"What Macklemore Got Wrong...and Right"

I didn't watch the Grammys. Actually, I didn't even know they were on. But, in case you or your friends did, here are some helpful thoughts from Denny Burk on the performance of "Same Love" by Macklemore. Below is an excerpt

The lyrics to Macklemore’s song took aim at Christians and their views on marriage. To be more precise, it takes aim at the God that Christians worship and offers another god in His place—a god that bears no resemblance to the God of the Bible. Nevertheless, these performers were obviously grasping for divine approval. All of the trappings of Christianity were invoked to bless “same love”—a stage decorated to look like a church, a “minister” presiding, and a gospel choir singing the words of 1 Corinthians 13. You might say that it had the form of godliness while denying its power (2 Tim. 3:5).

What struck me about the performance, however, was not what Macklemore got wrong but the one thing that he got ironically right. In one line from “same love,” Macklemore says this:

Whatever god you believe in
We come from the same one

This statement is profoundly true, although Macklemore is probably not aware of its true implication. We all really do come from one creator God. From one man, God made every nation of mankind (Acts 17:25). As the Psalmist writes,

Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. – Psalm 100:3

God made us. Every single one of us. And that is true whether or not you believe it. It is true even if you believe in a false god. But that truth does not imply that God approves of everything that His creatures do (as Macklemore appears to believe). It does imply that God is God. And He is not accountable to us, but we to Him (Heb. 9:27).

Are Religious Views Merely Private?

I found this quote from Darrell Bock's commentary and thought it was insightful.

It is popular in our day to be neutral. In a culture where tolerance is highly valued, nonpartisianship is attractive. In religious discussions we try to avoid stepping on toes, for in Western cultures religious views are generally considered private. We want to avoid offending others in a culture that is diverse. But neutrality is not always a good thing, and neither is polite disengagement. Some issues are important enough to require our considered choices...

If God exists, should we think of him as having a liaise-faire attitude, not interested in how we relate to him? Jesus argues that is not the case. Religion by its very nature is a public affair, since it deals with how people relate to reality and to others. Though religious coercion such as marred European history in the Crusades and the Thirty Years War is wrong, so is our culture's tendency to relegate religious concerns to the fringe world of private reflection. The issues are too important to be kept peripheral. Ultimately we must ask each other, What centers our lives, what do we accept as truth, what defines our character? (Luke, Vol. 3 of the IVP New Testament Commentary Series, pg. 212, emphasis added by me).

Religious views are not private no matter how much our culture tries to pretend they are. A person's views of ultimate reality, purpose, morality, the existence of God (or lack thereof), and his character shape our everyday decisions. This is true of everyone from stay at home moms to politicians. Saying religion has no place in the public sphere is simply a way of saying, "As long as what makes you tick is something other than the God of the Bible you may speak." While this foolishness is lamentable, it is not my main concern. My hope is that we will love God and others enough to speak the truth of the gospel to our friends and neighbors even if our culture (or those to whom we speak) label us as intolerant. May God give us wisdom and courage to speak the most important truths often and without fearing man.

"Extinguish This Bloody Traffic"

Sanctity of Life Sunday is coming up. It has been 41 years since the horror of abortion became legally permitted in our nation. Since then it has gone from permitted to celebrated. I found the opening paragraph of an article by Mike Riccardi at the Cripplegate blog a great way to rekindle our zeal in this battle to protect the weakest in our society. I hope you'll read the entire article.

.....

“Never, never will we desist till we . . . extinguish every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times, will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonor to this country.”

These words were spoken by William Wilberforce, the British politician who worked tirelessly to end the slave trade in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Though Wilberforce penned those words in reference to the centuries-old and universally-condemned practice of slavery, they very well could have been written today in reference to our own national “disgrace and dishonor.” I am speaking, of course, of abortion. The constitutionally protected right to murder one’s own unborn child is the preeminent social injustice of our day. Should the Lord Jesus choose to patiently prolong His coming, the history books will surely regard such a moral atrocity with the same shame and outrage that we experience as we read about the African slave trade or Hitler’s Holocaust, bewildered that such miscarriages of justice could have been allowed to persist in a civilized and educated society for so long.

"Resolve Never to Forget the Eye of God"

The world, the Devil, and our flesh all wage war against our souls. There are temptations from without and within. One Biblical way to restrain our sinful thoughts and actions is to realize that our Holy God sees and knows all things we think and do. Let JC Ryle remind you of this fact which, if remembered and believed, will assist you in your battle against temptation:

The eye of God! Think of that. Everywhere, in every house, in every field, in every room, in every company, alone or in a crowd, the eye of God is always on you. "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3), and they are eyes that read hearts as well as actions.

Endeavor, I beg you, to realize this fact. Remember that you have to deal with an all-seeing God, a God who never sleeps, a God who understands your thoughts, and with whom the night shines as the day. You may leave your father's house, and go away, like the prodigal, into a far country, and think that there is nobody to watch your conduct; but the eye and ear of God are there before you. You may deceive your parents or employers, you may tell them lies, and act one way before their faces, and another behind their backs, but you cannot deceive God. He knows you through and through. He heard what you said as you came here today. He knows what you are thinking of at this minute. He has set your most secret sins in the light of His countenance, and they will one day come out before the world to your shame, except you take heed.

Got Questions?

As a reminder, we do have a questionbox on the blog. You can submit questions related to theology, apologetics, cultural, and ethical issues. My goal is to provide relevant answers from a biblical worldview.

Disclaimer: This is not a "stump the teacher" game. So, please only ask a question if you or someone you know will benefit from the answer. I will do my best to respond to these questions on the blog throughout the year (responses won't be immediate, but I will do my best to answer them by the end of each academic year). I reserve the right to modify a question or combine multiple questions into one. I even reserve the right not to answer a question. If you have somewhat of a personal question, I will protect your anonymity by changing details that might give away your identity. 
 

"I'm Better Than You"

I found this post from Tim Challies to be insightful and convicting. It address a manifestation of pride. And since we talked a little about pride at last week's Bible study (it was one of the 10 "thoughts for young men and women" I adapted from JC Ryle), I thought it would be good to post a link to Challies' article. Here is an excerpt

...while God calls us toward Christlikeness, we prefer to call others toward us-likeness. God calls us to hold all things up to the light of his Word, while we prefer to hold all things up to the light of our own judgments and our own determinations. Ultimately, we all long for conformity to us rather than to Christ.

This makes us useless counselors. We are useless counselors unless we can counsel from Scripture and toward holiness rather than from our own arrogance and toward conformity to us. This makes us miserable because we are always convinced life would be easier and better if only others were more like us. This lessens our usefulness to God and his kingdom ...

Your Time is Short

I thought Rod's sermon this past Sunday was a great reminder to take stock of our lives as we begin a new year. Below are some similar thoughts from JC Ryle

Young men, your time is short. Your days are but a brief shadow, a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, a story that is soon told. Your bodies are not made of brass. "Even the young men," says Isaiah, "stumble and fall" (Isaiah 40:30). Your health may be taken from you in a moment: it only needs an accident, a fever, an inflammation, a broken blood-vessel, and the worm would soon feed upon you in the grave. There is but a step between any one of you and death. This night your soul might be required of you. You are fast going the way of all the earth, you will soon be gone. Your life is all uncertainty, your death and judgment are perfectly sure. You too must hear the Archangel's trumpet, and go forth to stand before the great white throne of judgment, you too must obey that summons, which Jerome says was always ringing in his ears: "Get up, you dead, and come to judgment." "Yes, I am coming soon," is the language of the Judge Himself. I cannot, dare not, will not let you alone.

Oh that you would all take to heart the words of the Preacher: "Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9) Amazing, that with such a prospect of coming judgment, any man can be careless and unconcerned! Surely none are so crazy as those who are content to live unprepared to die. Surely the unbelief of men is the most amazing thing in the world. The clearest prophecy in the Bible begins with these words, "Who has believed our message?" (Isaiah 53:1). The Lord Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). Young men, I fear this be the report of many of you in the courts above: "They will not believe." I fear you be hurried out of the world, and awake to find out, too late, that death and judgment are realities. I fear all this, and therefore I exhort you. 

From Thoughts for Young Men