How Lost is Man? - Remember the Titanic "1500+ LOST at Sea"

There is a certain finality to the word lost in the biblical theology of the lostness of humanity that seems to reach deep beyond some of the common conceptions of what it means to "get lost" or to "be lost in the wilderness". It is much more of a sense of the term lost in "lost at sea", such as in the meaning of 1500 plus lives lost at sea in the sinking of the Titanic. This is evidenced by passages like Ephesians 2: " you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked." DEAD. That means it takes a miracle, a resurrection, a new birth, something only God can do for us to be un-lost in the biblical teaching of the phrase. We are the walking dead prior to salvation, prior to a regeneration of our spiritually dead and unable to respond selves that can only be accomplished by the wind of the Spirit blowing where it wishes and resurrecting the shriveled up dry bones of a spiritual being that is left, putting flesh and blood and life back into our spiritual being.

So What?

This biblical perspective on the lostness of man is crucial if we are to think rightly about our evangelism. But it must be paired with the biblical truth about the means God uses whereby the spiritually dead are raised to life. Romans 10 discusses this. "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." God has ordained that it be through His Church, the body of Christ, that the Word of God, the gospel, go out to men, and that hearing the Word is the means the Holy Spirit uses to bring about the re-birth. This means that if a man is to be saved, a man will be sent to share the Word with him. God will accomplish this, from start to finish, and it is our distinct privilege to be used of God for his great purposes. 

But what about...

One common objective to God's sovereignty in salvation is that it removes the motivation for us to go preach the gospel because, after all, God will accomplish salvation for those whom He has chosen no matter what right? Yes, He will. He will give a more faithful servant to His commands the privilege of sharing the gospel with the person whom He's chosen. The one who misunderstands God's sovereignty, thinking it removes the responsibility of His people to obey His commands to preach the gospel will miss out on the privilege it is to be the ambassador of Christ whose job is to share the best news that could ever be given to man who is lost in their sin. 

Actually...

If anything, the fact that man is lost (dead) without God's salvation and that God is sovereign over this regeneration of lost people should give us a greater drive to share the gospel. After all, that means we cannot screw it up. Don't mistake this for an excuse to do a crummy job and wimp out on a robust and full preaching of the whole counsel of God. Just remember that we are guaranteed success in what God intended the Word coming out of our mouths to accomplish. As Isaiah 55:10-11 says: "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Preach the Word!

So we can go forth in confidence, understanding that there is no higher calling than to be the ambassador of the Most High King Jesus, sent into this foreign land to declare the coming of our king, His wondrous salvation, and that His glorious hand is not shortened to save. His Spirit guarantees that as the Word goes out it will accomplish exactly what it was purposed to accomplish, for His glory and the good of His people. Soli Deo Gloria, to God alone be all the glory!

Regarding the Christian's Response to the Election Results...

I must admit, I have been a bit discouraged by some of the response by Christians to the results of the election this past week. I see some clear lack of trust in what God has ordained, and some very poor attitudes toward those who don't know Christ in our nation. I suggest we turn inward a bit more and look within the church a bit for a healthy evaluation of why our nation's sinfulness is as prevalent and overt as it has become. In response to what I've seen expressed by Christians today (much distress, anger, and speculation of consequences of the election outcome), I submit the following perspective that I hope will encourage a more helpful and Biblical response:

First, addressing the lack of trust I've seen. Let us not forget to praise God that He is already on the throne, reigning and governing the nations as He pleases. As I posted on my Facebook last night before the election was over:

"Rest in the following two thoughts on this election day, God has a plan and purpose and is in control:

Daniel 2:21 - He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;

There is no attribute of God more comforting to His children than the doctrine of Divine Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe troubles, they believe that Sovereignty hath ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all. - Charles Spurgeon"

Second, addressing the poor attitudes toward those who don't know Christ. Our country deserves every bit of what it gets in times to come unfortunately. The church is much to blame. We can't expect unbelievers to act any other way than they are; dead in their sins. And we need to actually hold those that claim to be Christians accountable to live out Biblical truth. The church needs to be cleansed of all the play actors, Christian in their claim and outward appearance only, so that it can truly be the salt and light for a nation desperately in need of the truth. 

Those who are true Christians need to be bold to call the church to believe a truly Biblical worldview so that the next generation of believers will actually live out their faith in all areas. As we see in the OT prophets, Israel was intended to be a light and positive influence on the nations around them and when they didn't live that out they were judged severely (captivity, the destruction of Jerusalem, the fall of the nation as a separate political entity, etc). We (the church) have failed on the whole in America to be God's witnesses, the salt has lost its savor, the light is being hidden, not by the darkness around us but by our being ashamed of it and covering it up. 

Let's pray that the church would become again what it is intended to be and quit pointing our fingers outward at those that "don't know their right hand from their left" (Jonah 4:11). When people are dead in sin and not born again into new life in Christ they will only act that out because it is their nature. And obviously that is the majority in our country at the moment. So often I think we pity the plant and not Ninevah, while at the same time complaining that animal rights seem to get more attention than human rights. And Jesus cries "Hypocrites!"

As Christ said, "In this world you will have many troubles. But fear not, I have overcome the world." Let us rest in Christ, examine ourselves, and get out there to be the salt and light we are called to be for the sake of the gospel's transforming work in people to the glory and praise of God!

Praise God for John Stott's Life and Legacy

Few men stand out as having made an immense impact for the kingdom of God here on earth. They are called shephards, ministers of the Gospel, pastors, missionaries, teachers, authors, men of God. In all these cases, they are gifts from the bridegroom to His bride, the church. One such man was John Stott. God gifted this man in so many ways and the impact of his books and ministry will impact the church well into the future. So join me in praising God for the life of John Stott and the gift he has been to the church!

Check out the links below for other interesting things about Stott:

http://johnstott.org/

http://www.challies.com/articles/john-stott-1921-2011

Part 2 - Busyness: To Whom Be All The Glory?

“I’m too busy.” “I have so much to do.” “I don’t have any time.” Busyness: The excuse, the oppressor, the enemy, the distraction, or the freedom and gift. “Freedom and gift?” you say. “I understand the first four, but freedom and gift? Really???!!!”

Yes, the freedom and gift of busyness. You see, our trouble with the concept of busyness is not simply the fact that we’re busy. The problem is that we are misguided in what we are busy with. In America, we busy ourselves with things that oppress, things that wear on us and weigh us down. We busy ourselves with things that have no lasting value, no ultimate worth. We serve the almighty schedule, planner, and bank account. The calendar stands over us as an enemy that we cannot escape, a prison if you will. The rewards we accumulate for this type of busyness never last, never satisfy. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

If we only would busy ourselves with the correct things, then we would be able to enjoy the freedom and gift of busyness. God’s Word shares with us many things we should be busy with. It says to pray without ceasing, meditate on His Word day and night, seek to know God and draw near to Him, keep watch for His return, share the gospel, guard our hearts and minds, live in community as the Bride of Christ, glorify God in all you do, and to seek to store up treasures in Heaven rather than on earth.

Freedom of Rightly Guided Busyness

If our focus were more in the proper place and we would be busy going about these things as well as the other things God has called us to (this certainly isn’t a complete list), we would experience the freedom of serving God and walking with Him. That’s right: freedom to serve, another of the seeming paradoxes we see in Scripture. The song by Bob Dylan puts it succinctly: “you’re gonna’ have to serve somebody.” This is not an endorsement, just a clear statement of something true. We indeed are gonna’ serve somebody. Scripture tells us we are slaves to sin outside of Christ. Regardless of what we are slaves to, we will be under God’s authority no matter what we do.

Most of us are slaves to success, money, our careers, the pursuit of happiness and/or satisfaction of lusts, or to the other sins that so beset us here on this earth. But if you’re a Christian, it is these very things that Christ has freed us from. We are now free to serve Him who is the only source of any form of true success or happiness. We will serve somebody, so it is advantageous for us to serve the one who is the all powerful source of all things, the perfectly just and perfectly righteous master, the only one with the authority to give and take away, and who Himself is the greatest gift that could ever be given.

Gift of Rightly Guided Busyness

As I pondered the things that the Bible commands us to busy ourselves with, I couldn’t help but think: “What would happen in my life if I spent more time keeping busy with these things that God has commanded me to be busy with?” I realized that by telling us to be busy doing these particular things, God was actually giving us the gift of Himself. He tells us to do these things because the result is a return to the original intended order: we would know God personally, have an ongoing relationship with Him, and be able to accomplish what He created us for; to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. What a fabulous gift!

We must ask God to correct our near-sightedness. Our problem is that we cannot see past the here and now. We cannot see the value of the long term and how it will be impacted by what we are currently doing. We seek instant gratification and satisfaction rather than putting in some work to reap far greater gratification and satisfaction in the future. As Scripture tells us, our earthly life is a vapor, a mere breath, here today, gone tomorrow.

In conclusion, busyness in and of itself is not a problem. We are not called to be lazy. But the things we are busy with are a litmus test, so to speak, of what is important to you. When the things we busy ourselves with are balanced rightly, we will be growing in our relationship with God, glorifying Him in our workplace, homes, and churches, and stewarding all the resources that God has graciously given us in a way that honors and glorifies Him. When this correct balance happens, we will also be experiencing the freedom of serving God and the gift of His surpassing value and the joy it produces.

I sincerely long for the church to experience the joy and freedom that we are called to and I write this as Paul did to the Corinthians “for your joy”. To God be all the glory!

Busyness: To Whom Be All The Glory?

b

I recently had a conversation with a student from Haiti that is studying here in the states where he said essentially the following: ‘Americans are so busy, rushing from place to place, always hurrying at a dizzying pace. Why don’t you slow down and take time to serve God more often? Why don’t churches get together more than once a week on Sunday morning in America? Where is there room for serving one another and bearing one another’s burdens and follow all the commands we are given in Scripture about the things the Church should be doing for one another and the community?’

This conversation really got me thinking. Why do we lock ourselves in this prison of busyness? I began to think about the reasons we hurry about as if we are out of our minds half the time. The list of pursuits that keep us busy and rushing about seems to be summed up best as follows: Money, happiness, and self fulfillment (and out of these spring career, success, our own glorification, possessions,  luxuries, pleasure, and pretty much all other pursuits).

We are caught in a pit that we ourselves are digging. The church is as guilty of this as the secular world. We have 400 people in our church and 10 of them have significant roles in serving the church and reaching out to the community because everyone else is too busy. O.K. so maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but not as much a one as we might deceive ourselves into thinking. We’ve bought the lies of the world and not only are we miserable in our busy pursuit of the things of this world, we are robbing God of glory by saying in effect “yes, you have it right secular world, the one who dies with the most toys really does win.”

We spit on the cross by denying its transforming power in our lives and the surpassing worth of following and serving Christ. We might say “Lord, you are the most valuable thing, the only thing that truly matters” on Sunday morning in church, but our lives speak that everything but Him is worth everything to us during the remainder of the week. It’s no wonder people don’t hear what we are saying; our actions drown out the words we are speaking and kill our witness. How is the secular world supposed to see Christ as supremely valuable if the people claiming to be the people of God aren’t living in a way that shows they really believe He’s supremely valuable?

In the next post, I’m going to delve into this topic further, but I want to focus on redeeming busyness for us. I don’t think it’s busyness in and of itself that is the problem. No, I think it’s what we busy ourselves with that is the problem. Here is a taste of what’s to come in the next post:

“I’m too busy.” “I have so much to do.” “I don’t have any time.” Busyness: The excuse, the oppressor, the enemy, the distraction, or the freedom and gift. “Freedom and gift?” you say. “I understand the first four, but freedom and gift? Really???!!!”

Yes, the freedom and gift of busyness. You see, our trouble with the concept of busyness is not simply the fact that we’re busy. The problem is that we are misguided in what we are busy with. In America, we busy ourselves with things that oppress, things that wear on us and weigh us down. We busy ourselves with things that have no lasting value, no ultimate worth. We serve the almighty schedule and planner, the calendar stands over us as an enemy that we cannot escape, a prison if you will. The rewards we accumulate for busyness never last, never satisfy. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

(Picture from sovereigngraceministries.org)

Less Traveled vs. Wide Road: A Response to Rob Bell's "Love Wins"

Well, I’ve been trying to resist the urge to put my two cents in about the new book from Rob Bell, but I just couldn’t take it any longer. I am putting forth this post focused mainly on false teaching in general, but the situation with Rob Bell is probably the loudest of the most recent examples.

As I established in the title of this blog and its first post, the path less traveled is just that – less traveled. As I mentioned in my first post, Jesus said “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14.

Kind of ironic (as I’m on the topic) that the very next passage says, “Beware of false prophets that come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-16a.

And the next passage displays even further how few find the path that leads to life:

“Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never new you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23.

For the entire history of the Church, there have been countless false teachers proclaiming the way to eternal life as much wider and well traveled than it is. As Solomon points out to us, “there is nothing new under the sun.” Bell is not proclaiming a new revelation of sorts with this “love wins” business. It’s just a rewriting of the same old man-centered heresy that has plagued the Church for centuries.

For centuries, man has taken the black Sharpie highlighter to Scripture and blotted out what he doesn’t like; what doesn’t fit into his idea of who God should be. This isn’t an option as there is one true God and you can’t just mold Him into what you think your god should look like. The one true God is unchanging. The path is narrow and few find the way to eternal life.

The thing that is so serious about this type of false teaching is the number of people an influential character like Rob Bell will drag through the “wide gate” by dragging God’s just and holy name through the mud. Let’s make one thing clear here: the God of the Bible takes justice, holiness, and the glory of His name extremely seriously. We could go to passage after passage about God’s passion for His name and His punishment for Israel’s disobedience and defilement of His name.

God justly punishes those who sin against His holy name and the just punishment is eternity in Hell. Praise Him that by His grace He was pleased to provide salvation through His Son. But as we’ve seen in the Scripture we’ve looked at (and the many other passages we could), the way is narrow and it is obvious not everyone is going there. If “love wins” in the sense Rob Bell is saying it does, God is speaking to open air in Matthew 25 when He says to those on His left “Depart from me you cursed” and “these will go away into eternal punishment.” This passage, along with many others on the final judgment, allows no room for inclusivist, universalist, or whatever else you may choose to call Bell’s position.

All this being said, we must also be diligent to handle false teaching in the way the Bible has commanded us to. Let us follow the instruction of 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” So we test the teaching of a person against the very Word of God. When we examine Scripture and determine that a teacher is teaching “a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness” (1 Timothy 6:3), then we must be diligent in obeying the Word of God in Galatians:

“there are some who distort the gospel of Christ. But 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. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let them be accursed.” (Galatians 1:7-9)

We must stand for truth. The Church has been so undermined by false teachers and un-Biblical views in this age. What is popular in our culture is not what determines truth. There is one reality, one truth, and that is God, our Creator, King, Lord, and Savior.

As you may have noticed in my reading list to the right, I just finished reading the book “Christ Among the Dragons: Finding Our Way Through Cultural Challenges” by James Emery White. I want to conclude this post with a very apt quote from that book:

“…what do we mean by truth? If we, as Christians, cannot determine the answer to this question, all is lost, for the heart of our faith is the proclamation of the One who is not simply the way or the life, but the truth.”

And it is that Way, Life, and Truth that is cheapened and undermined by false teachings.

For further reading on Bell’s book, I recommend the following review of the book as he quotes from the advance reading copy of the manuscript (in other words, if you are going to respond with “you haven’t read it yet” please read this first and see direct quotes from the book that are pretty clear on where Bell stands):

Love Wins: A Review of Rob Bell's New Book

Why "the path less traveled"?

There is something inherently exciting about a path. Whether this excitement invokes a sense of fear, wonder, anticipation, or dread, there is always an excitement about it and curiosity about where this path may take you. Whatever your feelings are as you begin this journey with me, I want to share the heart behind the title and why the path that is being referred to is “the path less traveled.”

First, Jesus says in Matthew 7:14, “the way is hard that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” The path I am referring to in this blog is the very same path Jesus refers to here; the path leading to life. The only true life is found in Him and if you don’t know what that means, please visit the link “Who is Jesus Christ?” on the top right. You are not reading this by some accidental happening upon it.

For those of you who do know the path that leads to life, this will be a tour of sorts, walking the path less traveled together, observing the characteristics of this path, the twists and turns, snares and pitfalls, flora and fauna. This is crucial, for it is only through observation and acknowledgement of our surroundings and trust in the providence of the One who calls us to walk this path that we are able to do it with confidence, unhindered by obstacles that are inevitably going to come.

It is with excitement and anticipation that I begin this journey and I hope you feel the same. As we examine aspects of this path from Scripture, let us be open to the Holy Spirit’s work in each aspect of this journey. We would not set out on a difficult hike in the jungle without being equipped with the proper equipment and without the knowledge of what lies ahead. God has given us vast insight into what generally lies ahead on the path less traveled, but we don't know the particulars of what we'll be confronted with. Let us be equipped and knowledgeable so that we can serve Him fully no matter what His Sovereign hand allows to buffet us.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
.