Being Filled

Quick Reminder to Love Kermit Gosnell

2013-05-13T17:37:00.001-04:00

As I write this, my Facebook feed is filled with links to and comments on the conviction of Kermit Gosnell. There is much rejoicing among fellow believers.

I too rejoice at seeing justice prevail. I rejoice at the fact that this man will no longer have the ability to murder children. And I rejoice at the precedents this conviction will set.

At the same time, I am saddened—not by the conviction, but by some of the reactions I’m seeing. Many of the comments in my feed (though certainly not all of them) reveal a hatred for Dr. Gosnell.

Brothers, he is not the real enemy. And besides, we are commanded to love even our enemies.

Dr. Gosnell has done some atrocious things, and there is no doubt in my mind that he fully deserves whatever punishment is given to him.

But I deserve the same.

God is not looking down on Kermit Gosnell with hatred. God loves him and does not want him to perish. Jesus died for him so that he would not have to perish.

If God can love Kermit Gosnell, then so can I, no matter how revolting his actions may be.

Let us pray for him.

God’s Favorite Place on Earth by Frank Viola (Book Review)

2013-05-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

God’s Favorite Place on Earth—the title is quite a bold claim. How could Frank Viola know where God’s favorite place is found?

Well, if you’re expecting a theological treatise on the question, look elsewhere. That’s not really the point of the book. “God’s favorite place” simply refers to Bethany, the town where Jesus always received his warmest welcomes during his earthly ministry.

The book focuses on the events recorded in the four Gospels that took place in this town.

Bethany is where Jesus’ friends Mary, Martha, Lazarus, and Simon lived. Bethany is where Jesus healed Simon of his leprosy and where Jesus raised Lazarus back to life. Bethany is where Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and where Mary later anointed Jesus with her costly oil. Bethany is where Martha professed to Jesus, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world” (John 11:27, CJB).

God’s Favorite Place on Earth examines and expounds on such events, but it does it in a way I’ve not seen before. This book is part exposition, part application, and part novel.

Each chapter starts with a novel-like dramatization of the biblical account. I tend to be somewhat wary of such things, due to the excessive liberties often taken. However, I have no complaints about this one. Frank Viola stayed very true to the biblical accounts.

While he filled in the details, he did so in a very reasonable manner, taking into account the cultural and biblical context. Furthermore, he was very upfront about which details are biblical and which details are speculative. I found the narratives to be a very refreshing look at familiar accounts.

Immediately after each dramatization, Frank included the actual biblical text. He used a number of different translations (which I think is great), and in one instance, he even used Johnston M. Cheney’s compiled account from Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life Ever Lived. I’ve written about The Greatest Life before; I think it is an excellent (though little-known) resource, and I’m thrilled to see it being used.

After the dramatization and biblical text, the majority of each chapter is devoted to expositing the text and drawing application from it. The lessons are both convicting and encouraging. And everything is thoroughly biblical.

I can’t think of a fellow believer who would not benefit from this book. It was an enjoyable and edifying read, and I believe it will be a great help to many as they seek to follow Christ. I give my full recommendation to God’s Favorite Place on Earth.

As an added bonus, if you order the book from May 1 to May 7, Frank Viola is offering 25 free gifts along with it. Go to godsfavoriteplace.com to find out how to get them.

I’d like to thank Frank Viola for sending me a free copy of the book to review.

Living in the Kingdom of God

2013-04-24T10:52:00.001-04:00

For the past two days, we’ve been examining the kingdom. If you haven’t read the previous posts yet, please see “Demystifying the Kingdom of God” and “Two Kingdoms” before proceeding.

With our understanding of the kingdom of God now in place, I would like to talk about kingdom living.

Christians have far too often presented the gospel as nothing more than salvation from sin and death (or worse yet, as a get-out-of-hell ticket). These things are included, but salvation is only one part of the whole gospel, which Jesus calls the “gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 24:14).

We tend to make the gospel out to be a one-time decision to “believe in Jesus,” and it may or may not affect the way we live. But James made it clear, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

Faith is not just the belief that Jesus is God (though he is), nor is faith simply the belief that he died and rose again (though he did). Faith in Jesus is also believing that he is Master and King. It is complete submission to his authority over our lives.

Faith is a sworn allegiance to King Jesus.

Upon believing in Jesus, we renounce our claim to any kingdom of this world as we become citizens of his heavenly kingdom (Colossians 1:13; Philippians 3:20). We are defectors. Though we physically remain within an earthly kingdom, we live as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

By the way, did I mention that God’s kingdom is at war? Entering his kingdom means enlisting as soldiers for his army. There can be no passive citizens.

But don’t think we’ll be fighting against people.

For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. (Ephesians 6:12, CJB)

Those outside of the kingdom are not the enemy. They are being held hostage by the powers of darkness, and it is our duty to rescue them—to fight for them, not against them.

But the weapons of our warfare are not like the weapons of this world (Ephesians 6:14–17). And we do not fight in our own strength.

In fact, our own abilities are likely to get in the way. Our King calls us to surrender what we think is ours and come to him in weakness. When we do this, we instead have the power of Christ residing in us (2 Corinthians 12:9).

With Christ in us, we can battle the forces of darkness by spreading the love of God.

As soldiers, we will live radically different lives from those around us.

No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him. (2 Timothy 2:4, NET)

Everything we do must be focused on the kingdom of God. If we live this way, God will take care of our physical needs (Matthew 6:33).

Kingdom living is a massive topic, and I’ve only scratched the surface here today, but I hope I have at least provided some perspective.

The definitive guide to kingdom living is found in the words of Jesus, particularly Matthew 5–7 and Luke 6:17–49 (commonly called the “Sermon on the Mount”). Take a moment to read those passages.

Now let me ask you this. Have you entered the kingdom of God, or are you still held captive by the kingdom of darkness?

And if you have entered God’s kingdom, are you living as his ambassador and as a soldier for his army, seeking his kingdom above all? Or are you still seeking the things of earth?

The Kingdom Series

Two Kingdoms

2013-04-23T10:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I attempted to demystify the kingdom of God. If you haven’t read my previous post, please do so now, as this picks up right where that left off.

Doesn’t God have dominion over everything, and does that mean that the whole world is the kingdom of God?

No, not quite.

In the grand scheme of things, yes, God is sovereign over everything. He created the world. He owns it. And he has the absolute power to step in and act whenever he chooses.

But God allows us to exercise our free will and choose whether we will serve Yahweh or serve the god of this world.

Unfortunately, the majority of humanity throughout history has chosen to reject God, and by doing so, they have chosen to serve the devil. Thus John wrote that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, I do not believe the offer to give Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world” was an idle promise (Matthew 4:8–9). Satan really did have that ability.

Even though God does have the ultimate control over the universe, he has allowed Satan to have temporary dominion over much of this world.

However, when we forsake the rule of the devil and pledge our allegiance to King Jesus, God does something amazing for us. Paul put it this way.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13, ESV)

Those of us who serve the King are a part of his kingdom.

But we need to understand that there are two kingdoms in place right now—the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.

How does this work? A great example can be found in the life of King David.

David’s predecessor, Saul, had failed as king over Israel. Saul rejected the word of Yahweh, so Yahweh rejected Saul as king (1 Samuel 15:23).

Yahweh then told Samuel that he had chosen David as king (1 Samuel 16:12–13). David became God’s anointed one (or in Hebrew, a messiah)—the rightful king over Israel, even though it was not yet time for him to rule.

For years, Saul continued as the acting king, even though David was the rightful king. During this time, many people became loyal to David and followed him instead of Saul. In a sense, these people who were loyal to David were his kingdom.

But eventually, in accordance with God’s timing, David did take his position as ruling king over all of Israel.

In similar fashion, Jesus is God’s Anointed One—the Messiah—the rightful King over everything, even though Satan is currently acting as ruler of this world.

But there is a remnant loyal to the one true King. Those of us who have submitted to Jesus as Lord make up his kingdom. He is King over us right now.

And the day is coming when Jesus will return and remove Satan from his position as acting ruler. At that point we may say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Revelation 11:15, NIV).

No longer will God’s kingdom be merely comprised of a loyal remnant. Jesus will take his rightful position as King over all. The entire earth will be his kingdom.

Hopefully these posts have helped to provide a basic understanding of the kingdom of God. Tomorrow, I want to talk about what it means to live in this kingdom.

The Kingdom Series

Demystifying the Kingdom of God

2013-04-22T11:50:00.000-04:00

Jesus taught more about the kingdom of God than any other topic.

Actually, that’s not the best way to put it. It would be better to say that the kingdom of God was the subject of everything Jesus taught, whether he used the word kingdom or not.

The very gospel Jesus preached was the “gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 24:14). He spent the majority of his earthly ministry proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that relatively few Christians really understand the kingdom of God.

Ask an average believer about the kingdom of God. If you don’t get a blank stare, you’ll probably hear that the kingdom is the millennial reign (or the eternal state or heaven) or that it is the church. Or you’ll get my favorite response—the kingdom of God is “now and not yet” … because that really clears it up.

In a sense, those answers are correct. These are all aspects of the kingdom of God. But they are incomplete answers. And they do relatively little to actually explain the kingdom.

One source of confusion about the kingdom seems to be Matthew’s reference to the kingdom as the “kingdom of heaven” while the other Gospels consistently call it the “kingdom of God.”

Thankfully, this one is easy to clear up. The “kingdom of God” and the “kingdom of heaven” refer to exactly the same thing. I’ve written on this before, so check out my article, “What’s the Difference Between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven?” for support of this understanding.

But perhaps a larger source of confusion is the word kingdom.

Don’t get me wrong, kingdom is a very accurate translation for the Greek word basileia. However, it tends to conjure up in our minds (or at least in mine) a connotation that is not true of the kingdom of God.

When I think of a kingdom, I tend to imagine a medieval king with knights and castles and swordfights. You know, King Arthur stuff.

In fact, the Jews of Jesus’ day were looking for something like that as well. Even Jesus’ own disciples expected him to overthrow the Roman Empire and establish an earthly Israelite kingdom. But Jesus made it very clear that this was not his purpose.

Thayer’s Greek dictionary defines basileia (kingdom) as “royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.” It goes on to clarify, “not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom.”

If I had to pick a single English equivalent, I would say that the word dominion best captures the meaning of this kingdom.

With all that in mind, I’m about to define the kingdom of God. Are you ready? It’s actually very simple.

The kingdom of God is everything over which God has dominion.

There. That’s it. Simple enough, right? No more confusion.

But wait. Doesn’t God have dominion over everything? Does that mean that the whole world is the kingdom of God?

Not quite. But I’ll explain that tomorrow.

The Kingdom Series

Free Combined Account of the Gospels

2013-04-18T12:07:00.000-04:00

I recently reviewed John MacArthur’s excellent resource, One Perfect Life, in which he combines the four Gospel accounts together into a single flowing narrative. I also mentioned Johnston Cheney’s similar work, Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life Ever Lived, which has tremendously helped my studies on the life of Christ. I even tried my hand and doing a similar combined account myself for the six denials of Peter.

Well, I just discovered another similar effort. All About Jesus, compiled by Roger Quy, is intended to make an easy reading experience through the Gospels. With that in mind, it uses the New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) as the base text, and leaves out the references to book, chapter, and verse (however, a chart at the end shows where all the references fit). There are also explanatory footnotes at the end of the book.

I have not gone through this myself yet, but it seems like it could be yet another excellent resource. And right now it’s free for Kindle! I’m not sure how long the promotion will last, so be sure to grab it right away.

Once you’ve read it, let me know what you think of it in the comments below. Have you checked out MacArthur’s or Cheney’s compilations yet? What did you think of them?

How Many Times Did Peter Deny Jesus?

2013-04-04T13:03:00.000-04:00

If you’ve ever gone to Sunday school, you’re probably thinking that the answer to this question is obvious. Everyone knows Peter denied Jesus three times. Right? It certainly would seem that way from reading of any one of the Gospels individually.

Let’s try a harder question then. How many times did the rooster have to crow? Ah, now we have a slight dilemma.

In Luke 22:34 and John 13:38, Jesus said that the rooster would not crow at all until Peter had denied him three times. But according to Mark 14:66–72, Peter only denied Jesus once before the rooster crowed. Then the rooster crowed again after Peter made two more denials.

The denials in Mark are consistent with Jesus’ statement in Mark 14:30 that Peter would deny him three times “before the rooster crows twice.” But they seem to contradict the statements found in the other accounts.

Many solutions have been offered to this apparent discrepancy. Some say, for example, that the “cock crow” referred to a period of time, rather than to the literal rooster. But honestly, most of these ideas I’ve heard seem like a bit of a stretch to me. Plus, none of them provides a way to reconcile the three denials, which are described very differently in the four Gospels.

Three Denials

Peter first denied Christ to the servant girl who was keeping the door as he passed through it, at least according to John. But according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Peter first denied Christ to a servant girl who came to him while he was in the courtyard.

Things only get more confusing by the second denial. Mark recorded that the same servant girl accused him again, but Matthew specifically stated that it was a different girl, and Luke stated that it was a man. John’s account is ambiguous enough to fit the second denial with any one of the other accounts.

The third denial matches very well between Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John’s account describes it differently, but it is not enough to technically create a contradiction. This one is at least less problematic than the second denial.

So how are we to resolve this? Are you rethinking my first question yet? Maybe the Sunday school answer ought to be reevaluated. It is true that each Gospel records three denials, but none of them states that Peter only denied Jesus three times.

Six Denials

Piecing the four accounts together, I would contend that Peter actually denied Jesus a total of six times.

It also seems that Jesus predicted six denials from Peter—three before the first crowing of the rooster and three more before the second crowing. Remember that Jesus actually made two separate prophecies about this. While it has generally been thought that his second prophecy referred to the same thing as the first, it could have actually been an addition.

The first prophecy was made around the table, shortly after Jesus had broken bread with his disciples. He said that the rooster would not crow until Peter had denied Him three times (Luke 22:34; John 13:38). Jesus made his second prophecy later, and Mark’s account specifies that these three denials would occur before the rooster’s second crow (Mark 14:30). Since Matthew’s account does not specify how many times the rooster would crow, it fits with Mark’s account for this to be the second crow (Matthew 26:34).

So Jesus first said that Peter would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Then Jesus later added that Peter would deny Him three more times before the rooster crowed a second time. All six of these denials are recorded. They are just split up across the four Gospels. By combining them together, we can see six distinct denials emerge.

Chronology

The following is my proposed harmony of these events:

First Prophecy (Luke 22:34; John 13:38): Jesus said the rooster would not crow that day until Peter denied Jesus three times.
Second Prophecy (Matthew 26:34; Mark 14:30): Jesus said that before the rooster crowed twice, Peter would deny Jesus three (more) times.
First Denial (John 18:16–17): The servant girl who was keeping the door of the courtyard asked Peter if he was a disciple of Jesus.
Second Denial (Matthew26:69–70; Mark 14:66–68a; Luke 22:55–57; John 18:25): A servant girl of the high priest, who saw Peter in the courtyard warming himself by a fire, came and said that he was with Jesus, and the others around the fire asked if he was one of his disciples.
Third Denial (Luke 22:58; John 18:26–27a): A man, specified by John to be a servant of the high priest and a relative of the person whose ear Peter had cut off, said that he saw Peter with Jesus in the garden so he must also be one of them.
First Crow (Mark 14:68b; John 18:27b): A rooster crowed.
Fourth Denial (Mark 14:69–70a): The servant girl who accused Peter earlier (when he made his second denial) saw him and again said that he was one of them.
Fifth Denial (Matthew 26:71–72): Another girl said that Peter was with Jesus.
Sixth Denial (Matthew 26:73–74a; Mark 14:70b–71; Luke 22:59–60a): Some who stood by said that Peter must be with Jesus because his speech showed that he was a Galilean.
Second Crow (Matthew 26:74b–75; Mark 14:72; Luke 22:60b–62): A rooster crowed a second time. Jesus turned to look at Peter, he remembered what Jesus had said, and he went out and wept bitterly.

It is acknowledged that these six denials could be arranged in a slightly different order without affecting the solution. In particular, the fourth and fifth denial could easily be switched. In any case, this shows us a potential order which would completely solve the apparent contradictions.

But the best way to see how this all works out is to read a combined account with the details from all four Gospels. So I have combined them together for you, similar to how Johnston Cheney (and later John MacArthur) combined the four Gospels.

Read my combined account, “The Six Denials of Peter.”

Actually, I first heard about the idea of six denials from Cheney’s book, Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life Ever Lived. However, the chronology I have proposed is different from his, and I believe it resolves the discrepancies more thoroughly.

As a side note, I almost didn’t publish this post, because Jeremy Myers recently did a post on the same topic. But since I had written the majority of this before his post went up, I decided to go ahead and use it anyway. Plus, he seems to have mostly followed Cheney’s chronology (though he got it from an earlier printing of the book, originally called The Life of Christ in Stereo).

Be sure to check out Jeremy’s post, which is also a podcast that dramatizes Peter’s denials.

The Six Denials of Peter

2013-04-04T13:02:00.000-04:00

The following is the account of Peter’s six denials. It has been combined together from the four Gospels. Read “How Many Times Did Peter Deny Jesus?” for an explanation.

I used the World English Bible as my starting point for this compilation.

^Lk 22:54They seized him, and led him away, and brought him into the high priest’s house. But ^Jn 18:15Simon Peter followed Jesus ^Lk 22:54from a distance, ^Jn 18:15as did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest; ^Jn 18:16but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought in Peter.

^Jn 18:17Then the maid who kept the door said to Peter, “Are you also one of this man’s disciples?”

He said, “I am not.”

^Jn 18:18Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold. They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself. ^Lk 22:55When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard, and had sat down together, Peter sat among them.

^Mt 26:69Now ^Mk 14:66as Peter was ^Mt 26:69sitting outside ^Mk 14:66in the courtyard below, ^Lk 22:56a certain servant girl, ^Mk 14:66one of the maids of the high priest, ^Lk 22:56saw him as he sat in the light, and came ^Mt 26:69to him.

^Jn 18:25Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. ^Mk 14:67And seeing Peter warming himself, she looked ^Lk 22:56intently at him, ^Mk 14:67and said, ^Lk 22:56“This man also was with him. ^Mk 14:67You were also with the Nazarene, Jesus!” ^Jn 18:25They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?”

^Mt 26:70But ^Lk 22:57he denied Jesus ^Mt 26:70before them all, ^Jn 18:25and said, “I am not. ^Lk 22:57Woman, I don’t know him. ^Mt 26:70I don’t know what you are talking about. ^Mk 14:68I neither know, nor understand what you are saying.”

^Mk 14:68He went out on the porch.

^Lk 22:58After a little while someone else saw him, ^Jn 18:26one of the servants of the high priest, being a relative of him whose ear Peter had cut off, ^Lk 22:58and said, ^Jn 18:26“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him? ^Lk 22:58You also are one of them!”

^Jn 18:27Peter therefore denied it again, ^Lk 22:58 “Man, I am not!”

^Jn 18:27And immediately ^Mk 14:68the rooster crowed.

^Mk 14:69The maid saw him, and began again to tell those who stood by, “This is one of them.”

^Mk 14:70But he again denied it.

^Mt 26:71When he had gone out to the gateway, another maid saw him, and said to those who were there, “This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

^Mt 26:72Again he denied it with an oath, “I don’t know the man.”

^Mt 26:73After a little while, ^Lk 22:59after about one hour passed, ^Mt 26:73those who stood by came and said to Peter, “Surely you are also one of them, for your speech makes you known.” ^Lk 22:59Another confidently affirmed, saying, “Truly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean!”

^Lk 22:60But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” ^Mt 26:74Then he began to curse and to swear, ^Mk 14:71“I don’t know this man of whom you speak!”

^Mt 26:74Immediately, ^Lk 22:60while he was still speaking, ^Mk 14:72the rooster crowed the second time.

^Lk 22:61The Lord turned, and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the Lord’s word, how he said to him, ^Mt 26:75“Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times,” and ^Mk 14:72“Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”

^Lk 22:62He went out, and ^Mk 14:72when he thought about that, he ^Mt 26:75wept bitterly.

One Perfect Life by John MacArthur (Full Book Review)

2013-03-20T15:11:00.001-04:00

I previously wrote about a book I have been looking forward to receiving. My copy of One Perfect Life: The Complete Story of the Lord Jesus has now arrived, and it is truly excellent.

John MacArthur has compiled the four Gospel accounts into a single harmonious narrative. While most other Gospel harmonies use parallel columns for Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, this one blends them together in one flowing text.

I mentioned earlier that this would probably be similar to Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life, compiled and translated by Johnston M. Cheney and Stanley Ellisen. Indeed, MacArthur’s effort is very much in the same vein, and he even graciously acknowledged Cheney’s work in the introduction. However, I think the differences are enough to merit purchasing both books. Each has something to offer that the other does not.

Cheney’s harmony stuck to the four Gospels, but MacArthur incorporated a number of texts from all throughout the Bible. Part 1 of One Perfect Life, “Anticipating the Lord Jesus Christ,” provides a survey of the Old Testament, using texts from the Old Testament as well as supporting texts from the New Testament. In just a few pages, it brings together the key passages that describe the creation (including Jesus’ work in it), the fall of man, the curse of sin, the need for a savior, and the promise of the coming Messiah. This serves as a wonderful preface to the life of the Christ.

The majority of the book then focuses on Jesus’ life as a man on earth. Even in that section, it brings in supporting texts from Scripture outside of the four Gospels. For example, the part where Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper includes text from 1 Corinthians 11:24–25, where Paul recounted a detail not found in the four Gospels. There are also messianic prophecies, such as those found in Isaiah, scattered throughout the book, to show the texts that were fulfilled in Jesus.

After wrapping up Jesus’ life on earth, the book includes a final section of “New Testament Reflections on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Here, MacArthur used texts from other New Testament books to show what Jesus accomplished and how we may have eternal life through him.

One Perfect Life includes many explanatory footnotes, taken from the MacArthur Study Bible. Rather than making a new translation for this project (as Cheney did for his), MacArthur used the New King James Version as the base text for his compilation. The NKJV is not one of my preferred translations, as I do not believe the Textus Receptus (the Greek manuscript on which it was based) to be the most reliable. However, I was happy to see that some of MacArthur’s footnotes corrected certain errors in the NKJV. Perhaps we will see future editions of One Perfect Life that use the ESV or NASB as the base text?

I really have very few complaints about this work overall. Since it is primarily Scripture, there’s not much left up to human bias. That said, a bit of MacArthur’s Calvinistic views do come across in some of his footnotes. However, they are not overbearing, and they do not take away from this work as a whole.

Also, there are a few areas in which I would propose a different chronology than MacArthur (such as Peter’s denials). But these are debatable and relatively minor. I did not find anything seriously problematic. In several areas, MacArthur actually got it right where many other Gospel harmonies have made mistakes. For example, MacArthur correctly separated the two different times that Jesus cleansed the temple.

My only big complaint is the lack of a Scripture index. Without one, there is no easy way to find where a given passage of Scripture is used. Cheney’s book does include such an index, and it is one of the most helpful parts of the whole thing. I very much hope that future editions of One Perfect Life will include one.

All in all, I give my full endorsement to this work. Reading through the life of Jesus like this is tremendously helpful for seeing how all the parts fit together. It also completely debunks any alleged discrepancies between the four accounts, showing that they all complement one another perfectly. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy, both of MacArthur’s One Perfect Life and of Cheney’s The Greatest Life.

Then let me know what you think of them in the comments below. What other Gospel harmonies have you found to be useful?

Consider Others Better Than Yourself

2013-03-14T19:42:00.001-04:00

This post is continuing a chain blog initiated by Alan Knox on the topic of “one another.”

Let’s take a look at a biblical principle that is very simple in concept yet extremely hard to practice.

Do nothing according to selfish ambition or according to empty conceit, but in humility considering one another better than yourselves, each one of you not looking out for his own interests, but also each of you looking out for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3–4, LEB)

We are to consider others better than ourselves. What does that mean?

Treat Others Better

First, it means we should give preferential treatment to everyone other than ourselves.

If your favorite author/actor/athlete/celebrity paid you a visit, you would go out of your way to make them as comfortable as possible. This is because you consider them to be better than yourself.

But this “one another” command in Philippians applies to all people. We should be going out of our way to help everyone we come into contact with, not just people we really like.

Consider others better than yourself.

Don’t Judge Intentions

Secondly, this means that we should be very slow to judge intentions.

When someone does something we don’t like, it is easy to imagine a malicious intent behind their actions. We ought rather to always give the benefit of the doubt. Assume a person’s intentions are pure unless proven otherwise.

We are able to see the sinful intentions of our own hearts. Therefore, we tend to project our own sinfulness upon the actions of others. But Paul warned against doing that.

Consider others better than yourself.

Don’t Believe Accusations

Third, we should be very slow to form conclusions or believe accusations about anyone.

When someone is accused of a wrong-doing, we should at first assume the accusation is incorrect (especially if that person is not present). We should expend every effort to prove a person’s innocence before we even think about spreading the rumor of his guilt.

This is not to say that we should turn a blind eye when we know for sure that a believer is involved in sin. In such circumstances, appropriate biblical measures should be taken (Matthew 18:15–20, 1 Corinthians 5:1–13).

But we should never assume guilt from the outset.

Consider others better than yourself.

These things are hard, but they are essential for living in unity with the body of Christ. You must choose to believe that everyone around you is a better person than yourself. Consider yourself to be of the very least importance. Love one another.

Chain Blog Rules

If you would like to write the next blog post (link) in this chain, leave a comment stating that you would like to do so. If someone else has already requested to write the next link, then please wait for that blog post and leave a comment there requesting to write the following link.
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“Links” in the “One Another” Chain Blog

“Chain Blog: One Another” by Alan Knox
“Linking One Another” by Swanny
“What Does It Mean to Love One Another?” by Chuck McKnight
“The Treasure of ‘One Another’” by Jim Puntney
“This Is How the World Shall Recognize You…” by Kathleen Ward
“Accepting One Another in Love” by Chris Jefferies
“One Another: A Meta-narrative for the Church”—Part One and Part Two by Greg Gamble
“Individualism and ‘One Another’” by Pieter Pretorius
“All Alone with One Another” by Jeremy Myers
“When It’s Okay for Christians to Compete” by Joshua Lawson
“Jesus Christ, the Corner Stone for One Another” by Peter
“Be Superficial with One Another” by Jon
“The Unmentionable One Anothers” by Alan Knox
“Loving More Fully and Widely” by Chris Jefferies
“The One Another Weapon” by Dan Allen
“Corporate One-Anothering” Part One and Part Two by David Bolton
“The Last Revival” by Tobie van der Westhuizen
“Love: a ‘One Another’ Comic” by Dan Allen
“I Can Only Love You If…” by Rob
“It Was Lost in Translation” by Nelson
“Consider Others Better Than Yourself” by Chuck McKnight
Who will write the twenty-second link post in the chain?

Should Christian Mothers Eat Their Placentas?

2013-03-07T15:37:00.000-05:00

This is probably going to be one of the weirdest things I’ll ever have to defend on this blog.

God has blessed my wife and me with the conception of our first child. Tessa is almost seven months pregnant; God-willing she will deliver in mid-May.

We will be saving her placenta, and we plan on eventually eating it.

Perhaps this sounds weird or disgusting to you? If so, that’s fine. You may dispose of yours however you please. But Tessa and I would like to take advantage of the many health benefits the placenta has to offer.

That said, a dear friend and sister in Christ advised us that this may not be a biblical thing to do. We were provided with a link to the article, “Eating the Placenta: A Christian Worldview Perspective.” I would encourage the reader to go through that article before continuing with mine.

Before I get into critiquing this, let me say that I know our friend is sincerely seeking to help us. And while I don’t personally know the author of the article, I will assume that her motives are pure as well. So please do not think I am attacking either our friend or this author.

However, we are commanded to “examine all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Upon doing so, I found the article itself to be composed of unsound proof-texting and the worst kind of legalism. While the author claims, “This post is not designed to tell you what to do,” it is nevertheless set up in such a way as to impose guilt upon those who believe otherwise and to accuse them of not being “Christ-honoring, Bible-believing Christians.”

I currently have many Christian friends who are pregnant, and they may also consider eating their placentas. I therefore feel it necessary to refute these unbiblical arguments and remove this unnecessary stumbling block.

Let’s examine a few of the author’s claims.

Claim: The logic behind eating placentas is the same logic behind embryonic stem cell research.

Many human organs contain nutrients that would be beneficial if consumed. It doesn’t follow that we should consume human flesh. This is a slippery slope with moral consequences. It is the exact same pragmatic argument used by those who believe it is morally advisable to use fetal stem cells for the purpose of discovering medical solutions to serious diseases.

This is a completely unfair correlation. Embryonic stem cell research is wrong because it requires the destruction of human life. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with stem cell research that uses adult stem cells.

The placenta is not a human life. Eating the placenta does not involve taking a human life. There is no similarity whatsoever between this and embryonic stem cell research.

Claim: Eating a human placenta is cannibalism.

The definition of cannibalism is: the eating of human flesh by a human being. The placenta is human flesh, and as such, should not be consumed. Our Creator’s words on the issue of cannibalism: Jer. 19:9; Lev. 26:29; Micah 3:3. Our Creator’s words on the issue of consuming blood in Gen. 9:4, Lev. 17:11, Lev. 17:14, and Deut. 12:23.

First, we must consider why cannibalism is biblically wrong. Cannibalism is wrong for the same reason that embryonic stem cell research is wrong—both require the taking of human life, which is murder.

However, there is nothing biblically wrong with eating human flesh as long as no human life is taken in the process. Let’s say a limb needed to be amputated and you wanted to eat it. There would be nothing unbiblical about that. It may be weird, but it is not wrong.

The human body, according to God, is dust (Genesis 3:19). The only thing that makes human flesh different from animal flesh is the fact that it houses a human soul. Man’s soul—not his body—is made in the image of God. Once the soul departs, the body becomes nothing more than dust; it no longer retains the image of God. At that point, there is no difference at all between human flesh and animal flesh.

The proof-texts the author used against cannibalism are as follows:

“‘“I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another.”’” (Jeremiah 19:9, NET)

“‘You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.’” (Leviticus 26:29, NET)

“You devour my people’s flesh,
strip off their skin,
and crush their bones.
You chop them up like flesh in a pot—
like meat in a kettle.” (Micah 3:3, NET)

The first two verses (Jeremiah 19:9 and Leviticus 26:29) refer to times of God’s judgment on the people. In both cases, the punishment imposed was that they would be placed under siege by foreign nations. In this condition, they would run out of food. Their hunger would become so great that they would eat one another to survive. Again, the sin there is murder, not the consumption of flesh.

The last verse (Micah 3:3) is an extreme analogy used to describe the way the leaders were mistreating the people. It does not mean they were literally eating them. But even if it did, the sin itself would still be murder.

The author next listed four verses that speak against consuming blood.

“But you must not eat meat with its life (that is, its blood) in it.” (Genesis 9:4, NET)

“‘For the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.’” (Leviticus 17:11, NET)

“‘For the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood—all who eat it will be cut off.’” (Leviticus 17:14, NET)

However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself—you must not eat the life with the meat! (Deuteronomy 12:23, NET)

In this case, I agree with the author that we should not drink blood—whether human blood or animal blood. I would also add a particularly important passage, where the apostles and elders (guided by the Holy Spirit) decided that this was one of the few Old Covenant rules that still applied under the New Covenant.

For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell. (Acts 15:28–29, NET)

Note carefully what they wrote. They did not want to “place any greater burden” on people by adding unnecessary rules. Those who say we cannot eat a placenta are in fact adding such a rule. Requiring another believer to follow your personal convictions is legalism.

As for equating the eating of a placenta with the consumption of blood, this simply does not follow. I do not advocate picking up a placenta as soon as it is birthed and eating it raw, nor do I know of any Christian who recommends this. I would advise cooking or dehydrating your placentas before eating them.

Claim: Eating the placenta is a pantheistic practice with no precedent in the Bible.

If it really is something that God designed not only for the preservation of the baby within the womb, for also for the health of the mother after giving birth, why is there absolutely no reference or recommendation in His Word? There is no Biblical precedent for placentophagy.

On the other hand, this practice is firmly rooted and widely practiced within pantheistic religions that deny the Creator God of the Bible and worship nature. If we desire to live consistent with a Christian worldview, this should give us reason to pause.

There are two wrong assumptions here.

The first wrong assumption is that Christians should avoid something simply because pantheists do it. This is an association fallacy. Pantheistic practices are only wrong when they violate clear principles or commands from Scripture.

The second wrong assumption is that Christians need a precedent from the Bible. There are all manner of things we do that have no precedent in the Bible. That does not make any of them wrong.

For example, the Bible gives no precedent for any of the modern technologies we enjoy. If this author is to be consistent, she needs stop riding in cars, talking on the phone, using a refrigerator, and even posting on her blog, because the Bible never mentions any of these things.

God has given us certain clear commands, and we must follow them. But for most areas of life, he has given us general principles along with the indwelling influence of the Holy Spirit, and he allows us to develop our own convictions as we seek to please him.

If a woman is convicted against eating a placenta, I would urge her to follow her conviction and abstain from eating it. However, it is wrong to force your personal convictions on other believers when there is no clear biblical command.

The Bible in fact does not give a precedent for eating the placenta—either for or against it. Therefore, it is up to individual believers to personally seek God’s will on this matter.

Claim: The logic behind eating placentas is the same logic behind having abortions.

While many women have felt that consuming their baby’s placenta has helped them avoid postpartum depression, it doesn’t follow that it is an ethical solution to that very real problem. That same argument is used by those who believe in a “woman’s right to choose” abortion. Abortion enables women to avoid not only postpartum depression, but the hardships, responsibilities, and challenges that come with raising a child or giving a child up for adoption.

By now the reader can probably guess my response to this claim, as it is essentially the same claim the author made earlier about embryonic stem cell research. Abortion (like stem cell research) is wrong because it takes a human life.

A placenta is not a human life. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with eating it.

Claim: Eating the placenta is not the only option available to women.

God, in His wisdom and goodness, has provided for our physical needs after birth. In fact, in our particular place and time in history, we have access to the widest variety of the best, whole super-foods and nutritional supplements known in the history of mankind.

We also have science and medicine on our side. There are many women who have found physical help by way of nutrition as well as hormonal therapy for postpartum depression. The ancient, eastern practice of eating your child’s placenta is not the only solution available to women today.

I’ll grant that it’s not the only available option. I don’t know of anyone who claims that it is. However, I do personally believe that it’s one of the very best and most natural options.

The placenta is an organ that the mother’s body made specifically to nurture her child. Once that role is completed, it is only right to claim some of that nutrition back. Furthermore, I would much prefer that my wife use something her own body made than an artificial drug with who-knows-what in it.

But on this point, the author has betrayed her own position. She repeatedly claims that we need a biblical precedent, yet there is no biblical precedent for modern medicines either.

Conclusion

The author stated the following near the end of her article:

If you are a Christian, you are not forced to live consistent with a Christian worldview. In fact, most do not. But then have enough courage and integrity to be honest about that with yourself and others. If, on the other hand, you desire to live consistent with a Christian worldview, and you still want to eat your child’s placenta, then you’ll need to make a Biblical, Christian worldview case for doing so. At the very least, you will need the following to make your case:

1. Biblical precedence or principle for consuming raw, human flesh.

2. Historical evidence of the Church of Jesus Christ practicing and promoting this based on the above precedence.

If you are unable to do that, then you are left with your own autonomous choice, apart from God.

I will practice placentophagy because…

Again, we do not need a biblical precedent to do anything, nor do we need a precedent from church history. But we also are not left to make an autonomous choice apart from God. In making such an argument, this author must completely ignore the convicting influence of the Holy Spirit inside every believer.

To answer the author’s question, I will practice placentophagy because it is a healthy and natural use for the organ my wife is growing, because it in no way violates any command or principle given in Scripture, and because my wife and I have a clear conscience before God in doing so.

If the Holy Spirit has convicted you otherwise, then I would not advise doing so yourself.

“Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him?” (Mark 7:18, NET)

Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days—these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ! (Colossians 2:16–17, NET)

Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) (Book Review)

2013-03-05T13:09:00.001-05:00

I’ve been doing a lot of study recently in eschatology—specifically, the nature of hell and eternal punishment. Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) intrigued me, because Brian Jones once rejected the belief in hell (while he was a pastor), but now he embraces it. Surely, it would be interesting to see what exegetical evidence brought him around.

The book description led me to believe that it would be an apologetic for hell, perhaps something like Francis Chan’s Erasing Hell. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I don’t know if I can blame the author. This seems more like an instance of misleading marketing. Either way, it was not what I expected.

I’ll get to what the book really was about, but let’s cover some of the good things I did like about it first.

Brian Jones is clearly driven by a love for God and a desire to trust the authority of Scripture—whether or not he likes what it says. I resonate with him completely here. We must always place God’s word above man’s word. Even if we don’t like what is in the Bible, we must simply accept it and submit to it. This book is a result of Brian following his convictions, and I fully commend him for that.

Hell Is Real was easy and enjoyable reading, as I’ve come to expect from books published by David C. Cook. I got through the whole thing in a day. Furthermore, Brian strikes me as a very sincere guy with a real heart for God and love for people. I have a feeling that he and I would get along pretty well, despite the theological differences that I will cover.

In his book, Brian never described exactly what he did believe about hell before he fully accepted it. Was he a Universalist, was he an Annihilationist, or did he simply reject the concept of hell altogether? We’re not told.

But whatever it was, the book did make it clear that his rejection of hell was not based on exegetical evidence. It seems he has always believed that the Bible teaches eternal conscious torment in hell; he just chose to reject what he sees as the biblical teaching.

Therefore, his conversion was not one of finally understanding the truth about what the Bible teaches. Rather, his conversion was one of finally submitting to the authority of the Bible. Once more, I fully commend him for this. We must always submit to what we believe the Bible teaches.

That said, Brian never got into any biblical support for hell as eternal conscious torment rather than other views of hell, such as annihilationism. He made a stand-alone statement that hell is not annihilation, but he provided no support. He listed plenty of verses that talk about eternal punishment, but he seemed to miss the fact annihilation would also be eternal punishment.

But the real thrust of this book is not about proving hell or the nature of hell at all. It’s basically taken for granted that eternal conscious torment in hell is the biblical teaching. The majority of the book is spent describing how this teaching should affect our evangelism. And that is where my biggest problem with the book lies.

Brian Jones seems to believe that the reason we evangelize is to prevent people from going to hell. I would assert that this is a poor understanding of evangelism. This (very common) view reduces the gospel to a how-to-get-to-heaven plan, and it reduces Jesus’ work on the cross to a get-out-of-hell ticket.

The Bible is clear that Jesus came first and foremost to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21) and from the penalty of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). Furthermore, the Bible is clear that Jesus already did this, becoming the sacrificial atonement for all the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).

Jesus did not die to save us from hell.

Hell—whether it be eternal torment or annihilation—is the result of refusing the eternal life that is offered through Jesus. When a man rejects this gift, through his words or his actions, he “treats with disdain the Son of God … considers ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy and … insults the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29, LEB). Therefore, the wrath of God—though appeased on the cross—remains on him (John 3:36).

Our purpose in evangelism should not be to keep people out of hell. The good news is that Jesus covered our sins and restored our relationship with God. We can forever have fellowship with our Father! That is why we should evangelize and make disciples.

What happens to those who reject eternal life is a secondary matter. But according to Brian Jones, we need a belief in hell to give us “apocalyptic urgency” to evangelize.

What do you think?

10 Things That Are Awesome (According to the Bible)

2013-03-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have previously written about the myth that “only God is awesome.” Many people believe that we should reserve this word for God alone. However, I would contend that awesome is just a normal word like any other and that it has little meaning if it can only be applied to God.

Certainly, God is more awesome than anyone or anything else, but many other things truly are awesome as well.

Just for fun, I have decided to compile a list of things that the Bible itself labels “awesome.” Many translations will use a different English word in these verses, but the Hebrew contains some of the same words for “awesome” that are applied to God.

I’m excluding the many references to God, his acts, his angel, his day, his deeds, his majesty, his name, his power, his signs, his splendor, his strength, his works, etc.

So without further ado, here are ten things—other than God—that the Bible refers to as “awesome.”

1. A snorting horse

“Have you given the horse might?
Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane?
Have you made him to leap as a locust?
The glory of his snorting is awesome.” (Job 39:19–20, WEB)

2. The human body

I thank you because I am awesomely made,
wonderfully; your works are wonders—
I know this very well. (Psalm 139:14, CJB)

3. Solomon’s love

You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awesome as an army with banners. (Song of Songs 6:4, ESV)

4. An army with banners

“Who is this who looks down like the dawn,
beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun,
awesome as an army with banners?” (Song of Songs 6:10, ESV)

5. The collapse of Jerusalem

Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
She did not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
For the enemy is exalted!” (Lamentations 1:9, NKJV)

6. Wheel rims

As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. (Ezekiel 1:18, NASB)

7. A glittering dome

Over the heads of the living creatures was what appeared to be a dome glittering like ice; it was awesome, spread out over their heads, above them. (Ezekiel 1:22, CJB)

8. Nebuchadnezzar and his people

He and his people with him, awesome of the nations, shall be brought to ruin the land. And they shall draw their swords against Egypt and fill the lands with the slain. (Ezekiel 30:11, LITV)

9. A statue

“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.” (Daniel 2:31, NASB)

10. An animal

After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, a fourth animal, awesome and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the animals that were before it; and it had ten horns. (Daniel 7:7, WEB)

One Perfect Life by John MacArthur (Initial Book Review)

2013-01-29T13:16:00.000-05:00

[Update: I have now received my copy of the book and written a full review.]

Have you ever used one of those harmonies of the Gospels? You know, where Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are all arranged chronologically and placed together in parallel columns? A Gospel harmony is a great resource for studying the life of Christ. But it’s not all that great if you just want to read straight through it.

But what if all four Gospels were actually woven together in a single narrative? What if we could see every detail the Four Evangelists included without all of the duplicated information? What if we could read the complete account of Christ Jesus in one flowing narrative from start to finish?

It sounds like a great idea to me! This is something I’ve been wanting for a long time. In fact, I actually did find something similar that already exists.

Jesus Christ: The Greatest Life, compiled and translated by Johnston M. Cheney and Stanley Ellisen, is the best attempt at this that I’ve been able to find thus far. It is an excellent resource, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It’s a brand new translation from the Greek, and it includes a number of explanatory notes in addition to the compiled text. The only problem is that it never became very popular. I believe it is now out of print, and you’re not likely to come across it unless someone (like me) points it out to you.

But I’m really hoping that obscurity won’t be a problem for a similar project recently compiled by John MacArthur. One Perfect Life: The Complete Story of the Lord Jesus combines the text of the four Gospels from the New King James translation, and it includes notes which I believe have been taken from MacArthur’s study Bible.

Given that John MacArthur is already a very popular Christian author plus the fact that this is being carried by Thomas Nelson, I think the book has great potential to become a resource used by Christians everywhere. And if it’s anywhere near as good as Cheney and Ellisen’s effort, I think it should be used by Christians everywhere.

One Perfect Life will not be released until February 19, but you can pre-order a copy now. I don’t have my copy yet either, thus this is just an initial review based on my expectations. I plan to do another post with my thoughts once I receive the book.

What Does it Mean to Take God’s Name in Vain?

2013-01-28T10:06:00.001-05:00

I received the following question from my cousin Matt:

I’ve got a question for you. I’ve always heard churches and pastors making a big deal about not saying “Oh my God” as it is taking the Lord’s name in vain which is sin. I’m just wondering if that actually is correct as God’s name isn’t God but Yahweh. So it seems to me that what should not be said is “Oh my Yahweh.” Just wondering what you think about the matter.

This is a great question! God’s name is indeed Yahweh. (If you have not seen it yet, please read “The Curious Case of God’s Missing Name” before continuing.) The word god is actually more of a title and description than it is a name.

So what is this command getting at?

Speaking of God

The World English Bible renders the command in question as follows:

“You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7, WEB)

This translation helps quite a bit. The command here specifically relates to the name of Yahweh, not to any one of his titles.

However, that does not mean that we are free to say, “Oh my God,” or to make flippant references to God as we please. Ours is a holy God who deserves our reverence and respect. The Bible has not instituted a taboo here, but we should still take great care whenever we speak of God, simply because he is holy and because we love him and desire to please him.

That aside, I don’t believe that this command actually involves the careless speaking of Yahweh’s name any more than it does his titles.

Taking an Oath

A more likely possibility is that it referred to the use of Yahweh’s name when taking an oath. For example, the Old Testament contains about 50 instances of the phrase “as Yahweh lives” followed by some vow.

Since a man cannot swear by anything greater than Yahweh, such an oath was utterly binding. Yahweh even swore by himself because he could not swear by anything greater (Genesis 22:16; Hebrews 6:13).

Men should therefore be exceedingly careful when taking the name of Yahweh—as an oath. If a man took an oath by the name of Yahweh, he had better not make it an empty (vain) promise. If such a man forfeited on the vow that he swore by Yahweh to uphold, then God would surely hold him guilty for breaking his oath.

This idea finds further support in what seems to be a parallel command from Leviticus.

“‘You shall not swear by my name falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.’” (Leviticus 19:12, WEB)

Of course, for the New Testament believer, this command has been superseded by another—first stated by Jesus and later echoed by James.

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:33–37, ESV)

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:12, ESV)

As Christians, we have no business taking oaths at all. We ought rather to be marked by unequivocal honesty, so that no oaths are needed.

Returning to the command in Exodus 20:7, we must also consider the Hebrew word nasa, translated “take” in this verse. The word has a wide variety of meanings depending on context. In a handful of instances, it actually is translated as “swear” or “take an oath” (e.g., Nehemiah 13:25), providing further support for the idea already proposed.

But there is another possibility.

Bearing God’s Name

By far the most common meaning of nasa is to “carry” or “bear.” So the command might be best rendered as follows:

“You shall not bear the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who bears his name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

If this is the better meaning, then the tone of the command changes entirely. The Israelites were a special people—set apart by Yahweh and called by his name. They bore God’s name before all the nations.

This command then becomes an all-encompassing one. Since God’s chosen people bore his name, they had better not take that responsibility lightly. They were supposed to be a shining beacon, bearing the name of Yahweh with obedience and distinctive holy living.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the Israelites failed. They did bear God’s name in vain.

But that responsibility has now passed to us. We, the followers of Christ Jesus, bear his glorious name before all the nations.

Will we bear that name with obedience and holy lives?

Or will we too bear his name in vain?

Waiting on God

2013-01-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

I tend to be a New Testament guy. It’s not that I think the Old Testament is any less inspired or profitable than the New; it’s just that I usually find more application from my own dispensation.

But the lesson God is currently teaching me is one found repeatedly throughout those writings before the incarnation.

Wait for Yahweh.
Be strong and let your heart show strength,
and wait for Yahweh. (Psalm 27:14, LEB)

I await Yahweh; my soul awaits,
and I wait for his word. (Psalm 130:5, LEB)

But those who wait for Yahweh shall renew their strength.
They shall go up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not grow weary;
they shall walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31, LEB)

Yahweh is good to those who wait on him,
to the person that seeks him. (Lamentations 3:25, LEB)

But you, you must return to your God;
keep love and justice,
and wait continually for your God. (Hosea 12:6, LEB)

This waiting means that we must place our absolute trust in God. In the good times as well as the bad, we must have faith that he will come through for us. We must believe that his plans are better than our own. We must seek his will and follow his directions.

I’ve long understood all that. The part I seem to have glossed over is the fact that waiting on God really does involve waiting.

Patience is not one of my strongest qualities. I’m a techie living in a digital world where two seconds seems like a long time to wait. I’m used to finding the answers I need in a single session of Googling.

When it comes to obeying God, I sincerely do desire to walk according to his will—I just need to know what that is, and I want to know right now!

But that’s not how God works.

God is teaching me that a desire to obey is not always enough. I need wait for his instructions first, and I need to do so patiently.

Indeed, God’s plans are better than mine, and his timing is better too.

What are you waiting on God for right now? Keep trusting. Keep waiting. In his perfect timing, he will reveal his will for you.

Get One Book Free from WaveCloud’s Huge Library!

2013-01-08T13:56:00.003-05:00

If you follow Christian Books Free (my sub-blog dedicated to free book deals), then you’ve already heard about WaveCloud. But just in case you missed it, I want to mention it here as well.

WaveCloud is a new online community with plans to revolutionize the reading industry. In addition to selling eBooks for great prices, they want to include a social aspect to discuss the books you’re reading and to bridge the divide between authors and readers.

But the best news right now is that they want to buy your first book for you! Rather than spending their money on marketing campaigns, they have decided to simply purchase a book for each of their customers. But there is a limited amount of money, so be sure to grab your book right away!

You don’t even need to enter a credit card number or mailing address to get your free book. All you have to do is sign up with a valid email address and download their free reading app (available for iOS, Android, Mac, and PC).

Their library of available books is substantial, and it’s only getting bigger. I spoke on the phone with co-founder Scott French, and they have plans to add many more publishers soon, including Zondervan. Until then, they still offer David C. Cook, Thomas Nelson, Tyndale House, Master Books, and many others! (By the way, those are just Christian publishers. WaveCloud includes plenty of secular publishers as well.)

There’s really nothing to lose here, and there’s a free book to gain. I’m looking forward to seeing how WaveCloud’s social aspect will progress.

So sign up for WaveCloud and get your free book!

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes (Book Review)

2012-12-18T09:34:00.000-05:00

I learned more from the introduction to Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes than I have from many entire books.

When it comes down to it, there are really two categories of books that I enjoy—those that confirm what I am already preaching and those that teach me something new. This book definitely falls into the latter category.

I tend to think I have a pretty decent grasp of the Scriptures, include their context, but E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O’Brien very effectively showed me just how much I’m still misreading.

This book is not exegetical so much as it is hermeneutical. That is, it does not spend as much time describing what specific passages mean as it does describing the mindset behind them. Even more so, it describes our own Western mindset and shows us where, how, and why we differ. Still, the authors do provide plenty of fascinating biblical illustrations.

For example, take a moment to think through the story of the “prodigal son.” You can re-read it in Luke 15:11–32. Plot out the key parts of the story. What are they?

If you’re like me, you skipped right past the famine in verse 14. For all the times I’ve read this, it simply never registered to me. It was an incidental mention. Yet to Easterners reading it—especially those who are often affected by famine—it appears to be the very impetus that brought the son back to his father.

(By the way, that information is from the introduction, and you can actually read it as a free sample before purchasing the whole book.)

The authors compare our Western mindset to an iceberg, with some of our basic cultural differences as the tip above the water, some of greater importance slightly below the water, and the major differences buried deep down. The book is divided into three sections accordingly.

The tip of the iceberg includes cultural mores, race and ethnicity, and language differences. Much of this information seems like common sense, yet it is amazing how much more I have to learn in these areas.

The section just below the surface includes individualism vs. collectivism, the honor/shame system, and time. In particular, I found the section on shame to be quite illuminating. Our Western mindset thinks relatively little of shame. We can see this in such casual phrases as “that’s a shame.” Yet honor and shame seems to carry tremendous import to Easterners. My view of such concepts as they appear in the Bible will be quite a bite different now.

The deepest section includes rules vs. relationships, virtue vs. vice, and finding the center of God’s will. In this last section, I particularly enjoyed a thorough critique of the popular application of Jeremiah 29:11.

This book has had a huge impact on my thinking. I was truly amazed at just how much I really was missing. Yet the authors include a word of caution not to go too far. Another thing we Westerners are guilty of is overcorrection. We should not throw out the Western mindset entirely, but we should understand the differences and interpret carefully with them in mind.

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, benefited from tremendously, and plan to read again (something I rarely do with books). While I won’t go so far as to say that everyone needs to read this book, I highly recommend that you do.

Disclaimer: The publisher, InterVarsity Press, sent me a free copy of this book to review.

The Story of God in Spoken Word (Video)

2012-12-04T13:08:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to share a video with you that I came across recently. I know the whole spoken word thing is getting a little tired, but this one is really good, I promise!

The video is by Matt Papa, whom I have mentioned here before. In only ten minutes, it provides a great overview of biblical history, God’s plan of redemption, and our call to action (ironically similar to Multiply, actually).

And if you enjoyed that, here’s a presentation of the gospel in a similar format. This one has been around for a while, but it’s still great!

Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples by Francis Chan (Book Review)

2012-12-03T09:13:00.001-05:00

What books do I think every Christian ought to read? If you had asked me that a few weeks ago, without hesitation I would have said to read Francis Chan’s Crazy Love and Forgotten God.

It’s not that Francis said anything new in his books. They just restate what is found in the Bible. The problem is that the church seems to have forgotten what it is that God has called us to do. And Francis has been doing a tremendous job of calling us back to what we should have been doing all along.

With that in mind, I was thrilled when I found out that he was writing a new book, calling the church to accountability in a hugely misunderstood and neglected area of our faith—discipleship. Having now read the book, I can say that it absolutely lives up to my expectations.

You need to read this book!

Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples, by Francis Chan and Mark Beuving, is something I believe the church today truly needs. As with his other books, this one does not say anything new, but it does bring to the forefront a blatant failure of our generation.

However, the purpose of this book is not to simply criticize the church for its failure to multiply. Rather, it is designed to help us fulfill our commissions—not through programs or gimmicks, but biblically—one on one, “disciples making disciples” within the community of the church.

While Multiply follows in the same vein as Francis’ first two books, I did immediately notice one big difference—the size. That’s because Multiply is pretty much two books in one (but for the same price). While Crazy Love and Forgotten God are close to 200 pages, Multiply is well over 300.

The book is divided into five parts, but from my reading, they seem like two major divisions.

The first half of the book calls the church back to what we should be doing (parts 1–2).
The second half provides tools to help us do it (parts 3–5).

“Part I: Living as a Disciple Maker” defines discipleship, and it lays out the Biblical mandate for all believers to be disciples and make disciples.

Yet somehow many have come to believe that a person can be a “Christian” without being like Christ. (16)

The problem is, many in the church want to “confess that Jesus is Lord,” yet they don’t believe that He is their master. (20)

Do we really believe that Jesus told His early followers to make disciples but wants the twenty-first-century church to do something different? None of us would claim to believe this, but somehow we have created a church culture where the paid ministers do the “ministry,” and the rest of us show up, put some money in the plate, and leave feeling inspired or “fed.” We have moved so far away from Jesus’s command that many Christians don’t have a frame of reference for what disciple making looks like. (30)

But making disciples is far more than a program. It is the mission of our lives. It defines us. A disciple is a disciple maker. (31)

Paul saw the church as a community of redeemed people in which each person is actively involved in doing the work of ministry. The pastor is not the minister—at least not in the way we typically think of a minister. The pastor is the equipper, and every member of the church is a minister. (34)

Jesus’ call to make disciples includes teaching people to be obedient followers of Jesus, but the teaching isn’t the end goal. Ultimately, it’s all about being faithful to God’s call to love the people around you. (44)

“Part II: Living as the Church” reminds us that the church is a community. Chan explains the problems with our western individualistic lifestyle and how it goes against God’s plan for his church. He continues by showing what the church should look like when we work together for God’s purposes.

While every individual needs to obey Jesus’s call to follow, we cannot follow Jesus as individuals. The proper context for every disciple maker is the church. … It’s impossible to “one another” yourself. (51)

It’s not a social club; it’s not a building, and it’s not an option. The church is life and death. (52)

The church is a group of redeemed people that live and serve together in such a way that their lives and communities are transformed. (52–53)

Your problems are not just your problems—ultimately, they belong to the church body that God has placed you in. You are called to encourage, challenge, and help the other Christians in your life, and they are called to do the same for you. If you wait until all of your own issues are gone before helping others, it will never happen. (55–56)

Bearing one another’s burdens is not easy, but it is also not optional. (61)

Helping people change is what discipleship is all about. (63)

We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light so that we can proclaim God’s excellencies to a watching world. (74)

God has blessed you so that you will use whatever He has given you for His glory, not yours. Ultimately, we should expect God’s plan to lead us places that we wouldn’t naturally go. (84–85)

As I mentioned earlier, the second half of the book provides tools for making disciples. “Part III: How to Study the Bible” is a great crash-course in hermeneutics (biblical interpretation).

Francis gives some right and wrong reasons for studying the Bible, and he ultimately comes down on the fact that we are supposed to change as a result of reading our Bibles.

He also gives practical tips for reading the Bible concerning context, interpretation vs. application, personal biases, etc.

In parts 4–5, Chan gives a broad overview of the Old and New Testaments. He hits on most of the key points while keeping it moving quickly.

Most of this information will not be new to many Christians, but it is a good resource for new believers. It allows one to become quickly oriented with the overarching account of biblical history and God’s plan of redemption.

Furthermore, I think that Chan did a good job of keeping it neutral by avoiding most of the key theological controversies among evangelical Christians (i.e. Calvinism vs. Arminianism). At the same time, he in no way shied from presenting the core truths of the Christian faith.

The book wraps up with a much-needed call to action. Francis and Mark do not simply want readers to increase their knowledge about discipleship; they want believers to actually start living out their faith and making disciples.

In addition to the book itself, there are many free videos and study guides available at www.multiplymovement.com.

I highly recommend Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples.

Disclaimer: The publisher, David C. Cook, sent me a free copy of the book to review.

Update: The whole book is available free online! Check it out at Christian Books Free.

More on Giving

2012-11-29T13:35:00.001-05:00

A while back, I wrote a post about Jesus’ command to “Give to everyone who asks of you” (Luke 6:30, NASB).

A little while later, my wife wrote an excellent post on her blog about “Blessings and Thankfulness.”

And just recently, I read a great article by Brant of Air1 on being reckless with our giving.

Well, all that seems to have conspired together recently and dragged me into quite an extended debate on Facebook about the topic of giving and exactly what is required.

There seems to be a lot of misunderstandings going around, based largely on my own post. Perhaps I did not word things clearly enough. In any case, I’m going to try to clarify.

I did not mean to be misleading, and if I was, I apologize.

First, I made the following statement:

It’s perfectly straightforward, requiring no level of hermeneutical skill to interpret and understand.

By this statement, I did not mean that we should ignore good hermeneutics. I simply meant that Jesus really did mean what he seems to have meant and that good hermeneutics will back that up.

Some still disagree with me on this, and that’s okay. It’s not my intention to convince everyone; I only want to convey what I believe to be true from the Scriptures.

Second, I did not say that one has to always give money. Jesus did not say what to give. He simply said “give.” In many cases, our time and attention may be more important than money.

Third, I did not say how much to give. Obviously, if someone asks for a million dollars, we are not obligated to do so. Again, the point is simply that we do need to give whatever we can.

To sum this all up, Jesus made it very clear that his followers are to give generously and sacrificially. We need to be walking in the Spirit so that we may allow him to show us the specifics of what that giving should look like in each individual circumstance.

My point was simply that we do not have the right to turn a blind eye to anyone. We have no excuse to ignore a person who asks for help. We must offer them something. And we must do it in love.

Many times that will mean giving money. Many times it will not.

Updates and Exciting News

2012-11-08T13:04:00.001-05:00

You may have noticed that my blogging has slowed down a bit recently. Also, a certain series I started has come to a standstill. (I will get back to that, I promise!)

This is simply because I’ve been busy.

Several new and exciting things have been happening to take my time away from this blog. I’m just going to give you a brief update on them, so you can know what’s going on.

Writing for The Faith News

My good friend Chris Carberg (of Holypop.com) has teamed with Tim Evko to start up a faith-based news site, TheFaithNews.com. I’m honored to have been asked to write for them.

If you’re not yet following The Faith News, I would highly encourage you to check it out!

Running Christian Books Free

My periodic posts offering free Christian books have become a new separate blog, ChristianBooksFree.com.

I usually find multiple free books per day to add. While the individual entries don’t take much time, getting the new blog up and running and promoted has taken quite a bit of time.

Hopefully I should be able to claim that time back soon.

Acting in Christmas Town

If you’ve never seen the free nativity and much more that the Creation Museum hosts every year, you really must try to make the trip out here. Christmas Town is unlike anything else you’ll see.

I’ll be acting in some minor rolls this year, and it will definitely consume a lot of my time.

But the biggest and most exciting news is that …

Tessa and I Are Pregnant!

God has blessed us with our first child. He or she is due on May 12 of next year. We are thrilled and excited about this new life God has created!

While I can’t say that this has taken much of my time yet, I’m sure that it will (and I do not regret that in the slightest).

Will I Continue Blogging?

You bet! I can’t make any promises about how frequently it will be, but I’m sticking around.

Eventually, I’ll even get back to that series I started…

Thoughts on the (Other) Election

2012-11-06T07:33:00.003-05:00

Today is Election Day in the United States. Naturally, I’ll be talking about something else entirely.

I’m going to take a look at a much more important election—one that occurred before time began.

This election was not voted on democratically. A single person had absolute say in the matter.

Though the election was decided long ago, it has over the years created more controversy among Christians than the US election could ever hope to.

But it seems to me that most Christians argue about the wrong aspect of this election.

The argument is typically centered around whether or not God’s choice in election is affected by man’s choice. However, that question skips over a very important piece of information.

To What Have We Been Elected?

When we talk about the US election, it is often assumed that we are talking about the election to the presidency. However, that is not always the case.

Elections occur for senators, governors, and pretty much all other public offices in this nation. (I recently learned that even coroners are elected. Go figure.)

Similarly, when election comes up in the Bible, Christians often assume that it references election to salvation. But that is not necessarily the case either.

Each instance must be examined contextually to determine what it refers to.

Elect

The word elect comes from the Greek word eklego and simply means to make a choice. Most modern English translations of the Bible render this word as both “elect” and “choose” in different passages.

In the New Testament, believers are often called “the elect” (eklektos) because they have been chosen by God.

But the question still remains: To what have believers been chosen?

Jesus was Elected

When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, a voice spoke from the cloud saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One” (Luke 9:35, ESV).

Obviously, Jesus was not elected for salvation. Rather, God the Father chose him to be the Messiah. He was chosen as the sacrifice for our sins—the source of our salvation.

Jesus Elected Apostles

“You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (John 15:16, ESV)

Many theologians have tried to apply this statement to all believers, but the context of the chapter shows that Jesus was talking to the twelve and speaking of choosing them as apostles.

This was the same choice referenced in Luke.

He called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles. (Luke 6:13, ESV)

That’s not to say that the overall message of John 15 applies only to the twelve. I do believe that God has chosen duties for all of his children, but not all are chosen to be apostles.

What Has God Elected Us For?

We are chosen

to “be holy and blameless before him” (Ephesians 1:4, ESV),
“to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood” (1 Peter 1:1–2, NASB), and
to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV).

This is our election. Believers are chosen to be holy, blameless, and obedient. We are chosen to be sprinkled with his blood and to proclaim his excellencies.

To sum it up, we are chosen to serve God.

Furthermore, God has chosen each of us to our own areas of service. Just as the twelve were chosen as apostles, we too are chosen for some specific role in God’s kingdom.

We must seek his will and allow him to show us how we are to serve him.

Similar Terms

The Bible contains many similar terms, such as predestine and call, that are likewise assumed to refer to salvation. But we must put aside any preconceived notions and actually look at what the passages state.

What has God predestined for believers? (Hint: Ephesians 1:5)

What has God called believers? (Hint: Romans 9:25–26)

Believers have been predestined to adoption, called sons of God, and elected for his service.

Happy Reformation Day

2012-10-31T13:08:00.000-04:00

On this day 495 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. (Well, actually the nailing-to-the-door bit is probably legend.)

Nonetheless, he did deliver his theses, which outlined the problems he saw with the church of his day.

It was a bold move, and it had a huge impact in the Protestant Reformation. Many changes for the better occurred as a result of his actions.

And so, while many know this day only for trick-or-treating, I will choose to remember a bit of church history as well.

But how about about a bit of modern-day application from Martin Luther’s example? There are unquestionably many problems in the church today.

If you were to write a list of theses for the church today, what would it include? Include, if you can, constructive suggestions for improvement.

New Blog: Christian Books Free

2012-10-30T07:35:00.000-04:00

I hinted yesterday about some exciting news regarding “Free Books Monday.” I can now tell you that it has become a separate blog of its own!

Check it out at www.christianbooksfree.com.

I was really having fun with the “Free Books Monday” posts, but many of the books I found were expiring before Monday came around.

With a separate blog, every free book I find will have its own post right away. And the free books won’t be cluttering this blog any more.

Be sure to subscribe to the new site if you want updates about free Christian books. You can also follow Christian Books Free on Twitter and Facebook for quicker notifications.