Indefinite Hiatus

I just realized it has been over 1.5 years since I last updated this site. While I keep having good intentions of writing again on this blog, my church, family and work obligations continue to make this impractical. So, rather than leaving it to appear that I have simply disappeared, I thought I should post this update. Everything is fine other than I need 30 hours in each day. I will leave this site up as it still gets a lot of traffic for my reviews of Beth More and Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. Both of which continue to be insanely popular and insidiously dangerous.

Strive For Peace With Some People – Hebrews 12:14-16

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal (Hebrews 12:14-16).

Strive for peace with whom? Well everyone. It says so right there. If you prefer another translation over the ESV like the NASB then it is “all men” while the KJV renders it as “all”. Simple right. Not really because of the phrase that follows: “and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” We certainly should strive for peace wherever possible, but never when it requires us to sacrifice the holiness that is our calling in Christ Jesus.

When we run into these “everyone” type clauses in Scripture, one helpful method I learned somewhere was to try to better define the “everyone” and re-read the passage with the fuller definition. For example, let’s replace “everyone” with “everyone in the entire world” in those verses quoted above. We want to use this method of expanding the definition in the full context in cases like this where the same group is being talked about. If we stopped at the end of the first clause of verse 14, it would not help us. So, let’s give it a try:

Strive for peace with everyone in the entire world, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one in the entire world fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up in the entire world  and causes trouble, and by it many in the entire world become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy in the entire world like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

We can see that verses 15 and 16 are continuing the same thought because the author is still covering the topics of peace and holiness. Does it make sense for us to be commanded to see to it that no one in the entire world fails to obtain the grace of God? Or to see that no one in the entire world is sexually immoral? Of course not. So the “everyone” in this context cannot be referring to every man, woman and child in the entire world. So who is it then? Let’s try our little exercise again using “in the Christian church”:

Strive for peace with everyone in the Christian church, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one in the Christian church fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up in the Christian church and causes trouble, and by it many in the Christian church become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy in the Christian church like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal.

That makes perfect sense. Of course we want to strive for peace with every true believer. Of course we do not want bitterness between believers in the church. Of course we do not want to have peace with the sexually immoral who may be residing in our churches. And the author was writing this to a group of Christians.

A lot of times these days we Christians are made to feel guilty if we do not embrace sin or if we condemn false teachers. Somewhere this idea began floating around that we sheep must make peace with the wolves who are trying to devour us! But, we can look to the example of Jesus who did NOT pursue peace with everyone in the entire world:

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me” (John 2:13-17).

The wolves had invaded the temple. Jesus, the shepherd, did not invite these wolves over for a nice warm cup of coffee and some pastries to discuss peace terms with them. And neither should we! He drove them out because they were putting a barrier between the people and God. These were enemies of Jesus and the Father. Jesus could not have peace with them because it would have required sacrificing his holiness and turning his back on the unholy activities that were polluting God’s house. Jesus would have had to sacrifice his love for the Father, his love for those who were trying to come to worship, and even his love for these sellers and money-changers that perhaps had never even stopped to think of the wrong they were doing.

Do not let the world condemn you for not seeking peace with them. Remember that we are at war. It is a spiritual war, but a war none the less. And there are people and powers that want nothing more for God’s children and God’s church to lay down our weapons and accept their peace terms. Peace terms that require us to turn our backs on God and the only gospel that saves. Rather than always pursuing peace, sometimes we must pick up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and fight because the gates of hell shall not prevail against us!

Is It Wrong to Say Someone is Wrong?

My Beth Moore posts gather the most visits to my site and nothing else is even close. Which is kind of funny since I initially did all that research for someone else’s website. Anyway, I recently received a very kind letter from a woman named Mary who had read my main post on Beth Moore and wanted to address some concerns she had. Now I do not know Mary, but the letter is very kind. While being well-intentioned, it also contains a number of common errors that are overwhelming our Christian churches these days. So, I want to use her letter as an opportunity to attempt to teach Mary and others like her (and perhaps you) to identify the problems with this type of reasoning. Errors that are being indoctrinated into us in our world that teaches us to “coexist.”

This is a really long article, so I would recommend packing a lunch before we begin. Ready? Then let’s dive in. Mary begins:

I read your post on Beth Moore as a false teacher — and recognized myself in you. I was moved to write to you — not to attack or defend Beth Moore or you, but to tell you what I see in this. I don’t expect you to publish this comment, but I hope you find it useful (Mary).

Well Mary, I am publishing your comment! And I do genuinely thank you for taking the time to write and the obvious concern with which you have written to me. I hope you may likewise find my reply to you useful. I also hope you take this response in the love in which it is intended. It is so difficult to come across as loving when you are disagreeing with someone in writing.

I am 75 years old, having been a student of the Bible all my life and a devoted Christian for 65 years. (Mary)

Praise God! I can only wish I had become a student of the Bible as early in my life as you. It is with respect and trepidation that I will be trying to correct one of my elders in the faith. Yet, in the words of Paul to Timothy: “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). So, I press on carefully.

In my 20′s I might have written what you wrote about Beth Moore, because I was trained in that way of thinking and understanding scripture and judging the rightness of other people — that there is a right way and a wrong way, and of course my understanding of scripture is the right way, because I would never accept the wrong way, right? 🙂 (Mary).

Now Mary, here is where we run into our first big problem. You appear to be implying here (and through the rest of your letter) that there is not a right way or a wrong way to understand Scripture. I find it so very interesting that you wrote me to tell me that I was wrong to write that others are wrong. The very act of your writing to me actually proves my position that there is a right and a wrong.

If there is no right or wrong way, then there is actually no way at all. The words of the Bible have no real meaning if they cannot be determined to be right or wrong. When you wrote to me, you assumed that I would understand what you are communicating to me. You assumed that I would determine the right way to understand what you have written. It is no different when God communicates to us through his written word, the Bible. God had a meaning when He inspired it, and we should always strive to understand His meaning. Let’s take a simple example from the Bible:

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:5-6).

This passage makes a number of truth claims that we must judge as to their veracity. Was Jesus really crucified? Had he really risen from the dead? Was there really an angel that spoken these words to Mary on that Easter morning? I do not doubt that you would answer a resounding “yes” to all 3 of my questions. Now, here is where the hard question comes in. If someone were to say that Jesus was not raised from the dead, are they wrong? Would you, Mary, judge the rightness of a person who believed there was no resurrection from the dead? Would it be appropriate to tell them they were wrong? Does it matter if someone were to wrongly teach that there was no resurrection? Absolutely! Let’s hear what the apostle Paul had to say about this:

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14).

Now, you may object here and say that the issue of the resurrection is much bigger than the things I have identified as false teachings by Beth Moore. While that may be true, I chose this example to demonstrate the principle here. The underlying principle being that there absolutely, positively must be a right and a wrong way to understand the Scriptures. If we read the Bible and come to the conclusion that Jesus was not raised from the dead, our faith is in vain and we will die in our sins. Not only would our interpretation be wrong, but that error would have eternal consequences. We actually need someone to tell us we are wrong! It is the most loving thing someone could do for us! Let me say that again, because it gets lost so often. The most loving thing someone could do for us if we believe in a false God, a false Jesus, a false gospel, or other errors in our doctrine is to tell us we are wrong. It would be a hateful thing to not point out their errors and teach them about the real Jesus and the true, life-saving gospel. Now to tell someone they are wrong, we must first actually believe there is even a concept of right and wrong.

So I studied hard to be sure I had it right, feeling responsible to correct the errors of other people, graduating summa cum laud from a Christian college and spending many years in verse by verse study of the Bible (Mary).

Hurrah! Imagine for a moment that I completely flipped that paragraph around and we imagined a person named NotMary who writes:

So I never studied to be sure I had it right because there is no right or wrong. I felt no responsibility to correct the errors of other people because there is no such thing as an error. I dropped out of a Christian college and never read the Bible because it just does not matter what you believe (NotMary).

Would you cheer for NotMary? If there is no right or wrong way to interpret Scripture then NotMary’s experiences are just as useful as yours, the real Mary. And if you want to think really carefully about this, those two paragraphs above from Mary and NotMary say exactly the same thing if there is no right and wrong way to interpret what was written. Ridiculous, right? But that is exactly what the conclusion we must come to if there are no right or wrong ways to interpret what is written. The words lose all meaning. Of course, no one actually lives this way in the rest of their communication, we likewise should not think it is true when we read God’s communication to us in the Bible.

Then things happened that gave me deeper insights into scripture and my own faith in God (Mary).

Mary, here is where I would really like you to pause for a moment. You have just claimed that you have obtained deeper insights into Scripture. You are implying several important things:

1. that the Scriptures have meaning,
2. that the meaning can be understood, and
3. that you have obtained a better understand of that meaning.

You have, in effect, admitted that at one point in your life you were wrong, but then changed your beliefs so they were right (or at least more right than before). If there is no right or wrong way to interpret Scripture, this claim of yours has no meaning. You cannot have a deeper insight, only a different insight. And, if you cannot judge other people’s concepts of right and wrong, on what basis could you even judge your own understanding of the Scripture to make the claim that you now had deeper insight? You could only claim that your views had changed, not whether they were better or deeper. You have made a value judgment, but you want to do that in the context of rejecting value judgments.

There is also an important value judgment contained in that last part of that statement. You write about obtaining a deeper insight into your own faith in God. How do you know that your faith is in the one true God? Seriously, how do you know? And does it even matter? Here in the great state of Idaho where I live, the dominant religion is Mormonism. These LDS people are typically wonderfully nice, intelligent, upstanding citizens. Many have studied the Scriptures and have a great faith in things they call “God” and “Jesus.” They believe that there are many gods, that the God of our planet used to be a man on another planet, that Jesus is the created spirit brother of Lucifer, and one day they may be exalted to become gods themselves (and that is just a tip of the iceberg). Mary, would you say that the LDS interpretation of Scripture is wrong? Would you say their faith in God is wrong?

Briefly, my oldest daughter was born with a significant handicap and limited intellectual ability. As she has lived her life, and is now 53 years old, I have seen the value in her life as she demonstrates love and faith, teaching others a deeper meaning of love — and of faith — even with her limited understanding. Before God, she is equal to the greatest scholar and will not be judged by Him for her lack of understanding (Mary).

I am sorry for your daughter’s handicaps, but I am even more pleased you see the value in her life! This may surprise you Mary, but I completely agree with your conclusion in this paragraph. Your daughter is not going to be judged by her lack of a detailed understanding of Christian theology. Just as I believe an infant can be saved by God’s work of regeneration in their lives to grant them faith, so too He can work that miracle in people like your daughter. It is no less of a miracle that they can come to repentance and faith than it is for me and for you.

And, I am sure you look forward to the day when your daughter is glorified in heaven and the effects of sin on her broken mind and body are removed. When she can freed of her limitations and have a better knowledge and a deeper understanding of Jesus and what he has done. All of us who are in Christ desire that! But to desire these things we must realize that there is a right knowledge of God and His work of salvation to be understood and even to be desired. There is right knowledge and wrong knowledge.

We also have Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:15-30 that teaches that while we may not all have the same gifts, we must put to proper use the gifts we have been given. And, if we do not, there are consequences. If my knowledge and your own knowledge of the Scriptures was at the same level as your daughter’s would that be a good thing considering we have been given greater gifts in the particular area of intellectual ability? Similarly, if my 3-year old daughter’s knowledge of Scripture never progressed from what she knows today because she was never taught, it would be a tragedy (and a sin on my part!).

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity (Hebrews 5:12-6:1).

We see in that passage the Bible chastises those who have remained immature in the faith and urges to press on to a mature doctrine.

I met other people who were devoted Christians but who understood key passages of scripture completely differently from the way I was taught. I was convinced I was right, they were convinced they were right (Mary).

How do you know they were devoted Christians? What does it even mean to be a “Christian”? I have many Mormon friends and relatives who say they are devoted Christians, and we disagree completely regarding what is taught in the Bible. We disagree on the nature of God, the Trinity, the nature of man, the way of salvation, the gospel, heaven, hell, judgment…I could go on and on. They are “devoted” in the sense that they pray regularly, attend church weekly, tithe, and do good for others. Are they “devoted Christians” if they have the wrong Jesus? Or are they merely devoted idolaters despite their claim to be Christians? I am convinced that I am right, and they are convinced they are right. Does it matter? Yes, with eternal consequences.

Who is the judge? God alone (Mary).

Agreed. But God has already declared His judgment in the Scriptures. For example, in Jesus’ own words we read:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:17-18, emphasis mine).

That is a judgment of condemnation declared by God. And we, as Christians, must declare God’s judgment to others as a warning to them. We are not judging, but pronouncing God’s judgment. We are heralds of the king to bring both warning and good news. It is part of the great commission in Matthew 28:18-20 that we make disciples (students) who observe all that Jesus commanded. It makes no sense to make students if there is no right and wrong because there is nothing for them to learn and nothing to observe rightly.

I had been taught that these people were not even Christian because they had it wrong (Mary).

Mary, I hope by this point is that you realize that there has to be a right and a wrong that defines whether or not someone is a Christian. And, it must go beyond a self-proclamation that one is a Christian. I can say I am a medical doctor, but I doubt you would trust me to do your surgery without seeing the credentials on the wall and some proof of my knowledge of medicine. My claim to be a doctor does not make me one. Neither does someone’s claim to be a Christian make them one.

The Biblical, historic Christian faith is founded upon a set of core beliefs. Beliefs that have been summarized in things like the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creeds. For example, the beliefs that there is only one God and that Jesus was God-in-flesh. Rejecting these beliefs means rejecting the Christian faith. Now, an infant or a person who is immature in the faith may not understand these concepts. However, it is the people who can know and understand, but reject the fundamental beliefs that are not Christians. Your daughter accepts by faith what she can comprehend. She does not reject the light that she has received.

Yet in our common love and trust in the Lord, we had a bond of faith. So I opened my heart to them and we shared our mutual convictions. Sometimes we just agreed to disagree, but we stopped arguing (Mary).

Again, I turn you to my Mormon friends and relatives. This is not an idle thought exercise as I have people I deeply love who are Mormons. We both profess a love and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, what we mean by “Lord Jesus Christ” is two entirely different things. There is no common meaning to those words. Do I have a bond of faith with these professing “Christians”? We both have faith, but it is faith in entirely different things. Can I just agree to disagree and not worry about our differences? Absolutely not because I love them. God has made it clear in the Scriptures that if they continue worshipping a false god and putting their trust in a false gospel, they are already condemned (John 3:18). Jesus himself taught about people who would face eternal separation from God despite their claims they knew Jesus and did mighty works in his name:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

They called Jesus Lord, but were not allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. We are either Universalists and everyone goes to heaven, or there is some metric by which true Christians are identified.

We did not talk about “grace” much in my early years. I could tell you then that it meant “unmerited favor”, but I actually had little idea of what that meant. As I continued to study, I came to understand that the blood of Christ “keeps on cleansing” us as we walk in the light. That was light a light coming on. Then one day it dawned on me that I had been given to understand that God will forgive our sins — but if we have our doctrine wrong, we are in big trouble. That makes no sense (Mary).

Mary, you highlight a very common error here. The term “doctrine” has received a bad reputation recently, but it merely means a set of beliefs. In the same paragraph in which you essentially declare that doctrine is not important, you describe a lot of doctrine that you hold:

• The idea of grace meaning unmerited favor
• The blood of Christ
• Cleansing
• Walking in the light
• God
• Forgiveness of our sins

Those are all part of your doctrine–your set of beliefs. Would someone be in “big trouble” if their belief in the forgiveness of sins is wrong? You bet! If they believed that forgiveness of sins came through faith in the Easter Bunny, as a ridiculous example. So, yes, if we have our doctrine wrong, we are in big trouble. Wrong God, wrong Jesus, wrong gospel, wrong Scriptures, and wrong understanding of sin equals wrong doctrine and big trouble.

Mary, you also continue to demonstrate that you actually believe there is a right way and a wrong way to understand Scripture since you are coming to a better understanding. Again, if there is no right way, all you could claim is that your beliefs changed, not that they improved.

Soon I began to notice that I had some ways of looking at scripture that also did not make sense (Mary).

Unfortunately to be consistent, it makes no sense for you to write that your way of looking at Scripture did not make sense. It was neither right nor wrong. Therefore it was neither logical or illogical, sensible or nonsensical. It was just an opinion of yours that changed.

Taking some passages as direct commands/instruction for today gave them different meaning from what the original readers could possibly have gleaned (Mary).

At this point, I am beating a dead horse, but by the “logic” that there is no right or wrong, arriving at a different meaning from the original readers is perfectly valid. The human authors could have had one meaning in mind when they wrote it, the original readers could arrive at a different meaning, and you and I could come to third and fourth meanings. No problem or big problem? God had a meaning that was right when He inspired the Scriptures. We want to discover that meaning. All others are wrong. I actual agree that we need to determine the correct, original meaning.

For example, the Bereans searching scripture and Paul’s instruction to Timothy to “study the scripture daily” (KJV) and that “all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness” were all written BEFORE the Bible existed. Timothy had been studying scripture from infancy, but it must have been the old law he studied, because most of the New Testament had not yet been written and there was no compilation into a Holy Bible at that point (Mary).

Actually, at the time of Jesus the majority of the Bible did exist. 39 of the 66 books (59%) and roughly 76% of the total words of the Bible were complete. It was not as complete of a revelation as we have today, but is inaccurate to say the Bible did not exist. It existed, but in a different, less complete form. Not an inaccurate or wrong Bible, but an incomplete Bible. The Bereans were commended for searching the Old Testament Scriptures precisely because they were inspired by God. Jesus held the Jews responsible for rightly understanding the Old Testament Scriptures precisely because they bore witness to him:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” (John 5:39-47).

Jesus condemned the Jews for their incorrect understanding of the Scriptures. How much more condemnation will we face if we reject the additional light we have received through the later writings of the New Testament and its more clear revelation of Jesus as the Messiah?

Now, I want to circle back to your quote from 2 Timothy 3:16:

…“all scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness” were all written BEFORE the Bible existed (Mary).

Actually, this word from Paul to Timothy was inspired Scripture as soon as it was written down the first time. Now, what we call the full Bible consisting of both the Old and New Testament may not have been completely recognized by the Christian church at that point, however that does not change the fact that it was already the inspired word of God. (As an aside, I recommend to anyone reading this far who is interested in this topic of New Testament Scripture to go read Dr. Michael Kruger’s wonderful book, “Canon Revisited”). Mary, I hope you can also see now that the idea of reproof, correction and instruction must be tied to the understanding that there is a right and a wrong way to interpret the Bible. Not to mention that doctrine is an important concept that is based upon our righty understanding of God’s revelation in the Scripture. We must embrace the idea that right doctrine is important and desirable!

Using these passages as imperatives regarding the Bible is not exactly honest (Mary).

I am not sure what you mean here, because they are not really imperatives. Are you saying that we not all Scripture is inspired by God (or more accurately breathed out by God)? Are you saying that not all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness? I am confused here because I doubt that this is what you meant.

I have no doubt that the Bible as we know it exists because God protected it over time from the violence of history and of evil men. But I have become convinced that we must study it in context if we are to understand its meaning for us today (Mary).

Agreed. What is interesting is that you came to my website to read about Beth Moore who regularly divorces her teaching from the context.

I really am trying to be brief here. So let me see if I can get to the bottom line of what I am trying to say (Mary).

I appreciate the time you have taken. And I am far less brief than you, Mary, so no worries.

We can focus so much on “getting it right” that we miss the point. And the “I’m right, you’re wrong” approach to Christianity will not build a sustaining faith in our children. They may know all the ways we are “right”, but they will not know why it matters — or the blessings and joy of a life in Christ, lived humbly before our God (Mary).

And this is where this line of thinking really falls apart. If it does not matter if we get it right, there is no point. Was Jesus merely a man or was he the God-man? Am I a sinner in need of a savior or a basically good person? Is there a coming judgment for sinners or does everyone go to heaven? Is there only one eternal god or are there countless gods and I can become one too? If it does not matter if we get the answers to these types of questions right, there is no point to miss. Then, there is no such thing as a definable “Christianity” and there is no thing and no one for my children to have a faith in. It is all becomes merely shifting sand.

Now, I may have a correct intellectual understanding of the Scriptures (“get it right), but reject these truths and therefore miss the point. But it would be silly to say I have an incorrect intellectual understanding of Scriptures (“get it wrong”), but get the point.

In our Bible study class this past year, we have been studying the book of Hebrews. As you, I am certain, well know, it is full of rich theology and, dare I say it, doctrine. The book of Hebrews makes it abundantly clear that it is in getting it right about the person and finished work of Jesus that provides us with assurance and allows our faith to remain strong in the face of trials and persecution. I want my children, and everyone, to know the real Jesus and the real gospel of salvation through repentance and faith in the finished work of Christ. I want their faith to be rooted in the clear understanding of God’s promises for our eternity and His unchangeable nature so we can trust those promises. Theology (our knowledge of God) matters! Doctrine (our set of beliefs) matter! What we put our faith in matters!

There is much more I could share, but just know that I am praying for you (Mary).

Thank you Mary for taking the time to write me and especially for your prayers.

I encourage you to think about what God’s mission for your life really is. Is it really about tearing apart the teachings of others and pointing out what you believe to be errors? (Mary)

My goal in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I do believe that one of my callings in Christ’s church is to teach others using the Bible. Teach at home to my family, teach in my local congregation, and teach through this website. And as 2 Timothy 3:16 points out, part of that teaching involves reproof and correction. I too require teaching and continue to learn from others as I strive to become a “man of God [who is] complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17).

Or is it about the “abundant” life Jesus came to bring us — not prosperity in a material sense, but love, joy, peace and all the spiritual blessings we have in Christ Jesus? And the “everlasting” life we have in him as believers? When that is our focus, our families, our children, everyone we encounter — even enemies and people we disagree with — can see the blessings in a life lived in Christ (Mary).

Why not prosperity in a material sense? There are countless “Christians” today like Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen who teach that part of the abundant life Jesus wants to give us is material wealth and perfect health. All we need is enough faith and perhaps to sow our seeds of faith by sending them some money? Are they wrong Mary? Is that incorrect doctrine? Should we tell them they are believing and teaching wrongly? Should we warn others about these false teachers; these wolves in sheep’s clothing?

And what spiritual blessing do we have in Christ Jesus? How would we know what those are? By reading God’s Holy Word the Bible. Last week during our Bible study in the book of Hebrews we were working through the end of chapter 11. Here we read of people of faith like David who became a king and through faith conquered kingdoms (Hebrews 11:32-33). But we also read of people of faith being stoned, sawn in two and killed by the sword. How do our friends or enemies look at a person being sawn in two and see the blessings of a life in Christ? They cannot unless we tell them the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the eternal promises ahead of us as we “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

I would love to visit with you more (Mary).

I would love to visit with you more also Mary. There is so much more that the Bible teaches on this subject of truth, the necessity of correct doctrine and the identification of false teachings and teachers.

Now, Mary, I know your letter did not stop here, but switched topics to discuss new, personal direct revelation from God. Perhaps someday I will address the rest of your letter, but I am about 5000 words in already and this seems like a natural stopping point.

With love in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Dale

Yet I Will Rejoice – Habakkuk 3:17-19

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

This passage, and the book of Habakkuk in general, has at times been both my most favorite and least favorite in the whole Bible. We can all relate to the cry of Habakkuk at the beginning of this book:

O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? (Habakkuk 1:2).

Unfortunately, the Lord’s answer to Habakkuk was not very satisfying. God only told Habakkuk things would be getting worse, not better. I was reminded of this passage last night when I learned that a dear friend was diagnosed with cancer. Why Lord?

Not many of us today have vineyards or stalls for our livestock. However, we all have the things of this world that are important to us and even dear to us. Our jobs, our homes, our health, our friends, and our families. If those were to be taken from us, then what?

Habakkuk realized that even if everything else was taken from him, the Lord God would remain. And that was enough. Enough not only to survive, but enough to rejoice. Rejoice in Him. Rejoice in our God who is also our Savior. Rejoice in His promises. Rejoice that we are merely pilgrims passing through this sinful land on our way to the homes that Jesus has prepared for us.

I have to admit that I do not feel like rejoicing much today. However, just like the Apostle Peter responded when times got tough and many other disciples were turning away,

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68).

I can look to the world and there are no answers. I can look to myself and there are no answers. I can look to Jesus and there are promises of eternal life. To whom else could we go? No one else. Because “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

So, in the end, I can only look to Jesus and that empty cross and, with Habakkuk, take joy in the God of my salvation.

 

Full Assurance – Hebrews 10:22

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:19-23).

As we continue to work through the book of Hebrews in our Bible study, I am amazed time after time after time by the goodness of God. A wretched sinner like me can enter the holy places of God with full assurance? How can that be? Full assurance to come into the presence of God? Really?

If I look inside myself, I can never have that assurance. But if I put my trust in what Jesus, the great high priest, has done on the cross then I can have assurance. He shed his blood so my sins are covered. He paid the price to redeem me from my sin and spare me from the judgment and wrath of God. And God is faithful to keep his promises. So I do not have to worry that God will change his mind and decide that perhaps my sins are too great.

Do you have that assurance? The Bible tells us that we can. If you do not, then perhaps you are looking in the wrong place. No other religion can provide full assurance of salvation. But, be warned that Jesus also described false assurance:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

Those individuals had a false assurance based upon their good works. Look to Jesus alone for the assurance that you can draw near to God, because he alone is faithful.

Let Us Not Grow Weary – Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:9-10).

It has been over a month since my last blog post. It started off as a couple of days of sabbatical while I traveled for work. It continued a little longer while I took care of a number of busy home and family things like moving. And then was compounded by a weariness from fighting and seemingly losing every spiritual battle.

It had begun to feel like I was playing Whac-A-Mole trying to fight off the false teachings and teachers that were popping up from every corner of my life. And every time I turned one way to beat down one of those pesky moles, someone would sneak up behind me to lovingly caress those moles and give me and my mallet the evil eye. And that does not even begin to address the sinful thoughts in my own life that pop up. Hitting my head with the mallet is not very productive.

But the time away from writing on this blog also meant less time in God’s word. Less time reflecting on how God is at work in my life. Less time pondering his holiness and the goodness of his mercy. Less time in marveling at his perfect plan of salvation. And a surprisingly fast drift away from God. Kind of like the book of Judges. Only faster.

It was basically like my physical exercise. The less I exercise, the more tired I feel and the less I feel like exercising. It is a downward spiral that ends with my hand rummaging around the bottom of an empty bag of chocolate chips while I loosen my belt another notch. Not good. Eventually I have to decide to just get on that treadmill and run even when I do not really feel like it.

How much more damaging when I weary of being with God? I finally decided that I have to get back to this spiritual exercise of writing merely to keep me drawing near to God. It has meant some changes to my comments policy to try to fight off the weariness. But I have learned that this blog is one of the ways that God has equipped me to fight my own spiritual battles by forcing me to continuously pick up the sword of the Spirit.

So, God willing and whether any one reads them or not, on this blog I will be back to rejoicing in the goodness of the almighty, unchanging, sovereign, holy God and his perfect plan of salvation. And back to whacking those pesky, heretical moles. Universalism – WHACK! False prophecy – WHACK! Evolution – WHACK! Roman Catholicism – WHACK! Women pastors and elders – WHACK! Mormonism – WHACK! Homosexual marriage – WHACK! Prosperity gospel – WHACK! Aigghh! They never stop!

Come Lord Jesus!

Recommendation: Canon Revisited by Michael Kruger

I recently finished reading an excellent book entitled Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books by Dr. Michael J. Kruger. The book deserves a full review which I unfortunately do not have time for, but let’s just say I highly recommend it. I learned so much. For example:

God’s books are authoritative prior to anyone using them or recognizing them. Surely, the existence of canon and the recognition of canon are two distinguishable phenomena. Why, then, should the term canon be restricted to only the latter? This distinction is critical because it reminds us that neither the church’s use of these books (functional definition) nor the church’s final reception of these books (exclusive definition) is what makes them canonical. They are canonical by virtue of what they are, namely, God’s books (Kruger, Canon Revisited, loc. 1070).

I have never heard this explained so clearly and yet still in such depth. There are hundreds of detailed footnotes in each chapter, many of which were interesting to read also. So if you have every wondered whether not the Christian church has the right books in the New Testament, go get yourself a copy! I have never met Dr. Kruger and get nothing from promoting his book. I just want to recommend this excellent work on a very important topic. Quit wasting your time reading this blog and go read Canon Revisited.

God’s word is like a magnet

I really loved the clear imagery of this quote from a book I started to read over the weekend:

God’s word is like a magnet: it draws and attracts God’s children, while repelling those who are not His. It is in this sense that God’s word supplies a crucial, polarizing test  among those who claim to be the followers of God (Michael Beasley, The Fallible Prophets of New Calvinism, loc. 481).

Holiness That Leads to Hatred – Matthew 12:13-14

My wife and I are currently reading through The Holiness of God with our oldest son. Reading good  Christian books together has been a good way for us to stimulate our thoughts and our discussions. Reading this book has definitely been making me spend more time pondering the holiness of God and how it does and should impact my faith and worship. Last night as part of our reading, we hit the following quote:

Holiness provokes hatred. The greater the holiness, the greater the human hostility toward it. It seems insane. No man was ever more loving than Jesus Christ. Yet even His love made people angry. His love was a perfect love, a transcendent and holy love, but His very love brought trauma to people. This kind of love is so majestic we can’t stand it (The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul, p. 67).

In the Bible, we see this hatred of Jesus holiness in any number of places. In one example, Jesus lovingly heals a man’s withered hand:

Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.  (Matthew 12:13-14).

Now, you can argue that the Pharisees hatred for Jesus was based on a number of issues, but a big part of it was their hatred for Jesus’ holiness. As Sproul argues elsewhere in his book, the Pharisees had a superficial, fake holiness. Jesus had a real holiness. Until Jesus came along, the Pharisees may have appeared holy to the others around them. But, when Jesus arrived on the scene with his transcendent, perfect holiness, the holiness of the Pharisees was exposed for the empty facade that it truly was.

I wonder how I would react if confronted directly with God’s holiness. Would I fall at his feet and worship like Thomas (John 20:28), beg for him to go away from me, the sinner, like Peter (Luke 5:8), or conspire as to how to destroy him like the Pharisees? How would you react? The one thing the Bible makes perfectly clear, we cannot be indifferent once confronted with the holy, holy, holy God.

The Only Way Into His Presence?

In everything, what does he say? Give thanks because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. That step of obedience–to give thanks in everything for everything. That’s how he opened the door for me through everything to step into his presence. Enter into his presence for there is fulness of joy. The only way into his presence is through those gates of thanksgiving (transcribed from lecture given by Ann Voskamp, best-selling author of 1000 Gifts).

Does that sound like the Christian gospel? Do we gain access to God by our obedience and our thanksgiving? While being thankful for God and to God is admirable, Ann Voskamp has turned it into a false gospel of work’s righteousness. How obedient and how thankful must we be to have access to God? Are you being thankful enough?  The Bible clearly contradicts Voskamp’s false gospel:

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).

As the book of Hebrews teaches us, we draw near to God through Jesus who is the high priest of the new covenant. A covenant that is not based upon our obedience or our thankfulness, but is based solely on faith in his finished work on the cross.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Similarly, Jesus directly taught that we gain access to God through him, not through our obedience or our thankfulness. This is just a quick look at a portion of Voskamp’s false teaching. You can listen to a full critique of Voskamp’s message and a portion of her book over at the January 16, 2014 podcast from Chris Rosebrough’s Fighting for the Faith. I highly recommend it to help you discern the dangerous false gospel presented by Voskamp.