Attraction and the Gospel

"Jesus's teaching consistently attracted the irreligious while offending the Bible-believing, religious people of his day.  However, in the main, our churches today do not have this effect.  The kind of outsiders Jesus attracted are not attracted to contemporary churches, even our most avant-garde ones.  We tend to draw conservative. buttoned-down, moralistic people.  The licentious and liberated or the broken and marginal avoid church.  That can only mean one thing.  If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did.  If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think."  Tim Keller, The Prodigal God, 15-16.

I have time for only a brief blog today.  I do think this quote from Keller says plenty that we should think about!  His book is about the parable of the two sons, which some mistakenly call the parable of the prodigal son.  He points out that the parable is really about three scandalous people: the younger son, the eldest son, and the Father.  We only focus on the younger son because so many of us are eldest brother types whose lives are marked by doing the right thing and hard work.  Unfortunately, the elder brother also is marked not by his love for the Father (God in this case), but his desire to work for the Father so he can get something back in return.  As Keller argues, true or authentic faith is marked by repentance from both our outright sin and our religious self-effort.  In other words, we must repent of the evil we do and the good we do.  What a scandalous message!  I would recommend reading the brief book.  I have heard Keller preach on the topic, and it was life-changing.  His book carries on that life-changing message.

Overall, I was struck and affirmed by his opening quote.  I know as a young pastor, I was very good at attracting the "conservative, buttoned-down, type."  I preached the Bible, thought I was building people up in their faith, and felt pretty good about myself.  Unfortunately, I saw no one come to faith outside the mold of conservative, buttoned-down type or those repenting of a brief foray into sin from their conservative, button-down type upbringing.  In other words, I had a great ministry to Pharisees!

The problem is that Jesus did not have a good ministry to Pharisees, but he had a great ministry to everyone else.  In my life, I encountered the grace of God through a series of bad decisions and failures.  I was a strong man who had not failed.  I learned that success in ministry does not depend upon me.  I learned personally that I was, and probably still am, a Pharisee.  As I repented of my sin, I tied into the grace of the Lord Jesus.  I found unmerited love.  This is the same Love that the Father gives freely to both the younger and eldest son in the parable of the two sons.  As I did, I found that my ministry changed as did my message.

How?  Well, first of all I was attractive to the broken-hearted, downtrodden, and out-right sinners.  They liked me.  We talked about Jesus.  They felt comfortable.  Many came to faith or at least began a faith journey that I pray and trust will lead to faith.  I also became much more comfortable in my own skin, and I believe I became more authentic as a person.  I have even seen a few eldest brother types come to faith, though the going on that front has been slow.  Yes, the opening quote encourages me that I was doing something right!

Yet, I my ministry also changed with the eldest brother types.  While I was once their darling, now I am an outcast.  I have found that the religious types just do not understand me.  They might like me, but they do not trust me.  I have found that religious types judge me and find me wanting.  I  have seen their sideways glances at their friends, and I know I have been judged not good enough.  Often these folks come to church or a class I teach and then walk away unchanged by the grace of God.

At first this reaction of the eldest brother types was very dismaying.  It even made me angry (a true mark of an eldest brother type!).  Could they not see the grace of God?  Did they not want it?  I judged them.

Notice the Father in the parable.  He offered grace and restoration for the eldest brother.  We do not know if he took the offer since as an excellent story-teller, Jesus left that response untold.  Yet, the Father had an open heart.  I think in the past few years I have learned to a greater degree to leave my heart open to the eldest brother types, and to leave the grace of God wide-open for them.  I do not find myself judging them as much, and I repent when I do.  Still, the eldest brother types are the hardest to win to the gospel of grace.  They are so right that they do not need Jesus.

May all of us this day be amazed at the awesome grace of God.  May this grace shatter our younger brother and eldest brother tendencies to bring us to repentance and rest.

Trials and Growth

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, wherever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1: 2-5

Today I began a look at James in my devotional reading and prayer time.  I was immediately struck by this first passage in the entire book.  Why would I consider it joy when I face trials?  I am like most of us, in that I try to avoid trials and I complain when I am in them!  How can I consider it joy?

I have to say that the past year and a half have been a time of trial for me.  I have seen betrayal in ministry, disappointment in my personal life, began to suffer from irritating health issues, and a nagging string of condemnation from the Evil One.  As the time of trial began, I complained to God.  I knew I was innocent, or at least not directly causing any issues, so why did I have to go through them!  Have you ever been there?

As weeks turned into months, I began to ask God different questions.  Lord, what do I need to learn from this?  What are you doing?  What do I need to see?  I think this is the process that James describes in this passage.  What happened, I began to ask for wisdom.  I also began to grow and develop as a person in different directions.  I must admit that the change was slow and at times imperceptible.  Still, I can now see how God was changing me.  As I persevered through the trials, I developed a new level of maturity.  I know I am still lacking in much, but I thank God for allowing me to develop and be transformed by His grace.

I share this experience because I wonder how God has worked to shape each of my readers?  Trials promote humility or bitterness.  Which one marks your life?  Trials promote an attitude of blaming God and turning away from a walk with Him or trusting him more (perseverance in our faith).  Which one marks your life?  I am thankful for His faithfulness that He did not allow bitterness and unbelief to take over my life.  I know that the only true anchor and rock is my Lord and my God!  Not because I declare it or believe it, but because it is true.

The next few sentences of James are very interesting, and even this morning I puzzled over them.  "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." vs. 6  What does this mean?  It sounds so harsh!  Is this a new idea or part of the past one concerning trials, perseverance, and wisdom.  I believe it is part of the same preceding idea. When you ask for wisdom, do not doubt it when you get it!  God will answer your prayer for wisdom, but do not doubt what He is trying to tell you.

I often find that people only move to a different place (spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc.) when pressed to do so.  Most of us would prefer to stay in a bad situation or place because it is more comfortable than the unknown.  Truly a body at rest, stays at rest.  God loves us so much that He knows what is best for us.  He knows our sin tendencies and our hang-ups.  He wants us to grow out of them because they are harmful to us.  He desires a great and promising future for us.  He wants to lead us to this future!  The question becomes will we follow His leading?  Most of the time no.  Thus, trials come to awaken our body at rest.

I think this is the answer to James' thoughts concerning doubt.  We all doubt many things.  This is a natural consequence of our fallen state.  Doubt is a broad category, and this passage is not saying that all doubt is bad.  When doubt leads to questions, it is often good because we will find the answers in Christ!

The key to understanding this passage is in the context of praying for wisdom.  When we pray for wisdom, we should not doubt it when we hear it.  Through God's word, inner impulses and instruction, and most importantly the counsel of others, we can hear God's voice.  When we hear it, often we are like Gideon or Moses and we say, "You have the wrong guy!"  Unfortunately, some of us are not as honest as Gideon and Moses.  We don't talk back to God and question Him.   No, we ignore His leading and voice.  Then, we wonder why trials keep coming and why God does not change our current situation to meet our needs.  

"When we ask, we must believe and not doubt."  God loves us so much that He wants what is best for us.  We are so short-sighted that we simply do not know what is best for us.  In our pride, we think we do, but we are wrong.  

May the Lord lead and guide each of us.  May we learn to walk with Him through the trials and difficulties that naturally come from living in a fallen world.  May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven for His glory.  Ask for wisdom and believe His love and grace for you!  Who knows what blessings you are missing out on because of your lack of believing.

Loving God and Neighbor

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments."  Matt. 22:37-39

Yesterday we began a discussion on developing a Christian mind.  We discussed our contemporary understanding of religion as private and making little impact on how we live because of a worldly and false dichotomy borrowed from the Enlightenment.  Instead, I proposed that authentic spirituality will always seek to grow in its understanding of God and the implications of belief on life.  I know that for many professing faith there is little evidence in this regard!  This means nothing except that we have many in our churches who need either regeneration or revival.

Today's passage is a direct quote from Jesus as the Pharisees tried to test and trick him.  Their question is an attempt to get Jesus to divide the Law into parts so they can accuse him of neglecting some element of the Law.  It is similar to today when people ask you if you are someone who engages in active evangelism or seeking justice and truth in the world.  The answer should be yes- I do both.  Jesus' answer to the trick question dove-tales perfectly with our discussion concerning developing authentic spirituality and the Christian mind.  

Jesus answers by cutting to the heart of the Pharisee's misunderstanding of scripture.  There should not be an active debate on the most important commandment in scripture.  The answer should be yes!  All of the Law is equally important.  You just need to understand the principles that in-power the Law.  These principles include there is only one God who is to be worshipped by all creation with abandon, and humans are created in the image of God and as image bearers, they should be loved and respected.  Notice these are the principles that manifest in the idea that creation is good!  Jesus answers the trick question by saying that the essence of the Law breaks down into two principles: Love God and love neighbor.  This is the theme of the positive side of the Law.

Of course for the sensitive of heart, this positive declaration of the Law also should promote repentance and humility.  How can we keep these commands?  I fall so short of continual love of God and neighbor.  Even as I affirm the rightness of Jesus' command, I cannot keep it perfectly.  I need God's help.  I need a savior.  The proper preaching and teaching of the Law should promote a humble reliance on the Holy Spirit leading to dependence upon Christ.

Unfortunately, many of us, like the Pharisees of old, hear this and do not understand our struggle to obey.  We do not depend upon the Holy Spirit.  We muster up our own will power and try our hardest.  Then we count this as good enough, and we judge those who do not do as good as we do!

Now we know where most of us live, most of the time.  We also know the cause.  If we do not develop a solid understanding of God, we will make Him in our image instead of allowing His image and glory to shape us.  If we do not develop a solid understanding of humanity, we will sit in judgment upon everyone who does not fit our "mold" as the ideal.  We will establish our culture, our habits, our thoughts, as the standard for all other cultures, habits and thoughts.  We might even use the Law to justify our opinions, but we will neglect other elements of the Law to do so.  Jesus tells us that we all this to our own peril!

Our biggest problem is that we can find a church somewhere that will affirm us in our opinions.  Thus the church becomes worldly, Christians become unsavory to those not "just like them," and the teaching of truth about God and humanity sounds foreign and strange to us.

How do we escape this trap?  We develop an informed and growing Christian mind.  We learn.  We repent of our false understandings and allow scripture to shape our mind.  This is the path not taken by many because it is hard!  Nevertheless, an informed Christian mind is the path to recovering our created good and overcoming our fallen tendency toward self.

May the Lord lead each of us to grow in our understanding of God and our neighbor!  May we develop a Christian mind that informs our understanding so we may Love God and others with authenticity and grace!

The Authentic Mind

"The first step in forming a Christian worldview is to overcome this sharp divide between "heart" and "brain."  We have to reject the division of life into a sacred realm, limited to things like worship and personal morality, over against a secular realm that includes science, politics, economics, and the rest of the public arena.  This dichotomy in our own minds is the greatest barrier to liberating the power of the gospel across the whole of culture today."  Nancy Pearsey, Total Truth, 20.

One of the marks of authentic spirituality is a quest for truth and its application in every area of life.  Notice I said quest.  It is a life-long pursuit and a trajectory of constant searching and hopefully Spirit-lead growth.  None of us have perfectly apprehended the truth about the world.  One of the effects of sin is to warp our minds so they are preoccupied with self-concern and self-deceit.  The proper response to understanding this reality should be authentic humility that seeks to learn from God through His word, others, and creation.

So why is authentic humility so lacking in the Christian world?  Why are so many Christians marked by an arrogance that is appalling?  It never ceases to amaze me how a person rescued by God's grace from complete darkness can change in a year into a person who judges and looks down upon others still in darkness!  Why does this happen?  I think it is primarily because we have not learned how to develop a authentic Christian mind.  We have not been taught even the basics of how to understand and live in this world.

The first basic we should know is that all things were created good.  If we look honestly, the ringing cry of Genesis 1 is God's declaration that what He made is good.  Over and over again, God creates and declares it good.  The final summation of the chapter concludes, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (vs. 31)  What does this mean?  All things were created with an inherent goodness.  This includes humanity that is created in the image of God (vs. 26).  Not just individually but also corporately since male and female together reflect the full image of God.  This means that human interaction and culture was created to be good and to reflect the character of the God who created it.

The second basic we should know is that all things were infected and effected by the fall.  Genesis 3 details how Adam and Eve turned away from listening to God to listen to their own desires, prompted by the Evil One, to eat of the so called knowledge of the world.  The result is alienation from God (3:10), alienation from others (3:12), alienation from self (3:13), and alienation from all creation (3:16-19).  These various forms of alienation from the way we were created cause us great pain.  The more we move away from our created good the more pain, suffering, and alienation we experience and feel.  The closer we are to our created good, the more harmony, peace, and joy we will experience.  The final hope of the Biblical understanding of the universe is that one day we will be set free from the power of sin and death so that we can once again reflect the created good perfectly.  This will be achieved when we die or Christ returns!

Now the tie to our opening quote can be made.  In our fallen state, the reality of our condition is often felt, but not really understood.  We are special because we are created by God to reflect His glory and character.  Yet, all of us are fallen beings struggling to put off the gravitational pull of our sin tendencies. This pull drives us away from trusting in God and instead moves us toward trusting in self: our strength, our judgment, our resources.  The problem is that we forget that our strength, our judgment, and our resources are all infected with the consequences of the fall!  These consequences do not end when someone becomes a believer.  They continue until death or Christ returns!

Many Christians have bought into the dichotomy borrowed from the Enlightenment, which argues that there is a divide between sacred and secular realms.  We have been taught that Church, Bible, and personal faith are good.  We have also been taught that "secular humanism" and all worldly pursuits (anything not related to Church, Bible, and personal faith) are bad.  Hopefully you can see that this is wrong on many sides!  This will be our topic for the next few days as we investigate the implications of our false worldview.

One implication before we end.  There is not a sacred/secular dichotomy in scripture made along the lines we have borrowed from the Enlightenment.  All of us and every area of culture and creation are created good yet fallen.  This includes the Church and all Christian institutions.  It includes all "worldly" activities and enterprises.  The real task of authentic spirituality is to take this truth and apply it to every area of human experience.  We must seek to integrate this Biblical worldview into action.  It must inform all of life.  It creates vision on how we should live and how culture should function.  Yet, our fallenness should create humility and a willingness to grow and learn as we seek to apply these truths into a fallen world by fallen people.

Any observations and comments are welcome!  Let's grow together as we look at this area of authentic spirituality!

Traveling. Where are you going?

"But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Cor. 2:16

It is way too early to be writing or even be awake.  Yet, here I am.  I leave Grand Rapids, MI at 6:30 so I had a 4:30 wake-up call coming.  Of course I awoke every hour on the hour after I first woke up at 12:30 dreaming I was late and going to miss the plane.  At 4, I awoke and figured I should write.  At least I know what I want to write about!  It is always good when we know where we are going.

Much of this material is going in some way, shape, or form into a book I want to write on Authentic Spirituality: Living a Gospel- and Grace-Centered Life.  In the past month we completed the chapter material on Spiritual Warfare.  My hope was that this material would prompt some of my readers to pray with great intention and fervency for this project and me personally.  This task will entail dealing with the schemes of the Evil One.

Now I am onto another subject: authentic spirituality will promote and develop a Biblical worldview, and understanding of scripture.  It will foster a growing understanding of the Will of God as revealed in scripture and the implications of understanding this will.  It might never be perfect, but it will be consistent with "the mind of Christ."

I have met many people who have not developed a solid understanding of scripture and how it fits together.  I have met others who do not really understand how to apply what they know about the gospel.  The key to authentic spirituality is what we do with our ignorance.  Some rejoice in it and refuse to learn or grow deeper.  I have never met someone who has drunk deeply of God's grace who does not want to learn!  This mark of a teachable heart illustrates humility and the touch of God's hand.  It illustrates someone who desires to know God more and to love people better.  When I get back and settled, we will begin our discussions concerning what we need to learn.

Please pray for safe travel and that my family gets a vacation when I get back!

Prayer and the Kingdom

Yesterday at the CRC orientation, the new head of the Home Missions department, Moses Chung, spoke on the priority of prayer.  He shared that he had spent the past three years at a large church in South Korea.  This church had over 30,000 people attend each week.  The key to the church was not its size, but its dedication to prayer.  They have three early morning prayer services each day (4:30, 5:15, 6:00), a mid-morning prayer meeting for the older ladies (10:00) who consider their main ministry that of prayer, and an evening service (9:00 PM) for those who cannot make it in the morning.  Wow!  A core group of 3,000 to 4,000 pray each day for the ministry of the church and for revival in their nation and the world.  The result, many new converts and a spirit of revival that is lacking in most other South Korean churches.

What struck me was this prayer ministry flows from the top down.  The senior pastor of this church prays at the 6:00 AM service (he has his own prayer space at the service), and then goes to his office to pray for the next two to three hours.  Once a week of so, he prays until noon.  Again, wow!  When Moses went to this church, he wanted to know what the pastor did for all that time.  He could not believe his dedication to prayer.  What did the pastor say?

“Do not pray hard, but pray as if your life depends upon it.”  Many of us have tried to be more faithful to prayer.  We have mustered up our will power, and worked hard to be more faithful in prayer.  The results are often mixed even in the short-term.  The real question is how many of us really believe that our life depends upon being in communication with God?  How many of us realize that without God’s help we can do nothing of lasting value?  I confess that I might intellectually know it, but I sure forget it often!  I have developed a life of prayer and time with God that might span forty-five minutes to an hour a day, but five hours! 

As a church, I have asked if 25 people will join me in praying for the ministry of Grace.  I would be thrilled if we could get 15 minutes a day per person.  I am sure such prayer would make an eternal difference in our community and around the world.  One of the reasons we as a church have grown so much by conversion and through bringing the unchurched to Grace is because of our bi-annual weeks of prayer and fasting.  Without these, we would have seen no change!  In fact, one of our five new ministry foci for the next five years is developing our prayer ministry.  Please join me in praying that Grace will be a life-changing source of God’s redeeming grace through the gospel.  Pray for conversions, for the unchurched to come to Grace, and for mission-centered believers to join us in the task of taking the gospel to Central Maine and the world.  

Yesterday’s challenge confirmed to me that we will do nothing of lasting value without developing this ministry.  My call as the leader of our church is to lead in prayer.  Please pray for me that I will learn “to pray as if my life depends upon it.”

Different Pastors, Different Needs

Today I am in Grand Rapids for a denominational orientation with the Home Missions department.  I am excited for the opportunity to see how the CRC (Christian Reformed Church) runs.  I am even more excited to meet the new church planters who are supported by Home Missions.  Why?  I think that church planters and church revitalizers (I am one of these) are the "shock troops" of the kingdom.  These are the folks that God has gifted and called to bring people to faith, to grow churches, and advance the Kingdom of God.  I like meeting these people!  They often have vision and purpose that is both contagious and invigorating.  I look forward to the day.

As I was preparing to leave for the morning (first meeting 10:10), I was think of life as a pastor.  I believe that anyone called to the task can succeed and can fail at the pastorate.  The Kingdom needs all types of people.

First, why can anyone fail?  I believe that anyone can really mess up being a pastor.  No matter how gifted or talented, we can make mistakes that mess up a ministry or church.  Some churches and ministry situation are places and times when no one, no matter how gifted, could succeed.  I often tell folks struggling in these situations that Jesus, Paul, and Apollos all rolled into one could not move that ministry.  Why?  Because some situations are opposed to building the Kingdom of God.  They might have the word "church" on the front sign and there are believers in the place, but the group is now worldly and actually demonically motivated.  If you find yourself in one, do not beat yourself up but move on!

How else can anyone fail?  Let me count the ways... through pride of yourself or a key leader, through laziness, through working too much causing stress, through marriage issues and problems, through community changes, through ... You get the idea.  How we react to changes impacts are ability to stay in a place.  If we react immaturely or with pride, we can fail quickly.

Yet, the pastorate is also a place where anyone can succeed.  You do not need to be engaging or a great orator.  You could be weak with people and counseling.  You might be great one on one, but not able to lead.  You might be a driven leader and orator who runs over people.  I have good news.  There is a church out there for a pastor with any or all of these traits.  There is a place where you can succeed.  The issue is finding that place!  Furthermore, we must be careful that we do not end up in a place that does not use our strengths.  In other words, all of us can succeed if we find the right place where we are appreciated for who we are and where we use our strengths to help people grow in grace.

Today I meet the folks who will succeed in places of difficultly.  If they succeed, they must have vision, leadership abilities, thick-skin, and a heart for people.  Who would not like to meet such people!

Wisdom and planning

"Prepare plans by consultation,

and make war by wise guidance" Pro. 20:19

How do we gain wisdom?  I think life does a really good job of teaching us, if we will listen.  Yet, I know many completely non-reflective people who have incredible teachable moments that just pass them by because they do not have eyes to see or ears to hear God trying to break into their life!  How do we hear the voice of the Lord?

First and foremost, we need to be in the Word of God and prayer.  The Word of God is His revealed will to us.  It contains His perfect guidance on life and practice in this world.  If we do not know it, we will stumble like blind men at times!  I add the prayer part because there is a great difference between knowing something and being able to apply what you know.  The prayer part gives us time to listen to God as we talk with Him.  I find it is best to talk with God with His Word open in my lap so as I read, God can impress upon my spirit what I need to know or remember.  

How does this work?  Well, sometimes I am dealing with a particular issue- let's say someone who is hard to deal with.  Let's say they were just plain ornery to me!  I cannot understand why they are difficult.  As I am praying about the situation and reading in the Psalms, I will run into a passage on the "wrath of my enemies."  It is like a light coming on!  The Lord impresses upon my spirit that this person is angry.  I pray for them.  As I pray the Lord guides me to pray for their work situation.  As I talk with the person over the next few weeks, I ask, "How's it going at work?"  They tell me about the unfair treatment they are receiving from their boss.  See, the issue wasn't that they were mad at me.  They were struggling.  If I had not taken time to pray about it with the Word of God open, I might have handled it in a totally different manner!

It seems to me that we rarely have the same situation twice.  Yet, we have God's principles and Word that are eternal.  Taking what we know, or what we should know, and applying it is the heart of wisdom.  When we mess it up, which will happen all too often, we need to repent, talk with God about, reflect on what went wrong, and ask for wisdom on living the truth better next time.  There is no reason to hide from God or to think we need to do some form of "penance" before we can be right with God again.  Repent quickly, believe the gospel, and move on!

A second way to gain wisdom is to find wise people to ask for advice.  This step is one in which we in the West really struggle.  We are so individualistic that we shy away from asking for advice, particularly from people that are wise!  Even if we get it, some of us are so prideful that we will not take it because we did not come up with it ourselves.  We need to know that God has granted some people a special degree of wisdom.  They can cut to the heart of the matter and help us see what we need to do.  As individuals and churches, we need to locate and encourage these people for leadership!  We should search them out and inquire of their opinions.  Make sure they can explain what they are advising as coming from Biblical principles.  Then listen and try to implement what they recommend.  If we do, even the unreflective among us can walk in wisdom (if we will just listen!).

I will be traveling this week, so my posts may be sporadic.  Please check out old posts.  Also, share his blog with your friends and through your social networks.  May we develop a solid forum for growing in grace together.  Please pray for me as I travel to Michigan, and for my family as they deal with the farm and life in my absence.  

Betrayal, Sin, and Authentic Grace

"Even my close friend, 

in whom I trusted, 

Who ate my bread, 

Has lifted up his heel against me." Ps. 41:9

The Psalms are refreshing because they are honest.  In Psalm 41, David is writing about a betrayal from a friend.  It begins with a prayer of thanks to God that He has not forsaken him.  David clings to the promises of God and claims God as his deliverer, his protector, the one who blesses him, his sustainer, and the one who restores health.  Then David confesses the realities of his enemies.  They seek to harm David by speaking evil of him.  Even a close friend has betrayed him.

Yesterday I was getting two new tires put on the van at Sams club.  A guy in his 20s pulled his car up to a bay, left it running, and went inside.  One the workers lamented, "What is wrong with people?"  He continued to mutter and complain.  I was standing there, and I told him it was simple.  All of us are incredibly selfish and self-centered.  I told him until our parents or life beats that out of us, we remain self-centered, and we even grow more self-centered.  I concluded with the comment, "If you understand this one truth, much of life and what people do make so much more sense."  He agreed and we continued to talk about its application.

As I continued to walk around Sams and on the way home, I thought of that discussion.  This Psalm came to mind.  In ministry, with people who should know better, I have been betrayed and harmed more by people's selfishness than anywhere else in the world.  I have seen it since I first became a Christian.  We see it in church splits, church conflicts, petty "turf wars" in ministries, and in our "friendships" that have gone astray.  Why do folks, particularly believers, act the way they do?  

Well, selfishness and self-centeredness never fully leaves us!  In a fallen world, it is the stain of the flesh that mars our soul.  We have to be constantly on our guard against it in ourselves, and we should never be surprised when we see it in others.  When it happens, we, like David, should repent and believe God's promises, and we should push for others to repent.  

The problem is that often the betrayer does not repent, and they do not understand nor care about the pain they have caused.  Why?  Because they are radically self-centered (just like us!).  Most of us demand grace for ourselves, but we figure everyone else "gets what they deserve." We are called to forgive them, but that does not necessarily mean that we trust them again.  Some people through betrayal illustrate their character's weaknesses, and we should not put ourselves, unless we are very careful and led by God, back in an abusive situation.  Still, we are called and commanded to forgive others as we have been forgiven.  

Does this mean, "Forgive and forget?"  In some situations, I think not.  First, it is impossible apart from God's grace.  We just cannot forget; and in many cases, it is a defense mechanism put in place by God to protect us from further harm.  Still, we can daily ask for grace to forgive.  We can declare our forgiveness.  We can ask God to be our deliverer, our protector, our sustainer, and our grace.  In other words, we believe the gospel and claim its promises.

What I have discovered is that forgiveness is a process.  It is like peeling an onion.  When confronted with our friend/enemy fresh pain arrives.  We must forgive and ask for grace to forgive.  Just when think we are getting better, then another layer of the onion comes off.  It could be anything that brings up the memory.  Fresh pain and tears.  We must forgive and ask for grace to forgive.  I know this sounds hard, but what is the other option?  Bitterness.  Anger.  Hardness of heart.  None of these sound good!

Who do you need to forgive today?  What pain has someone caused you?  Turn to Psalm 41 and take an honest look at your pain and God's faithfulness.  Begin the process of being restored.  Repent, believe, and walk in grace.

Authentic Spirituality and the Kingdom

"It is possible for both individuals and churches to become devoted mainly to personal spiritual culture and forget outreach, especially if the process of reaching our involves touching those who may contaminate us. Thus many Protestant churches have in effect become closed systems for the nurture and servicing of the inheritors of a denominational tradition." Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life.


Yesterday's blog post described how individuals and churches can become inward focused.  From this discussion, I applied an inward focused perspective to the life and ministry of a church.  Today, I want to build on our destructive tendency toward being inward focused and apply it to the individual believer.

Throughout all of church history there has been a pull toward Christians to not be "of the world."  The bible is full of passages that encourage believers to stay clear of the World's influences.  One example is found in 1 John 2:15-16, "Do not love the world, nor the things of the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."  Furthermore, throughout the OT, the Israelites are warned against the evil world that exists outside of its borders.  Many churches and many Christian take these warnings to mean that they cannot associate with the evil world "out there."  I find this tendency particularly strong with some who God rescued from deep-seated sin tendencies as well as with those who grow up with performance-oriented religion.

The questions that need to be asked are two-fold.  First, what is the world that we are warned about?  God warned the Israelites and the apostles warned the church about the world.  What does this mean?  The past couple week's worth of blogs should help with this.  The world is a system of structures and values that makes true godliness look foolish and wickedness righteous.  It is empowered by the Evil One, and it works in tandem with our flesh to bring about a lack of faith and trust in the grace of God.  The world is attractive to our flesh, and thus it is deceptive.  It has a sensual side that we are warned often about.  This should be avoided because it is destructive to our souls!  The problem is that it also has a religious side that is equally destructive to our souls.  This religious side promotes self-righteousness that can be clearly seen in an holier-than-thou attitude.  It breeds an us against them attitude that can be smelled a mile away.  In the individual Christian or Christian family, it promotes a certain "weirdness" that everyone else can see, but the individual or family cannot.  Unfortunately, this "weirdness" does not look or smell like the person and ministry of Jesus, but it looks and smells like religious self-righteousness and judgment that says, "Come, be converted, and be like me."  For 99% of those not yet believing, this proposal looks and sounds horrible.

In other words, the world we are to avoid is not just outside the church and Christian community, but we bring it with us everywhere we go.  We need to repent of our attraction to it, and our embrace of it.  It is the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees that will spoil the whole batch (Matt. 16).

A second question that is should be asked by individual believers is, "How do I share this great discovery of Divine grace?"  In the context of 1 John 2 15-16, verse 17 states, "And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever."  What is the will of God? I would think that Jesus and the apostles state it well.  Jesus brought the Kingdom of God into every area of the world that he touched.  He ate with and associated with "sinners."  He set people free.  Why would we not do the same?  How can we witness to God's faithfulness and love if we do not?  Paul and the apostles took the message of the gospel to the very ends of the known world.  Even the OT states that the purpose of the Jewish nation was to be a blessing to the entire world (Gen 12: 1-3).

I think what is needed is a change in focus.  Why not have it that we as believers "contaminate" the surrounding culture and individuals with the incredible love of God found in the gospel?  Why are we scared to share this good news?  My guess is not our fear of rejection (what is often claimed), but our lack of real, life-changing faith that this message is great!  If we drink deeply of the gospel and the grace of the Lord, the world, in all its forms, is not attractive.  In fact, drinking deeply of the love of God is the only thing that will break the power of sin in our lives.  When we are healed and changed, we praise God and declare His love.

Unfortunately, many of us live like the 9 men healed of leprosy who did not thank God in a loud voice with joy.  As a result, our faith has not made us well.  We are still soul sick.  Soul sick people do not witness to God's life-changing power that is working daily in their heart.  They might witness to what God did years ago, but they do not have a new story to tell.  Often their life begins to focus on their needs and wants instead of doing the will of God.

If you find yourself in this place today, repent and believe!  Confess your lack of love for those still bound by sin.  Confess the fact that you are bound by the sin of self-concern and self-righteousness.  Ask that God will help you to do as Jesus did: engage and love sinners while believing and resting in the Love of God.

In-reach, out-reach, and the Kingdom

"It is possible for both individuals and churches to become devoted mainly to personal spiritual culture and forget outreach, especially if the process of reaching our involves touching those who may contaminate us. Thus many Protestant churches have in effect become closed systems for the nurture and servicing of the inheritors of a denominational tradition." Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life


Today I wish to explore this quote from Richard Lovelace.  Lovelace was one of my professors in seminary.  He was quite old and losing his mind when I had him as a student.  Yet, when talking with him, I could see glimpses of his brilliant mind.  This book was written in 1979, but its message still applies today.  In fact, I would say this book is one of the best books ever written and published that almost no one reads!  If you get a chance buy the book and read it.

In this passage, Lovelace is discussing the Mission of the Church.  He lists an emphasis on mission as a mark of authentic spirituality.  In this short paragraph, he also discusses an issue that directly impacts the direction of a church or a denomination.  In the past several years, I have had many discussions with individuals and denominational officials about how their church is dying and losing members.  In fact, I just had the same discussion on Tuesday!  This is the general tenor of the comments.  "This younger generation just does not care about church.  Our church community is growing older and there are few children.  We were once such a vibrant church, but now there are so few of us.  Our culture is destroying the church.  There is nothing we can do."  I believe Lovelace's comments address all of these laments.

First, our cultural embrace of personal piety and religion as the essence of religion is very destructive to the mission of God.  It comes from an assumed plank of Enlightenment thought that all religion is personal and private.  It has been argued for over 200 years that religion is something that helps the individual to cope, but it is not true truth that can be rationally debated and discussed.  When we do not combat this incorrect assumption, we have already lost the battle for the souls of those who are not yet believers.  If Jesus is the Son of God, this truth is much more important, lasting, and transformative than my personal thoughts, or even worse feelings, about this truth.  It is an historical fact that changes everything.  It means that there is a personal and caring God in this universe.  It means that sin is real and universal.  It means that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are building their Kingdom by dealing with sin and its effects.  People need to hear this great news!  Mission means taking this message of redemption into every area of life and to every corner of the world.  It is beyond being merely personal.  It makes the difference for the entire world and how we relate with the world.

Second, when we think of those in our culture as "contaminating us" we misunderstand the nature of Jesus and His ministry.  Jesus associated with all types of people, and we are a continuation of Jesus' ministry as we minister in His name (Acts 2:33 and 26:23).  He met with a woman of ill-repute (John 4), tax-collectors (Mark 2), and other sinners (Luke 7).  In summarizing his ministry by saying, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17  In fact, the only people Jesus appeared to have problems with were the religious folks!  He warned people about "the yeast" of religious folks working through the entire batch causing its demise (Matt. 16).  In other words, Jesus warned that religious folks could corrupt one so they do not trust God.  The Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious folks in Jesus' day, promoted their traditions and purity as promoting and illustrating God's favor.  They refused to follow the example of Jesus' ministry, and they actually sneered and looked down upon sinners as beneath them.  Is this not exactly what Lovelace was talking about when he discussed those who "forget outreach, especially if the process of reaching our involves touching those who may contaminate us."

Where does this rejection of Jesus' ministry style leave us?  As Lovelace states, "Many Protestant churches have in effect become closed systems for the nurture and servicing of the inheritors of a denominational tradition."  The result is a slow, prolonged death.  It begins with a church claiming it wants to reach out to the lost, but the actions of its leadership and members declare to all visitors, "You are not welcome unless you are just like us."  This ministry style then gets institutionalized by allocation of funds and ministry focus on church members.  Now the ministries of the church promote the message, "You must be like us to be welcome here."  After years, the young people leave the church.  They are raised in this church, but they leave to go somewhere else or drop out all together because they are looking for authentic community or a place with less hypocrites.  After years of this process, the church is a beautiful building almost empty of people.

Is this the only trajectory for churches?  No!  A thousand times no!  Yet, it is the trajectory of thousands of church throughout America and the West.

Demonization, Possession and Oppression

Eph. 4:21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 

Eph. 4:22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 

Eph. 4:23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 

Eph. 4:24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Eph. 4:25  Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 

Eph. 4:26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 

Eph. 4:27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 

It is finally time for an original post on the topic of demonization and believers.  There are some, Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker comes to mind, who make most common issues with sin the work of the Devil and his demons.  I am just not in this camp.  I think most Christians do not have a good understanding of the flesh and its awful work in our lives.  (See my May 12 Flesh vs. Flesh blog entry for more information)  We do not need to blame an outside force for our sinful choices.  We sin because we are sinners.  This fact did not change when we came to faith!  All of us will struggle against the flesh until our death or Christ comes back.  This struggle should propel us to repentance and faith in Christ as our only hope.  I fear that for many professed believers, we live with a religious form of the flesh as our guide instead of learning to trust in Christ alone for our righteousness.  I do not blame Satan for that!  This is the work of our own flesh.

This being said, it is possible to have demonic influence as a very real issue in the life of believers and unbelievers.  I do not believe that believers can be possessed.  Here definitions are in order.  Possessed means controlled and or even owned by demons.  This is impossible for a believer in Christ because we have been "bought back" by Christ (Acts 20:28 and 1 Cor. 6:20 and 7:23; 2 Pet 2:1), and the Holy Spirit dwells within us (2 Cor. 1:22 and 5:5; 2 Tim. 1:14).  One who does not believe in Christ does not have this protection.  They are "dead in your transgressions and sins." They "follow the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient."  Eph. 2:1-2  This does not mean that unbelievers are possessed!  It means that the evil one could, through sin, take ownership of those apart from Christ.

Notice that the doorway into one's life is through our sin.  This is particularly true of open worship of false gods (which are demons), practicing in the occult, or active engagement in nursing anger and bitterness.  I have also heard of avenues into the soul through drug abuse and other bodily sins.  Any and all of these sin tendencies are deeply destructive to the soul.  If you have engaged in them, you should repent (agree with God that this is wrong) and believe the gospel!

Interestingly, these same doorways of sin can lead to the demonic influence in the life of a believer in Christ.  I would not call this demonic possession, but demonic oppression.  A believer in Christ's identity is sealed by the Holy Spirit; but through engagement in sin without repentance and faith, one can invite the power of the evil one into their life.  Oppression has effects that range from mild to severe.  It comes about through active engagement in sin, particularly the ones mentioned in the above paragraph.  Oppression looks different depending upon the sin.

One example of oppression is a demonic empowering of fleshly sin.  It begins with the practice of sin, but it becomes more and more of an addiction until it is a compulsion.  Notice the ties between the flesh and devil.  These sins begin as fleshly sins, but somewhere along the way they become empowered by demonic influence.  This is particularly true with sins of the flesh such as sex/pornography/impurity or drug use.  A believer must repent of their sin, and they need to renounce the work of the Devil in their life.  This scheme of the Devil should bring well placed fear for those believers who engage in fleshly sins and think nothing of them.  Repent and believe!

Another example of oppression comes through deep-seated fear or anger/bitterness.  As we have seen in past blogs, both of these sins are favorite avenues for demonic attack.  At times of great fear it is possible to invite through our lack of faith the work of the evil one into our life.  Through nursing anger and bitterness, it is possible to develop a condition that mirrors the biblical accounts of demonization.  How can we tell if there is demonic oppression?  Some tell-tale signs include, irrational thoughts of fear or hatred, increasing in both frequency and severity of nightmares, as well as deepening depression and anxiety that does not respond to physical treatment.

What do we do if we sense demonic empowerment of our flesh or unexplained fear?  I would strongly suggest that we repent of any known avenues in for the evil one and believe the gospel!  Get with your pastor and other believers to have them pray for you.  Most importantly, take this seriously!  Pray, believe, seek community, and cling to Christ and his power.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you! 1 Peter 5:9.    

Spiritual Warfare and Authentic Grace

"Resist the Devil, standing firm in your faith, knowing the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren throughout the world." 1 Peter 5: 9

We have looked at spiritual warfare from many different angles over the past couple of weeks.  These angles have moved from the simple and common to the esoteric and different!  Before we conclude and as we start a new week, I thought it would be helpful to remind us why the concept of spiritual warfare is important.

First, authentic spirituality throughout all of history has recognized the importance of spiritual warfare in the Christian life.  Believers throughout history have realized that the world, the flesh, and the Devil are enemies to living a life of grace.  

The flesh sabotages us from the inside with its insistence on living for and from the self.  This is the opposite of a God-centered life.  It is the root of all our sin because it flows from unbelief, and it is a life of pride.  

The world system is ruled by the evil one, and it plays right into our flesh.  It is a system that seeks to make godliness look strange and awful while making evil and sin look good and natural.  The world seeks to diminish us from living as authentic people of grace.  

Finally, the Devil is real and evil.  His purpose is to destroy the work of God, and to limit the building of God's Kingdom.  His doom is sure, and he is not another God.  He has under his influence all those not in Christ (Eph. 2: 1-3).  He also commands an army of evil spirits that in-power the world system and that seek to destroy the work of God.  His primary weapons are temptation and then accusation.  We should be aware of his schemes so that we can spot them and defeat them through the word of God, the gospel, and prayer.

So, why is understanding spiritual warfare important?  Understanding spiritual warfare drives us to the gospel and into dependence upon God.  On our own and apart from Christ, we are helpless.  Our own willpower and strength does not take us far.  It cannot conquer our flesh, reject the world, or resist Satan's temptations.  Yet, many believers today think that through better disciple and effort, we can conquer all three!  A life of authentic spirituality depends upon God's grace and lives in humility in Christ.  It recognizes our weakness, confesses our sins, and grows in dependence upon Christ.  Be aware that the world, the flesh, and the Devil all drive us away from such authentic living.  Even if the temptation comes in religious garb (perhaps particularly if it does), we should be aware of the schemes of the evil one.

May we learn to stand in grace, and when the day of evil comes, may we stand! (Eph 6:13)

Demonization- a Pastoral Response

This is the final installation of a paper I wrote years ago concerning demonization.  This blog post gives a pastoral response to demonization given the lack of clear psychological and biblical information on the topic.

Pastoral Response:

As a Christian who takes scripture seriously, I must agree that demons are real spiritual entities that are opposed to Christ and his work in the world.  These evil spirit beings can interact and influence humans, even Christians, to a certain extent.  Yet, the Bible does not give the details of how these spirit beings influence humans.  As a minister with an appreciation for the psychology and medicine, I also must affirm that many mental disorders are caused by natural physical phenomenon.  The causes of these disorders are physical and they can be treated with medication and professional counseling.  Yet, psychology, as a science, is ill equipped to understand any supernatural activity that influences human functioning.  Since neither the Bible nor psychology are fully able to give a total understanding of demonic influence on human beings, I must walk humbly as I deal with this issue.  Nevertheless, I think we should strive for a middle way between the Bible and psychology.  I think Rodger Bufford has articulated well a balanced answer to the problem of demonic influence on humans, in his book Counseling and the Demonic.  Bufford argues that we must avoid the one extreme of rejecting the reality and influence of demons and the other extreme of overestimating the power and influence of demons.  Instead we must affirm that demonic involvement and psychological problems are both prevalent in the world.  In fact, they may both be found in the same person at the same time.  Furthermore, the symptoms of demonic influence and some psychological disorders are almost identical, so humility and dependence on the Lord are necessary when treating a person with these symptoms.  As Bufford states,

Demonic influence and mental disorders are conceptually distinct phenomena, but in view of the extensive overlap among symptoms, it may be difficult in a given instance to make a firm conclusion regarding which phenomenon is present. (Bufford, 120)

I think Bufford is arguing that Christians must retain their understanding of demonic influence from scripture, but that we also must know other possible psychological and physical causes of strange human behavior.  Mental disorders and demonic influence are two different causes of unusual behavior, but there is no clear-cut way of determining what has caused the unusual behavior.  It is possible, or even probable that demonic influence and mental disorders may be present at the same time in the same person.  I wish this made my job easier, but it instead greatly complicates a diagnosis.  Once again, I state that this should make my humbly dependent upon the Lord for His help in any circumstance where it is not clear if a person is demonically influence, mental ill, or both.  I also need to develop a team of trustworthy mental heath professionals who can help me determine what is possibly occurring in the person.

I do think there are two tools that may assist me in determining whether a person is under the influence of demons.  The first is the discerning of spirits (I Cor. 12:10).  This is not a full proof method because the ‘word of knowledge’ from the Lord may not be from the Lord, but from demons.  Also, it is possible that I may be going by my own feelings and thoughts about the matter, but it coupled with the second tool may prove to be beneficial (Bufford, 137-139).  The second tool is a personal spiritual and mental history of each person I counsel.  I will look for two areas for possible Satanic influence.  First is the person’s interactions with the occult or occult like practices.  The indicators I will look for include:

(a) involvement is the practice of magic; (b) involvement in occultic religious practices; (c) conscious invitation extended to Satan and or demons to become involved in the person’s life; (d) involvement in Eastern religions or “New Age” channeling practices; (e) Family history of demonic influence, witchcraft, palmistry, Satanic worship, or other occult practices; (f) history of living in areas without a strong Judeo-Christian cultural influence; (g) participation in American Indian or Oriental religious/cultural practices; (h) Personal use of tarot cards, Ouija boards, horoscopes, palmistry, or fortune tellers (Bufford, 140-142).

I will also look for possible signs of demonic influence such as:

Disinterest in or absence of spiritual growth by a professing Christian; (b) Extreme negative reactions to the mention of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and to Christian religious practices; (c) Systematic pattern of personal sinfulness; (d) Prominent evidence of unforgiveness/bitterness and vengefulness; (e) Unusually high resistance to benefits from medication and psychotherapy; (f) Personality disturbance and especially multiple personality disorder, rather than schizophrenia or psychosis; (g) addictive patterns such as abuse of alcohol or drugs, habitual gambling or sexual preoccupations; (h) Personal preoccupation with power, position, wealth, and fame.  (Bufford, 142-144)

I realize that getting a complete spiritual and family history may be difficult because people may not give all the details of their life and that none of these indicators mean anything by themselves, but this tool, coupled with spiritual discernment, is the best tool that I have on which to rely.  I think the whole question of the demonic influence on humans is a difficult issue to understand, but we must attempt to address the problem as a people of faith seeking understanding. 

Bibliography

Anderson, Neil T.  The Bondage Breaker.  Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1990.

Hart, Archibald.  “Regeneration, Deliverance, or Therapy?”, Leadership (Summer, 1991) 72-79.

Friesen, James, G.  “Ego-Dystonic or Ego-Alien: Alternate Personality or Evil Spirit?”,  Journal of Psychology and Theology Vol. 20, No. 3 (Fall, 1992) 197- 200.

Miller, William R. and Jackson, Kathleen A.  Practical Psychology for Pastors.  Englewood, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 1985. 

Page, Sydney H.T.  “The Role of Exorcism in Clinical Practice and Pastoral Care,”  Journal of Psychology and Theology.  Vol. 17, No.2 (Summer, 1989) 121-131.

Beck, James R. and Lewis, Gordon R.  “Counseling and the Demonic: A Reaction to Page,” Journal of Psychology and Theology.  Vol. 17, No.2 (Summer, 1989) 132-134.

Wilson, William P.  “Demon Possession and Exorcism: A Reaction to Page,” Journal of Psychology and Theology.  Vol. 17, No.2 (Summer, 1989) 135-139.

Page, Sydney H.T.  “Exorcism Revisited: A Response to Beck and Lewis and to Wilson,” Journal of Psychology and Theology.  Vol. 17, No.2 (Summer, 1989) 140-143.

Bufford, Rodger K.  Counseling and the Demonic.  Dallas, Texas: Word Books, 1988. 

Dickerson, C. Fred.  Demon Possession & the Christian.  Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1987.

Bubeck, Mark I.  The Adversary.  Chicago: Moody Press, 1975.

Unger, Merrill F.  What Demons can do to the Saints.  Chicago: Moody Press, 1977.

Unger, Merrill F.  Biblical Demonology.  Wheaton, IL: Scripture Press Publications, 1952.

Unger, Merrill F.  Demons in the World Today.  Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1971.

Nevius, John L.  Demon Possession and Allied Themes.  Chicago: Fleming H Revell Company, 1894.

Cortes, Juan B. and Gatti, Florence M.  The Case Against Possessions and Exorcisms.  New York: Vantage Press, 1975.

Olson, Alan M. Ed.  Disguises of the Demonic.  New York: Association Press, 1975.

Martin, Malachi.  Hostage to the Devil.  New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1987.

Demonization and Modern Life Part 2 Theological/Biblical Reflections

As I promised in my last post, this post continues to share a paper I wrote years ago on demonization.  This blog post contain a brief Biblical/theological reflection on the topic.  The final installation of this paper will include a pastoral response to the topic.  I know this paper is rough!  I have attempted to correct many grammatical and syntactical errors but more abound, and I am afraid the logical flow is not tight.  I will give an original post on this topic within this week's time!  Prayerfully it will have a bit more detail.

Biblical/Theological Reflection:

The first question we must ask is does the term demon possession capture the NT notion of daimonizomenos?  Daimonizomenos is a participle which is used twelve times in the NT.  This term has behind it the idea of demon controlling a somewhat passive human (Dickerson, 37).  Thus the person with a demon is considered demonized.  But, does this demonic control mean that a person is totally controlled or are there degrees of demonic influence?  I think the theological distinctions given by Bubeck in The Adversary will help clarify this idea further.  Bubeck argues that there are three classifications of demonic influence.  First is demonic oppression.  Here Satan targets a Christian to oppose, hinder, hurt, or destroy them if possible.  This form of demonic attack may be fairly regular and common particularly in those who are involved in advancing the Kingdom of God.  Christians throughout history have recorded wrestling in prayer and with the Word against the temptations and attacks of evil forces.  The second is demonic obsession.  This is defined as a more intense time of demonic attack on a Christian.  Often demonic obsession is brought about by an individual giving Satan a foothold in the their life (Ephesians 4: 27) through willful engaging in fleshly sins or the occult.  As Obsession increases in severity, the individual may believe they are possessed.  The third classification is demon possession.  At this stage, the demoniac is under the total control of the demon or demons (Bubeck, 83-89).  At this stage, the demons have control.

At this point, it is important to ask who can experience each of these categories of demonic influence.  Ephesians 2:1-3 states that those who do not believe in Christ are under the control of Satan.  Thus, if demonic forces wanted to work in the lives of unbelievers, they have every right to do as they wish as long as God will allow it.  But can Christians be totally possessed?  Bubeck, Bufford, and others believe that this stage is reserved only for unbelievers.  I tend to agree.  Yet, all agree that a Christian may, through willful and persistent sin, allow Satan a foothold in their life.  The result will be that some areas of a Christian’s life may be controlled by a demon.  The demon does not have ownership, but it (or they) do have control.  As Dickerson states, “The term possessed is misleading (for a Christian). ... The real concept is invasion and control to some degree, lesser or greater; but never ownership (Dickerson, 89).  Thus a person who is under the control of a demon is demonized, but this term does not necessary mean under the total control of an evil spirit.  Unbelievers, those who belong to Satan’s kingdom, can be totally controlled by demons, but Christian can only be influenced and controlled at the point and to the point that they allow Satan a foothold.

It cannot be denied by anyone who takes Scripture seriously, that Jesus and his disciples cast out demons.  Sydney Page has condensed the New Testament accounts of encounters between demonized people and Jesus or his disciples into the following paragraph.

There are seven accounts of exorcism in NT 1.) The demoniac in the synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 1:23-27; Luke 4:31-36). 2.) The demoniac(s) in the region of the Gerasenes (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39).  3.) The daughter of a Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30) 4.) An epileptic boy (Matt. 17:14-21; Mark 9:14-29; Luke 9:37-42); 5.) A mute demoniac (Matt. 9:32-24).  6.) A blind and mute demoniac (Matt.12:22-23).  Also Acts 16:16-18 when Paul cast out the demon in the Philippian slave girl.  Also there are many NT references that Jesus cast out demons and gave his disciples power to cast out demons (Matt 10:1,8; Mark 3:15; Luke 9:1).  Jesus attributes his work of casting out demons to the work of God against Satan’s kingdom (Matt. 12:24-30; Mark 3:22-27; Luke 11:15-23).  (Page, 122)

Page then affirms, I think correctly, that the church is to be an extension of Christ’s work and therefore, following Christ’s teaching, exorcism is a valid Christian practice.  

While we cannot deny that Jesus cast out demons, it is clear that the NT was not written as a demonology handbook.  It is assumed and affirmed that Jesus had authority over demons, but what this means for His followers is not always clear.  There are still many questions that the Biblical accounts of exorcisms do not answer.  One question is how can a Christian tell if someone is demonized.  Some suggest that 1 Cor. 12:10 states that the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits is the answer to this question.  But how will one know if they are hearing from the Lord or just their own intuition since it is possible to project our own understanding on the situation?  The NT is not meant to be a handbook on demonic bondage.  It is the starting point for our understanding of demonic influence on humans, but it is not a complete reference manual.  This leaves Christians who believe what the Bible states about the reality of demons to work out a framework for understanding demonic influence.  This also leads to widely different opinions on the matter and all opinions claim to base their understanding on the scripture.  As Page admits, “(All to often), experience, rather than scripture, often seems to play the dominant role in developing a theology of the demonic.” (Page, 128)   Thus, the role of demons in the personalities of humans is not only difficult to understand scientifically, but it is also a concept that is not fully explained and clarified in scripture.

Demonization and Modern Life

I have a firm belief that there is little reason to re-invent the wheel.  My next topic in terms of demonization deals with the question of who can be demonized and what does it look like.  I had a breakfast meeting this morning, so I did not have my typical time to write.  Yesterday afternoon, I was putting together my notes for a chapter in Authentic Spirituality on the topic of spiritual warfare.  The idea is that throughout history those who walk with God have an understanding that spiritual warfare is real and important to understand for the Christian life.  As I was working, I ran across this paper I wrote years ago on demonization and pastoral ministry.  It needed work, and probably still needs more, but the ideas are important.  Thus, I will continue to work on a blog post concerning demonization while posting parts of this paper in different blog posts.  The final post in the paper will contain my full bibliography, though if anyone wants to see it, I will send it to you.  

With that in mind, how does demonization relate to our contemporary world and ministry in our current context? 

The topic of demon possession is one that causes great interest, but also great fear for many people.  For many in the modern Western world, the idea of demonic involvement in the life of an individual is nothing more than a quaint and outdated concept.  Today, we often equate what in past times would have been considered demonization with mental illness that is best treated with counseling and drugs.  My interest in this question arises from the need as a biblically-based pastor to deal with clear NT teaching regarding demonization in light of today’s psychological awareness of mental disorders.  Several practical questions drive this inquiry.  Are people still influenced by demons?  Is there a relationship between mental disorders and demonization?  How would we diagnose the real need of the individual?

This paper is a compilation of research by Christians without psychological training as well as from modern psychologists.  Understandably, there is not much psychological data on demonization, but there is a growing interest by Christian psychologists in integrating the biblical concept of demons with modern understandings of mental illness and addiction.  This paper will begin with a summary of these psychological studies.  Next, it will then give a Biblical and theological rationale for the reality of demons and provide a definition of what it means to be demonized.  Lastly, the paper will give a pastoral response to the problem of understanding what mental problems are the result of demonic influence as opposed to naturally caused mental problems.

Psychological Data:

The foundation of modern science is the worldview of naturalism.  Naturalism is the belief that the universe is a closed system that operates in strict conformity with the law of cause and effect.  Since the universe is a closed system, the supernatural cannot act upon the universe and all events can be explained by cause and effect.  In the past century, psychology has attempted to gain the status of being a true science.  The result is that psychology has accepted naturalism as a starting point and most secular psychologist do not accept the idea that demons, or even God, can act upon humans.  Instead, all human behaviors can be explained by natural cause and effect.  If someone has mental problems then there are natural explanations that must be dealt with so that the problem can be solved.  Therefore, secular psychologists only look for natural explanations for mental disorders.

The problem is that many Christian psychologists also have accepted the same understanding of human mental problems as their secular counterparts.  Instead of accepting that Jesus cast out demons, some attempt to explain what happened in purely psychological terms.  As Miller and Jackson state,

“The most common form of psychosis is schizophrenia, a syndrome that has been recognized as a mental disorder since the nineteenth century.  The sparse accounts of demon possessions recounted in the Bible suggest that some of these individuals may well have been suffering from schizophrenia or another psychotic pattern.”  (Miller and Jackson, 342)

Others attempt to illustrate how uncommon demonization is in comparison with psychological problems like schizophrenia.  One example is Archibald Hart in an article in Leadership magazine.  He states,

If this is schizophrenia, though, what does demon possession look like?  The characteristics of demon possession are not neat and simple to discern, but those with extensive experience with possession look for such things as:  The presentation of a new personality.  However, this is also seen in ‘multiple personality disorders,...; a striking lack of human warmth; Marked revulsion to Christian symbols. ... However, I also see many schizophrenics evidence this reaction.  So this sign, by itself, is not evidence of possession; Physical phenomena.  Many describe an inexplicable stench, freezing temperatures, flying objects, and a ‘smooth, stretched skin’; Behavioral transformations.  Obviously, then, possession is not as common as is supposed, and many so-called possessions have more natural explanations. (Hart, Leadership, 75-77)

Hart does not rule out the possibility that demonization could occur, but his criteria for evidence of demonization are so extreme that none of the New Testament accounts of demonization could be considered true cases of ‘possession’.  Perhaps Hart and some other Christian psychologist want to minimize the influence of demons on humanity for theological reasons, but I think many do so because that are following the science of psychology as they were taught.

Thankfully in recent literature, several Christian psychologists have addressed the issue of demonic influence on humanity.  These psychologists include Sydney Page, Rodger Bufford, James Beck, Gordon Lewis, and William Wilson.  All of these researchers have a problem integrating demonic influence into a psychological framework because it is seemingly impossible to scientifically investigate.  Much of what is written about the influence of the demonic on humanity is from case studies by Christians who believe in the demonic.  This causes some concern for Bufford.  As he states, “This concern is particularly significant since these accounts come almost exclusively from case studies rather than more rigorous scientific investigations with standardized procedures for observation, statistical analysis, and checks on the reliability of the resulting data.” (Bufford, 104)  Thus, these men conclude that demonization is scriptural but the task of psychology is to come up with a scientific way of explaining this phenomenon.