"If we are to preserve the balance of scripture, our definition of God's anger must avoid opposite extremes. On one hand, there are those who see it as no different from sinful human anger. On the other, there are those who declare that the very notion of anger as a personal attribute or attitude of God must be abandoned. Human anger, although there is such a thing as righteous indignation, is mostly very unrighteous. It is an irrational and uncontrollable emotion, containing much vanity, animosity, malice and the desire for revenge. It should go without saying that God's anger is absolutely free of all such poisonous ingredients...The wrath of God then, is almost totally different than human anger. It does not mean that God loses his temper, flies into a rage, or is ever malicious, spiteful, or vindictive. The alternative to 'wrath' is not 'love' but 'neutrality' in the moral conflict. And God is not neutral. On the contrary, his wrath is his holy hostility to evil, his refusal to condone it or come to terms with it, his just judgment upon it. In general, the wrath of God is directed against evil alone. We get angry when our pride has been wounded; but there is no personal pique in the anger of God. Nothing arouses it except evil, and evil always does."
John R.W. Stott
Friday, January 27, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A Good Point...from an Atheist!
The following quote, from Penn Jillette, is found in the book The Trellis and the Vine by authors Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. Jillette is one-half of the famous comic-illusionist act Penn and Teller and a self-described atheist. But give his words close consideration; they will prick your heart. Here is the passage from the book:
"We have to conclude that a Christian with no passion for the lost is in need of self-examination and repentance. Even the atheists have worked this out. Penn Jillette is an avowed and vocal atheist...He was evangelized by a polite and impressive man, and had this to say about the experience:
'I've always said, you know, that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all. If you believe there's a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell, or getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, well, it's not really worth telling them because it would make it socially awkward...How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn't believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that...'"
"We have to conclude that a Christian with no passion for the lost is in need of self-examination and repentance. Even the atheists have worked this out. Penn Jillette is an avowed and vocal atheist...He was evangelized by a polite and impressive man, and had this to say about the experience:
'I've always said, you know, that I don't respect people who don't proselytize. I don't respect that at all. If you believe there's a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell, or getting eternal life or whatever, and you think that, well, it's not really worth telling them because it would make it socially awkward...How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? I mean, if I believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that a truck was coming at you, and you didn't believe it, and that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that...'"
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Where are the No-Shows?
As with yesterday, today's post deals with a disturbing statistic. It is taken from the writing of Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. Here are Dever's own words:
"American evangelicals are in pretty desperate need of rethinking and reconsidering this topic (membership), especially in our own fellowship of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. According to one Southern Baptist study a few years ago, the typical Southern Baptist church has 233 members with 70 present at the Sunday morning worship service. My question is this: where are the other 163 members? Are they all at home sick, in a rest home, at college, or on vacation, or in the military? Maybe some are, but all 163 of them? What does this convey about Christianity to the world around us? What do we understand this to mean about the importance of Christianity in our lives? And what is the spiritual state of these people, if they've not been at church for months, or even longer? Is their non-attendance really any of our business?"
First of all, this is not just an issue for the SBC. As a non-denominational pastor that has frequent conversations with other pastors, this is truly a universal problem within the church today. Next, let me stave off the entire slate of "But-going-to-church-doesn't-make-you-a-Christian" objections. I agree-going to church doesn't make you a Christian! I have preached that message repeatedly, often to jeers and frowns. And I am not assuming that all of the missing members are genuine believers. The reality is that some aren't. These things being said, I have several questions:
*Valid reasons for continual missing aside (employment obligations, health issues, pressing family responsibilities), why would someone born again not have a desire to regularly gather with God's people?
*Why do some churches allow those that haven't darkened the door in years, for no valid reason, to participate in matters of church business such as budget approval or voting for/against the calling of a pastor? Without referencing denominational procedure and guidelines, how can such activity be biblically allowed? Would Paul have approved such a notion? Absolutely not!
*Have we made church membership an inconsequential matter? Are we failing to convey the true meaning of membership to prospective and current members? Do they understand the ministry of membership?
*Are we carrying the "rugged individualism" of American thinking into our ideas of membership? In other words, are we dealing with a people that don't want expectations placed on their behavior and refuse to submit to any personal accountability to the corporate good?
This is in no way an exhaustive list of inquiries concerning the no-shows among our memberships, but hopefully it's a start. I welcome your comments and further questions. Be watching for more about membership in the coming days. Thanks in advance for your time.
"American evangelicals are in pretty desperate need of rethinking and reconsidering this topic (membership), especially in our own fellowship of churches in the Southern Baptist Convention. According to one Southern Baptist study a few years ago, the typical Southern Baptist church has 233 members with 70 present at the Sunday morning worship service. My question is this: where are the other 163 members? Are they all at home sick, in a rest home, at college, or on vacation, or in the military? Maybe some are, but all 163 of them? What does this convey about Christianity to the world around us? What do we understand this to mean about the importance of Christianity in our lives? And what is the spiritual state of these people, if they've not been at church for months, or even longer? Is their non-attendance really any of our business?"
First of all, this is not just an issue for the SBC. As a non-denominational pastor that has frequent conversations with other pastors, this is truly a universal problem within the church today. Next, let me stave off the entire slate of "But-going-to-church-doesn't-make-you-a-Christian" objections. I agree-going to church doesn't make you a Christian! I have preached that message repeatedly, often to jeers and frowns. And I am not assuming that all of the missing members are genuine believers. The reality is that some aren't. These things being said, I have several questions:
*Valid reasons for continual missing aside (employment obligations, health issues, pressing family responsibilities), why would someone born again not have a desire to regularly gather with God's people?
*Why do some churches allow those that haven't darkened the door in years, for no valid reason, to participate in matters of church business such as budget approval or voting for/against the calling of a pastor? Without referencing denominational procedure and guidelines, how can such activity be biblically allowed? Would Paul have approved such a notion? Absolutely not!
*Have we made church membership an inconsequential matter? Are we failing to convey the true meaning of membership to prospective and current members? Do they understand the ministry of membership?
*Are we carrying the "rugged individualism" of American thinking into our ideas of membership? In other words, are we dealing with a people that don't want expectations placed on their behavior and refuse to submit to any personal accountability to the corporate good?
This is in no way an exhaustive list of inquiries concerning the no-shows among our memberships, but hopefully it's a start. I welcome your comments and further questions. Be watching for more about membership in the coming days. Thanks in advance for your time.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Don't Be A (Negative) Statistic!
The late Bill Bright, founder of the Campus Crusade for Christ, would always state that only 4% of evangelical Christians ever verbally share their faith in their lifetimes as believers. Think about it. Only 4%! How can we possibly align this rebellion of silence with the teaching of the scriptures? We can't. If we are silent, we are wrong. I know it's not easy to begin these conversations and it's certainly not any easier to navigate through them. But we must verbalize the gospel. Don't be a (negative) statistic. Share your faith today.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Celebrating God and Race
Today is the national commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. In celebration of Dr. King's vision and ideals, I would like to share the following from John Piper:
"When you put this teaching of Genesis 1 (that God created the first man in his image) together with the teachings of Acts 17:26 (that God made all the ethnic groups from this first ancestor), what emerges is that all members of all ethnic groups are made in the image of God. No matter what the skin color or facial features or hair texture or other genetic traits, every human being in every ethnic group has an immortal soul in the image of God: a mind with unique, God-like reasoning powers, a heart with capacities for moral judgments and spiritual affections, and a potential for relationship with God that sets every person utterly apart from all the animals which God has made. Every human being, whatever color, shape, age, gender, intelligence, health, or social class, is made in the image of God."
And may the church say, Amen! But not simply with our mouths, but our hearts.
"When you put this teaching of Genesis 1 (that God created the first man in his image) together with the teachings of Acts 17:26 (that God made all the ethnic groups from this first ancestor), what emerges is that all members of all ethnic groups are made in the image of God. No matter what the skin color or facial features or hair texture or other genetic traits, every human being in every ethnic group has an immortal soul in the image of God: a mind with unique, God-like reasoning powers, a heart with capacities for moral judgments and spiritual affections, and a potential for relationship with God that sets every person utterly apart from all the animals which God has made. Every human being, whatever color, shape, age, gender, intelligence, health, or social class, is made in the image of God."
And may the church say, Amen! But not simply with our mouths, but our hearts.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
MacDonald on Hardship
Next Tuesday, we are beginning a new session of Discipleship Study at our church. We are using the James MacDonald book When Life Is Hard as our study resource. MacDonald centers the teaching on finding God's hope in the midst of adversity and suffering. Considering the topic, it will certainly be a timely discussion. Adversity and suffering know no season; they are continual reminders that we live in a fallen world. But we can find hope. Right here. Right now. Here is a small excerpt from the book:
"God knows the way that you take. He wants you to succeed in the testing you are experiencing. Considering His great love for you, do you honestly think He would let you go through more than you can handle? No...God is near you when your heart is broken, and saves you when your spirit is crushed (Psalm 34:18). God draws near to you during a hardship unlike at any other time in your life. Maybe this is why the desperate need comes. Maybe this is the very moment that God is seeking to engineer-the moment of your turning as never before to Him. If this is your moment and you don't know how to pray, God even knows that. Romans 8 tells us that God's Spirit prays for us when we don't have words. Just start praying and sharing your heart. Thank God that He knows the way you take."
"God knows the way that you take. He wants you to succeed in the testing you are experiencing. Considering His great love for you, do you honestly think He would let you go through more than you can handle? No...God is near you when your heart is broken, and saves you when your spirit is crushed (Psalm 34:18). God draws near to you during a hardship unlike at any other time in your life. Maybe this is why the desperate need comes. Maybe this is the very moment that God is seeking to engineer-the moment of your turning as never before to Him. If this is your moment and you don't know how to pray, God even knows that. Romans 8 tells us that God's Spirit prays for us when we don't have words. Just start praying and sharing your heart. Thank God that He knows the way you take."
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Go Broncos!
As I bask in the excitement of the Denver Broncos' victory over the Pittsburg Steelers, may I simply share one word: TEBOW! See my April 23, 2010 entry for more details. I thank God for Tebow and his continued public faithfulness to Jesus Christ. Win or lose on the field, Tim has proven himself to be a winner off the field. And that counts most in the Kingdom. But hey! I'd still like to beat New England.
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