Three Ways of Viewing Truth

I am blessed to have four or even five vibrant generations in my church.  Each of these generations are well represented and each has different needs and questions.  Unfortunately, it is so easy for all of us to look at the world through our own experience and perspective.  It is hard to realize that others have different questions, different thought-processes, and they come to different answers.

As I am working through a series on evangelism, I am finding it increasingly difficult to communicate through these difficulties.  Why?  I do not believe it is for lack of effort or because the hearers have hard hearts.  No.  I think it is due to the difficult nature of attempting to view reality through the eyes of someone very different than you: folks with different experiences, different world views, and ways of thinking.  

In order to catch a glimpse of the perspective of others, we must know what we believe, be willing to suspend our quick judgment of other ideas based on what we believe, and instead be willing and able to listen and think as the other person.  No one said this would be easy!

I believe there are three primary means of thinking within my church and within most established churches.  In order to help us know what we believe, I will attempt to briefly share the primary characteristics of these three ways of thinking.  I find that all three ways of thinking are found among those within each generation in the church.  Yet, certain generations are marked in deeper ways by one thought process than the others.

Again, please understand that these basic characteristics of thinking are not shared by all within each generation.  In fact, life circumstances can just as easily cause these viewpoints as generational placement!  I realize they are generalizations.  Yet, where else can we begin?

Of course, everyone knows that!

The first way of thinking represented was brought up in the church.  They know their bibles, their catechism, and their prayers.  They are saturated with the life the faith because it is the air they breathe and have breathed since childhood.  They know God exists, they believe in Jesus, and they see sin as willful disobedience to the call of God to faith.

For this way of thinking, truth is obvious, knowable, and found through faith in Christ.  They recognize that many will reject this truth, but that is their issue.  Their role is to be faithful witnesses to what God has done in Christ.

This way of thinking sees the decay of society, and those who have it bemoan the lack of vibrant witness to the lost.  The problem is that they understand this witness as doing what they know and what is meaningful to them with greater intensity.  After all, it worked for them to bring them to faith, it can work for those who are lost.

This way of thinking believes, and they struggle to understand why others don't.  This line of thinking has a decent outreach to those who grew up in the church, but left it because of rebellion.

Prove it!

A second way of thinking represented within the church might have been brought up in the church, but not necessarily.  They know their bibles, their catechism, and their prayers.  These folks are very knowledgable concerning the Christian faith, and they have studied apologetics so as to answer the "questions of the day."  They know God exists, they believe in Jesus, and they see sin as willful disobedience to the call of God to faith.  They recognize that some of the biggest obstacles to faith are intellectual questions.  They have a heart to answer these questions.

For this within this way of thinking, truth is obvious, knowable, and found through faith in Christ.  They recognize that many will reject this truth because they have not been adequately presented with the truth in Christ.  They seek to eliminate and answer the intellectual difficulties that faith might engender.  They see their role as being faithful witnesses to what God has done in Christ.  

This way of thinking sees the decay of society, and those who have it bemoan the lack of vibrant witness to the lost.  They seek to be faithful witnesses by working their faith through the areas of doubt common within our culture.  They are often thoughtful students of scripture and open to new interpretations and understandings of how to present the truth in Christ.  Their primary means of outreach is intellectual, respectful, and professional.

Those within this way of thinking have a thoughtful faith, and they are constantly seeking to prove what they believe to themselves and others.  This means of thinking has a decent outreach to engineers, some physicians, accountants, scientists, and others who operate professionally along these analytical lines.

Whatever!  Who cares?

The third way of thinking is also found within my church and within all churches.  It is also the dominate thought form of those under age 40.  Many of our friends and neighbors hold, at least loosely, to this way of thinking.  Many within the church hold to this way of thinking while also believing in scripture as the Word of God and Jesus as the Son of God who is the way, the truth, and the life.  

In many ways this way of thinking is opposed to the first two understandings of truth.  Within this way of thinking, truth is personal, often changing, and it might be found through faith in Christ.  Yet, it also might be found through many other beliefs and causes.  This group sees differences, but they embrace these differences are part of the human experience.  As such, differences are good, and they should be embraced.

This way of thinking may see the decay in our society, but they do not have one answer what can help.  In fact, they probably embrace many avenues to help strengthen society.  These folks believe in many causes, and they even recognize that sometimes these causes appear at odds.  They can live with this tension.

While it might not be directly stated, this way of thinking affirms "to each their own."  It is very pragmatic and the key question often involves, "Does it work?"  In particular, "Does it work for me."  While this sounds individualistic, this way of thinking also affirms the importance of community and being part of community.  Questions of truth and meaning are worked out in community while holding to the tensions of competing individual preferences.

Believers and churches who emphasize this way of thinking often have trouble growing deep in faith and there is a constant struggle to maintain commitment.  People who lack faith but who are marked by this way of thinking often view Christianity with suspicion and they will tell those who witness to them, "I am glad that works for you."  They view this as a way of affirming your experience, but in return they wish for you to affirm their experience and beliefs.

So what?

This post is getting long, so I hope to pick up on answering "so what?" in the near future.  Until then, I offer a few questions.

What differences do you think these ways of understanding make in the life of faith?  What problems do these differences make for how a church operates and reaches out into today's world?  Which thought process marks your life?  Do you find you have a mix of several?

Learning Wisdom

"Prepare plans by consultation,

and make war by wise guidance" 

Proverbs 20:19

Have you met anyone who is a fool recently?  Have you been the fool?  I know that much of my life, I have been a fool.  All to often I have had to learn the hard way (by personal painful experience).  How about you?

How do we gain wisdom?  If we listen, I think life does a really good job of teaching us.  Yet, I know many folks who lack self-awareness and live a life lacking any reflective ability.  These folks have many teachable moments and events that pass them by like a speeding car because they do not have eyes to see or ears to hear God trying to break into their life!  

The Lord desires to give us wisdom.  How do we get this wisdom?  We must learn how to hear the voice of God.

How do we do hear God's still small voice?  

First and foremost, we need to saturate our life in the Word of God and prayer.  The Word of God is His revealed will for us.  It contains His perfect guidance on life and practice in this world.  If we do not know it, we will often stumble through life like blind men without any guidance.  

Notice I added prayer as part of the first step to gaining wisdom.  Why?  Prayer is a learned discipline.  It is learning how to communicate with God.  Notice I said communicate!  It is not just us bringing a laundry list of requests.  It is also listening.  How do we do this?  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.  

What happens when we mess things us?  Please understand that such times need to be times of learning, not times to merely beat ourselves up for being stupid!  Repent, talk with God about with the scriptures open, reflect on what went wrong, and ask for wisdom on living the truth better next time.  There is also 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.  In fact, I often hear the voice of the Lord through the mouthpiece of others.  Sometimes, God's wisdom even comes from and through those who are not so wise!  

How?  What I do is try to listen.  Boy is this hard for those of us who like to talk.  It has taken years for me to learn how to do this.  As I listen, I pray for wisdom and the person I am listening to.  I often find that people will say something that brings to mind my thoughts from earlier in the day or week.  They might clarify what I was reading and thinking about from God's word.  Yet, when I hear it, I just seem to know it is the Spirit of God speaking through these folks.

One word of caution, though I could give many.  All to often, listening to wise people is a step which we in the West have particular struggles.  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.  In the past few years, I have heard this reasoning more times than I care to mention.  Remember, if the Lord can speak through a donkey, He can use anyone to speak His will! (Numbers 22:28)

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!).

May the Lord help us to grow in grace and wisdom!

Growing through Suffering

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing 

with the glory that will be revealed in us." 

Romans 8:18

Suffering.  Even as I mention it, I recoil.  It is not a subject I enjoy thinking about, and I enjoy going through it even less.  Often it seems like all I can do is endure.  Right in the midst of suffering, I don't even learn that much.  It takes time and reflection to learn, and in the midst of intense suffering I often lack the strength for reflection.

Perhaps this is why many Christians avoid the subject of suffering.  Entire breeds of Christians have banished all talk of suffering under the guise of spirituality by claiming Christ suffered for us so we do not have to suffer.  All I can say is, tell that to Paul!  He endured beatings, imprisonment, rejection, and other sufferings for the lost and for the Church.  In the preceding verse, he mentioned that "we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."  For Paul, sufferings were a way into deeper dependence and identity in Christ.

So what does this mean for us?  In the midst of broken relationships that cause so much pain, in the midst of the death or impending death of those we love, in the midst of our bad decisions, how should we deal with suffering?

First, admit to God, yourself, and others that you are suffering.  Understand that we live in a fallen world marked by suffering.  All of creation "groans as in the pains of child birth" and is subject to "frustration" by the effects of sin.  

We must begin by calling sin, sin.  Sin is much more than our willful actions.  It is missing the mark for the way things should be.  In yourself, in others, and in events confess what has missed the mark of perfection.  Confess what is not according to its created good.  Cry out to God about the pain of separation.   Ask Him to restore and redeem what the consequences of sin have brought about.  We were not created to suffer through separation like death, but God can relate as He and Jesus were separated on the cross as Jesus suffered to do away with sin and death.

Second, remember the gospel.  We have a taste of redemption, adoption, and freedom now in Christ.  One day, He will set all things aright, and we will know in full a restored relationship with God, others, ourselves, and creation.  If you have not believed, repent and accept His love!  Then, hope in the ultimate reality that you belong to Christ.  This life is fleeting.  Eternity is forever.  Pray for grace to "wait patiently" for our final hope.

Third, pray.  This is how the gospel gets applied to our life.  Take time to be before God and ask the Spirit to lead you to pray for what is really needed (8:26-27).  Pray for healing of your soul.  Pray for restoration of broken relationship.  Pray in confession of your sin and the sins of others.  Whatever the cause of the suffering, take time to pray about it.  We were made to live a life of faith.  Prayer is the avenue into an active faith.

May the Lord use our sufferings to bring about our growth in grace, truth, and love.

Life in Two Worlds

In recent weeks I have been out mining for good quotes and perspectives.  It is enjoyable work!  The following are two quotes from Francis Schaeffer on the nature of true spirituality.  While I would not nor do I speak of spirituality in the terms he uses, I love it when someone uses a phrase I believe is important!  Here is Schaeffer stating what it means to live in "active passivity" through the gospel. 

"Thus I am to live now by faith, rooted in the things which have been, such as Christ's death and resurrection; what is, such as the second stream of reality in the unseen now; and what will be such as my coming bodily resurrection and return with Christ.  And this is not sheer passivity, as we have seen. God will deal with me in the circle in which he made me; that is, in his image- as a man, not as a stick or stone.  There are unbiblical forms of "spirituality" which put their emphasis almost entirely upon some sort of "resignation."  The Bible rejects this.  You are not just a beast in the field.  It is not just a case of accepting, there is to be an activeness in our passivity.  We have to be creatures because that is what we are- creatures.  But in Christ we are presented with an opportunity, a calling, to be a creature by choice, to be creatures glorified.  Through an active passivity, we are creatures, not of necessity but by choice, here in this present space-time, historic world.  When I come to this point, no matter how many times I preach or write it, it still takes my breath away."

Francis Schaeffer,  True Spirituality, 82.

What is he saying?  First, all of us are living in two-world existence.  We are living in the here and now temporal framework of this universe, and we also are living in a very real spiritual realm that is marked by eternity.  What we do here touches on the eternal realm.  What Christ did in the eternal realm can and should impact our everyday experience in the here and now.  Schaeffer argues that living by faith means acknowledging and living as a citizen of both realms.

How does this look in real life?  Schaeffer argues that we must actively, by choice, live as creatures now glorified.  Honestly, I do not know exactly what he means here.  Let me follow up with another quote from later in the book that might clarify what he said.

"So we must believe God's promises at this one moment in which we are.  Consequently, in believing God's promises, we apply them- the present meaning of the work of Christ for the Christian- for and in this one moment.  If you only can see that, everything changes.  As we believe God for this moment, the Holy Spirit is not quenched.  And through his agency, the risen and glorified Christ, as the bridegroom of the bride, the vine, brings forth his fruit through us, at this moment.  This is the practice of active passivity.  And it is the only way anybody can live; there is no other way to live but moment by moment."

Francis Schaeffer,  True Spirituality, 86.

So, the way of life is to believe and live out the promises of God in the moment by moment existence of everyday life.  In this manner, we actively rest in what God has done in Christ.

No matter what your occupation or situation in life, the eternal realm is as real and even more important than what we see in our temporal realm.  Authentic spirituality means living by active faith in Christ's finished work.  I beg of you, allow the eternal to touch and influence the temporal!

May this week be marked by faith.  May we walk in light of Christ's finished work that makes all the difference in eternity and in every day, moment by moment, life.   

Anxiety and the Sabbath

And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Mark 2:27

Today is my Sabbath rest.  I do not keep the Sabbath perfectly, but I have been an observer of the Sabbath for many years.  I remember in graduate school asking the Lord to bless my labors.  My fellow students worked 24/7.  I worked 24/6.  I prayed weekly that the Lord would allow me to learn more and get my work done quicker in 6 days than they did in 7.  I do not know if I fulfilled this goal, but I do know I finished and I did not go crazy!  

I was thinking today about anxiety and how it is a growing epidemic in the West.  Everyone is so anxious, depressed, and often frazzled.  Why?  I do not think our bodies or souls were made for non-stop labor.  When we go against our created good, there are always unintended consequences.

Let me offer a strange parallel to contemporary life.  When I was growing up, we would take three- or four-week vacations to the beach in Michigan.  Generally, the first week we would run all over the place.  It was hard to slow down!  Then the second week we would relax totally.  All we could do is sleep.  Finally, the third week was one of enjoyment.  The stress was gone, we were caught up on rest, and we felt like ourselves again.

Why is this the case?  I do not believe the human nervous system is made to go all the time.  I think one of the major causes of illness in the West today is our lack of true rest and separation from the normal stresses of life.  We never allow our nervous system and body to rest.

What do I mean?  When was the last time you even heard of someone taking a three- or four-week vacation?  We take Thursday and Friday off, go on an action packed four-night cruise, and we claim we had a vacation.  In such a case, it is more likely we enjoyed gluttony than a true rest!

In the past, people went on holiday for a month.  As a family, they went somewhere to get away.  This time and space allowed their bodies to rest and recuperate.  Why did we lose this cultural practice?

Jesus often spoke about the importance of rest in the human life.  He taught that we should obey the command concerning the Sabbath not merely because it "pleases God" but because we need it!  In fact, God's command was for our benefit (like all of them are).  

What is the Sabbath?  It is setting apart one day in seven to rest, set aside the normal activities of life, and to grow in trust in God.  

How do we grow in trust in God?  Keeping the Sabbath is a good start.  Working non-stop illustrates a profound lack of trust in God to provide and work apart from our labors.  When we cannot "shut-it-down" we live as one apart from Christ.  We prove we trust more in our actions than in God.

But what about all the people who need me?  What about all the work demands?  Friends, are you really that necessary?  Can God not take care of these folks and these demands?  Of course He can!  Trust that He will do so!

I think real vacation should be the same.  While we have not gone anywhere the past couple of years because of financial reasons and because we own a farm, we have taken at least two weeks straight of rest and vacation.  Typically I have played in the yard with my kids, fished, rested, and just turned my eyes back to Jesus.

These extended times of rest have quieted my "inner dialogue" that always seems to grow over the course of a year.  Do you have the same inner dialogue?  The voice inside my head that runs through all the bad conversations and the relational hurts as well as my needs, my wants, and desires.  Generally right before vacation, this voice dominates my life!  By the end of vacation, peace, quiet, and a resting in God is my new rule.

So where are you in life?  Do you need to begin the practice of taking a true Sabbath rest?  Work it in this week!  Do you need to take a real vacation?  Start making plans!

Perhaps the reason you are not experiencing revival and renewal is your schedule does not allow space for God to quiet you and transform you by His grace.

Mission's Death Spiral

"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 out 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 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.  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.

How?  Well 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 who Jesus is.  It is an historical fact that changes everything.  Like what?  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.  

The death of a church or denomination begins with it claiming a desire 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."  

As time goes on, most of the young people leave such an inward focused 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.

Have you this progression?  Have you experienced the seductive but deadly allure of an inward focused church?  Thankfully there is hope.  It is found in the gospel being believed and lived out.  This message and belief is both nurturing and highly evangelistic.  It is the answer to the mission death spiral!

May God ignite our hearts for the gospel and for the lost.

Arrogance, Benevolence, and the Gospel

“Peter Berger captures the style of witness that is dead to most people today: ‘A peculiar mixture of arrogance (‘I know the truth’) and benevolence (‘I want to save you’) has always been the chief psychological hallmark of missionary activity.’  People can smell this combination of arrogance and benevolence a mile away.  At the first whiff they will fly away- miles away.” 

Rick Richardson, Evangelism Outside the Box, 36.

Sometimes one quote is worth the price of a book.  

Arrogance and benevolence.  I have often been marked by both of these traits.  I have also been marked by these traits while attempting to witness to the grace and mercy of Christ.  I know from personal experience that this method of outreach does not work in today's culture.  I wonder if it ever worked?

I would think that most of us would not wish to be known as someone who has these marks.  We wish to be known as faithful witnesses to Christ's mercy and grace.  We have been taught and we sincerely hope that our life will illustrate the truth of Jesus.  May we not be marked by this strange combo of arrogance and benevolence!

Yet, here is a diagnostic question for you.  How many times to people tell you that you wouldn't understand something because you are "religious" or a real "goodie-to-shoes" (what in the world does that mean by the way!)?  

Do you think Jesus would have been accused of the same traits?

If we become "churchy" it is so hard to avoid being marked by a peculiar mixture of arrogance and benevolence.  After all, we have come to know the truth and it has changed us!  Many of our churches unconsciously portray this odd mixture not necessarily by our direct words, but through our insider language, programs, and actions that exclude new people and non-Christians because of the way they are constructed.

Please do not think this is aimed at those straight-laced conservative types.  In the past month I have spoken with several church planters and pastors who have their own mixture of arrogance and benevolence.  These folks have philosophies of ministry that are aimed at reaching a certain group of people.  They do not wish to be "preachy" or "churchy" (however these are defined), and their ministries are cutting edge and different.  Unfortunately, they are also not effective in reaching their target audience.

So what do these folks do?  They try harder and they tried to convince me that they were on the right track.  I must confess that I felt like I was being preached to.  I felt like I was told I really needed to think about and know what they knew.  They were attempting to help me.  I am sure it was meant in love, but I still felt the arrogance and benevolence!

How do we as individuals and churches as the bride of Christ escape this peculiar mix of arrogance and benevolence?  I wish I knew a fool-proof answer.  This fool needs something fool-proof!  

What I have to offer is the gospel.  Wherever Jesus is exalted and ourselves and our strategies are confessed as inadequate, there is power by the Holy Spirit.  I have seen real conversions and Kingdom growth from every type of church and through the witness of every type of individual.  I have also seen strong ministry philosophies and incredibly gifted people stink up the room with their mixture of arrogance and benevolence.

The real issue is do you point to Christ as your only hope or does your life, ministry or church confess Christ while adding the life of a Pharisee to the real requirements to belong?

You can do this by holding onto any church tradition or cutting edge ministry philosophy as being non-negotiable.  You can do this by trying to live your life so others can see you good works and thus be interested in the gospel.  If our standard and our message is not Christ crucified and Christ alone, we have lost our way.  Personally and corporately, we must continually come back to the gospel as the center and source for all our ministries.

What will this look like in your life and ministry?  Again, I do not have a fool-proof answer.  I only offer a fool-proof savior and answer to every foundational question.  Repent and believe.  Walk humbly by resting in His love.  Point to the source of all transformation and Kingdom growth while getting out of the way with your preferences and hangups by walking in repentance.  Let's see what Jesus will do through us as we confess and believe we are broken vessels that His glory will shine through (2 Cor. 4:7; 1 Cor. 3:10-14).

Trials, Doubt, and Grace

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save;

Neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,

and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." 

Isa. 59: 1-2

What exactly is Isaiah speaking of in this passage?  I believe for most of my Christian life I would have answered that this is the condition of those apart from Christ.  In other words, those who do not personally know Jesus as Lord  do not have the Lord's ear.  So, what should one do if they are in this condition?  You should take heart that his hand is not too short to save!  No matter who you are.  No matter what you have done.  Jesus can and will answer if you cry out to Him in repentance and faith!  For years, I thought this passage was only for unbelievers and its message was a call to faith.

Yet, I believe there are still several questions for this interpretation of the passage.  What about those folks who are not believers and they cry out to the Lord for help with an accident or illness, and He answers their prayer?  What about the ways that God miraculously shows up bringing people to faith?  

I also have questions from another perspective.  Why is that so many Christians feel at different times in their lives that God does not hear them?  They trust in Jesus, what is going on?

Even as I spent time this morning speaking with the Lord in prayer and reading His word, I was struck by these questions.  I know there have been times and even seasons of my life where I wondered where the Lord was.  He just did not seem to hear my prayers for deliverance and my cries against evil.  Other times I did not feel peace even as I prayed for peace in the midst of life's storms.  Why?

One thing I have learned is that God's ways are not my ways.  What I feel and experience in this fallen world does not always match the ideal.  If I am God's child, why do I have such experiences?

I notice I have ended each thought with a question.  I think such questions- some would call them doubts- are helpful and good if they are handled properly.  What I mean is that we must not allow these questions to control our relationship with God.  In other words, questions are good if they lead us to  ask different questions.  

Instead of "Where are you and why have you not heard me," we should ask, "What are you trying to say?"  We must cling to and declare to our soul the promises of God.  By faith we are declared righteous.  We are His children and He loves us.  Jesus' righteousness is ours by faith.  This world is not all there is.  It is a shadow of eternal life.  We must meditate upon and believe these truths.

We also need to remember that the second verse of Isaiah 59 is also true.  "But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear."

The unbeliever who cries out for help often cries out for mercy.  For a brief moment they confess their inadequacies and their need.  They are vulnerable before the living God, and He answers.

The believer stuck in a situation can easily ignore the cry for mercy and instead cry out for justice.  "Lord, bring justice to this situation!  This is so wrong, fix it!"  They might even take it a step further.  "Lord I have done so much for You and been so faithful.  Hear my prayers!"

Such cries for justice demonstrate a profound lack of faith.  Yet, I have lived in this place of unbelief all too often!  Our demand for justice, against evil or for our service, puts our relationship of grace and mercy in a different spot.  In fact, the call for justice means it must begin with us.  

In my experience, The Lord often uses bad situations to help us grow.  He uses them to point out our self-righteousness, our pride, and our sin tendencies.  In other words, He takes us deeper into our need for grace and mercy instead of justice!  When we see this, we should repent and believe!  Cry out for mercy and confess your need for grace.  Such prayers the Lord does not despise.

What does all this mean when we struggle to feel God's presence and peace?  The essence of authentic faith is dependency upon God.   We look to God for forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love while  confessing our unbelief.  From the moment of first faith, by the foundation of God's grace, a believer is justified or declared righteous in the sight of God by faith.  

Also from this moment of first faith, the Lord begins to shape us and transform us by His grace toward our created good.  This process, called sanctification, is achieved through dependent faith.  So, when we depart from dependent faith, the Lord often calls us back to repentance and faith by pointing out our sin to drive us back to Jesus.  We may not want to hear about it, but such a state of repentant faith allows the Lord to hear us!

I do not know where you are in your journey of faith, but if the Lord does not seem close, I encourage you to ask different questions.  Ask the Spirit to lead you to a place of deeper repentance and dependent faith.  As you do, you will find that you draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

Gospel-centered Outreach

"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 often have discussion with folks about how to reach out into our postmodern world.  The state of Maine is a follower among the states in most social and economic categories.  Regardless of this status, does lead in secular thinking!  What I mean is that most people in Maine do not even think of religion as having any answers for their lives.  Most folks live a life completely apart from God.

This past week I assigned folks in the church a religious questionnaire for them to go through with non-church folks.  I have about 20 of these surveys back.  Guess what.  For at least half of these people who do not attend church, there is no real reference to God in finding meaning in their life.  In other words, these folks are secular in their thinking.  I am not shocked!

Most believers have been told or somehow have assumed that the way to reach out is to live such a good life before non-believers that they will naturally ask why you are so different.  As I have talked with believers in different parts of the country, it has been confessed that this method of evangelism  does not work.  I could not agree more!  Why?  I believe most non-believers are very skeptical of anyone who comes from an overtly religious position.  If an individual or church desires to reach out to others in this culture, you need to learn new strategies.

All of this to say that Keller's opening quote should provide us with a basis to think of these new strategies.  The point of his book is that the real gospel provides a basis to reach out to those with no religious background or inclination.  It also provides a basis for reaching out to the confused and moralistic religious folks.  

The Prodigal God 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 types 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.  All of that quickly changed when I experienced failure in life and ministry.  This failure shook me to my core.

From it and by the grace of God, 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, 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 my eldest brother tendencies!).  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.

The Heart of Personal Evangelism

"Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile.  It is thrown away.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.  And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luke 14: 34-15:2

Yesterday I shared a long and rambling post concerning evangelism.  I talked about personal and corporate evangelism in relationship to the heart of God.  Today, I wish to share briefly my thoughts on personal evangelism.

As one older gentleman shared on Sunday night, most believers have gone through evangelism training.  This training has been helpful.  It has been good.  It has been biblical.  Yet, it did not make a long-term difference in our lives.  It also has not made a long-term difference in our churches.

Why?

Our biggest problem with sharing our faith in Christ is not that we do not know enough.  In fact, this assumption betrays a strong modernist bent instead of a post modern understanding of the human being!  No, our real issue is that our heart was not changed.

Let me ask you a question.  Do you really love people?  Do you love both believers and unbelievers?

I must confess that I often do not love others very well.  I become burdened and focused on my own life, my own needs, my own desires.  I have many "moving pieces" in my life, and it is easy for me to become focused on keeping these pieces moving!

How about you?  

The best way to tell is to honestly look at your prayer life and thought life.  We pray about and we think about what is truly important to us.  Is your heart focused on seeing God work in the lives of others?

For most of us, the answer is no!  I would guess this is true for more than 90% of us.  Thus, we say we want to see people come to know Christ, but our heart is not behind it.  From our hearts flow our actions.

So, what can we do?  If you wish to grow in your outreach to others, start by praying that God will give you His heart for the lost.  Take Luke 15 and reflect upon it daily for a month.  Ask for God to give you a seeking and searching heart.  Do not be surprised when He moves and changes your desires!

Next, pray a humble prayer that God would use you to bring one person to know Jesus this year.  You can always ask for more, but one is a good place to start.  Pray daily, like your life depends upon it, for God to allow you to speak the gospel into one person's life.  Pray that He will give opportunity to speak.  Pray for eyes to see and a heart ready to respond when He opens these doors.  Know that He is answering your prayers so walk and speak humbly but boldly when the opportunity arises.

Finally, remember your place in the Kingdom.  You do not have all the answers.  You are not "right" and everyone else is "wrong."  No, you are a follower of the One who is right, righteousness, love, truth, and light.  Point to Jesus as your only hope, but He is your only hope!

Truly witnessing to Jesus is not about technique or a slick presentation.  It is about the biblical reality that you are a sinner who has found grace and love in Christ and you wish to share with others what you have found.  This reality matches and works in our culture.  It does not take special training, special knowledge, or great depth.  It does not even take maturity.  

All that is required to be effective witnesses in today's world is honesty, a bit of transparency, and a love for God and for others. 

Let's pray together that all of us grow in these traits because we grow closer to Jesus through believing the gospel!

Incarnational Outreach to Postmoderns

"Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile.  It is thrown away.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.  And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."

Luke 14: 34-15:2

I love how the gospel writers put their narratives together.  Each of the authors took the same material and information, and they crafted it for different audiences.  These gospels were not read with their chapter divisions.  Those were added much later.  Instead, the narrative of Jesus' life and ministry read like an action packed play.

In Luke 15, Jesus declares the heart of God for the lost.  With the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons, Jesus declares God great concern and pursuing love for the lost.

What is often missed is how he concludes what we read as Luke 14.  "Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall it be restored?"  What is he talking about?  In the context, this small section is told by Luke between Jesus' teaching on the cost of being a disciple and the reality that the "sinners" of the day loved him (found him "salty') and the religious teachers grumbled at this fact.  

Matthew uses this teaching of Jesus concerning salt in a different way, and it is found in a different place.  Does this show an error?  No!  I am sure Jesus used this phrase often in its ministry.  It has many applications.  I believe it is clear that Luke is using it here to illustrate the reality of disciples being the preserving influence to the sinners that God is passionately pursuing.  Jesus is the perfect example of a follower of God.  He pursues and is attractive to sinners.  Unfortunately, this also means the religious folks sometimes do not understand him!

This week I began an eight week series in our evening time together on the topic of evangelism in a postmodern world.  As I shared with the congregation, this topic worries me.  Why?  I shared that 90% of churches say they wish to grow, but 90% of these churches are not really willing to follow through to grow.  I also shared that 90% of believers claim they want to reach out to friends, neighbors, and co-workers, but about 90% of them rarely follow through.  

See why I am nervous?  These claims are rather controversial!  Yet, in my experience I have found it to be true.  One of my favorite stats I have seen to illustrate this lack of personal evangelism was a survey taken of mainline Presbyterians.  The findings concluded that on average a Presbyterian congregant invites someone to church once every 17 years!  Wow.

I will say that I moved from a church in Maine that was willing to change so it could grow to a church in Seattle that I believe is willing to change so it can grow.  The problem is that change within a church or an individual is so difficult and full of pitfalls!

Why is this the case?  As individuals, I often hear excuses about their gifting, the difficulty of the culture, their work environment, their desire to answer questions if asked but not to be pushy.  Honestly, I have offered all of these excuses myself!  

In the book we are using as supplemental reading during the series, Rick Richardson's Evangelism Outside the Box, all of these reasons are called self-perception boxes.  Richardson argues that all of us develop "boxes" that we put around God and how God can work through us in evangelism.  I believe for most of us, our self-perception boxes greatly hinder our personal evangelism.

Richardson also mentions several other boxes that hinder effective evangelism.  These include the theology box, the sacred practices box, and the strategies and structures box.  While each of these boxes can apply to individuals, I think they particularly apply to churches and groups of believers.

What does this mean?  I agree with Richardson that often our churches say one thing, but their practical theology, their sacred practices, and their outreach strategies belie their claims.  In other words, what we actually do and believe put roadblocks in the way of effective outreach!

I do not have space in this post to describe all that this means for each box.  Lord willing, I will deal with each of these boxes with examples in upcoming posts.  Instead, I would like to ask several questions that will serve as diagnostic tests for our ability to do outreach.

First, do pre-Christians find you and your church environment compelling?  "Sinners" were attracted to Jesus during his time on earth, and they are still attracted to Jesus in our postmodern world!

Second, do you, perhaps even subconsciously, shy away from inviting people to your church because you know its worship and practice are not attractive to people today?  Why is this?  Is the gospel proclaimed?  Are you ashamed of the gospel or are the "sacred practices" of the church more geared to the culture of the 1950s than our current postmodern culture?

After my lecture on evangelism we had a question and answer time.  Two questions/observations posed during this time and after the meeting have stuck with me.  I wish to share them to help kick off the discussion on evangelism in our postmodern world.

The first was a statement that personal evangelism seems so much harder in Seattle than it did when this individual lived in Atlanta.  She shared that in Atlanta even people at work were more than willing to talk about spiritual things.  In Seattle, it is not only harder, but also dangerous.  You could lose your job, clients, and respect if you mention spiritual issues.

I could not agree more!  In a secular culture like Seattle, we are much more postmodern than Atlanta.  Religion is seen as irrelevant and perhaps immoral imposition on culture.  For someone raised in the Church, attending Christian schools, and marrying a strong Christian, this change is most likely confusing and disorienting.  

I must be honest, I find it exciting.  Our postmodern culture looks more like first century Roman culture than the American culture of the 1950s.  It appears that Paul and the disciples did a good job reaching that ancient culture.  By the grace of God, we can also!

Yet, if we wish to reach these folks with the gospel, we most likely will need new methods, strategies, and even practices that deal with the questions of the day.  Knowing these questions and then answering them effectively in community is why I am teaching the class and why I am the pastor of a church that wants to be effective in ministry in a postmodern culture.

This leads to the second statement/question.  On the way out, I was told that about 20 years ago, being "seeker-sensitive" was all the rage.  This individual did not think this movement was helpful and he did not want to return to these ideas.

What does this mean?  Does it mean we should not copy Bill Hybels and Willow Creek?  Of course this is true!  Each church must be who God has made them to be.  Copying other ministry styles and leaders does not work most of the time.

Yet, Jesus tells us in Luke 15 that God's heart is to pursue and search for those who are lost.  If we wish to be a disciple of Jesus, should we not have the same heart?  Should we not seek to be the salt that preserves and saturates this culture?  Again, of course this is true!

As I see it, one of the biggest problems with copying "seeker-sensitive" church was they misunderstood what the pioneering leaders in the movement wanted to do.  These pioneers sought to take the gospel to the lost.  In their particular places and local cultures, they were successful.  Yet, Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle are all so different!  Taking a effective ministry to a suburb of Chicago and applying the ministry strategy to downtown Seattle is foolish.  In fact, I have heard that "seeker-sensitive" church have found they are ineffective in reaching the 40s and under postmoderns.  They thought their strategy was universal, but instead they are finding it was only very effective in reaching suburban baby-boomers (and I would add marked by consumerism).  As a result, they are changing their strategies to reach a new generation.

What is the constant?  The gospel is a life-changing message.  It applies to every culture throughout time.  It is the source of our power and our hope.  The gospel is needed by all, and it compels us outward to others.  In other words, the gospel is always seeking pre-Christians because God is always seeking the lost.

Returning to my diagnostic questions, is your church and your personal message of what God has done in Christ (the gospel) compelling to not-yet-believers?  It should be.  If it is not, the way we communicate most likely hinders the message from challenging and transforming individuals and communities.  

Thankfully, we can change the way we communicate by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.  It may be hard.  In fact change is always hard.  Yet, it can be done.

I do hope to return to this topic often in the coming weeks and months.  May the Lord transform us so we can proclaim Jesus so others can hear.  Amen and amen!

The Law, the law, and Anxiety

Yesterday I preached through Galatians 3: 15-22.  I was drawing upon Paul's insistence that the Law is always secondary to grace.  I was explaining (or attempting to explain) that the Law was 1.) added because of transgressions (because it has a restraining feature); 2.) holds us prisoner until the coming of Christ; and 3.) is a tutor or guardian that leads us to Christ by pointing out our failings.  

What does this mean?  I argued that there is a way that seems right to us as fallen beings.  We believe that if we know the rules and follow the rules, it will go well.  This patterns is how we live.  It is our reality.

Yet, does this pattern that we know and live really give us life?  I would argue from Paul a firm no!

I also explained that anytime we feel peer-pressure, we are feeling the effects of the law.  Why?  Because peer-pressure is a cultural law that all of us feel, but from which none of us truly gain life.  Instead, peer-pressure makes us miserable by proving us to be "not quite with it" or miserable because we are self-righteous bullies who look down on those who do not make the grade.

Why?  Because "if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law." (Gal. 3:21)  I think one reason why depression and anxiety are such an epidemic today is because our cultural standards produce and induce death with us.  We feel the "peer-pressure" and we know we do not make the grade.

This morning as I was thinking about this passage and the many words I spent yesterday attempting to explain it, I remembered a quote by Paul Zahn concerning this very same point.  As he states,

The commandment of God that we honor our father and mother is no different in impact, for example, than the commandment of fashion that a woman be beautiful or the commandment of culture that a man be boldly decisive and at the same time utterly tender.

Take the idea that a man should be decisive as well as outwardly expressive of his feelings, or that he should lead and be the passive sidekick for a strong woman.  You may be thinking that this trivializes law by equating it with ever-changing, culturally conditioned "laws."  But I am saying that they are the same thing.

How is this possible?  How can Sinai law, with its ennobling demand for personal and social rectitude, be equated with the world of fashion or the world of psycho-sexual politics?  But that is my point: they function exactly the same way in human experience.  Men become bowed down and paralyzed in fact by demands from the other half of the human race, and women are utterly freighted by the conflicting demands to be a perfect professional and the mother of dazzling children.  The weight of these laws is the same as the weight of the sublime moral law.  Law, whether biblical and universally stated or contextual and contemporarily phrased, operates in one way.  Law reduces its object, the human person, to despair.

This theology of everyday life makes no distinction between the law of God and the laws of human interaction individually felt and socially expressed.  Law and laws constitute a unity in their effect!

Why is this idea resisted?  It is resisted because it brings the faith of Christians too close to home.  If the demand of God has to do directly with the subduing and depressing demands of one's faith or mother, or the guilt one feels in relation to one's siblings, or the high pressures of a job or a boss, then this Christianity might actually touch somebody.  It might actually relate to people.  Someone near me commented about a devout evangelical Christian in her family: "She is wholly sold out to the gospel just so long as it doesn't come anywhere near her real life." 

Grace in Practice, 29

How do we escape the despair of the law or Law?  Most try to ignore it, or they try to make themselves out to be better than they really are.  I firmly believe such efforts are fallen human foolishness!  All these attempts do is make us psychologically fractured, self-righteous, and self-deluded.  It is time we get off this false treadmill!

How?

Believe the gospel.  Armed with God's grace, confess that you have sinned against God by violating the Law.  Confess to God, yourself and others that you cannot keep the laws of "proper" society.  Repent and believe!

Jesus Christ is the substitutionary atonement for sinners like us.  He came to fulfill the Law and law (Matthew 5:17), and He did so perfectly.  In the process, by His grace, we have fulfilled the Law and laws!  "Do we then overthrow the law by this faith?  By no means!  On the contrary, we uphold the law." (Romans 3:31)

If believers in Christ would just believe this truth!  Our feelings of guilt are real because we are law breakers everyday.  How should we handle these feelings?  Repent and believe!  Cling all the more to Jesus.  Our "trying harder" or our insisting on living in guilt leaves us disconnected from the power source of the Christian life- the Holy Spirit who comes in response to our repentance and faith.

May the Lord bless us with joy as you reflect upon Christ's love for us and His work for us in fulfilling the Law.  May despair, guilt, and self-effort/self-righteousness fall away as the Lord leads us to repentance and faith.

By the way, you can listen to this week's sermon at www.seattlecrc.org.  

Demonic, False Religions, and Lies

The discussion concerning my post from last week entitled, "Demonic, Discernment, and the Body of Christ" has been interesting.  I think it is wise to follow up on that post to clarify what I take to be a Biblical perspective on spiritual warfare, the demonic, false religions, and cultural lies.  

Let me begin by saying that I know some will immediately tune out the discussion.  They may have been taught that there is no such thing as supernatural evil.  They also may be have been taught that all the NT talk about evil forces really means cultural structures and forces that oppress the poor and weak.  I propose that both of these ideas, though popular in some circles, misunderstand the dynamics of the spiritual world.

In fact, one reason in the West that we that we do not see more outright spiritual and personal evil in the form of open demonic activity is the very nature of the fallen spiritual world.  It is vital for the all to understand that spiritual fallenness and personal evil occur along and in the fault-lines of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  Each of these dimensions of fallenness interact with the others even as each is distinct.

We do not see more open demonic activity because our world system and the flesh have been so corrupted by perverse evil that open demonic activity is not needed to keep people from believing in Christ.  In fact, if there were more open demonic activity, the fear of the supernatural world would drive many to Christ as their only hope.  

The following is a post from last year concerning the OT perspective on the demonic and spiritual warfare.  It is not a perfect fit to answer some of the questions and comments I have received, but it is a good start for a proper explanation.

Jesus' teaching concerning spiritual warfare flows naturally out of the Old Testament background in which He was brought up, instructed, and lived.  If He would have taught something foreign from this background, His Jewish hearers would have rejected Him immediately.  Thus, it is important that we understand the OT background concerning spiritual warfare.

I could begin in Genesis, but I will instead begin in what many believe to be the oldest book in the bible, the book of Job.  This book portrays an active understanding of the spiritual realm.  It also gives an early glimpse into the OT teaching concerning spiritual warfare.

Job begins with an introduction of a godly and blessed man.  Job is the most respected man in the East.  He has 10 children (7 boys and 3 girls), and great amounts of livestock and riches.  He does all he can to nurture his relationship with God, and he understands his covenantal responsibilities by sacrificing offerings for his children, just in case they have sinned (Job 1:1-5).  In other words, Job is the most righteous man on earth at this time!

Now the story gets interesting.  "One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them." (vs. 6)  The Hebrew reads, "sons of God" instead of angels.  From this, we know that Satan is in the same category of creation as the angels.  He is not human nor God, but a spirit being.  Furthermore, the Lord talks with Satan, "Where have you come from."  Satan replies, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."  A couple of points can be drawn from this brief passage.  

First, Satan was and perhaps is allowed into the presence of God.  As a created spirit being, God still uses Satan and his demons to do His will.  I honestly cannot understand this, but I take it as true since we find it in scripture.  Second, Satan is allowed by God to roam the earth.  In fact Jesus calls him The prince of this world" in John 12:31.

So as to illustrate these observations are not isolated to the book of Job, an interesting parallel to these ideas can be found in both 1 Kings 22 and 2 Chr. 18.  Here, the prophet Micaiah comes before the King Ahab with the command to give a good report about Ahab going off to war.  Ahab does not want him to make the report because Micaiah never says anything good about him.  Yet, Micaiah is brought forth and he tells of an interesting vision.

He proclaims that he saw into the throne room of heaven.  There he witnessed the Lord asking, "Who will entice Ahab into attacking Romoth Gilead and going to his death there?" (1 Kings 22: 20; 2 Chr. 18: 20)  In reply the spirits answered, "One suggested this, and another that.  Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, "I will entice him."  "By what means?" said the Lord.  "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets," he said.  "You will succeed in enticing him," said the Lord.  "Go and do it." The rest, as they say, is history.  Ahab goes off to war, and he is killed.  We never hear what happened to Micaiah.  

In this vision, the spirit that promises to be a lying spirit is not a good angel.  God does not lie, but Satan is declared by Jesus to be the Father of lies (John 8:44).  This spirit was an evil spirit, known as a demon, that the Lord uses to do His will, which is to lead Ahab to his death.  

So what does this mean?  First, Satan and demons are used by God to bring about His will.  Second, Satan and his demons manifest in lies and in false religious movements and teachings (2 Cor. 11:14 states that Satan masquerades as an angel of light).  I would suggest that these teachings will always appeal to our fallen human nature.  Thus, they will often match exactly what we want to hear!  The purpose of these lies from the evil one's perspective is always the destruction of the individual or people, while God uses it to bring about His purposes.  

We live in a day and age where there is no tolerance nor interest in knowing Truth.  In fact, our entire world system proclaims that we cannot know true Truth, as Francis Schaeffer used to call it.  This fallen system proclaims that each of us as individuals must discover and make our own truth since all truth is relative.  This is exactly the type of lie Satan spins.  It diminishes the glory of God by elevating the self.  It leads to individual and corporate destruction.

Unfortunately, the Church has adopted many of these same ideas.  There is little interest in most bible believing churches in studying true Truth.  We want a salvation message and something to lift us through the week, but we do not like the hard work of forming a Christian worldview.  Many of us lack even the skills to learn how to think critically and carefully through scripture.  We also lack the desire to learn these skills.  In other words, we are ripe for a fall into our individual and corporate destruction through believing good sounding religious lies.

This post is getting rather long, so I will conclude here with several questions.  Does what you believe promote fear of the future?  If it does, then it is not of God.  Does what you believe promote the attitude that Truth and the study of God's word is really not that important?  If it does, it may not be corrupt yet, but this view will lead to corruption, evil, and separation from the body of Christ.  Finally, what are you doing to promote a deeper understanding of God and His word?  How are you developing the skills to understand God's word as well as a prayer life to grow you in intimacy with the Father?

I know there is much more to say about this passage in Job, but I have to end today and pick up on it later!