grace Posts

Gay marriage?

16 May , 2012 No Comments

“The saga of a nation is the saga of it’s families written large.”
– Dr. Tony Evans

I’ve been in the conversation with others this week regarding the president’s recent endorsement of gay marriage. As a Christian and American, I am saddened that our president doesn’t hold to a biblical perspective of marriage. Many have responded to the president’s announcement but I thought it necessary for me to offer my opinion as well, which is really not my opinion at all. As in all things, I bow to Scripture:
Let me say from the start, this issue is not difficult for the Christian. Jesus settled this issue, once and for all, in Matthew 19:4-5. He is very clear about God’s intention for marriage. And let me remind us all, Jesus was the most loving, grace-filled Person who has ever lived. Listen to His words:

“Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? Matthew 19:4-5

As a Christian, I’m going with Jesus on this issue. As if anything more needs to be added, here are some key points as we seek a biblical view on marriage:

1. We have been created to bring glory to God.
All of creation exists to glorify God and the chief goal of man is to bring glory to God. God’s glory is an expression of His character, namely His holiness. But His glory is the expresssion of any and all of His qualities. And all of His qualities are perfect and immeasurable. Marriage is an expression of God’s character and the love between and man and a woman is a picture of Christ’s love for us (Ephesians 5:21-33).

2. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23 clearly states what we all know experientially. Every person on the planet has a south-bound gravitational pull toward sin and we cannot overcome it. It is true that all sin separates us from God, and in that sense, all sin is “equal”. But the consequence of our sin varies. We approach all issues (like homosexuality), with humility and compassion, knowing that none of us are righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10). I’ve discovered that the homosexual community would be more willing to hear our message of God’s saving grace if they were met with compassion and not judgment.

3. As an expression of God’s character (and for His great glory), marriage is to be between one man and one woman.
It’s clear early on in the narrative of humanity that marriage is to be an expression of God’s commitment to us through covenantal love. As noted earlier, Genesis 2:24 says, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” And the “reason” is presented in the verse before that, explaining the woman was made for the man, (and the man for the woman). The woman is the only one suitable for the man. A man is not suitable for another man. As I heard as a teenager, “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” I giggled then, now the statement seems necessary. Clearly, same-sex relations are unnatural. It is a miracle indeed that the union of man and woman (with all of our wonderfully distinct and dramatic differences) can display the grace and glory of God through covenantal love. But, by God’s grace, this is marriage.

4. Homosexuality is a sin because it falls short of God’s glory.
God’s Word is clear that homosexual behavior is sin:
• In Genesis 1 and 2 we see that God created man and woman for each other and that His design is for marriage to be between and man and a woman.
• Genesis 19 is a lengthy passage on the destruction of Sodom, having incurred God’s wrath because of homosexual activity. God’s Word defines the men of Sodom as “sinning greatly” because of their men were having sex with men (Genesis 13:13; 19:5). God calls Sodom’s sin “sexual perversion” (Jude 1:7).
• Leviticus 20:13 says that a man is not to have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; if he does he’s done a “detestable”(abhorrent, vile, despicable) thing.
• God lists “homosexual offenders” among “the wicked” who will “not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9). It must be noted that on the same list are slanderers, adulterers, drunkards, and idolaters as well, and he notes that many of those believers in Corinth once lived in those lifestyles- implying that among them were those who no longer live as practicing homosexuals – having encountered the saving grace of Christ.
• God’s Word identifies husband-wife relations as “natural relations” and homosexual relations as “unnatural ones” (Romans 1:26-27) and “perversion” (vs. 27).
• God’s Word also rebukes those who “approve of those who practice” homosexuality (Romans 1:32).

5. Christians need a more thoughtful response to homosexuality.
Largely Christians remain ignorant regarding homosexuality. I’ve had countless conversations with homosexual friends and homosexuals seeking counsel. I was asked by a friend to go with him to receive the results of his HIV-AIDS test. I have a heart for the homosexual; I love homosexuals. I long for them to know a better way and I believe a sexual fast (a.k.a. “abstinence”) is the way for every single person to go deeper in relationship with Christ. He is more than enough for us. It’s been helpful for me to make a distinction between homosexuality and homosexual behavior. If an alcoholic tells you he/she has just received their seven-year coin of sobriety, you may wonder if he/she is truly an alcoholic. Of course they would tell you they most definitely are. I may struggle with lust but for me to act on my lust brings devastating and unwanted consequences. We are all born with a bent toward sin- all of us. You have a bent toward particular sin; I have bent toward other sin. The adulterous heterosexual is in deep sin, just as the sexually active single or homosexual is. It’s interesting to note that, according to an article in the Huffington Post, Gary Gates, demographer-in-residence at the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA, estimates that 1.7% of U.S. adults self-identify as gay or lesbian. This is not to say the issue of gay marriage doesn’t matter (because it matters much- precisely why I’m writing about this), but there are much larger portions of our population involved in pornography, adultery, pre-marital sex, and all kinds of sexual sin. What we need is a clearer picture of God’s purpose for us all and His ultimate purpose for marriage.

6. Christ brought glory to God through His sinless life, His substitutionary death on the cross, and His resurrection.
Through Christ alone can we find forgiveness for our sin and the power to live our lives to God’s glory. Christ’s perfect life is as central to our salvation as His death and resurrection because He has done we cannot do. He fulfilled the Law and set us free from its condemnation. We can now live forgiven to His glorious grace. This is the Gospel and this is our only hope.

1:8 Day – serving as a lifestyle

07 May , 2012 No Comments

The Misplaced Doctrine of Lostness (part 2)

20 Apr , 2012 No Comments

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:10-17

Over and over again, throughout the Bible, we see that salvation is conditional. It is not our spiritual default mode. Indeed, if we are not lost apart from Christ, the cross makes no sense at all. His life, sufferings, death, and resurrection are inconsequential. Let’s break this verse down.

The Power of the Gospel
1. The Gospel is salvation through faith in Christ. (9-10)
Salvation comes through faith in what Christ has done for us on the Cross.
• IF you… Notice that our salvation is conditional. Clearly then, not everyone is saved.
• confess with your mouth… What Paul is not saying is that simply saying
something out loud will save you. We must understand our context here, he has said that the people of Israel, under Moses and the Law- had the word in their mouths- they knew the Law, they could say the Law, but it also had to be in their hearts. He’s continuing this parallel of thought and expression. In fact, he explains:
• believe in your heart … Believe what? “That Jesus raised Him from the
dead”- this would involve His life, suffering, death, burial and resurrection- the Gospel is Christ’s death upon the cross and His subsequent burial and resurrection. Notice Paul says, it is with the heart that we believe and are justified.
• you will be saved. What is the Gospel? In the end the Gospel is Jesus- His life, His sufferings, His death and Resurrection, and His life now in you. When we are saved, we get Him. The GOSPEL is not being a good person- it’s Christ’s righteousness covering my sin. I am superior to no one- I’m a Christian because of what Christ has done- not what I have done.
The English word “Gospel” comes from the Greek word “εύαγγέλιον”(pronounced “euangeleon”). It literally means good news. The Euangeleon was a proclamation of victory- a military announcement- the Gospel is never about something that we do, it is something that’s been done. Victory is ours, and it is ours because of Christ, not because of anything I’ve done.
2. The Gospel is for everyone. (vs. 11-13)
You have never locked eyes with someone form whom Jesus did not die.
3. The Gospel comes through a chain of events.
• Faith Salvation requires faith.(vs. 14) And earlier in verse 9-10..
• Gospel Faith in what ? Faith in the Message- What’s the Message? It is the Euangeleon, the Gospel – Our sin for Christ’s righteousness!
• Messenger Who is the messenger? Anyone who has encountered Jesus.
• Sent Hearing requires a messenger (vs. 15) Notice that we are “sent”- at the core of who we are as disciples of Jesus- we are a SENT people. The church has always been a centrifugal movement, always outward seeking. God SENT Jesus and the ONLY way to join Him on mission to be sent ourselves. Notice it is the “feet” that are beautiful of those bring Good News (not the hands, the head, the arms, etc.). Feet imply going, moving- it is not the mouth alone, not the hands or the mind, it is the feet- moving, walking, taking us to those in our world who are lost without Christ.
• Our salvation is confirmed by the proclamation of it. (vs. 16-17) from the start we proclaim, “He is Lord”- through our confession, through our baptism. Why do we proclaim our faith? Because faith is a personal thing but it not a private thing. Nowhere in Scripture do we see that our faith in Christ is a private matter- (personal, in that it is an individual decision- not someone else’s decision)- but never private. Our inward conviction is confirmed through an outward expression. Baptism is an outward proclamation of an inward decision. When people come to join the fellowship by “profession of faith”- the profession of faith (biblically) is through baptism. Paul summarizes his points in vs. 17: Faith (our means toward for salvation) requires hearing the Message, the Message requires a messenger. The message is the “the word about Christ”- the Gospel. There is a chain of events that must take place for salvation to come.
We must rediscover the doctrine of lostness- in our preaching, our teaching, and our ministries across the board. The activities, programs, and calendared events- our mission work here in the city and around the world must be defined by the Gospel. Solid research (see previous post below) tells us that it’s possible that 50% of the people in our Protestant churches on Sunday are not Christians. Many have offered some kind of intellectual ascent, agreement with some doctrine, or simply “prayed a prayer” at some point- without truly giving our lives to Christ- abandoning any hope for salvation apart from Him. Let’s preach, teach, scrutinize, dialogue, study, and proclaim the gospel of free grace found in Christ alone.

It is finished.

13 Apr , 2012 No Comments

The cry, “It is finished” is actually ONE word in the Greek: tetelestai. Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th Century preacher said that this one word, “would need all the other words that were ever spoken, or ever can be spoken, to explain it… it is altogether immeasurable. It is high; I cannot attain it. It is deep; I cannot fathom it.” Fathom it, we cannot. But try, we must.

“Tetelestai” means, “to bring to an end, to complete, to accomplish”. It signifies the end of a particular course of action. Let’s break it down:
• “it”- the whole scope of our redemption That little word, “it” embodies
the whole scope of our redemption. “IT” is the restoration of all things in Christ.
• “is”- now and forever The word is in the perfect tense- describes an
action that was fully completed and yet, the effects are felt in the present. “IS” means NOW, it IS, it continues to be, and it will be.
• “finished”- accomplished, once and for all
When God spoke the Word, “Jesus”, nothing more needed to be said. And here on the cross: tetelestai- ONE word announces the completed work of God: It is finished. Luke tells us, “in a loud voice”, Mark says, “with a loud cry”. This is not a declaration of defeat. These are not words of surrender. This is the triumphant cry of a Warrior who has won the battle, a runner who had finished the race. But Jesus does not simply mean that His earthly life was over. He doesn’t say HE is finished.. IT is finished.

What did Jesus finish? What is “IT”?
1. He finished the perfect life.
Christ’s life is just as central to our rescue as His death. He lived the life we couldn’t live & He died the death we should’ve died. He finished both. He did not abolish the Law of God but fulfilled it, so we would be set free from it.
In a memorable little poem, John Bunyan writes:
“Run John, run”, the Law demands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. Better news the Gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings.” The Law could not save us. Only Jesus could save us.

2. He finished the payment for our sin.
We’ve been justified. Christianity is the ONLY faith system in which God makes the demands and then meets them.

3. He finished the punishment for our sin. We’ve been set free from condemnation. And IF there is now “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” then self-condemnation needs to end and a judgmental spirit towards others ends as well- or there’s a complete disconnect. And now, the only person who can hurt me, is me. Christ’s sacrifice has taken away my punishment.

4. He finished the need for religion.
Religion is man’s attempt to get to God- but in Christianity it is God coming to man in the Person of Jesus. It is finished! We’ve said, religion is spelled D-O, it’s what we must DO for God. Christianity is spelled D-O-N-E. It’s what Christ HAS done- it is finished. Religion will never offer forgiveness. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jesus said), No one comes to the Father but through me.” God’s grace is a descending, ONE WAY love. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Behavior modification cannot change the human heart. The church is not good people trying to tell other good people how to be better people. It’s actually bad people telling other bad people how the Gospel of free grace is our only hope for real and eternal life. Because He finished it all, there is nothing you can add to it. The New Math of Grace is this: Jesus plus nothing equals everything!

5. He finished the pathway to eternal life.
The Gospel rescues us from our past, but also for our future. “It is finished” is the life and work of Christ complete and perfect. “It is finished”, means God wins. His restorative agenda- to bring hope and healing to all the world- has come to pass. What will be is already set in motion. You could say, “What is to come has already come in Him.” It’s why Paul says,

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 5:5
At the “cross point” – your sin was paid for by the Perfect Lamb of God. And as the Jesuit priest and poet, Girard Manly Hopkins wrote, “In a flash, at a trumpet crash, I am at once what Christ is, since He was what I am.” In Him, the end has appeared ahead of time and we now see the glory of our great King and His finished work for us. But consider this..

What remains unfinished?
“It is finished”, yet time goes on. It is finished, but it’s not over. One thing is not finished.. His glorious work in you. The Great Exchange has taken place upon the cross (our sin for His righteousness) but now, it must take place in you. And because it is finished, you can hold on with hope. The pain and often agonizing despair of this life.. it is finished. The hope of seeing loved ones who have died in Christ- “It is finished”. Guaranteed. The passionate and desperate prayers for healing that have not yet come in this life- it is finished. The restoration of families broken by sin’s destructive power- it is finished. The longsuffering and agonizing rescue from the shackles of disease- it is finished.
The cry of loneliness and the longing for communion, for companionship to come- it is finished. The human project had failed to do what the One man, Jesus , was able to accomplish. “It is finished!” is a triumphant cry. This is the end of the beginning. Jesus will die a REAL death. And buy the way: NO ONE anticipated the Resurrection- it was a quantum & unforeseen leap in resurrection theology within the Jewish thread.
He will be buried and He will rise from the tomb on Sunday morning- conquering death and hell. He IS the Risen, victorious King. “It is finished” means that it is settled, decided, certain, and incontestable. Nothing can happen now to undo it. It is finished means that nothing and no one else has the last word. Easter means that LOVE has the last word. Jesus has the final word in your life. He says, “take heart, for I have overcome the world.” He WILL overcome the world because He HAS overcome the world. It’s finished. All that is left is:
Full devotion to our Risen King.
What do you need to devote to Jesus? Give Him your life. What do you need to surrender to Him? Your anxiety? Your need for approval? Your tired idols? Your fear? Your passive, self-focused life? Your relationships? Your past? Your private sin?
Through all the tears and all the pain, the rage and despair of all that has gone wrong and is unfinished, we bow before the One who will redeem all things and will restore all that is divided, lost, and all that has been separated. Everything will be made right and everyone will know that He is Lord- but NOT all will receive Him. “It is finished” but it is not over until “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!” The tomb is empty; our Savior is Risen. And our declaration together with him, is this:
IT. IS. FINISHED.

He is Risen! – Easter Sunday

08 Apr , 2012 No Comments

“Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” Matthew 28:5-6

Was it a morning like this? Quiet and early, all of nature stretches to a new day as the sun comes up again. Or shall I say, “the Son comes up again!” He is risen! Everything has changed! All of history hinges on this day. Paul said, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Take it a step further. If Christ has not been raised, all of life is useless. Without the conquering of death we all are destined for hell and a life apart from God. Praise be to our glorious Savior. Rejoice today and celebrate your new life in Jesus Christ! Worship Him today with all your heart.

At the risk of putting a damper on your dancing and your celebration, pause for a moment and ponder this – what’s next? Consider the response of the disciples. They celebrated, no doubt, but their response was more than giddiness or mere celebration. They told others what had happened. They realized that all of Christ’s hopes for the Church would rise or fall based on how persuasive these eyewitnesses would be for all – including us today – who have not yet seen. Let us rejoice today, but let us never forget the responsibility we have now that we have experienced the risen Christ! For He is risen indeed!

“… blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” John 20:29

Pray: Jesus, my Lord, I praise You for the resurrected life You have now given me. I want to crucify sin in my life, live in Your resurrection power, and be a pure vessel of Your love. I thank You for how I have grown in my walk with You to the cross. I don’t want to stop here. I want to continue to live a life of sacrifice and self-denial. I will continue to devote myself to You in my quiet place.