How Big Is Your God?

Throughout life, you will likely find yourself in situations in which you are asked to compromise.  Compromise, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing.  For example, in ministry, we cannot be so stubborn as to not be willing to work with others and find solutions that are conciliatory to keeping peace in a congregation of believers.  In ministry, an unwillingness to compromise can never be based on pride (Prov 11:12), hardness of heart (Zech 7:11,12), arrogance (Prov 18:12), or haughtiness (Prov 16:18).  In many cases, compromise can be a very good thing.  At Ephesians Chapter 4, Paul instructs us to walk worthy of the calling we have received, "with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." (Eph 4:2,3).  Therefore, according to the intent and purpose of preserving unity through the bond of peace, God calls us to be willing to make certain necessary compromises.

What God will never call us to do however, is to be willing to compromise His word.  God will never call us to neuter the convicting, soul-stirring effect of the truth of His word.  Should you ever find yourself in a situation in which you are asked to compromise your wording because the term for what you are preaching is controversial, you would do well to remember that is exactly what Jesus experienced. In many ways, over the course of the last 2000 years, the religious establishment hasn't changed much.  Jesus' teaching was doctrinally sound, but what He was preaching was very controversial to the accepted religious establishment of His day.  In fact, Jesus was so controversial, that they crucified Him for it.  If what you are preaching is doctrinally sound, then there is no reason to compromise your wording.  In the words of Charles Spurgeon, "O fools, and slow of heart! Open that door! Let the lord of the forest come forth free. Who will dare to encounter him? What does he want with your guardian care? Let the pure gospel go forth in all its lion-like majesty, and it will soon clear its own way and ease itself of its adversaries."

We tend towards manufacturing our churches to seem as inviting as possible, whether that means a never-ending building fund or the expense of compromising our message for the sake of appeal.  We want to make sure that we make no offensive posturing, that we exude no potential controversy, lest we ward off any potential visitor, and we want a service that is as streamlined and predictable as possible.  We want to be seeker-sensitive, and the more sensitive we are to their sensitivities, the greater the chance we'll have at drawing them in. 

We tend to be drawn more towards catering to the crowd, rather than catering to God, Who is the only One Who draws men.  But we have this whole notion that it is us-- our ideas, our abilities, our foresight, our manufactured appeal, our streamlined application of the church program-- who draws people to Christ.  We've built a whole generation of churches based on the notion of "entrepreneurship"-- good public relations insight, risk vs. reward, productive business models, congregational development strategies, rousing worship, emotionally engaging messages-- all of which, being the driving force behind our notion of a "successful" ministry.  In so doing, we have robbed the Holy Spirit of His work.  Sure, we are willing to acknowledge when God has "blessed our ministry", we thank God for blessing "our efforts", but who is really receiving the glory here?  What would happen if God stripped a church of everything, back down to the foundations of Spirit and Grace, where all the work that was done by that church, in that church and through that church could only be attributed to God and God alone, rather than the notion of God merely blessing our methodology?  Most churches today have lost such a sense of total abandonment towards God, which is why most churches today have been abandoned by the miracle-working presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

We follow a castrated version of Christianity.  We have a "form of godliness, but deny its power." (2 Tim 3:5).  No longer should we practice an empty religion in a church whose congregation has been built on the backs of their own effort.  It is far better to be in a congregation of a few fellow believers who have a whole-heart commitment to God, who are utterly dependent upon God at every turn, who have counted the cost to follow Christ and are willing to forsake this world and everything in it, and who have been supernaturally led together as a congregation by the Holy Spirit to truly walk-out what it means to be the Body of Christ-- for better or for worse.  We have to break free from the notion that it is we who determine what church we go to, and come to the realization that a church that is truly full of the Holy Spirit, is one which God has arranged by divine providence.  The problem with the church today, is that we have lost faith in a God that big.

A.W. Tozer sums up this problem as such:

"Right now, we are in an age of religious complexity.  The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us.  In its stead, are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention, but can never satisfy the longings of the heart.  The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods, all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all."

Scripture is very clear as to Who draws people to God: "No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me." (John 6:44,45).  It is God Who prepares the soil of a person's heart and mind to receive the truth of His message.  God speaks, and we hear, learn and follow.  God draws, we surrender.  This is God's business model.  Which means, if it is God Who is drawing someone to salvation and/or church fellowship, then there is nothing that will keep them from it.  Not even a controversy worth being crucified for.

"My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom--but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing." (1 Cor 2:4-6).

Words Of Eternal Life

In my last blog post, I mentioned that a friend sent me a message on Facebook asking me about my thoughts in regard to a portion of a recent interview between Timothy Keller and a self-proclaimed doubting Christian, Nicholas Kristof, entitled, "Am I A Christian, Pastor Timothy Keller?"  At which point, I then went off on a tangent that turned into an entirely new blog post than the one I originally intended.  My original intent was to share my response to the portion of the interview of which my friend asked for my thoughts.  The portion of the interview of which my friend asked my thoughts, was written about in a commentary article, based on the original interview referenced and linked above, which accuses Keller of making Jesus' teachings "ethical teachings" of secondary importance to belief in His death and resurrection. 

My response to the article and my friend's question, "Do you think there is a difference or order of importance between the resurrection and Jesus' teachings?" is as follows:

Jesus' death and the reception and application of His teachings are mutually inclusive. Without His death, the reception and application of His teachings would never have brought us eternal life. By the same token, without His teachings, His death would have only opened the door to eternal life because it is our faith in, and the application of, His teachings which lead us through it unto eternal life. 

Jesus said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit and they are life." (John 6:63). When Jesus was being examined under Pilate and Pilate asked Him if He was a king, Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king....For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice." (John 18:37). Jesus said His words are "spirit and life" and that the reason He came into the world was to "testify to the truth." We must receive those words by faith and surrender to their application to our lives, to have eternal life. Jesus said that we must remain in Him to have eternal life, and to remain in Him, we must apply His words to our life in obedience (John 14:15,21,23; John 15:5-7,10; 1 John 2:3; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6). Which is not to say that we are saved by our own works, but we are saved by grace through our faith in, and submission to, what Christ accomplished. Salvation is by grace, but the onus of daily surrender to that grace to be worked out in our lives, falls upon us.  And it is His Spirit working within us, that compels us to such a surrender.

Having said that, we would not have the possibility of eternal life unless Christ succeeded in His sacrificial death. Jesus also said the reason He came was, "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Matt 20:28). Thus, He came to "testify to the truth" with His words that are "spirit and life" for the purpose of "giving His life as a ransom for many." His words profit us nothing, lest they are accompanied by His death which opens the door to their eternal life-giving power. Jesus' death canceled out the power of death and sin over every human being that would receive His words and apply them to their life. He holds the keys to death and hell, "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades." (Rev 1:18). And because of that victorious death, everything in existence has been subjected to His authority, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.'" (Matt 28:18).

Therefore, I believe that is the thrust of Keller's argument, which is to say, that although Jesus' teachings and His death are mutually inclusive and equally important, His death and resurrection trumps everything because without it, His teachings would be just that: ethical teachings that would simply be good works in a person's life. It is only because of the death and resurrection of Christ, that His words transform our spirit and lead us to eternal life, "So Jesus asked the Twelve, 'Do you want to leave too?' Simon Peter replied, 'Lord, to Whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.'" (John 6:67,68).

"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." (John 15:6,7)

"So He said to the Jews who had believed in Him, 'If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples." (John 8:31)

"Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son." (2 John 1:9)

"As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If it does, you will also remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life." (1 John 2:24,25)

"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23)

"Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us." (1 John 3:24)

Am I A Christian?

A friend sent me a message on Facebook the other day, asking me about my thoughts in regard to a portion of a recent interview between Timothy Keller and a self-proclaimed doubting Christian, Nicholas Kristof, entitled, "Am I A Christian, Pastor Timothy Keller?"  The gist of Kristof's argument was, is it necessary for a Christian to believe the basic tenets of the Christian faith to be a Christian?  That this is deemed a valid question, seems absurd to me.  However, as absurd of a question as this may sound on the surface, I can see the value in its debate, especially in our current age of "cafeteria style" Christianity.

Questioning whether or not you have to believe the basic tenets of Christianity to be a Christian, is truly absurd, but questioning just exactly what makes a person a Christian, is a concept I feel worthy of debate.  At what point do we cross the Rubicon of eternal salvation in Christ?  Where, exactly, is the delineation on the event horizon between eternal damnation and eternal salvation?  Not only do I find these questions worthy of our consideration, but I also find them necessary at this point in Christendom.  A point, it seems, where anything goes as long as you have an intellectual awareness of Christ and repeated a prayer, or as long as you've been baptized and go to church, or as long as you've done one or the other, or all.   A point at which current evangelism says that as long as you do "A", "B", "C" and "D", you are forever-locked into the kingdom of God.  A point at which people are told that simple acknowledgment of Christ is enough to inherit eternal life.

When I study scripture, I marvel that Jesus seemed to deftly avoid the "grocery list" of necessary tasks people sought from Him to define the path of eternal life.  Every time someone asked Jesus what they must do, He seemed to give a different answer:

- We must be born again (John 3:3-6)

- We must be converted (Matt 18:3)

- We must be obedient (Matt 7:21)
-We must not commit adultery, murder, or theft; we must not lie and we must honor our parents (Luke 18:21)
-We must forsake our possessions and follow Him (Luke 18:22)
-We must hate our life in this world (John 12:25)
-We must serve and follow Him (John 12:26)

- We must believe in Him (John 7:38)

- We must keep His word (John 8:51)

- We must drink the Living Water of Christ (John 4:14)

- We must live in Him (John 11:26)

He did this because the only way to eternal life is through a personal relationship with Him, which must be sought with our whole heart, rather than works of our own effort checked off like items on a grocery list.  It is not that scripture is in error when it says that we must only believe in Christ to be saved, but rather, it is our understanding of what it means to believe.  When scripture tells us that we must believe in Christ, the implications of such a belief is to acknowledge Him as Lord.  And the only proper response a human being can have when they acknowledge Christ as Lord, is to surrender to His Lordship.

Jesus said, "For it is My Father's will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40).  Yet we are told by James, "You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that, and shudder!" (James 2:19).  The demons believe in God and shudder, yet they are not saved.  And yes, I am aware that Christ died to save men and not demons, but I feel it is worthy to note what is being articulated here by the dual use of the word "belief".  The Greek word translated in the New Testament as "belief" is the word "PISTEUO".  It is the context of the use of this word that determines its meaning, whether a belief of simple intellectual acknowledgement or a belief that leads to submissive faith.  A belief of simple affirmation versus a belief of trustful surrender.  James differentiates a belief based on simple affirmation from a belief that leads to trustful surrender when he goes on to say, "But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?" (James 2:20)  Not only is James referring to a faith that results in bearing fruit for God's kingdom, but also a saving faith in Christ that is willing to conform to His authority and will, rather than a faith that is defined by simple intellectual acknowledgment of a certain list of beliefs.

Is it necessary for a person to believe in the basic tenets of Christianity to be a Christian?  Absolutely.  The definition of any religious movement is a belief in a certain set of fundamental tenets.  If you do not believe in the set of tenets that define that religious movement, then find another faith that is more appealing to you.  Does belief in the basic tenets of Christianity make a person a Christian?  Absolutely not. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.'" (Matt 7:21-23).  Salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone, but our faith must be one of surrender, rather than one of simple acknowledgement.

At what exact point in our belief do we cross over the Rubicon into God's kingdom?  What is the defining moment of transcendence from eternal spiritual death, to eternal spiritual life in Christ?  Despite the squawking pontifications of many theologians today and the formulaic "Roman Road" to salvation used by contemporary evangelism, that is truly a question that only God can answer to any degree of absolute certainty.  Because it is only God Who can see a man's heart, "God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Sam 16:7).  But what I can tell you with absolute certainty, is that there is no salvation without surrender.


"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." (John 6:37)