Challies Dot Com - Informing the Reforming

Love Covers a Multitude of Sins

Tim — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:20:10 +0000

In wisdom and love God does not leave his people to live this life alone, but rather calls us into community. One of the sad inevitabilities of living in community is that we will sin against one another. The invitation to Christian community is an invitation to be tested by other people’s sin and weakness.

There are many ways to react badly when sinned against by another Christian. Some of us tend to react with sulking and feeling sorry for ourselves. Some go big and blow up while others give in to the slow, brooding kind of anger. Some just walk away. There are as many ways to react badly to sin as there are ways to sin against one another. There are not nearly as many ways to react well to being sinned against. The Bible gives us two: lovingly overlook that sin or lovingly address that sin. The question is, when are we to overlook and when are we to address?

The well-known eighteenth chapter of Matthew provides a detailed roadmap for addressing sin, but before a person follows that route, he first needs to determine whether or not this is the kind of sin he can simply overlook. Overlooking a sin is held high in Scripture. Proverbs 19:11 says “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 12:16 says that “the prudent ignores an insult” and on the other side of the cross, in 1 Peter 4:8, we are commanded, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

Love covers a multitude of sins, but love does not always cover a multitude of sins. There are situations in which the most loving action is to address a sin, to make known to the other person that you have been offended by his words or deeds, and to give him the opportunity to repent and seek forgiveness.

Here is how you can go about determining whether this is an offense you should overlook, or an offense you should address.

Examine Yourself

Before you do or say anything to another person, examine yourself. Try to see if there is a log in your eye that you have missed in all the fixation on the speck in your neighbor’s eye. As much as you can, examine your motives to determine why it is that you desire confrontation or why you desire to avoid confrontation. Are you angry and seeking revenge? Do you harbor a grudge against the person and feel like you can only ease this burden by telling him of his offense against you? Will you only feel better after you inflict guilt upon him? As you focus on your own sin and on your motives, you may find that the desire to pursue confrontation fades in the light of God’s holiness and in the darkness of ungodly motives.

Examine Yourself Again

Having now established that your motives are pure and that you are not overlooking a similar sin in your own life, examine yourself to ensure that you are right in this matter. Have you looked for Scriptural principles to determine if you have truly been sinned against? Is there clear violation of a Scriptural principle here, or are you dealing with a gray area? If you find that this is a gray area where there is no clear definition of right or wrong, it may well be best to simply put the matter aside.

Determine How Important It Is

If you have passed through the first two filters and still believe this is an issue worthy of confrontation, consider just how important a matter this is. Are you dealing with a matter of preference or a matter of objective right and wrong? Is this an issue that will have long-term ramifications or something that will not much matter one way or the other? Are you making dogma out of personal preference? If, upon examination, you determine that this matter is not of great importance or that it is more about preference than anything else, just let it go.

Look for Patterns

There are times that we sin in a way that is out of character. For example, you may be consistently punctual but then, one day, show up late for an important meeting. In such a case it would probably not be worth my while addressing this offense. However, if you are constantly showing up late for even the most important meetings, this may be a matter I should address with you. We often do better to confront patterns of sin or offense than isolated incidents (though, obviously, with more egregious offenses we may need to confront them immediately).

Be Sensitive

Before approaching the person who has offended you, ensure that you are being sensitive to his or her unique situation. There may be stresses or strains in that person’s life that are causing him or her to act out in ways that are atypical. In such a situation you are not excusing the person’s sin but, rather, understanding that difficult times can cause even the finest Christian to act out in ways that are unusual for him. Adding the burden of confrontation may not be the wise or sensitive thing to do at that moment.

Seek Counsel

It may be valuable to seek the counsel of other mature Christians before pursuing confrontation, though do ensure that this is not simply an opportunity to gossip and vent, after which you will feel better and let the matter drop. Discreetly seeking wise counsel may be a very good way of “error-checking” your assessment of the previous four steps.

If you have assessed your own heart, the offender, and the offense, you still feel confrontation is necessary, pursue forgiveness and reconciliation in the way Jesus outlines in Matthew 18.

In most cases, though, I think you will find it is wise to let the matter go. This means that you will need to release your pride and outrage. You will need to be willing to let the matter well and truly drop, not telling others about it and not letting it fill your mind and outrage your heart. It is the glory of a man to overlook an offense; it is a foolish and prideful man who believes that every little offense is worthy of confrontation.

(Thanks to Chris Brauns and his book Unpacking Forgiveness for providing this helpful grid)

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A La Carte (5/16)

Tim — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:59:00 +0000

Google in Africa - One of Google’s growing successes is bringing Africa online. “This burgeoning connectivity is making Africa faster, cleverer and more transparent in almost everything that it does.” The implications of this are almost difficult to overstate.

Share the Gospel with Muslims - This article outlines some ways you can share the gospel with Muslims.

Reality TV and Baby Names - Religion and reality TV are apparently the top sources of baby names today.

Time-Lapse of Europe - Here is a time-lapse video from ca 1000 AD until 2003 that shows Europe’s shifting borders, alliances, unions, territories, occupied land, and so on.

Rain for Roots - “Rain For Roots is a collective of songwriters, young mothers and friends who came together around a single vision to make new scripture songs for children. Inspired by traditional folk melodies, this band of four set out to make new, timeless songs about the old gospel Story.” (Use coupon code CHALLIES and you can get an easy 10% off.)

The New Normal - Erik Raymond writes about the new sexual normal.

Patience! patience! you are always in a hurry, but God is not. —C.H. Spurgeon

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4 Reasons People Backslide

Tim — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:59:00 +0000

One of the more interesting sections of dialog in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress has Christian and Hopeful discussing the danger of backsliding, of falling away from what had the appearance of spiritual life and growth. That dialog, drawn from the tenth stage of Christian’s journey, is important and instructive. Bunyan presupposes that such people have been awakened to their need for salvation by some combination of the fear of God and the danger of hell, but eventually fall back or fall away. Here are four reasons that people backslide:

The conscience is awakened, but the mind is not changed. Therefore, when the guilt and fear of God that motivated this awakening of conscience has passed, their desire for salvation cools and they return to their own ways.

Though the consciences of such men are awakened, yet their minds are not changed: therefore, when the power of guilt weareth away, that which provoked them to be religious ceaseth; wherefore they naturally turn to their own course again; even as we see the dog that is sick of what he hath eaten, so long as his sickness prevails, he vomits and casts up all; not that he doth this of a free mind, (if we may say a dog has a mind,) but because it troubleth his stomach: but now, when his sickness is over, and so his stomach eased, his desires being not at all alienated from his vomit, he turns him about, and licks up all; and so it is true which is written, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again.” 2 Pet. 2:22. Thus, I say, being hot for heaven, by virtue only of the sense and fear of the torments of hell, as their sense and fear of damnation chills and cools, so their desires for heaven and salvation cool also. So then it comes to pass, that when their guilt and fear is gone, their desires for heaven and happiness die, and they return to their course again.

They are overwhelmed by fear of man. For a time the fear of damnation overcomes this fear of other people, but as the sense of danger passes, so too does their boldness.

Another reason is, they have slavish fears that do overmaster them: I speak now of the fears that they have of men; “For the fear of man bringeth a snare.” Prov. 29:25. So then, though they seem to be hot for heaven so long as the flames of hell are about their ears, yet, when that terror is a little over, they betake themselves to second thoughts, namely, that it is good to be wise and not to run (for they know not what) the hazard of losing all, or at least of bringing themselves into unavoidable and unnecessary troubles; and so they fall in with the world again.

They are full of pride, unwilling to face the world-ward shame that comes with the gospel.

The shame that attends religion lies also as a block in their way: they are proud and haughty, and religion in their eye is low and contemptible: therefore when they have lost their sense of hell and the wrath to come, they return again to their former course.

And finally, they refuse to face their own guilt and the danger that will come to them if they do not receive forgiveness for wrongs done.

Guilt, and to meditate terror, are grievous to them; they like not to see their misery before they come into it; though perhaps the sight of at it first, if they loved that sight, might make them fly whither the righteous fly and are safe; but because they do, as I hinted before, even shun the thoughts of guilt and terror, therefore, when once they are rid of their awakenings about the terrors and wrath of God, they harden their hearts gladly, and choose such ways as will harden them more and more.

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Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal

Tim — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:59:00 +0000

Some of the best writing, the writing that is most heartfelt and true, finds it source in life’s deepest valleys. This is exactly the case with Michael Kelley’s Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal.

Wednesdays were normal days for the Kelley family until they received the shocking news that their son Joshua, just two years old, had been diagnosed with leukemia. The normal life of this normal family was suddenly turned all around and upside down as their little boy battled for his life. The happy ending is that he won that battle and today is a healthy and growing boy. The journey, the subject of this book, is all the Wednesdays and other days between the diagnosis and the declaration that he is cancer-free at last.

There are books that are good at asking questions and books that are good at answering them but not so many that bring strength to both questions and answers. The joy of Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal is that it does both well, rather a rare combination. While this book has several notable strengths, allow me to point to just a couple of them.

The first has to do with the author’s authenticity. Kelley asks the kinds of questions that so many parents may grapple with as they struggle through the reality of pain and disease and the very real possibility that their child may not live to celebrate his next birthday. This is not an abstract or academic discussion of suffering, but one that is authentic in every detail. Kelley invites the reader into his family’s journey in both its highs and lows. Where he did well, he describes success, and where he did poorly, he describes failure. He humbly allows the reader to see both and through it all labors to point beyond himself.

The second strength has to do with the answers to those questions. The answers Kelley provides are satisfying and helpful because they are consistently rooted in Scripture. He affirms what is true and doesn’t let himself drift into easy answers or rebellion or outright defiance of God. Instead he reminds himself—and reminds the reader—that what God says is true, that even in the darkest valley God is still God and he is still good. He does not describe suffering divorced from theology but suffering deeply rooted within it. This allows the answers to be helpful, so deep and real. It allows this to be the kind of book you will want to read in your own dark valleys or give to those who are in their own.

(You may also want to consider How Long, O Lord by D.A. Carson or Written in Tears by Luke Veldt)

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A La Carte (5/15)

Tim — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:16:32 +0000

Are You For Your Husband? - Rick Thomas lets women into a secret: “Men are needy. Your husband is not as independent and self-reliant as he may want you or others to think. If he can get over himself and this macho image thing he is wrapped up in, he will tell you how much he needs you-how much he desires your affection.”

Systematic Theology - “With the generous permission of Dr. Wayne Grudem, Monergism Books is giving away for free his complete class on systematic theology, a total of 119 class lectures.” All they ask is that you pitch in for the shipping. While you’re at Monergism, it’s never a bad idea to click on their “Sale Items” link to see their deals.

Internal Time - “‘Six hours’ sleep for a man, seven for a woman, and eight for a fool,’ Napoleon famously prescribed. This perceived superiority of those who can get by on less sleep isn’t just something Napoleon shared with dictators like Hitler and Stalin, it’s an enduring attitude woven into our social norms and expectations, from proverbs about early birds to the basic scheduling structure of education and the workplace.”

Halfway Herbert - It’s always nice when a book review can be a teaching tool. That’s the case with this review of Francis Chan’s Halfway Herbert. The reviewer shows how a book can subtly tip away from the gospel and into human effort.

How to Stay Christian in College - J. Budziszewski’s How to Stay Christian at College is on sale in the Kindle edition. It’s been marked down to just $3.99.

News and Algorithms - Can a computer algorithim write a better news article than a human? Perhaps not yet, but some people believe that it won’t be long. At the very least, more and more of our day-to-day news will soon be prepared for us by a computer.

They do not love Christ who love anything more than Christ. —Thomas Brooks

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New & Notable Book Reviews

Tim — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:57:20 +0000

I love writing book reviews and I love reading them. Since I cannot possibly read and review all of the interesting books out there, I publish occasional round-ups of reviews written by other writers. Here are a few notable links I’ve collected over the past few weeks. (Note: I’ve formerly titled this feature “Reviews I Didn’t Write.”)

David: Man of Prayer, Man of War by Walter Chantry. Review by Joshua Harris: “The last book my mother gave me before she passed away was David: Man of Prayer, Man of War by Walter Chantry. It had been a great encouragement to her during a difficult season … . Chantry does an outstanding job sharing the highs and lows of David’s life and drawing from them spiritual guidance and wisdom for Christians. Even if you consider yourself well acquainted with the story of David’s life I think you’ll benefit from it.” (Shop for this title at Amazon)

Herman Bavinck: Pastor, Churchman, Statesman, and Theologian by Ron Gleason (who happens also to be an old family friend and former pastor of mine). Review by Tony Garbarino: “This was a wonderful read that I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of the Reformed Church, the Netherlands, or Herman Bavinck. Gleason is readable, intelligent and witty.” (Shop for this title at Amazon or Westminster Books)

Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books by Tony Reinke. Review by Jesse Johnson: “Lit is one of those books that pays dividends. Reading it will cause you to read other books more frequently. View it as an investment. If you want to read more, read this, and it will help you not only read more, but read better.” (Shop for this title at Amazon or Westminster Books)

Together: Growing Appetites for God by Carrie Ward. Review by Kristen Narara: “In her brand new book Carrie Ward shares a refreshingly honest account of her struggle with discipline and consistent Bible study and how the Lord gave her a new hunger for him amidst the chaos of motherhood.” (Shop for this title at Amazon)

A Week in the Life of Corinth by Ben Witherington, III. Review by Michael Haykin: “When I finished reading this novella by the well-known New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III, the first thought I had was that this would be an ideal text for a course I teach on the Ancient Church in its Graeco-Roman context.” (Shop for this title at Amazon)

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A Father's Delight

Tim — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:10:18 +0000

Many a father has held an infant son in his arms, looked at that child and declared his delight. Yet, sadly, many years later the delight has turned to disgust, the joy to mourning. The son has done something, he has become something, that has driven away his father’s delight. I thought of my own delight in my children as I read God’s Word this morning.

There were two times that God the Father declared that he was well-pleased with the Son. At Jesus’ baptism a voice came from heaven to declare “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Later, as Jesus was transfigured before a few of his disciples, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and that voice spoken again saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

The Father was well-pleased with the Son. He delighted in him. The Father and Son found joy and contentment in another. The Holy God looked to his holy Son and said, “He is my delight.”

But this delight would not last. Not long after that second declaration, after the transfiguration, Jesus hung on a cross and as he hung there he cried out to the Father, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The Father who had once delighted in his Son had now abandoned him and cursed him. What had become of that delight? How could the Son of his delight now be cursed and forsaken? Had Jesus done something to destroy that delight? No. Well, kind of.

Jesus had not sinned against the Father. Rather, he had chosen to take upon himself the sin and curse of the people he loved. He chose to suffer for us. And as he did that, he bore all the sin and shame and curse and was detestable to God. How could God delight in one who held all of my sin, all of your sin, all the sin of everyone who would ever believe in him? Every ugly thought and every evil deed, every lying word and lustful thought and idolatrous desire—it was all laid upon the Son.

In that period of time, those few hours, God turned his back on his Son. Delight was replaced with damnation. God poured out all of his wrath against the Son until that wrath was completely emptied, until all the suffering for that sin was complete. Jesus suffered for that sin and he died for that sin. And in making the full and final satisfaction, he once again became the delight of his Father.

And Jesus did this all so we, too, could be the delight of the Father. He did it so we could become the delight of the Father, trading the ugliness of our sin for the beauty of Jesus’ righteousness.

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A La Carte (5/14)

Tim — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:52:03 +0000

Here are a few notable Kindle deals; all of these books are $3.99 or less: Wordsmithy by Douglas Wilson, a great read for the writer or aspiring writer; Note to Self by Joe Thorn and Christians Get Depressed Too by David Murray. Though I haven’t read it, I trust that Andrew Jackson’s The Mormon Faith of Mitt Romney is worth the read; it’s free today and tomorrow.

Pray With, Pray For - Why should a mother pray for her children with her children? Brian Croft gives an answer.

How Much Water? - How much water is there is, on and above the earth? Here’s an interesting and surprising visualization.

The German Sniper - Here’s a short video that details just a short little scenario from the Second World War.

National Parks by Night - This is a beautiful photo gallery showing America’s national parks by night.

Your Ministry Is Not Your Identity - Paul Tripp: “I was a pastor in the process of destroying his life and ministry, and I didn’t know it. I wish I could say that my pastoral experience is unique, but I have come to learn in travels to hundreds of churches around the world that sadly, it is not.”

Every time you draw your breath, you suck in mercy. —Thomas Watson

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We Are Not God

Tim — Sun, 13 May 2012 11:56:46 +0000

We are not God. That seems obvious when we consider it and yet so often we act as if we actually are God, or gods, at least. John Piper talks about this and many of its implications in one of his meditations from Pierced by the Word. Here is what he says:

We are not God. So by comparison to ultimate, absolute Reality, we are not much. Our existence is secondary and dependent on the absolute Reality of God. He is the only Given in the universe. We are derivative. …We were. He simply is. But we become, “I Am Who I Am” in His name (Exodus 3:14).

Nevertheless, because He made us with the highest creaturely purpose in mind—to enjoy and display the Creator’s glory—we may have a very substantial life that lasts forever. This is why we were made (“All things were created through Him and for Him”, Colossians 1:16). …This is why we eat and drink (“So whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”, 1 Cor. 10:31). …This is why we do good deeds, (“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”, Matthew 5:16).

That is why we exist—to display the glory of God. Human life is all about God. That is the meaning of being human. It is our created nature to make much of God. When we fulfill this reason for being, we have substance. There is weight and significance in our existence. Knowing, enjoying, and thus displaying the glory of God is a sharing in the glory of God. Not that we become God. But something of His greatness and beauty is on us as we realize this purpose for our being—to image-forth His excellence. This is our substance.

Not to fulfill this purpose for human existence is to be a mere shadow of the substance we were created to have. Not to display God’s worth by enjoying Him above all things is to be a mere echo of the music we were created to make.

This is a great tragedy. Humans are not meant to be mere shadows and echoes. We were to have God-like substance and make God-like music and have God-like impact. That is what it means to be created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). But when humans forsake their Maker and love other things more, they become like the things they love—small, insignificant, weightless, inconsequential, and God-diminishing.

Listen to the way the Psalmist put it: “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes but they do not see; they have ears but they do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them” (Ps. 135:15-18: see also 115:4-8).

Think and tremble. You become like the man-made things that you trust: mute, blind, deaf. This is a shadow existence. It is an echo of what you were meant to be. It is an empty mime on the stage of history with much movement and no meaning.

Dear reader, be not shadows and echoes. Break free from the epidemic of the manward spirit of our age. Set your face like flint to see and know and enjoy and live in light of the Lord. “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:5). In His light you will see Him and all things as they truly are. You will wake up from the slumbers of shadowland existence. You will crave and find substance. You will make God-like music with your life. Death will dispatch you to paradise. And what you leave behind will not be a mere shadow or echo, but a tribute on earth, written in heaven, to the triumphant grace of God.

(HT)

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Weekend A La Carte (5/12)

Tim — Sat, 12 May 2012 14:30:24 +0000

The Hunger Games - Mark Meynell introduces an interesting two-part review of The Hunger Games. “What got me really fired up about the books was the surprise of how political they are. There are cultural and mythological references aplenty, and Suzanne Collins clearly draws on a wealth of dystopia writing. But it was thinking about that fact that reminded me of Neil Postman’s great opening discussion in his seminal book Amusing Ourselves To Death…”

Seven Key Ideas from C.S. Lewis - Dr. Art Lindsley: “I have heard it said that many well-known thinkers have only two or three key ideas that they develop from various angles throughout their lives. It might be asked: What are C.S. Lewis’s key ideas? I have chosen seven to summarize in this essay.”

What Is Church Membership? - Jonathan Leeman offers up a short and helpful definition of church membership. “Church membership is a formal relationship between a local church and a Christian characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.”

Hindus Want Yoga Back - “The Hindu American Foundation launched the ‘Take Back Yoga’ campaign not to convert Westerners to Hinduism or urge them to cease practicing it altogether, but to remind people that yoga is rooted in Hindu philosophy.”

A Baby Born Blind - “People ask her why she didn’t choose to abort her boy. They stare at both of them. They talk behind their back. But none of that matters because this mother knows that her boy is beautiful just the way he is.” You’ll enjoy this video!

It Makes a Lot of Sense - Michael Horton looks at the prevailing philosophy today and says that same-sex marriage makes a lot of sense.

The more purely God’s word is preached, the more deeply it pierces and the more kindly it works. —William Gouge

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