Tag: cross

The Shepherd's Voice

Jesus, the Spotless Sacrifice

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. . . . Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:11:14, 25–26)

In something only God would do, not only is Jesus the Great High Priest and mediator of the New Covenant, but He was also the sacrifice that sealed the covenant. In the Old Testament, covenants were often sealed with blood by means of a sacrifice. Under the Old Covenant given to Israel, many different animal sacrifices were required to be made, either for specific sins (“I sinned, therefore I must sacrifice”) or at specific times of the year (the Day of Atonement). The author of Hebrews tells us that “under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22).

The sacrifices always had to be unblemished, with nothing wrong with them. They had to be in perfect health. This was particularly true of the sacrifices for sin. The bulls and goats used had to be firstborn and without spot or blemish. That’s all well and good, but as we noted in a previous post, there were some weakenesses in the sacrificial system.

The sacrifices were not human. Israel used the blood of bulls and goats in their sacrifies. But in order to actually remove sin, the sacrifice would have to be human. The author of Hebrews bluntly puts it this way: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). How did this work then? Were the sacrifices pointless? Not at all. The people sacrificed in faith, and God honored their faith by accepting their sacrifices and agreeing to count their sin as atoned for or covered. Yet the sin remained, which brings us to the next problem.

The sins of the people were not done away with. Though God counted the sins of the people as covered when they sacrificed according to the law, the sin remained. It was not actually paid for. Not only that, but the very sacrifices reminded the people of their sin! The author of Hebrews says once again,

For since the law . . . it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. (Hebrews 10:1–3)

The point of a sacrifice is the put away sin. This the law did not and could not do. So, debt of sin continued to mount. This is what Paul means when he writes of the record of debt in Colossians 2:14. That record continued to accumulate until Christ came. Only by His sacrifice was that gigantic debt paid.

The Better Sacrifice

Now, let’s talk about Jesus. When John the Baptizer introduced Jesus to some disciples, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; 36). He identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. How could one man’s sacrifice take away the sin of the world? Four reasons:

Jesus was and is human. This may seem obvious, but it needs to be stated. Some deny that Jesus was fully human, but that is not the biblical record. He was 100% human, and thus His sacrifice could take the place of humans.

Jesus was spotless. Even though the animals sacrificed under the old covenant were said to be spotless, even they were stained with sin and corruption due to the fall. All of creation was impacted by the fall, including animals. Jesus, however, was born perfect. He was untainted by sin. He was the true spotless lamb. Thus, while the Old Testament sacrifices were acceptable, His was perfect.

Jesus was and is divine. As God-incarnate, Jesus remained 100% divine. He cannot cease to be who He is, the eternal Son of God, coequal with the Father. As God-incarnate, His sacrifice is an eternal sacrifice, more than sufficient for the sins of all humanity. Hebrews says, “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Jesus’ sacrifice was once-for-all. As we read earlier, the sacrifices of old were offered day in and day out, year after year. They were unending because they were imperfect and unable to take away son. Jesus’ sacrifice, however, was done once for all. This is why He said from the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30) and sat down at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 10;12). Mission accomplished, the debt was paid. Because of His sacrifice, there remains no more sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:18, 26).

For those who trust Christ, we have the Father’s word. He had forgiven us, our sins are gone, and He remembers them no more.. This thanks to Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, our sacrifice.

3
The Shepherd's Voice

The Fellowship of Suffering

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil. 3:10-11).

In the previous post (“Your God is Too Small”), I related my struggle to reconcile Jesus’ words about being His disciple (Luke 9:13; 14:23) and (also His) words about receiving for whatever we ask in prayer, which many in the prosperity gospel movement rely heavily on. I mentioned that to experience the power of the resurrected life, we must first endure our cross and the crucifixion of the flesh. In this process, our desires are changed to His desires.

There is, however, another part of the cross-driven life that we often overlook–and from a human perspective it’s quite understandable why we overlook it. We overlook the place of suffering in our transformation on the road to resurrection. It’s not a topic anyone enjoys thinking about. The truth is, though, that we all suffer–the just and the unjust, the righteous and unrighteous, the believers and unbelievers. For the one who follows Christ, his sufferings have a purpose. Says one writer about suffering,

God calls us to participate with Him in the process of our spiritual formation, but we do not initiate some of the most life-changing experiences in our journey. They are unexpectedly thrust upon us in the form of failure, loss, injury, illness, pain, exploitation, and unfulfilled desires. These painful experiences can shake our foundations and expose our deepest longings and weaknesses. Because suffering affects us deeply, it can also be profoundly transformative, giving us opportunities for knowing our inmost selves, deepening our experience of intimacy with God, and growing in Christlikeness.[1]

Even though our sufferings are not pointless, we cannot nor should we minimize them or try to give “pat” answers for the difficult questions that arise. But what we can do, and should do, is join the fellowship of suffering. As believers we can all relate to loss, pain, trials, and grief. Suffering not only unites us with Christ (as we share and identify with His suffering) but also unites us to one another. We are told to weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15), in addition to rejoicing with those who rejoice.

Paul often spoke of the church as the Body of Christ. In the body, when one part is hurt or injured, the rest of the body not only compensates but sends aid to that part. So it is with the Body of Christ, the church (1 Cor. 12:26). In the midst of the community of grace, the fellowship of suffering is where we find the most transformation. As we encourage, we are encouraged and transformed. As we wrestle with the difficult questions of “why?” we come, both individually and as a community to a deeper understanding of God’s goodness and the fact that “this is not the way it’s supposed to be.” The same author, speaking about suffering, says,

While we have the great promise of Romans 8:28 that God may redeem suffering by bringing good out of it for those who love Him, it is not what we want, nor should want, and it is not what God wants or originally intended. . . . [Our sufferings] remind us that we are human, that we cannot know all that we are desperate to understand, and that we desperately need God. As we grapple with doubts and questions that arise out of our own suffering, we are changed in the process and are given an opportunity to incarnate the gospel for our generation. As others witness our struggles and faith in adversity and see God’s sustaining grace bringing light to dark, painful places in our lives, they receive hope that God can be trusted in their own broken lives.[2)

What does it mean to “incarnate the gospel”? It means that we live out the very gospel. Jesus learned obedience by what He suffered (Heb. 5:8). And so we too learn obedience and the deepest form of trust by suffering. And at the end of the tunnel we find that unshakeable faith that God really is that good, and the unspeakable joy that He is with us in the midst of the darkest nights. 

[1] Dallas Willard, Keith Meyer, et al. The Kingdom Life: A Practical Theology of Discipleship and Spiritual Formation, p. 172.

[2] The Kingdom Life, p. 172-173.

1
The Shepherd's Voice

Your God is Too Small

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

When the disciples saw [Jesus curse the fig tree], they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith” (Matt. 21:20-22).

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. . . . If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple (Luke 9:23; 14:26-27).

If you’ve read much of this blog over the past few years, you know that I have an inherent bent against what many call the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. I’ve taught against it. I’ve written about it. (See “Blessings for Here and Now” for an example.) After reading much of this writing some might conclude that I am anti-faith or that my definition of faith is merely on the level of intellectual assent. But, that’s not the case.

I’ve wrestled with these issues for a long while now. Recently, they’ve begun to come to the forefront of my thinking as I think about faith and discipleship while writing my current book. The reason that so many (including myself) struggle with these issues–and why so many tend to go to one extreme or the other–is that both of the above statements were said by Jesus, and they are both true. It’s a case of having to hold two (seemingly) contradictory ideas in our heads at the same time.

If I have faith I can have anything I ask….

To be Jesus’ disciple means to deny myself and take up my cross….

I can have all I ask as long as I have faith….

I must take up my cross and deny myself….

How do we understand these two ideas? The first thing we need to remember is that Jesus often spoke in terms of a perfect reality. If we have faith, we can indeed have whatever we ask in His name. Now, we need to remember that the idea of “in His name” isn’t just tagging our prayer with “in Jesus’ name.” No, it means asking for things in His authority and according to His will and character. But, getting back to the point. While Jesus often spoke in terms of a perfect reality, we do not live in that perfect reality yet. That’s something we often forget. Even our faith is stained with the flesh and sin.

What needs to happen, then, is our faith needs to be purified. How does that happen? Through death to self. As we deny self and take up our cross, we are transformed. The flesh is crucified. Sin is progressively done away with. Our faith is strengthened. Do we not see that in older mature Christians, who have a vibrant relationship with Christ, who routinely have prayers answered?

It’s just that their prayers are not our prayers.

The one who has matured, who has died to self, does have the very resurrection power of Christ living in them–as do all who trust in Him for salvation. The process of sanctification has changed their desires, however. They no longer lust for things of this world. They know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God will provide all they need. They further know that His blessings are not for them alone but for the sake of others. 

We often want the power of the resurrection without going through the cross. To quote a popular commercial, “That’s not how this works!” We need the latter to experience the former. How do I know this is true? First is the very example of Jesus. Second, it is the exact opposite of how the world thinks.

Those who seek the blessings of this world without submitting to the cross serve a very small God. They want the “miracle” and “breakthrough” of stuff and things without the deeper and bigger miracle of being transformed into the new creation. Seeking the blessings of this life is putting God in a box, limiting who He is and how He operates. 

Those who seek the cross-driven life, choosing the path of death to self discover something interesting along the way. When they get to that place where their faith is strengthened, where they can truly say, “Mountain be removed from your place and cast into the sea,” their desires have been changed. They no longer care about the blessings of this world. They only care about Jesus, and making Him known to as many people as possible. And when that is the desire of our heart, we can be sure that God will indeed give us all we need to make that happen.

2
The Shepherd's Voice

Introducing a Friend: Meet Billy

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

Allow me to introduce you to my friend Billy Charles (not his real name, but we’ll get to that later). Billy has been in my life as long as I can remember. I can’t think of a time when he wasn’t there.

Billy is the kind of friend that many people have. He’s very spiritual. He inspires me with words like, “God will heal that person that you pray for, if it’s His will.” He also reminds me that “God never changes, so you should be skeptical of new things.”

Billy has a lot to say about many topics. For example, “People are always out to get what they can. Don’t trust them.” He also reminds me that “Love has its limits. Sooner or later, you’ll get booted.” And finally, he encourages me, “No one is perfect. So don’t worry about it.”

Perhaps you have met this “friend”. Really, he’s not a friend. I had a moment where I saw what he was clearly; it was during a recent discussion with a friend. Father was gracious enough to pull the blinders off my eyes for me to see what was really going on. I introduced him to you as Billy Charles, but really, he has another name–I call him the Believing Cynic.

The Believing Cynic hides easily in Christian circles–and in many churches. He masquerades as a “reasonable” Christian who does believe the Bible and does believe God. Yet, there is something different about him. It’s not that he doubts at times, but rather that he lives a life of quiet doubt. Even his so-called statements of faith hide the cynical side of his nature.

For example, “That person will be healed if it’s God’s will.” Does the Word of God ever tell us that it’s not Father’s will to heal? We do ask that question, and many people have developed that argument, but it’s a clever trick to hide their unbelief. We are not called to answer why people are or are not healed. We are only called to assert that Father is the Healer and declare “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”

Another example, “No one is perfect. So just accept God’s grace and move on.” It’s true. No one is perfect. But does that make God’s Word any less truthful? Not at all! What someone is really saying when they say that is this: “Don’t expect me to be able to live according to how God wants me to live. I’m a failure and I will mess up.” It’s true, only one Person was ever perfect on this earth. He taught us what love looks like. We are often afraid to try and love like that. We are afraid first of failing, and second of being hurt. For if we love like Jesus truly loved, it invites someone to attack us.

Faith is often hard. It is often a mystery. There is much we don’t understand, but we do ourselves a disservice when we make assumptions. We are called to believe God’s Word and stand in faith. Pray for healing. Pray according to His will. Ask. Seek. Knock. And keep on knocking until He makes His answer clear to you.

The next time Billy comes to your door with his words of encouragement and inspiration, do what I plan to do: shut the door in his face, and keep it shut. Bolt the door and declare what the Word of God says.

0
The Shepherd's Voice

Mature Faith: 7 Marks of Faith That Endures

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:10-12).

Few in the Christian community would doubt that we are seeing the fulfillment of these words of Jesus. Not only the United States but the world is in turmoil in too many places and ways to count. Without sounding like a doomsday naysayer, let me say that it will only get worse from this point. While there are exists some who believe “the Kingdom Now” theology, Christ and the writers of the New Testament (not to mention Old Testament prophecies) make it clear that the world will be in chaos when He returns.

No, this isn’t a post about the end times, arguing a particular point of view on when Christ will return and a detailed time table. Will there be a time of great tribulation? Yes. Old Testament prophecies, Christ’s prophecies, and the other writings of the New Testament specific ally point to such a time. Will it be worse than now? Yes. We Christians in the west just think we are persecuted for our faith. To quote a quite ungrammatical saying, “We ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Will Christians go through the Tribulation? I don’t know.

Wait…. what? You don’t know? No. I don’t know. There are good arguments on both sides of the question. For several years, the Lord has been speaking to my heart (and the hearts of others) to “Be ready.” Though I questioned, “Ready for what,” I only received the same answer: “Be ready.” I believe it is a warning that the time is fast approaching. So, how do we prepare?

I prefer an approach that I believe the Lord in His Word approves. What is called for, instead of deciding if we will go through the Tribulation, is to live as though we will. What does that mean? It means developing a faith that will endure. Christ warns that many will “fall away.” We must not be in that group. What kind of faith will endure the tribulation? A faith that:

* is grounded on the holiness, love, and goodness of God. It’s quite easy to say that our faith is based on God’s holiness, love, and goodness. But, is it? When a loved one dies before our eyes, is He still good? Does He still love us? When we don’t get the promotion we have been praying for, is He still good? When we are faced with the choice of compromising our standards for the sake of a temporal pleasure, is He still holy? It often seems that we compartmentalize God. When good things happen to us (what we call “good,” anyway), it’s His doing. But when “bad” things happen to us, we put Him away, and assume Satan got the upper hand, or maybe we misunderstood God, or maybe we don’t know Him at all. Mature faith—the kind that endures—has hit those questions head on (or rather has been hit with those questions) and is now more sure of God’s character than before. By the way, this doesn’t come from studying a book—not even the greatest Book. It only comes from living.

* is committed to the absolute authority of Scripture. Whenever the Bible lays out standards for attitudes and behaviors, they are unyielding. Absolute. End of discussion. Those standards don’t change. It’s as wrong now to commit adultery, fornication, gossip, slander, or have hatred in my heart as it was back then. When Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5), it’s as valid now as it was when first spoken (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

* is willing to go beyond the surface and allow Christ to heal the heart. It’s very easy to see the outward sins and confess them. “Oh, I lost my temper today. I shouldn’t have done that Lord.” We seek forgiveness, and move on. Yet, we so rarely go beneath that to see the sin lurking underneath. The demand to make life work for me apart from God—and our anger when He and/or others don’t cooperate. The faith that has matured and endures is one that invites the Spirit to “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24). The enduring faith is committed to vulnerability before God, knowing that God is good.

* is more concerned with being transformed than blessed. The heart that has enduring faith knows that it was saved and kept here to be transformed into the image of Christ and to spread the hope and light of the gospel. The blessings of this life mean nothing to the Transformed Heart. This heart seeks the glory of God in the life of the believer, shunning anything that might get in the way of that mission. The believer with the Transformed Heart is content in whatever station of life the Father places him.

* willingly embraces the pain and hardships of this life, letting them become tools for growth. Mature faith is one that, instead of avoiding or minimizing the pain and hardships, embraces it. Mature faith does not seek out pain, but neither does it shrink from it. The mature faith sees the hardships of this life as God’s tools for transformation. One cannot possibly know the true unconditional love of God until confronted with the depths of his sin. One cannot truly know the peace of God until that peace is needed. One cannot truly learn to trust God, abandoning all other hope, until trust in God is all that he has left.

* is more concerned with  citizenship in heaven than on earth. Though we reside here on earth, in a specific country and town, our true citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21; Eph. 2:19). The mature faith knows that this world is temporary, so while living each moment as a gift from the Lord and carrying out His mission, the eyes of faith are fixed firmly on the Savior and the end. With spiritual eyes fixed on the end, the mature faith, at the same time, sees others along the road that need help and pulls them along if at all possible.

* can echo the words of Job, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. “Even if he slays me I will trust Him” (Job 13:15). “Even if he doesn’t [deliver us from the furnace], we still will not serve your gods or worship your golden image” (Dan. 3:18). There is a common belief among Christians today. Either God will deliver you from the fire, or he will save you through the fire. But… what if? There were many times when Paul and Peter were indeed rescued. But at the end, both of them died for their faith. Many more over the centuries have met the same fate and done so with a faith that proclaims, “I’ll still worship Him! I’ll still trust Him!” The gospel calls us to lay down our very lives if necessary. The mature faith sees that and does not shrink from it. This last point was put last on the list because one truly cannot get to that point until he has begun to walk in the other six concepts. It is, after all, the final exclamation point on our faith to die with a hope-filled heart.

Is this type of faith possible today in the 21st century? Absolutely. Will it be easy to obtain? No. While faith cannot be “increased,” it can be strengthened like a muscle. Just as building up muscle requires exercise, strengthening faith requires exercise. And as with the muscle, exercising our faith can be painful—especially if it’s not been really exercised in awhile! Yet, this kind of faith is the inheritance of every believer, and can be obtained by every believer. it is this kind of faith that will endure any tribulations, and the kind of faith that Christ will be looking for (Luke 18:8).

0
The Shepherd's Voice

The Gospel—Or Not? 7 Ways We Pervert the Gospel

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

Recently I witnessed several conversations on social media between believers and those who either might be considered “liberals” or out-and-out unbelievers. I was, to be honest, shocked by the behavior and words I saw—mostly from the Christians. I shook my head, and felt as hurt as the Lord must feel. Judging by the words, I find it little wonder why so many people either reject the faith outright or leave the faith. But then I realized that there is more at stake than just whether one is “nice” or not. The issue revolves around our portrayal of the Gospel itself. If you have read much of this blog, you realize that the focus has been on the Gospel of Christ.  Paul tells us that even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:8). To Paul, preaching the correct Gospel was so important that he would rather face condemnation instead of leading others astray.

Preaching the correct Gospel, however, goes far beyond the mere words that we say. There are many ways that we can pervert the Gospel, and not even realize that we are doing so.  Here are seven ways that we pervert the Gospel.

We pervert the Gospel when….

#1: We add anything to faith in Christ as the requirement for salvation. 

This should be fairly obvious to us evangelicals. The Bible teaches that Christ alone is the ground of salvation (Acts 4:12), and faith alone is the requirement of salvation (Eph. 2:8-10). Since salvation is both an initial event and a continuing process, though, both of those statements apply throughout our lives. That means no work that we can do will make us “more holy,” or earn favor with God. Is God pleased when we obey? Absolutely!  We are behaving as He intended us. But the works that we do are not the basis for our salvation; they are the evidence of our salvation.

#2: We teach grace and forgiveness to the exclusion of holiness and sanctification. 

This is becoming quite a trend in many parts of the American church. We teach on God’s love so much and to such an extent that we forget that 1) He calls us to be holy as He is holy; and 2) true salvation imparts a new nature that changes us. In many of Paul’s letters, for example, he addresses the believers as those “sanctified, called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2). He means that Christians are to be set apart from the world. Throughout his letters, he gives practical commands on what living as a believer should “look like.” One cannot dismiss these teachings. Finally, even Jesus taught, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15, 21; 1 John 2:3-4).

#3: We teach holiness to the extent that it becomes legalism. 

This is another extreme that is common in many parts of the church. Many teach and preach the Old Testament to the extent that one would think we are still under the Mosaic law, no different than the nation of Israel (of course many pick and choose the commands that we are to follow, not teaching that the whole law is either applicable or not). As we mentioned above, law-keeping or works can never make one holy. Neither is it a measure of spiritual maturity—“not by works, lest anyone should boast.” Let’s repeat that: the Gospel arrangement means that no one has the right to boast. We are all equal at the foot of the cross. Each person’s journey differs from the other. We have nothing to contribute to our salvation.  Now, as with many things in the Bible, grace and holiness are not really at odds with each other, and there’s no “balance.” The Bible teaches both. Therefore, we should believe both.

#4: We make God into our own image. 

What do we mean by this? It means we paint a picture of God that is not biblically accurate. Some examples of this include: “If God is who He says He is, He will heal my child.” “God would never use [fill in the blank] for His purposes.” “I am a child of the King, therefore I deserve [fill in the blank].” “God is to busy to worry with my petty concerns.” God is never obligated to us for anything. It indeed pleases Him to answer prayers, but He is not bound by anything to do so. God can use anything and anyone for His purposes in our lives. Look back at the history of Israel? How many times do we see God using a pagan nation as a rod of correction? So it is with us today? He may use an unbeliever to make us reexamine things that were not carefully considered, or to smooth our rough edges. He may use things are by all rights totally evil, but yet bring good out of them. And, if God knows the very names of the stars and how many hairs are on your head, He is certainly concerned with whatever is in your heart.

#5: We use “stand up for your faith” as an excuse to attack, dismiss, or simply be rude to someone. 

We are the salt and light of the earth. The disciple’s job is not to judge, malign or otherwise abuse those in the world. Whether they know it or not, they already have enough on them. They don’t need our condemnation. The witness’s job to quote Peter and John, is simply to tell what he has seen and heard (Acts 4:20). While it is true that Peter instructs us to always have a defense for the hope within us (1 Pet. 3:15), he wasn’t referring to studying apologetics. He was referring to why you have the hope inside you—that is to say, your personal testimony. If you say, “I have no testimony,” then perhaps you should study the Gospel message again. While we must not be afraid to engage with those who do not believe, we must, in the words of Paul, have a gentle spirit in answering them (2 Tim. 2:24). And we must answer them honestly. God is big enough to handle the hard questions. There is no place in the Gospel for presenting anything other than the absolute love of Christ—even in the hard truths.

#6: We expect the unregenerate to be able to think and behave as Christians. 

Often we in the church expect the unbeliever to just “live right.” We are shocked when the unregenerate person thinks or acts in a way that we would find contrary to the Bible. Especially since, “This is a Christian nation.” (We won’t discuss this here, but just one thought, half of the forefathers of this country were Freemasons and/or Deists.) Let’s examine two facts about the unregenerate person: 1) He is blinded to the things of God, unable to understand spiritual things, fully controlled by the Sinful Heart (1 Cor. 2:14); and 2) He is dead—repeat, dead—spiritually speaking (Eph. 2:1-3). Dead men cannot change their ways. They are dead. We must speak life into them. The life of Christ imparted by the Holy Spirit.

#7: We proclaim either by word or action that Christians are supposed to have it all together. 

Let’s face it. Living life today is hard—whether you are a Christian, Buddhist, Taoist, Muslim, [fill in any other religion], or atheist. Living for Christ is yet harder still (we say “harder” because as a believer we expect to be persecuted for our faith, in addition to all the “normal” pressures of life).  We in the American church, however, have decided that life actually isn’t that hard—at least we pretend it isn’t. We have our act together. We confess our sins of taking a cookie from the cookie jar and the occasional angry response to someone. Yet, those close to us and the world know differently. If I have my act together, then there’s no room for God’s grace or forgiveness in my life. The fact is, John reminds us that we do not have it all together, and we must not claim to. We must walk in the light. We must be honest with ourselves and others. It’s okay to say, “Hey, you know my life is a struggle right now. But, I am holding onto Christ as tightly as I can.” What freedom might result if we took that attitude! Most of the time, when a fellow believer asks how we are doing, we give the “I’m blessed!” or “I’m doing good” or some variation, and the relief on the other person’s face is often evident. On the other hand, when someone ventures something different and admits a struggle, we are terrified and give the Pentecostal shrug: “I’ll pray for you brother!”

We are all guilty of some or all of these because we are not perfect. Thank the Lord we have His grace to not only forgive our failings but also empower us to repent, forgive ourselves and move forward in change. The world is watching, and needs true, genuine Christians, not those wearing the spiritual masks.

0
The Shepherd's Voice

Biblically Informed Passion

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

In the previous post, we affirmed that there is something more needed in the believer’s life than correct doctrine. We said that the Spiritual Heart (the new heart received at salvation) longs to engage God and others in ways to show a new passion for Him. It’s the Holy Spirit who guides and directs the believer, but it’s the heart that operates according to the passion for God. Both are necessary.

In this post, we are going to flip the coin to the other side (in case you didn’t know, many issues in the Bible are often two sides of the same coin). Just as correct doctrine cannot stand alone, neither can the passionate faith that often accompanies correct doctrine. Why is this so? Because while the believer has the Spiritual Heart, he also still has the flesh. The flesh can confuse us, causing sinful passions to appear godly, and vice versa. The flesh can cause illegitimate means of meeting an otherwise legitimate need to appear okay (and vice versa). We have to remember that, before salvation, our whole mind and body was programmed by the Sinful Heart that we had. Though it has been replaced with the Spiritual Heart, the flesh still lingers.

So, then, what is needed is biblically informed and Spirit-directed passion. We must not sacrifice truth for passion, just as we must not sacrifice passionate engagement for truth (though if one must be sacrificed, it is far better to stick with truth—truth guides, but passion consumes). We must engage Scripture and the Holy Spirit, asking the Spirit to illuminate the truth of Scripture even if if doesn’t jibe with our experience. We must allow the Spirit to help us decides what are Spirit-led urges and what are not, and then how best to engage those Spirit-led urges. To put it another way, the Lord wants us to step out of the boat in faith, but keep our soul anchored in His truth.

These posts are designed to draw us together in engagement. We must not be afraid to engage with others around us whose faith-lens looks slightly different than our own. We just might learn something. And so might they. In the end, we will be a step closer to seeing Jesus’ prayer answered: “May they be one just as You and I are one.”

0
The Shepherd's Voice

More than Just Truth

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

In the last post, we suggested that it’s indeed possible to have both sound doctrine and true heart-felt passion in our faith. We also suggested that what makes that possible is a changed heart guided by the Holy Spirit. In this follow-up post, we will consider how segments of the church can move from what many see as “dead orthodoxy” to a living faith.

We must agree, of course, that sound doctrine is extremely important. The Bible plainly teaches that believing “something” is not good enough. The right thing must be believed. Is it necessary to believe that Jesus was God-in-the-flesh? Consider this: Jesus accepted worship while in the flesh (Matthew 14:33; John 9:38). If He was not God at the time, if He were able to give up that identity, then He had no right to accept worship. He was only a man. He also, as a man, claimed to be God-in-the-flesh by taking the sacred name of God (John 8:58). It’s clear that the Jewish leaders knew what He intended by their reaction (a reaction that would have been righteous if Jesus were not in fact God at the time). Is it necessary to believe that Jesus actually rose from the dead as a point of history? Paul seems to think so in 1 Corinthians 15.

Doctrine is important. There are core beliefs that define what it is to be Christian. The most central of these, however, is the one that is often the most overlooked. When Jesus saved me, He changed me. Under the New Covenant, I am not the same as I was before (2 Corinthians 5:17). He saved me from a fate worse than physical death. How does one who truly understands the reality of that NOT feel it in his very soul and wish to broadcast it? Of course, our feelings have nothing to do with whether we are saved. But there must be more than correct doctrine. The Lord did call us to love Him with all our heart and soul, in addition to the mind and strength.

How do we develop that heart-faith? By engaging with the Lord and the Holy Spirit. Our times in Scripture must be the springboard by which we ask the Lord to speak to our hearts and change us into His image. From there, it’s okay to let the change in our hearts show forth in worship, in engagement in others, in our whole lives. Our engagement, of course, must be directed by the Holy Spirit, but it can also be informed by forms of worship that are different from our own, such as dramas, worship/interpretive dance, and worship music that focuses on what God has done in our hearts. We must not be afraid to engage our heart and emotions in worship (and by this we don’t mean just yelling for yelling’s sake).  What we are seeking is biblically and spiritually informed passion. Doing this will move us closer to that time where we are truly one with our more expressive brothers and sisters.

0
The Shepherd's Voice

Head, Heart, the Whole Person

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  he second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31).

One of the purposes of The Shepherd’s Voice is to build bridges between various groups in the church. As mentioned in a previous post (“One Body, Many Parts”), the church is under the same Lord, though made up of many different groups. Often, we forget that. In the 21st century, that has continued to manifest in a highly fractured church. One of the most divisive trends in the church is what we might call the battle between passionate faith and doctrinal orthodoxy.

We’ve all probably run across such differences. On one side we have those folks that believe that the death of the apostles and the closing of the canon of Scripture ended the period of healing, signs, and miracles. For the most part, they rely on the Bible to such an extent that it seems (practically speaking) they do not believe in the Holy Spirit at all.  To such people, correct doctrine is all-important. They are quick to correct what they perceive as even the slightest deviation from orthodoxy—but even then this group is fractured, especially when they can’t agree on the correct translation of the Bible.

On the other hand, we have the large segment of the church that has embraced passionate faith, focusing on the Holy Spirit’s continuing work. Like the other side, we also see the extremists. Some well-known churches in the charismatic movement have begun teaching that it’s not necessary to believe in a literal resurrection, that Jesus was not God during His time on earth, and that God is obligated to provide healing and what we ask for as a result of the atonement. People on this side of the spiritual aisle are usually the most socially engaged, believing that love is the key and that the church is here to change the world.

And then…. there are the folks in the middle who waver back and forth between the two camps, or are just plain confused and become disillusioned with the church in general. There’s also the world, watching the church squabble and stay divided. It brings to mind a time in college, when some Christian friends and I were “discussing” some doctrines of the faith at a Wendy’s. It got a little heated at times. Another friend came from another table and quietly suggested that we consider the possibility that an unbeliever might be present and listening. Speaking only for myself, I can say that statement had a profound effect on me.

What is the solution then? Can the church truly come together in more than a paper-thin unity, covering up the deep divisions within? This and future posts will explore that question.

First, one important rule, however:  This is not about name-calling or naming specific people or groups (hence why no churches or people were mentioned in the above paragraphs).

In looking at Mark 12:30-31, it’s clear that Jesus intended to include every part of us. He essentially said, “Love God with all you have and with all you are.” That certainly includes the mind (correct doctrine) and the emotions (passionate faith). So, we must conclude that the answer to the question is, “Yes, it is possible to have both.” The obvious next question one might ask is, “How?”

The short answer to that question is this: There is a third element that is missing, which must inform our doctrine, experience, and emotions. Sound doctrine cannot (or should not) come from passion alone. Likewise, sound doctrine alone cannot produce the passionate faith necessary to spread the Gospel. Like many two-sided issues in the Bible, both are taught and expected. A quest for “balance” often means sacrificing one at the expense of the other.

That third element from which the other two must come is a changed heart. This isn’t referring the heart as the seat of emotion. Rather, the heart is the seat of being. When one is saved, he receives a new heart (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-29). A saved person is a different person. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the heart longs to know and obey God in every way. Thus, the heart finds guidance in illuminated study of Scripture and an outlet for expressions of gratitude and love.

In the next two posts, we’ll look at how this might look in the life of the believer.

0
The Shepherd's Voice

One Body, Many Parts

Posted on by The Shepherd's Voice

Continuing in our series on the fundamentals of the faith, we’re going to talk about the church.

The Church (also known as the Bride and Body of Christ) consists of all true believers who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. While local congregations may vary in size, makeup, and style, the worldwide church is one in spirit and is to strive for unity in the truth of the Gospel. The mission of the church was clearly defined by Jesus: to spread the Gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).

Many people today often think of the church in terms of two things: buildings and denominations (the latter is much more the case for a group that thinks they are the only “true” church). The Bible, however, paints a much different picture of the church, one that we would do well to reexamine in the 21st century.

First, we must say without hesitation that the church is people. Specifically, the church consists of all who have trusted Christ for salvation. In the book of Acts, references to the church were always in the context of people (there were no church ‘buildings’ back then, and often the believers might meet outside for worship, prayer and teaching). In saying that, though, we must be quick to add that the church is always thought of in corporate terms–a group of people, not single individuals. You individually are part of the church if you are saved, but the church is made up of groups of the redeemed (hence why Jesus said wherever two or three are gathered He is with them, see Matthew 18:15-20). We in the west have often turned faith into a highly private affair with our democratic ideals, but that is not the picture we see of the church in Scripture.

Second, those groups of people are bound together in Christ to form the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). That means the church is to be the visible symbol of Christ’s work here on earth. It also means that the Body has many parts, just as a human body does. Not all have the same gifts or callings. But each part does have a purpose and gifts to equip him or her for that purpose.

Third, since the church is made up of redeemed people who still battle the flesh, the apostles were wise to appoint “elders” or “overseers” (plural) for each church. A church led by a single individual is a dangerous thing. The role of the elders is to oversee the church completely, and in the words of Paul, to care for the flock. He warned the Ephesian elders that even among them some would stray and seek to draw men to themselves instead of Christ (Acts 20:17-35).

Fourth, the church was given one and only one specific mission–to make disciples of all nations (that is, spread the Gospel). The role of the church leadership, then, is to help train the believers to do just that. While God may and does call individuals into the realms of politics, business, and/or social activism, that call is always to be interpreted in the context of the Gospel. Neither Jesus nor Paul, for example, engaged directly in any of those things (even though both spoke to kings and governors). To entangle itself in affairs of this world risks weakening the mission and bringing the world into the church (2 Timothy 2:4).

Finally, though the Body of Christ is made up of many different cultures, races, and backgrounds, the Body is still one Body. Christ prayed that the disciples would be “one” (John 17:20-21). Paul echoed those words, saying that the offices of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers were given to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). We are called to be one in Christ. Therefore, let us strive to attain unity in Him, setting aside nonessential differences, willing to engage with other parts of the Body, and so fulfill Christ’s prayer.

1