October Baby

My wife Janet won tickets for us to view a special screening of October Baby this week. It was one of the most powerful movies I've ever seen.

October Baby tells the story of a young woman who discovers a secret that her parents had kept from her since her birth. After she collapses onstage during a play, Hannah learns that the medical problems with which she has struggled for her entire life are connected to her traumatic birth. In the process, she finds out that she was adopted.

Soon, she embarks on a coming-of-age road trip with a few friends in order to find her birth mother. Through a number of ups and downs (and a few shocks), she comes to a point where she must make a choice about how she will live her life.

This is a powerful story of sin, love, and forgiveness. You will be profoundly affected by this movie. If you have adopted a child, been adopted, or experienced an abortion, October Baby will affect you even more deeply. Please see it when it opens in theaters on March 23.

What Can Salt Do?

We live in a deteriorating society.

It has become obvious to me in recent weeks as I've observed a few trends regarding the value of vulnerable children in America.

First, a few weeks ago, the cancer-fighting Susan G. Komen Foundation announced that it would no longer fund Planned Parenthood, the largest organization providing abortions in the United States. This was great news. An organization committed to saving the lives of people with breast cancer should never have been in any kind of partnership with an organization committed to eliminating the lives of pre-born children. It made sense to sever ties.

However, in a discouraging turn of events, within two days, the Komen foundation reversed its policy due to public outrage that it would not support the abortion industry. Public reaction in favor of funding the nation's largest abortion provider was so strong that the cancer-fighting charity felt compelled to reverse its decision.

Then, President Obama's administration came up with a regulation requiring all businesses and organizations (except churches) to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their health care plans. Ignoring concerns from Roman Catholics who cannot support contraception, Christians in general who oppose abortion, and the president's promise from a couple of years ago to exclude abortion coverage in his health care plan, the Senate recently voted in favor of the president's decision. All health insurance plans in America will now pay for drugs to kill pre-born children.

Finally, the Journal of Medical Ethics has published an article by two medical ethicists promoting "after birth abortions" (infanticide) in all cases in which abortions are currently legal (in other words, in all cases). When people objected to this idea, the editors rejected those who protested as ignorant racists. Those who shape the philosophy of the age are preparing us to accept the legalization of infanticide. It may take a few years or a couple of decades, but it's the direction in which ethicists are going; and the law will eventually follow.

So what can Christians do? Can we save this society? Possibly not. But that may not be God's expectations of us anyway.

Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot" (Matthew 5:13, New International Version).

Salt can preserve meat, but it cannot reverse the rotting process. We can speak out against the atrocities of our society. We can lobby and vote to restrict the inhumanity. We can care for the vulnerable children, disabled, ill, and elderly. We can pray for our enemies. And we can let people know about the forgiveness offered through Christ. We may not be able to reverse the course of society, but we can still make a positive difference.

The Pleasures of Sin

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time" (Hebrews 11:24-25, NIV).

What were the "pleasures of sin" that Moses refused to enjoy "for a short time"?

Hebrews 11:26 gives us a clue, in contrasting "the treasures of Egypt" with "disgrace for the sake of Christ". However, the pleasures of sin could not have been simply the wealth of Egypt. After all, in the previous verses, Joseph is highlighted for his faith even though he had the wealth of Egypt at his disposal as well. Joseph was never condemned for enjoying the treasures of Egypt.

So there must have been more to the pleasures of sin than merely access to wealth.

The difference must have been in how Egyptian society had changed in the centuries between Joseph's service in the royal court and Moses' adoption into the royal family. Joseph appears to have served a relatively decent Pharaoh, a man who treated his subjects fairly well. However, Moses lived under an oppressive Pharaoh, a man who would murder innocent children in order to secure his position in the world and oppress a religious and racial minority in order to benefit from their slave labor.

Several centuries later, the elites of Israelite society would imitate the attitudes of their ancestors' masters. The prophet Amos would say, "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and you who feel secure on Mount Samaria...You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end" (Amos 6:1, 3-7, NIV).

In his commentary on the minor prophets, Dr. Harold Shank writes concerning this passage:

"Being in the seat of political power made them forget who had real power...Historians report a greater gap between the rich and the poor in North Israel than in nearby Judah at the time. Taxation, greed, and political graft all combined to create hardships for the poor. At the same time, Israel's religious faith mixed the worship of the LORD with the Baals (see Hosea's treatment of this issue) that created a sensual religion bent on pleasure and prosperity. For Amos, the chief result of political security was social insensitivity, where the luxury of the upper class created terror for the underclass... (T)he terror would include the father coming home from the lost court case, announcing that they could no longer live where they were (5:10-11); or the children watching the wealthy trample their father to the ground (2:7); or a family watching as their mother was abused by one of the wealthy women who had too much to drink (4:1)...Whatever creative energies the Israelites had, they were not channeled into care for the poor among their countrymen or regard for the future of the state, but were poured out with luxurious abandon in music to sweeten their revelry...Amos describes the details of oppression (2:7: 3:9; 4:1; 5:12), the result of seeking evil not good (5:14-15), where power and luxury lure people into thinking only of themselves, disregarding the hurting within the shadows of their own homes and having no regard to how their consumption affects their own future" (College Press NIV Commentary: Minor Prophets Volume 1, Hosea-Micah, pages 260-263).

Moses rejected such a perspective on life. He refused to be self-absorbed. He refused to remain silent and passive while people were suffering under the oppression of his government. He rejected the pleasures of sin that flowed from the mistreatment of innocent people. He decided to abandon the wealth and power of his position in order to suffer alongside the people of God.

Moses refused the pleasures of sin, and acted upon his faith in the God of justice. In doing so, he became a hero to generations of God's people who would follow him.

What is Urban Ministry Like? It Can Be Messy.

I was amused last week when I read a note from one of our church's summer interns. He is a college student spending his summer learning about urban ministry. On his first Sunday with us, he was assigned to teach the third through fifth grade boys' Sunday school class.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that he came into urban ministry with a few naive ideas. If he was like me, he probably thought that the main problem confronting the urban poor had to do with a lack of money. He probably thought that the boys would be grateful for his willingness to give up his summer in order to teach them a little about Christ.

However, it did not take him long to be relieved of some of his naivete. He took a van to pick up people in the low-income apartment complexes when he discovered that 99% of parents would send their children to church services alone. They were not really interested in Bible classes and worship assemblies themselves, but they did not mind letting their kids leave for a few hours every week.

Then, as he tried to teach the Bible class, he discovered that most of the boys were not interested in the Bible study either. They were more interested in showing the other boys how cool they were by refusing to pay attention or obey simple requests like, "Please sit down and join the group." Finally, as the class ended, four of the black boys piled on a white boy and tried to beat him up.

He discovered that while poverty was one problem faced by the urban poor, it was not the only problem (and very possibly not the worst problem). Our new intern learned that he may not be appreciated for his compassion toward the poor and that our full-time urban ministers cannot be paid enough for their often difficult work.

It reminded me of my most difficult Bible class.

A few years ago, our congregation started the morning with a worship assembly, followed by Sunday school, and a meal. One of our ministers realized that many of our smoking members were neglecting the Sunday school classes so that they could smoke a cigarette or two before the meal. He tried in vain to persuade them to go to a Bible class every week. After a few weeks, he grabbed about a dozen chairs, set them up outside the front door where everyone was smoking, and started a Bible class on the Bible's wisdom literature for them.

Although I didn't smoke, I joined the class too. As summer was nearing an end, our minister needed to be gone for a few weeks of vacation and travelling to other congregations to raise support for his work. He asked me to take over the class for those weeks.

The first few minutes were uneventful. The class members helped me to set up the circle of chairs.

However, as we sat down to start the Bible class, a young teenager rushed through the front door and ran to his mother who was sitting in our class just outside the front door. A few seconds later, our youth minister came through the door. He grabbed the young man by the shoulder and said, "I know you're new here, but we don't punch other kids in the face and run out of class." After a little more admonition, our youth minister returned to his class, but the teen boy remained with his mother.

Thinking that things were calming down, I opened my Bible to Psalm 15 and asked the class to follow along as I read it. Since my eyes were focused on the Scriptures, I did not know what was happening around me. But I saw a blur run past me to the other end of the church building.

As I finished reading the passage, I saw that the teen boy had left the group. His mother got up and went to him. A few seconds later, the woman was screaming every profanity and obscenity imaginable at her son. Naturally, we could not focus on the Bible study with this scene going on. Of course, I'm sure that the neighbors were not appreciating the profanity-screaming woman on our property.

Our recovery minister (who worked with our members who had drug and alcohol addictions) was present in the class, so I asked him to take over the teaching while I tried to talk to the upset mother. Regrettably, I was not making any progress, and our recovery minister dismissed the class early so that he could join me in the conversation.

The screaming mother was angry because during the part of the class when I was reading from the Psalms, two visiting homosexual young men were kissing each other. Her son was disgusted and ran to the other end of the building. She began yelling at our recovery minister and me, "I didn't think that this was that kind of church!!!" Our recovery minister replied, "We're not that kind of church...but we're also not the kind of church that lets parents scream obscenities at their children."

Eventually, she calmed down.

As one of our ministers says, "Urban ministry is messy."

Does this mean that urban ministry makes no difference? Does it mean that everything is hopeless? No. It just means that the problems involved in urban ministry run far deeper than the lack of money or employment. It means that urban ministry requires patience, perseverance, and love for people who struggle. Within a year, the obscenity-screaming mother turned to Christ in faith and repentance, seeking God's forgiveness, and submitting to baptism. While the two homosexual young men have not become Christians yet, they have continued to study privately and in public with our Bible teachers and ministers. They have also stopped kissing each other in church services. Progress comes slowly and with difficulty at times, but it's worth it.

Achieving Low Self-Esteem

This is a story from The Reason for God by Tim Keller (pages 167-168):

"Andrew Delbanco is a humanities professor at Columbia University. Some years ago he was doing research on Alcoholics Anonymous and was attending AA meetings around the country. One Saturday morning in a New York City church basement he was listening to a 'crisply dressed young man' who was talking about his problems. In his narrative he was absolutely faultless. All his mistakes were due to the injustice and betrayals of others. He spoke of how he was going to avenge himself on all who had wronged him. 'His every gesture gave the impression of grievously wounded pride,' Delbanco wrote. It was clear that the young man was trapped in his need to justify himself, and that things could only get worse and worse in his life until he recognized this. While he was speaking, a black man in his forties, in dreadlocks and dark shades, leaned over to Delbanco and said, 'I used to feel that way too, before I achieved low self-esteem.'

"...By 'low self-esteem' the man in the dreadlocks did not mean the young man should come to hate himself. He meant that the well-dressed young man was 'lost in himself' until he could admit he was a very flawed human being, a sinner. He would never be liberated to see his own flaws in their true light, or forgive those who had wronged him, or to humbly seek and receive forgiveness from others."

The Need to Believe in Christ

"For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus" (Romans 2:12-16).

I received an e-mail last week from a minister who used those verses to propose that some people who have never heard of Christ do not actually need to believe specifically in Christ in order to be saved. As I understood his premise, the minister asserted that a non-believer could be saved by living a good life and trusting in the existence of a god who is unknown to him (or who is misidentified by him).

I could see how the minister could come to such a conclusion by reading those verses, but I have concluded that he has taken the verses out of context and has misunderstood them.

In the first chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul informed his readers that the problem with humanity is not the absence of God and his standards. The problem is that we have rejected and replaced God and his standards (Romans 1:18-32).

In chapter 2, Paul made the point that people have not lived up to God's law, whether they were Jews or Gentiles. He was not making the point that people could be saved from their sins by simply being decent people who acknowledged the concept of the existence of deity. In the passage quoted above, the apostle was making the point to Jewish men and women that a knowledge of the law was insufficient. After all, many Gentiles who did not have the written law were living better lives than some of the people who were experts in the law. But even among the good Gentiles, conflicting thoughts were a part of their lives. They could not stand before God with any degree of real confidence because some of their thoughts accused them of guilt while other thoughts excused them.

In chapter 3, Paul made it clear that everyone has a problem with sin. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). From that point on, the apostle Paul emphasized that all who would be saved from the consequences of their sins "are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:24-25a). "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law" (Romans 3:28).

I believe the preaching pastor who thinks that a decent non-believer who has not been exposed to the gospel of Christ is safe has a kind heart. He does not want to believe that the unbeliever is in any real danger of hell. But I believe the preacher has made a mistake in underestimating the pervasiveness of sin and evil within the hearts of the best of us. The truth is: we are in great danger without Christ, no matter how good we are, because we are not good enough. That is why Christ came as one who would take the punishment that sinners deserve. We needed him, and God loved us enough to send him to save us.

The preacher's e-mail asserted that non-believers who respond favorably to "available light" will be saved. In a sense, he was right. For example, Cornelius the Roman soldier was saved because he had responded favorably to the light of God available to him. However, he was not saved without any knowledge of Jesus Christ. Cornelius sent for the apostle Peter to tell him the message of Christ because an angel had told him, "(Peter) will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household" (Acts 11:14). The Lord gave Cornelius the saving message of Christ because Cornelius had responded favorably to the will of God that he already knew. He still needed the gospel of Christ, despite being a very good man because his goodness was not good enough.

Contrary to the preacher who sent the e-mail, I cannot presume that some people do not need the gospel of Christ. The gospel is the good news of salvation in Christ, but it starts with the realization that everyone is in a bad situation to begin with.

I published this post on my blog nearly two years ago. I have re-published it since the topic came up in our Bible study at the Normandy Apartments tonight. A couple of participants were asking me to recommend speakers to hear at a Christian conference in our city next week. They also asked whom I would not recommend. Since a couple of the speakers teach the doctrine of inclusivism (the doctrine that unbelieving, but ignorant, sinners do not need to believe in Christ in order to be saved), I felt that I needed to explain why I cannot recommend listening to them.

People Who Inspire Me: Jesus Christ

In this series on people who inspire me, I have gone in chronological order from William Wilberforce to Corrie ten Boom. In my final post on the subject, I will go back to the one who inspired them and me: Jesus Christ. In each of the people who inspire me, one can see characteristics of the Lord. One can see his kindness, his courage, his perseverance, his compassion, and many other qualities. However, there is one thing in the character of Christ that cannot be imitated by anyone else. Why does Jesus inspire me? As the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ died in my place, taking the wrath of God for my sins, and was resurrected in order to save me from the fate I deserved.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

"Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were still God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (Romans 5:6-11, New International Version).

Why Do You Want Me to be Surrounded by Poor People?

As we were preparing to go to our regular Tuesday evening prayer meeting tonight, our son Christopher asked me, "Why do you want me to be surrounded by poor people?"

In some ways, it struck me as an odd question. When did he discover that most of the people in our congregation were poor? He has been attending the Contact Church all of his life, but only recently has he mentioned the poverty of our members. How does he understand poverty? Has he noticed the condition of the apartment complexes that we visit? Does he remember the homeless man that we used to pick up and bring to church with us when he was younger? Have his friends at church mentioned the violence that they have witnessed and experienced? Has he noticed the prayer requests dealing with drug abuse, gang violence, and suicidal thoughts? Does he feel inferior to his friends at school because he worships with an urban ministry? Does he feel superior to his friends at church because he lives more of a middle class lifestyle?

I plan on exploring those questions with my son over the next few days, but I thought it would be good to answer his question about why we are raising our son in an urban ministry.

First, Janet and I want Christopher to be exposed to modern heroes of the faith. Many members of the Contact Church (including many poor members) are true heroes. They run to help people whom others would rather avoid. They are willing to cross the yellow tape of a crime scene in order to take the good news to people who need it. They will deal patiently with the struggling drunk or drug addict. They will comfort the victim of childhood sexual abuse. They will counsel a struggling couple to remain committed to each other. They will keep showing up for the woman with emotional problems. They will provide the food, clothing, and furniture needed by someone who is struggling financially. They will tell the hard truths of the gospel in a gracious manner to someone who would rather not hear them. They will encourage others to do good while quickly forgiving them for doing wrong. They do not give up. We want our son to see such men and women in action. We want him to admire their good qualities and to try to emulate them.

Second, we want our son to be exposed to the ugly side of sin. If he learns about alcohol, drugs, and sex outside of marriage from the media alone, he may never see the consequences of living outside of God's standards until it is too late. In urban ministry, he can see the consequences all the time. He can see how difficult it can be to be controlled by alcohol or drugs. He can hear the prayers of the men and women who cry out in despair. He can see some of the problems faced by our members who have not adhered to biblical sexual ethics, from emotional problems to single parenthood to incurable and deadly diseases. While he will see God's love and forgiveness extended, he will see how sin can take its toll on men and women even after they have been forgiven. We want our son to learn to see beyond the temptations of sin to see the consequences of sin.

I understand that risks are involved in our strategy. We could fail. But we could fail by avoiding the poor also.

I pray that we succeed. I want nothing more than to see my son become a genuine follower of Christ. I want to be able to echo the words of the apostle John someday: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" (3 John 4).

Why Should I Pray "Lead Us Not Into Temptation"?

"And lead us not into temptation" (Luke 11:4).

When I pray for God to lead me not into temptation, I am reminded of my potential for failure. Based on past experiences, I'm aware that I can place myself in situations in which I am likely to be proud, to boast, to lie, to lust, to slander, to mistreat others, and to commit other sins that dishonor my Savior. I can hurt the people I should be loving. I can harm myself.

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 16:25).

I need to pray for the Lord to lead me not into temptation, because I can destroy myself by going my own way. I am prone to find the destructive temptations around me.

I need to humble myself and seek the leading of the Lord. Then I can avoid temptations and honor my God.

"He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake...Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (Psalm 23:3, 6).

Conditional Forgiveness---Unconditional Love

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Colossians 3:12-14).

On my job today, the subject of forgiveness came up. A couple of my co-workers were discussing whether forgiveness is conditional upon a change of heart or whether it is completely unconditional. They were talking about the concept of being like God in forgiving people. Then one of them asked about my thoughts on the subject.

As I understand it, I explained, God loves unconditionally, but he forgives conditionally. God wants what is best for us, but he wants a change of heart before he forgives us.

One of my friends objected. He pointed out that Christ prayed as he was being crucified, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). He argued that Jesus was demonstrating unconditional forgiveness on the cross.

However, Christ was actually demonstrating unconditional love rather than unconditional forgiveness in his prayer. Out of love for his killers, Jesus was seeking their forgiveness. He did not want them to suffer hell for their sins, but he was not granting forgiveness to them yet.

A few weeks later, however, many of the people directly responsible for the Lord's crucifixion received God's forgiveness.

When the apostle Peter preached his first sermon after Jesus' resurrection, he addressed people who had crucified Jesus (Acts 2:36). When the people discovered what they had done, "they were cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37). At that point, Peter offered them God's forgiveness: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). On that day, three thousand of them received the forgiveness for which Christ had prayed a few weeks earlier (Acts 2:41).

They were unconditionally loved by Christ; but they were forgiven only after a change of heart. God is "not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

Christianity Challenges Every Culture's Heroes

Last night at the dinner table, my family was discussing the challenges that missionaries face in different cultures.

For example, the cannibals on one South Pacific island had difficulty accepting Christ's gospel because they saw Judas Iscariot as a hero. Their culture promoted betrayal as a virtue. If you could make someone believe that you were his best friend and then betray him, he would become the choicest morsel.

In one area of Asia dominated by an oppressive regime, missionaries experience difficulty in persuading new believers to confess their faith publicly because of fear of persecution. In their culture, a hero is synonymous with anyone who survives, whatever the cost. Cowardice is a virtue.

As we discussed the situation, we came to realize that Christianity challenges our culture's definitions of a hero, too.

In government, a politician can become a hero despite his support of the unnecessary killing of pre-born children. Apathy, neglect, and malice become virtues.

In entertainment, a rap artist can become a hero by performing songs advocating murder and the abuse of women. Hatred becomes admirable.

In business, a man can become a hero by being ruthless and dishonest with his competitors. Selfishness, greed, envy, and dishonesty become our values.

In video games, one can take on the persona of a hero by becoming a virtual rapist and cop-killer. Senseless violence and ruthlessness become virtues.

Christianity challenges every culture's heroes. The Holy Spirit tells Christians, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

Truth in Blogging

If you have read my blog for very long, you will not be surprised by anything that I am about to share. But I thought it might be a good idea to write a few words about myself and my perspectives so that any reader would know where I'm coming from theologically and socially.

My Theology

I am a member of the Church of Christ. My theology can be best described as conservative evangelical. I don't try to be innovative in doctrine. I try to be accurate and biblically orthodox. For example,

I believe in the doctrine of the trinity. I believe that the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit are (or is) God. (I'm not sure how to write that sentence in a grammatically correct way.) I believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, always present in his creation, and completely holy in his character.

I believe that God created the universe as it is revealed in Genesis. I believe that he prepared the earth for people in six days. I believe that he made Adam and Eve in his image from the dust of the ground on the sixth day.

I believe that Satan tempted Eve. I believe that the sin of Adam led to the corruption of a good universe and to the alienation between God and man.

I believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that he needed to die in my place in order to turn away God's just wrath against me and sinners like me. His resurrection gives me confidence that his Father accepted his sacrifice on my behalf.

I believe that I am saved by God's grace (as seen in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection) through faith (in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior) apart from any work on my part that could cause anyone to think that I deserved to be saved.

I believe that the Holy Spirit lives in God's church today. I believe that he is active in making believers more like Jesus.

I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired the words of the Bible. I believe that the Bible was given to humanity as God's completely accurate message to us...without error because God is completely honest and completely competent.

I believe that repentant believers in Christ need to be baptized, because we need to identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We need to be able to mark the end of our lives without Christ and the beginning of our lives with Christ.

I believe that Christ's church consists all repentant baptized believers who are committed to following Jesus Christ and glorifying God.

I believe that Jesus Christ will return and usher in new heavens and a new earth that will be the home of righteousness. The Day of Judgment will come. Heaven and hell are equally real and equally eternal.

My Social Concerns

This will be much shorter.

I am concerned about loving people. According to Jesus, it's the second greatest commandment (behind loving God).

I concentrate on loving the people around me first. I want to be a good husband, father, son, brother, employee, neighbor, citizen, and church member.

Then, I focus on broader social concerns that affect people. Many of my posts will reveal that I think a lot about abortion, adoption, caring for God's creation, poverty, racial harmony, and strengthening marriages and families.

If anyone was confused about where I'm coming from, I hope this helps. I try to be honest and open.

The Courage of the Christ

This is my planned communion meditation for this Sunday:

A few years ago, a friend came to me with a problem.

She had recently become a Christian. She wanted to live in a manner that honored her Savior, but her live-in boyfriend was not interested in her new found faith. Every time she would ask him if he ever thought about marrying her, he would get angry.

She asked me, "Why do you think he won't marry me?"

Assuming that we were brainstorming, I answered, "Maybe he doesn't love you."

Unfortunately, as I later learned, my answer didn't go over too well. My friend did not care much for my blunt response.

However, she went home and told her boyfriend about our conversation. Over the next weekend, they were married. (Today, I always tease her by taking credit for their marriage.)

I thought about my blunt answer to my friend this week as I read Luke 11.

In that chapter, Jesus was eating dinner with a few Pharisees and lawyers. When the host became astonished that Jesus did not go through the traditional ceremonial washing before eating, Jesus started going through a list of sins committed by the Pharisees.

In verse 45, Jesus is interrupted. "One of the lawyers answered him, 'Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.'"

Then comes my favorite part of the story, the part that shows the courage of the Christ: "And he said, 'Woe to you lawyers also!'" (11:46) Rather than weakly apologize for telling the truth, Jesus turns his attention to listing the sins of the experts in the law. He would never be intimidated into silence simply because his message was unpopular at the moment.

Now I'm not saying that I was acting like Jesus when I was blunt with my friend. In fact, I did not know that I was offending her. I thought we were simply brainstorming...coming up with possible reasons for her boyfriend's lack of action. If I had known what I was doing, I probably would have apologized for offending her.

But Jesus was different. He knew that he was offending the Pharisees and lawyers, but he also knew that they needed to be offended. No one ever told them about their sins, because they were too intimidating. Who would be able to accuse the most upright and educated men in their community? Christ knew that they were blind to their sins and were incapable of repenting because of their spiritual blindness. He cared too much to be silent.

It was that kind of courage that we see in Jesus as he faced the cross. He knew our condition, even though we were blind to it. He knew that we stood condemned and hopeless. And he cared too much to let us face eternity without the hope of forgiveness and reconciliation with God. In going to the cross, he showed the courage to do the right thing despite the discomfort and pain. In doing so, he saved us.

Propitiation

This is my planned communion meditation for this Sunday:

You may have heard it on an afternoon talk show, read it in a popular Christian novel, or even been taught it by a well-meaning Bible teacher. It goes something like this: God is not a God of anger. He is not mad at you. He has never been mad at you. It's just not who he is.

But somehow, you have never really bought into it. You have considered your sins, and you have realized that you have done some ugly things with some horribly bad motives. You know that you have been unbelievably selfish and arrogant.

You have also read enough of the Bible to know that God hates sin. He has more than sufficient reasons to be mad at a sinner like you. You believe that he would be completely just if he were to strike you down and condemn you forever.

The truth is your gut instincts are right. But there is more to the story and more about the character of God that needs to be remembered as we think about the crucifixion of Christ.

In Romans 1:18, we read, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." For the rest of the chapter, the apostle Paul details our unrighteousness: idolatry, homosexual activity, envy, murder, strife, deceit, gossip, slander, disobedience to parents, and several other actions and attitudes.

Then, in chapter two, he attacks those of us who believe we may have escaped the first chapter's list of sins. He tells us that judgmentalism and hypocrisy are just as bad. God is not pleased.

Finally, in chapter three of Romans, Paul hits us with these words, "(A)s it is written, 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10-12, 23).

But then, a dramatic turn occurs in the next verse. We learn that we Christians "are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:24-25).

Christ became a propitiation. That's not a word we use much these days, but it's an important word. A propitiation is a sacrifice designed to take away the wrath of God. In Christ's sacrifice, he took away the wrath of God. He became our Savior.

It's true that our sins have caused our God to become angry at us. But even in his anger, he has loved us and provided us with Jesus as a sacrifice to take away both our sins and his wrath.

As Romans 5:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

That's something worth remembering as we take the Lord's Supper today.

The Appeal of the New Calvinism

A year ago, TIME Magazine recognized the new Calvinism as one of the top ten ideas shaping the world (www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1884779_1884782_1884760,00.html).

Why are the new Calvinists making such an impact on the world?

1. New Calvinists embrace the view of a powerful God. They understand God to be all-knowing and all-powerful. He is a God who is not surprised. He is a God who is in control. He is a God who can be trusted when one is facing trouble beyond his own control. We may be surprised at a job loss or a diagnosis of cancer, but God is not. We may not be able to handle our problems, but God is. When everything goes wrong in our lives, we can trust the One in control to do the right thing (even when it is the hard thing).

2. New Calvinists embrace the view of a flawed humanity. They understand that people are sinners. They know that people need a Savior, because although we may not be as bad as we could be, we are nowhere near as good as we need to be. We have been tainted with a pride and selfishness that ruins our hopes of being who we know we should be.

3. New Calvinists embrace the reality of sin and its consequences. They understand that they are sinners deserving of hell and undeserving of heaven.

4. New Calvinists embrace the need for God's grace in Christ. They understand that their only hope is in what Jesus Christ did for them on the cross. They know that Christ died in their place, taking on their sins and appeasing the wrath of God, so that they may live in a right relationship with God forever.

5. New Calvinists embrace the Scriptures as God's inerrant word. They understand that the Bible is trustworthy because God is trustworthy. Since the Lord is neither incompetent nor dishonest, they know that they can trust his message to them.

6. New Calvinists embrace the distinctions between men and women. They understand that God created all people in his image, but that he made men and women to complement each other. In an age of gender confusion, they acknowledge that men and women are different and that such differences are good and healthy.

7. New Calvinists embrace the glory of God. They are obsessed with bringing glory to God rather than to themselves.

The new Calvinists are counter-cultural, but culturally engaged; and in many ways, their counter-cultural views make them more appealing in the culture. They offer something solid and stable to a generation without much stability.

God Treats Me Far Better Than I Deserve

"...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

"(God) makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45).

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one my boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:1-10).

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:1-7).

The Foundation and Importance of Sound Doctrine

Sound (or healthy) doctrine is a major theme in the book of Titus. As Paul wrote, "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it" (Titus 1:9).

Sound doctrine is intended to produce people who are sound in the Christian faith. "This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" (Titus 1:13).

A people of sound faith are able to live sound lives. Most of Titus 2 applies the principles of sound doctrine to the daily responsibilities of believers. Healthy doctrine produces a people with healthy faith who live out that faith in healthy ways.

Then, the apostle Paul presents the foundation of sound doctrine: the grace of God and our need for it. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works" (Titus 2:11-17).

In order to make progress in the Christian life, we need to remember where we came from. "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another" (Titus 3:3).

We also need to remember what the Lord has done for us. "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:4-7).

This kind of sound doctrine will keep followers of Christ sound in the faith and productive in the world.

Forgiveness After an Abortion

"For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

"I acknowledged my sin to you,
and did not cover my iniquity;
I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,'
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm 32:3-5).

Today is the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion throughout the nation. Nearly 50 million legal abortions have taken place since this day in 1973.

I have been thinking about the women (and men) who are living with the guilt of taking the lives of their children before birth. Millions of people have been living with the need for forgiveness.

For anyone in this situation, Randy Alcorn has a helpful piece dealing with the subject at www.epm.org/artman2/publish/Prolife_abortion/Finding_forgiveness_after_an_abortion.shtml.

Also, you may find some helpful Scriptures dealing with sin, grace, forgiveness, and a new life at http://a-disciples-gospel-blog.blogspot.com/.

A Church of Heroes

This is my planned communion meditation for this coming Sunday.

I'm not sure that I've ever mentioned it to you, but I consider the Contact Church to be a church full of heroes. Over the years, I've noticed you make heroic choices.

I have noticed when
...you have moved from homeless to homeowner.
...you have opened your homes to others who were homeless.
...you have provided rides for those who did not have vehicles.
...you have given up drugs and alcohol.
...you have not given up after a failure or a sin.
...you have moved from living in isolation to living in friendship.
...you have moved from living in the county jail to bringing spiritual freedom to others.
...you have gone from never opening a Bible to teaching the Bible.

You have become heroes because you have become followers of the ultimate hero, Jesus Christ. You have allowed yourselves to be led by the Spirit of Christ.

As we prepare to take the Lord's Supper, we remember the most heroic act in human history. We remember that "when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). He saved us by dying in our place. He overcame death in his resurrection. He changed us and gave us the hope we needed.

Let's remember Jesus' heroism as we take the bread and the cup in his memory.

High Standards and Generous Forgiveness

Yesterday, I was reminded of a seeming paradox in the Christian faith.

Before our preacher Ron Babbit spoke in our worship service, one of our members addressed the congregation. "Neighbor" (as he is known) stood in front of the podium to apologize and to ask for forgiveness. "Neighbor" has been a member of the Contact Church for nearly 5 years, but he has struggled with an addiction to alcohol and drugs for most of his 50-plus years of life.

A little over a week ago, one of our other members saw "Neighbor" entering a bar. "Neighbor" does not remember the details of what happened, because he was already in an alcohol and drug induced blackout. Apparently, our concerned member contacted a few other church members to try to help "Neighbor." But he responded badly to the attempt to help him, with abusive language and belligerent behavior. They could not help him. Eventually, he woke up in the county jail that evening, charged with public intoxication, and not knowing how he had managed to get into such trouble. He did not even know how he had treated fellow Christians who had tried to help him that night.

Sunday morning, he confessed his guilt. He thanked those who had tried to help him; and he asked for their forgiveness. "Neighbor" wants to do what is right with his life.

The entire congregation came forward, put our arms around him, and prayed for our friend and brother "Neighbor." Everyone loves "Neighbor" and wants him to be successful in overcoming his addiction. We want to see him living free from his sin.

What was the paradox that I noticed? On the one hand, we speak out against sins like drunkenness, cussing, hatefulness, and irresponsible behavior. We have high moral standards...such high standards that we are sometimes accused of moralism and self-righteousness. On the other hand, we are eager to offer forgiveness...so eager that we are sometimes accused of naivete and being too soft on the guilty.

We understand that every sin is an offense against God. We know that hell is deserved. We comprehend that our sins placed Christ on the cross. He died because of our sins. We know that our sins are destroying our sense of inner peace as well as our peace with God.

We also understand that God wants to forgive us. We realize that Christ sacrificed his life to forgive us and to free us from our sins. He wants us to enjoy life in heaven with him forever. We know that we need to show mercy to each other, since Christ has been merciful to us. We have received a generous dose of forgiveness, and need to extend generous forgiveness to others who have seen their need to repent.

As the Bible teaches, "At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:3-6).