come across as foolishness. Our initial response to God, our salvation, is His doing. Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of His hands. But without the Holy Spirit drawing us in that direction, our hearts would never see God in it. 


The Holy Spirit is more active than just that, too. Probably not so much in our United States as overseas, probably not in the ways that are practiced in far too many churches, that undisciplined, out-of-control, disorderly and self-glorifying way....no, but don't you hear story after story of how He works in the lands where Christianity is illegal, or persecuted, or otherwise stifled? Where the Word of God is hardly present, where people have no natural contact with His Church, there are stories of people hearing a voice, having a dream, being directed to a place where they hadn't intended to go, making some supernatural discovery that leads them to salvation in Christ. If you read the writings by or about missionaries, these stories are plentiful in their world. I am thankful that our world is not limited to the things we can sense as the natural world; I am thankful that God has left the supernatural impact present. There's a war going on in that realm, and sometimes we feel its presence. There's a spiritual realm that sometimes breaks through the natural world and makes itself known. I'm glad to know even that the evil is there, so I can appeal to my God to help me; I'm glad to know that our good and holy God is there, acting and speaking to me in the present day, coming alongside as my Paraklete, my Help, my Comforter. Where would I be without Him? I would be doomed, hopeless, blind and separated from my Creator. Hallelujah! He is an active, ever-present, supernatural help in all my life (John 14:16-17). 

My Mind Instructs me in the Night

I've been working on a project that has become something of an obsession. The general idea is to create an online store. But I don't know how to make a website (yet) and I don't want to rely on one of those ready-made ones that you can get for really an amazing low price. I have a feeling that eventually the price would rise and kill my idea...or that their limitations would hamper what I'm doing. Maybe not. But first I wanted to learn everything I could about websites. 


In the process I have learned an incredible amount about the amazing resources available online, and realize just how easy this whole thing will be. I've checked out some books. I didn't know that you can build a webpage on Microsoft Word! Wow. And I have, last I checked, 17 pages of links that have to do with starting a business, building a website, or finding work online. I think I could blog forever about this! But not today. 


The fantastic thing about this is that even though in this obsession, I've felt that I haven't been as deep into God's Word as I want to be, as I usually am (though I haven't neglected it, it just hasn't been as much at the forefront), I woke up this morning with some terrific ideas about this business idea. I know they're from God. I know that I can use them in setting up my business to His glory. 


One thing is that I can put a percentage of what it makes toward a cause my Katie woke me up to, the sex slave trade. Her church did a seminar about it, and she went to Nepal lately on a missions trip to see how her church could make a hole in it there. They worked through the organization, She is Safe. Katie learned a lot before and during her trip and inspired me, but I was thinking, "What can one (pretty broke) person do?" I felt helpless to do much for her cause, though I cared about it. But without my even thinking I was building this business idea for that purpose, God connected the dots for me. 


Then He also showed me, also in my sleep, the other ways this could glorify Him. I could have a blog connected with the business that could help others see the way to build their own online shop; therefore once I get my feet more or less on the ground with this, I could help others out of financial hopelessness. That's so exciting to me!


The icing on the cake? I even have a name for my business now, and I didn't strain my brain to find it; it was in my head when I woke up. I'm not telling what it is until the business is unveiled. But I'm excited. I tried finding a website with it online. There wasn't one; chances are it's available. Is God not amazing? Yes, we knew that!

Psalm 16:7 I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.

Casting Pearls

Just recently I was in an online theological discussion with a number of others with a variety of takes on biblical truth. The more we talked the more differences appeared. At first it seemed like a discussion, but the more differences appeared, the more it became a debate, an argument; the tone started changing from one with various perspectives to one of hanging onto personal status quo. At that point discussion is no longer productive, and I signed off. In the meantime, however, a lot of wildly different beliefs were shown and each would produce a Bible verse or a non-scriptural mantra. 

One of the first confusions I encountered: The two words, "with favor" left out of the verse Habakkuk 1:13a, Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor seemed to confound the conversation. Even when it was pointed out that the verse has those words, people argued about the inconsistency about God not being able to look upon sin, that if He couldn't, how could Jesus come to earth and walk and eat with tax collectors and sinners? They asked where in the Bible it said that God couldn't look upon sin. The problem in showing that...is that the Bible doesn't say that. They didn't want to hear the whole of Habakkkuk 1:13, that proved just an annoyance to their (s)train of thought. 

Then the definition of sin became an issue. One woman asked why God doesn't like sin...which I thought would be easy to clarify, since sin is defined by whatever offends His holiness...that anything apart from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). But it wasn't that easy. She told me to think, that God gave me a brain, and that my thinking was circular. Well, since my thinking is circular and hers is clearly not, we had a communication gap that I did not know how to bridge. I thought about it later, and I imagine that her definition of sin is more cultural, that to her way of thinking, sin is anything that offends people morally...which is a very vague, changeable, arguable, and powerless definition. Sin defined by culture can vary greatly, even in the same culture over a short period of years, as we've seen here in the United States. Sin defined by biblical truth, by God's holiness, is a constant, a standard, sure and fast, compelling those who fear God to live in obedience to Him. If I were just accountable to the culture I wouldn't feel compelled not to sin, but only to hide that which would bring unwanted human condemnation. If I didn't care what people thought, I would have no controls in my life at all...which is just how I think many, if not most, people live.

There are times when you can think that a conversation is going to be workable, that the people you are discussing things with will be receptive to biblical truth. When that goes out the window, it's time to move on. In this case it seemed that if they are destined to come to know Christ, the time was not then, and the messenger was not me. But I hope I "put a rock in their shoe" as an elder in our church would call it. When excitement turns to exasperation, it's likely that you're casting your pearls before swine and you might as well save your breath. But God's word does not come back to Him void; I hope I may have given her one in a string of pearly biblical truths that she may have to go collecting, a little here, a little there, that may someday come together and become a cohesive thing of beauty. 

Bin Laden's Death and the Variety of Christian Responses

Each person’s reaction to Bin Laden’s death tells something about how we align ourselves with God, or about what aspect of God we perceive, and relate to, most vividly. I expect that we can find scriptural backing for any reaction that we express, assuming therefore that it reflects the very character of God. In Bin Laden’s death, I realize that the military did what was right as far as I can tell, and for any reduction in terrorism, we can rejoice; still, our personal reaction to Bin Laden’s death itself is, I think, an opportunity for self-examination, that we might be aligned with God’s will for such lost people. The fact that there is such a vast variety of responses to his death even among Christians is stunning, when since we have the mind of Christ, I would think we would be fairly like-minded. This variety tells me that we all view a different emphasis of Scripture truth applied to the life and death of Bin Laden (and perhaps any unbeliever).

Perhaps we want to implement God’s sense of justice (Deut. 16:20), and our main concern is gladness that justice has humanly been served.

Perhaps we want to express His hatred of sin (Hab. 1:13), and we are therefore glad that one less sinner is wreaking death and destruction on the planet. God can’t look on sin with favor, because He is holy; and it isn’t that we ought to look on the sin of men with favor, but because we aren’t entirely holy, and have experienced the guilt of sin, perhaps we can call to remembrance that darkness and an understanding of the unbeliever’s urgent need for salvation.

Perhaps we want to exact God’s vengeance (Romans 12:19), and so as Muslims celebrated 9-11, we might dance and celebrate in the streets at this victory, knowing that they may see it on their news reports half a world away. Though…we might in this forget, because of the emphasis placed on the three words, vengeance is Mine…that indeed, it is His alone, that in the same breath He says not to take our own vengeance. Vengeance is an attribute of God that clearly doesn’t belong to us.

Or perhaps it is sorrow, that Bin Laden never realized in all his earthly life the knowledge of God that would have transformed his thinking and his actions, that would have particularly made a huge difference in at least the last ten years of the world’s history (Ephesians 2:11-12) and in his personal eternity; he died to end a destructive, fruitless and hopeless life.

Or perhaps it is mourning, realizing that God’s desire is that none should perish, and that everyone should come to salvation (2 Peter 3:9). In light of this verse, I think that God is grieved that Bin Laden died still separated from Him and therefore condemned to an eternity in hell.

I’m sure I’ve missed some of the variety of responses, but this probably covers the bulk of them. I think our reaction may illuminate how we perceive our own salvation to have occurred. Did it occur because we were worthy, that God saw something good in us that made Him want to redeem us more than our unsaved neighbors? Did it occur because we would become something good so readily after being saved, and since God knew that, He chose us? Or did it occur in a way that would never make sense to us this side of heaven? It seems that Christians’ perceptions tend to fall into these three categories pretty clearly. In fact, I think I’ve fallen into all of these categories, especially at the beginning of my Christian walk; I probably still forget, too, in the present, just how only one of these categories truly fits. Nothing we have done contributes to our own salvation: it’s not by our works of righteousness; apart from Christ we have nothing to offer God (Titus 3:5; Rom. 3:10-18; Isa. 64:6). Even David didn’t claim righteousness of his own doing.

If we believe that we had something good in us that caused God to choose us, then we believe a blatant lie that has nothing to do with the Scriptures and we need to go back and re-examine them. I think that this stance is what brings us to hold and display the most prideful of attitudes toward unbelievers; we think that their inferiority is established by the fact that God has chosen us and has not deigned to choose them. Anything that comes from such a prideful perspective so muddles our witness that the love of God toward unbelievers becomes virtually obliterated and it’s no wonder that unbelievers come away with the view of Christians being hypocrites.

If we believe that God foresaw that we would become such a good and helpful addition soon after salvation that it caused Him to save us, then we are again dead wrong and we need to take another look at the Scriptures. At least in this instance a person could attribute that stance to the progress we make in our sanctification; but still, that is God working in and through us, not anything that is brought about by any of our goodness, so we’re still completely off base. This view is also likely to cause a distorted view of God’s love and salvation in our approach to unbelievers.

It is only God’s grace and mercy that has saved us (Ephesians 2:8); it was nothing in us before we were saved, and remains all His grace and mercy even now. We are, apart from Him, completely as unworthy and would be as completely unregenerate as the worst of sinners. Therefore even Hitler and Bin Laden were both as worthy as we are to receive salvation (which is, not worthy at all); we have no grounds to rejoice in their death.

We sing, “Lord, give me Your eyes for just one second, give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing, give me Your love for humanity,” and then spew violent reactions to the news of Bin Laden’s death. There are many traits of God that we will imitate and show to unbelievers; this incident makes me see all the more the truth of 1 Corinthians 13, a whole chapter devoted to God’s love shown through the believer…no chapter devoted to the goodness or superiority of the believer. If we show no other trait of God to anyone, we should show His love. We should put aside our assessment of the person’s worthiness, because all of humanity shares in that same need for the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, including ourselves.