Tag: Christianity

Book Review | “Where Do Babies Go When They Die?”

Summary

I acquired The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism by Craig R. Brown because it was free at the time. I have always tried to understand the Calvinistic system of theology and have studied it for many years now. There are many things that I like about reformed thought. Just look at the name of this blog. In many ways I am reformed. But, there are also several questions that the Reformed point of view does not answer for me. I do not think, for one moment, that I am the final word on these questions. It is just that the answers provided by the Calvinist camp tend to, at times, resort to a type of logical gymnastics when an answer is not readily available.

One of the major strengths of the book is that it frames the concerns that some have about Calvinism in very provocative questions. Questions that you might see yourself asking.

  1. If God is in complete control of everything, to the point of predetermining all human actions, how can a man be held accountable for what he does?
  2. If we are saved by grace and not by works, why shoudl we do anything good? What purpose do good works serve? Are there rewards in heaven for what do here on earth?

    3. Continue reading “Book Review | “Where Do Babies Go When They Die?””

“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 14 | Faith is… Radiating the Glory of God

The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God… (Hebrews 1:3a)

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:29, ESV)

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3, NIV)

What is the purpose, goal and ultimate end of this life of faith?

I think that we could come up with a wide and varied list of answers to the question. And, I do not think that any of those answers would be wrong or inappropriate. What I would say is that many of our answers would probably be much too shallow to accurately represent how God sees us. To think otherwise might somewhat naive on our part. God’s ultimate purpose for his people must be greater and grander than anything we could even conceive. If it is something that we could conjure up in our own minds and hearts we would be able to make ourselves equal to God.

The power of God to transform us from what we are to what he intends for us to be is something truly amazing. I say this, and I know that I do not fully understand what I am thinking. Just imagining a time in my future where I will be perfect. Where every action, thought and word will be correct. Thinking about a time where I will no longer be the source of pain or suffering to those I care for most. That I will no longer make a mistake in judgment that will bring about negative or unintended consequences to those I have never met. That truly is a wonderful thought. I can only dream about what that will be like

Over the course of this series I have hoped to expand our understanding of faith. Knowing what something is can help us to live better and choose better. But, faith is not like most other subjects. Faith, unlike many other things in life, is something that comes from God and works its way through us. Faith is dependent on an object. It is impossible to have faith in nothing. That is a contradiction in ideas. Faith always points to something outside of itself.

What I have come to realize is that our faith, this faith in Jesus, is not something that we strive for. While there are times that we can talk about pushing into our faith, or holding onto faith, the Christian faith is of a different nature. Faith in Christ takes hold of us, it pulls us forward, it calls us to go deeper. Christian faith is not something that has be fabricated from within. Christian faith is poured in from without because the object of our faith is so compelling, so transforming that it provokes action.

This begs the question, “Why do we not see this more often in those of us that profess faith in Jesus?”

I think that the major reason is that we have not accepted the fact about one of the most important effects of our faith in our lives. That effect is that God desires to make us like Christ in every way. And, one of the most compelling ways that we are made like Christ is to radiate the very glory of God to the world. At no point are we to point to ourselves or our won glory.

Fundamentally what this means is that at the center of our lives is not what is at the center of Jesus’ life. Everything that Jesus did he did because that was exactly what God wanted him to do. Everything that Jesus said was exactly what God wanted him to say. Jesus and God were so close together that Jesus described the relationship between himself and the Father as being one (John 10:30). I know the theological realities that this statement was pointing to. However, it would be a terribly short-sighted perspective to dismiss the relational reality that Jesus is describing.

Do you remember Jesus prayer for the disciples and all disciples to follow? Jesus prayed that we would all be one. How? Just like Jesus relationship with God the Father. John captured Jesus’ prayer on this issue and recorded it in John 17:

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:20-26, ESV, emphasis added)

I highlighted one phrase of this passage, but the entire paragraph is so rich with implications about what God desires for us to become because of our faith in the Son of God. It would take more space than is available here to explore what this means. Just read and re-read that paragraph a couple of times and see how Jesus joins together, not only his life with that of the Father’s, but also how Jesus joins our lives with God’s life.

Everything that God desires for the Son, he desires to be seen in those that are becoming like Jesus. The closer we draw to Jesus and the closer we walk with Jesus, the more like him we will become. The more we become like Jesus, the more like him we will be in radiating the glory of God to the world.

Learning How to Mourn is Never Easy | “Missing Missing” by R.C. Sproul Jr.

R. C. Sproul Jr., a theologian and apologist in his own right, is the son of R. C. Sproul Sr. (I know that’s just crazy right!). Anyway, late last year his wife passed away. In this post, R. C. Sproul Jr., speaks about the process of mourning. It is moving and difficult to read. You find yourself wondering and imagining how you would feel in those same circumstances. And yet, there is comfort in knowing that Jesus is good and God is most loving to those that serve him.

These sentences serve as an example of what I mean.

She has, rightly, wisely, and through the very love of our Savior, left me. And I feel lost. By His grace, however, I have a path to follow. For His pierced feet leave bloody prints all the way out of the valley, all the way up the mountain. I will follow Him, who promised to be with me, even until the end of the age. [Source]

Spiritual Starvation: The Reason Many Christian’s Struggle

Ok, so here is the deal. When I get hungry, I eat. When I get tired, I sleep. When I get discouraged, I eat. Just kidding on the last one. I usually go watch a movie or watch my kids play.

On a serious note, though, if hunger is the sign that something needs to be put in our stomach’s, what are we supposed to put in our spiritual belly when we are spiritually hungry? This is a question that I have been trying to get my head and heart around over the last couple of months. I do not have this all figured out, but I think that I am going in the right direction. So, let me share with you what I have been thinking.

There are two places in the Gospel’s were Jesus says something about spiritual food. What makes these two instances interesting is that one has to do with consumption and the other has to do with activity. I am by no means the symbol of fitness or dietary excellence, but I know that if I want to be healthy I have to eat well and exercise or stay active.

This is what Jesus said. The first he said to the devil and the second he said to his disciples.

But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4, ESV)

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work….” (John 4:31-34, ESV)

Continue reading “Spiritual Starvation: The Reason Many Christian’s Struggle”

Worthy is the Lamb! (and other things we have forgotten)

The story is told of two Moravian missionaries who heard of a colony of slaves who had not yet heard the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Their hearts were burdened within them. So, they sought some opportunity to go and preach to them. They soon discovered that the slaves owner did not allow Christians to come because he was afraid of the effect of the Gospel on the slaves. These two young men finally came to the realization that the only way to preach to them was to sell themselves into slavery.

That is exactly what they did. They sold themselves into slavery and as they bade their families and friends goodbye, it is said that one of them looked over the rail ofthe ship, as it pulled from the dock, and screamed to those they would probably never see again,

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive the reward of His suffering.”

I think we have forgotten that there are worse things than death, suffering or even slavery. The fires of hell and the people who will find themselves there because they did not repent and turn to Jesus are just two reasons to go into all the world!

Worthy IS the Lamb!

Only when our sense of calling is higher than our own comfort will we be able to forsake present pleasure for future glory. We have to see that ALL that this world pretends to offer is not the worlds to give.

Jesus said,

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27, ESV).

Amen and amen!

Confirmation 2012 | Join the Journey

This weekend I was at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island for the South Georgia Annual Conference’s Confirmation Retreat. This is a time for our church to gather all the young people that we hope are ready after a time if instruction to accept the faith of Christ and make it their faith in Christ. Because in the United Methodist Church they practice infant baptism, confirmation becomes an important point in the life of every Methodist believer. This sacrament has two purposes.

First, it reminds the church that they have a responsibility to care for and nurture the faith of the child that has been born into a believing family. God is the one baptizing through the instrument of the church. We, as a church, are not doing anything for the child in the act of baptism. What we are witnessing is the grace of God in action. Therefore, as that child grows up and is taught about faith, confirmation becomes the moment where we ask the child to “confirm” for themselves that the faith taught to them.

This leads us the second purpose of infant baptism. The second purpose is to demonstrate to the whole church, and all those that witness the event, how we believe God works in our lives. God’s grace is active in the whole world right now. He is working in and thought believers and the circumstances of life in order for us to see Him. We are inviting those who do not have faith in Christ to join us in a new journey of faith, hope and love. In the Methodist church we see see sanctification (i.e., the process of becoming more and more like Jesus) as a progressive act. It is not something that happens over night.

This was a great weekend. I hope that the over 500 youth and adults that attended enjoyed the time spent remembering how God’s grace has brought them this far.

Ten Questions That May Change Your Life, Pt. 2

These are the other five questions from Donald Whitney’s book. We look at the first five questions in a previous post.

6. Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?

This was one of those questions that did not seem to fit in with the rest of the questions. My first reaction was this, “What does this have to do with my ‘personal’ faith journey?” And, fundamentally, that was part of the problem. When I create a scenario where my faith is all about “me” and my faith is not a part of the greater “we,” (i.e., the church), then I have set myself up to no longer need anybody else. In order to avoid this we have to see the faith as something that we come into rather than as something that belongs to me. I just bought shares in the Kingdom of God. That is not how it works.

“So one of the best tests of whether we belong to Christ is whether we delight in His delight, namely, the people who comprise His church.” (Kindle Location, 754)

This is a wonderful reflection of what is missing in many areas of the church. There are places where members of the same congregation have not spoken to each other in years, maybe even decades. This is not a good witness to the world about the love of God in us, for them. If I do not or cannot delight in the company of the other believers, heaven will not be as blissful as many have imagined. This next statement and question helped me to clearly understand what this idea of delighting in the Bride of Christ meant.

“The truth of Scripture is better expressed by a congregation confessing, ‘We are the bride of Christ,’ than by a solitary Christian saying, ‘I am the bride of Christ.’ Therefore, do you delight in the church, that is, in the gathering of believers, their corporate experiences and labor?” (Kindle Location, 772)

7. Are the spiritual disciplines increasingly important to you?

My first reaction was, “No.” I have not participated in spiritual disciplines like I should. The primary reason is that I was unaware that there were a variety that could be practiced. After reading Whitney I have discovered that the spiritual disciplines must move from the category of “could be done” and become “should be done.” There are several statements made by Whitney in this chapter that are worth highlighting.

“Remember also that the spiritual disciplines found in Christian Scripture are sufficient.” (Kindle Location, 876)

“All the Christian spiritual disciplines are important and singularly beneficial. A discipline neglected is a blessing unclaimed.” (Kindle Location, 879)

This final example reveals the goal of the disciples life. To learn and grow and foster a consistent witness and a growing faith. We shouldn’t want to be a flash of fervor followed by nothing.

“Perhaps you are like a Christian woman I know who sometimes wonders if she is still growing spiritually, because the original God-kindled blaze of eternal life that once illuminated the darkness of her life so suddenly, seldom flames up as dramatically as when she was first converted. But what is true for the woodstove is true in this case for the Christian heart as well: just because the beginning of the combustion may briefly be more spectacular than at present doesn’t mean the fire isn’t growing. The initial burst of spiritual flame may be more dazzling, but the heartfire’s greatest effectiveness occurs as it burns into consistency.” (Kindle Location, 861)

8. Do you still grieve over sin?

My first reaction to this was, “I am not even sure people would understand this question.” As I read through the chapter it was just amazing to me how easy it is to become prideful in having received God’s grace. The wonderful words of God’s love are supposed to make us for full of ourselves. We should be moved to become more full of Him. Grieve over my sin changes how I look at everything, or at least it should.

“The closer you get to Christ, the more you will hate sin; for nothing is more unlike Christ than sin. Because Jesus hates sin, the more like Him you grow the more you will grow to hate sin. And the more you hate sin, the more you will grieve whenever you realize that you have embraced that which killed your Savior.” Kindle Location, 956)

Whitney’s clear description of what it means to draw closer to Jesus is important. Sin is darkness. It is everything that God is not and will never be. Therefore, if we are drawing closer to the eternal life of the Son of God the must necessarily be change occurring in our lives. This understanding of drawing close and the quote from Thomas D. Bernard, was also very revealing.

“The closer you come to the light of Christ, the more sins His holy light will expose in you. In the words of nineteenth century Bible scholar Thomas D. Bernard, ‘Our sense of sin is in proportion to our nearness to God.'” (Kindle Location, 971)

Finally, I was struck by the unshakable reality that grieving over sin will actually have the opposite effect than what I anticipated. Whitney says that

“Godly sorrow in the growing Christian makes him a thousand times more aware of his pride than his humility.” (Kindle Location, 1013)

9. Are you a quicker forgiver?

As I mentioned in Part 1, these questions are so simple and direct the longer you look at them the more you realize how important the answers are. This question in particular, has that effect. Let the two following passages sink in for a moment.

“Repenters toward God are forgivers toward others. Those who find themselves unable to forgive reveal that they’ve never experienced the transforming forgiveness of God.” (Kindle Location, 1084)

“The one who announces forgiveness where it hasn’t been sought not only discounts the importance of repentance, he also misunderstands the requirement of Scripture. But the one who is not willing to forgive is contradicting the Scripture, and for the moment at least, is putting the reality of his salvation to the test.” (Kindle Location, 1106)

I do not think that Whitney was off the mark here. Not only is our testimony questionable when we fail to forgive, but we should be concerned about where we stand before. When we are unable or unwilling to extend forgiveness to others after we have experienced it for ourselves, something is terribly wrong.

10. Do you yearn for heaven and to be with Jesus?

We have all heard that there are some people who are “So heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” Well, the truth may actually be the opposite. What if we are not heavenly minded enough? What if we have failed to truly consider the wonder and joy of heaven? What if, because we do not appreciate what is to come, we have sold ourselves and those around us short of God’s best?

The twist that Whitney provides here is that the yearning for heaven that all Christian’s should have is at its heart a longer for the completion of God’s work of making us totally holy. When the work of Salvation that Jesus ratified on the cross is completed, we will be able to enjoy God’s company forever. But, only a holy people can enjoy that. That is why a yearning for heaven is a desire to holy. This was last statement is just a striking truth.

“Jonathan Edwards put it this way: “But neither a … longing to be in Heaven, nor longing to die, are in any measure so distinguishing marks of true saints, as longing after a more holy heart.”‘” (Kindle Location, 1198)

“Paul wrote like a man who had not only tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), but like one who has found the holiness of the Lord eternally and irresistibly addictive.” (Kindle Location, 1229)

The single best sermon I have EVER heard on what heaven will be like was given by Dr. Sam Storms in 2003 at the Desiring God National Conference. It was called “Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven”. You can listen online or download the video here.

Conclusion

These ten question have the potential to provide a major course correction in your faith journey. But, they could also end up doing nothing to take you deeper into God’s plan and purposes for your life. The choice is yours.

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