To Speak My Truth

This past Wednesday, we had a dozen Athens High School seniors in our home for pizza and Bible study. Some of these students are in church regularly and some aren’t. Some have visited GCPC a fair bit over the years. Since we weren’t starting the actual study, we had a lengthy discussion about truth.

I told them the story about getting in trouble in school when I was in 9th grade. I’ll spare you the details but will simply point out that there were two versions of what happened. There was my version of the events and the Middle School principal’s (Dr. Adams) version of what went down.

My question to these teenagers was simple: Is there a scenario in which we both are telling the truth?

I. Was. Shocked.

Nearly every single one of them was prepared to argue that I could have been telling my truth and Dr. Adams was telling hers.

How do you argue against personalized, relative, subjective truth in the minds of high school seniors? Simple. 

“Have you ever accused a friend of lying to you?”

If truth is relative, lying doesn’t exist. If truth can be up to each individual, then that individual can’t twist the truth. They can’t fabricate falsehoods. They can always hide behind, “Well, this is my truth.” And there’s nothing we can say back.

This is just an example of what the church is facing today. We must first believe that truth is objective, is from God, who is Himself true, and has been communicated to us in His word. For that matter, Jesus promised that the Spirit would “guide [us] into all truth” (John 16:13).

We must also learn how to speak that truth and defend that truth from the moral relativism so pervasive in the world around us. Part of our mission, as a church, is to be aware of the schemes of the evil one (2 Corinthians 10:11; Ephesians 4:14), in the world without being of the world, have our thinking renewed according to the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2), so that we might be better prepared to reach the lost and equip them to serve in Christ’s kingdom – even in Athens.

TDF & Church Planting

I love the Tour de France. I always have. As long as I can remember, I’ve watched the Tour wishing I could be a participant. Even at my age, I wake up early, watch as much of the day’s stage as I can, and wonder what it would be like to be able to ride that long, that fast, that hard.
 
In addition to the yellow jersey, the jersey worn by the rider currently leading the 21-day event, there are other jerseys given for other reasons, including the polka dot jersey worn by the king of the mountain. Already this year, and we’re only 9 race days into the Tour, the cyclists have ridden in the Alps and the Pyrenees. And there are ways to earn mountain points during most stages of the race, points given at various locations throughout the day following a climb of some significance. 
 
Just the other day, as the race climbed its way up to nearly a mile above sea-level, as the road narrowed to the width of a single car, and as the lone leader for the day struggled his way towards the top, I noticed signs or banners marking the way, arches, if you will, announcing just how much farther the rider had to go to reach the top. 4km. 2km. 1km. Until he finally reached the pinnacle of the mountain and had earned himself 10 mountain points as the first rider across that line for the day.
 
But here’s the thing. Although he had earned his 10 points and crossed that line painted on the road, he hadn’t finished the race. In fact, he still had another hour or more left in the saddle. He had crossed a line and reached a milestone and accomplished something significant, but he hadn’t finished the Tour de France or even that day’s stage.
 
We should think about particularization the way a Tour rider thinks about the King of the Mountain points. As the day approaches, we are surely crossing a significant marker and reaching a milestone. We are accomplishing something worthy of celebration. But it doesn’t mark the end of the race. 
 
You and I have been called to plant a church in Athens. The role of the church in the world is to gather and perfect the saints, to reach the lost and equip them to serve Christ and his kingdom. That calling doesn’t stop with the election and installation of our own elders and deacons. It may change how we do some of the things that we do, but it won’t change our role in this community.
 
So be encouraged because we’ve climbed that peak and earned 10 mountain points. But let me encourage you to press on. It’s amazing how many times the Bible encourages us with words like those in 2 Thessalonians 3:13. There must be a reason that God reminds us regularly not to grow weary – and it must be because we are so prone to growing weary.
 
It would be tempting, having gained our mountain points for accomplishing that long, steep climb, to fall over and rest – from tired muscles, from aches and pains. However, we must press on. May God grant us the grace not to grow weary of doing good.

But the Bible Says "Whosoever"

A standard objection to our claim that the Bible teaches that God is sovereign in all things, including man's salvation, comes from a quick reading of John 3:16. It's probably the best known verse in all of Scripture:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)”

OK, the English Standard Version doesn't say "whosoever" like the King James does, but "whoever" is pretty close, right? The assumption is that John means what we might mean when we tell a room full of people, “Whoever wants to come to our house for dessert may do so.” We hit the proverbial ball into their still proverbial court. 

But consider the context. In John 3:1-15, Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again in order to be saved. Nicodemus' greatest need wasn't more information, but a new birth, regeneration. Just as Nic was passive in his first birth, so, too, in his second birth. He needs to be born of the Spirit (v.5-6).

Interestingly, immediately following John 3:16 is testimony of man's sinfulness, our fallen nature apart from God's grace. The light came into the world, but because man loved (the Greek word here is agapé) darkness more than light, we couldn't recognize Jesus as the light. Man’s sinful nature blinds him to the light of Christ (John 3:19-20).

So, it’s absolutely true that whoever believes in Jesus will not perish and certainly has eternal life. The question is, “Who will believe?” Is that ball in our court completely? Well, John 3:1-15 tells us we need to be reborn and John 3:17-20 tells us we need a new heart so that we might love the light instead of the darkness. Who will believe? Those in whom God removes the heart of stone, replaces it with a heart of flesh, brings them to saving faith in Christ, and gives them everlasting life in him.

Waiting on a Word from God

Perhaps you've heard people say that they are waiting on God to tell them what to do. Some people say that and they simply mean that they are waiting until they have a better understanding or until they get advice from godly people they trust or whatever. On the other hand, there are those who mean they are literally waiting on God to tell them, whether audibly or in a dream or whatever, what their next step should be.

Acts 15 sheds light on what means God uses to guide and direct our steps. There's a glaring absence in the Jerusalem Council.

The central issue being debated in the Jerusalem Council was the matter of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. They didn't use those words, but that's the heart of the matter - "is circumcision necessarily a requirement to be imposed on Gentiles when they come to saving faith in Christ?"

To get this wrong would've meant splitting the church in Antioch from the church in Jerusalem. Getting this wrong would've separate Paul from Peter. Getting this wrong would've had catastrophic effects on the universal church. Getting this wrong would've had implications for you and me. It's conceivably the most significant decision made by a church council in the history of mankind.

Of all the times for the voice of God to step in and clarify the answer, this was it. If ever God was going to audibly speak to people and tell them what their next step ought to be, this was it. Besides, there are apostles participating in this council, men whose job it was to receive revelation from God and communicate it to His people. Paul had, in fact, already written Galatians by the time the Council met.

This would've been the most obvious time for God to speak his will. But how did the Council reach their conclusion? Collective wisdom and reading/interpreting/applying the Bible. James read the prophet Amos and applied that passage to their situation in order to understand God's will.

Perhaps you and I should spend more time reading the Bible in order to understand God's will than sitting around and waiting for him to speak.

No Scary Stuff

At youth group the other night I made a comment about jumping way ahead (in the Bible, from last week). “To the scary stuff?” came back as one girl in particular decided to jump to Revelation, the last book of the Bible. When I looked at her confused and somewhat amused, she backpedaled…a little.

Poll the members of any church in America and I’m confident that the overwhelming notion among church-goers is that someday, off in the future, we will enter the so-called “last days.” You know what they mean – those days when the return of Jesus seems imminent, when believers will be raptured from the earth and taken to heaven so that we don’t have to deal with all of the “scary stuff” that we read about in the book of Revelation.

What if, and hear me out, what if I told you I don’t believe that at all? What if, stay with me, but what if I told you that the apostle Peter didn’t believe it either? Are you dubious?

I want to show you something in Acts 2 that I didn’t really point out this past Sunday. Look at Acts 2:17. That’s where Peter begins quoting from Joel 2. In Peter’s understanding of the Old Testament, that passage in Joel looked forward to a day when the Spirit would be poured out on God’s people, a day when all who called on the name of the Lord would be saved. And, right there on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sent from the Father and the Son onto the disciples.

Well, Acts 2:17 corresponds to Joel 2:28, so turn there and read that. Pay attention to what Joel wrote. I’ll compare the verses for you below:

            Joel 2:28 – “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out…”

            Acts 2:17 – “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out…”

Did you notice that Peter made a change to Joel’s words? Joel looked ahead to a day “after[ward].” But Peter changed that to “in the last days” and then claimed to be living the fulfillment of the promise of Joel 2. In other words, what was a future event and “afterward” for Joel was a present reality for Peter and “in the last days.”

Now, let me remind you who wrote the Bible. Every book, every sentence, every word, every poem, every historical account – they all have 2 authors: the human and the Holy Spirit. That means that we can’t wave off Joel or Peter as being, somehow, wrong or confused.

Ultimately, Peter understands (and, I would contend, so do the rest of the New Testament writers) that he was living in the last days. You and I are living, already, in the last days. There’s no rapture. There’s no still future millennium. And, I might add, there’s no scary stuff. Why not? Because Jesus wins.

Inspired by Italy #5: Ritual

Extenuating circumstances. You know, those are the times when I get to unilaterally change the rules because, well, it’s a special situation. Maybe things look particularly grim. Maybe you have a large bill coming due. Maybe time is running out. Maybe you need extra cash. We can all come up with times when we need to take matters into our own hands and solve our problems regardless of what God says.

We find King Saul in a similar situation as we read 1 Samuel 13. The prophet, Samuel, instructed Saul, all the way back in chapter 10, to go to Gilgal and wait there for him to get there.

“Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” - 1 Samuel 10:8

King Saul had the clearly revealed will of God. See, as a prophet, it was Samuel’s job to communicate from God to His people and when he spoke, God was speaking. However, on day 7, Saul got impatient. Samuel was taking too long to get there. I mean, it’s the seventh day, right? Not only that, but his army was bailing on him because they were scared of the enemy gathering around them. So King Saul decided to offer the sacrifices himself (1 Samuel 13:8-9). And almost immediately Samuel arrived.

Saul tells us himself why he didn’t wait (1 Samuel 13:11-12). He wanted God’s blessing. Essentially, he used the offering as a talisman, merely going through the exercise expecting that his performance of the ritual would be sufficient to gain God’s favor.

There’s just one glaring problem with Saul’s thinking: he had to ignore God’s clearly revealed will in order to perform the ritual that he thought would gain God’s favor (v.13). 

Walk through dozens of churches, basilicas, and cathedrals, some in use and some hardly more than museums, in a two-week span and you’ll see all sorts of rituals of devotion and worship and, at the same time, wonder where they come from. There are practices designed to show reverence (a good thing, by the way) and worship and commitment that, as far as I can tell, had no ground in Scripture, either by command or inference or example.

How often do we engage in rituals that, in and of themselves, are actually good and righteous acts, but at the expense of God’s revealed will? The Bible shows us over and over again that God’s Holy Word is to be our “rule of faith and life” (Westminster Confession of Faith I.2). Even right and good and godly acts are to be governed by God’s revealed will.

It’s possible to do good things for good reasons and yet still violate God’s revealed will. We will frequently try to do good things with the wrong motive - the hope of earning God’s blessing.

Is the Bible your sole rule of faith and practice? Does it govern your beliefs and your actions?