I've been told that the S-word with three letters is no longer heard in the pulpits of today's most relevant churches. No, I'm not talking about s-e-x. I'm thinking of s-i-n. The Survey says today's yearning masses are not looking for help with sin. This is the Postmodern world. People in this culture are far more interested in sexual positions than theological ones, right? We have read that the love of money is the root of all evil, but we are firmly convinced that the lack of money is the Mother of All Meltdowns. So Today's Church has set aside the discussion of sin in favor of discussing "real human need."
Meanwhile, CNN and Fox are talking about sin 24/7. Everywhere you turn, headlines are answering the question, Do people still need God? You don't have to be a breaking news junkie to know about the famous golfer whose secret life shocked the world; or the VP candidate who was having a torrid affair on the campaign trail while his wife was in treatment for cancer. And don't forget the couple who lied to sneak past White House Security. And what about all those bankers who begged for tax payer assistance and still continued to pay out mega-millions in bonuses while living on the dole! Have you heard the latest on the guy who not only murdered his fourth wife, but apparently poisoned his second wife, as well?
There's an elephant in this room that some people are unwilling to mention. There's a question that our favorite celebrities are are answering, but our favorite churches won't ask. Here it is: "Why do intelligent people do such horrendously destructive things?"
My Life Group meets at my house on Friday nights. This last week-end brought us to Romans 6 where Paul talks about the fact that some people are slaves to sin and others are slaves to righteousness. Some in our group had never thought about the idea that we are literally out of control when we succumb to temptation. But in fact, the victim makes the first choice, and the bondage makes all the subsequent ones. Freedom is usually the first thing to go.
You get the feeling that church people think Sin is like polio: "It used to be deadly, but we conquered it more than a generation ago, so it's time to move on." But TV news tells a different story every morning. Sin involves so much more than a few vices like alcohol or prostitutes or drugs. It is rooted in pride, greed, the lust for things, the resentment of others, the unwillingness to forgive. And it's the true designer drug: it hooks every person in a slightly different, very personal way. It is always evolving. That's why it's so prevalent- so deadly.
Americans still need Jesus Christ because wealth,education and prescription drugs cannot remedy the greatest ill in all of life. A bank can give me a loan. A corporation can offer me a scholarship. And a hospital can give me a pill. But only Jesus Christ can deposit complete, unlimited righteousness into my reeling, bankrupt heart, and give me the power to live a life that satisfies my soul.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Why a Fool Thinks He's Cool
We were talking about the people Paul met on the isle of Malta. One of my friends commented, "Those people were incredibly superstitious, weren't they?" He provoked a fascinating thought: Yes, they were superstitious, but they weren't stupid. To the contrary, they had cooked up their fabulous ideas to explain some of those vast areas of life which were beyond their senses. Although they weren't well educated, they had grasped that we live in a complex universe and that our bodies can sense or detect only a small part of what's going on out there!
We're so much more advanced than those unsophisticated people, huh? We still cannot forecast earthquakes or tsunamis, and yet ignorant animals can somehow sense what's in store and head for safety 24 hours in advance. We know about frequencies of sound which animals can hear and we cannot. We have concluded there are powerful black holes in space which swallow up planets and stars, and even swallow up light before it can escape. We can't see these mysterious forces, but measurements tell us they must be there. Good grief! Life as we know it abounds with life as we don't know it: molecules and atoms and neutrinos and quarks, some of which even our most powerful microscopes cannot capture.
If we have learned anything today, we have learned that our physical bodies cannot register many of the forces, complexities and mysteries of life. The cosmos is so much bigger than us, and our frame of reference is incredibly narrow.
That's why it's so astonishing that there are people on this planet who consider themselves "intelligent," who have concluded that there is no God, no supernatural elements to life, no eternal realm. They insist that logic supports their denial of God. And they argue this odd opinion with passion, despite the fact that what we don't know about the universe far outweighs the things we know. If "dumb animals" can respond to powerful invisible forces you can't even detect, what would lead you to assume that you are able to detect everything else in life that matters?
God explains it this way, "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God." Elsewhere, Scripture instructs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.
People like you and me appreciate the weight and texture of the cosmos. It's apparent to thinking people that we can't figure this out on our own. The harder we try, the more superstitious we become. (Ancients believed if they cast salt over their shoulders, they could stay healthy. Post-moderns believe that by paying more for organic veggies, we can stay healthy. Research cannot detect the health dividends of tossing salt or buying organic.) So we have turned to a wisdom that comes from outside ourselves: the timeless Word of God.
It's very easy for fools to get on TV talk shows today. Unbelief is fashionable in our culture, and irreverence is hot. But Scripture and the weight of human experience scoff at such arrogance and ignorance. And simple logic wonders: if these people are so pleased with their godless cosmos, why do they always seem so caustic and angry? If Jesus Christ is just a mythical figure, why is his name so unsettling to them?
Even they worry that they're living in a Fool's Paradise. Let's hope they at least catch some sun before they check out.
We're so much more advanced than those unsophisticated people, huh? We still cannot forecast earthquakes or tsunamis, and yet ignorant animals can somehow sense what's in store and head for safety 24 hours in advance. We know about frequencies of sound which animals can hear and we cannot. We have concluded there are powerful black holes in space which swallow up planets and stars, and even swallow up light before it can escape. We can't see these mysterious forces, but measurements tell us they must be there. Good grief! Life as we know it abounds with life as we don't know it: molecules and atoms and neutrinos and quarks, some of which even our most powerful microscopes cannot capture.
If we have learned anything today, we have learned that our physical bodies cannot register many of the forces, complexities and mysteries of life. The cosmos is so much bigger than us, and our frame of reference is incredibly narrow.
That's why it's so astonishing that there are people on this planet who consider themselves "intelligent," who have concluded that there is no God, no supernatural elements to life, no eternal realm. They insist that logic supports their denial of God. And they argue this odd opinion with passion, despite the fact that what we don't know about the universe far outweighs the things we know. If "dumb animals" can respond to powerful invisible forces you can't even detect, what would lead you to assume that you are able to detect everything else in life that matters?
God explains it this way, "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God." Elsewhere, Scripture instructs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.
People like you and me appreciate the weight and texture of the cosmos. It's apparent to thinking people that we can't figure this out on our own. The harder we try, the more superstitious we become. (Ancients believed if they cast salt over their shoulders, they could stay healthy. Post-moderns believe that by paying more for organic veggies, we can stay healthy. Research cannot detect the health dividends of tossing salt or buying organic.) So we have turned to a wisdom that comes from outside ourselves: the timeless Word of God.
It's very easy for fools to get on TV talk shows today. Unbelief is fashionable in our culture, and irreverence is hot. But Scripture and the weight of human experience scoff at such arrogance and ignorance. And simple logic wonders: if these people are so pleased with their godless cosmos, why do they always seem so caustic and angry? If Jesus Christ is just a mythical figure, why is his name so unsettling to them?
Even they worry that they're living in a Fool's Paradise. Let's hope they at least catch some sun before they check out.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Change means You're Alive!
Growing up, I could see my grandfather's house, and I could make the walk in five minutes. Grandad loved singing gospel music, calling his cattle in at feeding time, driving his tractor across a field. He had livestock I could feed, a knife I could whittle with, and a creek where the gang and I could get soaking wet looking for crawfish.
He was a family man who loved nothing more than getting his grown sons and daughters along with their families together for a big holiday meal. Perhaps that's why I still think of him often at holiday times.
My grandad was famous for his temper. He'd gone to church all his life, but in an occasional moment of fury with his back to the wall, he could say things he could never take back. Well, you can take those kinds of remarks back, but it's painful and embarassing. So the kind old man had a sister who lived half a mile away and attended the same small community church, but he never spoke to her. And he had a daughter who married a young man he had never approved. So she moved to Texas and had two lovely kids, but her father didn't see her again for years- until she came home after being diagnosed with cancer.
My grandfather wasn't happy about all this. The barriers he had erected caused a lot of pain and unhappiness in his life and among his family. But the old man simply had this problem with change: he resisted it. He was like a lot of people I know.
When folks come to my office with a serious problem, they often confess that I'm their last hope and they have nowhere else to turn. They've tried everything, they insist, but nothing has helped. When we talk for a while, I usually discover they haven't really tried everything; typically, they've tried one thing over and over again. I've been told that's the definition of insanity: trying the same thing year after year but expecting different results.
It's what you might expect of a condition called total depravity. But what does Paul mean when he says, "I am a new creation in Christ. The old has gone and the new has come." My experience has shown me that I have the same old tendencies, but I have a new master who has the power to help me be an overcomer. That term, overcomer, is used a lot in the New Testament. And it doesn't simply mean overcoming the behavior of wicked, wicked unbelievers. It also applies to the tendencies and temptations of people who know better.
I knew another man who selfishly pushed people away for years. One day he came to his senses and realized he was a major cause of unhappiness in his own life- and the lives of others. He identified the problem and asked Christ to give him the power to change. He became a different man and experienced joys and delights he had never been able to afford in his sin nature. It would have been a good lesson for my grandfather; a good one for all of us.
Living things are always changing. If you can still change, it means you're still alive.
He was a family man who loved nothing more than getting his grown sons and daughters along with their families together for a big holiday meal. Perhaps that's why I still think of him often at holiday times.
My grandad was famous for his temper. He'd gone to church all his life, but in an occasional moment of fury with his back to the wall, he could say things he could never take back. Well, you can take those kinds of remarks back, but it's painful and embarassing. So the kind old man had a sister who lived half a mile away and attended the same small community church, but he never spoke to her. And he had a daughter who married a young man he had never approved. So she moved to Texas and had two lovely kids, but her father didn't see her again for years- until she came home after being diagnosed with cancer.
My grandfather wasn't happy about all this. The barriers he had erected caused a lot of pain and unhappiness in his life and among his family. But the old man simply had this problem with change: he resisted it. He was like a lot of people I know.
When folks come to my office with a serious problem, they often confess that I'm their last hope and they have nowhere else to turn. They've tried everything, they insist, but nothing has helped. When we talk for a while, I usually discover they haven't really tried everything; typically, they've tried one thing over and over again. I've been told that's the definition of insanity: trying the same thing year after year but expecting different results.
It's what you might expect of a condition called total depravity. But what does Paul mean when he says, "I am a new creation in Christ. The old has gone and the new has come." My experience has shown me that I have the same old tendencies, but I have a new master who has the power to help me be an overcomer. That term, overcomer, is used a lot in the New Testament. And it doesn't simply mean overcoming the behavior of wicked, wicked unbelievers. It also applies to the tendencies and temptations of people who know better.
I knew another man who selfishly pushed people away for years. One day he came to his senses and realized he was a major cause of unhappiness in his own life- and the lives of others. He identified the problem and asked Christ to give him the power to change. He became a different man and experienced joys and delights he had never been able to afford in his sin nature. It would have been a good lesson for my grandfather; a good one for all of us.
Living things are always changing. If you can still change, it means you're still alive.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Love, Lust, & Other Four Letter Words
Is it love or lust? A manly seaman leans over to the comely young woman seated on the bar stood next to him. He buys her one drink and then another. He takes her by the arm and gently escorts her to a nearby table where he confesses that he loves her deeply and would be willing to die for her. They talk for an hour, and then he asks if she'd like to come over to his place and allow him to express his love- in the bedroom. She responds firmly that she is flattered by the invitation, but that she'd never consider a one-night stand with a stranger. Fifteen minutes later he's back at the bar hitting on another girl. The young lady at the table will never see him again. Love or lust? I think we'd all agree that's not a love story.
So what kind of story is this? A fair-skinned Christian visits a rough inner city neighborhood an encounters a desperate teen-ager who lives there in the hood. The would-be missionary offers the kid a gospel tract and a church business card. He confesses his deep Christian love for this young person and expresses great sympathy for these difficult living conditions. He shares the Plan of Salvation. He looks perplexed when the inner city youth declines to follow Jesus today. Fifteen minutes the Christian is over by the basket ball court professing his love for another prospective disciple. The first kid will never see him again. Is that love or lust?
It can't be lust: it wasn't about sex, was it? No, it wasn't about sex. But it wasn't about love either! What do you call it when you profess to love another person, but it's really just a ploy to help them give you what you really want? Some "lovers" just want sex. Some "lovers" just want to see another person make a spiritual decision. Neither one is interested in a long term friendship.
I hope this doesn't offend you. It's not a personal attack. I've done the same sorts of things over the years. And sometimes I've seen people profess Christ, get saved, and become serious disciples. In many cases, we've remained friends for years, even decades. But most of those professions of love were made to people who never saw me again. I never helped them when they were hungry, jobless, sick or discouraged. I didn't dislike them, but I didn't love them- not really.
The Bible says that love never walks away with a casual, "God bless you! I hope you find some food for your family!" Spiritual Lust does that all the time. Love cares about hearts and stomachs as well as souls.
God is dealing with me about how I have helped widen the gap between the church and the world. I tend to get offended when I learn that secular people believe Christians are hypocritical. The accusation bothers me because I don't secretly get stoned, hire hookers, or participate in other gross immoralities. But in fact, I have misunderstood the issue. Unchurched people don't suspect we're really immoral: they think we're really unloving.
They suspect we are simply lusting after their souls. They insist our professions of true love are insincere and uncommitted. I have stopped asking God to change them. I am asking him to change me.
So what kind of story is this? A fair-skinned Christian visits a rough inner city neighborhood an encounters a desperate teen-ager who lives there in the hood. The would-be missionary offers the kid a gospel tract and a church business card. He confesses his deep Christian love for this young person and expresses great sympathy for these difficult living conditions. He shares the Plan of Salvation. He looks perplexed when the inner city youth declines to follow Jesus today. Fifteen minutes the Christian is over by the basket ball court professing his love for another prospective disciple. The first kid will never see him again. Is that love or lust?
It can't be lust: it wasn't about sex, was it? No, it wasn't about sex. But it wasn't about love either! What do you call it when you profess to love another person, but it's really just a ploy to help them give you what you really want? Some "lovers" just want sex. Some "lovers" just want to see another person make a spiritual decision. Neither one is interested in a long term friendship.
I hope this doesn't offend you. It's not a personal attack. I've done the same sorts of things over the years. And sometimes I've seen people profess Christ, get saved, and become serious disciples. In many cases, we've remained friends for years, even decades. But most of those professions of love were made to people who never saw me again. I never helped them when they were hungry, jobless, sick or discouraged. I didn't dislike them, but I didn't love them- not really.
The Bible says that love never walks away with a casual, "God bless you! I hope you find some food for your family!" Spiritual Lust does that all the time. Love cares about hearts and stomachs as well as souls.
God is dealing with me about how I have helped widen the gap between the church and the world. I tend to get offended when I learn that secular people believe Christians are hypocritical. The accusation bothers me because I don't secretly get stoned, hire hookers, or participate in other gross immoralities. But in fact, I have misunderstood the issue. Unchurched people don't suspect we're really immoral: they think we're really unloving.
They suspect we are simply lusting after their souls. They insist our professions of true love are insincere and uncommitted. I have stopped asking God to change them. I am asking him to change me.
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