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On June 14, 2020 By In Church, Culture, History, Politics, Theology, Worship

Kingdom Revolution

We are in the midst of a revolution. Societal structures are being overturned and a new order of government is taking over. Old symbols of tyranny are being toppled. The way we live in relationship with one another is being redefined. Our understandings of what constitutes justice and peace are being reshaped. Language itself is being transformed. Logic and rationality are being turned upside down so that not just what we think but how we think are being radically transformed.

This is what happens in revolution because a revolution is the overturning of one culture and the creation of another.

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On June 13, 2020 By In Church, Culture, Politics

The Priorities of Priests and Protests

It is a remarkable thing, you know, this thing called priority. Just a few weeks ago religious leaders were boldly asserting in their high-dollar on-line videos that it was too dangerous to return to worship and that we needed to listen to our political and health leaders. “They are the experts,” they told us. And so a vast amount of compliant people stayed home following the orders of their health czars and most religious leaders quickly concurred. For some now, it has been 1/3 of the year away from church; that’s approximately 121 days without the church “out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation.” (WCF 25.2)

The shocking reality, as Barna pointed out recently, most evangelicals quit the virtual worship experience after four weeks. The hype and enthusiasm of pajamas and brewed coffee in front of a screen lasted no more than 30 days. As if we needed more proof, the reality of virtual worship became virtually unknown shortly after the quarantine.

Then, the tragic death of George Floyd, propelled by other sociological events, urged religious leaders to come out of their basements, put on their clerical garbs and take a stand. Letters were sent out urging pastors to speak up. Many needed practice since it had been a long rhetorical hiatus. Of course, by that time, thousands of protesters were flooding the streets everywhere. The public square was filled again. Then, and only then, did the religious leaders say, “Come, let us go do the work of the Lord!” Yes, even Michigan and New Jersey governors known for their vociferous opposition to that thing called “gathered assembly” now joined the festivities with dance and song. The media which condemned the little children from playing in the streets and prophesied doom to any who would dare take off their masks or gather in greater than the magnanimous number of 10 quickly raised the banner for the protesters.

“Thou shalt worship at home with no more than 10, but thou shalt protest with no less than thousands,” saith the media.

The Christian should and must seek the peace of the city, the welfare of its brothers and sisters, justice and mercy must kiss at the call of righteousness. To protest is the inherent right of human beings, but do you know what else is an inherent right of image-bearers? psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, the wine and the bread, the word of God preached, the fellowship of the saints, hugs and handshakes.

That remarkable thing called priority has a way of showing us our true loves. Would that the zeal of pastors and priests be as elevated for the death of God’s Son as much as the death of one of God’s children. Perhaps one reason many of the protests have turned into a spectacle of shame and destruction is because they failed to be grounded first in the compassion of Jesus which we receive most clearly when God’s people enter his courts with praise and thanksgiving.

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On June 2, 2020 By In Politics, Pro-Life, Theology

The First Principle of Warfare

There is a fundamental principle for understanding a war, and that is to ask, “who” is proposing what and how? I wish to focus only on the conveyor of the message for this post. The “who” is to receive attention before the “what” and “how.” Why? because we can be easily deceived into accepting ideologies of the “who” on the basis of emotional connection to particular causes. We are, after all, humans. But it is essential, nay, necessary, nay, crucial and essential and necessary put together, that we grasp what the underlying agenda of the “who” is. Of course, I am not suggesting we outright reject all ideas coming from the unbelieving mind but anytime a celebrated “who” of our culture or D.C. proposes only two options to solve gigantic matters, we ought to be looking for third.

Abraham Kuyper proposed a solution based on the Gospels called “common grace” which offers a dose of reality to unbelievers on a sunny day and occasionally on a rainy one. Sometimes unbelievers get electrified with common grace from their daily dispensary. I will be that guy in the corner cheering him on when his compatriots turn against him.

But we are poor interpreters of culture when we assume that some sexy Instagram star with 5 trillion followers who daily exposes her body to the virtual vultures is not trying to use her platform to propagate an agenda of dishonesty and disrepute. I am no longer amused by God-haters in Hollywood or in the woods of social media. As far as I can tell, they are all lost looking for meaning in nihilism and trying to find hope where hope is never to be found.

Again, there is truth to be found in all places, but it is fairly clear that even if a little ounce of truth is found in these simpatico characters from my favorite TV shows, by the time I get done with my analysis there will be little meat left in that ideological bone.

In more ways than one, we are imbibers of cultural norms. “We don’t want to be in the world,” we declare; but the first great cause propagated by our beloved artista seems good when it first meets the eye. So, we pour our wholehearted congratulations and kudos into their bucket, thus legitimizing their claim and clause. But, it’s the “who” that matters. The guy who says he loves life can also be the same guy who says you can kill a baby right to the point before he enters the world. The “who” matters, and we better be very confident that before we engage the “what” and “how” we consider from whence comes the “who.”

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On May 25, 2020 By In Politics

Memorial Day: The Virtue of Remembering

I grew up in a country whose last war was in 1828. It was nobly entitled, “The Cisplatine War, Mutiny of the Mercenaries.” When Hillary Clinton went to Brazil asking our then president to join American policies against Iran, Lula replied that America (then led by Obama) was too eager to get into war with Iran. I think he was right, but again, Lula was too eager to ally himself with dictators. They were both ultimately wrong in my estimation. Neo-conservative politics never did attract me from the left or the right and socialism never attracted me. Period.

When I came to the U.S. nearing three decades ago, I was exposed to a world comfortable with the language of war. There was honor and service and respect for those in the military. Police officers, many of them who had served in some capacity, were respected. It was quite a change of view for me, and I found it a delightful one.

I pastor in a community replete with men and women who serve or have served in the military. The military families and individuals who have come through our congregation were/are some of the finest I’ve ever met and when they left, they left a deep void in our body. Once in a while we are even overwhelmed with joy to see that they desire to come back and be among us.

I’ve also had the privilege of meeting widows whose husbands fought valiantly for their country. We honor those faithful laborers and we especially pray for those who mourn them today. Memorial Day should not be a day for intellectual patriotic affirmation. We should remember the dead who fought for our country and even those who fought for wars led by political ambition.

Patriotism is noble; the kind of patriotism that serves the country with eyes wide open. There is a blind patriotism that pervades everything, even church life; the form of patriotic fervor that is too eager to trust in horses and chariots. I despise that form of patriotism. The prophet Jonah was the wrong kind of patriot. He cherished his land above loyalty to God. Any patriotism that speaks of God generically is bound to error. The healthy patriot serves only the Triune God and cherishes his country but is lucid enough to point out its ethical flaws.

From the days of the Israelite wanderings to our own day, the great sin of history is the sin of forgetfulness. Remembering, then, becomes a biblical virtue. Remembering fallen heroes is a way of remembering the nature of sacrifice.

In this post-adamic world, death becomes the pre-requisite to life. We should remember the fallen. Remember the pain of death. Remember the life that comes from those who have died, and then rejoice in freedoms new and freedoms to come. 

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On May 24, 2020 By In Church, Politics, Wisdom, Worship

Who’s In Charge Of The Church’s Worship?

When Jesus reveals himself to John on the isle of Patmos, he is holding seven stars in his right hand. (Rev 1.16) These seven stars are the angels or messengers of the seven churches (Rev 1.20) to whom Jesus will speak in chapters 2 and 3. These angels are not spirit angels but pastors of the churches. They are the ones to whom Jesus speaks directly, who are then expected to deliver his message to the churches and deal with the issues he addresses.

Symbolizing the pastors as stars is not incidental. Describing pastors as stars isn’t an empty image. Stars have a long history of governing in Scripture; a history that begins in Genesis 1. Stars, along with the sun and moon, are the lights in the firmament-heaven for “signs and festival times.” They are set up to rule the earth. (Gen 1.14-19) When Abraham was promised that his children would be as the stars in heaven, (Gen 15.5) that promise included ruling the earth. Jacob, his wife, and their sons were sun, moon, and stars in Joseph’s dream in which Joseph rules them all (Gen 37.9-11). When Isaiah describes the fall of Babylon, the rulers that will fall are stars (Isa 13.10).

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On May 12, 2020 By In Politics

Spiritual Memory

The Church is in the midst of Eastertide. Having celebrated and commemorated the events of Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, our minds go to that

In the gospel of John, one of the works of the Spirit that is highlighted repeatedly is that of remembrance. The Holy Spirit works in us to bring to our memory the person of Jesus, His life, words, and works. 

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On May 2, 2020 By In Politics

When Kansas City Comes After Church Membership

If ever there was a time to heed Francis Schaeffer’s warning against authoritarian government, the time is now. Schaeffer urged the Christian to speak and act on the absolute to combat the arbitrariness of the state. The federal and local governments must avoid at all costs the interference with the sphere of the church. The church functions independent from the state since they offer a different sacramental table than what the government offers. We offer bread and wine to weary sinners and the state offers the sword to wicked sinners.

If there is to be any joint enterprise it must be on the assumption of mutual agreement between the spheres in times of absolute necessity. Kuyper notes that all government authority “originates from the Sovereignty of God alone.” When the state assumes a self-serving authority beyond God’s boundaries, there can be no harmony between the spheres.

As churches all across the country re-open, Kansas City, Mo. is demanding that churchgoers turn over membership lists along with personal data as a way of tracking and isolating individuals exposed to COVID-19. This act is a clear violation of the fundamental nature of the church. Our loyalty is to a heavenly regime and not some local authoritarian eager for notoriety and power. We don’t need much blood to call the attention of a hungry lion, and the government (even at its local level) seeks only a sample of blood to jump at the opportunity to seize a table that belongs only to the church.

There is no virus that can take the authority of the church, and certainly there is no virus powerful enough for the church to hand over her keys to the civil magistrate. The keys of heaven and hell belong to the institution of the church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her. Church membership is a distinct document used for the benefit of the local church and her members. It does not belong on the desk of a bureaucrat and it is certainly not to be used for surveillance no matter how well intentioned it may be. Let the church be the church. Leave the bread and the wine where it belongs.

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On April 20, 2020 By In Politics, Theology

Cheap grace and gratitude

Guest Post by Dr. Jordan Ballor

As we live in a time of crisis, isolation, and suffering, there’s perhaps no better time to consider anew all the goodness and grace in our lives that we so often take for granted. Amid the outbreak of plague, we should ponder the gifts we have been given and the gratitude we ought to have for them. As we deal with the loss of life and restrictions on our activities, we should also come to a greater recognition of the divine origin of all good gifts all the time.

Fallen (and perhaps particularly fallen and redeemed) human beings have a way of cheapening grace. The German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer opened his classic work on Christian discipleship with an incisive analysis of what he called “cheap grace,” the idea that God’s saving work could simply be assumed and that it required no substantive response from or transformation of human beings.

If Christ’s atoning work was infinitely sufficient to cover all of our sins, such thinking goes, why not go on sinning that grace may abound (Rom. 6:1)? Or at least, why worry so much about doing any good works, since they aren’t all that “good” in the first place, and aren’t the basis for our salvation in any case? As Bonhoeffer puts it, “Cheap grace means grace as bargain-basement goods, cut-rate forgiveness, cut-rate comfort, cut-rate sacrament; grace as the church’s inexhaustible pantry, from which it is doled out by careless hands without hesitation or limit. It is grace without a price, without costs.”

Bonhoeffer had in mind what is often called special or saving grace in his indictment of cheap grace, and he had in mind the costliness of Christ’s sacrifice and the call to follow Him. But there’s an analogous error when it comes to the gifts of common grace. If special grace involves the application of the atoning work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners, common grace involves the recognition of the gifts that are given to everyone regardless of righteousness or piety. In Matthew 5:45 we read that God “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Natural goods like sun and rain are examples of common grace, but as the Reformed theologian Abraham Kuyper describes the idea, common grace also involves social and cultural realities, like the love of familial relationships, the goods and services provided by businesses, and justice and order protected and preserved by governments.

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On April 14, 2020 By In Politics, Theology

Easter: The ABC of our Faith

We need to continually return to the root of our faith, to those first historical events that propel us to move forward as a people. The Church Calendar helps us to never outgrow the life of our Lord from his birth to his Ascension.

The Resurrection is the foundation of our faith. In modern evangelicalism, we tend to view the Resurrection of Jesus merely as validation or proof that the crucifixion accomplished what it was supposed to. In other words, the Resurrection is lovely because now the death of Jesus means something, and we get to spend eternity in heaven. But the Bible ascribes more significant value to the empty tomb.

The Four Gospels navigate us through the life of Jesus and give us a glimpse into the meaning of the Resurrection. But if we simply build our thinking around the Four Gospels, we will have an incomplete view of who we are and who Jesus is. The Four Gospels are not enough. We need the entirety of God’s Revelation. In other words, “If our gospel begins and ends on Good Friday, it is impoverished.”a 

Though we glory in the cross, though we preach the cross, though we love the old rugged cross, the cross is not enough! And I make that statement very carefully. As one scholar stated, “If the story of the prodigal son was only based on cross-theology, there would have been only forgiveness, but no joy and feast.” The message of the cross is incomplete without the Resurrection. The cross and the Resurrection can never be separated.

The Resurrection not only validates the cross, but it is a sure sign that we are shadows of our future selves. We are now partly what we shall be. This reality is apparent as we enter into the Acts of the Apostles: the early Church began to live out their Resurrection among the nations. In fact, “the preaching of Jesus’ Resurrection is arguably more pervasive than the cross in the book of Acts (Acts 2:31; 3:26; 4:2; 33; 10:41). The Psalms most quoted in the New Covenant are Psalms 2 and 110, which speak directly of Jesus’ Resurrection and exaltation. Cyprian once wrote: “I confess the Cross, because I know of the Resurrection…since the Resurrection has followed the Cross, I am not ashamed to declare it.” This is back to basics! We are a cruciform people, but if we overemphasize the cross, our identity is incomplete.

So, let us consider a few implications of the Resurrection, keeping in mind that the Resurrection is more than a confirmation of the cross, but it is the foundation of our faith. Paul makes this point when he says that without the Resurrection, we are of all people most to be pitied. He does not say this about any other event in the life of Jesus.

First, the Resurrection is the objective grounds of salvation. We often look at the cross as the grounds of our salvation, but God saves us by, in, and through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul makes this explicit when he says in Romans 4:25: “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” In I Corinthians 15:17, Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” But aren’t we justified and forgiven on account of Jesus’ death? Of course! Romans makes that clear! For the Apostle Paul, the Resurrection is the vindication of Jesus as the Faithful Son and as the righteous sin-bearer.

It is “the creative power of God that imparts life to soul and body.” This is who we are. We are nothing more, nothing less than saints united to the Resurrected Christ. This is the objective ground of our salvation.

Secondly, the Resurrection is not only the source of our justification, our right-standing before God, but the Resurrection is also the power that drives our sanctification; that is our growth in King Jesus. Some theologians have referred to this as anastasity, from the Greek anastasio, meaning Resurrection. Anastasity is the way the Resurrection flows into our lives. I confess this is in many ways is revolutionary to Christians who have never considered the Resurrection in this light. What the cross of Jesus does for us is to bankrupt our pride, it sobers our minds when we become full of ourselves, and it pulls the plug on any naïve triumphalism. When we are tempted to be proud of any accomplishment, we need to look no further than the cross of Jesus to give us an enlightened view of what Jesus had to suffer to take our sins.

But the Resurrection is the other necessary and prominent part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus and part of God’s people. We cannot only have a theology of the cross because a spirituality that meditates only on the cross could potentially reduce us to self-loathing, spiritual insecurity. The impression, then, is that we remain, pathetic, lowly sinners, miserable wretches, unable to do one good thing for God even though we are justified by the event of the empty tomb.

I suggest this is a pietistic simplification of the Christian life? Anglican scholar Michael Bird summarizes best our status:

Some Christians might feel humble when they tell everyone how pathetic they are; a form of self-deprecation. Rightly so, we should be the first ones to share our struggles with others, but let us not think less of ourselves that how God thinks of us. “If God thinks well of his Son, He thinks well of you. If God loves His Son, He loves you, for you are partakes not just of his sufferings, but also of his glory.b

Finally, the Resurrection calls us to a new way of living. Paul says in Colossians: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, not on earthly things.” Some have interpreted this to mean that we are to be so heavenly minded, that we ought to abandon our earthly concerns. After all, this world is merely passing by. But I think this interpretation lacks a fundamental understanding of the role of the Resurrection in the mind of Paul. Who are we? We are resurrected saints. This is the most basic foundation of our humanity as Christians. And if we are resurrected saints, where does the resurrected Christ now abide? He abides at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Where Christ is we are. We are to act and live as if we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. We are to have a heavenly perspective on our earthly life. This reality is to have an impact on our present. Our status in Jesus Christ calls us toward the goal of faithfulness.

Easter is the most basic fact of our humanity. It is who we are. It is because of the bodily Resurrection that we live, breathe, and have our being in a Christ who shows mercy, rather than a Christ who condemns us. The Resurrection of Jesus vindicated Jesus as the bearer of the ugliness of sin, so when he looks at our Lord sees beautified saints. We can never take that for granted. Our standing before the Father causes us to love one another more fully, to serve one another more sincerely, to embrace a more robust view of hope, to feast more abundantly, and to worship the Risen Christ with greater passion. Easter is the abc of our faith. If it is anything less, we are most to be pitied, but thanks be to God, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

  1. Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology, 436.  (back)
  2. Michael Bird, Evangelical Theology, pg. 445  (back)

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On April 10, 2020 By In Politics

When the Serpent Came Back to the Garden

There is a venomous snake in the garden. While the Messiah and his disciples enter the garden, a certain snake-like figure named Judas knows precisely where the faithful are. Judas enters the garden knowing that this was a place of constant fellowship and peace. But he is not a man of peace and his fellowship with the Messiah has been broken. He is now a man at war and his loyalty is with the darkness.

In the Garden of Eden, the Great Serpent entered the garden to bring about chaos; to tempt the first Adam. Indeed he was successful. The first Adam failed in his loyalty to Yahweh, being deceived by the serpent in the garden, and thus, thrusting all mankind into a state of sin and misery. Now in John 18, a new serpent re-enters the garden. He is possessed by the same devil that possessed the serpent in Genesis. It is this precise battle that is unfolding before us in this text.

Who Owns the Garden?

Does Judas with his newfound commitment to darkness and evil own the garden or does Jesus own the garden? As the text reveals, the son of perdition seems to have the upper hand in this sacred dispute. In verse 12 we read:

So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him.

Jesus is arrested and bound. They take him out of the garden bound like a defeated enemy. Now, in every conceivable scenario, this would be the historical determination that Jesus lost his rights to the Garden. After all, if the Messiah is to bring this unshakable kingdom, how does this apparent defeat in the garden fit into the messianic agenda? The answer is paradoxical because the coming of the kingdom is paradoxical. The kingdom does not come in the way and in the expression that many expected.

The kingdom of Jesus comes in an unexpected way to the first century. The binding of Jesus in the Garden confounds the reader. In this text, Jesus is not being bound because of defeat, he is being bound because of victory. Paradoxically, Jesus’ arrest is his release. His arrest is not his binding, it may appear to be, but it is ultimately the binding of the father of lies, Satan himself. This is why the gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus is the One who bound the strong man (Mat. 13) He is the One who arrested the Serpent and dragged him out of the garden. Jesus owns the garden, not Judas or His master, Satan.

This arrest and this binding of Jesus in the garden is not a plan gone awry, it is exactly what has been planned. In one sense, this arrest is the Trinitarian conspiracy against the kingdoms of this world. When evil leaders and governments think they have the Son of Man trapped, he fools them. As Psalm 2 says, “God laughs at their plans.” The conspiracy of the cross is that the cross is Christ’s sword to defeat evil. But the serpent does not know this. He is virtually blinded to the Messianic plan and nothing will stop Jesus from conquering evil and bringing in his new creation.

The garden belongs to Jesus because the garden is where his people gather and eat, and fellowship. The garden is the sacred space of peace for God’s people. In the garden, the King says, “The gates of hell shall not prevail.” Death dies once and for all and victory will come and we will celebrate it this Sunday. Today, though we fast, it is only a prelude to our coming feast. Jesus’ death marks the end of the serpent’s sting of death.

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