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Why God Has Never Taken a Risk

August 31, 2011 By Leave a Comment

John Piper (also, watch the 3-minute video here):

Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost write in The Faith of Leap:

It seems correct to say that God took something of a risk in handing over his mission to the all-too-sinful human beings who were his original disciples—and all the sinful disciples beyond them. We wonder what Jesus must have been thinking on the cross, when all but a few powerless women had completely abandoned him. Did he wonder if love alone was enough to draw them back to discipleship? The noncoercive love of the cross necessitated a genuinely human response of willing obedience from his disciples. Given our predispositions to rebellion and idolatry, it is entirely conceivable that history could have gone in a completely different, indeed totally disastrous, direction if the original disciples hadn’t plucked up the internal courage to follow Jesus no matter where. (36–37, Locations 464)

The view of God embodied in this quote from Hirsch and Frost is

  1. false to the Scriptures;
  2. built on a false philosophical presupposition;
  3. damaging to the mission of Christ in the world;
  4. and belittling to the glory of God.

1) False to the Scriptures

Their view of God and Jesus is that they are so little in charge of the success of the Great Commission that “it is entirely conceivable that history could have gone in a completely different, indeed totally disastrous, direction if the original disciples hadn’t plucked up the internal courage to follow Jesus no matter where.”

This is false. God is fully in control of his mission on earth: a) Jesus did not wonder if it would succeed; b) God can be utterly counted on to finish it, and c) every person ordained to eternal life will be drawn into the mission.

a) Jesus did not wonder if the mission would succeed.

He promised: “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

He has all authority and will be with us to the end (Matthew 28:18, 20). And he said, with this absolute authority, “I will build my church, and the gates of the hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). He is not uncertain of the success of his mission. He will do it.

b) God accomplishes all his purposes in the mission.

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’” (Isaiah 46:9–10).

When a disciple “plucks up the internal courage to follow Jesus,” it is God who put it there. “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

When missionaries accomplish great things for Christ they say, “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience — by word and deed” (Romans 15:18).

No saint will say in heaven: The mission succeeded because my will was decisive in taking risks and making sacrifices. Rather, the saints will say, “God equipped us with everything good that we might do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever” (Hebrews 13:21).

c) There was not the slightest chance that the mission of God could have gone in a “disastrous direction,” that is, could have failed.

When all gospel influences have come into a person’s life, the decisive word over their lives is the word of Luke after Paul’s preaching in Acts 13:48: “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).

2) Built on a false philosophical presupposition

Their false presupposition is that for God’s love to be genuine (“noncoercive”) and for humans to be humans, man’s will must be ultimately decisive in bringing about obedience to the mission. If God’s will were ultimately decisive, then his love would not be genuine but coercive, and humans would not be humans but (presumably) robots.

They say, “There were no guarantees that [the disciples] would make the right choices. If this were not the case, then we are not human precisely at the point where we must be most completely human” (37).

The reason I call this a philosophical presupposition is that it does not come from the Bible, but from the human mind. Nowhere does the Bible say or imply that ultimate human self-determination is the prerequisite for human responsibility or divine love. That presupposition is an alien idea.

What the Bible does show over and over is that God’s will is decisive in all affairs (Daniel 4:35), and humans are truly responsible and God is truly loving and just. The Bible lets this paradox stand. So should we.

3) Damaging to the mission of Christ in the world

When they imply that the success of the mission depends decisively on disciples “plucking up internal courage to follow Jesus,” they rob the mission of its most precious and empowering promises.

Jesus empowers us for risk and sacrifice by purchasing on the cross the promises of the new covenant. “I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 32:40).

How do I know that, if I follow him to the riskiest place, I will be able to persevere in faith? Hirsch and Frost lay the burden of perseverance decisively on us. God lays it on the blood-bought “everlasting covenant.”

The mission is damaged where the promises of God’s decisively enabling grace are denied.

4) Belittling to the glory of God

When the success of God’s mission is made to depend decisively on humans, humans get the decisive glory. But where all is made to depend divisively on God, God gets the glory.

Whoever serves, [let him serve] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:11).

[God works] in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:21).

[I pray that you will be] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:11).

It is hard to exaggerate how important it is for the mission of the church, in reaching the unreached peoples of the world, to have a fully biblical vision of the greatness and the sovereignty and the glory of God. Knowing him as he really is, as revealed in the Bible, is the foundation of mission-finishing risk and sacrifice.

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Why I Love the Church

August 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When the Apostle Paul talks about the church, he speaks of her as a purified body. Take these words from Ephesians 5:27: “…so that he [Jesus] might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” Although Paul is very aware of the fallen nature of the people of the church, he is able to talk so highly of the universal church because he knows the work that Christ has done to justify and sanctify her.

When I come to these passages in Scripture, many times I ask myself, “Do we think of the church this way? Do we have in mind that Christ will present us to himself in splendor? How can such a hypocritical, sinful bunch be so glorified as Paul’s letters describe?”

I believe 1 Peter 2:9 has that answer. It reads, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” We have been called, that we may be set apart to proclaim God’s praise. Our God seeks his own glory, and has graciously called us, through Christ, to partake with the heavenly host in glorifying the excellencies of his character. When we sing songs like “Glorious Day” and proclaim, “Death could not hold him, the grave could not keep him, from rising again” we are living out the divine plan which God has ordained for the church.

This morning as we worshipped together as the body of Christ, I couldn’t help but think that God was pleased with what he heard. There is something to say about personal devotional time, but to worship corporately as a church is to magnify the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 1:23). In this “already, not yet” age that we live, we Christians need to remember that we are justified before God. That means, in a court of law, God declares us righteous on the basis of Jesus’ blood. And the church stands in glorious testimony to the mercies of God in our lives. When Christ returns, he will not begrudgingly take his bride as his wife, but will rejoice as an earthly husband does over his bride.

“He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). God has promised to put the church on display for himself. Let’s believe that he will accomplish his purposes.

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The Joyful Finality of “It is Finished”

August 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

Ray Ortlund, quoting C.H. Spurgeon:

“If today you feel that sin is hateful to you, believe in Him who has said, ‘It is finished.’  Let me link your hand in mine.  Let us come together, both of us, and say, ‘Here are two poor naked souls, good Lord; we cannot clothe ourselves,’ and He will give us a robe, for ‘it is finished.’ . . . ‘But must we not add tears to it?’  ‘No,’ says He, ‘no, it is finished, there is enough.’

Child of God, will you have Christ’s finished righteousness this morning, and will you rejoice in it more than you ever have before?”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Treasury of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, 1950), II:675.  Style updated.

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Proverbs 3 Notes

August 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

SixTen:

Here are Pastor Nate’s top 10 themes/thoughts from Proverbs 3. If you have thoughts or comments on these passages, please share them with us!

 

1.) Let love and faithfulness never leave you (3a)

2.) Trust in the LORD with all your heart (5a)

3.) Do not be wise in your own eyes (7a)

4.) Honor the LORD with your wealth (8a)

5.) Do not despise the LORD’s discipline (11a)

6.) Preserve sound judgment and discernment (21a)

7.) Have no fear of sudden disaster (25a)

8.) Do not withhold good from those who deserve it (27a)

9.) Do not accuse a man for no reason (30a)

10). Do not envy a violent man (31a)


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Here is Love…Vast as the Ocean

August 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I’ve been loving the Passion Band Hymns: Ancient and Modern. Matt Redman’s song, Here is Love, has been among my favorites from that album. You can listen to the song below. Also, check out the lyrics and center on the second stanza. Romans 3:21-26 come to mind as some verses to meditate on.

 

 

Here is love, vast as the ocean
Lovingkindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heav’n's eternal days

On the mount of crucifixion
Fountains opened deep and wide
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast a gracious tide
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
And Heav’n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love

Chorus:
No love is higher, no love is wider
No love is deeper, no love is truer
No love is higher, no love is wider
No love is like Your love, o Lord

 

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BMW Discussion Tonight!

August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

SixTen:

Come out at 7 pm tonight to play a little volleyball and have some discussion on the topic of Biblical manhood and womanhood. Cindy Agoncillo has posted some questions which may help you prepare for the study. You can find them here.

See you tonight!

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Real Men Repent

August 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

From the Resurgence:

Machismo

Growing up in Santa Fe, N.M. I was exposed very heavily to the “machismo” type of masculinity. A man is defined by how many fights he has been in, how many girls he has slept with, and how much liquor he can consume. This is handed down from father to son, generation after generation. I can’t count how many times growing up that I watched my dad either getting drunk or getting into street fights.

As a matter of fact, one time when he found out that a neighbor kid was picking on me, and I had done nothing about it, he drove me over to his house and forced me to fight him. My dad was as tough as they come. When he was only 16, he wrecked my grandpa’s car, and rather than face the beating he knew was coming, he pushed the car into the driveway and walked to California with only a dollar in his pocket.

What It Meant To Be a Man

The sad thing is this is how he would lead our family as well. Our home was filled with violence and alcohol abuse. I simply thought that this was what it meant to be a man. Therefore, this is what I was aiming for. My father had taught me well, and I was well on my way to walking in his footsteps. But little did I know that God in his grace was calling my father. He would teach him what it really means to be a man. It would be radically different from what he had learned, and what he had taught me.

As my father began to walk with Jesus, I saw him do things that he had never done. These are things that I was taught that real men were never to do. I’ll never forget the first time I saw my dad reading a bible, or the first time I saw him cry, or the first time I saw him actually avoid a fight. It blew me away. I had no neat little box to put this in. I knew that this had to be God working in my father’s life.

Respect and Confession

This began to teach me that there was more to being a man than I was taught. The violent and proud man I once knew was gone, and in his place was a humble and gentle man. A man who still commanded respect, but not through fear. It came through friendship.

I’ll never forget the day my dad came to me and confessed his sins against our family and me. He admitted he was wrong in so many areas of his life, and that by God’s grace he would be a better example of what a man truly is. He didn’t only do this with me, but also with so many people he had wronged throughout his life. It was in that moment I learned one of the most important things about being a man.

Real Men Repent

The bible says in Proverbs 28:13, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” My father taught me the meaning of true repentance. Through this lesson I was able to win the biggest battle I had ever been in. My entire life I battled sin, and I always came up on the losing end. When I placed my faith in Jesus Christ and through the repentance of my sins, I received the mercy of God and acceptance as his son.

Jesus gave me the victory over sin that I could never have experienced on my own. Meaning that sin became for me something I do, instead of something I am. And when I do sin, I can confess and repent of my sin, and God will be faithful and forgive and cleanse me from all my unrighteousness.

Jesus now becomes for me the ultimate example of what it truly means to be a man. By God’s grace I live to his glory daily in my life and plan to pass this on to my son behind me.

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10 Things to Remember About Summer Missions Trips

August 5, 2011 By 3 Comments

From Jeff Brewer, Lead Pastor of Hope Fellowship in Lombard, IL:

  • Your identity is in Christ, not in what you do or have done for Christ. (1 John 3:1)
  • The greatest need for all people, in all nations, is the gospel; not to become more or less like another culture.  There are beautiful expressions of culture in other contexts.  There are beautiful expressions of culture in America.   There are sinful expressions of culture in both.  Be careful not to pit one against another and neglect the gospel which is our greatest need regardless of the culture in which we live.
  • Be patient with those who know nothing about the country from which you just returned.  Patiently endure questions about food and dress and other stereotypical questions.  Think through carefully how you will answer typical questions graciously and in a way that points people back to the gospel and the reason for why you went in the first place.
  • Even though you have experienced a lot, your knowledge about your host country is not exhaustive.  Remember you have only begun to understand their culture.  Keep being a learner about the culture that you just began to experience;  not an expert.
  • This world is not your home––in either place.  Fight against the temptation to make your identity in any one culture. We are all away from the Lord, from our true home (2 Cor 5:8,9) and our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20).
  • Fight romanticism.  Your trip (especially if longer than a month) was not all a bed of roses.  Take time to journal and remember the hardships of living in a foreign culture.  The temptation will be to be to romanticize missions and minimize the difficulties you encountered.  Romanticism does not help promote and mobilize people to missions because the hardships are real.  Be realistic with others who would consider such a project in the future.
  • Fight pride.  You did not gain standing with God because you lived in a foreign context for a year or a lifetime.  We can only stand before God because of the death and resurrection of Christ not because of what we do for Christ.  (Romans 8:3; 1 Peter 3:18)
  • Fight Laziness. As you re-acclimate to life in the States, fight against the temptation to be lazy by neglecting the Word of God and cultivating your relationship with Christ.  Relax and be encouraged but be intentional in how you do so in order that you do not fall into sinful patterns of behavior and thought.
  • Remember to pray for those to whom you ministered.  In most cases, you will never see the men and women with whom you spent so much time.  For the brothers and sisters in Christ that you met and worshiped with, pray for them as Paul prayed as he remembered them.   (Philippians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:3)
  • Proclaim the need for the glory of God in the gospel to to be brought to all peoples.  Keep the least reached peoples of the world before people who may not know of the need.  (Matt 9:38)
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Next Movie Night

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

SixTen:

Just a heads up: The next movie night will be September 16 and will feature The Great Debaters. More details to follow!

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Documentary from 2010 Lausanne Conference

August 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

From their website:

“Cape Town 2010 has been called the most representative gathering of Christian leaders in the 2000 year history of the Christian movement (Christianity Today).  Four-thousand Christian leaders representing 198 countries attended the Congress in Cape Town, South Africa.  The Congress was brought together by a globalized leadership team from Africa, Egypt, Malaysia, India, North America and elsewhere.  Several thousand more leaders participated in the Congress through the Cape Town GlobaLink, Cape Town Virtual Congress and Lausanne Global Conversation.  Learn more about this gathering by watching this short documentary.”

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