Mary's Song Part1

At our Christmas party we looked at Mary’s little Song of Praise to her God found in Luke 1:46-55. She wrote this song after she became pregnant with the Christ child and it is an extremely insightful look into this young lady’s heart. It is a great example of how we should behave in Significant Seasons.

Mary has just become pregnant even though she remains a virgin. This must have been scandalous and we can reasonably assume that most did not believe her. She must have been scorned. This single teenage girl finds herself in a Significant Season with the weight of the world on her shoulders, yet her heart is one of praise and gratitude not fear or panic.

At Dallas Theological Seminary I had the privilege of studying under Ron Allen for a semester. Dr. Allen is a specialist in the Psalms and as a result I developed a deep love for the Psalms. Mary pens her little song in the fashion of the ancient Psalms. This is a Psalm of Praise.

In 1:46-47, Mary outlines WHAT she does in this Significant Season. Her soul exalts God and her spirit rejoices in Him. This simply means that in her inner being she rejoices in God. She praises Him for his good work and is deeply satisfied in who He is. Her joy is simply God. She doesn’t just rejoice in His gifts, but finds her joy in Him. She loves the Gift-giver more than the gifts.

The challenge of this first section is to make God your greatest joy in life. Do you love yourself, or your family, or your little moments of pleasure, or your work more than God? Is there something that you find more pleasure in than God? Is the deepest longing of your heart simply for God Himself?

Mary provides a great example for us. Like Mary, we are to find our greatest joy and pleasure in God Himself. We are to enjoy God and be satisfied in Him. If this is not true of your heart then simply ask God to make it true. Practice the spiritual disciples, which are a tool to foster our relationship with Him. Confess to Him anything that reigns on the throne of your heart above God. Rejoice in Him!

He upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3)

The “word” in this statement simply means a decree. The decree, spoken word, proclamation, or announcement of God is what upholds all things. God’s proclamations are so powerful that they preserve the world. God’s simple statements hold the universe together and progress the universe where God wants it to progress.

Jesus preserves all things. The late great theologian Louis Berkhof defines preservation as “that continuous work of God by which He maintains the things which He created, together with the properties and powers with which He endowed them.” (Systematic Theology, pg170)

The first example of this is seen in Genesis 1:3 where God simply speaks light into existence. Psalm 33:6 also says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.” Simply by His words, Jesus creates, preserves, and moves all things where He desires.

I don't know where you are today. I am a church planter of a three month old church which is working hard at creating something out of nothing. I am learning to trust Him for things I cannot see.

I have been proud of our little team for working hard at doing what we know we should be doing. Our group continues to grow and lives are beginning to be changed. I experienced a neat victory last night with the church. I have to give credit where credit is due. God is the one who creates, preserves, and moves all things where He desires. As Grace Community Church begins to become a reality, God is the one who is to get the glory.

He is the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3)

This word “representation” in the Greek means impression or stamp or duplication. Jesus is the same stamp or impression as the Father. Jesus duplicates the same nature as the Father. They share the same nature or essence.

When you look at a quarter you see the image of George Washington. When you see Jesus in the New Testament you see the Father. Even though the Father and the Son are two different people, they remain of the same divine essence.

Thus Jesus could say to Philip, ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’ (John 14:9).

When we see Jesus we see God, when we worship Jesus we worship God, and when Jesus tells us something to do (like go and make disciples) then God is commanding us to do that teaching. When you ask, “how does God want me to live?” The answer is, “the way Jesus lived.” Jesus is God and Jesus is our example. If Jesus was able to forgive Peter for denying Him, then we can forgive those who wrong us. If Jesus gave all that He had, then we can give all that we have. If Jesus gave so much of Himself that He died for others, then we can also die for others. Jesus is God therefore we should live like He did and take up our cross daily by denying ourselves for the sake of others (Luke 9:23).

He is the radiance of His glory

In the previous post of this series we looked at the first two verses of Hebrews One. Hebrews 1:1-2 teaches us that Jesus is the heir of all things. He completely God, but a different person from God-the-Father. He rules over all and preserves life. In Hebrews 1:3 we see five important descriptions of Jesus. The first description is that Jesus is the radiance of the Father's glory.

All things are to give glory to God. In fact the old reformers concluded in the Westminster Confession that “The chief end of man is to glorify God”. Our ultimate purpose, along with everything else, is to glorify God. We are to honor and glorify God because there is not greater to honor or glorify. God is inherently glorious.

Here is what an old pastor once said about Jesus being the radiance of the Father’s glory: “Radiance is light that streams forth from a source of light. As no one can separate the sun’s light from the sun itself, so also no on can separate the nature of Christ form that of his Father. Whether the radiance is seen as reflected brightness or inherent brightness, the thought is clear: in Jesus we see the essence of God.” (Stedman, pg22-23)

So here is the idea. Even though Jesus is a different person than the Father, they are of the same divine essence. Just like no one can separate the sun’s light from the sun itself, no one can separate the essence of the Father from the essence of the Son. If the Son reflects the same nature as the Father, then the Son is also to be glorified as the Father.

When we see the Son shining, then we see the Father shining through Him.

Greatness

Sorry, nothing witty to say, just the greatest picture I have ever seen!

The Heir: Hebrews 1:1-2

(1:1) God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,

(1:2) in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

God reveals truths about Himself in two ways. There is general revelation and special revelation. We are able to learn about God and His purposes for us through nature. We see beauty but also fallen-ness in nature. When seeing the power of nature, like Katrina, we instinctively know that there is a God and that He is much more powerful than us.

It is through the Bible that we know the particulars about God and his plan for us. Jesus Christ is at the center of revelation. All of the Old Testament looks in anticipation towards Christ. The center of all of history happens in the gospels while Jesus was physically on the earth. In the gospels, God Himself incarnates into a man and walks on the earth. The Kingdom of God was in our midst. It was the most incredible point in history. People were healed, storms halted, people walked on water, sins were forgiven, and God conquered death! Then the rest of the New Testament looks back at the gospels and tries to explain it all.

Before Jesus, God spoke to humanity through the prophets. These prophets came from varying backgrounds and had many different styles. Some were wild crazy guys, some were working class, and some were ruling class. God spoke through some of them in long poems, through some in short discourses, and some in strange prophecies. At the end of the day, the prophecies pointed to something better, to the promised Messiah, but the picture wasn’t completely clear.

But then came the Son who is described here as the “heir of all things”; which means that after His work on earth, the Son received the inheritance of His present exalted status. He sits at the right hand of the Father exalted above all others.

Philippians 2:8-11 says:
“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus ‘every knee will bow’, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”

Jesus is also described as being the one “through whom” the Father “made the world.” John 1:3 says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” Then John 1:10 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”

So prior to Christ we have just glimpses of God. But in Christ we see God in all His amazing glory. Through Jesus all things were made. Strangely He lived within something that He created, was mocked by His creations, and His creations did not know who He was?! Jesus humbles Himself to become a mere human, suffers, is mocked, and then dies for the sins of humanity. This obedience and submission leads to His exaltation above everything else. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father waiting for the day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

The Beauty of Jesus Encourages Us to Run with Endurance (Hebrews 1:1-3)

Beauty moves us by touching our hearts. History has countless stories of people being moved by beauty. The King Kong story is one about beauty. At the end of the 2005 movie King Kong by Peter Jackson, we see what the movie is really about. Kong has gone on a rampage through New York City and is hanging from the top of a building as airplanes swarm around shooting at him. After a valiant fight, Kong is fatally wounded. The giant ape holds on to life in order to stare into the eyes of Ann Darrow. Staring into Ann’s eyes, Kong’s fingers slip off the ledge. The giant ape falls to his death. The chaos has ended with the death of the giant ape. As he lies on the ground a policeman says, “Come on folks…it’s all over. The airplane’s got him.” You then hear the character played by Jack Black say, “It wasn’t the airplanes…it was beauty that killed the beast.” Kong is deeply moved by the beauty of a woman. He dreams of her, is calmed by her, and even kills and destroys for her. Beauty moves us by touching our hearts.

As a pastor, my number one job while teaching is to simply take Jesus and hold Him up for all to see His beauty. All I should be doing is explaining the Bible by telling you how great Jesus is. You see I can’t change you. I can tell great stories or fascinating little theological insigths, but that will not lead to lasting change. I can get up in the pulpit and entertain you, but only the Holy Spirit can really change you. Only the beautiful truths about Jesus can change you. It is only a love for Jesus that will ultimately lead to a changed life.

With that said, only loving the beauty of all that Jesus is will provide the endurance you need day in and day out. When Christ is not beautiful to us we won’t endure in the Christian life; but the beauty of Christ will encourage us to run with endurance.

Through this next series of posts I am simply going to hold up the beauty of Christ. We are going to look at five beautiful, inspiring, fascinating, powerful characteristics of the person of Jesus and then we will see what we are to do with these truths.

In this series we will be looking at Hebrews 1:1-3 as we look at the Beauty of Jesus. The series is titled “The Beauty of Jesus Encourages Us to Run with Endurance.”

Community in the Body

I have now been a church planter for about one month. The “church of the mind” that we have experienced over the past two years is now this infant that has just been born. Like a newborn, GCC is very vulnerable and impressionable. Will our statements, that look so good on paper, be just that or will they really impact the life and culture of our little church?

At GCC we really want to value authentic community. You might say, “Wow, pretty brilliant dude, what church wants a bunch of inauthentic people who don’t care about each other?” Talking about “community” is a cool topic of discussion amongst Christian leaders of my generation. Authentic community is difficult because we all desperately want community yet it is so elusive.

The problem is our own sinfulness. We want to eat the cake without getting fat. We want to have lifelong close friendships without being honest about our spiritual struggles. Men want wives who respect them without having to live respectable lives. Women want strong passionate husbands but don’t want to follow them. We want real friendships at a church, but we want to come in to the service late and not attend small groups and not be honest in an accountability time. We want to be part of something great, but instead sit on the sidelines and complain and act like that is the enlightened thing to do. Finally, we want a deep fulfilling abundant life with God, but we don’t want to stop looking at pornography and we don’t want to share the gospel with others and we don’t want to forgive others for hurting our feelings.

I love to talk about community, but in reality I would rather leave it at the theory conversational level than forgive my best-friends when they hurt my feelings. After Paul unpacks this beautiful picture of life with Christ and this beautiful picture of the Church he gets real practical and says, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Ross and I desperately want the people of GCC to experience the grace of God in all areas of their lives. This means that we want them to experience authentic community. We know that we cannot program that into existence. This is the real experiment with this thing. The only thing we know to do is lead GCC by modeling true authentic community.

There are more things that can go wrong in a church plant than can go right. Division within a core group is something that can easily happen and destroy a young infant church. I have seen staff division first hand and it is ugly and has nothing to do with Christ or His gospel. I have talked with guys on church staffs who in instants of honesty have said that they are really being a team player because it affects their paycheck and careers and not because they really love the guys they are “under” nor believe in them.

I want to be clear, I think boundaries and having people in charge is important for the organization of a church. I am not proposing a Brethren form of church. What I am saying is that I am blessed to be able to experience authentic community with Ross Appleton. I believe in Ross Appleton. I trust Ross Appleton. I love Ross Appleton. I am eternally thankful to be getting to serve with Ross Appleton.

I am eternally grateful to the Father in heaven that I have a relationship with Ross that is marked by grace and not fear. You see, Christians are called to live the gospel, not just accept it. We are called to embrace grace, not just experience it once at a church service. The leadership of GCC is far from perfect, but at least I get to serve with someone who is “kind” and “tender-hearted” with me. This means he cares about me and is patient with me. At least I serve with a guy who is “forgiving” with me. This means that when I fail he has been quick to forgive and hang with me.

GCC is anything from perfect, even at these early stages, but at least the leadership is attempting to live the gospel. This means that we are working to “Be kind to one another” and working to be “tender-hearted” and working at “forgiving each other”. We are trying to do this “just as God in Christ also has forgiven” us. If you are in South Austin then come join the vessels of mercy who are simply trophies of grace as we seek to “taste the powers of that Age” (Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, pg41) to come.

God-the-Spirit Sealed Us (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Ephesians 1 has given praise to God based upon the three persons of the Trinity. The word Trinity is not found in the Bible but the reality of the Doctrine of the Trinity is all throughout the Bible and vital to a Biblical understanding of God.

We have seen that we are to praise God-the-Father because He predestined us. He predestined us to be holy and thus live lives marked by holiness. He also predestined us to Sonship. He predestined believers to be changed into children of God and thus we have a wonderful inheritance with Him.

We have seen that we are to praise God-the-Son because He has redeemed us. Jesus was our ransom on the cross and thus paid our debt. He redeemed us from eternal punishment for being so in love with ourselves and things that make us feel good, over being primarily in love with God and His will.

This final section regarding praising the Trinity is focused upon the work of God-the-Spirit. The Holy Spirit bookends our Christian experience. First, we hear the gospel truth. Second, we believe in Christ. Then third, the promised Holy Spirit seals us.

Ray Stedman says, “What does it mean to be sealed with the Spirit? This is undoubtedly a reference to the ancient practice of sealing letters or other official objects with sealing wax and impressing the wax with a raised seal worn on a ring, bearing an identifying image. The use of the seal always denotes two concepts: ownership and preservation.” (pg54)

The Holy Spirit places the final approving stamp on the deal of our adoption. He guarantees the transaction is final and legal. He makes it official; we are children of God. His stamp of approval gives the Father ownership and preserves His children to the end.

Sinclair Ferguson says, “The spirit himself constitutes the firstfruits of final redemption. He is the earnest or deposit and the seal or guarantee of what is yet to be (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). In light of this, the believer no longer lives as a debtor to the flesh, to live kata sarka; he is not mortgaged to it; rather, his outstanding debt is to the Spirit, to live kata pneuma, because he belongs to Jesus Christ and is mortgaged in faith and love to him for all eternity in a debt that can never be repaid (Rom. 8:12).” (pg162)

The Holy Spirit is the final seal of approval. We are children of God therefore we are to act as children of God. We are made alive by the Holy Spirit therefore we are to live according to the Spirit. Christians are to live lives yielded to the power of the Holy Spirit.

God-the-Spirit is to be praised because He seals us and guarantees our redemption and adoption.

BOOK REVIEW: The Radical Reformission

The Radical Reformission is going to be a “must read” at Grace Community Church. This little book grabs what all of us need to be about with regards to taking the gospel to a post-Christian American culture. We think we live in a “Christian” country, but my generation views the church as a bunch of judgmental pink haired ladies who are making sure no one is having fun. If you think this is bogus then simply check out the prickly little accountant on the TV show The Office (if she were on a deserted island she would take her Bible, The Purpose Driven Life, and The Da Vinci Code so that she could burn it).

Mark Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and has founded the Acts 29 Network. Grace Community Church is a proud member of the Acts 29 Network. Acts 29 was described to us as the “right-wing conservative arm of the emerging church movement”, which really sounded good. Like GCC, Mars Hill is reformed in its doctrine (unlike many flaky emerging churches) but is also seeking to be relevant to a post-modern culture.

I am finishing my fourth year of seminary so I am a card-carrying member of church sub-culture. This book was a great reminder that my mission is not to be respected in the eyes of a largely legalistic church culture, but rather to reach the lost, hurting, and dieing world with the message of God’s grace (just like Jesus did).

The Radical Reformission is about “reaching out without selling out.” It is about being clear on the distinctions between “the gospel, the culture, and the church.” Driscoll says that Parachurch groups are the Gospel + Culture but – the Church. Liberalism is Culture + Church but – the Gospel. Fundamentalism is the Church + the Gospel but – the Culture. Being “on mission” is about being the Church, sharing the Gospel, and being culturally relevant. Much of being culturally relevant is doing away with the silliness of unbiblical church culture legalism.

The only complaint I have about the book is the constant unnecessary sarcasm. I am pretty sarcastic myself and I don’t mean to be a stick in the mud, but after a while it begins to wear you down. The shock value starts to wear off after chapter one.

One of the most helpful things I found in the book was his treatment of alcohol. He gives the most complete and honest treatment of the Biblical stance regarding drinking alcohol that I have seen. He discusses it from Biblical, historical, and practical perspectives. There are certain parts of the country where the church needs to have some serious mature conversations about its stance on alcohol and the simplistic statement of “just don’t do it” can really hinder the Gospel message. To put it plainly, in certain cultures it might be a sin NOT to drink!

My generation is in a post-modern mess, but this post-modernism (which was a knee jerk against the failures of optimistic modern thinking) is providing wonderful avenues for the Gospel to go into the culture. I am inspired by Driscoll’s heart that loves God’s gracious Gospel as well as loves those people of our generation who are turned off by church culture.

God-the-Son Redeemed Us (Ephesians 1:7-12)

Redemption (1:7-8)

God-the-Father is to be praised because He predestined us to holiness and to sonship. God-the-Son is to be praised because He redeemed us from the bondage of sin. Redemption means the act of buying back sinners from the bondage of sin and Satan. Jesus paid our ransom. We were destined to die because of our bondage to sin and Jesus took the blame and paid the price so that we would not have to pay it ourselves.

The work of holiness and adoption were clearly the works of God-the-Father. The work of redemption is clearly the work of God-the-Son. It is Jesus who shed His blood for our trespasses. Our liberation from the wage of sin is only through the blood of Jesus.

Jesus was our ransom. Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus became our sin so that we would not have to pay its wage and thus become a child of God. II Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Jesus shed His blood in order to satisfy God’s perfect law. At Calvary the holiness of God was kept in tact and an avenue to forgive sinners was also made. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Picture your redemption like this. You are an African slave in the early 1800’s brought to America. That is your status, a slave. You are trapped; there is nothing you can do about it. You are bound and guarded. You are in bondage. You have no control over your future. If you run, where will you go? Your skin color will give you away. You are a slave in bondage and you are trapped. Then one day a man comes and buys you. Instead of taking you to his plantation, he gives you freedom papers making your liberation legal. He has bought you for such a high price that you can never repay him. You liberty is a free gift.

We were held in bondage to sin and death and our savior paid the price and liberated us. All we do is accept this gift that is impossible to refuse.

Purpose for Redemption (1:9-10)

God-the-Son has redeemed us from the bondage of our sins, but he has a broader plan than just keeping us out of Hell. God has a purpose in redemption. Here is his plan for the “fullness of time” (1:10): God plans to “unite all things in him” (1:10).

This plan was a bit of a mystery prior to the New Testament. God now reveals in clearer language about this plan of unification. Later in Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul unpacks this plan for unification under Christ in further detail.

The Church is a step toward unification under Christ. God no longer divides Jews and Gentiles. The Church is filled with Jews and Gentiles, men and women, old and young, rich and poor, free men and slaves, black and white and Hispanic and Oriental and any other type of ethnic group you can think of. The Church is to be a picture of the future reality of all things united under Christ.

Philippians 2:5-11 speaks of the mind and attitude of Christ. God-the-Son humbled Himself in lowering Himself to status of humanity. He did this in order to die on the cross. This humiliation led to His current status of exaltation. Because Christ lowered Himself so low, the Father raised Him so high that in the future EVERY knee will bow before Him. All will worship Him and be united under His reign.

Inheritance from Redemption (1:11-12)

This section on the Son closes talking about our inheritance again. The Father has predestined our inheritance by adopting us, but it is through the power of the Son that we actually obtain this blessed inheritance.

Galatians 4:6-7 says, “And because you are son, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

The Father predestined your adoption into His family, the Son redeemed you and thus obtained your inheritance, and we will see that the Spirit will seal your inheritance.

Here is a list of privileges of being adopted into the family of God, taken from Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology.

Privileges of Adoption:
God loves us
God understands us
God takes care of our needs
God gives us many good gifts
God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit
We have inheritance in heaven
God forgives us our sins
God disciplines us
We have the privilege of sharing both in his sufferings and in his subsequent glory

As a result we are simply to praise King Jesus for His good deeds and for His glory.

After going through the work of Christ all I want to do is praise him and sing my favorite song, “Amazing Grace”. Sing along if you wish.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.

The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Thru many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’d first begun.

BOOK REVIEW: Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology

I will be part of a team planting a church this summer in Austin, Texas. My study outside of seminary work over the past twelve months has been on the doctrine of the church or ecclesiology. This study has been intense, fruitful, and a real blessing to my soul. The Baptist movement is all about seeking a pure Biblical ecclesiology. Ecclesiology is the real Baptist distinctive and Dr. Hammett of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has added a helpful work to the mix.

This book is a must read for anyone in seminary. Ecclesiology is one of the most important topics to walk away from seminary having devoted much time. All pastors must read this as well. We cannot do a good job of practically pastoring our churches without having done the work of knowing the theology behind what we are doing. Pastors, this book will help you know what to cut out of your ministry and where to give additional focus. This book is also helpful for church leaders who are seeking to understand God’s will for His church.

Dr. Hammett not only does a good job of outlining the Biblical nature of the church, but also gives good historical details to our understanding of the church. Most Baptist don’t understand what it means to be Baptist. The ones who think that they do, typically don’t really know Baptist history. Dr. Hammett presents a good study of Baptist ecclesiology, especially regarding regenerate church membership. All Baptist pastors need to understand chapter four, but it is also extremely helpful for those pastors outside of the Baptist community.

Regarding regenerate church membership, Hammett says, “To put it simply, regenerate church membership is meaningful church membership, involving only those with a genuine commitment to Christ and the congregation of Christ’s people” (pg82). I have grown to fear that weak church membership is the disease that is killing our Baptist churches. Baptist churches are not preaching the whole gospel, are not doing the tough work of pastoral ministry, and thus have weak members which is leading to weak churches which is leading to a weak denomination. Hammett argues that the problem with Baptist church structures is not congregationalism per se “but with particular congregations no longer composed exclusively of regenerate members. Congregational church government demands regenerate church membership” (pg102).

Hammett is a congregationalist but highlights the different systems and addresses the rise of elder rule again in Baptist churches. I say again because there were elders in Baptist churches beginning with the British Baptists but there have not been in America for at least 150 years. Hammett addresses the issues of elder rule not only Biblically but also why many Baptist churches are moving in that direction. Hammett (along with other leading Baptist like Wayne Grudem, John Piper, and Mark Dever) seems to advocate a plurality of elders that lead instead of rule.

This work has been very helpful for us in laying the foundation of the church plant. There is also a great conversation with Dr. Hammett and Dr. Dever on the 9 Marks website (http://www.9marks.org/) that I found very helpful and remains on my little ipod shuffle.

God-the-Father Predestined Us (Ephesians 1:3-6)

The Father is to be Praised (1:3)

The first thing that we see in this passage is that God-the-Father is to be praised. We are commanded to bless the name of God. God has blessed you; therefore the natural response is to bless Him. He is to be praised based upon His good work of blessing all of humanity with God-the-Son. At the end of Luke 1, Mary has found out that she is pregnant and goes to her cousin Elizabeth who is also pregnant with John the Baptist. In Luke 1:42, Elizabeth shouts that Mary is blessed of God because of His work of giving her the Christ child as her own child. God did a good work for Mary and then in 1:46-55 she writes and sings this beautiful praise song to her God.

Predestined to Holiness (1:4)

The Father is truly to be praised because he sent the Son. There are two other things that the Father has done that we should praise Him for. First, He predestined us to holiness. Let’s do a little basic grammar. The statement says, “he chose us.” What is the subject of the statement? “He” is the subject. What is the verb of the statement? “Chose” is the verb. What is the object that is receiving that action from the verb, which was caused by the subject? “Us” is the object. The point is that God did the choosing and we had nothing to do with it.

In a sense I understand having a problem with the idea of predestination. It sounds weird that a loving God would chose some and reject others, but the reality of the situation is that all reject God. Rejecting God is our natural will, state, and nature. You don’t have to teach a child to say “no”; but you have to teach a child to share, many times through pain and discipline. We naturally reject God, but out of total grace and mercy He saves some.

God’s grace is so powerful. The late great pastor, Ray Stedman, writes:
“Think of it: Before the creation of the world – uncounted millions and billions and trillions of years in the past – God chose you to belong to Him. Let that sink into your mind for a moment! Drop to your knees in awe and humility before this loving eternal Being who is not confined by past or future, by years of time or light years of space; who knows the future as certainly as He knows the past; who determines all things by the counsel of His will.” (Stedman, pg30)

The predestination that Paul is talking about here is not specifically the idea that God saves some, but that He destines Christians to a state of holiness. In Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus is talking about how those who are in the family of God are to act. We are to love even our enemies. God is calling His children to live as He lives and love even our enemies. Humanity is God’s enemy, but He provides salvation to the world. Jesus ends this teaching by commanding all of us to behave like a member of God’s family should behave. He says, “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is what He is predestining us towards.

God has not predestined and saved you in order for you to live however you want. God has not predestined and saved you simply to be a pretty good guy. God has predestined and saved you for you to be like your Father and be perfect and holy!

Predestined to Sonship (1:5)

The first reason to praise the Father is because he predestined you to holiness. The second reason to praise the Father is because he predestined you to sonship. Again, sonship like holiness is the work of God, not you. God has taken you from being his enemy to now being His son, and His heir.

The Father has made us His children, thus He has made us His heirs meaning He promises us an inheritance. My great-grandfather was named Sidney Lawrence Caswell. His son, and my Big Dad, was named Elmer Lawrence Caswell. His son, and my father, is named David Lawrence Caswell. I am named Micah Lawrence Caswell, and my first-born son is named Mason Lawrence Caswell. We were on vacation a couple of months ago with my side of the family. We got a funny picture of my dad, Mason, and me. My dad and I were holding up “L’s” on our forehead for “Lawrence” (not for “loser”). Mason is my heir, he is a Lawrence and he is a Caswell. He has some great privileges with that status as well as some great responsibilities. My father has set up long term savings for Mason and I have as well. We are planning an inheritance for my son. This is the privilege of being a Lawrence Caswell. When Mason gets older he will learn to behave like a Caswell. There will be certain things that he will do or not do that are different than other people because he is my son. He is a Caswell and Caswell’s do and don’t do certain things.

Likewise, we are God’s children; we are Christians. There are privileges of being part of this family. One great privilege is that we have an inheritance awaiting us in the future. We are Christians therefore we are to act as those who are members of the family of God. This means that we do and don’t do certain things simply because of who we are.

You are a Christian, a child of God, predestined by the Father for holiness and adoption; therefore (v.6) praise his glorious grace!

Help the Poor: The Universal Church

In Galatians 2:10 Paul says that, “They only asked us to remember the poor – the very thing I also was eager to do.” This is a great verse to build a response to how the Church is to respond to the poor.

Simply put, the Church is to “remember the poor” and we should have a strong desire to do so (“the very thing I also was eager to do”).

First, the Church is to remember the poor by fighting the fight of justice. If there are unjust laws or governments or systems that harm the poor or keep people in poverty then we should fight against it. What I mean by this is that we should not be afraid to get political when we see injustice in our society. Where much is given, then much should be expected; therefore I believe that we should support efforts against injustice outside our borders. I am not one that holds to the long tradition of American isolationism; we should be engaged to make our world better. We were right to be in Somalia, we should be in Haiti, and we should be doing all that we can to aid the starving North Koreans.

Second, the Church should lead the way in providing social ministries in our local communities. We had a garage sale for the church plant yesterday and there was some stuff left over. We wanted the stuff to benefit others and we wanted to get if off our hands. I did not call a Buddhist organization, or the local Communist Party, or some government agency; but I called the CCA in Lewisville (a Christian group), then Habitat for Humanity (traditionally a Christian group), then the Salvation Army, then Mission Arlington (a Baptist charity), and we also thought to call Vision Ministries (associated with Denton Bible Church). Christians should lead the way in providing for the needs of the poor in their community. In Denton, Texas they do just that.

Next, I want to speak of the attitude of the Church towards aiding the poor. Regarding Galatians 2:10, Timothy George writes in The New American Commentary: Galatians that, “the money sent by Gentile churches to the Christians in Jerusalem was in the form of a love gift, not an expected fee paid to ecclesiastical headquarters” (pg165).

Protestant churches in American control their own congregations and thus their attitude towards the poor is evident in their budgets. The Church’s first response to the poor should not be negative (“They should just get a job” or “They got themselves into that mess so they should get themselves out of it” or “I am too busy” or “I don’t want them to influence my children”). Our first response should be compassionate (“How can we help” or “What can I give” or “Here is some of the money that God has blessed me with”). My attitude towards the poor is typically negative and this is something that I am working on in my own spiritual life. The Church should see that aiding the poor is a love offering to God.

The Church is to “remember the poor” by fighting for justice around the world and by leading the way in social ministries in our communities. The Church is to have an attitude that is eager to help the poor, not one that primarily judges the poor.

Book Review: The Search for Significance

As most of you know, I am book-a-holic. There are so many wonderful things about life that I want to know about, therefore I read. This year, one book in particular has had an exciting impact on me personally and my ministry. I studied The Search for Significance by Robert McGee for the Biblical Counseling 101 class at DTS over the Winterterm.

The Search for Significance is the perfect example of blending sound theology with another academic discipline. It is a counseling book, but based upon sound Christian truth. It deals with the psychological realties and hang-ups of our day.

I am so tired of the abuse of terms like “insecurity”. We tend to label people that whom we don’t like. Even the Christian community doesn’t answer the obvious question of “What are we to be secure in?” People foolishly find their identity and thus security in anything from the fact that they started on the high school football team, are the prettiest of the three girls they hang around, work 12 hour days, make more money than their neighbor, have kids who don’t cuss as much as the other parent’s kids at church, or simply that they think they are cool.

Here is the reality of my life. I am not super cool and in fact have arrived at a current state of dorkiness. If I was not a minister I would be a generic white business man. I pimp Polo and Banana Republic, roll in a 1996 Buick LeSabre, and my next major purchase will be a minivan for my wife. I don’t understand most of the “artistic” films and can’t really keep up with the deep post-modern talk that goes on at seminaries and pastor’s conferences. I am what I am. If my security in myself was found in something lame like my “inner self”, or my identity was defined by how good of a football player I was at Ryan High School in 94-95 (we went 3-7 and then 2-8, I was thrown two passes, caught one for 6 yards and dropped the other one which hit me in the hands with no one ten yards around me against the defending state champs) then I would be in trouble. I am not insecure because my identity is not connected to my performance.

The Search for Significance identifies the major psychological problems of our day and applies powerful Biblical truth to them in order to show the correct way to think. He first deals with “The Performance Trap” which is characterized by feeling good about ourselves only when we reach certain performance standards or applying those standards to others. Those who struggle with “The Performance Trap” have a fear of failure, a drive to succeed, and tend to manipulate others to achieve success, they can also cowardly withdrawal from healthy risks. God’s answer to “The Performance Trap” is His justification. God has forgiven my sins and given me the righteousness of Christ, therefore I am pleasing to the Father. At my very essence, as a son of God, I am good enough. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The second of four psychological problems is the “Approval Addict” who feels that he/she must be approved by certain others in order to feel good about themselves. This person fears rejection and is oversensitive to criticism; they will withdrawal in order to avoid disapproval. God’s answer to the “Approval Addict” is reconciliation, which means that even though I was hostile and alienated from God I am now forgiven because of the power of God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus. I have a relationship with God and am accepted by God. God has accepted me; therefore I don’t have to do tricks to get people to approve of me. Colossians 1:21-22 says, “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach.”

The third psychological problem is “The Blame Game” which is when one fails or views one that fails as unworthy of love and instead deserving of punishment. These people fear punishment, they try to punish others, and their drive is to avoid failure. God’s answer to this problem is propitiation, which means that through the death of Christ God’s wrath has been satisfied, and thus we are deeply loved by God. Justice has been satisfied, therefore I don’t have to live in fear nor punish others to enact justice. I am loved therefore I am able to love and I don’t have to be the judge of others. I John 4:9-11 says, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

The final psychological problem addressed by McGee is simply “Shame”. This is marked by feelings of hopelessness and an attitude that says, “I am what I am and I cannot change.” Shame is also marked by inferiority, passivity, and loss of creativity, isolation, and withdrawal from others. God’s answer for shame is regeneration, which means that when we place our faith in Christ we become a new creation. It does not make any sense to believe that you cannot change when you are changed! John 3:3-6 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

This book must be on the self of every Christian Counselor, Pastor, or Small Group Leader. At Grace Community Church we will call our Community Group leaders “Pastors”, because they will pastor the people in their group. The Search for Significance will be required reading for all our Community Group Pastors.

How God has Blessed Us (Ephesians 1:3-14)

Ephesians 1:3-14 is a beautiful and rich statement of praise to the Holy Trinity. Ephesians is about God’s ultimate plans for all of humanity and Paul opens this letter with a statement of praise for all the good works of God. This opening section is broken into three parts around the three persons of the Trinity. Verses 3-6 focus upon how God-the-Father has blessed us, then verses 7-12 focuses upon how God-the-Son has blessed us, and then the section closes with verses 13-14 and how God-the-Spirit has blessed us.

I have always heard Christians devalue the importance of the Trinity. Most roll their eyes thinking that discussions about the Trinity are worthless theological mumbo jumbo. Before you foolishly roll your eyes take into account that WHAT God is first and foremost is Trinity. God exists as three persons, yet God is one and Christianity is monotheistic. We believe in one God, but this one God exists as three persons. If you are wrong on this issue then you have countless problems in countless areas including your salvation. If Jesus was not fully God then your salvation is worthless because He was not a perfect sacrifice for your sins. You cannot be a Christian without having a right view of the Trinity.

We will see the different roles and works of the three persons as we go through, but I want to share a few brief passages about the Trinity. The ancient creedal statement of the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 6:4 which says, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” When talking about the creation of humanity, God says to Himself, “Let us make man in our image” in Genesis 1:26. Our very Great Commission says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). You cannot be obedient to the Great Commission if you don’t believe and generally understand the Trinity. The Bible is very clear that God is one, but that He exists as three distinct persons.
Over a few posts I will unpack some ways that God has blessed us based upon Ephesians 1:3-14. God is to be praised and in order to praise Him properly we must understand Him properly. May God be glorified in your life and may you embrace all of who He is, and not just the aspects of Him that you like.

Help the Poor: Our Society

I feel strongly that the debate over how the Church and Christianity are to react to the poor must be understood in context. The United States of America (due largely to a free market society) has the greatest economy this world has ever seen. What I mean by this is that we can take something like 9/11 and Katrina and continue to move forward economically. We are able to raise millions of dollars in mere hours to aid victims of catastrophes.

We have the broadest distribution of wealth that this world has ever seen. We are not one of the ancient empires where only the ruling class was able to be wealthy. The great American middle-class is what drives our economy. An immigrant can come to America today and work hard and smart and retire a millionaire and leave vast wealth to his children. As a seminary student, with my wife working as a school teacher, we have been able to own a home and drive two cars. Concerning education, the great American economy pays the bills of our great Christian educational institutions. The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex alone allows for theological education at over ten institutions!

America is the wealthiest country on earth with a broad distribution of wealth. First, concerning the poor it is important that we provide ways out of poverty. Even if America is wealthy, if people are trapped in poverty then there is an injustice. This is one of the great debatable points of the poverty issue. After many conversations, much listening, and research I find that I fall in the camp that says, “America is a just society because it does provide a way out of poverty.” This has been one of my biggest concerns regarding this debate. Based upon our free market society, just laws, and numerous social services there are ways out of poverty in America today.

To give an example, I know a Mexican family who has immigrated to the United States. They are happy to be here and have a better life here than in Mexico. They have a better life because they have access to health care (they live less than a mile from one of two top-notch hospitals in our city and have used it in an emergency). I am currently dealing with the realities of a faulty healthcare system, but when one of their boy’s broke his arm this immigrant Mexican family was able to receive healthcare. They also don’t have to pay property taxes where they live. Their three children are receiving a quality free education (better than in Mexico and which gives themselves a chance to go to college), they have free transportation to and from school, and the school system provides two free meals a day if they need it. Both the parents have also been able to find steady jobs. Does this family work hard and struggle? Yes, but does America provide a better life and a way to advance up? Yes!

First, we need to provide a way out of poverty, which I believe America provides. Second, I believe that our society needs to provide temporary assistance in times of crisis. America provides for temporary moments of need. I know a number of people who had trouble getting health insurance and thus were able to have their children at the hospital with the aid of government funded temporary health insurance. I have also seen friends use food stamps to get them through the slim days. I do criticize the system for having too much red tape. This is the nature of the beast in many cases, but I have seen instances where people needed temporary assistance and they fell through the bureaucratic cracks in the system. Does our society provide for the temporary needs in times of crises? Yes, but the system needs improvement.

The third question I have asked is, “Do we provide aid for those who because of mental or physical disabilities cannot fully provide for themselves?” I first think of the great people I have met out at the Denton State School and the great work that they do. I also think of a friend who has limited mental capacity and simply has a hard time paying the bills. I my opinion, our society does provide for those with disabilities, but like the second question, improvements can be made.

America is the wealthiest society this world has ever seen, we provide a free market and a relatively fair society that allows for people to gain a better life, we provide for the immediate temporary needs of others, and we attempt to provide for those who have disabilities. I give our society a passing grade. Are there areas to improve? You bet, and we should work to improve our systems. However, we should not bankrupt our society to allow every American everything they think they need.

I want to end with some interesting statistics. Roughly, the top 5% of income earners in America pay for over 35% of the federal budget. Roughly, the bottom half of income earners in America pay only about 5% of the federal budget. Republicans give more money and at higher percentage of their wealth to charity every year. Church goers give more to charity than non-church goers. Dick Chaney made over 8 million dollars last year, but gave over 6 million dollars to charity!

Sorry for the Delay

Bloggers,

Sorry for not posting more over the past six weeks. Life with a four month old, Greek, working two part-time jobs, and trying to get a church plant off the ground has caused the blog to fall through the cracks. I am excited about getting back on the saddle. I want to continue the "Help the Poor" series, and want to remind you that this is blog. There are many things in this debate that I simply cannot address due to space. I have also not had many of the experiences that you have had, so please extend me grace in your comments. I am honestly seeking to deal with how the Church is to engage our society over the issue of poverty. I am also excited to share parts of a sermon I preached to the Singles Ministry at First Baptist Church of Denton two weeks ago.

In His Grace,

Interesting Article by Dr. Mohler

The abortion war wages on. There have been some exciting new developments out of South Dakota recently, but much work is to be done. Dr. Mohler has a very interesting article concerning abortion and a debate that two liberals have had about the moral side of abortion. Abortion is clearly the worst injustice in our society and those on the left must do more to stop the killings. Mohler shows the weak positions of pro-abortion people.

I just wanted to attach this article for your reading pleasure, http://www.bpnews.net/bpcolumn.asp?ID=2165.

Also for those of you who are interested, as of yesterday, Mason is three months old, weighs about 15 pounds, and began laughing this week! Sorry, no picture, I had trouble attaching it today.

Help the Poor: A Black and White Issue

I have been waiting for a couple months to get this series of posts going. I have been desperately looking for the time to deal with this issue properly. Over the past few months I have dialogued with two Christians who have politically left leanings. Both are mature Christians who serve the Lord and have engaged with me in a gracious manner. There have been a few issues that we have dialogued about, but the main issue has been the need to help the poor in our society. This is the one thing that I really love about Democrats, a genuine heart-felt desire to aid those in need. I do however think their efforts are misguided.

I want to take a look at the issue of Christianity and its relationship to the poor over the next few posts. I want to start with the statement that Christians are commanded by God to help the poor. Christians are not to question whether or not they should help the poor. Helping those in need is a black and white issue.

In Acts 6, the early church shows that they were committed to aiding the needy. The first deacons were appointed for the specific purpose of helping the poor widows within the church. Even today deacons, more than anything, should be leading out is service especially to the poor. We are building into the structure of Grace Community Church the purpose of Service. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are working towards eventually having a deacon being directly over our service projects which will be specifically to the poor and needy.

During Paul’s missionary journeys, part of what he was doing was raising funds for the poor within the church at Jerusalem. Even poor parts of the world gave generously to this cause of aiding the poor.

In Galatians 2:10, Paul records about one of his meetings with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. They were debating the theological issues surrounding the conversion of Gentiles into the church. The Jerusalem church ended up agreeing with Paul’s arguments, blessed his efforts, and as Paul concluded this account he records that “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”

James records at the conclusion of some statements about genuine authentic faith that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

Aiding those in need is a black and white issue. The church is to lead the way in helping the poor. God gives us the command to help the poor and the early church generously gave to those in need. James connects our spirituality to whether or not we help the poor.

All of this leads to the conclusion that if you are not aiding those in need in our society then you are not a spiritual person. You have some issues with your walk with the Lord if you are not generous with those in need.

The Christian church, more than any other organization or institution, has a great history of aiding the poor. I pray that this never ceases to be, because helping the poor is one of the purposes of the church. It is not a question of whether Christians should help the poor; it is a black and white issue.

Help the Poor: Introduction

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past few years about Christians' relationship to the poor in our society. This is an enormous issue and I have tried to look at it from many different angles. I have been challenged by some good friends on this issue including my co-pastor with GCC (Ross Appleton), the husband of one of my wife’s college roommates (Ken McKeever), and the constant debate over this issue in the news. I am indebted to all of these insights. I am also grateful for the work that the McKeever’s do with the poor in our society and am thankful that the Lord has given them this special calling.

I am excited to get into this discussion and pray there is much dialogue on my blog about the issue. I have to admit that I feel like a novice in many ways with this issue, but also have confidence in the Scriptures and confidence in my personal experiences in dealing with the poor in our society. This leads me to the conclusion that my views and experiences are like everyone else’s in that they are limited. This causes me to be humble with this issue. This also leads me to the conclusion that my views and experiences and observations are valid and I should not buy into the lie that simply because I am a white middle-class male I should not have a voice regarding poverty in America. Nor should I discount the experiences that God has brought me through. This gives me confidence in dealing with this issue.

I want of state from the outset that I believe there is not one simple answer to this problem. It is not as simple as “They just need to get a job” or “They just need to stay in school”. It is also not as simple as “We just need to give less money to the war in Iraq and more to the poor” (“For war billions more, but not more for the poor”) (By the way this statement is factually not true and irresponsible for a minister to say it at a funeral). It is also not simply a problem of bad school teachers, schools, or parents. The problem of the poor is not simply a problem of the establishment holding people down. It is not simply a problem of corrupt governments nor is it simply a problem of racism. It is also not simply a problem of people having a “poor me” victim mentality. All of these are major parts of the problem to varying degrees. I am interested in discussing the degree to which each of these issues are really part of the problem.

In many ways I am beginning my journey with this issue. My stances might change over time; they also might become firmer than they are today. My hope is that you will engage with me concerning the relationship that Christianity and the Church should have with the poor in our society.

Please keep your comments gracious and towards solutions not simply talking point jabs. I am really interested in dealing with issue not simply trying to give credibility to someone’s already formed principles.

Lessons from the King funeral

Yesterday I tuned in with eager expectation for the Coretta Scott King funeral. We all consider the Martin Luther King, Jr. family American heroes. As a speech communication major in college I grew to love Dr. King for his amazing oratory abilities. When I committed my life to ministry I grew to love Dr. King for his sermons. As a seminary student I have grown to love Dr. King as a theologian. Dr. King used the Biblical idea of the Kingdom of God as a theological basis for the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is one of the most powerful things I have ever read. That letter has been life changing for me.

I have grown to love that letter because it shows King’s view of the Kingdom of God and how it affected his work in the Civil Right’s movement. The idea of the Kingdom of God has always been a difficult one for Christianity. Saint Augustine’s view was used to establish the European Christendom of the Middle Ages and regrettably spurred on the Crusades. Even today we are only scratching the surface and seeing only the side that we want to see with this Biblical issue.

Most in the Evangelical community do not even attempt to have an understanding of this issue. Most theologians and some pastors understand the issue, but the debate is bogged down in the Covenant versus Dispensational debate. However, great strides have been made by Dr. Russell Moore in his "The Kingdom of Christ", and by Dr. Blaising and Dr. Bock in their writings on Progressive Dispensationalism.

Sadly the Christian left waves this banner but does it very irresponsibly and without the boundaries of sound Biblical theology. This was no more evident than the scene of Senator Kennedy speaking in a Christian pulpit and quoting the Sermon on the Mount at Mrs. King’s funeral. As Kennedy got behind the pulpit (where men of God are to expound the Word of God) I was shocked. When Kennedy (an opponent of Christianity, an unapologetic drunk, a slanderer of many good men and women who seek to serve on our Federal Courts including Bork, Thomas, Roberts, and Scalia, and a man who killed a women in a drunk driving accident and used all his power and money to get out of it) starting quoting from the Bible my shock turned to anger. When the predominately African-American crowd stood and roared in approval of his speech my anger turned to sadness.

The Christian and political left only embraces parts of the idea of the Kingdom of God that they want and thus they have a very harmful view of reality and truth.

We are in a sense in the Kingdom of God and in a sense the Kingdom has not yet arrived. The Kingdom of God exists in a messy “already/not yet” reality. Christ sits upon the throne and desires for us to enact laws that reflect justice and mercy in our societies. If there is a law that robs the rights of anyone then it is unjust and should be combated.

King rightfully used the idea as a theological basis against the Jim Crow laws of the South. The Jim Crow laws of the South were those types of unjust laws.

There is also a “not yet” aspect where we need to understand that heaven on earth will not happen until Christ returns. We should not stop the fight but also not expect for humanity to not have a sin nature either.

King rightly used the Kingdom of God, but he was described as less a follower of Christ and more a follower of the non-violence philosophies of Ghandi yesterday. Everyone will admit that by human standards, Ghandi was an amazing human. There were some great lessons to be learned from Ghandi. The problem with completely embracing Ghandi was that he was not a Christian but a Hindu thus reality was eschewed at his core philosophies.

Where am I going with all of this? The Kingdom of God does not mean “Peace at all Costs”. Those political advocates who disgraced Mrs. King by turning her funeral into a political rally have a view of “Peace at all Costs”. This is not what the Kingdom of God is about. In fact before the Kingdom of God will be enacted a period of horrible war between Jesus and his followers against the satanic forces will erupt and descriptions of it are shocking and amazing.

People like President Carter (embarrassingly a Baptist) attack the Iraq war with a “Peace at all Costs” philosophy. This is part of what made him a terrible president. The Kingdom of God has not been fully realized, therefore sin and evil and the flesh are very real and scary realities. There is a place in our current age for the sword. “Peace at all Costs” is a scary and irresponsible idea that cannot be supported by the Biblical idea of the Kingdom of God.
What are we to learn from Mrs. King’s funeral? First, embrace the full Kingdom of God theme in the Bible. Don’t just embrace the parts that fit your little agenda. I am largely speaking to a “Peace at all Costs” political and theological left, but also to conservative Biblical Christians who don’t even really understand this issue. Second, “Peace at all Costs” is not what the Kingdom of God is about. We are to reject this irresponsible view. Third, the Christian left and the African-American church is shamefully accepting a character like Senator Ted Kennedy and they must clean up their act. Hold your leaders to accountability like the right did with President Bush over the Harriett Meier’s nomination. Fourth, the legacy of the Kings’ should not be a “Peace at all Costs” ideology, but a fight for justice using the Kingdom of God as a theological basis.

View of Christian Counseling

I was recently asked on a post to talk about my views of Christian Counseling after taking the Biblical Counseling 101 course at Dallas Theological Seminary. I really enjoyed the class and found it very helping in forming a philosophy of Christian Counseling.

I embrace the DTS approach to Biblical/Christian Counseling. They have what they call an “integrated” approach. This means that they are trying to integrate Biblical Theology with Psychology. Dr. Barnes was quick to note that this can be dangerous business. There is so much bad secular Psychology that if one is not grounded in orthodox Biblical Theology then devastating mistakes can be made.

I embrace the integrated approach for what will appear to be two scandalous reasons.

First, the Bible does not speak to all situations. I believe that the Bible is God’s inerrant infallible Word and is truth without mixture of error. The Bible is largely a Theological History of the things that God wants us to know about Him and his mission. It deals with the “big” issues and enables Christianity to have the answers to the most important “big” questions. The Bible is special revelation meaning it is truth handed down from the divine and gives us knowledge that we might not otherwise possess. Human reason alone cannot arrive at the conclusions of the Bible. Psychology can help us understand general revelation. Good Psychology can help us understand humanity in areas that the Bible remains silent. The danger is what defines “good” Psychology? Good Psychology must stay within the bounds set by Biblical Theology.

Second, those who only use the Bible without “good” Psychology can possibly misdiagnosis a situation and cause major harm to the client. I am a pastor and most of the problems I deal with end up being sin issues. In pastoral counseling the problems that people have are typically brought upon by their own sin or the sin of others. There are times that this is not the case. For instance, ADD is a real disorder that can and should be treated. ADD is also misdiagnosed a lot. I say misdiagnosed because there are times when a child has ADD and it is not diagnosed and other times when the child is simply not being submissive to authority and they are diagnosed as ADD (sin issue). The best thing I learned from my class is when I am out of my training with someone and when I need to refer them to a professional Christian Counselor.

If done properly, the Christian community (small groups, accountability groups, or Sunday School classes) will point out sin is an individual’s life. Authentic community will help us in counseling each other through the different problems that we have. If a problem is out of the training of the small group then the pastor should be able to handle the situation. If it is out of his/her training then the individual should be referred to a Christian Counselor.

Much of our emotional problems are a result of sin. These should be dealt with in an honest, loving, and gentle manner. Many of our emotional problems are as a result of our past. Groups like Men’s Fraternity should aid in overcoming those past demons. Emotional problems can also be biological in nature, thus one of the roles of Christian Counseling.

Theology and Psychology working arm in arm can help us accurately identify problems that people are having and then the solutions to the problems.

I feel it is important to tag a footnote to this discussion. God might not bring ultimate healing from pain, He might be using it to sharpen us and grow us. We should pray for healing, but if in God’s sovereign plan we are not healed from physical or emotional pain then we must learn to glorify God and find our happiness and joy in God through the pain. God has never healed Joni Eareckson Tada. God has not completely healed thousands of Bi-Polar people across our country. We should always be working towards healing the many Psychological diseases, but if you find yourself struggling then don’t give up when God does not answer your prayers in the manner in which you want Him to. You don’t have to be happy about your situation and it is fine to go through periods of anger and fits of crying if you are hurting, but at the end of the day God is still good and He is still sovereign. Even in our darkest days God loves us so much that He died on the cross for our sin and indwells Christians with the Comforter. At the end of the day embrace His grace.

Vote the Agenda

This week we see an interesting situation concerning American political parties and the abortion issue. Samuel Alito is going to be the next Supreme Court Justice. Alito appears to be a good, honest, smart, fair-minded, conservative justice. Alito should be a good justice, but he might not have gotten in as smoothly if the Republicans were not controlling the executive and legislative braches of government. When you vote you are not simply voting for the person, but the agenda of the candidates’ party. There are obviously exceptions, but if the two candidates are equal then we must vote for the party with the best platform.

The majority party in the Senate and House hold so much power in our system that you must embrace the reality that you cannot simply vote the person, but the party.

The Democratic Party has propped up the Pro-Choice movement for thirty years. Are there Pro-Life Democrats? Yes, but they are in the minority and worse then being in the minority they do not stand up for this issue to keep the radical left factions of the Democratic Party in check. Moderates are the only way to save the Democratic Party, but the radical left fights tooth and nail to keep them out of power.

The Democratic Party has made it clear that Conservative Evangelical Christians do not have a home in their camp. The leadership of that party is responsible for propping up Roe v.s. Wade along with many other secular issues. The Democratic Party mocks people of faith, especially Evangelical Christians (c.f. Democrat bumper stickers).

Democrat Christians, all thirty five of you (http://www.henryinstitute.org/commentary_read.php?cid=165), it is nice that you want to help the poor in this country, but you are losing site of the larger agenda. Further the Democratic Party does not actually helping the poor, they only keep people down by their economic and welfare plans.

Democrat Christians start interpreting the Bible with some integrity and join the movement that was given theological legs by Francis Schaeffer and Carl Henry then a political vision from Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

I Shall Return

Friends and Fans, it has been over a month since the last entry. I am completely committed to not having the blog become one of those things that I started strong with and then withered away at. I plan on posting at least a couple of posts a week from here on out.

The reasons for not having posted in a while is largely because of Mason. He is down to only waking up once during the night, but we are praying that very soon he gets to the point of sleeping all night. I also took a one week wintermester class at DTS. I took a class on Biblical Counseling which I found very interesting and useful. It was a good experience, but a lot of work.

We are now officially back in the swing of thing, so I am looking forward to returning to my work on the blog. I have a few things that I have been working on and hope to post them over the next couple of weeks.

Enjoy the pic of my little man.