gospel

Turning the Wine Back into Water

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“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).

I’m guilty all the time of looking at people like they’re ordinary. I think that’s the default setting for the human race. We rarely if ever see anyone and see the image of God in him or her. We just don’t take the time to see beyond the surface labels of pretty, plain, fat, skinny, tall, short, etc.

I wonder what would happen if we could see people the way Jesus saw people. He didn’t see a stereotype or a caricature. Every time, He saw a unique individual with a story like no one else’s. He created each person with a one-of-a-kind purpose and plan that no one and nothing else can do.

He looked at you and me and thought we were worth dying for. Even at our worst moment in those times we wish we could take back or do over, Jesus still chose to go to the cross and lay down His life for us. While we were still sinners, the Bible says, Christ died for us.

I’ve been guilty of prejudging people before I’ve even had the chance to get to know them. Sometimes, I see the way they interact with others or maybe the expression on their faces. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I’m also sure glad that Jesus didn’t judge me like that. He saw the absolute worst version of me and still loved me.

I wonder what would happen if we loved people like that. Maybe we wouldn’t have to hunt high and low for gospel conversations and opportunities to share our faith. Maybe people would seek us out and want to know more about this Jesus they see in us, even if they can’t put a name to what they see.

The Whole Gospel

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“There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason. If a game is played, it must be possible to lose it. If the happiness of a creature lies in self-surrender, no one can make that surrender but himself (though many can help him to make it) and he may refuse. I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully “All will be saved.” But my reason retorts, ‘Without their will, or with it?’ If I say ‘Without their will’ I at once perceive a contradiction; how can the supreme voluntary act of self-surrender be involuntary? If I say ‘With their will,’ my reason replies ‘How if they will not give in?’. . .

The doors of Hell are locked on the inside. I do not mean that the ghosts may not wish to come out of Hell, in the vague fashion wherein an envious man ‘wishes’ to be happy: but they certainly do not will even the first preliminary stages of that self-abandonment through which alone the soul can reach any good. They enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved: just as the blessed, forever submitting to obedience, become through all eternity more and more free” (C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain).

If we want to be true to the true gospel, we have to be true to the Word of God. If we are true to the Word of God, then we must believe that there is a hell as much as there is a heaven. There is no universal salvation. Some will be saved, some will not.

Jesus mentions that the road to life is narrow, and few find it. He then proceeds to say that the road to destruction is broad, and many are on it. As much as I want to believe that everyone is on their way to heaven, I can’t deny these words of Jesus.

That’s why the offer of the gospel still stands. To whomever will repent of their sins and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God will grant them eternal life. God will save anyone who calls on Him in faith. God is not willing that you should perish but that you should be saved.

You can pray a prayer like this: “Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. I know I’m separated from you. I deeply regret and repent of my sin. I turn to You in faith and receive you now as my Lord and Savior. I commit myself to following You for the rest of my days and to obeying whatever You ask of me from now until eternity. Thank You for saving me. Amen”

Keith’s Legacy

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It’s hard to believe that Keith Green went home to be with the Lord 43 years ago today. What amazes and saddens me even more was that he was only 28 years old at the time. He was able to accomplish so much and leave behind a legacy of music and ministry in such a short amount of time.

I think Keith would be grieved at the current state of the American Church. He’d see that so many people and churches that profess to follow Jesus now teach a kind of universalist message that the Apostle Paul would call another gospel. So many have surrendered their core beliefs for the illusion of fitting in and conforming to the culture. Sadly, even entire denominations have gone away from true faith.

I don’t think for one moment that Keith Green was perfect. He himself would admit as much. However, he did more to call people to repentance and faith in Jesus than just about anyone else. He begged and pleased for people to get right with the Lord. He also begged and pleaded for lukewarm churches to recover their first love and not be asleep in the light when so many outside their stained glass windows are perishing without Christ and without hope.

But I believe as always that there is a remnant that is faithful. As in the early Church and all throughout history, there has been a small core of true believers who have kept the gospel message alive even when it was unpopular or even deadly to do so. People all around the world are holding on to the message of Christ in the face of persecution and martyrdom. I think Keith would be so proud of them.

I love that I have all of his albums but one. I can put them on my turntable and drop the needle and instantly Keith, yet though he were dead, still speaks. His message and the message of all who have come after remains just as true and timely now as it was back in 1982 and down through all the centuries before that.

May we hold true to the Apostles Creed and the Gospel, and may all who come behind us find us to have been faithful.

Life Is a Fairy Tale

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I suppose whether you agree with this or not depends on your definition of what makes a fairy tale. Is it void of any true hardship or suffering? Then that’s not a true fairy tale. Does it need fantastical creatures? That’s debatable, but I think not.

What a fairy tale needs is a happy ending. You know going in that the main character is going to live happily ever after.

If you look at life strictly from this side of heaven, then it’s not a fairy tale. There’s so much suffering and evil that goes unresolved and unpunished. There are so many wrongs that never get put right.

But if you look through the lens of the resurrection, then you see the fairy tale. In fact, you could see the whole Bible story as a sort of true fairy tale where the King comes to rescue His beloved from imminent danger.

It all depends on perspective. If you see your life through the eyes of faith, you know that the happy ending is coming, even if you might not see it this side of eternity. But it is coming.

“It is a world of magic and mystery, of deep darkness and flickering starlight. It is a world where terrible things happen and wonderful things too. It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name….That is the fairy tale of the Gospel with, of course, one crucial difference from all other fairy tales, which is that the claim made for it is that it is true, that it not only happened once upon a time but has kept on happening ever since and is happening still”(Frederick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale).

Wimpy Faith

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This is from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs:

“When sentence was read condemning [Mrs. Prest] to the flames, she lifted up her voice and praised God, adding, ‘This day have I found that which I have long sought.’ When they tempted her to recant, ‘That will I not (said she), God forbid that I should lose the life eternal, for this carnal and short life. I will never turn from my heavenly husband to my earthly husband; from the fellowship of angels to mortal children; and if my husband and children be faithful, then I am theirs. God is my father, God is my mother, God is my sister, my brother, my kinsman; God is my friend, most faithful.'”

I read something like that and my faith feels kinda wimpy. I don’t face anywhere near that kind of persecution. Compared to most believers around the world, my life is easy. Yet I can complain with the best of them.

I do believe there is a supernatural grace given to those undergoing extreme persecution. There’s an endowed strength given to those who are about to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel. But I also believe one of the reasons the early church was so true and faithful was because they were the outsiders and the marginalized. They were the ones cast out and trodden down.

I definitely am not praying for persecution to come to America, but I think it’s inevitable. Persecution is the norm. America is the exception. Maybe that’s why we so often have such a watered-down gospel and diluted faith.

I recommend Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (preferably one with updated language). It’s hard to read sometimes, but also can be very encouraging to see those who endured torture and death because they like Jesus saw the joy that was laid out in front of them. May we be as faithful.

Tremble, Tremble and Repent

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This isn’t supposed to be a brimstone and hellfire type post (although sometimes I do think we need to bring back preaching that isn’t afraid to step on a few toes while proclaiming the whole gospel for the whole person).

I do think that American Christianity has progressed to the point where it barely resembles New Testament Christianity. People can come to most churches and feel comfortable living in sin and not once feel convicted about their lifestyle choices and behaviors. There is very little accountability and next to no discipline at any given local church.

Yes, Jesus did say to the woman caught in adultery that He didn’t condemn her, but He also added “Go and sin no more.”

I think the American church needs to champion social justice AND personal holiness. It’s not an either/or, but a both/and. Read Isaiah 58 if you want to know what biblical social justice looks like, but also read Romans 12:1-2 (and many other passages) that compel us to be holy and set apart.

There’s a lot of emphasis on getting people saved, but not much on discipling them afterward. The result is that many people sitting in any given church service on Sunday know very little about the Bible or the faith they’ve professed to believe. Very few actually know how to live out that faith and apply it to every day situations.

I do think that the American church needs revival. Not the kind where people get saved (although that would be awesome) as much as the kind where the people who are saved start acting and living like it. Including yours truly.

It starts and ends with the Bible. It’s about preaching the gospel to yourself all day every day. It’s about falling at the feet of Jesus and declaring your dependence on Him once again. It’s about living a Romans 12:1-2 life of sacrificial worship that is radically different than the world. It’s about loving God and loving others the way God in Jesus has loved us.

Driven to Tears

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Tonight at Room in the Inn, we had our annual Q & A instead of the usual Bible study for the homeless guests. There were four of us who each took one theological question and gave a roughly five-minute answer. The one that stays with me is when Tommy Woods did the question on what is the gospel and why does it matter.

It wasn’t so much in what he said but how even talking about the gospel got him emotional. Talking about the magnitude of what Jesus did for us on the cross brought him to tears. I was moved by the passion behind the emotion.

I sometimes wonder if we really understood what Christ went through on the cross, how much he really suffered, and how great the pain of bearing a whole world of sin felt, wouldn’t it bring us to tears every single time? How could I not be moved by the One who moved heaven and earth to get to me in my lostness and rescue me from my own rebellion?

I think if we knew how much God really paid for the free gift of our salvation, we’d sing a lot louder. We’d worship more boldly. We’d live more sacrificially. We’d never stop being a thankful people instead of a grumbling and complaining people.

Jesus once told the story of two debtors: one owed $50 and the other owed $500. He said this to defend the woman who broke a jar of expensive perfume to bathe Jesus’ feet while using her hair as a towel. He said the one forgiven much is the one who loves much.

If we think we’re basically good people with a few minor hangups and faults, we might feel a little entitled about our salvation. If we think we’re bad people who needed to be made good, we might offer up a token prayer of gratitude. But if we know that we were dead in sin and God in Jesus made us alive, we’d spend all eternity in thankful praise. And one day, we will.

Be Ready

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“If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped? Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off. Don’t give the opposition a second thought. Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They’ll end up realizing that they’re the ones who need a bath. It’s better to suffer for doing good, if that’s what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:13-18).

That’s the key. Be ready. If you live a godly life (or even make the attempt in the Spirit of God to live a godly life) it will draw attention. I heard once that believers should live questionable lives, but not in the sense of believing one way and living another but in such a way that the way we speak and behave will draw questions as to why we’re different (in a good way, hopefully).

I also think we should be praying at every moment for opportunities to have gospel conversations, especially with the family and friends we love and hold dear. I know the famous quote attributed to Saint Francis says to preach the gospel at all times and use words if necessary. I think from the Great Commission, words are always necessary. We simply need wisdom and discernment as to the timing of when we’re supposed to speak up and tell our gospel story.

The more the world slips further away from God, the more we will stand out. The more those not of God will hate us and mistreat us and try to trip us up. But also the more people will see something about us that they don’t have — peace under pain , joy in the midst of sorrow, patience under suffering, hope that never fails. Then some will want to know about that hope that we have. Then we should be ready to give an answer.

I found something that every believer should pray called the Three Open Prayer: “1) Lord, open a door to share the gospel. 2) Lord, open the heart of the lost to receive the gospel. 3) Lord, open my mouth to share the gospel.”

Pray for Ramadan

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One thing I started this year that will hopefully become a tradition is praying for Muslims during this time of Ramadan, a holy time in Islam where Muslims are encouraged to fast during the day and immerse themselves in Qu’ran reading.

There is a very helpful prayer guide that the International Mission Board has created to encourage believers to pray for Muslims during this time. There is a daily prayer guide that gives specific prayer points for people groups and practices so that we can better pray for God to reach out to these Muslims.

The website is https://pray4digital.com/prayforramadan. You can sign up to pray at certain times during the day throughout Ramadan. I have committed to pray daily from 7:05 to 7:20 pm (though I confess I have yet to pray during my allotted time slot. I usually end up praying later in the evening).

I truly believe all great movements of God start with prayer. I also believe that we have not because we ask not, so I think we should all be praying for a multitude of Muslims to come to faith in Jesus during this time. After all, Jesus is prominent in the Qu’ran, so it’s natural that they could easily be inclined to want to know more about Him.

I’m fairly certain that God is present when two or more are gathered in His name, but I would love to see multitudes of believers who love their Muslim neighbors and friends enough to pray for them. Remember that the same Paul who wrote 1/3 of the New Testament was originally a terrorist against the faith until an encounter with Jesus made Him the biggest champion of Christianity. Anything is possible when it comes to God.

I hope and pray that you will join me in this endeavor in praying for God to move mightily in the Muslim world. Above all, I echo the cry of every believer when I say, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!”

Cloud of Witnesses

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“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2, CSB).

I had the honor of being invited to the premiere of a short film directed by a friend of mine at the Franklin Theater last night. It was mind-blowing to see the place packed out and to see everyone clapping and cheering when she came up to the microphone to introduce the film.

My favorite part was after the film when we all gave her a standing ovation that made her cry a bit. It was such a moment of celebration and joy that culminated a long process to get this short film from her mind to paper to the screen.

Then I remembered the verse in Hebrews that talks about the cloud of witnesses surrounding us. In my own sanctified imagination, I can see them — everyone we’ve ever known and loved — watching us from above and clapping and cheering for us when we finally cross that heavenly finish line.

I don’t know if my vision is entirely biblical, but I like to think that heaven is invested in our earthly race. We never run alone and there is not a moment when we’re not loved and supported and cheered on. I know for certain that we have an advocate in Jesus who prays for us and watches us and encourages us onward. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that all the saints who’ve gone before us have ringside seats to see God’s people living out the Great Commission.

I know that my church has a small cloud of witnesses that cheers us on as we reach out to our neighborhood, city, state, nation, and world. I imagine Ron, Matt, and Rick (and probably others I’ve forgotten to mention) cheering and clapping as we continue to take the gospel to wherever we live, work, and play.

One day, maybe we will be in that cloud of witnesses and get to be the ones who will clap and cheer for others as they finish their race and get to hear the longed for words of Jesus to them: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”