On False Teachers, part 1

I love the Bible. I love how poignantly clear it is on some points, how epically mysterious it is on others.  I love how the text is alive, how it beckons us to immerse ourselves, study more, discuss longer, compare passages.  I love how all the truth of the Universe is contained in a single volume of text, that God chose to reveal Himself to us so that we can know Him. I love how I can be hurting, so deeply I can barely verbalize it, and I can turn to the Scriptures and they will comfort me and guide me and remind me where my peace and hope lie.

But then there are things in the Bible that are tough. I mean, there are some really difficult ideas in there, ideas that are hard to understand, and ideas that are hard to carry out. In a discussion I had recently with another Believer, he said, "If you start assembling the teachings of Jesus and His Apostles regarding certain subjects, you come up with stuff American Christians cannot handle.  It is not nice at all." We live in a culture where certain ideas are so ingrained that we have just come to regard them as truth, without ever even giving them much thought.  And certain mentalities and behaviors are straight-up demanded of us, in all situations (ex: radical and unquestioning tolerance and acceptance, unwavering kindness and gentleness, etc), that again we never stop to question their validity. Are we called on to treat each other gently and kindly in most circumstances? Definitely (Ephesians 4:32). Even when we are called on to call each other out on our sins (ie: admonish), we are counseled to be gentle (Galations 6:1, Timothy 4:2), because Heaven knows that we are all sinners, and next time it might be YOU who needs to be exhorted.

But are we called upon to deal kindly and gently with every single human being who crosses our path? Indeed not. A harsh truth that most of you will really struggle to accept. And since the entire point of this blog is to keenly examine Scripture in order to better understand and practically apply God's revelation to our every day lives, today I want to look at a group of people who the Bible tells us should be dealt with swiftly and harshly and without apology: false teachers.

False teachers area big subject in the Bible. Paul (2 Corinthians 11:13-15, 1 Timothy 4:1), Jude, (yeah, pretty much the whole book), Peter (Peter 2:1), John (1 John 4:1), and Jesus Himself (Matthew 24:11), they all warned us strongly to be on the lookout for false teachers and false prophets, which gives me the impression that it's kind of a big deal. So this week let's look at how to identify a false teacher, and next week we can talk about what should be done once one is identified. The church in Galatia was apparently dealing with just such a problem around the time that Paul penned them his letter. In chapter 5 he addresses it in a straightfoward manner, and so gives us some basic guidelines for identifying false teachers. Here are the basics:

False teachers are not terribly interested in getting people to obey God.  In fact, it's kind of their main goal to convince people that they don't really need to obey God (Galatians 5:7), but since they are working under the guise of a Bible teacher, they can't just say, "Hey, this obedience stuff is stupid, let's all get drunk!" They have to be sly and sneaky. They have to distract you, subtly trip you up, tell you things that sound good and right, but in actuality have no Biblical merit, and usually undermine some of the most basic of Biblical principles (another good reason we should all be fully immersed in the Word and constantly encouraging and admonishing each other)! But oh! Will they ever be convincing! They will usually be gifted orators or wordsmiths, saying just the persuasive things that your ears are longing to hear. It flutters your heartstrings and speaks directly into your life, just exactly what you needed to hear today!  But when you really try to break their teaching down into basic principles, you find that it's little but false flattery and empty rhetoric. Really really pleasant words that just don't mean anything.  Paul put it best in his second letter to Timothy (4:3-4), when he said, " For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." Youch. Scary.

False teachers will also be very influential in the church, maybe even gain almost complete control over it (Galations 5:9). You know that verse we've all heard about yeast working through the whole batch of dough? Well, this is what Paul was talking about when he said that. An effective false teacher is going to insert him- or herself right into the inner workings of your church, maybe right up front standing in the pulpit, or maybe, with seeming humility and hospitality and submission, a little more behind the scenes, but still pulling all the unseen strings. And slowly he or she is going to start inserting his or her own deceptive and misleading ideas into the truth-teaching until the whole group has gone entirely off the rails. I don't know about you friends, but I find THAT to be a very frightening and sobering idea. 

Look for a certain amount of prideful behavior (Jude 1:11, RE: "the way of Cain"). In my experience (both personally and with others) pride can be sneaky and sometimes masquerade as its exact opposite, humility.  Look for a person who is angry, defensive, passive aggressive, or downright hostile when challenged; who throws around his or her weight, sometimes subtly, sometimes not so much, in an attempt to intimidate; who shuts down, ignores, or derides your honest questioning. A true Gospel teacher wants nothing more than to engage you about Biblical truths, and will delight in your questioning and leap to the challenge to hash out tough ideas with you. A false teacher wants you to shut up and listen, fall in line, and not cause any problems. And for Heaven's sake, if you have questions or disagree, don't say anything!  But friends, this is not Biblical, this is not sound doctrine. Paul told us that OF COURSE there will be divisions among you (1 Corinthians 11:19), and he was delighted when the Berean Jews questioned everything he said and weighed it against Scripture (Acts 17:11). Because a true Bible teacher has nothing to fear from your doubts or questions, and will in fact be thrilled that you are actively seeking and searching truth! 

A question to ask is, is he or she consistently only preaching half or part of the Gospel? This part is tricky, because it might take years before you realize that you have been learning at this person's feet all this time and you have NEVER heard certain ideas or doctrines even discussed! Giving money to the church, serving in your community, treating others compassionately - these are all wonderful ideas, but they are NOT the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They're just little bits of it, and if you are not consistently being preached and taught the whole truth, you are either being unwittingly cheated (your preacher/teacher is misguided) or intentionally misled (false teacher). 

Probably the most important question you can ask is, who does he or she say Jesus is (Matthew 16:15-16)?  If you find yourself under the sway of someone who is iffy about Who Jesus is - who might balk at being asked to confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ (ie: Jesus is Lord <Romans 10:9>, there is only one  God, <John 17:3>, and Jesus and God are one and the same <John 10:30>) - who refuses to define where he or she stands on (or maybe even out-and-out denies) the substitutionary atonement (ie: Jesus died so that we wouldn't have to, and through Him and Him alone are we saved (1 Peter 3:18, John 14:6), - who occasionally makes broad statements about how maybe we can't exactly know the truth, that they themselves are too humble to embrace certainty, that maybe other faiths and religions have some merit and we should not write them off, that we're all on our own path but they are all leading to the same God - that condemn others for declaring that the truth IS knowable (John 8:32, 1 Corninthians 2:16) and make any sort of suggestion that this truth should be unquestioningly obeyed - if you find you are under the sway of such a person, run away.

 Run away screaming.

 Because friends, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Son of God and the Lord of all,  the one and only Redeemer, and anyone who truly knows Him will be willing to shout that from every rooftop in town.

Friends, only by being thoroughly familiar with the truth will we be able to recognize a counterfeit.  And we ARE talking about a counterfeit here, right? So what are the characteristics of an effective counterfeit?  It's not going to be obvious; how would that fool anybody or lead anyone astray? No, a false teacher will very likely seem to possess many of the characteristics that we have come to associate with Godliness or Christ-likeness: humility, gentleness, a willingness to serve, compassion, etc etc. Don't be fooled! Test their spirits (1 John 4:1), and don't be deceived, because these false prophets, they are indeed among us. The Scriptures are so clear on these ideas, if we will just study! If we will just read, and then get together and talk! 

There are several books of the Bible that were written specifically to warn us against false teaching within the church: Galatians, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude. It is really challenging to identify a false teacher, Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), and his ministers masquerade as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15).  Please friends, I urge you to daily arm yourselves with the Truth, because our human natures are so easily deceived.  It's so easy to accept teaching that tickles our ears but does nothing to further the Kingdom of God.

As always, I welcome comments, questions and dissent, and I say that with all grace and honesty; it's not a challenge but an invitation. The entire spirit of this blog is summed up by Colossians 3:16: "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."  I'm just one voice, but the pursuit of Christ is a corporate one, so I beg of you to lend me your voice as well, that we may sharpen each other as iron sharpens iron, and together reach a better, fuller, and more effective understanding of the the Word of God.

Don't Rock The Boat!!

There are many times when I easily recognize that someone else has a better handle on a topic or situation or idea than I do, and when that I happens, I like to give that person the opportunity (and sometimes a nudge, or a shove (-;  I've got a couple of people who have really wrapped their heads around certain ideas that I've only just begun to think about, and I can't wait for them to guest post for me), to share their knowledge with my readers.

This is one of those times. Now, I'm just a kid who has been blessed with a solid Biblical foundation, and I consider myself a student of the Bible, because I study it, I read parallel passages and commentaries, I consult other people who have the same zeal for discerning practical application of Biblical truth, and I do my best every day to apply those principles to how I live and interact with others. Those are my credentials.  My father, who has again agreed to guest post for me here today, attended a well-respected seminary, has a master's degree in ancient languages, has taught philosophy and sociology at the college level, and has been a tireless student of the Bible his entire life, as well as a solid model of what a Godly man, a real and true persuer of Christ, looks like.  Those are his credentials. And it's not that this makes him the Grand Master of All Knowledge and Understanding, it's that it makes him someone who has thought about this particular subject (and more than a few others) a whole heck of a lot more than either you or I. So let's lend him an ear:


"On a rare occasion it will happen that someone will stand on an important principle and dissent from a group.

I'm going to give you three challenges here; the first two are easy, but the third one only one in perhaps hundreds will ever accept. The first challenge is this: name for yourself what groups you belong to. I'll get you started. You are first a member of the human race, then also of some tribe or nationality, then maybe a political party, maybe a workplace, maybe some associations or clubs, maybe a church, maybe THE Church, and certainly a family. These groups have enormous influence over who you are: how you think, how you feel about things, and what you want: greater power than you may be willing to admit. Every group you belong to has a culture: the way things just ARE in that group. And you are expected to conform to that culture. In fact you are under constant pressure to not dissent from that culture. For fifty years or so this subject has interested many good thinkers, who refer to the general subject as "groupthink."

The second challenge is for your memory. Can you recall anyone associated with you ever standing alone, on principle, against your group? It is a rare thing. Why? The answer lies in an idea some teacher (can't remember who!) suggested to me long ago. That the basic motivator for fallen humans is fear. The fallout if you were to dissent is terrifying. If you dissent you will be considered disloyal, or spiteful, or evil, and shunned, and it really doesn't matter if the concerns you voiced were valid or not.

Now, God created us and knows all about the power of groups. He knew when He planned out His Church and its life in the world what His peoples' experiences would be. And in the Bible He has left us tons of instruction about this subject. How am I as a Believer in Jesus to live in this world? The Bible word "world" is an English translation for a term meaning a beautiful, fallen system. Almost synonymous with our term "culture," only bigger. So John (I John) wrote "Don't be loving the world," and "We belong to God, but the whole world lies in the power of the Evil One." So the situation we have is that the world is fallen, in rebellion against God and thoroughly corrupt, and that corruption infects all our human groups. And in the event an individual Believer is convinced by the Spirit of God, as he reads the Bible, that some teaching or practice in one of his or her groups is simply and clearly wrong, there is conflict. First inner conflict, and then, as God gives grace to the dissenter to speak up for Him and His ways and His Truth, there comes the conflict of dissent. I'll make two examples, both about the Church.

In the 1850s or 60s, in England, the state had an official church, the Church of England. An official teaching of that church was that infants became Christians, and wholly children of God, by baptism. Called baptismal regeneration. Along came a bright, young preacher named Charles Spurgeon, who saw clearly that the Bible taught no such idea, and he found the grace to proclaim that salvation is by faith alone, irrespective of baptism.

 Do you suppose there was fallout?

 A current day example now. In our generation, there has been great, organized cultural pressure to accept homosexual practice as normal and acceptable. The nominal Christian church has bowed to this pressure. Now the Scriptures are explicit and unquestionable about the plan of God for marriage, and sexual boundaries. But if you dare to speak up for God on this subject, dissenting from the culture, there will be fallout.

 Feel the tension?

When Jesus said to His followers "You are the salt of the earth" this is exactly what He was talking about.  (Now if you are a reader of The Message you may have been confused here, where that version sadly fails with its reading  "You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth."  That is obviously not what Jesus meant.  Salt was used throughout the ancient Near East to slow down spoiling of meat).  Jesus is challenging His followers to live out His Truth in full view of the world, so that the difference in lifestyles is obvious.  Be truthful when everyone else lies.  Be a faithful husband or wife when everyone else finds excuses to fool around.  Call Jesus Lord over every area of your life even if your church leaders won't.  

So my third challenge is rough:  

If God's Word is clear, but your group is fuzzy, dissent.  

If the boat needs it, rock it.  

Be willing to stand alone until God brings along other faithful Believers to stand with you. 

 Paul wrote to the Romans (12:2) 'Quit copying the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing.'"

I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel Of Christ

I know I said that we would look a little deeper into how God communicates His mind this week, but this week has been a wild one, and since my habit is to blog about what's been on my mind the preceding week, we're going to have to change course and examine another idea today.

My journey as a Bible student is a relatively fresh one. I have a really solid Biblical foundation, having been raised in the church, being a Bible quizzer in my teen years, and having a father who has been a serious Bible student his entire life. I absorbed a lot of truth just merely by always being so near to it. And sure, I've spent some time over the years thinking and examining this idea and that, but serious study, with research and commentaries and seeking council and clarity from those wiser than myself, that's pretty fresh. And so to be perfectly honest, so much of what I share with you is ideas and concepts and truths that I have only very newly come to truly grasp and understand. And MAN, when you make yourself wide open to His teaching, He'll just teach the tarnation out of you, believe that!

This week was so full of lessons I barely know where to begin this blog today. Which tough lesson did I learn this week that I want to share with you all?

I think I want to talk about what it truly means to be unashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).

I've heretofore shared my serious concerns with manmade church movements, like emergent/emerging church, progressive church, etc. These movements take the Gospel of Christ and they twist it all around. They soften it, make it gentler, nicer, and easier for human ears to hear.  These entire movements are based around the idea that the Gospel of Christ needs to be somehow made more relevant, more palatable, more pleasant, if the world is ever going to accept it.

I have heard, "People don't come to Christ on their own, we have to love on them first."

I have heard, "The very fact that he is actively wrestling with whether or not to obey is an act of submission to God's will." (Meh??)

I have heard, "I can't speak into her life (I think this is the new way to say "exhort"??), because I haven't had her experiences and I can't truly understand her struggle."

I have heard, "Biblical love = radical acceptance."

I have heard, "I would NEVER turn my back on so-and-so!" (when challenged by 1 Cor. 5:11 to "not even eat with such people," in the case of a professing believer and her long-term live-in boyfriend).

I have heard, "I don't think anyone has the right to exhort anyone else based only on what the Bible says."

I have heard, "..and Lord, help us to obey You, but above all to love one another, because we know that that's the MOST important thing."

And doesn't all that seem to make so much sense? It falls on the ears so pleasantly, and it's so easy to accept. And do you know why that is?? It's because it's human reasoning. It makes so much sense because our wicked deceitful hearts  thought it up. Our own flawed, foolish human reasoning is constantly interfering with and perverting the truth of the Gospel, to the detriment of ourselves, our church bodies, and the entire world at large. Because by making it gentler and softer and more palatable, we rob it of its power.  We render it hollow and impotent, just one more self-help option. Just one more way to pursue vague "spirituality."

 Because friends? Half the Gospel is no Gospel at all. So hear me, friends:

There is one True God (John 17:3), and His name is Yaweh, Jehovah, Adanai (Deut. 4:39, 1 Kings 8:60, Isaiah 45:18). His name is NOT Buddha, Allah, or Shiva.

His Son is Jesus Christ, and He is the way, the truth, and the life, and He alone can offer us redemption  (John 14:6).

Hell is a reality, and people who die without ever accepting Christ as their Lord will go there (Matthew 25:42, Mark 9:43).

Those are the most basic of basics, Gospel 101, if you will. But for some reason lately, the church at large doesn't want to preach this anymore. It's too exclusive, too harsh, it's just not nice.  It might turn somebody off and then they won't come back to church. Again, human reasoning. The apostle Paul preached these basic truths to every town he went to, and if the town didn't except it, he shook their dust from his feet and moved on (Matthew 10:14). No apologies for not having a nicer message, no months and years spent with ill-defined "loving on" people. He just spoke the truth. All of it.

So in that vein, here are a few more truths that the current church seems entirely unwilling to admit or address, but of which I am unashamed:

Abortion is a plague, a holocaust of God's most innocent creations, and you CANNOT call Christ Lord and be pro-choice (Jeremiah 1:5, Matthew 25:40).

God hates homosexual sex (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Drunkenness, any amount of drunkenness, on any day of the week, is NOT OK. Period (Ephesians 5:18).

Marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and woman, and divorce is not ok, except for very specific reasons, which the Bible lays out for us (Matthew 19:2-9, 1 Corinthians 7:10-15). "We just grew apart," "Marriage wasn't how I thought it would be," "We just don't love each other anymore," and "irreconcilable differences" are NOT acceptable Biblical reasons for divorce.

Sex is for marriage. Not "people in committed relationships," not with "someone that you truly love." Marriage. Period (1 Corinthians 7:2. 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Mark 1:8).

Now listen: I am not here saying that this is the entirety of the Gospel of Christ, rules and regulations and harshness. Of course not! He is full to overflowing with love and kindness, and mercy and grace acceptance and forgiveness! What I am laying before you here is merely the parts of the Gospel that I fear are just being "left out" of the message. These are the parts of the Gospel that today's Church seems to be ashamed of. I have heard "everyone is on their own path," and "everyone has to take their own journey," and "God meets you where you are," and in every one of these instances, it has been someone defending either their own sinful behavior or the sinful behavior of someone else.

 The fact of the matter is, Jesus expects obedience. In fact, He is owed it, because we no longer belong to ourselves, we are bought and paid for by His blood, sanctified and set apart.  But if the churches and trusted church leaders refuse to acknowledge and preach and teach some of these most basic of Jesus' commands, what will become of us?? Because, let's be honest, your average Believers rely on their local pulpit for almost all of their truth intake. And they trust that they're getting the whole story, the whole truth, everything they need to know to be effective followers of Jesus. And they're being short-changed. We are all being short-changed when we are consistently only given half the Gospel.

And so is the Author.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not need any man to make it anything other than what it is. It is precisely as gentle, precisely as harsh, precisely as relevant as it needs to be. It is perfectly and entirely beautiful and complete exactly the way it is.

And so I challenge you, emergent/progressive church-types: I challenge you, local church preachers and teachers: what are you ashamed of??


For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes..
Romans 1:16

How God Communicates His Mind, part 1

This week I posted a couple of links on FB coming down on The Message "Translation" of the Bible, and I caught a little flack and got into some really great debates and conversations because of it. And while my mind was not at all changed about the merit of this so-called "translation" (I am NOT a fan!), I was challenged again to think about how God communicates His mind to His people.

Frank Viola is by far my favorite Christian author, his ideas are clear and inspired, and I feel like he has a gift for seeing the big picture of ecclesiology  in a way that turns almost everything we think we know about Church on its ear.  In a good way.  In the best way, because he challenges his readers to search for and see real truth in a landscape of faulty human reasoning and tradition.  In the first chapter of his book Revise Us Again, entitled "God's Three-fold Speaking," Frank talks about the three ways that God reveals His mind:

'The Torah contains the foundations on which the community of God's people are built.  The Torah includes God's enduring moral principles -the standards that spring from His very nature. These standards do not change, nor can they be compromised. In the Old Testament economy, the priest was the person who taught the Torah.

The Prophets section of the Bible often seems to contradict the Torah. The prophet is the person who enters the community of God's people and causes an abrasive, disruptive upheaval of what the community believes or practices.

The prophet challenges the people's response to the Torah, which is often a legalistic or libertine response.

In reality though, the prophet doesn't really contradict the Torah. He contradicts the people's response to it. We are fallen creatures, and we sometimes turn the standards of God into dead rituals. At other times we misapply or disregard them altogether. The prophet is needed at such times.

The Wisdom Literature contains something that we Christians often do not have a great abundance of - wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge gained through experience. It also includes a predictive element.

Because of his long experience, a wise person can detect patterns. And he's able to foresee outcomes (Luke 11:49, Prov. 22:3).

A wise person may make a statement like this: "What you just said sounds really god, but it's not going to work and here's why..."

The instrument of the Wisdom Literature is the sage, the wise old man with the gray head. The sage is sought after for his wisdom because he has the experience of life. As a result, he can peer into the future.

The priest is authorized by the authority of the Torah, which contains what God has previously spoken.  The prophet is authorized by the present burden of the Lord that the Holy Spirit lays upon him. The sage is authorized by his experience and the fruit of his wisdom, which can be evaluated by the future outcome of his counsel (Luke 7:35).

Put another way, the priest looks to the past and asks, "Is this scriptural? Is this right?"

The prophet looks to the present and asks, "What is God saying to us right now? What is His present leading?"

The sage looks to the future and asks, "How will our present actions affect the future? Is this decision wise or foolish?"

To put it in the language of the Bible: "The priest asks, "What do these stones mean?" (Josh. 4:6).  The prophet asks, "Is there any word from the Lord?" (Jer. 37:17). And the sage asks, "Where can wisdom be found?" (Job 28:12).'

Revise Us Again
Frank Viola


He goes on to address the inherent dangers of over-reliance of any single one of these modes, that all three are necessary to fully know the mind of Christ, and what that looks like when practically applied to Church life. This particular chapter was one of the most eye-opening and attitude-changing things I had ever read, and I can't wait to examine these ideas with you, but I fear it will have to wait til next week. My 2-year-old has decided that I am done blogging for the day, and my priorities dictate that I now turn my attention to him :) So cogitate on these ideas until next week, when we dig in a bit and try to figure out how these ideas might look in a properly functioning body of Believers.

 

Guest Post: How Is Your Church "Progressing?"

Around our place we have been bouncing around some thoughts about the self-named Progressive Church.  Wikipedia has a brief entry by that name which may be of benefit if you are not  familiar with the term.

Based on about forty years of observation, and a little background in ancient languages, ecclesiology and philosophy, I conclude the following.  Many of the teachings of the Progressive Church are not progressive at all,  but rather a movement back into the ancient heresies of gnosticism, antinomianism and universalism.  I know that's a mouthful.  Said another way, these guys are teaching some of the same stuff Paul, John, Peter and Jude had to fight against in the first generation of the Church's life.  But Progressive sounds so cool, doesn't it?  Reminds me of the Progressive Insurance Company and I wonder if they are actually innovative in any meaningful way.  Either one.

I'm serious about there being some glaring problems with the Progressive Church.  Let's make a baseball metaphor.

Let's "progressively" change some rules of the game.  Forget all those buzzkill rules about being "out" all the time.  We don't want those defensive positions around the field.  Oh, those guys can still stand out there, but it would be cooler if they would just clap a lot and yell things at the batter, like, "I affirm you, Dude."    And the pitcher should no longer be throwing so hard;  in fact, underhand delivery would be preferable.  We want every batter to hit a homer!  Hey, it's my game, so I'm going to name it Radical Love Baseball. If you love the game of baseball,  if you see the beauty in it just the way it is, messing with the rules would scandalize you.  The new rules above might be good for five-year-olds, but for die hard lovers of the game, such changes would be heartbreaking.

Now I do love baseball, but not in the way I love the Church.  And when I see the Devil fooling with it, I feel like I must scream a little.  Just reading a Psalm yesterday where the writer said something like, "God's people are all screwing up, and there are no prophets, so now what are we going to do?"  The Psalmist didn't say exactly that, but I'll bet my offering is better than the Message on that verse.  God, raise up some prophets!!

I use the baseball metaphor to underscore that what the Progressive Church is about goes beyond what is touted.  They seek to change some basic teachings of the Bible.  Someone should be blogging every day, exposing their false teaching with the Light of God's Word.  I promise to find you some links. . .somewhere out there a bright, straight-up, Truth-loving scholar, preferably with a double PhD in Koine Greek and Church History, may be blogging on this and I don't know about it.

I'll ask you one question, then quit for today.  In your church, do you hear clear teaching about holiness, the destiny of the lost, the abortion plague, sexual boundaries, the end times?  Really.  We all need to be involved with a group of Believers who challenge one another to obedience to the Whole Counsel of God.

Wait.  I have to throw this in.  In the Wikipedia article mentioned above, the author made a list of perhaps thirty or so people they described as notable Progressive Christians.  First name on the list is Barack Obama.  Now that is. . .  it's just. . .  I mean, lots of people (like Madonna, for example) assume he is a Muslim.

How Do You Want To Be Known?

Hello friends. It's always my aim to blog on Mondays. And some weeks lend themselves to quiet contemplation and easy ordering of thoughts, so that, come Monday, I can sit down at my laptop, and  perfectly lucid ideas come streaming from my mind, through my nimble fingertips, and onto this page.

This, I'm afraid, was not one of those weeks.

It has been a crazy week. My life has been a whirlwind of activity and my head a whirlwind of thought. I've been challenged on some ideas and convicted on others and I have made some pretty difficult decisions in my constant pursuit of learning what it means to acknowledge Christ's lordship and bring honor and glory to God with my heart, mind, and body. And while I started this blog with the intent of weekly tackling big and difficult ideas, I'm afraid I'm not so awesome as to weekly have something big and difficult to share. Not every week allows me to indulge in my scholarly pursuits, I'm afraid.

But just because the ideas in my head aren't big or difficult doesn't mean that they aren't important. As I further open myself to Christ's lordship in my life, the further I am convicted in so many areas, many of which I have never even considered or thought important. This week, the Spirit has left this little niggling question in my mind, and I haven't been able to help but meditate on it of most of this week.

How do you want to be known?

For most of my life I have been a person who has gone with the who-cares-what-people-think mantra. I've always been a bit of a square peg, and people generally find me to be uncomfortably outside the box. And when this is who you are, you either conform, spend your life filled with self-doubt, or grow a thick skin. I eschewed the first and adopted a perhaps not-so-healthy combination of the latter two, and led my life in the constant pursuit of trying to define who I am. And I've put on and taken off many meaningless hats in that pursuit: hardcore, emo, greaser, tattooed and pierced freak, party girl, the girl with the (insert ridiculous color here) hair, smoker, drinker, alcoholic, recovering alcoholic ..the list continues. The list of trying to define myself outside of the Body of Christ. None of it mattered.

I've grown and changed a lot in the last 6 years. Heck, I've grown and changed a lot in the last 6 months. But there is one ideal from my purposeless and fruitlessly rebellious youth that remains: I am adamantly against conformity or letting people, culture, or tradition define me. Now this doesn't mean that I still don't enjoy being held in high esteem by my peers, or being otherwise respected or admired. But I don't allow the esteem or opinions of my peers, or the paradigms or traditions of cultures or groups to define who I am, what I believe, or how I behave (Colossians 2:8). I am always open to wise counsel (Proverbs 19:20-21), and if you disagree with me, I will always listen, we can weigh it against scripture and hash it out (1 Corinthians 11:19).

But the long and short of it is this: I have a living and active Scripture (Hebrews 4:12) and an indwelling Spirit (John 16:13). Those are my most powerful weapons on this treacherous battlefield, and one will never contradict the other; as long as I faithfully devote myself to both, I can confidently and fearlessly follow the path set before me (Palm 119:105).  I rely on truth from no man, instead I take all preaching, teaching, and instruction and weigh it against what the Scripture and the Spirit have revealed. If the concepts are particularly tough, I take my questions to another Believer who is older and wiser and firmly grounded in Biblical truth, and he or she will crack open a Bible and walk me through it. But in the end, Christ convicts my heart; I will stand before Jesus to give account for myself, and I will be answerable to no one but Him (Romans 14:10-12). And I doubt He will say, "why didn't you try harder to fit in? You made people uncomfortable with your constant challenging and questioning and square-peggishness."

Now of course, there are more issues here that need to and will be addressed at some point: the pursuit of Christ is not meant to be an individual pursuit, but rather a corporate one, we are supposed to be subject to each other as one body under Christ's headship. But in the end, when I stand before Jesus, and He asks, "Why didn't you do what I commanded?" I don't think He'll accept "Well nobody else in my church/small group/community/etc was doing it" as an answer.

So back to the original question: how am I known? To those that like me (or at least respect me), I am the bold one, the one not afraid to question authority or challenge brothers and sisters to a deeper understanding of their faith, who has strong opinions that I'm not afraid to share, and a pretty decent head for Biblical knowledge. To those who don't like me, I am the constant thorn, the dissenter, the strife-bringer. ............

But how do I want to be known? As that girl who is so crazy in love with Jesus, so entirely sold out to His lordship, that she would do ANYTHING, say ANYTHING, throw off, forfeit, give-up, lose ANYTHING, EVERYTHING, and ANYONE in the pursuit of His honor and glory. That's  who I want to be. That's how I want to be known.

How do you want to be known?

Set Apart: Legalism v Holiness

"Legalism" seems to be the newest Emerging Church catchphrase. I hear it constantly, but it's always a bit obscure and ill-defined. What, exactly, is legalism? I myself have this word flung at me occasionally, because, being a hardcore Bible girl, I often /suggest/ to people that as followers of Jesus, there's a fairly specific code of conduct laid out for us in Scripture. That is, there are rules. There are things we are supposed to do and things we are not supposed to do. This idea used to be accompanied by the Duh Factor, but lately I'm finding that it's met by gasps of dismay and random, angry, Bible proof-texting.  So let's take a look at these two ideas, holiness and legalism, and see if we can't lend some clarity to this divisive issue.

Legalism is no simple concept, and pages could be written exploring and defining it. But simply put, legalism is the belief that what we do affects our redemption. You've perhaps heard it called "works-based faith," and it's an insidious, dangerous, anti-Biblical, and entirely wrong-headed doctrine still espoused by misled and misinformed people all over the world. Anybody who has any any decent teaching or done even a little studying will know that it is grace and faith alone that save us (Ephesians 2:8-10, Galatians 2:16), and we are not justified, or reconciled, to our God through works (Romans 3:20).

SO ....to clarify ...this is NOT what I'm saying when I exhort you to holiness and obedience. I am NOT telling you that you cannot know Jesus or be reconciled to God unless you live a certain way or follow certain rules. We all sin and fall short (Romans 3:23), this is Bible 101, and neither you nor I could ever obey well enough or live rightly enough to earn our own redemption. So again, that is not what I'm saying. I hope that's clear.

So what am I saying? I'm saying that just because we cannot earn our own salvation does not give us license to live however we want. The Person who did earn our salvation is owed a little more than that. When you come to know Christ, EVERYTHING changes, and I mean EVERYTHING. He transforms you from the inside out and makes you into a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). And yes, that transformation comes with expectations. It's a free gift, redemption, but just because your Savior has granted you liberty to live as you please does not mean that He has given you license. So let's go through a few Bible verses and see what God-breathed Scriptures tells us about all this.

John 14:15: “If you love me, keep my commands." -Well that's pretty self-explanatory. We're all comfortable with the idea of loving Jesus, we all want to do that more, and more effectively. So what are His commands? And remember, all scripture if God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), so the words do not have to come directly out of the mouth of walking-talking Jesus to be considered His commands. 


Galatians 5:19-21: "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." -Also fairly self-explanatory. Amongst other things, here Paul is saying that if you're having sex with someone you're not married to, or getting drunk, or throwing temper tantrums and punching walls,  (things happening every day in your average local church), there's a problem. A big one. But why is there a problem?

1 John 2:3-6:  "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.  But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:  Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." -Now THIS is a fully loaded verse! Explicit and convicting. 

Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — His good, pleasing, and perfect will." -Live like Jesus, it doesn't matter one bit what society thinks or what's culturally relevant or acceptable. So everyone you know is sleeping with their boyfriends and girlfriends, hitting the bar every weekend, and outspokenly supporting marriage equality and a woman's right to choose?  They tell you that if you take a moral stance on any of these things, you're judgmental? hate-filled? You don't really understand Christ's message of radical love? (now there's one we'll definitely have to address, and soon). Who cares?! Don't listen to all those babbling voice, those are some of the very patterns of this world to which we've been explicitly commanded not to conform! 

Romans 8:9: "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." -Again, obvious. If you belong to Christ, you won't live like the world anymore.

Romans 6:1-2: "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" -Sin is clearly defined all over the New Testament, you don't need me to link a dozen more verses to help define it. And this verse is saying that once we are saved, we cannot possibly keep living in sin! We technically have the right to, but we won't want to! Because knowing Jesus changes us! It changes our hearts, our desires, and our actions.



You have been sanctified by the blood of the Living Savior (1 Corinthians 6:11), and you have been set apart from the rest of the world for a holy purpose. You have been called to let go of the seductive or comfortable things things of this world (1 John 2:15), and to live holy lives that honor God (1 Peter 1:15-16). People should be able to SEE a difference in the way you live; it should be apparent. And that doesn't just mean that you should just be nicer to the bus driver, or more patient with your kids, tithe a little more or smile more or be friendlier to strangers. The way you actually live, the things you choose to do or not do, support or condemn, should be radically different from the rest of the world's. There should be no mistaking who you are and what you're about. Or Who has lordship over your life. 

A hundred years ago, Charles Spurgeon said: "An unholy church! It is of no use to the world and of no esteem among men. Oh, it is an abomination, hell's laughter, heaven's abhorrence. And the larger the church, the more influential, the worse nuisance does it become when it becomes unholy. The worst evils which have ever come upon the world have been brought upon her by an unholy church."

What stark and terrifying words! Yet still this seems to be the path the church as a whole is travelling. Not only does there seem to be a church-wide move away from a call for holiness and obedience, there seems to be less and less of a conviction that such things are even real or necessary!  I hear a lot about love and grace (doctrines of paramount importance, of course!!), but nothing of holiness, sanctity, or obedience. I hear a lot about not judging (a complex idea that warrants much study and examination), and nothing about repentance.  

Do you know what Jesus' main message was while he was here one earth? You've heard that it was nothing but love, and for sure, Jesus preached love. But do you know what His overall theme was? It was repent (Matthew 4:17). Repentance, simply put, is recognizing you are sinful, wanting to stop sinning, and then actively turning from sin. It's a call to action. But how can we follow Jesus' number one command, to turn from sin, if we're unwilling to draw clear lines between right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable, pleasing and grieving? How can we heed the call for holiness without first admitting that holiness is real?

This is a huge and complex subject. I struggled even in writing this, because the ideas are so big and there are so many different concepts in here that could each be studied for a lifetime. As always, I exhort you to two things: 1, please click on all the hyperlinks and read the verses for yourselves. And read the verses that come before and after. Heck, read the whole passages.  I'm doing my best to relay as much truth as I understand, but real truth can only be found in the Word of God. And 2, if what I'm saying doesn't sound right, if it wasn't what you were taught, what you've learned, what your local church is teaching you, call me out right here on this blog. If you think I'm wrong, don't just dismiss me as wrong and move on. Let's hash it out, that's how truth is uncovered and God's will is revealed (1 Corinthians 11:19).

Before I go,  "Bible Answerman" Hank Hanagraaf has a helpful mnemonic on the subject of holiness that I found both informative and succinct, so I thought I would share:

"The concept of holiness is central to Scripture. Today, however, the Christian church produces truckloads of materials designed to make men healthy and happy rather than holy.

The principles for holy living can be internalized by using the acronym "H-O-L-I-N-E-S-S."

H = Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is the agent of holiness. He is not called "holy" simply because He is God, but rather because He works to produce holiness in the life of the believer.

O = Old Testament:
In the Old Testament, God set apart a people not because they were holy, but in order to make them holy. The Israelites were set apart in a Holy Land (Canaan), set apart through Circumcision, and set apart by the Commandments. Holiness means to be set apart for the service of God rather than for the service of self.

L = Legalism:
Legalism does not equal holiness! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus introduces the possibility of living solely for God and not for outward appearances based on the traditions of men.

I = Internal Holiness:
While man looks at externalities, God is concerned with our deepest internal motivations. He is not as concerned with what we do as He is with why we do what we do.

N = New Testament:
If the Old Testament symbol of holiness is found in the commandments, the New Testament symbol for holiness is found in the Cross. The difference between law and grace is the difference between religion and relationship!

E = Eschatology:
The eschatology of holiness will ultimately be realized in eternity when positional holiness gives way to practical holiness. On that glorious day we will behold Him "face to face."

S = Sanctification:
As Christ died that we might be justified, so we are justified in order that we may be sanctified, or made holy. Sanctification involves being conformed daily to Christ rather than transformed by our culture.

S = Suffering:
Suffering is an integral part of biblical holiness. Spurgeon once wrote that he was "certain that he had never gown in grace one-half so much anywhere as upon the bed of pain." We are "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified in Him" (Romans 8:17)."