Friday, September 30, 2011

Luther on Righteousness II

"Although I am a sinner by the law, as touching the righteousness of the law, yet I despair not, yet I die not, because Christ liveth, who is both my righteousness and my everlasting and heavenly life. In that righteousness and life I have no sin, no sting of conscience, no care of death. I am indeed a sinner as touching this present life and the righteousness thereof, as the child of Adam: where the law accuseth me, death reigneth over me, and at length would devour me. But I have another righteousness and life above this life, which is Christ the Son of God, who knoweth no sin or death, but is righteousness and life eternal: by whom even this my body, being dead and brought into dust, shall be raised up again and delivered from the bondage of the law and sin, and shall be sanctified together with the spirit. So both these continue whilst we here live. The flesh is accused, exercised with temptations, oppressed with heaviness and sorrow, bruised by the active righteousness of the law; but the spirit reigneth, rejoiceth and is saved by this passive and Christian righteousness, because it knoweth that it hath a Lord in heaven at the right hand of the Father, who hath abolished the law, sin, death, and hath trodden under his feet all evils, led them captive and triumphed over them in himself."

Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Luther on Righteousness

"Therefore this alien righteousness, instilled in us without our works by grace alone-while the Father, to be sure, inwardly draws us to Christ-is set opposite original sin, likewise alien, which we acquire without our works by birth alone. Christ daily drives out the old Adam more and more in accordance with the extent to which faith and knowledge of Christ grow. For alien righteousness is not instilled all at once, but it begins, makes progress, and is finally perfected at the end through death. The second kind of righteousness is our proper righteousness, not because we alone work at it, but because we work with that first and alien righteousness. This is that manner of life spent profitably in good works, in the first place, in slaying the flesh and crucifying the desires with respect to the self, of which we read in Galatians 5:24: 'And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.' In the second place, this righteousness consists in love to one's neighbor, and in the third place, in meekness and fear toward God. The Apostle is full of references to these, as is all of the rest of scripture. He briefly summarizes everything, however, in Titus 2:12: "In this world let us live soberly (pertaining to crucifying one's flesh), justly (referring to one's neighbor), and devoutly (relating to God)." This righteousness is the product of the righteousness of the first type, actually its fruit and consequence, for we read in Galatians 5:22: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.'"

Martin Luther, from Two Kinds of Righteousness

Monday, September 26, 2011

Arends on Faith

The following excerpts are from Carolyn Arends' August contribution to Christianity Today. Her column, Wrestling with Angels, can be read in its entirety at www.christianitytoday.com. Arends, commenting on the complexities of our faith, writes:

"When we fall for false dualities, we end up arguing over whether the gospel is concerned with ministering to the poor or proclaiming the Word. We believe our theology must emphasize a free gift of grace or a call to holy living. In a myriad of areas, we polarize, dichotomize, and greatly minimize the life God has for us...Most of us would like our faith to reduce tension. But according to Jesus (who told us to be anxious for nothing but always alert, to be last in order to be first, to be weak to be strong, and to lose our lives to find them), tension is required...So I am trying to remember that the Way is narrow, but the life we're called to is wide and deep. Still, I can't help asking: Is following Jesus an act of simple trust, or an adventure of unimaginable complexity? Yes."

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Lewis on Sexual Morality

"In the first place our warped natures, the devils who tempt us, and all the contemporary propaganda for lust, combine to make us feel that the desires we are resisting are so 'natural', so 'healthy', and so reasonable, that it is almost perverse and abnormal to resist them. Poster after poster, film after film, novel after novel, associate the idea of sexual indulgence with the idea of health, normality, youth, frankness, and good humour. Now this association is a lie. Like all powerful lies, it is based on a truth-the truth that sex in itself...is 'normal' and 'healthy', and all the rest of it. The lie consists in the suggestion that any sexual act to which you are tempted at the moment is also healthy and normal. Now this, on any conceivable view, and quite apart from Christianity, must be nonsense. Surrender to all our desires obviously leads to impotence, disease, jealousies, lies, concealment, and everything that is the reverse of health, good humour, and frankness. For any happiness, even in this world, quite a lot of restraint is going to be necessary; so the claim made by every desire, when it is strong, to be healthy and reasonable, counts for nothing."

C.S. Lewis

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Church and Football!

I am preparing for a short vacation; I will resume posting early next week. Thanks for checking in with True Beggars! Here are a few laughs in the meantime. Let's see what these gridiron terms mean when applied to church:

*Quarterback Sneak: Church members quietly leave during the invitation.

*Draw Play: What many children, and some adults, do with their bulletins during the service.

*Benchwarmer: Those who don't sing, pray, give, work, or apparently do anything.

*Staying-in-the-Pocket: What happens to a lot of the money that should be given to God's work.

*Two-minute Warning: The point when you realize the sermon is almost over and you begin to gather up your belongings.

*Sudden Death: What happens to the congregation's attention span if the preacher goes long.

*Trap: What happens when you are called on to pray and your mind is a million miles away.

*End Run: Getting out of church fast by skirting around the preacher at the front door.

*Flex Defense: The ability to let absolutely nothing during the sermon affect your life.

*Halfback Option: The decision of fifty percent of the congregation not to return for Sunday night's service.

*Blitz: The mad rush for the restaurants following the benediction.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Here's a Need!

Need something big to occupy a place on your prayer list? I mean a pressing need that's really big! Then pray for the people of the 10/40 Window. This area, extending from West Africa to Eastern Asia, is ten degrees north to forty degrees south of the equator, thus the name 10/40 Window. Some considerations about the 10/40:

*It is the home to the vast majority of the world's unevangelized people.
*The largest populations of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddism live within this area.
*Thirty-seven of the world's least evangelized countries are represented in the 10/40.
*Of the poorest people on earth, eight out of ten live in the 10/40 Window.
*The total population is approximately 2.4 billion people. Yet only eight percent of the world's missionaries work in this area.

Suggestions on how to pray for the needs of the 10/40 Window:

*Understand that everything is possible with God. Everything.
*Learn to personalize your prayers. Praying for needs like those within the 10/40 Window can be a daunting task, often because it seems so impersonal. Who can picture the faces of some 2.4 billion people? That is why we need to hear the stories of missionaries and ministries working in this area; we need to see specific faces and hear the details of their life experiences.
*Ask God to send workers into this area of the globe. Jesus tells us to petition God for an increase of laborers for work in the harvest.
*Involve your local church. Make this need known to other people. And find missionaries that are working in this area and support them...materially and spiritually.
*Ask God how you yourself could be more involved in the evangelization of the 10/40. Understand your place in the Great Commission.
*While we often focus on the missionary endeavors, let's be sure to pray for the existing churches with these countries. Pray for the leadership and laity alike. Much of the work of the gospel will be done through biblically strong, Spirit-led local congregations. Which leads to...
*Pray for those being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Terrible, sweeping persecutions are common in the 10/40 Window.
*Never forget that these are real people. Not nameless faces. Not cold statistics. Real people with real brokenness and a real need for Jesus.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Sight of the Mind

"But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

II Corinthians 4:3,4

We tend to associate sight with the eyes; here Paul tells us that we actually "see" with the mind. As we pray for those who do not yet know Christ as Savior and Lord, let us pray that the veil presently blinding them will be lifted by the power of the Holy Spirit, that they may "see" the beauty of "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." And let us offer our thanks to Him for lifting the same veil from our mind's eye. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

It's Finally Here!

If you are looking for something really spiritual, today's entry isn't for you. Sorry. The wait is over...the 2011-12 college football season begins tonight! And I am excited! The sound of the bands. The thousands of rabid fans packing the stadiums week after week. The traditions. The pageantry. The debate. I love it all. Here are some odds and ends from me to you about the upcoming season:

*First of all-Go Vols! There's no place like Rocky Top.
*I hope Joe Paterno and Penn State win the Big Ten. Maybe then the "Joe's Too Old!" crowd will be quieted...until next year. Leave the man alone; he's earned his keep.
*The toughest conference? The SEC. Toughest division? The SEC West. It could be scary.
*The NCAA needs to find a way to enforce rules and punish wrongdoers without making innocent parties suffer. A player today shouldn't have to live in the shadow of what the rule-breakers of a decade ago did to the program. Fine the universities...millions of dollars for the serious transgressions. That will go a long way to putting an end to the shenanigans.
*Cheer for the (used-to-be) little guy: Boise State. Although I'm an SEC man, I have always enjoyed watching the Broncos play, even when just a few years ago their games were relegated to late night showings. I'm not saying they deserve a shot at this year's championship, but I do wish them well.
*My least favorite conference: PAC 10. I'll watch them play, but only if nobody else is on TV.
*On a personal note: I have a friend who is a die-hard Mizzou man. He's convinced the Tigers will finish the season in the top ten. Let me go on record by saying that it ain't gonna happen!
*As always, I hope Michigan and Auburn lose every game. I guess it's my throwback to Woody and the Bear. And I don't want Florida State to succeed, at least not this soon after forcing out Bobby Bowden. See the above comments concerning JoPa.
*The eventual BCS champion? Tennessee. O.K. Maybe not. There are a handful that have the potential to win it all, but my pick is Alabama.
*In all seriousness, enjoy the season as a blessing from God; remember I Corinthians 10:31, "...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."