My thoughts on the current debate

The first thing we have to do is be honest: this debate isn’t about so-called “marriage equality,” rather this debate is about the practice of homosexuality. The only reason people have any sort of objection to same sex marriages is because there is an underlying objection to homosexuality in general.  

With that in mind, I offer a few points that every Christian should consider before deciding where they stand in this debate.  

1. Practicing homosexuality is a sin. There is no biblical sense in denying it. Some "Christians" can try to rewrite the Bible all they want, but the Bible has much to say about sex and when it comes to homosexuality, it is a sin (Romans 1.27). Heterosexual sex before marriage is a sin. Adultery is a sin. Pornography is a sin. It would be nice if the church would be consistent in its sexual-sin objections and speak out on all forms of sin and not just homosexuality, because if it did, then Christians might not look like they are picking on one segment of the population when we are silent about so many other sins.
2. God detests all sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6.23)  The text does not say the wages of some sin are death, but the wages of sin are death. That sin includes (among many others): insolence, hate, envy, maliciousness and gossip (Romans 1.29-31). The old lady who gossips in the church is just as guilty of sin that is punishable by death as the Gay porn star is guilty. To paraphrase Tim Keller who is the worse swimmer: the one who swims 3 miles from shore, drowns and dies or the one who swims 50 miles from shore drowns and dies? They are both dead, what does it matter? (Luke 13 for your consideration)
3. Everyone is born inherently sinful. A homosexual who says they were born this way is probably correct. God is the one who cursed creation following the sin of Adam and Eve and it is because of that sin that we are all born with a genetic disposition to commit sin (Genesis 3/Romans 8). Think of it as a spiritual disease. You will sin. You have no choice in the matter. We are all born sinners. We all have a predisposition to commit some sin. We are all attracted to something we should not be and all of us, if we seek to follow Christ, must deny that part of our self daily for the rest of our lives. For an alcoholic that means every social function where alcohol is present, they may have to be absent. For a glutton that means every time they drive past a fast food restaurant they are going to have an internal struggle about whether they should go through the drive-thru and get a bite to eat. For a people-pleaser this means they have to accept that every day they will probably let someone down. And for a homosexual that means they will have to live a life of celibacy. If you want to talk about equality then let us talk about sin—there is no greater source of human equality then the recognition that we are all sinners in need of grace; there is no better reason to restrain from judging others than an honest awareness of your own sinfulness.
4. Happiness does not equal salvation. I'm so baffled when I encounter Christians who seem to think that happiness in this life is the goal of human life. We were created to glorify God and enjoy him forever--that is it. Our only comfort in life and in death is the knowledge that we are not our own. I know many have taken sides in this current debate because they think everyone should be happy, as if the gospel that we proclaim is one of warm feelings and temporal joy. Such an attitude actually disqualifies one from being a servant of Christ (Galatians 1.10).
5. Everyone needs the grace of God in Jesus and nothing else. The only way out of this mess is to let go of all of our dreams, aspirations, false righteousness and sins and embrace the love of God in Christ. What an opportunity is being presented to the faithful to proclaim the gospel of God’s grace. If someone wants to know what your thoughts are about “marriage equality” tell them the truth! Tell them who are we, wretched sinners that we are, to spend so much of our time consumed with so-called human rights as if we were owed anything? As the missionary Helen Roseveare said, “To be a Christian… you must embrace the fact that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, sacrificed His all, dying for us on the Cross, that we might be forgiven. Surely we should expect to live as closely like our Savior as we can. And in this world of ‘What can I get out of it?’ we can expect to sacrifice. Our whole emphasis has to be ‘What can I put into it?’ A Christian who speaks as you suggest cannot have fallen in love with Jesus, nor understood what God has done for him or her. We are so totally undeserving of God’s grace, how dare we demand anything?”
6. Do not be surprised that not everyone agrees with you. Remember, “has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Cor 1.20-21) Sometimes we speak to people in a rational way, pointing to Scripture and the plain truths there, and somehow they walk away disagreeing with the truth. As D.A. Carson writes, “the utter bankruptcy of all the world’s efforts to know God was part of God’s wise design…not only did the wise and the scholars and the philosophers fail to understand, God in his all-wise providence actually worked it out that way.”* We will not win people over by well crafted arguments, but rather by pointing them to the cross and preaching Christ crucified, which is foolishness to the world but displays the splendid wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1.22-25).
7.  This is Holy Week. Tomorrow night the Western church will commemorate Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper and the agony of the Garden of Gethsemane. We will sadly anticipate the brutality of the cross on Friday and joyfully celebrate the good news that he is risen on Sunday! Surely Christ did not go through so much in order that we could change our profile picture (to either a red = sign or a red + sign) feel good about ourselves and think we are actually making a difference did he? I don’t think so. What a sad state the American church is in and what a sad witness during this holy time.
8. Love is an orientation. The biblical teachings on sexuality and marriage are crystal clear (Matthew 19.4-6, 12 for one example). The biblical teaching on love is also crystal clear. After loving God the most important thing we can do is love our neighbor (Mark 12.39-41) and our neighbor is anyone we may randomly encounter (Luke 1525-37). Andrew Marin’s book has a wonderfully memorable title and he is right, love is an orientation. Regardless of what happens Christians are called to love our enemies and even pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5.43-48).

So for a Christian, there is no marriage debate. The Bible has already settled the matter. Society can debate it; they can have their simple fun; they can advance the cause of "progress" and further the delusion of self-created righteousness, but no matter what law is made or unmade nothing can change what God has already said. The true debate is actually how will we as Christians respond? Will we learn from this and start living out our faith, loving God and our neighbor, speaking the truth and proclaiming Christ crucified? 

* D.A. Carson, The Cross and Christian Ministry, page 18.

Biblical Poetry

Before I was saved I used to write a lot of poetry. It was a means of expressing my disappointment with reality and at the same time, it was a way for me to express a belief in something far more profound that I wasn't really aware of in a concrete way. C.S. Lewis would call that my Joy, I suppose. Anyhow, after I became a Christian I stopped writing poetry--though my love for the art never went away.

Recently I have started to write poems, but I have attempted to craft poems that reflect the biblical narrative. For the most part they have been overwhelmingly sonnets, my favorite form, and an indirect homage to the great Doctor Donne.

Anyway, here are two that belong to the beginning, as it were. I haven't written one yet on Genesis 1-2: the goodness of pre-Fall creation seems to be much harder to articulate than the Fall and everything that has followed... I suspect there is a lesson about myself buried in there.

Please do not share these without my permission.

The Fall

The crafty snake, the shrewdest one

Of all the animals God had made

Did question Eve and it was done

She ate what God forbade.

One longing glance shared by Eve,

One quickly eaten bite;

One lie was told and did deceive

As Adam and Eve gained sight--

But not of God but rather shame

As sin ruined the gift. In doubt

they hid, Adam tried to blame

Eve, and God forced them out.

They took the bait, they fell for the lie

And now in Adam all men must die.

Expelled

To “become like God” was the first sin

Committed by Adam and by Eve.

The ground was cursed with all the of men

And God forced them to leave.

the Three watched the two depart

the Three but really One--

The Son said he will do his part

And sorrow filled the Three-in-One.

“In another garden, in another place

I’ll crush the serpent’s head.

I’ll be a gift of your grace

I’ll bring life to the dead.

I’ll be the Adam he should have been

I’ll be the hope for the race of men.” 

Pastoral Theology: Stewardship

Despite the freezing rain, spring is approaching. This great beast of a grizzly bear has emerged from hibernation with a craving for blueberries and blogging.

During my devotional readings this past winter a word and related charge kept jumping out of the pages at me and this word was stewardship. Now pastors like to talk about stewardship. Or rather, it is expected they talk about stewardship.  Once a year at least, perhaps more, it is expected the minister talk about stewardship of our resources. Usually this ends with an appeal to not forget the church when you plan your yearly budget.

Stewardship is a much more important concept than that, however. Stewardship is about responsibility. Being a proper manager or administrator of what God has given to an individual in the form of their time, talent and treasures.  Christians ought to be a people who do not waste time, who do not squander their talents and who do not spend money that doesn’t exist as though it did. We are to be responsible with the gift that God has given to each one of us.

With this responsibility comes a necessary giving away.  It is clear that we are not to horde, say our money.  But even in our dispensing of our gifts, we are to be responsible and make sure what we share is not foolishly wasted by the very act of sharing.

But it never occurred to me, or rather it was something I felt but I had never truly encountered in Scripture, that this is true also of Ministers and the administration of God’s grace.  The word translated as stewardship is οἰκονομία and it refers to the “responsibility of management.” It appears 9 times in the New Testament; 3 times in the Parable of the Dishonest Manager and twice in reference to God’s plan of salvation (Eph 1.10, 3.9). The other four occurrences are all related to proclamation of the gospel and the grace of God that accompanies the Good News. 

1 Corinthians 9.17: For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.

Ephesians 3.2:  Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,

Colossians 1.25:  of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,

1 Timothy 1.4:  nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

Individuals who have been called into positions of leadership within the church have a responsibility. We are to be good stewards of God’s grace. That is, we are to share it but share it wisely. There is nothing that bothers me more than when I hear of the passing of an individual and promises about everlasting life are made when we simply do not know.  One can still share the gospel and the glorious promise of forgiveness of sins found in Christ without therefore concluding that such and such individual—without any knowledge of them—is thus in heaven. That is poor stewardship.

Stewardship of God’s grace of course extends beyond the setting of a funeral. In an age when the world is clamoring for the road to be made wider and the gate to be enlarged, we are reminded of Paul’s words in Ephesians 3.2: “…assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you…” We have been given stewardship of God’s grace. Make no mistake: this is a burden. It has been given to us to be shared (“given to me for you” as Paul put it) but shared wisely (Mark 6.7-13). It has been given to us to be proclaimed, but proclaimed wisely which means not in the way the world would expect (1^st Corinthians 1.17-25). Just because the world expects everyone to be saved does not mean we should therefore say, “everyone will be saved.” Just because the world expects good deeds, or the attempt at good behavior (however confusingly “good” is defined in a world of relativism) to merit eternal life that does not mean we should agree (Matthew 7.21-23). 

Rather, we are to be honest. When the New Heavens and New Earth arrive there are those who will be left out (Rev 21.8). When the joyful wedding feast of the Lamb and his Bride takes place there will be those who are not admitted (Matthew 22.11-14).  To make promises to the contrary would be a misuse and abuse of the great resource that has been entrusted to us.

Calvin 365 Week II

Book One: The Knowledge of God the Creator

Calvin begins his monumental work appropriately addressing the topic of knowledge. “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.”[1]

Knowledge is not power; it is everything for Calvin. It is vitally important to understand God, to understand yourself and (perhaps most importantly) to understand your relationship to God.
In our understanding of God we are after knowledge that will lead to a personal understanding of God. He writes, “Now, the knowledge of God, as I understand it, is that by which we not only conceive that there is a God but also grasp what befits us and is proper to his glory, in fine, what is to our advantage to know him.”[2]

John is in many ways following the logic and argument that Paul presents in Romans chapter 1-3.20.  He does this by demonstrating that everyone has an inborn knowledge of God, that because of the universe we have an external proof of God’s existence and character (providence) and as a result no one is without excuse when it comes to how they live their lives. 

Guido deBres was able to craft his beautiful interpretation of this revelation in the Belgic Confession Article 2:

The Means by Which We Know God

We know God by two means:

First, by the creation, preservation, and government
of the universe,
since that universe is before our eyes
like a beautiful book
in which all creatures,
great and small,
are as letters
to make us ponder
the invisible things of God:
God's eternal power and divinity,
as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.

All these things are enough to convict humans
and to leave them without excuse.

Second, God makes himself known to us more clearly
by his holy and divine Word,
as much as we need in this life,
for God's glory
and for our salvation.

We are able to know there is a God through general revelation, that is his “creation, preservation and government of the universe.” As Calvin says, “As a consequence, men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see him.”[3] Secondly, we know God through specific revelation through his “holy and divine Word.” 

He spends a great deal of time (I’m now on page 72) building this argument. All in all, there is not much that he is making clear that he didn’t already make clear in the initial opening of this work. It has been a while since I read the first part of the Institutes so perhaps I’m just remembering what I already read as I read and thus feeling a bit…bored.

But with that being said, it is worth noting that there is an important point that Paul, and now Calvin makes: people are without excuse. The argument, “What about those who have never heard of Jesus?” isn’t a valid argument. Just by observing the world around them people are able to discern that there is indeed a God. But that they then do not believe is their own fault, and not the fault of God. This indeed is a hard saying, but the truth is never easy. 

Alongside that, if we are to truly learn about ourselves and who we are then we realize that if we were to rely on human achievements or the human will all would be lost. Only if something from outside ourselves were to enter our reality and rescue us would there be hope. True knowledge of self cannot but help point us to our need for a Savior. 

In the end, this all amounts to misguided knowledge. If knowledge of God and of ourselves is of the utmost importance, and we are honest about ourselves, we must acknowledge that when all is said and done all we have done is spent too much time learning about the wrong things and ignoring, even denying, the true God.

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[1] 1.1.1

[2] 1.1.2

[3] 1.1.5

Calvin 365

A συνεργός in this area created an open Facebook group with the intention of encouraging people to read all of John Calvin's The Institutes of the Christian Religion in a year. This group both surprised and encouraged me because I had already been planning on reading through the Institutes this year but as is the case for so much of what I do, I felt this would be something I did alone. So I was quite happy to discover this was not the case and even happier by the prospect that such a group just might keep me accountable in this endeavor.

Shortly after I began to read I had the thought, "you could blog about this." Well, maybe. This blog has become for me an enigma: how should I handle it? When there are prayers that need said, Scripture that needs read, shut-ins that need visited and a personal life that needs attended too (perhaps not in the righteous picture I just painted) should I maintain this blog? Of course I have things to say; but so does that annoying dog I hear barking when I'm out walking. The simple existence of having something to say doesn't necessarily mean that one then needs to share it with others. But, sinfully (or not) the thought came to me that I could blog about it and it didn't go away.

I prayed about it and did not receive any clear direction.

I considered not doing it because it would be "legalistic" to blog every week. But then I reminded myself, so long as I don't think this will somehow help me be saved, it isn't actually legalism. Rather, it would be commitment and commitment is something far too few Christians (regrettably I include myself here) possess.

One of my resolutions for 2013 was to severely limit my time online (EPIC fail this first week out of the gate :( ) So...what follows was typed in word and simply copied and pasted into blogger. My apologies if there is something wrong with the formatting...

John Calvin to the Reader (1559)[1]

In this short address, John Calvin demonstrates two remarkable aspects of his faith.

  All of the success he had experienced with the Institutes in the more than 20 years since their first publication Calvin attributes solely to God.

2.      When he was sick (near death) with a form of malaria, he made all the more effort to work!

Finally, Calvin ends with a fantastic quote by Augustine: “I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write.”

Subject Matter of the Present Work

John Calvin was a man consumed with a desire to instruct people in the authentic Christian faith. He undertook to write the Institutes in the lingua franca of the time, Latin. But as a French refugee living in Geneva, having had to flee his native France due to his faith, Calvin’s heart was always for his French countrymen (9). So in a way, remarkable (perhaps?) like Luther’s translation of Scripture into the common German, Calvin also translated the Institutes into French. Additionally, he addressed every edition of his work to the French King. Finally, Calvin invites disagreement but urges that all those who disagree “have recourse to Scripture in order to weigh the testimonies that I adduce from it.” (8)

And really Scripture is in many ways what the Institutes is all about. Calvin makes it clear that he is providing “a key to open a way for all children of God into a good and right understanding of Holy Scripture.” (7)

Prefatory Address to King Francis I of France

Calvin begins his defense of the faith in his prefatory address to his king.  In doing so, Calvin introduces a Reformed understanding of government: “Now, that king who in ruling over his realm does not serve God’s glory exercises not kingly rule but brigandage. Furthermore, he is deceived who looks for enduring prosperity in his kingdom when it is not ruled by God’s scepter, that is, his Holy Word…” (12). From there, he introduces a short summary of the gospel: that there is nothing within humans of which they can boast and that “whereby we have been received into hope of eternal salvation through no merit of our own….” (12). Calvin anticipates the normal response to an honest evaluation of human nature, that we misrepresent humans because human beings are fundamentally good. He then attacks the root of that flawed argument by pointing out that those who disagree “cannot bear that the whole praise and glory of all goodness, virtue and righteousness, and wisdom should rest with God.”

And in this point lies the heart of Reformed theology and all other flawed teachings: is God alone deserving of our praise or not?

Calvin proceeds from there to dedicate a bit of time to reinforcing the idea that the Reformers were teaching nothing new. He states quite clearly that the gospel as presented by the Protestants is in line with Scripture and the church fathers. This is an important point; as Calvin puts it: “by calling it ‘new’ they do great wrong to God, whose Sacred Word does not deserve to be accused of novelty. Indeed, I do not at all doubt that it is new to them, since to them both Christ himself and his gospel are new.” (15-16) It logically follows that if one cannot depend on the Word of God to spur worship they will grasp at heretical straws and so Calvin concludes, “They invite no one to faith in Christ and believing communion of the sacraments; rather, they put their work on sale, as the grace and merit of Christ.” (21)

Interestingly enough, Calvin embarks on a discussion of Satan roaring like a lion in this world, opposing the pure doctrine of God. What is interesting is Calvin’s description of how Satan works (28) follows many of the same patterns of the Screwtape Letters. Though C.S. Lewis seemed to despise (from a mistaken understanding) Calvinism, I think they had far more in common than Lewis ever dreamed.

General Conclusions…

Generally speaking none of us manage our time well. Jonathan Edwards, at the ripe age of either 18 or 19 resolved that he should “never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.” He was also resolved “never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.”

Yet nowadays, we do not live in this way. Rather, we live as though our time was infinite—we have all the time in the world. What we don’t get to today will be waiting for us tomorrow. Over and against that, and especially convicting if you happen to call on the name of Christ, Calvin was resolved to work all the more determinedly when he thought he was going to die. So often when I am sick I follow the protocol of rest. I think I am not alone in this rule of thumb. Yet John Calvin followed his faith and desire to always serve the Lord while he could even when he was near death.

How we use our time is a reflection of our faith and devotion to God.

How do you spend your time?

Generally, churches can lose their mission and focus when they either construct a building or become overly proud/protective of their building. Reinforcing his (correct) belief that the true church has always existed no matter how things may appear Calvin points out a dependence on the visual can become a sin. Quoting Hilary of Poitiers Calvin writes, “One thing I admonish you, beware of Antichrist. It is wrong that a love of walls has seized you; wrong that you venerate the church of God in roofs and buildings; wrong that beneath these you introduce the name of peace. Is there any doubt that Antichrist will have his seat in them?”

I wonder how many parishioners “love” their building walls and “venerate the church of God in roofs and buildings”? Our weak demands for something concrete to believe in can literally be our downfall.

Speaking of appearances, it is comforting to remember the story of Elijah (1^st Kings 10). Calvin reminds us that the true church has always existed since Christ called it into being because Christ still reigns (25). Our hope and glory, our strength, our ability to do “all things” rests in the simple yet profound fact that Christ reigns in glory. Despite all appearances, despite the leaders of the world assembling against the Lord’s anointed, the one enthroned in heaven…is still enthroned in heaven. May that comfort you as it comforted me.

Finally, Calvin points out that the Word of God is unpopular; only Satan’s lies gain the popular approval. “This is the surest and most trustworthy mark to distinguish it from lying doctrines, which readily present themselves, are received with attentive ears by all, and are listened to by an applauding world.” (28) If what is presented in the pulpit is accepted by everyone, then odds are you are only presenting them with exactly what they wanted in the first place (Romans 1.24).

Specific Conclusions…

Specifically, several points really struck a nerve. But one in particular I wish to address. Near the end of his prefatory Calvin writes, “And we have not, by God’s grace, profited so little by the gospel that our life may not be for these disparagers an example of chastity, generosity, mercy, continence, patience, modesty and all other virtues.” (30)

I am often aware simply by driving around that I live in a region where many dwell in mobile homes while I live in a home, and a large one at that. While the church owns this manse my wife and I are very conscious of the fact that this house is larger than anything we ever dreamed of actually owning. I strive to not take such blessings for granted.

Nevertheless, there is an undercurrent to what John is saying: the pastor’s life must at all times be in line with his faith. While this is true for all Christians, no one more so than a pastor can harm a church if their life does not match their faith. This is something I am always seeking, by God’s grace, to do: “Count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3.8-11 ESV) 

Especially with the New Year just past may I use this time wisely and always be found in him.

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[1] All citations come from the Battles translation of the Institutes.