God's sovereignty and Middle-earth

I'm a bit of a Lord of the Rings fan. The trilogy is my favorite movie(s), I've read the books (even better than the movie), and, thanks to Jeff Hoenshell, I've got the collectible PEZ dispensers. If find Tolkien's writing exciting and moving, and that led me to read The Simarillion this Summer. It's been called by many the 'bible' of Middle-earth, as it recounts the creation and early events of Tolkien's imaginary world.One thing you have to keep in your mind when you Tolkien is that his books are not an allegory for Christianity--in fact, Tolkien was not well pleased with such writing. He did, however, say that his writing was Christian. By that I think Tolkien means to say that much of the truths reflected in his writing parallel the truths of Christianity. I found one such truth--a glorious truth--in the first chapters of The Simarillion. Let me set up the quote for you.The Simarillion begins with a creation narrative that uses song to capture what's being done. Tolkien's God figure, named Iluvitar, begins singing a song, called a theme, and tells his first created beings to make harmony with it. All these beings do so gladly, but for one. Melkor, the brightest, best and mightiest of those created, desired to sing his own song for his own glory and dominion. It's hard not to think of Satan when you read this chapter. Satan, at one point a glorious angel created by God, in time wanted to sing his own song for his own glory. And so he rebelled, leading others to follow. Tolkien's Melkor character does the same thing, and uses all his might to weave his own song of destruction and mistrust into the One theme. In the midst of this turmoil Tolkien's God character stands us and says:

And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.

I smiled when I read that. Not for love of the story, but for love of the truth it parallels. There are many 'why' questions in the Bible. Why do the wicked prosper, why do the righteous die, why does the work of evil prosper, why hasn't God stopped all this. I could go on, but all these questions and more have filled your mind at one point in your life. You know them. And the great truth that Tolkien parallels is that no work of man or Satan, no matter how evil it may be, alters the plan, the music of God. But more that than, in the great power and sovereignty of God, our King uses the evil works of Satan and humanity to serve his purpose. In the end, whether they like it or not, the wicked and their works are made to serve the one glorious song of God.There are numerous historical examples of this. The fall of Adam, the tower of Babel, Joseph's slavery, even Judas Iscariot. (A great book on this is John Piper's short book, Spectacular Sins and their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ.) All these rebellious events God has made to serve his plan, his song. The greatest historical example of this is the death of Christ. Judas, Herod, and Satan did not act to praise God. The acted in selfishness, pride, envy, and lust. And yet, our God is big enough that he bent their will and their actions to serve his plan. Now that's sovereignty! And in that truth is a cavern of comfort that we can and should mine all the days of our life. Oh, the joy that God works all things the council of his will, for the glory of Christ and the joy of his people!

What we're teaching this Summer

In the next few weeks we'll wrap up 1 John. As always, we like to give you a heads up on what's coming next. Before I do that let me remind you of the two primary reasons I tell you what our future teaching plans are. First, we want you (as an individual) studying what we (as a church) will study before we get there. We want you reading, praying, and thinking through books of the Bible before we teach them. I believe that our study of God's word will be richer and have far greater impact if we will do this. Second, we want to give you the opportunity to ask questions before we get to those verses that make you scratch your head. If you've got a question about a passage of Scripture chances are you're not alone. If you ask your questions beforehand it will help your pastors think through the text and work through application, and we can answer those questions in our sermons. So, with that said, here's our next two sermon series.Habakkuk, at 3 chapters long, is one of the shorter minor prophets. Habakkuk is not as well know as other prophets, like Isaiah or Jonah, but his sort message packs a powerful punch. Habakkuk asks God some of the most difficult questions any Christian will ever ask. The book of Habakkuk is comprised of Habakkuk's two complaints, God's two answers, and Habakkuk's final prayer of trust and worship. As you're reading, look for faith, God's sovereignty over history, and righteous judgement.After Habakkuk we're doing a 4 week study we're calling Human. There's a lot we could cover, but we're going to focus in on how the redemption of Christ includes the whole human. Too often Christian thinking succumbs to something called platonic dualism (the idea that the physical and non-physical are entirely separate things, and often the thought that the 'spiritual' is better). Biblical redemption, however, includes the whole human--physical and spiritual. We'll focus in on what the work of Christ means for our mind, body, and soul. Some good questions to think through before we start would be: how does redemption change my thinking?, what does the work of Christ mean for my physical body?, how does the cross change my 'inner man' or soul?I'm looking forward to seeing what Scripture has to teach us in the next few months. And remember, if you have any questions make sure you don't keep them to yourself! Post them on this blog, send me and email, or tell one of your pastors Sunday.

Questions: Can I lose my salvation? Is salvation a 'one moment' thing?

I'm always happy to answer questions about a sermon I preach. In fact, I think it's a good sign when people ask questions. Questions show that you are not just listening, but listening critically. You should never automatically believe what someone says about the Bible, no matter how trustworthy a person he or she is. For those two reasons I'm happy to encourage you to ask questions as well as answer two question that came up after Sunday's Sermon.Both questions stem from our conversation that only those who abide in the teaching of Jesus have eternal life. Furthermore, one of the way's abiding in the teaching of Jesus is proven in ones life is through participation in the Christian community. Like I said Sunday, willingly cut yourself off from the Christian community and you have no reason to think you have eternal life. You can't love and follow Jesus and not love the brothers, the church. Here are the questions that arose from Sunday's message.1) Am I saying you can lose your salvation? No, I do not believe that an individual can be saved and then lose that salvation. I'm not going to argue for the doctrine of eternal security here (that's a post for our 'what we believe series'), but I do want to make it clear that I do not believe John is teaching that you can lose your salvation. Remember, John is writing that we might know we have eternal life. To make that argument John puts our attention on the present. What are you doing now? Are you currently living out the practical implications of Jesus' message--like being a part of a Christian community? For John, solid confidence in eternal life is not found by appealing to a decision made or prayer in the past. For certain, past decisions and prayers are important, but the way you know you believe the message of Jesus is to consider how it impacts your life. That's why John says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us" 1 John 2:19. Those who went out did not lose their salvation. They never believed, and their lack of believe was demonstrated by their leaving the Christian community. One reason this is hard to hear is because all of us know people whom we love dearly that have publicly confessed belief in Jesus but have since walked away from the church. We want to believe they have eternal life. But according to John, willingly leaving the church strips ones confidence that they have eternal life. It is evidence that you have not believed the message of Jesus and so never had eternal life.2) Does salvation happen in a single moment? This is a separate but related question. One reason we have difficulty following John's argument is because we have misunderstood the totality of salvation. For many Christians salvation is something that happened, a moment in their past when they were saved. They heard the gospel, believed the message of Jesus, and were saved. Now, there's something right and wrong in that line of thinking. It is true that if you believe the message of Jesus your sins are forgiven and you have new and eternal life. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). Salvation, however is not a simplistic one moment thing. There are several biblical words and ideas that represent salvation: conversion (Acts 15:3), regeneration (Titus 3:5), justification (Romans 5:18), adoption (Romans 8:15, 8:23), sanctification (Romans 6:22), perseverance (Mat. 24:13), glorification (Romans 8:30). Some of those things have already happened; namely, conversion, regeneration, actual adoption, and justification. Two, sanctification and perseverance, are ongoing in the life of a believer. And two, the fulfillment of adoption and glorification, are yet to happen. Salvation then is much bigger than a single moment in our life. Put your faith in Jesus and you were saved, are being saved, and will be saved. Your salvation began in the past, but it will not be completed until Christ returns, the dead in Christ are raised, and the Kingdom of God is fully consummated in the new heavens and new earth. And the great truth is that the God who began the good work of salvation in you will bring it to completion. You can see then why John puts emphasis on the present, which includes sanctification and perseverance--currently the most visible works of God's salvation in our life. If you are not continuing in your belief in Jesus (perseverance) or growing in holiness (sanctification) you have no reason to think God ever began the great work of salvation in your life.

*If you have questions about any of our Sermons you can email us, ask us after the sermon, or write your question on the guest info portion of the bulletin and drop it in the offering plate.

Christianity and Human Sexuality (or orthodox thoughts on sexuality)

I'm not a politician. To be honest, I personally don't find the idea of being a politician pleasant in any way! I'm neither a Republican nor Democrat. I have no interest in building up a political party. I'm not saying it's wrong to be a politician or member of a political party, and I'm certainly not trying to give the impression that it's wrong to vote. I merely begin this way because I don't want you to think what I'm writing is politically motivated. What I am is a disciple of Jesus Christ. What I am interested in is theology. What I am for is the Kingdom of God. What I'm going to write goes against the theology of some politicians, but don't draw the wrong conclusions from the correlation. I'm writing not because politicians have spoken, but because theology has been spoken.

The word 'christian' is not a policed term. You don't have to sign documents, go through a special class or receive a certificate to call yourself a christian. And because of that, two people with completely differing beliefs can and do call themselves christian. Christianity, however, is not a new phenomena. It has existed for thousands of years, and christians throughout the centuries have recorded their beliefs. What's amazing is that a great amount of what has been historically recorded about christian belief is in agreement. The core doctrines (beliefs) that compose Christianity enjoy a large degree of historical agreement. Those beliefs make up what can be called 'orthodox Christianity' (or the teachings the historical church has considered non-heritical). It's incredibly important to consider what christians over the past 2,000 years have believed. Each of us tends to interpret Scripture in light of our cultural context, personal experiences, and education. When we look at a belief historically, however, we can see the conclusions drawn by those outside our culture, context, and education. I bring this up because I'm well aware that the view of human sexuality I'm about to espouse will be labeled un-christian by some who consider themselves christians. You can read this blog and search for an opposing christian view and find one with no trouble. What you can't find, however, is an opposing orthodox Christian view. With that in mind, here's a brief biblical, orthodox view of human sexuality in seven points.

1) God created the universe with purpose and design that extends to every molecule in existence. In Christianity nothing came into existence randomly or by chance. The universe has design and purpose.

2) God has the right to establish how his creation should work. Since God created everything he alone has the ability and right to tell us how things are supposed to work.

3) God's creative purposes include human sexuality. Sex is not an accidental byproduct of creation. God could have created a way for human procreation that did not include sex. He could have made a help-mate for Adam that did not include the possibility of sex. But he didn't! God made man and woman and included sexuality as a part of their design.

4) God designed that sex exist only in a lifelong marriage consisting of a man and a woman. God did not design sex as an extramarital activity. God did not design sex to take place within a larger-than-two group of people. God did not design sex as an action between two women or two men. God designed sex as an act to be enjoyed by a man and woman in a lifelong monogamous marriage. Jesus affirmed this framework of marriage, and so sex, in Matthew 19.

5) God's design of marriage is not about rights or desires. Marriage, and all it entails, was designed as a picture of Jesus Christ and the Church. Marriage and sex are bigger than the thoughts and desires of two people. Both, as pictures of a larger truth, communicate something about God (see Ephesians 5). As such, God has always placed a high priority on marriage and sex.

6) Human's rebelled and continue to rebel against God. As a result we have wrong (sinful) desires and wrong thinking about both sex and marriage. By nature we do not want to submit to God's design. Like Adam, our desire is to rule our own life, determining what is good and evil. As a result, apart form the saving work of Christ, we are unable to fully see and enjoy God's good design in any area, including sex.

7) God loves you and want's to redeem / save every human on the planet from our rebellion. None of us, christian's included, gets anything completely right (including sexuality). So God invites us to repent, confess our sins, put our faith in Jesus and be saved. He invites us to have our minds renewed through the power of his Spirit and Word. If we will believe in Jesus God can and does forgive us and redeem us.

These seven points scratch the surface of orthodox Christian teaching on human sexuality. What impact, then, does this have on politics and your vote? I don't care to argue that here (or in any upcoming blog). What I do care about is good Christian theology. I care about good theology not because I want to be right, but because I care about the glory of God and the salvation of souls. I'm not arguing here for laws or votes. I'm arguing for a clear portrayal of God's design as it is revealed in the person and work of Jesus and the inspired Word of God. To paint another picture of human sexuality and call it Christian is biblical and historically disingenuous. You may not agree with what I have written about sexuality. You can disagree. And I cannot and should not try to make you believe in the orthodox Christian view of sexuality. What I should do, as a christian, is clearly proclaim what Christianity says. And know that I don't write with anger, swinging around Christian theology like a baseball bat! I love what I believe, and so I write it with joy and hope that every man and woman will know and delight in Jesus Christ.