Hope for the Religious (John 3)

Both the sinner and the self-proclaimed saint have a problem with pride. The sinner must accept sin as sin and cling to Christ, and the so-called saint to accept that there is no human merit, only abandonment to Christ.

Nicodemus is the quintessential religious person. This kind of person has a mind towards the things of God, an understanding of theology, he gravitates towards morality, and even has the potential to be well-respected in society precisely for his religion. Here Nicodemus is "a leader of the Jews" (Jn. 3:3). He is "the" teacher of Israel (Jn. 3:10). He does what needs doing, and has influence doing it - there is no evidence of malice or insincerity in him.

And that is his very problem (John 3). All this does not indicate favor with God but a love for self - he does not know Jesus nor salvation. For this all he gets from Jesus is rebuke, no commendation (v3, v7, v10). In Nicodemus' conversation with Jesus, What drives his thinking is human ability, where Jesus' corrective is to describe the need for supernatural intervention in his life. He begins with genuine praise for Jesus' works, which Jesus rebuts with his real need - "unless you are born from above, you cannot comprehend the kingdom of God" (v3)

• from the outset Jesus pinpoints the problem as showing his human merit as garbage, because it does not help "seeing" or "comprehending" the kingdom of God. Obviously, Nicodemus' logical, intellectual and theological prowess could not help him in this comprehension.
•  "birth" itself in a purely natural sense is one of helpless inaction - a baby has no will in the matter.

Yet, Jesus having explained this, Nicodemus demonstrates how entrenched his deed/merit mentality is. Rather than the response "help me do/understand this", he immediately computes using his "deeds model" and tries to understand how he can do this himself. Self-sufficiency, self-love. Thus the conundrum - the seemingly childish v4 - "can a man enter his mother's womb a second time?". Nicodemus has only one way of thinking - "I must do this", and that's why he's mentally and spiritually stuck. The leader, the teacher, the moralist, is helpless. As helpless as a child, yet unable to see it.

It is there that Jesus explains further:

• To enter the kingdom, one must have a spiritual nature (v5)
• Natural birth is insufficient (v6)
• This transformation, spiritual birth is not visible but it is observable, but it is ultimately the prerogative of the Spirit, who "blows where He will" (v7-8)

This would throw any thinking person into desperation, and it is necessarily the case by design - the breaking of pride and the breaking of the merit mentality go together (which is why a prideful Christian is a contradiction). That which is required is impossible to do (what the Pelagiuses of this world find impossible to accept). Thus, the final picture that Jesus offers is this: snake-bitten people, dying in the wilderness, offered a hope that goes beyond their comprehension or ability (because there is no ability) - absolute, desperate faith in God's remedy (v14). "As Moses lifted us the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" - this is the object of faith - the Glorious, crucified Christ. The scope: "whoever" - anyone (v15a). The means "belief". (v15b) The result of abandonment to faith (v15c) - "everlasting life".

Those who reassure themselves of the love of God by their morality, by their piety, by their theology, by their any deed, they must see this: John 3:16 - God's love precedes your deeds OR your faith. His already existing perfect love for the world is why he "gave his only Son". Nothing about your salvation merits his love, it is all a result of his love. You can know God because He loved you, and the only way to know him is to cast yourself on his mercy, like a dying, snake-bitten desert nomad, lost and hopeless. A disciple of Jesus works not to win love, but works as a result of winning love, by the life-giving Spirit of Christ.

And the good news is that no matter how entrenched you may be in religion, merit, human effort and the tyranny of pride, God is able to help you become a helpless, faith-filled child born of God, which is the only way to enter the kingdom of God (Mark 10:15). See, there is evidence of God working in this very man. This same Nicodemus fought for Jesus' defense (John 7), he was there at his death and burial as one of his own (John 19). Indications are that the "Spirit who blows where he will" moved in him, and Jesus became his life.

There is hope for the religious as much as for the sinner, because they are both the same. Cry out to him in your true desperation, "Jesus, save me." And he will.

Gossipers Beware

A note I found from John Piper on gossip:

The New Testament warns against gossiping. The Greek word translated “gossip” means whisper or whisperer. In other words, the focus is not on the falsehood of the word but on the fact that it needs to be surreptitious. It is not open and candid and forthright. It has darkness about it. It does not operate in the light of love. It is not aiming at healing. It strokes the ego’s desire to be seen as right without playing by the rules of love.

From Desiring God

The end of sin: will sin be destroyed?

Been thinking about eschatology lately. That that is such a volume of texts involved make it vital to be patient and fair when dealing with differing views. One of the issues on my mind is the end of sin in believers.

One of the statements that run around as cliches in the church about the eternal state that "sin will be destroyed". I think the sentiment is true, but the statement is inaccurate (if you believe, as scripture teaches, in eternal punishment). The existence of an eternal hell means there will eternally exist creatures, whether human or angelic, who are in rebellion to God. Thus, sin always will exist, it is not destroyed. Sin is not a thing to be created or destroyed, it is a corruption of conformity to God's nature (thus, Romans 3:23 - "falling short").

Yet, before I get stoned, let me insist that while sin is not destroyed, there will be no sin in heaven.

But nothing unclean will ever enter [the heavenly city], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. (Revelation 21:27).

Those who sin are outside this city:

Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
(Revelation 22:15)

So in the eternal state, there are two realms, and these do not have influence on each other. But if sin is not destroyed, what distinguishes the ages to come from the beginning of this age? Adam was a perfect being, the Angels were perfect beings, and yet they sinned. I can think of a few reasons why this is different for believers in the age to come.

1. The memory of salvation history both personal and racial will mean that we have seen the effects of sin in our own life and in our human race's existence. Thus, unlike Adam, the deception of sin with false promises (Genesis 3:5) will have no hold over us, like it did for the first couple and they were deceived.
2. The transformed nature of resurrected believers (1 Corinthians 15:50-58) indicates that by nature they will be stronger than the first man, Adam. Additionally, those resurrected believers will trace their genes not in Adam, but in Christ, whose glorious resurrection and resurrection body is the firstfruits of this new sinless race (1 Corinthians 15:46-49).
3. The presence of God and the Lamb (Revelation 21:22-24) is the most powerful reason no more sin in believers during the eternal state. According to the texts there is nowhere in the city that the light of the God and the lamp of the lamb will not shine. Why do believers sin today? Because they are not as consistently close to Jesus as they should be. This problem will be finally solved in eternity, for there will never be a time we do not behold Jesus. Thus, the Apostle John says:

   Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2, emphasis added)

Thanks be to God in Jesus, for the victory is in Him!

And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:3)

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Empathy in Evangelism

"As we turn to consider in more detail how we may speak to people of the twentieth century, we must realize first of all that we cannot apply mechanical rules. We, of all people, should realize this, for as Christians we believe that personality really does exist and is important. We can lay down some general principles, but there can be no automatic application. If we are truly personal, as created by God, then each individual will differ from everyone else. Therefore each person must be dealt with as an individual, not as a case or statistic or machine. If we could work with these people, we cannot apply things we have learnt..." "...mechanically. We must look to the Lord in prayer, and to the work of the Holy Spirit, for the effective use of these things."

"Furthermore, we must remember that the person to whom we are talking, however far from the Christian faith he may be, is an image-bearer of God. He has great value, and our communication to him must be in genuine love. Love is not an easy thing; it is not just an emotional urge, but an attempt to move over and sit in the other person's place and see how his problems look to him. Love is a genuine concern for the individual. As Jesus Christ reminds us, we are to love that individual 'as ourselves'. This is the place to begin. Therefore, to be engaged in personal 'witness' as a duty or because our Christian circle exerts a social pressure on us, is to miss the whole point. The reason we do it is that the person before us is an image-bearer of God, and he is an individual who is unique in this world. This kind of communication is not cheap. To understand and speak to sincere but utterly confused twentieth-century people is costly. It is tiring; it will open you to temptations and pressures. Genuine love, in the last analysis, means a willingness to be entirely exposed to the person to whom we are talking."

Francis Shaeffer

Postmodernism

Though it led to a lack of objectivity, maybe the postmodernist mistake is founded on a right desire for complexity, and a reaction against being simplistic in everything. Even here the issue is complex, because not everything is complex.

"The essence of tyranny is the denial of complexity".
- Jacob Burkhardt

**note: "complex" does not mean "complicated", neither does "simplistic" mean "simple".

Certainty and Biblical Faith

How can Biblical faith be certain? Isn't this contradiction? Isn't the best we can do probable, not absolute?

Maybe it should be understood this way. Certainty is binary. Probability is a mathematical possibility. The two, while both valid, are not to be conflated. Certainty has to do with matters of being in a time frame. "Is" or "Is not", at this time, never or forever. Probability has to do with prediction "probably will". So the certainty of 2+2 being 4 is constant, not probable, for the entire period which 2 and 4 remain 2 and 4. I think, therefore it is certain that I am. If factors do not change, then certainty remains for the future. If factors change, then probability enters the conversation. Thus, if all things remain equal, if X is Y now, then X will be Y later.

Certainty is different from accuracy. It is certain that "the arrow hit the target". To counter this evident occurrence is to confuse categories by redefining terms and context, and not take the statement on its own terms. How accurately the arrow hit the target is a different discussion, based on establishing a standard of accuracy.

Faith, if defined as the appropriation of (acceptance of, dependence on) the certain, is Biblical faith. Acceptance of the probable as certain is not Biblical faith, but wishful thinking. Once you establish certainty, you can build confidently on it - the irony of Christian faith is that without certainty you cannot believe, Christianity is not a "leap of faith". This is what the case for Christ is all about - and it's not just a certainty based on historic facts, but present, ongoing, certain assurances and realities.

Beloved, Rest in God

Concerning our lives:

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, He predestined us (Eph 1:3-5)

Concerning our work:

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10)

Concerning His Church:

He will build His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt 16:18)

To him (will) be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever (Eph 3:21)

Implication:

Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers,

1. be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:57-58)

2. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Phil 4:6)

Bible Studies I Would Kill to Have Been At

Working backwards, and assuming (fairly, I should think) where it does not mention the word "scripture" that given the time spent, scripture was the major content of their teaching...

Paul:

"When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."
Acts 28:23

And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
Acts 19:8

And Paul went in [Thessalonica], as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ...
... Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Acts 17:2-3, 11

Interesting that the Bereans, whom we use as a model of diligent students, actually were eager to study in a very specific way - as Jews, they were checking scriptures to see if the Christ that Paul preached from the Old Testament was really there!

Jesus:

Then he opened their [the disciples] minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Luke 24:45-47

He presented himself alive to them [the disciples] after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:3

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them [the two men on the road to Emmaus] in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:27

and, of course
"You [Pharisees] search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me..."
John 5:39

The kingdom of God. The person, work and purpose of Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Is it reasonable to say that if they saw the OT this way, so should we. Isn't it also reasonable to say that to the extent we don't use all scripture this way, we're deviating from norm?

And oh, I wouldn't actually kill anyone. Maybe a rabbit.

Faith

Faith is not a power; it is merely acquiescing to the power of God.
-John Hannah

Sin and Legalism, John Owen

This might surprise you, but it's helpful. From John Owen's "Mortification of Sin in Believers" (I've tried to simplify the language a little, maybe it helps).

When a man fights against his sin only with arguments from the issue or the punishment due the sin, this is a sign that sin has taken great possession of the will, and that there is a superfluity of naughtiness in the heart. A man that opposes nothing from sin's seduction and lust in his heart except fear of shame among men or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin as if there were no punishment for it; which, what is different from living in the practice of sin, I do not know. Those who are Christ's, and are acted in their obedience by Gospel principles, have the death of Christ,the love of God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God, a grounded hatred of sin as sin, to oppose any seduction of sin, to all the workings, strivings, fightings of lust in their hearts. Joseph did so. "How shall I do this great evil," says he, "and sin against the Lord?" my good and gracious God. And Paul, "The Love of Christ constrains us;" and, "having received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit," 2 Cor 7:1.

But now if a man is so under the power of his lust that he has nothing but law to oppose it with, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it only with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law, it is most evident that sin has possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalence and conquest. Such a person has cast of, with regard to the particular sin, the conduct of renewing grace, and is kept from ruin only by restraining grace; and so far is he fallen from grace, and returned under the power of the law. And can it be thought that this is not a great provocation to Christ, that men should cast of his gentle, easy yoke and rule, and cast themselves under the iron yoke of the law, merely out of indulgence of their lusts?

This truth should affect both how we approach our own sin as well as how we preach to others about sin. From where do we, as regenerate believers, draw motivation for the mortification of sin? From law and judgment, or the renewing grace of the Gospel? Owen 's warning is strong, that if you're motivating or being motivated by fear and judgment, you are "fallen from grace" and have "returned under the power law", the very thing you were redeemed from.

Rather, use gospel weapons: The death of Christ (and the many realities it brings for our relation to sin), the love of God (which, by the Spirit, compels us), the detestable nature of sin (in light of what God did about it), the preciousness of intimacy with God (and sin's hindrance of it) and therefore a deep hatred of sin as sin.

By the way, for all those on the 'new' Gospel-Centrality bandwagon, this was published (written much earlier) in 1658.

Be blessed.

A Checklist for the Soul

The Puritans spent a lot of time doing "surgery on the soul", exploring sin, its causes, effects and its remedies. One of the chief among them in this regard was John Owen. Here's a helpful list (abridged by me) on what will keep you motivated to mortify (kill) sin. On the flipside, neglect of these will lead to sin overpowering you.

1. The daily exercise of faith on Christ as crucified - This is the great fundamental means of the mortification (killing) of sin in general, and which we ought to apply in every particular instance of sin. What does this effect?

• A holy mourning in us (Zech 12:10)
• A conformity to Christ in death by overthrowing the reign of sin (Rom 8:8-11)
• A communion with Christ in his death by being dead to sin (Rom 6:4-5)
  

2. Continual Prayer - for these reasons:

• By this we obtain spiritual aids and supplies of strength against sin (1 Thess 5:23)
• Constant prayer leads to a frame of life that preserves the soul where sin cannot habitually prevail on it.
• This is the immediate weapon that the soul possesses against sin's power. Sin unchecked will gradually work out all due regard for prayer, either in the matter or manner of its performance. Here are some ways sin will do this:
  
  • It will produce in the mind an unreadiness for the duty of prayer when we should be in prayer.
    
  • It will add unwillingness to unreadiness, a mind preposessed by sin will be contrary to the interests, dispositions and inclinations of prayer.
  • Sin will finally prevail to a total neglect of the duty of prayer. Devotion to one, sin or prayer, will alienate the other.
    

3. Constant self-abasement, condemnation and abhorrency - Proverbs 10:9, "he that walks humbly walks surely". God regards the broken heart and contrite spirit. Humility in light of sin is the soil where all grace will thrive and flourish. One of the first areas where sin attacks is the humble frame of mind.

*I would add (if I may) that humility and the daily exercise of faith in Christ crucified is a remedy for pride as well. As Paul declared (Rom 12), "In view of the mercies of God" in the Gospel, one develops a "sober judgment" of oneself, not higher than one ought.

[Adapted from "Of the Dominion of Sin and Grace", John Owen, London 1688]

Be blessed!

On Trials & God's Discipline

Life is like a Bajaj Scooter. It takes a few hard kicks to get it running.

Truth, Knowledge, Sin, The Gospel and New Life.

“What is Truth?” Pilate asked Jesus. It is the fundamental question to answer when discussing the nature and scope of the theory of knowledge (also called epistemology), because knowledge is meaningless without knowable truth. Truth is the actual state of things. It is absolute, independent, and not determined or affected by subjective interpretation, nor by emotions, culture or perception. Truth exists because God, who is the only self-existent being, exists. In fact, God is truth (1 John 5:6, 20; cf. John 4:24). Truth is knowable only to the extent that God reveals it to those who can know this truth. God is the source of all things and the comprehensive source of knowledge (Ephesians 3:9; Genesis 1:1). Humankind, therefore, as created by God, can only possess knowledge derived from God (Acts 17:28). God has revealed truth to the human race (Deuteronomy 29:29), and though there is a limit to human knowledge (Isaiah 55:8-9), there are certain truths which are common to all people.

Humans are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26, 27; 9:6), and thus derive certain characteristics from God, including the ability to reason (Isaiah 1:18), a sense of morality (Romans 2:14, 15) and a longing for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Man can know what God has revealed (Romans 1:19; Daniel 2:21, 22; Hebrews 1:1-2; Psalm 19:1-2), and God has revealed certain facts through the created order: men know that God exists and that He is omnipotent (Romans 1:20). However, this knowledge is suppressed by those who refuse to believe (Romans 1:18). In fact, Romans 1:20 assumes that the existence of the physical world is certain (“clearly perceived”) evidence of the existence of God. To deny the existence of absolute certainty is thus as much a lie as denying God. In an epistemic sense, belief is not defined as wishful hope, but as the acceptance of what is true. Knowledge entails this belief, so it follows that refusing to believe that which is true is self-contradictory. This is significant, because not only is God’s existence certain (from natural revelation), God Himself is knowable with certainty through special revelation, God’s revealed Word, which is truth (John 17:17). Knowing God is the highest goal of human existence (John 17:3), and God is knowable through the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:18). This is the heart of Christian belief, based on knowable, objective truth (John 19:35) which is clearly revealed in Scripture. Yet people refuse to believe. Why this self-contradictory behavior, given all the resources of reason and fact? The answer lies within sin and its effects.

Man is hindered from knowing God (Psalm 82:5) because he is a being affected by the Fall (Genesis 3) and sin, and he has been blinded from truth by God as judgment for his rejection of it (Luke 10:21; Romans 1:21-22; 1 Corinthians 1:18-19). Also, humans are affected by satanic blindness which prevents them from understanding the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:3, 4) without God’s merciful intervention. Internally, man is separated from life and truth by his own sin and hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:17, 18), dead to spiritual truth (Ephesians 2:1-2). Obviously before God can be known, the hindrances to truth need to be removed. This cannot be internally motivated change, because man’s every resource, even his reason itself, is controlled by the blinding effects of the Fall (Jeremiah 13:23).

This is why Jesus presents the necessity of new birth (John 3:3). Comprehending spiritual truth, which entails knowing God in the glories of Christ’s person, requires the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12, 13) who is the agent of regeneration and new birth (John 3:5-8, Romans 8:8-10). The means which the Spirit uses is God-given faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) based on the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:17) which is the penal substitution of Christ on behalf of the sinner, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The gospel is objective, life-giving truth, centered on Jesus Christ, and revealed in Scripture (John 14:6; John 20:31; 2 Corinthians 5:17). This is why the only solution to man’s absolute disability is to reason through Scripture with a confident hope that God will bring life to the soul (Acts 17:2; 18:4, 18:19; 19:8-9).

Positional realities of the atonement

Hebrews 10: (esv)
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

vs 14: has perfected
past tense, his perfection of us is a completed action, accomplished by a single offering. The word "perfected" connotes something that is complete, having nothing missing, having all parts in place. This is how God sees us through Christ.

who are we?
vs14: those who are being sanctified
a. our "perfection" through Christ's atonement is in no way affected by our present sanctification (or more personally, our struggle with being sanctified).
b. our sanctification in this passage is passive - we are being sanctified. We do not ultimately sanctify ourselves.

Reasons this is important for encouragement for those who truly know Christ:
- your status is secure, unaffected your failure to walk perfectly
- your failure is not an ultimate indicator of eternal reality, because you don't sanctify yourself, God does.
- the proof of accomplished perfection is in the struggle, or as Piper puts it, the move from lingering imperfection towards holiness.
Praise God.

Newsflash

Convicted Hitman Jimmy "Two Shoes" McCarthy confessed today that he was once hired to beat a cow to death in a rice field using only two small porcelain figures. Police admit that this may be the first known case of a Knick-Knack Paddy whack.

Colin Mochrie

Marriage: Still Relevant? Absolutely.

In light of the recent US marital scandals, a fascinating, insightful article
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1908243-1,00.html

From the article's conclusion:

The fundamental question we must ask ourselves at the beginning of the century is this: What is the purpose of marriage? Is it — given the game-changing realities of birth control, female equality and the fact that motherhood outside of marriage is no longer stigmatized — simply an institution that has the capacity to increase the pleasure of the adults who enter into it? If so, we might as well hold the wake now: there probably aren't many people whose idea of 24-hour-a-day good times consists of being yoked to the same romantic partner, through bouts of stomach flu and depression, financial setbacks and emotional upsets, until after many a long decade, one or the other eventually dies in harness.

Or is marriage an institution that still hews to its old intention and function — to raise the next generation, to protect and teach it, to instill in it the habits of conduct and character that will ensure the generation's own safe passage into adulthood? Think of it this way: the current generation of children, the one watching commitments between adults snap like dry twigs and observing parents who simply can't be bothered to marry each other and who hence drift in and out of their children's lives — that's the generation who will be taking care of us when we are old.

Who is left to ensure that these kids grow up into estimable people once the Mark Sanfords and other marital frauds and casual sadists have jumped ship? The good among us, the ones who are willing to sacrifice the thrill of a love letter for the betterment of their children. "His career is not a concern of mine," says Jenny Sanford. "He'll be worrying about that, and I'll be worrying about my family and the character of my children." What we teach about the true meaning of marriage will determine a great deal about our fate.

Smile, Christian!

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Phil 4:4-7

To me, here's the long and short of it: When focused on Christ and the Gospel, Thanksgiving looking back keeps you humble. Thanksgiving looking forward keeps you hopeful. Thanksgiving in the present keeps you peaceful.

So give thanks, and for crying out loud, smile!

Stop Talking, Start Listening

"Listen once in a while. It's amazing what you can hear. On a hot summer day in the country you can hear the corn growing, the crack of a tin roof buckling under the power of the sun. In a real old-fashioned parlor silence so deep you can hear the dust settling on the velveteen settee, you might hear the footsteps of something sinister gaining on you, or a heart-stoppingly beautiful phrase from Mozart you haven't heard since childhood, or the voice of somebody — now gone — whom you loved. Or sometime when you're talking up a storm so brilliant, so charming that you can hardly believe how wonderful you are, pause just a moment and listen to yourself. It's good for the soul to hear yourself as others hear you, and next time maybe, just maybe, you will not talk so much, so loudly, so brilliantly, so charmingly, so utterly shamelessly foolishly."

-Russell Baker, 1995 Connecticut College Commencement Address

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

-Proverbs 17:28

Addressing Atheism's Difficulty With the Supernatural

These thoughts came as a response to some friends of mine we've been discussing addressing atheistic/agnostic/new-age ideas and realizing that the proponents of such ideas are not irrational, not always dishonest in their approach, and should be treated with respect, not dismissal. Richard Dawkins, the prominent atheist was one example mentioned. One of their problems is that they just cannot accept the supernatural claims of Christ. I can't remember the exact context that this occurred to me a little while ago. It seems the reason that they look at us in frustration is because they associate our position with "magic". After all, we believe in supernatural things, and that's the same thing in their minds as carriages turning into pumpkins at 12:00. How do we hold to one thing and deny the other?

It's interesting, that when you study the new birth (read Piper's new book, I highly recommend it, "Finally Alive") that it is the, if I can use an evolutionary term, "big bang" of all spiritual life. By it is created a new life, a new nature, a new attitude, a new thinking, new desires, new passions, new pursuits, new understanding, new action, new effects; What is not is made to be, by the word of God. The pattern of creation is repeated in the soul of the one who is regenerated, God speaks life into being.

This is miraculous in the literal sense of the word. It's not like saying, "oh, I got saved from being run over a bus, that was miraculous." That's not literally a miracle, the laws of nature were at work (unless you were saved by teleportation or the like), and it safe to say that how you were saved from that bus can be naturally explained - cause and effect. Of course God was involved, but he didn't need to supersede the laws he created for you to be saved from the bus. The new birth is a technical miracle in the literal sense since the laws of nature cannot account for it. How a rebellious, determined sinner becomes a permanently God-pursuing saint is without satisfactory human explanation. It is, if you want to put it crassly, true magic.

The irony is that the person who reacts against this as "magic" is denying the very thing that he or she needs in order to experience the existence of the thing that he or she denies. Therefore, this is a self-limiting belief system.

I reiterate, it is true that these people are rational, that many of them are attempting an honest pursuit. But their very approach, as I think I have shown, is self-limiting. How do you explain the existence of light to a single blind man but by relating your own experience? If he denies it, because his experience tells him otherwise, you'd call him a fool - but he is undeniably consistent in his own system. But if a million blind men lived together, then all of a sudden their belief that light is a myth takes on a new strength, and becomes a valid belief system. But that doesn't change the truth... no matter how rational their argument. And we should realize the parallel is very much the same. It's just that there are more blind people than light-exposed in the spiritual realm, that is why the power of their belief is so palpable, if misguided.

In this context, it is interesting then, what John says (from John 1):

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...
...9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

The light analogy here is vivid. And I'll relate it to my point. They cannot see the light, therefore they reject the light. And why?

3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

While rationality cannot be denied of those who reject Christ... it all comes back to one thing... their sin keeps them from Christ.

On one hand, it can be very discouraging. But on the other hand is God, who is outside the system, who supersedes it. He is the only one who can and does intervene, and because He is who He is, and because He is who we are not, it is why we are not cowed in the face of an onslaught by the blind Richard Dawkinses of the world. For we can face the onslaught with a secret smile, knowing, that just by one word by the Lord whom he denies, Richard Dawkins would bow His knee and come to love Jesus, who is the one true Lord and eternal life. It is not for us to cause the change, and this is good news both for both the Richard Dawkinses and those who preach Christ to him.

We don't need to "save" Christ as Deepak Chopra so snarkily puts it. We just preach Him, and He does the saving.

So stand strong, in Christ.

Not too little, not too great

Hence it is necessary that Christians contend on both sides against the devil and their own flesh. For when they begin to repent and would gladly become different people, then they first feel the devil's influence, how he excites, hinders and controls them, so that they make no progress, but remain in their old state, etc. Again, if they cannot prevent this, and in spite of the devil turn to God and call upon him, he will attack them with weak courage and cowardice. First, he makes sin so very small, and puts them so far beyond the reach of the eyes and hearts of men, that men may despise them and not desire grace, or they put off repentance. Then on the contrary, he makes sin really too great, as he can blow a fire from a spark greater than heaven and earth, so that it will again be difficult to lay hold of forgiveness, or to bring into his heart the words: "God be thou merciful to me!" Thus indeed it is and will continue to be a great art, and we may well take this publican as our example, our teacher and doctor, and learn of him, and call upon God that we may also obtain the end of our faith.

Martin Luther, The Publican & The Pharisee

Amen. All that is left is for me to say, "God be merciful to me, a sinner".