Sproul on Celebrating Alone

RC Sproul Jr lost his wife to cancer earlier this year or perhaps last. I do not remember exactly. What I do know is that any time he writes about Denise, my tears well up. Perhaps it is because my wife had cancer that I get emotional. Perhaps it is because he is a homeschooling dad going it alone now. Perhaps it is because this man demonstrates a profound love for his wife and his Lord.  In any case, I commend his words today on the eve of his 20th anniversary.

Like the last time, I am republishing this in whole, though the original is here, if interested.

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was hot and humid that day, August 1, 1992. I stood, and waited. Beside me stood several of my closest friends, and nearby was my father. All of us, however, had our eyes glued to the same spot, anticipating. The music changed, heralding the arrival we were all waiting for, me most of all. The doors swung open, and there she was, on her father’s arm. Slowly, stately, they made their way up the center aisle and soon he placed her hand in mine.

Jesus redeemed me. His life, death and resurrection assured me adoption by my heavenly Father. I will one day see Him as He is, and I will be like Him. Apart from this, however, despite a lifetime of showering me with blessing upon blessing, He had never blessed me as He did this day. House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord (Proverbs 19:14).

I knew then what I know well now, that this woman was so much more than I deserved. She was a living, breathing reminder of the gospel, that God gives well beyond my due. For nearly twenty years His grace graced our home in and through her. I woke up each morning astonished at what God had done for me. I went to bed each night beside His grace. I did not get the opportunity to plan a grand twentieth anniversary celebration. We will neither repeat our honeymoon cruise nor hold hands on the Champs Elysees. Instead I will travel to the cemetery.

I will, almost certainly, cry. I will certainly ache from missing her. I will remember those two days that have so shaped me- our wedding and her home going. But my prayer is that I will celebrate. I have much to give thanks for. I am thankful for the twenty years we had together. I am thankful for the eight children we had together, for how faithfully she mothered them, and how powerfully she shows in them. I am thankful for the family and friends she brought into my life. I am thankful for how she was used to help me grow in grace and wisdom, that I am a better man because of her. She spoke God’s wisdom into my life, while modeling it in her own.

All of this gratitude, however, pales in comparison to the one thing I am most grateful for. Because I love her I wanted to take her on a special trip for our anniversary. Because I love her I give thanks that she is somewhere infinitely more glorious than any place I could take her. My queen is not sailing to exotic ports but is casting down her golden crown around the glassy sea. She won’t stroll through Paris with me, but is walking hand in hand with Jesus on streets of gold. She is enjoying her greatest anniversary ever. Which is the best I could wish for for the woman I love.

My anniversary is, like every day, a day for giving thanks. He gave me more than I deserve in giving me her. He gave her more than she deserves in giving her Him. And one day He will bless me in the same way. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad.

Book Review: The Holiness of God

A lot of evangelicals today, I think, understand the humanity of God.  They talk about God's love and grace and compassion, but too often, it is an unbalanced view.  A full understanding of grace, you see, is impossible without a big view of God's holiness. 

In this critical volume, RC Sproul addresses the oft-neglected topic of The Holiness of God (1985/1998). Early on, Sproul makes the point that the only characteristic of God that is  referred to in triplicate (the trisagion) is his holiness.  This grammatical approach is designed to demonstrate the ultimacy of this trait.  God is all-holy.  Story after story in the Bible demonstrate the absolute dread of people when they first encounter the holiness of God.  There is none of the casualness about his glory seen among today's evangelicals.  If you read Isaiah 6, you will not come away with an image of someone who considers God his "buddy" as we see today.  Jesus does call us his friends, but unless we have a balanced view of his holiness, his otherness, we will diminish who he is. 

On page 124, Sproul writes, "In two decades of teaching theology, I have had countless students ask why God doesn't save everybody. Only once did a student come to me and say 'there is something I can't figure out. Why did God redeem me?"  That one student had a glimpse of God's holiness. Too many of us feel entitled to grace, which completely misses the point. 

If you do not have an appropriate sense of God's holiness, read Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4.  Then come and read this book. 

Book Review: Earthen Vessels

For a while now, I had Matthew Lee Anderson's Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith (2011) on my must buy list.  Fortuitously, a few months ago, it came across as a cheap buy on Kindle, so I snapped it up.  As I finished reading it, I was not disappointed.

In short, Anderson wrote a theology of the body, a topic I have rarely seen addressed, if ever.  In fact, Anderson makes the prefatory comment "sometimes evangelicals have been tempted to spiritualize our salvation at the expense of our bodies" (p. 15), drawing attention to the strong separation we often unwittingly make between the body and the soul. 

Drawing strongly upon scripture, and bolstering his writing with ideas stemming from a number of ecclesial traditions, Anderson sets to work to show what our bodies have to do with faith. He establishes that God created not just our souls but our bodies as well.  He makes the point on page 21 that "if ever there was a question about the goodness of the physical body, the incarnation of Jesus Christ definitively answered it."  We are embodied souls, which I think we sometimes forget as believers. After establishing what the body is and why it matters, he moves on to more practical questions believers sometimes have.  He thoughtfully addresses topics such as tattooing, sexuality, pornography, homosexuality, suffering, and death. He discusses how the spiritual disciplines, such as fasting and prayer, are important in an embodied theology.

Apart from the uniqueness of this book, his writing is captivating. Just a few examples:

• "We cannot breathe new life into our broken faith. We can only be breathed into."-15
• "This is the paradox of the body: The body is a temple, but the temple is in ruins. The incarnation of Jesus affirms the body's original goodness. The death of Jesus reminds us of its need for redemption. And the resurrection of Jesus gives us hope for its restoration." -30
• "An embodied theology is a theology that acknowledges the radical uniqueness of Christmas, the cross, and Easter. Only there did the one who transcends creation enter it, die for us, and rise again." -69

I would strongly commend this book for something unique, engaging, and important. 

Whither is God?

Most Americans, if they are honest, go about their days without much regard for the world around them. They may feel small microtremors of brokenness, but rarely do these events shake them out of their complacency in any real way.  After looking up and wondering what they just experienced, they turn back to playing Angry Birds, the already faint memory fading quickly. 

Unlike these microtremors, earthquake stories about the brutal murders in Aurora and the years of depravity and cover up at Penn State have shaken many Americans out of their blissful unawareness of the daily tragedies that surround us.  Once people recover from the initial aftershocks of stories like these, they begin to ask questions.  "How could this have happened?" "Why did this tragedy occur?"  "Where was God?" People are searching for answers, but secular answers leave people wanting, at least for a season.  Eventually though, the stories fade from the limelight, people stop asking why, and they slowly fade back into their blissful slumbers.

As I thought about these events, Friedrich Nietzsche's Parable of the Madman came to mind. He begins,

"Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market place, and cried incessantly: 'I seek God! I seek God!' -- As many of those who did not believe in God were standing around just then, he provoked much laughter. Has he got lost? asked one. Did he lose his way like a child? asked another. Or is he hiding? Is he afraid of us? Has he gone on a voyage? emigrated? -- Thus they yelled and laughed.

"The madman jumped into their midst and pierced them with his eyes. 'Whither is God?' he cried; 'I will tell you. We have killed him -- you and I. All of us are his murderers. But how did we do this? How could we drink up the sea? Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the entire horizon? What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying, as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? Do we not need to light lanterns in the morning? Do we hear nothing as yet of the noise of the gravediggers who are burying God? Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him"

The atheist philosopher understood that to "kill God" would lead to nihilism, relativism, and amorality. Though he welcomed the death of God, he would not have been surprised at these tragedies occurring today.

When you seek to kill God and rely solely upon naturalism, morality is no longer grounded in a moral law giver. When relativism prevails and there is no objective morality, people can no longer claim that something is morally right or wrong in any objective sense. For the relativist, the outrage over tragedies like this merely represents personal preference. Nineteenth century philosophers understood the consequences of killing God, but most people today do not. Indeed, many are on a conquest to do so.

The next time a tragedy like this occurs (and it will), stop and ask why you are morally outraged. The next time you find yourself asking "whither is God?", let your answer be "We have killed him--you and I." Rejecting God not only has grave salvific consequences for the individual; on a societal level, rejecting him destroys cultural morality and goodness. If you don't believe it, turn on the news. 

A slow bumpy ride

Here are some things I have been thinking about today, after a short interaction on Facebook (I love you all who were engaged and I appreciate the push back).

"My problem is sin" I heard someone on the radio say today. I found myself nodding in agreement. How could I not? I am a man mired in sin.  Psalm 51:3 says, "for I know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me." This is my favorite psalm. I read it often. Today I wrote it, word for word, in my journal.

There is just one answer to sin. Jesus Christ. In fact, Romans 5:6 tells us that "Christ died for the ungodly." Though my problem is sin, Christ died for me, bearing the penalty I deserve. Further, the salvation I have accepted is available to anyone who believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth (Romans 10:9). Anyone can be free.  What does it mean to believe in your heart? I think it means an acknowledgement that you are hopelessly sinful and that you know Christ is the only hope for redemption. This is truly available to anyone.

In the Great Commission (Matthew 28), Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that he commanded.  Well, now what does that mean? Yes, we are saved by grace, praise be to God! It is available to anyone who will accept the free gift.

Yet Jesus tells us to make disciples and teach them to obey him.  What are Christ's disciples to obey? It's important to note that salvation is free, but also to note that God desires for us to be sanctified, to be made holy (1 Thessalonians 4:3).  He saves us while we are in the muck, but he doesn't want to leave us there.  As a Christian, I believe God asks me in the Great Commission not only to tell people about the good news of Jesus Christ, but also to show them what being a follower of Christ involves. 

Often, amongst evangelicals, holiness is an unpopular concept.  We like salvation, but we don't like submission.  As a Christian, I want people to see that God not only wants to save you, he wants to make you holy and that means accepting him as Lord. 

If you truly believe him in your heart, he will make sure this happens. It may be quick, but more than likely, it will be a slow, bumpy ride for most of us. 

Batman cannot save you

Over at the Mockingbird blog, Bryan shares his reflections on The Dark Knight Rises, the subsequent violence, and what it means. Though the whole thing is worth reading, the final paragraph is powerful and hopeful.

So where do you turn when there’s no Batman to save you? Where do you go when diagnosis is accurate but the prescription is nowhere to be found? Who will save us when our proverbial city erupts in flames because of our own doing?   I think if I’m honest with myself, and I trust that “what the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies,” my heart flees to Jesus because he is my only hope.  He is my deliverer who, though I am part of the system of violence in our world,  does not count my complicity in the systems of the world against me.  It’s trite to suggest that “Jesus is my Batman,” because Batman never died for my sins, nor is he an agent of grace and forgiveness.  Instead, I will simply suggest that, unlike many philosophers with book deals, suffering and violence in my world actually drives me to the crucified savior, not from him.  Deliverance will come when Jesus, like the walls of Jericho, makes our fourth walls “come a tumblin’ down” with grace, love, and deliverance.  May he return soon and do so, that such violence as we have seen this week might never weigh down our souls again.

Read the rest here.  

Righteous Anger?

Today, there was an excellent article in Touchstone Magazine from Theodore Pulcini entitled "Cultivating Christian Anger." I don't necessarily agree with everything that he has to say. For example, he questions whether God becomes angry, categorizing along with other biblical anthropomorphisms.  But the general flavor of the article is well heeded.  Christians do indeed come across as angry and vitriolic at times and we must be very cautious about that tendency. 

Reflecting on a student's rejection of religion because of his perception of anger, Pulcini writes, " have to admit, this student’s observations hit a nerve. For some time I had been peculiarly uneasy with much of what I was reading in Christian publications, both popular and scholarly, both “traditionalist” and “modernist.” In many cases, it was not that I took exception to what the author was arguing. It was, rather, that the tone was shrill, high-handed, pedantic, mocking, and caustic. These works caricatured and dismissed the other as villainous, insidious, or just plain stupid. What was ostensibly an informed discussion of a topic sometimes even lapsed into sheer harangue. In short, anger took over."

Granted, I believe there are some issues worth standing our ground for.  Still, in so doing, we need to remember to treat others with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

Read the rest here. 

Tim Challies takes on Debi Pearl

I disagree with Tim Challies sometimes. Often, though, he demonstrates wisdom and discernment through his writing. I have particularly benefited from his book reviews.  Over the past two days, he has addressed his many concerns with Debi Pearl's Created to Be His Helpmeet.  As I would have anticipated, there has been a lot of backlash from Pearl fans, but I think it is at least worth considering the criticisms Challies raises. 

Part 1
Part 2

I prayed about it

Ed Welch addresses how to respond to people who say "I prayed about it" to justify sinful behavior.  I have had these conversations with people, and they are not easy.  He writes,

Things are not so innocuous in the adult version. “I prayed about it,” adult-style, is invoked when Scripture clearly teaches one thing and the person wants to do another. For example, a Christian woman is (somehow!) granted that coveted spiritual exception to marry an unbeliever. When challenged by her friends, she says: “I prayed about it.” Or another follower of Christ is startled to hear the Spirit say a resounding “YES, you can move in with your girlfriend,” or “YES, you can leave your spouse, because, after all, I want you to be happy.”

What “God” are these people praying to? This perverse, self-deceived foolishness is apparent to everyone except the person involved. How can we respond?

Read the rest here.  

Praying the Sinner's Prayer

A few month ago, this video made the rounds.



Since then, there has been a lot of dialog in the Christian blogosphere about the concept of "praying to ask Jesus into your heart."  Today, JD Grear wrote an insightful post at Christianity today about the sinner's prayer.  Specifically, he addresses those who have fleeting assurance and those who have false assurance. Here are a few quotes worth considering:

• I have begun to wonder if both problems, needless doubting and false assurance, are exacerbated by the clichéd ways in which we (as evangelicals) have learned to speak about the gospel. Evangelical shorthand for the gospel is to "ask Jesus into your heart," or "accept Jesus as Lord and Savior," or "give your heart to Jesus." These phrases may not be wrong in themselves, but the Bible never tells us, specifically, to seek salvation in those ways. The biblical summation of a saving response toward Christ is "repentance" and "belief" in the gospel.
• Belief and repentance are the only prescribed biblical instruments for laying hold of salvation. They might be expressed in a "sinner's prayer," but they are fundamentally postures of the heart toward God. It is possible to pray a sinner's prayer and not have repented and believed. It is also possible to repent and believe without articulating such a prayer.
• Conversion to Christ is like sitting down in a chair. If you are seated right now, there was a point in time in which you transferred the weight of your body from your legs to the chair. You may not even remember making that decision, but the fact you are seated now proves that you did.
  Salvation is a posture of repentance and faith toward the finished work of Christ in which you transfer the weight of your hopes of heaven off of your own righteousness and onto Jesus Christ. It does begin in a moment, but it persists for the rest of your life. The way to know you made the decision is by the posture you are currently in. The apostle John almost always talks about "believing" in the present tense because it is something we do continually, not something we did once in the past (e.g. John 3:36; 20:27-28; 9:36-38; 1 John 5:13). The posture begins at a moment, but it persists for a lifetime.
   
   You can read the rest here.