The Lord is Powerful to Save

"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 know Jesus as Lord and savior do not have the Lord's ear.  What can you do?  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 would have said this passage is for unbelievers and it is a call to faith.

Let me give an example.  I have heard tell that I have a relative who affirms that he was living a life of wickedness, marked by self-centered rebellion. As he was driving down a curvy, mountain road in West Virginia, he was stuck blind.  He called out to God, and the Lord allowed him to get to the side of the road, where he repented and regained his sight. Not only is this story strange, but no one saw it coming, least of all my relative!  God's hand is not too short that it cannot save.

Yet, 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?  I have heard stories of miraculous divine assistance to un-believers in car accidents.  I have heard stories of God answering the prayers of non-believers for healing.  As I ponder these examples, my understanding of who has the Lord's ear has changed a bit!

Let me give another example that works in the opposite direction.  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 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.  Sometimes we must 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 but 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 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!"  

Our demand for justice means it will begin with us.  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.  When He does so, we should repent and believe!  Cry out for mercy and confess your need for grace.  Such prayers the Lord does not despise.

In other words, a believer is justified or declared righteous in the sight of God by faith.  From the 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!

May you walk in dependent faith throughout this busy and stressful day!

What Could Demonization Look Like?

"And when He had come out of the boat, 

immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him." 

Mark 5:2

"Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 

and do not give the devil an opportunity (or foothold)." 

Ephesians 4: 26-27

We live in a strangely spiritual world.

There is so much that goes on that I do not understand.  Folks experience deeply spiritual events that do not fit into any paradigm that I have constructed through my experience.  I am sure my experience is the same to many others.

We truly live in a strangely spiritual world!

While all of us have different spiritual experiences, I often find that believers in Christ are some of the least likely to affirm the spiritual weirdness of life as we know it.  I am not sure why.  Perhaps we do not wish to over emphasize the work of demons?  Perhaps we do not wish to admit that we do not understand everything?  I don't know.

I do believe that ignoring the spiritual nature of our world is both dangerous and pure foolishness.  We should know what scripture teaches about every dimension of our spiritually charged universe.  This includes to work of demons in the lives of individuals and society.

Please understand, I do wish to over emphasize the topic. Many of us have seen the Hollywood sensationalism of demonic work in the movies like The Exorcist or The Exorcism of Emily Rose.  Most of the time we pacify our fear by saying that it is just a movie that does not mirror real life.  I agree that much of the sensationalism is overdrawn.  I also know that when confronted with possession or severe demonic oppression, I hope I do not hear scary music in the background!  

The primary problem with these movies and their portrayals of the demonic is their starting premise.  Both of the above flicks begin with the premise that there is an epic battle between good and evil with the outcome always in doubt.  In fact, most of the time evil is stronger!  In each, a doubting and struggling priest confronts his own doubts and the reality of evil.  It ends up being an individual against the demonic.

Such a portrayal falls into a variety of errors, but dualism is the most obvious of these errors.  There is only one true God!  I encourage you to read several other posts from earlier in the month where I discussed this topic in-depth.

Another obvious error is like dualism but it is more specific. These movies do not proclaim nor understand that Jesus Christ has already won the spiritual battle.  When we encounter the Evil one and his demonic servants we are  powerless apart from Christ.  If we know and live the gospel, we also see how powerful we are with Christ for He has already won the victory (Eph. 1: 20-22).

All of this is background.  Now I want to give an example of what demonization could look like.  I believe that the work of the demonic can and does take many forms.  This is just one example.  Yet, it is an example that I believe matches the teaching of scripture.

For many of us, we read the stories in the bible about Jesus casting out demons, and we wonder what this is all about.  We do not experience the same occurrences, so we treat Jesus' interactions with the demonic as representing His healing of psychological illness.  If this is your take on the demonic, I beg you to hang with me to see if what I have to say matches with the teaching of scripture.

Now for the story and some background for the story.  I spent the summer of 1990 in Thailand on a mission trip with Campus Crusade for Christ.  It was a great time to experience another culture, and to learn how to share the gospel in a different culture.  We witnessed many people coming to faith, opened several new college campuses in Bangkok to the gospel, and witnessed a spiritual world very different than America.  In many places throughout the city are places to offer incense and to pray to the local god (demons).  I met people who affirmed that their family had been granted success for hundreds of years because the oldest son had inherited the help of a spirit (again a demon), who blessed them with success.  It was a strange spiritual world.

When I returned, it was life back to normal.  That is until about six weeks after I returned.  I was practicing with the worship band of our college ministry one warm fall evening.  We were practicing, but also praising the name of Jesus.  When we would stop practice, through the open windows, we would hear someone cursing Jesus and telling us to stop.  The first time, we thought it was a prank by guys in the dorm next door.  It was in bad taste, so we ignored it.  The next time, it was louder, and I went to see what was going on.

I went to the front door of the church, and I could see through the glass a man with two Elders from the church behind him.  I opened the door, and I was immediately stuck by a feeling of evil I had not experienced since Thailand.  I cannot explain it, but to say that my spirit immediately declared watch out and pray.  I back up, and the man came charging through the church door and headed to the front of the church.  There he looked upon the lighted cross, and he cursed Jesus' name.  One of the two Elders said in a low voice,

"Greg we were afraid someone would open this door.  We believe this man is under the influence of a demon.  Get your worship team together and pray.  Please stay out of his way, as he is really dangerous."  I did not have to be told twice!  The four or five members of our worship team gathered in the back of the church and prayed.

As we prayed, the man cursed the name of Jesus.  He swore often.  He threatened these two men.  The Elders continued to claim the protection of Jesus.  The man would get up quickly and violently, and the men would tell him in the name of Jesus to be seated.  In response he would immediately sit.  Slowly he became more subdued.  After about fifteen minutes, the man said he did not know why he was here, he cursed, and he got up to leave the building.  The Elders went with him praying.  When he left, they asked me to lock the door.  Eventually, the man got in his car and drove away.  I can say, that our worship team was visibly shaken as we had never seen anything like it.  We had felt incredible evil.  We had seen the power of Jesus' name.  We finished prayer and honestly did not know what to do.  Several folks on the worship team left.

After just a short while, the pastor of the church and the Elders returned.  They apologized to us for having to have seen this and for being short with me.  Truly, no apology was needed!  The Elders affirmed they had never seen anything like this.  Now that it was over for the evening, they were shaking and bewildered.  Then the pastor told us this man's story.

This fellow had been special forces of some sort in Vietnam.  He had been captured and then tortured by his enemies.  Somehow he had escaped captivity, and when we returned home he was a different man.  His wife had recently come to faith, and she had told the pastor that she feared her husband was possessed.  He was an angry, but quiet alcoholic.  Almost every night, particularly around a full moon, he could not sleep because of horrific nightmares.  He also was openly hostile to the person and name of Jesus.  He had a history of violence, and the military training to make violence deadly.  She wanted to bring him to church, but she did not know what would happen.  It appears that he had been in church for several Sundays without incidence, but the pastor was concerned.  He had shared what he knew of his history with his Elders, and introduced him to several of these men.

That evening, one of the Elders had felt led to drive by the church that evening "just to check it out."  He heard us practicing through the open windows, and he noticed a car in the parking lot.  As he looked closer, he saw it was this man.  He approached him to ask if he was O.K., and the entire event began with him jumping out of his car and screaming his hatred of Jesus.  The Elder had not experienced anything like it, but he knew this was demonic.  Providentially, the other Elder was driving by, saw the man, pulled in, and began to pray for the first elder as he also could tell this was evil and different.  With this information, we all prayed for him, and the rest of the worship team left for our dorms.  The pastor and elders were going to handle it.

Now for the rest of the story.  That evening, the man drank heavily and did not return home.  Within a week or so, he was broken before the Lord and He called out to Jesus for help.  The pastor and elder prayed with him, and was set free.  Then they learned the rest of the story.

While in captivity in Vietnam, he grew increasingly angry and bitter toward his captures.  He wanted them dead!  One night, he heard a voice in his head telling him that he could help him get revenge and get out.  He noticed the cage was unlocked.  He crept out, killed his captors, and escaped.  Unfortunately, the voice did not leave.  He began to have horrible nightmares.  He began to drink to self-medicate.  He had married, but he could not escape his internal issues (as some say, his personal demons!).

Finally, his wife had come to faith.  He had heard the voice saying, he would never come to faith because he belonged to him.  He had helped him escape.  He was beyond help.  The man witnessed his wife change.  He had gone to church, but he could not hear anything but condemnation on how God could not love a murderer like him.  He did not remember the night at the church that I detailed above.  He had no memory of it.  Thankfully, he was finally set free when he called out to Jesus for help.  "The voice" left him at that time.

I tell this story not to cause fear nor to sensationalize demonic power, but to explain what it could look like.  I experienced these events, and I have tried to explain them as clearly and accurately as possible even though 23 years of past since I lived them.  I have not seen anything like this before or since!

Looking back, I ask what happened?

Through anger, this man had opened himself up to demonic influence and control.  Anger and bitterness is a great doorway into our soul, thus Paul's warning in Ephesians 4.  He had struggled and suffered under this demonic influence for almost 20 years.  The demon did not come out of the man on the evening at the church because he did not want the demon to leave at that time.  He clung to the demon he knew, instead of asking the God he did not know for help.  When he sincerely called out for Jesus' help, the demon left.  As far as I know, it never returned.

As this week goes on, I will offer more thoughts on demonic possession, demonic oppression, and how this relates to Christians and non-believers.  This is an important topic even if we do not see much open demonization in the West.  I know some of you will not buy into what I am saying.

All I know is that Jesus and the apostles cast out demons.  Jesus treated this topic as important and real.  As we move to see the Kingdom of God advance, we most likely will encounter demonic resistance.  We need to know what to expect, and how to appropriate the power of Jesus in the midst of this conflict.

Why are people such hypocrites?

"Take the case of a sour old maid, who is a Christian, but cantankerous.  On the other hand, take some pleasant and popular fellow, but who has never been to Church.  Who knows how much more cantankerous the old maid might be if she were not a Christian, and how much more likable the nice fellow might be if he were a Christian?  You can't judge Christianity simply by comparing the product in these two people; you would need to know what kind of raw material Christ was working on in both cases."

C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock.

Not long ago, I had the privilege of talking to a man who is either a new Christian or is someone who for the first time in his life has understood the implications of the gospel.  He was sharing how God is changing him from an angry man into someone much more patient and kind.  Yet, he was concerned because he "still had his moments."  He also was worried because he so often did a good deed merely because of his concern for how it made him look.

After our time together, I was thinking of this quote from C.S. Lewis.  I am glad I was able to find it!  I think this man's concerns are natural questions.  They should be questions all believers have and wrestle with often.

Why?

Each of us is such a messed up mix of redeemed "saint" and fallen, sinful child of Adam.  How do we understand and balance these two competing tendencies?  

Let me begin by looking at the life and actions of a typical believer like you or me.  How do we understand our actions in light of the gospel?  Is it not true that there are so many moving parts and factors that shape how each of us respond to any given circumstance. 

I know I respond to difficulties in life and even the small inconveniences so differently when I am sick or really tired than when I am healthy and have had a good night's sleep.  If someone sees me respond on a bad day they might see something different than my actions on a good day.  Should I despair of this known fact?  Should I deny it is true?

Furthermore, I became a believer at age 18.  There were some really rough spots within my formed character when I became a believer.  God was and is so merciful to me, but I am still surprised by the thoughts that flow out of my heart and often pass through my mouth.  Why does the Lord not just zap me and change my heart so I think and say "darn" instead of "damn" when I do something wrong?  I honestly do not think about such words and thoughts, they just come out.  

How about you?  In what areas do you struggle?  How are you often surprised and humiliated by the evil that still dwells within?

Now let me give you the other side of God's story in my life.  The man I spoke with shared that I "said exactly the right thing the first time we talked.  If you said more or less, it might have ruined it."  How did I do that?  I also find that increasingly I just do the right thing without thinking about it.  I show love and grace to people without having to think about what would be loving or gracious.  Most importantly, I am a much better listener than I used to be even as I realize I still need so much improvement.  I find that I am always looking for what God is doing in the hearts and lives of others.

I must confess that none of these occurrences are natural to me.  I praise God that it is His work!  Still, I am haunted by my shortcomings.  I am humiliated by what often flows out of my heart.

Like the cantankerous, sour old maid, I am in need of grace!  I must wonder, what would I be like if Christ did not bring me to Himself all those years ago?  I know that the raw material God had to work with was greatly defaced and misshaped by sin and death before I even came to Jesus.  Those tendencies remain even today!  Yes I am still a sinner.  If you catch me on a bad day, I am sure I do not look like a saint.  In fact, if you are looking for hypocrisy and defining it as not always doing right, I am a hypocrite.

According to the definition of hypocrite as one who always does right, there is only one truly righteous person ever born, Jesus Christ.  I am a mere fallen follower of this great man!  I do not have it all together and I look to Him for grace and forgiveness daily.  

So, if you catch me in some sin, I hope I will be willing to confess my sin and need for this grace.  When I am disappointed and humiliated by my sinful heart, I look to Jesus as my only hope.  

Let me assure you, such thoughts are not natural to me!  My natural inclination is to deny my sin or to try to pass it off as less than what it is.  My natural inclination is to maintain my reputation instead of confessing my need.

For those of us who are not Jesus, I would define hypocrisy differently than always doing right.

I think true hypocrisy is not confessing and living the truth that I am a sinner in desperate need of grace.

Hypocrisy is not merely doing wrong when I should know better.  At times, all of us fail to do the good we know we should do!  No, hypocrisy is knowing I have such wrong tendencies (what the bible calls sin) that flow out of my heart and yet I do not address or confess them.

Are you living in active repentance and dependent faith?  Does confession and repentance come easy to you?  Can you see where you need grace and do you ask God for grace to transform these areas?

If the answers to these three questions are all yes, I think God is doing a great work in your life.  Cling to Christ and grow in grace!  Always point yourself and others to Jesus.

If your answers are no to any of these three questions, you are most likely a self-deluded hypocrite (wow that sounds harsh!  Please know I have lived much of my life in this state.).  Repent and believe.  Ask for grace to see your need.  Cling to Jesus as your only hope.

Growth comes as we reorient our life around Jesus Christ.  Such reorientation is a life-long process.  It is hard work because it goes against our fallen natural tendencies.  May each of us repent and believe in deeper ways this day and this week!

Our True Enemy: Satan as the Accuser

"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers,

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been hurled down."  Rev. 12:10

Busy, busy, busy.  I do apologize for not getting back to my blog in a timely fashion.  I have been writing and researching much in preparation for writing/finishing my thoughts on spiritual warfare in a book format.  While it has been an adventure, it is also not good for my blog writing!

Today I wish to pick up on the idea I began in my last post: what the the nature of our true enemy?  Satan is a fallen spirit being.  He is not a co-equal force battling against God.  He is created.  He is also a liar, a cheat, and a causer of fear and doubt.  In fact, he is the father of lies.

Today we pick up another key concept concerning the evil one and spiritual warfare that can  be drawn from Job 1.  In particular, we see Satan's role as an accuser of believers.  

God draws Satan's attention to Job and praises Job.  To this Satan replies, "Does Job fear God for nothing?  Hast Thou not made a hedge about him, and his house and all that he has, on every side?  Thou hast blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land.  But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse Thee to Thy face." (Job 1: 9-11)

Satan's first, favorite, and primary method of attack is to accuse.  "Job is only faithful because he is blessed.  Take it away, and he will be like every other man!"  This trait is one of the names of Satan.  He is the accuser of the brethren.  

As we see in the above passage in Revelation, Christ's victory cast Satan out of heaven.  I am honestly not clear if this was his victory while still on earth (Luke 10: 18) or at the end of time.  I am inclined to think that Satan no longer is before the throne of God, but is now relegated to earth until Christ comes to finish the judgment of Satan at the end of time.  We do know that now Satan is at war against those who obey God's commandments and who hold to their testimony of Jesus (Rev. 12:17).  One thing I do believe is that Satan's nature has not changed.  He is still the accuser!

Now back to Job, for an unknown reason, God then allows Satan to take away Job's earthly blessings.  Job loses his riches and his children in several great tragedies.  Yet through it all, he does not curse God.  How could this be?

In the next chapter, the accuser claims that the only reason Job did not curse God was because he was still healthy.  "However, put forth Thy hand, now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse Thee to Thy face." (2: 5)  God also allows this request with one limitation, "Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life." (2:6)  Job is then struck with boils from head to toe so he is in great pain.  Still through it all, he does not curse God.

From this passage in Job we learn several important facts.  First, Satan's primary weapon is accusation.  This is his nature, and it is what he does best.  Second, his power is completely limited by God.  God may allow Satan to work and to bring harm, but Satan is not free to do as he wishes.  God is God and there is no other.  Satan and his attacks are subject to God's power.

So what does this mean for today?  Have you ever been engaged in some form of ministry, and then you wake up one day with a feeling that you just do not have what it takes?  You feel convinced at an emotional level that you are a failure.  I have seen people engaged in active ministry almost physically shrivel through doubt and fear concerning their weakness.  It might be because they "did not have a good day" the day before, but it also might be for no real reason at all.  I am convinced that most of the time these thoughts are the accusation of the evil one!  We need to claim not our own competency, but the great competency and victory of Christ.  We need to be grounded in the gospel.

As Paul tells us in Romans 8:33-34, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect?  God is the one who justifies.  Who is the one who condemns?  Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised to life, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."  

When we believe the gospel, Jesus transforms us into an adopted child of God.  From that moment, we are completely justified, throughly loved, and empowered and in dwelt by the Holy Spirit.  When we feel accusation of our failings, we need to repent of our real sin of unbelief that often lead us to a variety of sinful actions.  We also must by faith reject the accusations about our incompetence as a lie of the evil one!

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you." 

James 4:7  

Our method of resisting is to claim and live in the full and complete victory of Christ.  He is our savior, and He has won the victory!

In ministry, I often combat these self-accusations with Paul's claim in 2 Cor. 3:5 and 4:7.  2 Cor. 3:5 states, "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy if from God."  4:7 claims, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves."  

I know that I often do not say what I should say.  I often struggle with my lack of clarity and my lack of love for others.  I am an earthen pot, slightly cracked, and in need of abundant grace.  Yet, God works through me.  His awesome power courses through my frail words.  Why?  Because He is gracious.  If He can work through me, He can work through anyone!  In need to believe the gospel, resist the devil, and he will flee.

I will end this post with a word of admonition.  I believe that many sincere believers have bought into the accusations of the evil one.  They have gotten out of fruitful ministries, and they do not listen to the Lord's leading because they fear their own weakness.  Today, I challenge you to reject the accusations of the evil one and believe the gospel.  God works through cracked pots like you and I!  He loves us in Christ with an unending love!

Our True Enemy: The Character of the Evil One pt. 1

"…for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."

2 Corinthians 11: 14

"Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

1 Peter 5: 8

Who is our enemy in this world?  He is a fallen spirit being who works evil while pretending to be good.  He is a liar, a cheat, a deceiver, and a hater of all that is good and godly.

Thankfully, he is not all-powerful.  In fact, Satan is not independent from God.  There is only one True God and no force of evil comes close to comparing to Him.  That means all forms of dualism (two equal forces of good and evil battling it out in the universe) are false.  Instead, the bible paints a picture of Satan as a being God permits to work.  As it has been said, the evil one is kept on a leash held by the Living God.

Today will begin a two part post on the nature of Satan.  I will seek to illuminate his character, his relationship to God, his relationship to this world system, and how he works to bring destruction to individuals and world-system.  

How do we understand the nature of the evil one?

I could begin in Genesis, but I will instead begin with 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.  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.

Do you have a 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?

Heaven and Hell

Julio de Mantua

Spiritual Warfare: Our Struggle against Fear

"For the Lord has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline." 

2 Tim. 1:7

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in your faith;" 

1 Peter 5: 7-8

The Christian life is a life of struggle.  I so wish this were not the case!  I wish those folks who always speak of "the victorious life" were right.  It would be awesome if Jesus made it so I immediately grew wealthy, strong, healthy, and spiritual fit.  All I need to do is name it and claim it to make it so.  How I wish for this to be true.

Yet, it is not true.  It is absolutely false!

You want biblical proof?  Jesus was wrongly killed.  He is our model.  Paul knew the Lord Jesus Christ in incredible ways, but he knew torture, torment, and spiritual struggle.  Did he just not believe enough?  Virtually all the apostles were martyred for their faith.  In fact, Church history is full of difficulty and death for the faith.  As Tertullian wrote in his Apologeticus (c. 197 AD), "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

In other words our modern view of the Christian life has not wrestled with the paradox, "In this world, you will have trouble…" says our Lord (John 16:33),  "but, take heart because Jesus has overcome the world."

So, what does it mean to have trouble?  How has Jesus overcome the world?  Why do both exist?

The answer lies in a solid biblical understanding that includes all of scripture.  We live in a created good but fallen world.  Jesus came to restore that which was lost in the fall, but while we remain in this fallen world, His victory is not completely realized.  As theologians have argued, we live in an already, but not yet state.  Christ has won, but the victory will not be completely realized until He comes to establish His kingdom.  Until then, we struggle with faith.

How do we struggle?  Against what do we struggle?

We struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

In the past couple of weeks, I have written briefly about our struggle against the world and the flesh.  Today, I wish to explore how the evil one uses the world and our flesh in an attempt to upend our faith.  

Satan's favorite strategy to bring a believer defeat is to promote fear.

When we live in fear, we do not live a life of faith and trust.  Instead, we are marked by self-regard, self-effort, and a lack of knowledge of the true God.  Paul reproves Timothy because he lives in fear.  The gospel gives us a spirit of power and love and discipline, not fear!  

Peter tells us that our adversary prowls like a roaring lion.  I have heard it said that the roaring lion is not the one to worry about.  He roars to drive fear into his prey so that the intended victim runs away from the roar.  What the prey does not know is that his scheme drives them directly to the other lions in the pride so they can kill it.  Peter warns us to be aware and alert.  He commands us to stand firm in the gospel.  The devil may roar; but when you hear it, arm yourself with the gospel and Christ's victory!

As Mark Bubeck states,

"The victory of Christ over Satan is total and complete.  The person who appropriates and applies by faith the victory which Christ has purchased and provided will find a gracious, God-authored courage stabilizing his inner man." 

The Adversary, 80.

Fear takes many forms in our fallen world.  Some are wise and some are harmful.  It was wise to fear the 1800 pound bull that lived my back field.  I gave him a healthy respect and distance.  Yet, I did not walk about in constant thought and fear of that animal!  I was "sober minded" about his power and I sought to respect and be mindful of his power.  I knew he has a job to do, and I allowed him to do it without putting myself, my family, or visitors in his path.  I think this is an example of wise fear.  Why?  It illustrated proper respect and knowledge of this beast's power.

Other types of fear are mixed between wise and harmful.  It all depends upon what you do with it.  Most of these fears are even socially accepted!  For example, it is prudent to lock your doors in these desperate times.  Yet, those who live in fear of being robbed, those who think about it all the time, those who check their doors repeatedly for fear of an intruder do not walk in faith.  They believe that their resources and diligence will save them.

Where does God fit into this picture?

Most likely He doesn't.  Still, it is socially acceptable and encouraged to lock your doors!  Where do we draw the line?  That is a question for each of us.  If we walk in fear, we need to repent and ask God for mercy to rest and trust.  We need to ask for His protection.

Another example is parenting.  How many of us fear for the future of our children?  It is true that we have a responsibility to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  Yet, study after study has shown that those in the 20s now have been "overly protected" by their parents from life's hardships.  Why? I believe the key reason was a socially acceptable fear.  We fear, so we give money, protection, shelter.  The unintended consequence is a generation that "has a failure to launch."  Another unintended consequence is that we have given Satan ground into our families by walking in fear.  We have not been sober minded and aware of Satan's schemes.  We have fed fear, and without repentance we will reap the consequences.

A final example is ministry.  How many of us have not spoken to a neighbor about the Lord because of fear?  What if they reject me?  What will they think?  The real question should be, "Are they in bondage and do they need the gospel?"  If so, then out of love for them and in response to walking in the power of the Spirit, we need to share the gospel with them.  We need to pray that the Lord will open the door so it just flows naturally.  Most importantly, we need to say something!

Why do we not do this?  Fear.  Plain and simple, it is fear.  What about a ministry that you would love to start or be part of, yet you do not do so for fear that it will not go well or that you will "not find the time."  We so often put off to tomorrow what should be done today (to quote the great theologian Garth Brooks).

Again I say, fear is not from God.  "There is no fear in love; but perfect love drives out fear." 1 John 4:18  Do we not believe that God can work it out to bring someone to faith without making us their enemy?  Do we not believe that God can work through us, even with our frailties?  Do we not believe that God loves our children, and that He will take care of them?  Is everything really all about us?

I know what it is like to live in fear.  I know how we can busy ourselves so we avoid walking in faith.  I also can say clearly, walking in fear is not from God.  Pray about this.  Fear gives the devil a foothold in our lives, our families, our churches.  It is the primary way that Satan works to hinder the work of God.  

Pray through these passages I mentioned in this blog.  If the Spirit gives you insight into areas where you are dominated by fear, I ask you, no beg you, to repent!  Confess to God your sin and your need for His grace.  Ask Him to work instead of you thinking it is all about you.  Walk in faith.  Claim the victory of Christ and the truth of the gospel as your own.

May your life be marked by grace, trust, rest, and God's power instead of fear.  In so doing, you will defeat the schemes of the Evil one against you, your family, and your church.

Economics, Political Power, Poverty, and a Christian Response

I have just finished a very relaxing week of vacation.  I was able to rest, read, and even recreate.  It was great!  Now, I am ready to get back to work.  There is much to do!  I will start by doing some weekend writing.

Today I wish to repost some of my thoughts on economic theory that I composed a year ago.  This post is really background material for how to address poverty from a Christian worldview.  Some will automatically disagree with me because this does not match their political worldview.  It is truly a shame that in the West today we cannot even have a discussion about economics, poverty, and how to help the poor without making it all about politics.  It was not long ago that the Church lead all crusades against poverty!  This is really a philosophical and religious issue.  Please bear with me and do not rule out this entire post because it does not fit your political ideas.  We have much to learn from each other, and our society would be stronger if we had debate and discussion instead of such rampant demonization of anyone who disagrees with us.

So, without further comment, here is my thesis for this brief post: all of these financial cliff, tax the rich, insurance takes care of the poor, and such are mere distractions.  They are not meant to address any real problems within our economy, but instead they draw attention away from the real issues.

In fact, I believe the middle class (a Marxist term by the way) is sinking toward poverty, even without paying taxes directly, through inflation.  The economic theories being promoted through the media and this administration have nothing to do with helping the middle class, making it fair, or anything of the like.  Instead, those in power play an economic and social shell game to minimize the real issues.  The whole purpose of this shell game is to distract us so we do not see the loss of liberty, freedom, and even upward mobility that used to be the American dream.  Instead of this vision of freedom, we are moving toward, with increasing rapidity, centralized governmental control of our individual "pursuit of happiness."

Why?

Today's rhetoric makes some horrible assumptions.  Let's address a few.

Today's economic rhetoric assumes that economic production is capped and limited.  Thus, if someone gains wealth, they can only do so by screwing others out of their wealth.  In other words, today's rhetoric assumes that the amount of money (economic output) is a pie, and if "the wealthy" have a larger share then the rest of the world must eat the scraps.  Thus, the rich eat at the pie of production by starving the poor.

There are many, many problems with this simple and erroneous view.

First, the size of our economic pie is not set.  It can grow and shrink as the general productivity and consumption grows and shrinks.  If disease were to wipe out half of the world's population, the size of the pie would shrink greatly.  If population increases or just worldwide consumption increases, then the pie will grow bigger and bigger.  Thus it is not merely theoretical but also practical that a growing economy, particularly a growing worldwide economy, means the rich get richer, those in the middle get richer, and the poor get richer.

Does this mean that poverty can be wiped out completely?

No.  Even Jesus says that "you will always have the poor with you." (Matt. 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8).  Such poverty is a result of living in a fallen world.  Our response should be that of compassion and assistance.  Poverty, tragedy, and difficultly all give God's people opportunity to express compassion, generosity, grace and love.  We all wish they did not occur, and we have the promise that in heaven they will not occur.  Unfortunately, we do not live yet in heaven!

What does this mean?

The question and focus of the political debate should be "Who can offer assistance the best?"  Since the 1930s and particularly since the 1960s, this question has been answered by the mainstream in both political parties clearly and unambiguously.  Both sides agree that the best way to help the poor is to let government do it.  This answer has led to a huge increase in the size of our government.

Notice, it also has led to a huge increase in the power of the politician!

This leads us to the political and economic shell game again.  Blame economics.  Blame the abstract "rich".  Blame the corporation greed.  Yet, the economic pie is not static.  It is flexible, and for years it has been growing.  As an historian, I am appalled that we claim today's poverty matches the poverty of the past.  This is not true!  I would suggest that we have two distinct classifications of poor in America and the world today. 

First is the poorest of the poor.  The poorest of the poor remain as they were and have been throughout time.  They are destitute.  They do not have enough food for today.  They do not have jobs because they are not qualified to have them and there are none to be had in their community.  A trip around the world would help illuminate the needs and personalities of these folks.  They need and should get help!

Yet, in America the poorest of the poor are not as numerous as other places within the world.  Those who fit this bill here often have some sort of physical, cultural, or mental handicap that keeps them from engaging in the culture.  Perhaps they do not know the language well because they are first generation immigrants.  Perhaps they have physical or mental deficiencies that keep them from engaging and working.  Perhaps it is merely a lack of education.  Regardless, these folks need compassion and community assistance to survive and those who are able should be encouraged to move from this classification toward middle class.

Yet, in America when we talk about poverty, these folks are often not the focus.  Instead, because the definition of poverty has radically changed, we are talking about a totally different group.

Like who?

As a pastor with children, our family has qualified and been labeled as a family living in poverty for most of my working life.  Yet, we have never starved.  Our children are not in rags.  We do not live in squalor.  Instead, we have to diet to keep our weight in check.  We are blessed with an abundance of all necessities to the point that we give away much to help others.  In fact, we have three cars (not new but very serviceable), great electronics, and many of our economic wishes fulfilled.  As the years have passed our income and standard of living has increased. 

Do we have to worry about paying our bills?  Do we wish we had more?  Of course to both.  As I write, I shake my head because such concerns were understood to be the concerns and needs of the middle class not too long ago.  Now, such living is called borderline poverty.

How many others fit this same category?  Does this match the poverty known by my relatives who lived in West Virginia through the depression?  Does it match the poverty of many first immigrants?  No.  A thousand times no!  Many of our "poor" now are better off than the middle class or even the wealthy in places around the world that know true poverty.  

Why the change in classification?  Is it true concern by the government?  No, I think it is all about political power.

In fact, I would offer that the economic shell game distracts from the real game.  This is all about power.  Our country was founded on the principle that each individual has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Government's role was to protect and provide for maintaining these rights.  We are the only lasting country in the world with such promises.  Why are they important?

The individual right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is important because these principles endow and make the "pie of liberty" as big as possible.  When we give up even part of these rights to the decisions of the government, we are left eating the scraps.

Some might be willing to give up their freedom in the name of protection or security.  Every time we do, we have given the government more of the static, but nourishing pie of liberty.

Why aim for making more and more of the population dependent upon the government?  Power.  Control.  I can assure you it is not compassion.  Want proof?  Try to get anything from the government bureaucracy.  Can you not feel the love?  "Some live and some die," is the best response we get.

The entire economic talk is a shell game.  "Look over here!"  Meanwhile the real game is being played without comment, debate, or discussion.  I do hope more people wake up.  

Tomorrow I will continue on this theme.  Way too much on my mind to stop now!

Spiritual Warfare: Definition of and Approach to the World

"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.

"What is the salt loses its saltiness?  It is no longer good for anything.  It should be thrown out!"  

Jesus (Matt 5:13)

Throughout all of church history there have been renewal movements that emphasize the importance for believers to "not be of the world."  This emphasis has been the cause of several revivals when the Church became corrupt and lost its vitality.  In the place of lazy, non-engaged spirituality, people have been drawn into a deeper knowledge of Jesus by following him instead of the ways of the world.

It should not be a surprise that the emphasis to "not be of the world" has brought proper revival.  Scripture is full of commands that warn us of the world contaminating influences.  One of the clearest examples 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."  

Another clear, but often missed example comes from the whole of OT history.  Throughout the pages of the OT, the Israelites are warned against the evil world that exists outside of its borders.  God knew the Israelites would wander away from faith and trust in Him if they witnessed and engaged in the pagan religious practices of their neighbors.

In my experience, many churches and many Christian take these warnings to mean that they cannot associate with the evil world "out there."  This emphasis has lead some churches to deny the need for fellowship with other believers and churches because they judge them worldly.  I have also seen individual believers, particularly those who God rescued from deep-seated sin tendencies as well as with those who grow up with performance-oriented religion, flock to churches that maintain such a rigid condemnation of the world.

Given these reactions to clear scriptural commands, how should believers understand and engage with the world?

First, we must define the world.

In scripture, 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 within us 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).

So what does this mean?  If the world is always with me, how do I share what God has revealed about His grace and truth found in Jesus?

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.  What if we as believers "contaminated" 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.

Spiritual Warfare against the flesh

In this fallen world filled with fallen creatures (including us!), we struggle for faith and belief.  While we were created to have perfect faith/trust in God, this supernatural gift was lost in the fall.  In our current condition, we constantly fight against our own flesh, this world system, and the schemes of the devil.  These three parts of the "unholy trinity" pull us away from faith.

Today I wish to look at the first part of the unholy trinity: the flesh.  What is the flesh?

The flesh is the fallen dimension of our body, soul, and mind.  It is not something separate from the "good part" of us, but it is mixed within every element of our life and thought.  I like to think of our flesh as the Trojan Horse that allows the enemy into our life.  We have a willing accomplice to the schemes of the world and devil- it is us!  

How does this accomplice work?  Read on and tell me what you think.

"If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live." 

Rom 8:13

How do we change?  In the past sixty years, since the publishing of Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), Americans have been driven by self-improvement.  We have bought the books, wear the T-shirts, and live the life of self improvement.  Unfortunately, most of us do not think about how this view of human nature impacts our understanding of the message of Christ and the gospel.

What do I mean?  Because of our cultural fascination with self-help, many folks naturally interpret the above quotation from Paul as encouraging us to resolve, with the help of the Spirit, to improve.  In fact, our churches, in particular suburban churches, are filled with people marked by strong character and morality.  These folks also are often career-minded and perfectionists.  For many of us, we have learned and have become proficient at controlling our environment through hard work, focus, and planning.  Many of us are successful at our chosen career or life path because of these traits.

Because of this strength and our success, one of the greatest dangers to our spiritual life lies like a  poisonous snake coiled and ready to strike at our heart.

Where is the danger in our strength and success?  Our flesh or sinful nature has two sides.  One is open rebellion.  O.K. we have checked this one off as not the problem.  The other is much more dangerous and secretive.  It is religious self-effort.  This is effort that does not depend upon God, but trusts in our own will-power and strength to change us.  

What does this look like?  There are a myriad of examples!!

One I know all too well is how most of us diet.  If we need to lose 5 or even 15 pounds, many of us discipline ourselves, change our exercise problem, eat better, and will/pull ourselves to the finish line.  We are strong, goal-oriented people!  We can do it.

Unfortunately, even if we succeed, most of us look great for the reunion, but then gain back all the weight and more in the next six months!  How are we undone?  

We exercise and eat right.  We read books about diet.  We do well.  Then the Little Debbie snack cake appears in the middle of the afternoon when we are hungry.  We take a bite.  We eat the rest.  It is so good!  The sugar does great things for our attitude.  We now start thinking about food and sweets again.  We might talk the talk with our friends and family, but we are secret eaters!  Then at a barbecue, a vacation, or a buffet we finally throw off the act and eat like we wanted to.  We keep it up.  Eventually we have regained our weight.  We envy those with the strength to keep it up.  

What happened?  When it comes to over-eating, we never dealt with our heart issues.  Why do we over-eat?  Does it give us comfort?  Do we really hate ourselves?  Do we believe we deserve to be unattractive and fat?  Or do we just like food?  Is our eating a good good and balanced desire for God's good gifts?  In other words, we rarely ask ourselves or God why we have these desires.

Deep within us is a very real need to find our core affirmation and love in our relationship with God.  

John Calvin tells us that faith was one of the items completely lost in the fall.  I have often found this observation intriguing.  Don't we not all know that God exists and call upon Him in need?  Yes, we do.  The problem is really believing and resting in His love for us.  Such a faith is radically different than calling upon Him in a time of trial.  It is not momentary and fleeting but abiding.  It is based upon repentance of and from our self-effort as well as a faith or trust in the completed work of Christ.  

How do we change the heart?  Ultimately, faith is life-changing because it is heart-changing.  With the flesh, we cannot defeat the flesh.  It will always work behind the scenes to undo us.  The only way to defeat the flesh is to allow the Spirit to deal with our heart.  We cannot deal with our heart on our own!  When our internal desires change, our behavior changes in healthy and good ways.  It truly changes.  We do not have to "keep up  appearances" but we truly want holiness and God's presence.  We find our deepest needs met in the Lord and the sensual sins and the control sins are no longer attractive because they do not satisfy!

Such a faith is receiving Christ's finished work and His love.  It is actively passive before the Lord.  

What does this look like in real life?  I think of Nehemiah.  He was a man of action, but also of faith.  He cried out to God to help him change things.  I can picture him circling the broken walls of Jerusalem talking to God about what needs to be done.  Praying for the grace to find help.  Praying for help in organizing.  Asking for mercy to protect the Jews from their enemies.  The old monastic tradition had a saying of "work and pray."  I ask each of us, do we pray as we labor or do we work and then ask God to bless?

Like losing weight, our will-power and our strength will only get us so far.  God must change our hearts and minds by His grace so that we can love Him and others well.  

"If by the flesh you put to death the misdeeds of the body," will not work.  It might give an appearance of working for awhile, but it does not deal with our heart and soul.  In the end, it will lead to either self-righteousness or guilty failure.

May we depend upon the Lord this day as "By the Spirit" we walk in grace and truth "putting to death the misdeeds of the body."

Renewal Through Church Planting

 I grew up in a fairly typical mainline denomination.  As I recall, the goal of the Christian faith was for us to be nice people.  Yes, there was some debate on what it meant to be nice (typically divided along political lines), but all tacitly agreed that Christian people should be nice.

The problem with this definition of the Christian faith was that my family, in particular my mother and grandmother, were very involved in church politics.  I heard about and most importantly felt the tension between these "nice" people.  I also witnessed many things in the church that was far from nice.

When I became a believer in Christ, I was amazed to hear that the purpose of the church, indeed of my life, was not to be nice, but to proclaim Christ as my only hope.  I was so encouraged to hear that the Church is the only institution in the universe that exists for others.  The purpose of the Church is to live out and proclaim Jesus Christ is Lord!

This does not mean that we are not to be good and honest folks.  What it does mean is that we don't need to pretend that we are always nice people who have it all together.  In fact, when we are honest we can confess our need for Jesus, find His mercy afresh and anew, and grow in holiness through heart transformation.  What an inversion of the message I grew up hearing!

Moreover, the purpose the Church is to die to itself so that it might proclaim Jesus is Lord to those who have not heard or known God's grace.  Instead of fighting over ministry "turf" or personal preference, the uniting factor was seeing Christ proclaimed and the Kingdom growing.  

How is the best way to do this?  How do we proclaim Christ and see the Kingdom advance the quickest in a city, country, or region?  Since this is our goal given to us by Jesus, how do we reach it?

I think the follow quote by Tim Keller captures how the Spirit is moving through the entire world today.  The Spirit is on the move!  He is propelling believers out of their personal preference, their comfort zones, and their quest for personal piety above all else.  He is calling us to die to self so that we might live for others.  

How?  Through church planting.  These new churches breathe new life into the body of Christ.  They provide new ideas.  They also are powerfully effective at reaching new, unchurched people.  As Keller states,

“Numerous new churches are the only way to really expand the number of Christians in a city. New churches reach the non-churched far more effectively than longer-existing churches. Dozens of studies confirm that the average new church gains most of its new members from the ranks of people who are not attending any worshipping body, while churches over 10-15 years of age gain 80-90% of new members by transfer from other congregations. This means that the average new congregation will bring new people into the life of the Body of Christ at 6-8 times the rate of an older congregation of the same size. …

Planting lots of new churches is one of the best ways to renew existing churches. New churches bring new ideas to the whole Body. It is the new churches that have freedom to be innovative and they become the ‘Research and Development’ department for the whole Body in the city. …

We firmly believe that the vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for reaching a city. Nothing else–not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, mega-churches, consulting, nor church renewal processes–will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting. This is an eyebrow raising statement. But to those who have done any study of the subject, it is not even controversial.”

Tim Keller, “Being the Church in our Culture”

So, what do you think?  Is this true?  What does this mean for churches that are 10, 15, 20, 50, and 100 years old?  What does this mean for you?