For the Purpose of Godliness

A Different Kind of King

2011-03-22T20:40:00.007-05:00

Trevin Wax in his book Holy Subversion points out that "...true strength is often found in what seems to the world as weakness." Why?...because "In the kingdom of God, everything is being turned upside down." Tim Keller makes a similar point. In his book, King's Cross, he reminds us that "Jesus started in weakness- first, by becoming human, and second, by going to a cross" (King's Cross, p. 107).

First, by becoming human:
Consider the birth of Jesus. Wax writes, "in an unnoticed corner of Caesar's kingdom, in a simple stable, sleeping in a feeding trough, the Son of God had come to show the glory of his Father." When Jesus entered the world, he appeared weak..."The infinite God enclosed himself in a woman's womb for nine months, (he) was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger for a bed." Contrast this with Caesar..."At the time of Christ's birth...(Caesar) enjoyed luxurious accomodations in his Roman palace", had a "great number of people under his domain", and commanded "an army of thousands." "Which one looks more like a king?"...Wax responds, "Things are not always as they appear" (Holy Subversion, p. 125-126).

Second, by going to a cross:
Wax notes"...nowhere is the 'Great Reversal' more evident than in the seeming weakness of the Lamb who is slain and yet sitting on the throne of Revelation. The slain lamb would appear to be a picture of ultimate weakness, and yet a glimpse of God's throne room shows us that Jesus is the conquering King who has won the victory through his death and resurrection" (Trevin Wax, Holy Subversion p. 127).

Tim Keller adds, "When Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins, he won through losing; he achieved our forgiveness on the cross by turning the values of the world on their head. He did not 'fight fire with fire.' He didn't come and raise an army in order to put down the latest corrupt regime. He didn't take power; he gave it up- and yet he triumphed" (King's Cross, p. 102-103).

The Hiding Place

2011-03-21T22:59:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, a friend was kind enough to introduce me to McKay's- a used bookstore in Nashville. As I perused the Christian aisle, I came across The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom. I had heard of her (referenced in some other books) but knew little of her story. It was 50 cents so I decided to purchase it. It was a story I couldn't put down.

Briefly, The Hiding Place is the story of Corrie and her family- faithful Christians who relied on God every step of the way as they risked their lives to help Jews escape Nazis occupying Holland. They were part of the "underground" operation to find safe houses for Jews and they themselves hid Jews in a secret room built within Corrie's own bedroom. She and her family were eventually caught and though most of them were released, Corrie and her sister Betsie remained and both were sent to Hitler's concentration camps. It's there, in her imprisonment (at the lowest point and her weakest state), she displays the greatest strength. In her weakness, we see not the perfect Christian but the perfect Christ. We see an extraordinary woman doing extraordinary things because of an extraordinary God. In the book, Corrie displays fear, hurt, anger, doubt, lack of faith, and hopelessness but she never stays there long and she always credits God for that. She is keenly aware that it is God who is at work, who provides, and who never fails to grant her what she needs at the right time and in the right way. In the darkest moments, God's light shines and she continually reminds us of that. There are so many wonderful truths that Corrie points out but the one that made the most impact on me was in the realm of forgiveness. Toward the end of her story, Corrie shares this moment:

"It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there- the roomful of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie's pain-blanched face. He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. "How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein." he said. "To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!" His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side. Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness. As I took his hand the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand a current seemed to pass from me to him, while into my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me. And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself. (p. 238)

How to understand paradoxes in the Bible

2011-01-24T11:40:00.000-06:00

The doctrine of election is one paradox in the Bible that's difficult to grasp. How are we to think and how are we to answer when a question like this arises, "Why does God show some people mercy while others are left to die in their sins and ultimately to suffer God's wrath"...especially if God, in His sovereignty, is the One who chooses us and calls us to Him.

According to John MacArthur, "The problem is not whether you believe those. The problem is how you harmonize them, right? You know how you harmonize them? No, you don't. You don't know how to harmonize them. Because there is no way to harmonize them...You have to leave the paradox." In his argument, if we try to harmonize paradoxes, there is a real danger of producing heresy.

So then, how are we to think?

John Piper says:
1. Not all things are good for us to know, and so God has not revealed them to us; and there are some things that are good for us to know, even when we can't explain them fully...Other things we do know, because God has revealed them to us, but we know them only in part. So they are good for us to know. But we must be content to know only in part...This is especially true of the doctrine of election. We are prone to ask more questions than God chooses to answer. There is a great danger that our questions will pass over into accusations...The effects on our lives of what we know are always more than we know or can explain. Sometimes we must simply learn something because God says it's true. Then later we may see how the knowledge protected us, or strengthened us, or humbled us, or purified us, or guided us, or enabled us to see other things as true. The issue boils down to trust. Do we trust that God has revealed what is good for us to know? With the doctrine of election we don't know all the ways it is good for us, but we do know some of them.

2. The doctrine of election has a strong tendency to make a church rigorous about the truth and about the Scriptures, and so keep it from drifting into doctrinal indifference and conformity to culture. The doctrine of election tends to give firmness and fiber to flabby minds. It tends to produce robust, thoughtful Christians who are not swept away by trendy, man-centered ideas. It has an amazing preservative power that works to keep other doctrines from being diluted and lost. In general it tends to press onto our minds a God-centered worldview built out of real objective truth...

3. A third pastoral thought about the doctrine of election is that it is one of the best ways to test whether we have reversed roles with God...Paul addressed this issue most forcefully in Romans 9:6-23. As he did, he heard the ancient and modern objection, "Why does [God] still find fault? For who can resist his will?" his answer to that was, "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?'" (Romans 9:19-20). In other words, it's not fitting for you to reverse roles with God. He's the potter. Few doctrines test more clearly whether we are judging God or God is judging us...

4. The fourth pastoral thought about the doctrine of election is this: The humble embrace—not the discussion of, not even the intellectual belief in, but the humble embrace—of the precious truth of election and sovereign grace, produces radical, loving, risk—taking ministry and missions...Embracing and being embraced by the doctrine of sovereign grace—beginning with unconditional election—first produces that kind of radical, risk-taking sacrificial love; and then it humbles us to rejoice in the truth that we did not produce this beauty in ourselves, God did. Then we give him the glory...This is not mainly a doctrine to be argued about, but a doctrine to be enjoyed. It's not designed for disputes; it's designed for missions. It's not meant to divide people (though it will); it's meant to make them compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and forgiving.

5. I close with one last pastoral thought. Don't think of election apart from Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3 says, "[God] chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world." In other words, when God planned in eternity to pluck us out of our bondage to sin, he had Christ in mind as the way he would do it. God planned before the foundation of the world to save us through the death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, what God has done to save us and call us to himself is not to tell us ahead of time if we are elect. God never reveals this except through a relationship with Jesus Christ, so that Christ is central to our election. Instead of telling us if we are elect, what God did was to send his Son and say, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). "Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself" (1 John 5:10). He knows that he is elect. So in the name of Christ I call you: Come, take him as your Savior and your Lord and the Treasure of your life. He never casts out any who comes in faith. He forgives sin. He clothes with righteousness. He gives the Holy Spirit. He will keep you. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:27). Hear the voice of the good Shepherd and come." Click here to read in full.

Finally, a reminder from R.C. Sproul that paradoxes are not contradictions. They are mysteries..."something that appears at first glance to be contradiction, but when explored further really is not." As we think about all the paradoxes within the Christian faith, we must remember that when we consider the law of noncontradiction which states, “A cannot be both A and non-A at the same time and in the same relationship", we must also consider the importance of the qualifiers, "same time" and "same relationship". A paradox can be true if it allows for that. Click here to read in full.

The Rest of the Story

2010-10-25T08:18:00.001-05:00

"When life dashes our dreams and seems to kill our hopes, we must remind ourselves that we’ve read the end of the story...And we win! God wins!

In the end:
Healing triumphs over losses.
Hope triumphs over hurt.
Grace triumphs over works.
Faith triumphs over doubt.
Hope triumphs over despair.
Love triumphs over separation.
Life triumphs over death.
Good triumphs over evil.
God triumphs over the devil."

(from Trevin Wax)

The First Task of Evangelism

2010-10-06T13:27:00.009-05:00

In his post, "Reasons for Reason", Kevin DeYoung asks:
"How do you give a reason for the hope that you have when the people asking you aren’t interested in reason?"

His answer:
"It seems to me one of the first tasks of evangelism today is to reintroduce the law of non-contradiction." The law of non-contradiction is a principle in logic. It basically states that it's not possible for something to be both true and not true at the same time and in the same context. In other words, if one is true, the other is not. Therefore, one must be false.

According to DeYoung, "more and more we can’t just drop the bridge diagram on people, we need to go back and tell the larger story of creation, curse, covenant, Christ, commitment, and consummation. And even before that we may have to help people simply think; help people not just find the truth, but believe that it exists, that it is inconsistent with error, and that it does not automatically correspond to what we wish it to be."

From God is the Gospel

2010-10-05T13:58:00.013-05:00

"What is the ultimate good of the gospel that makes all the aspects of good news good? What is the goal of the gospel that, if we miss it, takes all the good out of the gospel? What do we mean when we say God is the gospel?"

John Piper:
"When I say that God is the Gospel I mean that the highest, best, final, decisive good of the gospel...is the glory of God in the face of Christ revealed for our everlasting enjoyment. The saving love of God is God's commitment to do everything necessary to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying, namely himself...The gospel is the good news of our final and full enjoyment of the glory of God in the face of Christ...The gift is Christ himself as the glorious image of God- seen and savored with everlasting joy...When we celebrate the gospel of Christ and the love of God, and when we lift up the gift of salvation, let us do it in such a way that people will see through it to God himself...May those who love your salvation say evermore, 'God is great!' (Psalm 70:4). Not mainly, "Salvation is great," but "God is great!"

Christ also suffered once for sins,

the righteous for the unrighteous,

that he might bring us to God.

(1 Peter 3:18)

How to be Useful

2010-10-05T13:43:00.010-05:00

According to Piper:
"Nothing fits a person to be more useful on earth than to be more ready for heaven. This is true because readiness for heaven means taking pleasure in beholding the Lord Jesus, and beholding the glory of the Lord means being changed into his likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). Nothing would bless this world more than more people who are more like Christ. For in likeness to Christ the world might see Christ."

(from God is the Gospel p. 16)

Longing for Home

2010-10-04T17:36:00.022-05:00

In his sermon, "The Longing for Home", Tim Keller preached:
"all human beings were made for home that they've lost"...In Genesis 2, it says, "the Lord God planted a garden in Eden...and there he put the man whom he had formed". Here we see that man was given the perfect home but because of sin (Genesis 3), we lost it. In Keller's words, "All of us are in a form of exile (Jeremiah 29)...because sin, by its very nature, casts us out of home". Keller reminds us, "This is not the home that we are built for...God is the home that we are missing (Psalm 90)...The Bible makes sense of it, the home that our heart seeks, even the home that our heart remembers...its the collective memory of Eden, of God...God is the home that we somehow remember...Eden, the face of God, walking with Him in the cool of the day is what we are after but fail to get (Isaac Watts)"... This world is not our home but Keller says, "don't be despondent". Instead, "look to the tears of Rachel" (Jeremiah 31). In v. 16, the Lord says, "Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears...they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future..." There is hope because as Keller explains, "God's not just talking to Israel, He's talking to the human race. There's an ultimate exile and (God's) going to eventually bring (us) back...So, as Keller puts it- dry your tears Rachels, there is hope."

Reading and Remembering

2010-06-15T08:26:00.010-05:00

I read quite a bit but unfortunately, have come to realize that I remember very little. It can become frustrating. When you commit to reading, you hope to remember at least half of what you just read. When you don't, it can feel like a waste of time and energy. Fortunately, I came across this post by C.J. Mahaney and it was exactly what I needed to be encouraged.

How to be a Gospel-Centered Parent to Little Ones

2010-05-28T10:01:00.007-05:00

"train them in obedience...obedience will produce a receptive child and...a receptive child is one that you can impart the gospel to...In The Miracle Worker, it's said, "Obedience is the gateway for knowledge to enter the heart and mind." Similarly, in parenting little ones: "Obedience is the gateway for us to communicate the gospel to their little hearts." (Carolyn Mahaney)

Do What You Can

2010-03-05T20:41:00.003-06:00

"Do what you can. God does not love us more when we do more, nor less when we do less. He accepts us, not because of what we do for Him, but because of what He’s done for us in Christ.

The Bible says, “He made us accepted in the Beloved [that is, Jesus]” (Ephesians 1:6). And nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). Love God, and within the limitations He has sovereignly placed in your life at this time, do what you can."

(from Donald S. Whitney, Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed).

Discovered from Mom's Bible Reading: Do What You Can

Gospel-Powered Parenting (12)

2010-02-27T20:56:00.001-06:00

Amazing Grace

Parents need grace. There are many things to do, and most of us are not doing them consistently. In Jerry Bridges's words, we need to preach the gospel to ourselves daily. Despite numerous failures, parents who do this will walk in increasing freedom from condemnation and discouragement. They will also model how to walk in gospel victory for their children, and children need to see their parents doing just that.

Failure

"We are sinners. We fail...Yes, God is holy. Our sin is serious. The cross is the measure of sin's horrors. Yet here is the miracle: God loves us. Jesus bore God's wrath in our place...When we turn to the gospel, it transforms our weaknesses. "My grace is sufficient for you, " Jesus told Paul, "for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9)...Parents who repeatedly find forgiveness in the gospel can extend that forgiveness to their children. Your children need to watch you continually shedding your guilt and fear at the foot of the cross."

Gospel-Powered Parenting (11)

2010-02-27T19:37:00.001-06:00

Gospel Love

"Most assume that all parents love their children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some make great sacrifices for their children, but are unable to be affectionate. Others love their children possessively. Their children have become idols. Others feel great affection for their children, but are unwilling to make sacrifices for them. The love of God latent in the gospel is the cure for these abuses."

Love God More than Your Children

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26-27).

"We know that we love (our child more than God) whenever we are willing to compromise God's will to please our children or enhance our relationship with them...you are to love God so much more than your children that your love for them is like hatred compared to your love for God...We love our children with God's love only to the degree that we love God more."

"The gospel is the key to understanding this love. Because Jesus loved the Father more than us, he went to the cross. Jesus died to please his Father, to amplify his glory. Love for us was secondary. He loved his Father more than us, and for that reason we get the true love we really need- his atoning death in our place on the cross. In the same way, love for Christ must dictate how we love our children."

"In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer suggests that Christ must always stand between us and those we love most...God's Word, not our lusts or fears, should govern how we love our children, spouses, and so on. We relate to our children in order to please God rather than our children. We fear God's disapproval, not our children's...All of this matters because ultimately the goal of parenting is not your child's happiness...not your happiness either...not their academic or career success...not your reputation. The goal is the glory of God."

Love Children Sacrificially

"We don't learn about God's love by looking at people. We understand it by looking at the cross. "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers" (1 John 3:16). Christ's death defines what God's love looks like. Gospel-centered parents see that love, and try to imitate it."

"Sometimes this love hurts...it inconveniences us...it is the source of stress. It interrupts our plans...diverts our lives. It rechannels our energies in unexpected directions. This should not surprise us. The gospel is about the love of God, the same love demonstrated at the cross, a bloody, suffering love."

"The world tells parents to demand their rights, pursue their careers, and sacrifice others (spouse and children) to pursue selfish ambitions. But the gospel says, "You have no rights, only responsibilities." It says, "Life proceeds out of death." It says, "Your children will live to the degree of your dying."

"Gospel love doesn't bring life just to the child. It also imparts God's life to the parent who dies. The promises are lavish. "For the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross" (Heb 12:2). "Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matt 16:25). Out of death comes life to both parent and child."

"This is how children internalize God's love. They watch their parents modeling it. It is how they internalize their duty to love others. They absorb God's life through their parents' self-denying love."

Love Children Affectionately

"God's love is bigger than affection. It begins with action but terminates in the warmth of affection...So God's love does not start with affection. You don't feel affection for enemies, those under your wrath...But affection is so important to God that he sent his Son to remove the offense that separated us. He did this so that he could lavish affection on us...He wanted an affectionate relationship, but sin stood in the way, so he dealt with the sin issue at the cross...This is important because sometimes it is hard to feel affection for our children. Some are easy to like. Others are more difficult. Both are God's gift to us."

"God sends us difficult children to test our capacity to love like our heavenly Father- to be affectionate with the disagreeable...

"Parental affection is very powerful. It makes the parent, and the parent's God, attractive. It communicates love and acceptance. We might tell our children that we love them, but affection convinces them...Affection is the hammer that drives the nail of truth deep into their hearts...Dr. Ross Campbell (How to Really Love Your Child) writes, "Discipline is immeasurably easier when the child feels genuinely loved...If a child does not feel genuinely loved and accepted...he has real difficulty identifying with his parents and their values."...Unless children feel their parents' love and acceptance, they will probably not internalize the lessons you are trying to teach them."

Ways to Show Affection:

1. focused attention (time alone with a child)

2. eye contact (look your child in the eye and listen; provide undivided attention)

3. appropriate physical contact (hugging, appropriate touching, or holding)

* A child should feel completely secure in the arms of his/her father/mother

* When your son or daughter enters his/her teens, don't stop

4. verbal encouragement (pointing out "evidences of grace")

* Words of affirmation are powerful. The Bible stresses the awesome power of the tongue. "The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life" (Prov 10:11). Appropriate words encourage, impart love, inspire, and charge our children with confidence to face tomorrow. This is especially true when we verbally identify where God is working in their lives.

* Behind almost every child's weakness is a corresponding strength. After you have disciplined the weakness, take a moment to identify the strength...Learn to verbally and repeatedly identify God's grace in your children's lives.

* Parents deeply aware of their own sin are very sensitive to God's grace in others. Despite their children's shortcoming, they are grateful, and they express that gratitude repeatedly.

Gospel-Powered Parenting (10)

2010-02-25T22:20:00.001-06:00

Food for the Hungry

Eph 6:4 "...bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." This chapter discusses the instruction of the Lord. Your children will become what they eat both physically and spiritually. That is why it is so important for fathers to set the Bread of Life before their children. For beliefs hinder our willingness to feed our children. First, we believe we can delegate the job to others. Second, we lack confidence in the potency in the Bread of Life- the gospel. Third, we don't have confidence that we can apply the gospel to our children. Fourth, we don't feel confident to teach our children.

Who is the Teacher

Eph 6:4 says it's the father. Deut 6:6-9 says we are to teach our children "when you sit in your house (formally) and when you walk by the way (informally). While Bible teaching should be informal (in the car, at the ball game, fishing), we shouldn't use this as an excuse to ignore formal teaching. We don't learn arithmetic or chemistry informally. Why? It doesn't work. The Bible is much more important than chemistry. Children don't reject our faith because of too much formal teaching. They reject it because we don't practice it. They reject it because we practice it but don't teach it. Or they reject it because they don't have new birth. In many instances, parents have abdicated the role of teaching to the schools,and it is not working. Parents need to virtues about God from the cross and need to teach them to their children.

Children's minds are like spiritual gardens. Fruit grows only by planting and watering. If you don't want weeds, you must teach your children regularly and intentionally. An extensive survey of 275,000 teens showed that 70% of them cited parents as the most important influence on their lives. The Bible is clear that the fathers are the primary spiritual teachers of their children, not the schools nor the Sunday school teachers.

Where is Your Confidence?

The second reason that we don't teach our children is that we don't have much confidence in the message-the gospel. The more confidence that the parents have in the message, the more persistently they will teach. Gospel-centered parents trust in the gospel. It is their confidence, their hope (not sincerity, traditions, cleverness, etc). The gospel is the "power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." God's Word is living and active. It pierces, and provokes new birth. This is important. You cannot change your child's heart. Scripture tells us that the message is foolishness to worldly wisdom. Parents face a temptation to soften the message, but there is no way to soften the message without losing it's power. Because this is true, parents repetitively preach this message because their confidence is in God and the power of the Word. They believe with all of their heart that God will soften their children's hearts through the gospel. Finally, they never presume that their children understand the gospel.

Apply the Gospel

Teaching the gospel to our children is not enough. We must also help our children apply it. In other words, our children's ethics need to flow out of the gospel. The gospel-the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus-is our tutorial. (The author goes on to give examples of forgiveness, serving like Christ did, glorifying God through school, being selfless, reaching out to others, etc).

Teaching Suggestions

The last reason that we shirk our teaching responsibilities is lack of confidence in our ability. Preschool children can start with Bible storybooks. then eventually to an adult Bible and reading Bible stories. Also godly books like Chronicles of Narnia and biographies of missionaries. The best time for instruction is a family meal. Teaching time doesn't have to be long, fifteen minutes is adequate. Individualism is the enemy of family devotions. Some will have to forgo sports, computer time, or TV to spend time together as a family. Teach by asking questions. This forces your children to think and interact with the Bible. Have one of the children read a passage. Then ask questions. What is it about? Why is it important? How does the passage relate to the gospel? What does this tell us about God?

The most important thing is consistency. Don't be discouraged. If you consistently teach 4 days a week, you are doing well.

Gospel-Powered Parenting (9)

2010-02-24T23:07:00.001-06:00

Discipline that Preaches

The goal is not just morality. It is new birth. We do not get birth by being moral; rather it is new birth that produces morality. Therefore, wise parents aim their discipline at the heart. Fundamentally, Christian parents discipline heart attitudes not behaviors. If we reach the heart, the desired behavior will follow permanently and volitionally.

Using Discipline to Teach the Gospel

1) The first step is the most difficult. It is consistency. God expects us to obey on the first command. It is how we express love for Him. It is our duty to train our children to express love for God by obeying.

2) We should always put discipline in the context of love. Say something like this: "the Bible tells us that God disciplines us because He loves us. That is why I discipline you...most importantly if I don't discipline you God will. Because I fear God and I love you, I'm going to spank you."

3) When appropriate, reference scripture. This convinces the child that you are under God's authority, that you are responsible to a higher law, and that he/she should be also.

4) Make sure it hurts. It must hurt enough to earn the child's fear and respect.

5) Hold the child until he/she stops crying. This communicates love and affection. It connects the pain of discipline with physical affection. This connection will be very important when, in later life, God takes over your child's discipline.

6) Use the discipline event to rehearse the gospel. Your children cannot hear it too frequently.

7) Ask them to verbally confess the specific sin for which they are being disciplined. "Are you ready to ask God to forgive you for the sin of..." If your child answers no, your discipline has not succeeded. You may need to start again.

8) Finally, have your children perform restitution if he/she has harmed someone.

The Fear of God

The fear of God reminds us that the failure to discipline has consequences. If we don't discipline our children, God will. The fear of God equips parents to overcome the fear of their children. They can disappoint their children but they dare not disappoint God. Why? They believe that God is sovereign over their children's hearts.

The Christian's Highest Priority

2010-02-23T17:16:00.003-06:00

The Christian's highest priority is God's glory.

"But what is God's glory and what does it mean to bring Him glory?"

"(God's) glory is...the composite of His attributes (Ex 33:18-19). That suggests we can glorify God by placing His attributes on display in our lives. When others see godly characteristics like love, mercy, patience, and kindness in you, they have a better picture of what God is like. That honors Him...(so) guard your attitudes and actions...be exemplary in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity (1 Tim 4:12)...(and) praise Him (Ps 29:1-2, 9). You cannot add to God's glory, but you can proclaim it in your words and deeds."

(From GTY)

Gospel-Powered Parenting (8)

2010-02-21T22:49:00.001-06:00

Foundations of Discipline

Biblical discipline always expresses God's love. "The Lord disciplines the one He loves" (Heb 12:6)...The Bible so closely allies discipline with love that it suggests that those who refuse to discipline their children actually hate them; "whoever spares the rod hates his son but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him" (Prov 13:24).

The gospel affects discipline in two ways:

1. It motivates our discipline

2. It (communicating the gospel) becomes the end of effective discipline

Indwelling Sin

The child's behavior is a sympton of...indwelling sin manifesting itself as pride and selfishness. If the problem is spiritual and moral, then the solution is discipline and instruction of the Lord (their nature is the problem)...our children are inclined toward evil...(God's) solution is discipline..."do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die" (Prov 23:13); "the rod and reproof give wisdom but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother" (Prov 29:15)...the gospel imparts to us a sense of urgency because someday our children will get perfect justice.

Believe in Authority

Effective parents see authority with biblical eyes. God loves authority and hates rebellion (2 Kings 2:22-24)... "Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment" (Rom 13:1-2). Parents who tolerate child rebellion...expose their little ones to God's judgement. We are to discipline our children in the awareness of the truth that someday God will judge both us and our children. To the degree that it is real, you will be an effective disciplinarian.

Dr. Bruce Ware reminds us that we live in a culture that despises authority at every level...one of the lessons of the Trinity is that God loves what we despise; namely, God loves, exercises, and embraces rightful authority-submission relationships....because God embodies this very structure (in the Trinity). The Father has servant authority, the Son submits to the Father, and the Holy Spirit submits to both. They love to submit because the Father's authority is inherently virtuous and beautiful. Submission to authority expresses humility, and God always exalts the humble.

He commands parents to exercise servant-authority as God the Father does. He commands children to joyfully submit to their parents' authority. Ultimately life is about authority: at the judgement, how we responded to God's authority will determine our eternal destiny.

Gospel-Powered Parenting (7)

2010-01-26T22:32:00.001-06:00

Gospel Fathers

"Christianity is a patriarchal religion."

Fathers Are God's Chief Parents

"...in a two-parent family, Dad is the chief parent, the one accountable to God for his family. Mom is there to assist him."

"Scripture is all about fathers and their children...Noah and his three sons...Abraham and his son Isaac, Isaac and his son Jacob, and Jacob and his twelve sons. Their mothers play a background role...Patriarchy was Israel's strength...In addition, God holds fathers responsible...Eli...Samuel...Solomon...David."

"...the Bible contains few direct instructions to parents. Those few God addresses to fathers...Deuteronomy 6:4-7...Eph 6:4...Col 3:21...These texts do not deny the crucial role of mothers...Rather, God has designed these texts to encourage fathers to assume their God-given responsibility."

A Practical Example

"...fathers are a mirror in which their children look to put on their spiritual dress...when a child begins to move into a period of differentiation from home and engagement with the world "out there", he or she looks increasingly to the father for direction...When the father is absent or passive, the family withers, and the ability to pass the baton of faith to the next generation is greatly weakened...fatherhood is vital to parenting, and therefore to the salvation of our children."

Attracting Men

What can we do to attract men to our churches, to excite men about fatherhood?:

1. emphasize objective truth

"Men respond best to objective truth. By contrast, feeling and sentiment are more apt to appeal to the feminine nature."

2. develop masculine role models

"Men are not born masculine. It is a learned behavior...True masculinity expresses itself as a desire to serve women and children by leading them, protecting them, and providing for them. True masculinity is all about unselfish servanthood."

"Ultimately, men learn masculinity from God. God is not male. He does not have a body. But God is pure, unadulterated masculinity...His masculinity expresses itself as the willingness to initiate...(C.S.) Lewis suggested that the willingness to initiate is the heart and soul of God's masculinity. God serves us by initiating. He initiated creation. He initiated our redemption. He came to us in the incarnation...God makes men more masculine and women more feminine."

"Jesus Christ models biblical masculinity...he initiated our salvation at the cost of his life...he was a servant-leader...he provides for our daily material needs...he protects his church at the cost of his life...As men behold Christ, they are transformed into his image (2Cor 3:18)."

3. encourage women to promote biblical masculinity

"...by directing the children to their father...submitting and respecting husbands (Ephesians 5)...praying...encouraging husbands...(and) making men feel needed in the areas of leadership, financial provision, and protection."

Gospel-Powered Parenting (6)

2010-01-18T15:43:00.001-06:00

The First Principle of Parenting

"...example is the first principle of parenting...When parents practice what they teach, God gives them moral authority in their children's eyes."

The Power of Example

"A leader proclaims with two voices: one through lips, the other through life...Together, these messages converge to create a solid platform of credibility and stature. (Dave Harvey)"

"Our marriage is the most powerful example that we possess. To the degree that the gospel makes our marriage attractive, God will empower us to reach our children."

The Marriage that Preaches Good News

"...human marriage exists to preach the gospel. It exists to illustrate the fruit that should follow the preaching of the gospel in the church."

"When a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church, washing her with the Word, forgiving her, serving her, and tenderly leading her, his marriage says, "Christ loves his church. You can trust the Groom. He is infinitely loving. Serve him. You won't be disappointed...When Mom joyfully submits to her husband "as to the Lord" (Eph 5:22)...it makes an attractive statement...it points her children to Christ...Her behavior says "The Son of God is infinitely good. You can trust him."

The Example-Wrecker

"Hypocrisy cripples our parenting example...Hypocrisy is one of the sins that provokes children to anger." (Eph 6:4)

"Behind hypocrisy, pride is usually lurking. Pride is blindness to our faults, sins, and failings. Most importantly, pride is blind to the existence of itself...Pride blinds us to the contradictions within ourselves, or worse, puffs us up so much that we don't care."

"...pride makes us uncorrectable- protecting (ourself) is more important than discovering the truth about (ourself) so that (we) can change wrong behavior...This tells children that (we) really have little interest in personal holiness."

"...hypocrisy hardens our children to the message we want them to hear.

Empowering Example

"The gospel makes parents humble. It is the antidote to pride."

"Humility impacts parents in several ways":

1. it makes us quick to admit wrongdoing (to our children and to our spouse)..."Our children are watching...Confession sends a crucial message to our children. It reminds them that, yes, my parents are imperfect, but they are deadly earnest about following Christ, about wanting to change, and about doing things God's way."

2. it opens our eyes to our sin...It makes us tender and gracious discipliners of our children...Humble parents discipline their children "in a spirit of gentleness." They "keep watch on [themselves]"...Their growing humility retards the "decei[t]" of thinking they are "something, when [they are] nothing" (Gal 6:1-3).

Gospel-Powered Parenting (5)

2010-01-15T17:12:00.001-06:00

A Gracious Father

"Grace is the heart and soul of Christianity. It is what makes Christianity different from every other religion...All other religions work for salvation...But true salvation is the gracious gift of an infinitely holy God."

God is Gracious

"Grace is reward, or favor, given to those who deserve judgment...the cross is the tape that measures the length and breadth of God's grace...This means that sinners who deserve crucifixion instead get the reward that perfection deserves. We get it at God's expense, and there is absolutely nothing we can do to earn or repay this exchange. This should stun us...astonish us...deeply and profoundly humble us."

God is Free

"The only thing God owes us is justice!...We are sinners. We have no claim on God's grace...no one can say, "That is not fair"...fairness implies obligation, but God is not obligated to be gracious...We know this because..."God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment" (2 Pet 2:4)...If this is true, none of us have a claim on grace either."

God Has No Needs

"This means that when he is gracious, it is not to satisfy a need in himself...he is completely satisfied in his own inter-Trinitarian community...He is utterly sufficient in himself."

"If God has no need, why did he create and redeem?...God created to glorify his goodness...to display and exercise his moral perfections...because God's goodness is constantly overflowing, and he wants to display it and share it."

Sin is Infinitely Offensive

"Not only is God free and without need, but the depth of our demerit is impossible for us to fully understand. God is gracious to enemies, not friends (Rom 5:8). If we were friends, the "favor" would be "merited", and it wouldn't be grace."

"...(Hell and the cross) highlight the enormity of our sin:

1. "Hell says that our sin is infinitely heinous in God's sight. Why?...Hell is eternal, conscious torment...unredeemed sinners suffer forever, their sin is so serious that their suffering never atones for their sin.

2. "The cross confirms all that we have said about the infinite offense of sin...It says that no finite sacrifice can atone for sin (Heb 10:4). Nothing but a sacrifice of infinite value, God himself, can atone for our offenses. In addition, no one but an infinite Being is capable of suffering sufficiently to atone for infinite offenses against an infinitely holy God.

We are Helpless

"None is righteous, no, not one...All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Rom 3:10, 12).

"God's Son came to earth and suffered infinite pains precisely because we are helpless...Attempts to be "good enough" reject Christ, his cross, and his atoning work."

The Cost of Grace to God

"God gave us that which he loved infinitely, his greatest treasure, his Son, to secure our adoption...The Father paid this price in the absence of any obligation to us, in the absence of any need in himself, despite infinite enmity toward us, and despite our helplessness."

Fruit of Grace

"All Christian obedience and service (including parenting) is a response to (God's) amazing grace...those who see and feel God's grace respond with joy and gratitude. They seek to be like God in holiness and godliness, not to earn his favor, but because his grace has captured their hearts."

Gospel-Powered Parenting (4)

2010-01-13T17:16:00.001-06:00

"...what we do is a by-product of how we think."

Gospel Fundamentals

"The cross is the fundamental of Christianity...In the world of parenting, the fundamentals get results. You can understand this principle superficially, or you can understand it profoundly, but how you understand it will shape your parenting."

God is Holy

"Holiness means separation...Holiness is not simply his righteousness, but his otherness. It is the distinction between Creator and the creature, the infinite distance between God's divinity and our humanity."

"The opposite of holiness is not sinfulness. It is commonness- ...When God says he is holy, he means that he is different from us. He means that he constantly and actively separates himself from all sin, wickedness, evil, and moral corruption- that is, all that is common to this world."

"Holiness is God's fundamental attribute...His holiness defines all his other attributes. We fear his wrath because it is holy, and we admire his love precisely because it is holy."

Holiness Unveiled

"...here is the stunning truth: Such is the holiness of the Father that when his Son bore our sin and transgressions, God separated himself from him." (Matt 27:46)

"If God hates sin so much that he would separate himself even from his only Son when he bore our sin, how much more will he separate himself from our children if they are not reconciled to him through the miracle of new birth?"

"But the other side is also true. If God so loves both us and our children that he willingly forsook his only begotten Son in order to reach us, we have great confidence...If we do our job as parents, God will be faithful to us and our children."

Holy Ways Revealed

"Holiness also means that God's ways are different from our ways (Isa 55:8-9)...Because God is holy, he cannot forgive without punishing sin. The cross gave God a way to both forgive and satisfy divine justice at the same time...to be both "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26).

Holy Wrath

"...God's holiness provokes him to hate evil and passionately love all that is good, virtuous, and true...God's wrath is His justice in action, rendering to everyone his just due, which because of our sin, is always judgment...How could God be good- infinitely good in the way the Bible describes him- and not feel intense anger at sin and evil?"

Wrath at the Cross

"The cross was a vehicle to express God's wrath, and God wanted it expressed..."What the cross tells us is that God hates sin" (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).

When God poured out his wrath on his Son, it appeared in many ways:

1. rejection (the Jewish people ask for Barabbas' release, and cry out "Crucify, crucify Him!")

2. pain (a thorny crown was pounded into His head and He was scourged viciously by the Roman soldiers)

3. ridicule (He was mocked, jeered at, and made fun of)

4. humiliation (He was stripped naked and crucified in that condition)

5. excruciating, tortured pain (He was nailed to a cross to suffer a slow, tormented death)

"The amazing truth is this: It was his Father's doing. God the Father worked through the Jews and the Roman soldiers to ensure that the holy wrath of God himself was fully expressed. "It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he [the Father] has put him [the Son] to grief" (Isa 53:10)"

"The cross leads us to this conclusion: There are only two types of people. There are those who put their faith in Jesus and let him bear God's wrath in their place. And there are those who try to earn salvation on their own terms. They will bear this wrath themselves, in hell, for eternity...These truths are very sobering to parents. They sensitize us to sin...motivate us to take our children's heart-sins seriously...(and) motivate us to take parenting seriously."

Gospel-Powered Parenting (3)

2009-12-31T10:55:00.001-06:00

Gospel Fear

"God blesses the children and grandchildren of the parents who learn and practice the fear of God. This may sound like moralism- God blessing us because we are good. It is not. God blesses faith, and a key expression of faith is the fear of God."

Fear of God Defined

"The believer's fear of God is not the slavish fear found in the Old Testament. Rather, it is grounded in a sense of God's holiness, his hatred of evil, the judgment my sin deserves and the horrible fate of unbelief. Mingled with all of this is a profound sense of sonship, adoption, God's free grace, and his extravagant, glorious, unearnable love. Those who rightly fear God increasingly revel in his infinite grace."

What to Expect

"...the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), and the wisdom that this fear teaches is the crucial building material for our homes. "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established" (Prov 24:3)

Gospel-Powered Parenting (2)

2009-12-29T15:35:00.001-06:00

"Concerning the task of parenting, the most overlooked, obvious source for help is the gospel. We assume it, but rarely see its application to child raising."

Parenting Defined

"...Wikipedia notes that "parenting is the process of raising and educating a child from birth until adulthood." For Christians, however, this definition is inadequate. It ignores the ultimate goal of parenting- eternity...the Christian does not parent for this life only. The believing parent labors to prepare each child for the day of judgment."

Not Morality

"...the primary focus of Christian parenting is not morality. Well-behaved children are not the ultimate end. Saving faith, deeply rooted in the children's hearts, is the supreme goal..."

Where are the Scriptures?

"The New Testament contains only two verses on (parenting): "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" (Eph 6:4); "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged" (Col 3:21)..."The Old Testament helps a little, but not as much as we would like: two chapters of Deuteronomy and a few passages from Proverbs."

"There are so few Scriptures because the gospel is the classroom that teaches us everything we need to know...If we really understand the gospel, and know how to apply it to our marriages and parenting, we have all the tools we need..."

7 Ways in which the Gospel Affects Parents

1. teaches parents to fear God (Chapters 4-5)

2. motivates parents to lead by example (Chapter 6)

3. centers families in their male servant leaders (Chapter 7)

4. teaches and motivates parents to discipline their children (Chapters 8-9)

5. motivates parents to teach their children (Chapter 10)

6. motivates parents to lavish their children with love and affection (Chapter 11)

7. "...is the solution for inadequate parents" (Chapter 12)

Gospel-Powered Parenting (1)

2009-12-28T16:20:00.001-06:00

Assumptions

"People have presuppositions [assumptions], and they will live more consistently on the basis of these presuppositions than even they themselves may realize." (Francis Schaeffer)

5 assumptions parents need to make:

1. Parenting is not easy...

"You will experience stress and obstacles. They will happen so that when your child comes to saving faith, your boasting will be in Christ, not your own best efforts."

2. God is sovereign, but He uses means...

"God is sovereign over your child's salvation: "No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (Matt 11:27). But..." Parents are the "means" that God wants to use to reach our children. Therefore..."We are utterly dependent and responsible at the same time."

3. A Good Offense is better than defense

"...effective parents equip their children to overcome the world-not by changing and controlling their environment (things external to their children), but by going after their children's hearts."

"...the best way to overcome the world is not with morality or self-discipline. Christians overcome the world by seeing the beauty and excellence of Christ. They overcome the world by seeing something more attractive than the world: Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:3).

"...parents with a defensive mind-set usually fail to understand the power of the gospel. They have little confidence in the power of new birth. They don't understand the role of the heart in conversion and sanctification. Instead, they emphasize the child's external environment. They put their confidence in rules, restrictions, and protections."

4. Understand New birth

"...it is foolish for parents to presume upon new birth. New birth is a radical change of heart that ushers in new desires, new loves, and a new life direction. "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God" (1 John 3:9)."

"New birth means that one has enthroned Christ in the center of one's life. You become a Christian when your life, thinking, and behavior begin to revolve around Jesus Christ. Until that happens, professions and decisions mean little...Be wise. Don't presume your child's new birth until you see solid evidence. The first sign is growing hunger for God. Other signs are hunger for holiness, growing obedience to parents, and desire for secret prayer and Bible reading."

5. Child-Centered Families

"...effective parents are not child centered. They are God centered."

"...there is a fine line between healthy parental love and child worship. We know the latter has happened when we begin compromising God's will for the sake of our children or their activities...Compromise always points to idolatry."

"Hierarchy is a nasty word in our anti-authoritarian culture. Yet heaven, a world of intense joy, love, and peace, is profoundly hierarchical...To the degree that heaven permeates our homes, they also will be hierarchical...In a God-centered family, everyone serves God by submitting to the authority over them. The husband focuses on pleasing God, not his wife. The wife focuses on pleasing God by submitting to her husband's authority rather than pleasing her children. The children please God by honoring and obeying their parents."

Gospel-Powered Parenting (Intro)

2009-12-28T16:04:00.001-06:00

"...the most effective parents have a clear grasp of the cross and its implications for daily life...

They include the fear of God, a marriage that preaches the gospel to its children, deeply ingrained humility, gratitude, joy, firmness coupled with affection, and consistent teaching modeled by parents daily." (William P. Farley)

See Challies for his review

The Reason for God (Chapter 14)

2009-10-14T17:41:00.002-05:00

The Dance of God and The Divine Dance

Keller begins the chapter with the doctrine of the Trinity- "God is one being who exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit". He does so to remind us that "God is, in essence, relational" and as so, each glorifies the other. Keller explains, "the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit glorify one another by mutually self-giving love. When we delight and serve someone else, we enter into a dynamic orbit around him or her, we center on the interests and desires of the other. That creates a dance, particularly if there are three persons, each of whom moves around the other two...none demands that the others revolve around Him...each person of the Trinity loves, adores, defers to, and rejoices in the others. That creates a dynamic, pulsating dance of joy and love."

The Dance of Love

Keller continues, "if God is triune...then God really has love as His essence. If He was just one person He couldn't have been loving for all eternity...for love is something person(s) do". Keller makes this point to show that "this world was not created by a God who is only an individual...or an impersonal force...neither is it the product of power struggles between deities nor of random, violent, accidental natural forces...it's a world made by a God who is a community of persons who have loved each other for all eternity."

The Dance of Creation

Here, Keller addresses those who would say, "On nearly every page of the Bible God calls us to glorify, praise, and serve Him. How can you say he doesn't seek His own glory?" Keller answers, "Yes He does ask us to obey him unconditionally, to glorify, praise, and center our lives around Him"...but He does so because "He wants our joy!" Keller continues, "If we will center our lives on Him, serving Him not out of self-interest, but just for the sake of who He is, for the sake of His beauty and glory, we will enter the dance and share in the joy and love He lives in."

Losing the Dance

Keller says, "the story of the Bible begins with the dance of creation, but in Genesis 3 we read of the Fall" and losing the dance when Adam and Eve disobeyed and tried to get God to orbit around them. When this relationship with God unraveled, all other relationships disintegrated as well. Specifically, Keller tells us it is self-centeredness and self-absorption that leads to social disintegration. Keller says we lose the dance of joyful, mutually self-giving relationships when everyone is stationary and trying to get everything else to orbit around them. However, Keller says, "God did not leave us there. The Son of God was born into the world to begin a new humanity, a new community of people who could lose their self-centeredness, begin a God-centered life, and, as a result, slowly but surely have all other relationships put right as well." Keller puts the story together and tells us, "As the first Adam was tested in the Garden of Eden, the last Adam (Jesus) was tested in the Garden of Gethsemane. The first Adam knew that he would live if he obeyed God about the tree. But he didn't. The last Adam was also tested by a "tree", the Cross. Jesus knew that He would be crushed if He obeyed His Father. And He still did." Keller explains that when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, "He was circling and serving us...He began to do with us what He had been doing with the Father and the Spirit from all eternity...loving us without benefit to Himself."

Returning to the Dance

Keller says, when Jesus died on the cross, He invited us to join in "the dance"- "to put our lives on a whole new foundation- to make Him the new center of our lives and stop trying to be our own Savior and Lord."

The Future of the Dance

Here, Keller looks to Romans 8:21 and says "the whole world will be healed as it is drawn into the fullness of God's glory...the human race will finally be reunited. The human race will finally live together in peace and interdependence."

The Christian Life

Keller ends with, "The purpose of Jesus's coming is to put the whole world right, to renew and restore the creation, not to escape it" and no other religion offers this hope. Keller then asks the question "What does it mean to live a Christian life?" and answers, "God made us to ever increasingly share in His own joy and delight in the same way He has joy and delight within Himself"...but..."We glorify and enjoy Him only as we worship Him, serve the human community, and care for the created environment."

The Reason for God (Chapter 13)

2009-09-12T16:01:00.002-05:00

The Reality of the Resurrection

In this chapter, Keller looks at the reasons and evidence, the arguments and counterarguments for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He says that the burden of proof is not only on believers to give evidence that it happened but also on unbelievers to come up with a "historically feasible alternate explanation for the birth of the church".

The Empty Tomb and the Witnesses

Here, Keller addresses the claim that the resurrection narratives in the gospels must have been developed long after the events themselves and that the empty tomb and eyewitnesses were fabrications. Keller disputes this by saying that the first accounts were actually recorded in the letters of Paul, which every historian agrees were written just 15-20 years after the death of Jesus. Keller looks at 1 Corinthians 15:3-6 and notes how Paul not only speaks of the empty tomb and resurrection on the "third day" (to show he's talking of a historical event vs. a symbol/metaphor) but also points out how Paul lists the eyewitnesses (500 of them and most of whom were still alive at the time of his writing so it could be corroborated). Keller also mentions how Paul's writing was to a church and therefore a public document for anyone to challenge as well as the fact that the accounts of the resurrection were too problematic to be fabrications (i.e women as eyewitnesses).

Resurrection and Immortality

Keller, here, addresses those who may say, "Surely the followers desperately wanted to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. If anyone had stolen the body in order to make it look like he had been raised, many sincere people could have thought they'd seen him, and maybe a few others went along with saying so for a good cause." According to Keller, that wouldn't happen. To all the dominant worldviews at the time, an individual bodily resurrection was impossible...and undesirable. In Greco-Roman thinking, no soul, having gotten free from its body, would ever want it back. The body was considered weak, corrupt, and defiling. Even the Jews, as Keller states, would have thought the resurrection of Jesus was unthinkable. Unlike Greco-Roman thinking, Jews believed the body was good and death a tragedy but still the idea of an individual bodily resurrection, in the middle of history, while the rest of the world continued on burdened in sickness, decay, and death, was inconceivable.

The Explosion of a New Worldview

Keller tells us, "After the death of Jesus the entire Christian community suddenly adopted a set of beliefs (a resurrection centered view of reality) that were brand-new and until that point... unthinkable." Keller says this massive shift in thinking could only have occurred if it actually happened. Keller also mentions that the only way a group of first-century Jews could have come to worship a human being as divine (which was considered blasphemous) was if it actually happened. Keller reminds us that hundreds of Jews began worshipping Jesus literally overnight. Keller continues by saying, "Virtually all the apostles and early Christian leaders died for their faith, and it is hard to believe that this kind of powerful self-sacrifice would be done to support a hoax." In light of this, Keller says it's not enough for the skeptic to simply say, "It just couldn't have happened". They must also answer these historical questions:

1. Why did Christianity emerge so rapidly, with such power?

2. What led a group of Jews to worship a human being as divine when they knew it was blasphemous to do so...and to change their worldview virtually overnight?

3. How do you account for hundreds of eyewitnesses to the resurrection who lived for decades and publicly maintained their testimony...even to the point of death?

The Challenge of the Resurrection

Keller says, "Nothing in history can be proven the way we can prove something in a laboratory. However, the resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact much more fully attested to than most other events of ancient history we take for granted." It has the most evidence for it but still, Keller says there are those who are unwilling to believe simply because they don't believe in miracles.

The Reason for God (Chapter 12)

2009-09-12T16:00:00.006-05:00

The (True) Story of the Cross

In this chapter, Keller addresses the main question- Why did Jesus have to die? Couldn't God just forgive us?

The First Reason: Real Forgiveness is Costly Suffering

Keller, here, points out that for any debt incurred, someone must bear the cost. Either the wrongdoer is forced to absorb the debt or the one who has been wronged "forgives" and absorbs the debt. Keller says, choosing to forgive and absorb another's debt is painful but is the better way. It results in peace, a resurrection...because it's rooted in love.

The Forgiveness of God

Keller says, "if the evil is serious, no one "just" forgives...Everyone who forgives great evil goes through a death into resurrection, and experiences nails, blood, sweat, and tears...On the Cross we see God doing visibly and cosmically what every human being must do to forgive someone, though on an infinitely greater scale." Keller says, "Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive us? There was a debt to be paid-God himself paid it. There was a penalty to be born- God himself bore it. Forgiveness is always a form of costly suffering."

Keller also reminds us here that "God did not, then, inflict pain on someone else, but rather on the Cross absorbed the pain, violence, and evil of the world into Himself...He became human and offered His own lifeblood in order to honor moral justice and merciful love so that someday he can destroy all evil without destroying us."

The Second Reason: Real Love is a Personal Exchange

For those who ask, "Why can't we just concentrate on teaching about how God is a God of love (without the Cross)?", Keller answers, "if you take away the Cross you don't have a God of love." Keller says, "In the real world of relationships it is impossible to love people with a problem or a need without in some sense sharing or even changing places with them...All life-changing love toward people with serious needs is a substitutional sacrifice. If you become personally involved with them, in some way, their weaknesses flow toward you as your strengths flow toward them." Keller quotes John Stott from The Cross of Christ, "The essence of sin is we human beings substituting ourselves for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for us. We...put ourselves where only God deserves to be; God...puts himself where we deserve to be."

The Great Reversal

Keller says, "...here is the Great Reversal. God, in the place of ultimate power, reverses places with the marginalized, the poor, and the oppressed...On the Cross Christ wins through losing, triumphs through defeat, achieves power through weakness and service, comes to wealth via giving all away. Jesus Christ turns the values of the world upside down...and creates an alternate kingdom. In this peaceable kingdom there is a reversal of the values of the world with regard to power, recognition, status, and wealth. Christ creates a whole new order of life." Again, Keller answers the question- Why did Jesus have to die?...for us...to take justice seriously and still love us.

The Reason for God (Chapter 11)

2009-09-12T16:00:00.005-05:00

Religion and the Gospel
Keller begins this chapter with the question, "Why must the solution (to sin) be Jesus and Christianity? Why not other religions?" He answers by pointing out a very profound and fundamental difference...only Christianity and the gospel teach "salvation through grace" (Jesus as the way of salvation). All others teach "salvation through moral effort".

Two Forms of Self-Centeredness
Keller tells us there are two forms of self-centeredness or two ways to be your own Savior and Lord:
1. By being very bad and breaking all the rules and
2. By being very good and keeping all the rules and becoming self-righteous

Keller focuses on #2 and says, "by trusting in your own goodness rather than in Jesus for your standing with God", you are avoiding Jesus as Savior and rejecting the gospel. He further explains, "both religion (in which you build your identity on your moral achievements) and irreligion (in which you build your identity on some other secular pursuit or relationship) are ultimately, spiritually identical courses. Both are sin."

The Damage of Pharisaism
Keller says "Pharisaic religion (#2 above) damages the inner soul. "Pharisees" build their sense of worth on their moral and spiritual performance and Keller says this results in feelings of anxiety, insecurity, anger, and despair. These feelings arise because "Pharisees" know deep down that they can never achieve or maintain such a high standard of moral and spiritual living. Keller says "Pharisaic religion" will also lead to social strife because as "highly righteous and judgmental people, "Pharisees" will despise and attack any who don't share their doctrinal beliefs and/or religious practices. They will marginalize, oppress, and exclude others to make themselves feel better and more superior.

The Difference of Grace
Keller says "Religion operates on the principle "I obey-therefore I am accepted by God." But the operating principle of the gospel is "I am accepted by God through what Christ has done-therefore I obey." Keller continues, "the primary difference is that of motivation. In religion, we try to obey the divine standards out of fear...In the gospel, the motivation is one of gratitude for the blessing we have already received because of Christ." "The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time...That means that (Christians) cannot despise those who do not believe as they do, or feel superior (or inadequate) in any way...because the Christian's identity is not based on the need to be perceived as a good person, but on God's valuing of them in Christ."

The Threat of Grace
The "threat of grace" is that if we are sinners saved by sheer grace-then there is nothing God cannot ask of us. However, for Christians who experience God's radical grace, there is also a radical change in mind and heart and therefore, anything God asks of us will be a delight and pleasure.

Who You Are (When No One's Looking)

2009-08-25T01:58:00.001-05:00

There's a book George has from long ago when he first became a Christian. It's called "Who You Are (When No One's Looking)". This book has always stood out to me simply because of the title. I don't remember much of the book but the title, I never seem to forget. The title alone convicts me. Who AM I when no one is looking? Am I the same person in the privacy of my own home, behind closed doors, as I am out in the public for all to see? If I were to be honest, I would have to say no, or at least, not always. When others are watching, I'm almost always on my best behavior, putting my best foot forward, as some would say. I'm almost always more aware, more guarded, and more disciplined. At home (with the kids, with George, and with those I love most) I'll be honest, I'm not always at my best...not always as aware, as guarded, or as disciplined. I know that who I am when no one is looking should be just as important as if someone were looking and I know that as a Christian, the reality is- there IS someone who is ALWAYS looking. It's a daily struggle. My flaws, my weaknesses, my sin- so much is hidden from the outside world, but to the ones dearest to me, I allow so much to be exposed. Yes, it is frustrating, to constantly fall back into sin, especially when it's directed to those you love most. But there is comfort and there is hope...in God...because, even when I fail (and so very often I do), He still loves me and forgives me. He allows me to lay all of my sin at the foot of the cross, not just at salvation but in this process of sanctification, and He continues to pour His grace, love, and mercy on me. He encourages me, disciplines me, empowers me, and always directs me back to His ways. It's a daily struggle, yes, but again the reality is- there IS someone who is ALWAYS looking and in that, I do take comfort and hope.

"Where shall I go from Your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there?

If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there?

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there Your hand shall lead me,

and Your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,"

even the darkness is not dark to You;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with You."

(Psalm 139:7-12)

The Reason for God (Chapter 10)

2009-08-22T22:27:00.002-05:00

The Problem of Sin

Keller begins, "According to Christianity our biggest problem is sin. Yet the concept of "sin" is offensive or ludicrous to many. This is often because we don't understand what Christians mean by the term."

Sin and Human Hope

Keller says here, "Many have the impression that the Christian doctrine of sin is bleak and pessimistic about human nature" but "Nothing could be further from the truth...The Christian doctrine of sin, properly understood, can be a great resource for human hope..."

The Meaning of Sin

Keller quotes Kierkegaard from his book The Sickness Unto Death, "Sin is: in despair not wanting to be oneself before God." In other words, Keller says, "Sin is the despairing refusal to find your deepest identity in your relationship and service to God. Sin is seeking to become oneself, to get an identity, apart from him." Keller continues to explain, "Everyone gets their identity, their sense of being distinct and valuable, from somewhere or something." Again, referring to Kierkegaard, "human beings were made not only to believe in God in some general way, but to love him supremely, center their lives on him above anything else, and build their very identities on him. Anything other than this is sin." Keller also mentions that, "Most people think of sin primarily as "breaking divine rules," but according to the Bible, the primary way to define sin is not just the doing of bad things, but the making of good things into ultimate things. (the first of the 10 Commandments...have no other gods before me)

The Personal Consequence of Sin

Keller states that if we define sin as above, "we can see several ways that sin destroys us personally:

1. insecurity

2. addiction

3. emptiness

The Social Consequences of Sin

Here, Keller says, "Sin does not only have an internal impact on us but also a devastating effect on the social fabric...The more we love and identify deeply with our family, class, race, religion, the harder it is to not feel superior or even hostile to others...The real culture war is taking place inside our own disordered hearts..."

The Cosmic Consequences of Sin

Keller reminds us that in Genesis 3, "...as soon as we determined to serve ourselves instead of God- as soon as we abandoned living for and enjoying God as our highest good- the entire created world became broken...and in Romans 8, "the entire world is now "in bondage to decay" and "subject to futility" and will not be put right until we are put right."

Who Can Put It All Right?

Keller answers, if "Sin is not simply doing bad things" but "putting good things in the place of God...the only solution is to...reorient and center the entire heart and life on God." Keller quotes Augustine, "if there is a God who created you, then the deepest chambers of your soul simply cannot be filled up by anything less. That is how great the human soul is. If Jesus is the Creator-Lord, then by definition nothing could satisfy you like he can, even if you are successful."

Personal Issues with this Chapter

Not sure if I am satisfied with Keller's (Kierkegaard's) definition of sin...a little soft.

Wished Keller would have gone further into the true problem of sin as well as the solution...perhaps in the next chapter, he addresses this better...hopefully.

Rejoicing in Other's Strengths

2009-08-22T09:47:00.001-05:00

"I've often thought that one of the surest signs of Christian maturity is that we can root for each other.

Love is glad when our brothers and sisters are making progress in good habits or good attitudes or good behavior. Love rejoices in this growth. And if it happens to be faster than our own growth, then love is humble and rejoices with those who rejoice.

Love is humble. Love delights in other people’s good. Love doesn’t protect its own flaws. Love takes steps to change them. What a beautiful fellowship where everyone is rejoicing in each other’s strengths, not resenting them! This is what the love of God looks like when the new birth gives it life in the people of God."

(From Kevin Deyoung... here for full post)

A Bad Attitude

2009-08-01T10:16:00.002-05:00

This has been one of those weeks. I have found myself in a foul mood and complaining quite a bit. I have been tired, I have been frustrated, and I have been unsatisfied. I know better but it's one thing to know something and another to really believe it and actually feel it...to be able to match your emotions with what you know intellectually and spiritually to be true. I know that as a Christian my joy is not based on my circumstances but on Christ and I know that as a Christian I should be content and thankful for who I am and for everything I have because of Him. I am. God is good. He is gracious, He is merciful, and He has blessed me with more than I deserve. I have been blessed abundantly. It's true...but unfortunately in my flesh, I am also weak and...I forget. Thankfully, the Lord provides help in time of need and doesn't allow me to forget for too long. Yesterday, the Lord used George to convict and encourage me. Instead of getting upset with me, George chose to love me and for that, I am grateful. He suggested I take time today to remind myself of what is true, what I'm thankful for, and make a list. It was a good idea. When you reflect on what is true and put careful thought into what you are thankful for, you can't help but change your attitude. It's so easy to lose focus in everyday life and to forget the blessings we have in Christ. It's easy to complain about a house that never stays clean, kids that are in constant need, things that get destroyed, husbands that work too much, time that you don't have, skills that you lack, and on and on and forget about what you do have...or rather...who you have. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20). I really am thankful for my life in Christ and I just need to remember that. We always tell the kids instead of worrying, just pray. Now, we have a new one...instead of complaining, just make a list. It's just one more thing to keep us accountable...and that's always a good thing.

The Reason for God (Chapter 9)

2009-07-13T18:29:00.002-05:00

The Knowledge of God

In this chapter, Keller begins by correcting those who would say that young people of our culture are relativistic and amoral. Instead, Keller says young people have a very finely-honed sense of right and wrong but the problem is their moral outlook.

Free-Floating Morality

Here, Keller points out how our culture differs from the past. He says people still have strong moral convictions, but unlike people in other times and places, they don't have any visible basis for them.

The Concept of Moral Obligation

According to Keller, it is impossible for anyone to be a consistent moral relativist because all humans have a "pervasive, powerful, and unavoidable belief not only in moral values but also in moral obligation...a belief that some things ought not to be done regardless of how a person feels about them within herself, the rest of her community and culture, and whether it is in her self-interest or not." These are standards "that exist apart from us" by which we evaluate moral feelings. So, the question to ask is, "Why do we think these moral standards exist?"

The Evolutionary Theory of Moral Obligation

This theory believes that "those who acted unselfishly and cooperatively, survived in greater numbers than those who were selfish and cruel. Therefore altruistic genes were passed down to us. However, Keller points out a few flaws with this theory. He says natural selection may work within the same family or clan but not necessarily for those outside one's group. For evolutionary purposes, "hostility to all people outside of ones's group should be just as widely considered moral and right behavior." In addition, evolution still can't account for the origin of our moral feelings or moral obligations.

The Problem of Moral Obligation

"If all cultures are relative, then so is the idea of universal human rights...How can one decide to impose their values on another culture?"

The Difficult Issue of Human Rights

Where do human rights come from?..."If we were all created in God's image, then every human being would be sacred and inviolable...If it's by nature, it's inconsistent because nature thrives on violence and predation, on the survival of the fittest and if it's by majority (those writing the laws), then there is nothing to appeal to when they are legislated out of existence...it's simply arbitrary."

The Endless, Pointless Litigation of Existence

If there is no God then whether we are loving or cruel in the end would make no difference at all. However, if God does exist...we live with meaning.

The Reason for God (Chapter 8)

2009-06-20T16:47:00.002-05:00

The Clues of God

In Chapter 8, Keller moves away from arguing that there are no sufficient reasons for disbelieving Christianity and begins to argue for the existence of God. He provides the following clues.

The Mysterious Bang

*The Big Bang is the first clue...the very existence of the world.

*According to Keller, "everything we know in this world is "contingent", has a cause outside of itself...Something had to make the Big Bang happen...What could that be but something outside of nature, a supernatural, noncontingent being that exists from itself."

The Cosmic Welcome Mat

*The second clue is the fine-tuning of the universe, the one-in-a-trillion -trillion chance that our universe supports organic and human life.

*Here, Keller points out, "For organic life to exist, the fundamental regularities and constants of physics-the speed of light, the gravitational constant, the strength of the weak and strong nuclear forces-must all have values that together fall into an extremely narrow range. The probability of this perfect calibration happening by chance is so tiny as to be statistically negligible."

The Regularity of Nature

*The third clue is the regularity of nature..."All scientific, inductive reasoning is based on the assumption of the regularity (the laws) of nature."

*According to Keller, many scholars have argued that modern science arose in its most sustained form because of its belief in an all-powerful, personal God who created and sustains an orderly universe.

The Clue of Beauty

*The fourth clue is "beauty and meaning".

*Keller says, "If we are the product of accidental natural forces, then what we call "beauty" is nothing but a neurological hardwired response to particular data...so how do you account for the sense we have that beauty matters, that love and life are significant?"

The Clue-Killer

*Evolutionists claim that everything about us can be explained as a function of natural selection...that our capacity to believe in God is also hardwired into our physiology because it was directly or indirectly associated with traits that helped our ancestors adapt to their environment."

*Flaw: Evolutionists admit that "since we are the product of natural selection, we can't completely trust our own senses...evolution can only be trusted to give us cognitive faculties that help us live on, not to provide ones that give us an accurate and true picture of the world around us."

*Keller responds by saying, "if we can't trust our belief forming faculties to tell us the truth about God, why should we trust them to tell us the truth about anything, including evolutionary science?"

The Clue-Killer is Really a Clue

*Keller says we do trust our cognitive faculties and because we do, this also becomes a clue to God's existence...God does allow us to form true beliefs and knowledge.

The Reason for God (Chapter 7)

2009-06-13T20:20:00.002-05:00

You Can't Take the Bible Literally

According to Tim Keller, believing in the Bible is a stumbling block for many people. They see parts of the Bible as being scientifically impossible, historically unreliable, and culturally regressive. They say "you can't take the Bible literally."

In this chapter, Keller addresses 2 of these 3 issues: the Bible being historically unreliable and the Bible being culturally regressive.

"We Can't Trust the Bible Historically"

*Here Keller suggests, rather than examining the historic accuracy of each part of the Bible, we instead ask ourselves whether we can trust the gospels to be historically reliable. Keller gives the following reasons for why the gospel accounts should be considered historically reliable vs. legends:

1. The timing is far too early for the gospels to be legends.

*According to Keller, the gospels were written only 40-60 years after Jesus' death and Biblical accounts of Jesus' life were circulating within the lifetimes of hundreds who had been present at the events of His ministry.

2. The content is far too counterproductive for the gospels to be legends. (i.e. Jesus crucifixion, Jesus cries to God about abandoning Him, women as eyewitnesses, weaknesses of apostles)

3. The literary form of the gospels is too detailed to be legend.

*Keller quotes C.S. Lewis and explains how, "ancient fiction was nothing like modern fiction. Modern fiction is realistic. It contains details and dialogue and reads like an eyewitness account. This genre of fiction, however, only developed within the last 300 years." Therefore, the gospels written with so much detail at that time could not be fiction but could only come from actual eyewitness accounts.

"We Can't Trust the Bible Culturally"

*According to Keller, "more people now are especially upset by what they call the outmoded and regressive teaching of the Bible (i.e. slavery and the subjugation of women)

*Keller shares how he deals with these individuals. He says, "I counsel them to slow down and try out several different perspectives on the issues that trouble them. Many of the texts people find offensive can be cleared up with a decent commentary that puts the issue into historical context."

*Keller offers one last advice, "We should make sure we distinguish between the major themes and message of the Bible and its less primary teachings...It is therefore important to consider the Bible's core claims about who Jesus is and whether he rose from the dead before you reject it for its less central and more controversial teachings."

The Reason For God (Chapter 6)

2009-06-06T14:05:00.002-05:00

Science Has Disproved Christianity

Richard Dawkins, in his book "The God Delusion", argues that one can't be an intelligent scientific thinker and still hold religious beliefs. He supports this argument with a study in 1998 that showed only 7 percent of American scientists in the National Academy of Science believe in a personal God. According to Keller, there are major problems with the way the data in this study is interpreted (i.e. how the question is posed to the scientist and the actual reason for why the scientist doesn't believe in God...Is it scientific or personal and social?).

Aren't Miracles Scientifically Impossible?

*The methodology of science can only address natural causes. It is therefore a philosophical presupposition and not a scientific finding to state that, "No supernatural cause for any natural phenomenon is possible."

*The statement also assumes that God does not exist. However, if one believes God does exist, there is nothing illogical at all about the possibility of miracles.

Isn't Science in Conflict with Christianity?

*Keller responds that when evolution is turned into an All-encompassing Theory explaining absolutely everything we believe, feel, and do as the product of natural selection, then we are not in the arena of science, but of philosophy.

*All the world cannot be explained by science (i.e. moral intuitions).

*As an aside, there have been a number of scientists who have proven that science is not in conflict with Christianity (i.e. Newton, Bacon, Galileo, Pascal, Copernicus, etc.)

Doesn't Evolution Disprove the Bible?

Here Keller makes 2 statements I'm not quite sure of:

1. Views Genesis as both historical and poetic

2. rejects the concept of evolution as an All-encompassing Theory but thinks God guided some kind of process of natural selection

Healing the World

According to Keller, "We modern people think of miracles as the suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order...Jesus came to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that he has power but also wonderful foretastes of what he is going to do with that power. Jesus's miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming."

The Reason For God (Chapter 4)

2009-06-06T13:04:00.002-05:00

The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice

Keller points out that "many people who take an intellectual stand against Christianity do so against a background of personal disappointment with Christians and churches". So in this chapter, he addresses 3 main behaviors of Christians that have undermined the plausibility of Christianity.

1. Character Flaws

*Critics claim that if Christianity is all it claims to be, shouldn't Christians on the whole be much better people than everyone else? Kellers responds that the statement wrongly assumes what Christianity teaches about itself (i.e. common grace where God gives out good gifts...across all humanity).

*Keller also notes that growth in character and changes in behavior are gradual when a person becomes a Christian. Again, critics wrongly assume what Christianity teaches about itself (i.e. that one has to "clean up" his/her own life to merit God's favor vs. by God's sheer grace)

*In judging a Christian's character, Keller also states that unless you know the starting points and life journeys of that person, you could easily conclude the wrong thing...that Christianity isn't worth much and that Christians are inconsistent with their own high standards. The Christian's character may have actually improved significantly over what it was.

2. Religion and Violence

*Christopher Hitchens, in his book "God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything", argues that religion takes racial and cultural differences and aggravates them. Keller responds that his statement is fair but fails to recognize that there have also been societies which produced massive violence against its own people without the influence of religion (i.e. Communist Russian, Chinese, and Cambodian regimes, and the French Revolution)

*Alister McGrath points out that when the idea of God is gone, a society will still "transcendentalize" something else...some other concept, in order to appear morally and spiritually superior.

3. Fanaticism

*According to Keller, the people who are fanatics within the Christian faith are those who are not committed enough to the gospel.

*The Pharisees are a good example of those who were not committed to the gospel but rather to moral improvement. This naturally resulted in feelings of superiority and to various forms of abuse, exclusion, and oppression.

*Therefore, according to Keller, for Christians, the answer is not to tone down and moderate their faith, but to grasp a fuller and truer faith in Christ.

The Reason For God (Chapter 3)

2009-06-06T12:08:00.003-05:00

Christianity is a Straightjacket

In this chapter, Keller points out that for some, absolute truth is an enemy to freedom. They see it as divisive, culturally narrow, enslaving, and a "straightjacket" that doesn't allow one to expand or grow.

Truth is Unavoidable

*Those inspired by French philosopher Foucault will say that "all truth claims are power plays". According to Keller, this statement fails in that it too must be subject and therefore becomes what it suggests...a "power play".

Community Can't Be Completely Inclusive

*Critics of Christianity argue that it is socially divisive because it requires particular beliefs in order to be a member of its community. Keller responds that if any community did not hold its members accountable for specific beliefs and practices, it would have no corporate identity and would therefore not really be a community at all. One cannot consider a group exclusive simply because it has standards for its member. Every community has them.

Christianity isn't Culturally Rigid

*Critics argue that Christianity is a cultural straightjacket forcing people from diverse cultures into a single iron mold. Keller responds that Christianity actually has been more adaptive and less destructive of diverse cultures than secularism and many other worldviews. Though there are absolute claims to truth in Christianity, there is also freedom in how these absolutes are expressed and take form within a particular culture.

Freedom isn't Simple

*Critics argue that Christianity is a limit to one's personal growth and potential because it constrains one's freedom to choose his/her own beliefs and practices. Here, Keller makes some very good points:

1. Freedom cannot be defined in strictly negative terms, as the absence of confinement and constraint. In many cases, it is actually a means to liberation (i.e. practicing piano, working hard in a career for better pay, etc.; all require a certain sacrifice or limit to freedom from other things)

2. Freedom is not so much the absence of restrictions as finding the right ones. Those that fit with the reality of our nature and the world produce greater power and scope for our abilities and a deeper joy and fulfillment.

Love, the Ultimate Freedom, is More Constraining than We Might Think

*Love is the most liberating freedom-loss of all. One of the principles of love is that you have to lose independence to attain greater intimacy. You can't enter a deep relationship and still make unilateral decisions or allow the other no say in how you live your life.

The Reason for God (Chapter 2)

2009-05-05T11:58:00.002-05:00

How Could A Good God Allow Suffering?

According to Keller, for many people, it's the presence of evil and suffering in the world that poses the biggest problem with Christianity.

*Philosopher J.L. Mackie, in his book "The Miracle of Theism" writes "If a good and powerful God exists, he would not allow pointless evil in the world, but because there is much unjustifiable, pointless evil in the world, the traditional good and powerful God could not exist." Keller points out the fallacy in this reasoning. It assumes evil is pointless because it appears to be pointless to the one saying it. Just because one cannot see or imagine a good reason for why God allows evil and suffering doesn't mean that there can't be one (i.e. Joseph in Genesis).

Evil and Suffering May Be Evidence for God

*Here, Keller responds, "Evil and suffering is a problem for everyone but for the unbeliever, it is a bigger problem. Evolution and natural selection depends on death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak. These things are all perfectly natural. On what basis, then, does the unbeliever judge the natural world to be horribly wrong, unfair, and unjust? If you are sure that this natural world is unjust and filled with evil, you are assuming the reality of some extra-natural (or supernatural) standard by which to make your judgment."

For Those Who Are Angry and Hurt:

*Keller says, "We may not have the answer for why God is allowing evil and suffering but we do know that God still loves us and takes our misery and suffering very seriously...so seriously that He was willing to take it on Himself."

*We also know that our suffering is not in vain. For Christians, there is the promise that evil and suffering "will not only be ended but so radically vanquished that what has happened will only serve to make our future life and joy infinitely greater."

The Reason for God (Chapter 1 Notes)

2009-04-30T15:23:00.003-05:00

There Can't Be Just One True Religion

*According to Keller, "Exclusivity is one of the biggest problems skeptics have with Christianity." Skeptics believe:

1. It's arrogant to say your religion is superior

2. It's dangerous

They believe all religions are equally good and valid for meeting the needs of their particular followers and that claims to have "the truth" will only lead to strife, division, and conflict.

*Keller agrees that religion can be "one of the main barriers to world peace". In his words, "each religion informs its followers that they have "the truth" and this naturally leads them to feel superior to those with differing beliefs. Religion tells its followers that they are saved and connected to God by devotedly performing the truth and this moves them to separate from those who are less devoted and pure in life. Therefore, it is easy for one religious group to stereotype and caricature other ones and...spiral down into the marginalization of others or even to active oppression, abuse, or violence against them."

*Keller points out 3 approaches civic and cultural leaders around the world use to address the divisiveness of religion:

1. Outlaw it (control or forbid religion)

2. Condemn it (socially discourage any religion claiming to have "the truth" by making it foolish or appear dangerous)

3. Keep it private (keep religion out of the public sphere)

*Why Keller says it's not effective:

1. Outlawing it

*Results in more opression (i.e. Soviet Russia, Communist China, Khmer Rouge, and in a different way Nazi Germany). All were determined to stop religion from dividing society or eroding the power of the state but actually resulted in more oppression. According to Alister McGrath, "...the greatest intolerance and violence (of the 20th century) were practiced by those who believed that religion caused intolerance and violence."

*Also, efforts to suppress or control it often serve only to make it stronger.

2. Condemning it

*It's inconsistent and/or hypocritical.

a. "All major religions are equally valid and basically teach the same thing."

*Keller says the assumption is incorrect. The doctrinal beliefs about the nature of God in all the major faiths are significantly different and in opposition with one another. Also, the insistence that doctrines don't matter is really a doctrine in itself.

b. "Each religion sees part of spiritual truth, but none can see the whole truth."

*The claim itself has an appearance of humility that truth is much greater that any of us can grasp but is actually an arrogant claim. "How could you possibly know that no religion can see the whole truth unless you yourself have the superior, comprehensive knowledge of spiritual reality you just claimed that none of the religions have?"

c. "Religious belief is too culturally and historically conditioned to be 'truth'."

*This claim may be true but must include itself. Therefore, it cannot be used to argue that all truth is completely relative or else the very argument refutes itself.

d. "It is arrogant to insist your religion is right and to convert others to it."

*Again, Keller says this claim itself is arrogant and "exclusive".

3. Keeping it private

*Keller points out that it's impossible and unrealistic to come out into the public square and leave one's convictions about ultimate values behind. Everyone lives and operates out of some narrative identity (aka worldview, faith-assumptions, beliefs, religion) whether it is thought out and reflected upon or not. "What is religion but a set of beliefs that explain what life is all about, who we are, and the most important things that human beings should spend their time doing...All who say "You ought to do this" or "You shouldn't do that" reason out of such an implicit moral and religious position."

Christianity is different:

*According to Keller, Christianity has within itself remarkable power to explain and expunge the divisive tendencies within the human heart. It's an exclusive belief system that can still respect people of other faiths because:

1. Christians believe all human beings are made in the image of God and so are capable of goodness and wisdom.

2. Christians believe all are sinners, imperfect and fallen in every way.

3. Christians believe "God's grace does not come to people who morally outperform others, but to those who admit their failure and who acknowledge their need for a Savior."

4. "At the very heart of what Christians believe is the reality that a man died for his enemies, praying for their forgiveness."

Sickness and Death

2009-04-29T09:47:00.001-05:00

George's grandmother passed away this week. My aunt in Korea also passed away. It's been a sad week. But for all the sadness this week, I am struggling the most with how to comfort those who don't know the Lord. As a believer, saved by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, I can be thankful even in the most painful of times because for every believer, there is hope and there is confidence. For the believer, we can look to eternity...but for the unbeliever, there is only pain and suffering that comes with sickness and loss. This week has forced me to reflect again on how fragile life is, how painful the effects of sin are, and how thankful I am to God for His love, grace, and mercy in my own life. It has also reminded me that as I seek to comfort, I can only do so in Christ.

In the wisdom of Al Mohler:

In the end, sickness points to sin and sin points to our need for Christ. Luther, Calvin, and all true ministers of Christ know that sickness and death point to our need for a Savior. Even as Christians seek to minister to the physical needs of the sick, the spiritual need is even more urgent. Each tiny germ shows us our need for the Gospel. Every cough is a reminder of coming judgment. Our confidence is placed only in the ministry of the Christ our Physician, "who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases." [Psalm 103:3]

Christians will, sooner or later, be called upon to show the love of Christ in the midst of sickness...If so, we do well to remember Luther's summary of the best prescription in the face of disease: "My best prescription is written John 3:16. 'God so loved the world.' This is the best I have."

A Must-Read List

2009-04-28T13:48:00.003-05:00

Below is a list of must-reads recommended by CJ Mahaney. It is what he considers to be some of the most important spiritual books. He provided it to his wife Carolyn who requested it when she wanted to start a reading plan of the most valuable spiritual classics. She shared it on Girl Talk.

1. Knowing God by JI Packer

2. The Holiness of God by RC Sproul

3. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
4. When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper
5. The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
6. The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
7. Holiness by JC Ryle
8. Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp

Tim Challies is also a great resource. He provides a list of great books on his site Discerning Reader as well as an opportunity to read the classics together. As I consider my own reading plan, I keep this here for safe keeping.

Easter Story Cookies Part 2

2009-04-12T14:43:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning...checking the cookies

(visiting the tomb)

Cookie is hollow

(Jesus' tomb is empty)

Enjoying the cookie

(rejoicing in our Risen Savior)

Cookie is sweet...very sweet:)...for those who taste it

(ending is sweet...very sweet...for those who place their faith in Jesus)

Easter Story Cookies Part 1

2009-04-11T20:26:00.001-05:00

beating the pecans to break into smaller pieces

(Jesus beaten by the Roman soldiers)

smelling vinegar

(Jesus, thirsty on the cross, given vinegar to drink)

egg whites

(eggs representing life and the life Jesus gave for us)

tasting salt

(the salty tears shed for Jesus and for our sin)

sugar

(the sweetest part of the story...Jesus's love for us)

taping the oven door and leaving the cookies

(Jesus' tomb sealed and His followers wait...and grieve)

Good Friday

2009-04-10T20:55:00.002-05:00

For Good Friday...a good video...a good message...and a good reminder.

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law,

having become a curse for us..."

(Gal 3:13)

Washing Feet

2009-04-09T16:46:00.003-05:00

Today is George's birthday and we washed his feet. I know that sounds silly...but it's actually a lovely thing. For the past few weeks, the kids have been asking me what we should do to make this day special for Dad. I wasn't sure. As it got closer, I knew we would prepare a special dinner, a homemade birthday cake, and provide lots of hugs and kisses. I don't think that was good enough...at least not for Faith. She still kept asking me what we would do to make Dad's birthday special. I still wasn't sure...until I remembered the "washing of feet".

Before Jesus gave the disciples the commandment in John 13:34 to "love one another, even as I have loved you...", he illustrated it by washing the disciples' feet. Though Jesus was not saying that we have to wash each other's feet to display this kind of love, he was providing a beautiful illustration of the type of love He expects from us...a selfless and sacrificial love. According to John MacArthur, "...in the society of the time, foot washing was reserved for the lowliest of menial servants. Peers did not wash one another's feet, except very rarely and as a mark of great love."

At a friend's wedding, I witnessed this act of love...this "washing of feet." It was my first time. Instead of thinking it was strange (especially in this day and age when it is no longer part of the culture), I thought it was beautiful. I suppose love that displays humility, regards others as more important, and serves with selflessness always is. It also allowed me to reflect on Jesus. It was He who gave us the commandment for this type of love, He who first illustrated it for us, and He who gave us the greatest expression of love...of all...by laying down his life for us on the cross (John 15:13).

Although we know that we don't have to wash George's feet to express this kind of love, we still wanted to...because it's his birthday...because it's Maundy Thursday...and because we recognize the beauty in this act.

BTW...Faith thought it was special too:)

Maundy Thursday (Part 2)

2009-04-09T16:10:00.002-05:00

I just read this from Kevin Deyoung's blog (Deyoung, Restless, and Reformed). I post it here for more insight into Maundy Thursday and as we continue to reflect on the love of Jesus this Easter season.

THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2009
Maundy Thursday
Like millions of Christians around the world, we will have a Maundy Thursday tonight. If you've never heard the term, it's not Monday-Thursday (which always confused me as a kid), but Maundy Thursday, as in Mandatum Thursday. Mandatum is the Latin word for "command" or "mandate", and the day is called Maundy Thursday because on the night before his death Jesus gave his disciples a new command. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34).

At first it seems strange that Christ would call this a new command. After all, the Old Testament instructed God's people to love their neighbors and Christ himself summarized the law as love for God and love for others. So what's new about love? What makes the command new is that because of Jesus' passion there is a new standard, a new examplar of love.

There was never any love like the dying love of Jesus. It is tender and sweet (13:33). It serves (13:2-17). It loves even unto death (13:1). Jesus had nothing to gain from us by loving us. There was nothing in us to draw us to him. But he loved us still, while we were yet sinners. At the Last Supper, in the garden, at his betrayal, facing the Jewish leaders, before Pontius Pilate, being scourged, carrying his cross, being nailed to the wood, breathing his dying breath, forsaken by God–he loved us. To the end. To death. Love shone best and brightest at Calvary.

Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, athirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal life.

My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped from my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorned crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might gaze on unclouded brightness, expired that I might for ever live (The Valley of Vision, "LoveLustres at Calvary").

Maundy Thursday

2009-04-08T13:29:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday. It's a term that many in the Christian community know. I am probably the exception. Though I am familiar with what happened on this day, I had never heard the actual term before. According to John Piper:

The name comes from the Latin mandatum, the first word in the Latin rendering of John 13:34, “A new commandment (Mandatum novum) I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This commandment was given by the Lord on the Thursday before his crucifixion. So Maundy Thursday is the “Thursday of the Commandment.”

Studying Apologetics

2009-04-05T14:43:00.001-05:00

Our Sunday school class is beginning a study on apologetics. Our teacher, Joey, sent the following:

In 1 Peter 3:15, believers are commanded to always be “…ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…” The word translated “defense” comes from the Greek term apologia (where we get the word apologetics) and in this passage, it carries the idea of giving a reasoned argument in order to defend or justify one’s hope in Christ. Hence, what Peter commands in this text is that believers prepare themselves to reasonably answer the questions and criticisms skeptics and unbelievers have concerning our Christian faith.

In view of this command, on April 26, our Sunday-School class will begin a study in apologetics using Tim Keller’s book, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. My prayer is that this study will better equip us to carry out the biblical command of apologetics and that our own faith will be strengthened by what we learn.

I am excited ...and cannot wait to begin. George and I already read through much of the book on our own but we are still looking forward to studying it alongside our church family. It's definitely worth a second look (if not more).

In the first part of the book, Tim Keller addresses 7 of the most common objections and doubts about Christianity. These are legitimate objections and doubts that can be difficult to answer, especially to the "unbeliever" (or "skeptic" as Tim Keller likes to refer to them since he believes every person believes in something). They include:

1. There Can’t Be Just One True Religion

2. How Could a Good God Allow Suffering?
3. Christianity is a Straitjacket
4. The Church is Responsible for So Much Injustice
5. How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?
6. Science Has Disproved Christianity
7. You Can’t Take the Bible Literally

I know that as we read through this book and think through these issues, we will be challenged. I was. Keller's arguments are compelling and as a "believer", I am thankful for such a resource to help me articulate what I believe and why I believe it. Although I disagree with Keller on a few issues, I still find this book to be extremely insightful and helpful in understanding how "skeptics" think. It not only allows me to see the foolishness in their arguments but also reminds me how grateful I am to God for allowing me to see truths that are not evident to the "unbeliever".

"For by grace you have been saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God"

(Ephesians 2:8)

God's Will

2009-04-04T07:51:00.002-05:00

George shared this with me the other day. It's part of a foreword that Josh Harris wrote for Kevin Deyoung's new book, "Do Something" (a book on finding God's will):

"It is God's will for you to read this book. Yes, I'm talking to you. What are the odds that you would "just happen" to pick up this book and flip open to this page and start reading? Obviously it's a sign. Of all the millions of books in the world, you found this one. Wow. I have chills. Do not pass up this divinely orchestrated moment. If you miss this moment there's a good chance you will completely miss God's will for the rest of your life and spend your days in misery and regret."

I actually stopped at this point not knowing what to think until George told me there was more...

"Now that I've scared you, let me acknowledge that everything in the previous paragraph is total baloney. It's bunk. Not true at all. Actually, I don't know if it's God's will for you to read this book. But I do think that reading it could be a really good idea. If you're prone to think of God's will in the way I so threateningly described it, this book will help set you straight."

It was pretty funny...and definitely a good reminder of how we can easily confuse God's will. When George read the post, he left this comment for Josh.

"Great intro-it really got my attention, then I had a good laugh when you called it "baloney." Too often we as Christians want a sign from God, when the Bible has already told us what we can/can't/should/shouldn't be doing. Sometimes it's easier to believe that God has told us to do something versus using discernment, prayer, and wise guidance to make sound decisions. I'd have to admit that I get caught up in that type of mystical thinking from time to time. I'm glad for yet another resource to challenge my thinking in this area."

Posted by George | April 3, 2009 2:45 PM

My sentiments exactly and I'm looking forward to reading the book.

For the Children

2009-04-03T16:14:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, we received a reminder from our Pastor. It was a reminder to fast and to pray for the children in our church and for the youth, to pray for their salvation and for their sanctification, and to plead with God that He would be merciful to all our sons and daughters. It was a gentle reminder and a loving one. It was encouraging too, because we know that in fasting, our prayers will be strengthened.

Donald S. Whitney, in his book, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life", reminds us "There's something about fasting that sharpens the edge of our intercessions and gives passion to our supplications."...

And though "The Bible does not teach that fasting is a kind of spiritual hunger strike that compels God to do our bidding..."

"Fasting is calculated to bring a note of urgency and importunity into our praying, and to give force to our pleading in the court of heaven. The man who prays with fasting is giving heaven notice that he is truly in earnest..." (George Wallis from "God's Chosen Fast")

So today, as we fast together with our church, fix our eyes upon Jesus, feed instead on the Word of God, and focus our time in prayer, we do so encouraged. May God, in His awesome grace, mercy, and love, save each precious child we know, sanctify them, sustain them, and preserve them into His great kingdom.

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence

to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:16)