The Slippery Slope of Same Sex Marriage

Al Mohler has and article about the latest Christian business owner who has been told by a court he must make wedding cakes for same sex couples or close up shop. Below is the situation:

Back in June, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Windsor case, ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act, passed overwhelmingly by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, was unconstitutional. Six months later, judge Robert N. Spencer, an administrative law judge in Colorado, ruled that Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Denver must serve same-sex couples by making wedding cakes, or face fines.

On a related note, a judge in Utah has struck down portions of a law that prohibit polygamy. The reason I say it is related is that the reasoning is the exact same as that which was used to by the supreme court to strike down the defense of marriage act. It is sad, but not unexpected.

The Millennial Generation and "Community"

Below is a short video of Tim Keller describing what he sees as the most encouraging and discouraging thing about the current young adult generation. The issue he mentions as both a positive and negative have to do with community and I think he is on to something. I hope it encourages and challenges you and your friends.

Selecting a University: "A plea to prospective university students [and parents]"

Here is a great article by Jeremy Walker about selecting a university to attend. 

In discussing people who select a college and then ask him if he knows of any good churches in the area he says...

What would you think of someone who told you that they had made arrangements to move to a new planet, and then asked if you knew if the atmosphere was breathable? Or that they were on their way to a new country, but they were not sure if there would be any food there that they could eat, and did you have any recommendations? You would look at them as if they were mad! Air to breathe and food to eat: surely these are your first considerations when planning such a significant step, not the questions that you worry about once the business of getting there has been accomplished!

So why is it that year after year, professing Christians students (and their parents) plan their intellectual, academic, professional or social development (or invest in the development of their offspring), and only subsequently ask whether or not their souls will receive faithful and loving care in the only environment on earth that Christ has ordained as the normal means for the lasting health of his people?

He goes on to discuss how selecting a school (or potential job) may include having a list of school/work possibilities and a list of good churches and then looking for where there is overlap. Not a bad idea (try 9marks.org church search feature to get you started in locating potentially good churches). 

He also notes that it is true that God sovereignly works through our failures and at times thwarts even our best plans. So, a lack of planning will not thwart God and all the planning in the world will not force his hand of blessing. However, God's sovereignty is never a reason to shirk the God given responsibilities of wise decision making.

In case you are wondering if Christians have to go to church, or why church is such a big deal, check out this video from Crossway:

The Conscience and Abortion

Recently, an article and a video about abortion caught my eye. In both, I sensed the fact that the American conscience is conflicted, confused, and, in some cases, seared about the issue of abortion.

1. The first is a cover story recently published in New York magazine, entitled "My Abortion," in which 26 women share their stories of having abortions.Al Mohler (president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) wrote an article about this piece and notes that,

For the advocates of abortion, these testimonies offer a clear refutation of their strategy of doing everything possible to speak constantly of a “woman’s right to choose,” while avoiding any reference to the baby. The baby refuses to disappear. When these testimonies of abortion reveal the very women who had an abortion speaking of “our baby” and noting that “the baby would now be one year old,” the moral bankruptcy of the pro-abortion argument is there for all to see. The baby refuses to leave the picture.

We see in the testomonies of these women that even as many of them affirm their choice to have an abortion, their consciences are conflicted. Why? Because if abortion ends the life of a baby our consciences cry out against it. The conflict comes in when our actions are contrary to what we know is right.

2. The second thing that caught my eye was a video of a late term abortion clinic in New Mexico (you can watch it below). A hidden camera reveals a young woman asking the abortion doctor about her baby. The doctor admits that the baby has "all it's parts" and that it would probably survive birth at this stage of development, but he or she would need a little help breathing at the hospital. She then goes on to describe the horrific process of late term abortion as if it were no big deal. Here we see a conscience that is not confused but completely seared. To say it is a baby and then speak of injecting him or her with something which stops the heart is insane. It sounds like a lethal injection without due process on a person innocent of any crimes.
 

HT: Justin Taylor

What do we take from all of this?  

As Christians we have a Savior and a gospel which cleanse even the worst sins. We have the hope of a clean conscience to offer women who have had an abortion. It isn't by telling them to ignore their sense of guilt or to keep trying to justify their actions. It is by calling them to repentance and faith in a crucified and risen Jesus.

Hebrews 9:14- how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

1 Corinthians 6:9a-10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?... And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Oh, how I pray that these abortionist doctors and women who have killed their babies will come to know the soul cleansing, hope restoring, conscience renewing power of the cross of Jesus Christ.

Free ESV Study Bible Online

Crossway is offering the ESV study Bible Online App for free from now till the end of the month! This is a very helpful resource. As young adults without much dispensable income, you should cash in on this deal now. Click here to get your free copy.

What Role Should Preferences Play in Selecting a Spouse?

It is common in our day and age, in which we have so many choices, to be paralyzed by a fear of making the wrong choice. I mean even the Iphone now comes in several different (not just two) color options. Marketers have made it their aim to appeal to as many different tastes as possible. Such is the status of modern consumerism.

It should not be surprising that in this culture we also find our preferences and tastes coming into play in the area of dating and finding a spouse. This is the cultural air we breath and so it seems normal.

God has designed us with personality and desires and these are often shaped the culture we are in. Preferences are not inherently bad or sinful (though they can be if they are unbiblical). But, I would say that the tendency in our culture is to elevate our preferences to dangerous heights and this often causes us to overlook potential godly mates.  

Recently I read a blog post by Tripp Lee on why he married a white woman (he is black). And I found him to be quite helpful. Below is an excerpt on this issue of preferences:

Jessica didn’t look like I expected my future wife to look, but honestly that didn’t matter to me. Don’t get me wrong, I thought she was beautiful from the first time I met her. And I was never opposed to marrying a white girl. I just didn’t think I would. But as I grew in my faith and my heart changed, my preferences started changing too. My main preference was that my wife be godly, and Jessica was. So I wifed her.

Never for a moment did I feel like I was settling. It feels more like settling to overlook a godly woman merely because of her ethnicity. I never wanted to value my preferences for a wife over what I needed in a wife.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with having preferences, but we have to hold them with an open hand. I know some people who overlook a potential godly spouse because they don’t fit some random preference. Some of our preferences really don’t matter that much. Some of our preferences may even be foolish, so we have to submit all of them to Scripture....

It’s OK to want things in a spouse, but we have to submit our desires to what God wants for us in a spouse. What I wanted and needed most was a godly partner, and that’s exactly what God provided. 

Why October 31, 1517 Matters

Halloween has also been called "reformation day" by many protestants, and rightly so. On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted what has come to be called the 95 theses on the Castle Church in Wittenburg. It addressed the issue of the sale of indulgences by the Roman church. It was a call to scholarly debate about the issue and nature of how God's grace is received. This was not the catalyst for the Protestant referomation and recovery of the Biblical truth of justification by faith alone, but it was an important and monumental moment.

Let's celebrate the fact that God's grace is freely given and not bought by gold or silver. 

If you don't know what indulgences are or are not familiar with the story, check out Dr. Michael Haykin's short video about it below.



Michael Haykin on the 95 Theses from credomag.com on Vimeo.

A Case for Cessationism

Tim Challies recently blogged the Strange Fire Conference that happened at John MacArthur's church. You can read his synopsis of each session by visiting his blog www.challies.com and searching "Strange Fire."

One session, by Tom Pennington, laid out the case for cessationism. Perhaps you wondering what that word means. It deals with the topic of spiritual gifts. Cessationism means the Spirit no longer gives believers miraculous spiritual gifts (tongues, healing, etc.) as a normative Christian experience as it was for the apostles. Continuationism by contrast is the view that all the miraculous gifts are still given by the Spirit.  Note that neither position argues that God has ceased doing the miraculous. The question is do these miraculous gifts still exist within the church.

Pennington gives 7 biblical arguments for cessationism (rather than continuationism).

1. The unique role of miracles in the Bible
2. The end of the gift of apostleship
3. The foundational nature of the NT apostles and prophets
4. The nature of the miraculous gifts in the NT doesn't seem to match current "manifestations" of them
5. The testimony of church history is that the these gifts ceased
6. The sufficiency of Scripture argues against the subjective and ongoing messages people claim to receive from God today.
7. The NT governed the use of miraculous gifts but the modern exercise often ignores NT regulations on the exercise of such gifts. 

Obviously there is much more substance to each of these points. I encourage you to read Challies helpful (and more detailed) outline.

"It's Not Just a Guy Thing"

Here is a helpful article by Tim Challies about "the second look." Here is what he means when it comes to men:

When you see an attractive woman, you are morally responsible for the second glance, not the first. Because you cannot help seeing what is there in front of you, the second glance is the one where you will display sin or virtue. It is here that you make the moral choice—the choice to lust or the choice to direct your eyes and your thoughts to something that honors God. 

He goes on to explain why this issue is also faced by women (even if in a slightly different way). He then goes on to explain why it is also true that we can be morally responsible for the first glance.

I could summarize it, but it is short enough for you to read the whole thing.

Does God Tell You Things?

It is common to hear or use the phrase "God told me..." in Christian circles. Sometimes it comes up in relationships: "God told me we should be together." Or maybe a poor guy has been rejected by not only the young lady but also by the Holy Spirit (ie. "the Holy Spirit is telling me we shouldn't be together."). 

Here is a good article by Nancy Guthrie entitled "Why Do we Say, 'God Told Me?'". Her argument (which I agree with) is that we hear from God through his written Word (ie. the Bible) and not in some private  or mystical special revelation.

One part that I found insightful is when she thinks about why it is that we often talk about God telling us to do something even when the Bible gives us no such expectation:

So why do we speak about hearing God in this way? We grew up being told that we must have a "personal relationship with God," and what is more personal than hearing him speak to us about our individual issues and needs? Sometimes if we dig deep we realize we speak this way because we want to impresses others with our close connection to God and make sure they know we've consulted with him on the matter at hand. Another reason may be that to say, "God told me . . ." can prove useful to us. If you've asked me to teach children's Sunday school this fall, it sounds far more spiritual and makes it far more difficult for you to challenge me if I say that God told me I need to sit in adult Sunday school with my husband than if I simply say that I don't want to or have decided not to teach.

But I think there is something more at work here than simply our desire to sound spiritual or to make it difficult for someone to challenge our preferences or decisions. We genuinely long for God to guide us. We genuinely long for a personal word from God, a supernatural experience with God. Yet we fail to grasp that as we read and study and hear the Word of God taught and preached, it is a personal word from God. Because the Scriptures are "living and active," God's speaking to us through them is a personal, supernatural experience.

God has spoken and is, in fact, still speaking to us through the Scriptures. We don't need any more special revelation. What we need is illumination, and this is exactly what Jesus has promised the Holy Spirit will give to us as his word abides in us.

She concludes by asking if this issue is really a big deal.

Does it really make a difference when we expect God to speak to us through the Scriptures rather than waiting to hear a divine voice in our heads? I think it does.

When we know that God speaks personally and powerfully through his Word, we don't have to feel that our relationship to Christ is sub-par, or that we are experiencing a less-than Christian life if we don't sense God giving us extra-biblical words of instruction or promise. When we know God speaks through his Word we are not obligated to accept—indeed, we can be appropriately skeptical toward—claims by any book, teacher, preacher, or even friend when they write or say, "God told me . .  ." We don't have to wait until we hear God give us the go-ahead before we say "yes" or "no" to a request or make a decision. We can consult the Scriptures and rest in the wisdom and insight the Holy Spirit is developing in us and feel free to make a decision.

The whole thing is worth reading. She provides good biblical reasoning for what she is saying. I hope that these excerpts (highlighting the more practical side of things) encourages you and spurs you on to think about this issue.

The Glory of God in Creation: Octopus

This is pretty awesome video of some of the most creative handiwork of God in his creation.


HT: Denny Burk

Chemical Weapons: Do We Have the Moral High Ground?

As I watched the President's address to the nation a little over a week ago concerning Syria and the use of chemical weapons, I was struck by something. By God's grace, our president has had the wisdom and moral ability to declare the use of chemical weapons on innocent men, women and children an outrage. We cannot turn a blind eye to such horror and evil. He called our nation to action saying, “with modest effort and risk, we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run . . . .”

But, the fact is that we do turn a blind eye in this country to the use of chemical weapons on innocent children. In fact, they are used on children who have absolutely no where to run and, who though they are hidden from sight, have no where to hide from impending destruction. The safety of the mother's womb is often turned into a death chamber, and the doctors who swear to protect patients only listen to the patient with a voice while ignoring the one who cannot speak. Hundreds of thousands of children are killed by chemical and medical abortions each year in this country.

Pray for our President to see our national hypocrisy on this issue. Ask God to give him grace to see the blood of the innocent that we are spilling. And ask that God might give him courage to use his position as president to "make our own children safer over the long run...." 

If you are interested, here is an letter at the Desiring God blog to the President that communicates similar ideas entitled "Protect the Children from Chemical Weapons."

"How to Destroy Your Marriage Before it Begins"

 In a helpful article entitled "How to Destroy Your Marriage Before it Begins," Garrett Kell, discusses how Satan seeks to "corrupt gospel-portraying" marriage by attacking couples through sexual sin before they are married. His whole article is worth the read, but here are a few thoughts that stood out to me:

Satan wants us to make a pattern of obeying our desires instead of God's direction.

God's ways are good, but Satan wants us to believe they aren't. This has been his plan from the first call to compromise in the garden (Gen. 3:1-6). His end goal is for us to develop a consistent pattern of resisting the Spirit and following our sinful desires once we get into marriage. He wants us to learn to resist service and to pursue selfishness....

...Love in marriage is shown by a thousand daily decisions to do what you don't want—whether doing the dishes or changing a diaper or watching a movie instead of a basketball game. If your relationship before marriage is characterized by giving into urges of immediate desire, you'll most certainly struggle when you encounter the nitty-gritty of married life. ....

Satan wants couples to weaken their trust in one another.

When we compromise sexually, we're showing the other person we're willing to use and abuse them to get what makes us happy. Every time we push the boundaries with our fiancée or lead her into sin we are communicating, though we don't mean to, "You can't trust me because I'm willing to use and disregard you to get what I want."

He ends by giving several good thoughts, one of which I will quote here:

Involve others every step of the way. Don't let your relationship remain unexamined by other godly Christians. Both of you should have a godly couple or group of faithful friends who hold you accountable. Invite tough questions and give honest answers. God uses transparency to give strength.

Perhaps you have already sinned in this area. Look to the gospel message Christian. The Christian life is one of continual repentance and trust in Christ. Repent of your sin, turn from it, and trust in Jesus' perfect life and payment for your sin as your only hope before God.  Where sin is repented of and Christ is clung to, grace abounds.

"Dealing with Disappointment When You Are Single"

Here is a helpful video from Steve Dewitt about how to face disappointment when it comes to your singleness.
(HT Challies)

Labor Day and a Theology of Rest

Here is a good article to read for labor day. It is by Al Mohler and reminds us that we should have a biblical perspective on leisure and rest.

Must We Handover Conscience for Citizenship?

In an article at his blog entitled "'It is the Price of Citizenship'?—An Elegy for Religious Liberty in America," Dr. Albert Mohler discusses a recent case in New Mexico where a Christian couple  lost a case at that state's supreme court. The couple refused to photograph a homosexual commitment ceremony (gay marriage is not legal there yet) citing the fact that as Christians such particpation would give implicit agreement to the event. In essence, the court's verdict requires Christians to be willing to take pictures at a commitment ceremony for a homosexual couple.

Mohler notes

The court concluded: “When Elane Photography refused to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony, it violated the NMHRA [New Mexico Human Rights Act] in the same way as if it had refused to photograph a wedding between people of different races.” 

[You may want to read the blog "Is Gay the New Black" if you are wondering about this argument]

Such argumentation is, at this point, "old hat." What makes the decision so breath taking is the fact that the justices recognize that the photographers' religious liberty and conscience are being violated but simply say it is the new price of citizenship. Justice Bosson wrote:

As devout, practicing Christians, they believe, as a matter of faith, that certain commands of the Bible are not left open to secular interpretation; they are meant to be obeyed. Among these commands, according to the Huguenins [the Christian couple], is an injunction against same-sex marriage. On the record before us, no one has questioned the Huguenin’s [sic] devoutness or their sincerity; their religious convictions deserve our respect. In the words of their legal counsel, the Huguenins “believed that creating photographs telling the story of that event [a same-sex wedding] would express a message contrary to their sincerely held beliefs, and that doing so would disobey God.” If honoring same-sex marriage would so conflict with their fundamental religious tenets . . . how then, they ask, can the State of New Mexico compel them to “disobey God” in this case?

 Then he goes on to write,

“At its heart, this case teaches that at some point in our lives all of us must compromise, if only a little, to accommodate the contrasting values of others....In short, I would say to the Huguenins [the Christian couple], with the utmost respect: it is the price of citizenship.” 

Simply breathtaking. Mohler summarizes it well in his article when he says,

So the price of citizenship is the denial of religious liberty when the Christian convictions of this couple run into a head-on collision with the “contrasting values” of others. This is a “compromise” that requires the Huguenins [the Christian photographers] to give up their convictions or go out of business. What does the “compromise” require of those who push for the normalization of same-sex relationships and the legalization of same-sex marriage? Nothing.

Some compromise.

Praying Through Scripture Resource

Tonight we talked about some theology for prayer. If you were hoping for some practical help on growing in this discipline, check out Don Whitney's article on "Praying Through Scripture" located at his website.

The Cosmological Argument

Dr. Ware shared with us about three evidences for the existence of God last Friday night.

• The Cosmological Argument
• The Teleological Argument
• The Moral Argument

In case you missed it, or just want a review, below is a video about the cosmological argument (note: this is not from Dr. Ware but William Lane Craig).
(HT: Challies)

Are You Living The Radical Christian Life?

There has been a lot of talk about doing big things for God or being a radical Christian. In many ways this a good thing. We need to "stir one another up to love and good deeds." We need to challenge the cultural Christianity that promotes a dead faith.

That being said, we do need to be careful not to assume that radical Christianity is the equivalent of selling everything you own and going on the mission field.1 There is nothing wrong with that (and there is a lot that can be right about that). But, it is not the definition of living for Christ (though it may be a good application of that command). If it is, then what are we saying about the faithful Christian mother who devotes her energy not to reaching an unreached tribe in Africa but to reaching the unreached people group living in her home. And what are we saying about the Christian man who lives a life of faithful, steady plodding at his job and in his home for the sake of God's kingdom. If done to the glory of God, such living is radical, for it necessarily involves dying to self and living for Christ. What's more,

So, in that sense, radical Christianity is simply biblical, faithful Christianity. It is loving Jesus more than anything else. It is trusting in him when life is difficult and confusing. It is obeying his commands instead of living by my varying emotions.

Clearly, when we live this way it will look radical to the world around us. We will give and serve and pray with fervency. We will kill sin in our lives and put on righteousness. We will make no provision for the flesh to indulge its desires. We will carry out the "one another" commands of the New Testament. In short, we will have a true, living faith.

This does not mean we will be doing all those things perfectly. But, we will, by faith, cling to Jesus when we see that we fail, and we will cling to him for strength to obey.

To summarize, here is a helpful excerpt from a blog post by Barnabas Piper on being a radical Christian.

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. ...

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

So, if you are struggling just to trust and obey, keep up the fight of faith. It isn't a waste, and you are not a lame.


1. Note: I am not saying any specific author is saying this. I have not read the books that are promoting radical Christian living. I am just saying I have seen some think this way whether it is a result of something they actually read or something they merely misunderstood.

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

The push to be radical, on mission, a world-changer can seem like a crushing weight. Sometimes life is just too hard and stuff is too broken. It’s all I can manage just to keep my world from flying to bits, let alone change anyone else’s. That’s so far outside of reality it sounds more like the twilight zone. No — reality is simply clinging to what I do know of God, His Son, and His faithfulness and just not letting go.  

Maybe this is radical in its own right. It refuses to be a flight of fancy or a passing whimsy. No emotion drives it and therefore it won’t fall apart when the emotion ebbs. Faith in these crumbled, crushing times is radical because of its single-minded, iron-willed determination to hold on tight. It is the radical work of a man clinging to a life preserver instead of the radical achievement of the one who built the ocean liner, the one that is heading to the sea floor.

Sometimes all the radical I can manage is that death grip on faith as I’m tossed to and fro. No, it’s not society-reforming, world-altering, life-changing mission. It’s just how I make it; without it I wouldn’t have a life at all.

- See more at: http://www.barnabaspiper.com/2013/08/all-radical-i-can-manage.html#sthash.Rr71JjXI.dpuf

Sinners and Sociopaths - Thinking about The Ariel Castro Case

At his sentencing hearing, Ariel Castro, the man who kidnapped and kept three girls as sex slaves for 11 years, said, "I am not a monster. I am a normal person. I am just sick." Dr. Al Mohler has some very helpful thoughts on how we should think, as Christians, about Ariel Castro and people like him. Is he just sick? Is he a monster? Why are we so repulsed by his particular crimes? I encourage you to read Dr. Mohler's article.

"Are You Free NOT to Drink?"

The issue of alcohol has always been an issue for faithful Christians. The main issue centers around what is Christian freedom. Brett McCracken has written a helpful article on the issue at Mere Orthodoxy entitled "Are You Free NOT to Drink."   He notes that alcohol is not inherently sinful, but he also states his concern with the increased movement in young, Christian circles to celebrate alcohol:

What worries me is this question: Are we so embracing our Christian liberty to partake of alcohol that it threatens to become less a “liberty” and more a shackling legalism–something we can’t, or won’t, go without? As my pastor Alan often says, are we as free to abstain from alcohol as we are free to enjoy it?

He goes on to list a few other questions to consider that are quite helpful:

• Is alcohol a “nice to have” or a “must-have”? Can we go out to eat without ordering an alcoholic beverage? Attend a party and only drink soda? Dare to not have some booze in our house for a stretch of time? 
• Are we mindful of those around us, and if they struggle with alcohol in any way are we willing to abstain for their sake? Drinking alcohol may be a perfectly biblical, perfectly Christian thing to do. But if for others in our community it is a hardship or a temptation, then shouldn’t we abstain? As Christians, the ascetic call to deny ourselves perfectly good things for the sake of a community or a commitment is a worthy pursuit. 
• Do we wear our freedom as a badge of honor, as “proof” that we are under grace and thus can drink and party to our heart’s content? If so, we should check ourselves, because reducing grace to a sanctioning of pleasure is tragic; furthermore, if we are talking about freedom under grace, then what about the freedom to deny ourselves and go without? Grace makes this possible too. 
• Do we have a serious-enough understanding of how dangerous alcohol can be? Alcohol has a long and tumultuous history as an addictive wrecker of lives. We all know people who’ve been ruined or nearly ruined by it. We must be careful that our incremental habituation of it in our lives doesn’t become a controlling idol. Alcohol is not something to be trifled with.

He then gets to the heart of the issue when it comes to alcohol and all other sorts of "good" things. The dangers of turning enjoyable things into ultimate things. McCracken notes:

There are all sorts of good items and activities in culture that we are free to enjoy in moderation. Food, fitness, movies, music, travel, sports, gaming, and on and on. But the minute any of this becomes something we can’t live without, or something we excessively consume to the point that we need it more than we enjoy it, we should be concerned. 

Because ultimately, the goodness of something that we might consume is at its most good when we enjoy it in a God-centric way rather than a me-centric way. That is: when we see it as a gift from God and something to reflect glory back to him, rather than something that serves us and our needs.

(HT: Patrick Schreiner @ http://patrickschreiner.com).

"Ten Things Every Christian Should Know about Islam"

Here is a short list of things you should know about Islam by Zane Pratt.It's a quick read and, while not anywhere near exhaustive, it will help you better understand one of the fastest growing religions. I pray this helps equip you to evangelize Muslim friends, classmates, and coworkers.

Two Difficulties of Holding to an 'Old Earth' View of Creation

In a talk entitled "Why does the universe look so old?", Al Mohler discuss two main concerns with "old earth" views- namely a historical Adam and our understanding of the consequences of the fall into sin.  Below are excerpts.

Historical Adam

 The first is the historicity of Adam. In Romans 5:12 we read, “Therefore just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin and so death spread to all men because man sinned.” Paul bases his understanding of human sinfulness and of Adam’s headship over the human race on a historical Adam. A historical fall. Adam may be—indeed I believe really is—the most pressing question: the historicity of Adam and Eve and the historicity of the fall. An old earth understanding has serious complications because the old earth is not merely understood to be old. The inference that it is old is based upon certain evidences that also tell a story. The fossils are telling a story. And the story they are telling is of millions and indeed billions of years of creation before the arrival of Adam. But the scientific consensus of the meaning of that evidence goes far beyond that to suggesting that there were hominids and pre-hominids and there were hundreds of thousands of hominids and there were... It is possible to hold under an old age understanding to a historical Adam, to the special creation of humanity, but it requires an arbitrary intervention of God into a very long process, billions of years in which at some point God acts unilaterally to create Adam and Eve. Eve out of Adam.

It comes with very serious intellectual entanglements. It is actually difficult and that is reflected by the fact that the contemporary conversation in terms of the age of the earth is requiring a redefinition of who Adam was. Interestingly as I’ve looked at this question I’ve been surprised quite frankly to see how many older evangelicals had already seen this and come to terms with it. In his commentary on the book of Romans, John Stott actually suggests that Adam was an existing hominid that God adopted in a special way, and out of Homo sapiens God implanted his image, and made Adam particularly in his image by ensouling him, and creating in Adam not only Homo sapiens but Homo divinus. Let’s just imagine for a moment what that would theologically require. It requires that there were Homo sapiens who were not the image bearers of God. It requires an adoptionistic understanding of Adam, rather than special creation of Adam. 

The Fall

We understand from Genesis 3 and from the entire narrative of scripture from texts like Romans 8 that what we know in the world today as catastrophe, as natural disaster, earthquake, destruction by volcanic eruption, pain, death, violence, predation—that these are results of the fall. We end up with enormous problems if we try to interpret a historical fall and understand a historical fall in an old earth rendering. This is most clear when it comes to Adam’s sin. Was it true that, as Paul argues, when sin came, death came? Well just keep in mind that if the earth is indeed old, and we infer that it is old because of the scientific data, the scientific data is also there to claim that long before the emergence of Adam—if indeed there is the recognition of a historical Adam—and certainly long before there was the possibility of Adam’s sin, there were all the effects of sin that are biblically attributed to the fall and not to anything before the fall. And we’re not only talking about death, we’re talking about death by the millions and billions........ What sense does it make to point to the kingdom and the consummation as when the lamb and the lion shall be together and lay together, if indeed there was predation before the fall.

How Should Christians Respond to the Court Ruling on Same Sex Marriage?

As you know, the Supreme court has set the stage for a full legalization of so called same sex marriage. As Christians living in this nation, we must think biblically about how to respond. Here are a few thoughts I've rounded up:

This from Denny Burk "Enemies of the Human Race"

Christians need to beware of going to extremes in the face of today’s news. Some may be tempted to view this in apocalyptic terms, as if it’s the end of the world. Others will be tempted to shrug their shoulders as if this is no big deal. I think that neither of those reactions rings true. If God is sovereign and His purposes unshakable, we can have courage in the face of whatever may come down the pike. Likewise, if we love our neighbors, then how can we be indifferent about things that hurt them and debase the culture? That is why we have an interest in promoting ours and our neighbor’s good in the public space. And that means that we have a continuing stake in the public debate over gay marriage.

I had a reporter ask me today if a hysterical and panicked response from Christians would be helpful to the cause of traditional marriage. I think the question kind of answers itself. We may be unjustly labeled as “bigots” and “enemies of the human race.” But panic and hysterics help no one, much less Christians who profess to believe in a sovereign God. Nothing happened today that diminishes the power of the gospel or the fortunes of Christ’s church in this culture. The Supreme Court found itself on the wrong side of history today. The Kingdom of God marches on, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

This from Russell Moore's article "How Should Same-Sex Marriage Change the Church’s Witness?"

This gives Christian churches the opportunity to do what Jesus called us to do with our marriages in the first place: to serve as a light in a dark place. Permanent, stable marriages with families with both a mother and a father may well make us seem freakish in 21st-century culture. But is there anything more “freakish” than a crucified cosmic ruler? Is there anything more “freakish” than a gospel that can forgive rebels like us and make us sons and daughters? Let’s embrace the freakishness, and crucify our illusions of a moral majority.

This from Mark Dever's article "How to Survive a Cultural Crisis" (If you are going to read one article, this is the one to read.).

The whole Christian faith is based on the idea that God takes people who are spiritually dead and gives them new life. Whenever we evangelize, we are evangelizing the cemetery.

There's never been a time or a culture when it was natural to repent of your sins. That culture doesn't exist, it hasn't existed, it never will exist. Christians, churches, and pastors especially must know deep in their bones that we've always been about a work that's supernatural.

From that standpoint, recent cultural changes have made our job zero percent harder.

...

Each nation and age has a unique way to express its depravity, to attack God. But none will succeed any more than the crucifixion succeeded in defeating Jesus. Yes, he died. But three days later he got up from the dead.

Christ's kingdom is in no danger of failing. Again, Christians, churches, and especially pastors must know this deeply in our bones. D-Day has happened. Now it's cleanup time. Not one person God has elected to save will fail to be saved because the secular agenda is "winning" in our time and place. There shouldn't be anxiety or desperation in us.

Dever gives 7 points in the article mentioned above:

1. Remember that churches exist to work for supernatural change.

2. Understand that persecution is normal. 

3. Eschew utopianism.

4. Make use of our democratic stewardship.

5. Trust the Lord, not human circumstances.

6. Remember that everything we have is God's grace.

7. Rest in the certainty of Christ's victory.

I hope this encourages you and helps you have a biblical perspective.  

"'Waiting for the Other Shoe' - The Supreme Court Rules on Same Sex Marriage"

Here is an article on the Supreme Court's rulings on two "same sex marriage" cases. In both cases, the court ruled in favor of so called "same-sex marriage." Mohler's assessment is worth reading.

Even though the Court did not rule today that all states must legally recognize and allow for same-sex marriages, the handwriting is on the wall. Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion implicitly invites any citizen who resides in a state that does not allow for same-sex marriage to claim that his or her constitutional rights are violated on the basis of the Court’s opinion handed down today. You can count on a challenge of this form arising in short order.

As Justice Scalia noted in his dissent today, “As far as this Court is concerned, no one should be fooled; it is just a matter of listening and waiting for the other shoe.”

The Court’s majority did not want to pay the political price that a decision as immediately sweeping as Roe v. Wade would have cost. Instead, the majority decided to send a clear signal that such a case will now be well received. It struck down DOMA by employing a logic that, as Scalia noted, cannot stop with the striking down of DOMA. It can only stop with the full legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states by judicial fiat.

Songs for the Summer

If you are looking for some good music to direct your soul to God, let me suggest Sixteen Songs for Summer:

From Age to Age (Sovereign Grace)

• Great Things
• Our Song from Age to Age
• Glorious Christ
• Mighty Fortress
• All is Well
• Gladly Would I Leave Behind Me

The Good Life (Tripp Lee) 

• New Dreams
• Take Me There
• Beautiful Life (on topic of Pro-life)

God and Sinner Reconciled (Stephen Miller)

• God and Sinner Reconciled

Risen (Sovereign Grace)

• Alive
• To Live is Christ
• Behold Our God 

The 6th Day (Flame)

• The 6th Day
• Scripture Alone 
• Let Go

I am sure we could make this list much longer, but I was trying to keep it to the length of one extended album. I'd love to hear your list of songs that direct you to God and encourage you in the faith. Feel free to share in the comments section.

Boys Using Girls' Restrooms? A Sign of the Times

In today's edition of "The Briefing," a daily analysis of events from a Christian worldview, Dr. Mohler discusses a case in Colorado in which an elementary school boy won a court case giving him access to the girl's restroom. Why? Because he, and his parents, identify him as a girl.

The Washington Post, reporting on the story, said,

"Colorado officials say a suburban Colorado Springs school district discriminated against a 6-year-old transgender girl by preventing her from using the girls’ bathroom, in what advocates described as the first such ruling in the next frontier in civil rights."1

Notice how the media seems to give approval to the whole thing by referring to Coy (the little boy) with feminine nouns and pronouns. And what is shocking is that they might be right in saying this is "the first such ruling in the next frontier of civil rights."

All of a sudden, a self-defined orientation is now the basis of determining minority status and "civil rights." What happens when a high school boy self-identifies as a girl and demands civil right protection to use the girl's restroom or locker room (this isn't hypothetical, if you read the article above, Maine is considering a case now)? I think we can all see the chaos that comes with such arguments. Nevertheless, the arguments have been made as we continue to live in the "wild west of sexual ethics." 

Sometimes a slippery slope argument is a fallacy. Sometimes its really a slippery slope we are sliding down. I hope and pray we find a way to stop the landslide, but I am not worried.

Christianity has never been tied to a culture. And as our culture becomes more and more dark and confused, we have the chance to put the Light of the World on display. We may face more persecution, but we must love those who would hate us, and that takes a lot more courage than our culture's current (mis)understanding of "tolerance" (see DA Carson on this topic of tolerance).


1 Washington Post Article - "Colo. rights case ruling favors transgender girl who wasn’t allowed to use girls’ bathroom"

"How to Survive a Cultural Crisis"

I found this article by Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC, quite encouraging. As our culture seems to have put Christians more and more on the defensive, Dever's words are a helpful reminder of what a biblical perspective looks like. Below are his seven main points, but you really need to read the whole thing:

1. Remember that churches exist to work for supernatural change.

2. Understand that persecution is normal. 

3. Eschew utopianism.

4. Make use of our democratic stewardship.

5. Trust the Lord, not human circumstances.

6. Remember that everything we have is God's grace.

7. Rest in the certainty of Christ's victory.

Is "Gay the New Black?"

Below are some excerpts from an article by Voddie Baucham from about a year ago addressing the arguments comparing homosexuality to the civil rights movement. He does a great job showing why the argument that the homosexual rights movement is just a continuation of the civil rights movement doesn't work. He does this by showing the distinctions between the two.
His main arguments are:

1. Homosexuals are an unidentifiable minority because it is impossible to tell who is homosexual apart from their own self-identification as being homosexual. This is completely different from being white, black, asian, latino or even man, or woman.In these cases you can tell by looking at the person or do a genetic test.
2. Marriage cannot be redifined (you will have to read this section as there are several arguments he puts forth).
3. It is an unsustainable precedent to open up marriage to any "group" that wants it. 

The whole thing is worth reading, especially if you want to get a clear view on all the issues, but below are a few excerpts that I found insightful.

In short, it's impossible to identify who is or is not a homosexual. As a result, how do we know to whom the civil rights in question should be attributed? Should a man who isn't a homosexual (assuming we could determine such a thing) but tries to enter a same-sex union be treated the same as a woman who isn't Native American but tries to claim it to win sympathy, or casino rights, or votes?

...
It should be noted that the right to marry is one of the most frequently denied rights we have. People who are already married, 12-year-olds, and people who are too closely related are just a few categories of people routinely and/or categorically denied the right to marry. Hence, the charge that it is wrong to deny any person a "fundamental right" rings hollow. There has always been, and, by necessity, will always be discrimination in marriage laws.

...
One thing that seems to escape most people in this debate is the fact that homosexuals have never been denied the right to marry. They simply haven't had the right to redefine marriage. 

...

Perhaps the most damning aspect of the civil rights argument is logical unsustainability. If sexual orientation/identity is the basis for (1) classification as a minority group, and (2) legal grounds for the redefinition of marriage, then what's to stop the "bisexual" from fighting for the ability to marry a man and a woman simultaneously since his "orientation" is, by definition, directed toward both sexes? What about the member of NAMBLA whose orientation is toward young boys? Where do we stop, and on what basis?

...
It is very important for those of us who oppose the idea of same-sex "marriage" to do so not because we wish to preserve our version of the American Dream, but because we view marriage as a living, breathing picture of the relationship between Christ and his church (Eph. 5:22ff), and because we know that God has designed the family in a particular way. 

Good Books for College Students

If you are entering your freshmen year of college, you would do well to spend some time this summer preparing yourself for college spiritually. Even if you have been in college for a few years, it is good to keep preparing as you navigate college life (a skilled athlete doesn't stop preparing after her first track meet). 

Here is my top 5 list (There are others that I could have included, but these came to mind).

1. Thriving in College by  Alex Chediak
2. Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World edited by CJ Mahaney
3. The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
4. Stop Dating the Church by Josh Harris
5. Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung

Don't Waste Your Summer: Plan to Share the Gospel

Yesterday, I posted on how not to waste your summer and specifically encouraged you to study the Bible and read a good, Christian book.

One more word of encouragement. Why not use some of your extra time during the summer to focus on sharing the good news of God- the gospel? Below is a list of some ideas on how to be intentional with evangelism this summer (taken from Southern Seminary 2013 Summer Challenge).

1. Join a community athletic program or summer sports league and interact with non-believers with whom you can share the gospel.
2. Invite a non-believing friend/coworker/neighbor out for coffee and share the Gospel through casual conversation.
3. Organize a summer book club and read a book that explains the Gospel or contains Gospel themes, such as Reason for God, by Tim Keller.  Advertise at bookstores, coffee shops, and local stores.
4. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen and share the Gospel with those you meet.
5. Put together a community Worship/Bible Study (i.e. Answering hard questions, apologetics etc.)
6. Invite someone or a group of people to attend a church service with you. Offer to drive.
7. Build relationships with others by going to dinner, movies, etc. and having intentional gospel conversations.
8. Strategically schedule your weekly activities in a way that makes you have intentional moments with those non-believers around you.  Be willing to get out of your comfort zone.
9. Visit your neighbors, asking how they need prayer, and offer to pray with them.
10. Challenge yourself to share the Gospel at stores, restaurants, clubs, or even gas stations you visit regularly.
11. Display Christ through your daily attitude.  Be intentional about the way you answer simple questions such as “How are you?” (i.e. Tell the truth about how God has blessed you recently, or explain, in appropriate measure, how God’s grace is helping you to get through difficult circumstances)
12. Use a church/personal vehicle to drive around your area to meet people, take prayer requests, and engage others with the gospel.
13. Offer to take a co-worker out to eat one day to hear their story and to get to know them better.  Offer to share your personal life-story and use your testimony to clearly articulate the work of the gospel in your life.
14. Volunteer in a ministry at the church where you would not normally be active; particularly one in which you feel you can best share the Gospel. Step out of your comfort zone.
15. Volunteer at a local nursing home and share the Gospel with residents.
16. Serve at a local summer camp some and share the Gospel with campers.
17. For those working at a café or restaurant, invite Christian friends/church members to do a regular bible study or fellowship at your place of work, getting to know your coworkers.  Follow up with your coworkers and use this as an opportunity to voice your prayers for them and share the Gospel.
18. When you tip your waiter, leave a track or note with the Gospel on it and with addresses to local churches and numbers to contact pastors.  Tip well.
19. When on vacation, leave a Gospel track or note encouraging the housekeeping staff that will be cleaning the room.
20. Within your work place, neighborhood, or family, find opportunities to distribute Bibles to those you have had conversations with about the Gospel.
21. Invite a lost neighbor to join you as you walk the dog, go on a run, or participate in other outdoor activities. Use the opportunity to strategically share the Gospel.
22. Put an ad in the local newspaper with an article about the Gospel.  Encourage those who do not know Jesus to follow up using the contact information you have provided in the ad.
23. On a weekly basis, ask your pastor how you can help him share the Gospel in the community.
24. In your family, lead a daily devotion time for your wife/husband and kids and encourage them to share the Gospel. Take them out to share the gospel in an appropriate context listed above.
25. Find someone in your church who is new to faith that you can mentor/disciple for the summer. Bring them along to share the gospel in one of the above contexts.

You may want to read a good, Christian book on the topic of evangelism. Try Tell the Truth, by Will Metzger or The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, by Mark Dever.