Repentance
My pastor, Scott, preached on the importance of Repentance this Sunday at church. It was a great look at the misconception that many Christians fall into, and that is: Repentance is something I did once, when I was first saved. Instead, we ought to look at repentance as an ongoing part of our progressive sanctification. Maybe as a spiritual discipline.
I have to admit that I realized this morning again that I suck at repentance. I was reading the beginning of Matthew and in 3:8 John the Baptist’s words hit me hard: “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”
I find myself so consumed with self-righteousness that I almost scoff at the thought of repentance. I am doing pretty well, so why would I need to repent. But then I wonder when I fail to “bear fruit” and fall into temptation.
Bearing fruit, good fruit, is a part of the repentance process. It’s interesting that John and Jesus both preach the same message in Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 – “Repent, for the kindgom of heaven is at hand.”
I need to repent.
You can hear Scott’s message here.
Sin & Salvation
Recently Jennifer Knapp, female singer-songwriter, has come out as a lesbian. In some new interviews (2) she talks about how she lives as a Christian and as a gay person.
There is a lot of talk out there about whether or not homosexuality is a sin, and that isn’t where I’d like to take this post.
What I would like us to talk about is the issue of sin, and where it fits into our theology of salvation. Here are a few questions to ponder and maybe try to answer:
- Can someone be “saved” if they have unrepentant sin in their life? What if they don’t know what they are doing is a sin? What if they do know, but choose to rebel?
- Can someone repent of their sins in part, but not in whole?
- At what point is someone saved? When they have repented for all their sins? When they have asked Jesus to come into their life?
And let’s be clear that we are talking about all sin here. Lust, greed, pride, selfishness, addiction, you name it. Can someone be saved if they are still unrepentant in their laziness?
Many people are out there saying, “There’s no way Knapp can proclaim to be a Christian and be openly gay.”
What do you think?
Ritual or Worship
A friend of mine posted on Facebook about rituals in the Church.
“…Rituals aren’t for church–they are for religions. My faith isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship and a lifestyle. Word.”
This got me to thinking, and I wonder, when does our worship of God move from lifestyle to hollow ritual?
Jesus: Mathematician Extraordinaire
The mens group that I lead is reading The Prodigal God, and yesterday one of the guys made a startling discovery about the parable that I’d like to share. The parable can be found in Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.
Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.” “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’” “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Let’s say the father’s inheritance was $900 total dollars (for the sake of even numbers).
When the younger brother asks for his share it would be $300 because the older brother would receive two portions ($600) as his birthright. When the father brings his younger son back into the family, it is like he was dead and now is alive. He would have received his rightful share of the remaining estate (all of which at that point belongs to the older brother). 1/3 of the remaining $600 is $200. All in all, the younger brother received $500. Whilst the older brother received only $400. It’s no wonder the older brother is furious, my first thought was anger as well. If my younger brother ended up with more than me…well, I’d be pretty pissed off as well. But the question that Tim Keller poses, and I must ask myself is this: Do I really love the Father, or am I simply interested in getting my “share” of the inheritance?
90 D.B.C.J.&D. – Day 7
As my 90 day trek through the Bible continues I found myself in Leviticus. And as I read about various different laws: laws of offerings, animals, food, motherhood, leprosy, and on, and on, and on… I am reminded of the grace that in Christ we are no longer under the law.
And yet, I think it is a part of our fallen human nature to want law. We want lists of regulations and documents of rules to tell us what and what not to do so that we can gauge where we are at. My wife teaches fourth grade students, and when she tells me stories I think those kids may be more interested in the grades they receive instead of the lessons they are learning. Now granted, learning does happen through discipline of practice and repetition, but one must be cautious not to replace the learned with the learning. In Christianity, though we are not “under the law” (Romans 6:14) we still create law for ourselves: Go to church on Sunday morning. Go to Bible study on Wednesday night. Have your “quiet time” every morning. Listen to “Christian” music. None of these things are inherently wrong, but when we replace a grace filled relationship with Christ with a law abiding adherence to a religion, we will ultimately find death. In his song “A New Law”, Derek Webb muses, “What’s the use in trading a law you can never keep for one you can that cannot get you anything.” I pray I would live under grace and not create a new law to work my way into God’s grace.“For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” ~Romans 6:14 (NASB)~
90 D.B.C.J.&D. – Day 4
I’m about halfway through Exodus now that it’s day 4 of my 90 Day Bible Challenge of Justice & Delight.
Something that struck me as I finished Genesis was the story of Joseph. It is really long. The story gores from chapter 37 through chapter 50. That’s a longer story than Adam & Eve, Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob. If we ascribe the importance of a story to its length (i.e. The story of Moses is the longest in the book of Exodus) then it might be safe to say that the story of Joseph is the most important narrative in the book of Genesis. All that being said, I am also reading Tim Keller‘s book The Reason For God. And in his chapter on suffering and the problem of pain he mentions the story of Joseph as a keystone story of God allowing suffering for his greater purpose. “If God had not allowed Joseph’s years of suffering, he never would have been such a powerful agent for social justice and spiritual healing.” (24) If the longest story in Genesis is about Joseph. And if the story of Joseph is about suffering in the midst of God’s larger plan. Then is it reasonable to deduce that the writers wanted to tackle this issue that so many have with God, that is the problem of pain/suffering?
Skipping Justification
To do or not to do…
He used Ephesians 2:8-10 as one of his main passages. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Then, last night at youthgroup, I taught about what Christ wants from us. I made the point that, while Jesus is concerned with what we do, it is more important to him that we have a relationship with him. I used Luke 10:38-42. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” My question is, are these two passages/messages at odds?
The big debate is faith vs. works. The great reformer, Martin Luther, was so against works based faith, that he even opposed the book of James from being in the Bible.
Where do works and faith meet?
Did I teach the opposite of what was preached that same morning, or can these two ideas be reconciled?
Humility
Wants
15For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. – Romans 7:15-20 (ESV)
I seem to understand this concept more and more.
“I do not do what I want.”
This very line is paradoxical.
I actually DO what I “want.”
It’s changing my wants that is hard.
When I’m honest I don’t want Christ (I guess I do sometimes).
I WANT TO WANT HIM!
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me.”
My sin corrupts my wants, and even if I could muster up the “want” of Christ, I would still choose something else over him.
These verses help me understand depravity.
And, though they ought to depress me, they encourage me.
Praise God that he has offered me redemption from this depravity through his Son Jesus Christ.
Lord, I believe, help my un-belief.
Salvation vs. Discipleship
There is nothing easier than getting saved because it is god’s sovereign work–Come unto Me and I will save you. Our Lord never lays down conditions of discipleship as the conditions of salvation. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Discipleship has an option with it–”IF any man…
Oswald Chambers – My Utmost For His Highest
