Laboring To Rest

More theological humor

2007-05-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here's some more funny stuff, while I continue (still) to work on my next post. It's been in the works for some time now... maybe one of these days it will actually be posted! Anyway... hope you find this as funny as I did:

The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

Q: What is the chief end of each individual Christian?
A: Each individual Christian’s chief end is to get saved. This is the first and greatest commandment.

Q: And what is the second great commandment?
A: The second, which is like unto it, is to get as many others saved as he can.

Q: What one work is required of thee for thy salvation?
A: It is required of me for my salvation that I make a Decision for Christ, which meaneth to accept Him into my heart to be my personal lord’n’saviour

Q: At what time must thou perform this work?
A: I must perform this work at such time as I have reached the Age of Accountability.

Q: At what time wilt thou have reached this Age?
A: That is a trick question. In order to determine this time, my mind must needs be sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce even to the division of bone and marrow; for, alas, the Age of Accountability is different for each individual, and is thus unknowable.

Q: By what means is a Decision for Christ made?
A: A Decision for Christ is made, not according to His own purpose and grace which was given to me in Christ Jesus before the world began, but according to the exercise of my own Free Will in saying the Sinner’s Prayer in my own words.

Q: If it be true then that man is responsible for this Decision, how then can God be sovereign?
A: He cannot be. God sovereignly chose not to be sovereign, and is therefore dependent upon me to come to Him for salvation. He standeth outside the door of my heart, forlornly knocking, until such time as I Decide to let Him in.

Q: How then can we make such a Decision, seeing that the Scripture saith, we are dead in our trespasses and sins?
A: By this the Scripture meaneth, not that we are dead, but only that we are sick or injured in them.

Q: What is the assurance of thy salvation?
A: The assurance of thy salvation is, that I know the date on which I prayed the Sinner’s Prayer, and have duly written this date on an official Decision card.

Q: What is thy story? What is thy song?
A: Praising my Savior all the day long.

Q: You ask me how I know he lives?
A: He lives within my heart.

Q: And what else hast thou got in thine heart?
A: I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Q: Where??
A: Down in my heart!

Q: Where???
A: Down in my heart!!

Q: What witness aid hath been given us as a technique by which we may win souls?
A: The tract known commonly as the Four Spiritual Laws, is the chief aid whereby we may win souls.

Q: What doth this tract principally teach?
A: The Four Spiritual Laws principally teach, that God’s entire plan for history and the universe centereth on me, and that I am powerful enough to thwart His divine purpose if I refuse to let Him pursue His Wonderful Plan for my life.

Q: What supplementary technique is given by which we may win souls?
A: The technique of giving our own Personal Testimony, in the which we must always be ready to give an answer concerning the years we spent in vanity and pride, and the wretched vices in which we wallowed all our lives untilthe day we got saved.

Q: I’m so happy, what’s the reason why?
A: Jesus took my burden all away!

Q: What are the means given whereby we may save large crowds of souls in a spectacular manner?
A: Such a spectacle is accomplished by means of well-publicized Crusades and Revivals which (in order that none may be loath to attend) are best conducted anywhere else but in a Church.

Q: Am I a soldier of the Cross?
A: I am a soldier of the Cross if I join Campus Crusade, Boys’ Brigade, the Salvation Army, or the Wheaton Crusaders; of if I put on the helmet of Dispensationalism, the breastplate of Pietism, the shield of Tribulationism, and the sword of Zionism, having my feet shod with the gospel of Arminianism.

Q: Who is your boss?
A: My boss is a Jewish carpenter.

Q: Hath God predestined vessels of wrath to Hell?
A: God hath never performed such an omnipotent act, for any such thing would not reflect His primary attribute, which is Niceness.

Q: What is sanctification?
A: Sanctification is the work of my free Will, whereby I am renewed by having my Daily Quiet Time.

Q: What rule hath God for our direction in prayer?
A: The rule that we must bow our hands, close our heads, and fold our eyes.

Q: What doth the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A: The Lord’s Prayer teacheth us that we must never memorize a prayer, or use one that hath been written down.

Q: What’s the book for thee?
A: The B-I-B-L-E.

Q: Which are among the first books which a Christian should read to his soul’s health?
A: Among the first books which a Christian should read are the books of Daniel and Revelation, and The Late Great Planet Earth.

Q: Who is on the Lord’s side?
A: He who doth support whatsoever is done by the nation of Israel, and who doth renounce the world, the flesh, and the Catholic Church.

Q: What are the seven deadly sins?
A: The seven deadly sins are smoking, drinking, dancing, card-playing, movie-going, baptizing babies, and having any creed but Christ.

Q: What is a sacrament?
A: A sacrament is an insidious invention devised by the Catholic Church whereby men are drawn into idolatry.

Q: What is the Lord’s Supper?
A: The Lord’s Supper is a dispensing of saltines and grape juice, in the which we remember Christ’s command to pretend that they are His body and blood.

Q: What is baptism?
A: Baptism is the act whereby, by the performance of something that seems quite silly in front of everyone, I prove that I really, really mean it.

Q: What is the Church?
A: The Church is the tiny minority of individuals living at this time who have Jesus in their hearts, and who come together once a week for a sermon, fellowship and donuts.

Q: What is the office of the keys?
A: The office of the keys is that office held by the custodian.

Q: What meaneth “The Priesthood Of All Believers”?
A: The Priesthood Of All Believers meaneth that there exists no authority in the Church, as that falsely thought to be held by elders, presbyters, deacons, and bishops, but that each individual Christian acts as his own authority in all matters pertaining to the faith.

Q: Who is the Holy Spirit?
A: The Holy Spirit is a gentleman Who would never barge in.

Q: How long hath the Holy Spirit been at work?
A: The Holy Spirit hath been at work for more than a century: expressly, since the nineteenth-century Revitalization brought about by traveling Evangelists carrying tents across America.

Q: When will be the “Last Days” of which the Bible speaketh?
A: The “Last Days” are these days in which we are now living, in which the Antichrist, the Beast, and the Thief in the Night shall most certainly appear.

Q: What is the name of the event by which Christians will escape these dreadful entities?
A: The event commonly known as the Rapture, in the which it is our Blessed Hope that all cars driven by Christians will suddenly have no drivers.

Q: When is Jesus coming again?
A: Maybe morning, maybe noon, maybe evening, and maybe soon.

Q: When the roll, roll, roll, is called up yonder, where will you be?
A: There.

Q: Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah!
A: Praise ye the Lord!

Q: Praise ye the Lord!
A: Hallelujah!

Q: Where will we meet again?
A: Here, there, or in the air.

Q: Can I hear an Ay-men?
A: Ay-men.

Humor Department

2007-04-11T12:57:00.000-07:00

For all you wannabe pastors out there... this looks like a seminary education in itself, all wrapped up in a PC game!

Build Your Own Megachurch

Identity Crisis

2007-03-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

I am loving seminary thus far. I am in my fourth semester now, and when it winds down, I will only have one year left. Where did the time go? I have speculated (and prayed, of course!) a great deal about my future plans... perhaps more schooling, perhaps a ministry position (or both!)... we'll see where Father leads! Exciting times, to be sure.

For one of the counseling classes I'm currently taking, I have to respond to a series of weekly online questions posed by the professor (and also respond to at least one other student). Here is one of those questions:

It is your first counseling session with a man who describes himself as a confused and struggling Christian. Your counselee says the following when asked about his presenting problem: “I am frustrated with my powerlessness in the Christian life, I see other Christians seeming to flourish while I struggle much of the time with doubts and temptations. I wonder, is everyone else just faking it or am I the only one that has a daily struggle with my Christian life?” Based on what you have gleaned in this course thus far—assess your counselee. HINT: I’m not asking you how you would counsel this man; I am asking you to assess him based on what he said in response to the presenting problem.

I can SO identify with the 'counselee' in this scenario... and I'm sure many of you can too. This is how I responded... and I would be curious to hear how some of you might respond to this question.

The first sentence provides a clue to part of the counselee’s problem – he says that “I am frustrated with my powerlessness in the Christian life”. (emphasis mine) This tells me that he has the mistaken belief that the Christian life is to be lived out of our own resources – that we have to somehow muster up the power to do everything that God requires of us. His understanding of the reality of the exchanged life – Christ living His life in and through the believer – is either inadequate or nonexistent.

Another issue here is that the counselee seems to be gauging his spiritual progress by comparing his performance in the Christian life to that of other believers. They seem to have it all together on the outside, so he automatically assumes that something is wrong with him if he experiences any struggle. His reasoning seems to be that if he is unable to ‘pull it off’ at least as well as those around him, then obviously God is disappointed with him. He does not have an adequate understanding of his identity in Christ – that he is a totally loved, totally accepted child of God. It is obvious that he has been running on the treadmill of performance-based acceptance and is finally at the point where he is tired of it and is ready to jump off! Philippians 3:9 has not become a reality for him in his experience – rather than appropriating the righteousness that comes by faith in Christ, he is unwittingly looking to the Law (his performance) to gauge his righteousness.

There could be several causes for his behavior. Perhaps he is hanging on to some faulty teaching from previous church experience. It could be that his parents were very demanding of him and he could never live up to their expectations, no matter how hard he tried. In this instance, it would be quite natural for him to project those views onto God. Perhaps there are other instances of perceived failure that would come to light with some deeper probing. Whatever the cause, it is clear that the main issue here is that he is looking to the progress of others to evaluate his progress in the Christian life, rather than looking to Christ Jesus, “who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1:30 NASB)

Man as a Trichotomous Being

2006-12-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

After much careful reading and study, I have come to believe that man, from a biblical perspective, is made up of three parts – a body, soul, and spirit. This is what is known as the trichotomous view of man. Not only does it seem to me to be the most biblical model, but it is also essential from a discipleship and/or counseling perspective to understand it this way. I would echo the following statement by Richard Hall: “To leave even one of these areas of life out of a basic model leaves gaping holes leading to a multitude of problems.”[1]

The passage of Scripture that most clearly evidences the triune nature of man is 1 Thessalonians 5:23, which states: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NASB, emphasis mine) Here, Paul makes a clear distinction between the immaterial parts of man, the spirit and the soul. The strict dichotomist would say that this is irrelevant simply because those terms can be used interchangeably to refer to the immaterial part of man. However, the fact that Paul does make such a distinction should tell us that, at least, there is a distinction in function. Another text outlining this distinction is Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (NASB, emphasis mine)

Two other passages add strength to the argument that the spirit is a distinct part of the makeup of man. First, Genesis 2:7 tells us, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living being.” (NASB) Also, Job 33:4 says “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (NASB) Both of these passages emphasize the spirit in man as an essential element of his life. It becomes especially important when we consider the quality of life we are given through the Holy Spirit, as opposed to the ‘soulical’ life. Let us consider Romans 8:10-11:

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He whoraised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (NASB)

This passages clearly shows us that in order to be truly alive, we must have the Spirit of Christ indwelling our human spirit. We are then able to live out of the resources that God provides for us.

Along these lines, further strengthening the argument for trichotomy are other passages that outline for us how man can function out of his soul, while being devoid of the Spirit. According to Hall, “Since there is no commonly used adjective for soul in English, the translators have used such words or phrases as “natural”, “without the spirit”, “unspiritual”, and “sensual”.” [2] One example of this is 1 Corinthians 2:14, where Paul tells us that “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God.” Also, consider 1 Corinthians 15:44, speaking of our resurrection bodies – “it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” Both of these passages and others (see also James 3:15 and Jude 19) give us a clear distinction between the natural man (unsaved and without the Spirit) and the spiritual man (saved, indwelt by the Spirit). It becomes clear, then, that man is able to function out of the soul – his mind, will, and emotions – regardless of his spiritual condition. However, without the Spirit of God indwelling his human spirit, he is dead in his sins and left to function in this world without the resources of God.

Much more can be (and has been) said on this subject… this type of venue does not lend itself to a lengthy treatment of trichotomy vs. dichotomy. I’m sure that many out there would disagree with my conclusions, as the dichotomous view is much more popular these days. However, Charles Solomon makes a valid point:

Because most Christians see no practical relevance in holding to strong conclusions about their immaterial makeup, the discussion of dichotomy and trichotomy is viewed as theological hairsplitting. But if Christians can be shown that a clear understanding of the soul's relationship to the spirit of man can clarify and solve practical problems that face him everyday, the distinction may be worth understanding . . . Because we have seen the strong interdependency of identity and acceptance in man, we need to examine both models of man to see which better accommodates an explanation of the cause and solution to these needs and which of the two is more consistent with biblical language. Finding a spiritual model of man will aid the believer in understanding his interpersonal functioning and his standing before God. [3]
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[1] Hall, Richard F., Foundations of Exchanged Life Counseling (Aurora: Cross Life Expressions, 1995), 11.
[2] Ibid, 13.
[3] Solomon, Charles R., Handbook to Acceptance (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1982), 99-100.

Righteousness

2006-12-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

To me, the objective aspect of my justification that has the most subjective meaning to me in my walk is that of the righteousness of Christ imparted to me by the Father. It is very freeing, yet humbling, to realize that God has cleansed me from all my sin and given me His own righteousness, especially when I contemplate the depth of my sinfulness before I came to know Christ. Although I still have the capacity to walk after my flesh, it is awesome to know that he counts me as righteous in Christ regardless of my sometimes sinful behavior. Not that He condones those actions, but that He has given me a new identity as a saint – a holy, righteous child of God. Praise the Lord that He has done this amazing work in my life!

I have become more and more aware in recent years of the importance of understanding our righteousness in Christ as not merely an external declaration, but an internal reality. This has come about as I have learned more of our union with Christ and how His righteousness was actually given to us. I found the following excerpt from Erickson to be most helpful:

For Christ and the believer do not stand at arm’s length from one another so that when God looks squarely at the believer he cannot also see Christ with His righteousness but only pretends to. Rather, Christ and the believer have been brought into such a unity that Christ’s spiritual assets, as it were, and the spiritual liabilities and assets of the believer are merged. Thus, when looking at the believer God the Father does not see him or her alone. He sees the believer together with Christ, and in the act of justification justifies both of them together. It is as if God says, “They are righteous!” He declares what is actually true of the believer, which has come to pass through God’s constituting the believer one with Christ.[1]

This has startling implications for us as believers. Often, we are taught by well-meaning teachers that God just ‘sees’ us in Christ, as if through a screen – but take away the screen, and we are just the same old filthy sinners we have always been. However, we can see from the Erickson excerpt that this simply is not true – we are righteous because of our justification and our union with Christ. Further, this is corroborated by the witness of Scripture itself. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states that we have actually become the righteousness of God in Christ, and 1 Corinthians 1:30 makes a similar statement. Also consider Romans 5:19 – “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (NASB, emphasis mine) This definitely implies something more than a mere external declaration. We are, in fact, righteous through the joining together of Christ’s Spirit with our human spirits – it is part of our new identity as children of God.

So, how does all of this affect my daily walk with God? Proverbs 23:7 is a key passage here: “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.” (NASB) If I, as a believer, continue to think of myself as a dirty, rotten sinner despite of my cleansing from sin and union with Christ, then sin is certainly what will be produced in my life. However, if I set my mind on what is true in the Spirit (Rom. 8:5-8) – that I am a partaker of the righteousness of Christ – then righteousness is what will naturally be produced in my behavior. As I renew my thinking with what is true about me in Christ, then I will find that I abide in Him on a more continual basis and will be better equipped to ward off the accusations of the enemy.
______________________________________________

[1] Erickson, Millard J., Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998), 971-972.

Flesh and Indwelling Sin

2006-11-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

I was first taught the truths of our identity in Christ and the New Covenant a few years ago. Hearing that glorious message was like a breath of fresh air after being in bondage to legalism for so long. I devoured every book on the subject that I could get my hands on. Since that time, God has been faithful to ingrain these truths into my mind and has been teaching me more and more how to live in this glorious New Covenant economy.

To me, one of the most revolutionary concepts connected with our new identity is that God now calls us saints (‘holy ones’), not sinners. In fact, there are over fifty references to believers as saints in the New Testament. We are called holy ones by God, not because of anything we have done, but because we now have Christ in us (Col. 1:27) Thus, seeing ourselves as merely forgiven sinners is unbiblical, not to mention the fact that sin is what is most likely to be produced in our lives if we think of ourselves that way (see Proverbs 23:7)! If we allow God to renew our minds (Rom. 12:2) with the truths of His grace and the New Covenant, then He will be faithful to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives as we learn to trust Him by faith.

It is also amazing to consider the fact that our old sinful nature has been ‘crucified with Christ’ (Gal. 2:20) and that we are in fact ‘new creations’ (2 Cor. 5:21) in our spirits. While we still have to deal with the reality of the flesh in our daily lives, understanding that our spirits have undergone such a radical transformation truly enables us to present ourselves to God ‘as those alive from the dead’ (Rom. 6:19). We can do this, not on the basis of wishful thinking… but because we ARE alive! We no longer have to grit our teeth and try to become something we are not; rather, as we ‘branches’ simply abide in Christ the true vine and allow Him to express His life through us (John 15:5), we will certainly live as He intended us to.

So, taking all of this into account... how is it that we as new creations in Christ still find ourselves, often times, caught up in our old sinful ways? We find some important insight into this issue in the seventh chapter of Romans. I believe that a careful study of Romans 7:14-25 shows us that the Apostle Paul’s spiritual condition here is that of a regenerate believer in Christ, who recognizes that he still has sinful flesh. He makes several statements in this passage that would be very difficult (if not impossible) to attribute to an unbeliever. For instance, in verse 15 Paul states that “I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate”. This is the consistent theme that runs throughout verses 14-25 – that Paul has a sincere, God-given desire to do the will of God, but is frustrated by the sin produced by his flesh. This is summed up best in verse 18: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.” (emphasis mine). As a believer, Paul’s mind was continually being renewed to better understand the will of God (Rom, 12:2, 1 Cor. 2:16), thus his desire to do what is right. However, like all of us, there are times when sin would reign in Paul’s body (Rom. 6:12) and he would find himself doing exactly the opposite of what he wanted.

Scripture does indeed make a distinction between the flesh and the power of indwelling sin. Needham’s excellent definition of ‘flesh’ is as follows: “Flesh, according to John 3:6 (and enlarged upon in the epistles) is everything that humanness is apart from the new birth.” (1.) Also, Hall tells us that flesh “is not an entity but a condition or way of living learned before salvation and taught by the world.” (2.) Romans 7:18 shows us clearly that the flesh is the location of the sinful actions produced in our lives. We then see what it is that actually carries out the sinful actions in verses 17 and 20 – the power of indwelling sin. Paul tells us twice that when he sins, it is in fact not him (his true self/identity, which is in his spirit), but rather it is the sin principle, which verse 23 tell us is in our members (flesh). Thus, we see that our flesh contains the patterns of ungodly living, while indwelling sin provides the power that carries them out. However, as we know... the victory is ours, if we would but claim it by being intimately dependent on Christ in us, on a moment-by-moment basis! "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:24-25a)
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(1.) Needham, David, Birthright: Christian, Do You Know Who You Are? (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1999), 99.
(2.) Hall, Richard F., Foundations of Exchanged Life Counseling (Aurora, CO: Cross Life Expressions, 1998), 68.

Falling away

2006-10-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

My original plan today was to post some thoughts on the nature of fear in our walk with God and some of the lies Satan throws at us. I then checked my email and found the following in a weekly newsletter I receive from Pres Gillham of Lifetime Guarantee Ministries. I'll share my original thoughts in a later post... but for now, enjoy these words of wisdom from our brother Pres:

What is truly amazing is that the life of grace actively engaged thrills and fulfills the heart of God.

Considering the scope of the Scriptures, as hard as it is to understand and rationally accept, God desires an intimate friendship with us. As a matter of fact, He wants this so deeply that in Christ Jesus He made every provision for us to have open access to all that He is, not only His riches, but also His life, and His eternal dimension.

Why?

Solely in hopes that we will engage Him at that level—the heart/grace/person-of-Christ/identity-in-Christ level—and bond with Him, heart-to-heart. If this occurs, we are, and progressively become more aware and convinced, that we truly are people of grace.

On the other hand, people who attempt to understand more and more about repentance fail to grasp that they are forgiven.

People who fail to understand that they are forgiven fail to understand the magnitude of Christ's accomplishment at Calvary.

People who fail to understand the completed work of Christ, fail to appreciate who He is and who He has made them to be.

People who fail to understand this new covenant initiated by Christ, fail to grasp that Christ's work at Calvary was finished there and behave in ways that in essence ask Christ to try again instead of rushing headlong into His waiting heart as new creations.

People who fail to understand their true identity in Christ continually attempt to create acceptability for themselves with God on their own terms and fail to grasp that they are accepted, now, fully, completely because of Christ and in Him.

Those who do not realize they are accepted behave insecurely and attempt to define themselves by what they do rather than by who they are in Christ.

People who fail to understand their security are highly prone to live according to the flesh and the law instead of the Spirit and the invitation of grace by God, their Father. In other words, they have fallen from grace after having tasted it and have opted instead for the milk of the Word.

Step back and take a whiff. What do you smell? The sweet aroma of Christ, or is there the smell of smoke?

The Doctrine of Coffee

2006-10-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Mysteriously, this has been left out of virtually all systematic theology texts... enjoy!

Coffee as a Means of Grace

Iron sharpening

2006-09-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

My walk with God has been greatly enhanced over the last few years as I have learned more and more about the truths of the exchanged life. I'm sure that I've only begun to scratch the surface in understanding the depths of God's grace and His love towards us. I praise God for authors such as Watchman Nee, Steve McVey, Bob George, David Needham, Bill Gillham, Charles Solomon, and others who have written of their struggles to walk with God in their early years as believers - only to realize that God, in this marvelous New Covenant economy, desires for us to live a life of rest as we trust Him by faith to do His work in and through us. The books that these men of God have produced have been a great source of encouragement to me. They have challenged me to dig deeper into the Scriptures and discover these amazing truths for myself, and as I have done so, I have found God to be faithful in leading me to a greater dependence on Christ as my life source.

When I began to share the New Covenant message with other believers, I usually found that it was received with astonishment, although that took various forms. Either they were so 'astonished' that they became overwhelmed with joy and wonder at our great God, or they were 'astonished' that I would buy into such a 'heretical' teaching! I was initially shocked at how polarizing the grace message could be... and of course, in fleshly arrogance and pride, I often found myself thinking, "They just don't get it!" There were some, to be sure, who flatly rejected the message; however, upon delving deeper with some others who were more open-minded, I found that they did indeed have some legitimate theological concerns. I have learned much (and grown a bit more humble!) in discussing these issues with them over the years, and it has proved to be an excellent iron-sharpening experience for all of us.

Through these experiences, I have become increasingly more aware of the need for those of us in the Exchanged Life movement to make sure that we are theologically honest and that we are able to clearly communicate what we believe. There is indeed a great deal of misconception out there as to what we actually teach, and I can't help but think that a great deal of this confusion is unnecessary. If what we believe is indeed true, then it will certainly stand up to scrutiny under the lens of Scripture. I have found no reason thus far to reject these teachings, but I always want to be sure that I am first and foremost committed to the inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures, not to a particular man-made creed or system of theology. Eventually, these all fall short to some degree.

With that in mind, I invite you to check out the link below. It is a critique of Exchanged Life theology, co-authored by a professor and PhD student from Dallas Theological Seminary. I will say from the outset that I do not agree with all of their conclusions and feel that there are other aspects of Exchanged Life theology that should be examined in detail before any firm conclusions should be drawn (perhaps I will elaborate in a later entry). However, I do appreciate the pastoral concern and fairness with which the critique was presented, and recognize that they do indeed bring up some legitimate concerns.

http://www.robertpyne.com/pyne/PyneBlackmon%20Exchanged.pdf

I look forward to some feedback regarding this article. Blessings to you all...

Left of center

2006-09-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

While I'd much rather spend my blogging time extolling the riches of our inheritance in Christ and praising Him for who He is and all He has done... I will undoubtedly have times like this where I feel the need to 'vent' a little. If there is any downside to growing deeper in the message of God's grace and the New Covenant, it is that the chinks in the armor of the church at large become more and more obvious to you.

With that said, I now offer an example. The following is from a weekly bulletin published by a large church in my town... in fact, it is the church I grew up in. While their denominational heritage is for the most part Christ-centered and Bible-believing, they have unfortunately drifted away from their moorings. Here goes...

A new professor at ___ awhile back sent me an e-mail asking for information about our church. It occurred to me that you might be interested in seeing what I wrote to him about our church:

Dear Dr. ______, thank you for your e-mail inquiring about ______ Baptist Church. I believe that we have a wonderful warm-spirited church and we would be delighted to have you and your family come and visit us and see first-hand what our church offers.

Our church has a proud heritage of openness, freedom, and flexibility, and we seek to maintain an atmosphere of biblical freedom within which all persons may grow, serve and express themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We encourage our folks to worship God through faith in Jesus Christ, without having to be measured, tested, or approved in some binding dogma, or by some other persons’ credo.
We have been especially interested in providing women every opportunity to serve God. Women at _________ minister in all capacities, including serving on our Councils of Deacons and Trustees. Also, one of our primary staff members, _________, is an ordained Baptist minister.

Ministries to children and youth are also very important to us, and we maintain a full and active program for all our children and young people.
Our style of worship is blended, with a leaning toward the classical and traditional. My preaching is more topical than expositional, though they are strongly based in the Bible. We do not expect our people to leave their minds at the door when they come to church here.

Another important facet of our ministry here is our mission outreach. We are dedicated to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ locally and throughout the world.

A fellow teacher at ___ is Professor ______, one of our fine church members. Please feel free to ask him about our church. We warmly invite you to come and be a part of God’s work here----the fellowship, the joy, the ministry that is ______ Baptist Church.

I find this rather disturbing for several reasons. While I am certainly an advocate of freedom within Biblical bounds, I question whether or not the 'freedom' being advocated here is a healthy one. In fact, it seems as if theological 'freedom' and the types of programs offered are more important than what the true mission of the church should be. Case in point: one of the first things mentioned here is the ordination of women. No mention of the Gospel of Christ until nearly the end of the letter... it's almost as if Jesus just makes a cameo. "We believe in openness, freedom, the ordination of women, this type of worship style... oh and by the way, we minister Jesus!" Tell me... if the church is not about Jesus first and foremost, than what is it about?

We as a church (speaking of the church at large) have been given SO much in Christ. Our sin debt has been paid in full. We no longer have to work to earn God's favor... instead we place our faith in the work of Christ. We have been given the Spirit who lives inside us. We have been freed from the Law and placed into the economy of grace... the glorious New Covenant that the Law and the Prophets spoke of! We have been made holy and righteous in our spirits. We are able not to just go to heaven someday, but to experience the life of Christ NOW, flowing in and through us as we trust Him by faith! I could go on and on, but my point here for all of us to consider is this: why is it that the church so often emphasizes peripheral issues, preferences, issues, programs, strategies, etc. over Christ? When we consider everything that He has done for us and that we truly have such a minute grasp of it all... why waste time doing anything else? We could spend many lifetimes mining the deep riches of these truths and NEVER come to grips with it all. My prayer is that God will awaken the church from its slumber and take its focus off of all these other issues and put it back where it belongs... on Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior... and LIFE!!

OK, that's enough venting for now. I promise that I won't turn into one of those bloggers that only rants and raves about everything they see wrong with the church. My intent with this blog is simply to discuss the amazing grace of God and the riches of the New Covenant that Jesus has ushered us into. Lord willing, next week's post will be more along those lines. Thanks for indulging me!

A Masculine Perspective on Ephesians 5:21

2006-09-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

The following was a writing assignment for a seminary course... Marriage/Family Counseling, which I just completed a couple of weeks ago. The assignment was to write a devotional based on Ephesians 5:21, from the perspective of your gender. Hope it blesses you...

At first glance, the command to ‘be subject to one another’ can feel like an affront to the male ego. After all, doesn’t the next verse say that wives are supposed to be subject to their husbands? If it is true that God has given us males the responsibility to ‘manage our household well’ (1 Tim. 3:4), which implies a definite role of leadership… then isn’t this idea of ‘being subject’ rather contradictory? In fact, nothing could be farther from the truth, as we will see.

For me, the best example that comes to mind is the account of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples (see John 13:3-17). In those times, the task of footwashing was reserved for the lowliest of servants. The disciples could not comprehend why Jesus, whom they rightly called ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ (v. 13), would do such a thing for them – they certainly would not have done it for each other! His answer was simple, but has profound significance for us today – if He, being God, was willing to lay aside His position and authority to wash the dirty feet of His disciples, then how much more should we be willing to do the same for others? Keep in mind that Jesus, in His authority, could have commanded the disciples to wash His feet, but He chose to wash theirs instead, as an example for us.

This example has profound implications for us as husbands when we consider the idea of ‘being subject to one another’, as there are many ways to work this out on a practical level. Most of all, I believe we as males should make a sincere effort to be sensitive to the needs of our wives. I know from experience that it can often be difficult to temporarily set aside your own needs to attend to your spouses, but in Christ’s power it can certainly be done. Perhaps she is feeling discouraged and needs a hug, or for you to pray with her. Maybe she is worn out from dealing with the kids all day, and needs to just relax while you take care of the dishes and kids that night. Or maybe she would like for you to get a sitter one night and take her out on a date. An exhaustive list of examples would be impossible, but do take these to heart and ask Father to show you some specific instances where you could be more attentive to your spouse’s needs.

Verse 21 also gives us the means by which this is to be done – “in the fear of Christ”. The word for ‘fear’ could also be translated as ‘reverence of’. To have a ‘reverence’ for Christ naturally implies that we will seek to not only do His will, but that we will draw on the power of His Spirit to accomplish what He has commanded. Jesus Himself said that He could do nothing of His own initiative (John 5:30); rather, He sought His Father’s will in all things and drew strength from Him. This is essential for us in all things, including the marriage relationship. Unless we allow Christ to love our spouses through us, we will resort to using our fleshly resources, which is always a recipe for disaster.

PRAYER: Father, we thank you for the wonderful gift of our wives. You have blessed each of us immensely through them, and we are eternally grateful for that. As we seek to live out the role You have assigned to us as the head of our household, may it not be done in a domineering, despotic manner. Rather, teach us to abide in You at all times and help us to be sensitive to the needs of our spouses. We ask simply that you love our wives through us. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Still alive, my old friend...

2006-09-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

In case you happened to surf over here and notice (correctly) that I haven't updated my blog in a while... stay tuned, because my postings are about to become much more frequent. I am in seminary now (since January really) and since I am now forced to write far more than in recent years... well, since college really... I look forward to sharing what God has taught me in my studies. At the very least, hopefully what I have to share will stimulate some interesting discussions. I plan to post on at least a weekly basis, so do check back soon!

Why am I in seminary, you ask? The answer is simple... I believe that I have been called by God to minister the truth of the 'exchanged life'... Christ in us, our hope of glory! I am not sure what form that will take at this point... I have considered many options. Perhaps Father will lead me to pastor a congregation, or into a counseling ministry, or to join a missions/parachurch organization... I have thought and prayed about these, and other possibilities. I would appreciate your prayers as I continue my studies and seek His direction for my life and ministry. For now, I look forward to fellowshipping with some fellow bloggers!

Advanced Discipleship Training

2006-06-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Advanced Discipleship Training

I recently finished the Advanced Discipleship Training course at my church... if you are familiar with Grace Ministries International, it's the same course they use. I must say, it was quite intense. I learned quite a lot about myself, the fleshly living patterns I tend to fall into, my failure to depend upon Jesus as my source of life, etc... but most of all, I came away with a much greater appreciation of what my Lord accomplished for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. It truly is all about Jesus, and not about us.

Below is the final paper I wrote for the class...
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I recall a fascinating analogy regarding the issue of law and grace from Bob George’s book Classic Christianity. He tells the story of a restaurant owner who discovers a homeless man sifting through his trash bin in search of something to eat. The owner invites the man inside and shows him the massive buffet of food that is served. He tells the homeless man to eat whatever he wants, as much as he wants – it is on the house! The man marveled at the sumptuous spread that was before him – steak, chicken, ribs, potatoes, fruits, vegetables… and of course, the dessert bar! “So, I can truly eat anything? Anything I want?” said the homeless man. The restaurant owner assured him that yes, he could have whatever he wanted. The man then asked this question – “Sir… can I please eat some garbage??”

George’s point is well taken. While it may seem ridiculous to think that someone would actually desire to eat moldy pizza crusts and rotten vegetables out of a dumpster, may I suggest that something very similar happens in many Christian circles today. Not the consumption of actual, physical garbage… but rather spiritual garbage. We’ll explore that idea in a little while… but first, allow me to share a brief bit of testimony so you know where I’m coming from. I was raised in a very traditional Southern Baptist church, pipe organ and all. I walked the aisle and was baptized at the age of 14, but never really had any desire to grow in my walk with the Lord until late in my college career… but when I got serious, I got serious! I started reading my Bible a lot more, praying a lot more, and was in church just about every time the doors were open. Oh, and of course… being Baptist, I was a faithful tither and would never think of ‘robbing God’ by not giving the Lord His portion! I did the activities I was expected to do, and even attended seminary for a short time. However, the joy I had experienced upon first coming to Christ had long since faded, and it just seemed like all that I was doing “for” God was really just a performance.

If I have taken away anything from this discipleship class (and I feel that I’ve truly taken away a lot), it is the understanding that much of my previous Christian experience, with the exception of my time here at GLF, was dominated by the consumption of spiritual garbage, leaving me extremely malnourished and disillusioned. This begs the question… why in the world would any of us consume this type of garbage, and then, having tasted it, would continually come back for more? I believe there are several answers. First of all, when you are truly hungry, it goes without saying that you will eat just about anything. So, in that sense, garbage does provide some satisfaction in that, while it might not taste very good and you may experience some, uh, difficulties later, it does at least temporarily stave off your hunger. Plus, every now and then, you may just come across a tasty morsel, much like George Costanza eating the éclair off the top of the trash heap in that classic Seinfeld episode. But, as George’s soon-to-be ex-girlfriend informed him, whether it’s buried in the can or just sitting on top… it’s STILL garbage!

There are, I believe, some other reasons why we consume garbage. Perhaps that is simply all we know… or we just think that’s all there is. Perhaps we simply can’t imagine that there could be anything better… or maybe we believe we don’t deserve anything better. That is where I found myself at one point… after wearing myself out on the religious treadmill, part of me had come to the conclusion that perhaps I had done something that preventing me from growing. Perhaps I had made a wrong choice way back when and was out of God’s will… or perhaps there was some sin that I hadn’t confessed… or maybe I hadn’t shared my faith with enough people… you see where I am going. And now, I am able to clearly see the error of my old ways… I had placed myself under a system of law, and had allowed others to keep me in it. Not law for salvation, mind you… I knew better than that… but definitely for sanctification. I had received enough of God’s grace to change my destination, but not enough of it to change the way I lived in the here and now – nor did I have any idea that anything other than my own fleshly resources was even available. I was convinced that it was up to me to maintain a right standing with God, so I gritted my teeth and offered up my own puny works as fig leaves to God. After all, it looked so good and felt so right – that’s what everyone else around me was doing!

So what exactly did I, and so many other do still, experience while wallowing in the garbage heap of self-righteousness? Let’s take a look at what the Scriptures say. First of all, those who continue in this system will experience certain death. Again, not physical death, but certain spiritual death. Romans 7 states clearly that, although there is nothing wrong with the Law (it is holy, righteous and good), there is clearly something wrong in me – that is, in my flesh. Further, 1 Corinthians 15:56 states that the power of sin is in the law. So when I try to live out of the law system, the holy, righteous, and good Law will actually stimulate the power of sin in my flesh and my “life verse” will accordingly be Romans 7:24 – “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

Secondly, those who live in this system will probably not receive what they are looking for from anyone else around them. I think it is true that we as humans tend to seek out fellowship with those who are like-minded. So, if you are one of those who are seeking to grow in Christ through legalism and rule-keeping, you will most likely be attracted to those who hold similar beliefs. And it should go without saying that what you will continually experience is death and condemnation. You will probably hear constantly from the pulpit that you are indeed a sinner and you had better keep yourself right with the Lord (if you are a preacher, you can get a lot of successful altar calls that way!). You will be constantly told that you just need to try harder in your efforts to defeat sin… to ‘rededicate’ your life to God! After all… He died for you, the least you could do is to live for Him! This will lead to what one writer calls the ‘consecration-condemnation-rededication’ cycle… and a vicious cycle it is! You are never able to find the victory you so desire… the abundant life that Jesus promised. But perhaps, the particular garbage you eat is a bit more subtle and disguised. Perhaps it is merely disguised at ‘principles’ to live by. This is probably the most common type of garbage that is out there… one week it’s “The 10 Principles of Godly Finances”, the next week you get “The Seven Steps to a Godly Marriage”. Mind you, they may be good, Biblical principles… but let’s just imagine that you get just 5 principles or steps a week. In a year’s time, that is more than 250 steps! No wonder so many are discouraged and disillusioned in their pursuit of religion. This was certainly my experience.

I could go on and on with many more examples, but time and space do not permit me to do so here. For now, I would rather spend some time discussing the nature of true spiritual food… the kind that Jesus truly offers us. And it’s very simple! Instead of a constant experience of death, He offers us Life – His own Life! In John 6, Jesus gave us the great analogy of Himself as the bread of life. Whoever eats of Him… that is, whoever places their faith in Him for their salvation, will in fact never die! What a great promise… eternal life in Heaven with the Lord Jesus! However, that is not the whole story… later in John 6, Jesus states that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood abides in Him, and He in them. That is… whoever continues to eat of Him… in fact, to feast on Him… will have life in the here and now. That is an amazing concept… indeed a revolutionary one! Not digging around for leftover scraps, but a veritable eternal feast… of life, righteousness, freedom, and joy! His life is freely offered and can be freely received… if we would only lay hold of it by faith. No more striving, no more rule-keeping, no more offering of fig leaves, no more rededication and failure… just the simple reception of a free gift. He has indeed promised to be all that He is to all that we need… what a powerful concept, once we understand that! That it is not about us and what we can do for God, but it is all about what He did, and what He will do in our lives if we would just allow Him to.

So, as we lay hold of this incredible feast that the Lord Jesus offers, what then will it produce in our lives? First of all, it will be a life characterized by freedom and grace. Not freedom as in licentiousness (for that is not really freedom at all, but slavery to the flesh), but freedom to be all that He has called us to be… not shackled by the chains of religion. John 14:15 says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments… and indeed that will be our natural desire… because as Ezekiel 36 says, He has given us a new heart and has given us His Spirit… and He will cause us to walk in His statutes! Not us gritting our teeth and trying to do it in the power of the flesh, but rather He will do it as we lay hold of Him!

Secondly, we have a new identity… not that of a sinner as the church frequently tells us, but that of a ‘saint’… a holy one… a righteous child of God! Over 50 times the New Testament refers to believers in this way… if we would only lay aside our pride and false humility and receive what Scripture says of us. It is true, as Proverbs says, that as a man thinks within his heart, so is he. If we constantly call ourselves dirty, rotten sinners and allow ourselves to think that way… then that is exactly what will be produced in our life. But, if we would just receive our new identity of ‘saint’, and get that truth ingrained in our minds… just think of what that will produce!
Finally… Jesus offers us a life of true rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 puts it so well (read that passage here). No more fruitless labor, no more wood, hay and stubble… as we labor to rest in Him, the works that will be produced will indeed be lasting ones, because they are built on the solid foundation of the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as Matthew 11 says, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light… and if we come to Him, we will find rest for our souls. That is his eternal promise to us, His children.

I am eternally grateful that I have been able to be a part of this great fellowship, and particularly this group, as we have learned together of the real life that Jesus offers to us. My prayer is that all of us here would continue to ‘labor to rest’ in Him, and find Him to be all that He is, to all that we need. And finally, I hope that you, my fellow disciples, will all join me in saying that… ‘it’s time to take out the trash!’

2005-08-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome, one and all, to my little corner of cyberspace!

I have to admit, I’m having a bit of a struggle coming up with some meaningful insight as to why I felt the need to start a blog… so for now I’ll just share the meaning behind the somewhat paradoxical name of the blog.

From the book of Hebrews:

4:9 Consequently a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. 4:10 For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works. 4:11 Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.