Working Out Your Salvation

One of the problems with doing a blog is the feeling of "obligation" of posting something on a regular basis. I must admit, it has been difficult to find the time to write or even find a topic to discuss in the blog the last 4-5 days. I just know I needed to put something on the blog, but I couldn't decide what that should be. So, like most people when all other avenues fail, I decided to pray about it! Seriously, I asked God what direction to take the posting for today, and He impressed on me to tell you what I have been learning recently.

I am reading several books right now due to some academic pursuits I am attempting to undertake. One of the books I'm reading is Christian Theology by Allistar McGrath. This is McGrath's systematic theology. Although I don't know that many of you would be interested in reading a book on systematic theology, I am learning some things that may be instructive for each of us.

Philippians 2:12 tells us to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." The passage following this command is about "doing", but the section preceding this verse is instruction on who Jesus is. What this tells me is that before I can "do things for God", I must spend time "knowing" God.

As I spend time learning more about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, salvation, the church, etc., I am finding myself spending more time ministering to people. It's easier to serve others when I'm walking closer to Him. By spending time with Him, I feel compelled to serve others. Plus, the ministry I do seems to be more effective and rewarding.

A second thing I have noted is how the circumstances surrounding the church has influenced theology. When the church faces a challenge within the culture, God raises up teachers to instruct His people. God does not cast His church adrift when storms arise. He would place leaders in their midst to provide a clear voice to lead the way to Him. This is most striking in the time of the Reformations. Men like Martin Luther and John Calvin measured their culture and the church against the Bible, and they would call people to go back to the God revealed in Scripture.

Finally, I'm learning the importance of clarity. Some of the authors I have been reading lately are just a little too smart for their own good. They can be so technical in their language that they leave me (and probably many others) wondering what they are talking about. It does not do much good to think deep thoughts about God if you can't share them in a way for others to understand. All of us should learn how to speak truth to others in a way that they can grasp. Don't let our lack of clarity be a stumbling block to others.

Great Leader: Great Teacher book review

I finished Great Leader: Great Teacher by Gary Bredfeldt. I must say it was an excellent book on leadership. Although the emphasis of the book is in on leadership within the church, many of the points made within the book can be used by any Christian who is in a position of leadership and influence.

Three areas stand out as the strengths of this particular book: the importance of leaders viewing teaching as a critical aspect of leadership, the four paradigms of leadership, and the four basic types of churches. Bredfeldt does an excellent job of tying those three topics that are unique to his book with his view on other leadership issues like priorities, character, commitment, and competencies. The book has a strong foundation of Scripture to support and expand the ideas that are expressed.

The highlight of the book is the stress Dr. Bredfeldt places on the role of teaching in church leadership. His point is that the proper teaching of Scripture is the foundation for all other aspects of leadership. "Biblical leadership is a teaching task." (p. 27) It is the teaching of the Bible that adds the meaning and significance to the leadership provided by the church leader.

How does this translate to the Christian business man, teacher, business owner, etc.? I think Bredfeldt points that out in the chapter More Like Jesus Than Jack (Jack Welch, former leader of GE), in which leaders are challenged to lead by example. If you want to have credibility as a leader and teach others what you believe, then you must live it out in all areas of your life. As people witness how you conduct business, teach, or lead differently than others, you will gain opportunities to teach them why you are a different kind of leader.

This is a great addition to a person's leadership library, especially for those involved in church leadership. Buy it, read it, then teach it to others.

Pill to erase bad memories?

An article at Daily Mail online on February 17 revealed that doctors may have developed a pill that will "erase" bad memories. Rather than make any comments or state the concerns this may raise, I think I would encourage you to think on this one.

The article is in the Daily Mail online. If you choose to read the article online, I would caution you to be careful about the site if you are easily offended. The article's title is "Pill to erase bad memories: Ethical furor over drugs 'that threaten human identity'" The implication from the article is that they are working on a pill that will erase bad memories through a chemical process. For once, they do give two sides of the issue (ethical implications and potential benefits), but we need to look at it from a biblical perspective.

A few passages of Scripture that could help you see this issue from God's perspective.
Deuteronomy 4:10; 5:15; 7:18; 8:2 & 18
2 Corinthians 1: 3-7
Romans 8:28-30
1 Peter 5:12-19
James 1:12-15
Hebrews 11:32-40

Read the passages and consider whether or not it would be a good thing to "forget" our bad memories. Does God want us to forget those memories? Do we benefit if we forget "bad" memories? Are other people harmed if we forget our "bad" memories?

Designer Babies

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal recently that is very pertinent to The Truth Project. The theme of the article was how families may soon have the ability to "order" their children with desired characteristics. You may not think this is an important issue, but it goes directly to the importance of human life and it's worth and value.

I had planned to write something about this issue, but, fortunately for us, Dr. Al Mohler has posted a blog about this very article. I will let his words speak for him.

My contribution to this discussion concerns awareness. You must take it upon yourself to know the implications of issues like genetic manipulation, invitro fertilization, euthanasia, gene therapy (i.e. stem cell research) and other sanctity of life issues. You must weigh those issues against God's word and have an informed understanding on how these issues can be addressed. This knowledge should then be used to inform your conversations and the influence you exert on individuals, organizations, and governments.

Read the article, and read Dr. Mohler's blog. Both will give you a glimpse at the future of the sanctity of life debate.

Darwin's Birthday

February 12 marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. Articles singing his praises have already been published in most major papers this week. I could cite the articles in the Financial Times, NY Times, or Sun Sentinel as examples. All of them say essentially the same thing, "Darwin was right, and when will the uneducated masses accept it as fact?"

I'm not going to spend my time refuting Darwin's theory of evolution. Frankly, people smarter than me have devoted their lives to searching for truth, and they have done great jobs of pointing to the holes in Darwin's theory (Google people like Michael Behe and Dembenski or watch "Expelled" by Ben Stein to learn more.) What I want to do is remind us of what is at stake.

Evolution, as it is taught and defended in today's media and educational institutions, is not a scientific theory. It is a philosophical theory hiding behind a scientific veil. If it were truly a scientific theory, then dissenting viewpoints would be allowed. Evidence that refutes major points of the theory would be examined and questions would be allowed that question the validity of the theory. Instead, flimsy "evidence" from science is held up and all dissenters are thought of as "ignorant, stupid, or insane (or wicked)" according to Dawkins.

We need to understand that many people hold on to evolution as a "point of faith." In other words, they have accepted the "evidence" they have been presented, and they have filled in the gaps with faith in a theory. Most Christians have filled in those gaps with faith in the Creator. Both are residing in faith.

Why would people want to place their faith in a theory that is tenuous at best? Because this theory allows them to live without giving thought to a judgment for their actions. Faith in a theory allows them to be like Adam and Eve, and to become like God.

As Christians, we must realize that we will not change a person's heart by overwhelming them facts, figures, and logic, though these are important. Knowing the facts, figures, and having the ability to reason with others allows us to demonstrate that we have given thought to our beliefs. Also, it demonstrates that we are paying attention to what is happening in science. Engaging in the science gives us a "seat at the discussion table."

How does change take place? A person encountering the truth of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. I once had a sales training class that said that people change deeply held beliefs through one of two experiences: a near-death experience or a religious conversion. Since I wouldn't recommend the first experience, we must put people in the position to experience God.

We must be about the business of learning what the scientific world is discovering. We must encourage our children to engage in science and math, while at the same time we are pouring Christ into their lives. Our faith should be able to stand up to a hearty examination. Our God is faithful and true, so don't be afraid to depend upon Him to vindicate what is true.

Wise Decision Making In A Wicked World

One of the things I encounter most when counseling with people, whether in the church office or in personal interactions with others, is the idea of how to make good decisions. I never try and make the decision for a person, instead I try to get them to ask the right questions to help them make their own decision. Also, this trains people to start processing information on their own to start making better decisions.

I found a great article that will give you some guidelines on how to make good decisions in the world today. Please understand, these are guideline. This does not replace prayer and Bible study. You should always seek God's wisdom in making decisions, and this tool should drive you back to those basic practices.

This article is found on the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission website. This is a great tool that can equip you with information in the on-going battle within our culture. The site covers topics ranging from government, family, movies, and cultural issues. I would putting this in your favorites list and visiting it occasionally to stay current.

Evolution Up for "Debate" in Texas

A recent article in the New York Times is very appropriate for what our church has been studying and discussing recently. The article concerns the on-going debate on how to describe evolution within textbooks, and whether or not to include a discussion of creation.

What I would like for you to do is to read the article and determine what perspective or agenda the author is advocating. Do you see the Richard Dawkins perspective in that anyone who questions evolution is ignorant, stupid, or insane?

Don't let the potential derision or ridicule keep you from engaging in the battle. Take what you know to be true and jump into the fight with confidence and humility. That is the only way we can hope to gain ground in this battle over truth.

Chimps As Smart As Humans?

The weekend of February 1, 2009 was a "banner" day for evolutionists and environmentalists on The Times Online edition. I have already mentioned the story about limiting families to two children for environmental reasons. A second article that caught my attention carried the title, "Hello smartypants: baby chimps are as bright as human infants."

Obviously, the article captured my attention. It appears that researchers are ready to say that a nine month old chimpanzee is as smart (or smarter in some instances) than a nine month old baby. The research, in and of itself, does not really matter to me. To me, I see evidence of God's wisdom in how He created creatures to be unique within the world.

As I considered the information contained in the article, I started evaluating how the article was written. The article has assumptions built within it's language and context that lead to terrible conclusions though. In my opinion, the article was written with the objective of saying that chimps and humans are the same. Cultures that has reached that point, always leads to atrocities against people.

Of course, the Bible is clear that man is different than the rest of creation. The Genesis account points out that man is the crown of God's creation. This is most clearly seen in man being described as bearing God's image. Because we bear the image of God, which includes but not limited to having a spirit or soul, humans are different than the animals.

Man has been created to have a relationship with God and to have dominion over the earth. Any thought that equates the value of man with animals is to denigrate the value God has placed upon mankind. The Creator, above any other person, would be able to accurately weigh the worth and value of the creation. We must always understand the world in light of the way God views the world. By doing so, we remain in touch with reality, the way the world really is and can interact with God, other people, and creation appropriately.

Environmentalism and the Clash with a Christian Worldview

There was a revealing and fascinating article in this past weekend's Times Online, which is the London Times online edition. The article is titled "Two Children Should Be The Limit Says Green Guru." The U.K. is a great glimpse into our future since they are obviously a post-Christianity culture, and this glimpse should be frightening and a warning for us to be sure about what we believe.

Sarah-Kate Templeton writes about the beliefs and probable recommendations of a chair of a government commission charged with looking at environmental issues for the U.K.. The most frightening and chilling statement is found in the second paragraph.

Jonathon Porritt, who chairs the government’s Sustainable Development Commission, says curbing population growth through contraception and abortion must be at the heart of policies to fight global warming. He says political leaders and green campaigners should stop dodging the issue of environmental harm caused by an expanding population.

Let that sink in. We have government officials who are advocating for the "good of the environment" for the government to impose limits on the number of children allowed per family. This is the logical outcome from a god-less worldview.

As we saw in Tour 3 of The Truth Project, the results of humanity depending on our own thinking and logic on the value of human life has led to horrifying genocides in our world. The depravity of the human heart cannot be underestimated, and holding a biblical worldview is critical to combating this kind of thinking.

For those of you who lead a small group, this should be a wake-up call to you as to why leading others and teaching truth matters. If we wait to equip people with the truth, we may find entire cultures killing babies in the name of saving the planet.

The question I got repeatedly after Tour 5a was "How can they not see that what they believe is a lie?" My best guess at an answer for that question is self-delusion. People want to live for themselves so badly, and so desire living without the thought of judgment, that they delude themselves to the truth. I'm reminded of a child who will put their fingers in their ears and shout "la, la, la" to keep from hearing the truth. That is how many people live today. The Scripture below describes them well.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:21-23