from my Soteriology paper

i was reading through some of my papers i've written for seminary and decided to post this part of a paper that i wrote on "regeneration"...

Why do we need regeneration? Is it a necessary part of salvation? Can a man repent of his sins and trust in Christ for salvation without that specific work of God which we call regeneration? It is to these questions that we will now turn our attention.

First, we must understand the state of the human heart. Scripture is not unclear about the deadness of a sinnerʼs heart and its complete inability to obtain spiritual life by its own strength.

In John chapter three we see a Pharisee, Nicodemus, come to speak with Jesus. We first read Nicodemusʼ words, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2b). Jesusʼ response is interesting because He does not respond directly to Nicodemusʼ statement. Instead Jesus seems to cut right to the core issue: Nicodemusʼ need for regeneration, which He speaks of as being “born again”. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The phrase “born again” which Jesus uses, literally means “born from above.”

But Nicodemus, by his response, shows that he does not understand that Jesus is speaking not of physical birth leading to physical life, but of spiritual birth leading to spiritual life. Jesus goes on in order to make His point clearer:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ʻYou must be born again.ʼ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8).

Jesus here communicates the truth that one must experience the new birth which is brought about by the Spirit. Without this working of the Spirit no one can enter the kingdom of God. So, we can see from this passage that a work of the Spirit, namely regeneration, is necessary in order for one to enter the kingdom of God (i.e. truly be saved).

We see this truth again in Ephesians chapter two. Here Paul plainly tells his audience the state of their hearts prior to salvation:
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:1-3).

Paul is speaking to the church at Ephesus, a group of saints (see Eph. 1:1), and he tells them that they, before they were saved, were spiritually “dead” because of their sins. He tells them that they “were by nature children of wrath.” We should notice that he leaves no one out: “among whom we all once lived.” Paul is saying that there is no one who is spiritually alive in and of themselves. Not only were the saints spiritually dead, they were deserving of wrath--Godʼs eternal punishment for sin. Therefore, we see that man needs regeneration. Man needs God Himself to perform a work in his spiritually dead heart. Manʼs dead heart must be given new life through the new birth. If God does not work regeneration, man has no hope of eternal life.

-----
so i ask you, have you trusted in God's work of salvation? or are you trusting in your own righteousness? by nature you are a child of wrath which means that you deserve God's wrath as punishment on your sin. this is not something you want to face. turn to God. turn to Christ and His saving work. trust Him for salvation. there is salvation in none other.

question

the other day i received a message on facebook from someone who is a friend of a friend on there. i was glad to see someone genuinely interested in understanding the Christian faith. this person must have seen my religious views because their question was directly related to it. i figured i'd share the question and my response while keeping the person anonymous--

Question:
What do you mean by Christ is your strength? And why do you think you should have died the death that Jesus died? I am a curious person trying to better understand the Christian philosophy/thinking. Your response is truly appreciated. Thank you

--
Answer:
Hello,

I’m sorry it took me a while to respond to you. You ask two good questions, and I am glad to answer them. Actually, the answers to both of them are related.

(In my response I reference the Bible a lot. If you do not have a copy you can read the verses by going to this website: http://www.biblegateway.com/ and typing in the references I give.)

Most importantly is the idea of “Substitutionary Atonement.” This is the idea I’m trying to communicate when I say that Christ died the death I should have died. Substitutionary Atonement is essential to the Christian faith.

The idea of Substitution is a familiar one in American culture--we have substitute teachers who take the place of our normal teacher. We have substitute sugars and even substitute for salt. These all take the place of something else. Jesus Christ was our substitute in death. But, unlike teachers, sugar, and salt substitutes, Jesus was a better substitute--He was the perfect substitute.

A verse that communicates this idea of substitutionary atonement is 1 Peter 2:24 in the Bible which says, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

But why did Jesus have to die? Why did He have to be our substitute in death? This verse has told us that He died so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. We are healed by His wounds--by the event where He got His wounds--the cross. It says that He died so that we might do two things: die and live. Die to sin, and live to righteousness. This dying and living are spiritual death and life. Throughout the Bible, when it talks about spiritual life and spiritual death it speaks of them in the sense of “what is controlling you”. When sin and unrighteousness are controlling you, you are said to be “dead.” But when you are said to be “alive”, you have been given life through Jesus‘ work. Another way to put this is that a person who is spiritually dead is separated from God spiritually. But a person who has spiritual life is united with God spiritually (and, in the end, physically in Heaven as well.) From the Bible we can see this: Spiritually, all people are dead (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12) unless they have received life from Jesus Christ (John 11:25-26).

Ephesians 2:1-5 says this:
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

This idea of being separated from God is because of mankind’s nature. The Bible tells us that God created the Heavens and the Earth (everything that exists). We believe in a triune God--the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. These are not three Gods, but three different persons, all equal and all so unified that they are actually one.

Colossians 1:13-23 is a good passage that explains the idea of sin separating us from the God who created us, and Jesus reconciling that separation. You can read the passage here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=colossians+1%3A13-23&version=NASB

Notice at the end of verse 16 (speaking of Jesus) it says “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” See, we were created for Jesus. But we have all sinned--we have rebelled against our creator, we have all turned to our own ways and not lived for Him. The first part of Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…” Here the Bible tells us that we all have not followed God’s way, instead we follow our own ways. Because of this God, who created us for Himself, has the right to (actually, He must) punish us. The Bible teaches that God is a just God and a good God. If He were to let rebellion go without punishing it, this means He is not perfectly good and perfectly just. He would not be a good judge. (Exodus 34:7 says that God will, by no means, leave the guilty unpunished). Well, all of mankind is guilty because all have sinned and turned to their own ways instead of His ways (Isaiah 53:6 and Romans 3:23).

But the second half of Isaiah 53:6 says this: “but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him [Jesus].”

This is what I mean by Jesus died the death I should have died. I am a sinner. I have turned to my own ways and therefore I am guilty. God will not let the guilty go unpunished. Not only am I guilty before a smaller power (like the government). I am guilty before the God who created me and the rest of the universe (Col. 1:16). Because I am guilty before the infinite God, I deserve to be punished by Him--I deserve death. BUT, as it says in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

I hope that makes sense. All of us deserve punishment by God because we have sinned against Him (we deserve death). But, God is so rich in His mercy and His love, that He bore our sins Himself in His body on the cross (that’s 1 Peter 2:24 again). So that when we believe in Him...when we trust in Him and what He did...then He doesn’t count our sins against us, but, as Isaiah 53:6 says, He caused our iniquity (our sin) to fall on Jesus.

So...you also asked what I mean by saying that Jesus is my strength. If you go to Romans 8, this is a good passage to use to explain what I mean. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+8&version=NASB )

In verse 18 it says that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Verse 28 says that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. In other words, no matter what we go through, it will all be worth it in the end, because God is the one working it all for His purposes. Verse 37 says that in all these things (all the things that were listed in verses 35 and 36...any trouble that life can bring us)...in all those things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. Who is it that loved us? Verse 32 has told us. It is God. Verse 32 says that God Himself, who did not even spare His own Son…(that’s how much He loved us)...He will also freely give us all things--He will help us through any situation.

This is what I mean when I say that Christ is my strength. It brings such great encouragement no matter what happens in life when I know that the God of the universe loves me so much that, in order to redeem me and save me so that I might have a relationship with Him, in order to do that He spared no expense--He did not even spare His one and only Son. A God who will do that, will He not also freely give us all things?

I hope this was helpful for you.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Elias

Submission is Christ

God has blessed me by allowing me to go to Seminary and to learn a lot of things about Him. i have been convicted recently to write more about what i am learning...here is one of the really cool things i recently read.

These are some quotes from Bruce Ware's book "Father, Son & The Holy Spirit"... "There is an ordering in the Godhead, a "built-in" structure of authority and submission that marks a significant respect in which the Persons of the Godhead are distinguished from one another. Surely, they are not distinct in essence, for each shares fully the identically same divine nature. Their distinction, rather, is constituted, in part by taxis (which Ware describes as) "the ordering of Father, Son and Holy Spirit within the Godhead" ...Intrinsic to God's own nature is a fundamental taxis, and He has so designed creation to reflect His own being, His own internal and eternal relationships, in part, through created and designed relationships of taxis."

Ware had just recently quoted 1 Corinthians 11:3 which says, "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." Then he said, "Without question, the Son stands under the authority, or, if you will, the headship of the Father."

See...I see a gaping lack of authority in our culture. I see people who should take authority--they shun it. I see people who should submit to authority--they shake it off and rebel. "This is not the way you learned Christ!" No, intrinsic to the Godhead is structure: authority and submission. Not only are men supposed to submit to God, God Himself--God the Son, submits...willingly submits...to God the Father. And Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11, uses this illustration of the Son submitting to the Father as an example of how we as humans should submit to each other. God has built-in to humanity and human relationships a structure of authority. This is not something "man" as put on "woman" or "masters" have put on "slaves". No, this is something the Son has willingly submitted to...He willingly submitted to the Father. And He asks that we follow His example.

Ware goes on to explain this very excellently, and I won't make this a longer blog post by quoting more and more of him, but it was incredible and eye-opening to see that God the Son willingly (and not just while He was on earth, but even from eternity past and into eternity future, as Ware proves from Scripture) submits to the Father. And this is not just a fact that we learn about Him. This characteristic is what makes Him the Son. For, how else is God the Son different than God the Father besides in His submission? He is not different in His power, His knowledge, His wisdom or in any of His attributes. The only distinction between the Son and the Father is His submission. This is what makes the Son the Son. The authority of the Father is what makes the Father the Father. These characteristics are essential. And for us to shun authority, or to rebel against it, is to rebel against who God is. It is to rebel against the image of God in us. He has imparted to us authority and submission. We would do well to accept these positions gladly, as a way to reflect Him.

Christ is the Center

The importance of preaching the Christ-Centeredness of Scripture:

True Christian preaching must center on the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross is the central doctrine of the Holy Scriptures. All other revealed truths either find their fulfillment in the cross or are necessarily founded upon it. Therefore, no doctrine of Scripture may faithfully be set before men unless it is displayed in its relationship to the cross. The one who is called to preach, therefore, must preach Christ becuase there is no other message from God. ~Thomas F. Jones

Jireh

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does He withhold
from those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 84:11

The Lord has lead me to this verse recently.

So often I seek "good things" in my own power. I seek what I believe is best for me...what is "good" for me. But this verse tells me my focus should be elsewhere. God will not hold back any good thing from me, but only if I fit into "those who walk uprightly." My focus, then, needs to be on my walk, on making it "upright." As Matthew writes, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matt. 6:33) My focus needs to be on Christ's kingdom. My focus needs to be on His ways, so that my walk will be upright.

But...what's so amazing about this, is that God is the one who works in me both to will and to work according to His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). God, who began the good work of salvation in me, is going to be the one who also sees it through to completion (Phil. 1:6). My righteousness...my upright walk...comes from Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). In other words, thought I can't be lazy about seeking Him first and concentrating on my upright walk, God already sees me as righteous and upright because of Christ's work on the cross (Eph. 2:13; James 2:23). So...right now He will deny me no good thing.

One recent example of this caused me to wonder "why me?" Why does God shower me with blessings? I know my heart, I know I do not deserve them. God also knows my heart, yet He blesses me.

We recently had a college & career Christmas party and one of the leaders was reminding us of the Winter Retreat coming up next month. Standing next to me was my friend, Josh. He said, "Are you going to that?" I said, "Yeah, if I can find the money." He asked, "You don't have enough money?" I laughed a sort of hopeless laugh and said, "I'm going to seminary and working only half-time. No, I don't have enough money." "Oh," he said, "well, I'll pay for you." And he pulled out a $100 bill from his wallet and gave it to me. I was shocked! I said, "Wow! Are you sure??" "Yeah!"

So this morning I went up to the booth at church and paid the trip in full! I was still amazed as I pulled the money out of my wallet and told the guy there, "God provided this money!"

Praise Him, Jehovah Jireh, who truly does not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly...from those who are His own. Praise Him!

a surprising contrast

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:19-21

These verses surprise me. I'm often aggravated by the social gospel movement, where people believe that the end goal of the gospel is to make life better for people. Sorry, that's not the point. The goal is Christ and His glory. These verses show that the way to be concerned for some else's welfare is to seek Christ's interest. check it out:

v20 says that Paul is going to send Timothy to the Philippians because there's no one else like him. what's so different about Timothy? Paul says that Timothy is selfless: he is concerned for others' welfare. But look at the unexpected (to me at least) contrast in the next verse...

v21 says that...expounding on the point Paul made in v20 that Timothy is concerned for the Philippians' welfare...it says that all the other people seek after their own interests, they are selfish. then comes the contrast: Timothy, instead of seeking after his own interests, seeks those of the Philippians...at least that's what I'd expect it to say. wouldn't you?

"I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not your interests." that's what i'd expect it to say. Paul is talking about 2 different parties: Timothy and the Philippians. And he says how great Timothy is because he'll be genuinely concerned for the other party--the Philippians. But then Paul throws in a third party unexpectedly: Jesus Christ.

this is how to be truly concerned for someones welfare: we seek, pursue, strive after Christ Jesus' interests.

Do you love someone? Pursue Christ's interests. Do you care for someone? Seek Christ's interests. Do you value someone? Prove it by striving after Christ's interests.

strength in submission

The centurion said, "For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Luke 7:8

So often we try to make decisions based on our own authority. Sometimes I make decisions and I feel bad about standing firm on an issue. Sometimes I waver and am inconsistent with rules and guidelines I set down.

This Roman Centurion understood how things were supposed to work. He said he was "a man set under authority." Whose authority? Ultimately this man was under the authority of Caesar. And he understood what that meant, and so did the men who were set in authority under him: "As long as he was in submission to his leaders, every command he uttered carried the authority of the Roman Emperor." (The Making of a Disciple, Keith Phillips) When he gave a command, it carried the weight of his authority. His soldiers had to obey him because of the chain of command just as much as they would have to obey the Emperor himself.

The Centurion had heard about who Jesus was (Luke 7:3), to an extent he must have understood that Jesus submitted to the authority of the Father. And, thus, he trusted that Jesus' command carried behind it the power and authority of the Father Himself. And so the Centurion had faith, he trusted that Jesus' command was enough to heal his servant. And Jesus marveled at this man's faith (v9). (I find it interesting that throughout the gospel accounts we see the people marveling and being amazed over and over again at Jesus' statements and His miracles, but here we see Jesus Himself marvel at a man. The only other place I've found Jesus marveling at people [from Nazareth of all places!] was for their unbelief [Mark 6:6].)

But I believe we can learn another lesson from this. I love that quote: "As long as [the centurion] was in submission to his leaders, every command he uttered carried the authority of the Roman Emperor." He goes on to write "...The centurion's authority was great because of whom he represented."

Just as this centurion followed the submission structure of the Roman army, and because of that had great authority when he spoke, we too can have confidence and authority when we speak if we follow God's submission structure. To me that is very comforting. As leader of Student Ministries I have to make a lot of decisions and enforce a lot of rules. Sometimes I have to tell people older than I am things they don't want to hear. That's not easy. But if I am following the leadership of those God has put in authority over me (my senior pastor and the elders), then I can be confident in the decisions I make and the rules I enforce. And if anyone has a complaint against me I can ultimately refer them to the senior pastor or the elders. That's comforting! But if come out from under their authority, if I disregard it, then I am in a dangerous place, I'm all by myself and I don't have a leg to stand on.

I'd rather submit to the authority structure that God has set up.

Whom do you represent?

bond-servants?

20 years ago a controversial book was written by John MacArthur called "The Gospel According to Jesus". In this book MacArthur argued his case for "lordship salvation". This year (next month, actually) Zondervan is coming out with a 20 year anniversary edition, MacArthur approved but wanted to update the book with a new first chapter.

Earlier this month I attended the Shepherd's Conference which is put on by Grace Community Church of Sun Valley, which is where MacArthur is the senior pastor (not the pastor of the retired folks, but the head/lead pastor). MacArthur spoke three times over the course of the conference (plus a Q&A session!). His third sermon, he told us, will be the material that will go in to that new first chapter of the book that will come out next month. His message hit me (figuratively) and has caused me to think about the implications of what he said (ever had a sermon that made you think differently for the rest of your life? that's how i hope this sermon will impact me). I'd like to attempt to condense the main point and power of his sermon in a blog...here goes nothing:

What has been the defining cry for Christians down through the ages? "Jesus is Lord!" We say it often. We sing numerous variations of it in songs. We make it into bumper stickers! And it is very true, Jesus, in fact, is Lord...of believers. He is even Lord ultimately of Heaven and Earth. But He is only Lord of the lives of true believers. Those who are not true believers have a different Lord: sin. Scripture tells us this plainly many times...John 8:34 "Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.'", Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?" Romans 6:17 and 20 both say "...you were slaves of sin...". We all, to begin with, are SLAVES to sin. (cf. Rom. 6:22; Gal. 4:9; Titus 3:3; 2 Peter 2:19)

The word used in these passages to talk of slavery to sin is "doulos" which means, simply, SLAVE. A slave is owned 100% by his master. A slave has no rights, no personal freedom, no 'say-so' in decision making. A slave must obey its master. When he disobeys, he is punished by his master. And rightfully so--again, he has no rights of his own. This makes complete sense when we think about sin and being slaves to it, does it not? Sin is master over those who do not have the freedom Christ brings. Sin is a harsh master, for it pays death (Rom. 6:23). It is a cruel master, for it leads only to destruction (Phil 3:18-19).

But, Christian, may I ask you...if Jesus is your Lord...what does that make YOU?? The word "Lord" in the original Greek language of Scripture is "kurios", which means "lord" or "master". Thayer's Lexicon makes it quite clear what this means. Check it out on Blue Letter Bible (here). It says, "he to whom a person or thing *belongs*, about which he has power of deciding".

Whoa. You know what that makes us, Christians? It makes us SLAVES of Jesus. Slaves. Sadly, when translators bring the Greek text over into English, quite consistently when Scripture uses the word "doulos" (slave) in connection to our relationship with Jesus (our Lord, "kurios") they, seemingly out of fear, do not translate it well. It seems they are not afraid to translate "doulos" as "slave" when it talks of being "doulos" to sin. Yet when Scripture talks about being "doulos" of Christ they make up a word: "bond-servants". They lighten the word. Look it up in the Greek, it's easy to do at blueletterbible.com. Just look up a verse and then click the little "c" icon next to the verse. The original language doesn't call us servants of Christ. Servants have a choice. Servants are given orders that are more like suggestions. Servants can quit and choose to serve someone else. Servants can have two jobs and serve two bosses.

MacArthur explained a slave as a person with no rights, no standing in society, a person who couldn't own property, had no autonomy, no freedom. Slaves are subject totally and completely to an alien will (a will not their own). And this, Christians, is what we are: slaves. We have no rights of our own, have have no standing in this world, we own nothing, we have no autonomy, we have no freedom of our own. True believers are subject totally and completely to an alien will: God's will.

Look at Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth." The word "serve" (twice in this verse) is based off of the word "doulos". Basically, this verse is NOT saying that you cannot serve two masters. We all know that statement to be false. How many of us have two jobs? Do we not serve both of our bosses? What about a waiter? Do they not serve many people a day? What about a job situation where you are under two different managers? We serve more than one master all the time! What this verse is saying is that you cannot be a slave to more than one person. A slave is someone who is owned 100% by his Lord, his master.

The point MacArthur is making (and I believe it is quite a valid point, because, really, he isn't making the point, he is simply pointing out what Scripture says) is clearly stated in Luke 6:46, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Jesus is saying that it's incongruous (a word MacArthur used) if you call Him "Lord" but don't obey Him. In other words, He's not really your Lord if you don't obey Him. If He was your master, if you were His slave, then you would be subject completely to His will. And you would obey Him. We prove that we are His when we bear fruit. If we don't bear fruit, we aren't His. This is Lordship salvation.

If Jesus is your Lord, that makes you His slave.

desire

for the last couple years or so i've considered myself a "Christian Hedonist". some people who are older than me find that term offensive or crude. i don't really blame them. in the past the term "hedonist" was used a lot and understood to relate to people who sought sexual pleasure at any cost. the true definition of the term is simply "a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification" (dictionary.com). so, it's not strictly related to sexual pleasure, instead it's the general pursuit of pleasure.

the duo of Sam Storms ("one thing" and "pleasures evermore") and John Piper (mostly his sermon "Quest: Joy; Found: Christ") convinced me of the truth of Christian Hedonism. Basically it's based on the observation that all people pursue pleasure. all people. no matter who you are. ultimately, the thing you are pursuing is pleasure. that's how we are wired. you can try to deny it, but the reason you'd try to deny that you seek pleasure is so that you can be humble, perhaps because God called you to be humble. and why do we humble ourselves? because we are following Him. and why do we follow Him? so that we can enter His presence for eternity. and Psalm 16:11 tells us that in His presence is fullness of joy, at His right hand are pleasures evermore (see also James 4:10).

even in Matthew 16 where Christ tells us to deny ourselves...denying yourself is NOT the ultimate goal. look at the passage again. the ultimate goal is to find your life, to preserve your life, to have eternal life. which, again, ends in pleasures evermore.

I also see it ALL over the Scriptures. Most notably Psalm 119. I love Psalm 119. William Wilberforce had this Psalm memorized (all 176 verses) and would recite it as he walked to and from work. I want the same attitude this psalmist had.

Recently I was introduced to Jimmy Needham. An amazing musician with a HEART (desire) for Christ. His songs are amazing and chock-full of allusions to Scripture. Check out the first verse to his song "For Freedom" (itself an allusion to Gal. 5:1)

oh to be
delighted by You
and to see
the colors of
Your Train
and to be
freed by You
it would be
it would be
it would be
my claim to fame
so rejoice my friend
because my friend
you've got a Friend indeed
yeaaaha....
it is for freedom He set us free.

Jimmy Needham
"For Freedom"

"oh to be, delighted by You" is my desire. my hope. my aim. as i grow, i am more and more convinced that the more i fall in love with Christ, the more i am delighted by Him, the more i find my pleasure in Him...then i will realize how pale and even putrid sin is. often times sin looks good to us. but, as Sam Storms says in his book "Pleasures Evermore", "Sin becomes ugly and is subject to defeat only when viewed in light of Christ's beauty."

my desire is to fall in love with Christ. to find my pleasure in Him.

look how beautiful our God is...

"the colors of Your train" is an allusion to Isaiah 6 where we see "the train of His robe filling the temple", a magnificent picture of our God. the colors would be a picture of the beauty and multifaceted-ness (that's a word, right?) of God's glory. A train is a picture of royalty. The bigger a king's train, the more majestic and royal he is. Our God's train FILLS the temple. not just any temple. this is the temple in Heaven, the temple of the one, true, Creator God! His train is HUGE, a picture of His superior royalty and grandeur.

He is worthy. i pray that i would be delighted by Him, that i would open my eyes to see Him. and when i see Him as He truly is...how can i not respond by pursuing Him with everything i have?

mystery

i am amazed and stunned at the mystery of how God weaves and works and places and prods all of us in His perfect way and timing to create a world filled with sinners and saints whom He uses to bring glory to Himself...God loves turning rebels into worshipers...God loves turning sinners into saints...and He gets the glory in it all...

here in the quiet speak to me now
my ears are open to
Your gentle sweet whispering
break down the door, come inside
shine down Your bright light
i need a lamp for my feet, yeah i need a lamp for my feet

refrain
i want to hear the thunder of who You are
to be captured inside the wonder of who You are
i want to live i want to breathe
to search out Your heart and all of Your mysteries

You were the first and You’ll be the end
time cannot hold You down
so, why save a wretch like me?
no eye has seen, no ear has heard
no heart could fully know
all of Your mystery

Your glory burns in the stars
shine down your light let it burn in my heart
bring me to glory, bring me to You
Lord it’s your heart that i will hold onto

Your glory burns in the stars
shine down Your light let me know who You are
Jesus, Your glory burns in the stars
shine down Your light, let me see You, let me see You

mystery
phil wickham

Paul cries out in Philippians "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him!"

and the Psalmist in Psalm 27 sings, "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to meditate in His temple."

O, that i, too, might KNOW Him. not simply facts and head knowledge. But a true relationship with Him. An intimate knowledge of Him. Based in truth and pervading and invading every area of my life and being. I have seen His mystery and I want to dive deeper into it. O, that my passion might be single: Christ and all He is. that i might be focused on seeking His presence, His throne, His temple. Meditating on who He is and who I was and who I am because of Him and all He has done for ......me? yes...He loves me that much! why should i not seek Him? why do i not more passionately seek and pursue Him?

"just as I have loved you"

getting ready for sunday school tomorrow. we're going to talk about Christ washing the disciples feet, and the fact that as He was washing He already knew that they would all flee, Peter would deny Him and Judas would betray Him. Yet...He washed their feet anyway. He truly loved them "to the highest degree." (John 13:1)

I love Everybodyduck's lyrics. Here's one of their songs:

Hindsight
I remember when You kneeled to wash our feet that night
though I resisted, You explained it had to be
as an example of how we should serve each other
but as You gently cleansed my feet what did You see?

it seems like yesterday we all sat there together
and each word You said stirred fire in my soul
vowing i'd be Your most faithful man, come sun or stormy weather
but as You smiled at me then You must have known

chorus:
as You gently poured the water
You heard me say i never knew You
as You wiped away the dust
You saw me hide beneath the lie
as You anointed me with oil
you must have know i wouldn't stay
You washed my feet, so i could walk away

looking back i can't imagine how You did it
i could not have show such love if i had known
that this man whose feet i washed
would soon deny that he had known me
still You humbly served Your servant,
now that love cuts to the bone

because i promised that i never would deny You
i said that i would rather die than curse Your name
and all along You loved me though You knew
they were shallow empty words
and now each time my feet are washed,
it just reminds me of my shame

(chorus)

how could You love me?
why did You love me?

now for the first time
i can finally see things clearly
You gave love and asked for nothing in return
so now I pledge my life to loving others
just like You loved me
oh how the memories of that night
You washed my feet have set me free

(chorus)
--

Jesus had told Peter that he wouldn't understand what He was doing until later (John 13:7). And in John 13:34-35 Jesus said "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Wow. That's tough. To love "just as [Christ] loved [us]"?! ...Jesus showed love to all the disciples even though He knew they would all scatter (Matthew 26:31). Jesus showed love to Peter when He knew Peter would deny Him (Matt. 26:33-35). He showed love to Judas even when He knew he would betray Him for the price of a slave! (cf. Matt 26:14-16 and Exodus 21:32)

It's hard to love that way. But that's what Christ has called us to. (But, take heart! He also gives us the strength we need: Phil. 2:12-13 and Eph. 3:20-21.)

ex nihilo

(that means "out of nothing" in Latin)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was formless and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

~Genesis 1:1-5

I'm reading a book right now called "More Than Meets the Eye" by Richard A. Swenson. It looks at God's creation from a scientific/medical standpoint. In the intro the author writes, "As you read, it is my hope that you will be fascinated by the science, and captivated by the Designer who stands behind it all."

Later, speaking of that Designer, he says, "He spoke the universe into existence. Nothingness obeys His voice."

That caught my attention.

"Nothingness obeys His voice." Because, what was there before God created it? Nothing. Nothingness.

I have been awed along with the disciples when they asked, "Who is this that even the wind and waves obey His voice?" And that is, truly, awesome. But...even nothingness obeys His voice. We can build and design and construct with the material things that God provides us. These things obey our desires, thoughts and words to an extent. But nothingness...we can't even comprehend what nothingness is. I try to picture nothingness and I picture blackness. Blackness isn't nothingness...it's blackness.

We can't comprehend it...and as far as I know "nothingness" technically doesn't exist. Yet it obeys His voice. That's what was there before creation: nothingness. And He spoke to the nothingness and it obeyed His voice and became somethingness. Then it was formless and void...and He spoke again and created light and darkness, waters, heavens, land and seas, plants and trees, stars moon and sun, living creatures that fly swim and run, and last He made man.

Nothingness...obeys His voice.

I'm captivated by the Designer who stands behind that!

affluent

don't know exactly when i wrote this one. the file date says "date modified 6/8/2001"...

affluent, I wish I was
with words to express my heart
the feelings I feel
the thoughts I think

so much time passed
just a few days gone by
so many events
so many happenings
merely a memory ago

new friends, found a year ago
seem so old, as if friends for life.
new possessions, acquired recently
so soon become a part of me.

what have I learned?
what is it worth?
so much new knowledge augments my mind
but do I apply it after such a long time?

odds and ends of cryptic events
now seen in a fuller light.
pieces of my puzzle,
God prudently assembles.

it's all a blur,
nothing seems clear.
but life-changing memories have shown,
God makes all things beautiful, in His time.

I remember that I wrote it after one year in college. Ah, yes, I'm remembering it now. It was after my sophomore year. I can picture my dorm room. Almost completely emptied out. I lived in an apartment-like dorm with 4 other guys, most of whom had already left after the school year. I was very nostalgic...sitting in the room thinking about the past year...i could recall so easily the day i moved in and the first few weeks getting to know everyone. yet at the same time i could recall so many many memories from throughout the year that made it seem like such a long time. isn't it funny how time can seem so long, yet so short?

at the end of it all you can look back and see how God worked through it all, worked every part to fit together, to prudently fit them together, and to be true to His promise that He will work all things together to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

no right

...this is "Part the Second"...well this is it in its infant stages. the idea I want to share has to do with the following quote, Romans 12 and a sermon and some events that happened while I was down south at the Shepherd's Conference. this quote has taken me a long time to chew on and really grasp (and really even want to do such things myself), so i'll give this part to you so you can chew on this quote and then I'll update this post in the (hopefully near) future.

[warning: this convicted me, it might convict you as well.]

"I have this day solemnly renewed my baptismal covenant and self-dedication, which I renewed when I was received into the communion of the church. I have been before God; and have given myself, all that I am and have to God, so that I am not in any respect my own: I can challenge no right in myself, I can challenge no right in this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me; neither have I any right to this body, or any of its members: no right to this tongue, these hands, nor feet: no right to these senses, these eyes, these ears, this smell or taste. I have given myself clear away, and have not retained any thing as my own. I have been to God this morning, and told Him that I gave myself wholly to Him. I have given every power to Him; so that for the future I will challenge no right in myself, in any respect."

~Jonathan Edwards

a lesson from 3500 years ago

I had a professor in Israel who loved studying the biographies and stories of godly men. He lead a weekly guys' morning Bible study and took us through studies on godly men of Scripture. One of those studies focused on Joseph. I'm working on reading through the Bible again this year and tonight I read about Joseph being sold to Potiphar, being unjustly accused by Potiphar's wife, and his following time in prison.

I've thought about and been taught about Joseph's moral integrity during the time while he was being tempted by Potiphar's wife. And I've thought about and been taught about how God blessed him in Potiphar's house and in the prison because of his faithfulness to the Lord. But just tonight as I was reading it struck me...Scripture has a way of doing that. Hebrews 4:12 tells us that Scripture is indeed "living and active...it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Scripture is able to speak straight to our hearts. Its amazing how God uses it to speak to us no matter how familiar we may be with the passage.

It struck me...how much I see other people's lives...and I want their life. Because their life seems to be perfectly in line and together. They seem to have it easy. A good job, or maybe they're retired, and they don't have hard work to do. They have all they need and they don't struggle in fulfilling their job or they don't need to worry about finances, they have a nice car and a house. They don't have the worries that I have. Their life is so much easier than mine. If I only had their life, THEN I would be able to serve God better. THEN I could spend more time with Him. THEN I would really live for Him because I wouldn't be distracted by all these things. I wouldn't have a hard life and I would be able to focus on Him and have a better attitude about life in general.

But it struck me...look at Joseph's life! His brothers hated him and wanted to kill him! Instead they SOLD him into the slave trade and convinced his father he was dead. He was sold to Potiphar and had to live in a foreign country and didn't know if he would EVER make it home again, or see his father again. Then he gets somewhat comfortable as he is promoted to basically rule Potiphar's house (but still he's a slave in a foreign country and doesn't know if he'll see his family again). When he gets to that point his owner's wife falsely accuses him of adultery and he is thrown into prison! Prison wasn't nice back then! So what does he do? Complain that his life is horrible? Complain and ask God why He put him there? Compare his life to Potiphar's life and complain and be frustrated? No way. Joseph is faithful. Joseph continues to work hard and to do his work for the LORD. Look at Genesis 39:23, "The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed." When does God give success? When we acknowledge Him in all our ways He makes our paths straight (Prov. 3:6). When we delight ourselves in Him, He gives us the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4). Joseph was doing things with the right attitude. He was living for God and serving Him. He was acknowledging God in all things, and delighting himself in God.

I noticed in Gen. 40:8 that Joseph's focus was on God and not on himself. The baker and the cupbearer have dreams and are troubled because they do not have an interpreter to tell them the meanings of their dreams. Joseph responds but he doesn't say, "Well, tell them to me and maybe I can interpret them." No, his focus is not on himself and what he can do. Rather, it is on God. His faith is in God's omniscience (God knows everything!) and His ability to reveal the interpretation to Joseph. Joseph must have had a close relationship with God even through this time. His response is, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me."

In the margin of my Bible I wrote, "your life is easier than joseph's was...look how he handled it."

peace

I know how to have peace. You follow God's Word. Sounds somewhat elementary...but the Holy Spirit cleared away the fog for me the other day. I have Philippians 4:4-7 memorized, but that doesn't mean I understand it.

The other day I was getting ready for work and I was not at peace, so I started quoting those verses to myself over and over again...

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It helped to quote it over and over again, but it didn't give me complete peace. I started to mull it over in my head and meditate on what these verses meant...and I began to realize just how essential were EACH one of the things mentioned in order to obtain the final result: "the peace of God, which suprasses all comprehension [guarding] your hearts and minds"...

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"...in order to obtain perfect peace you must be rejoicing in the Lord. Rejoicing because of the issue that is causing you to be anxious? No, rejoicing IN it. Rejoice during it. Rejoice at all times. why? well...what's going to cause us to rejoice? when we know who God is and what He has done. I'm a wretched and filthy sinner, "But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved [me], even when [I was] dead in [my] transgressions, made [me] alive together with Christ..." (Eph 2:4-5)! God created the heavens and the earth and "[His] eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in [His] book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." (Psalm 139:16) When I understand these truths, how can I not rejoice in who God is and what He has done? And, when I understand truths like these I realize who I am in Christ and that begins to bring me peace...but there are still more pieces...

"Let your gentle spirit be made known to all..." We need to have a gentle spirit, as opposed to an irritable or easily angered spirit. How can we have peace when we are irritable? Relax, God is in control, not you.

"The Lord is near"! What a comforting truth! Our God is not far off! He is very near. He hears us when we call! (Jer. 23:23-24)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication..." A while ago I was studying this passage and I didn't know what 'supplication' was, so I looked it up. Basically it conveys the idea that we need to come to the Lord as a dry, parched ground desires the rain. We need to come to Him destitute. ...if we come to Him with the attitude of "God, I need some help here. Can you give me a hand? I've kinda got this figured out I just need a little help." Then we aren't coming to Him with the right attitude and we aren't going to obtain that peace. Because the truth is that we are worthless on our own and until we give it ALL to Him, we won't be able to obtain peace.

"let your requests be made known to God" ACT! we need to act! we can't just sit around and hope we will obtain peace. we need to do something about it. bring it to God. ...how can we have peace if we don't bring our needs to God and lay them at His feet? if we just keep our struggles to ourselves...we are never going to be able to solve them on our own.

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds..." this is what we desire. The peace of God. But don't forget the last part.

"...in Christ Jesus." don't miss this part, don't just let your eyes pass over those words. without the truth these three words communicate, none of the rest of this passage would be worth anything. without Christ Jesus and what He did, we would have no basis for rejoicing (see 1 Cor. 15:12-19). without Christ and what He did for us we would be eternally separated from God (Rom. 3:21-26). without Christ and what He did we would not be able to "let [our] requests be made known to God" (Heb. 4:14-16). we must place our faith and trust in Christ Jesus and what He did on the cross. without that, we will never be able to have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guarding our hearts and our minds.

but with it, peace is near.

see also this entry

haiti, m'ap vini!

that means "Haiti, I'm coming" (at least I think i got that right).

I'm going to Haiti in 2 days to visit my sister! I'm so excited! I get to see the place she calls "home", Three Angel's Orphanage. If you haven't looked at her blog you need to: http://angelainhaiti.blogspot.com/ and the blog for the orphanage is great too! http://threeangelshaiti.blogspot.com/ And, of course the website for the orphanage itself: http://www.threeangelshaiti.org/ (Note: if you have ever considered adoption, or even if you never have, your heart will be strongly tugged by the pictures, stories, and videos that can be seen on the aforementioned webpages. A very high percentage of people who have viewed these webpages have strongly desired to adopt one or all of them!)

My sister's favorite verse is James 1:27 which says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." This is what my sister is doing! She is "visiting" and caring for and providing for orphans, "the least of these" (and also the cutest of these).

Please pray for my trip, I hope to post pictures upon my return.

101

I wish I had (maybe I should say "made") more time to read. I love to read and gain insights and shape my worldview, beliefs, understanding and gain knowledge that will hopefully form into wisdom.

At the church I am part of we have men's Bible study on Friday mornings. We are currently going through the Workbook to "Twelve Ordinary Men" by John MacArthur. It's a great workbook. It's kinda funny though 'cause I could get along fine if I didn't bring my workbook because Pastor Bob leads it (even though the men in the study take turns "leading" each page in the workbook...Pastor Bob is just so excited about and knowledgeable of the Scriptures that he ends up leading) and we make it through about three discussion questions each time. I find that we're not really talking about the book, we just use the questions in the workbook as springboards into discussion lead by Pastor Bob.

So even though PB gets upset at us when we don't have anything written down for the answers to the questions, I've decided to take the time to actually read the book "Twelve Ordinary Men" (what a concept!) instead of answer the questions in the workbook. I find it profitable since we discuss the workbook anyway, and I, otherwise, wouldn't make the time to read the book.

It's a great book! I'm only in chapter one 'cause I only got this bright idea three weeks ago and I only read it on Thursday nights (and chapter one is 21 pages long...the intro was 8 pages itself)...anyway, enough excuses for my slow reading...let's get to what I really started to write this entry about--

In the first chapter of this book MacArthur is arguing for the "ordinariness" of the 12 apostles. It's so true, yet historically the church has raised these men up on pedestals and memorialized them in marble sculptures. While reading his arguments I realized that by treating the apostles as uncommon, amazing men who are far superior to us, we excuse ourselves from having to live up to what they did.

MacArthur quotes 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 which says, "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." And he points out that the apostles were not from among the religious elite of the time. There were no scribes, no pharisees, no sadducees, no rabbis, no one of the sort. These were ordinary men so that when they did extraordinary things they would not get the credit. Christ, the power behind them, would get the credit.

This is in contradiction to the way the world works (if anyone from Phase 2 is reading this..."Do Not Conform!" or if you remember H206 "Stand Defiant!"). The people of the world desire the fame and glory for themselves. After explaining this MacArthur goes on to say:

"With the notable exception of Judas Iscariot, these men were not like that. They certainly struggled with pride and arrogance like every fallen human being. But the driving passion of their lives became the glory of Christ. And it was that passion, subjected to the influence of the Holy Spirit--not any innate skill or human talent--that explains why they left such an indelible impact on the world." [emphasis mine]

Do I desire to make an indelible impact on the world? Do you desire to make an indelible impact on the world? What, then, should be our passion? Our passion should be the glory of Christ.

Oh God, give me this passion: to glorify Christ, all that He has done, all that He is. May He be the one I desire to magnify, not myself. Help me not to conform to the pattern of this world. Help me to stand defiant against the trends of modern culture which encourages me to focus on myself. Help me instead to focus on Christ in all I do.

...its a high calling...but the ordinary apostles did it. So...so can I.

functional atheist

I enjoy the blogging world. There's a lot of insight, encouragement and knowledge to be gained.

I was just looking through my ever-growing bookmarks of blogs and I saw a title on Joshua Harris' blog that caught my attention: Do Not Be Wise In Your Own Eyes. It caught my attention because in Phase 2 (the High School ministry at OEFC) I have been preaching through Romans. We are now in Romans 12 and I just preached on Romans 12:3 which says, "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." I also went to verse 16: "Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation." (NASB) . We talked about pride and not being wise in our own eyes, so I wanted to see what Josh had to say on this subject.

As I was reading through his post a term he used caught my attention. He said, "When my view of Him is clouded, when I’m a functional atheist, I will trust and applaud my own wisdom."

I don't think I've ever heard that term before but it makes complete sense. Am I a functional atheist? Are you a functional atheist?

A "functional" atheist wouldn't be a true atheist. A true atheist would deny the existence of any supernatural power whenever you asked him. But a "functional" atheist would acknowledge the existence of God and possibly even realize the need to submit to His will, but, by his lifestyle he would functionally be an atheist: you wouldn't be able to tell by his actions and attitudes that he believed in God and admitted the need to follow Him.

Are you a functional atheist? Do you believe in God and even confess that you should follow Him, but do not live this out in your daily life? Does your verbal assent have a noticeable effect on your moment by moment decisions, actions and attitudes?

The Mighty Magnet

Our Associate Pastor shared this quote with me today (he heads up evangelism training at our church):

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.~John 12:32

Come, ye workers, be encouraged. You fear that you cannot draw a congregation. Try the preaching of a crucified, risen, and ascended Savior; for this is the greatest "draw" that was ever yet manifested among men. What drew you to Christ but Christ? What draws you to Him now but His own blessed self? If you have been drawn to religion by anything else, you will soon be drawn away from it; but Jesus has held you and will hold you even to the end. Why, then, doubt His power to draw other? Go with the name of Jesus to those who have hitherto been stubborn and see if it does not draw them.~C. H. Spurgeon