Anyone who thinks that the world is basically good, and most people are as well, has placed themselves in a tough position. The tragic events on the campus of Virginia Tech were a horrendous evil. There is really no reasonable answer to the question of "why". Why did such a thing happen? We cannot climb into the mind of the killer.
I was reminded of the disciples when they come to Jesus and ask Him to teach them how to pray. Everyone knows the Lord's prayer, but we don't often enough dig deep into what Jesus was saying and teaching. One line of that prayer is particularly applicable in light of this tragedy.
Jesus said we are to pray to the Holy Father to "deliver us from evil". There is some textual evidence that this could be read, "deliver us from the evil ONE" - referring to Satan. But, the point here is the same. The world in which we live contains evil. And we cannot deliver ourselves out of it's grip. If we could, then we would not need to pray to the Holy Father to deliver us from it.
We need deliverance from evil. And this is not just deliverance from evil influences apart from us. We need to be delivered from our own evil.
I have never killed anyone, but according to Jesus I am a murderer. He says that if you hate someone then you have committed murder in your heart. I am sure that at some point in my life I have fallen into that category.
I am a great person, compared to the killer at Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, I am not compared to Him. I am compared to Holy God and His righteous standards. To these I don't measure up. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23
Salvation is the gift of God's grace. It is God's delivering me from my own evil, and it is a work that could only be accomplished through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Final deliverance comes also as a gift of God's grace. One day, sooner rather than later, the Righteous Judge will return. When Jesus Christ comes again, those who are found truly in Him will receive the final gift of ultimate deliverance from all evil.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match
Paul writes in Romans 7:14-20
"14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. "
This is a very familiar struggle for me. I find comfort that such a man as Paul struggles with some of the same things I do. I know the things I ought to do in Christ, but I don't want to. I want to want to(do you follow that?)
I found this great article on this subject by John Piper that is below. Now, I don't agree with all that Piper believes and says on many subjects, but this article is good.
When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match
By John Piper October 29, 1998
If your "want to" does not conform to God's "ought to," what can you do to have peace? I see at least five possible strategies.
1. You can avoid thinking about the "ought to." This is the most common strategy in the world. Most people simply do not devote energy to pondering what they should be doing that they are not doing. It's easier to just keep the radio on.
2. You can reinterpret the "ought to" so that it sounds just like your "want to." This is a little more sophisticated and so not as common. It usually takes a college education to do this with credibility, and a seminary degree to do it with finesse.
3. You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" even though you don't have the heart of the "want to." This generally looks pretty good, and is often mistaken as virtue, even by those who do it. In fact, there is a whole worldview that says doing "ought to's" without "want to" is the essence of virtue. The problem with this is that Paul said, "God loves a cheerful giver," which puts the merely "ought-to givers" in a precarious position.
4. You can feel proper remorse that the "want to" is very small and weak - like a mustard seed - and then, if it lies within you, do the "ought to" by the exertion of will, while repenting that the "want to" is weak, and praying that the "want to" will soon be restored. Perhaps it will even be restored in doing the "ought to." This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy hides one of the two contradictory impulses. Virtue confesses them both in the hope of grace.
5. You can seek, by the means of grace, to have God give the "want to" so that when the time comes to do the "ought to," you will "want to." Ultimately, the "want to" is a gift of God. "The mind of the flesh is hostile to God . . . it is not able to submit to the law of God" (Romans 8:7). "The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God . . . because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). "Perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25).
The Biblical doctrine of original sin boils down to this (to borrow from St. Augustine): We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like. "Through the one man's disobedience [Adam] the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). This is who we are. And yet we know from our own soul and from the Bible that we are accountable for the corruption of our bad "want to's." Indeed, the better you become, the more you feel ashamed of being bad and not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, "The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong: but the saint, endowed with a superior refinement of moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong" (First Things, #87, Nov. 1998, p. 24). God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to" - "Incline my heart to Your testimonies" (Psalm 119:36). He has promised to do it: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes" (Ezekiel 36:27). This is the new covenant bought by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 8:8-13; 9:15).
Looking to Jesus, my life,
Pastor John
Oh Lord, give me the want to, the desire and the passion to seek and love you with all of my heart, soul, strength and mind.
Scott
"14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. "
This is a very familiar struggle for me. I find comfort that such a man as Paul struggles with some of the same things I do. I know the things I ought to do in Christ, but I don't want to. I want to want to(do you follow that?)
I found this great article on this subject by John Piper that is below. Now, I don't agree with all that Piper believes and says on many subjects, but this article is good.
When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match
By John Piper October 29, 1998
If your "want to" does not conform to God's "ought to," what can you do to have peace? I see at least five possible strategies.
1. You can avoid thinking about the "ought to." This is the most common strategy in the world. Most people simply do not devote energy to pondering what they should be doing that they are not doing. It's easier to just keep the radio on.
2. You can reinterpret the "ought to" so that it sounds just like your "want to." This is a little more sophisticated and so not as common. It usually takes a college education to do this with credibility, and a seminary degree to do it with finesse.
3. You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" even though you don't have the heart of the "want to." This generally looks pretty good, and is often mistaken as virtue, even by those who do it. In fact, there is a whole worldview that says doing "ought to's" without "want to" is the essence of virtue. The problem with this is that Paul said, "God loves a cheerful giver," which puts the merely "ought-to givers" in a precarious position.
4. You can feel proper remorse that the "want to" is very small and weak - like a mustard seed - and then, if it lies within you, do the "ought to" by the exertion of will, while repenting that the "want to" is weak, and praying that the "want to" will soon be restored. Perhaps it will even be restored in doing the "ought to." This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy hides one of the two contradictory impulses. Virtue confesses them both in the hope of grace.
5. You can seek, by the means of grace, to have God give the "want to" so that when the time comes to do the "ought to," you will "want to." Ultimately, the "want to" is a gift of God. "The mind of the flesh is hostile to God . . . it is not able to submit to the law of God" (Romans 8:7). "The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God . . . because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). "Perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25).
The Biblical doctrine of original sin boils down to this (to borrow from St. Augustine): We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like. "Through the one man's disobedience [Adam] the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). This is who we are. And yet we know from our own soul and from the Bible that we are accountable for the corruption of our bad "want to's." Indeed, the better you become, the more you feel ashamed of being bad and not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, "The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong: but the saint, endowed with a superior refinement of moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong" (First Things, #87, Nov. 1998, p. 24). God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to" - "Incline my heart to Your testimonies" (Psalm 119:36). He has promised to do it: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes" (Ezekiel 36:27). This is the new covenant bought by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 8:8-13; 9:15).
Looking to Jesus, my life,
Pastor John
Oh Lord, give me the want to, the desire and the passion to seek and love you with all of my heart, soul, strength and mind.
Scott
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Resurrection Apology
Easter 2007 - Christ Is Risen!
The following is an exerpt from Josh McDowell's book The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (pages 208-209)
Wilbur M Smith, noted scholar and teacher says, "No weapon has ever been forged, and ...none ever will be, to destroy rational confidence in the historical records of this epochal and predicted event. The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world upside down in the first century, that lifted Christianity preeminently above Judaism and the pagan religions of the Mediterranean world. If this goes, so must almost everything else that is vital and unique in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: 'If Christ be not risen, then your faith vain'" (1 Cor. 15:17)
Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli describe the incredible impact of the resurrection:
The resurrection is of crucial practical importance because it completes our salvation. Jesus came to save us from sin and its consequences, death.(Rom. 6:23) The resurrection also sharply distinguishes Jesus from all other religious founders. The bones of Abraham and Muhammed and Buddha and Confucious and Lao-Tzu and Zoroaster are still here on earth. Jesus' tomb is empty.
The existential consequences of the resurrection are incomparable. It is the concrete, factual, empirical proof that: life has hope and meaning, "love is stronger than death"; goodness and power are ultimately allies, not enemies; life wins in the end; God has touched us right here where we are and has defeated our last enemy; we are not cosmic orphans, as our modern secular worldview would make us. And these existential consequences of the resurrection can be seen by comparing the disciples before and after. Before, they ran away, denied their Master and huddled behind locked doors in fear and confusion. After, they were transformed from scared rabbits into confident saints, world-changing missionaries, courageous martyrs and joy-filled ambassadors for Christ.
Wilbur Smith says,
But when He said that He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples--unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that.
As G. B. Hardy has said, "Here is the complete record:
Confucious' tomb: occupied
Buddha's tomb: occupied
Mohammed's tomb: occupied
Jesus' tomb: EMPTY
The verdict is in. The decision is clear. The evidence speaks for itself. It says very clearly:
CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!
The following is an exerpt from Josh McDowell's book The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict (pages 208-209)
Wilbur M Smith, noted scholar and teacher says, "No weapon has ever been forged, and ...none ever will be, to destroy rational confidence in the historical records of this epochal and predicted event. The resurrection of Christ is the very citadel of the Christian faith. This is the doctrine that turned the world upside down in the first century, that lifted Christianity preeminently above Judaism and the pagan religions of the Mediterranean world. If this goes, so must almost everything else that is vital and unique in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ: 'If Christ be not risen, then your faith vain'" (1 Cor. 15:17)
Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli describe the incredible impact of the resurrection:
The resurrection is of crucial practical importance because it completes our salvation. Jesus came to save us from sin and its consequences, death.(Rom. 6:23) The resurrection also sharply distinguishes Jesus from all other religious founders. The bones of Abraham and Muhammed and Buddha and Confucious and Lao-Tzu and Zoroaster are still here on earth. Jesus' tomb is empty.
The existential consequences of the resurrection are incomparable. It is the concrete, factual, empirical proof that: life has hope and meaning, "love is stronger than death"; goodness and power are ultimately allies, not enemies; life wins in the end; God has touched us right here where we are and has defeated our last enemy; we are not cosmic orphans, as our modern secular worldview would make us. And these existential consequences of the resurrection can be seen by comparing the disciples before and after. Before, they ran away, denied their Master and huddled behind locked doors in fear and confusion. After, they were transformed from scared rabbits into confident saints, world-changing missionaries, courageous martyrs and joy-filled ambassadors for Christ.
Wilbur Smith says,
But when He said that He himself would rise again from the dead, the third day after He was crucified, He said something that only a fool would dare say, if he expected longer the devotion of any disciples--unless He was sure He was going to rise. No founder of any world religion known to men ever dared say a thing like that.
As G. B. Hardy has said, "Here is the complete record:
Confucious' tomb: occupied
Buddha's tomb: occupied
Mohammed's tomb: occupied
Jesus' tomb: EMPTY
The verdict is in. The decision is clear. The evidence speaks for itself. It says very clearly:
CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
His Blood Be On Us And Our Children
Matthew 27:24-26
24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mt 27:24). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Leading up to each Easter Sunday I like to read all four of the gospel accounts of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It is so filled with the details of my Lord's will, love, power, mercy, compassion, holiness, justice, and grace -- it staggers me.
In Matthew 27:24-26 we have one of the most ironic statements in all of scripture. It is a pivotal point leading up to the crucifixion. Pilate is doing everything he can do to try and release Jesus. He doesn't see any reason to have him killed. But, this angry mob of people is out for Jesus' blood, and Pilate is a politician. He won't let righteousness come before his political position. The Jewish religious authorities know that they have Pilate over the proverbial "barrel".
So, Pilate caves in. He is the most powerful man in town, and yet what is on display is his incredible weakness. In fact, what scripture clearly shows is that the least likely person in the entire account is the one with the most power - Jesus. He is arrested, bound, and at the hands of angry men who have his life in their hands -- or do they? No, scripture makes it clear- Jesus is in complete control of this situation. It is His will, His purpose, His power that is at work.
Back to the irony of the crowd...In an act of defiance before this crowd, Pilate brings out a basin of water and washes his hands. He tells the crowd, that they will be held accountable for the death of this innocent man, not him. The crowd responds to Pilate's defiant act of hand washing and declare, "Let his blood be on us and our children!"
You can't hear the tone in that passage, but the language is clear. This is a statement of utter arrogance and derision. But, the content is exactly what Jesus was coming to do!
I always seem to pause at this statement, because I too want to say it. But not in derision, as a humble plea.
This is exactly why Jesus came. This is precisely what He was about to do. Shed his blood for me and my children. He was going to bleed for you and I. For our sins He was going to suffer and die.
Thank You Jesus!
Do you realize how hopeless we would be without the shed blood of Jesus Christ?! It is hard to even describe. We take our sin too lightly to fully appreciate the sacrifice Christ made. He did not take our sin lightly. He freely gave His blood and His life to pay the penalty of my sin.
My prayer is that the Lord would continue to teach me and open my eyes to the depths of my sin and the magnitude of His love displayed on that cross. My prayer is that His blood would be on me and my children. That I would live a life that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected!
24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Mt 27:24). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
Leading up to each Easter Sunday I like to read all four of the gospel accounts of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It is so filled with the details of my Lord's will, love, power, mercy, compassion, holiness, justice, and grace -- it staggers me.
In Matthew 27:24-26 we have one of the most ironic statements in all of scripture. It is a pivotal point leading up to the crucifixion. Pilate is doing everything he can do to try and release Jesus. He doesn't see any reason to have him killed. But, this angry mob of people is out for Jesus' blood, and Pilate is a politician. He won't let righteousness come before his political position. The Jewish religious authorities know that they have Pilate over the proverbial "barrel".
So, Pilate caves in. He is the most powerful man in town, and yet what is on display is his incredible weakness. In fact, what scripture clearly shows is that the least likely person in the entire account is the one with the most power - Jesus. He is arrested, bound, and at the hands of angry men who have his life in their hands -- or do they? No, scripture makes it clear- Jesus is in complete control of this situation. It is His will, His purpose, His power that is at work.
Back to the irony of the crowd...In an act of defiance before this crowd, Pilate brings out a basin of water and washes his hands. He tells the crowd, that they will be held accountable for the death of this innocent man, not him. The crowd responds to Pilate's defiant act of hand washing and declare, "Let his blood be on us and our children!"
You can't hear the tone in that passage, but the language is clear. This is a statement of utter arrogance and derision. But, the content is exactly what Jesus was coming to do!
I always seem to pause at this statement, because I too want to say it. But not in derision, as a humble plea.
This is exactly why Jesus came. This is precisely what He was about to do. Shed his blood for me and my children. He was going to bleed for you and I. For our sins He was going to suffer and die.
Thank You Jesus!
Do you realize how hopeless we would be without the shed blood of Jesus Christ?! It is hard to even describe. We take our sin too lightly to fully appreciate the sacrifice Christ made. He did not take our sin lightly. He freely gave His blood and His life to pay the penalty of my sin.
My prayer is that the Lord would continue to teach me and open my eyes to the depths of my sin and the magnitude of His love displayed on that cross. My prayer is that His blood would be on me and my children. That I would live a life that honors and glorifies Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected!
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