Quotable–Get Real: Sharing Your Everyday Faith Every Day

This is a collection of highlights from John Leonard’s Get Real: Sharing Your Everyday Faith Every Day. It’s an interesting book, worth your time if you are interested in having gospel conversations with people. If you aren’t interested in gospel conversations with people, you should especially buy this book. It will encourage you.

The inclusion of a highlight is not full endorsement. It is merely an indication of a provocative thought.

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Sharing your faith doesn’t impose itself on others, leaving them feeling resentful and used. It invites people to step beyond a superficial friendship where no one really cares about listening, and to head toward deep spiritual relationship. (LOCATION: 152)

The good news of the gospel is that you cannot get to Jesus, but he can get to you. (LOCATION: 310)

What we need is for God to give us mercy and grace so that Christ might do through us those things that are not in us. (LOCATION: 322)

Not only are we to preach the gospel to all kinds of people, we are to expect that some of these very different people will believe the gospel and become part of a local fellowship of believers. The church of Jesus Christ is unique because of its diversity. Too many churches are built on sociological principles, rather than the gospel. (LOCATION: 472)

Do you know why the world has stopped listening to the gospel? Because we want to share it in the least inconvenient, least costly way. We want to save dirty people at a distance. (LOCATION: 541)

It’s remarkable that each time Jesus steps down and identifies with sinners and their suffering there is a corresponding elevation and revelation of who Jesus Christ is. (LOCATION: 564)

Perhaps she sees in you someone who never questions, doubts, or struggles. What she may be rejecting is something she believes is unobtainable for her—a faith that is either blind or naïve. (LOCATION: 613)

… you may be her biggest obstacle to belief because she can never imagine herself believing like the person you want her to believe you are. (LOCATION: 614)

We want people to see Jesus in us when it would be so much better if they instead saw someone in need of Jesus. (LOCATION: 622)

In our desire to show others how different we are because of Christ, we’re not making ourselves any more appealing to the nonbelievers around us. In fact, we are presenting ourselves as weird, strange, and bizarre. (LOCATION: 627)

We must work at being normal so that others can imagine themselves being able—and by God’s grace, deeply desire—to be followers of Jesus. (LOCATION: 631)

Don’t feel badly if people call you crazy—this just proves that you’re in good company! They said it about Jesus when they listened to his teaching: “He has a demon, and is insane” (John 10:20). (LOCATION: 646)

We should do the hard work, keeping the balance of being crazy for God, but completely normal around others. (LOCATION: 699)

The syncretism that confuses the gospel with American culture and secular values is much harder for us to see because we’re the ones doing it.

NOTE: As opposed to pagan idolatry described above (LOCATION: 754)

God’s salvation includes our experiencing, right now in the present, being reconciled to him and others and entering the new age where we experience a foretaste of heaven in our life together—through the application of the work of Christ in each of our lives. (LOCATION: 782)

The only way I can experience the fullness of God’s salvation in my life is if I’m part of a community of believers who are gracing one another in their daily lives. This is exactly what the church is to be and why it is essential. We can only experience all of God’s salvation together when we share his grace among us. (LOCATION: 789)

Western individualism has turned the church into an event that I may or may not participate in, depending on what I get out of it. This is not what the church is to be. It is a community of people who bring the best of the grace that God has given us and give it to one another. (LOCATION: 792)

The church is to be a spiritual banquet, where we all bring the grace God has given us and share it with one another. We should share that grace the same way God shared it with us. Because he has lavished his grace on us (Ephesians 1:8), we should lavish it on one another. When we do so, the church becomes a community where the promises of God are lived out among the people making the church heaven on earth. (LOCATION: 815)

This understanding of the church also changes why we go to church. We shouldn’t go thinking, What I am going to get out of church today? But, How am I going to grace my brothers and sisters this morning? (LOCATION: 823)

In party evangelism, everyone evangelizes, using the gifts they’ve been given. (LOCATION: 868)

If the Christian community is going to challenge our culture, we as the church must begin by being a place where the gospel is communally lived out toward the external world. (LOCATION: 904)

To love your friends doesn’t take a great deal of grace, most of the time. (LOCATION: 913)

Instead of making friends, hoping that one day they will be interested in the gospel, we should find people who are interested in the gospel and befriend them. (LOCATION: 939)

When we separate evangelism from discipleship, we limit what we say to non-Christians to a few passages in the Bible that we believe are “for” non-Christians. (LOCATION: 1015)

One difference between a convert-making approach and a discipleship-making approach is that the convert-making method takes a brief time. You can make a convert in a few minutes. It takes a lifetime to make a disciple. (LOCATION: 1064)

How do you disciple non-Christians? By using every circumstance and question in their lives as a window into what it means to follow Christ. (LOCATION: 1085)

It is the Holy Spirit, working in the hearts of non-Christians in many ways, who opens their eyes and softens their hearts. (LOCATION: 1184)

we live in an age where we put far too much importance on what we do and how we do it than calling on God in prayer to do his work. (LOCATION: 1188)

Why should we tell others to depend on and trust in Christ when we don’t demonstrate that we depend on and trust Christ in the way we share our faith? (LOCATION: 1190)

when we consider our work primary and God’s secondary we’re tempted to change the message so it becomes more palatable and our initial response rate to the gospel is improved. (LOCATION: 1194)

Instead of trying to lead people to Christ, let Christ lead people to you. You do this by only sharing the gospel with those who are truly interested in hearing it. (LOCATION: 1207)

Letting Christ bring people to you means never saying more than people want to hear. (LOCATION: 1228)

Why do we feel if we keep talking we can change their minds? It is God that changes hearts, not my words. God may use your words, but if people are not interested in what you have to say, stop talking. (LOCATION: 1230)

In traditional evangelism we look for someone to share the gospel with. A better approach is not to go looking for people to talk to, but to look for people to listen to. (LOCATION: 1346)

We listen more than we speak not only to communicate real care and concern, but because listening will help us know what the Lord wants us to say to the person that he has brought across our path. (LOCATION: 1388)

In the West, we put far too much emphasis on the power of speaking, while overlooking the power of listening. (LOCATION: 1398)

Instead of believing you were not made for evangelism, believe that you are the perfect person to share your faith with many people—because your personality, your experiences, your knowledge, and the way you say things is the best way for many people to hear the gospel. (LOCATION: 1449)

In a real approach to evangelism, we do not have to take the person from A to Z in a single presentation. All we’re looking to do is help the person take the next step, or just go from A to B. Remember, we are discipling people to Christ and downplaying the “big decision.” (LOCATION: 1459)

We need to get over wanting people to like us! (LOCATION: 1471)

Perhaps the real reason we don’t share our faith more often is because we don’t believe the gospel. It no longer works for us. (LOCATION: 1491)

You might want to say to him, “Wait a minute, don’t you know that only one out of every three seeds you plant will produce fruit? Why bother at all, if your return is so small?” His response would be, “I’d better plant a lot more seeds, then!” In other words, if few people respond, increase the number of people you’re sharing the gospel with! (LOCATION: 1507)

“You don’t pastor just a church; you pastor a community. (LOCATION: 1565)

Maybe Philippians 1:6 should be the way we think of our testimonies: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” It’s not about how the process started; it’s about how God is continuing that process. (LOCATION: 1614)

you have hundreds of testimonies because you have a story of how God is at work throughout your life and how he continues to be, even at this moment. You can never tell the whole story in one sitting; you simply pick a part of the story to tell. (LOCATION: 1616)

In a normal, real approach to evangelism, the real question is which testimony do you give? You share the one that’s most relevant to the person you’re speaking with. (LOCATION: 1620)

the reason most of us only have one testimony, and why it ends on the day we raised our hands, is that we have not seen God working in a progressive way in the different identities of our lives. (LOCATION: 1624)

This is good news for all of us who have ever had “testimony envy.” We don’t have to wish we had a horrible past; we have, at present if not for Christ, very ugly hearts. The closer we grow to Christ, the more we see just how rotten we are. (LOCATION: 1637)

When we speak about our Christian experience as a distant past event—where our life is divided into a bad part and a good part—we give people the impression that we are good, instead of showing them how God is good. (LOCATION: 1642)

In a real testimony, you make it clear that your life right now would be a mess if it wasn’t for Jesus—that you would be in the exact same position as the person you are speaking to (and in some ways, still are), if it weren’t for Jesus. (LOCATION: 1655)

You’re not good, but Jesus is great. (LOCATION: 1657)

The shaping of the gospel so that it directly addresses and perfectly fits the person you’re speaking to is called contextualization. (LOCATION: 1677)

It is the difference between a personal handwritten letter and spam e-mail. (LOCATION: 1678)

The only way to effectively shape the gospel to fit the individual is to listen deeply to what the person is saying to you, then take what they’ve told you and wrap it up in a response that was made (LOCATION: 1694)

you don’t have to speak until you clearly see how the gospel applies to that person’s needs. (LOCATION: 1698)

With a real approach to presenting the gospel, you want to listen as much as possible because the other person is giving you clues as to how you should shape the gospel. (LOCATION: 1700)

If it isn’t clear how you are to respond, keep asking questions until the light comes on in your head and you see how you should frame the message. (LOCATION: 1703)

To shape the gospel we listen, look, and ask questions. In doing so we’re also telling the other person that we care deeply about him. (LOCATION: 1723)

Listen, listen again, pray as you listen, and speak only when the person invites you to do so, on the issue they’re asking you about. (LOCATION: 1726)

You take what someone does every day, all the time, and you wrap the gospel around it so that their daily life is a continual reminder of God’s truth. (LOCATION: 1766)

People have said to me that they cannot think quickly enough to illustrate the gospel from people’s everyday lives. However, you can learn to be better at it. You can improve these skills by practicing them until they become second nature. And you can keep listening until you know what to say. Listening is never a bad thing! (LOCATION: 1779)

One exercise you can do is to take a theological concept, list some occupations, and think of a way to communicate God’s truth for each. For example, sin. How would you illustrate sin for a plumber? What was the dirtiest, smelliest problem you ever had to deal with? Sin is uglier than that. Or a nurse? Sin does the same thing as not washing your hands; it makes a lot of other people sick. Or a lawyer? Sin is like the slamming of that jail door behind you, and you know you’re not getting out. (LOCATION: 1781)

Then change to another gospel concept. For example forgiveness, for a lawyer, is like hearing the prison door slam and realizing you’re on the outside. For a plumber, forgiveness is like that moment when the clog releases and everything gets washed away. And what about grace? For a nurse, it’s when someone gives an organ so another can live. For a mother, grace is all those things she does that we never see or thank her for. For a golfer, it might be playing “best ball” and having Rory McIlroy as your partner. (LOCATION: 1785)

When the conversation turns from sharing the truth to defending it, traditional evangelism stops and apologetics begins. (LOCATION: 1828)

Everyone “has skin in the game.” All facts are reinterpreted by our worldviews and unproven presuppositions in order to support our conclusions. (LOCATION: 1837)

Presuppositional apologetics turns those tables. It isn’t God on trial—we are. (LOCATION: 1846)

We want to seek to understand their system and the unquestioned assumptions they’re making about God, his creation, and themselves. (LOCATION: 1850)

In as loving and gentle a way as possible (an approach that presuppositional apologists aren’t especially known for), you want to help them see how intellectually dishonest they’re being. (LOCATION: 1851)

A better way is not to read the book, but ask your friend to explain her religion, why she believes it, and what it does for her. Tell her that you’ve always been interested in understanding what her religion teaches and want to compare it with Christian teaching. This is better than reading a book because people who say they’re from a particular faith may neither know nor believe the teachings of their own faith. There are many people whose faith is a cultural commitment rather than a religious one. (LOCATION: 2185)

Attacking someone’s religion, even if they don’t believe it themselves, doesn’t help them convert; it just closes down the conversation. (LOCATION: 2210)

People are people first! Instead of thinking of people as different from you because of their religious beliefs, understand that they are in many ways like you. They have many of the same hopes, dreams, and fears. Instead of us-versus-them, we should see ourselves on the same side of the table, talking about how we and our friends are facing the problems and difficulties in life. Your attitude and respectful listening will set the example. (LOCATION: 2222)

Our job is not to pressure, but to explain and clarify. It is God who changes the heart. (LOCATION: 2247)

Could it be that people reject the gospel because it is too good to be true? (LOCATION: 2325)

Some Thoughts on the Creation Debate

A few nights ago, creationist Ken Ham debated evolutionist Bill Nye on creation and evolution. I didn’t watch it for several reasons. First, it was at a bad time. I was reading to my kids and getting them in bed. Second, it didn’t sound interesting. My suspicion was that it would be a rehash of old arguments, made by both sides often and rejected by both sides equally often.

I am a young earth creationist (YEC), primarily because the Bible presents it that way, and secondarily because, as I understand the science, there is no reason not to be. Now, I admit to not understanding all the science, but I have never gotten satisfactory explanations of things from an evolutionary perspective.

Simply put, I don’t have enough faith to be an evolutionist. Too many statistically impossible things would have to fall exactly in place for it to be true. To get a one-in-a-billion occurrence to happen is unbelievable. Irrational. To get a whole series of them to happen (which is what evolution requires) is … well … I don’t have a word for it. To believe in it is either an act of extreme faith or extreme naiveté, or both.

I have read some of the articles and reviews of the debate. It’s predictable. Evolutionists mock Ham for his beliefs, and Nye for even going to the debate. Creationists praise Ham and point out Nye’s faults. And there is a predictable group of old-earth creationists, or what we used to call concordists, who try to carve out a middle position, praising Ham for his commitment to the Bible and condemning his science, while agreeing largely with Nye’s science but pointing out his lack of belief in a Creator.

Having read these reports, I will make only a few comments about the larger debate, not the one from the other night.

First, I hear that Ham continually took it back to the Bible. Good for him. I am glad. He should do this. We all should. I doubt that many people are actually walking away from the faith over young-earth creationism, though if you listen to the critics (including Ham), the church is almost empty on Sundays because of YEC (either those who believe it or those who don’t). But in the end, YEC is the only position that is consistent with the gospel. Others can indeed be saved, and are saved, but they have some issues that they can’t really explain apart from some big leaps, namely the problem of death and it’s relation to sin. If death isn’t the result of sin (as an OEC must affirm), then we can’t really explain why the Bible says that it is, and we can’t explain why Jesus had to die as a payment for sin since death wasn’t the result of sin. We have a payment made (death) that has no connection to the debt (sin).

Second, I see that Nye professed a belief that all innovation would stop if everyone became young earth creationists. It’s hard to understand in what world that would be true. It certainly isn’t true in the world as it exists now, however, it may have gotten here. And Ham apparently proved that by videos and references to YECs who have innovated.

In fact, we should point out that the only reason innovation is possible is because this is a world of order and law, where certain things happen every single time. Innovation is possible because of that repeatability. There’s no reason to believe that the science that enables innovations works in a world of randomness and chance (the world of evolution).

Nye appealed to the “reasonable man.” Again, it is difficult to grasp how any reasonable person could look at the world as it currently exists, even with its problems, and assume it the product of randomness and evolution. That is beyond reason. It is not rational. It is a position of pure faith. Unwarranted faith, I would say. There is no reason to believe that the world we live in is accidental.

The atheist has no reason to believe that the world is like it is. He has no reason to believe that tomorrow will be like today. Or yesterday. The consistency of the world’s existence is possible only in a theistic universe. The atheist’s science only works in a world he doesn’t actually believe in. He does not want to live in the world he believes in. In fact, he couldn’t live in the world he believes in. No one could, either physically, morally, or ethically. The atheist can defend his atheism only because it isn’t true. He has to borrow from the theist to assert anything about reality, beginning with the fact that reality exists.

In the end, the question of reasonableness ultimately hinges on the mind that is reasoning. When that mind is darkened, ignorant because of hardness, and calloused (Ephesians 4:17-19), it is hard to take it seriously. Unless, of course, you share its fundamental preconceptions and presuppositions.

And that is why, in the end, debates like this probably primarily only strengthen the adherents of both sides. For most people, the winner is the one you agreed with before it started. If your presuppositions (the things you accept without argument) align with Nye’s presuppositions (the things he accepts without argument), then you are likely to agree with him. And likewise with Ham.

As Ken Ham (and others) have said before, the question isn’t one of bias. We are all biased. The question which bias is the best bias to be biased with.

Or as I have said, Is your faith, and the object of your faith, big enough to account for reality? If your worldview can’t explain the world, you need a better one.

Nye’s worldview can’t explain death and brokenness in the material universe. It can’t explain innovation and consistency in the material universe. It can’t answer the most basic question of why there is something rather than nothing, and where it is headed. Until it can, it is not a viable explanation for the world as we see it.

For now, we must all admit that when it comes to origins, we see through a glass darkly. What we do know, instinctively, is that the world is broken. Only the Bible can explain why it is broken, or how we even can recognize brokenness. Only the Bible can explain how that brokenness can be repaired. For creationist and evolutionist alike, Jesus is the answer.

And so my friend, be wary of converting people to creationism prior to or even instead of converting them to Jesus. Jesus didn’t die so we could explain the fossils, the size of the universe, or the ice cores from Antarctica. He died because our sinfulness is doing something very bad to us. And the worst is yet to come. Only by Jesus’ death can there be hope.

Who Said It?

Unfortunately, major branches of psychology and psychiatry during this century [20th century] have helped promote the notion that we are all in some sense victims—victims of insensitive parents, victims of poverty, victims of abuse, victims of implacable genes. Our state of mind, therefore, is someone else’s responsibility. This kind of psychology is very appealing to many academics. It gives them endless opportunities to pretend they know what makes an individual miserable and unsuccessful. It appeals as well a lot of unhappy people. It gives them an excuse for their misery. It permits them to evade the responsibility for their own lives.

Sound familiar?

Of course it does, but probably not from the kind of source you are thinking of.

These are actually the words of Dr. Bob Rotella, a noted sports psychologist who has worked with some of the world’s greatest golfers. These words are in his book  Golf is Not a Game of Perfect (pp. 31-32).

He goes on to say,

People by and large become what they think about themselves … Winners and losers, [Coach John] Wooden said, are self-determined. But only the winners are willing to admit it.

I don’t say this to endorse Rotella’s psychology (or his theology), although this is a great golf book. 

I say it to point out that the idea that people are not controlled by external circumstances whether present or past is not strange. Nor it is the exclusive view of “legalistic fundamentalists” and biblical counselors.

Personal responsibility for one’s emotional state is a very old and abiblical (that is, outside the Bible) view. It didn’t come from people who want to beat you down and berate you. It is held people with no apparent biblical framework who believe that life is about more than what happened to you.

And these people believe that you control how you think about life and circumstances.

In a victim culture, hope is removed because the past is the past. And out of every thing that we can change, the past is not one of them.

So if you believe that you are who you are because of what happened in the past to you, then you can never find hope. You are doomed to a life of hopelessness.

The good news is that hope isn’t found simply by thinking better about yourself. The good news is that true hope is found in understanding how Jesus dealt with the past, and how he will deal with the past in the future.

The gospel teaches me that through faith alone, Jesus deals with my sinful past and promises to deal with the sinful past of others in his time. I need not be a slave to people who hurt me. I need not let them control my life. I can let God settle his debts.

That doesn’t mean I do nothing. Where crime and illegal acts have taken place, I can pursue them through legitimate civil means. Where hurt continues to be foisted on me, I can remove myself from that situation.

But ultimately, Jesus will settle all debts in reconciling all things to himself.

And because of that, I don’t have to live under the weight of my past—whether my own actions or the actions of others. I can live in the grace of Jesus.

That won’t fix my golf swing. But it will change my life.

Calvinism and the Gospel

There are some who say that Calvinists don’t believe in evangelism.

They should listen to David Platt at Together for the Gospel.

When Sermon Prep and YouTube Collide

Today I was browsing YouTube for a few minutes looking for an old song that I couldn’t quite call to mind (mostly because I never knew it well), and I happened upon some videos of a certain popular Christian music artist (I hate that term … but I digress) from the 80s, 90s, and today.

She was dressed modestly, sang passionately, seemed mostly devoid of the gyrations and foolishness that accompanies much of Christian music today. She was praising God with her whole heart and leading others in worship. She even prayed before she sang.

Turns out she was also hooking up with a man she wasn’t married to.

She blew up her marriage and family. Caused a lot of pain both for herself and her family.

But she looked just right. And man could she sing. And she was so passionate and devoted leading worship that way.

And people thought everything was okay.

Today I am finishing up a message for tomorrow on Galatians 2:20 about being crucified with Christ and no longer living, yet all the while continuing to live by faith in Jesus. I am thinking about the connections between Galatians 2:20, Romans 6, Colossians 3:5, and Romans 8. They are not exactly parallel, but they share a common theme: death to sin and self and life because of what you believe about Jesus.

And I reminded how easy it is to put on a good show, to look right, dress right, sing right, speak right, be passionate and energetic, and not be living the crucified life.

Brothers and sisters, to quote my good friend John Owen, Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

Jesus loved us and gave himself up for us. So believe it, and be crucified with Christ.

Then go live like you believe it.

Great Hope in the Gospel

What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who is against us? 
He who did not spare His own Son,
but delivered Him over for us all,
how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

Romans 8:31-32

Stott on the Cross of Christ

The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to man alone.

John Stott, The Cross of Christ, p. 160

Jesus and Eternal Life

When the rich young ruler came to Jesus in Mark 10:17-31, his question of Jesus is significant.

He didn’t come asking what it meant to be a disciple, or how to take the next step now that he was serious about following Jesus. He wasn’t looking for a fire to throw a stick in, or a mountaintop experience to fire him up for another year.

No, he came to Jesus asking about how to have eternal life.

Jesus’ ultimate answer was to sell what he had and follow Jesus.

The man was saddened, apparently because although he wanted eternal life, but he wanted his riches more.

What is interesting is Jesus’ response.

Jesus refused to change the terms of the gospel in order to assure a man that he had eternal life. (I alluded to this in a previous post.)

There are some today who talk much about the evil of changing the terms of the gospel.

And I agree.

Changing the terms of the gospel is an egregious offense that presents a false gospel and a false hope. And one reason I agree is because I see Jesus refusing to change the terms of the gospel.

What is interesting is that those who scream the loudest about changing the terms of the gospel seem often to deny the very thing that Jesus says here.

They say that calling on people to repent of false gods and commit to following Jesus is adding to the gospel.

Jesus, on the other hand, said it is what is necessary for eternal life.

Usually, the tack taken by these folks is to say that what Jesus was talking about here was some extra level of discipleship, some second level of commitment that you take after you have believed and are saved, and you take this step if you really want to get serious about living for Jesus.

But “eternal life” is not some extra level of discipleship. It is heaven instead of hell.

Say what you will, but Jesus raised the stakes and did not offer this man assurance.

He did not negotiate with him about his affection for this world.

He did not offer him entry-level Christianity.

Neither should we.

Purity of the Gospel or Purity of the Church

There have been a few recent discussions about whether or not biblical separation is for the purity of the gospel or the purity of the church. Some profess confusion over why others say separation is over the purity of the gospel before it is for the purity of the church.

The reason is actually pretty simple, I think.

Of course, I actually thought about it, which puts me in a small minority of people, particularly of those who blog. But I digress …

The reason is that the gospel, not the church, is the boundary of Christian fellowship. There can be no Christian fellowship with those who are outside the bounds of the gospel. This is a matter of definition. To be a Christian means to be inside the bounds of the gospel.

The church, speaking of the visible church (whether a particular local assembly or those who profess faith in Christ but are not a part of our local assembly), might contain those outside the boundary of the gospel. With these, we have a false fellowship, which is purely surface and indeed is no fellowship at all.

For me, this does not minimize the church. It simply recognizes that a pure church stands on the shoulders of a pure gospel. It is the gospel that marks the boundaries of Christian fellowship. A church will usually have some false professors in it.

The gospel is prior to the church. The gospel creates the church, and establishes the boundary for the church.

The gospel sets the basis for the purity of the church which we guard by guarding the purity of the gospel.

The Word of the Cross

For the word of the cross is foolishness
to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved
it is the power of God.
(1 Corinthians 1:18)

The Word of the Cross rang out from the Garden
Proclaiming destruction that surely would come.
The price for man’s sin would last through the ages.
The payment through Seed would bring man back home
The Serpent fights on with his minions beside him.
His reign he pursues through the passing of time.
The Seed of the Woman would suffer, but slightly,
The victory he’d win in the fullness of time.

The Word of the Cross rang out from the Prophets
Proclaiming Messiah, his kingdom on earth,
Announcing a Son to be born of a virgin,
A King who would die being judged of no worth.
His death He would face as a sheep bound for slaughter,
Injustice and judgment would take him away.
His blood He would shed as ransom for sinners;
His Kingdom would come at the dawning of day.

The Word of the Cross rang out from the Mountain
Proclaiming forgiveness as Jesus was torn.
The sins of the world were placed on the Savior
The ransom for many by faith to be born.
The Father’s just anger was met with His mercy,
The Father’s great love was revealed in Christ’s death.
Atonement for sin—now sin’s power is broken,
The payment was made through the God-Man’s last breath.

The Word of the Cross rang out from the Garden
Proclaiming the vict’ry o’er death and the grave.
The soldiers unconscious, the grave clothes lay folded.
The stone rolled away—Empty now was the cave.
The power of death was unable to hold Him,
Its sting was removed as his life He reclaimed.
Appearing to many He showed He was living.
Ascending to heaven He gave them His name.

The Word of the Cross rings out from the Body,
Proclaiming our union with Jesus our Lord.
The Church on its mission proclaims to all nations,
Declaring salvation that none can afford.
The gospel is preached by each one to his neighbors,
“Salvation from sin is in Jesus alone.
Our freedom is purchased, damnation is ended.
Repent and believe—with our Christ be made one.”

The Word of the Cross rings out to all nations,
Assembling a people to honor the Son.
His blood shed on Calv’ry cries out to each sinner,
“The price has been paid, now the victory is won.”
The Lamb slain for sinners now stands in the heavens,
Preparing His bride for eternity’s shore.
The victory is promised, His presence is with us.
Come join with the body in Christ evermore.

No Half-Jesus

Jesus will not be divided. People have tried. Even those closest to him.

In Mark 8:27-33, Peter tried to divide Jesus. After Peter proclaimed Jesus to be the Christ—the Messiah, the King—Jesus prophesied of his own death that would make him the Savior.

Peter’s immediate response is to divide Jesus by trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. You see, Peter liked a King Jesus, one with great miracles, great teaching, and great power; he didn’t like a Savior Jesus, one who would be rejected and die.

Jesus called him Satan for this division because Jesus will not be divided. Peter, by trying to have a half-Jesus, was acting as a tool of Satan.

Interestingly, in the very next verses, Jesus now calls the crowd to him. He is no longer speaking only to his disciples, the already committed. He is now speaking to everyone. 

To this crowd, he warns them against accepting him as Savior but not as Lord. These are people who want the Savior Jesus but do not want the King Jesus. They want to live as their own master, while pretending to trust in someone else as Jesus. They want Jesus on the cross, but they do not want to pick up their own cross.

To these, Jesus says, “If you are going to follow me, then you are going to have to follow me. To fail to deny yourself and take up the cross is to lose your existence—your life, your soul, the very thing you are trying to save.” And that life is lost at the return of Christ when Jesus is ashamed of you.

I think it very difficult to make the case that Jesus is saying merely that he will be embarrassed by one of his children at his second coming. I think he is saying what he says in Matthew 7 and other places: “Depart from me. I never knew you.” Or Matthew 10:33 where Jesus says, “I will deny him before my Father in heaven.”

You can pretend that Jesus is calling on those already committed to take some extra step of commitment to discipleship. But I think it hard to reconcile that with the fact that Jesus is speaking to the crowd, not the core. And I think it hard to reconcile that with the fact that Jesus ties eternity to it. And I think it hard to reconcile with the fact that the Bible, the New Testament which is our final rule of faith and practice, has no apparent use for a distinction between salvation and discipleship, between the saved and the disciples. And if Jesus had no room for that, either in his own ministry or in his early church, then we must question why there are some who pretend to know more than Jesus did.

You see, Jesus will not be divided. He will not be a King without being a Savior. And he will not be a Savior without being a King.

Yes, it’s a hard saying.

But it’s Jesus’ saying.

And we have no right to say anything else.

Drunk War Veterans, Little Nieces, and the Gospel

I have just finished historian and author Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers, which the story of the 101st’s Easy company that jumped into Normandy on D-Day and then over the next year moved eastward towards Germany. They fought and held the important city of Bastogne in the winter of 1944, during Germany’s last great effort to win the war. It is a fascinating read, as most of Ambrose’s works are.

At the end, Ambrose concludes by a “where are they now” chapter following some of the survivors in their post-war lives. One story of particular interest is the story of Sgt. Skinny Sisk.

Sgt. Skinny Sisk also had a hard time shaking his war memories. In July 1991, he wrote Winters to explain. “My career after the war was trying to drink away the truckload of Krauts that I stopped in Holland and the die-hard Nazi that I went up into the Bavarian Alp and killed [after the war was over]. Old Moe Alley made a statement that all the killings I did was going to jump into the bed with me one of these days and they surely did. I had a lot of flash backs after the war and I started drinking. Ha! Ha!”

“Then my sister’s little daughter, four-years-old, came into my bedroom (I was too unbearable to the rest of the family, either hung over or drunk) and she told me that Jesus loved me and she loved me and if I would repent God would forgive me for all the men I kept trying to kill all over again.

“That little girl got to me. I put her out of my room, told her to go to her Mommy. There and then I bowed my head on my Mother’s old feather bed and repented and God forgave me for the war and all the other bad things I had done down through the years. I was ordained in the latter part of 1949 into the ministry and believe me, Dick, I haven’t whipped by one man since and he needed it. I have four children, nine-grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

“The Lord willing and Jesus tarrys [sic] I hope to see you all at the next reunion. If not I’ll see you at the last jump. I know you won’t freeze in the door."

A little four-year old, armed with the love of Jesus in the gospel and the willingness to speak up, brought a tough war veteran who had seen unthinkable things to his knees.

I love the story.

Fame in a Gospel World

We all love to see our names in the big bright lights. Even Christians. Why? It’s part of the sin nature in all of us that has failed to be restrained.

It’s part of the self that wants to be known, even when it wants to be known as humble. There is a certain seduction to recognition from others. It can create a dangerous desire for more, and the dangers are rarely seen until it is too late.

Recently John Piper announced that was taking the rest of the year off due to “several species of pride” that he saw in his own life. He sees it. It would be hard to imagine how not to have it given his public image and speaking and writing. How can you not like yourself when everyone else does, even when you know the truth?

There are some for whom fame and credit is a stated goal. They do not achieve popularity by their contribution, but by their demand.

One of the most refreshing things to me is when I ask someone about using something they said or wrote, and they say, “Use it however you wish.” There’s no mention of, “Make sure my name is on it.” On the other hand there are those who insist that their name be used, even when they weren’t the original source.

Why does fame and credit matter in battle for the truth of the gospel?

Perhaps because self is as important than dissemination of the truth. We want the truth out, but we insist on making sure our name is attached to it.

I think that’s strange. I think it’s weird. I even think it’s wrong.

I have no problem with attribution. I have written enough academic papers to have been down that road a few times. And I have no problem with copyright for published materials.

It just seems strange to insist on having your name attached to something, and to complain when you don’t get it. It seems equally strange to many to shut your life down for seven months in hopes of avoiding it.

Some people are more concerned about getting their name out and getting credit for something than they are about anything else.

In a world of self-promotion that’s understandable. In the cause of Jesus, it’s inexcusable.

Only people interested in themselves care if their name is mentioned in the cause of truth.

Here’s the key thing to remember about life: Jesus died to make him famous and to gather for himself a redeemed people. He didn’t die to make us known to others.

So forget the fame, forget the credit, just preach Jesus.

Follow John the Baptizer who said, “He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Human History, Evil, and Solutions

Human history is, in one sense, the story of man trying to fix brokenness through what some have called “functional Saviors.” Functional saviors are the things in which we place our hope for atonement, our hope for satisfaction and joy.

Rather than submitting to the righteous plan of God, mankind has continually sewed together fig leaves in an attempt to cover their nakedness before God. They think they can appease God through a variety of religious rituals, philosophical ideas, and moral reformation.

Human history is littered with the remains of man’s religious institutions that try to fix the brokenness in lives. Early on, it was the creation of gods, complete with religious rituals, temples, priests, and holy books. In more recent times, particularly in our culture, it is the elevation of education, medicine, rehabilitation, ignorance or atheism, all attempting to fix the problem of brokenness. They essentially by redefine the problem to a problem of health (fixed by the medical establishment), a problem of ignorance (fixed by the educational establishment), a problem of control (fixed by government legislation), or a problem of superstition (fixed by atheism, a superstition in itself).

The truth is that only the Bible gives us a worldview in which evil even exists. Apart from the Bible’s teaching, there is no legitimate explanation for the existence of evil, much less its problem. There is no moral reasoning by which evil can be asserted apart from the existence of the God described in Scripture. The very existence of evil presupposes that there is a God with a moral standard by which evil can be determined. 

Man, while living in the world perfectly describe by the Bible, rejects the Bible as revelation and therefore rejects the Bible’s solution. They attempt to find a solution on their own.

But God had a different way to fix the problem. And that is the gospel as found in the Bible.

Calvinism and Arminianism for Seekers

Who says Willow Creek is all fluff and cotton candy?

Bill Hybels, in the weekend services at Willow Creek on October 17-18, took on Ephesians 1 and the issues of Calvinism and Arminianism. This is an interesting topic for a seeker-driven church, but hard to avoid if you are going to preach from Ephesians 1. In fact, Willow is doing a series on Ephesians, and I imagine they concluded it would look pretty funny to skip chapter 1.

So what does he say? Here’s a quick summary, without direct transcriptions, though some are pretty close.

Hybels’ explanations are pretty simplistic (which is okay, particularly for his audience), though I don’t think they are as clear as they could be on either side. It is likely that many on both sides would disagree with the characterization he gives. For this reason (among others), I would not recommend this talk to those who do not know much about the issues. I think it is not clear enough to be helpful.

At one point, he sounds very much like he is arguing for corporate election (that we are chosen by being part of a group that is chosen), but he seems to stop short of actually affirming this.

He ultimately concludes that there is some “both/and” using the example of a business recruiting employers. A startup might put out a general call for applicants, and accept those, but when they see that particular positions of need that aren’t being met through the process, they do some direct recruiting to recruit individuals to fill those positions. He uses the example of Paul on the Damascus road for this.

He says that he has never seen anyone kept out of the kingdom because they weren’t elect. “Honest seekers who want to join the family of God end up in the family of God.” Of course, virtually every Calvinist would agree with this, as well as Arminians (or the “biblicists”). In other words, no one except the most radical hardcore Calvinists would disagree. What he does not interact with is why “honest seekers” are “honest seekers.”

He ends with his personal testimony of being chosen mid-step while walking across a camp in Wisconsin. This is key part of his conclusion that God does choose people. Here, he explicitly speaks of cooperating with the work of God in our lives, which is often called “synergism” (as opposed to monergism).

He ultimately concludes that when we look back we can see the work of God around us. However, he stops short of being clear that the work of God is also going on within us.

My conclusion on this message: Hybels has an intentional ambiguity on the details. He says, “I worship as a Calvinist. I spread my faith out in the world as an Arminian. … It’s my job to do what Jesus did. … Leave the results up to God” (quotes are very close, drawn from a paragraph near the end).

I am not sure what it means to evangelize like an Arminian, unless it means assuring people that their eternal destiny is entirely up to them. I have never quite understood how an Arminian evangelizes different than a Calvinist. Regardless of your position on this matter, the gospel is the same and all must repent and believe for salvation.

I think Hybels’ spent too little time in the text itself though he clearly referenced many biblical passages and ideas.

I personally am not troubled by his position, though it’s not mine. While I affirm one of the options, I do not get bent out of shape when people disagree with me.

I challenged again by Hybels’ heartbeat to reach people. I appreciate his passion to see people come to know God through Jesus.

(I remind you that while I don’t have a full disclaimer here, I am troubled by many things that Hybels’ does in order to try to see people come to know God through Jesus.)

As an added bonus, you can view Willow Creek’s Membership Study Guide.

In the Diner

“Larry, if I commit murder, will God still save me?”

I am not sure what brought the question on, and I am pretty sure it wasn’t serious.

Someone from the back yelled out “No.”

I said, “Yes, absolutely.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to follow up on it.

The answer I wanted to give was that murder is how God saved us and gave us hope and a reason not to murder. His son was murdered in order to give us eternal life. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve it. But people who would not control their anger and rage and live in submission to God hung him on a cross and took his life.

But it was not like our murders today—pointless cruelty and disrespect of human life. It was murder with a purpose—to save people who have no other hope.

A few nights ago, I was watching the news. Two consecutive stories were about murder committed by people younger than 18, murdering people that they apparently had no prior relationship with. I wish those stories were only once in a while. Unfortunately, it seems they are almost every night.

The murder of Christ frees us from the necessity to exact revenge on our own. I don’t have to kill anyone, no matter how mad I am. Why? Because I know God will deal with it for me. I can leave it in his hands. That’s what it means to hide yourself in God.

But I can only do that because I trust that “He who did not spare his own Son but delivered him over for us all … [will] with him freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32).

A Missionary on Missions

My friend Dave, who I have known since high school and who used to abuse me during tennis matches years ago, has recently responded to my friend Chris with some ideas about the call to missions. It is worth your time. I’d post it all, but I think that would be stealing or something, so I will just give you his conclusion about the sometimes seeming fruitlessness of gospel ministry on the mission field and ask you to go read it for yourself:

And though no one come, though no one heed, you are there, and they know you are there, and HE knows you are there -- and HE is there with you. Always. Until it's all over and you go to your final sleep saying, "I left it all on out there on the field -- and it was worth it all."

Dave is one of the living people in this world that I most highly respect. He went and did and still is doing what I have only talked about and preached about. I talk about the sacrifice of ministry, but I have an easy life. Dave and Kristi live it.  

Dave and I have not had much contact since college, but I have seen his ministry from afar. I recommend him to you with great confidence. Pray for him and his family.

And listen when he speaks.

Thinking About the Gospel

False gospel: Become what you are not in order to be.

True gospel: Become what you are because you already are.

(Thought generated by Phillips Long in his lectures on OT history.)

Showing the Love of Jesus

Warning: Stick-in-the-mud alert.

Ed Stetzer has an interview with Geoff Surratt of Seacoast Church. Geoff talks about ministry and says,

At one of our Seacoast locations we go out into the very tough neighborhood once a month to be a blessing to people who have very little in life. We take them clothes, food, work in their yards, pick up their trash, anything that will show the love of Jesus in a tangible way. … we're all just trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus.

This should raise for us several questions about the nature of gospel ministry.

First, where does the Bible equate these kinds of things with showing the love of Jesus in a tangible way? It doesn’t. The tangible love of Jesus was shown by a  bleeding and broken body, not a bag of yard waste at the end of the driveway.

Second, how is this distinctively the love of Jesus? This kinds of acts go on everyday by people who have no intention of showing the love of Jesus.

Third, where did we get the idea that the “hands and feet of Jesus” came into this world to do things like pick up trash and do yard work? When Jesus came into the world, it wasn’t “once a month to do things in a needy community.” It was for three years to live the life we should have lived and die the death we should have died.

Here’s my view: All of these are good things to do. They are things that Christians should do. They are things that might open up the door to a proclamation of the gospel to other people.

But they are not gospel ministry showing the love of Jesus. This is common grace activity that recognizes the value of the image of God in man.

I think we are too readily searching for feel-goodism that leads us to think that if we go once a month into a needy neighborhood to do kind things for people we have somehow shown the love of Jesus. We have confused the ministry of the proclamation of the gospel with things that have nothing to do with the gospel. And people think they are showing the love of Jesus even though no one was talked to about our Creator, our sin, the coming judgment, and the rescue in Christ alone.

If going there once a month is good, then just move there, start a church there, and show the love of Jesus by preaching the gospel of salvation from sin. Help them do yard work, give them clothes, and food. Sit on their porches and talk to them. Cry with them when they lose their job (or can’t find one). Weep when they have family trouble. But don’t mistake that for the gospel. And don’t lead people to believe that they have done gospel ministry by leaving their middle class neighborhood for a few hours one Saturday a month to help people in a poor community.

The gospel deserves more and so does the community.

The Cross and Suffering

In our time of deepest affliction, none of us find comfort by endlessly focusing on that suffering. There’s an element of mystery in all our suffering, and in this life we can’t fully understand it, yet we face a subtle temptation to relive and review our suffering. That’s an exercise that will never bring rest and release. What will bring rest and release is spending more time meditating on the cross and the God of the cross (C. J. Mahaney, Living the Cross-Centered Life, p. 98).

I disagree. Mahaney is wrong.

There is nothing subtle about the temptation to relive and review our suffering. It is an in-your-face temptation that screams loudly because it addresses you at your greatest point—the self-pity that drives you to focus on how your are unjustly suffering.

Other than that, Mahaney is dead on.

You will never relieve suffering by reliving suffering.

Reliving it brings some strange perverted sense of comfort. Why? I have no idea, other than the face that it allows us to focus on the most important thing in our lives—us. But I know that in the midst of suffering (spiritual, emotional, or physical), there is comfort in dwelling on it, reliving it, and talking about it.

But it doesn’t really help.

Focusing on the cross puts our suffering in perspective. Whatever you are suffering is nothing compared to what Jesus suffered on the cross. And whatever you are suffering will not separate you from the love of God. Furthermore, whatever you are suffering is part of God’s plan to mature you and prepare you for his service, both now and in eternity.

So in the midst of suffering, think about the cross. Remind yourself that God loves you and sent his Son for you, and having sent his Son, he will not now abandon you, neither to a life of ease or a life of suffering.

He who did not spare His own Son,
but delivered Him over for us all,
how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32