Believin' don't make it so

Have you ever heard anyone say, "I can't believe in a God who would _______."? Maybe you've said it yourself. Think about that for a second. God is who he is and who he has always been, and what anybody believes about him doesn't change a thing. If you believe with all your heart that it will be a sunny day, does that make any difference at all whether it will rain or not? God has revealed to us who he is through the world he created, and in more detail through his Word, especially in what we read about his Son, Jesus Christ--that is who God is. Often people try to reach beyond that to make God more like a human so we can understand him better, but it doesn't work like that. True, all humans are created in God's image, so all life is precious, but we are just a shadow which has been distorted by sin. We are commanded NOT to try to create God in our image (Exodus 20:4-6).

God is infinite, which means for all eternity there will be more learn about him and his ways. For now we have the Bible. The Bible is full of both clear truth and mystery. From the beginning the only way God gave people to be made right with him is by faith. Every human who ever lived--except for Jesus Christ--is a sinner who commits sin. Jesus came to Earth from Heaven to die to take the punishment of every person on Himself. Even that is something we cannot imagine. Because Jesus is the one sinless man, God was satisfied with his sacrifice in place of all humankind. Because Jesus is God he rose from the dead, never to die again. Christ died for all, but only those who accept his sacrifice are God's children. That's enough from me--just read it for yourself:

"What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?' But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?' Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:14-24 ESV)

Someone else's perspective

As a Christian, and especially as a summer missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship, I have always thought a lot about the unsaved person praying to receive Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior. We usually call it a "profession of faith" because the prayer itself doesn't save you--you must first understand that you are a sinner and the Jesus died to take the punishment for your sin, and that He came alive again. Personally, my mom led me in the "sinner's prayer" when I was almost 5 years old, but I don't actually remember that day. Does that mean I wasn't really saved then or that it wasn't meaningful to me? No! It means most little boys don't remember what happened when they were 4 when they are 10 or older. I know I am saved and going to Heaven because of what Jesus did for me, and I accept it. I know the Holy Spirit is within me because I see how He works in my life.

I have been reading Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist 1 by Michael J. Fox. It is a very interesting read, and I feel that I have much more understanding and respect for stem cell research. Part Three of the book is titled "Faith," and I was very interested in what the actor who played Marty McFly had to say about his personal views. He is a faithful husband and loving father who seems to be generally moral, and he believes in a higher power who is looking out for him, but he apparently never saw the need to accept Jesus as his Savior from sin. Growing up he had a friend named Russ who came from a Christian family. Here is an excerpt from the book:

"He reminded me that during a New Year's party, 1972 into 1973, in our friend Rusty's basement, I had accepted Christ as my personal savior. Myself, I was a little fuzzy on those details. I remembered that I had a deep and spiritual interest in Rusty's rapidly developing big sister Karen, a born-again herself and a major player in the crusade to win eighth-grade souls for Christ. Anyway, it seemed to have had more of on impression on Russ over the years than it did on me."

It made me kind of sad to read that, but everyone has to make a personal decision. Maybe Michael will come around, but being a relatively good person doesn't cut it--salvation comes through Christ alone!

1 Fox, Michael J. Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. New York: Hyperion, 2009.

Chosen

Green Lantern is different from other superheroes because he wasn't born with superpowers or aspired to become a hero--he was chosen.

Kal-El (a.k.a. Clark Kent, Superman) was born on the planet Krypton shortly before it was to explode, so his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth where they knew he would have special abilities because of the yellow sun, Sol. They wanted him to be a hero on Earth and carry on their legacy. Because of his powers he knew what he was meant to do. He could be compared to Moses or Elisha, or even as a type of Christ.

Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. Batman) saw his parents killed right before his eyes when he was a young boy, so he devoted himself to bringing justice to Gotham City. He worked hard to make himself a superhero, and he might be compared to a scribe or Pharisee.

Hal Jordan was a test pilot, which was a pretty cool job, but he had no aspirations to be like those "capes." It was the Green Lantern ring that chose him and gave him the power to be a superhero. Now this is just an analogy, so don't take it too seriously, but those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior were also chosen in God's eternal plan and foreknowledge to live for Him, and we have the Holy Spirit to empower us to carry out God's will for us.

"They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:8b-9 NLT)

Adopted

It's been a busy week and I can't believe it's Thursday already, but I wanted to write some thoughts about Trent's message in church last Sunday. He used the examples of Oliver and Annie to talk about how we were all orphans, but God adopted us and gave us all the rights as His children, and we are part of a new family.

When I think of orphans I immediately think about how most of the superheroes are orphans. Think of the example of Superman: Kal-El was born on Krypton shortly before it was to explode (stories differ on what caused the explosion, but that's not important to the story). His parents, Jor-El and Lara, only had a spaceship large enough for one baby (it was a prototype and they didn't have enough time to build the full-sized one), so they sent him to Earth where they knew he would be taken care of. He was adopted and raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent and named Clark. He was a Kryptonian, not a human, but when he was adopted he not only became part of the Kent family, but of the human race.

For Bruce Wayne (Batman) it was different. As a boy Bruce saw both his parents shot to death right in front of him. He still had the butler, Alfred Pennyworth, to take care of him as he grew up, but he never became part of another family. Instead, he separated himself from any relationships and devoted himself to fighting for justice in Gotham City. It wasn't until he took in Dick Grayson (Robin/Nightwing), another orphan, that he found family again. Bruce didn't become a doctor like his father, but Dick became a crimefighter like his adopted father.

Other superheroes are orphans, too (e.g. Peter Parker/Spiderman), and they all have their own stories about finding their roles, but I'll leave it to you to see the principles for yourself.

Trent also pointed out that as Christians, and the children of God, we are expected to take on the family business, which is searching and sending for God's glory. I've never been big on the whole "family business" deal. For instance, I always thought "What if Richard Smucker doesn't want to make delicious jams and jellies when he grows up?" However as a Christian, part of the Church family, I am glad that I know what I am supposed to do!

The Church=The Bride of Christ

This week Zion Church is learning about God's image of the Church as the Bride of Christ. In Revelation we read about the Bride of the Lamb having been made ready/prepared for her husband (19:7; 21:2). That's what our temporary life on this temporary Earth is for. Everything we go through is for our learning and edification (i.e., building up). As Christians we are learning how to live rightly before God, so that when Christ returns and we are presented to Him as His Bride, we will be pure, beautiful, and ready.

I was thinking about our wedding day, and how my bride was an example of this. We kind of rushed through the wedding preparations, as many young people right out of college do, because I am the strong-willed one and a couple months seemed like plenty of time to me. (I'm still learning, but I know my error.) The amazing thing is that as much as I drove Angie crazy in those days, when she walked down the aisle to become Angelina Dunkerton, I had never seen her more confident. She was ready. Neither of us knew what would be coming in the early months of our marriage, but that day--even with all the crazy, unexpected things that happened that day--she was ready!

This life seems so crazy and we keep making mistakes, but when we are presented before the Lamb as His Bride, we will be ready, because He has made us clean!

The Cross Is Everything!

I know that most of the people who read my blog already know this, but I feel compelled to proclaim the Gospel here, and maybe others will read this, too. Also, I want to bring up some points you might not have thought about before.

Today I was reading Galatians 2 for my devotions, where Paul challenges some of the Jewish believers for acting like the law justified them before God. They knew that salvation only comes through Christ by his work on the Cross, so by adding anything to that they were cheapening the truth.

Christ died once for sin, and he was buried, and on the third day he rose from the dead, having satisfied the Father that sin was paid for. Anyone who trusts him for salvation is forgiven of sin and no longer destined for hell.

I need to proclaim the truth, and I am going to offend some people right now (whether anything of them will read this I don't know). The Jews who rejected the gospel believed that keeping the law justified them before God, so Christ's death on the Cross was pointless. Muslims believe that Jesus was only a prophet. Catholics believe that Jesus is sacrificed again every time they take communion. The LDS (Mormons) believe that the atonement happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus sweat drops of blood, making his death on the Cross not that important. Any belief that says salvation comes any other way except through the Cross is wrong!

"Lordship Salvation" is deceiving

From time to time I've listened to "Grace to You" with John MacArthur. We've brought up issues with him before, but I thought I'd give him a chance, & most of his messages I have no problem with. Today he started a series entitled "Examine Yourself", & some of his statements were true. In this message he said you have to come to salvation on Christ's terms, not your own, & there's no doubt about that. But he came out & said that believing in Christ is not enough to save you. If he was just thinking about how, "the demons believe & tremble", that can be backed up, but I think he was taking it farther than that. He said that true Christians live "righteously", which is true, except it sounded like he was implying that it's our own responsibility to live righteously - but we can't live righteously without the Holy Spirit! He was using the Sermon on the Mount as a pattern that Christians must live by, without saying that we can't live that in our own strength. I think because of when the Sermon on the Mount was preached - the context - it was like the Law, showing us that we don't meet those standards & need Christ to interceed. It's true that true Christians will bear the fruit of the Spirit, but that's the result of salvation, not the means of salvation. I guess my point is this: John MacArthur is preaching truth, but emphasizing the wrong things. He needs to better explain what the words "believe" & "righteousness" mean, because from the context of his sentences, one could get the wrong interpretation. The Law is a mirror to show us our sin, so we need that! But "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us..."