Depravity Necessitates God's Choice

Every Christian must have a view of predestination. I know, this is not a catchy intro paragraph, and if you're not a Christian, you've already clicked away. However, I feel compelled to write on this, because Reformed theology is foundational to my worldview and a particular position on predestination is foundational to Reformed theology. I know most of you are confused or bored by now. But if you give this material some time and thought, it may just clear up some tensions you've felt and seen in the Bible and even mankind (as it did for me).

I did not start out in my Christian theology as a Reformed thinker. Most people don't because all of us live most of our lives thinking we make all our decisions with complete autonomy. But at some point in a Christian's life they must (or should) deal with ideas of predestination and God's sovereignty. As I opened, every Christian must have a view of predestination. This is, of course, because it's in the Bible.

Now the popular view of predestination goes something like this: God predestined some people for salvation because He looked down the corridors of time and saw who would chose Him and He elected them. So this view would say we chose God (salvation) because God chose us (election in predestination) because we chose God (our decision seen by foreknowledge). This does not sound like the predestination I read about in Romans 9 done "in order that God's purpose in election might stand, not by works but by him who calls".

Rather, I hold that we chose God (salvation) because God chose us (predestination). No third step dependent on the decisions of man. However, I hold this position not primarily because of the Bible's teaching on predestination, though it is certainly there. Instead, I hold this position because of the Bible's teaching on man's fallenness, sinfulness, and depravity. Our state of sinfulness and helplessness necessitates God making the choice. It was the doctrine of human depravity that drove me to a Reformed position.

Spiritual ignorance: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires (Rom. 8:5), they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts (Eph. 4:18), the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them (1 Cor. 2:14), there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God (Rom. 3:11)

Spiritual rebellion: We were God's enemies (Rom. 5:10), [The sinful nature] does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so (Rom. 8:7) All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one (Rom. 3:12), both their minds and consciences are corrupted (Titus 1:15), the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9)

Spiritual inability: Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God (Rom. 8:8), Jesus said "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44), The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4), everyone who sins is a slave to sin (John 8:34), When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness (Rom. 6:20)
Spiritual death: The mind of sinful man is death (Rom. 8:6), you were dead in your transgressions and sins (Eph. 2:1), you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature (Col. 2:13)

As RC Sproul said in Chosen by God, "The uniform teaching of Scripture is that fallen men are fleeing from God. There is no one who seeks after God. We see people searching desperately for peace of mind, relief from guilt, meaning and purpose to their lives, and loving acceptance. People do not seek God. They seek after the benefits that only God can give them."

So, if I believe man is spiritually ignorant, rebellious, and dead, how are we saved? God must regenerate us, He must make an effective call on the heart that breathes life into it. Much like Lazarus, we make no decision to walk out of the grave until God speaks and life is created in us.

For a more in depth treatment of this issue by Greg Koukl, click here.

Same-sex marriage in the Public Square

The following is a letter to the editor printed in the Omaha World Herald in response to two other letters printed in an earlier issue. I have not cited those here, but their central thoughts are represented in my response. While the defense is very brief (I was limited to 200 words), I think the central themes and arguments are there.

In response to Jamie's June 2 letter, a vote in support of legislation to legalize homosexual marriage reflects approval of the lifestyle. When a pastor marries a couple, it is understood as an endorsement of that relationship. This is why marrying a homosexual couple is not the same as marrying an alcoholic couple. A marriage is not an endorsement of the alcoholism.

To call someone a bigot who objects to homosexual marriage on moral convictions, as Kelly did in a June 2 letter, is just name-calling. A bigot is someone who holds an intolerant position in an irrational way, considering others and their views substandard.To morally object to something is not to consider that person substandard. We are all sinners. We're all on an even playing field.

Since those of us who object to such unions are not pushing to make homosexuality illegal, it seems that the morality of others is being forced on us, not vice versa.The issue should be put to a vote, and opponents should not be subjected to bullying tactics like name-calling.

Jared Totten, Omaha

Cancer and God's Sovereignty

Recently I had a rare opportunity to meet one "of whom the world was not worthy". I received a call out of the blue from the wife of a friend. He was out of town for the week and unavailable when asked to visit another military man in the hospital who was undergoing treatment for lymphoma. When asked if I would visit this person I've never met under such heavy circumstances, I accepted with more than a little anxiousness.

This young man named Zach had moved to Omaha with his newly-wed wife just so he could receive specialized treatment at the med center. They were alone in Omaha, having spent their entire time in the hospital, and he needed "a brother to talk to" as he later told me. He told me how God had just recently gotten his attention and at the same time brought his wife-to-be into his life. There was such an atmosphere of joy in that room that at times I forgot we were in a hospital.

I was brought to tears as we read the first chapter of Ephesians. It struck me how one so afflicted according to the world's standards could speak so easily and affectionately about the sovereignty and providence of God. But, as one strongly influenced by Reformed thinking, the sovereignty of God is truly a source of comfort when understood properly. Certainly, while God does not actively cause everything, even that which He allows is in His design. As John Piper said, "What God permits, He permits for a reason. And that reason is His design. " As Christians, we are not promised to be saved from all sickness and pain, only that there is purpose behind it all and heaven after it all. Indeed, as we loosen our clutches on the world and grasp tighter to Christ, we can say with Paul "To die is gain" and see sovereignty behind it.

I know that a sick man's confidence in the sovereignty of God is not an argument for His sovereignty. But, if the Bible can be proven the Word of God (which I believe it has been), and if the Bible teaches the sovereignty of God (which I believe it does), then Zach's peace and confidence is the perfect outworking of loving God's sovereignty.

Not two weeks after I met Zach for the first and only time, he passed away from complications resulting from the lymphoma. For those who may read this and have differing positions about the sovereignty of God, my words may sound calloused or ignorant. For those who don't believe in any sort of afterlife, they may sound like the mental crutch of a wishful thinker. But for Zach, God's sovereignty gave him joy in his circumstances, hope in the future, and peace even in the prospect of death. And I came away from the hospital not depressed or second-guessing my theology, but rather more confident and at peace in the sovereignty of God than before.

Don't Waste Your Cancer by John Piper

Are you good enough to get into heaven?

How good do you have to be to get into heaven? What is the scale on which we will all be graded? Many people answer that it is simply a balancing act between one's good deeds and bad deeds. They believe the verdict is decided by which side of the scale outweighs the other.

God, in fact, gives us the scale by which to judge ourselves in the Ten Commandments. Don't steal. Don't murder. Don't lie. Most people have broken at least a couple of these commandments, but they feel they have at least not broken the big ones like adultery and murder.

However, isn't it interesting that Jesus had something to say about the very two commandments that most people feel they are in the clear on? Jesus said if you have entertained hatred in your heart for a person, you are guilty of murder. If you have entertained lust in your heart for a person, you are guilty of adultery. And to make matters worse, we find that "if a person keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at one point, they are guilty of breaking all of it". If this is true, that puts us all squarely on the same side of the scale as the most infamous murderers in the world's history.

If this seems unfair, it is because we underestimate the position we were given when God created us in His image. We were made image bearers, and as such expected to bear His image not only personality traits, but also behavior and morality. The reason lying is a sin and listed in the Commandments is that it is contrary to God's image. The same can be said for every Commandment. Every sin is, at its root, a violation of God's image in our person. Thus, lying and stealing puts you on the same plane as murdering because all of them put you in the category of a defiler of God's image.

As we realize that we are guilty not only of commiting individual sins in action, but also of entertaining serious sins in thought and breaking the entire law in violating God's image, things are looking pretty grim. And the nail in the coffin comes when we find that good deeds do not count as positive weight on our imaginary scales because good deeds are expected as image bearers. The image of the "good" and "bad" scales actually doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It would be more accurate to say that we've been given something precious and invaluable, like a ming vase, and as image bearers are expected to keep it in its original condition and value. A sin is a crack and, if the aforementioned factors are true, we've all done much worse than just crack the image.

If this analogy bothers you, it bothers God too. This is the reason He sent Jesus. Only Jesus kept the law at every point, only He bore the image of God perfectly. And only through faith in Jesus are we identified with Him and His perfect image. So the choice is yours, you can be identified with Christ the perfect image bearer, or you can be identified on your own and how you've handled God's image.

(For anyone interested in the picture I used, it is a perfect illustration! Notice even the restorer said experts would be able to see the cracks.)

A Misconception of Christianity

Perhaps the most frequent misconception I hear when talking to people about my faith is that Christianity is a club for the "good people". I hear it when someone says "Well, I could never be a Christian because there are certain vices I just can't give up". (Incidentally, I don't expect serious change to happen until after someone has committed their life to Jesus. Only He brings lasting life change.) And I hear it in more judgmental tones when someone within Christianity has made very poor, and very public, choices.

The central problem with this misconception is that it puts the defining characteristic of Christianity on our ability to live up to a perceived moral standard. The error here is, I hope, quite obvious. The point of Christianity is dealing with precisely that problem, none of us can live up to the moral standards expected of us. And this is exactly what I point out. My presentation often goes something like this:

"A lot of people think that Christianity is a club for the 'good people', when the opposite is in fact true. Christianity at its core is a group of people who recognize they can never be good enough to meet God's standards of morality. They are relying Jesus to pay for their sins, and they do their best to follow Jesus' teachings out of love for Him. So Christianity really isn't a club for the 'good people', but rather the 'not-good-enough people who know it'."

Notice what I intend to do with this clarification. First, I am attempting to remove that excuse in a person's mind that they can't be a Christian until they've got their life in shape. Second, I am trying to "defang" the red herring accusations centered around Christians who aren't living like they should. As Christians, we know that salvation is by grace through faith alone. But to the average person, Christianity is just like every other religion measuring followers by a moral code. We should take every opportunity to build a category for grace and faith in their minds.

My Book List

I am not sharing this list to brag, far from it. I will readily admit that I haven't read the majority of these books half as well as they deserve. I have not taken the time or given the thought.

Rather, I share this list to give you a context for my thinking. I share to promote these books to others. And I welcome recommendations as you see holes in my reading. Ultimately, I hope this list pushes the reader and the author to better reading, as iron sharpens iron. (I will continue to add titles as I read them, so check back if you are interested!)

Note: Beginning with the list in 2009, books will be listed in descending order of my favorites. Top (1st) to bottom. A higher rating may not always be for the reasons you assume, so if your curiosity is piqued, feel free to e-mail me. The hyperlinks will take you to other posts that have been directly inspired by my reading.

2009

• Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl - N.D. Wilson
• When Helping Hurts - Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
• Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
• The Reason For God - Timothy Keller
• Hidden Worldviews - Steve Wilkens and Mark L. Sanford
• Total Church - Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
• Hollywood Worldviews - Tim Godawa
• Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) - Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck
• Tactics - Greg Koukl
• Finally Alive - John Piper
• The God Who Smokes - Timothy J. Stoner (Yes, his name is ironic)
• The Kingdom of Couches - Will Walker
• Did the Resurrection Happen? - Gary Habermas and Antony Flew
• Love Your God With All Your Mind - J.P. Moreland
• God Is Great, God Is Good - William Lane Craig & Chad Meister, eds.
• The Pursuit of Holiness - Jerry Bridges
• True For You but Not For Me - Paul Copan
• Sticky Church - Larry Osborne
• The God Conversation - J.P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff
• Trusting God - Jerry Bridges
• The Case For Faith - Lee Strobel
• The Devil's Delusion - David Berlinski
  
• Being the Body - Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn
• Vintage Jesus - Mark Driscoll
• Satan and His Kingdom - Dennis McCallum
• Why I Am A Christian - Geisler and Hoffman (editors)
• Love Is An Orientation - Andrew Marin
• The Jesus I Never Knew - Philip Yancey
• The Prodigal God - Timothy Keller
• Unfashionable - Tullian Tchividjian
• Rumors - Philip Yancey
  
• The Ragamuffin Gospel - Brennan Manning
• Worldliness - C.J. Mahaney (editor)
• The Mortification of Sin - John Owen
• Faith, Film, and Philosophy - Geivett and Spiegel, eds.
• The Truth of the Cross - R.C. Sproul
• Escape From Reason - Francis S. Schaeffer
• Respectable Sins - Jerry Bridges
• The Pursuit of God - A.W. Tozier
• Inside-Out Worship - Matt Redman
• The End of Reason - Ravi Zacharias
• The Irresistible Revolution - Shane Claiborne
• We Become What We Worship - G.K. Beale
• The Hole In Our Gospel - Richard Stearns
• Searching For God Knows What - Donald Miller
• Time For Truth - Os Guinness
• Jesus Among Other Gods - Ravi Zacharias
• This We Believe - Ravi Zacharias, et al.
• Sola Scriptura - Don Kistler ed.
  
• Symphonic Theology - Vern S. Poythress
• The Lost Virtue of Happiness - J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler
• Souvenirs of Solitude - Brennan Manning
• Through Painted Deserts - Donald Miller
• To Know You More - Andy Park
• Divine Nobodies - Jim Palmer
• The Coffeehouse Gospel - Matthew Paul Turner
• Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
• The Rabbit and the Elephant - Tony and Felicity Dale and George Barna
• The Gospel According to Lost - Chris Seay
  
• Between Two Worlds - Mike Timmis

2008

• Spectacular Sins (and Their Global Purpose In the Glory of Christ) - John Piper
• Can Man Live Without God - Ravi Zacharias
• Death By Love - Mark Driscoll
• Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton
• Becoming a Contagious Christian - Bill Hybels
• Knowing God - J.I. Packer
• The Language of God - Francis S. Collins
• What's so Great About the Doctrines of Grace? - Richard D. Phillips
• Roaring Lambs - Bob Briner
• The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism - Craig R. Brown
• Chosen By God - RC Sproul
• Future Grace - John Piper
• The God Who Is There - Francis A. Schaeffer
• The Rest of God - Mark Buchanan
• Prayer - Philip Yancey
• Embracing the Mysterious God - James Emery White
• The Big Idea - Dave Ferguson
• A Mind For God - James Emery White
• Basic Christianity - John RW Stott

2007

• What's So Great About Christianity - Dinesh D'Souza
• The God Questions - Hal Seed and Dan Grider
• In But Not Of - James Emery White
• The Holiness of God - RC Sproul
• The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
• The Pleasures of God - John Piper
• The Holy Wild - Mark Buchanan
• Serious Times - James Emery White
• 90 Minutes In Heaven - Don Piper
• Don't Waste Your Life - John Piper
• Experiencing God - Henry T. Blackaby
• Praise Habits - David Crowder

2006

• The Consequences of Ideas - RC Sproul
• The Sovereignty of God - A.W. Pink
• How Movies Helped Save My Soul - Gareth Higgins
• What Ever Happened to the Gospel of Grace? - James Montgomery Boice
• The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren
• Defeating Darwinism - Philip E. Johnson
• The Bible Jesus Read - Philip Yancey
• The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
• Loving God - Chuck Colson
• Things Unseen - Mark Buchanan
• Reaching for the Invisible God - Philip Yancey

2005-Conception (College and before)

• Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
• What's So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey
• Your God Is Too Safe - Mark Buchanan
• Wild At Heart - John Eldredge
• Disappointment With God - Philip Yancey
• Desiring God - John Piper
• Sacred Romance - John Eldredge
• The Gospel According to the Apostles - John MacArthur
• The Joyful Christian - C.S. Lewis
• The Vanishing Conscience - John MacArthur
• The God Who Loves - John MacArthur
• Every Man's Battle - Steve Arterburn and Fred Stoeker
• Passion and Purity - Elizabeth Elliott
• Losing Our Virtue - David F. Wells
• A Matrix of Meanings - Detweiler and Taylor
• The Anti-Christ - Friedrich Nietzsche
• Shaping a Christian Worldview - Dockery and Thornbury
• Christian Ethics - Dr. Jim Eckman
• The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis
• The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis
• Philosophy of Religion - C. Stephen Evans
• Worldview - David K. Naugle
  

Abortion, Juno, and a Dire Education

Barack Obama was in Omaha the other day and, as I drove past the convention center, I saw a truck that was pulling a mobile billboard bearing large images of aborted fetuses. If there was a message on the billboard I missed it, being fully shocked by the photos. I drove home saddened, not only by the images and the reminder of the reality of abortion, but more so by the damage I felt those protesters were doing to the pro-life cause.

I do not mean that there is no place for protesting at an event or a clinic if it is done in an honest and compassionate manner. However, I am fully convinced that the most effective tactic to combat abortion is not guilt, not fear, not intimidation, but education. Most people I have talked to have put little or no thought into the humanity of the fetus. Their thought process has not passed "women's rights" before they've made up their mind. It is simply too uncomfortable to consider further. Thus, if we haven't proven to them that every abortion ends the life of a living human being, then all the screaming and offending we do only serves to push them further from a pro-life position.

Again, I do not mean there is no place for a photo of an aborted baby, for even that is information about what happens in an abortion. But if that is all we are using and couple it only with screaming tirades, I am certain we will not get the results we are hoping for. The following is at the core of every pro-abortion mindset: the right of a woman not to be pregnant is greater than the right of a baby not to be killed. Of course, the pro-abortion person would substitute the word baby with fetus. And if we are not doing our job of demonstrating that it is, in fact, a baby, we will convince no one. Showing that it is really a baby begins with information.

There is no love lost on my part towards PETA and their causes. I see them as generally angry, crazy, and overly zealous for a less than essential cause. But even as I write these adjectives, I realize that most pro-lifers have the same reputation. Most people have bought into the lie that unborn babies are sub-human (or lower), on par with the animals that PETA is fighting for. So unless we have convinced our audience of the humanity of the unborn, we will be as ineffective as the PETA people throwing red pain on fur coats or brandishing photos of skinned animals.

In Juno, the title character intends to get an abortion when she is approached by a classmate protesting by herself outside the clinic. With timidity and compassion the girl says to Juno, "It has fingernails, you know". Unable to shake the image as she enters the clinic, she watches the people around her use their fingernails to tap, scratch, and pick. Ultimately she leaves and decides to give birth to her baby. In wonderful narrative form (and possibly unintentionally on the part of the writer), the movie shows the value of the unborn human life and the power of information.

http://www.abort73.com/