Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Murder of Death in the Murder of Jesus
Imagine with me D.C. without the White House, St, Louis without the Arch, Atlanta without the Varsity, New York without the Yankees, and L.A. without the Lakers and you begin to get a remote idea of what it means to have a gospel without the doctrine of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than a historical fact; it’s the main motif and high water mark of the historical drama known as God’s redemptive story.
We leave this massive truth out of our preaching at the peril of telling only half the story, a half truth in an incomplete story that is impotent to save sinners. We must preach Jesus’ atoning death and victorious resurrection. It’s not an either/or proposition, it’s a both/and proclamation.
What We Preach as Resurrection
The resurrection must have been on the minds of the Corinthian believers as they questioned the Apostle Paul about the comprehensive nature, redemptive scope, and historical particulars of the resurrection. Had the resurrection of the dead already occurred? Had Jesus really been raised from the dead? Was resurrection even possible? And did any of this matter to the gospel they had believed?
Believe it or not, these questions remain pertinent today, even in our modern, post-modern, post-Christian, pre-Christian day (you take your pick at to the times we live in). Questions about the resurrection matter because the resurrection matters to the gospel we preach. If the gospel we preach is simply about how to have a better life, a better marriage, or success in business then the resurrection is unnecessary. In fact, if the gospel is just another self-help method then away with a dying God and a living Lord.
There are plenty of good books, websites, and magazines to help in all of these categories. Sadly, too many preachers have distilled the gospel in a minimalistic fashion that views the gospel as a ‘tack on’ to a life in search of success and fulfillment, i.e. “Let’s see, I have my pretty wife, my smart kids, my green car, and my house in the burbs. I care about the poor, global warning, healthcare for all, and being a good neighbor. I better add on this God thing to cover all my bases.” This is the plastic gospel of our era, which is no gospel at all.
If we are interested in actual success and not just perceived success, if we are interested in essential change and not topical change, and if we are interested in life-changing change then the resurrection is essential. If the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, and it is, then it supersedes all other claims – it makes all the difference because it is the difference between life and death.
The Apostle Paul’s answer to the Corinthian believers is amazingly comprehensive. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Paul outlines the basic contours of the importance of the gospel. The gospel is the life-changing truth 1) we receive and believe in salvation, vs. 1a.; 2) it is where we stake our claim and take our stand as believers, vs. 1b.; 3) it is what saves the sinner, vs. 2a.; 4) and, it is what we preach to the nations, vs. 2b. Preacher, this will preach!
But the gospel is more than just a truth with contours but no specific content. It’s more than just a nice story. Preacher, do you understand what you are claiming? We are claiming that a dead man died, but rose again and that this matters to our death and life. Amazing! Preposterous! Lunacy! The gospel is historical truth wrapped in a redemptive narrative that is breathtaking, mind-blowing, and God-revealing. Paul continues unfolding the content of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11. The gospel is:
1) that Jesus died an un-accidental death because it was predicted in history and in the Scriptures; and not just a simple, martyr death, but a vicarious, substitute death ‘on behalf of’ or ‘in the stead of’ sinners; though perfect, Jesus died in the place of sinners, satisfying the justice of God so that the awakened, repentant sinner might be given a righteousness not his own (see Rom. 3:21-26), vs. 3;
2) that Jesus was buried in a borrowed grave – used with the intent of giving it back, (see Mk. 15:42-47);
3) that Jesus was raised from the dead not as a divine afterthought but according to God the Father’s sovereign plan unfolded in history and Scripture, vs. 4;
4) and that this physically, corporeally raised Jesus did not hide himself after his resurrection, but appeared to numerous people in various settings at differing times, vs. 5-11. Preacher, this will preach!
But what does all this mean? And why is it so important? The Apostle Paul continues unpacking the importance of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 by first looking at what happens if the resurrection is not true, and then looking at the resurrection, by implication, positively by what happens because the resurrection is true. If Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead:
1) Jesus Christ himself has not been raised from the dead – he is a fraud, vs. 12-13;
2) Preaching the gospel is vanity, empty – we are liars, vs. 14a.;
3) Faith is misguided/misdirected – we are peddlers of a false worldview, vs. 14b.;
4) We are misrepresenting God – we are using false advertizing, vs. 15;
5) Faith is futile or vain – faith in a liar is no faith at all, vs. 17a.;
6) Sinners are still in our sins – we are unsaved, unredeemed, vs. 17b.;
7) Those who died believing the gospel have perished – death is it, vs. 18;
8) Believers are to be pitied – we are fools for having believed a lie, vs. 19;
If Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and all the indicators evidence this truth, then:
1) Jesus himself has been raised from the dead, vs. 20;
2) Preaching has meaning because we herald God’s truth (Rom. 10:14-21);
3) Faith is rightly and savingly directed toward the resurrected Christ who gives life (Eph. 2:8-10);
4) We rightly represent God in our ministries;
5) Faith is fulfilled in the gospel;
6) Sinners are no longer in their sins (Titus 3:1-11);
7) Those who have died have not perished but are present with the Lord;
8) We do not have to be pitied – God has made us wise in Christ.
I cannot imagine a gospel without the twin truths of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without these complimentary and essential truths there is no gospel. What is there for us to say if these truths are not true? It was this gospel that instilled great confidence and power in those early disciples who continually gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:33). It was the truth that put Paul on trial (Acts 23:6). The gospel is the power that makes new life possible in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).
It is this gospel that empowers the oppressed church, undergirds believers in missionally closed countries, and that warrants hope in the face of cancer, courage in the face of trouble, and confidence in the face of death.
Preacher, this will preach! This is the message of gospel. God died for sinners. This dead God lives again! Sin, death, and hell have been vanquished. The last enemy of life has been murdered. In the murder of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection we see the murder of death. Death was lured to the cross and was crucified in the crucifixion of Jesus (Col. 2:13-15). A price was paid, a debt was resolved, and a holy God was satisfied and pleased. We can join with that great Puritan divine, John Owen, in celebrating the death of death in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:14-18). Preacher, this will preach!
How We Preach Resurrection
All of this doctrinal content is great, but how do you preach such a weighty doctrine to often doctrinally neutral audiences? Let me offer three concepts around which you can wrap various ways to look at the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Preach Resurrection as an Invasion of Epoch Proportion
We preach resurrection as invasion. We live in hyper-religious, spiritual times. People are less committed to institutional religious expressions, while at the same time demonstrating a commitment to a search for that which is spiritual and eternal. Spirituality is not decreasing, but is increasing as people explore more and more the spiritual dimensions of human existence. Popular movies like ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘The Fourth Kind’ elicit great interest as many ask questions of what is ‘out there?’ and ‘is there another dimension?’ The rediscovery of the mystery of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection is part of the reason Dan Brown’s works, though entertainingly misguided, elicit so much interest. Such questions inform the on-going questions of ‘what’s out there’ as we search our own souls for meaning and purpose.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the culminating event of an invasion of epoch proportion of what is ‘out there’ to what is ‘right here.’ This invasion is described in the word ‘Immanuel’, is defined in the word crucifixion, and is comprehended in the word resurrection. Preaching the death, burial, and resurrection in this way calls us to reconsider the life of Jesus as more than a historical fact and more as the incarnation of the unthinkable and unimaginable – God himself.
I am afraid that we have undervalued the magnificence of this invasion. It is the invasion of God into time and space in the person of Jesus Christ that continues to rock the nations and the souls of men and women. This is why Jesus still makes front page news today. As communicators of the gospel we must never underestimate the awkward, but enticing dissonance of the truth that God has come, God has died, and God has been raised from the dead!
Preach Resurrection as a Miracle of Monumental Meaning
We preach resurrection as miracle and meaning. What does the resurrection mean? And how do you preach what it means? Is the resurrection simply a theological term that defines a doctrinal concept in an academic enterprise? The answer is Yes! But it is more. A theological concept does not save the sinner. A God who sacrificed himself in death, was buried, and then raised from the dead saves sinners.
This is absolute miracle. No one does this. No one dies and then lives again. Not even God is supposed to do this because God is not supposed to die. But the astounding miracle taking place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is that God submits himself to that which is totally foreign to himself – death. The Father sent, the Son went; the Father offered his Son, the Son offered himself; the Father directed, the Son died; the Father called him forth; Jesus was raised from the dead; death died in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This miracle enables us to preach true meaning. If the resurrection is true, then it changes everything, including how we define ourselves. Meaning is often found in defining who we are over against the challenges of life, especially our finitude. But what if something or someone has come that has eliminated every possible foe that would stand in the way of our search for meaning, including death? And what if that very event is the meaning, our meaning? And what if God means for us to live, really live? And what if this life is meant to be a life set free from sin, fear, and anxiety? Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said in John 10:10, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.”
The resurrection gives us a new reference point of definition. Rather than being defined by our birth date, death date, marriage date, family origins, or monetary worth, we are now defined by an event that unveils life, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and purpose. Isn’t this what the Apostle Paul meant in Philippians 3:10 where he defined his entire life-purpose to “…know him (Jesus Christ) and the power of his resurrection?” This singular meaning was what liberated Paul to do all that he did without fear of death or life.
Preach Resurrection as the Power of Temporal and Eternal Significance
We preach resurrection as power. Resurrection preaching is significant for the here and now and the there and then. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential for the here and now. That is, the gospel we preach enables and empowers people to live without fear and a sense of fatalism. If God has conquered sin and death in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ then what or whom should we fear?
It is this great confidence in the gospel that empowers people in the oppressed church in China to live with courage; it is the power of a resurrected life that elicits boldness in the face of incredible odds; it is the power of the resurrection that enables people to face cancer with courage because death has been defeated, family troubles with tenacity because we have an enabling relationship with God and, life-crisis with patience.
Maybe the people in our churches are so cowardly when it comes to real Christian living because they haven’t yet grasped the awesome truth that there is nothing to fear. In other words, our significance is not measured on Main Street or by Wall Street, but by the God who rules all streets through the life-giving, death-conquering power of Jesus Christ.
Such meaning was how a 22 year old Wheaton college student by the name of Jim Elliott was inspired to pen such majestic words like, ‘He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’ Or, what enabled Elliott to write, ‘Let me not be a mile-post on a single road, but make me a fork men must turn one way or another in facing Christ in me.” It is what empowered Elliott’s death to confirm with Paul and thousands of saints who have believed throughout the centuries – to live is Christ, to die is gain!
How do you preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ? We must say it plain, in Spiritual power, with passion, for the sake of sinners and the nations yet to know the meaning of life. Preaching is, and must continue to be, the description of the invasion event of an absolute miracle that defines who and what we are in the ‘here and now’ and the ‘there and then.’
We leave this massive truth out of our preaching at the peril of telling only half the story, a half truth in an incomplete story that is impotent to save sinners. We must preach Jesus’ atoning death and victorious resurrection. It’s not an either/or proposition, it’s a both/and proclamation.
What We Preach as Resurrection
The resurrection must have been on the minds of the Corinthian believers as they questioned the Apostle Paul about the comprehensive nature, redemptive scope, and historical particulars of the resurrection. Had the resurrection of the dead already occurred? Had Jesus really been raised from the dead? Was resurrection even possible? And did any of this matter to the gospel they had believed?
Believe it or not, these questions remain pertinent today, even in our modern, post-modern, post-Christian, pre-Christian day (you take your pick at to the times we live in). Questions about the resurrection matter because the resurrection matters to the gospel we preach. If the gospel we preach is simply about how to have a better life, a better marriage, or success in business then the resurrection is unnecessary. In fact, if the gospel is just another self-help method then away with a dying God and a living Lord.
There are plenty of good books, websites, and magazines to help in all of these categories. Sadly, too many preachers have distilled the gospel in a minimalistic fashion that views the gospel as a ‘tack on’ to a life in search of success and fulfillment, i.e. “Let’s see, I have my pretty wife, my smart kids, my green car, and my house in the burbs. I care about the poor, global warning, healthcare for all, and being a good neighbor. I better add on this God thing to cover all my bases.” This is the plastic gospel of our era, which is no gospel at all.
If we are interested in actual success and not just perceived success, if we are interested in essential change and not topical change, and if we are interested in life-changing change then the resurrection is essential. If the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, and it is, then it supersedes all other claims – it makes all the difference because it is the difference between life and death.
The Apostle Paul’s answer to the Corinthian believers is amazingly comprehensive. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Paul outlines the basic contours of the importance of the gospel. The gospel is the life-changing truth 1) we receive and believe in salvation, vs. 1a.; 2) it is where we stake our claim and take our stand as believers, vs. 1b.; 3) it is what saves the sinner, vs. 2a.; 4) and, it is what we preach to the nations, vs. 2b. Preacher, this will preach!
But the gospel is more than just a truth with contours but no specific content. It’s more than just a nice story. Preacher, do you understand what you are claiming? We are claiming that a dead man died, but rose again and that this matters to our death and life. Amazing! Preposterous! Lunacy! The gospel is historical truth wrapped in a redemptive narrative that is breathtaking, mind-blowing, and God-revealing. Paul continues unfolding the content of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11. The gospel is:
1) that Jesus died an un-accidental death because it was predicted in history and in the Scriptures; and not just a simple, martyr death, but a vicarious, substitute death ‘on behalf of’ or ‘in the stead of’ sinners; though perfect, Jesus died in the place of sinners, satisfying the justice of God so that the awakened, repentant sinner might be given a righteousness not his own (see Rom. 3:21-26), vs. 3;
2) that Jesus was buried in a borrowed grave – used with the intent of giving it back, (see Mk. 15:42-47);
3) that Jesus was raised from the dead not as a divine afterthought but according to God the Father’s sovereign plan unfolded in history and Scripture, vs. 4;
4) and that this physically, corporeally raised Jesus did not hide himself after his resurrection, but appeared to numerous people in various settings at differing times, vs. 5-11. Preacher, this will preach!
But what does all this mean? And why is it so important? The Apostle Paul continues unpacking the importance of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 by first looking at what happens if the resurrection is not true, and then looking at the resurrection, by implication, positively by what happens because the resurrection is true. If Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead:
1) Jesus Christ himself has not been raised from the dead – he is a fraud, vs. 12-13;
2) Preaching the gospel is vanity, empty – we are liars, vs. 14a.;
3) Faith is misguided/misdirected – we are peddlers of a false worldview, vs. 14b.;
4) We are misrepresenting God – we are using false advertizing, vs. 15;
5) Faith is futile or vain – faith in a liar is no faith at all, vs. 17a.;
6) Sinners are still in our sins – we are unsaved, unredeemed, vs. 17b.;
7) Those who died believing the gospel have perished – death is it, vs. 18;
8) Believers are to be pitied – we are fools for having believed a lie, vs. 19;
If Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and all the indicators evidence this truth, then:
1) Jesus himself has been raised from the dead, vs. 20;
2) Preaching has meaning because we herald God’s truth (Rom. 10:14-21);
3) Faith is rightly and savingly directed toward the resurrected Christ who gives life (Eph. 2:8-10);
4) We rightly represent God in our ministries;
5) Faith is fulfilled in the gospel;
6) Sinners are no longer in their sins (Titus 3:1-11);
7) Those who have died have not perished but are present with the Lord;
8) We do not have to be pitied – God has made us wise in Christ.
I cannot imagine a gospel without the twin truths of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without these complimentary and essential truths there is no gospel. What is there for us to say if these truths are not true? It was this gospel that instilled great confidence and power in those early disciples who continually gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:33). It was the truth that put Paul on trial (Acts 23:6). The gospel is the power that makes new life possible in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).
It is this gospel that empowers the oppressed church, undergirds believers in missionally closed countries, and that warrants hope in the face of cancer, courage in the face of trouble, and confidence in the face of death.
Preacher, this will preach! This is the message of gospel. God died for sinners. This dead God lives again! Sin, death, and hell have been vanquished. The last enemy of life has been murdered. In the murder of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection we see the murder of death. Death was lured to the cross and was crucified in the crucifixion of Jesus (Col. 2:13-15). A price was paid, a debt was resolved, and a holy God was satisfied and pleased. We can join with that great Puritan divine, John Owen, in celebrating the death of death in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:14-18). Preacher, this will preach!
How We Preach Resurrection
All of this doctrinal content is great, but how do you preach such a weighty doctrine to often doctrinally neutral audiences? Let me offer three concepts around which you can wrap various ways to look at the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Preach Resurrection as an Invasion of Epoch Proportion
We preach resurrection as invasion. We live in hyper-religious, spiritual times. People are less committed to institutional religious expressions, while at the same time demonstrating a commitment to a search for that which is spiritual and eternal. Spirituality is not decreasing, but is increasing as people explore more and more the spiritual dimensions of human existence. Popular movies like ‘Paranormal Activity’ and ‘The Fourth Kind’ elicit great interest as many ask questions of what is ‘out there?’ and ‘is there another dimension?’ The rediscovery of the mystery of the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection is part of the reason Dan Brown’s works, though entertainingly misguided, elicit so much interest. Such questions inform the on-going questions of ‘what’s out there’ as we search our own souls for meaning and purpose.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the culminating event of an invasion of epoch proportion of what is ‘out there’ to what is ‘right here.’ This invasion is described in the word ‘Immanuel’, is defined in the word crucifixion, and is comprehended in the word resurrection. Preaching the death, burial, and resurrection in this way calls us to reconsider the life of Jesus as more than a historical fact and more as the incarnation of the unthinkable and unimaginable – God himself.
I am afraid that we have undervalued the magnificence of this invasion. It is the invasion of God into time and space in the person of Jesus Christ that continues to rock the nations and the souls of men and women. This is why Jesus still makes front page news today. As communicators of the gospel we must never underestimate the awkward, but enticing dissonance of the truth that God has come, God has died, and God has been raised from the dead!
Preach Resurrection as a Miracle of Monumental Meaning
We preach resurrection as miracle and meaning. What does the resurrection mean? And how do you preach what it means? Is the resurrection simply a theological term that defines a doctrinal concept in an academic enterprise? The answer is Yes! But it is more. A theological concept does not save the sinner. A God who sacrificed himself in death, was buried, and then raised from the dead saves sinners.
This is absolute miracle. No one does this. No one dies and then lives again. Not even God is supposed to do this because God is not supposed to die. But the astounding miracle taking place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is that God submits himself to that which is totally foreign to himself – death. The Father sent, the Son went; the Father offered his Son, the Son offered himself; the Father directed, the Son died; the Father called him forth; Jesus was raised from the dead; death died in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This miracle enables us to preach true meaning. If the resurrection is true, then it changes everything, including how we define ourselves. Meaning is often found in defining who we are over against the challenges of life, especially our finitude. But what if something or someone has come that has eliminated every possible foe that would stand in the way of our search for meaning, including death? And what if that very event is the meaning, our meaning? And what if God means for us to live, really live? And what if this life is meant to be a life set free from sin, fear, and anxiety? Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said in John 10:10, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly.”
The resurrection gives us a new reference point of definition. Rather than being defined by our birth date, death date, marriage date, family origins, or monetary worth, we are now defined by an event that unveils life, forgiveness, mercy, grace, and purpose. Isn’t this what the Apostle Paul meant in Philippians 3:10 where he defined his entire life-purpose to “…know him (Jesus Christ) and the power of his resurrection?” This singular meaning was what liberated Paul to do all that he did without fear of death or life.
Preach Resurrection as the Power of Temporal and Eternal Significance
We preach resurrection as power. Resurrection preaching is significant for the here and now and the there and then. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is essential for the here and now. That is, the gospel we preach enables and empowers people to live without fear and a sense of fatalism. If God has conquered sin and death in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ then what or whom should we fear?
It is this great confidence in the gospel that empowers people in the oppressed church in China to live with courage; it is the power of a resurrected life that elicits boldness in the face of incredible odds; it is the power of the resurrection that enables people to face cancer with courage because death has been defeated, family troubles with tenacity because we have an enabling relationship with God and, life-crisis with patience.
Maybe the people in our churches are so cowardly when it comes to real Christian living because they haven’t yet grasped the awesome truth that there is nothing to fear. In other words, our significance is not measured on Main Street or by Wall Street, but by the God who rules all streets through the life-giving, death-conquering power of Jesus Christ.
Such meaning was how a 22 year old Wheaton college student by the name of Jim Elliott was inspired to pen such majestic words like, ‘He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.’ Or, what enabled Elliott to write, ‘Let me not be a mile-post on a single road, but make me a fork men must turn one way or another in facing Christ in me.” It is what empowered Elliott’s death to confirm with Paul and thousands of saints who have believed throughout the centuries – to live is Christ, to die is gain!
How do you preach the resurrection of Jesus Christ? We must say it plain, in Spiritual power, with passion, for the sake of sinners and the nations yet to know the meaning of life. Preaching is, and must continue to be, the description of the invasion event of an absolute miracle that defines who and what we are in the ‘here and now’ and the ‘there and then.’
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The Death of Death in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Imagine with me D.C. without the White House, St, Louis without the Arch, Atlanta without the Varsity, New York without the Yankees, and L.A. without the Lakers and you begin to get a remote idea of what it means to have a gospel without the doctrine of the resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is more than a historical fact; it’s the main motif and high water mark of the historical drama known as God’s redemptive story.
We leave this massive truth out of our preaching at the peril of telling only half the story, a half truth in an incomplete story that is impotent to save sinners. We must preach Jesus’ atoning death and victorious resurrection. It’s not an either/or proposition, it’s a both/and proclamation.
The resurrection must have been on the minds of the Corinthian believers as they questioned the Apostle Paul about the comprehensive nature, redemptive scope, and historical particulars of the resurrection. Had the resurrection of the dead already occurred? Had Jesus really been raised from the dead? Was resurrection even possible? And did any of this matter to the gospel they had believed?
Believe it or not, these questions remain pertinent today, even in our modern, post-modern, post-Christian, pre-Christian day (you take your pick at to the times we live in). Questions about the resurrection matter because the resurrection matters to the gospel we preach. If the gospel we preach is simply about how to have a better life, a better marriage, or success in business then the resurrection is unnecessary. In fact, if the gospel is just another self-help method then away with a dying God and a living Lord.
There are plenty of good books, websites, and magazines to help in all of these categories. Sadly, too many preachers have distilled the gospel in a minimalistic fashion that views the gospel as a ‘tack on’ to a life in search of success and fulfillment, i.e. “Let’s see, I have my pretty wife, my smart kids, my green car, and my house in the burbs. I care about the poor, global warning, healthcare for all, and being a good neighbor. I better add on this God thing to cover all my bases.” This is the plastic gospel of our era, which is no gospel at all.
If we are interested in actual success and not just perceived success, if we are interested in essential change and not topical change, and if we are interested in life-changing change then the resurrection is essential. If the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, and it is, then it supersedes all other claims – it makes all the difference because it is the difference between life and death.
The Apostle Paul’s answer to the Corinthian believers is amazingly comprehensive. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Paul outlines the basic contours of the importance of the gospel. The gospel is the life-changing truth 1) we receive and believe in salvation, vs. 1a.; 2) it is where we stake our claim and take our stand as believers, vs. 1b.; 3) it is what saves the sinner, vs. 2a.; 4) and, it is what we preach to the nations, vs. 2b. Preacher, this will preach!
But the gospel is more than just a truth with contours but no specific content. It’s more than just a nice story. Preacher, do you understand what you are claiming? We are claiming that a dead man died, but rose again and that this matters to our death and life. Amazing! Preposterous! Lunacy! The gospel is historical truth wrapped in a redemptive narrative that is breathtaking, mind-blowing, and God-revealing. Paul continues unfolding the content of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11. The gospel is:
1) that Jesus died an un-accidental death because it was predicted in history and in the Scriptures; and not just a simple, martyr death, but a vicarious, substitute death ‘on behalf of’ or ‘in the stead of’ sinners; though perfect, Jesus died in the place of sinners, satisfying the justice of God so that the awakened, repentant sinner might be given a righteousness not his own (see Rom. 3:21-26), vs. 3;
2) that Jesus was buried in a borrowed grave – used with the intent of giving it back, (see Mk. 15:42-47);
3) that Jesus was raised from the dead not as a divine afterthought but according to God the Father’s sovereign plan unfolded in history and Scripture, vs. 4;
4) and that this physically, corporeally raised Jesus did not hide himself after his resurrection, but appeared to numerous people in various settings at differing times, vs. 5-11. Preacher, this will preach!
But what does all this mean? And why is it so important? The Apostle Paul continues unpacking the importance of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 by first looking at what happens if the resurrection is not true, and then looking at the resurrection, by implication, positively by what happens because the resurrection is true. If Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead:
1) Jesus Christ himself has not been raised from the dead – he is a fraud, vs. 12-13;
2) Preaching the gospel is vanity, empty – we are liars, vs. 14a.;
3) Faith is misguided/misdirected – we are peddlers of a false worldview, vs. 14b.;
4) We are misrepresenting God – we are using false advertizing, vs. 15;
5) Faith is futile or vain – faith in a liar is no faith at all, vs. 17a.;
6) Sinners are still in our sins – we are unsaved, unredeemed, vs. 17b.;
7) Those who died believing the gospel have perished – death is it, vs. 18;
8) Believers are to be pitied – we are fools for having believed a lie, vs. 19;
If Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and all the indicators evidence this truth, then:
1) Jesus himself has been raised from the dead, vs. 20;
2) Preaching has meaning because we herald God’s truth (Rom. 10:14-21);
3) Faith is rightly and savingly directed toward the resurrected Christ who gives life (Eph. 2:8-10);
4) We rightly represent God in our ministries;
5) Faith is fulfilled in the gospel;
6) Sinners are no longer in their sins (Titus 3:1-11);
7) Those who have died have not perished but are present with the Lord;
8) We do not have to be pitied – God has made us wise in Christ.
I cannot imagine a gospel without the twin truths of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without these complimentary and essential truths there is no gospel. What is there for us to say if these truths are not true? It was this gospel that instilled great confidence and power in those early disciples who continually gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:33). It was the truth that put Paul on trial (Acts 23:6). The gospel is the power that makes new life possible in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).
It was this gospel that enabled Jim Elliot to say a crazy thing like, “He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” It is this gospel that empowers the oppressed church in China, undergirds believers in missionally closed countries, and that warrants hope in the face of cancer, courage in the face of trouble, and confidence in the face of death.
Preacher, this will preach! This is the message of gospel. God died for sinners. This dead God lives again! Sin, death, and hell have been vanquished. The last enemy of life has been murdered. In the murder of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection we see the murder of death. Death was lured to the cross and was crucified in the crucifixion of Jesus (Col. 2:13-15). A price was paid, a debt was resolved, and a holy God was satisfied and pleased. We can join with that great Puritan divine, John Owen, in celebrating the death of death in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:14-18). Preacher, this will preach!
We leave this massive truth out of our preaching at the peril of telling only half the story, a half truth in an incomplete story that is impotent to save sinners. We must preach Jesus’ atoning death and victorious resurrection. It’s not an either/or proposition, it’s a both/and proclamation.
The resurrection must have been on the minds of the Corinthian believers as they questioned the Apostle Paul about the comprehensive nature, redemptive scope, and historical particulars of the resurrection. Had the resurrection of the dead already occurred? Had Jesus really been raised from the dead? Was resurrection even possible? And did any of this matter to the gospel they had believed?
Believe it or not, these questions remain pertinent today, even in our modern, post-modern, post-Christian, pre-Christian day (you take your pick at to the times we live in). Questions about the resurrection matter because the resurrection matters to the gospel we preach. If the gospel we preach is simply about how to have a better life, a better marriage, or success in business then the resurrection is unnecessary. In fact, if the gospel is just another self-help method then away with a dying God and a living Lord.
There are plenty of good books, websites, and magazines to help in all of these categories. Sadly, too many preachers have distilled the gospel in a minimalistic fashion that views the gospel as a ‘tack on’ to a life in search of success and fulfillment, i.e. “Let’s see, I have my pretty wife, my smart kids, my green car, and my house in the burbs. I care about the poor, global warning, healthcare for all, and being a good neighbor. I better add on this God thing to cover all my bases.” This is the plastic gospel of our era, which is no gospel at all.
If we are interested in actual success and not just perceived success, if we are interested in essential change and not topical change, and if we are interested in life-changing change then the resurrection is essential. If the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is true, and it is, then it supersedes all other claims – it makes all the difference because it is the difference between life and death.
The Apostle Paul’s answer to the Corinthian believers is amazingly comprehensive. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Paul outlines the basic contours of the importance of the gospel. The gospel is the life-changing truth 1) we receive and believe in salvation, vs. 1a.; 2) it is where we stake our claim and take our stand as believers, vs. 1b.; 3) it is what saves the sinner, vs. 2a.; 4) and, it is what we preach to the nations, vs. 2b. Preacher, this will preach!
But the gospel is more than just a truth with contours but no specific content. It’s more than just a nice story. Preacher, do you understand what you are claiming? We are claiming that a dead man died, but rose again and that this matters to our death and life. Amazing! Preposterous! Lunacy! The gospel is historical truth wrapped in a redemptive narrative that is breathtaking, mind-blowing, and God-revealing. Paul continues unfolding the content of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11. The gospel is:
1) that Jesus died an un-accidental death because it was predicted in history and in the Scriptures; and not just a simple, martyr death, but a vicarious, substitute death ‘on behalf of’ or ‘in the stead of’ sinners; though perfect, Jesus died in the place of sinners, satisfying the justice of God so that the awakened, repentant sinner might be given a righteousness not his own (see Rom. 3:21-26), vs. 3;
2) that Jesus was buried in a borrowed grave – used with the intent of giving it back, (see Mk. 15:42-47);
3) that Jesus was raised from the dead not as a divine afterthought but according to God the Father’s sovereign plan unfolded in history and Scripture, vs. 4;
4) and that this physically, corporeally raised Jesus did not hide himself after his resurrection, but appeared to numerous people in various settings at differing times, vs. 5-11. Preacher, this will preach!
But what does all this mean? And why is it so important? The Apostle Paul continues unpacking the importance of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 by first looking at what happens if the resurrection is not true, and then looking at the resurrection, by implication, positively by what happens because the resurrection is true. If Jesus Christ has not been raised from the dead:
1) Jesus Christ himself has not been raised from the dead – he is a fraud, vs. 12-13;
2) Preaching the gospel is vanity, empty – we are liars, vs. 14a.;
3) Faith is misguided/misdirected – we are peddlers of a false worldview, vs. 14b.;
4) We are misrepresenting God – we are using false advertizing, vs. 15;
5) Faith is futile or vain – faith in a liar is no faith at all, vs. 17a.;
6) Sinners are still in our sins – we are unsaved, unredeemed, vs. 17b.;
7) Those who died believing the gospel have perished – death is it, vs. 18;
8) Believers are to be pitied – we are fools for having believed a lie, vs. 19;
If Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead, and all the indicators evidence this truth, then:
1) Jesus himself has been raised from the dead, vs. 20;
2) Preaching has meaning because we herald God’s truth (Rom. 10:14-21);
3) Faith is rightly and savingly directed toward the resurrected Christ who gives life (Eph. 2:8-10);
4) We rightly represent God in our ministries;
5) Faith is fulfilled in the gospel;
6) Sinners are no longer in their sins (Titus 3:1-11);
7) Those who have died have not perished but are present with the Lord;
8) We do not have to be pitied – God has made us wise in Christ.
I cannot imagine a gospel without the twin truths of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without these complimentary and essential truths there is no gospel. What is there for us to say if these truths are not true? It was this gospel that instilled great confidence and power in those early disciples who continually gave witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:33). It was the truth that put Paul on trial (Acts 23:6). The gospel is the power that makes new life possible in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3).
It was this gospel that enabled Jim Elliot to say a crazy thing like, “He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” It is this gospel that empowers the oppressed church in China, undergirds believers in missionally closed countries, and that warrants hope in the face of cancer, courage in the face of trouble, and confidence in the face of death.
Preacher, this will preach! This is the message of gospel. God died for sinners. This dead God lives again! Sin, death, and hell have been vanquished. The last enemy of life has been murdered. In the murder of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection we see the murder of death. Death was lured to the cross and was crucified in the crucifixion of Jesus (Col. 2:13-15). A price was paid, a debt was resolved, and a holy God was satisfied and pleased. We can join with that great Puritan divine, John Owen, in celebrating the death of death in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:14-18). Preacher, this will preach!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
I Don't Need a Cute Gospel
My sin is great - great sin that produces worry, anxiety, and fear in my soul, sin that deadens my spirit and alienates me from eternity. The last thing I need is a self-help gospel. I am helpless. I don’t need another three-step program. I don’t need a better me, I need a transformed me. I don’t need a better life, I need a new life.
Too often, the gospel is reduced down to a quaint, cute story about a phenomenal man (Jesus) who inspires us and examples for us a new way of living. This is partly true. In fact, Jesus was the most inspiring person to have ever walked this terrestial ball. But is Jesus just an inspiring example? Is an inspiring example the best God can do? I can find plenty of inspiring stories in sports or in the military. A good example may inspire me but it won’t save me or change me.
The gospel is more than inspiring; the gospel is regenerating (it makes me alive), transforming (it changes me), justifying (it declares me not guilty), and sanctifying (it begins a work in me that will one day be complete). A cute, quaint, self-help, three-step mish-mash of “me and God” just doesn’t cut it. I don’t need more of me in the process. That’s the problem. I need less of me. Correction! I need none of me because I am dead in my sin. I need to be made alive. This is the kind of gospel I need.
The gospel is the only kind of transforming, life-altering good news God gives us in Jesus Christ. God enacted the “great exchange” in Jesus Christ. He exchanged my unrighteousness for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In other words, God imputed my sins to Jesus Christ ‘as if’ he had committed them so that he could impute to me Christ’s righteousness to me ‘as if’ I had never sinned. This exchange is realized in me when God awakens me from the deadness of my sin and makes me new in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:1). Once awakened in Jesus Christ I’m no longer on the run from God, fearing that I’ll be caught and exposed for the fraud that I am. In Christ I am forgiven. Who, then, should I fear?
So, away with the cute, the quaint, and the purely practical; in with the conquering, transforming, life-changing, fear-smashing, worldview altering gospel of Jesus Christ.
Too often, the gospel is reduced down to a quaint, cute story about a phenomenal man (Jesus) who inspires us and examples for us a new way of living. This is partly true. In fact, Jesus was the most inspiring person to have ever walked this terrestial ball. But is Jesus just an inspiring example? Is an inspiring example the best God can do? I can find plenty of inspiring stories in sports or in the military. A good example may inspire me but it won’t save me or change me.
The gospel is more than inspiring; the gospel is regenerating (it makes me alive), transforming (it changes me), justifying (it declares me not guilty), and sanctifying (it begins a work in me that will one day be complete). A cute, quaint, self-help, three-step mish-mash of “me and God” just doesn’t cut it. I don’t need more of me in the process. That’s the problem. I need less of me. Correction! I need none of me because I am dead in my sin. I need to be made alive. This is the kind of gospel I need.
The gospel is the only kind of transforming, life-altering good news God gives us in Jesus Christ. God enacted the “great exchange” in Jesus Christ. He exchanged my unrighteousness for the righteousness of Jesus Christ. In other words, God imputed my sins to Jesus Christ ‘as if’ he had committed them so that he could impute to me Christ’s righteousness to me ‘as if’ I had never sinned. This exchange is realized in me when God awakens me from the deadness of my sin and makes me new in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:1). Once awakened in Jesus Christ I’m no longer on the run from God, fearing that I’ll be caught and exposed for the fraud that I am. In Christ I am forgiven. Who, then, should I fear?
So, away with the cute, the quaint, and the purely practical; in with the conquering, transforming, life-changing, fear-smashing, worldview altering gospel of Jesus Christ.
Monday, October 26, 2009
It's Time for a Change
It’s time for a change, don’t you think? No, I’m not speaking of the false promises made by political leaders or pundits. Nor, am I speaking of the faddish change that comes with every cultural wind. Instead, I’m speaking of that of change of the soul and mind that makes us new and keeps us fresh. This is what the new birth is all about – giving new life and breath to something that was dead and lifeless (Jn. 3:3). In fact, God has promised us newness of life in Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 beautifully puts it this way – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” What a promise! What power.
So, what about you? Aren’t you ready for a change? What about a change of mind, an altering of your passions, behavior, and purposes? God commands us to continue to grow in Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). When we become stagnant we digress and do not reflect the grace of God in our living and thinking.
Beginning November 1st I am beginning a series entitled “Time for a Change.” It’s a series based upon one of the most exciting passages in Scripture, Colossians 3:1-17. We will look at how a change of mind can lead to a change in passions, behavior, and purpose. This new series is coinciding with the launch of our new website at Inglewood Baptist Church. Beginning November 1st you will be able to find us at http://www.inglewoodbc.com/ . You will find this interactive site helpful and informative. You can get downloadable sermon notes, ministry information, and eventually podcasts of every message. Join us in person and online. It’s time for a change.
So, what about you? Aren’t you ready for a change? What about a change of mind, an altering of your passions, behavior, and purposes? God commands us to continue to grow in Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). When we become stagnant we digress and do not reflect the grace of God in our living and thinking.
Beginning November 1st I am beginning a series entitled “Time for a Change.” It’s a series based upon one of the most exciting passages in Scripture, Colossians 3:1-17. We will look at how a change of mind can lead to a change in passions, behavior, and purpose. This new series is coinciding with the launch of our new website at Inglewood Baptist Church. Beginning November 1st you will be able to find us at http://www.inglewoodbc.com/ . You will find this interactive site helpful and informative. You can get downloadable sermon notes, ministry information, and eventually podcasts of every message. Join us in person and online. It’s time for a change.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Get Some Real Fear!
I’m in a very sarcastically bad mood today. And what’s the source of my dower attitude? Answer: we’re lacking some real fear. Let me explain. I hear so many people use the phrase, ‘I’m afraid of…?’ They then fill in the blank with some superficial fear such as – I’m afraid my outfit doesn’t match my shoes; I’m afraid I’ll be late for a latte with my equally shallow friend at the local ‘artsy’ coffee shop; I’m afraid I won’t be up-to-date on the latest music or TV show; I’m afraid they won’t think I’m hip/cool, etc. This litany of shallow fears reveals a shallow life. Shallow fears diminish legitimate fears.
This is what we’re afraid of? You’ve got to be kidding me? Are you joking? Get serious! Is our cowardice to be measured by whether or not we are brave enough to wear the right kind of clothes or have the right kind of look or on whether or not we’re current on the latest drivel in the media? If so, we’re in more trouble than first thought.
If we’re going to have fear let’s get some real fear! I mean some supersized fears for a supersized gospel. For example, let’s be afraid of not getting the ‘God thing’ right; let’s be afraid if we don’t get the parenting thing right; let’s be afraid of not getting the marriage thing right; let’s be afraid of not being committed to a set of important principles by which to live; let’s be afraid of being known as a person who is a ‘mile wide and an inch deep’ instead of a person of depth, commitment, and loyalty; let’s be afraid of having lived without purpose.
Shallow, silly fears do not constitute essential fears. Shallow, silly fears cover the real fears of life. The gospel of Jesus Christ is THE sin-crushing, fear-smashing power of God that alters our ego, rearranges our priorities, and changes our world-view. So, if you’re going to have fear get some real fear so that you’ll understand the awesome power of God in Jesus Christ.
This is what we’re afraid of? You’ve got to be kidding me? Are you joking? Get serious! Is our cowardice to be measured by whether or not we are brave enough to wear the right kind of clothes or have the right kind of look or on whether or not we’re current on the latest drivel in the media? If so, we’re in more trouble than first thought.
If we’re going to have fear let’s get some real fear! I mean some supersized fears for a supersized gospel. For example, let’s be afraid of not getting the ‘God thing’ right; let’s be afraid if we don’t get the parenting thing right; let’s be afraid of not getting the marriage thing right; let’s be afraid of not being committed to a set of important principles by which to live; let’s be afraid of being known as a person who is a ‘mile wide and an inch deep’ instead of a person of depth, commitment, and loyalty; let’s be afraid of having lived without purpose.
Shallow, silly fears do not constitute essential fears. Shallow, silly fears cover the real fears of life. The gospel of Jesus Christ is THE sin-crushing, fear-smashing power of God that alters our ego, rearranges our priorities, and changes our world-view. So, if you’re going to have fear get some real fear so that you’ll understand the awesome power of God in Jesus Christ.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Why did I nearly weep as I wrote this blog entry about time, change, and the fear of...check it out http://ping.fm/RNNvX
Monday, August 10, 2009
Is it possible to be afraid of fear, afraid of being afraid? It's not what you think. Read about it http://ping.fm/lKyCI
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
I thought I would never write about the murder-suicide of McNair produced by fear but...read it at http://ping.fm/i2PyJ
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Nashville Metro Council at it again, expanding protections to sexual orientation - good idea/bad idea? Read http://ping.fm/oDgzm
Recognizing Sexual Orientation as Protected Class is Bad Idea
Recognizing Sexual Orientation?
Dr. Kevin Shrum
The mighty Nashville Metro Council is at it again when it comes to expanding the classes of persons protected against discrimination. Ordinance 11.20.130 recommends that the terms ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ be added to the already comprehensive protections the citizens of Davidson County enjoy.
My suspicion is that most Davidson County residents believe that these persons are already protected under the current language of discrimination and that the adding of these terms is motivated by a liberal political agenda than good public policy. Already, adversaries are lining up for battle.
For example, Liz Garrigan, a contributing writer to The City Paper of Nashville, offered a disappointing defense of this ordinance with a string of accusatory words and phrases, void of any reasoned argument for her position. Ms. Garrigan has apparently forgotten that when you revert to name-calling it probably means you have either lost the argument or have no argument to begin with.
Ms. Garrigan called the previous Metro Council, who rejected a similar ordinance change in 2003, ‘a collective of home-schooled temperance union virgins.’ She labeled them ‘irrational and hapless culture warriors’ and ‘religious fundamentalists’. Further, she Garrigan identified several former Council members as more akin to a ‘crazed alleyway patron than a lawmaker, unfair as that may be to alleyway patrons’ and added terms such as ‘wingnuts’, ‘mean-spirited’, and ‘conservative, cave-dwelling opponents’ to describe current opponents of this ordinance.
The case against Ordinance 11.20.130 is very simple. First, all classes of persons are already covered under the current language of the law, including those persons with differing sexual orientations from what are considered normal, natural, and traditional. Crimes against homosexuals can be prosecuted under current laws.
Second, no scientific or medical evidence exists for creating new categories of protected classes of persons based upon sexual orientation or gender identity. In fact, the Human Genome Project, which mapped the DNA of humans, discovered no ‘gay gene.’ It is a misnomer to argue for additional protections for gay and lesbian persons based upon science or as one would argue for protections based upon race. Race and sexual identity are not organic or moral equivalents. Why must we protect a lifestyle that is a matter of choice?
Third, from publications such as ‘Out & About,’ the recommended ordinance change has a more long-term goal than first appears – the open acceptance of the gay and lesbian lifestyle as normal. What is disingenuous about this ordinance is that it cloaks a larger agenda that the general public does not want or agree with. Even if the proposed ordinance passes it does not ‘normalize’ what is an abnormal lifestyle choice.
Fourth, the proposed ordinance change would dampen the freedom of speech, conscience, and religious expressions of all Metro/Davidson County residents, including Metro employees. To force citizens to comply with a law that is politically driven, morally unacceptable, and socially expedient will eventually squelch the freedom to respectfully and peacefully disagree.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not add a religious reason for opposing this ordinance. God created all persons in His image. Individuals are to be respected and protected by the law. There is no room for name-calling, hate, or violence. Having said this, these affirmations do not mean that all lifestyles, choices and decisions are equally and morally valid – same-sex marriage is not equal to traditional marriage; homosexuality is not equivalent with heterosexuality. In other words, God made us in His image, male and female, to be respected and protected from lawlessness. This is why Ordinance 11.20.130 must be defeated.
Dr. Kevin Shrum
The mighty Nashville Metro Council is at it again when it comes to expanding the classes of persons protected against discrimination. Ordinance 11.20.130 recommends that the terms ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ be added to the already comprehensive protections the citizens of Davidson County enjoy.
My suspicion is that most Davidson County residents believe that these persons are already protected under the current language of discrimination and that the adding of these terms is motivated by a liberal political agenda than good public policy. Already, adversaries are lining up for battle.
For example, Liz Garrigan, a contributing writer to The City Paper of Nashville, offered a disappointing defense of this ordinance with a string of accusatory words and phrases, void of any reasoned argument for her position. Ms. Garrigan has apparently forgotten that when you revert to name-calling it probably means you have either lost the argument or have no argument to begin with.
Ms. Garrigan called the previous Metro Council, who rejected a similar ordinance change in 2003, ‘a collective of home-schooled temperance union virgins.’ She labeled them ‘irrational and hapless culture warriors’ and ‘religious fundamentalists’. Further, she Garrigan identified several former Council members as more akin to a ‘crazed alleyway patron than a lawmaker, unfair as that may be to alleyway patrons’ and added terms such as ‘wingnuts’, ‘mean-spirited’, and ‘conservative, cave-dwelling opponents’ to describe current opponents of this ordinance.
The case against Ordinance 11.20.130 is very simple. First, all classes of persons are already covered under the current language of the law, including those persons with differing sexual orientations from what are considered normal, natural, and traditional. Crimes against homosexuals can be prosecuted under current laws.
Second, no scientific or medical evidence exists for creating new categories of protected classes of persons based upon sexual orientation or gender identity. In fact, the Human Genome Project, which mapped the DNA of humans, discovered no ‘gay gene.’ It is a misnomer to argue for additional protections for gay and lesbian persons based upon science or as one would argue for protections based upon race. Race and sexual identity are not organic or moral equivalents. Why must we protect a lifestyle that is a matter of choice?
Third, from publications such as ‘Out & About,’ the recommended ordinance change has a more long-term goal than first appears – the open acceptance of the gay and lesbian lifestyle as normal. What is disingenuous about this ordinance is that it cloaks a larger agenda that the general public does not want or agree with. Even if the proposed ordinance passes it does not ‘normalize’ what is an abnormal lifestyle choice.
Fourth, the proposed ordinance change would dampen the freedom of speech, conscience, and religious expressions of all Metro/Davidson County residents, including Metro employees. To force citizens to comply with a law that is politically driven, morally unacceptable, and socially expedient will eventually squelch the freedom to respectfully and peacefully disagree.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not add a religious reason for opposing this ordinance. God created all persons in His image. Individuals are to be respected and protected by the law. There is no room for name-calling, hate, or violence. Having said this, these affirmations do not mean that all lifestyles, choices and decisions are equally and morally valid – same-sex marriage is not equal to traditional marriage; homosexuality is not equivalent with heterosexuality. In other words, God made us in His image, male and female, to be respected and protected from lawlessness. This is why Ordinance 11.20.130 must be defeated.
I thought I knew about gospel power & fearkilling faith until I read...well, read it for yourself - http://ping.fm/YQ4Is
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
You might want to check out the new blog entry - it has much to say about courage and our great God - http://ping.fm/Qp4NQ
Monday, July 13, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Some interesting blogs up on the site about fear, the gospel and other crazy stuff. You can visit them at http://ping.fm/S5Xya
Monday, June 1, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Deception of Progress
The Deception of Progress
Kevin Shrum
A deceptive notion of progress that leads to perfection has been slowly creeping into the human psyche in recent years. This sociological heresy clearly stated is that advances in science, medicine, and technology have deceived us into the false belief that human nature has equally progressed beyond its normal proclivities.
For example, advances in medicine have allowed us to confront disease and sickness in ways that our ancestors could have never imagined. Medical procedures and patient care have progressed to the point that life expectancy continues to be extended and quality of life expectations remain high. Yet, the built-in deception in these advancements is that it is now perceived as abnormal or unthinkable to get sick or to even die.
And what about science? The scientific method, coupled with medical research at times, has not only allowed us to map the human genome, it has allowed us to study the galaxies in ways that would have been unimaginable to Galileo. Scientific advancements have made our lives more comfortable and convenient.
The built-in deception in the scientific method is that it, as a pure method, can explain all things. It has often reached beyond itself from being a pure research method to being an all-consuming epistemological construct that can explain all things. Science is now the new religion. This is a deception. For example, we can study the brain, but the mind still remains a mystery. We can study the body, but often find it difficult to grasp the soul of a person.
Advances in technology can be equally pernicious. I love Facebook, Ping, Google, AOL, and Twitter. I have been and always will be an avid user of technological devices and advances. The ability to generate, share, manage, and process information through globally social networks is absolutely amazing and now necessary for communication, relationships, and the economy. The internet is now the new ‘front porch’ for the world.
But progress in technology does not mean that human nature has progressed. You should have polled my opinion after I was conned out of a good sum of money using one of the more popular ‘buy and sell’ websites. Further, social networks do allow me to have more information about people from across the globe. They’re my ‘friends’, of course. But to have information about someone is not the same as personally knowing someone.
I’m all for progress. But let us not be deceived into thinking that progress in some areas means progress in all areas. Human nature remains the same. Humans are a strange mix of honor and dishonor, nobility and barbarianism, truth and deception. Dinesh D’Souza calls this dilemma “the dignity of fallible human beings.”
As a friend of mine once said, “technology allows us to sin faster and quicker – and to do good faster, as well.” So, for every step of progress we make there will be a Madoff or some other irresponsible CEO or petty criminal to remind us that fallibility and greed can wear a Brooks Brother suit and carry a Blackberry.
Let us not be deceived into thinking that advances in medicine means that we are invincible; that advances in science means that science can answer the most meaningful questions of life; and, that technology makes us ‘friends.’ Let us progress with a greater degree of humility.
Kevin Shrum
A deceptive notion of progress that leads to perfection has been slowly creeping into the human psyche in recent years. This sociological heresy clearly stated is that advances in science, medicine, and technology have deceived us into the false belief that human nature has equally progressed beyond its normal proclivities.
For example, advances in medicine have allowed us to confront disease and sickness in ways that our ancestors could have never imagined. Medical procedures and patient care have progressed to the point that life expectancy continues to be extended and quality of life expectations remain high. Yet, the built-in deception in these advancements is that it is now perceived as abnormal or unthinkable to get sick or to even die.
And what about science? The scientific method, coupled with medical research at times, has not only allowed us to map the human genome, it has allowed us to study the galaxies in ways that would have been unimaginable to Galileo. Scientific advancements have made our lives more comfortable and convenient.
The built-in deception in the scientific method is that it, as a pure method, can explain all things. It has often reached beyond itself from being a pure research method to being an all-consuming epistemological construct that can explain all things. Science is now the new religion. This is a deception. For example, we can study the brain, but the mind still remains a mystery. We can study the body, but often find it difficult to grasp the soul of a person.
Advances in technology can be equally pernicious. I love Facebook, Ping, Google, AOL, and Twitter. I have been and always will be an avid user of technological devices and advances. The ability to generate, share, manage, and process information through globally social networks is absolutely amazing and now necessary for communication, relationships, and the economy. The internet is now the new ‘front porch’ for the world.
But progress in technology does not mean that human nature has progressed. You should have polled my opinion after I was conned out of a good sum of money using one of the more popular ‘buy and sell’ websites. Further, social networks do allow me to have more information about people from across the globe. They’re my ‘friends’, of course. But to have information about someone is not the same as personally knowing someone.
I’m all for progress. But let us not be deceived into thinking that progress in some areas means progress in all areas. Human nature remains the same. Humans are a strange mix of honor and dishonor, nobility and barbarianism, truth and deception. Dinesh D’Souza calls this dilemma “the dignity of fallible human beings.”
As a friend of mine once said, “technology allows us to sin faster and quicker – and to do good faster, as well.” So, for every step of progress we make there will be a Madoff or some other irresponsible CEO or petty criminal to remind us that fallibility and greed can wear a Brooks Brother suit and carry a Blackberry.
Let us not be deceived into thinking that advances in medicine means that we are invincible; that advances in science means that science can answer the most meaningful questions of life; and, that technology makes us ‘friends.’ Let us progress with a greater degree of humility.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Thinking about, "Why the church must die for her to live." There will always be a remnant of beleivers based upon the promise of Jesus, but most of what we have known as 'church' in North America must die. The seeds of a new expression will come from the ashes of the church. Not emergent, traditional or contemporary, but Christ-centered, Word-oriented, God-glorifying, mission-commissioned, and fellowship-connected.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Spiritual Candyland Doesn't Work
“I’m Done with Pizza Parties” (although I still love pizza)
WARNING: This chapter is hazardous to youth ministers and youth ministry
by Kevin Shrum
God uses “means” – stuff, happenings, events – to bring about change. Change needs to come to churches and youth ministries across this nation. Three issues will converge to bring about this change and cause ans explosion of spiritual restlessness and confidence energized by the Spirit of God.
Pizza Party Youth Groups?
First, the movement will come from a resistance to and a fatigue from the spiritually boring and trivial. Students are tired of the “pizza party youth group” where things are a “mile wide and an inch deep” and where people don’t really care about people or the truth. There’s a hunger and a yearning for something more, something deep, brooding, engaging, and powerful. The entertainment model of youth ministry doesn’t cut it anymore (as if it ever did).
Students are tired of the ‘pizza party youth group’ where things are a ‘mile wide and an inch deep.’ There is a hunger and a yearning for something more, something deep, brooding, engaging and powerful.
You know what I’m talking about. It’s where you come to church or attend your youth group meeting and talk about feelings to the exclusion of what God has to say. God cares about what you think so long as you care more about what He has said in His Word.
It’s time to re-learn the truth behind that worn out, cheesy, but true phrase – “It’s not about me; it’s about Him.”
There is no excuse or reason to be boring and uninteresting. Thank God for the technology that has made ministry easier. But how could God ever be boring? While the church is not called to be intentionally boring, neither is it called to “out entertain” the world in an effort to draw people to Christ. It’s silly to think that the church can entertain better than the world. The church will never out “MTV an MTV generation.”
Pepperoni Theology?
The “pepperoni theology” that is learned in the “pizza party youth group” cannot withstand the assault that will come from the challenges of life. College students quickly discover that the shallow, easy-believism of the pizza party youth group from spiritual candy-land doesn’t work in a materialistic, pagan, anti-Christian intellectual context.
This is why the interest level in theology and apologetics is on the rise among college students. They’re playing ‘make up’ for what they should have received in their youth group.
It’s no wonder that in 2007 Holman Bible Publishers released the The Apologetics Study Bible to great fanfare. Students like you are growing weary of a pagan culture that is hell-bent on its own destruction and, at the same time, are rejecting a pop-style theology that is nothing more than a student version of a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. You want truth and you want it straight up and unvarnished.
This is why, as a student, you must demand a Christ-centered, Word-based student ministry at your church. OK, let’s play, eat pizza, and do crazy things. I’m game for that! But in the end, demand that Jesus Christ and His Word be front and center when it comes to the core of what you’re doing as a ministry.
No More Paris Hiltons, Please
But trivial, pizza party spirituality is not the only seismic cause of the coming tsunami. Second, the renewed sense of boldness I’m talking about is also coming from a rejection of a pagan culture that is bent on the shallow, the silly, and the inconsequential.
It’s still OK to be as current as ever on pop culture phenomenon. I still love SNL and all kinds of music, movies, and cultural icons. Who could resist Tina Fey playing Gov. Sarah Palin? Who doesn’t want to know the latest ‘top ten’ whether it’s music, books, TV shows or the hottest bands? But there’s a growing sense that all the music, TV shows, and cultural icons lead to nowhere fast.
Artists come and go, music changes and evolves, clothing styles change and the “scene” is constantly shifting. The fear killer generation is looking for something more permanent, stable, deep, and grounded.
This is why when I walk into a Starbucks I’ll often see a student reading one of Ayn Rand’s philosophy books (Atlas Shrugged) or a John Piper (Desiring God or Don’t Waste Your Life) book that he/she cannot understand but that who knows it is important and who has been told that it’s worth the read to discover truth and meaning.
For some, pop culture has simply become a hobby instead of a focus of everyday life. Too many Paris Hiltons and Brittany Spearses have given many reason to think about the meaning and purpose of a culture that treats its young as products to be used only to be discarded like so much trash. In other words, some in the pop-culture generation are beginning to seek a depth to life – meaning and purpose beyond skin level.
And I’m Bored with God, Too – The Rejection of Status Quo Christianity!
But there is a third and even more powerful ingredient to this new sense of spiritual and seismic bravery. It is a dissatisfaction and disgust with “status quo, boring Christianity.” Students like you are no less spiritual than previous generations. In fact, it may be fair to say that your generation is as spiritual as any generation in the history of the world.
I hate to say it, but the problem is not with God. It’s with us – me and you – and the organized church. This is why many are not seeking spiritual expression through local, traditional houses of worship.
Fed up with denominational politics, committee structures, stuffy religiosity, and a church that has a limited concern for spiritual and social issues beyond the church the church building and more of a concern for maintaining the organization of the church, students and young adults are setting new trajectories of creative spiritual engagement.
Don’t get me wrong. I love God and His church. But we have made God so boring, so mundane, and so predictable that people even in the church have misconceptions about who God is and what He is willing to do through and for His people. We’ve made God out to be a nice, cuddly teddy bear. We can squeeze Him tightly for comfort, but never fear or stand in awe of Him.
The rejection of “status quo Christianity” is giving new meaning to the term “loyalty”, defining it around truth rather than institutional structures. Labels are out and authentic truth-telling is in. And much of this is coming from your generation that has become jaded by shallow church life, bankrupt doctrine, and rampant hypocrisy.
The Needless War is On!
As a result, needless battle-lines are being drawn between the generations as to what constitutes ‘church,’ a battle that is wrecking havoc in churches, especially in North America. One generation wants sugar-coated, soft, orderly, predictable, kind-hearted Christianity. The other generation wants God raw, powerful, straight-up, exciting, and unpredictable.
A Strange Thing Happened On the Way Home from Youth Camp
But it was inevitable. Think about what happens in your own church. You plan a trip to a camp with a great speaker and an incredible band, worship is intense and small group times break down walls and bring about spiritual renewal.
But then the whole thing “crashes and burns” on Friday when your youth group loads on a bus or a van to return home to for what often feels like a trip back in time. Worship is mundane and not intense, the preaching is not immediate and passionate, and people seem to avoid intimacy with one another. Whatever gains were made on the trip are quickly swallowed up by a lack of passion.
But it’s not all your church’s fault. Many students tend to think that Christianity is nothing but raw emotion. So when the intensity of a week in the Word dies down, so does your commitment to Jesus and His truth.
So, what will it be? The decision is up to you. Will it be the spiritually shallow, the culturally trivial or the religiously boring? Will you fade into the next phase of life only to live a mundane life of your own? Or, will you sow seeds of bravery, courage, and boldness that will lead you to live a life that counts?
WARNING: This chapter is hazardous to youth ministers and youth ministry
by Kevin Shrum
God uses “means” – stuff, happenings, events – to bring about change. Change needs to come to churches and youth ministries across this nation. Three issues will converge to bring about this change and cause ans explosion of spiritual restlessness and confidence energized by the Spirit of God.
Pizza Party Youth Groups?
First, the movement will come from a resistance to and a fatigue from the spiritually boring and trivial. Students are tired of the “pizza party youth group” where things are a “mile wide and an inch deep” and where people don’t really care about people or the truth. There’s a hunger and a yearning for something more, something deep, brooding, engaging, and powerful. The entertainment model of youth ministry doesn’t cut it anymore (as if it ever did).
Students are tired of the ‘pizza party youth group’ where things are a ‘mile wide and an inch deep.’ There is a hunger and a yearning for something more, something deep, brooding, engaging and powerful.
You know what I’m talking about. It’s where you come to church or attend your youth group meeting and talk about feelings to the exclusion of what God has to say. God cares about what you think so long as you care more about what He has said in His Word.
It’s time to re-learn the truth behind that worn out, cheesy, but true phrase – “It’s not about me; it’s about Him.”
There is no excuse or reason to be boring and uninteresting. Thank God for the technology that has made ministry easier. But how could God ever be boring? While the church is not called to be intentionally boring, neither is it called to “out entertain” the world in an effort to draw people to Christ. It’s silly to think that the church can entertain better than the world. The church will never out “MTV an MTV generation.”
Pepperoni Theology?
The “pepperoni theology” that is learned in the “pizza party youth group” cannot withstand the assault that will come from the challenges of life. College students quickly discover that the shallow, easy-believism of the pizza party youth group from spiritual candy-land doesn’t work in a materialistic, pagan, anti-Christian intellectual context.
This is why the interest level in theology and apologetics is on the rise among college students. They’re playing ‘make up’ for what they should have received in their youth group.
It’s no wonder that in 2007 Holman Bible Publishers released the The Apologetics Study Bible to great fanfare. Students like you are growing weary of a pagan culture that is hell-bent on its own destruction and, at the same time, are rejecting a pop-style theology that is nothing more than a student version of a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. You want truth and you want it straight up and unvarnished.
This is why, as a student, you must demand a Christ-centered, Word-based student ministry at your church. OK, let’s play, eat pizza, and do crazy things. I’m game for that! But in the end, demand that Jesus Christ and His Word be front and center when it comes to the core of what you’re doing as a ministry.
No More Paris Hiltons, Please
But trivial, pizza party spirituality is not the only seismic cause of the coming tsunami. Second, the renewed sense of boldness I’m talking about is also coming from a rejection of a pagan culture that is bent on the shallow, the silly, and the inconsequential.
It’s still OK to be as current as ever on pop culture phenomenon. I still love SNL and all kinds of music, movies, and cultural icons. Who could resist Tina Fey playing Gov. Sarah Palin? Who doesn’t want to know the latest ‘top ten’ whether it’s music, books, TV shows or the hottest bands? But there’s a growing sense that all the music, TV shows, and cultural icons lead to nowhere fast.
Artists come and go, music changes and evolves, clothing styles change and the “scene” is constantly shifting. The fear killer generation is looking for something more permanent, stable, deep, and grounded.
This is why when I walk into a Starbucks I’ll often see a student reading one of Ayn Rand’s philosophy books (Atlas Shrugged) or a John Piper (Desiring God or Don’t Waste Your Life) book that he/she cannot understand but that who knows it is important and who has been told that it’s worth the read to discover truth and meaning.
For some, pop culture has simply become a hobby instead of a focus of everyday life. Too many Paris Hiltons and Brittany Spearses have given many reason to think about the meaning and purpose of a culture that treats its young as products to be used only to be discarded like so much trash. In other words, some in the pop-culture generation are beginning to seek a depth to life – meaning and purpose beyond skin level.
And I’m Bored with God, Too – The Rejection of Status Quo Christianity!
But there is a third and even more powerful ingredient to this new sense of spiritual and seismic bravery. It is a dissatisfaction and disgust with “status quo, boring Christianity.” Students like you are no less spiritual than previous generations. In fact, it may be fair to say that your generation is as spiritual as any generation in the history of the world.
I hate to say it, but the problem is not with God. It’s with us – me and you – and the organized church. This is why many are not seeking spiritual expression through local, traditional houses of worship.
Fed up with denominational politics, committee structures, stuffy religiosity, and a church that has a limited concern for spiritual and social issues beyond the church the church building and more of a concern for maintaining the organization of the church, students and young adults are setting new trajectories of creative spiritual engagement.
Don’t get me wrong. I love God and His church. But we have made God so boring, so mundane, and so predictable that people even in the church have misconceptions about who God is and what He is willing to do through and for His people. We’ve made God out to be a nice, cuddly teddy bear. We can squeeze Him tightly for comfort, but never fear or stand in awe of Him.
The rejection of “status quo Christianity” is giving new meaning to the term “loyalty”, defining it around truth rather than institutional structures. Labels are out and authentic truth-telling is in. And much of this is coming from your generation that has become jaded by shallow church life, bankrupt doctrine, and rampant hypocrisy.
The Needless War is On!
As a result, needless battle-lines are being drawn between the generations as to what constitutes ‘church,’ a battle that is wrecking havoc in churches, especially in North America. One generation wants sugar-coated, soft, orderly, predictable, kind-hearted Christianity. The other generation wants God raw, powerful, straight-up, exciting, and unpredictable.
A Strange Thing Happened On the Way Home from Youth Camp
But it was inevitable. Think about what happens in your own church. You plan a trip to a camp with a great speaker and an incredible band, worship is intense and small group times break down walls and bring about spiritual renewal.
But then the whole thing “crashes and burns” on Friday when your youth group loads on a bus or a van to return home to for what often feels like a trip back in time. Worship is mundane and not intense, the preaching is not immediate and passionate, and people seem to avoid intimacy with one another. Whatever gains were made on the trip are quickly swallowed up by a lack of passion.
But it’s not all your church’s fault. Many students tend to think that Christianity is nothing but raw emotion. So when the intensity of a week in the Word dies down, so does your commitment to Jesus and His truth.
So, what will it be? The decision is up to you. Will it be the spiritually shallow, the culturally trivial or the religiously boring? Will you fade into the next phase of life only to live a mundane life of your own? Or, will you sow seeds of bravery, courage, and boldness that will lead you to live a life that counts?
Friday, January 9, 2009
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