How to Become an Effective Christian

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:5-8).

The Evil Desires of Youth May Not Be What You Think

This is a passage from The Strength of a Man by David Roper. The Scripture quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible. His books are available from Discovery House Publishers at www.dhp.org.

"Most of us are biblically educated beyond our character, perhaps because we confuse the means with the end. We falsely assume that the purpose of Bible study is mere learning, a fallacy particularly characteristic of those of us who take the Bible straight.

"But mere orthodoxy is never enough. Even the demons are orthodox (James 2:19). They study the Bible too. They make their own prophetic charts and draw their own theological lines, but the Book doesn't alter their behavior. They're devilish to the end.

"In Paul's second letter to Timothy, he encouraged his young friend to be an approved workman 'who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth' (2 Timothy 2:15).

"The word here translated 'who correctly handles' means 'one who goes for a goal.' Classical Greek writers used the word of road builders who cut their way straight through a forest to a predetermined location. The Septuagint (the first Greek translation of the Old Testament) used the word in the last phrase of Proverbs 3:6. 'In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight (direct you to the goal)."

"Paul contrasted good Bible study with the flawed methods of those who were 'quarreling about words,' which he said, 'is of no value, and only ruins those who listen' (2:14). Further, 'godless chatter'--mere discussion of the Bible without the goal of godliness--will make one become 'more and more ungodly' (2:16). Ironically, God's Word, when misused, can make us less and less like God!

"Paul therefore warns Timothy to 'flee the evil desires of youth' (2:22), a command that in context has little or nothing to do with youthful sexual desires. Paul rather had in mind the wrong-headed passion of the young and the immature to argue about meaning--'word-fight' is the term he coins. Those who mishandle God's Word in this way are workmen who ought to be ashamed.

"Instead of arguing about meaning, Timothy was to 'pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart' (2:22). In other words, he was to seek God and his goodness through the Book. To do so is to handle the Word correctly--to go straight to the goal.

"The purpose of Bible study is clear. It ought to produce worship and make us more and more like our Lord. To the extent that we read the Scriptures for that reason our Bible reading is valid; to the extent that we do not, it's nonproductive. Worse, it's counterproductive, making us less and less like our Lord. Thus the hymnist prayed:

"Beyond the sacred page, I seek Thee, Lord,
My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word."

(Pages 70-71)

The Difference A Bible Can Make

In the English edition of the communist China Daily a few days ago, a Christian college student in China tells the story of his conversion to Jesus Christ (www.chinadaily.com.cn/metro/2010-03/17/content_9602273.htm).

In the article, the young man says that he became a believer after he started reading a Bible which was given to him by a friend.

The Bible can change a life when it falls into the right hands, the hands of someone prepared by the Spirit of God to receive it.

If you have ever given away a Bible or donated to an organization that sends Bibles to others, you have provided someone with an important tool in finding God, finding one's purpose in life, and finding wisdom for living. Keep sharing. It can make a great difference in someone's life.

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

(Thanks to the Desiring God blog for alerting me to the link to the news story.)

Why Do Unbelieving Preachers Stay in Ministry?

Albert Mohler has an interesting post on atheistic ministers at http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/03/18/clergy-who-don. A few unbelieving ministers who continue to serve in ministry explain their motives. It may not be surprising, but it is interesting to read.

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.

George Washington Carver National Monument

Christopher outside the George Washington Carver National Monument

A couple of days ago, we took a short trip to Diamond, Missouri in order to see the George Washington Carver National Monument. It's a nice little museum on the property of Dr. Carver's birthplace.

This is my favorite quote from Dr. Carver:

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life, you will have been all of these."

A Respectable and Godly Man

A few weeks ago, I heard someone mention that Proverbs 31 is the text commonly used when one teaches about the qualities of a godly woman, and that Job 29 should be the text commonly used when one teaches about the qualities of a godly man. I don't remember who made that point, but it was a good one.

Job 29 describes the characteristics of a man who received high praise from God himself. The Lord said of Job, "(T)here is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil" (Job 1:8).

What would prompt God to say such a thing about a man? Consider Job's description of his life at the time the Lord made those comments:

"...I delivered the poor who cried out for help,
and the fatherless who had none to help him.
The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
my justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy,
and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
I broke the fangs of the unrighteous
and made him drop his prey from his teeth...
Men listened to me and waited
and kept silence for my counsel.
After I spoke they did not speak again,
and my word dropped upon them.
They waited for me as for the rain,
and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.
I smiled on them when they had no confidence,
and the light of my face they did not cast down" (Job 29:12-17, 21-24).

Job cared about the poor, the orphans, and the widows. He helped and encouraged the oppressed. He was consumed with pursuing a right relationship with God and with those around him. He aided the disabled, and actively sought out those who needed his help. He did not back down from a fight against those who would take advantage of others. He was a formidable foe to those who would harm the innocent and the vulnerable. When he spoke, his words were simultaneously weighty and encouraging.

In many ways, Job (like Christ himself) is the model of biblical manhood. The world needs more men like Job.

My goal is to be more like him, too.