PERSEVERANCE

Today I picked up Caleb at the airport. I told Melissa this morning that to me Caleb's trip to Italy wrapping up feels like my favorite TV show reaching the end of the season.

In other words, these past few weeks I was living vicariously by binge watching Caleb navigate European travel. And now it's over.

I am not sure when the idea of a short term study abroad experience really took root in Caleb's mind, but he spent months working out this opportunity to study the Italian language in Florence. 

The first obstacle was expense. So he found and applied for a scholarship.

When he was notified that he would be receiving this scholarship - for $5,000! - he was extremely disappointed!

That's because the scholarship notification came just hours after his ROTC commander had denied his request to miss a weekend training that would be falling in the middle of the trip to Italy. 

Motivated by the scholarship, Caleb persevered. It turned out the training wasn't the military's main consideration. The main problem was they were concerned about Caleb catching Covid in Italy when his next stop was to be a month of advanced camp at Fort Knox.

So the answer remained "No".  (When did the military become so risk averse?)

Still, Caleb moved forward. He looked at the calendar. He studied the protocol and timelines for Covid. Then he returned with a compromise: Could he go if he left Italy 4 days early, giving him two full weeks before the start of advanced camp?

Finally, he got the greenlight he had been seeking.

And throughout this whole process, there were deadlines and non-refundable payments to consider. It all came down to the last second. He wasn't able to confidently book a flight until two weeks before his departure date!

But all that stress and effort makes photos like this one all the more joyous:

I don't know how much Italian vocabulary Caleb will retain for the rest of his life. Probably not much. 

I suspect the most valuable thing he learned through this experience was perseverance.

It's a character trait that doesn't get a lot of attention or fanfare, but Scripture views it as part of "the divine nature".  And a necessary quality for those who wish to be effective and productive in their knowledge of Jesus Christ:

2 Peter 1:3-8

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Where could a bit more perseverance take you and me?

NEEDING MIRACLES

A friend put me on to sermon by Jason Craft, leader of a church called Messiah's House. I don't know anything about him or the church outside of this sermon, "Don't limit God". 

Craft managed to reframe miracles for me, and it wasn't even his main point. 

He pointed out that while in the desert, the Israelites were dependent on miracles on a daily basis. Manna from heaven. Water from a rock. 

It made sense ... because they were in a stinking desert.

But God intended them to be living in "a land flowing with milk and honey". In other words, a place where that struggle for survival would be a thing of the past. Where they would "live in God's blessing". 

In the events of the Old Testament we find so many shadows of future, deeper realities. From our New Testament perspective, we understand the Israelites' slavery in Egypt to mirror humanity's deep bondage to sin. 

Though God frees the Israelites and shows them the promised land, they doubt, fear, and complain. Their entry into that promised land is delayed. 

But when they finally do cross through the waters of the Jordan, they have come into a Promised Land where they are meant to enjoy a right relationship with God, just as our baptism in the Holy Spirit moves us into a New Life. 

Back to the sermon: Craft says we assume seeing a miracle would deepen our faith but it doesn't. And the Israelites proved this. Day after day they ate and drank miracles. And day after day they grumbled and fought God. 

Craft says, "The road to maturity is not through miracles. The road to maturity goes through trials."

"Many Christians are living in the wilderness rather than the Promised Land." Living "from miracle to miracle". They are wandering about, living on their own terms, and when they bump into a struggle, they cry out to God for a miracle. 

God wants us to move beyond lives of crisis, constantly needing a miracle for our rescue. He wants us to move into a place where we know his blessing and provision as a "natural" part of our lives.

What do you think? Is this generally on target?

BASIC THEOLOGY

You never know what percentage of the people in the pews understand basic theology. And, sadly, sometimes the pastors' understanding is suspect as well. 

One Sunday morning years ago, Melissa and I were listening to a sermon from the lead pastor at a large church I was serving as youth pastor. From high up in the balcony, our view commanded the entire congregation.

The text for the sermon was John 14:2 & 3, the words of Jesus to his disciples: "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." 

Not far into the sermon, the preacher - a kind, grandfatherly type - said this: "Our God has a large heavenly mansion with lots of rooms. I don't know about you, but I know a lot of Muslims who are good people. I can't imagine God doesn't have a room for each of them. And I know Buddhists who are good people. I can't imagine God doesn't have a room for them too. Heck, I know atheists who are really good people. And I believe God has space for them in heaven as well."

My wife and I looked around the crowd to see if anyone would stand up and walk out.

Nobody did. 

The minister had just used his time in the pulpit to proclaim the exact opposite of Christian faith, and it didn't even cause so much as an uncomfortable shifting in their seats.

WHATSOEVER

John Wesley was serious about small groups. But the small groups he created for the Methodists of 18th century England were nothing like what modern American Christians currently experience.

The hardest of Wesley's hard core groups was the "band meeting". These were small, homogenous groups, and members were serious about defeating the power of sin in their lives. 

Just to GET IN to one of these groups, you needed to truly desire to be free of sin. This was demonstrated by answering the following questions (among others) in the affirmative: 

"Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that plain and home?"

"Do you desire that every one of us should tell you from time to time whatsoever is in his heart concerning you?"

"Do you desire we should tell you whatsoever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear, concerning you?"

Clearly, these were not small groups getting together for a pitch-in, small talk, and a devotion!

The closest I ever came to something along the lines of “Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that plain and home?” came in the first church I served as youth pastor, fresh out of college. 

This small group was decidedly heterogenous, and one of the seven or eight regulars was a retired math professor in her 70s. She was a straight shooter. 

Once after one of our meetings, she approached me and asked, “Can I give you some advice that you might find hurtful? I only say it out of love.” 

Compelled by curiosity, I consented. 

She said, “You need to stand up straight. Stop slouching. You are tall and you should stand to your full height. As it is, you don't look like you have any confidence. But you have every reason to feel confident.” Nobody outside of my parents had ever said anything remotely like that to me. 

And you know what? Far from being offended, I felt that this woman really did care for me and my respect for her grew instantly.

Maybe we could use a little bit of Wesley in our small groups today...

YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET

When Philip first brings Nathaniel to meet the man he suspects is the long-awaited messiah, Jesus pays Nathaniel what has to be one of the greatest compliments of all time: "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." (John 1:47)

What an odd thing to say. Nathaniel responds, "Have we met before? How do you know me?"

For us, living in an age of cell phones, surveillance cameras, and drones, it might be difficult to imagine why Nathaniel is so amazed by Jesus's answer, but in his day, it was inexplicable: "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." 

And that is all it takes to elicit this confession of faith from Nathaniel: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

This seems to amuse Jesus: "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You are going to see greater things than that!" 

Really? How are you going to top being able to see something happening miles away as it happens?

"I tell you the truth - you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

The topic switches from what Jesus saw to what Nathaniel himself is going to see.

Heaven opening and angels on the move. You are going to see an alternate reality. A deeper reality, more real than that fig tree you were sitting under. A fourth dimension. 

Here's the takeaway: Whatever attracted YOU to Jesus in the first place - 

his purity, his wisdom, his challenging teachings, or anything else - 

stick with Him. Follow Him closely. Don't wander away.

Because you ain't seen nothing yet.

THINKING "I LOVE YOU"

I am more and more fascinated by matters of "mindset" and how our thinking and beliefs shape our experience. They seem to determine what we call "reality". 

A woman on a podcast said her therapist had suggested the following habit to overcome social anxiety: 

Just before you begin any interaction with another person - a family member, a co-worker, or a stranger at a cash register - silently think to yourself, "I love you."

When I heard that, I paused the podcast. Could making this simple thought into a habit influence a person's relationships and interactions in a significant way?

It seems weird and quirky, but I think it could have a profound impact. 

There is a powerful urge in our minds towards consistency. We don't like to be hypocrites. So if I tell myself that I love that frustrating co-worker, I am more likely to act in a loving way, whatever direction our conversation takes. And if I tell myself that I love that stranger in Walmart, I am much less likely to treat him as an object in my way.

I am guessing that mentally reciting "I love you" might take a lot of practice to become a habit, but I am going to give it a try.

"Love your neighbor as you love yourself." 

Anything that could help me keep the 2nd greatest commandment is worth an effort. 

SOIL EXPERIMENT PART 2: SOIL REHAB

In yesterday's post I began to describe an experiment involving growing some plants in play sand and some in sand plus Soil Rehab. Before revealing the results, it might be helpful to let you know what makes Soil Rehab unique.

Scott Laskowski, founder of OrganiLock, has spent years in research and development of Soil Rehab and the machinery necessary to produce it. What I am about to describe almost seems too good to be true - which is exactly why I felt compelled to test it out at home.

Soil Rehab is a combination of biochar, organic wood waste, and animal waste. One of the beautiful things about this product is that the word "waste" here is accurate and literal - this is material that would otherwise likely go into a landfill! All this "waste" is ground together, dehydrated, and pasteurized and then beneficial soil microbes are added. The result is a powerful soil amendment that actually revitalizes soil so that it can support healthy harvests. 

Yesterday I showed pictures of the plants which were given nothing but sand and water. The bean plants were skinny, pale, and shedding the few leaves they developed. The marigolds reached 2 or 3 inches and then stopped growing.

Now it's time to reveal the progress of the plants which had sand, water, AND Soil Rehab. Maybe it could go without saying that in the photo below these plants are on the left and the sand plants are on the right.

The bean plants in the Soil Rehab mix are producing multiple beans and they are all moving toward a length worth harvesting.

The marigold is 10 inches tall and ready to bloom. The main bloom is right there on top, but 6 or 7 other buds are also developing.

You might have noticed that the roots I showed yesterday were not too extensive on the sand beans:

Compare that to this root system in the Soil Rehab mix. I took this picture of the side of the container because I didn't want to kill off these bean plants while they are doing so well. 

So I guess what I am saying is ... I'm a believer. 

I am excited to be a part of getting Soil Rehab into the hands of farmers in Haiti and Ghana and anywhere the soil is needing a boost to become productive again. 

Please pray for wisdom, vision, and favor for us at Mission Resource and the same for the leadership at OrganiLock as we move forward together in this venture.

SOIL EXPERIMENT PART 1

A company out of Kentucky called Organilock is partnering with Mission Resource to begin testing their new product, Soil Rehab, in the depleted soils of Ghana and Haiti and elsewhere in the developing world. Soil Rehab has incredible potential to replace traditional chemical fertilizers in rejuvenating even the most depleted soils. And there's a bonus: it is manufactured in a way that benefits the environment instead of harming it.

OrganiLock has run multiple tests to show that you can create an environment in which plants can grow and flourish even in a container of literal sand - with the addition of just a few tablespoons of Soil Rehab. 

Now I am one of those guys who has to see for himself. So I decided to run my own experiment at home. 

I bought some seeds, a couple of Rubbermaid containers, and a bag of play sand.

Tomorrow I will reveal how the plants in the Soil Rehab mix performed.

But today I just want to focus on the beauty and vitality of God's creation as seen in the plant life all around us that brings us beauty and nutrition.

Here's how I came to that focus: I started my experiment assuming no plant could grow in sand alone, but - remembering my high school science classes - I knew I needed a control group regardless. So I planted 3 green beans and 3 marigolds in 2 separate containers - one with sand alone and one with sand mixed with Soil Rehab.

I wasn't surprised that the seeds in the plain sand sprouted. (I remember growing beans on wet paper towel in grade school.) But I was amazed by their will to survive and to reproduce, even in the absence of all nutrients.

Although thin, pale and fragile, the bean plants grew over a foot tall. And then each produced a tiny bean or two! I uprooted two of the these three bean plants today because I took all the plants outside one day for some direct sunlight only to have a gentle spring breeze bend these two in half, ending their valiant struggle against the odds.

The marigolds, on the other hand, sprouted quickly and then slowly grew to the height of 2 or 3 inches before stopping completely. For at least a month now they have been the same size. But now they are attempting to produce tiny blooms all the same. They are bonsai marigolds!

The remaining sand bean is still alive. It has produced two green beans but all of its leaves have withered away. From the beginning it was not strong enough to stand up straight. (Which is what saved it from the spring breeze that killed its sisters.)

Still, its two beans are each 2.5 inches in length.

So at first I was amazed at the persistence of these poor plants sprouting in sand. But then it occurred to me that there is something even more amazing going on here.

Although they are all pathetic, these three miniature marigolds and three bean plants grew in nothing but sand and water. 

So all of the tiny leaves and stem and bud we see in this little guy (as well as the root system we don't see) ...

Either came from what was originally packed into this little marigold seed:

OR it was derived from the sand:

How is either possible? 

It seems to me that a third possibility exists: something supernatural is going on here. And I mean that literally.

And it is happening all around us every day.

“Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”           - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."              Colossians 1:15-17

FEARS AS LIMITS

Here is an idea and an image I found on Twitter from someone who calls himself @PeakTobi:

The idea is profound. The image is simple and sticky. 

I have looked at it several times in the hope that this image will pop into my mind the next time I am confronted with a situation that arouses my fear. 

And then I hope to consider the territory further up the slope where I can never explore if I back away. 

God willing, I will make the leap instead.

A FATHER'S PLEASURE

As a father, I find great joy in seeing my kids experience great joy.

In recent weeks I have thoroughly enjoyed 

• Watching Sarah sing and dance on stage.
• Watching Samuel interact with new friends.
• Watching Hannah plant flowers in pottery she created this semester.

And lately ... seeing photos of Caleb.

Caleb is in Florence, Italy for a couple of weeks for a study abroad experience.

He just finished a hard semester that was part of a tough year that was part of a difficult college experience so far. 

But now - for a short time - he is climbing the Tower of Pisa, touring the Roman Coliseum, and eating gelato. 

I simply cannot describe how elated I am to see these photos and that big smile on his face. 

In fact, standing beside him in St. Peter's Square might honestly bring me only slightly more pleasure than I am feeling from afar. 

It might do each of us a lot of good to contemplate now and then how there must be times in our lives when our heavenly Father takes great pleasure in watching what we are up to. 

SHARING LIGHT

In John Wesley's treatise of 1775 called A Calm Address to Our American Colonies, he begins by saying he had supported the colonists' "no taxation without representation" position early on, but after careful thought and reading, he had changed his mind.

Over the course of several pages, Wesley then makes a powerful case against the legitimacy of the American protest against British taxes. (Considering the matter from England's perspective makes for interesting reading.)

And after writing it, he printed up thousands of copies and shipped them to America, at great risk to his own safety and reputation. 

The treatise begins with Wesley admitting he had been wrong. But now, "As soon as I received more light myself, I judged it my duty to impart it to others." 

A few paragraphs in, Wesley concedes, "I now speak according to the light I have. But if anyone will give me more light, I will be thankful."

And I believe he is being sincere. 

It's a humble and refreshing approach. He assumes those who disagree with him on this issue are nevertheless united with him in pursuit of "more light". And perhaps there is more light to be had - by everyone.

Let's bring this approach back to our present culture. 

BODY OF DEATH

Yesterday as I was looking at various published sermons online about Romans 7, I came across an interesting illustration used by several pastors in relation to 7:24 - "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

There was a hideous practice in ancient Rome wherein a convicted murderer was punished by having the corpse of his victim chained to him. The murderer was forced to live with this dead body strapped to his back and as the body rotted, death would slowly creep across his skin as well.

And that - these preachers explained - is what Paul has in mind in 7:24 - "Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

Sin is like this stinking, rotting corpse that we can't get away from.

What a powerful illustration!

Until your critical thinking muscles engage. And if yours are anything like mine, they've gotten a lot of exercise over the past couple of years.

These days, I don't believe everything I read. None of us should. And I call baloney on this illustration. 

Yes, the Romans could be brutal - the best example was crucifixion, a horrific punishment. But there is no way a murderer was punished in the fashion these preachers describe. And no evidence this is what Paul had in mind. 

Think about it. The body of a murder victim is going to be given a respectful burial, not be used as part of the punishment of the murderer. What grieving family is going to allow their loved one's corpse to be chained to somebody else, especially the cad who caused the death? 

Ridiculous.

When I Googled it, there were 330,000 results - and, as far as I could tell, they were all from contemporary Christian preacher-types. I could not find a source outside of the sermons. No one with any historical expertise described this supposed practice. 

There's plenty of misinformation out there these days. Pastors should be careful not to add to it. 

Check your sources. 

Speak only truth.  

DELIGHT IN GOD'S LAW

Yesterday I outlined the first part of a sermon by John MacArthur on Romans 7:14-24. To his credit, MacArthur lays out the argument used by those who say Paul's "the good I want to do, I don't and the evil I don't want to do, this I keep doing" passage is meant to convey the experience of a non-believer. 

It's an argument established by context. And MacArthur has to admit that the verses surrounding Chapter 7 "seem to say sin is dethroned" in the life of a true believer. 

Even so, he still teaches that the passage describes Paul's actual struggle even as a mature believer. 

This creates a real problem. It makes Paul the worst preacher in history: "You all need to understand that you are set free from sin. You are no longer a slave to sin. Christ has dethroned sin in your life. But me? I can't help it. I can't seem to make myself do good and I just keep on sinning." 

So why does MacArthur sweep aside all of the relevant context? He believes Paul's words represent the ongoing battle every believer has with sin because in verse 22, Paul writes "In my inner being I delight in God's law." 

And MacArthur says to "delight in God's law", one must be born again. One must know Christ.

This seems profound and correct at first glance. As proof, MacArthur cites Romans 8:7 - "The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so."

But there's a problem. That verse doesn't say the sinful mind can't love God's law, just that it can't submit to it.

So is MacArthur correct in asserting that one must be born again to be able to delight in God's law?

The entirety of the Old Testament begs to differ.

How many generations of Israelites claimed a genuine love for God's law, even as they failed to live up to it?

Psalm 139 gives a shining example of how Israelites aimed to revere God's law. The poet wrote:

14 - I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

16 - I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

20 - My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.

24 - Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

30 - I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.

97 - Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

111 - Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.

174 - I long for your salvation, O Lord, and your law is my delight.

And look at Paul himself. Before he knew Christ, he was a Pharisee who was persecuting Christians. Back then, would he have said that he delighted in God's law? No doubt about it! 

Zeal for God's law was his entire motivation!

So could a non-Christian really say, "In my inner being I delight in God's law"?

Absolutely. In fact, it is the mantra of those who think they can earn their salvation by good works. 

I believe Romans 7:14-24 describes the inner state of one we can call an "almost-Christian". This person needs only the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Which - I believe - is the whole point of Chapter 7 leading into Chapter 8.

8:9 - "You ... 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." 

A GOOD START

163,000 people beat me to a sermon from John MacArthur on YouTube regarding Romans 7:14-24 - Paul's famous "What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do ... this I keep on doing" passage. 

MacArthur makes the case that these verses present a picture of Paul's actual struggles as a Christian, not the internal dialogue of someone who is almost a Christian. 

(If you are not familiar with MacArthur, he is a prominent Reformed Baptist preacher with a wide following.)

I appreciate the fact that MacArthur begins his sermon by acknowledging the arguments that favor reading this passage as the inner struggle of a non-Christian:

• There is too much bondage to sin to represent a believer.

• Where is the fruit of the Spirit?

• Many of the preceding verses speak of victory over sin, with any struggle in the past tense:

• 6:2 - "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

• 6:6 - "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

• 6:7 - "Because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

• 6:17 - "But thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted."

• 6:18 - "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." 

• 6:22 - "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

• Romans 7:5-6 - "For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."

• Other verses speak of a new way forward, after gaining victory over sin:

• 6:11 - "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

• 6:12 - "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."

• 6:13 - "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness." 

• 6:14 - "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

MacArthur observes: "All of these passages seem to say sin is dethroned."

If he stopped right there, I would say this was a good sermon. To me, that looks like a pretty compelling case in favor of viewing 7:14-24 as the struggle of a person who is not yet a Christian.

But MacArthur fails to stop there. Tomorrow I will share what he considers a strong reason to overturn all of this context.

IT MATTERS

How preachers teach Romans 7:14-24 can have serious repercussions. 

Either this is A) Paul using a rhetorical device, speaking as one who does not yet know Christ or B) Paul is describing his own on-going experience as a Christian. 

Take a close look.

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 

If this is taught as the normative, on-going struggle for every Christian, then what message is received by people in the pews like:

Bob with his addiction to porn?

Sue and her propensity to spread gossip?

Jack who is cheating on his wife?

Brenda and her lies to co-workers?

John with his laziness on the job?

Liz who is preoccupied with materialism?

Or Ron who consistently ignores the poor and the sick and the oppressed?

Aren't they likely to shrug their shoulders and think, "This is how it is for humans - we are just slaves to sin"? "Once we get to heaven, we will be free from this struggle"? 

I mean, if Paul - the most mature Christian you could ever meet - could not break free from sin, what hope do any of the rest of us have?

On the other hand, how different would it be if those same people are taught that Paul is describing the life of one who knows what he is doing is wrong, but has not yet experienced salvation? 

Now the message is: failure to break free from porn, gossip, or materialism is an indication you don't know Jesus yet. Not really. 

There is a lot riding on properly interpreting Paul's meaning here. 

THE BIG ROMANS QUESTION

Outside of predestination, one of the hottest debates concerning Paul's letter to the Romans focuses on 7:14 and following:

We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 

So here is the million dollar question: Is this Paul describing his condition before he became a Christian or is this the ongoing reality for him as a Christian?

My study Bible comments on Paul's use of "I am unspiritual" in verse 14 and leaves itself a bit of wiggle room but comes down here: "The personal pronoun and the verb, taken together, suggest that Paul is describing his present (Christian) experience." 

A few years ago I would have never dreamed of disagreeing with the experts who write commentary for study Bibles, but I am beyond automatic agreement with any "experts" at this stage of my life. This take on "I am unspiritual" strikes me as highly questionable. Yes, the pronoun and the present tense verb might lead one to believe he is "describing his present experience". 

But absolutely everything in the context points in the other direction. 

Is Paul really confessing here that he is unable to do the good he knows he should do? The man who traveled thousands of miles to explain the gospel to thousands upon thousands of people even as his life was continually under threat - this man is ethically paralyzed? He is only able to maintain consistency when it came to "doing evil"? Really? 

And as a Christian, Paul describes himself presently as a "slave to sin"? 

Really? 

Even my study Bible chokes a bit on the phrase "sold as a slave to sin" - before reaching for an explanation of it as Paul's normal experience as a believer:

"Sold as a slave to sin", it explains, is "a phrase so strong that many refuse to accept it as descriptive of a Christian. However, it may graphically point out the failure even of Christians to meet the radical ethical and moral requirements of the gospel, and to live the life that holiness demands. It also points up the persistent nature of sin." 

Which only goes to highlight the stakes here on whether we are to understand Romans 7 as an explanation of the normative, ongoing frustrations in the life of a believer or ... as a description of what it's like to be ALMOST a believer. 

Is the power of sin defeated in the life of a believer or not?

Is wretchedness and frustration the lot of the believer this side of heaven?

Is truly righteous behavior out of the reach of even believers? 

Since this has to do with the believer's relationship to sin - what is possible and what is not - there are few questions more important if you are serious about your faith. 

Don't just listen to the first expert you hear commenting on Romans 7 - what does Scripture teach?

WHAT THE "PUREST GOSPEL" SAYS ON HELL

I can't help but return at least once more to the topic of hell vs. annihilation after studying Romans. 

I noted before that, although the whole book is concerned with salvation - what it means, who is saved and how - you will not find the word hell or the phrase lake of fire in Romans.

Wrath and judgment are mentioned a few times:

For example, in 1:18 - "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness." (The use of the present tense is interesting here!)

But over and over again, death or perishing is cited as the punishment for sin:

Such as in 1:32 - "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

And most famously: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (6:23) 

The most complete statement in Romans concerning God's judgment of the wicked comes in 2:5-10:

"Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew and then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew and then for the Gentile."

If in Romans - the book Martin Luther called "the chief part of the New Testament" and "truly the purest gospel" - Paul chooses "trouble and distress" as the words to describe an eternity of torment in the fires of hell, then he should be crowned The Master of Understatement. 

READING ROMANS

One of the best things I have ever done for my spiritual life is my recent deep dive into the book of Romans. And I am not finished yet. Since I spent 6 weeks going through each of the 16 chapters verse by verse, over the last few day I have been going back and reading large swaths of it again to see how differently it hits me as a whole now.

And all I can say is ... wow. 

I turned to Romans after I had studied Matthew and then Acts because I had often heard that Paul's letter to the Romans greatly affected many "heroes of the faith" - from the Early Church Fathers to Luther to the Wesley brothers to Karl Barth and many others.

But now I wonder how many ordinary believers - like you and me - have been transformed over the years by this particular book?

J.I. Packer once said, “All roads in the Bible lead to Romans, and all views afforded by the Bible are seen most clearly from Romans, and when the message of Romans gets into a person’s heart there is no telling what may happen.” 

I am not foolish enough to claim that I grasp every last nuance of the book, but I do believe the message of Romans has gotten firmly into my heart and my mind.

I will keep you posted on what happens. 😉

I CALLED IT PRAYER

"Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way." Col. 1:9-10

Do you ever look at the Apostle Paul's prayers and think, "This guy is praying on a whole different level than I am"?

Can you imagine being in a prayer meeting with this guy?

Me, bowing my head: "Lord, please help me get the raise I am going to ask for." 

Paul: "Lord, enlighten the eyes of my co-workers in order that they may know the hope to which You have called them, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe."

Me, again: "That too, Lord."

In the Colossians passage above, Paul asks that God would fill the believers with knowledge of His will. And he says this will come only "through all spiritual wisdom and understanding". 

Seems like Paul is thinking it takes supernatural intervention for us to understand God's will!

See Romans 8:26-27, too - "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

We don't know what to pray for? 

What if Paul is right?

I feel like I have spent most of my adult Christian life:

1) Assuming I know what God's will is (whatever makes life easier for me, usually!) 

and 

2) Suggesting to Him what He needs to do to make it happen. 

And I have called it "prayer". 

TO WILL WHAT GOD WILLS

This quote is from Oden's book John Wesley's Teachings, Volume 4:Ethics and Society, page 29.

"To will what God wills" - what a profound phrase! 

How many of us, if asked to measure our current Christian lives by that standard, could unequivocally confirm that a desire "to will what God wills" composes the very center of our lives?

I don't know about you, but my prayers often feel like an attempt to bend God's will to my own. That seems like it might be a pretty good indication that I have got things backwards!

RULE-KEEPING AND TOILET PAPER

I knew a man who grew up Jewish and converted to Christianity as an adult. His parents remained devout Jews.

He once shared the following illustration of their piety relating to observing the Sabbath. 

We know that the Jewish law forbids work on the Sabbath. The New Testament Pharisees disapproved even of Jesus healing a man's crippled hand on the Sabbath.

When this man's parents came for extended visits, once a week he would find little squares of toilet paper already torn from the roll, folded, and placed on the edge of the bathroom counter ... in preparation for the Sabbath.

This couple feared that exerting the effort to tear toilet paper would cross the "Sabbath rest' line and bring God's righteous anger.

It's an extreme example but it demonstrates several issues involved in any person's dependence on good works and rule-keeping to earn and keep God's approval:

•  Fear. You don't want to make God angry.
•  Uncertainty. You never know when you are good enough or where you might be in the wrong.
•  Self-Righteousness. It gives you bragging rights on the lengths of your devotion. 

But the biggest issue here is this: What kind of God have you devoted your life to if you fear He might send you to hell for tearing toilet paper on the Sabbath?

REWRITE

One way to know if something is an incredibly poor attempt at persuasion is if it can be turned easily on its head in favor of the other side. That is true with the recently popular pro-choice meme which I brought up last night, consisting of a quote from Pastor Dave Barnhart (credited as a "traditional Christian pastor"):

Now consider this rewrite:

The unborn are a convenient group of people to ignore. You don't see their faces. You don't hear their voices. But unlike the incarcerated, the addicted, and, indeed, every other breathing human, they are completely innocent. 

Still, you can dismiss the unborn because they are invisible to you. And they are extremely inconvenient to keep around. Through no fault of their own, they DO make demands on the people around them.

Nevertheless, they are the perfect people to love if you want to follow Jesus when he says, "Whatever you did unto the least of these, you did it unto me."

The unborn are, of course, mentioned in the Bible. John the Baptist "leapt" in his mother's womb when she greeted Mary, pregnant with Jesus. Long before that encounter, King David praised God, saying, "You created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:13-16)

Someone must speak up for the unborn, woven together by God and precious to Him, since the unborn are the ones who get "thrown under the bus" (here, a fittingly violent image) for the sake of a mother who chooses not to bear the consequences of a pregnancy.

May God, and we, show her mercy and provide for her needs.  

For the record, I am also a "traditional Christian pastor" type. 

Maybe more so than Pastor Barnhart. 

UNPERSUASIVE

The abortion debate is not just a disagreement. It is a "two movies on one screen" scenario.

People are seeing two very different realities. And each reality has its own echo chamber.

inside that echo chamber, it is incredibly difficult to tell what is a persuasive argument and what it not. As long as it aligns with "our side", confirmation bias will lead us to believe the quote or meme we are sharing on Instagram is airtight and incontrovertible . 

It seldom is. The other side is more likely to see the flaws in our arguments. 

I am not looking to get political here. I am wanting only to give an example of an opinion that seems profound within one side of the abortion reality and incredibly weak and ridiculous from the other.

I've seen the following opinion reposted frequently since last week when the news was first leaked about a possible looming Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade. This post from the pro-choice side flops hard outside the pro-choice echo chamber:

I do not intend to denigrate Barnhart as a pastor. I am a supporter of pastors in general. It is a tough job and pastors take a lot of arrows already. On the other hand, pastors have a high calling and they are not untouchable. They should expect to be held accountable for their words. 

The quote attributed to Barnhart above was from a post he made on Facebook back in 2018.

And it reads like a Facebook post. There is nothing profound or eloquent here. 

And it makes several mistakes if it is trying to be persuasive.

First, Barnhart assumes the worst motives of his fellow Christians: "The unborn" are a convenient group to advocate for. If you are trying to convince someone, it is best not to insult them. 

Then he echoes a familiar trope which I have never seen offered with even a crumb of supporting evidence: And when they are born, you can forget about them because they cease to be unborn. If you are trying to convince someone, show your evidence. 

The unborn are "the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe." This comes across as more insults; it is cynical, judgmental, and arrogant. 

If a person hopes to persuade another, he or she should at least be capable of understanding and vocalizing the viewpoint on either side of this issue. No attempt is made here. 

Finally, if you hope to convince someone, stick to logic. Barnhart's conclusion is a non-sequitur. Why would a Christian need to choose between serving the poor, sick people, prisoners, widows and orphans on one side ... and the unborn on the other?

There is no reason to think of this in terms of either/or. 

It is clearly both/and. 

And the vast majority of pro-life people and ministries I personally know are adept and serious about serving both the born and the unborn. 

So often an argument meant as a "Ha! I got you there, don't I?!" comes across as a "It's clear I haven't thought past my own assumptions."

TWO MOVIES ON ONE SCREEN

My four kids are Marvel movie fans. My wife has seen some of the movies but I don't remember her ever being enthusiastic about any specific Avenger outing. 

Caleb, Hannah, and Sarah were wanting to see the new Dr. Strange movie before the weekend was over. I was game. And maybe because it was Mother's Day, Melissa came to the theater with us.

Four of us enjoyed the movie while one of us thought it was one of the worst movies ever made.

Melissa was aghast. She spent the two hours alternating between covering her eyes and looking disgusted. It turns out that the buzz around the movie - that its PG-13 rating was just inches away from an R - was true. 

I, on the other hand, kind of enjoyed it. (It may have helped that I went in with low expectations.) 

Author Scott Adams writes about a phenomenon he calls "two movies on one screen" - the way in which two intelligent adults can look at the exact same situation - be it personal or political or whatever - and react as if they are seeing two completely different scenarios. 

What strikes one as innocent fun, the other finds deeply offensive.

What amuses one, another finds horrifying.

What impresses one as heroic, another mocks as ridiculous.

And so it goes. 

Through all of life.

As Adams puts it, "Living in completely different realities is our normal way of living." (Win Bigly, 67)

If you assume that you and the person next to you are seeing the same reality, you are oblivious. 

I don't know why it took me 50 years to recognize the prevalence of this dynamic in real life, when it obviously happens at the theaters all the time. 

 

MOTHER'S DAY

Since Samuel is leaving for Atlanta tomorrow morning, our family celebrated an early Mother's Day on Saturday. Melissa said the only thing she wanted for her special day was time together as a family.

We let everyone sleep in and then we were off to Madison, Indiana - about an hour south and one of Melissa's favorite places to shop and sightsee.

Over the last 21 years, Melissa has confirmed that she was created to be a mom. She is a natural. 

Need proof? Look at these 4 young adults she has raised:

(Hardly a dud among them.)

Over the years, Melissa has exceled at all the mom roles:

• Doctor Mom
• Teacher Mom
• Taxi Mom
• Paperwork Mom
• Janitor Mom
• Mama Bear

And, like every good mom, she has done her share of worrying and encouraging and wiping away tears. She has taught our kids about their heavenly Father and has modeled the love, servanthood, and self-sacrifice of his Son. 

Happy Mother's Day, Melissa, and to all the moms out there.

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”      Proverbs 31:28-9