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What About My Job?

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

What does my job have to do with Christ?  Some Christians seem to think that they have to waste 40 hours a week working.  Ministry is important; work is just necessary.  Of course many non-Christians think they have to waste 40 hours a week working so they can afford to party all weekend.  Many Christians might feel the same – though they may “party” in different ways.  But is work really just a necessity?  What if our job is a calling from God?  What if we were created to work?  What if we can glorify God in our work?  And what if the Bible can practically change the way we approach work next Monday morning?

A couple of weeks ago, Bob Thune addressed these issues and more in a four part series.  Each part is well worth your consideration; together they may change your entire approach to your work:

What Are You Called To Do? A Theology of Work

Created For Work

Work Cursed and Redeemed

A Theology for Monday Morning

Creation, Fall, Redemption

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

Last week my family went to Kentucky on vacation.  I planned to blog, but then didn’t find the time.  Oh well.  Anyway, as I thought about our vacation, it seemed to me that it reflected the Biblical paradigm of Creation, Fall, and Redemption.

Creation

In the beginning, God created this world.  I was reminded of this as we started our vacation at the Creation Museum.  The theme continued as we enjoyed various parts of God’s creation – Mammoth Cave, Cumberland Falls, Cumberland Gap, and numerous rock formations around Red River Gorge.  God made a beautiful creation that reflects his own greater beauty.

Near Cumberland Gap

Fall

Adam and Eve sinned against God plunging our world into sin, violence, suffering, and death.  I was reminded of this at the Creation Museum, and then as we toured a Civil War museum.  I was reminded of the Fall as I watched the news during breakfast each morning at the various hotels – whether it was stories about fighting in Libya, or a recent murder, or the perverted shows of popular pop singers.  We have truly made a wreck of our world.

The Serpent tempting Adam and Eve at the Creation Museum

Redemption

Christ came to redeem our fallen world and save a fallen people.  I was reminded of this too as we toured the Creation Museum, and as we listen to the Gospel of Mark on our way home.  God has not left us to perish, but came to save us.  This is good news indeed!

Greek New Testament that speaks of our redemption in Christ

Creation, Fall, Redemption.  This is the Biblical story.  And I saw various shades of it last week as we wandered around Kentucky.  In some following posts, I want to illustrate various Scriptures related to these themes using more pictures from our vacation.

Reflections on the Hell Issue

On By BrianIn Uncategorized3 Comments

As I have been reading about the hell controversy (see last post), I have been doing some reflecting on some of the issues related to this issue.   Here are a few thoughts:

The Centrality of the Gospel

Christ’s church disagrees on a lot of issues.  Even in my local church, there are different convictions on numerous things – from tithing to translations to issues of divorce and remarriage, and on the list could go.  So who cares if Rob Bell has a different view about hell?  Why the big fuss?  The answer is the centrality of the gospel.  No one is going to go to hell if they get tithing wrong.  But if we get the gospel wrong, we are in a lot of trouble.  The gospel is the core of what the church believes.  God, Christ, and salvation, are all tied to this issue of hell – and to the gospel.  As his book redefines the gospel, it is a big deal.  While there is room to disagree on minor issues, we must hold fast to the basic truths of the Christian Faith as taught in the Scriptures and held by the Church for the last 2000 years.

A Passion for God and Compassion for People

I sometimes struggle with what I should include in this blog.  It does after all have a theme – does this discussion even fit?  I think it does.  A passion for God includes a passion for his truth.  And compassion for people means warning people that a bestselling author they might read will teach them things that could lead them astray.  Compassion for people means not only warning of error, but then also reminding them of the truth.  That is what I sought to do in the last post.

The Need to Preach Hell

As a pastor, I don’t preach hell much.  Not many pastors I’ve heard do.  I wonder how many Christians are simply unprepared to address this issue, to think Biblically about it because they have not been taught about it.  How many might be led astray by this book because we have failed to preach an uncomfortable truth?  And if we really have compassion for people, shouldn’t we warn them of the reality of hell, and the certainty that they will go there apart from Christ?  Jared Wilson discusses this further, and Ligon Duncan has some suggestions on how pastors can do it.

True Humility on Hell

It is common for certain Christians to argue that humility calls us to  approach our convictions tentatively, to recognize that we could be wrong, to hold nothing definitively as truth.  That allows them to question everything and hold to not much of anything.  But God has spoken in his Word, giving us answers, giving us truth to believe.  Humility in this case requires us to bow the knee to his revelation, to hold to his truth.  There is nothing particularly humble about refusing to hold firm to what God has clearly taught.

Is God or Man Primary?

It seems to me that one of our hangups on the issue of hell is this question of who is primary.  If man is primary, then how dare God send us to hell!  How dare God punish us!  Who does he think he is?  But what if God is primary?  What if God made me and hence can do whatever he pleases with me?  What if God is holy and we have sinned against him?  What if God is glorious and our sin is a gigantic offense against his glory?  What if God is just and will punish sin?  If God is primary and Creator and holy and glorious and just, then hell begins to make sense.  We don’t like it.  It eats at our pride.  It offends our attempted godhood.  But we don’t have to like it.  We just need to recognize that God says hell is a reality.  We just need to receive Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf.  We just need to give thanks to God that through Jesus we can be spared.  We just need to go forth and tell others the good news that they too can find salvation in Jesus.

For further thoughts on this controversy, check out some interesting posts from Kevin DeYoung, Trevin Wax, and Tim Challies.

What About Hell?

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

On Sunday mornings, our church has been working our way through Luke 13-14.  In Luke 13, Jesus tells us: “Strive to enter through the narrow door” (v24).  Jesus goes on to tell us that a time will come when the door will be shut (v25).   People will want to enter but won’t be able to do so (v25-27).  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when they see others inside the kingdom, but they themselves cast out (v28).  In Luke 14, Jesus tells the story of a man who invites many people to a banquet, but the people make excuses not to come (v15-24).  The point of course is that Jesus invites us to enter the kingdom, but many people make excuses for not doing so.  The passage ends with these sobering words, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited [but made excuses] shall taste my banquet” (v24).  If you refuse to enter the kingdom, you will be locked out.

From these two passages alone, comes a pretty clear picture of hell.  Hell is to be cast out of the kingdom.  It is place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.  And the time to escape is very limited.  Once shut out, it will be too late.

Enter Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins.  The promotional video questions the picture of hell Jesus gives us in Luke 13-14.  It suggests, without ever stating it definitively, that what Jesus teaches in Luke 13-14 (and numerous other passages) is simply wrong, that God is too loving to leave people in hell.  And with that, the blogosphere exploded.  Worth visiting is Mike Wittmer’s post which has Bell’s promo video, plus a creative  and compelling response.

There are now several reviews of Bell’s new book worth considering by:

Kevin DeYoung

Albert Mohler

Mark Galli

Tim Challies

Russell Moore

What these reviews suggest is that while Bell is hard to pin down, he at least wants to open the possibility that all will be saved.  Even more disconcerting are his views of the atonement, Christ, and God Himself.  As one reviewer suggests, Bell is essentially gives us liberal theology for the 21st century.  I’ll leave you to read the reviews if you want to for all the details.  What I want to do in the rest of this post is provide some helpful links to help us explore the doctrine of hell further.

First, Collin Hansen gives us some helpful background in a three-part  interview with Christopher Morgan:

Toward A Better Understanding of Hell

Relating To Other Religions

What About Those Who Haven’t Heard?

Second, with that background, you might consider some helpful reflections on the issue:

Why Hell Is Forever – Russell Moore

Hell and Forgiveness – Chris Brauns

What Is Universalism? – J. I. Packer

Helpful Questions About Hell – J. I. Packer

How Do God’s Love and God’s Wrath Relate – D. A. Carson

God and Earthquakes

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

On March 11, Japan was hit with a massive eathquake.  Such a disaster raises many questions.  Did God merely allow the earthquake or was he behind it?  And either way, why did he allow or cause it?   What can we learn from all this?  How should we respond?  How should we pray?  John Piper shares some wise answers to these questions.

Easter Outreach

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Thought I would pass on an outreach resource for this coming Easter.  Two years ago, Crossway put together Christmas packets that included a New Testament, tract, customizable invitation, and bag.  Our church used them this past Christmas, adding some home made cookies and going through our small town caroling.  We also encouraged church families to deliver them to their neighbors or co-workers.

Crossway now has Easter packets with the same components plus an audio New Testament CD.  Our church is planning to hand them out to neighbors around the church, as well as to families that come to our annual kids Easter Egg Hunt.  If you are interested, you can find out more info here.

KJV 400th Anniversary

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The King James Version of the Bible turns 400 this year.  It has had a huge impact on the English language and the English world.  It has also had a large impact on many newer English translations including the New King James Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the English Standard Version.  Want to learn more?  You can sign up to receive a free copy of Christian History magazine’s upcoming issue on the KJV.  I’m looking forward to reading it.  Deadline to reserve your free copy is February 14.