Archbishop Tutu And Gospel Ignorance

My company allows us to meet approximately every other week in a conference room for 20 to 30 minutes for prayer and encouragement. Just a little while ago, I left one of those prayer breaks greatly burdened. A co-worker shared that Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu addressed the graduating class at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. What burdened me is that this co-worker mentioned and endorsed a heart-breaking heresy spoken that day by Archbishop Tutu: That God is both omnipotent and impotent. Here is the exact quote from the text of his speech:

“But you know, we have a God who is omnipotent. Now you know omnipotent means all-powerful. A God who brought into being all of what exists without help from anyone. And yet this, quite paradoxically, this omnipotent God is also impotent. You know, when somebody’s hungry, God wants to perform the miracle of feeding that hungry one, but it won’t be normally by hamburgers floating down from heaven. (scattered laughter) If that hungry person is going to be fed, then you and you and you and you and you and you and all of us have to become God’s partners, God’s collaborators, God’s fellow workers…”

The full manuscript of the speech can be found here: http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/students/archbishop-emeritus-tutu-delivers-2009-commencement-address.html

God is both omnipotent and impotent? Now, if you read the full manuscript, you will see that the point he’s attempting to make is that God uses human beings as instruments to carry out the work of humanitarian aid. The point is valid, but the particular theology, and the way of expressing the point in this case, is heretical.

However, I think I’m more troubled by the fact that my co-worker quoted this, endorsed it, and that many other co-workers in the room during the prayer break endorsed this as valid and true. My heart absolutely breaks for anyone who views our Almighty, Sovereign Creator as anything but omnipotent. There is NOTHING that limits His power and authority. I won’t quote the passages here, but when you read Hebrews 1:1-3, Job chapters 38-40, Psalm 29:3, Isaiah 10:16, etc. I couldn’t begin to record all the Scripture references here that declare the glory of God.

Unfortunately, this was a heretical and extreme attempt by Archbishop Tutu to emphasize the responsibility of man in the work of God’s kingdom. Even more unfortunate is that many regard his comments as right and good. Further, Archbishop Tutu spits in the face of the gospel by implying that God’s kingdom will be comprised of anyone regardless of faith in Christ. He espouses a qazi-universalism that is blasphemous to Christ’s work on the cross. Read this paragraph from his manuscript:

“You know, Jesus said “I, if I be lifted up, I will draw – he didn’t say I will draw some – he said I will draw all, all, all! I will draw all! Rich, poor; clever, not so clever; beautiful, not so beautiful; yellow, red, black, gay, lesbian, so-called straight…God said “All. All. All. All. All. All.” And you know this is radical. All, all, all all men. Palestinians. Israelis. (cheering) All, all. Bin Laden … you know … George Bush … all, all, all, all belong in this family, and God says, “Help me, help me to realize my dream. Help me, help me, help me.”
Please understand something: The gospel is for ANYONE who will BELIEVE! It is absolutely true that anyone who comes to Christ by faith will be accepted an not cast out. That’s the absolute beauty of the gospel. However, it’s NOT true that anyone who comes on any condition will be accepted by God. If you are to be accepted by God and adopted into God’s family, you MUST come to Christ for salvation.

What’s troubling to me is that there is no mention of gospel here by Archbishop Tutu, and if you look at the context of his speech, he’s really espousing universalism. Lord, please have mercy on those that reject your mercy and grace revealed in Christ. Bring them to yourself and open the eyes of the blind. Lord, I beg you to work to work so that people aren’t led astray by these lies and distortions of your beautiful gospel. In Jesus’ name, A-men.

Fight Sin, But Don’t Make It Your God

Part of the reformed (Calvinistic) movement is the renewed doctrine of self-examination and killing the sinful desires of the heart (Rom 8:13).  However, I think some have taken this too far.  While I think it’s right, good, and necessary for a Christian to fight sin, I fear there are well-intending reformed churches that are absolutely stifling their sheep by causing too much attention to be drawn to the presence of sin and fighting sin.

Should a Christian be aware of sin and seek to fight it rather than relish in it?  Absolutely.  In fact, I would argue that one of the definitions of a truly born-again Christian is dis-satisfaction with sin and the desire to rid oneself of it.  However, it is a reality that this side of Heaven will never see sin completely eliminated.

I think Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones gives some great wisdom here:

Lloyd-Jones:

We all agree that we should examine ourselves, but we also agree that introspection and morbidity are bad. But what is the difference between examining ourselves and becoming introspective? I suggest that we cross the line from self-examination to introspection when, in a sense, we do nothing but examine ourselves, and when such self-examination becomes the main and chief end in our life. We are meant to examine ourselves periodically, but if we are always doing it, always, as it were, putting our soul on a plate and dissecting it, that is introspection. And if we are always talking to people about ourselves and our problems and troubles, and if we are forever going to them with that frown upon our face and saying: I am in great difficulty–it probably means that we are all the time centred upon ourselves. That is introspection, and that in turns leads to the condition known as morbidity. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones,

–Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures, p. 17.

So, Christians, take Lloyd-Jones’ advice and run to Christ for hope and mercy when you are fighting sin.  Yet, enjoy your standing with Christ and take absolute joy in Christ knowing that we are fully pardoned and will never see God frown or become dis-pleased with us ever again.  I pray that churches that build entire services, small groups, and events around fighting sin realize that sin should not be the focus and that fighting sin can actually become joy-robbing legalism.

Making Sense Of The Past Few Years

When I was 16 years old, I felt God calling me into the gospel ministry vocationally. My local church affirmed this calling on my life when I was 17 years old. Immediately after graduating high school, I left for Bible College to study and prepare for the ministry. I did not finish my education, and from that point until now I have tried in many different ways and with lots of effort to finish my education and enter full time vocational ministry. And at every point I have failed (now I’m almost 32 years old). I assure you that most of the time it has not been for a lack of effort. I often felt unsettled on the idea of ministry, even though I felt continually drawn in that direction. I don’t know that I can adequately explain it, but I actually tried to forget ministry for a while and pursue a career in the business world. Yet, even in my unsettled vision of ministry, I felt irrevocably called to it. However, I didn’t have the money to go back to school, and I had no foreseeable ministry opportunity jumping at me. I didn’t even have bad opportunities coming my way. It was as if all doors had been closed on ministry forever and there was no way to break through (as I would come to find out later, the Spirit of God locked me into my circumstances and would have me stay there for a while, but more on that later). It was as if the Lord had gone “radio silent.”

In addition to not having the means or the opportunity, things were really difficult for me and my family. We are not unique in that, and I’m sure many would have the exact same testimony. So, as I post this, I recognize that there is nothing unique, special, or extraordinary about going through difficult times. Without going into a lot of detail, over the past 7 or 8 years, we’ve faced financial ruin twice (literally on the verge of bankruptcy), watched other families we care about fall apart through adultery and divorce, watched my parents get a divorce, watched good friends face destruction from addictions to pornography, watched churches suffer from pastors falling into adultery, dealt with untimely deaths in the family as well as deaths from grandparents, and watched siblings suffer from mystery illnesses that were life-threatening. We’ve seen a church we helped plant close its doors forever, we’ve failed at trying to finish college education, and we’ve been laid off from jobs. The list could go on and on.

So, what was the problem? Why is it that I couldn’t catch a break? I watched men all around me have money fall out of the sky to pay for their schooling, and then watched them go on and begin serving in churches as pastors and leaders. My question was, “Why, Lord? Why isn’t that me?? Please, Lord, if you don’t want me in ministry, please take these desires away from me; however, if you do want me in ministry, please provide the means so that I can finish school and lead me to the place where you would have me serve.” That was my secret prayer for years.

Just recently, by a gracious and sovereign working of the Spirit of God in my heart, I was granted some wisdom to see why the Lord caused us to go through such trying times and closed the doors to the ministry for those years: there was a deeply rooted sin in my heart that the Lord wanted to squeeze out through trying times. The faithful Potter was tearing me down in order to mold me into something better. The sin was an inward working of pride in my heart that could have been disastrous had I gone into the ministry like that. There is quite a bit more to it than that, but for the sake of time and for the sake of not getting bogged down in describing sin, I’ll leave it at that for now. This prideful sin manifested itself in many different ways over the years, but needless to say it needed to be dealt with. The funny thing is that even though I felt the calling to ministry, I had a deeply unsettled conscience when I thought about actually serving in ministry. As I would discover later from the working of the Spirit, it was God preventing me from entering the ministry until He had uprooted the sin that hindered me from having confidence in the Lord.

While I was dealing with the hard times, I felt like a total failure. When I was a teenager, freshly called to ministry, so many people were proud of me and were encouraged by the Lord’s working in my life. So, you can imagine how I felt like a failure when I thought about those people that had great expectations for me and I had yet to live up to them. I came to learn that such an outlook was wrong and in fact a rejection of God’s sovereign working in my life. Who said I had to live up to the expectations of others? That was pressure I was never called to live with, and frankly a symptom of the pride I was ignorantly dealing with. I also felt like a failure to my wife. When we got married, ministry was seemingly on the horizon for us, and she had always felt like she was going to marry a minister. In fact, that was her desire. She never once put pressure on me to live up to that expectation, but I felt like I’d let her down because of the continued failure to get into ministry. Again, pride reigned in my heart and tainted my perspective.

I don’t know why the Lord in His wisdom chose to use trying times to uproot this sin in my heart. I can tell you I feel more prepared today having gone through those times than if I hadn’t. I can also tell you that because of my past struggles that I’m more prepared today to relate to those who are struggling in similar ways. Also, He has granted me the grace to look at the past with hope. For those years of struggle, I think the most miserable and debilitating thing was feeling like I was wasting my life. I felt (wrongly) that God had this HUGE frown on his face every time he looked at me because I was wasting my life and not fulfilling the purpose for which He had created me and saved me. Oh how foolish I was and what a terrible way to deny the grace of God in Christ! But, that perception of failure, wasting my life, and God’s displeasure with me was paralyzing. I was spiritually powerless with the exception of occasional small victories that God would grant here and there.

Today, I’m not yet in ministry. I still work in the business world. We have recovered financially, and the Lord is providing money to pay off school debt so I can continue my education. The Lord has placed us in an awesome church that is so encouraging and loving. This church has taken my family and I, as broken as we were, and loved us in ways impossible to put on paper. I’m being mentored for the ministry by my pastor who is a wonderful man of God. He has taken me under his wing as a friend and brother. So long have I desired this kind of discipleship and friendship from a pastor, but it was kept from me until the proper time that I was ready to receive it (and appreciate it). I have been under mentoring (in the recent past), but it wasn’t the same and it always felt like a hands off approach ruling over me with authority rather than a true friendship. In contrast, my current pastor kicks back, talks theology, has us over for meals, and just talks to me like a friend and brother. He has taken an interest in me and wants to love me and disciple me to be an effective and loving shepherd. What a joy and I’m overwhelmed with how happy this makes me in the Lord!

Why do I share all of this? Well, here are some things I have learned from those experiences that I pray may help someone that reads this:

1. The presence of un-confessed sin in your heart will destroy your confidence in the promises of God that are graciously revealed in Scripture
2. Focusing on ministry as a vocation rather than as a means to simply serve the church with your spiritual gifts is a fallacy and leads to pride
3. Focusing on the presence of sin rather than the promises of the gospel leads to despair and inward defeat in the life of the believer
4. Belief in the absolute sovereignty of God grants comfort that no matter what happens, God is absolutely in control and sovereign even over my bad choices and sin
5. God is for me because of Christ; the justified believer need not be afraid of God’s displeasure. Because of Christ, God ALWAYS rejoices over the believer without ANY exception
6. Failure or success is not measured by accomplishing goals as much as it is trusting in the absolute sovereignty of God, taking ultimate joy in Christ, and serving faithfully in whatever capacity God has ordained at the moment
7. Only God’s grace and mercy sustains the believer; believers need the gospel for power and freedom and no work of the believer will ultimately destroy sin
8. The fight against sin is ultimately won not by self-reliance in fighting, but on the Spirit of God destroying it
9. There is nothing that makes one appreciate the grace and mercy of God like going through a terrible valley that clouds your vision of that grace for a time
10. Mentors are a tremendous means of grace; if you find a good mentor and friend, then you have found a physical manifestation of the grace of God in your life

It is my prayer that as I leave this valley behind and look to the future of serving God by the grace and mercy He provides, that I won’t forget the lessons learned in the “valley of vision” where God was working for my good even while I was miserable. I love Jesus Christ and I love His church. May God alone receive the glory for the things He has done in me. I leave you with this passage of scripture that has meant a lot to me in recent days (bold and underline added by me):

Psalm 3

O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God. Selah [1]

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

To God alone be the glory for great things He has done! Grace and peace to you. Amen.

Preaching The Gospel To Yourself – Why Should I Bother?

It has become conventional wisdom in most Gospel-loving circles to advise believers to preach the gospel to ourselves as a means of helping us love the gospel more and also as a means to defeat and hate sin. The idea is that preaching the gospel to ourselves reminds us of the precious promises we have in the gospel thereby destroying unbelief and creating a heart of worship. I don’t know about you, but hearing the gospel is water to my soul. A couple of Sunday mornings ago, when our preaching pastor was concluding his series on the Sermon on the Mount, he read, as part of his sermon, the entire Sermon on the Mount. There is just something about corporate reading of the Scriptures that is precious and powerful. Likewise, when I think on the passages of the Bible rich with gospel truth, it waters my soul. During those moments, I absolutely feast on the promises of God and am encouraged and emboldened to defeat sin. I need those times and I am in constant need of being reminded of the promises of the gospel.

So, preaching to the gospel to myself is one of the best ways I have found to be reminded of those precious promises when I’m not in corporate worship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. What I usually do is think about what I would share with a non-believer were I in a witnessing encounter. What would I say to him or her that would cause them to love the gospel? What precious truths about the gospel would I want them to fall in love with? Those are likely the very things I need constant reminding of myself. Here are some things I think on in order to help focus my mind:

-I need not fear death because Jesus died and resurrected, defeating death and proving his sovereignty

-The sin that I am struggling with is already defeated because Jesus died and resurrected, bringing victory over sin—the very fact that Jesus resurrected proves his deity as well as his perfection in character and nature

-There is no sin too large for God to forgive. Jesus’ death would have been in vain if there was something his blood could not atone for

-God does not look at me in an angry manner because Jesus is the Just and the Justifier. Therefore, being fully justified in Christ, I am NEVER looked at by God in anger or dis-satisfaction

-Being fully justified by Christ, I have Jesus’ righteousness as my robe and the Father sees nothing else in me ultimately. He’s not ignorant of my sins, but he’s loving and understanding because Jesus himself was tempted as we are (yet, he did not sin). Still, he knows our weakness and longs to deliver us from those weaknesses and sins

-Because Jesus has sovereignly regenerated my heart, I don’t have to eat the dust of sin, but I can drink from the fountain of living water

-I hated Jesus, the eternal fountain of life, because my sin caused me to count the very God I needed as an enemy. Yet, God in his grace and mercy destroyed my rebellious heart and granted me a new heart that desires and is capable of enjoying and longing for God.

I could type on and on. My words, I admit, are not the most artistic or captivating, but these are things I think about when I want to know and be reminded of the precious promises of the gospel. John Owen says be killing your sin or it will be killing you. There is no better sin killer than to think on the precious truths of the gospel and what God saved us from. Why should I preach the gospel to myself? Because my very life depends on it.

A Lawsuit Against Bible Publishers?

James White posted on his blog about a lawsuit against Zondervan that complains about Bible statements on homosexuality. Basically, a man wants to sue Zondervan because they publish the Bible with wording that labels homosexuality as a sin, and some of his family members treat him poorly because of the Bible’s labeling homosexuality as sin. Forget the fact that the original text that Zondervan’s publications derive from call homosexuality a sin.

I’m absolutely stunned. And, before anybody accuses me of being a “homosexual basher,” let me say up front that homosexuality is a sin, but I believe in the right of a person to be a homosexual based on our constitution. Is homosexuality right? No way. Not in any sense. But, a person has the right to make the choice to be a homosexual if they so desire. Further, homosexuals deserve the grace and mercy from believers just as a drug addict or a murderer would. So, I’m not labeling homosexuality as the unpardonable sin. I’m saying up front that based on the Word of God, I can call homosexuality a sin in a loving way to point homosexuals (and any person for that matter) to the cross of Christ where life and mercy are found.

That said, it is CRAZY to bring a lawsuit against a Bible publisher that is trying to accurately reflect what the original text says. Why don’t I go out and sue every publisher of Karl Marx, Arius, Immanuel Kant, Joseph Smith, etc, just because I’m in disagreement with what they say? What in the world has our legal system come to? If reading the Bible bothers you that badly, then repent of your sin or don’t read it! If you feel oppressed by family members that are acting unlovingly towards you because of what the Bible says about homosexuality, then take issue with the family members, not the Bible. For crying out loud. Don’t blame the truth, blame those that abuse the truth.

Why don’t I go out and sue every publisher of biology textbooks that publishes the Theory of Evolution as fact and not theory? Come on people. Disagree with truth if you like, but don’t try to edit it. If this lawsuit is upheld, I’m fearful of the precedent it will set for other foolish and frivolous lawsuits to follow. God, please have mercy on us.

Man is Uniquely Favored in God’s Creation

I was studying Genesis 1 this morning, and I noticed something I’d not paid attention to before. In Genesis 1:28, the Scripture says that God both blessed and spoke to man. When you read Genesis 1, man was created on the sixth day. Yet, on the previous five days of creation, the only record we have of God saying anything was when he was actually creating through the Word of his power. But, on the sixth day, after God created man, he spoke directly to man where before he had not spoken directly to any other part of creation. Even when he commanded the creatures of the sea to multiply, he wasn’t speaking directly to them, but commanding that an event take place.

As I was reading, I was reminded of Psalm 8 which outlines the Doctrine of Man, and I noticed something interesting there as well. In Psalm 8:3, the verse describes the beauty and wonder of creation and in verse 4 asks the question “what is man that you are mindful of him?” Basically, the psalmist is asking, “how can man compare to this glorious work of your hands?” He answers that question in Psalm 8:5 by saying that man was crowned with glory and honor from God. Notice the connection to Genesis 1:28 in Psalm 8:3-5. Genesis 1:28 says that God blessed and spoke to man. Psalm 8:3-5 says that God is “mindful” of and “crowned” man. These two words directly correlate to Genesis 1:28’s words of “blessed” and “said.”

What all of this says, on a very simple level, is that man has God’s unique attention and favor in the created order. What this also means is that one of the reasons sin is so heinous is that man spurned that divine favor with disobedience and rebellion. Out of all other parts of creation, man received a blessing and favor from Almighty God(God is the greatest and most praise worthy of all beings in the universe, and to spurn that favor is no light thing) at creation that no other part of creation would ever be honored with. No wonder God was angered at man’s rebellion.

But, I must conclude here with the good news. Even though man was originally favored above all other parts of creation, and fell out of favor with God through rebellion, God has sent Christ to redeem man. The cross demonstrates a unique favor that man has in God’s eyes. God did not die to redeem any other part of creation. Christ died for humans. Dogs may not be saved. Trees may not be saved, water may not be saved, but man may be if he repents and seeks God’s forgiveness in Christ. To God be the glory! A-men.

Gospel 101

I work for a pretty awesome company. One of our VP’s is actually the company chaplain, and every week we meet for a 20-25 minute prayer break in a company conference room. This morning, our chaplain was leading the group through kind of a Christianity 101 discussion.

As I listened to people respond, it got me to thinking about the gospel. I really started digging into my own heart and thinking about how most people only halfway define the gospel. Here’s what I mean. If you ask most professing believers in churches across America to define the gospel, here’s what you will get as an answer:

1) Jesus died on the cross so that I can be saved
2) Jesus rose from the dead to defeat death and the grave
3) If I confess and believe in Jesus, I will be saved (a pseudo Romans 10:9-13 answer)

In most cases, this is where the definition will stop more or less. This is truth, but how can the information above translate into hope and encouragement for the believer, or how can this information be presented so that a lost person will see Jesus as beautiful? Please allow me to submit a more revealing look at the gospel that was omitted from the above list, and I pray this makes Jesus look more beautiful to you:

1) The body of Jesus was broken to accept the wrath of God that I deserve

2) The blood of Christ was spilled in order to justify me and present me as righteous to God the Father; Christians receive Christ’s righteousness, and Christ receives our sin (also known as imputation), and that makes us justified in God’s eyes.

3) Justification (in very simple language) is God the Father declaring me righteous because of Jesus. This means that God is for me and not against me, and he will never look upon me with disfavor again. He does this on the merit of Christ and Christ alone no matter how I fail.

4) To be saved means to be saved from God’s wrath that is to come in the last day against unjustified sinners, and to know that I will stand with the righteousness of Christ in full confidence without fear of condemnation from God either now or then.

5) To be saved means to hate our sin and seek to kill our sin because we long to obey this beautiful savior that received the Father’s wrath in our place.

Do you see the difference in the two lists? Whereas the first list is certainly filled with truth, it’s incomplete and does not reveal the hope that Christians have in the gospel. The second list embodies why believers should see Jesus as beautiful and the hope we have because of the objective reality of Christ as our righteousness. I pray this makes Jesus look precious to you, wanting more of him, and realizing our hope the gospel brings because of the perfect work and life of Jesus Christ. To God alone be the glory! A-men.

A Brief Response to John Piper’s Post on Guns and Martyrdom

John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis and the head of Desiring God Ministries has published an article entitled Guns and Martyrdom. I love Dr. Piper’s writings, theology, and passion for the supremacy of God. His ministry and books have had a profound influence on my life, and I’m thankful to God for such a servant and thinker that has been given to the church today in John Piper.

However, in the post listed above, I must disagree with Dr. Piper. Here is a comment I left on my good friend’s blog Cross on My Back:

I read Piper’s posting on this. On one hand, I agree with his reasoning. On the other, I think he is WAY off. If I am in the jungle, spreading the gospel to a potentially hostile group of people, then I have accepted the risk I could be killed. It is TOTALLY different if I am in my house and someone breaks in trying to harm me or my family. The former example is intentional exposure to potential danger. The latter is me performing my God-given duty to defend my family. I have wrestled with this question a good bit having studied the martial arts for 13 years. But, I have made up my mind on one thing: if a person tries to harm my family while we are at home or performing normal daily activity, I’ll defend them with whatever means necessary. I think Piper is falling into extreme passivism on this one.

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It’s funny because I was discussing this very issue yesterday with an academic friend of mine who has a Ph.D. in Theology. He challenged me to present to him a formal paper of my findings regarding a Biblical view on self defense. Ironically, my friend is also an international worker and could face persecution for his work for the gospel. I accepted the “assignment”, but I have no time frame when I’ll have this finished. If/when it is done, I’ll post it here. Until next time!

Blessings to you all.

Pride and Humility

I found another great article in the May Edition of Table Talk Magazing. I’m truly thankful for the Lord driving my heart to seek humility and destroy pride. Probably the quote from the article that struck me the most is as follows:

“But to put pride to death is lifelong work of the most difficult kind. We get no help from our culture. Pride is a topic of little interest to modern psychology or the self-help industry, and self-congratulation has become an accepted art form in the era of the “touchdown dance.” Nowadays, low self-esteem is likely to be thought a far more serious problem than pride. But the godly have always known that true goodness requires the killing of their pride, and they learned soon enough that there was no gentle way to go about it. It had to be hacked to death. One good man after another has instructed himself in these or similar words: “Talk not about myself”; “Desire to be unknown”; and “Lord, Deliver me from the lust of vindicating myself.”

I pray this encourages you to fight hard against pride in your life and seek to glorify God through humility. Blessings to you.

A Puritan Prayer You MUST Read

Justin Taylor posted a Puritan Poem on his blog today that absolutely expresses what I often feel when I’m before God. There is a phrase in there where the writer says he needs to repent of his repentance. Wow. How true that is. Read, enjoy, and be encouraged today in the faith. Blessings to you.