Christ and Charity

Here's something that is very telling. Check out this graph from Google. It demonstrates the usage of the word "charity" in books from the 1800s to the present (2008). Here's another graph that takes a few steps further back, looking at the occurrence of the word "charity" in books written in the English language since the 1600s. As you can see from the two graphs, in the 1980s the English speaking (and writing) world was approaching an all-time low using the word "charity." Thankfully, it seems we are writing about charity more since the graph bottomed out around 1984, but recent events have me wondering if we really know what charity is and what it truly looks like.

I have no qualms with those of you who have recently completed your ice-bucket challenge for ALS or any other charity of your choice. It is good to give to charity, and there's nothing about this challenge that is bad or sinful. Like most good things, however, you can do a really good thing (like donate to charity) for all of the wrong reasons. My qualm is not with the ice-bucket challenge as much as the state of the heart that the challenge lends itself to and how it or those that do it can masquerade as charitable when there is very little charity behind it at times. For instance, there are those that do it for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon and appearing trendy and hip. And then there are those who have really put the thought, commitment, and consideration into their challenge because they really know what ALS is, know how de-humanizing it can be, know someone who suffers from the disease, and really want to stand by those suffering from its effects. Like I said, there are good and bad reasons to participate. 

With that said, I have been inundated the past few weeks with videos of people pouring buckets of water over their heads in the name of charity. I've seen the videos on my Facebook news feed, the morning news, the evening news, and on Youtube (no surprise there). I've seen videos from people that I see every week at church to A-list celebrities that I've only seen on the silver-screen, and it seems everyone has an obsession with dumping a bucket of iced water over their heads for charity.

This morning I ate my choicest chocolaty cereal (sometimes you never want to grow up) while watching the morning news (sometimes you do), and for once I wasn't bombarded with the most recent "celebrities" jumping on the bandwagon to help ALS with a bucket of ice-water. America had seemed to move on, as the media turned their attention from charity to drooling over the idol-infested, noise-mongering, adulterified festival that is the VMAs. I just about choked on my peanut-butter cup cereal when the anchors applauded bad-girl Miley Cyrus for asking a homeless person to accept the award for best music video (Wrecking Ball no doubt) on her behalf. They went on to show pictures that she most likely tweeted to all her fans of her philanthropic generosity to this homeless teen as she bought him a nice suit for the night and they went out to In-N-Out Burger after the show. After demonstrating such charity, the news anchors praised Miley for her performance this year over that of last years twerking incident.

Charity: Christian love of one's fellows. It comes from the Old French word charité, which refers to Christian mercy and compassion. This word comes from the Latin word caritatem, which refers to costliness, esteem, and affection.

There's only one occurrence of the word in the English Bible (ESV), and that is when referring to Dorcas in Acts 9:36 to explain that, "She was full of good works and acts of charity." The Greek word translated as "charity" means showing mercy and pity, especially as exhibited in giving alms to the poor. This word is used in numerous verses that speak about giving to the poor, to include Mat. 6:4, Lk. 12:33, Acts 3:2-3 and Acts 10:2.

Charity, believe it or not, is a word that is completely based on Christ's love for His brothers and sisters, and the work He accomplished on the cross on their behalf. If you want to know what true charity looks like, you'll have to stop watching people pour ice on their heads and open your Bible to read about God incarnate bearing the sin of humanity on the cross to his death, raising from the grave three days later, and then sharing eternal life with those He loves by and through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Charity is mercy, compassion, and affection towards those that the world has forgotten about. There are myriads of men and women out there today that this sinful world has swallowed up, and they depend on others to help restore them to a right relationship with their God and Creator. They need food, shelter, education, mentoring, encouragement, and most of all, the Gospel. They suffer from diseases, homelessness, poverty, abuse, mental disorder, physical disfigurement, emotional distress, depression, drug-abuse, alcoholism, other addictions, poor living conditions, persecution, and many other problems. The one thing all of these poor souls suffer from commonly is an apathetic culture that surrounds them that still doesn't know what ALS is even though they've watched over 100 people online and on TV dump a bucket of ice water over their heads.

I understand what The ALS Association was looking to accomplish with the Ice-Bucket Challenge, but they only accomplished further skewing America's view of charity. Sadly, the only way charities in America can survive in the near-future is by seeking to be relevant and appeal to a younger generation that would much rather spend $20 on a meal at Chili's than on charity. Direct mail campaigns, although arguably outdated in the modern-digital world, are still the most profitable way for non-profits and charitable organizations to raise funds. Sadly, the reason for that is because the only people willing to give to charities are those that still read the mail that comes in their mailbox (not inbox) and write checks in a credit-card dominated economy.

The only way charitable organizations can seem to get younger people interested in charity is by appealing to their narcissistic fascination with themselves. Point a camera at yourself, film yourself doing something ridiculous and somewhat embarrassing, post it on your Facebook profile or Twitter account, tag a bunch of your friends so that they are sure to see it, and let everyone know that you just faced the challenge and gave to charity. Hmm. Does this kind of behavior sound a bit familiar? It's a passage I referred to a few paragraphs back:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
    “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-4 ESV)

A valid warning and encouragement from the One who literally wrote the book on charity.

I'm not trying to shame everyone that stepped up to the ice-bucket challenge. It was a fun concept, and I know that many people who posted their videos on my Facebook news feed were not looking for praise or trying to demonstrate what good people they are like hypocrites do. Quite honestly, if I had been challenged before I took a while to think this whole charity thing through, I probably would have used it as an excuse to use multiple camera angles and play around with slow-motion video. It looks like fun and it was a very effective way of spreading the word about ALS and the need for funds to research it (which is another subject entirely).

More than anything, I want to challenge you to think twice about the way you interact with charities. The word charity comes from a Latin word that means costliness. Sadly, the younger generations have turned their backs on charities because they don't get anything in return. The ice-bucket challenge gave them a bit of fame and good press on the Facebook newsreel, so they were willing to take the plunge. But when they don't stand to get anything back in return, then charity has lost its shimmer and shine to them.

Christians, young and old, we know charity. We know a man that gave up everything for us. We know a man, "that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." We all know a man who paid our ransom from the grave, despite its infinitely steep cost. We all know a man who paid the ultimate price for our sins so that we might not know suffering, want, and poverty ever again. We all know a man who was so selfless, so compassionate, so merciful, so giving, and gave of Himself no matter how costly it was, that a word was introduced into our language to better describe such giving. Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is the epitome of what charity is and what it looks like.

So, here is your new challenge. The next time you see a charity event or an organization asking for a donation, I want you to ask yourself if there is anything Christlike about the way they are asking you to give. If not, that's okay. It doesn't mean that there is something wrong with the event or the organization, but perhaps you should find a more Christlike manner in which you can support them. Christ gave of Himself and He sought nothing in return. Christ gave something that cost Him dearly, and He didn't get a following on YouTube, He didn't get good PR on the news, and He didn't receive a really good tax return that year. He died on the cross so that He could share His entire inheritance with completely undeserving adopted brothers and sisters, that they too might call His Father, "Father," and be filled with the same Spirit that dwelt in Him. True charity looks like Christ, and anything that doesn't appear Christlike is probably not as charitable as we might think (or wish).

Take a new challenge, today. Find a way that you can truly be charitable to a person in need today. Find something that is going to cost you, commit yourself to it in prayer, meditate on it in the Word of God, and with every faculty you have, pursue it completely for the glory of God (not yourself). Don't worry about whether or not people will know what you did. Don't concern yourself with what people will think or say about you if they ever find out. Find a person that needs Christlike charity, share yourself and your resources with them, and don't tell a soul about it. It's not as fun as the ice-bucket challenge, but I can promise you that it will be truly rewarding.

Is The Reformed Church for the Beards?

Disclaimer: If you take this post too seriously then you obviously shave every day (or worse yet, you don't have to). Secondly, although this is meant to be satirical, there is a teenie-weenie bit of truth behind it. It's all in good fun, but at the same time, I hope it makes you think.

So, there's a growing trend I've noticed over the past few years or so in Reformed circles that never ceases to amaze me. It's a trend that is growing at an alarming rate, it is rarely cleaned, trimmed only when necessary, and has many men all over the country covering their faces. Reformed theologians around the country are calling it quits when it comes to shaving. It's a growing trend that is becoming synonymous with reformed theology. Nationally, the sale of Gillette razors has plummeted as more and more men sport a long, scraggly, and unkempt beard in Duck Dynasty fashion (shaving cream sales remain steady as bearded men utilize the product for "smack cam" videos that are wildly popular on YouTube).<-----Not making this up: click here.

Nothing is more manly than beards. It separates the men from the boys. It separates the manly men from the sissy, girly men. It was once a rite of passage for a father to teach his son to shave, but not anymore. Now, the rite of passage entails the son's ability to sport facial hair that covers his entire face and the father to acknowledge the density and quality of his hair follicles. Beards are in. Skin is out. The only thing that should be as smooth as a baby's bottom in reformed circles is a baby's bottom.

Obviously, there is a biblical theology of men having beards. It's scriptural. Throughout scripture, almost every time beards are mentioned it is in reference to men. There is that troublesome passage in Leviticus 13:29-30 that states that, "When a man or a woman has a disease on the head or the beard, the priest shall examine the disease." Undoubtedly, it is understood that Israelite women did not have diseases in their beards. They didn't have beards, of course. It is only a matter of silly sentence structure, really. This passage is not at all implying that women could have a beards. That's plainly absurd. Therefore, men touting beards is biblical.

There is a very popular quote circulating around reformed circles by Charles Spurgeon, in which the Prince of Preachers lectures his pupils to grow their beards in order to protect their throats from colds because beard growing is, "A habit most natural, scriptural, manly, and beneficial." This important bit of advice for preachers follows this equally important direction:

If any of you possess delightfully warm woolen comforters, with which there may be associated the most tender remembrances of mother or sister, treasure them — treasure them in the bottom of your trunk, but do not expose them to any vulgar use by wrapping them round your necks.
(Of course, no beard touting preacher would be caught dead with a woolen comforter knitted by mother wrapped around their neck. This was obviously advice given to clean shaved boys in the room.)

Beards are for manly men and clean shaven faces are for courageous soldiers or ninnies (talk about different sides of the spectrum). It is widely accepted that a fight between a bearded man and a clean shaven man will always result with the bearded man as victor:
Chuck Norris vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Clint Eastwood vs. John Wayne
Karl Marx vs. Immanuel Kant
Abraham Lincoln vs. George Washington
Fyodor Dostoyevsky vs. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Clark Kent vs. Bruce Wayne

Of course, the theological prowess of bearded men is far superior to that of men with little to no facial hair. It is a fact widely accepted in reformed circles. A pastor with a large, scruffy beard is hands down a better preacher than Joel Osteen, Rob Bell, and Pat Robertson (I know that's not Pat Robertson in the picture...ironically, I wrote this before I saw the picture...two out of three). A man with a big, bushy beard knows his theology better than a man without a beard. The bigger the beard, the wiser and more biblical the man. You can tell the difference between a reformed pastor and an evangelical pastor by just looking at their face. The difference is as stark as night and day. Beard vs. no beard. Crystal clear. No questions asked.

There's not room for a lot of pride in reformed circles, so there's hardly any room left for pride after our beard-growing capabilities. We do not boast about much, but if we are going to boast, it's going to be in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14) and our beards; the gospel and facial hair.

Reformed theology is manly, robust, dense, and healthy just like a good beard. It only makes sense to use beards as the image of good, solid, biblical theology. Nothing says, "I'm reformed," like a good, healthy, dense beard (well, perhaps a refrigerator full of microbrews or a cabinet full of imported coffees).

If you're reformed and you know it, grow a beard. (If you're a woman, don't worry about it.)

But seriously, I hope that's not how the reformed church is perceived. After all, what's up with the beard-lore in reformed circles? At first I found it amusing and satirical, but now it has me kinda worried (just a little, though). I am just as guilty as everyone else about this beard craze (or beard praise). I've had a beard since I started college in 2005. Honestly, I didn't grow one because I was trying to demonstrate my masculinity but I got too lazy to shave. After I got married, my wife forbade me from shaving my face. I did once. That was not a good idea.

One of my pastors has been modeling a huge follicle monstrosity for years, and although many in our congregation found it disturbing at first, it's grown on a lot of us (not to mention on him...literally). Naturally, an informal beard-growing competition took place amongst many of the younger men in our congregation. Taking our pastor's lead, we each tried to see how long our beards would grow. Mine didn't get very long before it started to drive me insane with its incessant itching. Over the years, several young men have joined our church. When they first started coming they didn't have beards. Now, no shave November was almost a year ago, and they still haven't shaved.

There seems to be a daily barrage of beards on my Facebook news feed. Just the other day I saw a pro-beard video and I had to share it with my pastor (don't know why). Beards in reformed circles are like pogs in my elementary school. I don't know why, but you just have to have them and brag about them. If you didn't bring a bag of pogs and at least three genuine, stainless steel slammers to lunch then you were a nobody. I hope the same is not said about beards in reformed circles.

Beard-lore might just be a weird phase that reformed churches are going through. I have noticed that more and more young people are interested in reformed theology because of its theological rhetoric and biblical scholarship. More and more hipsters are flocking to reformed churches not because it's progressive but because it's genuine. Unlike most modern denominations, reformed churches are not catering to young people with flashy, modern, new-age marketing ploys, but rather, they are just sticking to their historical roots as confessional churches. More and more young people appreciate a side of Christianity that takes the Biblical narrative seriously both historically and theologically. They know that the Old Testament is more than a list of names, nations, and laws with a few moral fables intertwined here and there. They know that the New Testament is more than just a bunch of one-liners to be pulled out of context to convey a political agenda. They're happy to find a reformed church that offers them a historical alternative.

The face of reformed theology has changed since I started attending a reformed church. No offense to anyone, but when I first started going to a reformed church I felt like I was in a retirement home. It was full of older, wiser men than my dad who knew their stuff theologically. It was a breath of fresh air compared to the evangelical church we left where more and more people were attending the worship service in their pajamas and fuzzy slippers. Thanks to a growing interest in reformed theology, there seems to be more and more young couples in attendance today. That's a great sign of a growing church. Beards are popular with the younger crowd and hipsters, and as more and more young people join reformed churches, the look and feel of reformed theology will obviously change (on the outside, at least).

There are a lot of images attached to reformed theology that are not a result of purposeful marketing: microbrew aficionados, imported coffee connoisseurs, theological literature fanatics, and large beard growing gurus. To my knowledge, it's not an image that reformed churches sat down, discussed, approved, and tried to market. It just seemed to happen because many reformed believers like beer, coffee, books, and beards.

With that said, there's a danger behind marketing an image or brand. Yes, if people fit your image or if they like your brand then they're more likely to check you out. However, if people feel like they don't fit within your brand's image, then they'll be turned off and go somewhere else. That's not to say that reformed churches are marketing a specific brand or image purposefully, but I can't help but wonder if we're doing it intrinsically. Obviously, we don't want people to check us out because of our hobbies but because of our love for the Lord, our appreciation for His grace, and our preaching of His Word. We might not be able to help it if outsiders view us as bearded, white, middle-class, eggheads that homeschool our children and prefer all-natural foods. Then again, we might.

The beard-lore is all in good fun, and I understand that. However, I think we need to be careful and have bearded fun in moderation (like all things). I don't know that we're alienating others from reformed theology with our beard-lore, but I think it's something to be careful of. As a member of a church plant, I can't help but wonder if our intrinsic image drives people away. I know that you don't have to be a bearded, white, middle-class scholar that feeds your homeschooled children all-natural foods in order to come worship with us. I just want to make sure you know that. We reformed Christians sure can make a big fuss about our beards, but were not fanatics like the Amish. It's all meant for sport, nothing more.

All I'm saying is that we need to make sure what is meant in good fun is understood as only good fun, and nothing more.

As the saying goes: It's all fun and games until someone shaves their beard, then it gets serious.
 

A sympathetic comforter in the midst of tragedy

And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. (Job 42:10-11)

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24)

When I think of Job, I cannot help but think about poor counseling and luke-warm friendship. Job's story is a tragic one. Here we have a righteous man, upright and blameless, who God has prospered out of His own good pleasure. Job is a man who fears God, and who loves God's Law. Job continuously offers burnt offerings on behalf of his children, wanting to consecrate them just in case they cursed God in their hearts (Job 1:5).

Satan enters the Heavenly court, and tells God that if He were to take away all that Job had on earth, then Job would no longer fear God, but that he would curse God to His face (Job 1:11). God then relinquishes authority over Job's life to Satan, allowing Satan to do as he pleases as long as he does not harm Job. Satan goes to town, as it were, and completely decimates Job's life. Satan takes everything from Job, so that he has nothing left but the shirt on his back and his wife at his side. Job's response? "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (Job 1:21). Job did not curse God. He worships God and magnifies His name instead.

Satan once again enters the heavenly court. God asks Satan once again to consider Job and his uprightness, and Satan replies, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. The loss of his property, his prosperity, and his posterity didn't phase him, but if you take his health away, he'll quickly crumble and shake his fist at you in derision." God, again, hands authority of Job's life to Satan to do with as he pleases, as long as he does not kill Job. Satan fills Job's body with diseases. Job's wife tells him to curse God and end the pain, but Job responds, "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). Then the author of Job tells us that throughout this trial, Job did not sin with his lips. But, did Job sin within his heart? Perhaps Job cursed God in his heart, as he feared his children might have, but he, nevertheless, never let the wickedness escape his lips.

Most of Jobs friends ditch him and leave him to suffer alone. Three friends came along to comfort him and show him sympathy. Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. A most sympathetic and comforting bunch. Here is a short snippet of their comforting counsel for Job:

"Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed." (Job 4:7-9)

"He (the wicked) has no posterity or progeny among his people, and no survivor where he used to live. They of the west are appalled at his day, and horror seizes them of the east. Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous, such is the place of him who knows not God." (Job 18:19-21)

"Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures; a fire not fanned will devour him; what is left in his tent will be consumed. The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God's wrath. This is the wicked man's portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God." (Job 20:26-29)

What comforting friends Job had. Dude, what did you do to make God hate you? You must have done something, because God doesn't just smite people for no reason. Job, however, continued to argue that he was righteous, and that such destruction in his life did not make sense. The message was clear on both sides: God prospers the righteous and destroys the wicked. Good things happen to good people, right?

It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. (Ecclesiastes 9:2-3)

Terrible things happen throughout our lives. A righteous man, resting in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, does not live a lavish life marked with prosperity. A wicked man, who curses God with his heart and with his lips, does not live an impoverished life marked with hardships. A tornado does not sweep away the wicked and leave the righteous unscathed. A destructive wildfire does not distinguish between the houses of a Christian and a non-Christian as if it were the Passover. War does not spare the adopted sons of God and only claim the lives of the sons of Satan. There is evil in this world, there is destruction in this world, there is suffering in this world, there is death throughout this world, and it falls upon the righteous just as hard as it falls upon the wicked. When disaster, destruction, and suffering strike, the same event happens to all. Job and his three counselors did not understand this.

Job does not understand what he did wrong or what he did to deserve this treatment from God. He cries out:
"If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind? Why have you made me your mark? Why have I become a burden to you? Why do you not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For now I shall lie in the earth; you will seek me, but I shall not be." (Job 7:20-21)

In the face of calamity and great suffering in our lives, as Christians, our default setting is to think like Job. We forget that God is gracious and merciful. We look to our works rather than remembering that God has always and only loved us by grace. Our warped and sinful perceptions of God begin to resemble idol worship of ancient Egyptian and Greek gods, as we think that rain dances will bring rain and a lack of rain dances will bring famine. When the famine strikes, we look at our rain dances and wonder what we did wrong. We forget that famine causes the righteous to hunger along with the wicked. Disaster is not necessarily punishment, but rather, a result of the Fall that hurts all men alike. Job believed his prosperity was a result of his faithfulness and that his destruction had to be a result of wickedness in his life. He searched for the great sin he committed to deserve such suffering from the hand of God, but blindly, he could not see that one sin in his life required suffering.

However, it took an eaves-dropping young man to come along and set Job and his friends straight:

"Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones, so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food. His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death.

"If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him, and he is merciful to him, and says, 'Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom; let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor'; then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy, and he restores to man his righteousness. He sings before men and says: 'I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.'

"Behold, God does all these things, twice, three times, with a man, to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be lighted with the light of life." (Job 33:19-30)

Suffering, pain, loss...it is the human condition. Elihu's response to Job and his friends is clear and articulate. All men know pain, hunger, disease, and death, the wicked and righteous alike. All men know the sting of death, and only a mediator can remove that sting. Matthew Henry writes:

He (God) deals with them by conscience, by providences, by ministers, by mercies, by afflictions. He makes them sick, and makes them well again. All these are his operations; he has set the one over the other (Ecc. 7:14), but his hand is in all; it is he that performs all the things for us. All providences are to be looked upon as God's workings with man, his strivings with him. He uses a variety of methods to do men good; if one affliction do not do the work, he will try another; if neither do, he will try a mercy; and he will send a messenger to interpret both. He often works such things as these twice, thrice; so it is in the original, referring to Job 33:14. He speaks once, yea, twice; if that prevail not, he works twice, yea, thrice.

If there be for man a mediator to declare to man what is right, a mediator that is merciful to man, and pleads with God, "Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom; let his flesh become fresh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor," then let us accept him, and sing, "I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. A mediator has redeemed and ransomed my soul from going down into the pit, and my eyes shall look upon the light!" Elihu points the suffering soul to Him who ransomed our souls from the grave and eternal judgment, and not only became the propitiation for our sins, but gives us exactly what our sins do not deserve: to look upon the light...standing before the presence of our Holy God in pure, undefiled robes as white as snow.

As Christians, when suffering becomes a part of our lives, we can often find it confusing and it causes us to doubt our salvation and God's love for us. We scan through our lives, searching for a specific sin that has caused God to forsake us. Our works righteousness trigger gets switched on, and we begin to wonder if we're not praying enough, if we're not reading God's Word enough, or if we are not listening to the sermon on Sunday morning's close enough. Obviously, when we suffer, we must have done something to deserve it. Certainly, evil cannot cause the righteous to suffer along with the wicked.

But then there is this merciful mediator that Elihu points Job to. There is this mediator that declares to man what is right and provides a ransom for those suffering, delivering them from the sting of death. Is this mediator an angel; a perfectly righteous creature that has committed no transgression from the Law? No, He is infinitely higher than the angels, but for a time became a little lower than the angels. What ransom can this mediator possibly provide that will ransom sinners from the sting of death and deliver them to eternal youthful vigor? What sacrifice can take away the sins of the world?

And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
(Isaiah 53:9-12)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is this mediator that knows not sin but, bearing our sins, provides his own righteousness as a ransom for our transgressions to that we might become the righteousness of God.

As Christians, when we suffer, does it strengthen our gaze upon Christ Jesus our Lord, or does it diminish our hope in His sacrifice? We tend to think, Certainly, God would not let such evil happen to the ones he loves. Do we curse God with our lips? Do we curse God in our hearts? Do we cry out, "Injustice! Injustice has been done to me!" Do we doubt God's care for us? Do we doubt our adoption as sons and daughters of the living God? How could God our Father allow us, His children, to suffer along with the wicked?

When we suffer hardships and grief in this life, let us look to Jesus. When we lose comfort and hope in this life, let us gaze upon the cross. When destruction and evil bears down upon us, and we suffer along with the wicked, let us know Christ and Him crucified. The righteous one suffered along with the wicked so that he could provide a ransom to save sinners from the sting of death. Throughout the whole of history, there has only been one man and one man alone that has suffered great evil when his righteousness truly did not deserve it. It's not you or me. It is Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Our divine mediator. Our suffering should remind us of the Gospel, and what a precious price was paid to ransom us from death. When we cry Injustice!, let us be reminded that our righteousness is a gift from Him who suffered infinitely more than we ever will so that we might eternally know peace and comfort forevermore.

Job had many friends. When affliction and suffering marked his pathetic life, most of his friends left him. The three that came around to comfort him and show sympathy, were not very comforting or sympathetic. When tragedy strikes, when the people we love suffer lose and pain, what comfort or sympathy do we bring them? Do we stand fast by their side, or do we distance ourselves from their hurt and their pain? Do we encourage them to straighten their paths before God, or do we press them to fix their gaze upon the cross? Do we tell them they suffer for no reason, or do we tell them of Him who had no reason to suffer but did on our behalf?

I can be a pretty lousy friend when my friends are dealing with hardships and grief. I can tend to say, "I'm praying for you," and expect that to excuse my tendency to distance myself from them. I never feel like I have any words that can take their pain away. I fear they are inconsolable, and only God knows how to bring some peace to them in the midst of such great suffering and tragedy. When they cry out, "What did I do to deserve this?" I can often be like Job's friends and want to reply, "You're a sinner." I can remind them that tragedy strikes Christians along with the rest of the world. I can remind them that Christians are not immune to the evils in this world. As a friend, how can you comfort those suffering from evil in this world?

As Christians, we have all experienced hardships and tragedy. Some more than others. Suffering is no stranger to any of us. When tragedy strikes, we look to our left and to our right, but no one seems to stick around. Many of our friends abandon us, and those that stick around to comfort us have no comforting words to give. Some of our friends even point us to Christ, but the message of the Gospel is lost on us sometimes. If the Gospel is true, then why am I suffering? If Jesus has bore my transgressions, then why does God now smite me like the rest of the wicked? If I am a child of God, then why does he allow evil to touch me? We may not curse God with our lips, but we curse God in our hearts. We feel abandoned by our friends, we feel abandoned by our family, and we feel forsaken by our God. However, there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother:

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another." (John 15:12-17)

Jesus Christ is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. In the midst of tragedy, He never abandons us. We might suffer great loss in this life, but never the loss of a friend that sticks closer than a brother. We might be struck by a natural disaster that takes from us everything we ever held dear in this life, but we still have a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Our friends might not have any words that bring comfort to our downtrodden hearts, but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Even Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, God incarnate, was not spared from suffering. Even as Christians, we do not suffer undeservedly. We are still sinful creatures living in a fallen world due to the disobedience of our first parents and the transgressions of their progeny throughout all of history. We might fear God, we might delight in His Law, but we are sinful nevertheless. We are men, and suffering is the name of the game.

However, Jesus is God. Jesus is perfectly righteous and perfectly holy. God became a man, but unlike you and I, He knew not sin. He became sin, however, that we might know and be the righteousness of God. He suffered the very pain He cursed upon His creation. He felt the tragedy and sorrow that He cursed His fallen creation with. Ultimately, He died a more gruesome and painful death than most men will ever know, and He did not deserve it infinitely more than any man could ever claim.

Jesus suffered, and He suffered so that when you suffer you can have a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He suffered so that when you suffer you can rejoice in His sacrifice and remember that a time will come when you will suffer no longer. He suffered so that you might know peace. He became sin so that you could know righteousness. He suffered death so that you might know life. He ventured into the deepest, darkest depths of the pit that He might carry you out within His loving embrace. He bore your transgressions so that you could wear His radiant robes. He was not spared by His holy Father so that you might be spared. He suffered so that you might have comfort and peace in the midst of suffering. Jesus suffered, and so will you. However, your suffering will come to an end only because He who should have never suffered for the sake of evil humbled Himself to death on a cross so that transgressors who should only ever suffer might know everlasting peace in Him.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39)

  

"Beware of Christians": A Review

Don't let the title fool you, Beware of Christians is not another anti-Christian documentary that seeks to portray Christianity as a dying, two-faced, legalistic, judgmental, and hypocritical religion. After watching a fair share of documentaries about Christianity, both pro and against, I have found all of them lacking. Those that are pro-Christianity typically seek to reform the church by advocating a post-modern, "Love is God", why can't we all just get along, let's stop being so judgmental approach that has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Gospel message of Christianity. Those that are anti-Christianity typically seek to choose a radical group that calls themselves Christian and demonstrate just how strange, spooky, judgmental, hypocritical, and two-faced Christians are. Beware of Christians was a breath of fresh air, and was a nice escape from the cliché Christian documentary film.

The concept behind the film is four college dudes take a trip to Europe and travel to various countries in order to help them better understand Christianity in a global context. In each country they visit, they try to focus on a topic and how Christians should respond to that topic given their worldview and paradigm. It sounds like an interesting concept, but considering that none of them speak another language besides English fluently, they are limited to interviews with those who speak English in the countries they visit. Honestly, they would have reached the same conclusions state-side, and seeking to understand Christianity in a global context seems to be more of a ruse for four college guys to travel all around Europe for the summer. Every once in a while the countries they visit play a role in their experiences, but overall, it feels more like a road-trip than a global search for Biblical answers.

The first few minutes are very confusing as the guys introduce themselves and banter back and forth. As one of them explains why they are going overseas to better understand the Christian faith and how they relate to it, the documentary seems to start off on the typical post-modern approach. All four of the guys are professing Christians and grew up in a Christian home. They say that they want to go to Europe, leave everything they know about Christianity in America behind, start afresh, and figure out what it means to be a Christian via Europe. This is the part of the film where I began to have my doubts. It seems, however, that they eventually subconsciously reach the conclusion that the Christian faith is based upon objective truths revealed in the Word of God, and therefore, a European Christian should believe the same thing as an American Christian. The post-modern idea is quickly jettisoned and you hardly even think about it again throughout the film.

Traveling across Europe with four college guys seems very juvenile, and that's how the documentary feels most of the time. As juvenile as their antics are, however, they reach some very important conclusions about the Christian faith, and their discussion and interview segments reveal a more mature side of each of the young men. Their interviews with strangers in Europe are usually followed by video of them discussing what they learned when they got back to America. Although the discussion can feel very "youth-groupy" (if I can make up a word), they search the Scriptures and talk about what the Scriptures teach on the subject. Although almost all of them are not able to articulate themselves coherently, you're able to pick up enough of the pieces to construct a solid, worthwhile conclusion. For instance, in Spain they interviewed several people at a beach about sex and relationships. They then discussed what the Scriptures teach about sex and relationships, what that means for Christians, and how Christians must be set apart from the world in our approach to sex and relationships. They all talk about dating, pre-marital sex, what the Bible teaches about lust, and then they provide relevant personal testimonies about how they are struggling with sex as college students.

I feel comfortable saying that this documentary has the potential to greatly influence the church in America if enough people watch it. Although the explicit Gospel is provided only once throughout the whole film (by a man they meet in Rome), these four college students emphasize over and over that Christianity is much more than many of the churches in America make it out to be. They discuss seven topics throughout their journey, and they reach a Biblical conclusion on each of the topics. For example, on the topic of wealth and poverty, they reach a very similar conclusion to Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert in their book When Helping Hurts: Christians can tend to have a god-complex when it comes to giving, and we would rather send a check in the mail than actually get to know people and their true physical and spiritual needs.

The film is juvenile, full of testosterone, quirky, and inarticulate at times, but I would recommend it to everyone to watch at least once. It is reassuring to see that the next generation of Christians are not buying into the health-and-wealth gospel of prosperity, are appalled by alter calls and revival tactics, are searching the Scriptures for answers to their doubts, are recognizing that Christianity has become a label for myriads of self-righteous heathens, are realizing that Christians cannot go with the secular flow of the world that surrounds them, and that Christianity is much more than a get-out-of-hell-free card.

Throughout the documentary, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is on the tip of the young men's tongues, but all they manage to talk about is "a better way to live" and "a better way to do things." They recognize the Gospel when it is explicitly given to them by a man they interview in Rome, but they never manage to share it explicitly with their audience. Perhaps it is a problem of articulation, but one cannot help but feel nervous about the lack of the Gospel throughout the documentary. After all, apart from the Gospel, Christianity has nothing to offer the world rather than another system of do's and don'ts to further fuel the fire of our fallen reconfiguration of self righteous behavior. One of the young men recognizes this, but he never fully articulates what Christianity has to offer instead of do's and don'ts (except "a better way"). This was by far the most disappointing part of this film.

The documentary is available on Netflix, and I would encourage everyone who reads this to watch it. I would especially recommend it for families with teens and college aged youth to watch as a family. Ladies, you will find the documentary lacking a certain couth and finesse, but bear through it for what it does have to offer. There are scenes where the young men are not wearing shirts, and one of particular note also includes a very manly slapping game that has nothing to lend to the film but more juvenile testosterone antics. Nevertheless, the dialogue is well worth your time and maturity. It is refreshing to see that there are alternative conversations taking place amongst the church's youth today besides the post-modern, subjective, love-is-God, and tolerate everything but intolerance conversations that are reeking havoc on the church today. You'll laugh, you'll wonder why you're laughing, you'll be surprised, and you'll be edified by the conclusions these young men reach about what it means to be a Christian in America and around the world. If nothing else, watch the film so you know why it is called Beware of Christians. It is not reformed, but neither are most Christians today. I assure my reformed readers, though: You will not be disappointed.

Lamentations: God's Word for the Brokenhearted

 He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
  and made me cower in ashes;
 my soul is bereft of peace;
  I have forgotten what happiness is;
 so I say, “My endurance has perished;
  so has my hope from the LORD.”

 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
  the wormwood and the gall!
 My soul continually remembers it
  and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind,
  and therefore I have hope:

 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
  his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
  great is your faithfulness.
 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
  “therefore I will hope in him.”

 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
  to the soul who seeks him.
 It is good that one should wait quietly
  for the salvation of the LORD.
 It is good for a man that he bear
  the yoke in his youth.

 Let him sit alone in silence
  when it is laid on him;
 let him put his mouth in the dust—
  there may yet be hope;
 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
  and let him be filled with insults.

 For the Lord will not
  cast off forever,
 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
  according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
 for he does not afflict from his heart
  or grieve the children of men.

 To crush underfoot
  all the prisoners of the earth,
 to deny a man justice
  in the presence of the Most High,
 to subvert a man in his lawsuit,
  the Lord does not approve.

 Who has spoken and it came to pass,
  unless the Lord has commanded it?
 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
  that good and bad come?
 Why should a living man complain,
  a man, about the punishment of his sins?

 Let us test and examine our ways,
  and return to the LORD!
 Let us lift up our hearts and hands
  to God in heaven:
 “We have transgressed and rebelled,
  and you have not forgiven.

 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
  killing without pity;
 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
  so that no prayer can pass through.
 You have made us scum and garbage
  among the peoples.

 “All our enemies
  open their mouths against us;
 panic and pitfall have come upon us,
  devastation and destruction;
 my eyes flow with rivers of tears
  because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

 “My eyes will flow without ceasing,
  without respite,
 until the LORD from heaven
  looks down and sees;
 my eyes cause me grief
  at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

 “I have been hunted like a bird
  by those who were my enemies without cause;
 they flung me alive into the pit
  and cast stones on me;
 water closed over my head;
  I said, ‘I am lost.’

 “I called on your name, O LORD,
  from the depths of the pit;
 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
  your ear to my cry for help!’
 You came near when I called on you;
  you said, ‘Do not fear!’

 “You have taken up my cause, O Lord;
  you have redeemed my life.
 You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD;
  judge my cause.
 You have seen all their vengeance,
  all their plots against me.

 “You have heard their taunts, O LORD,
  all their plots against me.
 The lips and thoughts of my assailants
  are against me all the day long.
 Behold their sitting and their rising;
  I am the object of their taunts.

 “You will repay them, O LORD,
  according to the work of their hands.
 You will give them dullness of heart;
  your curse will be on them.
 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them
  from under your heavens, O LORD.”
(Lamentations 3:16-66 ESV)

 

 

"It is an easy thing to extol in high terms the favour of God in prosperity, and also to exhort those who have reasons to hope well to entertain confidence, and to bring forward God's promises, that the minds of the godly may recumb on them; but when things are in a state of despair, and God seems to have forsaken his Church, since prophecy still remains in its force, and God appears as stretching forth his hand to the miserable, and to such as are almost in a hopeless state, we hence derive much benefit, and this is the chief use of what is taught here" (John Calvin).

 

It has been a difficult weekend. Our great excitement and expectations for the weekend came to an abrupt halt Friday afternoon. Tragedy has struck again, and most of us are still struggling to wrap our minds around the horrific events that took place in an elementary school, first-grade classroom. Some of us rushed to our TVs and turned on the news. Some of us whipped out our cell-phones and began browsing the headlines. Some of us called friends and family that we knew in the area where the shooting occurred. Some of us crumbled to our knees, and prayed one of those prayers that Paul speaks about in Romans 8:26. Throughout the myriad of thoughts racing through our minds at that second, one we shared was, "What is this world coming to?"

 

I have avoided watching the news the past few days. I know what happened, and the media has no hope whatsoever to offer for this tragic situation. When tragedy strikes, we are often glued to the television set, waiting for the media to report on something good that happened in the midst of the tragedy. We are slightly encouraged by reports of heroes and heroines that sacrificed their lives to try to save another's, but that's not enough to answer that burning question that itches all of our ears: Why?!

 

I watched one of the national broadcast news' morning report this morning, and I began to crumble. Twenty first-grade children without a care in the world, anxiously anticipating Christmas break, whose bright-smiled pictures proudly decorated their families' homes and wallets, will now be the bright-smiled pictures that leave an entire nation "Under God" grieving and wondering Why? Why these children? Why now? Why there? Why? Why? Why?

 

We stay glued to the TV waiting for the media to answer that fifth "W" question, but they don't have an answer for us. We know who, we know what, we know when, we know where, but we have no clue why. We talk about it with others at work, with our families, with our fellow believers, but we never seem to have the answer each of us is looking for. Our children huddled beside us on the couch ask the stinging question, "Why did God let that man kill all those kids?" Choked up, wondering the same question ourselves, we try to reassure them along with ourselves that God will use this tragedy for good and for His glory, but our hearts are actually filled with doubt that any good can come from this.

 

If you've read God's Word, then you know that this is not a question that remains unasked throughout Scripture. How many of God's faithful servants were left wondering why God allowed them to succumb to tragedy after tragedy? How often did God's unfaithful people wonder why God turned a blind eye to their suffering while the wicked and sinful flourished and abused them? King David, a man after God's own heart, was even left wondering, "Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?" Of course, even the only begotten Son of God asked His Heavenly Father Why? as He was crucified on the cross for our transgressions. Brothers and sisters, do not be ashamed of wondering Why?, but be careful how you respond to God's answer.

 

When tragedy strikes, Lamentations is a good book to turn to when you are left wondering Why? As the book of Job teaches us, not every destruction and tragedy we face is a punishment for our sin. This is where our hearts deceitfully venture first to answer our question. We automatically think, "What did I do to deserve this?" We are quick to ponder this question after an event reminds us just how frail human life is, but the thought hardly ever crosses our minds when all is seemingly well. We never wonder why God has so bountifully and graciously provided for our every need in the past, but as soon as our world is turned a bit off kilter, we are quick to file through the sins we have committed and wonder which one God is punishing us for. This, as the book of Job relates, is not good.

 

Every destruction, tragedy, and evil committed in this world is a result of our sin but is not necessarily a punishment or judgment of God for our particular sins. In light of this recent tragedy, Christian churches should not (although many will) try to make any connotation between the tragedy that occurred in Connecticut with social sins that our country has committed. We need not mention the sins of abortion, divorce, or the lack of Christian education in our culture in connection with the tragedy that has taken place. God is not punishing America's policy on the destruction of unborn life by taking the lives of twenty first-graders, and perish the thought in the hearts and minds of God's people that He ever would.

 

On the flip-side of the coin, this event, along with every tragedy, is not outside of God's control and power. That is to say, Satan did not achieve the upper-hand in this tragic loss of life and lay a stinging blow to God's ability to thwart all wicked destruction. Similarly, God is not sitting idly in Heaven, allowing the rest of history to play itself out, allowing man to destroy himself and creation until He chooses to return to judge the quick and the dead. As verses 37 and 38 relate, "Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?" These verses help us understand that nothing comes to pass outside of God's sovereign will, but that leaves many doubting the goodness of God. Surely, if God allowed this evil to occur, then He must necessarily be guilty of the evil committed and, therefore, not be a good God. Calvin extinguishes this incendiary idea much better than I ever could:

"Let us then hold this doctrine, that nothing is done except by God’s command and ordination, and, with the Holy Spirit, regard with abhorrence those profane men who imagine that God sits idly as it were on his watch-tower and takes no notice of what is done in the world, and that human affairs change at random, and that men turn and change independently on any higher power. Nothing is more diabolical than this delirious impiety; for as I have said, it extinguishes all the acts and duties of religion; for there will be no faith, no prayer, no patience, in short, no religion, except we believe and know that God exercises such care over the world, of which he is the Creator, that nothing happens except through his certain and unchangeable decree.

"Now they who object, and say that God is thus made the author of evils, may be easily refuted; for nothing is more preposterous than to measure the incomprehensible judgment of God by our contracted minds. The Scripture cries aloud that the judgments of God are a great deep; it exhorts us to reverence and sobriety, and Paul does not in vain exclaim that the ways of God are unsearchable. (Rom_11:33.) As, then, God’s judgments in their height far surpass all our thoughts, we ought to beware of audacious presumption and curiosity; for the more audacious a man becomes, the farther God withdraws from him. This, then, is our wisdom, to embrace only what the Scripture teaches. Now, when it teaches us that nothing is done except through the will of God, it does not speak indiscriminately, as though God approved of murders, and thefts, and sorceries, and adulteries; what then? even that God by his just and righteous counsel so orders all things, that he still wills not iniquity and abhors all injustice. When, therefore, adulteries, and murders, and plunders are committed, God applies, as it were, a bridle to all those things, and how much soever the most wicked may indulge themselves in their vices, he still rules them; this they themselves acknowledge; but for what end does he rule them? even that he may punish sins with sins, as Paul teaches us, for he says that; God gives up to a reprobate mind those who deserve such a punishment, that he gives them up to disgraceful lusts, that he blinds more and more the despisers of his word. (Rom_1:28; 2Th_2:10.) And then God has various ways, and those innumerable and unknown to us.

 

"Let us then learn not to subject God to our judgment, but adore his judgments, though they surpass our comprehension; and since the cause of them is hid from us, our highest wisdom is modesty and sobriety.

"Thus we see that God is not the author of evils, though nothing happens but by his nod and through his will, — for far different is his design from that of wicked men. Then absurd would it be to implicate him as an associate in the same crime, when a murderer, or a thief, or an adulterer is condemned, — and why? because God has no participation in thefts and adulteries; but the vices of men are in a way wonderful and incomprehensible as his judgments. In a word, as far as the heavens are from the earth, so great is the difference between the works of God and the deeds of men, for the ends, as I have said, are altogether different."

 

"But this I call to mind,
  and therefore I have hope:
 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
  his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
  great is your faithfulness.
 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
  “therefore I will hope in him.”
 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
  to the soul who seeks him.
 It is good that one should wait quietly
  for the salvation of the LORD...

 For the Lord will not
  cast off forever,
 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
  according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
 for he does not afflict from his heart
  or grieve the children of men."
 

Overall, we have brought this tragedy upon ourselves when Adam disobeyed the command of God and plunged every man, woman, child, creature, and all of creation into the destructive power of sin. The punishment of sin is death, and every sinful creature shall die once. Whether we live to see eighty or our life is snuffed out after six months, we will all die and this is unavoidable. Death is sadly a part of our lives because of man's sinfulness. Death, however, is not the only punishment, but hurt, pain, destruction, torment, and immense suffering.

The Lord causes grief in our lives, grief that will cause us to wonder What have I done to deserve this?, and such grief should not point us to a single sin but to an entire sinful nature in need of salvation from sin and its desserts: pain, suffering, grief, and death. God does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. He finds no pleasure in our suffering from sin. He does not delight in the tragedies that we have exposed ourselves to through sin, but He does allow and cause us to be stricken with grief so that we might repent of our sins and turn to Him for compassion. God does not enjoy our suffering, and He even suffered along with us and for us, even death upon a cross, so that He could save His creation from the sinful torments they brought upon themselves. He hates our suffering and our sin so much that He burdened Himself with it so that we might be freed from it by faith in Him. Unfortunately, so many of us ignore our only hope of salvation until God removes every false hope from our line of sight and reminds us that He is our portion and we can and should only hope in Him. It takes tragedies to remind us that the most tragic event that occurred throughout all creation is the only one that brings us hope above all others: our creator died the sinful death of His creation so that mankind might pass from sin and death to life everlasting through His death and resurrection.

As a nation, we should certainly grieve over this terrible tragedy. As a church, we should not be surprised when we ask Why? That is not a bad question to ask, but we need to let God answer our question through His Word. He is not going to answer each of us individually through a dream or a vision. He is not going to let an event or a circumstance answer that question. His answer is clear, and we need to obey immediately: "Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:40-41 ESV). In short, let us pray!

Let us remember who our only hope is! Let us lift up His name on high! Let us praise and worship Him for His truth and glory! Let us humble ourselves and glorify Him with honor! Let us recognize that although the mountains should fall, our God sits upon His throne in Heaven and protects the needy and defenseless! Let us remember that God has provided the Lamb for the sacrifice, and has shown compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love by giving His only begotten Son as the propitiation for our sins!

Let us never forget that although these children, their protectors, and their murderer have left this sinful world, God will judge the sinful and will pardon the faithful! This heinous crime shall not be ignored by God. He has heard the cries of the children, He has heard the sound of their blood crying from the ground, and He has answered their cry for justice. Their murderer shall not remain unpunished, and although he may cry, "My punishment is greater than I can bear!", the Lord will execute His just judgment!

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)

This is the hope that we have as Christians. In the midst of great grief and tragedy, our message must not change. Death is not the end-all. There is a resurrection from the dead, and when the death toll climbs the glory of the resurrection increases! Although God will be glorified for every man's resurrection, the resurrection will not be a wonderful experience for everyone. Some will be resurrected unto everlasting life and some unto everlasting torment. The book of life is written in the blood of Christ and has been published long before the foundations of the earth have been laid. The names in that book were written before the men and women who match those names even drew a single breath. Their names are not in that book because of their deeds in this life, but solely because of Christ's obedience in life and death to God's will. Therefore, countless childrens' names are surely included in the book of life, to include names of the twenty murdered children. Even children who remained unnamed in this world because they never survived the womb have names listed in the book of life. This gives us immense hope in light of tragic, child death that occurs around the world every day.

Finally, we do not know whose names are listed in that book, but we must assume that every neighbor that surrounds us is listed in the book of life. How shall they believe if they have never hear the Gospel? In light of tragedy, those who are at enmity with God do not grow softer, but rather, their hearts tend to grow harder. They hate someone that they claim does not exist. They say that events like these just go to prove that there is no God, and if there is, He is either all-powerful and unloving or all-loving and not powerful. Overall, the hard hearts will hate with a further passion Him who they fervently argue does not exist. How much more, therefore, should we proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to these people?! Remind them that this situation is completely hopeless if there is no God. These children will never receive justice and they will never know any more of life. To remove God from this tragedy is to say that the cry of these children's blood will never go answered and to steal from their families any hope of seeing their children raised from the dead on that last great day. Without God, this situation is bleak indeed. But with God, there remains hope, and you MUST provide that hope to those who cannot see it. But you must first see that hope yourself, and therefore, you must read God's Word and lift up your prayers and doubts before God so that He can comfort you by the Holy Spirit in the salvation and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:14-16) 
 

Tempted? See the salvation of the LORD!

The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly.

 And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness."

And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." (Exodus 14:9-14)

Temptation got you down? Are you struggling with a sin in your life that you cannot seem to shake? You have been freed from the slavery of sin by the blood of the Passover Lamb. You have been freed from slavery and you now venture as a pilgrim to the Promised Land. But lo and behold, sin chases you down to trap you and to completely destroy you when there seems no route of escape. You raise your eyes, and instead of praise, your lips are tainted by fear and doubt. Why has God freed you from your sins, placing a new heart in you, writing the Law on your heart, giving you the will and ability to be righteous by the power of the Spirit only to allow you suffer more in this sin than you did before when you committed it without a heart to obey Christ?

But wait a minute, what does all of this have to do with the Israelites at the Red Sea? Exodus is a just an Old Testament story about God saving Israel from the oppression of a wicked Egyptian Pharaoh through the mediation of Moses and by signs and wonders? What does that have anything to do with my salvation and my present struggle with temptation?

Arthur Pink writes:
"Historically, the book of Exodus treats of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt; but viewed doctrinally, it deals with redemption. Just as the first book of the Bible teaches that God elects unto salvation, so the second instructs us how God saves, namely, by redemption. Redemption, then, is the dominant subject of Exodus" (from Gleanings of Exodus).

With this in mind, Exodus is both a historical narrative of the true events that took place concerning Israel's exodus from Egyptian bondage, and also a narrative of true events that take place in every believer's redemption from the bondage of sin by the hand of God. The historical Passover points to the sacrificial atonement of Jesus Christ upon the cross (1 Cor. 5:7). Paul also shows that the Israelites were baptized into Moses in the Red Sea and that they drank from the spiritual Rock, Jesus Christ, in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:1-4). By their crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites in a sense died to Egypt and were raised to a new life free from slavery and free to worship their Covenant God. Therefore, there is undoubtedly a connection between every believer struggling with besetting sins and temptations with the Israelites that felt trapped at the shore of the Red Sea. Like Israel, we have been saved from slavery but it now seems that we have only been saved from bondage for our utter destruction. 

Sin is now attacking all the more vehemently for our demise, sparing no device at its possession. Just as Pharaoh gathers every resource at his disposal, so sin will not let you leave its possession quietly. You can trust that sin will seek to devour you all the more after you are freed from its reign over your life. Satan, the accuser, will recognize your new resting place in Christ, and he will take advantage of your new position hidden in Christ to increase his attacks' propensity and intensity.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)

All of Israel was encamped at the shores of the Red Sea. They all experienced this same trial together. You are not alone. Look to your right and to your left, and recognize your brothers and sisters who are in the same boat with you. Know that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. There is not a fellow brother or sister that does not have sin seeking to destroy them. There is not a fellow believer that is not sought out by the devil to devour.

As the enemy approaches, Israel lifts their eyes up but not high enough. They look upon Pharaoh's army and they begin to doubt God's salvation. They accuse God of only freeing them from Egypt in order to destroy them in the wilderness. They foolishly say that it would have been much better that they remain in Egypt as slaves than to be slaughtered as freemen in the wilderness. We are quick to see the foolishness in Israel's lack of faith, but do we not often make the same foolhardy mistake and speak such faithless words?

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they (the wicked) entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: "The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire." (2 Peter 2:18-22)

Like Israel, we are tempted to return to Egypt like a dog returns to its own vomit and a sow returns to wallow in the mire after being cleaned. We believe that we are in a worse state now, facing destruction as freemen in the wilderness, than we would have been in if we had only remained under the bondage of sin. However, Peter clearly articulates that the worst state of all is to escape the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then to be overcome and entangled back in our past corruption. Israel, therefore, only saw two options: die in the wilderness or return to Egypt as slaves.

Arthur Pink writes:

How absurd are the reasonings of unbelief! If death at the hands of the Egyptians was to be their lot, why had Jehovah delivered them from the land of bondage? The fact that He had led them out of Egypt was evidence enough that He was not going to allow them to fall before their enemies. Besides, the Lord had promised they should worship Him in Mount Horeb (3:12). How, then, could they now perish in the wilderness? But where faith is not in exercise, the promises of God bring no comfort and afford no stay to the heart.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

God is faithful, and He promises to provide the way of escape so that you may not be destroyed and overcome by temptation and sin. God has not delivered you from sin in order for you to be enslaved by it once more. Therefore, look at Moses' words to the people of Israel, and take them to heart: "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

Fear not, Christian. Stand firm on the Rock, believer. See and remember the salvation of the Lord, brother and sister. The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:7-11)

The Red Sea was parted, the Israelites passed through on dry land, the army of Pharaoh pursued them, but were swallowed up in the sea. Paul tells us that Israel's passage through the Red Sea was a type of baptism. Therefore, look to your baptism, Christian, when Egypt seeks to return you once more to bondage. It will pursue you, it will chase after you, but you have entered a path where it cannot pursue. You have died with Christ and have been raised with Him, and never forget that which your baptism signifies (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)! If while you were still an enemy of God he reconciled you to Himself by the death of his Son, how much more, now that you are reconciled through our Lord Jesus Christ, shall you be saved by his life.

The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The sins that you see today, you shall never see again. Fear not. Stand firm. See and remember the salvation of the Lord.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Your slavery is past tense. Yes, sin will chase you to the shores of the Red Sea, but remember the salvation of the Lord when you feel trapped against its bank. Such were some of you. You were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. As Israel passed through the Red Sea and Egypt could not follow them, you too have passed from death to life in Christ's death and resurrection, and sin, like Pharaoh's army, shall be consumed by the raging waters.

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:16-23)

Amen.
 

To Vote or Not to Vote? (Part 2)

My dear friends and fellow readers, I must apologize for negligently leading you astray in my last post about whether or not it is lawful for a Christian to vote for a non-believer who does not recognize the Kingship of Christ. In my negligence, I passed over a crucial section of the Testimony of Faith, which would have persuaded me against the prior position that I took concerning scriptural principles of government. In section 15 of the Testimony, we read that:

The Christian, when such action involves no disloyalty to Christ, ought to be involved in the selection of and to vote for civil rulers who fear God, love truth and justice, hate evil, and are publicly committed to scriptural principles of government. Ex. 18:21; Deut. 16:18; 2 Sam. 23:3; Rom. 13:3

Herein, the Testimony defines its own terms of what it means when it states that we should only vote for men who are committed to scriptural principles of government. As I admitted in my previous post, I was uncertain whether the qualifications for a leader provided in Exodus 18 and Deuteronomy 1 were descriptive of the leaders placed over the holy nation of Israel or whether they were prescriptive qualifications that every civil ruler should meet. The RPCNA clearly demonstrates a prescriptive understanding of these two passages by referencing them  as proof-texts for Section 15, and therefore, remaining loyal to Christ and Scriptural principles of government requires Christians to vote for men who fear God and possess godly wisdom. I hope that this understanding of Scripture will persuade you as it has persuaded me. (To be further persuaded, please read Sean McDonald's two comments to my first post.)

Section 17 of the Testimony states:

The Christian must profess publicly and the Church must witness, that Christ is the Ruler of every nation. Whatever the official action of the civil government of a nation may be, the Christian in his civil actions must always exhibit his loyalty to Christ. The Christian must relinquish every right or privilege of citizenship which involves him in silence about, or denial of the supreme authority of Jesus Christ.

How could I have missed these two crucial sections of the Testimony in my last post? My negligence is my foolishness. I strongly encourage all of you to read through the texts provided to support section 17: Matt. 5:13-14; Prov. 3:5-6; Ps. 37:7; Matt. 22:21; John 17:14-15; Mark 13:9. If none of the candidates for president are publicly committed to scriptural principles of government, then we must relinquish our vote, publicly profess, and witness to the nation (and the world) that we will not just settle for anyone so that our political views will be upheld (although very marginally) but that we will demand a man who recognizes the supreme authority of Jesus Christ even if it means relinquishing our votes and submitting to being governed by the ungodly.

Why the huge change of heart and mind? Since my last post, I could not stop thinking about the biblical language of the Kingdom of God. I kept thinking of government dualistically. That is to say, I was thinking of civil government as of "this world" and church government as of "that world." However, they are one and the same, but not yet consummated under one Head, Christ Jesus. Yes, government is not a natural institution. By that, I mean that government is necessary because of the Fall, and that man must be governed now because of sin. Although government is a result of Adam's sin in the Garden, God has redeemed this institution in the work and person of Jesus Christ. Before the Fall, there was no need for a king, but Christ now rules as King of kings. Government is not a worldly institution that will be removed at Christ's return, but rather, government will be fully redeemed and consummated when the King returns to judge the nations. That is why the Testimony rejects, "the teaching that Christians should not seek the establishment of Christian civil government" (Sec. 8). To reject Christian civil government is to reject Christ's consummation of the office of King. Although government will not be fully Christian until Christ returns, we as Christians, nevertheless, must recognize the need for Christian government. Much like we must not cease to put sin to death although we know we will never be perfectly sanctified until Christ returns, we must not cease to recognize Christ as King although we know He will not be perfectly recognized and submitted to as King until He returns to judge the nations.

Pray, search the Scriptures, and be willing to submit yourself to God's will. It is not easy to go from arguing that we should vote this election to arguing that we should not. Perhaps I should not have made my previous position so public, but then again, if I had not then I would not have received the persuasion I needed to reach the position I now take. Every way of man is right in his own eyes, and that is why I often make my positions public so that my thoughts can be reviewed and critiqued by others.

If nothing else, you have two arguments presented: one for and one against voting. Weigh them both heavily against the teaching of the Whole Counsel of God. Rom. 14 is still very applicable, and no matter what stance we take, we need to be careful how we respond to others.