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?

The Gospel Cure for the Work of the Unholy Trinity

Why is the gospel the cure for our greatest needs?  Why is it foundational for engaging in authentic spiritual warfare?  Why do we need it every day?

Today I wish to build on my last couple of posts concerning the centrality of the gospel and justification for the Christian life.  I cannot emphasize enough that without this foundation, you will not grow deep in life and character.  You will either become conceited and proud or you will be defeated and depressed.

God did not call us to either of these extremes!  He desires for us to enjoy Him and to learn how to live all of life in relationship to Him by faith.  Until you find your rest in Christ, you will not find rest!

So, what does rest in faith look like?  I have given many positive examples and definitions over the years.  Today, I will take a different tack and begin with some negative examples of what rest and faith is not. I do hope they prove helpful as we wrestle together to grow deeper in faith!

I will begin with two parallel passages.

"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" 

Gen. 3:1

"The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.'" 

Matt. 4:3

Within one 24 hours time period, I read several unflattering stories concerning the community of faith and our cultural understanding of the spiritual life.  These stories include a Salvation Army leader who diverted and stole thousands of dollars of donated toys that he planned to sell for profit, a story about how porn stars have a deeper spiritual life than the average woman (go figure), and a story concerning a picture entitled "The Truth" that was recently presented in Boston of Barak Obama as the crucified Christ.

How do we get to a place where these strange snap shots of reality occur every 24 hours?  How do individuals, the world system, and the evil one work together to produce temptation and sin?

These are important questions because they bear on each of our individual lives as well as the life of our culture.

In today's blog, I wish to start an answer to these question.  Each case of full-blown sin is different, but they all spring from a similar source.  To help us understand this source, we will briefly look at the fall of humanity in Genesis 3 and Jesus' temptation in Matt. 4.

In both of these passages, Satan's first move is to call into question the character of God.  

"Did God really say...." "If you are the Son of God...."  

Both of these statements point to a flaw in God's character that Satan believes everyone should see.  Of course there is no flaw in God's character!  Nevertheless, Eve takes the bait and she begins the process of the fall.  Meanwhile, Jesus knew that He is the Son of God, so he does not have to prove anything.  He completely sidesteps the temptation by quoting and living the truth, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4)

Why did Eve fall?  What was her underlying sin?  I think ultimately the crack in her armor was that of lacking faith and trust in God.  

In discussing the consequences of the fall, John Calvin observes that many vestiges of the Image of God remain in us.  Thus, the fall does not mean that we are as evil as possible, because we still have the ability to express love.  Love remains a vestige of our created good.  Yet, he claims, and I agree with him, that the attribute of faith was completely lost in the fall.  

Eve lacks faith in God's character and the fall begins.  She begins to reason to herself and explain away what God has said.  Eventually, she does exactly the opposite of God's will and expressed command.  On the other hand, Jesus maintains His trust in God's character, and He resists the temptation to handle his hunger on his own.  He lives in faith and trust in God to provide.

Satan's primary temptation is to get us to trust ourselves and our strength instead of relying upon God.  When faced with a decision, if we do not look to God for answers through His word and wise counsel, we are falling right into Satan's primary temptation.

I believe one reason we do not see much outright demonization in America is that Satan's primary temptation matches perfectly with our vision of the World and the Flesh.  In other words, in the West Satan does not have to tempt or drive to fear from direct attack because believers and unbelievers are marked by self-effort, self-righteousness, and a lack of real day to day faith in the Living God.  

Everything about our culture tells us to "trust our hearts" and to "follow our own path."  The World works in perfect tandem with the temptations of Satan.  Our biggest problem is that this temptation also works perfectly with our fallen fleshly nature that loves this message!  We would like nothing more than to be the captain of our own ship and the master of our own soul.  On Satan's side, why risk exposure by being out in the open when the World and Flesh are already keeping believers and unbelievers unfruitful and lacking God's power that comes by faith?

So, how does this shed light on day's headlines?  Our greatest strengths can be used mightily to build the kingdom of God.  They can also be used mightily to keep us away from trusting God.  Who needs God when I can do it on my own?  We must be aware that our fallen human nature will always move us to trust in ourself, our efforts, and our flesh.  

For today's headlines we should ask, "Where is the living God in their thoughts, decisions, and actions?"  Do these actions promote self-effort, self-righteousness, self-promotion, and cultural achievement or do they reflect humble reliance upon God?  In each case mentioned at the start, the foundation of these sins is unbelief, self-promotion, and anti-faith in the real and true God.

In other words, the direct opposite of self-effort and self-righteousness is faith and trust in God for our life, joy and righteousness.  Similar to the descend of sin, faith and trust is something that must be nurtured and built.  It is given by divine grace, but it does not come naturally to our fallen nature.  We must cultivate it!

The ascent of grace grows as we walk in repentance and faith.  As we confess our tendencies to trust in self, others, and created things for our life, joy and righteousness, we find release from bondage.  As we trust in Jesus for life, joy, and righteousness we experience authentic joy and life-transforming power. 

How about some practical steps to make the transition from the descent of sin into the ascent of grace?  

First, start by how you organize your day.  Take time to listen to God's Word and to meet with Him in prayer.  Ask Him for wisdom with the decisions you need to make.  At work and home begin to involve God in decisions that you usually just make out of habit or your strengths.  

Second, begin the process of walking by faith.  Be particularly vigilant when you feel fear.  Fear prompts us to make choices without faith.  We do not consult God or His Word.  We just react.  How can we have faith and fear at the same time?  (1 John 4:18)  Be aware that in our very spiritual world, Satan and his forces are lurking tempting us to work in our own strength without reference to God.  If you have lived in this manner, repent and believe the gospel!  

In the face of such sordid actions both locally and nationally, may we all be drawn to a deeper  faith and trust in the only True God!

The Centrality of Justification in Spiritual Warfare

Today I wish to repost something from about a month ago.  This post is foundational for engaging in a life of authentic spiritual warfare.  Without a deep understanding of what this post is all about, we are sitting ducks in regard to the attacks of our flesh, the world, and the devil.  

"Only a fraction of the present body of professing Christians are solidly appropriating the justifying work of Christ in their lives.  Many have so light an apprehension of God's holiness and of the extent and guilt of their sin that consciously they see little need for justification, although below the surface of their lives, they are deeply guilt-ridden and insecure.  Many others have a theoretical commitment to this doctrine, but in their day-to-day existence they rely on their sanctification for justification, in the Augustinian manner, drawing their assurance of acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience.  Few know enough to start each day with a thoroughgoing stand upon Luther's platform: you are accepted, looking outward in faith and claiming the wholly alien righteousness of Christ as the only ground for acceptance, relaxing in the quality of trust which will produce increasing sanctification as faith is active in love and gratitude."

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 101.

In my humble opinion, this is one of the most pregnant and yet poignant passages written in recent years.  It you wish to enter the spiritual battle with certainty and power, the meaning of this passage must be imprinted upon your heart.  It must be our battle cry.  It must be the foundation of our life.

Unfortunately, in recent years much of the scholarly literature concerning the gospel has undermined Luther's re-discovery of the basis for authentic spirituality.  It has moved from being accepted to emphasizing our faithfulness as central in our relationship with God.  While I think this theological move is rife with error on a number of fronts, such an emphasis is deadly when engaging in the spiritual battle.  

Why?

Our modern emphasis on our faithfulness dooms Christianity to be a religion for the strong- those who can get their act together through their will-power.  Such a theological move makes spirituality shallow, and it denies hope to those who are not smart enough or strong enough to make surface changes.  In a brief paragraph, Lovelace diagnoses the symptoms of shallow spirituality, and he describes the basis of true spirituality. 

What is authentic spirituality?

It is an understanding that there is only one God, and this God is perfectly holy.  Many of us do not understand the true holiness of God.  We have made God in our image instead of letting His image challenge and confront our sin.  Thus, we believe that surface changes are all that is needed to be "right with God."

What is needed is a heart transformation not just surface changes!  Because we cannot change our heart, we feel guilt-ridden and insecure.  Instead of understanding the real issue of our heart, we blame others or events for our condition instead of confessing our need for God.  At other times, we profess belief in God’s work in Christ, but we judge our relationship with God by how well we are doing.  Again, we feel guilt-ridden and insecure, but what can we do about it?

Luther's answer is simple yet profound.  He consistently encourages us to believe the gospel.  The gospel is not just a ticket to heaven, but a way of daily life.  God does not just accept me, but He loves me!  Why?  Because of Jesus: His perfection and life have been given to me.  My righteousness comes wholly from Him.

From this point the entirety of Luther's and Protestant spirituality makes a consistent refrain: take time to remember and believe the gospel!  This is Paul's encouragement in Ephesians 6:10-20 when he directly discusses spiritual warfare,  

We often want something deeper, but what is deeper than the gospel?  Pray.  Read the Word of God.  Confess your sins and needs.  Repent of your self-effort and lack of faith.  Ask for grace to love others.  Make all these activities Gospel-centered.  Repeat daily.  

As this truth moves from our heart to our head, we are ready to engage in the battle against our flesh, the world, and the devil.  If and when we lose this foundation, we must get it back!  Without such firm footing, we are easy targets for the devil's schemes.   We do not have the personal strength to defeat the temptations toward self-centered unbelief and the resulting condemnation that we hear from failing.

May we cling to the hope and power of Christ's finished work. 

The Gospel's Hope in the Spiritual Battle

The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the Kingdom, but the way we make all progress in the kingdom.  We are not justified by the gospel and then sanctified by obedience, but the gospel is the way we grow and are renewed.  It is the solution to each problem, the key to each closed door, the power through every barrier.

Tim Keller, "The Centrality of the Gospel"

Yesterday, I began a discussion about the centrality of the gospel in spiritual warfare.  I believe the gospel is not merely the ticket that gets us into heaven, but it is the well of divine water that must constantly nourish our souls.  Without a solid comprehension of the gospel and a solid application of its truth, we will be constantly defeated and frustrated in the battle for true life and restoration of what was lost.

What is the gospel all about?  It is about appropriating by faith the completed and perfect work of Christ.  It includes a transformation of our thought to include an understanding of the nature of this world and ourselves.  Without this theological integration, we will not fully grasp the need for nor the complete implications of Christ's work in our lives and the world.  As a result, we will not really understand the nature of our struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.

So what does this mean?

As believers we need to frame our life according to a biblical worldview.  We need to understand what the bible says about creation, the fall, and Christ's redemptive work so we can "fight the good fight of faith."

So what is the gospel?

As I often write, there are two key ideas that frame the definition of the gospel: all was created very good and yet it is fallen from its good created state.  We explained that these two premises are the basis for almost all great literature and the stories that resonate deeply within us.

Why and how?

These first premise explains why we long for something more, why we know the inherent goodness of creation and people, and why we cry out against the injustice in this world.  The second premise explains why we should long for more, why creation and people have such tragic flaws, and the cause of the injustice in the world!

If we were left at this spot, the story of the Bible would make for good philosophy, but it would offer no hope.  Thankfully, the story of the gospel is hope!  God has launched a rescue operation into our fallen world.  He has launched a rescue mission to transform all of creation and our individual fallen worlds!  

Knowing our need, God planned and executed the plan of bringing redemption into our fallen world.  This redemption is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus lived a perfect life in the midst of a fallen world.  As a reward, people like us killed him.  Actually, we tortured him and then killed him in the most painful manner possible.  He was buried.  On the third day, by the power of God, he rose again to break the power of sin and death.  He then appeared to his disciples over a period of forty days before he ascended to sit at the right hand of the throne of God.  From there, he poured out the Holy Spirit to bring people to faith and to build his church.  We have the promise that one day He will come back to restore all things to their created good!

Jesus is hope.

In contrast to this hope, the greatest problem within ourselves and within the world system is unbelief.

Instead of resting in God's love and protection, we run to false gods/false hopes that can not satisfy.  Whether it be political ideals, financial security, the comforts of sex or food, or protecting and promoting our leisure time, all of us run to something apart from God for hope, rest, and security.  The gospel story calls us to repentance from these tendencies and faith in Christ as our only hope!

So, if you are reading this today, the Spirit is leading you to a deeper dependence upon Jesus.  The Spirit is leading you to repent and believe.  

I can see the question some are asking.  "Does he think we don't believe?"

No, I know that most who read this blog already believe!  The problem is that we do not believe the rest of the story of the gospel. We focus on being redeemed by faith, but we do not realize that the message of Jesus, the gospel story, applies to all of life!  It is not something we believe once and then we are done.  The gospel is how we are changed and transformed every day!

I began with a quote from a contemporary writer, Tim Keller.  I will end this post with an older author who also impacted many with the message of the gospel.  We will return to this theme over the next week or so.  I will end today with a quote from Francis Schaeffer's True Spirituality (1971).

Yet, having said this about the beginning of the Christian life, we must also realize that while the new birth is necessary as the beginning, it is only the beginning.  We must not think that because we have accepted Christ as savior and therefore are Christians, this is all there is in the Christian life.  In one way physical birth is the most important part in our physical lives, because we are not alive in the external world until we have been born.  In another way, however, it is the least important of all the aspects of our life, because it is only the beginning and then it is past.  After we are born, the important thing is the living of our lives in all their relationships, possibilities, and capabilities.  It is exactly the same with the new birth.  In one way, the new birth is the most important things in our spiritual lives, because we are not Christians until we have come this way.  In another way, however, after one had become a Christian, it must be minimized, in that we should not always have our minds only on our new birth.  The important thing after being born spiritually is to live.  There is a new birth, and then there is the Christian life to be lived.  This is the area of sanctification, from the time of the new birth, through this present life, until Jesus comes or until we die.

Schaeffer, True Spirituality, 4-5.

The Gospel-Center- Active Passivity

"In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength,

but you would have none of it." 

Isa. 30: 15

It has been a very interesting couple of months.  I am often amazed by the twists and turns that life takes.  So often I do not see what is coming until I am hit by it.  Life is always challenging and fascinating when one walks with God by faith!  He works through it all, and I am so thankful I can rest in that truth.

Today I will begin reposting some of my thought concerning spiritual warfare.  November is always when I try to begin a writing project.  It is also the month when I am most often hit with so much junk.  Correlation?  Of course there is a correlation!  So, if I am going to experience spiritual attack, I might as well post some truth about my enemy and his schemes.

Satan is a liar, a cheat, an accuser of the brethren, a schemer, and the whore of Babylon (this world system).  Yet, his lies, his cheating, his accusation, his schemes, and his whoring worldly ways seem so right and good.

Why?

Perhaps the greatest idol of all religion and Western Christianity is our fascination with self.  We do not need to be lured by the "world" into a self-centered life because our own flesh does a fine job encouraging it.  

The flesh has two distinct and equally deadly forms.  The first is outright rebellion against God, and it is marked by a lifestyle that pleases self at every turn.  This form of the flesh is defined by the "prodigal" son, who leaves his father's household to pursue "wine, women, and song."  (Luke 15: 11-16)

The second form of the flesh is marked by quiet rebellion against God.  It also has a lifestyle of pleasing self, but this pleasure is often twisted around religious themes.  The form of the flesh is defined by the "elder brother" who stayed home, did his duty, but did not have a heart relationship with his father (Luke 15: 25-32).

Again, both of these forms of the flesh are deadly!  Of great concern is how often what is sold as religious teaching can be marked by the second form of the flesh- it panders and encourages our religious self-effort at every turn!

One test of spiritual truth we should teach in every evangelical church: our life and doctrine must be God-centered, Christ-centered, and dependent upon the Holy Spirit-centered in its thought and application.  

In other words, does my faith promote a trust in myself or a dependence upon God?  Do my religious thoughts promote authentic humility, which is confident trust in God and despair of self, or do they promote self-effort as a means of growth?  These are questions we should constantly ask God as we read His word and pray each day.

In today's passage from Isaiah, we see God's take on self-centered religion as opposed to authentic spirituality.  On the one side is Israel rejecting God's ways and running off to Egypt for help against her enemies.  To those folks, God declares they will get what they want.  They will trust in Egypt and Egypt will fail them.  

On the other side is that of authentic spirituality.  "In repentance and rest is your salvation."  Repentance means crying out to God for help.  We have the promise that God "longs to have compassion on us."  He will be our teacher if we just repent of our self-effort and rest in Him.

Furthermore, "In quietness and trust is your strength."  God is able to save from Israel's enemies.  The same promise applies to the believing people of God.  Do we believe it?  

I have heard it said recently that Christian spirituality believes, "If it is going to be, it is up to me."  

Really?  Anything lasting and real must come from God and His work.  We can trust him and quietly depend upon Him.  Such humility is our strength.

So, how do we do it?  How do we "train" ourselves to live this way?  

I call it active passivity.  

We must actively repent of our self-effort and attempts to control our situation.  Such repentance runs contrary to our sinful nature.  It seems like death to us!  Yet, it is the doorway into true life and into God's power.  We actively repent and believe in what God has done and will do.  This is resting in and under God's righteousness given to us in Christ.  It passively receives Christ's righteousness and power as its own.

Do you long for God's reviving hand in your life?  Do you wish that God's power would flow through you to engage is authentic spiritual warfare so that you actively participate in bringing about His kingdom?  Do you desire to see your friends, family, church, and community changed by the power of God?  

The starting point is deep repentance leading to trusting faith.  Repent of both forms of the flesh and believe the gospel.  Ask that God would reveal your desperate need for grace by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Rest in His mighty power and love for you and others.  Trust in His love and power.  Actively quiet yourself before Him.  As you do, you will find that you are participating in what God is doing instead of asking Him to bless what you do.

The Gospel Cure to Lost Perspective

As a young pastor/visionary, I was awakened to this reality when a godly Christian layman in my first congregation came to see me.  I think I had plans for him to attend several meetings- two or three committee activities, and a planning effort or two- all in one week.  I mean, whatever else could be more important than my vision to build the church into an impressive lighthouse for the gospel?

Seriously and respectfully he said to me, "Pastor, I need you to understand something.  When I leave here on Sunday, I often go back home and then work on Monday and do other things I have to do and don't even think about the church or you for two or three days."

I was shocked.  I thought about church all the time.  I assumed everyone was caught up in my vision for a larger church, a more diversified staff, a more aggressive program.  And he's telling me that he might not think about it?  For two or three days at a time?  Astonishing!

Then he pointed out that he was not living for the church.  He was living to lead and raise his family in a godly way, living to make his job a place where his quality of work and his character reflected the Spirit of Jesus, living in a world that he wished to enjoy and in which he might experience the glory of God.  And he was also working to add value in the name of Christ to people who weren't as blessed as he was.

The church, he said, could help him do that by pastoring him.  Ot it could thwart him from doing that by overwhelming him with the insatiably ambitious demands of its vision.

Gordon MacDonald, "Blind Spot" Leadership, (Summer 2000), 33.

Perspective.  It is so easy to lose it!  This life is so busy, so great, so painful, so lonely.  Perspective on what is really important can easily be washed away with our day to day issues.

Recently I was reading through an old edition of Leadership magazine.  I ran across this article my Gordon MacDonald.  I know Gordon MacDonald has made some awful mistakes in his life (like us all), but I love reading his thoughts on pastoral ministry.  I find them refreshing and thought provoking.

Today's quote I find particularly telling.  I am often telling folks in my church that I do not wish to overload them.  I think some are actually offended I would say such a thing!  Yet, it is an important reminder that all of us, particularly those committed to serving the Lord, need to hear.  I know we have to have meetings, we need to plan, and ministry must take place.  Yet, too many meetings, too much planning, and too much practice can ruin a ministry, and they definitely can ruin an individual.

Why?

The purpose of this life is to learn to grow in faith and dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  We do so by growing in repentance and faith.  All of our ministry, all of our church work, and all of our discipleship should grow us in this understanding and point us toward deeper dependence by faith.

Such faith must go somewhere.  It is not merely an internal feeling of some sort.  It has legs!  It must and will express itself in love (Galatians 5: 6).  The beauty of this work is that it happens in all of our lives, not just the church part!  In fact, if our faith is only expressed in church, then we do not understand the gospel and the glory of knowing Jesus.

The Church is here to help us grow in our understanding of the gospel, and its call should be for us to love and serve in our families, our work, and in all of our life.  Without this constant reminder and the encouragement of the Church, believers will walk away from living and believing the gospel.  I have met way too many believers who have grown strange in their faith and practice because they believed the church was not needed.  

In other words, the church is vitally important!  Yet, it is not everything in a believer's life.  We are called to have a life in this world.  We are called to love our spouses, to raise our children, to work our jobs while fulfilling our occupation, and to be salt and light in a dark and lost world.  We have these responsibilities and privileges.  The church is a fellowship of believers who are to train and encourage us in these tasks.  Together we are stronger witnesses to the light than we ever would be separately!

Several observations now can be made.  In this post I only have space for one!  So here it is:

First, as individuals we must guard our hearts from overwork in any area of life.  If something leads us away from growing in dependent faith we must limit our exposure to this toxic poison.  

Such a toxin could even be seemingly good things.  Family is important. Biblically we have no higher calling than to love and take care of our families.  Yet, if we value and honor our families more than our walk with God, we have made family into an idol.  

Past generations seem to understand this danger better than we do.  They would guard honoring God above anything else.  All too often, we make family fun and comfort our highest priority, and neglect or relegate honoring God under our family's plans.  I do wonder if the past thirty years of parents have a higher or lower rate of passing on their faith to their children than previous generations?

The same difficulties that are found in making the biblical good of family into an idol, can also be found in our attitude toward working in the church.  Working, ministering, and serving our wonderful!  I find them a great joy.  Yet, when people do them to extremes or a church demands too much labor from its servant leaders, burnout and discouragement will result.

We all have different levels of ability, and we all have different places where service goes from joy to drudgery.  How do we know if we are approaching burnout?

Are you growing in dependent faith?  Do you find yourself growing in your understanding of the gospel because you are growing in repentance and faith, which leads to heart transformation and joy?  

Some seasons we find ourselves working too much, serving too much, doing too much.  We need to make sure it is a brief season, if we wish to run the race of faith for a lifetime.  Burnout is not a badge of spiritual achievement, but a cheap token of misplaced loyalty and power.  Come back to the source of the power for ministry, which is reliance on the Holy Spirit through dependent faith!  

How?  Take a break.  Renew yourself in the gospel.  Find others to walk with you.  Confess the danger your approaching burnout is placing upon your soul.  Most importantly, allow the church to refresh you instead of use you.  Take responsibility to guard your soul and to begin to refresh it.

May each of us find refreshing and renewal in the gospel!